Those are beautiful words to hear, all the moreso because I think it's the first time I've ever seen one of Boras's clients say something like that.

I for one would really like Gagne to remain a Dodger. (And I'm not saying that just because it results in me becoming an object of curiosity whenever I enter a Dodger clubhouse. ;)

Grady, buddy, do you not remember that the Dodgers still have a series with the Mets (at Shea) coming up in 2+ weeks?

I'm glad to see Gagne is willing to take a "hometown discount". I hope he remains a Dodger. My Dodger t-shirt collection would devlove further into irrelevance if he left.

Obviously (I think), both players will not be offered arbi, so what's the deal? Do they try to work something out pre-arbitration?

Past results do not guarantee future performance.

Here you have a player, coming off one of the greatest seasons a reliever has ever had, and winning the Cy Young, and he has to listen to his team argue that he isn't worth $8 million.

(Gagne submitted an $8m salary figure, which would have shattered the record for a pitcher with his service time; the Dodgers submitted a $5m figure and won the case)

But Gagne wasn't worth $8 million then. And it's not hindsight. A salary of that amount would have been so far out of line with other salaries, that it would have been more ridiculous than Kevin Brown's contract.

From people I've heard who work in arbitration hearings, players don't take it personally unless the teams try to drag in the player's personal life.

Jon, how long is that guy with his hands around his throat going to be on the site? That won't be a pretty picture if the Dodgers go on another long losing streak. I am sure glad you did not have this blog back in 1962 with that same picture.

Stan from Tacoma

The man gets no RESPECT

Apparently they think Carlos Beltran can cover a lot of ground in the outfield.

The next day, rookie Dick Nen homered in the ninth off of Ron Taylor to cap off a Dodger comeback and tie the game at 5-5 after the Cardinals led 5-1 going to the 8th.

Then in the bottom of the 10th, Dick Groat got a leadoff triple against Ron Perranoski, but got out of it thanks to Curt Flood grounding into a force play at the plate and Mike Shannon grounding out.

In the 12th, Willie Davis singled, went to third on a Julian Javier error and then scored on a ground out by Maury Wills. All this came off of Burdette.

The Dodgers won 6-5 and were up by four games with nine left.

Up until that time, they are free to negotiate with the player.

I had a chance to speak with the lawyer that handled the case for the Dodgers. Contrary to popular belief, Kim Ng did not prepare or present the case; many teams outsource the task to specialists for the very reason of avoiding personal ill feelings. My guy handles arbitrations for several MLB teams including the Angels, Braves, and others.

This lawyer handled one of John Rocker's arbitrations as well. He said that after the hearing, Rocker screamed at him in an evelator in what must have been a terrifying moment.

I also had a chance to flip through a binder containing the Dodgers' case for Gagne. It was predicated on "Gagne is great, but he's asking for too much too soon." The biggest comparable was Mariano Rivera, who had won World Series and had great playoff success among other things. The lawyer had done such a good job preparing and delivering the case that the arbitrator pretty much quoted him verbatim when delivering the decision in favor of the Dodgers.

If Gagne's side had asked for less (say, $7M) he might have stood a great chance of winning the case.

December 27, 2004

https://dodgerthoughts.baseballtoaster.com/archives/16911.html

"It is a peculiarity of the current system that arbitration-eligible players are encouraged to leave their most recent teams. Last week, 29 teams could have offered Lima a one-year, $2.5-million contract. The only team that couldn't was the team with which his rebirth continued - the Dodgers."

Or is this a personal decision and not a computer issue.

Point of reference: Mariano Rivera, in his first year of arbitration eligibility (1999) was awarded $4.25m.

In Rivera's second year of eligibility (2000), he lost and was awarded $7.25m (he asked for $9.25m).

http://tinyurl.com/oohqo

The Cardinals entered that series red hot. They were on a stretch just like the Dodgers just were on this year. I think the Cards had won something like 19 out of 20 going into the series with the Dodgers. Unlike 1962 though Sandy was healthy and that made the difference. Those are good times to remember even if I couldn't listen at the time. How I wish that XM radio was around back then; I could have listened to Vin in his prime and not be knocked out by atmospheric conditions.

Stan from Tacoma

"So I say I want to be free,
So I say I want to be me"

It's like you guys have something in common.

Anyway, Penny's total starts/quality starts are as follows:

August ... 4/3
July ... 4/2
June ... 6/4
May ... 6/2 (he had two starts in which he allowed no runs in five innings)
April ... 5/4
Total ... 25/15

Penny, who is 12th in the NL in ERA, is tied for 13th in the NL in quality starts. It's not my favorite stat, but that pretty much defines him as a lower-level No. 1 starter or top No. 2.

Didn't KMOX have an effective range that allowed it cove about 1/3 of the United States. It was one of the big reasons for the Cardinals becoming so popular throughout the Midwest and South.

The Cardinals switched to a different station this year (one that they own) and the people of the St. Louis area are none too happy about it. You can't hear it in a lot of places.

Picture whole states full of people like Steve trying to listen to the Dodger game in Ontario.

Although that is one of the more frequently misspelled baseball names, along with Elden Auker and Willy Miranda.

Not that people have occasion to write "Willy Miranda" very often.

http://tinyurl.com/zcfrb
http://tinyurl.com/zndtw
(note the autographs)

I think when a pitcher pitches against his former team, there's a little more pressure on him than normal. You really want to to stick it to your former team. The fish made Penny look foolish 2 times last season. I thought it was an embarrassment. For crying out loud, a guy he was traded for, Juan Enncarnacion smacked him around.

I was giving the Dodgers one final hurrah last season when I went to Chicago. Go on a tear and we could win this thing. Sure enough in game one we went on an offensive explosion and DJ Houlton pitched well enough for the win. Next night's it's Penny's turn. There I am in the stands watching Henry Blanco of all people knock him out of the game in the 5th. Phooey. I packed it in.

There's certain players you hold to higher standards. Bradley Penny is one of them.

The Nomar signing seems like a good model: a respectable base salary with easily attainable bonuses for a healthy, productive player.

I for one think Gagne is loyal to the Dodgers. His comments yesterday only reinforce that belief. Even his negative comments in the past seemed more out of frustration than anything else. Plis, I get the feeling he really wants to pitch to his Canadian compatriot on a regular basis.

Teams don't do this very often at all now. Players tend to dislike it.

A lot.

http://lewisgenealogy.com/relate.html

If so, that will take some unprecedented cooperation between a team and Boras.

I would hope they would count the $1 mil towards next year's salary at least.

Boras probably scripted the "Boras is my agent..." line.

Of course I'd love to have Gagne back on the team. But his situation is comparable to Garciaparra's last winter. The market for him is one year, incentive-laden, and significantly discounted because of the high likelihood he won't be able to play, period.

Except for the major league minimum getting in the way.

2 ER or better in 6 innings, OR
3 ER or better in 7-9 innings, OR
4 ER in more than nine innings

It also makes you wonder if pitchers beg out of games early to preserve quality starts.

Don't make me post more consanguinity charts!

It's a link in the above website.

http://www.iroots.net/tools/cusncalc/cusncalc.htm

The way it is presently constructed,
1) Teams get a QS about 50% of the time
2) Teams with a QS win more than 2/3 of the time
3) The average ERA in a QS is about 4 to 5 runs lower than in non-QS starts
4) The average IP in a QS is much higher; 7.5 compared to 4.5 in a non-QS
5) The hated example, the 6 IP, 3 ER QS, occurs in only about 6% of all QS.

It clearly has some value, and it's very simple.

In my opinion, his past pitching supremacy combined with his incredible fan favorite-ness make him worth the risk.

On a related note, QS probably rewards pitchers who take a lot of pitches to complete 6 innings and penalizes pitchers who take fewer pitches. If your pitch count is high through 6 innings, you're more likely to be taken out, thus preserving your QS. If your pitch count is low, you're more likely to be left in, thus jeopardizing your QS.

But it's a poor execution of that idea. 3 ER in 6IP is an ERA of 4.5. A pitcher who gets a quality start every time out with a 4.50 ERA overall is not of high quality. He's a highly consistent mediocrity.

The best measure would be simply the standard deviation in the ER distribution. But that's not user-friendly, especially for sportswriters who fear laptops (or calculators).

In other words, the quality start leaders almost never have a collective ERA of 4.50 in their quality starts.

I still prefer baseball on the radio over tv. I like tv to see a player I have not seen before, but otherwise, I would rather listen. The big caveat in that is that the radio broadcaster has to be good or at least tolerable. I listened to Dan Shulman broadcast the Maddux masterpiece on ESPN radio and really enjoyed what I heard. I am sure I would not have enjoyed watching and listening to Joe Morgan nearly as much.

Vin in his prime on the radio was a joy to hear. In his prime on tv he was awfully good, but I think the tv picture overpowered Vinny's words. His tv description of Gibson's homerun was great, but I think he would have been even better had he been on radio at the time.

Stan from Tacoma

Although if ESPN or some site could track quality starts using the new rule, maybe that would make it okay.

It's been a while since somebody posted this link, so...
http://www.doubledogmusic.com/baseball/Scully_Koufax_Perfect.mp3

Go. Listen. Exult.

Unfortunately, radio play-by-play is underrated nowadays. It seems that there is less difference between radio and TV PBP styles than there used to be. There is so much commentary, so few images.

Being able to paint a picture for the radio listener is an art. And Vinny is it's Michaelangelo. No one else is even close.

By the way, as a way to combine the two threads, quality starts and Gagne, I would really like to see Gagne return to starting pitching. I think he could be more effective pitching 6 or 7 innings every fifth day. He has the repetoire of a starter now. It would probably be easier for him physically too.

Stan from Tacoma

QS% is sorta like save percentage. A nice idea, but can be very misleading if it's used as a measure of quality, as opposed to simple accounting.

"So and so has converted 24 of 26 Save Opportunities." That does tell us something in a purely descriptive sense, since we know what "save" means. But it's a lousy measure of pitcher quality.

The seats were comfortable, the food was good, and the service was friendly And both times, the team I was rooting for (Dodgers, Japan) won. What could be better?

Only for guys who are closers and closers only.

For example, last night when Broxton came in they said he was 2-for-4 in save opportunities. Of course, the two "blown saves" he had were not save opportunities in any meaningful sense of the term.

Ryan Franklin came in and got one strike, but walked Burke to force in a run and the Astros lead 3-2 in the 8th.

The QS start is pretty unambiguous. But its analytical value is only as good as the definition of "Quality." And if that is problematic (or less than optimally useful), just like "save" or "fielding chance" or "w-l record," then what's the point?

Franklin has a line of all zeroes with a "Franklin faced batter one batter in 7th note".

It's like Franklin was never in the game...

Houston leads 6-2 now.

Coffey, Franklin, and now Cormier haven't retired anyone.

Franklin is credited with pitching to one batter, but facing no batters.

The city of San Diego rejected my slogan for them:

San Diego, the City That Only Appears to be Interesting to Visit.

The RF angle makes it hard to see plays in the corner.

I think the ushers there are able to keep fans from walking during the course of play because the aisles are narrower and there aren't as many people to stop. Dodger Stadium has a "cordon sanitaire" where people can't stand, which I assume is a fire safety rule. So if you are standing outside the seats, you can barely see the field at Dodger Stadium.

In 1999, he had 5 starts. He pitched 30 innings, Gave up 18 hits, had 30 strikeouts, 15 walks, 2.10 era, and 1.1 WHIP. Are you calling that mediocre?

I get people walking into my workplace all the time thinking that they are going to a Padres game.

I sympathize. That's the way I felt visiting Coors, the BOB, Atlanta, and Milwaukee. None of those have a single thing to recommend them, but Petco at least has the skyline in the back and the cool incorporation of the building (a ripoff of Camden Yards, yes, but executed much better than Camden Yards IMO).

It has a few nice quirks that make it stand out:

1) The Western Metal Supply Building in left field, kind of gives the stadium an old-timey feel (although I can see that it might seem forced)
2) The "Park in the Park" beyond CF, where fans can sit on grass or kids can play ball on a small field, just beyond CF, for $5

The major drawback is that a large number of seats have views that do not cover 100% of the field. The Padres claim this is the cost of having seats so close to the field (I like the views from even the top deck, so maybe they are right).

The food is so-so (the hot dogs are good only 50% of the time or worse, which leads me to wonder why I still occasionally order them), although there seems to be a large enough selection to satisfy most.

Also, depsite being downtown, getting in and out of the stadium is generally easy and efficient, whether by car or on foot.

This has nothing to do with the park, but I wonder if the Padres have the worst set of retired numbers around:

6 - Steve Garvey (only 4.5 mediocre seasons with SD, but one memorable HR)
19 - Tony Gwynn (no argument; obviously deserving)
31 - Dave Winfield (no argument; obviously deserving)
35 - Randy Jones (1976 Cy Young; 8 seasons with SD; career 101 ERA+; pretty good BBQ at Petco, but it's not better than Boog's BBQ in Baltimore)
42 - Jackie Robinson (no argument)

It is kind of satisfying that 40% of the Padres' retired numbers are Dodgers!

The second time, I was staying in a motel nearby. It was about a 10 minute walk. I passed dozens of bars and restaurants on my way to the stadium (stopping at one on the way in and 3 on the way out). That kind of city life accessibility is sadly something Dodger Stadium cannot match.

I could stick to the pricier Toyota Terrace (2nd) level, where the seats are wider, though.

Or I could lose weight.

My Mom has season tickets at PetCo and I have visited there a few times. They missed the chance to give the memorable ocean view by having the open area overlook a rundown (although changing part) of downtown. Parking is not a problem. But there is basically no room between aisles. It is like sitting in a coach airline seat for the entire game unless you are in a front row seat in one of the sections.

What is the Padres stance this week on Steve Garvey's number? They've spent the past 19 years waffling back and forth on whether the number is actually retired or not.

Garvey is actually one of two MLB players to ever have their number UNretired. Interestingly, both are Dodger greats. The other was Jackie Robinson, whose number 20 was retired by the Expos in 1996 but then unretired when they discovered that wasn't his correct number.

Was that a Kramer-Newman owned and operated rickshaw?

Who is he?

Most Pirate fans don't know how or why it happened.

Two reasons. First, because, fundamentally, it does not tell us anything we need to know and can't find find another way. How can you know QS correlates well with good pitching? Because we have better measures of "good pitching."

Second, over and above the fact that QS is really just a search for low variance around a (hopefully) good ER average, there is the point about the too-generous measure of quality. I likened it to the save because of the generally accepted realization that there are too many cheap saves (1 IP without allowing 3 runs). Not all saves are cheap saves, to be sure, but what's the value of counting them if many are and we can't know how many for each pitcher without other stats as a guide? If QS were defined as 6IP with no more than 2 (not 3) ER allowed, I'd care less than I already do. If you wish, we could change the name to High-Quality Starts to reflect a 6 inning start with an ERA of 3.00 or below, which is actually very good.

I'm not saying that QS is a horrible stat. Just that it's (1) mostly useless, and (2) too inefficient, like the save, as an evaluative measure of performance.

Which isn't surprising, since the QS, like the "productive out" (and I think the GWRBI, but I might be wrong) was an off-the-cuff invention of a sportswriter with a kernel of a good idea, but without careful thought as to what it was trying to measure and how best to do it.

But the simplest answer is that a bad (misleading) stat is worse than no stat at all.

Grand is very steep in that section.

"Seinfeld" had a big budget in its last season, because the crew spent 3-4 hours on location filming about 10 seconds of the show.

Didn't someone here recently link to a study that showed the ERA in all QS was lower than the ERA in all Wins? (I believe the study was in 2004)

I still say he stays a closer!!

I would say that nearly all of them were.

Jim Umbricht (Astros #32)
Carl Barger (Marlins #5)
Gene Autry (Angels #26)
Cleveland's Fans (Indians #455)

The lowest standards clearly belong to the Astros and Angels. The highest standards are the Dodgers, Giants, Cubs, Phillies, and arguably Red Sox.

Mostly useless.

The only other time I took a rickshaw was in Asakusa here in Tokyo.

I thought both experiences were fun until recently, when I read the memoires of Donald Keene, the famous Japanologist. He talked about how gulity it made him feel to be transported around by human power when he rode a rickshaw in Kyoto.

It felt steep to me in the upper levels. The skyline is unremarkable. The fence in center field is ugly chain-link. The concrete bleachers in left-center look awful. I don't think it's a good value. Getting out of the Gaslamp is a pain. If you take the trolley, waiting in line to leave is sort of a pain. Other than that, it's nice, I guess.

It's alright. Definitely an improvement over Qualcomm, but fell far short of my expectations. It's best feature is the context of its location within Gaslamp. If it were located where Qualcomm is, I doubt anyone would be fired up about it at all.

August Busch, Jr. (Cardinals #85)
Wade Boggs (Devil Rays #12)

The saddest part of the Angels Flight accident was that the man who died was a Holocaust survivor. He'd been through so much and survived so long and then he died because the contractor for a funicular in Los Angeles decided not to include an emergency brake.

http://www.catsthatlooklikehitler.com/

Stan from Tacoma

Sure, he could be a closer in the mold of Trevor Hoffman. And sure, it is not likely that the Dodgers will move him into the rotation next year. But, I still think he could be a top shelf starting pitcher.

Did you ever get to meet Sandy again?

By the way, here is an old Diamond-Mind Baseball article on the QS, discussing Bill James' and Moss Klein's early debates on it.

http://www.diamond-mind.com/articles/qstart.htm

Stan from Tacoma

Steve Sax Night (Saturday, Orem Owlz, Pioneer League). Sax, who played in the Pioneer League, will delight fans by not throwing a baseball in their direction (except for the ceremonial first pitch ... look out, Grandma!)

Anything would be.

I'll grant you that the 14 wins is even less informative. But 3.50 ERA is really all I need to know for a starter (well, and how that compares to the league - 3.50 in 1968 was quite as special as in 1998). ERA is of course less helpful in evaluating relievers, because of the messiness of inherited runners.

But the truth is, I will be more than happy to see him in the bullpen next year. it beats the current situation.

There's nothing dumber than retiring a number that somebody never wore. If you wanted to honor Autry, there are plenty of other appropriate ways to do it. It's not Autry himself that I'm opposed to.

My philosophy on number retirement is that it should be done for great players or managers, period. Not because you're all sentimental about somebody (Autry, J. Reese), not because you feel sorry for them for getting cancer (Umbricht, Hutchinson), and not because they simply had a lot of money (Barger).

You should have to have been a great player or manager for the team. Period.

Stan from Tacoma

No one likes having people walk in front of their view during a game, but it's an inconvenience that lasts for about three seconds usually. This isn't Broadway. It's a baseball game, with pauses after every pitch.

Stan from Tacoma

That I can agree with. I thought you meant he wasn't worthy of being honored in the first place.

Jim Gilliam's number is obviously the odd one in the list for the Dodgers, but I can't say it really bothers me. It is, however, just another reason for a Dodger Hall of Fame, or Hall of We Liked 'Em

Stan from Tacoma

IMO that is a violation of site rule 6, not that I'm the final arbiter. ;)

I've never had it last anywhere near as short as three seconds. Usually there are multiple people filing by, and then your view is blocked not only by the people returning, but by all the people getting up to make way for them... it's pretty much a disaster and it always lasts 30 seconds minimum in my experience.

I do think limiting it to in between batters would be an appropriate compromise.

Just to be clear, so do I. I just think it's inappropriate when sentiment is the only reason. Where there's sentiment mixed with actual credentials -- guys like Gilliam and Munson -- I'm OK with it.

The rules of the game had changed, also. The ball was tethered to the mound with an elastic cord, among other weird things.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blernsball

Didn't basketball not allow double-digit numbers containing numerals greater than '5' in them at one point (for the referee's sake). Is that still in affect?

With UCLA's home opener on Sept 2nd I'm unable to use my Dodger season seats. 2 seats, Loge Aisle 138, row K, just past the 1b bag. Asking face plus preferred parking in Lot 6 outside the Stadium Club. Email me at bigcpa@gmail.com.

Love the Quality Start debate. I'm one of the only Roto commissioners in the 50 states that successfully implemented QS in lieu of Wins in a 5x5 league. Took a lot of preaching but I think it's worked out well. My fatal error was pickup up Chad "5 1/3" Billingsley.

The ruling is: Not guilty.

At least at Dodger Stadium, there just are not that many people in your direct line of sight.

The between batters compromise probably wouldn't satisfy you, because by the time all the people make it down to their seats, the next batter would be up.

I think a good number of people are courteous and try to be as unobtrusive as possible. Another set of people just need a gentle reminder. Another set of people will respond to a firm but reasoned "Down in front!'

Someday, though, I will tell the story about the person in front of me who ignored all of the above.

186 - I can remember debating quality starts with BigCPA, I think, in the early days of DT.

Fur almost went flying!

I think it still exists in NCAA and high school, however.

I do miss my Washington Nationals updates. When does Sam return from Oooooooooooocccccccccccccooooooo, Wisconsin?

So I think it's safe to say the rule is still in effect in the NCAA.

Though this is just a runner picking nits.

The NBA doesn't.

I believe in the international basketball games they are showing, the players are all numbered from 4 to 15.

"a. The following numbers are legal: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 00, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55. Team rosters can include 0 or 00 but not
both."

Well, like I said, it was a relief that no one commented :)

http://www.tangotiger.net/scouting/

Bob is exempt from all trivia questions on account of the fact that he knows everything.

Bics are to pens what wins are to pitching statistics.

You do the math.

I'm a Parker T-Ball Jotter guy myself.

Brian Akin
Scott Elbert
Casey Hoorelbeke
Danny Muegge
AJ Ellis
Chin-Lung Hu
Anthony Raglani

Ellis - Bbackup catcher in Jacksonville. Playing because Brad Cresse is hurt.

From what I wrote about Hoorelbeke at True Blue L.A.:

One of the other players that has actual promise on this list, Hoorelbeke has taken over closer duty for the Suns with the departure of Mark Alexander.

Hoorelbeke started his career as an undrafted free agent at the age of 24. After a relatively ineffective run as a starter in 2004, he was converted to relief in 2005 and he found great success. While he didn't overpower anyone, he threw 81 innings without allowing a home run at Vero Beach, one of the most home run friendly parks in the minors.

Hoorelbeke continued his stingy ways at Jacksonville this year, giving up only one home run in 63.2 innings while increasing his strikeout rate to 7.69 per nine without an increase in walks. Hoorelbeke's downside is that he's 26, so any of these numbers should be considered in this context, but he's only been in the pros for three years. However, with Hoorelbeke's rule five eligibility looming (I can't tell if he'll be eligible this year or next year) stashing him on the 40 man probably isn't a bad idea. At worst, he'd provide some entertaining headlines. You can start with "A Hoorelble Outing" and work from there.

"I guess we're open-minded," Colletti said to Jackson. "We'll see where the winter takes us."

that is why i think Ned Colletti is a good G.M.

Don't ask me why the home page is secured. There's no password utility required.

https://www.rareearth.com/

Caution: Big musical hit ("Get Ready") plays when you click on the link.

Please give us an update Jon, when it happens.

http://linkmeister.com/lmmusic.html

I hope I can cheat the system again tonight.

George Grantham (930)
Edgardo Alfonzo (886)
Denny Lyons (880)
Freddie Lindstrom (874) *
Jeff Cirillo (870)
Mike Greenwell (863)
Irish Meusel (855)
Joe Randa (853)
Bobby Abreu (846)
Gregg Jefferies (845)

http://tinyurl.com/runy2

It's a pretty weird list, because most of the time a player's comp list consists exclusively of players from his own era that played the same position. This list has players from all eras and all different positions.

Jose Valentin?

i'm sure you'll find a way, hey natE how do you know so much about rooks?

Here is how the West does when it plays each other.

LA vs. Arizona 6-6
LA vs. Colorado 10-3
LA vs. San Diego 3-10
LA vs. San Francisco 10-6

San Diego vs. Arizona 3-6
San Diego vs. Colorado 5-8
San Diego vs. LA 10-3
San Diego vs. San Francisco 6-10

Arizona vs. Colorado 10-6
Arizona vs. LA 6-6
Arizona vs. San Diego 6-3
Arizona vs. San Francisco 6-10

San Francisco vs. Arizona 10-6
San Francisco vs. Colorado 5-7
San Francisco vs. LA 6-10
San Francisco vs. San Diego 10-6

Colorado vs. Arizona 6-10
Colorado vs. LA 3-10
Colorado vs. San Diego 8-5
Colorado vs. San Francisco 7-5

I have no idea what this means, probably a good thing that the Dodgers only have one more series left with the Padres.

I was going to say it's like a dog chasing it's tail, but it is more like many dogs all chasing their tails at once.

http://capsoff.org/

"Similarity scores are not my concept. Bill James introduced them nearly 15 years ago, and I lifted his methodology from his book The Politics of Glory (p. 86-106)."

http://tinyurl.com/jnpk7

Predict Lugo's position in tonight's lineup:

1B
2B
SS
3B
RF
CF
LF
Bench

Pitcher and catcher are not eligible.

Who's Koufax's comp - Russ Ortiz?

Each position has a value, and you subtract the difference between the two players position. James just uses primary position, but I computed an average position for players who had more than one primary position.

Arizona it is!

Furcal, SS
Lofton, CF
Garciaparra, 1B
Kent, 2B
Ethier, LF
Lugo, RF
Betemit, 3B
Martin, C
Penny, P

I also think that Grady is really trying to get some games for Lugo to play in.

One of my friends always had a problem if your cap's bill was still flat. He once took mine of my head and rolled the bill between his hands.

288 - Yeah, I'm all too aware. I have a love-hate relationship with the sidebar. I'll try to get to it one of these days.

291 - He did not start last Monday but appeared late in the game.

Ray Lankford (938)
Reggie Sanders (933)
Eric Davis (925)
Bill Nicholson (922)
Raul Mondesi (921)
Ben Oglivie (909)
Larry Doby (909) *
Rick Monday (905)
Bobby Thomson (901)
Jeff Burroughs (896)

Kobe Bryant? Oh, you said Dodger uniform...

The NL Central and the NL West are making me hum "Momma's Got a Squeezebox"

Close your eyes, swing as hard as you can and hope you hit the ball.

I actually heard him say that on an interview.

i wish i could explain my thoughts on hats.

Marty, I think he's talking about pitchers.

Who is dreaming of their graves? I only said that the Furies will be following Mr. Hall around forever [and deservedly so]. Now, if he minds his manners, the Furies will mind theirs [I mean, it's not like he killed his mother or brother or such, in which case the Furies would truly be unforgiving].

But more to the point, no one, certainly not me, expects the team to perform at the level of the recent clip. You yourself otherwise provided the starting point last night in response to someone else, when you said that only 40 games or so separate last from first. That is correct. What decides those 40 games? Do some fail to hit the cutoff man when need be, do some fail to advance the runner, do some walk too many, and at the wrong time [never a good time, but some times are more worse than other times], are some keeping their mistakes in the park, and is the defense of some doing its job, and are some taking the extra base or even trying to do so, etc.?

And that's why I was a tad bit testy last night. And as I said last night, well, let me elaborate a bit. Toby should have been in either the, as soon as Lugo goes I take the strike, mode [unless, of course, there's two strikes], or the, I need to make the judgment on whether to swing to protect the runner, mode. Those are the only two acceptable choices, given that he's our number 8 hitter and it otherwise didn't look like run and hit to me. And as concerns the latter mode, I don't expect him to be able to parrot the actual math for the calculation, but I do expect every batter on the team to know what pitch velocity means, just who is pitching, what the particular runner's speed means, and just how good an arm and mechanics does this catcher have. Based on that, before Toby even gets in the box, he or someone else need decide on which of the two modes is to be used, and if the latter mode, then all it comes down to is, if Lugo reaches point A before Peavy is at point B, Toby takes the strike, since given pitch velocity [and we'll assume fastball], runner speed, and catcher's arm and mechanics, if Lugo is at A before pitcher is at B, then Lugo has the base stolen. And it looked like, in a rather instanteous and before Toby even started to swing sort of way, that the base was stolen. I saw it, the aging Vin Scully saw it, and just about everybody else but Toby Hall saw it. And, no, that's not just because he was hitting while we weren't.

And, Jon, let's assume that such had happened, so now Lugo's on third and there's two strikes on Hall. Even if Hall then strikes out, his taking the pitch and allowing the stolen base would be tantamount to a ground or fly out that advanced the runner. We would have considered that a "productive" out. And that's why he takes that strike. And if Toby strikes out, then Hendy either bunts Lugo home, or if thought capable, he hits a grounder to short or second, scoring the run. And I too am otherwise not the biggest fan of what some call "little ball," but given Lugo, Hall, and Hendy, with the double, it was time to play little ball and score that run, and score that first run of the game [let them worry about coming from behind].

And might I simply end by saying that last night could always turn out to be 1 of the 40 and while I cannot say that the team would have won [since it would subsequently have been 1-1], at least the game wouldn't have ended after the Dodgers' at bat in the 9th. The God of baseball otherwise tends to show mercy on those executing the fundamentals [some intelligent aggressiveness is sure to win that One's favor as well].

Sorry, one more, re the "quality start" and other such numbers, when I saw that 4.50 ERA, I literally cringed. What has happened to the state of pitching in baseball? I wasn't joking yesterday when I wrote that I wanted that old, last staff, of glory. Here are the numbers for '78:

Hooton: 19-10, 2.71 ERA, 32 games started, with 10 complete games.

John: 17-10, 3.30 ERA, 30 games started with 7 complete games.

Rau: 15-9, 3.26 ERA, 30 games started with 7 complete games.

Sutton: 15-11, 3.55 ERA, 34 games started with 12 complete games.

Rhoden: 10-8, 3.65 ERA, 23 games started with 6 complete games.

And last but not least, since he came up late that year:

Welch: 7-4, 2.03 ERA, 13 games started with 4 complete games.

And for more perspective, to date, in 126 games, the Dodgers have allowed 575 runs. In '78, over the 162, they allowed 573 runs.

The explanation for the mediocrity, in large part, is, well, look at the RA for '78 and '06. Not a pretty sight. Now consider runs scored. '06 over 126 games: 627. '78 over 162 games: 727. So rather similar numbers in that regard, leaving us with pitching.

And, Jon, the real objection here is not simply to Mr. Hall, but to your line of "We know that all too well." That didn't used to be the case and the futility was otherwise unknown. And given the large market and the revenue that comes with it, no reason why it need ever be the case. I don't expect the team to pony up like Steinbrenner, but some more money and some wiser choices, with the emphasis on pitching, and maybe the team rises above that tide of mediocrity to reassume its rightful position as one of the select and premier franchises in the major leagues. As I otherwise said, we're a Drew becomes Reggie Smith, a true ace, and a Doug Rau away [as yourself said, Penny rates as a top flight no. 2 starter, and Lowe would certainly make a fine no. 3, so we need that ace, someone to be Doug Rau, and then whoever is left that looks promising can play Rick Rhoden]. Oh, almost forgot, the relative lack of power will be made up for by the fewer unearned runs that the return to glory team will allow and the higher OBP as well.

Oh, and Jon, it's not animosity, hate, or mere ill temper that accounts for the emotion, but instead, love and frustration. We're always the hardest, performance wise, on those we love and expect the most from. And if Toby can understand that, then he'll take my remarks for what they are, the correct criticism with that frustration laden topping, with that last only existing because we all so much want him to succeed, and it's otherwise let the frustration out via the topping, or else have a good psychotherapist on the payroll. Of course, we could skip the therapist and use your blog as a sort of writing cure [if Freud can it call his "talking cure," then no reason why I can't call it my "writing cure."]. And, sorry, but careful re the statement of mission for the blog, since some might claim that such is what they are here for...

initisad i ment onory

my Dad had the perfect cure for unbroken down gloves (i swear it works to perfection!!)

ps my comment sparked another thought in my brain.

But, if Hall can't even master the concept of "if the ball is out of the strike zone, don't swing", I really can't fault him for not being able to figure this out.

iwishi wereborn shortand fat

PDH: "We're always the hardest, performance wise, on those we love and expect the most from. And if Toby can understand that, then he'll take my remarks for what they are, the correct criticism with that frustration laden topping, with that last only existing because we all so much want him to succeed, and it's otherwise let the frustration out via the topping, or else have a good psychotherapist on the payroll."

Toby Hall: Lemme see. Two fingers means a fastball...one finger means a curveball...and three fingers means...d'oh! Start over...

11. Posting while drunk
12. Posting while pretending to be drunk

I think you have a cogent argument.

349 - poised for acceptance