Time to re-up Valdez. He's our second best hitter!;)

i don't exactly know how VORP is calculated, but how is 0 for 4 (.000 OPS) (anderson) more valuable than 7 for 34 (.457 OPS) with 3 runs, an RBI, and 2 stolen bases?

Is there any better baseball analyst than Orel Hershiser these days? I hope they keep giving him the big games because he always adds a handful of really insightful comments during each contest.

VORP is cumulative, so, stinking over four ABs isn't as detrimental to it as stinking over thirty-four.

Wait a second: only 5 pitchers are ahead of Pierre...?

Dice-K just struck out Ichiro.

It's a miracle, though: Seattle's scored and is winning 1-0. Wow.

Beltre crushes one off the Monster against Dice-K

Interesting start for Hernandez

Make that 2-0, as Beltre just drove in another run. Dice-K is human, details at 11.

8 Yeah, Dice-K's opposite number tonight isn't too bad either.

The Mariners are lighting up Matsuzaka in the 5th. If you can check out the game, it has the potential to be very interesting.

Can we also insert "interesting" into Rule 9.

Just kidding.

Just wondering, does rule 9 apply to an interesting game being pitched against the Dodgers?

13
I've asked that question before and was told that we are not allowed to jinx interesting games by Dodger opponents

I should probably find some wood to knock on right about now.

lineup is the same as last night....hope penny pitches a gem to have a chance

OK, here's a dufus question for you: Does VORP take defense into account? If not, it's HOGWASH.

King Felix is a groundball machine.

17
No doubt you're a huge fan of WARP

17- Nope, doesn't include defense. It's not hogwash, it's just not the Absolute Perfect Truth of Baseball in One Number. There isn't any such thing, so it shouldn't feel bad.

The it being VORP. VORP shouldn't feel bad that it isn't perfect. I don't know, it seemed funnier a minute ago.

What does HOGWASH stand for?

Actually, Andrew, it was pretty damn funny. But ... how can we assess "value" without defense? Maybe not hogwash, but woefully incomplete.

23- Batting Average doesn't account for defense. Neither do RBIs. VORP is not sufficient for weighing a player in full. It's sufficient for weighing part of him. And, that actually works out better, since BP's defensive metrics don't seem to be anybody's favorite. Incomplete is a virtue where one part of the metric is more accurate than another.

23 - It does include defense in that it matters what position you play. However, it is a little bit harder to quantify defense, so maybe they wanted to go with what they could prove rather than just making it more complete but less accurate.

Hrmm... still interesting through seven, Manny and Ortiz just went down.

I wrote "hitters" up top. I even italicized it. So I don't see what the problem is.

24, 25 - I get that defense is hard to gauge. My beef is that VORP, particularly the word "value," implies total value. BA and RBIs do not.

Can't JD Drew take a walk sometimes?

Drew breaks it up on the first pitch. Fine time for him to decide to not go for a walk.

i know why nobody has hit gonzo any balls to catch..they are all scared of his cannon throwing them out at FIRST base

Drew just made this game a lot less interesting, as usual. He's so boring!

Less interesting as old friend Drew hits a grounder up the middle for a single.

I hate you JD Drew.

128 - That's fine, but that doesn't make the stat hogwash.

I was scooped three times over, but at least I didn't get my joke scooped too (I avoided this by blandly not making a joke).

29-34

Amateurs.

Jon, I'm not picking at your entry, just the concept of VORP. It pretends to be more than it is. If it's getting tedious, I won't belabor it.

97MPH into the bottom of the 8th. This kid is awesome.

128 - That is like criticizing home runs as a stat because players usually jog around the bases. Semantics aside, The methodology of the stat is explained by the people who provide it, and they offer (arguably inferior) stats that incorporate defense.

I don't mind discussing it; I just mind the all-caps exaggreation and aggressiveness you started out with.

Bob-- you crack me up.

Jasbo-- It seems like your problem with VORP is semantic. Just think of it as OVORP (Offensive Value...).

38
I understand what you're saying. Perhaps VORP should be renamed "OVORP", standing for Offensive Value Above Replacement Player.

Sexson could have been charged with an error on that bungled double play. Scorers can charge an error on a fielder who drops the relay throw.

Then there could have been a 3-6-E3.

43 - Was that on purpose? A sly commentary on being scooped earlier, or did you spontaneously make the same comment as tomb?

Deadspin just got a shout out from the FSN Southwest team calling TB@Texas.

45
I spontaneously made the same comment as tomb

I would definitely pull Hernandez at 98 pitches. He is a young guy, no need to stretch him past that.

i think the espn gun is 2-3 mph fast. Or it may just be the skeptic in me that doesnt believe anyone can throw 92mph sliders and not have his elbow completely explode.

49 I think earlier in the game they were commenting that their gun was a few mph faster than the stadium gun.

the last no-hitter at Fenway?
Derek Lowe 04-27-02.

USA Today reported:

"I'm such a huge golf guy. I was thinking Tiger Woods in the Masters — finish the deal," Lowe said. "That's what I kept telling myself — you've got to finish it."

Red Sox manager Grady Little said Lowe has matured.

"He knows what he's doing now," Little said. "He's learned how to pitch. He's going to be a good one."

Nomar Garciaparra's RBI double in the fourth made it 8-0 and extended his hitting streak to 12 games.

43

Amatuer.

abreu is 3-3 so far tonight with a 2b. hes batting .500 on the season.

It pretends to be more than it is.

No kidding, just last week VORP told me it would make my bed while I was at work. But when I got home all it had done was throw my sheets on the floor.

I think Felix is taking his place next to Santana at the top this year, if not above him.

He has 2 starts, 4 hits allowed, 0 runs, 21 K's. Unreal.

I'm liking the OVORP concept. Didn't mean to be agressive. The caps were meant to mimmick the caps in all these stats. Possibly to be funny? Guess that flopped.

Great, my cable system has the Dodgers game following Texas-Tampa Bay, which is only in the bottom of the 6th, no outs.

58 My extra innings has the game starting at 11 est! I haven't had one game on EI that has come through on time.

54 - I laughed, but watch the sarcasm.

58 Yeah, they need to allocate one channel per game. It's not as though they're running out of channels.

I can't believe he went 17 innings in two starts. His ERA was unlucky last year and I expect it will go down into ace territory, that said, he isn't going to get 86% groundballs this year either. That is just too filthy, especially when combined with that nasty K/9. High K, high GB, low BB is the perfect pitcher.

54 Did it rub the lotion on its skin?

Sorry that was in poor taste.

INDemand runs into problems allotting TV channels to baseball games when the NHL playoffs start.

I whined a lot about this last year, but apparently no one cared when I whined.

But then again, I whine a lot about a whole bunch of dumb things (see double error, Frank Robinson, Russ Ortiz, apostrophes, etc.)

65 - "most unique".

65 What's your problem with apostrophe's?

What really irritates me is when I'm waiting for a Dodger game to come on, but they'll be showing a game on two different channels (one in the NHL channels, one in the MLB channels).

67
I hate that all the signs at the library say that we're closed on Veteran's Day.

They could have scheduled the west coast games on channels that had games starting during the day. I'm beginning to think that In Demand doesn't deserve the Extra Innings package.

68

Don't you remember that guy?

So am I not the only one watching Texas-Tampa Bay right now rooting for every hitter to swing at every pitch?

This is seriously maddening. This is the, what, 5th game since I got EI? Not one has been broadcast on EI from first pitch.

The problem with the channels resolves itself when the NHL playoffs hit the second round.

It's a numbers game.

72

Then, from your perspective (and mine), the first pitch never happened.

Why are you getting so worked up about something that doesn't exist?

In SF, we can't watch any NL West action. Aside from the Texas/TB game preempting the Dodger game, the SF/SD tilt is supposed to be on FSN Bay Area, but the Sharks/Predators game is on instead. Of course that game is blacked out on extra innings. And the Cin/Ari game is not televised at all.

Lame. I'm going to go do my dishes.

They should start with the second round. What's the point of having a regular season if the top thirty-six teams in the league go to the playoffs? Same question for the NBA.

I also whine about the Elias Sports Bureau not considering split doubleheaders as a doubleheader when the games are "2 for 1" for recordkeeping purposes.

Brad Penny makes me want to go do dishes.

Throw strikes, fatty.

We turned up the bad Penny tonight it seems.

65 - Actually, I was more disappointed with Mike Scioscia during that confrontation. If he wanted to be mad at someone he should have been mad at his pitcher (Brendan Donnelly). Frank Robinson was doing his job. As a longtime Dodgers fan who followed Scioscia his whole career I was caught off guard by his attitude (and I suspect Frank Robinson was as well). I was watching that game on TV and my only disappointment with Frank was the language he use after becoming upset with Scioscia. I feel that when someone holds a position of responsibility they should always be aware that kids are watching the game, cameras are rolling and lips can be read. But I never really understood Scioscia's point. His pitcher had been caught CHEATING. He had no business getting in Frank's face IMO.

75 I wish I had your discipline. I'm going to sit here and fume... while my dishes do the same.

75

I'm in SF, but I did my dishes an hour ago.

what is Brad Penny trying to prove?

I haven't even eaten dinner yet.

I often have to do my dishes to be able to eat dinner.

Well, hopefully the three walks were the fluke not the K and groundball that followed them.

I have a dishwasher.

80
It's easier to figure out who was right in the Scioscia-Robinson argument of 2005 if you start from my perspective, which is that Frank Robinson is always wrong.

i let my housemates do the dishes.

Yes, Brad. It appears as if getting ahead and using your offspeed stuff while ahead works.

Let's test this hypothesis further.

The Nationals lost again. They still have never led at the beginning of any inning this year.

If he grew a beard, he'd be BJ II

87 You still have to rinse them off first, right?

You can't just throw those bad boys into the dishwasher all willy-nilly.

87 - I am the dishwasher.

93
Hey, if Marty wanted a wife, he'd get himself one.

Pierre teases with the line drive foul before inevitably grounding out to second base.

These leadoff at-bats are getting really old, really fast.

93 That's what the dogs are for.

Before his first at-bat, Juan Pierre's batting average at home this season is .375. His OBP is .333. Does anyone know what he did to achieve this?

I have a dishwasher.

I was thinking that maybe I'd get a maid.
Find a place nearby for her to stay.
Just someone to keep my house clean,
fix my meals and go away.

100 I heard that song yesterday.

Everybody ought to have a maid.

And to show my age, I bought the album when it came out.

99
Well, I'm going to be careful about any impure thoughts now that we've got St. Augustine in our midst.

Honest, I was thinking about baseball!

I'll tell you, the best money I spend each month is for the house cleaner.

Pierre's approach at the plate seems to be: swing at everything, run really hard to first. It isn't so much that he doesn't draw walks, he has no pitch selection (no control or command). I know regression to the mean will eventually bring him back to mediocrity, but surely the hitting coach can give him some help. I expect every one of his at bats to end with a groundball to second base.

See, I've always said that everybody should have a secretary. One of those old school, film noir detective agency secretaries. Heart of gold, but smart alecky.

I've thought about this a lot.

107- Please phrase your comments in the form of song lyrics.

Should maids and secretaries have maids and secretaries?

107
They're administrative assistants, Greg.

104 I should hope Mr. Augustine wouldn't criticize you for your impure thoughts! I quote: "As a youth...I had prayed to you for chastity and said, "Give me chastity and continence. But not yet!"

A Pierre for the Colorado batter.

109 Our GDP would skyrocket if they did. Nobody should clean their own house. It's bad for the economy.

89 I used to let my housemates do the dishes, but I ended up with no more housemates.

104

Be at ease, Bob. It's just a nickname I was given in high school by a teacher.

I, uh, can't read minds. Yet.

Hurdle taking small ball to the extreme.

I don't get it--I looked at this Hirsh's bio and he was a rookie w/Houston last year?
this guy has a great arm and he is beginning to get it and more. How did he get to Colorado. Houston had to say we have to get rid of this guy or we might be successful! Who did Houston get?

Oh damn, I thought Penny was hurt on that catch. I'm not sure what I felt.

111 Oh geez... I was struggling to remember the quote and I, distracted, screw up my quotation marks.

111
St. Augustine prayed for incontinence? I guess it wasn't a problem with the clothing of the time.

penny looked like a walrus flopping on the ice with that move.

88. It's easier to figure out who was right in the Scioscia-Robinson argument of 2005 if you start from my perspective, which is that Frank Robinson is always wrong.

I usually find myself in agreement with your perspective but this one seems a bit irrational. :-)

99- The sac fly means he has only 8 ABs, but nine PA. Without any walks, that makes his BA 3/8 and his OBP 3/9. It won't last.

117

astros traded him along tavares for jason jennings.

Frank is the anti-matter to Bob's matter. You don't try to understand it, just accept it.

That was Jim Edmunds on the mound.

116 - Clint Hurdle is a terrible manager. Iananetta gets on through dumb luck, so the next two batters bunt into pop outs.

119 probably Prostate, or maybe prostrate?

126 - I'll take it. Penny gets out of the inning on a mere 13 pitches

123 Thanks Nate, I really wanted to know and now I remember. It looks like if he keeps control, he could be the real deal.
Ooops, just walked Kent.

Is the game in HD tonight?

...lookout, a pair of rabbits are loose...

123-Taylor Buchholz was part of the deal as well.

i think the espn gun is 2-3 mph fast. Or it may just be the skeptic in me that doesnt believe anyone can throw 92mph sliders and not have his elbow completely explode.

133

wow...oops!

Vin is stealing signs

Stop bunting Grady.

120 - I am the walrus. Goo goo ga joob.

Tavares can really scoot.

That looked more impressive than it was. It didn't make the warning track.

Valdez sacrifices himself to move over the runner, but that won't show up in the box score

Nooooooo Andre.

133 Randy Johnson?

ethier really pressed right there.

Ethier is lost at the plate.

140-Dare we say it's one of those things we just can't measure?

Tavarez makes the catches in center that Pierre is supposed to make but never really does.

145 - He might just lead the league in immeasurable occurrences.

145
Well, we could measure it if we wanted to, but for some reason, we only like to measure such things when they move a runner from third to home.

Taveras. Damn, I butchered that one.

140
It would have from 1908 through 1930.

The other day Vin said he's never met Grady Little. That seems odd, does it not? You'd think they'd make life long friends. Even if that only means 5 more years.

I guess Furcal didn't start tonight. Our fate probably depends on if we have the first half or second half Penny.

150
1931: the year baseball died

151 - Wow... as someone who doesn't usually shy away from borderline classless jokes, that still made me uncomfortable.

3rd Inning:

Padres-2
Giants-0

152 Nope, but Furcal's the starting SS for single-A Inland Empire tonight! Against Jared Weaver, nonetheless.

I'm afraid Kent or Nomar is going to have to do something or we're cooked.

It's starting to look like Second Half of 2006 Penny

does anyone know what PFX is?

158 - he'll still look like first half penny until he gives up a lot of runs; he had efficiency problems all year last year

152- Furcal started with the 66ers, tonight. He's one for two, with a single.

159
If you uncover that secret, you will be breaking baseball's Da Vinci Code!

And you will be chased throughout Europe by an albino self-flagellating monk.

151 I laughed. But I'm pretty un-offendable.

I didn't read or see the Da Vinci Code, but I did see last week's South Park, so I'm sufficienty afraid of discovering the answer now.

Betemit sure is struggling. I wonder how long his leash is.

156 how did Jared get way down there--rehab?

Betemit's leash is artificially long given the apparent lack of a backup

No comments on the Gonzalez flyball streak ending? Where are you, people?

168
I was busy fending off an albino monk.

So close to not sucking, yet so far away.

I know Jon keeps saying it's fantasy, but I still have yet to hear a compelling argument for not playing Nomar at third.

Anybody who thinks third base is more strenuous than first has never played third base. You don't do squat at third, with the exception of the occasional rocket hit your way, maybe twice a game.

somehow that's not a hit that greatly increases my confidence in Furcal's abilities...

144. Ethier is lost at the plate.

And not only will Kemp be back in two weeks but Bigbie is hitting .500 in Las Vegas. I fear Ethier's days are numbered. And he appears to be feeling the pressure.

You mean Pierre?

172 oops--Freudian slip? for Furcal read Pierre, obviously....

Nomar,Nomar

171
Nomar at third!? That's crazy talk! You're talking crazy!

Maybe Nomar doesn't want to play third anymore. Maybe he doesn't think he's any good at it or was any good at it.

Maybe Mia Hamm is afraid to watch her husband play third base.

We all know who wears the shinguards in that marriage.

That was a very risky play by Martin.

Ha, awesome.

Nice

166 Yups. And Colon started for that team last night! It's almost unfair.

Uh oh! Rabbits on the loose out there!

That's why you should always bean the next batter after a (the) runner(s) do that to you. It's a palate cleanser.

Does no one know how to slide?

Weird inning. A double steal and a "balk with his shoulders."

That was not a textbook slide by Martin.

First you yell at us about Gonzo, now about our sliding abilities??

177 If Nomar doesn't want to play third, that's cool. But he has said otherwise publicly, so he lied. Which, you know, I don't care. But it would still make him a liar in my imaginary, inconsequential book.

Pitcher Meltdown on aisle 5!

Ethier needs a hit in his next three at-bats to keep his career batting average over .300.

I know how to slide. I used to be an expert at the pop-up slide, so that I could keep running on an error. I have many hidden talents like this.

Hit parade.

185 - 183 was in a small whimper.

Four more balks and Hirsh can join Bob Shaw in the record book.

I'm betting that won't happen.

Something goes right! That is how speed upsets a pitcher.
I admit before this inning I was about to quote at least one of the Producers productions and say "Boy, when things go wrong". Or "I feel like a Cristian Scientist with appendacitis"

190 and 185 was a small attempt at humor

Vin gives out a shout out to my blog!

OK, I'm reaching a bit, but I'll take it.

171/177 - has anyone seen a Will Carroll/UTK comment on the injury risk of 3rd vs. 1st?

It's a dream I don't want to die, even if only to Olmedo extra at bats against lefty starters

193 - Oh, I know .

I used to know how to slide, then I pulled an abdominal muscle while overshooting the end of the slip-n-slide, and ever since then I've had a mental block.

Come on Wilson (It wasn't quite the track, Vince)

Meanwhile, Valdez about to have his milesstone 200th at-bat. He has 45 hits.

I don't know how to slide, but I'm quite adept at tripping and falling.

Martin needed someone in a green vest to guide him into home plate safely.

Let's see what Penny can do with this lead.

202

Sicko.

195 Yeah, it's hands down the safest position on the field.

202 That was not a good thing to remind me of:>)

RIP, Kurt Vonnegut

Here's an annoying thing about Extra Innings. The game on EI is blacked out for me because it is a Rockies game, and SLC is in Rockies territory. But it is on FSRM, so I can get it if I change to their channel. If it is a game that is OK for me to watch, why can't I just watch it through EI?

Jesus, could Penny just throw it over the plate now and then

Penny has owned the Rockies since last year.

I love that expression: a "room-service fly ball."

207 Wow, too bad.

RIP Roscoe Lee Brown too.

208 On EI you'd be watching the LA feed, and you'd miss out on all the Colorado commercials.

Yeah, it's hands down the safest position on the field.

Yet, to me, it was always the scariest to play. Does that count as irony?

208
Because FSRM wants credit for the ratings. If you could watch the game on EI, it would diffuse the ratings power.

That, and the fact that MLB has blackout rules that are somewhat capricious.

208 I've never figured the wierd ways of DTV, but I always try to get Vin, and I've seen every strange combination possible.

208 I've never figured the wierd ways of DTV, but I always try to get Vin, and I've seen every strange combination possible.

208 I've never figured the wierd ways of DTV, but I always try to get Vin, and I've seen every strange combination possible.

204 Yeah, but to what degree? I'd find an injury position spectrum (like the defensive one) interesting.

207 That's Bob, faster than any news outlet I can find. I love his books.

Ba-deeeah, badeeeah.

Kurt Vonnegut? I'm sad.

207 Wow, that's sad.

{Bows head}

221
It came as an email from the NY Times, so I wasn't faster than any news outlet.

But where's Andrew, the commenter formerly known as bokonon42?

yay, 1-2-3 inning

213 - Benson's replacement? Sad.

Didn't someone mentioned Vonnegut last night?

207 Seriously? That sucks. Vonnegut was a wonderfully subversive voice. He seemed to get more prolific the older he got. He'll be dearly missed.

Not that he died, but just in conversation?

Barry...at the wall.

Just missed it.

5th inn:
sd-2
sf-0

There used to be a Kilgore Trout around here too as I recall.

I'm calling an Ethier HR.

Nuts.

207 - That is really sad. I love his books. It is weird, I brought him up earlier today, talking about how people on D.T. were all big Vonnegut fans. Spooky.

dag-blasted game of inches

I do like the Dodgers-FSN commercial with the guy watching game after game. It's derivative of the work of Godfrey Raggio. One of his films just showed the faces of children watching TV. That was sort of creepy.

226- Reading the obit. It is sad, but so it goes.

http://tinyurl.com/2adjau

207 Oh.....what to say. RIP, indeed.

as I recall, there was a comment last night something to the effect of, "You're more likely to get a Vonnegut quote here"

230 - I mentioned to Tangled Up In Blue that I was surprised that no one had taken that name, but everyone here seemed to dig Vonnegut over Dylan.

I'll bet Ken could quickly list all the Vonnegut names on the Toaster.

I'd say Penny has to be under 17 pitches this inning to pitch another

Po-tee-weet?

the umps are not granting the high strike tonight

242
The guy's on vacation. Give him a break.

Here is a comprehensive list of all the works of Vonnegut I've read:

End of list.

penny apparently just hit 97 with a fastball, so presumably his velocity is back.

246 - I would check out Slaughterhouse 5, it is a breezy read (length wise), and it is generally excellent. I think I have read 5 or 6 of his books, SH5 more than once.

I thought everybody had read Slaughterhouse Five or Breakfast of Champions.

Enough of the Rockies. Bring on some real competition!

247

Spoken like a true cynic.

and he looked to be yapping at the umps a bit as he walked off, so apparently his attitude is back, too.

Well everything lines up.

Brad Penny's last inning: 9 pitches
Greg Maddux's last inning: 6 pitches

247 - I think Gameday had a 98 from Penny earlier

But wasn't it Schmidt who lost his velocity?

I think Breakfast of Champions was the last Vonnegut book I read. I'd recommend Cat's Cradle, or Mother Night for beginners.

La Roche's agent needs to tell him to start hitting, because third base is looking wide open for him to take if he can start raking.

233

I called it yesterday & I'm still waiting.

[4] ah yes, i knew VORP is cumulative but in my mind that had me thinking "counting stat", which was misguided. VORP can be negative, after all.

If I were pitching to Juan Pierre, I would bean him on every 1-0 or 0-1 pitch. Given that he's gonna swing no matter what, might as well have some fun with it.

Brad Penny won 2 games in the 2003 World Series.

Lake Tahoe is blue

[254] i was under the impression that they were both lacking some velocity. penny looked pretty lousy this spring and didn't have a lot of strikeouts either.

Furcal was pulled before his third at bat. Nothing to worry about, I hope. . .

261 Beat me to some variation of stating facts.

I'll buy into pitchers not walking Pierre, but there's something to be said for laying off the 1-1 pitch at your shoe tops. Just take some pitches, man!

Broxton and Tsao fresh in the pen. If Penny can go one more, we should in good shape.

[261] hah! i don't think that's who it is. tahoe was less... focused.

208 218 Last night, besides on the 700 channels in extra innings, I could get the game on the Rocky Mountan Channel in the 600's. Tonight I checked and I can also get it on the 600 west coast channel but not the the Rockie's channel. Go figure. But it may be consistent, because I always only get one set of announcers. Last night it was the Rockies announcers talking about how they were going to get into our bullpen and kill us.Couldn't find that tonight.

266 It's him.

Jeff Kent in X-Mo.

Kent just made a play that he couldn't make last September and, judging by how slowly he got up, might not be able to make tomorrow.

Except tomorrow's an off day, so he's got that going for him too.

kent seemed to hit his knee pretty hard.

what's with this "x-mo"? since when does x = slo?

I think part of Pierre's lack of walks has to do with the fact that no one is scared of pitching to him. Even if you make a mistake and hang a curve- Pierre will still get a weak single out of it at best. I don't think you can say that about very many full time starters.

Of course a larger part is that he'd swing at the resin bag if you threw it up there.

I missed the first couple of innings but it looks like Penny pitched another good game.

With an off day tomorrow, I advocate that only Broxton and Saito make relief appearances in this ballgame. No fooling around with Billzy, Rudy, or Tsao. You get the win. It's all about the W's.

Penny's under a hundred pitches. Let him go another inning.

Maddux is still on an 80 pitch limit

I'm also going to advocate that Gonzo be taken out the game immediatley following an out or a reach of base.

Vonnegut is my favorite author. This is depressing. I always thought Hocus Pocus was under appreciated.

277
Couldn't you just say "Take Gonzo out after he bats the next time?"

Every time up, a batter makes an out or reaches base.

At least that's what I thought.

wow do the dodgers have the rockies number

That estate the Corleones had in Godfather II was awesome. It was on a lake somewhere. Really beautiful.

and Eithier suddenly looks completely lost at the plate...along with betemet

when Jeremy Affeldt was coming up with the Royals, I thought he had some of the best stuff I'd ever seen. I really thought he was going to be a star.

279. No. I was advocating he be replaced by a pinch runner if he reached base. It did not happen.

Ethier's punching his ticket to Vegas this game.

If Ethier goes down, does Bigbie come up...?

So, um, when do we see LaRoche?

"WE ROCK!"

-Ronnie James Dio

286--Probably.
Unless when they activate Furcal, they just option Ethier.

275

If anybody gets on I'd take him out. Broxton should be nice an ready.

What would have been the point in pinch-running for Gonzalez? He's not all that slow. He's adequate. I can't imagine that Clark is much faster.

And why am I even bothering to contest this point?

I think Furcal is activated, Ethier sent down before Friday.

Then Tsao optioned, Bigbie recalled.

292- you think Seanez stays over Tsao?

I think Tsao goes when Furry is activated. Mgmt may have soured that much on Ethier, but I'm not convinced yet.

another double switch?

Nomar at third, Loney at first is still the best way to go, reality be damned.

Rich Aurilia started at first, third, and short for the Giants last week. It's really not that big of a deal.

A trio of ifs, but if Penny can beat the good teams and be consistent all season and Schmidt regains some velocity and Tomko's change in delivery results in maintained dominance, the boys in blue could be looking at 105-110 wins.

293 Good point. I forgot about Seanez. And I shouldn't have. I didn't like Seanez when he was on the Dodgers the last time.

296
You need a more convincing example than stating that the Dodgers should turn Nomar into the second coming of Rich Aurilia.

I really hope Either gets a hit or two that should boost his confidence. I know he's out of the game today but hopefully tomorrow.

I think Marty's right.

He is who we think he is.

296- but the discussion doesn't center around whether Nomar CAN play third, but whether or not it increases his injury risk.

I personally don't care either way- I'd like to see him at third regardless, or in the outfiled, or anywhere he's needed. His value when he was a free agent was that he'd play anywhere, and, for me at least, that's where his greatest value is to the team today- supersub.

in all the games, the dodgers seem to have on or two innings of offense then completely disappear in the other ones

Grady and I are on the same page tonite. It's JBrox/Saito or bust. I reckon it was a tad early to be pinch running. Especially with only 5 bench players. I'm not an advocate of the 12 man pitching staff.

Asimov, Heinlein, and now Kurt. Most of my junior high school authors have passed on. Arthur C Clark must be getting ready to join them or he may already have and I didn't notice. I didn't pay much attention in class because of those guys.

302
Third base is the safest place on the diamond. You don't do a whole lot. And the last five years of injury histories throughout baseball prove that.

Putting Nomar at first instead of third to reduce his injury risk does the exact opposite.

the seventh inning stretch footage reminds me that I had no idea the lyrics were not "root root root for the DODGERS..." until I was about 12 years old. I still think about that ever single time I go to the game and sing.

299

I'm saying he can become what Rich Aurilia wishes he could be.

And how is there any play more risky for Nomar than getting blasted by the runner? Cliff Floyd and Derrek Lee can both attest.

302- I agree, I was just trying to refocus. I don't think anyone believes Nomar isn't capable of playing third. I was thinking the same way even before you brought the citation.

The way the D's went down in the seventh is the way you help your pitching late and ahead. Why am I not pleased.

I'm waiting for the inevitable "Get over it, Brock, Nomar isn't going to play third" comment from Jon.

305 Didn't know you were a big sci-fi guy. Clark is my favorite among the three you mentioned, but I love all of them.

Katie Casey was baseball mad.
Had the fever and had it bad.
Just to root for the home town crew
Every sou, Katie blew.
On a Saturday her young beau,
Called to see if he she'd like to go
To see a show but Miss Kate said,
"No, but I'll tell you what you can do."

Take me out to the ball game.
Take me out with the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack
I don't care if I never get back
Let me root, root, root for the home team
If they don't win it's a shame.
Cause it's one, two, three strikes out you're out
At the old ballgame!

Katie also had issues with the umpires, but we won't get into that.

The San Diego series & the Arizona series should be really nice.

yay, Gonzalez caught the ball

The Rockies should be ashamed of their performance

The Reds beat the Dbacks. The Dbacks may be better than I have them cracked up to be. The Giants have turned to poopoo, but the division has really improved. I think these 2007 Dodgers would have won 105 games easily playing the '05 schedule.

306 - I accept his as true, but it seems like there could be exceptions to this rule. Certain injuries could be exacerbated by the specific plays made at 3B, but not at first. This is not a Nomar specific example, just a not about making the general specific.

312- ah yes. The verses have been forgotten by more than just me

Would Lou Gehrig had run off as long of a consecutive game streak if he had been playing third base?

I don't think so.

Especially with Gehrig being lefthanded.

314- Uh, isn't that Brady Clark out there now, Monkey?

Wow, so what's the Dodgers ERA now?

318
It would be like hearing this before the beginning of a game:

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

320 - Nope, Clark went in for Ethier.

321- ugh. Because the anthem isn't maddening enough already. Please don't draw it out.

wow, my bad. I just naturally assumed they'd put Clark in for Gonzo, not Ethier - forgot they were doing the double-switch. This is what happens when my girlfriend puts on the world's most boring show on the history channel while I'm watching the game on MLBTV. My eyes drifted off for just a few seconds.

I know a guy that can sing all four verses of the star spangled banner.

Beyond weird, but there you go. Many a bar bet has been won with that.

323
When I've gone to church in the Midwest, the folks there seem to sing every verse of every hymn. Out here in California, one, maybe two verses, and we're done.

We've got things to do.

Plus, this game is kind of boring, too. Boring in a good way, of course.

324
So the Germans lost World War II again, did they?

323 - Well it is an old British drinking song.

325- How many kidneys does he have?

325- but can he hit the notes?
326- we've got traffic to sit in.

326 You don't go to an Episcopal church.

No "Best Of" verse-singing going on there.

330
A friend of mine went into the hospital with two kidneys and an appendix and she left with one kidney and no appendix. But her mom has three kidneys!

That high fastball is a great, underused pitch with a full count.

Matt Holliday is not clutch

329- for true? I'd never heard that. Not that I'm an anthem historian or anything, but still- that's interesting to know.

I can't believe how well the Dodgers starters are performing. Holy crap.

don't mean to beat a dead horse but check out the dodgers run production through nine games:

2007: 33 runs
2006: 56 runs
2003: 33 runs

i love the pitching thus far this year but i loved the pitching in 2003, too

Not to be Debbie Downer, but haven't exactly faced the '27 Yankees the last two series.

To Anacreon in Heav'n, where he sat in full glee,
A few Sons of Harmony sent a petition;
That he their Inspirer and Patron wou'd be;
When this answer arrived from the Jolly Old Grecian;
"Voice, Fiddle, and Flute,
No longer be mute,
I'll lend you my name and inspire you to boot,
And besides I'll instruct you like me, to intwine,
The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's Vine."

337-338
Consecutive female posts: a Dodgerthoughts first...?

There's no song for Saito, How about Bulls on Parade by Rage Against The Machine?

Hospitals are not good places to sell kidneys. They have all kinds of ethical restrictions and codes. Even if you find some one willing to break the rules, he's going to demand a cut. Much better to use clinic, or a motel with a bathtub full of ice.

How on earth did we luck into Saito after Gagne broke. He's getting on, but he will last until Broxton's ready. What a guy.
Yeee-hah. D's win!

Thanks for swinging at 3 pitches outside the strike zone, Iannetta

Saito always seems so happy when he gets a save.

We win!

336 - Really really.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Anacreon_in_Heaven

343- I know of a good alley behind a 7-11 on Santa Monica Blvd...

I keep telling myself that lineup constructs don't matter.

Martin drops to sixth when Furcal comes back. Human out Machine rewarded for...well...I don't know.

Just heard Russell Martin interviewed & he seems to dislike the Padres just as much as I do. :o)

Not sure what to make of this. Little said Furcal would play the whole game. But Andrew reported he left the game early.

>>> Notes: Furcal could return by Friday

"He hit five times and tonight he'll play the entire game at shortstop." <<<

http://tinyurl.com/2nv3vq

301

I can't help but read this post in a crazed Denny Green post-game voice.

"HE IS WHO WE THOUGHT HE WAS! AND WE LET 'EM OFF THE HOOK!"

328. "So the Germans lost World War II again, did they?"

Not tonight, but I did find out how fiberglass insulation is made. Very enthralling.

I keep nodding off even after it's over, even with the Simpsons on, so I better hit the hay.

343. Hospitals are not good places to sell kidneys.

I'm sure they'll agree with you in Fresno. :-)

>>> Fresno organ donor was wrongly declared brain-dead

A man whose family agreed to donate his organs for transplant upon his death was wrongly declared brain-dead by two doctors at a Fresno hospital, records and interviews show. <<<

http://tinyurl.com/3dfnbj

The Dodger Starter has gotten the decision in every game this year except for the one last night. Consequently, Tomko is the only Starter without a win so far.

From Gurnick:

Rafael Furcal cut short his injury rehabilitation stint and left Wednesday night's game in the sixth inning when his sprained left ankle tightened.

"It's tight when I push off," said Furcal, who has missed nearly three weeks with the injury suffered when he collided with center fielder Jason Repko in a Vero Beach exhibition game.

"There's no pain and no swelling, but it's like when you feel tight and you want to move and it feels heavy. I don't want to take a chance."

342 Saito had a song he came out to, but I would be damned if I had a clue as to what it was.

There's no need to rush Furcal if the team is winning without him. It would have been nice to have him back for the SD series, though.

Just got back from the game. Entering the stadium parking lot was okay, even though we had to drive all the way around the place to reach our preferred lot. Inefficient, but we got there without much delay.

Leaving was ridiculous.

I posted here a few weeks ago about the apparent plan to have only one exit per lot being unbelievably stupid. And it is. Had all exits been open, we would have been on the freeway in 2 minutes. Instead, we sat in a competitive and dangerous bottleneck for 10 minutes just trying to reach the inner ring.

It's not that it took so much time - it was a smallish crowd after all - but it was just so much worse than last year. It is absolutely terrible planning.

Other than that, the Stadium looks good. No problem with concessions or bathrooms (it's all timing folks). Dodgers win. I'm happy. But I'd like to get the parking planner in a room alone. Sheesh.

we need to get this offense clicking. our pitching isnt going to continue to be this good (or at least i dont think so).

We got back from the game about 10:30. We parked in Chinatown and walked in through the Downtown Gate. It took about 20 minutes to walk in up the hill.

After the game ended, we walked through the parking lots and traffic building up at the end of the game, and got to our car in 15 minutes. We were on the freeway 5 minutes later.

Previously, we'd park in the old Lot 7 and zip out the Sunset Gate right after the game. So by parking outside, we saved $15 and got home just as quickly.

I hope Grady continues to play Bedemit. Right now his lack of offense is not really hurting us and he needs to play to breakout of this slump. His defense has been fine and Lucille II is not the future. Its not like there are a lot of better options.

(Disclaimer: That last statement should not be construed as an invitation to initiate the 1,000,000 discussion about whether LaRoche should be called up or Nomar should move to third.)

New Post Up Top

363 - Hey, don't scare him like that

363. Good one. Just call me the thread killer.

I'm still here - just in lurking mode.

You will be missed, Mr. Vonnegut.

D4P's next vacation may not end well.

http://tinyurl.com/2wwzam

Santa Cruz: It's not just for naked, pot smoking, anti-globalization protesters, anymore.

http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~inio/dk/?fb

Mia Farrow and her son wrote an op-ed piece calling the Beiging Olympics the "Genocide Games" and criticizing Spielberg as its Riefenstahl. At issue is China's involvement with the Sudan and Darfur (which I didn't know about).

http://www.genocideintervention.net/about/press/coverage/index.php/archives/210

267
A disobedient man will be punished by kneeling on an uneven wooden board or by washing dishes in a restaurant.

Sounds familiar

[369] yeah, china's growing demand for energy has them essentially filling the vacuum left by us, so they're dealing with the countries that the U.S. doesn't have a relationship with (e.g. sudan, venezuela, iran) in order to get access to oil. and not that we've exactly got a monopoly on morality or anything, but china's foreign policy is guided by leaders with a decidedly realist, national-interest based perspective.

Will Furcal play tonight, or is he going to stay on the disabled list?

369- Not only does that have nothing to do with Anna Nicole Smith, it's not even about Imus. Priorities man!

Priorities.

369. Mia Farrow has too much time on her hand. And so do I, for commenting on Mia Farrow.

373 - I know, I know. I had a cool link about how the father will let other people visit the baby, but won't share custody, but I didn't post it because I was too busy punching myself in the face.

374 - I disagree with this point so strongly that I am worried smoke will come out of my ears. She has too much time on her hands because she is writing articles about African genocide? Says people who spend all day talking about baseball? I have too much time on my hands, Mia Farrow obviously is using hers pretty well.

Furcal is getting close to returning and the Dodgers already have Valdez, Anderson, Martinez and wouldn't you know, Abreu is excelling at AAA and playing SS.

Ethier has options and if he isn't hitting by the time Kemp returns could be the one sent to AAA? But if Loney begins to hit in AAA will he platoon with Kemp instead of Ethier? Bigbie continues to hit well in AAA.

It is odd but maybe true, an outfield of Loney, Kemp, and Bigbie could be better than Gonzo, Pierre, Ethier. Its only April but I can hear echoing in the hills behind Dodger Stadium -- Wait til June.

375. Perhaps it was a callous remark on my part. My intent was not to dismiss the genocide issue, but a general indictment of the rich and celebrities taking up causes -- mainly because they have the time and money to do it while the rest of us are struggling at our 9-5.

377 - Is that better than the alternative, the rich spending all their time partying and jetsetting? Who do you prefer, Mia Farrow writing articles about African Genocide, or Paris Hilton, doing- whatever it is she does. This seems like exactly what a good person would do if they could.

There you go. Paris Hilton! I didn't really read the whole comment, but I like the direction I assume it was heading.

American Idol update:
http://tinyurl.com/3ay4oa

378. That filthy rich Microsoft guy...spent over $250Million to shoot himself into space. Because he could. That money could have gone to more urgent social causes.

Hollywood celebs all firmly behind the global warming issue...yet the film industry itself contributes to the problem. Their favorite modes of travel -- limos and learjets -- certainly don't help global warming.

But I digress...

I just saw Mia Farrow's name on a baseball form and just reacted.

379 - I heard that Paris and Lohan are totally on the outs, because Lohan is now dating the guy that called her a "fire crotch". In all seriousness, Lohan isn't a bad actress (she did a good job in "A Prarie Home Companion") but her personal life has destroyed any shot of artistic credibility. Paris... well G.O.B. said it best:

"It's great to profit off her. But she is such a talentless non-entity that I just couldn't care less what she does. It's absolutely absurd that people spend any time talking about her...It's shocking to me. I hate myself for knowing her name...[She's] it's hard to avoid! You know, being famous is not a skill."

380- It's okay with me, at least, if you don't like Mia Farrow. You say one word against Mariel Hemingway, though, and I will end you. Fair warning.

382. I have nothing but the fondest regards for Mariel.

Under the catagory of bad news (from mlb.com):
"The Padres' bullpen corps has now worked 28 1/3 innings this season without giving up a run. That's already the longest streak in club history to open a season and is creeping up on the longest scoreless stretch at any point (32 innings, set in 1978)."

382 - I've seen Mariel Hemingway, and she's no Mia Farrow. Then, she is in my favorite Woody movie (Manhattan), so I can't really decide. Mia was incredible in some of the underrated ones (Broadway Danny Rose and The Purple Rose of Cairo), but then Muriel had a two episode stint on "Becker". So tough to choose.

363

385- Four words, two sentences: Personal Best. Trust me.

Is Manhattan her personal best? Oh, there is a movie called Personal Best. To the netflix queue.

Manhattan is the best movie she's ever been in, or ever will be, so far as I'm concerned. But her other movies have their charm.

Except for Superman IV. Yeesh.