Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
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1) using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity
2) personally attacking other commenters
3) baiting other commenters
4) arguing for the sake of arguing
5) discussing politics
6) using hyperbole when something less will suffice
7) using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively
8) making the same point over and over again
9) typing "no-hitter" or "perfect game" to describe either in progress
10) being annoyed by the existence of this list
11) commenting under the obvious influence
12) claiming your opinion isn't allowed when it's just being disagreed with
Lowe.
Drew.
Martin.
Anderson.
Beimel.
Saito.
Doing what they need to do.
The Dodgers seem to be having the hardest time of any of the three-to-make-two teams. But they're hanging in there.
Let me add Rafael Furcal and Nomar Garciaparra to the list. Furcal had a hit, a walk, and a good catch of a line drive. Gimpy Garciaparra had two hits and turned the challenging 3-6-3 double play to end the game.
But back to the top. Derek Lowe: 2.08 ERA since August 1.
J.D. Drew, whom so many like to give grief, calmly blasts a game-breaking home run in the seventh. Mr. Passive's September OPS: 1.099.
Russell Martin - he'll rest when the season's dead.
Marlon Anderson - are you kidding me? He officially became folklore-qualified Monday, and just needs the Dodgers to make the playoffs to become folklore elite.
Joe Beimel's season is as shocking as Takashi Saito's. The two have combined for 141 2/3 innings with an ERA of 2.54. Saito, with 99 strikeouts in 74 1/3 innings, has been an artist. A painter and a poet.
This was a gritty victory. This was a third-down conversion in your own territory. You need these.
* * *
Good post on the virtues and vices of the Dodgers' balanced offense at True Blue L.A.
Sweet Lou Johnson!?
I saw Saito strike out Byrnes, switched back to the News Hour, then went back in time to see the Dodgers lining up to walk off the field. That must have been a really fast 9th.
Or maybe I'll be staring at this post ruefully next year while JD sits on the DL.
It didn't help that both offenses were pretty anemic, the only excitement was "inning" from the bottom of the 7th through the top of the 8th. Drew, who may yet give the Dodgers that 20th homer which will mean that only in 1981, did a Dodger not hit at least 20 home runs since 1972.
I'm sure this has been mentioned already but at this point, Marlon has to play ahead of Andre, Andre just looks out of it right now and Marlon is hitting lasers.
I was surprised that Lugo and Loney did not come in the 9th for defense especially since they were not due up in the 9th.
So now I am 12-5 with one more regular season game to attend.
I pulling for the daily double of Bruins/Dodgers tomorrow.
After not appearing in 12 games before the All-Star break, Drew has only not appeared in 3 games since the break.
Marlon Anderson just makes me smile cause his heroics are all so unexpected. Lugo just makes me mad cause his futility is so unexpected. At some point Lugo is going to do something that will make us all forget his previous futility.
The bottom of the seventh was a lot of fun, though -- Marlon Anderson continues to amaze.
I've got to give Grady a lot of credit with how he managed the top of the eighth as well. Very pro-active for him to pull Beimel after getting the second out, and going to Saito without hesitation. That was essentially the ballgame, right there.
The Padres and Phillies HAVE to cool off before the end of the season, right? If we can just hang in there......
Lowe has been money since the beginning of August, no complaints here. A little tired of the Dodgers making pitchers like Chacon, and Vargas look like HOF pitchers like Gibson, Drysdale or Ryan, ect.... The Blue just can't do things the easy way. Oh well, another day tomorrow!! Go Blue! Good night!
Uh, I have some beach front property near Barstow, would you be interested at a good price?
He has, however, passed Bob Meyers.
i heard that too, i think he's got a great future ahead of him.
i read it, nice read.
Stop it. Just mentioning John Barnes makes me all weepy and nostalgic. I didn't want to go to the 1992 USC-UCLA game because I had been battling a bad case of bronchitis. But my mother insisted I go even though UCLA was terrible that year. And what a night it was.
When I called home, wheezing heavily after spending four hours in the damp Pasadena air, I got my dad on the phone and he remarked at how great the game was. And my father HATED football. He likely only watched because my mom did and since she was sick with cancer, he let her control the TV.
Actually, being sick had nothing to do with my mom's control of the TV.
And, as the game progressed, we just kind of looked at each other with this "Uh, what's going on here" look on our faces.
Then, the 90 yared pass with about 2 minutes left, and we absolutely go nuts.
John Barnes, instant #1 folk hero.
Remember the days when UCLA had the stud wide receivers and USC had the undersized DBs? Remember when USC had the incompetent coaches?
I remember those days.
I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now.
There is also the irony of sitting through so many Toledo-coached games and saying "Good Lord, can we please stop with all the gingerbread trickery, stop the triple reverse-wide receiver passes and just play football?"
Now, I would give anything to see one hint of imagination on offense. Off tackle, screen pass, short slant. Repeat.
Unfortunately, the one constant has been the defense...Or lack thereof.
First Reading goal against Man U since...ever.
He's gone into a slump and instead of battling through it, he's hanging his head and whining. Why in the world would you believe, let alone come out in the paper and say what that you don't know if you'll be on the team next year when you are a rookie who hit well over .300 with some power?
Quit crying and earn your way back into the lineup like Marlon earned a spot. And don't say ANYTHING to the press that could be distracting right now. Geez I hope he grows up fast.
I can sort of see why he would think the organization doesn't want him.
This is unprecendented!
i'm sure Ethier will be fine, he puts alot of pressure in him self from what i've read.
Good, but not good enough for a left-fielder on a top tier baseball team. I'd love to dish him when value is high, and leave the corner to a true power hitter.
That's just me.
Bummer.
if he hits around 320 & drives in 100+ RBI's i don't care how many long balls he hits.
My grandmother shot me once...
Once.
well atleast she didn't shoot you were vital organs are located.
If Ethier was a slick fielding centerfielder, I would have no problem with the numbers I think he can put up. Not, however, in LF.
Which, of course, begs the question...Why can't Ethier play CF?
My allegiance is elsewhere, but I usually root for City.
How can you earn your way back into the lineup if you never play?
Bud Selig makes me sick to my stomach.
vr, Xei
I did some fine pretexting to get that tape!
i see shareholders like washington mutual see's shareholders.
hope not, but i hope he proves us wrong, if he does play.
i swear i don't know anything about football, when ever i play a pick up game in the park or were ever i'm always the QB, all i do is throw the ball, rules & such i don't know at all.
The rules of tackle football are fairly complex. The rules of playing football in the park are fairly simple.
My father never could understand football and he lived here all his life. He only understood baseball and basketball. I took him to a World Cup match back in 1994. But it was so hot that day, he didn't get much out of it. And the sunscreen he put on burned his eyes, so he spent some time in the first aid tent.
i feel you're dad.
Of course, the accuracy of spotting the ball along with measuring a first down are real shams because they're all guesses. Is the chain REALLY 10 yards long?
Then there are plays that count for 1, 2, 3, and 6 points. That didn't help. So he just gave up and worked in the yard on Sundays.
Stanford's next two games are on the road: at UCLA and at Notre Dame.
my dad would take me to Dodger games on sundays, i can steel here Jaime Jarrin on his car radio, my dad worked 2 jobs so any day i could spend with him was magical.
that sounded angry Daniel. :o)
Okay, here's what you need to know about football.
Defense:
Lineman are big and strong, and push against the other big and strong guys to stop the quarterback or running back.
The Linebackers are big dumb guys who throw their bodies at whomever has the football.
Defensive Backs cover the wide receivers, and throw a parade every time they prevent a completion. If they get burned for a long play, the pretend they pulled a muscle. Safties are like skinny linebackers.
Offense:
The Quarterback throws the ball to a receiver or tight end (sometimes a running back). When they are sacked, they blame the offensive lineman. When they throw an incompletion, they intimate that the receiver ran the wrong route.
The Offensive Linemen are usually descendants of Eastern European immigrants, and eat a lot. They try to stop the other team's fat guys from getting to the QB or RB.
Wide receivers catch the ball, unless they don't, in which case they throw their hands up for a pass interference flag.
Tight Ends are part fat guy, part receiver.
Running Backs run with the football. Nuff said. Sometimes they catch the ball.
Kickers and Punters kick and punt.
Hope that helps.
sounds pretty simple, fat guys, dumb guys, catch & run got it.
White quarterback
Black running backs and receivers
Samoan linemen
Mexican kicker
Furcal, SS
Lofton, CF
Garciaparra, 1B
Kent, 2B
Drew, RF
Betemit, 3B
Anderson, LF
Martin, C
Penny, P
My friend is a huge Notre Dame honk, and he always talks about when the:
Coach was black
Leprechaun was black
Quarterback was black
Receivers were white
Notre Dame went through 50 years of culture shock in one season.
Tony Gonzalez, Tight End, Kansas City Chiefs.
Mark Sanchez, Quarterback/Alleged assaulter, USC.
ps aren't all football players alledged assaulters. (stereo typing at it's finest)
Lofton, CF
Nomar, 1B
Kent, 2B
Drew, RF
Betemit, 3B
Anderson, LF
Martin, C
Penny,
No Lugo so no problem.
One of the greatest offensive linemen ever was Anthony Muñoz who played for USC and the Cincinnati Bengals.
Since I'm at work, they don't look all that good to me.
It was good to see them have Olson roll out to his right. He had not done that yet this season.
Commitments keep me from making the trip.
Commitments that I hate, and that shall haunt me. At ND...Come on!
Anthony Munoz has the same body frame that my best friend has, stocky the only difference is that Anthony Munoz is probably taller.
I knew having a brother who lived in SW Michigan would come in handy one day.
109 - Lineup should be tweaked just to flip Betemit and Anderson. Haven't seen too many good swings lately from Betemit.
Darn, Phillies keeping the pressure on! Here's hoping a Pirate base coach will get under Peavy's skin tonight. :)
John Shelby is the Pirates first base coach.
He doesn't seem as excitable as Mariano Duncan.
Is there some rule that first base coaches have to be ex-players with no plate discipline?
That is sweet. It would be even sweeter for UCLA to totally crush Notre Dame's season.
TBS
I harbor no illusions about UCLA having a snowball's chance of winning at Notre Dame. UCLA beats good nonconference teams on the road about every 5-10 years.
Good stuff.
That would be a snowball's chance in ...
Phoenix.
Still good though.
Not unless you think Mariano Duncan was Vince Coleman.
Maybe more. Depends on the score.
Stupid fingers.
in Dodger Stadium, i can vividley remember him going after a foul ball & him getting hurt, i'm not sure if he was injured but he was hurt, me & pops were there for that game.
Curtis Granderson has a triple and a home run.
In the first inning.
The Cycle Alert Control Center readies itself.
The kickoffs are shorter this year because they have to use a lower tee.
i hope you keep us posted Bob.
I couldn't remember if that was college or the NFL. I guess it was college.
that's pretty cool, the Cubbies poor version of Babe Ruth.
i don't have MLB.TV sorry Bob, or else i would gladly help.
Craig Monroe grounds out, shortstop Angel Berroa to first baseman Ryan Shealy.
Top 1ST B:1 S:2 O:2
Craig Monroe grounds out, shortstop Angel Berroa to first baseman Ryan Shealy.
Ouch.
My Raiders haven't even outscored them in two games combined.
Ever since, Cal people have fallen in my estimation. Petty? You bet.
I just noticed that the Cubs now have the 2nd best average in the NL. They are dead last in runs. They are also last in OBP.
i hope you have a drink or 2 in my name Bob, Bluebleeder
it's gonna be pretty cool because my old teammate from Jalisco (state champs yes!!) will be there, i'm sure there will be alot of nostelgic talk during our conversation.
i'm being forced to go by the way.
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