I, for one, will not stand for this kind of behavior

Let the record reflect that it was not I who said something bad about Cardinal fans.

The guy was asleep at the wheel for pete's sake.

How can someone say, "Don't worry about it."

He was so drunk he was passed out. What does he have to do for them to be disappointed in him.

"The guy won us a World Series. ... It took 21 years to get us that World Series. You think we're going to be upset with him because he got a DWI?" said Joseph Dawidouski, a Cardinals season-ticket holder who lives about 10 blocks from Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

"He was asleep at a stoplight, for God sakes. He wasn't hurting anyone. He has long days. The sun gets to you."

Several fans, including Dawidouski, expressed anger that La Russa was arrested.

"I was more appalled by the whole idea of him getting one," Dawidouski said. "They could have let him go. I don't think the cops needed to give him one. Follow him home. Big deal."

wow...just wow

He may be an SOB, but he's our SOB

--Cardinals fans

I don't think they were applauding the fact that he got a DUI and did something really stupid. But I think it was pretty tasteless of the fan(s) who blew it off as if he did something that wasn't a big deal. Until you have someone dear to you who was injured or killed by a drunk driver, and yes alcohol is a depressant, which often makes people sleepy, you really don't feel the anger at what Mr Larussa did. I think the penalty for DUI is way too lenient. It's playing russian roulette with lives. vr, Xei

He's not Leonard Little. He didn't recklessly hurt anyone. He's a figure that, as a Cardinals fan, you have strong history with, either positive or negative. He made a mistake, got in trouble, and you, as a fan at the game, have exactly one way to show that you care about his plight: stand up and applaud. You don't have the ability to kinda halfway stand and clap with one hand while calling out "We're with you, Tony, and hope you get through this, although you need to face up to the fact that what you did is absolutely a NOT OK thing."

It's perhaps unfortunate that the only way to show any sort of support is the same way you show raving appreciation and agreement with an action, but such is the difficulty of a sunburned St Louisan on vacation in Florida when you learn one of "your own" is in a bit of a bind, and you realize his public humiliation may be far worse punishment than he deserves for the offense (not to downplay the severity of driving impaired AT ALL, of course.) What else can you do? What else should you do? Forgiveness and support. That's what you do.

You get booed for sticking with Jason Marquis well past the point of reason. You don't get booed for an out of character mistake that didn't hurt anyone but yourself and is not part of a wider pattern of similar behavior that, left unchecked, eventually will hurt someone.

It's really not out of line to applaud in this case, I think. Not that I speak for all Cardinals fans, of course.

I won't lie; when we were playing the Cards in the 2004 NLDS, and it seemed like every Cardinal homerun was met with a raucous standing ovation and curtain call, I found myself jealous of that Busch Stadium enthusiasm.

I'm glad to see it has less to do with how much they appreciate their ballclub and more to do with their collective stupidity.

Now I can let that jealousy go.

Thanks Tony! Thanks St. Lou!

5 "The sun gets to you." Apparently it causes you to ferment as well.

2 - My hometown is loaded with Cardinal fans, Bob. We'll leave the light on for you.

9 - Every one of us is stupid in his or her own way.

DUI is one of this generation's big sins that, I don't know, 50-60% of people violate. (I know, I get it, YOU don't.) It's a public health problem, it's not the most responsible thing in the world, it's against the law, but it ain't NECESSARILY evil.
Tony LaRussa is still a d-bag (for several other better reasons), but I guess a Cardinal fan would tell you he's their d-bag.

Who here can say that they wouldn't be sleepy after 10 beers? Combine that with the sun, and LaRussa just did what any one of us working class schmoes would have done.

8 - "you, as a fan at the game, have exactly one way to show that you care about his plight: stand up and applaud."

I don't accept this. You can not boo him. You can write him a letter expressing your feelings. You don't have to stand up and cheer.

The difference between him and Leonard Little is, in large part, luck.

11
I have family that lives in a city with a lot of Cardinals fans. Of course, it happens to be St. Louis.

Tony knows he made a mistake. Fans know Tony made a mistake. Tony knows the fans know he made a mistake. But, couldn't the fans just honk their horns and shout encouragement as they drive by Tony wearing an orange vest and picking up trash along side the road?

America...you gotta love it.

Similar thinking had a lot of people "rootin'" for O.J. just because he had been a jock, a hero in "Towering Inferno", and could hurdle over the turnstiles at the airport in the Hertz ads.

So I'm guessing if he shot a guy he would have gotten a parade?

20

or elected vice president

DUI is one of this generation's big sins that, I don't know, 50-60% of people violate.

that high? Where'd ya get the number?

22
63.7% of statistics are made up on the go.

People defend or support the most reprehensible sorts of behavior when its perpetrated by their sports heroes. Its been the case for a long time, and its widespread across the sports landscape. I wouldn't single out the stupidity of St. Louis fans in this case. Not saying they're not stupid, either.

I try hard not to be a part of it. Kobe Bryant was a turning point for me.

21
Not only did Tony get a standing ovation, VP Chenny invited him to go quail hunting.

I didn't or wouldn't suggest that Los Angeles fans wouldn't have done the same thing.

Jody 'Babydol' Gibson: Its one thing to stop at a red light and another thing to sleep through a green one.

I'm of two minds about this particular case. On the one hand, I agree that DUI is terribly dangerous, and that whether or not anyone dies is a matter of luck, and should not affect the punishmnent.

On the other hand, he was apparently just barely above the legal limit, and would have been below in some states. Assuming this has never happened to him before, I'm willing to believe that he had no idea he was impaired - maybe he had his normal 2 beers, and didn't eat enough, or is getting old enough that he that's too much now, or was worn down for some other reason.

So, I'm willing to believe it was a mistake, that had he known he was impaired he would not have gotten behind the wheel. But I still don't think it was appropriate for his fans to send a "don't worry about it" message.

If the government really wants to solve this problem, they should lower the legal limit to .0000. If you've had ANY alcohol, it's illegal to drive for 12 or 24 hours or some such. That way, people will know before they start that they have a choice to drink or drive, but not both. And then make the punishment draconian, whatever the consequences.

Either that, or mandate that a breathalizer be standard equipment on all vehicles, linked to the starter.

26 - My sophomore year of high school, someone called in a bomb threat. This meant we were all sent out to the football field to sit in the bleachers. We didn't know what was going on for a while, so both sides decided to have some competing waves. The principal eventually stopped us for a minute to make an announcement, and informed us we were outside because of a bomb threat. It couldn't have been more than a couple minutes before we were doing the wave again.

That was Richmond, VA, of course, but still, I would suggest that sounds more like something Dodger fans would do. If they're gonna boo Jeff Kent for booting a ground ball in the first inning on opening day last year, then giving someone a standing O for a DUI seems like a stretch.

28. Feeling drowsey enough to eventually fall asleep at a stoplight might have been a clue however. But maybe it was at the stoplight that the clue hit home and he did the right thing and decided to sleep it off instead of continuing to drive.

the word going around is that this is the second time he has fallen asleep at the wheel...

the first time was against the Red Sox in the Series...

29. seems like a stretch Did you mean wave?

It wouldn't even cross my mind to give a standing O to someone who just committed a crime. I wouldn't boo if it was someone on my own team (especially since he was barely over the limit), but it would seem silly to me that applauding was the right thing to do. I agree with the quote that said he's a normal person who makes mistakes, but does society give standing O's to regular people who commit a DUI?

8. "Forgiveness and support. That's what you do." Forgiveness, agreed. Support, agreed--provided steps are taken to be sure there's no repeat.

.."have exactly one way to show that you care about his plight: stand up and applaud..." Definitely NOT agreed. Support, yes. Applaud, out of the question.

"He's not Leonard Little. He didn't recklessly hurt anyone."

Anyone DUI and affected enough to go to sleep also might doze off while moving...creating a very real chance there might have been no difference at all between Tony L. and Leonard L.--.

I still can't help thinking of someone who has had their life impacted by a drunk driver, and how they would have felt sitting in those stands surrounded by the cheering mob. Ug.

Well, apparently, he didn't choose to take a nap - the engine was running and the transmission was in "drive." Fortunately, he had his foot on the brake.

On the other hand (just how many hands do I have, anyway?) I've been at some LOOOOOOOONG stoplights, where I can imagine drifiting off, even stone-cold sober and after a good night's sleep. Nothing grinds my gears like timed lights in the middle of the night.

Tony and everyone else are just lucky the cops came by when they did.

Updates above.

"You can't seriously want to ban alcohol. It tastes great, makes women appear more attractive, and makes a person virtually invulnerable to criticism." --Mayor Quimby

Wait, I'm also reminded of this exchange...

"Duffman wants to party down with the man who sent in 10,000 Duff labels to bring me here today. I've got a bottomless mug of new Duff Extra Cold for, Barney Gumbel!"
The crowd says: "Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!"
Barney: "I can't, I'm the designated driver!"
(Everything stops)
Duffman: Yeah that's swell, Duff wholeheartedly supports the designated driver program. ... Now! Who wants to Party!

"He stated it had been a long day for him," officer John O'Keefe said in a report. "He told me he'd been to dinner with some friends and that he had several glasses of wine at dinner."

http://tinyurl.com/25a3uz

Cheers.

35. It may take being directly affected for some folks to wake up.

My wife's sister was killed by a drunk driver on a Florida beach some years back.

He was a college student--or at least that age--and apparently well monied and connected. His lawyers worked it so he basically had no consequences; in effect, he was beyond the law. He never even apologized.

I didn't even know my wife at the time. But I've seen the great and lasting pain and other lingering effects on her family.

Folks, DUI is not someting to brush off lightly, no matter who you are. Whatever the percentage of people who actually DUI, one thing is certain--100% of those people are doing a very wrong and potentially deadly thing.

40. I agree. I just think it's a dumb system to have an arbitrary limit that's too hard to self-measure. So either make the limit something easy to measure (have you had ANY) or else make it hard NOT to measure (with breathalizers everywhere).

I'm not saying this is true in the LaRussa case, and that quote that Jon just added suggest it is not (several glasses of wine - he should have known), BUT it is possible for people to be above the limit and not know it (the difference between "I don't feel impaired" and "who cares, nothing's going to happen").

24. Kobe Bryant was a turning point for me.

When did Tony LaRussa ever score 60 points in a game?
Like him or not, Kobe is the greatest player in the game!

41 - "BUT it is possible for people to be above the limit and not know it (the difference between "I don't feel impaired" and "who cares, nothing's going to happen"). "

I recognize that. My thing is that I don't think what happened this week encourages people to err on the side of caution. I even get the sense that some found the story of him asleep at the stoplight charming.

I think La Russa should be treated like any human who made a terrible mistake, humanely but reproached and punished for it. People can be respectful and sorry for him, but to applaud him was genuinely too much.

There's still a double standard in this country about alcohol vs. other drugs - if he had pot in his car (even if he hadn't smoked it) he'd be in deep doo-doo (for lack of a better word). But, anyway, at least they did cite and book him for this.

Re: Matt Kemp's contacts. Darnit, and I was just about to go buy those Nike lenses too. I should've known they wouldn't instantly make me a better athlete!

I really really don't like Tony LaRussa. He committed the "Cardianal sin" for managers. He badmouthed his own players and what's more, he did it for profit. A manager doesn't have much to do that is important. What he must do is keep what happens in the clubhouse in the clubhouse.
Other than that, perhaps lead by example.
He's a bum.

40
I agree. It is really easy to make excuses for people who drink and drive because "50-60% of people violate". Who are these people?!

From what I have read this morning, LaRussa acknowledges the mistake (which is really the only thing he can do). It is the few (RESTRAINING SO THAT I DON'T BREAK RULES 2, 4, and 7) people who don't think that this is a big deal that really burns me.

Righteous indignation is not a good color for anyone to wear, but neither is a flippant attitude towards something this serious. If you defend DWI as something that is overblown, talk to me after you have had a member of your family killed.

Anyone have an explanation as to why there's no audio being broadcast of today's game?

I hope that my comments aren't interpreted as righteous indigantion. There's plenty of room to feel compassionate toward athletes that get themselves in trouble. What I don't get is the reflex/compulsion to jump to their defense, especially when its merely a function of rooting for a particular team. Barry Bonds, anyone?

We, as Dodger fans, of course have our own player who has committed this crime, twice. Made me sick when I was in SD last year and head fans right behind the Dodger dugout yelling "D-U-I" at him. At the same time, I wouldn't give him a standing ovation the day he came back.
Compassion, forgiveness, responsibility, accountability. All good things.

Oh Tony, how very BUSCH league.

41 - I have had people I know die in drunk driving accidents, but I have been in cars with drunk drivers since then. Chuck Klosterman wrote in his newest book that if you are sober enough to think: "Should I really be driving home?" Then you are sober enough to drive home. The problem being that the times you definitely shouldn't drive home are the times when you don't even think about it.

I know that most people here can't imagine drunk driving, but for many people it happens a couple times a week and is generally just one more risk they take when they go out. That doesn't make it right, that doesn't mean it should be applauded, but that is the reality. Lowering the bar to 0% would only make for more offenders, because DUIs are a logistical problem, a self inflicted one, but still. I don't know if you guys have scooter services in LA (or in Florida) but they are a cool way to solve the logistical problem of how to get home with your car when you have been drinking (a guy on a scooter picks you up, stick his scooter in the trunk and drives you home).

48
I was about to ask the same thing. Did we have to forfeit because the entire team is injured?

I was wondering about lack of GameDay audio, too. The game is going on, I know that, the Dodgers have already had some baserunners (scoreless so far though).

Sounds like, er, doesn't sound like it's being broadcast/covered by either Dodgers radio or Marlins radio, so that would be the answer right there.

And now it's 2-0 Marlins already as Lowe is off to a bad start. Well, I hope the pitchers are getting all this crud out of their system now while games don't count and saving the quality stuff for the regular season. Because this past week has not been pretty.

Another update to this post above.

Having watched decent people turn into Mr Hyde after a few drinks I'd be okay if we lived in a alcohol free society given all the problems associated with it but that is quite unrealistic at this point. Most of us would never get laid and who would pay for the bad TV shows.

Below are just a few bits of data gathered over at the drunk driving sites. I was surprised to see the fatality rate in the teens as I've always heard that 50,000 people die each year from drunk driving. It seems that around 42,000 die each year from traffic accidents and that 41% are caused by drunk/drugs. This country has a huge driving problem when 42,000 die each year and it isn't just drinking. If any President since I was born took a stand and brought some leadership to the problem it would be the first I ever heard about it.
-------------------------------------
The highest percentage of drivers in fatal crashes who had BAC levels of .08 or higher was for males and drivers ages 21 to 24.
Year Deaths Drunk %
2000 41,945 17,380 41
2001 42,196 17,400 41
2002 43,005 17,524 41
2003 42,643 17,013 40
2004 42,518 16,694 39

Alcohol is closely linked with violence. About 40 percent of all crimes (violent and non-violent) are committed under the influence of alcohol. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1998)

About three in every ten Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some time in their lives. (NHTSA, 2001)

Kuoless

Good time for Xeifrank to head out of town :(

43. I agree completely with you, Jon.

I'm just thinking about how this sort of thing can become less common in the future, and it seems to me that neither standing ovations nor blanket condemnations are the path to a better tomorrow. And here I'm not at all arguing with you.

I'm a firm believer in institutions. Rules affect behavior. It's fine to encourage people to better themselves, but change their incentives, and you'll change their behavior.

Another way would be to keep the current hard-to-gauge standard of .08 or .10, but change the punishment - loss of license and 30 days in jail for a first offense, even if nobody got hurt - and you'll have many fewer people risking that 3rd drink. That's essentially what they've done in parts of Central Europe. The penalties are so harsh that they take the designated driver idea seriously.

I agree with Grady Little. This isn't the 1940s. Kuo may have done irreparable damage to his arm, and worse, made it more likely that we will be subjected long-term to Tomdrickson. The former is bad enough but the latter is criminal.

Billingsley's move to the pen makes more and more sense. Tomko is mediocre to terrible, Hendrickson is worse and now the two shining stars in the five spot both won't start the season in the rotation. Well at least Furcal and Repko getting injured makes room for Bigbie on the roster... sigh.

Ok Im late to the game here, but that LaRussa piece is disgusting. "he didnt hurt anyone..." ??

What the?!
Neither did the Shoe Bomber!

No, in not making a comparison, but.. jeeze....

22. StolenMonkey86
DUI is one of this generation's big sins that, I don't know, 50-60% of people violate.

that high? Where'd ya get the number?

(Sorry, I don't know how to quote things correctly.)

Yes, clearly I was making up stats based on anecdotal evidence and maybe I know more people who drink, but I was referring to not 'getting' a DUI, but people who drink and then drive. Like, say 50-60% of the people at a baseball game, for instance.

Please gimme a break on the puritanical stuff. The conversation about DUI's is completely sanitized now, where it's not funny (or politically correct) anymore, like it was before (WARNING: generalization about the good old days from a 31-year old). This sort of makes a lot of people into bad people for doing something that a lot of people do or have done(I'd say 56.7%, easy).

Should one NEVER do it? I guess so. It's against the law and who's to say what exact effect a relatively low BAC would have on your driving? This is a conversation that we're not really allowed to have (notwithstanding this current conversation).

Somebody I know has recently acquired a DUI (let's say a close family member), and if one says that that person should talk to somebody who has had somebody die in a DUI-related fatality, well, I suppose there's no bridging the gap between those two people.

You know what, though? I'm really pleased that this conversation is so open. A person who perhaps doesn't always act with the best judgment just might question themselves and behave better when allowed to have their views heard. Maybe?

63 I assume the first sentence was sarcasm, Ben? Yeah, I wonder if they are reserving the right to change their mind about that one. Well, it'll be a bit of time before the 5th starter even gets to pitch, so maybe that's part of the thinking there, or that there's still time to decide.

Budweiser owns the Cards, right? Do they repremand LaRussa? Would that make sense?

On the bright side, at least there's an explanation for Kuo's crummy performances other than crumminess.

61 Absolutely. First offense, a very strict penalty, would definitely be the way to go.

Bigbie, after getting a new lease on life as a Dodger (possibly), hasn't shown much today - 4 men LOB, left Betemit at 2nd after a double (from what I can make of the box score anyway).

65 Please gimme a break on the puritanical stuff
Nobody here is being puritanical. Nobody has said "you should never drink". They have said you should never drink and drive a car. The former doesn't put my life in danger, the latter does. Have at a Haitian prostitute while smoking crack and watching porn for all I care. Just don't endanger me. That's not being puritanical.

billingsley= 5th starter. kuo= shoulder therapy.

61 & 69 - I think that few are aware of how damaging a DUI can be to a person's record. The penalties are state by state, but often one can have one's license revoked, be put in jail, and/or face serious professional penalties. That said, with the right connections/attourney, one can avoid punishment regardless of the penalties.

Jeff Passan's spring training road trip takes him to the Dodgers, "team transient":
http://tinyurl.com/2fr4wk

"Even more stunning: Vin Scully, the Dodgers' radio broadcaster in his 58th year, has 17 years more service time than the team's entire 40-man roster, which, even when assigning a year to someone like Delwyn Young – who had five at-bats last season – still adds up to only 41 years."

There should be a way to test drivers for alcohol tolerance. Make it a secondary certification on the license test, like a hazmat sticker. 0.09 isn't something to laugh off, but there are people who, at .09 aren't significantly more dangerous than some other people while cold sober. It's how I'd deal with cell phones, too, since there are people who can handle them, and there are people who can't. Plus, if they charged a little extra money for the thing, some people would just stop drinking and driving altogether, rather than paying for the privilege.

74 Yeah, that's wrong. If we're assigning a year to anyone with any experience, that's 32 years right there. If you add in Jeff Kent alone, that's over 41.

65 - This was the part that was a little confusing to me.

"The conversation about DUI's is completely sanitized now, where it's not funny (or politically correct) anymore, like it was before (WARNING: generalization about the good old days from a 31-year old). "

I'm 39, and I'm not sure what good ol' days you speak of where DUI conversations were funny.

I'm sure I've driven under the influence before - moreover, when I was underage. That doesn't make it right, much less funny.

"What exact effect a relatively low BAC would have on your driving?" Everything's relative. But I certainly think it's better to be safe, and I have a feeling many people underestimate the risks.

I also know you don't mean your numbers in a hard-and-fast way, but 50-60% of the people at a ballgame don't even drink, and many of those who do don't get behind the wheel afterward. Of course, there are too many drunk drivers at a baseball game, but do you want us to be consoled by that fact?

Finally, I'm not entirely sure whether I'm discerning sarcasm in the right places, but disagreeing with someone is not shutting them out of the conversation. I'm not trying to pile on to you. But unless I'm misreading your post, you sort of give off the impression that you think criticizing drunk driving - or at least asking people not to applaud drunk drivers - is somehow worse than actually doing the drunk driving.

76 Yeah, I didn't quite get the math there, either, but I suppose the overall point still stands - that the roster has been overhauled since 2-3 years ago, more even than most teams, though as Passan writes, it's much more the norm these days.

During some down time on jury duty a few weeks ago, I sat in on drunk driving court -- it was just a series of first time offenders, repeaters, folks in for status checks.

First timers got community service, probation, and three or four hundred dollar fines, all the repeaters got some jail -- although they were generally allowed to serve it broken up on weekends so they could keep their jobs (5 - 30 days), the probation people who had screwed up one of their conditions got longer jail in each case (3 to 6 months).

But what fascinated me was the judge. Clearly, he felt like the punishments available to him were not sufficient to change people's behavior. So every single person got a long, impassioned, often quite angry, dressing down. Over and over he laid into these folks, generally demanding that they imagine how they would feel standing over the dead body of a child, facing the parents, telling their own family and friends what they had done. He made one person tell him what she would say to widow left to raise children on her own if she had just killed the woman's husband.

It was very intense. Not really offering an opinion if it was good or bad, or if he really had the right to put folks through all that as part of their plea process, but it was something to see.

It appears the Dodgers have now taken the lead, with 3 runs, including RBI from Bigbie. Betemit is swinging the bat well.

I'm not a LaRussa fan and I certainly don't support giving a guy who just got arrested for a DUI an ovation of any kind, let alone a standing ovation, but I think it's a little simplistic to summarily condemn every person who gets behind the wheel with an elevated BAC level. Lowering the legal limit from .10 to .08 was largely done to act as a deterrent to drinking and driving in general, and not as a way to save lives by arresting slightly drunk drivers. Statistics strongly show that your likelihood of causing a crash rises exponentially as you pass the .10 level and get toward .20 BAC. For instance, Leonard Little was just under a .20 when he caused the crash that killed a woman. The notion that the difference between LaRussa (.09)and Little (.20) was largely luck is really not the reality of the situation. As a website that enjoys and understands statistics, people here should realize the significance of that more than most.

Again, I am not advocating drinking and driving, and I am not advocating what LaRussa did since he was obviously impaired considering he fell asleep at a traffic light. But whenever something like this happens you have a troop of people ready to march to city hall and demand that the BAC level be lowered to zero. The reality, which is borne out by the statistics, is that driving while distracted or impaired in any fashion is undesirable. When it comes to drunk driving, the degree of infraction means everything - once you've crossed that .10 threshold than you have increased your risk as a driver but the the menace you pose to society skyrockets statistically as one's BAC level rises toward .20. If you want to ban driving with any amount of alcohol in your system than you would have to also support banning anything that is distracting to a driver, which would lead to absurd prohibitions such as no radio's in cars (you have to change the dials at some point), no conversations with passengers (proven to be distracting), no eating while driving, no cell phones (hands free or otherwise), etc. etc.

80 The box score also shows that Lowe has 3 K's and a double. Excellent.

81 - That's fair.

65--Nobody here is being puritanical.

I beg to differ. People do things all the time that they think are OK, in their best conscience, that others disagree with. We're discussing DUI, but maybe driving while sleepy or while distracted? Are those things NECESSARILY right or wrong?

Puritanical is perhaps not the right word, but my main point is that people find this particular sin to be unexcusable, and I don't think that it's fair. Of course, you're allowed to say you don't care what I think, but I am trying to consider what others are saying, but a few comments strike me as very harsh and condemning. I do not wish censoring on anyone.

I find it very interesting that of my whole post, the issue was taken with the labeling or "puritanical". Greg S, you said that the issue is people should not ever drink and drive. This strikes me as puritanical, exactly. Why put a 0.08% number on it, then? I think it is a bit anti-intellectual to condemn people based on proscribed limits.

Does it REALLY put your life in danger? Is that REALLY the point? At the end of the day, if a guy doesn't think, in their heart of hearts, that they are impaired, and they drive, is it REALLY putting people's lives in danger?

Just askin'.

Listen, anyone who listens to me, and decides to drive after 5 whiskey shots in an hour despite the utter lack of possibility that they are not impaired, is stupid and is going to do something dumb anywayz.

Thank you thank you thank you for the open conversation, Mr. Weisman. It's got my blood pumping.

See ya, going to work. (Sober, as always.)

I've got nothing in me but LSD, love for my son and daughter.

Look at Jonny6 being all succinct. You can just read his post instead of my last one.

79 - A guy at my dad's job got vehicular manslaughter for the death of a police captain's mother on Christmas Eve. The guy was in his early 20's, got a little drunk at the Office Christmas party and basically lost his life as a result of that one decision (good luck getting a job with that on your record), not to mention literally costing someone else their life. There are very real risks to drinking and driving, obviously. However, I don't think that having a beer or two and driving home is immoral or even questionable. It is legal and perfectly within your rights. Part of the lives of many, many adults is going to a social function and having a few drinks before driving home.

re 85
After a few months on hiatus from DT, I wanted to jump back in with a contrarian splash.
:)

76 I haven't done the math, but it seems Passan is talking about major league service time with the Dodgers, while you are referring to total service time in the majors.

9)

I would much rather have the enthusiasm and baseball knowledge of the St Louis fans than some of the stupidity I see at Dodger Stadium.

I am not happy with their response, but I will still defend them as a great sports town.

84 - Does it REALLY put your life in danger? Is that REALLY the point? At the end of the day, if a guy doesn't think, in their heart of hearts, that they are impaired, and they drive, is it REALLY putting people's lives in danger?

1) Yes.

2) Yes.

3) If they really are impaired? Yes.

Look - you put people's lives in danger when you get behind the wheel sober - but - and I think this is one of the key differences between what Jonny 6 is saying and what you are saying - every little bit of alcohol in your system increases the risk exponentially, and therefore, relevantly.

But again, I think you've been positioning yourself as a false martyr. Has anyone said they don't care what you think? People are reading what you are saying, and disagreeing, not saying you're not allowed to have a point of view.

84. Does it REALLY put your life in danger? Is that REALLY the point?

Yes and yes.
Driving a car is not a God given right. It's licensed by the state and it's one of the few things that should be. It is inherently a very dangerous thing to do but the benefits outweigh the danger. Drinking is fine. But you don't get to do it when you are getting into a state licensesd giant metal object going 60 MPH. It's just too dangerous. And I will have a problem with anybody who does so and you should not excuse it as just one of those things that people do.
Notice how many people here know somebody who died because of it? I'd care to bet that nobody here knows anybody who's been killed by terrorists but it's certainly ok to get worked up over that.

90/91- should have hit the refresh. At lease we have the same answers on the test. I wasn't cheating, I swear!

Steve Henson writes that Tony Abreu will be in the lineup at shortstop tomorrow.

91 - Greg S, you are kind of mixing things up though. The things people worry about (terrorism, SARS, avian flu) are generally not what kills you (heart disease, cancer). Drunk driving kills 17,000-18,000 a year, domestic terrorism has killed less than 3,000 since 2000 and less than 1,000 (500?, 200?) in the decade prior to that. Yet we spend a huge proportion of our budget on terrorism and a minute amount on anything related to drunk driving. That is the way the human psyche works.

8, 35 Fair enough regarding the ways to show support. It's just hard to convey nuance from the stands, though. It's either applaud, do nothing, or boo. It goes to each individual's personal view of forgiveness, support, etc, as to what they feel is appropriate.

I guess I see an isolated incident of having too much wine at dinner as different in kind from a consistently reckless approach to partying and driving, and that the difference between LaRussa and Little is much more than LaRussa lucking out that he didn't hit anyone. Maybe the two mistakes are not all that different, and I need to further examine my thoughts on this matter. Also maybe, since I don't know either man personally, I'm allowing my own biases to cloud my perceptions of the two men. I'm open to the possibility that I'm not infallible. But, none of that matters as none of these things are really the point here.

The point is that the people in Florida giving the ovation didn't have time to consider the subtle angles on the issue. They are likely far away from home, on a happy sunny vacation while their neighbors back north deal with snowfall, enjoying the excitement of beginning a season as defending World Champions, dealing with the kids running around tracking sand into the motel room, and, upon seeing that someone they root for is besieged, with no harm actually being committed, it's an easy play to stick with the spirit of positivity and applaud. I don't know that that's such a terrible thing or deserves scorn or outrage or proves an entire fanbase is stupid (the fact that the Busch Stadium Hardees does a brisk business is evidence aplenty that the St Louis fanbase is not all there...one doesn't need to invent reasons!) That's all.

Anyway, it's not my intent to draw this out or be argumentative. I'm not really a commenter kinda guy. So away I go back to my logged out status.

I usually like Jon's writing here and, even though I'm not a Dodger fan, this site is often part of my normal baseball reading, but this post seemed a bit more negative than necessary, and it hit pretty close to home for me, and I was drawn in. It happens I guess.

Here's to a Dodger-Cardinal NLCS! Pujols vs Broxton for the pennant!

Game on!

94- That was my exact point. Sorry if I didn't make it clearly.

95 - I understand, but do note that I never singled out Cardinals fans as if they would be the only ones who would act this way. I referred to baseball fans.

(95 I meant to reply to 15, 35.)

5-2 Dodgers now, Lowe ended up pitching a good game (almost 6 ip, 2 er) and then had that double, too. Nice to see the offense wake up a little bit at least, even if it is ST.

Jonny6 is my new Dzzrat. Excellent post, I tried to write something like that but gave up because my thought processes are impaired.

No one should decide whether to drive based on whether or not they feel impaired, but only on the amount they've had to drink. If you know you're going to drive, then you have no more than two drinks over the course of an evening.

Yes, body size and weight matter. If you want to do the math and figure out in advance how much you can allow yourself to drink, then be my guest. Otherwise, the two-drink limit is generally safe - and shouldn't safety be the priority, rather than drinking?

93 Is it possible that we could find Abreu playing shortstop in L.A. if Furcal is down for any significant period of time, now or in the season? Is that too much to hope for? I'd much prefer to see Abreu there than the likes of Martinez or Valdes. And wouldn't that be something if, for all we hear about Loney, La Roche, and Kemp, Abreu is the one who imbeds himself in the lineup first. Here's hoping our #5 prospect gets a good shot and his spring training performance has not been a delusion. Of course, I'd prefer to have Furcal back as quickly as possible, but seeing Abreu in the majors would provide some silver lining.

63, 72 At this point, I assume Billingsley is in the pen only in order to keep his innings down. Just because he starts the season in the pen doesn't me he isn't our fifth starter. My prediction: as soon as Billingsley has spent enough time in the pen to keep his innings down, he will spend a brief period in AAA building his endurance up for starting (and perhaps keeping down his major league service time -- no reason to make him a free agent a year earlier than necessary). Then we'll see Billingsley replace probably Tomko in the rotation (I don't see Hendrickson making it, and Tomko for some reason seems to be a favorite of Little and Colletti).

Kemp!

So... I guess he will blame it all on the contacts now.

That's the ol' pepper, Kemp.

Yeah, I guess I should wait to find out what kind of contacts he got to replace the old ones, and then I'll get those. I'll be scoring goals in soccer in no time!

Anyway, good to see some power from him.

106 Sounds like there's no school in Borneo Monday.

Anyone know of an open slot in a roto league? Pls email me at my username @gmail.com. Thx

107 - That is one of the greatest home run calls I have ever read about.

107 - Dang, I was saving that :)

101 Why do the math in advance? Memorize the formula and calculate it twice. If you can't remember it, come up with too high of a value, or different values on your calcs, call a cab.

No calculators, please, it defeats the point.

grady little makes jon heyman's under the radar team as manager and lowe makes it as starting pitcher.

I wonder what the red sox fans will say about this on primer...

I like this end the game with 3 no-hit innings thing.

with tomdrickson pretending to be pitchers, billingsley just goes about his business doing what a real pitcher is suppose to do.

so with the MRI revealing shoulder inflammation...whats the recovery time table for that?

115 The official timetable or the real one?

115

the optimistic one :)

What La Russa did was a combination of age and experience. I'm sure that if he was 20 years younger he wouldn't have fallen asleep. But because of his age and experience he knew to keep his foot on the brake...

Age and experience, however, has a tough time communicating with one who has had too much to drink.

118 - Knew to keep his foot on the brake seems a bit generous. He did keep his foot on the brake, but I doubt that as he was drifting off he thought: "I'll just take a nap at the stop light and wake up when it turns green- just in case, I'll make sure to keep my foot on the brake."

I'm sure this has been discussed to death in prior threads, but here's what I don't get -

1. Starting shortstop gets hurt
2. Possible future HOF shortstop is playing first
3. Best bench player is a first baseman

I certainly can buy that Nomar aint the shortstop he used to be, and I can also accept that the wear and tear over a season would be too much. But doesn't Nomar to short, Loney to first, at least for a couple weeks, make more sense than Lucille II off the bench?

110 Yeah, I probably shouldn't waste it on spring training games, but I'm sure that phrase will be used a lot this year.

119 I detect a dash of sarcasm in 118. Could be a false alarm, though.

On paper, yes. People theorize that Garciaparra will get hurt more quickly at shortstop. I don't know if that's true.

Kim Ng is going to be profiled on The Today Show? (ITD).

And I love that a Make-A-Wish kid asked to come to Dodgertown to meet . . . not Nomar, not any player, but Vin Scully.

Its true that shortstops on my slow pitch softball teams are getting hurt all the time. They also, as a matter of course, don't tell me about lingering injuries their bringing out onto the field when I'm managing. On the other hand, playing shortstop in the majors, you don't generally worry about gopher holes, mud, or high sprinkler heads.

125 their = they're, of course.

Also forgot to mention the primary hazards of playing softball in Hollywood - random people wandering across the field.

Wait, I missed it - what home run call used the Borneo phrase? Was that on one of Mike Shannon's drunken benders?

127 - https://dodgerthoughts.baseballtoaster.com/archives/585690.html

Ah, thanks. I missed that day in class.

Should've known Ken Levine would be connected to that.

Btw, the Braves and Royals just made a small trade, one of those late in Spring Training/Out of Options trades will see a few more of over the next week or so I'm sure.
http://tinyurl.com/25fo5h

On the other hand, playing shortstop in the majors, you don't generally worry about gopher holes, mud, or high sprinkler heads.

Reminds me of High School. Before each game the team swept across the infield and tossed the larger rocks into the river, but that's what you get when you play in a converted cow pasture.

On the last of the great family car trips (tm) in 1986, we took in community softball night game in a small town in southern Utah. It was an absolutely iconic american scene. Until the sprinklers came on.

124 Where do you find this stuff?

Any word on what kind of pitch Kemp hit out?

The Mets have apparently signed Fernando Tatis to a minor league contract. Why would he want to be a Mets minor leaguer vs. trying out for a team with room? Oh well, ta-ta Tatis.

134
The balance of power in the NL shifts again.

135 Indeed. Although I sarcastically said that when they signed Valentin, and he ended up making a major contribution to them. Probably n ot the same odds here though. Maybe they should sign Jacques Tatis while they're at it.

First, re drinking and driving. Forget trying to measure sobriety. This is especiall tough to do when you've consumed alcohol. I have two college-age kids. I advise them strongly not to drive if they have ANY alcohol in their systems, even a tincture. I follow this advice, too. That way, you can always tell an officer who stops you, "I have not had ANYTHING to drink." If you admit to drinking even a couple of drinks, you are liable to be hauled out of the car and tested. Consuming alcohol impairs judgment and reflexes. It ruins lives, reputations, and careers. It is just not worth it. If you want to drink, have a non-drinker drive you.

Re Kuo: I had a feeling that he might have an arm problem. His numbers have been extraordinarily bad, all of a sudden. I am surprised, given his injury/surgery history, that the coaching staff did not suspect a shoulder problem. They were negligent.

Finally -- given the dismal performances of Hendrickson, Tomko (last time out at least), and Kuo -- I am shocked that Little relegated Bills to the bullpen prematurely.

137 - Hendrickson's numbers look good enough to be decent trade bait - 17 hits in 16.2 IP, with a 13:3 K:BB ratio.

138 If things keep going south we might have to keep him..

Has anyone else seen the Top Prospects list at ScoutingBook.com? They rank Loney in the 60's, and they have this comment: "When someone is called a 'pure hitter' over and over again, it usually means something, and in Loney's case it means he can't field worth a lick." They also say Kershaw, who ranked just ahead of Loney, projects as "medium relief." I think I am only more outraged by the comment about Loney than I am about the one about Kershaw because right now, for 2007, Billingsley too projects a "medium relief." Ugh.

115-

so with the MRI revealing shoulder inflammation...whats the recovery time table for that?

Having pitched in college I can say this: It means "we don't know". Shoulder inflammation is one of those weird things where nothing is structurally wrong, but your arm just hurts. For some guys it goes away in a day or two, for other guys it's two months...it's pretty much the definition of "wait and see".

140
Maybe they should change the Scouting part of their name.

Do they project Hendrickson as "Cy Young Award winner?"

Hey DTers, It's Jake from DRays Bay and I'd like to expound on the Edwin Jackson thing.

It's true that E-Jax is in the running for the 5th rotation spot, hell I've had him slotted there since September, but the best thing about this is....He's going to be in the pitching staff, anyways. If he takes the 5th spot, Howell goes to AAA and gets the 4th spot in a loaded Durham Rotation(Niemann, Talbot, Sonnanstine). If Howell takes it, Edwin gets moved into the bullpen as the long reliever/spot starter.

If you're wondering about our crowded OF, which may land Jonny Gomes in AAA, Dukes and Upton will both start the season in the majors unless the organization's mind changes. All this means is that Dukes and Upton may be auditioning for trades or possible futures with the Rays(I kinda like Upton being used in the "Chone Figgins" mold(minus the fractured finger)). No idea, though, on what it'd take to get Dukes or Upton off our hands. Also, Jorge Cantu is being shopped around(due to Upton's surprisingly solid play at 2B in ST).

Enjoy your night, everyone.
-Jake

140. That's weird. Whenever I see "pure hitter" I interpret that to mean "lots of line drives and good BA, but not much power." Which is pretty accurate for Loney.

145 - Sounds like they're talking about the term "professional hitter". Matt Stairs, Olmedo Saenz, etc (ie "fat guys"). Almost the exact opposite of guys like Loney.

Perhaps ScoutingBook.com is evaluating the alternative universe Dodgers, where Kershaw and Billingsley project as "medium relief," Loney can't field, Hendrickson wins the Cy Young, Martinez can actually hit, Tomko leads the league in saves, Pierre is a good leadoff hitter, La Roche has a bad attitude, Kemp can't hit a major league breaking ball, and Gonzo still has 40 homerun power.

Hmmm. Perhaps Colletti needs to quit reading the scouting reports from the alternative universe.

Did I mention that the Royals are going to win the World Series?

144
I want those players! Give us some of your good players for once!

Here's my last post on the drinking and driving issue, and then I'll let people get back to baseball.

I don't have a problem with people heaping scorn and condemnation on people who drive drunk, but I do have a problem with our society's hypocritical approach to people driving impaired. Common sense tells me, and statistics back me up, that a person driving after having one drink too many (say a .08 BAC)is no more of a risk than a person driving around having a heated cell phone conversation. However, how society judges those actions is completely different. The person that causes a crash while chatting away on their phone made a bad driving decision, and had a lapse in judgment. But the person that causes a crash after one drink too many not only made a bad decision and lacked judgment, they have a moral problem and are immediately branded as lacking any character or ethics. The reality is that we can predict ahead of time that both drivers are equally dangerous, and therefore equally culpable.

The LA Times had an article a few weeks ago about teenagers text messaging each other while driving. The tone of the article was slightly concerned, but it still ended with a shrug and the message that kids will be kids. Statistically, the slightly alcohol impaired driver is less of a risk than a teenager driving around while texting. But when that kid hits someone while driving and sending a text message, society doesn't unleash a torrent of moral platitudes about their general worthlessness even though the outcome was just as easily predicted as someone who's been drinking and driving. Whenever alcohol gets added into the equation, an entire level of morality is thrown into the mix and people have a hard time analyzing the situation objectively. Frankly, if the statistics show that people driving while talking on their phone are as much as a risk as a slightly over the limit driver, which they do, than we should have equal contempt for both. But society saves it's contempt for the drinker and ignores the cell phone user.

Please, do not interpret this as a justification of drinking and driving. But unlike many have suggested here, this is not an either/or or black and white issue. The more you drink the more you risk harming others, and as you cross the legal threshold that risk rises exponentially. That's indisputable. And people who drive drunk certainly deserve punishment, but there are a lot of impaired drivers out there who have never had a drink. They can ruin other people's lives just as easily as the guy who had one too many beers on his way home from work.

149
No doubt. I think the issue is that it seems Cardinals fans have their priorities out of whack. The guy won a championship so now he is a Saint to them. Common sense flies out the window.

140 Are they even talking about the right guy? They claim that the Dodgers might bring him up this year.

It's funny that all the other publications he lists have him between 16 and 34 on their lists, yet he has him at 62 after giving him a bump. What a quack.

Heh, on that same site they have Mays as 3rd in line for the closer role. It's obviously a mistake since he talks about Broxton in the notes, but I still got a kick out of it.

Ugh, then in LaRoche's notes he says to beware because "3rd base is not a great place to hide a weak shoulder". Someone tell this guy it was his NON-throwing shoulder.

Headed to China for three weeks. Good luck to the boys in blue. Hope they do well the first two weeks of the season, while I am gone. Not sure if I will be able to check in on the happenings in the sports world while I am gone. Hope Guo can get healthy and be a factor in the rotation later. Hope UCLA and USC keep on winning too. Will be in Beijing and Handan. 13 hour flight, here I come! :(
Zai jian
vr, Xei

Their list is for fantasy purposes. That is probably why it is so terrible. I cannot believe they even entertain the idea of Kershaw getting to the majors this year.

So if it's all about the degree of impairment, does that mean driving while high on pot should be legal?

http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/MISC/driving/driving2.htm

The above study (and others like it) basically found that people who drive while high on pot are driving just as safely as sober drivers. This is because although marijuana causes a slight impairment in recognition and reaction time, people who are high on pot (unlike drinkers) tend to REALIZE that they are impaired and therefore drive more carefully to compensate for that. So the net result is that they are driving as safely as your ordinary sober driver.

"Very importantly our city driving study showed that drivers who drank alcohol overestimated their performance quality whereas those who smoked marijuana underestimated it. Perhaps as a consequence, the former invested no special effort for accomplishing the task whereas the latter did, and successfully. This evidence strongly suggests that alcohol encourages risky driving whereas THC encourages greater caution, at least in experiments."

154
Have fun XeiFrank!! Hope your wife makes some good deals for you.

149)

I completely agree with you. I have been almost broadsided a few times by people on cell phones. It is only a matter of time that this will become illegal.

156
UCLA researchers came out with a study that says marijuana smoke actually cleans the lungs of harmful dust and other pollutants and can be a good thing for your lungs.

This has nothing to do with anything, but just wanted to throw it out there.

149 - Another good comment.

151
Ahhh, the internet. Giving every moron a voice...

I read earlier this year that Loney would be the third best fielder in the leagues if he came up (behind Derrek Lee and perhaps Pujols).

154- Happy trails.

The frustrating thing about that ScoutingBook.com site is that you can't even make comments yet (maybe because it's in Beta mode?) If you could, there would be at least 10 of us commenting on the same thing, re: their completely retarded write-up on Loney. It's as if they'd never heard of him before and just made some stuff up. It's true, anyone can make a web site and make it look like they know what they're talking about.

159 I'm guessing this research took place in the sculpture gardens

By the way, there's a lot to moan about (of course), but that they are seriously thinking about Abreu for the time being is a very good sign of this organization's right-mindedness, and in particular, if Grady Little would get his head out of the [sand] and get Billingsley back in the rotation where he belongs, he would be well on the way to making another run on the MOY award that he should have won last year.

Re: 156 159

I can't speak directly to the studies, but it's my impression that the reason sailors brought back tobacco to Europe as opposed to pot is because smoking the latter was extremely dangerous for a sailor working high up in a ship's rigging. It's also my impression that pot causes some kind of plaque to form on one's brain. Anyhow, intuitively, I would figure that burning some kind of plant and inhaling the fumes would probably be bad for one's health. shrug

165 - The good/bad news is it may be a sign of a) how good Abreu looked to them more than any understanding that he is just a better investment than a veteran solution?

Or, it may just be an admission that the Valdez hype is a smokescreen.

Also, I think they think Furcal is going to be ready soon.

From The Onion's fantasy baseball draft recommendations:

"Barry Bonds: You want to win, right? Nobody has proven anything, so it's not cheating if you pick him. Sometimes you have to do whatever it takes to get to that next level."

159
"Researchers find marijuana smoke cleans out lungs...Study inconclusive... More research needed in Greg Brock's house over the next few weeks."

Kidding.

166
Never heard that one before.

169 Brock probably has a ready supply of dealers if he wants too. Probably sitting right in front of him most weekdays :)

Billingsley will be a multiple-innings power reliever that will save the arms of the other three when the starter doesn't get deep into the game, which last year was almost always.

soo... the smokejumper?

171 You would be surprised how oblivious I am to that stuff. I don't think a single one of my students engages in that behavior, which is so fundamentally stupid, since I was the captain of the behavior engagement team in high school.

Maybe I don't want to know.

i missed out because dodger thoughts is now blocked by websense at my job but ...

i hold larussa almost entirely responsible for the steroids problem in baseball considering he turned a blind eye to it in oakland just so he could win some games. it makes me gag when i hear him praised by tv announcers. they also conveniently ignore the fact that he's a bigot. just a horrible person all around and this latest incident just proved it.

i get weak kneed like a school girl in love when i think about the dodgers' 2009 opening day lineup:

c martin
1b loney
2b abreu
ss furcal
3b laroche
lf ethier
cf pierre
rf kemp

172 - Interesting - perhaps, even if they don't realize it.

Always a mistake to do that sort of business with someone who would get a sweet plea bargain for turning you in. Especially kids. Kids will tattle practically for free.

176 Sounds like a whole lot of experience behind those words.

174. Don't bet on that being the lineup, even if it SHOULD be. My bet is that two or three of those young guys will be displaced by "proven veterans."

174 You get a free pass for a lot of stuff when you're the man who single-handedly invented modern day baseball, as Tony La Russa did. Being the smartest man who ever put on a uniform is hard!

174 where does nomar start? the dl, i suppose?

We're so lucky to have such a celebrated journalist covering our team. WARNING: Plaschke related-material inside.

http://tinyurl.com/27yh63

FJM's pithy reaction is worth a read too.

My company uses websense too. But we only block porn sites.

177- I don't wear this ankle bracelet because it complements my eyes. It does (really makes them pop), but that's not why I wear it.

There's nothing wrong with an assertion that Abreu looks good, or using that as evidence to put him in the Lineup. We don't know anything about him - we wouldn't know anything about him for hundreds of at bats. Its not like saying that Tomko looks good - he's had a decade living off of that malarkey. Its not like saying Hendrickson looks good. That's sui generis - only a liar or an idiot would say that. And it's not like saying Pierre looks good - the proper response to that is "who cares" since what he is good at doing doesn't matter even if he is good at doing it. I would certainly endorse putting Chad Billingsley in the rotation because "he looks good." We have five years to then find out that he's Brett Tomko II, and in the meantime, my parking didn't just go up to $15 a car, and you're right back where you started from.

181 Sorry, my computer blocks any Plaschke-related material.

174 Sincere question: What did LaRussa do to indicate that he's a bigot? I must have missed that one. (Unless you're talking about the Ron Gant thing, in which case you're being rather Beamonesque.)

BTW, that's gotta be the first time the phrases "weak-kneed like a school girl in love" and "Juan Pierre" and have appeared in the same sentence on DT. And not in a sarcastic sense, either!

181 This is perhaps what is most disappointing about Plaschke. When he leaves the house and does some leg-work and research, he is capable of producing good and interesting human interest pieces with full paragraphs. Unfortunately, most of the time, he seems to phone it in, writing from his sofa with zero leg work or thought, relying upon one-sentence paragraphs to produce enough white space to fill the page.

149 My thoughts exactly. Here's a few numbers: Traffic accidents make up a small portion of US deaths (~46,000 in 2004), and less than half of those (14,409) involve illegal BAC. In 2004, 2,085 people died in accidents involving "legal" BACs. Oddly enough, 2,085 people also died in accidents involving BACs between .08 and .1 BAC. In these accidents, 57% of the fatalities are the drunk drivers themselves, 21% are the passengers (There doesn't seem to be a breakdown between drunk's vehicle vs. other vehicles. Odd.).

So why do we care about this more than obesity or diabetes which lead to the #1 killer of Americans? My opinion is that we've been very carefully manipulated by a, well, morally-superior sobriety lobby. Look at the demographic that tends to die in EtOH related accidents: the young. We've already established that most of the people killed are the ones who drank, but why do we never hear about them in ant-DUI spots? Clearly, those with no alcohol on board make for better ads. By taking advantage them and villifying the offenders, the sobriety lobby obtains better leverage in Richmond and Washington, regardless of the statistics.

Meanwhile people are driving around too quickly while eating Animal-Style Four-by-Fours, typing on their Blackberries and looking at the Porche full of attractive women riding next to them....

Statsitics derrived from http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/

188 Sounds like we need a law that mandates Porsches full of attractive women in FRONT of every driver, so as to minimize distraction.

I would guess 75% or more of my grade tried marijuana, so I think you are being very optimistic Brock.

184 - True, although some would twist that into a case for Valdez.

Rotoworld and the joy of Spring Training stats:

Jose Cruz Jr. had a two-run homer off Dan Haren and a sac fly Friday against the A's.
Cruz has four homers in 32 at-bats this spring. He totaled five in 223 at-bats before the Dodgers released him last year. The Padres are expected to use the switch-hitter as a left fielder against left-handers.

It could be so twisted, but he falls into the Pierre category, even if he weren't 45 years old.

The reason people care more about other people driving drunk than about their own overeating is the same reason that, if I broke my leg falling in the shower, I'd feel differently about the injury than if Bob snuck into my home and broke my leg with a baseball bat while I slept. It's the same injury, the first scenario is infinitely more likely, but I don't keep a .44 under my pillow as a way of improving my balance in the shower.

194 Re-read 188 and look at the numbers.

194- I think I am going to get that Tatooed on the back of my head.

194 Mighty big talk for someone who wears an ankle bracelet

195- I understand the numbers. I'm saying the numbers aren't the particularly relevant because if I do something to myself, it's unambiguously different from having some one else do it to me. The injury done is qualitatively different, even if it's quantitatively identical.

Steve:

http://franklinavenue.blogspot.com/2007/03/angeleno-of-week-andres-martinez.html

194. Doesn't that make your pillow too lumpy? I mean, maybe that'd be OK if you were one of those fancy-dan society types who uses two fluffy pillows and wears a satin "dressing gown," but you're too edgy for that. More like a folded up t-shirt for you, which'd make the gun that much more of a nuisance.

If I can be forgiven a salty follow up, there's a reason able-bodied men are willing to pay extra for a "happy ending." And it's not exactly an irrational one. It's an aspect of the human condition.

It might be easier to convince a young person that it's not worth the risk to drive drunk or high than it is to convince everyone to be more careful in the shower.

179 Greg Brock
You get a free pass for a lot of stuff when you're the man who single-handedly invented modern day baseball, as Tony La Russa did.

I thought Al Gore did that!

186 Eric Enders
174 Sincere question: What did LaRussa do to indicate that he's a bigot?

I wondered the same thing.

156 Eric Enders
people who are high on pot (unlike drinkers) tend to REALIZE that they are impaired and therefore drive more carefully...

I love it when they drive 25 in a 45 mph zone.

203 Pot smokers tend to sit at STOP signs, waiting for them to turn green...

198 And some would say that Juan Pierre is qualitatively a sparkplug at the top of the lineup, even if we know he's quantitatively a broken timing belt.

203 - may I present:

>>
Motorcycle Cop: Tell me, officer, do you have any idea how fast you were going?
Mike: Well, I got a 426 hemi here, 3/4 cams, nitro boosters, I can get 'er up to as good as 155! Never do, though, of course, unless I'm chasing a cute chick in a Ferrari! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I guess I was goin' about... 65, tops.
State Trooper: SEVEN! SEVEN miles an hour! And normally, when I stop people, they pull onto the shoulder!
<<

/black sheep

202 Easier, sure. But possibly penny-wise, pound-foolish.

please, don't let it lead to another special L.A. Times investigation and 10-page Sunday paper section dissection

That was the single worst day in journalism history. The day the Times jumped the shark over the use of the word "the"

Forever and ever, amen, and amen.

What kind of stoners do you guys drive with?

I see I killed the thread with that joke.

My apologies.

Oh man, I hadn't read FJM in a while, that's some classic stuff. I just wish our new center fielder wasn't the butt of so many of his jokes.

So I guess Kobe is going to average 50 points a game for the rest of the season.

Is it just me, or did Jeff Green totally travel on his game-winning shot.

201 ...salty follow up...
{cough}

Now that's a thread killer. Kudos.

Dodger Thoughts After Dark takes a turn for the worse...

I approve.

214 Kudos!? Are you claiming you carefully choose those exact words???

(I considered playing that with a simple "The rarely played double double-entendre." Would that have been better?)

Send a gift to your favorite baseball manager. http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2254

216 In some circles, I'm known for a willingness to always take things a step lower.

217 "Are you claiming you didn't carefully choose..."

A sad day indeed for Korean Dodger baseball fans everywhere.... don't give up, Heeseop!!! And yeah, I totally agree with you on that one, Jon, regarding LaRussa. BTW, last two games coaching JV Baseball, we lost 13-5 and 14-3. Life is so much better as a coach when you have pitchers on your roster that can throw strikes. INCREDIBLY frustrating as a coach when you see walk, walk, walk, bases-clearing double... but I digress...

220 I have a bunch of friends who coach high school baseball, and they've all hopped on board with the same pitching program. It's really helped their teams out a lot. It has mostly to do with how they set up their bullpen sessions, how they work on changing speeds, and how often they have their kids throw.

They all made the CIF finals at Angels Stadium last year. I would be more than happy to get you in touch with them.

Kobe scores 50 against the Hornets. You gotta be kidding me.

I've got a strong premonition that 2007 will be Edwin Jackson's year. He will win 12-15 games, and, along with Kazmir and the Rays' solid lineup, help TB finish in 3rd place in the AL East.

219- Didn't occur to me. Taste isn't the sensation I most readily associate with, well, never mind. Different strokes for different folks. (I'd like to, in advance, disclaim any blame for what your sick mind contorts that into, too.)

224 I prefer the breaststroke, but I am often forced to perform the crawl first.

Between this thread, and the one at the Griddle, I feel I've gotten to know you much better today. Much better than I'd ever have liked to, but much better none the less.

226 I meant to ask how the not smoking thing is going. It must really suck after meals, and first thing in the morning. Oooh, and on cold days..those are great smoking days too.

Anyway, I hope it's working out for you.

From Steve Hensen, LA Times
The Dodgers have no plans to move Nomar Garciaparra from first base to shortstop, even though he has years of experience there. His offensive production is crucial to their power-challenged lineup and the Dodgers fear that such a move would increase his chance of injury and detract from his offense.

But Ned, you have Gonzo in left, Peirre in CF, and Betemit at third. Trust what you have put together and move Nomar to third.

If Furcal is out for more than one week it looks like Abreu could be the ss.

When the Dodgers gave Nomar the two-year deal this past offseason, they made such a big deal out of his volunteering to play anywhere they want him.

I don't think he should be at third because I think Betemit has shown enough power to warrant another in-season audition. But why not give Nomar a few games in left field this spring? If he is competent there, he could spell Gonzalez and give Little some additional flexibility for double switches.

228 From todeay's OC Register: "Wilson Valdez will be the shortstop on opening day if Rafael Furcal hasn't recovered from his sprained left ankle.

Valdez had two hits in Friday's game against the Florida Marlins and raised his batting average to .382.

"He's a good option for us," Little said of Valdez. "The kid has earned a right.""

Some Jon and Steve taunting going on over at ITD.

231 - Dated and inaccurate, but I guess that's how it goes.

New post up top.

Steve, how come you write so much more eloquently over at ITD? Are you holding out on us?