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
It wasn't the four-homer night of last week, but it was an incredible night of baseball. The Dodgers, Padres, Cardinals, Phillies and Astros, all fighting for the playoffs, were all involved in see-saw affairs - and for Philadelphia and Houston, it was a see-saw they almost couldn't get off of.
The evening ended in almost flawless fashion for the Dodgers. Washington was doling out hope and frustration in equal amounts, but finally succumbed to Philadelphia in the 14th inning, 8-7 (despite a pinch-hit single by former Dodger minor league pitcher Beltran Perez, the 47th player used in the game). Earlier, however, Albert Pujols hit a three-run, third-deck homer off Cla Meredith in the eighth inning to send San Diego to defeat and allow the Dodgers to move within a game of the Padres, while maintaining a one-game advantage over the Phillies.
With four games remaining, the Dodgers' magic number for clinching a playoff spot is four - to win the NL West, it's six. (Yes, second-place teams can have magic numbers - they just end up being larger than the magic numbers of first-place teams.) St. Louis, meanwhile, holds off the Houston charge for one more day, despite the Astros' 15-inning victory over Pittsburgh in a game that involved 46 players.
It was hardly a flawless night for Dodgers starting pitcher Derek Lowe, who allowed 10 hits and fell behind, 4-1, but he got through six innings in 90 pitches, setting up not only Jonathan Broxton and Takashi Saito to close out the game, but also setting himself up to return for his Sunday start on three days' rest.
It was also great to see Andre Ethier put the bat on the ball in a big situation, with a 1-2 count against him, and ground a clean single into right field to tie the game in the sixth inning. Ethier's triple-happy teammates also got two key blasts from J.D. Drew and Marlon "Merlin" Anderson that lifted the Dodgers toward their comeback victory.
The Dodgers have now won five of their past six games.
* * *
Saito was floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee again. His 22nd save, setting a Dodger rookie record:
vs. Kaz Matsui
0-0 fastball called strike high in zone
0-1 pulled on the ground foul
0-2 way outside
1-2 fouled at plate
1-2 soft fly out to Lofton in left-center
vs. Jeff Baker
0-0 called strike
0-1 slider low, swung on and missed
0-2 slider low, taken
1-2 fastball down the middle, called strike three
vs. Jamey Carroll
0-0 ball
1-0 called strike
1-1 slider looped into center field for single
vs. Jeff Salazar
0-0 inside, swung on and missed
0-1 outside corner, tailing away from lefty, swung on and missed
0-2 just missed the low outside corner, taken
1-2 slider on the hands, fouled toward the Colorado dugout
1-2 fastball, swung on and missed
17 pitches, 13 strikes, four balls
Then we'll know....
And also they are showing Phillies-Marlins on Friday nite, but no Dodger-Giant game.
How can you not show the Dodgers-Giants friday night?
Probably some Yunkee player scratching himself has all of their TV cameras pre-empted.
Phillies vs Marlins are alot more exiting?
755 would have been the respectful way to go.
Like Bonds'll do next year.
One game only though, and tomorrow is a new game. We start anew. You are only as good as the game you are playing on the day when it is this tight.
The right arm of #37 is still costing the Dodgers!
let's hope he changes his mind, or he gets a flat tire. :o)
Vinnie called him another name if i remember correctly no?
my health is fine but my heart beats faster during surtan times during a game.
5 starts
5-0 record
32.2 IP
1.93 ERA
23 Ks
3 BBs
2 HRs
Take care of your cotton, people.
Affiliation change: The Dodgers switched Class A affiliations, leaving Columbus of the South Atlantic League and adding Midland, Mich., in the Midwest League.
thoughts? I dont want to send our pitchers to cold crappy michigan.
whats your point?
39 I thought the whole point of the Dodgers switching their minor league affilates (San Antonio-Jacksonville; San Bernadino-Wilmington/Columbus) was that they wanted a minor league "hub" near Vero Beach. Moving to Michigan kinda goes against that whole deal.
Kershaw and Morris are going to be in Vero by summer time so that doesnt matter :)
I have a load of unfolded laundry in my room right now thats been there since Sunday. Oops.
Shame on you. At the end of the day, all a man has is his folding. Well, and his word.
But folding is really important.
I guess I have to go look at Gameday to figure out how the Dodgers got behind and came back; you guys don't report very well on the previous thread. ;)
The mission was a success.
28 socks went in. 28 socks came out. Not one was left behind. I thought I had lost a sock, but it was left behind in a washer. I came back for it. Like a good commander.
The checkered jersey is clean!
better in what way?
LOL. thats classic.
Top Drawer: Socks and Boxer shorts. Maybe you cram undershirts in there, but I don't recommend it. It's a bit excessive for my taste. Give the undershirts some space...They deserve it.
Middle two drawers. Undershirts and T-shirts.
Lower two drawers. Pants and shorts.
My Jr. Lifeguard diploma is probably at my grandmother's house. She was rather proud of it. I was surprisingly indifferent.
Or is it actually Dr. Bob, PhD in hilarity?
MLIS, UC Berkeley
They look remarkably similar.
"Given at Los Angeles" is small and, seemingly, unimportant.
They also made me buy a UCLA coffee container to carry into the library. I resented that.
They weren't out to make friends with the students. You were just interrupting them from important work. Which likely didn't involve students.
I mean, who doesn't know about the Tartar invasion of Lithuania. Come on!
Wasn't there a movie about that ....
Saving Bob's Clothing That Covers His Privates?
you DID wash more than just socks, didn't you Bob?
Sorry if you guys have been over this a long time ago, but doesn't it kind of bug you when Vin says a player "graduated from the University of California." I'm always like, erm, which one?
Bob does his laundry once every two weeks. I do the same thing, except I never get an even number of socks to come back from the laundromat.
As in, that club that really has Colletti's number when it comes to trades.
82 Whaa???? There's lots of big reasons to dislike the McCourts: Hiring/Firing DePo, Firing Porter, Renovations, etc... The location of the MiLB teams is a really a petty item.
84 - I strongly disagree that this is petty. The Dodgers were the first team to set up spring training in Florida and it is a part of Dodger lore. It isn't like renaming Dodger stadium Disney stadium, but it is annoying and Frank Mccourt is directly responsible for it.
Kim Ng needs to be made the GM ....
(grumble grumble)
Have they even announced that they've put Dodgertown up on the block yet? How did this go from moving a Low-A team to MI because of poor field conditions to razing Dodgertown?
So the Dodgers best take care of business themselves.
And although they have trained in Vero for over 50 years, they have had a minor league club since 1980. They last had a club in the California League in 2000.
Both the Vero Beach and Columbus, had poor atendance, in 2006, they both drew 64,985 while each playing over 60 home games.
To illustrate the lack of draw in the two cities, the Dodgers' rookie league affiliate, Ogden, Utah, drew 134,961 for only 38 home dates,
Eh. Delwyn had his chance to impact a pennant race as rookie and he took advantage of it. Both he and Closser did their jobs. Plus, it looked totally rad.
Sometimes I wear more than one pair of socks during a day.
I believe it is Surprise, AZ that wants us but some other team could move there and we could take their place. Tucson has both a minor league team (Sidewinders- D-Backs AAA) and the spring training facility of Dbacks, White Sox and Rockies.
HIstory/shmistory. It makes no sense to have spring training 3,000 miles away from home. Hisory went out the window in 1958. Time to get over that one.
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