I think I should report to bed. My body is worn out.

1From watching too much college football?

Concert on New Year's Eve. Then staying up at a party. Then getting up early. Then going to the Rose Bowl.

Bob, i figured you took a beating from the "gift exchange" agreement you had with your gf.
vr, Xei

Happy New Year everyone.

What a weird weekend - I celebrated my own birthday today with a nice gathering of friends, and went to a fun stand up comedy show on NYE. I was upset that my Broncos had been upset by the niners and their season was over, then woke up this morning to find out one of their players had been seemingly randomly shot and killed - putting the game, life, everything, in perspective. I'm just blown away by that news and don't even want to think about football for awhile. But it did make me appreciate my friends and just... life.

Here's to a safe, happy 2007 for all of you.

5 I had a pit in my stomach when my dad told me the news this morning. It boggles my mind that someone would fire 12 shots into a limo because people were talking crap to each other.

My curiosity about what Boise State might be able to do in the Fiesta bowl turned out to be quite rewarding.

My ties with Boise State ls limited to jogging through the campus in the evening as part of my trip through the adjacent park and river. There is that underdog thing as well that made it worth rooting for Boise.

From the Boise perspective, could there have ever been a better ending to a football game?

And, it does look like USC could have whipped round- on -the -outside- high- in the -middle State.

Rookies Martin and Ethier got their Freshman year passed them and now the Dodgers could get Loney's Freshman year complete if only they would play Nomar at third.

Otherwise, Loney, Kemp, LaRoche could all be working on their Freshman years at the same time.

7
That was the most rewarding game I've watched in many a year. The last 5 minutes of football was as good as it gets for entertainment in college football. The fleaflicker was my favorite play when we used to mess around on the football field until we realized that we couldn't afford broken bones anymore in our 20's. The last play of the game was the slickest ballhandling I've ever seen when the play decides the game. My wife and I were whooping and hollowing and we couldn't care less about either team. What a game!

I would like to see all of the premimum prospects start over the likes of Gonzo and even Nomar. There are some real problems with putting Nomar at third. He would be a defensive liability and probably hit fewer dingers than Betemit. If the point in moving Nomar to third is to free up playing time for Loney -- it accomplishes that, but at the cost of eliminating an opportunity for another hot prospect, LaRoche.

Re: the Boise game....it was the freakin' most unbeleivable ending to a college football game I have ever seen. It has to be an Instant Classic on ESPN. I have been following them since around 1999...very special team.
I don't think a Hollywood movie could have done a better job than what they pulled off last night...seriously. This is a team that has been a division 1A team since 1996.

Plus the guy who scores the winning points proposes to the head cheerleader. You couldn't sell that as a movie. Too corny.

Keith Law at ESPN states that the Dodgers had 2 of the top 3 signings this year in Wolf and Schmidt. To sum up the offseason for the Dodgers, Law added,

And if you're wondering how the Dodgers could have two of the three best contracts of the offseason but not be named one of the offseason's winners, I have two words for you: Juan Pierre.

Sounds like he's been reading this site, but I don't think you'd have to read this site to understand the argument.

It's interesting that he loves the Wolf signing so much. Since we've gotten Schmidt I've come to see it as a negative since he's both worse than Kuo, there's no guarantee of him being an even functional starter, and even if he is, his upside is limited.

14
I feel the same way. It appears as if he has pretty much been guaranteed a spot in the rotation, despite not really demonstrating that he deserves it. I'm guessing management will be quite hesitant to move him to the bullpen...

I missed the end of the Boise State game since my 1-year woke up right after Oklahoma's 2-point conversion and I had to get him back to sleep, I'm just sick about it. The only thing that will make me feel better is if Nick Saban rejects Alabama's offer today and then Bobby Petrino rejects it a few days later. I really hate Alabama football.

Stupid kids...

17. I blame the chicken pox more than him, but yeah, pretty much.

This is why I'm a big USC fan. The cheerleaders don't wear underwear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EPXqF5mhwQ&eurl=

15 - He's guaranteed a starting spot the same way Tomko was, which means he has to hold it (and stay healthy). It's not a Pierre situation.

20
$8 million is a lot to send to the bullpen. And, as you've observed more than once, the "veterans" are allowed to struggle more than the youngsters. It's too bad that Kuo will be relegated to relief duty.

21 - The veterans are allowed to struggle, but to different degrees. A so-called innings-eater coming off an injury will not be given the same rope as future-Hall-of-Famer Jeff Kent.

In any case, I think it's too early to make some assumptions. For one thing, are we so sure that Brad Penny will be on the roster and healthy in April?

Parenthetically, I've also read that Billingsley might be more likely for relief than Kuo.

22. I certainly hope so with regards to Billingsley going to the bullpen before Kuo. Small sample size issues aside, Billingsley seemed to make the adjustment between the two much better at the major league level than Kuo.

22 I've also read that Billingsley might be more likely for relief than Kuo

I'd really like to see Chad in the rotation, though I'd also like to see Kuo there. Honestly, I'd like to see Schmidt, Penny, Lowe, Wolf, Billingsley, Kuo, Elbert, Miller, and Kershaw in the rotation in the near future, but I need almost two hands to count that high. I guess that's a nice problem to have. (I can repeat the "TINSTAAPP" mantra over and over, but I can never quite bring myself to believe it.)

What about trading Lowe? I like the guy a lot, but that's the point -- the Dodgers could get a lot more for him than for Penny, who is more of a gamble right now for another GM. I'd miss Lowe, but I'd be excited by a rotation of Schmidt, Penny, Wolf, Billingsley and Kuo.

What about trading Lowe?

Ned prefers buying high, and selling low

25 - Schmidt, Penny, Wolf, Billingsley and Kuo

An aging ace, a "headcase" coming off a dismal 2nd half, a major injury comeback (who wasn't that great to begin with), a promising youngster who throws a lot of pitches, and another promising youngster with less than 200 pro innings under his belt. And next in line is either Hendrickson or Tomko.

I'd have to see what we get in return for Lowe to get excited about that rotation. I think Lowe is an important stabilizer in that rotation.

24. What, no Eric Hull, Mark Hendrickson, or DJ Houlton on that list?

Everyone is making the same point -- our rotation is very, very deep (particularly when we recognize that Tomko and Hendrickson are really starters).

What that signals to me is that Ned is going to deal one of those starters. My bet is that it will be Penny. Zito just took the market way up. We ought to get some value for Penny.

28 I don't like pitchers whose last names start with "H". I think it's because of my irrational fear that the Dodgers will go cockney and I'll have to see 'Ull, 'Endrickson, 'Oulton on the back of the unis. If only the McCourts had stuck with the '05-'06 jersey!

29 Our rotation is deep, yes, but three of the nine I mentioned in my list haven't started a single game at the major league level, and not one of them is likely to be ready before late '07 at best. By the time the back end of those nine (those that pan out) is ready, we're likely looking at Lowe and Wolf being FAs and Schmidt/Penny having one year left, if we pick up Penny's option). So while we're deep, we're really only 6 deep with anything-resembling-exciting pitching for now.

Penny has a lot of value with the FA market being what it is, but I'd be hesitant to deal him unless we can get legitimate talent in return. In this case, I think "legitimate talent" probably means a corner outfielder good enough that I won't regret Ethier losing a starting spot/being included in the trade (since Gonzo/Pierre seem to be a lock for now). Since I can't imagine the Pirates dealing Bay, the only name I think fits that's been mentioned here is Rios.

We ought to get some value for Penny.

Penny's greatest value is keeping Tomko and/or Hendrickson as far away from the rotation as possible. Trading him before a viable alternative presents itself is a mistake, IMO.

29 - I agree that Ned probably will trade Penny, but I don't think he should. Unless he somehow got Alex Rios back, there is no trade he will make that will make the team much better. The positions most in need of improvement, CF and LF, are the positions where he signed FAs. Instead, he will probably trade Penny and get back someone who will block Andre E. or will just be another vet who doesn't bring anything to the table (at 3B maybe?).

Penny has value, and not just on the trading block. He is a great #3 or #4, which is what he is on the team. If he leaves then Wolf or Billz (who has never pitched a full season's worth of innings) steps into that role.

31/33 - Not sure I see what everyone else sees in Rios. He seems to be a pretty good young hitter, but his "breakout season" last year produced a .279 eqa. I've also read conflicting reports about his ability to handle centerfield.

Rios is eerily similar to his much-richer outfield mate, Vernon Wells. Just when the media has you convinced Wells is the best young centerfielder in the league, you look to his numbers to support the claim and it just ain't there.

To me, Rios looks like what Jayson Werth was on his way to becoming. Not sure that's worth giving up Penny for at this point in time.

33
We went to Grasshopper the other night, for the first time since right after it opened. It was really good. I had pork dumplings and chicken low mein. The only problem is the "dry clean only" I wore now smells like thai food...

35
Actually, I guess it's not Thai, but rather "Asian fusion"

Another reason to like Greg Maddux, if one were necessary, from a free article in BP (I'm a little torn, on this; I'm a freshly minted subscriber, but they're just giving this away to anybody?), today:

"If we're playing poker, and a flush is supposed to come like one out of 100 hands, and I get a flush in five hands, does that mean it's now one in five? No."

--Maddux, on the beauty of small sample sizes.

http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=5785

Also to be found in the article, Corey Patterson apparently has the same definition of getting on base, a lot, as Colletti does.

Oops, there should be a profanity warning on that link; the David Wells quote gets a little salty, toward the end. But he's talking about Bud. So, I can dig it.

37
I wonder if Maddux ever corrects his agent if/when said agent tries to use small sample sizes to Maddux's financial advantage...

If I am remembering correctly, Tomko started the season doing quite well. Hasn't he been an innings eater as well?

If Penny were traded for say Rios and Tomko replaced Penny in the rotation and did well through May, Ned could perhaps find a sucker for Tomko.

My interest in Rios is mostly in hopes he can play center field and Graneddy lets him do so.

10 There are some real problems with putting Nomar at third. He would be a defensive liability and probably hit fewer dingers than Betemit.

I think Nomar can play third better than Betemit and I am thinking that LaRoche will not pound on the door until mid 2007 or beginning 2008. If Nomar is going to get hurt then the sooner the better for me but I would prefer that he did not get hurt and play a great third base.

As great as the Boise State ending was, if someone made a movie about such a team and wrote a script that ended the way the game ended I would have been disgusted with such an ending.

Only the real can make the unreal unbelievably believable.

Would someone tell me how to make that into a famous quote?

Would someone tell me how to make that into a famous quote?

Well, you can start by dying...

Gold.

"No, 2.000, baby. I got two hits."

--Devil Rays shortstop Julio Lugo, on his batting average after going 2-for-2 on Opening Day. (MLB.com)

35 I had pork dumplings

Why would you do that?

Well, you can start by dying...

Do you recommend the pork dumplings as a first step?

If Hollywood decided to make a movie of the Boise State game they would turn the "unreal unbelievably believable" into a blase syrup which only pathetic adults could bring themselves to swallow without choking.

blase syrup which only pathetic adults could bring themselves to swallow without choking.

Unless served with pork dumplings

I should clarify that the "dumplings" in "pork dumplings" is not like the "dumplings" in "chicken and dumplings." Rather, the "dumplings" in "pork dumplings" is our word for "gyoza," or roughly like "potstickers."

But these were much better than your typical potsticker.

Last one.

"Frankly, that would make us look like buffoons."

--Padres GM Kevin Towers, on the rumor that Jose Lima signed with San Diego

35 - It isn't supposed to be Asian Fusion, the preferred name is "pan-Asian". Asian fusion cannotes things like "Watercress Quesadillas" or "schezwan Pizza." I haven't been there in six months or more, but I talked to my buddy, the manager/bartender, and he said that they have made things even more casual. Do you remember who waited on you? I think I still know everyone there.

45 - What's wrong with Pork Dumplings? I think that pan fried pork dumplings are delicious.

49 - Note, that snark about Asian Fusion was a quote from our chef. My feelings aren't as strong on the subject, though my tastes do tend towards authenticity.

49
I think our waiter's name was "Mike." He seemed to have a noticeable scar through his eyebrow. I drank a "Roaring Red Lion," which was actually orange. It seemed very casual. I think the light-colored wood tables and chairs add to the casual atmosphere. I would prefer darker furniture, but oh well.

a quote from our chef

What do you mean by "our"...?

47 You should serve the gyoza with a hoisin/plum dipping sauce alongside a large quantity of pork-fried rice.

53
This was an appetizer, so no rice. My wife was given a plum sauce with her mu shu duck. I was instructed to make my own sauce from the rice vinegar and soy sauce on the table.

52 - Hmm the possessive is a bit much. The original chef at the restaurant. I worked there, but obviously I didn't own the chef.

Mike, by the way, is one of my better friends at the place. He worked as a grassroots political advocate for Kerry, but was so burnt out in the wake of 2004 that he quit to be a bartender while his girlfriend gets her doctorate at Duke. I love the sort of people

You are right about the decor, it is too casual and the furniture is kind of ugly.

54 - You can take it up a notch with a little syracha sauce.

"No, 2.000, baby. I got two hits."

Apparently, he got his info from the Dodgers' Tampa Bay scout team.

Pork dumplings, or shui mai are one of my favorite things

I worked there

Oh, I hadn't realized that you worked there. I don't recall you mentioning that before. The "our" makes sense in that context.

You can take it up a notch with a little syracha sauce

When it comes to spice, I'm not big on taking it up notches. The lower notches are fine with me.

If you are ever in southern California, go to Din Tai Fung in Arcadia for amazing shui mai

I would be in favor of a trade that involves Penny and Rio simply because it trades from a strength (starting pitching) to address a weakness (outfield, power). An eventual starting outfield of Ethier, Pierre, and Rios would be pretty good. You can't expect to get a proven, top-notch bat for Penny because he has some question marks. Rios likewise has questions (can he continue his performance in the future), and that makes it a pretty even trade.

58 - I like shui mai, but I preferred pan fried dumplings instead of steamed.

Speaking of dumplings, has anyone here seen Oldboy? The protagonist has to eat potstickers 3 meals a day for several years.

They serve ones at DTF that have very thin skins and have soup broth inside. Man, are they good.

63 - The dumplings have soup in them? I have never heard of that. It is like inverted wontons.

Yeah, they are great.

61 - Rios would be just another body competing for playing time in a crowded outfield, along with Pierre, Gonzo, Ethier, Loney, Kemp and Repko (not to mention incumbent starter Marlon Anderson). Outfield may eventually be a need, but it appears that "quantity" will win out over "quality", for this year at least.

Meanwhile, I'm arguing from the position that the rotation isn't as deep as we'd like to believe it is.

66 - If getting Rios meant that Pierre wouldn't play anymore than I would wholehearted back getting him. CF with 500+ SLG and decent (average) OBP don't grow on trees. Here is a list of CF in 2006 he did that:
Carlos Beltran
Vernon Wells
Grady Sizemore
Andruw Jones

67 - If getting Rios meant that Pierre wouldn't play anymore than I would wholehearted back getting him.

Well, me too, but that's not exactly playing fair. Pierre will play. A lot. And so will Gonzo, at least through the All-Star Break.

66 Loney will not be competing for starting time in the OF, more likely 1B if he does really well (with Nomar to third). Kemp will be in AAA for at least half the season. Repko and Anderson are subs. That leaves Gonzo, Ethier, Pierre, and I would much rather sub Rios for Gonzo and slide Ethier to LF. When Kemp is ready, he will either outhit Ethier or become a reserve OF.

66 Through the end of June last year, Rios was having a pretty monster .330/.383/.585 season with 15 HRs. Then, he got that weird staph infection on his leg, missed a month, and only hit 2 HRs in the last two months of the season. I'm high on Rios because I think (hope?) his pre-infection numbers are more indicative of his true ability than his post-infection numbers. I'm pretty sure we don't have an outfielder in the system who can flirt with a 1.000 OPS and hit 30 HRs next year, but if Rios' second half drop can be explained by his injury, Rios could do so.

68 - That is the obvious problem. At the same time, if we got Rios we could hope for a sustained slump that would force Colletti to unload Pierre or/and Gonzo. It would be like surgery to cut out the cancer.

If wishes were horses then we could ride Pierre and Gonzo out of town wild west style. Instead, it is probably best to keep Penny, though I do think Rios is good value for him.

37 Some from your BP link I thought were good---

"Those stats show you a whole lot. But it's like that woman on the beach in a bikini. It shows you a lot, but it doesn't show you everything. I'll never be accused of taking the human element out of it."

--current Dodgers manager Grady Little, on why he won't ever just use stats to make decisions (Boston Globe)

"Celebrating holidays a day late isn't a big deal. For years, we celebrated Valentine's Day on Feb. 15, so Grady could get the candy 50% off."

--Dodgers manager Grady Little's wife, Debi Little (Los Angeles Times)

"The machine was outstanding."

--Marlins' minor league pitching coordinator Wayne Rosenthal, on a pitching machine
that recorded five strikeouts in an intrasquad game (Palm Beach Post)

Those aren't aliases. Those are their actual names."

--Marlins traveling secretary Bill Beck, when asked by a hotel clerk why there were so many aliases for the Marlins.

"That's great. He'll be another year older and fatter."

--an anonymous GM, on Ben Molina's threat to sit out 2006 if he didn't get a $6 million salary (FoxSports.com

"I don't think you deliberately try to get a guy to hit a ball 450 feet and have the wind knock it down."

-- Greg Maddux, on not pitching differently when the wind blows in

"Not one person from the front office has even come up to congratulate me. It's all the little people like you guys. But nobody from higher up. That's a disgrace."

Shea Hillenbrand, on no one from the Blue Jays' front office congratulating him on his adoption of a child. (Toronto Star)

62
Have you seen the Three Extremes? Now those are some interesting dumplings.

Some day, when we're bored, we should all try to stump trainwreck. I get the feeling he's seen every movie ever made.

Watching the re-run of Ford's latest funeral, I'm glad to see Brokaw was able to cram a plug for his books into the speech. I bet he was selling them out of his trunk, in the parking lot.

Some day, when we're bored

meet

Watching the re-run of Ford's latest funeral

All the hoopla about Ford reminds me of a quote from The Unbearable Lightness of Being: "Even in the gallows are illuminated by the glow of nostalgia." I mean the late President all due respect, but it seems like he has been elevated in the hearts and minds of many just by not being any of the Presidents after him. He was a placeholder, but after the debacle of Carter, Reagan, Clinton and Bush the sequel he seems like a political genius.

You are right. There isn't a lot of outfield talent out there worth trading for.

That said, is there anybody who wouldn't trade Penny for Rios and McGowan?

I would even be willing to trade Penny and Ethier for Rios and McGowan.

Earlier, someone suggested getting Lind as part of the package. That one eludes me as we do not need a DH.

74
I just watch the weird movies that most people do not see.

D4P, GSP is injured and out for the next PPV. Also, apparently Liddell had a torn ACL while he fought Tito. Which shows just how much better he is than Tito.

79
Yeah, I saw that. I've been on Sherdog a lot the last few days, what with the big year-end events. I've never posted on the forums. Don't you have to pay or something...?

I still don't understand Cro Cop in the UFC. He'll destroy a few cans, destroy Sylvia, destroy Arlovski, destroy Sylvia in the rematch, destroy Arlovski in the rematch, destroy someone else (Vera?), then what?

I never dare post on those boards. It is nothing but insulting each other.

Cro Cop will move to LHW and fight Chuck. UFC has been specifically mentioning he can fight at 205.

Detorit Lions GM has to be the most secure job in America.

Cro Cop will move to LHW and fight Chuck

I'd be kinda surprised if that happens. On the other hand, there were also rumors of Chuck moving up to HW...

I really hope PRIDE doesn't fall apart. I think it's a superior organization to UFC, but it seems to be having problems.

I just saw a preview for Epic Movie (like Date Movie) and it may be the dumbest thing I have ever seen. It is not even lampooning epic movies from what I saw in the preview.

I have heard that the A's will trade Blanton to the Mets. It is just a matter of time. Right now they want Milledge and a pitcher in return. So negotiations are ongoing.

66 67 We all know that Ned didn't sign Jean Pedro for 5 years, $45 million NOT to play, so we should just be resigned to the fact that he will be "playing" CF for some time to come. (And if he were, by some miracle, traded, doesn't he have the right to demand his free-agency at the end of the season because he was traded in the middle of a multi-year contract? Plus, is there any GM [not named Bavasi] that would trade for Jean Pedro with that contract?)

"He (Ford) was a placeholder, but after the debacle of Carter, Reagan, Clinton and Bush the sequel he seems like a political genius."

Agree on the others, but Reagan?

He won the Cold War without firing a shot, gave us back our respect, endowed us with seven years of uninterrupted economic growth and low inflation. Hard to match that.

You left out George H.W. Bush. He raised taxes after promising not to and failed to take out Saddam when he could have.

Whatever your politics, you have to admire Reagan's sense of humor. During the 1976 GOP primary between Ford and Reagan, Ford said, "I played my football at Michigan State. Reagan played his at Warner Brothers." Reagan responded, "Well, at least I wore a helmet."

I may have started it, but, still, we try to avoid talking politics around here. It's number five on the list (bottom of the right sidebar) of things Jon prefers not to see in the comments here.

87 According to Kissinger this morning, it was Ford that presided over the key decisions that eventually led to the fall of the Soviet Union.

In any case, this is getting close to violating rule #5.

Well, except that Ford went to Michigan, not Michigan State. ;-)

90 At least when Ford played for Michigan, he didn't have to wear that ugly helmet!

Yeah, let's not do this.

quit drinking the rios kool-aid. you have to get used to the idea that pierre will play everyday, and for at least 4 of those 5 years on the deal. i am sure kemp has a much higher ceiling than rios, and looking into my crystal ball says that an 2008-09-10 OF of kemp, pierre, and a big name FA would be the best option of all.

we cant let mccourt off the hook on spending money just because there appears to be some great young talent coming. the odds are that a couple of these kids, loney, laroche, kemp, dewitt, even martin will fall off and be bill ashley, or karim garcia...

OK, back to food...

Marty, may be you were thinking of the Ormsby House? It's been shut down for the last 5 years.

Kool-aid is food.

95 Ketchup is a vegetable.

95- Ah, I see you've played Knifey-Spoony before.

Ketchup is a vegetable.

There's a Paula Hawkins joke in their screaming to be let out, but I don't want to get Rule Fived.

Nice to see you, by the way, Jim.

in there. Geez.

97 Better than "hide the saltine" or "finger or toe"

Some of this stuff is getting perilously close to Rule 5.(DT's I mean)
I'm happy we still have the several high level prospects on board. I would hate to see any go, but if one is traded, say with a pitcher, it better be for a tremendously significnt player. We just don't need any stop gap aged vets at this point! Not even an overpaid .300/25 guy like Vernon Wells.
You might as well try the youngsters. This would be a no-brainer on a small market team. I guess you can't use brains on a rich team--that would be a huge threat to the agents and the MLBPA--sorry.

96 Not to get political, but didn't the Reagan administration officially classify ketchup as a vegetable for school lunch purposes?

Seeing as ketchup has been much discussed on DT recently...

83.
I watched the Pride Shockwave event on NYE. Takinori Gomi looked absolutely phemonenal. I'd like to see him get a shot at BJ Penn again.

Fedor looked good as well against a remarkably game Mark Hunt...there have been rumors of the Emelianenko brothers coming over to UFC.

Wanderlei Silva is fighting in their first ever US event in Feb in Vegas. There's rumors of a "big" opponent for him.

102- Short answer: No. Longer answer: still no, and neither did Newt Gingrich.

[60] i'm actually going to the newly opened beijing location of din tai fung today. i love jiaozi.

I believe Bill Clinton also considered ketchup as a vegetable; that way, when he got back from McDonald's, he could tell Hilary he had a salad with his burger.

Ba-doom-chhhhhh!

103
I would like to see Gomi fight Penn again too. Penn is one of my favorite fighters and I think he can take anyone around his weight.

Real Deal was the first Pride PPV in America.

Tomatoes are fruits so shouldn't ketchup be a fruit?

I believe Din Tai Fung originated in Taiwan, so to see one open in Beijing is very interesting.

there have been rumors of the Emelianenko brothers coming over to UFC

I had heard that about Aleks, but not Fedor.

They have 25 locations, looks like, in China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Indonesia, and Singapore. And Arcadia.

http://www.dintaifung.com.tw/eng/

Ketchup = tomatoe juice thickened with sugar and why is tomatoe spelled with an e and patato is not--Dan Quail wants to know and that's why Chenny tried to shoot him.

104 I'm done with the ketchup after this, but I believe the right answer is yes, the FDA did classify ketchup as a veggie, 9/4/81, along with pickle relish. (In the 90s the Clinton administration got salsa classified as a veggie.)

It's not as simple as it sounds--what ever is? It mostly had to do with FDA bureaucratic bungling, not intent to take food off kids' plates.

So, I pass on the ketchup...

I do not believe that Pierre will be the CF if Kemp, Ethier, and Rios are playing better for the Dodgers. I refuse to believe it.

I think Ned needs to come out with a statement ala Tracy saying that left field is Gonzo's to lose and CF is Pierre's to lose and best of luck to everybody.

I think Pierre will play the first 60 games in CF and then all bets are off.

If Loney and Kemp and Ethier are hitting with some power and average, and ok fine some obs and ops at Vegas and Betemit and Gonzo are doing poorly changes will be made.

114
One can only hope, but I have a feeling Pierre will get all kinds of leverage.

It didn't cut the mustard with Congress. The USDA was told to figure out a way of cutting a billion dollars from the Federal School lunches program. Their advice was not adopted. The money stayed, the great ketchup offensive of '81 was defeated. This is probably just a semantic argument, but it was never official policy, in a sense that means something.

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040716.html

[115] the problem is that if pierre is hitting .290 and stealing bases, he will be likely thought of as "playing well" and doing his job, no matter if, say, his on-base% is .325 and his sb% is 64%

Hee Seop Choi has nothing on ketchup.

Wow, I check in after the holidays and there is still talk of Ketchup/catsup. Amazing.

Has anyone mentioned Rotoworld updating everyone on their 2002 top 100 prospects? Kind of sobering realizing not everyone pans out. Sean Burroughs anyone? :|

http://tinyurl.com/y7692r

(sorry if it's been brought up already..)

Re: 63

I'm almost certain you are referring to the Arcadia branch of a well-known dumpling house in Taipei. In addition to the stuff recommended by Marty, their chicken soup is also very well known. And the dumplings with soup in them (xiaolongbao should be more or less the right romanization) are also excellent--its not so much soup, but really the grease from the pork inside that gets contained within the dumpling wrapper. Who needs chicken fried bacon!

Although I love the food, and in general, miss LA's chinese food, which is simply nonexistent in Annapolis, I have an unfortunate memory of going there for dinner with a girl I had a crush on--I was so subtle and low-key about it that she didn't realize how "date-like" the whole business was until we were at dinner, and then she got around to mentioning that she had a boyfriend. We actually still had a nice time, but I think that made me almost more crestfallen. The odd Dodger connection to this story is that I remember picking her up right after news of "The Trade" (The Loduca/Penny deal) broke on the radio. I was so enamored with the girl that I actually turned off the radio after hearing the most basic terms of the deal, because I knew baseball bored her. Alas, I should have always known that my true loyalty should always be with the Dodgers. =)

WWSH

Betamit was #6 and Mr. Choi was #20, with a note that he would be the NL's top 1B fantasy player..

when i was pretty blitzed in pacific beach this weekend i walked by Olney Drive and I thought of you guys.

Happy New Year!

121 Did the girl leave you shortly thereafter anyway? Despite your sensitivity to her interests? :(

I do not follow Veronica Mars, but I watched tonight's episode and I noticed it is a Just Shoot Me reunion of sorts with Laura San Giacoma and Enrico Colantoni going out. Also, one of my favorite actors, Ken Marino (from the State) is on the show. He plays Vinne Van Lowe. Is he on the show a lot?

Sorry, I skimmed through the long post and missed the part about her already having a boyfriend. My appologies.

125 - Marino is recurring. Laura was on for an arc.

Plashke finally got something right this morning since I agree with him this time. There is no need for a playoff system in college football.

119 Without repeating the subject of your post, thanks for bringing it up again just when it was getting to be a slow drip.

Nick Saban is an idiot.

Thought you all might like to know this little tidbit that I noticed in this morning's paper: actress Danica McKellar turns 32 today.

You can send her a birthday email at this link:
http://www.danicamckellar.com/

...Danica is currently writing a math book for middle school girls called "Math Doesn't Suck" that'll hit the shelves nationwide in August 2007

120 It's lookbacks like this one that give Colletti the ammo he needs to justify signings like Gonzo, Wolf and Nomar. "Yeah, right, Kuo, Loney and Kemp look like sure things now, but remember Nick Neugebauer?"

133 Didn't he get shot? Or was that some other prospect?

"Mucky pit of bones" -- not a phrase I'd realy have expected to see in a headline at cnn.com.

I thought the House was convening today for the first time, but it's not until tomorrow on my day off!

Woo hoo! I can have my fix of legislative housekeeping and see who gets elected to be the House chaplain!

Big Mac's 70th Home Run was hit on a "juiced" baseball according to some study. This should be a big story if it is true. I imagine this would not be good for the game or Bud Selig.

http://tinyurl.com/yfnsnq

137
I'm guessing Big Mac would be happy to shift suspicion from juiced bodies to juiced baseballs. But then again, that might require him to talk about the past...

138 - I don't think he would be happy at all. It is bad enough to be considered a cheater, this would completely destroy the perception of the 1998 season and make his historic achievement look staged.

139
Well,

No Suspicion >>> Suspicion of Juiced Ball >>> Suspicion of Steroid Usage.

At this point, I doubt "No Suspicion" is ever going to be the dominant opinion among baseball fans. "Suspicion of Juiced Ball" might be the best he can hope for.

BTW: The word "suspicion" is looking really weird to me right now

No Suspicion >>> Suspicion of Juiced Ball >>> Suspicion of Steroid Usage.

No Suspicion >>> Suspicion of Juiced Ball >>> Suspicion of Steroid Usage.>>> Suspicion of Juiced Ball combined with Steroid Usage.

It isn't like this will make his PED usage look better.

141
Yeah, I guess you're right.

137 I'm not sure how this report sheds any new light on baseball construction. If you look at the original report that this latest report cites:

http://webusers.npl.uiuc.edu/~a-nathan/pob/baseball-study-report.doc

you'll see that it contains photos of exactly how this rubber ring or "washer" is placed in the ball. The report contains this conclusion:

The differences between the performances of the 2000 ball to recent years (1998 and 1999) are negligible, and the manufacturing process appears to be the same as it was for the past two decades.

The company making the pill, or core, of the ball has been doing it the same way since 1948, using the same suppliers and the same raw materials.

I don't think anything has been done to show that the balls in 1998 were any different from past or subsequent years.

This is really off topic but I think it is one of the best places I know to ask this question of Jon, Bob, and some of you others who have blogs: I want to start a blog (or something) where myself, my friends, and web surfers of similar interest can exchange ideas. Like here, anyone can register and participate. It isn't about baseball so I'm not competing with you. I understand that space can be had for free, but I assume that is a very small amount of space, so I don't mind paying a little something to get an adequate amount of space and freedom from popups etc. I would also like to have the capability to upload pictures and icons or is it avatars? I need to know who to contact for space to start and where to go for easy to use software and instructions, instructions, instructions. Any help appreciated.

144 - Blogger gives you a lot of space. Unless you are doing something pretty drastic then I would just start there. Also, they allow you to post without too much of a grasp on html, basically you only need that if you want more space. That would be my suggestion, plus it is free!

145 I have no concept of how much space I would need. Jon's place here seems to have a lot of space, more than I would need; but if I can incorporate pictures into it, won't that greatly increase space (or bandwidth???) usage?

146 - look at sites like this:
sergioleoneifr.blogspot.com
backtobard.blogspot.com

They post video, pictures, ect and they are fine. Believe me, you will have more than enough space.

If you ever do need hosting, good places are:

http://www.bluehost.com/
http://www.asmallorange.com/

111

I perused the Din Tai Fung website... Looks delicious; too bad they don't have one in the Midwest yet.

However, I watched one of their videos on the making of dumplings. I suppose the wearing of the masks by the servers and preparers is a necessary concession to bird flu (although disconcerting). But they don't wear any type of gloves when they prepare the dumplings. Isn't this just a little backward?

117 Apparently Ned didn't like any of the alternatives in CF, or thought he didn't have any. I think we have to get used to Jean Pedro in CF for three seasons; I can't see McCourt eating more than $18.5 million of that contract (the last two years), nor anyone trading for more of it than that.

148 Blogger,com doesn't host? They just help me frame the site, so to speak?
147 Yeah, I can't need more space than that. OK, I registered at Blogger.com, have a username and password and selected a template. Apparently I need to find a host and transfer the data over, right?

144- I'd start with something free, and, if it doesn't work, go from there. Nothing you've described, yet, would seem to require paying money. Unless you have your heart set on a specific url. I agree with Benaiah, that Blogger (http://www.blogger.com/) is a good place to start. Their help section is probably better than most, in my limited experience. But, if you don't want to be just another Blogger blogger, there's Wordpress (http://www.wordpress.com) which also offers free accounts, that are upgradable. Then there's TypePad (http://www.typepad.com) which offers a thirty day free trial, but you're paying for the service after that. If you insist on giving somebody else your money, there are worse ways to dispose of it.

I'd stay far away from Myspace, Xanga, and LiveJournal, but not because the software is bad. Just because I'm biased against their users. As everybody should be.

Poke around some blogs from each type, and see if any of them have a style that appeals to you (or repels you, the way blogger does, some people). I tend to like the way Wordpress blogs look, but it's a personal preference. Is it going to be a group blog, like Huffington Post or Volokh Conspiracy, or more like here, where Jon's Lionel Richie, and the rest of us are the Commodores?

151- They will host, if you want them to. It's one of the options in the account registration.

151 Yes, they host. I meant, if you ever need hosting that you have to pay for (e.g. you exceed Blogger's limits), those are good places to start.

149 One is supposed to wash one's hands frequently in the food preparation business, but one can't wash one's lungs.

The Chinese side of my family also has its roots in Shanxi and made a similar trek to Taiwan. Perhaps Mr. Yang is even a relative of mine!

151 You can also host pictures here (http://imageshack.us/) for free; they only delete the images if they are unaccessed for over three months.

Fire Juan Pierre is probably available.

152 - Chick-a-down, chick-a-down, chick-a-down-down

Jon Heyman rates the offseason improvements at si.com (http://tinyurl.com/y2a2kh). His take on the Dodgers:

*5. Dodgers. After getting huffy when J.D. Drew did nothing more than exercise a right in his previous contract -- staying for half the money would have been nothing short of idiotic -- they recovered nicely from their mini-tantrum. They enhanced their rotation by taking advantage of Jason Schmidt's well-known requirement to remain on the West Coast, Randy Wolf's generous offer to come home for a year and Nomar Garciaparra's stated interest in staying home. A fading Luis Gonzalez is no Drew, but their pitching and speed makes them the clear NL West favorite.
Improvement: 7 wins.*

Unclear to me how Nomar's stated interests enhance the rotation though. Presumably "speed" is a euphemism for Jean Pedro....

152 To be more politically neutral, should your list be Huffington Post, Volokh Conspiracy (I actually know this guy), Daily KOS?

Lionel Richie!? Somehow, wouldn't Levi Stubbs and the Four Tops be cooler? Or perhaps this is more like Donny and the Osmonds?

159 - So he is saying we will be a 95 win team. Wow. I am going to go on a limb and say that something big will have to change for that to happen. Actually, I will just go further out on a limb and say it won't happen.

Randy Wolf's generous offer to come home for a year

I still can't consider $8 million for a guy coming off serious surgery who threw 56.2 innings last year with an ERA of 5.56 to be some kind of tremendous bargain.

At this point I think it would be simpler to stay with Blogger if they will host. I want a format like this one, where people who are interested can register an account and sign in to add to the discussion. How do I arrange that? I would also need to block some registrants if they prove bothersome; how do I do that? I would like for myself and the other registered participants be able to upload pictures to post from our hard drives; How do we do that? Basically, I guess I'm asking you if all these things are possible at Blogger.com? I assume they will help with the details.

163 - You can have comments on blogger, and you can force people to register with blogger if you would like. What is the concept of your blog?

New post up top.

Not sure what you mean by concept. My thoughts are to make the blog about hunting. What do you mean I can force people to register with Blogger? I mean it to be like it is here, register and sign in before you can post something. Pretty muchSOP isn't it?

166 - No blogger allows comments without signing in. You just post. You can make it so that people have to sign in.

A blog about hunting... no offense but it is going to have to be very loosely about hunting for me to read it. Like hunting for the perfect pair of customized Chuck Taylors or something.

160- Kosdom would be a pretty lofty aspiration for somebody who's just starting, and not a useful model for somebody trying to use an all-in-one blogging solution.

166- With blogger, the registration is through them. I have a blogger account, so, I could post a comment on your blog, if you don't change the default settings. I don't believe there is a way to make commenters register directly with you, but there's a way to prevent any comment from being posted without your approval; it's called moderation. I wouldn't use it, at first (it hurts the flow, and can be a pain in the neck to administer if you get many comments), but if you start having problems with users, then it's available.

If you already know the people you want posting, though, you can arrange to only let them in, the way the guys at FJM (http://firejoemorgan.blogspot.com/) do. That's a blogger, blog.

You think baseball fans are rabid? You should read some of those blogs and bulletin boards about hunting. That's why I specified the ability to kick some people out. Different strokes...

[168} I pretty much know who I'll start out telling about it and I don't expect trouble from them but there will hopefully be a continuing string of new people and odds are some of them will be problems. I will need to be able to ban some, after suitable warning, as Jon does.

Today's rumor is that Seattle wants Penny.

I don't think we'd want any of the Mariners' three young center fielders.

Penny for Ibanez (33 dingers) and Clement (good young catcher to our third stringer) sounds nice.

Surely Ned wouldn't trade for Beltre?

170- Looks like you can delete posts, but not block accounts, individually. You can block all access to reading or commenting save for accounts you authorize. Or you can given your chosen few authorship rights, and only let authors comment, but let everybody read it. But you can't do the exact thing you want, it looks like. Unless I'm missing something.

You can disable the Blogger stock commenting code, and use a third party, like Haloscan. They allow user banning (registration is still through Haloscan, not you), and they allow trackbacks, which are awesome. It's a somewhat advanced operation, but the instructions are fairly clear, to my eyes.

All right:

Penny and Ethier for Ibanez and Clement.

Penny and Hendricksen for Ibanez and Clement.

Ethier: Hendrickson :: Groucho Marx : Larry the Cable Guy

Upon further reflection, I think you might be surprised at how little trouble you'll have with trolls, at least for a while. Getting any kind of audience is more difficult than most beginners guess, and trolls typically find more joy in irritating big groups. I don't know anything about hunting haunts, though, so it could well be that the troll/non-troll ratio is out of whack with my reference points. But even small, psychotically political (or worse) blogs don't usually suffer, much, from trolling. There was a time where I was deeply interested in neo-nazi poetry. I wouldn't like to explain the interest, but I should assert as a point of honor that it wasn't a search for kindred spirits. Anyway, there were actually relatively large, I took it, communities of people saying truly horrendous things, with only occasional interruption from non-nutjobs. People tend to self-select things that don't irritate them. Trolls go looking for things that do, but they don't, as a rule, look very hard.

If there were a blog setup that let me administer electrical shocks to people who irritated me, that'd be a major selling point. But I'm not sure a ban button would be. If I blogged. Which I don't. Good luck, anyway. And post a link here, when you get up and running.