Apparently Jake Peavy took in his own hands to score some runs.

An aside, Jake Peavy is 2-7 against SF, Colorado and Arizona.

Peter Gammons wants us to believe that the answer is Alex Cora.

I've never known why.

I also feel like last nights game was not as devastating as some others seemed to feel. Can't necessarily justify that but I was more upset at earlier losses. Perhaps I just have a calm confident feeling that we are going to get where we want to go. Stay alive on the road and kick butt at home.

I believe the Reds chances of beating the Padres can be written off as it is now 5-0 Padres in the second.

Vin Scully ;)

Apparently I jinxed myself or perhaps my need to win my little no account playoff outweighed my desire to see the Pads lose.

When can we play Andre every day again? C'mon. He doesn't need more rest. This is silly.

Pedro Guererro?
Oh wait... you said highest?

Todd Hundley. Smart enough to twice get paid a fortune to stay home.

An observation:
The Astros, A's already won, Padres are winning, no score through 3 in Florida, so maybe the karma has swung back from yesterday's tough losses.

Andre's problem isnt rest, its hacking at terrible pitches early in the count.

How about Scioscia? I think that's my pick for now.

Jackie Robinson
Pee Wee Reese
Junior Gilliam

and of course
Pedro Guerrero

What exactly is baseball IQ?

If it means what I think it means, I'll suggest Scioscia, but I don't know how much of his baseball IQ is from managing and how much is from playing...

I'm thinking some of the guys from Brooklyn might be good candidates

11.

Exactly. I can't believe people posting at dodgers.com actually agree, and think Andre needs this much rest. Geez. The dodgers can feed them anything and they believe it.

Highest baseball IQ? Is there an answer, or are we just guessing? If we are guessing I'd have to go with Rudy Law or John Hale.
vr, Xei

13

Pee Wee Reese to me would be a good choice, just becouse so many players absolutley respected him, aside from that Orel or Fernando of this era are good choices by Jon. wow that question really makes me think.

15.

at least that's my impression sometimes. sorry if that sounded like I think I'm better or whatever.

16 - We are just guessing.

A lot of "Baseball IQ" comes from the ability to anticipate different situations and what can happen in each one. With runners on base, fielders face a fair number of decisions on every ball hit to them. Which is the right one?

Pitchers and catchers have even more decisions to make each game.

I say Don Newcombe. He understands pitching and hitting and is an extremely classy gentlemen.

De Wayne Wise batting with the bases loaded and one out in the 2nd with the Reds down 5-0 to the Padres.

The aforemention Mr. Wise hit into a 4-6-3 DP.

19. Phew! I was afraid I'd get the answer wrong. I did a google search on the topic and Paul DePodesta's name appeared the most. Do former GM's count?
vr, Xei

20. More decisions to make doesn't always mean you have a higher IQ. Speaking of dumb catchers, last night in our softball game an opposing batter had to hit the ball fair or be out (softball rule with 2 strikes and a foul ball already hit). He pops up in front of home plate with a ton of backspin. The catcher thinking he has a play on the ball, and not realizing that the ball will easily spin foul tried to catch the ball. The ball hit a foot in front of him, spun back off of his leg then rolled all the way to the back of the backstop. The catcher fell down, by the time he retrieved the ball the batter made it safely to third base. It was the first hit to the backstop for a triple that I had ever seen. And you think the Dodgers sucked last night. :) vr, Xei

I was referring to the number of decisions as a way for us to quantify the IQ. Let me get out my Handbook of Mental Measurements.

Rudy Law? John Hale? You just said those names to say them! I always liked Rudy Law. When I was a kid he gave me his bat, hat and cleats on the last day of the season.

IMO, Jon hit a freaking line drive HR for that thought.

i think Alex Cora is a freaking stud with the baseball brain.

Yesterday's loss made hardly any impact on me, too. Maybe that's because the whole game ( six errors? ) had a slightly unreal feel to it.

27. Since we were guessing and both were on the board at 250:1 odds I had to put some money on them. Scoscia was 8:5 and Hershiser was 2:1 so not much payout there.
vr, Xei

So the Padres now have the cursed 7-0 third-inning lead?

Izzy's SS ability is up there in that ability, but not top 5 (Dodgers) IMO.

The Padres scratched out 7 runs on 9 hits that included three doubles and a home run.

They were just getting lucky.

I would take a cursed 7-0 lead after three innings every day and twice on Sunday.

Well, I'm undecided about Thursdays.

Drew draws his ordinary first walk.

36

first inning walk sorry peeps

that base hit by Kent was a muscle hit.

I thought J.D.'s walk was rather extraordinary and plenipotentiary.

Drew is talented at drawing walks, but I swear this increases when someones on base.
This playing Anderson vs. Ethier is going to far unless Ethier is in fact hurt.

39 That's being diplomatic. ;)

You know I just noticed that the word "diplomat" begins with "diploma."

This is one of those moments like "Kansas" and "Arkansas" when I was a teenager.

JD was just following protocol.

Are we going to see Mount Saint Penny tonight, or get a good performance out of him?

I think Gameday should know not to say "In play, out(s) recorded" but rather "In play, out recorded" when the bases are empty or when there are two out.

Penny is throwing heat tonight

that breaking pitch was just sick!

For those of you watching on Gameday, that was a filthy breaking pitch for the strikeout.

And "diploma" comes from the Latin
diploma a state letter of recommendation, an official document conferring some favour or privilege, which comes from a Greek word which means literally "a folded piece of paper" or something that was doubled over.

I think Gameday should know to describe curveballs as filthy when necessary.

44
Gameday should know a lot of things, but it doesn't. But it's still pretty good.

49 It should just show the batter's knees buckling.

I would posit Jackie Robinson; if you're gonna be a rookie at age 28, you'd better. Bill James said his positioning gave him "silent range" that followed him all around the diamond. I think that qualifies.

48 - it was probably the students who were folded over.

Huh?

Gameday needs to display a map to show how far out Anderson was on that stolen base attempt.

Waukegan?
Milwaukee?
Green Bay?

Penny may be throwing heat, but Gameday made it look like the fence might take a beating.

"Diploma" was first used in English to describe an official document. Later, it became something given out to signify educational achievement.

At least according to the OED.

Rafael Furcal has now scored 100 runs this year. It's the 4th consecutive year that Furcal has scored 100 runs. A lot of it is the product of the batting order around him and his spot in the batting order. Still a pretty impressive feat by Furcal and it's nice to see a player actually live up to their big contract.

55 - Oooooooooomeacococ?

The third oldest stadium in use in the majors is actually RFK, which hosted its first major league before Dodger Stadium.

To be precise, the first MLB game at RFK (then DC Stadium) was on 4/9/62. Dodger Stadium's first game was 4/10/62.

Good "caught stealing." Not sure if that was the thinking, but this was one of the best times to try a steal, when the cost of failure is so very low.

On the intro question, I would go with Orel.

I shruged off last night's loss so easily in part because of how improbable it is that the Dodgers will miss the playoffs. Also, since I generally like the job our manager is doing, some hiccups here and there don't irritate me the way they did with Tracy.

Guess what!

Andre will get the day off, again tomorrow!

This is getting reather suspicious and bad.

23 pitches in two innings for Penny.

Furcal rocks!

Gameday needs to show Furcal's home run by having the blue circle being deformed.

59: LOL

This was sent to me with a "if you love the office, you'll love this"

Jenna Fischer's Booze Cruise video on youtube.

no idea if its anythingsafe.

http://tinyurl.com/hs2ox

I'm gonna have to do a post on Furcal soon.

I'm going to have agree with Steiner's commentary on the stupidity of throwing a home run ball back on to the field.

Sam's beloved Nats appear to be on the brink of finally losing to the DBacks, whom they apparently have a hoodoo over.

Furcal is pretty good. He continues to live up to that contract.

Best Dodger shortstop since Maury Wills? Since Pee Wee Reese?

Best Dodger leadoff hitter since Brett Butler?

70 8th inning 95 pitches Livan is the Nats time Bob!

I'm starting to wonder if there is something sinister about the new Nats owners. LAT went out there to meet one of the Lerners I believe and we haven't heard from him since. Coincidence?

On the baseball IQ subject, Nats chatters had that discussion a few weeks ago and concluded that Nick Johnson has the highest baseball IQ and yet possibly the lowest outside baseball IQ of all current Nats.

Not that anyone knows, but he does not interview well at all.

64 Isn't 24 pitches in 2 innings good for Penny?
As long as the D's keep plugging.

68

i still think Izzy will take Furcal to schoold when it comes to D.

75 - Very good.

IMO, Baseball IQ has alot to do what you're pearce think of you, & i'm talking about fiting the wars & so forth....

Furcal's OPS currently stands at .801

Although Lyons mentioned that there were six hits by pinch hitters overall last night, the record for pinch hits by one team in a game is six by the Dodgers back in 1926. The Dodgers won that game 12-6 over the Phillies and scored nine times in the ninth. I have a feeling that most of those hits came toward the end.

Furcal has been a great free agent success in my book. His defense could be better but I do think his arm get's him some of the outs that his glove gives up.

81 Whenever I read my posts, I am shocked by my bizarre use of apostrophes.

78

another thought of mine is just watching Izzy play D. I'd much rather go to war with his soft hands rather than Furcal's. JMO.

In the Dodgers 1926 game when they had six pinch-hits, they only used five pinch hitters. One guy came up in the ninth and batted twice and got hits both time and was credited with two pinch hits.

83

Furcal is great but for me, i rather die with izzy,jmo.

Sports Blog Nation is making all of its writers fill out ballots for the end of year awards.

If Furcal can play like this for the next two and a half weeks, he's appearing somewhere on my list for MVP.

Soriano had another CS of third base btw. Same two-outcome one-play business.

Again we need the map to show far Anderson was out by.

The first time it was tragic. Now it's just funny. Maybe there's something to the whole communism thing.

I believe Anderson needs to take a refresher course on the signs. Or perhaps it's Martin's fault and Penny's fault.

I think I saw Marlon over here in Fairfax.

Marlon only needs one more CS to tie a record

Sure looked like Marlon was still in DC to me.

Tonight for the 7th time in AL history there was a natural order cycle (1B,2B,3B,HR) by Texas' Gary Matthews, Jr.

At the risk of breaking rule #1, the winning pitcher for the Dodgers in the aforementioned 1926 game was the immortal Buzz McWeeny.

In fairness to (or to blame) Marlon, both CS were clearly busted hit & run.

If Furcal can play like this for the next two and a half weeks, he's appearing somewhere on my list for MVP.

2nd half agreed. but even 13,000,000.00 Furcal was intimated by Izzy, that says alot about Izzy's glove.

94
Thanks for the update.

nice play

Furcal has been great, I just can't throw Izzy like a sabr guy would. :o) please understand.

The name I was expecting Lyons to say was not "Robin Ventura".

100
My arm is suspect.

101 I agree. How do you confuse Beltre and Ventura?

nice play by our guy Penny.

If you want to go to an extra inning game and CS, Robby Thompson is in a class by himself:
http://retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B06270CIN1986.htm

102

i swear Bob you can hit a Hrun with the best of them. :o)

i'm off tomorrow so expect alot of "things" from me

Condition Orange! Condition Orange!

Erik Bedard has two-hit the Red Sox through 7.

I'm going to the Orioles Red-Sox game tomorrow. It's scheduled to be someone named Lenny Dinardo v. Adam Loewen.

Lenny Dinardo? No, no, you guys, it's DeFazio. But I don't remember them actually getting together.

So with Peavy pitching tonight, does that mean we miss him in LA? Sorry if this has been discussed.

Ho hum, another extra base hit for Furcal...

Watching the Orioles is doing God's work isn't it?

100. The shortstop toss is quite popular in Scotland.

Wouldn't Peavy pitch on Monday?

112 Well, they are free tickets right behind home plate.

But when I got them I really did think seeing the Red Sox would be interesting as opposed to sad and dull.

Ah, yes. It's a four game series. Please disregard my ignorance.

Nats lose; no season sweep.

The Dodgers add to their lead. Obviously it's a triumph of the will!

Minus all the Nazis.

Very often in the first or leading off some other inning, Furcal gets not only on but to scoring position.
Some here must know I was an Izturis loyalist, and griped about Furcal. But he has won me ,and even though he can be crude on defense, in general I value him greatly.

And I can't say how valuable Lofton is. He is clutch with men on base, and if their is noone on base he gets on.

Isn't it great when the line score on mlb.tv is a little ahead of the video and puts a 2 on the board before Nomar gets his hit. Kinda takes the excitement out of it.

118 - new marketing slogan: the Los Angeles Dodgers! Cheaper than the invasion of Poland!

Now the Cubs pitching becomes the Omen.

Peavy was taken out after six innings with a big lead. He threw just 59 pitches.

I want Ethier!

120

Isn't that a long way of saying that Lofton hits the ball a lot?

124 - checking the game chat at Ducksnorts, it doesn't look like an injury.

nice glovework there

127
I didn't think it was. I imagine Bochy just wanted Peavy fresh for Monday.

Seeing that Furcal has hit another homer, I'm reminded that I need to thank Andrew for looking up HRs out of the leadoff spot in prvious seasons. Couldn't do so last night because my work computer is a useless heap of plastic, silicon and tin foil.

Seems like more errors than we saw in a year when Izturis was a Dodger. And allows us to get Penny out of the way!

130
I know some people who would want to use the tin foil to make a hat.

Mets tie it up in the 9th on a pinch single by Delgado that Cabrera got a glove on and then deflected into left field.

Ricky Ledee up as a pinch hitter now.

Much better to line an existing hat with tinfoil, then make a whole new hat with it. Fewer questions, and nearly no staring, that way. Unless you go in to a nice restaurant.

105 - Bob, the box score you posted, notice this inning?
GIANTS 4TH: Melvin singled to center; Uribe singled to center
[Melvin to second]; On a bunt Garrelts singled to second [Melvin
to third, Uribe to second]; Kutcher forced Uribe (center to
third) [Melvin scored, Garrelts to second, Kutcher to first];
line drive and runners waited to see if it was caught;
Garrelts stole third and Kutcher stole second [Garrelts scored
(error by Diaz), Kutcher scored (error by Davis)]; Thompson
singled to center; Thompson was caught stealing second (catcher
to shortstop); Leonard struck out; 3 R, 4 H, 2 E, 0 LOB. Giants
5, Reds 1.

Garrelts as the lead runner in a double steal? Ohhh-kay. And, I love the two errors by the Reds.

132:

Hey, look now - those orbital lasers really are trying to steal my brainwaves.

Let's hope that the Dodgers score at least 2 more runs or none at all.

I knew a tin foil reference would be irresistable.

Looks like Willie Randolph is trying to hide Ledee in the OF, by flopping him depending upon the batter with the other corner outfielder.

139 is that legal? does he have to make a lineup change everytime?

140
Not if you're already in the game. Then you can move around to your heart's content.

However, Randolph only did it once. He didn't move Ledee back to RF when then the RH batter Olivo came up. I think he just forgot to tell Ledee which position to play.

140 Can't the right fielder just be playing way over to the left and vice versa?

Which AAA team will Cesar Izturis play for once his Cubs contract is over? Or will Hendry re-sign him?

Mabry, Izturis, Blanco, Pitcher, Pierre is worse than the 2003 Dodgers.

you learn something everyday. I thought whenever you switch positions it had to be marked by the ump.

144
The ump, I believe, only cares which guy is the pitcher and where the DH is in the lineup.

Catching is Bugs Bunny. First base Bugs Bunny. Second base Bugs Bunny. Third base Bugs Bunny . . .

A couple of weeks ago, there were seven shut out games in the majors on that same day. That was the first time I believe this happened since 1972 or something. I thought that was rare and an anamoly, but tonight, four shutouts in the books already, the Pads could shut out the Reds, the Dodgers could shut out the Cubs and one game has yet to start. I know it's a strech, but strange useless info always interests me.

By the way, I should have prefaced all this by saying I am not overly sure of all the facts with which date the seven shutouts were not the 1972 date. Just random bits I picked up here or there.

Ronnie Cedeno takes Penny to a full count.

This says more about Penny than it does about Cedeno.

Penny's like a cat out there

June 4, 1972

A hairy, angry, obese cat

The shut out games were a one hitter, a two hitter, a three hitter and a seven hitter. The Reds have five hits against the Padres with two outs to go and the Cubs have four hits tonight so far. The Rox-Giants game is a no hitter so far from both pitchers.

And this is not including the perfect game into the seventh inning thrown by Ben Sheets today. All in all a good day for the pitchers.

I guess most cats are hairy, though.

148 That was Jose Reyes. He walks 8-10% of the time, so roughly 8-10% more than every other Cub.

Thanks Bob.. how you made sense of my sentence there befuddles me.

My cat is asleep right now and looks very much unlike Brad Penny.

Here we go again?

156 lucky you

157 To the playoffs?

Beimel has even longer hair than I remember.
Good thing he doesn't play for Steinbrenner.

159 exactly

If you want to see a dangerous cat, check this out:

www.whatjeffkilled.com

a little bloody

According to Baeball Tonight, today was the first time that Sandy Alomar had ever caught Freddy Garcia. Sandy should get all the credit!

Earlier in the thread, someone commented on Drew's propensity to take a walk with runners on. Entering tonight...
Runners on: 222 AB, 43 walks.
Bases empty: 222 AB, 30 walks.

And, WAKE UP, TOMMY!

Jeff seems like a strange name for a cat.

Old friend matchup in Florida
Shawn Green digging in against Matt Herges!

DOINK!
Green gets an HBP.

162 - That cat is an animal!

So Bob, you don't count Gary Mathews cycle or what?

162 Good lord, I didn't know a cat could kill a bunny, let alone had the desire to eat it. That one must have more of that survival instinct in it than pretty much all house cats.

169
I already updated it and thanked Jim Ignatowski who mentioned it in 94.

162 That is disturbing. And not just the gore; it's something about the look in that cat's eyes. I'm not going to sleep tonight.

Should we be saving Penny for Monday as well? What's his pitch count.

But is Tommy Lasorda an Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Baseball?

I gurantee you that Tommy signed that ball "You and the Dodgers are both great!".

And there's Josh!

Marlins are having a bad 11th innings.
Two straight blown games is a killer for them at this juncture of the season.
Looks like its going to be the Phillies, Giants, Padres battling for the WC.

RIP, the Marlins playoff hopes.

162 - that is... uh ... disturbing. Of course, if you follow the Pirate Cat link off to the side, there's a link on that page about taxidermy-ing a mouse. And it's just as gross.

Condition Orange! Condition Orange! Alert! Alert! Cycle Alert!

Stand down.

Alert cancelled.

Stand down.

171 (Monty Python voice) No you didn't.

I can't say it.

162- 7.17.06 almost made me throw up. That is a very disturbing image.

Speaking of dead animals, the osprey killer is warming up in the Cubs bullpen.

182
I'm not following you here.

I thought we were shot of Jose Reyes.

182. Oh… yes he did.

Sorry, pantomime reflex.

184 - Gaaah! Jeff slaughtered that rodent!
Jeff isn't killing these animals for survival. He's killing them because he likes it.

186 I'm just not very smart. You thanked Jim here, in this thread. Not over there. Got it.

(Emily Littella voice) Never mind.

Phillies on the verge of a doubleheader sweep and I'm thinking of dropping the Marlins out of contender status.

Judging from Mark Donohue's most recent post on Bad Altitude, I can say he doesn't care much for Vinny Castilla.

Bad Altitude appears not a big fan of Vinny Castilla, what with calling him "the decrepit reanimated Ghost of Third Base Past" for example.

scary.

Jeff is a baaad dude.

Man, I can hear Jon's wailing all the way out here in South Pasadena as Saito comes in to the game.

See Jon? They needed him tonight.

Ohhh, so now Saito comes in.

Glad they're using Saito here. A 6-run lead is never safe against the Cubs.

So, who here is in hysterics over the reliever of choice?

I am.

Now kids, it is to face the 3-4-5 hitters, after all. You know, like Jacque Jones.

Well in all fairness, he does give us our best chance to win.

Hurrah, us!

Who'd a thunk Nomar would have 17 more RBI at this stage of the season than Kent? I just noticed that at Gameday.

Nice job, Saito.

As much as i pale to say it ..Saito:game over.

Saito 68 innings 40 hits, 90K.

202 - Yeah, but what's the marginal "chance to win" in this situation over say, Hamulack or Hendrickson?

Six shutouts on the night. It's up to the Giants to get #7 as they lead the Rockies 1-0.

There will not be seven shutouts tonight as the Rockies have tied the Giants at 1-1.

208 eeks... even I can't root for that one now. Go Rockies!

209 Well, I'm going to blame Ben Sheets on not getting the shutout.

So tough road trip and everything, we still have the division lead, a 3 game cushion on the Wild Card and only 0.5 games back of the Cards for 2nd in the NL. I'll gladly take it, albeit with a grudging if-only reference to last night's game.

Actually, we're tied with the Cards now.

Looks like Penny is back on track.

207 - In all fairness, Penny hadn't been as sharp before tonight. He hadn't pitched a game this good since August 7. Lowe was on a good trend, and just fell out of it.

But wouldn't that be more reason to use Saito last night?

Oh well. If the Dodgers are in the playoffs, I'd rather Grady make his mistakes in the season and then learn from them.

I think we got a "new" penny tonight. We had had a "bad" penny lately.

216 New Penny? Penny was great early in the year. He just straightened things out to where he was before. At least I hope he did. Peavy-Penny on Monday.

217 I agree and hope so.

Is it just me, or does Penny usually seem just a couple pitches away from disaster, no matter how big a lead?

Not dissing Penny. Just wishing he could pull it together enough to get the max from his potential....IMO he could be as dominating as any pitcher in the game.

Tonight he pitched very well. But the uneasiness didn't go away.

Maybe it's due to his often throwing lots of pitches, not trusting his 95+ mph stuff enough & therefore not challenging hitters enough, not mixing pitches as well as he might, being subject to getting rattled quickly...or ???

A prize of $1.298 to the first comment which says, yeah, it's just me....

It's just you. So, how you gonna get me the money? I'm especially fascinated by the 8/10th of a cent.

219 - You're uneasy because he's been in a slump. But he pretty much pulled it together tonight - he didn't walk a batter or allow an extra-base hit. Pretty max.

But he's inconsistent. That's life.

I wasn't online during the rules discussion regarding shuffling Ledee around the OF. I've always wondered, can you move the pitcher to a position and then bring him back to pitch?

I missed most of the game due to my kid's T-ball practice. I think they committed more than 6 errors.

Regarding Little's decision to use Saito tonight, when he didn't need him, as opposed to last night, when he did need him....aw, never mind...

222. Yes you can move a pitcher to a position and bring him back to pitch. I remember in the late 80's the Mets had done it.

Well that game went exactly like last night's should have.

The Rockies have scored 5 runs in the 5th on 2 hits. Lucky for them, they've also received 6 walks.

make it 7 runs on 3 hits

224. thanks. I'm surprised that it doesn't happen more with loogys and such. I guess if the situation is such that you'd actually consider doing it, it's probably a tight game and too risky to have a pitcher play the outfield. Maybe if Rick Ankiel ever makes it back.

Tommy makes a Tony Jacksonesque appearance on Baseball Tonight.

224
Rule 3.03 Comment: A pitcher may change to another position only once during the same inning; e.g. the pitcher will not be allowed to assume a position other than a pitcher more than once in the same inning. Any player other than a pitcher substituted for an injured player shall be allowed five warm-up throws. (See Rule 8.03 for pitchers.)

220 Saw a price of $1.298 marked on a watermelon once. Was in a hurry, passed on it, later regretted not trying to buy it and see what the grocer would do. Since then I drop the price in at appropriately confusing times.

And, yeah, with the price of watermelons these days, that was a while ago.

So if I'd been able to buy the watermelon, I'd probably have a better answer about how to get you the money.

How about a check drawn on the Bank of Lower Slobbovia?

Aren't you glad you asked?

According to a poster on dodgers.com, there was the new in taiwanese that said his mother told reporters Kuo has been complainign about an arm problem a month ago, and has been pitching through it.

Besides my NO PLEASE NO reaction, I hope he's not really that bad, and if he is, that it is known to the dodger medical staff.

I trust anything said on the dodgers.com message board about as much as I trust my ex-wive.

Okay, I've never been married, but I needed a relevant comparison. Maybe I should've gone with congressman instead?

224 230 The Mets swapped Jesse Orosco and Roger McDowell between pitcher and the outfield in a game in 1986 because both Darryl Strawberry and Ray Knight were ejected, leaving them short one position player. More here:

http://tinyurl.com/eqsdm

that should be ex-wife, even if she's imaginary

Did anyone watch the game on WGN and catch the sight of Tommy Lasorda napping? The guys in the booth enjoyed that - Bob Brenly said you can wake Tommy up by yelling "Jack Clark's up!" which seemed funny at the time. Then they showed Lasorda giving a foul ball to a little kid behind him.

Oh yeah. There was a game tonight (I watched it slightly delayed on Tivo) and, unlike last night, the Dodgers basically played a perfect game. And yeah, Penny has been inconsistent, but tonight he looked about as solid as you can look, toying with the Cubs and in control just about the whole game. I wasn't nervous once.

Now we can exhale.

I wonder if Beimel will be one of ESPN's Web Gems? Probably night quite spectacular enough.

Bob, a link from whatjeffkilled.com that might interest you....

http://www.citikitty.com/

Let us know how it goes....

...and the answer is, no he was not.

Did learn that tonight was the first time in major league history that three home teams were all shut out 9-0. Fascinating.

Okay, back to work. Night all!

There's just one toilet in my house and it's for me.

Marlins imploded tonight.

234. Thanks Travis. I remember that game, I was pretty sure it was McDowell/Orosco - but it was so long ago I wasnt 100%.

Giants once down 8-1, end up losing 9-8 to the Rockies. Bonds looks like a great player once again, but this loss for them is a crusher.

Phils, Padres, Dodgers...top 3 teams will make the playoffs.

Dodgers-
Padres- 1.5
Phillies- 3

Top 2 out of 3 I mean.

I read the tiebreaker rules via a link at an older Griddle post, but I couldn't find what happens if there's a three-way tie for the NL West/Wild Card.

If the Dodgers, Giants, and Padres were to finish tied for first place in the NL West AND the 2nd place team would be guaranteed the Wild Card spot, which two teams play for the division title? Is it based on standard tiebreaking methods?

Also, if there's a three-way tie for first place and the wild card is not a factor among the three teams, how is a division winner determined?

223 - You know what they say about hindsight being 20/20. Looks like the Dodgers tonight mentally flushed last night's debacle down the toilet. A win tomorrow means a 5-5 trip. The big thing is my Dodgers won on my birthday. A 6-0 shutout with the "Good Penny" showing up tonight. Giants Lose and fall to 4 back again. I've got tickets to Saturday night with Bills on the mound.
25 year anniversary of the 1981 WS champs on Saturday night. I went to Game 3 of the WS that year with Fernando gutting out a tough 5-4 complete game. We would never see a pitcher complete that type of game now. He must have thrown 140+ pitches that night.
Ron Cey hitting a 3 run dinger and making that game saving catch on the bunt and doubling the runner off first in the 8th was the hero along with Fernie. Ahh memories.

245. If the Padres, Giants, and Dodgers all tie, then there'd be a 2 game playoff to determine the division winner.

Then there'd be a one game playoff between the two losing teams to decide which one gets the WC.

247 - Let's hope it doesn't come down to that final weekend, we all know how a final weekend at the "hated ones" turns out for the Blue. We have to take advantage of the Pirates and the D'Backs on our next homestand and the Rockies on the Road. If we can go 7-2 in those 3 series and split the Padres, I think we will be all right. Maybe have a 3 game lead with 3 to play at the worst.

Its possible there could be a 3-way tie. If the Dodgers go (9-8), Giants- (13-4), and Padres (11-7), then each team would end up 86-76.

I cant see the Dodgers any worse than 9-8, and the Padres have a realistic shot at 11-7, but the Giants would have to completely own the Rox/Brewers on their upcoming road trip. Like win at least 7 of 8 for there to really be a legit chance of a 3-way tie.

The Phillies also have a legit chance to get to 86-76. I think they have a much better chance than the Giants do.

A 3-way tie for the division would be divided this way:

The three teams would be seeded on the basis of their head-to-head records.

Presently:

Padres - 18-15
Giants - 18-17
Dodgers - 13-17

The Padres would be #1 seed and would get a bye. The Dodgers would play at San Francisco. The winner of that game would host the Padres for the division title.

Sweet, thanks. I assumed there was a seeding system of some kind based on tiebreakers.

From the LA Times:

Closer Takashi Saito wasn't used in the 11-inning game Tuesday and won't be used with the score tied on the road the rest of the season.

"If we were tied in the top of the ninth at home, that's a different story," Little said.

Saito also won't be used for more than one inning because the Dodgers want him available to pitch every day.

The Dodgers are 0-7 in extra inning road games for a reason I guess.

I also remember Whitey Herzog moving Todd Worrell into the outfield a few times in the late 80's so he could come back and pitch if needed - you can see it in his fielding stats here:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/w/worreto01.shtml

To prove that not everyone brain dead manages baseball teams:

Scientists need $1.3 million to buy a piece of tropical forest in Costa Rica. They're hoping to raise it by selling a baseball on eBay. Not just some Babe Ruth memento, but a ball signed by "the four greatest conservationists on Earth."

http://tinyurl.com/fd4hm

RIP Ann Richards.

http://tinyurl.com/gjhyz

223

agreed.

Man, that's a bummer of a way to start the day. I worked for her campaign a little bit in high school. Great lady.

In better news, you always love to hear your stud rookie pitcher say this (quoted in the Times):

"My arm feels unbelievable and there was no pain in my side."

259

who was the pitcher?

Billingsley. I sure hope we don't have another stud rookie pitcher who had an injured side!

I enjoyed this anecdote in today's Times regarding Billingsley's sim-u-start:

Bullpen coach Dan Warthen stood without a mask behind bullpen catcher Rob Flippo to serve as umpire. On the suggestion of pitching coach Rick Honeycutt, Billingsley uncorked the first pitch over Flippo and Warthen's head.

247 "we all know how a final weekend at the "hated ones" turns out for the Blue."
---

We do, indeed. Piazza takes Salomon Torres to the woodshed, right?

Interestingly enough, the Pirates play at the Padres the second to last weekend of the year. So Piazza will have another shot at Torres with the NL West on the line.

263-But that was 93 when the Dodgers were out of it and the Giants were fighting for it and that was at Dodger Stadium. I was more referring to our ill fated year ending trips to SF in 1982 (Joe Morgan) and 1991(Will Clark & Co.) not to mention our heartbreaking playoff losses in the old days of 1951 and 1962.