Re-post from the last thread:

Only 2 K's today for Hendrickson, in 5.2 innings. I'm not sure if that's encouraging or not, but I've attributed most of his relatively brief success (since he became a reliever last season) to a big upswing in his K rate, relative to his career figures.

If his K rate can stay high, he stands a real good chance to continue to succeed. Based on his career figures though, I'd watch out if he can't miss bats while a starter. We could see the old Hendrickson again.

Wow, Jon, I've never been the first post on your blog. Not that I participate very often, but it's still cool.

Never thought I'd say this, but I'm ENJOYING watching Mark Hendrickson pitch this year. He's throwing strikes, keeping the ball down, and maybe even throwing a bit harder than he did last year.

But Jon's right: It won't last.

I felt a disturbance in the force when Lowe hit for himself with the bases loaded in the 5th and even though he did better than expected, Jon was probably itching to type, "If all you want is one more inning..."

This team is finding ways to score runs without someone hitting 10 home runs. While more offense is needed at 3B, the key will be to keep the old guys frisky and find ways to get the kids in the lineup.

I like Tsao for Seanez and perhaps we will see Yhency before Jason in a Dodger uniform.

Shoot, blue22 snuck in there before me.

You should add that San Francisco was 7-9 in the NFL last year, so we'd be a full four games up on our rivals.

5 Ha! Your nickname just made me laugh.

Wish I could jump on the Stan Conte bandwagon, but I see him as being as much part of the Schmidt problem as the solution. The Giants didn't go after Schmidt because they had health concerns. They were not alone. Doesn't appear Stan gave the Dodgers any sort of inside edge whatsoever, which is a shame when you're investing $47 million in one of his guys. I was hoping Stan would give Ned some special insights into Schmidt's arm, which had raised concerns the last two years. But right now, it appears Stan was clueless about Schmidt's shoulder weakness or whatever it is that's going on. As for Conte's recent portrayal of prodding Schmidt to reveal the truth about his shoulder, that's encouraging and maybe pre-emptive -- but I see it as more self-aggrandazement from a trainer who gets way too much media play.

Maybe because I like to believe in personal redemption (and the underdog triumph) in real life, in personal improvement, that despite being one of many Hendrickson skeptics last year I am rooting for his turn-around to be legit. If that psychologist helped him, or whatever it was, it's good. Sure, I expect him to struggle at some point, but whatever he's doing seems to be working. (If we happen to trade him for somebody good at some point this year, I won't cry over it either.) But for now, given Schmidt's status, and Tomko's erratic-ness, I'm glad we have him.

The Giants just swept the Cards in a two-game series.

The Cards are really... icky right now.

7 A trainer who gets way too much media play? I'm not sure about that...

I'm just glad to have Arod on my fantasy team!

7 - You know that Victor Conte and Stan Conte are different, right? Victor Conte seems to be the guy that gets too much media play.

Stan Conte seems to get as much media play as any other trainer...

So Jon, what you are saying is that the 2007 Dodgers are the second-best team in the 2006 NFC? What about those 2005 Dodgers then? ;)

and, um, WOW...I just looked at that Retrosheet link from Bob the other day on the last game in which Mike Lieberthal batted cleanup, back in '03 vs the Braves...and I was at that game!! Not only was the comeback off of Smoltz just ridiculously awesome, but after the game had ended my brother and I climbed all the way up to the top of the 700 level and looked out through the space under the overhang...to that shiny new ballpark being built right next door....and it hit us that we would never go to the Vet again... :'(

4th inning

3-1 fb to rf

0-0 GO to 2b

2-2 called strike 3 outside corner 93mph fb

4IP 3H 1ER 2bb 4k

decent outing so far.

eduardo perez just smacked a homerun for the first one in the history of the new loons stadium!

7 - You could be right. At this point, we don't know. I don't know that it's reasonable to essentially hold Conte responsible for Schmidt not being completely healthy.

Nice low stress win for the Dodgers today I couldn't watch the game on t.v. but heard Steiner & Monday on the radio, There not have bad for my taste, Oh & i'm one of the contest winners on inside the Dodgers, I feel so VIP.

Ok, so this blows my mind. A-rod is "on pace" for 116 homer and .351 BA, yet his OPS is lower than what Bonds had for the entire 2004 season, and almost identical to Bonds' full '01 and '02 seasons.

I guess the Dodgers did not make Schmidt show he could throw the ball harder than my little sister before they rained buckets of money on him.

12 I went to the game on Tuesday at "that shiny new ballpark." I will doubtless remember if for being (a) extremely cold, and (b) the night of Charlie Manuel's meltdown. Was fun, though, and I loved my visit to Philly. I just wish that cities/teams building new stadiums would stop hiring the same architect every time.

7 - Ignore me in 11. I really didn't mean to come off as such a jerk.

Maybe Conte was looking out for Schmidt to score a big payday. Either way Schmidt should be fine, Conte wasn't the only one to examine his shoulder.

18 - Is your little sister a lefty?

I hear what y'all are saying on the Schmidt/Conte/Ned score, but I'm not going there for 2 reasons:

a) its the same line of criticism as the old Depo/Penny/Drew issue, and more importantly,
b) I think Schmidt's deal actually reflects a substantial injury risk. Its not like he's getting Zito money.

5th inning

1-2 cb called strike 3 K

1-2 fb called strike 3 K

0-2 gb basehit to lf

0-2 GO to kershaw

thats probably the end of his outing.

5IP 4H (all singles) 1ER 2bb 6K

5 is great. Jon hit on the head once when he said something like: Monday seems to be annoyed that there is game going on to interrupt his conversations.

21
Reading the comments section 2 days ago (game day chat)some folks feel he should come back relatively quickly & some think it will take a while.

15 I read that Conte said this was a new development in regards to the latest issue with Schmidt and his past arm injury issue was pretty well known already.

And also Ned was there when Schmidt was injured in 2004-2005.

I am not sure about the medical ethics and confidentiality about players so I am not sure Conte could express anything he learned as a Giant employee.

Finally, according to press reports, Schmidt passed a physical before signing in December, though I would guess that it did not include an MRI due to cost and time.

I'm an optimist so I'm thinking he'll come back quickly. veremos [spanish]

I always thought it was universally accepted that Schmidt's fastball was down the last two years and that during the middle of the season it picks up to the low 90's..?

I also think we should consider ourselves lucky. Most teams barely have 4 serviceable starters. We have like 8.

veremos [spanish]

Yes, we will. [English]

31

o.k. [both]

32
Fo shizzle. [Neither]

wow, kershaw is still pitching, ill update.

starting off the 6th with 81 pitches.

1-2 gb to 2b (93mph fb reading in that sequence)

1-2 swing and miss fb K

1-2 gb to first, throws it away. error

and....thats the end for kershaw.

34

81 pitches doesn't sound bad for 6 innings of work, is he on a pitch limit if so what is it?

So, when was the last time the Dodgers scored five runs without a run-scoring hit?

28, 31-33 - You guys have me laughing out loud here at work.

The Pirates are in town tomorrow and DodgerSims is giving the Dodgers and Randy Wolf a 54.54% chance of winning. Hopefully, Grady doesn't mess with the lineup/starters again. Nothing wrong with an occasional day off, but everyone at the same time? Hats off to Hendrickson and the bullpen who pitched well today. I had Hendrickson down as the #8 starter, not the #7 starter. I suppose with Guo on the DL, you could argue that Hendy is the #7. :)

The Dodgers would fair better in the NFC as opposed to the AFC or a combination of the two together. Hopefully, after 82 games they will have a better record than the Lakers and Clippers.
vr, Xei

BTW - San Diego just completed a homestand that was less than 24 hours long.

They flew to Chicago after the Sunday night game in Los Angeles and then lost Game 1 in Chicago, played a day game the next day and won, flew back to San Diego and lost last night, then won today

They will probably now get on a plane and fly into Denver tonight to start a 6 game road trip through Denver and Phoenix before flying home next Thursday night to start a 6 game homestand with the Dodgers and Nationals.

The Dodger's schedule thus far has been a little bit better.

I'm not particularly interested in NASCAR, but I have found the Dale Earnhardt Jr./Theresa Earnhardt saga fascinating.

Little E wins. He's getting 51% ownership and controlling interest in his father's company.

40

That's cool, there nice & tired I hope that equals a loss tomorrow.

That's unfortunate news about Willy Aybar. I wonder if there was any hint of that when Ned decided to trade him?

22 No, I'm the only lefty in the family.

jumping in way late but it's nice to see us come back with a win after last night...

I see Betemit got a hit today...the question though, is how long do we give him? We know he can hit...he's proven that. But how long do we have a guy hitting around .100 before Valdez takes over?

Now that the T-shirt ordering is over, are there any interesting textilemetrics to come out of it? Blue/White splits? Home (So. Cal.) vs. Away? Shirt per order metric?

I work as an Exercise Physiologist in a hospital cardiac rehab program, and have close contact with both Physical Therapists and Certified Athletic Trainers. Yesterday, I talked with one of the Athletic Trainers, who works frequently with baseball players (formerly in the Pioneer League), and he assured me that inflamation of the bursa is not a season ending or even a long-term injury. He said that if you have to have a shoulder problem, bursitis is the one you'd want to have, and was the least serious. However, he obviously couldn't say that in two weeks Schmidt will be throwing 90 mph again.

The Dodgers could skip Hendrickson's next start (it would also give them some more bullpen depth)

Friday April 20th - Wolf
Saturday April 21st - Penny
Sunday April 22nd - Tomko
Monday April 23rd - Off day
Tuesday April 24th - Lowe
Wednesday April 25th - Wolf
Thursday April 26th - Penny
Friday April 27th - Tomko
Saturday April 28th - Hendrickson
Sunday April 29th - Lowe
Monday April 30th - Wolf (Schmidt eligible to come off DL)
Tuesday May 1st - Penny
Wednesday May 2nd - Tomko
Thursday May 3rd - Off Day
Friday May 4th - Lowe
Saturday May 5th - Wolf
Sunday May 6th - Penny
Monday May 7th - Tomko
Tuesday May 8th - Hendrickson

There are a couple of reasons why they could do skip the 5th spot a few times. One is that Hendrickson is valuable as a long man in the bullpen, two, by breaking it up, Grady breaks up the two lefthanded pitchers and three, it still keeps everyone on a regular rotation.

48 You're assuming that Tomko will still be starting and a Dodger in May. ;)

48 And if they go by that schedule, Schmidt could come back on May 13th, 4 weeks and a day after his last start and the Dodgers would have only had to use Hendrickson 3 times in his spot.

49 I knew someone would say that, yes, that could change but I think Tomko has at least a month before they look at that situation.

7 "The Giants didn't go after Schmidt because they had health concerns. They were not alone."

The other day Kent said the Giants customarily just don't put much effort into re-signing their players with expiring contracts, which I may have seen elsewhere also. If so, they didn't go after Schmidt just as a matter of business as usual and didn't even consider his health.

In context, Kent said some Giant fans were bitter he didn't re-sign there. They didn't know he never had the chance to, he said.

48 et al - see update above

Did anyone notice on today's broadcast that the house ads for the April 20 promotion suddenly changed from "Jason Schmidt T-Shirt Night" to "Dodger T-Shirt Night"? (It's the same shirt though.)

I wonder if all 50,000 shirts will be fraying at the shoulder.

Good news. I'm going to the Wednesday game. I can neither confirm, nor deny, that that was the inspiration of my attempt at rumor mongering, last night.

The Pirates (and Dodgers) have Monday off, so, if tomorrow gets rained out, which looks like it could well happen, they have one spare day to work with.

The Weather Channel forecast says the rain should taper off by tomorrow night.

I think the Dodgers will play tomorrow night come hell or high water. The game could be delayed a bit like the one game against the Giants was. Also one of the opening series games against the Braves had a delay.

Is there any record of Dodger rain delay splits?

I'm not convinced there's a single structure in Los Angeles capable of moving one inch of rain water from where it lands to somewhere else where it isn't a problem within twenty-four hours, absent significant help from the sun. If they play tomorrow, I, in advance, absolve Juan Pierre of whatever nonsense he gets up to trying to play CF.

56 "I think the Dodgers will play tomorrow night come hell or high water"

And if Wolf is off his game, they'll have both of those.

Apologies - I've posed a parking question above in an update.

I had to share this with everyone here, though I'm sure someone has heard of it. It was new to me however.

From CBS Sportsline:

"The Whiff Rate is simply defined as the total number of swings and misses over the total number of swings. Assuming that the primary goal of a batter is to make contact, we can use this ratio to see who has the best "out" pitch - and to find out what it is. Assuming a minimum sample size of 200 swings for fastballs and 100 swings for anything off speed, we can see who coaxed the highest percentage of whiffs a season ago."

Where can you even get that kind of information if you wanted to say, hypothetically, find out the whiff rate for the current Dodger pitching staff?

Russ Langer just now on the radio contradicted all the reports about Kemp. He says Kemp suffered a "setback" last night, with a recurrence of pain in his right shoulder. He was supposed to play tonight but will not, and they'll re-evaluate him tomorrow to see whether he can play.

62 -- If you are listening to the Vegas game, what is Langer saying about Miller, like how is the velocity on his fastball? I see by the box score Miller is doing well through 3 innings, 2 K's, no walks.

57

You gotta be joking about that one right?

Saw the Suns play tonight.Hu looked really nice at shortstop.He was charged with two throwing errors but the first one he went deep in the hole and bounced a throw that Cory Dunlop couldn't hold onto.Hu showed some gap power and stole third base.All around nice game.
Dunlop looked good at the plate,but looked like he's been putting away some plates.That is a big boy!
Anthony Raglani hit a three run shot with two outs in the first.
The Suns' pitchers walked 14 or 15 batters.Alvis Ojeda barely threw a strike in 4 innings.B.J.Lamura looked better than I thought.
Tomorrow night Mike Megrew is pitching.Should be better.

63 I've been drifting in and out of the room while the game's been on, so I haven't noticed anything specific being said about how Miller looks. However, since he is "pitching very well" maybe I'd better sit down and listen for a while.

I'm happy to be checking in on the AAA Vegas game - a rare pleasure.

Miller is at 77 pitches through six innings.

Miller hit the first two batters of the game.

Who's doing color with Langer?

69 You should be able to get it from this clue: It's somebody who, in 1980 against the Giants, pulled off what Miller is trying to do.

Miller gets pinch hit for. His final line:

6 IP
0 H
1 R
0 ER
2 BB
4 K

2007 ERA: 1.35

70 - Oh, it's Reuss. But wait, is that Reuss on PBP?

They've been switching off on play-by-play and color.

So, who closes this one out for the 51s, since their closer pitched for the Dodgers today?

It surprises me that Meloan wasn't called up to AAA when Tsao was promoted. For the second year in a row, he's proving he's too good for Double A.

74 - Does it matter that there's currently no save situation?

70

It does sound like Reuss (I just tuned in)

19 - Coolio! The worst weather I have been there for was the game when JI
JIM THOME's 400th home run vs the Reds was semi-rained-out and the entire 40,000+ crowd had to shove themselves down under the covered area behind home plate. Wouldn't that be fun, close quarters with that many Philadelphians?

And my favorite take on the new ballparks came from I think the Dugout when they said something to the effect of "before they made sure that every new ballpark looks like Camden Yards but slightly misshaped."

Spike Lundberg. Good name. Speaking of which, did we ever get an update on Alberto Bastardo, after he got pulled with an injury from the Furcal rehab game?

Seek and ye shall find: "Sixers starting pitcher Alberto Bastardo, who left Tuesday's game in the third inning with a groin injury, will be placed on the disabled list and another pitcher is expected to join the team."

http://www.sbsun.com/sports/ci_5647671

73 Reuss must be getting ready to do the color when the Dodgers go back east in two weeks. I thought he did a pretty good job especially (and obviously) when talking about the pitching.

laroche hit a homerun too, no one mentioned that yet.

52-

I don't know what Kent said about the Giants' approach to re-signing players in or after their walk years. But they seem pretty open to it. They signed Pedro Feliz and Ray Durham out of free agency this past offseason. They also forfeited a draft pick and gifted the Reds with another compensatory pick when they signed Rich Aurilia, although he'd been gone for a few years.

79 Thus depriving us of a game with the best-named pitching tandem of all time, wherein Alberto Bastardo relieves Yhency Brazoban.

52, 82 It was actually Schmidt who said that the other day. (Well, Kent may have said it too, but I know Schmidt did.)

A bit off topic, but I think there maybe a silver linning in the Schmidt injury. As john notes Tomko and Hendrickson will come down to earth as the weather warms up and having both in the starting rotation for the whole season is a frightining thought. However, if Schmidt is injured for a length of time, hopefully Kuo Billingsly will get a real chance to start a significant amount of games.

Suspended Braves infielder Willy Aybar is in Boston, struggling with substance abuse and trying to get his life and baseball career back in order, his agent told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
I hope he gets his life straightened out..

Wilber is one of my favorites

:(

Alyssa Milano will probably be the only actress to ever have a blog on Dodgers.com but its a lot more interesting than Tommy's blog and if she keeps it up, it will be something I will read throughout the season.

I know she is making an impact when Jon puts in on the sidebar.

Ooh, sidebar talk. That has TYFN potential.

Milano got a shout out from FJM. And she didn't get trashed.

Actually, I'm really enjoying her blog.

I am a little disappointed that she would somehow chalk about Lieberthal batting fourth as a Moneyball thing, though.

For the non-STATS folks, STATS 101 continues. :-)

>>> Stats 101: Give VORP a chance

This week, we're here to build a better mousetrap. That means delving into the world of emergent statistical analysis. <<<

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6700964

90 It was a GradyBall thing.

Kind of interesting answer to a trivia question, the current GM of the Angels.

I live for the day when I never have to hear or see the word Moneyball, especially from people who never read the book.

Emailed Tony Jackson today to tell him how much I enjoyed his blog, he told me that he was reluctant at first but now he thinks it best time he has had since he started reporting and hopes it gets better as the season goes on.

Someone needs to tell Alyssa that Grady doesn't do that Oakland thing

we need to start badgering TJ to bug Colletti about the lack of dodger interest in the international market the last 7 years.

95

he does the boston thing which in essence, is basically the oakland thing.

You didn't ask him about his strange attraction to "Alice"?

like Fernando Martinez, why do the Mets get him and not us? :(

Is Saito "international" enough for you...?

Saito doesnt count.

he counts...but he doesnt. you know.

Don't Hu and Abreu count? Or have they been in the organization too long?

96 I think that is a Logan White deal now but I think Tony Jackson would enjoy hearing from anyone who reads his blog and perhaps a nice off-day filler story would be one on what White's plans are in regards to the Latin America scouting area.

Maybe we can take Martinez from Omar Minaya.

Come on Omar, you guys do not need an outfielder for the future when you have Shawn Green and Moises Alou.

LaRoche started 3 double plays tonight.

Didn't Martinez cost a lot? He sounds too risky for Ned, much like Daisuke. Ned likes to go with, what he thinks are safe bets.

Didn't Martinez cost a lot? He sounds too risky for Ned, much like Daisuke. Ned likes to go with, what he thinks are safe bets.

if thats true, he wouldnt have let logan white pick 3 prep prospects with his first 3 picks and spend 5 mil to sign them.

Fernando Martinez was signed for 1.4 million.

so basically, mid first round money.

Ned likes to go with, what he thinks are safe bets

Not sure if this has been argued before, but it seems to me that Ned places a lot of weight on his job security, certainly much more so than did Depo. He GMs in such a way that, if the team fails, the blame won't generally be placed on him (at least not by the MSM or the ownership).

103

well since now you have already opened up the communication lines with him....hint hint nudge nudge :)

84 - This is what Kent had to say:

>>> Kent still fond of San Francisco

Giants fans can boo all they want, Kent figures, but they don't know the entire story. As a free agent, he wasn't invited back.

"I didn't have any choice," he said. "But they don't know that. These are good people here. At the end of 2002, I knew the powers that be didn't want me back. But I'm glad [the fans] are still having that kind of reaction. It's kind of cool." <<<

http://tinyurl.com/2emj6d

Fernando Martinez

Maybe Ned can find a Pedro Valenzuela somewhere out there, beneath the pale moon light

84 - Here's what Schmidt had to say:

>>> "I didn't expect to go back, honestly," he said. "I could tell a year earlier. You have to play in San Francisco to really know how it works. Not many guys re-sign except Barry Bonds. They keep running them out of there." <<<

http://tinyurl.com/2zhan6

102

abreu was signed in october of 2002, hu was signed in jan of 2003.

113
Well duh. Have to get the new old blood in there.

The Dodgers haven't made big noise in the AMATEUR international free agent market in recent years for a couple reasons:

(1). The Dodgers made a conscious decision to spend less money in that area, just to save money.

(2). With Logan White's drafts going well and the rankings of the Dodgers' farm going up even without expensive foreign signings, the Dodgers started seeing premium foreign talent as a luxury they didn't need rather than a necessity. In the past the Dodgers have used big foreign signings to compensate for doing poorly in the domestic draft, and today you see the same thing with other clubs.

116

i only mention this because in the upcoming draft, the number of picks the giants, padres and and dbacks have in first 3 rounds dwarfs what the dodgers have.

their systems are only going to get stronger and it seems like we need to do something to match up.

Weatherman friend said it would be a longshot for the game tomorrow night to be rained out. He said the rain should be over by game time. Worst case scenario likely is, the start of the game could be delayed. In any case should be around 1 inch of rain in the LA area (more than other areas due to the storm slowing down over LA area). Parts of the field could be wet, depending on the type of coverage the tarp at Dodger Stadium has. Should give those of you sitting in the Olmedo Saenz "all you can eat" pavillion more time to down a couple extra nacho dogs.
vr, Xei

117 -- But the way the Dodgers will look at it is that we already have a much better farm than the Giants or Padres, so it is they who need to play catch up, not us. I don't think the Dodgers care about having the best draft in a given year, it is a long-term process of drafting well and developing the players well that pays off. Aside from paying LaRoche big money (which they did when the Dodgers were still actively trying to play catch up), the Logan White era has not been marked by spending our way to improving the system. Either Logan or the people he answers to, like McCourt, seem to want to keep spending on amateur talent to a mimimum. I mean, if the Dodgers had been willing to meet Hochevar's price we would have had him, but we didn't meet the price. And right on draft day I KNEW we wouldn't meet the price, and Boras wouldn't lower the price, so I knew it was a wasted pick. And look at all the HS talent White has drafted over the years without signing because we wouldn't pay, like David Price, and Joe Savery.

The Futurama episode where Fry wants to clone his dog Seymour and then decides not to is sad

120 I recently persuaded a good friend to get into Futurama. He has totally bought in.

Good News, everybody! New episodes on the way!

121
Yeah, I heard new episodes will be airing on Comedy Central in early 2008. That's awesome. It's a great show.

I watched the show for about half a season when it first came out (back in 1998?), and really liked it. But that's around the time I met my current wife, and I got distracted. Ironically, I didn't watch the show again until a month or so ago when we started watching it together. She likes it as much as I do.

The Futurama episode that follows, in which Fry eats an infested egg salad sandwich and gets smarter, is hilarious and I've seen it 12 times. Stop reading this. Watch.

Yep, new episodes, huzzah!

Btw, it rained up here in SF all night so I guess we're sending it down to you guys, but it does seem to be moving rather fast so I bet the game goes on (knock wood).

Btw, x2, I saw Greg Proops tonight and my mouth hurts from laughing so much.

121 -- If you wanted to make a Futurama joke, the "Good news, everybody!" should have been followed by BAD news.

124 On Fridays, I always tell my students..."Good News, Everybody! Friday Quiz!"

There is little rejoicing.

The Futurama episode that follows, in which Fry eats an infested egg salad sandwich and gets smarter, is hilarious and I've seen it 12 times

Hmmm...that order seems wrong. I've already seen the egg salad sandwich episode, but just saw the dog episode tonight.

I think the Amazonian episode is probably my favorite thus far. In general, any episode where Zap Brannigan and Kiff Kroker get a lot of airtime is a good one.

"This is the worst kind of discrimination. The kind against me." - Bender

125 I like to tell the kids to leave on Fridays. Students and teacher rejoice as we don't have to see each other again for a couple of days.

127 Ah, that's one of my top 3, too.

Classic Zap.
"Well, hello! I usually don't say this but you are the most beautiful trio of gigantic ladies I've ever laid eyes on."

128
lol I almost just put that quote.

"Everyone's a jerk. You, me, this jerk."

119 Under McCourt's ownership, in 2004, the Dodgers paid out over $5 million in signing bonuses to their signed picks in first ten rounds as reported by Baseball America (The D-Backs paid out about the same, with $4 million going to Stephen Drew, while Padres in making one of the worst Number 1 picks in history, paid a little over $3 million to Matt Bush).

In 2005, without a first round pick and not signing Hochevar, they paid out around $2 million in bonus money (about $1 million to Ivan De Jesus, Josh Bell and Jon Meloan). Had Hochevar signed for the "reported amount," they would have been around that same $5 million number.

Last season, with three picks in the top 31, the Dodgers again paid out a little over $5 million in bonus money to their signed picks in the top ten rounds as reported by Baseball America.

In 2003, the Dodgers did pay LaRoche the $1 million (and 1 cent) signing bonus but the rest of their picks were signed at slot value and their total amount was a little over $4 million.

So they have been pretty consistent in paying out around 4-5 million when they have the picks to justify it.

My favorite episode will always be "A Leela of Their Own," where Leela is the first female Blernsball player. Starring Hank Aaron as Hank Aaron XXIV, the worst blernsball player to ever play the game.

Bob Uecker: This is the most bizarre thing I've ever seen...And I've seen Mr. Belvedere naked!

122 "my current wife"?

I hope Mrs. D4P doesn't read DT.

I'd make some reference to Mickey Rooney but you are too young to know what I'm talking about.

134 Is "my future wife" an okay phrase?

I think my favorite episode is when they go to the Slurm factory.

Hard to beat Slurm McKenzie.

Of course, there is one quote, while completely stupid, remains my favorite Futurama quote of all time:

Leela (feeding Nibbler food...snouts): Aww, somebody really likes snouts.

Frye: Is it me?

Know which primetime cartoon needs to come back?

Duckman!

They ended it on a cliffhanger.

This must have something to do with the dork meter...

I was looking up something about Eddie Murphy's Raw on Google and one of my previous searches was about Eddie Bane.

Gosh, I wish I would have embraced my dorkiness at a much earlier time in life.

The Josh Hamilton story is turning into something rather incredible.

Whenever someone mentions the name of Cincinnati's rookie left handed reliever I chuckle like Butthead, a fictional cartoon character on a mid 90's MTV show.

FJM approves of Alyssa Milano's blog. And they misspelled Betemit's name, while she did not.

134 - I have actually met Mrs. D4P, and I am fairly certain that she doesn't read DT. Still, "my current wife" implies either he's been married before or he's shopping for an upgrade.

142 - 89

Mrs. D4P thinks meeting people on the internet (through blogs and such) is weird.

145 - She isn't alone. My friend was not enthused about going to dinner. However, I thought everyone turned out to be very nice. I think your wife said it best: "You probably thought: 'At least he's married, one woman will vouch for him.'" You didn't have that same assurance, so I could have turned out to be sort internet mutant fresh from my parent's basement.

I would guess that the internet mutants who live in their parents' basements either don't set up actual real world meetings or don't show up when they do.

147 - I don't know enough internet mutants to comment. I meant to say by the way, that dinner was very nice. We had a great time and it was a pleasure to meet you and your wife. My friend was very skeptical and even he said that it went great. Obviously, the credit is all on me for being so wonderful, but nevertheless you were there too. ;)

146- As soon as I go upstairs, I'm telling my Mom you said that.

"My friend, I admire your aggressivenes. But perhaps Roadside Jesus can offer a suggestion. The best option in an 0-2 count is to adjust your swing, and try going to the opposite field. There is often much 0-2 success in going the other way.

Do you catch this drift of mine?"

This is from the Alyssa Milano blog comments, in response to her comment that she was "just trying to find [her] way with a 0-2 count" in relationships. I catch his drift, but I notice that Jon doesn't have to deal with these sort of suggestions (then he also doesn't have to address his relationship status).

148
I had to drag my wife kicking and screaming, but she ended up being very glad that she came along.

For some reason, I feel kinda sorry for Alyssa that she actually responds to the "off-topic" comments on her blog.

>>> Pitch count foils Miller after he blanks Colorado Springs for six innings

Two years removed from his second shoulder surgery, Miller is being handled with care to protect his health. He is on a pitch limit of about 80 early in the season. <<<

http://www.lvrj.com/sports/7116761.html

152 - We live in a very misogynistic society, period. Any attractive woman on the internet will have suggestive comments, double entendres and double standards, if she is lucky that is all that she will have to deal with.

150 - I guess you weren't around back when Barbara Walters interviewed me.

154
I'm not surprised by the comments. In fact, they're inevitable. I'm just surprised (and a little disappointed) that she responds to them.

155 - Seriously? How could I have missed that? I have been around since 2004, but that one went right by me.

156 - I think that she did the right thing in this case. The comments won't stop as a result of this, but at least no one will expect her to deal with them. It was a pretty classy response, I think, and for better or worse she had a rep as someone who dated a lot of pitchers, so hopefully this puts that to bed.

Ah, Futurama. My favorite show ever. Curse Fox for killing it with a crappy time-slot. Heck, that show is why my blog is called Dodgerama.

Me: When will Loney be back with the Dodgers?

Grady: Soon enough!

Me: But that's not soon enough.

( Adapted from "Fry and the Slurm Factory" )

Clearly, Alyssa can take care of herself. She knows she has a choice to ignore the comments if she wants. Her responses have been first-rate, so I really don't even see why it's an issue. I predict it will reduce the number of those kinds of comments in the future.

Part of the reason celebrities are drifting toward blogs (Curt Schilling, Mark Cuban, etc.) is to take charge of their own story.

158,160
Then I guess it is just me, and I am the only one.

Actually, I suppose you're right. Addressing the issue once (and for all) right up front is different than continually responding every time, which she presumably won't do.

159 Allegedly Fox is rising it from the ashes a la Family Guy, only with a much longer death period. I think its coming back in a year or so.

I think Milano is given too much credit and strongly believe that the whole "double standard" is just a myth and an excuse for women who get around to get around.

If Mrs. D4P had been shown the group picture from last years DT Dodger night she would have run for the hills.

A quick list of DT posters who would make for interesting dinner company based on my own likes/dislikes.
Marty-late 70's/early 80's LA Music Scene and of course he would pick where to eat.
Don Burns-Jerry Brown/Liberal politics and his travels in France
Daniel Z and his Horde-I'd pay to see a family of 17 eat dinner at one time.
It should be a reality show, as we watch the Z family plow through 3 meals a day.
Jay Jaffe-HOF
Dzzratt-must be full of stories
Josh(Cardboard Gods)-his stepdad could have been my oldest brother
ShiftyJ-obvious reasons
TheTimmerman - Swapping Cat stories
BhSportsguy - closest to me here on my Dodger opinions
BlueBleeder - for a different take on life and his love for the Dodgers
DodgerCanuck - He could regale us with life in British Columbia and Dodger prospects and
how frustrating it must be to live in a Country that couldn't care less about the thing he cares the most about.

Forbes has published its annual rankings of the 30 MLB teams by value, operating income, and debt load. According to the report, the Dodgers are worth $632 million, ranking fourth. The Yankees, of course, are number one, at $1.2 billion. The Yankees also lost the most money last year.

Marlins President David Samson, whose team ranked lowest in value, had this to say in an Associated Press piece about the rankings:

"As usual, the franchise valuations and operating income numbers are pure fantasy and based on no correct information. To comment on such irresponsible journalism would only give it more credit than it deserves."

Here are the rankings:

http://tinyurl.com/2gcncb

how frustrating it must be to live in a Country that couldn't care less about the thing he cares the most about

I'm guessing a lot of us can relate with that

165
If only there were a non-partisan baseball-related site that could report that kind of news a day or so before the rest of us see it

167
My biggest fan!

It's official, now that I've been reminded: The Slurm Factory (Willie Wonka parody) episode of Futurama is indeed my favorite of all time. Just for the Grunka-Lunkas alone it's a classic, but truly every moment is inspired.

So the weather doesn't sound too good down there. Fingers crossed it clears up tonight but you guys may be seeing the Dodgers playing a DH this weekend. (I think the Pirates are a jinx, personally.)

167
I believe there is a place like that, "A place where a man can slow down to a walk and live his life full measure, but he has to keep his watch on Pacific Time."

Sorry Bob, I should have known you were on that. I just didn't see it posted here and wanted to discuss it.

170
Grrr....it's a riddle...!

172

Grrr.... it's a riddle ...!
Grrr--->--->riddle...!
G --> --> riddle...!
Griddle!

Has Jim Tracy docked the Pirate ship in port Dodger Stadium yet, matey?

Argh, me be not knowin'

171
No problem.
Here's the link to the discussion:

https://griddle.baseballtoaster.com/archives/632829.html

I really want Tracy to get a shoulder parrot. In fact, if he did, I would become a Pittsburgh fan today.

Does Jim Colborn count?

Tommy Lasorda would make a good parrot, but I wouldn't want him sitting on my shoulder

You get Tommy or Colby up on JT's shoulder and I'm in.

Our boy Blake ends up on BP's Kevin Goldsteins 2004 draft list of players who need to make something happen this year or be labeled a bust.

"Blake Dewitt, SS, Dodgers (No. 28; $1.2 million)

On scouts' charts, Dewitt's hit scores were as high as anyone going into the draft, but he dropped to the end of the first round because he was undersized, had no more than gap power, and didn't have a real defensive home. He was good-not-great in his full-season debut, batting .283/.333/.428 in the Sally League, but he seemed to take off last year--although his average dipped to .268 in the Florida State League, but his home run total up to 18 in just 106 games. That looked like a Vero Beach-inflated total when Dewitt collapsed following a promotion to Double-A Jacksonville, batting .183/.241/.221 in 26 games with just one long ball in 104 at-bats. Dewitt began his career as a third baseman, but was moved to second last year, where his reviews of his glovework by scouts considered is work there sub-standard. Back at third and back in High-A at the Dodgers' new California League affiliate, Dewitt is trying to get back on track, but is off to a slow start, .220/.258/.424 mark in 14 games."

I think Milano is given too much credit and strongly believe that the whole "double standard" is just a myth and an excuse for women who get around to get around.

Too much credit for what?

It is certainly not a myth, unless my experience of men referring to women as "sluts" is untypical. I even hear people call someone a "man-slut" which underscores the double standard.

As for using it as an excuse to get around, why does anyone need an excuse? Do what makes you feel good, no ones judging you, well, no one should anyway. At this point in society, with all sexual orientations being regarded as fine, surely we have gotten to a point where having sex isn't a shameful thing?

170

instant classic

if anyone cares, there are some videos up of draft prospects on milb.com

blake beavan looks exactly like luke hochevar.

181

i agree with goldstein, this is his make or break year. I'm starting to lose patience with him as he dwindles in the low minors.

it seems i was incredibly wrong with my dewitt/abreu analysis and willing to admit that.

>>> 7. Initial impressions
I'm sure fans in Los Angeles (and Atlanta . . . and St. Louis) are going to snicker when they read this, but so far, J.D. Drew is muting the skeptics who said the gifted but allegedly indifferent outfielder would be a disaster in Boston's pressure cooker. Drew has played like he's intent on proving he's worthy of the five-year, $70 million contract he signed in the offseason, smacking line drives all over the ballpark, filling the enormous void in the No. 5 spot in the lineup, playing stellar defense in right field, and - surprise - hustling on the base paths in the mad-dash manner of his popular and overrated predecessor, Trot Nixon.

There is no denying it: Drew is the most complete player in the Boston lineup. <<<

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6708924

182 - Any women attractive or unattractive can hook up with any type of man.

An unattractive man has a 99% harder time hooking up than an unattractive women.

Therefore when a women gets around attractive or not she is easy because it is easy for any type of women to hook up.

When a man gets around it is harder so he is not easy, he is taking advantage of what the majority of men lack, the ability to hook up with attractive women.

In closing the "double standard" is a lame excuse for women to get around more often. Don't get me wrong, it's fine that women want to see more men but if they think that they aren't easy just because there is a supposed "double standard" they are delusional.

So, what if your farm system had a left-handed pitcher who throws in the mid-90s, is young for his league, and has utterly dominated batters this year to the tune of a 1.38 ERA. Pretty good, right?

After yesterday's games, the Dodgers have two of those. Miller and Kershaw are sporting the same 1.38. Both have pitched 13 innings. Miller's given up 4 hits and struck out 14; Kershaw's given up 7 hits and struck out 16.

187 - In short, there is a double standard.

Men who get around are demonstrated their capability and thus are "more manly," women who do the same are simply giving into temptation. The Double Standard isn't an excuse, I don't even understand how it could be construed as such.

188 - The only problem is Kershaw's 11 walks. I think it was just due to the cold, but that isn't good.

189 - Women are different from men and until you accept that you wont be able realize my arguement.

If women were'nt easy most of my friends would still be virgins.

190

he walked 6 in 2.1IP in his first start and then in the last two 3 in 5IP and then 2 in 5.2IP.

same with miller, wild first start and then decent to good control the following two. Wish Elbert would just throw strikes.

188

you can even put elbert and megrew somewhere in there.

191 - Women are different than men, but that is the excuse for the double standard, not proof that there isn't one.

So all of your friends are the sort of people that women should feel bad about sleeping with? Surely people have sex without being ashamed afterwards or feeling that they tarnished their reputations.

194
Women are different than men

If not, every movie would be "The Crying Game."

I thought every Washington Nationals contest was "The Crying Game."

If women want to sleep around thats fine with me,

But if they want to justify sleeping around and not expect to be tabbed as easy just because they use the excuse of seeing a small minority of men that sleep around and are idolized for it, then they are delusional.

Since any women can sleep around and since any man cannot, there is not a "double standard".

197 - Men gain status through sex, women lose status through sex, that is the double standard.

Now, you might feel that this is justified, but it is still a double standard. Besides which, is it really fine with you, if as a result you think they are easy?

women who do the same are simply giving into temptation.

That's exactly what one of my ex-girlfriend said. Are you a girl?

198- Men can have more sex with a higher status,

Women can have the same amount of sex regardless of status.

No "Double Standard."

Now, when a woman sleeps around she is considered an empowered independent modern woman instead of what she really is which is easy, regardless of publicity or celebrity status.

197. Of course, you do realize that it would be much easier for you and your friends to have sex if people like you didn't stigmatize women who have a lot of sex. In that way, more women would have no problem with having a lot of sex of a lot of different guys. Why are you shooting yourself in the foot like this?

199 - I hope she was talking about perception, because I don't think that is the case. And no, I am a 23 year old straight guy, but this really bothers me. I have close friends who are sexual active women, and the idea that they are "sluts" is absurd and offensive to me. Sex is a good thing, people wanting to have sex is normal on a biological level. Get over it, women aren't just Madonnas or Whores (or in the case of the Material Girl, both).

A women who sleeps around is 1 of three things,

She is Cold and doesn't care for others
or
She is easy
or
She is Dumb

195- Well played!

197- Why is there any "tabbing as easy" to be done? Why they can do what they do doesn't really have to do with how what they do is perceived. If you can read that once and get it, you have better comprehension skills than I do.

200 "When a woman sleeps around she is considered an empowered independent modern woman."

I've been trying to stay out of this discussion, but I couldn't let the absurdity of that statement slip by. If you really think that's the general public opinion of women who sleep around, well... you don't exactly have your finger on the pulse of society.

202

fair enough

188 and beyond. Its seems like Miller's saga has been going on so long, and yet he is only 22 years old! All season! Its unfortunate because I think his injuries and surgery got tangled up with a frame that was still growing a bit and added to that impingement problem. I know it is indulging in fantasy, but imagine where this kid could be with good luck and no health issues. Because it seems this is the rare guy who also got the whole pitching thing in his teens when many barely get it by 25, if they have the stuff to get that far.

Should anybody with to do some very interesting reading on the subject of the morning, I highly recommend this book:
http://tinyurl.com/39vjht

203- Ha ha. That is the funniest thing I have read in a long time. I feel like I am staring into the void. Let's just agree to disagree.

201- I say it like it is

202- Stay in school.

[peeks into discussion]

Umm, OK

[runs and hides]

205- Maybe you're checking the wrong vein.

So we can discuss sex and double standards but we can't discuss in depth the TCU massacre? I don't mean to be cute but I find these comments to be interesting and I would have liked to had the option to listen to opinions about even more important matters.

207

It's probably for the best that it happened that way.

And now for something completlely different,

I was given an Autographed Jose Lima card yeterday,

In Royal uniform and all, anyone want to buy it?

213 - I guess this is marginally not political, but all of the important issues (immigration, gun control) in the VT massacre are.

202
Robert Heinlein would have been proud of you.

Several people here, names perhaps starting w/ B,G, and a few others, would be best served hiding out for a bit.

214 When I really read my comment, that thought struck me. Lets hope he progresses from here.

I'm hearing "The Bottom Line" with Casey Stern he says Alisa Milano will be a guest on his show on Monday.

216 Is mental health, in particular, paranoia, a political issue? And immigration should even be in the VT discussion - that guy immigrated as a young child, did he not?

218 - Hey, my name starts with a B! Seriously, did I cross a line somewhere? It wouldn't surprise me, I can be a little incendiary. So if I offended anyone with my tone or my word choices, then I am sorry. But, I absolutely stand behind the intention of what I posted. However, I will go slink off to my corner now.

How bout them Dodgers? Huh? Anyone think that there will be a game tonight?

Although I do think there could be a productive discussion about the VT thing, I do think it's too political to fully discuss here. As was the national anthem, as is also the topic being discussed now, ultimately.

221 - Just when I think I'm out, you pull me back in.

This is a link to a blogger talking about race, immigration and violence against white people in response to the VT shooting. My opinions do not remotely line up with his, but obviously immigration is a relevant issue to some people.

http://www.amnation.com/vfr/archives/007674.html

I think we are well overdue for a new thread, this one is just way too absurd for my baseball tastes. vr, Xei

It's raining pretty good 7 hours before game time.

Friday Wikitrivia
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to complete this sentence which comes from a sports-related Wikipedia article:

"In probably the most touted act in the history of shaving... "

223- I think there will be and I'm stoked because it will be broadcast in HD.

Speaking of HD, is anyone else unsatisfied with the amount of Dodger games broadcast in HD?

225 Abominable. I stopped reading after three sentences of absurdity. But I scanned long enough to find this in the author's first reply, I don't have a statistical overview of this phenomenon , making the whole rumination a complete waste of our time. No further comment possible without severe rule 5 violations.

228 ... Jerry haphazardly stumbled into the smooth-chest look.

218 The B was not for you and you have no reason to hide. My remark was facetious and aimed at Bob and I can't quite remember who it was that I had falsely charged with causing a womans move3ment riot on a Arizona campus (maybe GB?)--this winter and all in fun.

In probably the most touted act in the history of shaving righty Brett Tomko decided to shave off the uneeded T in his first name?

232 - I am so used to being the bad boy. I am so used to fighting Corporate that I forget that I am Corporate. Upper management. They hooked me up with an attorney. To protect me. You can't be too careful about what you say. Mo' money, mo' problems.

You're welcome to have a non-political discussion about VT if you like. I'm even cautiously willing to let you talk about certain issues if you can keep the emotions in check. But people need to be extremely gracious and sensitive, and there were a couple comments in the Alyssa discussion that really weren't.

What I found odd about VT was that the gunman didn't wait until 4/20 to hit the school. Perhaps he wanted to be remembered separate from Comlumbine?

236. That was pretty much the opposite of gracious and sensitive.

In other news, the rain stopped on the Westside at about noon, so if it doesn't start up again, the game should start on time.

Big IF.

I can't fight the feeling that 24/7 coverage gives the shooter exactly what he wants

Just finished reading the SI article about Pop Warner that Jon pointed to yesterday. I hope all the information she used in the article can be backed up by the facts because if it is all true that is a great story. I knew about Thorpe and his early years but never knew why I played football in a "Pop Warner" league and how big the rivalry game was between Carlisle and West Point. My Dad was a Cadet so I've sent the article to him. Can't wait to talk to him about it.

My only comment about the shootings is that people need to refer to the school by its proper initials, VPI.

237- Really, because I thought it was a valid thought into why the gunman would pick a certain date.

Seems to me you're being confrontational.

I was touched today by an interview with a parent of a child who was killed who said he forgave the shooter and grieved not only for his child but for the family of shooter. I hope I could do that in time but don't think I could do it so soon.

There are shots fired in the NASA head quarters in Houston according to cnn.com.

I think the frequency of violence, and gun violence in particular, has numbed me. I remember being horrified by Columbine, but now my skin is thicker. That sounds insensitive, but it feels more like desensitized. I feel terrible that I don't feel worse, but I can only engage it on an intellectual level. "That is horrible," I think, but I don't feel horrible. I feel nothing. I don't even know if I should post this, but that is my non-political thought of VT.

237 I don't really see what was wrong with 236.

one of the victims of the school shooting was an avid poster on minorleagueball.com and a huge tigers fan.

I'm actually running short on time today but I do want to defend NBC and the media in their coverage. Please understand that I haven't seen much of it on TV and feel free to use that as a caveat.

I think what the murderer wanted was peace in his mind. He couldn't get that, so he decided to inflict pain. I don't think glory or celebrity was his goal.

But let's say hypothetically that it was.

Is it worth denying him that goal at the expense of letting the nation feel or try to better comprehend this tragedy?

Let's say, hypothetically, that this could inspire copycat killers.

But does someone that disturbed need a TV set to motivate him to kill? In addition, could the heaping criticism (to put it mildly) of the murderer not discourage someone similar from emulating him?

I think these are legitimate questions, perhaps with no clear answers, and I don't think it's the media's job to answer them on behalf of the country.

I think it's the media's job to inform the country. And exploring and revealing the depths of this person's problems is information. Surely, it should be delivered sensitively. But people should have the opportunity to see it, and though it may have been on 24/7 this week, the reason is because not everyone is in front of a TV set at 6:30 p.m. If people have been actually watching 24/7, that's their problem, not the media's.

As with everything on TV, there is always the option to turn it off. I feel for the families – this is their tragedy, in incomprehensible terms – but I don't think it was wrong for NBC to air the footage. Those pictures are part of an important story. There is always a line you don't want to cross; it's just my personal opinion that, from what I saw, it wasn't crossed.

245 - I saw that. Brian Bluhm. His favorite player was Curtis Granderson, who has since responded to several of his questions and wrote an article for ESPN.com about him. A very classy move.

246 - Those videos are mindboggling. It is shocking that he sent them between the shootings. How cold blooded do you have to be to run errands (that sounds light, but is somewhat appropriate) in between mass murders?

I think it's the media's job to inform the country

...of stories that are also great for ratings. There's plenty of "truth" out there that doesn't get covered, primarily because it won't attract mass attention. But that doesn't mean it's not important. I personally don't believe that media coverage of these events is primarily motivated by an altruistic commitment to informing the public.

All of which is not to say that the events should necessarily not be covered, but I don't think the media really considers much beyond what will get them ratings (and thus, money).

229 The amount of Dodger games being broadcast in HD has increased, but I do feel that there are not enough of them. I also have not looked at this statistically, but it appears that the number of Angels games broadcast via the FSN HD channel seems to be a bit greater than the number of Dodger games.

Back to parking...
My father, GF and I attended the Sunday night game.
Entering was a breeze - considering we arrived close to two hours before first pitch. I was prepared for a disaster, but it was smooth sailing. And when first pitch did come, I could see there was little traffic at the Stadium Way gate.
We left right after the game's end, and after getting to the car leaving the parking lot took less than five minutes.
My grade: A.

248 - I'll certainly accept the argument that there are other things that also deserve attention.

As with everything on TV, there is always the option to turn it off

Your implicit logic is that, if you don't watch, it won't affect you. But that's where I might disagree. If it were true, for example, that covering these events does inspire copycats, then I'm affected whether I watch or not, in that the probability of me getting shot by a copycat increases.

So it's not necessarily as simple as turning off my TV (which, by the way, has not been on, as I haven't watched any of the coverage).

From ITD: Dodgers Weather Update Page

http://tinyurl.com/32ajdt

252 - I guess I'm saying it's not up to the media to be policemen. They should be sensitive and responsible in how they present things, but they can't be responsible for the behavior of the American population.

What I don't like about the media coverage of this situation and for the most part any event is the flow of information reported. Most of the time I am only presented with an outline of what happened and then told a bunch of meaningless opinions and not any deep underlying facts.

What I usually wait for is a special report to come out a few months later or a documentary to get the information that eases my psyche.

I guess I'm saying it's not up to the media to be policemen

I feel like they use that argument as an excuse to show what they want. If the media literally reported everything, then sure, they can use that argument. But given the impossibility of reporting everything, they have no choice but to show some stuff and not show other stuff.

To say they're not policemen is to not hold them accountable for what they willingly, knowingly choose to show and not show. It makes it sound like they have no control over what they cover, which isn't true.

Granted: if one network decided not to cover the shooting, they'd take a huge ratings hit relative to the other networks. But that's a separate issue.

254 Here in Southeastern Virginia the top half of our newspaper yesterday was a photo of the gunman with a pistol to his own head. Didn't seem sensitive or responsible particularly since a lot of us have a direct connection to people at VT.

They did better today with photos of the 32 victims and a very brief bio on each under the heading "Remembering the Victims".

I think they do want to be informative but it will never stand in the way of selling their product.

256 - That seems contradictory to me. And since you, like me, haven't really been watching, it seems unfair. You criticize the duration of the coverage, yet assume that they're not covering all the bases. That's just not a fair assumption to make.

{249] Incidentally, how does one get "Prime Ticket" HD games? I subscribe to Time-Warner and have heard about the mystical 413 channel (which is offline except when FSN chooses to broadcast an HD feed), but every time I've checked and scanned ahead, I see nothing but "Off the air".

I never thought I'd get this amped up about demanding HD, but once you start watching things in HD, it's really frustrating to go back to an SD feed.

If the video doesn't get aired on NBC, it will get circulated online anyway.

258
You criticize the duration of the coverage, yet assume that they're not covering all the bases

I think you may have misunderstood me. I wasn't talking about what they do and don't show within the context of one story (e.g. the shooting), but rather whether they cover that one story or not.

I'm not commenting on the quality of their coverage of the shooting, but rather on their decision to cover it. Saying their not policemen makes it sound like their hands were tied and that they couldn't not cover it, which I don't agree with.

They decide, they report.

259 I think its an arbitrary number of games that are broadcast. You just have to check. And from what I've seen, the FSN HD channel only applies to what I guess is FSN1 and not FSN2 (ie: for my Time Warner cable in Culver City, only FSN Channel 60 will be simulcast HD for the specific game, not Channel 61).

261 I don't think the media should be making decisions on whether to cover or not cover a story based on how "appropriate" or "responsible" it would be to cover a story. That's the kind of argument that sponsors use to suppress news stories they don't like.

The media should determine if a story is newsworthy (i.e. do people want to know about it and does it tell them something they don't already know), then determine if it's truthful. If it fits both categories, it should be run.

I'm not worried about showing the video of the VT killer inspiring copycat killers; I'm worried that showing videos of him will make the racist backlash against Asians and Koreans more pronounced.

Television stations have a right to air the videos, sure. I wish they wouldn't, though.

And yet, after trying for several minutes to come up with a good argument to back that up, I can't. I fear that any argument against showing the videos will fall under the heading of censoring information for a rather nebulous and undefined societal good, and that's not a good path to follow.

We like to think of a journalist's job as performing a public good and journalism at its best does exactly that... but a newspaper that doesn't sell newspapers doesn't stay in business very long.

I've never been a journalist, but I can imagine that fact would make for tension along the lines that D4P is bringing up.

There's always going to be an important story that gets shuttled to page A18 to make room for a more sensational story on page A1. I don't know how to change that.

Of course NBC chose to air the footage they received: it made people watch the news. That's their business.

I hope this doesn't sound overly cynical or Gordon Gekkoish. I don't really feel cynical about it.

262. The Dodgers are still broadcasting very few game in HD. FSN HD has a couple per month. KCOP seems to have the games on their own HD channel but from what I can tell this is for Time Warner Cable subscribers only.
Here's hoping that by next year, all D games will be in HD.

246 "I think what the murderer wanted was peace in his mind. He couldn't get that, so he decided to inflict pain. I don't think glory or celebrity was his goal."

If it wasn't, why would he send the stuff to NBC at all? Wouldn't he just shoot people and leave it at that?

The other day I heard one news anchor (I'm not sure who -- I don't generally watch the news and I don't know any of these people's names) say that "the gunman recorded himself making vile statements and then sent the recordings to NBC in order to further taunt the victims' families." And then the station immediately proceeded to play the recording. Which was a pretty blatant admission on the part of the station that "well, we're in the business of taunting the victims' families too." I am not one who generally believes in making journalistic decisions based on the sensitivities of crime victims, but in this case the station was pretty openly poking at the families with a sharp stick. Now, I'm not saying they shouldn't have shown Cho's recording. They absolutely should have. But the way they did it left something to be desired.

On the rare occasions that I do watch television news, I am always struck by the extreme and blatant disregard for any sort of professionalism or journalistic standards. Everything has to be turned into a maudlin storyline and every anchor and reporter (using that word loosely) feels compelled to offer us some sort of utterly trite commentary. This is not so objectionable when they're discussing an unimportant issue like the paternity of some pseudo-celeb's love child. But when that sort of technique is used in reporting on something like the VT massacre, some attempt at reflection and thoughtfulness should inform the coverage. And never does that happen.

I also don't think it's a particularly arguable point that these massacres inspire and feed off each other, given that each new killer seems to reference and/or revere past ones.

"But does someone that disturbed need a TV set to motivate him to kill? In addition, could the heaping criticism (to put it mildly) of the murderer not discourage someone similar from emulating him?"

My thought is that it would be exactly the opposite. Speaking generally, these are people who have already been discarded by society, at least in their own minds, and I doubt that further scorn being heaped upon them would act as a deterrent. If anything, it might add fuel to the fire. Based on Cho's statements, it seems like killing a bunch of people was his way of saying "screw you" to the world at large. The endless TV coverage enables him to say that to many more people.

Times like these are when I'm thankful for the internet, where one can get unfiltered information, watch video footage unadorned by brainless commentary, and read informed, intelligent opinions of the sort that could never be disseminated on a national news show.

248 I personally don't believe that media coverage of these events is primarily motivated by an altruistic commitment to informing the public.

What's wrong with that? If what they do to make money also serves a public purpose (informing the public), that's the best sort of incentive compatibility. Indeed, it's the basis of capitalism that the greatest efficiency in the market is created when everyone acts according to their self-interest.

Natch, we ask government to regulate that so that certain public bads are avoided (monopoly, negative externalities, social harm). So the question isn't whether NBC was self-interested - they were and should have been. The question is whether the potential bad from the dissemination of this information OR from the prurient nature of the material outweighs the public's need (and desire) to know.

That's a judgment call for the FCC, and in anticipation of the FCC, for NBC itself (but here, they are still driven by self-interest, weighing the ratings and revenue benefit against the expectation of a fine, or of a ratings and revenue backlash). And it's a question worth asking. But it has nothing to do with NBC's motives.

The only issue in my mind in covering stories like the shootings is that it's actually not covered enough. This is an important, tragic story that needs to be told thoroughly. If it involves showing disturbing images/video, so be it.

My beef is that the Imus, Anna Nicole Smith stories are covered way too much. I realize these stories grab eyeballs and ratings so MSM will always play it that way, it's just my personal pet peeve.

268
I'm not criticizing capitalism or self-interest. I'm merely suggesting that a spade be called a spade. If the self-interested capitalists are going to act like self-interested capitalists, then they should do so under the guise of self-interested capitalists, not altruistic informers of the public who have no control or choice over their own actions.

And yes, the ratio of benefits to costs associated with covering these stories is a separate issue.

This is an important, tragic story that needs to be told thoroughly

Which of the many potentials purposes for telling this story do you have in mind?

Without comment to the rightness or wrongness of covering the story, I think that most of the comments I hear on the subject grant logic, however perverse, on the part of the shooter. His video showed a pretty text book case of being delusional. He wasn't as angry as he was crazy. If he was on meds (and no, I'm not saying meds fix ALL problems but they'd fix his) he would have likely not even remembered what he did or what he said. It's not like being drunk. It's worse. His brain was broken and misfiring. It's like trying to asses the motivaion of the person who runs someone over when the brakes on the car aren't working.

If the self-interested capitalists are going to act like self-interested capitalists, then they should do so under the guise of self-interested capitalists, not altruistic informers of the public who have no control or choice over their own actions.

Aren't the NY Post and NY Daily News like this -- putting the sensational story on p. 1, not only unapologetically, but usually with an obnoxious headline?

I'm not sure that life would be better if all journalism were like that, but I don't think that's what you're saying.

I think that most of the comments I hear on the subject grant logic, however perverse, on the part of the shooter

Logic means different things to different people. For some, it can refer to a rational connection between what we do and what we want. In other words, if he wanted to cause pain and become famous for it, then his actions were "logical" in the sense that they achieved what he wanted.

Other people, though, might focus on whether it's "logical" to want to cause pain in the first place. This is a little squishier, in that it invokes notions of right and wrong.

I'm not sure that life would be better if all journalism were like that, but I don't think that's what you're saying

Yeah, that's not what I'm saying.

269 "The only issue in my mind in covering stories like the shootings is that it's actually not covered enough. This is an important, tragic story that needs to be told thoroughly. If it involves showing disturbing images/video, so be it."

Agreed in principle, but there is also a discussion to be had about to what degree tragedies are really news. One way of looking at it is that newsworthy stories are those that have the most potential to affect viewers' lives. A tragedy somewhere else has almost zero effect on someone's life, unless it results in some new law or practice that will affect people's lives. Otherwise, it's just a bunch of people expressing regret and wallowing in misery. Things that have the potential to affect more people's lives -- the war, the oil shortage, the fact that we released one of the world's most notorious terrorists from prison yesterday -- generally get less play than tragedy does.

It's also interesting to note what constitutes tragedy. The day before Virginia Tech, probably more than 33 people got gunned down in our inner cities. Is that less of a tragedy than the massacre? If so, why? Because the VT kids all died in the same place?

The blog Foucault's Lunchbox had an interesting take on this:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/2ljvzh

"When Violence Ceases to be a Media Spectacle

It is difficult to gain perspective on violence in its immediate aftermath, before any narrative of events can be composed and disseminated. Here is what we do know: today in Iraq, 13 Iraqi soldiers were killed at one security checkpoint, two university professors were shot dead in Mosul, three U.S. soldiers were killed in two separate attacks, and seven other people were killed elsewhere throughout the country. In addition, the bodies of 10 individuals who had all apparently been tortured were discovered in Baghdad, and three other bodies were found near Kirkuk. Ten people were reported to have been abducted. Details of these tragic events can be found at the end of this New York Times story on the decision of a prominent Shiite cleric to quit the Iraqi cabinet.

In other news, a bunch of people were killed in some random violence in someplace called 'Virginia.'"

If the self-interested capitalists are going to act like self-interested capitalists, then they should do so under the guise of self-interested capitalists, not altruistic informers of the public who have no control or choice over their own actions.

Well, OK, but that's a little naive, don't you think? We say the same about politicians all the time too - that they serve themselves and small sets of private interests while wrapping everything in pronouncements about the public good (to say nothing of the divine). But they only do that because we eat it up.

Of course reporters and politicians pretend to be selfless. We want them to be, so they pretend to be what we want. Their careers depend upon their popularity.

275 Then -- respectfully -- what are you saying?

Let's say the New York Times -- the paper of record -- puts a photo of the gunman on page one above an article about the video and his "manifesto."

Let's also say that the Daily News puts the same photo on page one with an obnoxious headline.

It's my belief that at the root of both papers is a desire to sell newspapers; they go about that goal in different ways.

Would it be correct to say that you believe the hypothetical Daily News version has -- what's the word? -- an honesty to it that the hypothetical Times version does not, because the DN embraces its self-interested capitalistic nature?

If that's not correct, please rephrase. I would like to know what you think.

274- But all of those ways of looking at it assume he had the capacity to think it through, even if you think his thoughts were in error. I think he was mentally incapacitated. Random firings based on chemical irregularities. He was a paranoid schzophrenic. That has real meaning beyond he was a jerk.

274. I think you're absolutely correct about that.

Wow. Now it's actually sunny on the Westside. Game on!

277
I don't disagree. I just think we should try to "eat it up" as little as possible by calling it out.

I know this is just projecting false hope, but does anyone know if any HD games will eventually go beyond just the Time Warner Network?

Comparing a school shooting to a war is nonsense.

Then -- respectfully -- what are you saying?

I don't think I'm saying either type of journalism is better than the other, as much as that I don't feel comfortable pretending that the news is an objective, unbiased, unfiltered, uncensored representation of "the truth".

I think some folks give the major networks too much credit and too much benefit of the doubt regarding their motives and the objectivity of their reporting.

283. See 266. There are some games on DirecTV or any other provider who carries FSN HD. Just not very many. If you are outside of LA, you can catch DirecTV Extra Innings games when they play other markets who televise those games in HD.

283 - Since the majority of HD games this year have been on KCAL and KCAL is local to SoCal, I doubt the sat companies will be seeing it anytime soon.

The only way to get kcal in HD if you dont have TWC is if you live out of market, get Extra Innings and hope that its one of the weekly games in HD on the INHD EI channel.

No backlash.....I think the whole backlash thing is fumed mostly by THE MEDIA. I never even thought about "backlash" until I kept seeing, hearing, reading about it on the news, radio, etc.

Gotta admit, most of the Korean media is responsible for this...they keep talking about how the "others" will view us..for our own sake, they need to stop getting the older, uncultured, and misinformed Koreans paranoid..

271 Sorry, work got in the way. I'm being selfish here. I want to know everything about this story, what made the gunmen tick, what brought some of the victims there. Why did he shoot the first two people, was there a personal connection with the shooter and those victims, etc.

And yes violence is, and always will be news. I think the societal goal is to reduce/eliminate violence as much as can be. So when it happens, it's worthy to hear about it, try to understand it, and cope with it.

I'm in over my head here as you can tell, so I'll back down now and resume my usual joke-telling.

Might I ask whether we expect the game to be played, well, the Dodgers and Angels games to be played? Sorry, but I need to set my fantasy lineups awful soon. Thanks in advance for your help in this regard.

For those wanting a change of pace, give this story a try:

http://tinyurl.com/278n4w

--presented without further comment--

Btw, it's an odd but fascinating film, but on this topic I'd recommend checking out Gus Van Sant's "Elephant" - which was inspired by Colombine. Eerie, provocative film.

285 Fair enough. I would agree with that... and I believe few would disagree.

Thanks.

And yes violence is, and always will be news. I think the societal goal is to reduce/eliminate violence as much as can be

To me, one of the big questions is whether covering violence has a positive, negative, or neutral influence on achieving that goal.

228 Answer
"In probably the most touted act in the history of shaving, [Joe] Namath shaved his mustache off in a television commercial for Remington electric razors for a fee of $10,000."

294. It's a fair question. To me, the minute this sort of violence ceases to be newsworthy is the minute I move to New Zealand.

290. I would say it's almost certain to be played. Rain has already stopped and I don't believe more (or much more) is expected. Would have to take a real turn for the worse to get rained out tonight.

In re the weather:

Blue skies in Culver City, if that means anything.

296 And NZ and Australia are certainly safer places. Strict gun bans there, btw.

One thing that's irked me over the past day is the specious link someone made (and written about in the NY Times) between Cho and the film Oldboy. A film I've seen twice and haven't felt like going on a murderous rampage...

since we already have the wolfpack, alyssa milano needs to lead "Andre's Madres" for Ethier's fan group.

Thanks guys, your help is truly appreciated.

300 Alyssa's not a mom, is she? How about Loney's Honey's, instead? (Yeah, I know it doesn't exactly rhyme....)

I feel sort of like I need a cold shower or slightly icky, anyway, after reading Alyssa's post on baseball players and the girls who love them, even if she made some fair points. Still, wish I hadn't read it.

302

not in the literal sense but kinda like in the sugar momma sense.

Re Alyssa: Why do we care? Putting aside the earlier discussion about how she should respond to idiots who make stupid comments, I have been wondering why we care what this actress turned baseball fan has to say. Its great she likes baseball and has some access to the team but frankly, I don't see the point. Are we to give her more credit becasue she is a celeb, pretty, a woman? Frankly, if the Dodgers are going to let someone have a blog on thier web site it should be Jon or Nate. Jon knows far more than Alyssa about baseball. Okay, maybe he doesn't want to be part of Dodgers.com and lose control of his site. How about Nate who could do a blog on the minors/prospects? That would be far more valuable that Alyssa's blogs. I just don't care that they gave a nice young woman a platform becasue she is a celeb who likes the game. We all like the game. I would have prefered that they gave it to someone who had a diffrent take.

Maybe I'm being too harsh.

PS Given her access to particular team memebers I would be more inclined to read her blog if it were not associated with the Dodgers. Perhaps she would report something the beat writers were not privy to but being under the Dodger family umbrella that is unlikely.

Bluebleeder87:

Sorry, almost forgot, but to answer your question of the day before yesterday, the local bar/club here in HNL was apparently picking up the White Sox-Rangers game via the sat transmission for FSN SW [or maybe they were picking up a military sat that was picking up FSN SW].

305 - This won't sufficiently answer your question, but I am insecure enough about baseball's place in this country's fan base to be happy to see a female celebrity caring enough to blog about it with even quarter-decent ability.

I'd rather read a Nate blog than an Alyssa blog, but I absolutely have to cop to enjoying the Alyssa blog for now.

300- Martins Spartans?

I think it's the media's job to inform the country. And exploring and revealing the depths of this person's problems is information.

But I hardly think that goal can be achieved by running the video, still photos, etc. within the confines of "The Today Show". Let's face it, few of us are qualified to interpret what presumably are the paranoid ramblings of a mentally deranged young man. It IS newsworthy that he sent the package to NBC and what its contents generally are, but if NBC really wants to inform, they could hire qualified experts in abnormal psychology (preferably with differing professional biases) to view the material and package the whole thing as a 60-minute (or longer) program that they can capitalistically promote for days before airing.

Broadcasting various posed photos of the perpetrator isn't informative; it's just the visual equivalent of an out-of-context soundbite. Do we learn anything from seeing this guy pointing his Glock at the camera? No.

The last word I remember from a woman like Alyssa telling me is "NO"

308

That would definately work. He does wear the armor. Maybe for DT day we can all dress up in Spartan garb and rock Martin's Spartans since he seems to the consensus DT favorite player.

288. some of these fears are legit, though. there have been calls to Korean-American organizations that have been spewing hate, and I think the Korean-American community remembers the fear that Muslim-Americans went through after 9/11. I think it's a legitimate concern, although I'm sure there's a measure of fear-mongering going on in Korean papers as well. It's hard to figure out the right way to respond to this as Korean-Americans.

311. Which one of us from that crew would be first to pick up Alyssa Milano?

This is an interesting tidbit from Scout.com's Tot Holmes - I didn't know this, anyway.

" The draft-and-follow will become a baseball memory this June as the changes in the draft rules gives teams six weeks to sign the players - and that's it. Either they sign or they don't. No more stashing them away at a junior college for a year; no more protracted negotiations.

The Dodgers have always used the old rule wisely and have a number of players with at least some promise down in the minors that they have acquired in this fashion. One such is lefthander Cody White, currently with the Great Lakes team."
http://dodgers.scout.com/2/637324.html

305 "I have been wondering why we care what this actress turned baseball fan has to say."

Phrasing it that way seems to be some sort of preconceived notion on your part -- in the blog entries she's specifically made it clear that it was the other way around.

312 The right way to respond to this is to recognize that it was the act of single individual. No reason for any Koreans to have any sense of national shame [though every Korean that I know does have the same]. In a perverse sort of way, the American reaction to all this will serve us well, I mean, when some American does something wrong in Korea, there's usually a nationwide wave of anti-US indignation. Hopefully, some can now see that it doesn't have to be that way.

313

Her joining isn't a necessity, Martin's Spartans will live on without Milano's stamp of approval. But if she wants, I would welcome her with open arms...as long as she wears a toga.

305 "Frankly, if the Dodgers are going to let someone have a blog on thier web site it should be Jon or Nate. Jon knows far more than Alyssa about baseball."

Anyone is allowed to create a blog on the same site Milano's is on. Even LAT.

318

but not anyone can be leaked to their blog from the dodgers.com site!

leaked should be linked.

why did i say leaked?

Not that I am trying to avoid the current topic, just a brief weather update, with 4 hours to go, it appears that the weather, while cold and cloudy, should be fine tonight.

Anyway, if this is going to turn into a "let's cajole Nate into starting a Dodger prospects blog" thread, count me in. I'd read that every day.

To me, one of the big questions is whether covering violence has a positive, negative, or neutral influence on achieving that goal.

I just think that, as difficult as it may be to examine something this painful, that's the only way to find any clue that might help our society prevent these horrors someday. If we dismiss a story like this with minimal coverage, that does nothing to assist the examination. Without information, how can we have any chance to get better?

To draw a baseball analogy, sabermetricians are doing wonderful things with basic box scores that were compiled ages ago, when the people compiling them at the time had no idea what they might lead to. Similarly, aren't the media our only record of history in most cases? And the more deeply they delve into a story, the more facts they put on the record for study and examination that may someday give us a clue of how to lessen this school shooting phenomenon.

D4P, I hear you that the volumes of info they're giving us don't amount to much sometimes. But I almost always fall on the side of more info being a good thing.

311-313- I can already picture a hot sunny day in July, I wake up ready for a big game and meeting some folks face to face for the first time, I throw on my authentic Spartan Garb recently purchased from a movie costume design store with the Words Martins Spartans engraven on the chest.

I arrive at my seat anxious to meet my fellow Martins Spartans instead I am met by an angry mob of past posters Ive pissed off and laughter.

But being the guy that I am, I ignore the heckling and act as if I have never heard of a Dodger Thoughts. I then ride off into the sunset with Alyssa Milano and teach her about the Myth's and Misconceptions of the "Double Standard."

I feel sorry for the guy with the frozen malt concession tonight.

322

I will not be bullied around!

If we dismiss a story like this with minimal coverage, that does nothing to assist the examination. Without information, how can we have any chance to get better?

I don't disagree with that. But I have a hard time coming up with practical responses. Should people stop going to college? Should they wear bulletproof vests? Should we try to ban guns? Should we try to round up and incarcerate people we think might become mass murderers someday, even if we're wrong in some cases?

What can we really learn from this that can guide/change our future behavior? We like freedom, but freedom has inevitable costs that we don't like. It's tough to reduce those costs without also reducing freedom. As far as I'm concerned, rather than being shocked shocked! when these events occur, we should feel incredibly lucky that they happen as infrequently as they do.

315/318 I have only read a handful of her posts and while that are nice reading and well written, they a fluff. They are not much more than Josh's "rah rah Dodgers" pieces. I'm not knocking her. I think its great that she is a big fan and its nice to know she is intelligent and shares an interest we all do. But I do knock the Dodgers for giving her the platform because she is a celeb.

315/318 I have only read a handful of her posts and while that are nice reading and well written, they a fluff. They are not much more than Josh's "rah rah Dodgers" pieces. I'm not knocking her. I think its great that she is a big fan and its nice to know she is intelligent and shares an interest we all do. But I do knock the Dodgers for giving her the platform because she is a celeb.

What can we really learn from this that can guide/change our future behavior?

I wish I had an answer to that. But to leave such a story unexamined would feel like we're just giving up.

326 I passed along your question to Tony Jackson so we shall see what he says.

Ugh dreaded double post.

328. I don't think it's fair to knock the Dodgers. They are the newsamkers with a website, not the news media. They are selling a product and her site may very well increase the market for their product by appealing to women. It's their place to market, not to report evenly or even interestingly.

315/318 I have only read a handful of her posts and while that are nice reading and well written, they a fluff.

Duh! I take back everything I said. At least she can write, even if I can't. What language am I speaking today?

What I don't like is she also makes a line of clothes for the giants...

333. Fair enough. Its their site and they can give a link to anyone they please. But they do purport to offer Dodger/Baseball news. I guess we just have to assume its all marketing which would lead us into the other discussion in this thread: how news should be covered vs the business of news.

Josh the rah-raher says:

Furcal, SS
Pierre, CF
Nomar, 1B
Kent, 2B
Gonzo, LF
Martin, C
Ethier, RF
Betemit, 3B
Wolf, P

337- Is this the win-ing team?!

338- That was un-called for!

336 Of course it's all marketing. Did anyone ever really doubt that, even back when Dodgers.com was actually run by the Dodgers? They post Dodgers news because getting people interested in the team is one of the best ways of marketing it.

Every public action taken by a corporation is marketing. Every one -- from charitable donations, to websites, to money-back guarantees, whatever. The Dodgers are no different.

340 What about filing bankruptcy?

Okay, now I'm just being argumentative.

Not caring about Alyssa Milano should cut both ways. I don't think it's fair to judge her blog, yet, since two of the three posts are about a subject she doesn't seem to want to talk about, and that's not her fault. Her love life is of no concern to me, and it's shabby and cruel that her commenters, and I saw Deadspin do it too, and who knows who else, think it's their business. I didn't wake up last week dying to know what she thinks of the Dodgers, but, if at some point her blog makes me want to, then it's win-win-win.

I'm with Marty, at least in part, on the VPI massacre. I sorted through the couple thousand pages of the Columbine shooters papers that were released last year. I want to know how these people's brains work. I know I'll never go on that sort of a rampage, so it's not inspiring anything in me that anybody needs to be protected from. NBC could have posted the videos exclusively on their website, and avoided the fight about broadcast standards (and, to great extent, commercial profit), which would have been my preferred choice, but there's a reason I'm not the CEO of GE. For all the wall to wall coverage, if anybody's explained how a 23 year old got to live in the VPI dorms, I've missed it. Or how an English major whose one act play would have gotten me a D if I'd turned it in in Jr. High School didn't get flunked out. This isn't meant to blame anybody; I just can't figure it out.

I had a chance to go to the Giants-DBacks game tonight here in SF with some coworkers and turned it down because a) I'm too tired, and b) I have a hard time going to games where I want both teams to lose.

It was also freezing here today but now it's done a 180 and is all sunny so maybe I've made a mistake not going. But I'd rather check out the D's game on MLBTV at home and be anti-social.

The Red Sox are wearing green jerseys in honor of Red Auerbach.

It looks like Christmas!

342 " For all the wall to wall coverage, if anybody's explained how a 23 year old got to live in the VPI dorms, I've missed it."

Excellent post, but I'm not sure how that particular question is one that requires answering. He was a college kid. College kids live in dorms. What else is there to know? (Or does Virginia Tech kick 'em out after a while?)

344 Red integrated the Celtics before the Red Sox signed their first Black player.

Have they found out what the first attack in the dorm room was all about? When it first happened, they thought it was his girlfriend or something, but it seems pretty clear that isn't the case.

342 - It's almost impossible to flunk out of college, as far as I know, if you turn in your work.

I echo 345 as well.

You guys know if Dodger Stadium has an outfield water draining system? I hope the Stadium outfield dries well if it doesn't we don't want any injuries out there today.

Does anyone want my 2 tickets for tonight's game? They're in the Top Deck 7, 3rd Row. I was going to go but am still down in San Diego. I'd rather someone use them than go to waste. I'll email them to you.

One small favor though - I'd appreciate it if whoever goes can give me one of the TShirts they get at the game by sending it to me through the mail.

Just let me know ASAP, here's my email: jjlacs@hotmail.com

345
Lots of colleges have on campus housing for students for as long as they are there.

My oldest brother lived in a dorm all four years of college, although he went to Pomona.

I lived in a dorm my first two years at UCLA and won a lottery for my third year, but I was tired of it as I quickly learned that the difference between a college freshman and a college sophomore was quite a bit. I spent my sophomore year thinking, "Won't these kids shut up?"

349
Dodger Stadium has a pretty good drainage system I believe. I don't think it rained hard enough to make big puddles.

Sorry if this ends up being a double post, but...

Uni watch has an interesting post on uniform cameos, meaning players who made very brief and easily overlooked appearances with a given team.

One link... Babe Ruth, Dodgers coach:

http://www.bracephoto.com/images/players/Untitled-38.jpg

Idiodic Question of the Day:

What exactly does VPI stand for? For the life of me, I can't figure out how Virginia Tech and VPI fit together (aside from the "V").

Idiodic Question of the Day:

What exactly does VPI stand for? For the life of me, I can't figure out how Virginia Tech and VPI fit together (aside from the "V").

354 Virginia Polytechnic Insitute. Some people insist on using those initials even though the logo used by the school itself is a huge "VT."

Yes...so idiodic that I had to post it twice. Now where's that rock that I crawled out from under...

Ahhh...

Yes...so idiodic that I had to post it twice. Now where's that rock that I crawled out from under...

Ahhh...

I give up.

"Won't these kids shut up?"

Let no one ever again wonder how Bob decided to be a librarian.

41% of Virginia Tech undergrads live on campus (according to USNews), and something like 15% of those (I take it) are living in frat or sorority houses. There are bound to be unusual things about a guy that far gone, so this might be just one more.

Travis Denker sighting last night.

356 I'll crawl back out from under the rock just long enough to say thanks.

Re: Dodger games in HD

If I lived in SoCal, I would be pleased with the amount of games KCAL is broadcasting in HD. It's a big a jump from last year and they are free with a ~$30 antennae.

For FSN/Prime games here's the link (rarely updated, and they have gone down significantly this year):
http://msn.foxsports.com/name/HD
Next broadcast is 4/24.

This general HDTV MLB list has proven to be pretty accurate:
http://msn.foxsports.com/name/HD

For DirecTV EI like me, SuperFan is required and they have been hit and miss (plus only pick ~12 games a week). The one good change this season is they're showing San Diego Ch.4 & Philly Comcast HD games for the first time. That benefit came about from the recent hearings & subsequent agreement w/cable.

A-Rod with his 11th of the year.

NESN graphic says that Alex Rodriguez and Mike Schmidt are the only two players with 11 HR in the first 15 games of a season.

Is there a reason why Manny isn't wearing a baseball cap today?

One last Cho thought and I'm done: Geraldo has done himself proud, yet again. From his hard hitting investigation of the possibility that Cho was possessed by the devil to his running the story on the live journal of the guy who wasn't Cho, he's a juggernaut of journalistic integrity and dignity. It should be possible to flunk out of school for reasons other than failure to attend or turn in work and it should be possible to lose a spot on t.v. for good.

366 I think it fell off on that play.

363- Thanks for the infor.

Though there are some games there simply are'nt enough games being broadcast in HD compared to other teams, especially teams with as large a market as the Dodgers.

Tracy Ringolsby's column today appears to have been ghostwritten by Luis Gonzalez.
http://tinyurl.com/yutyhu

Its really inequitable that those whinny, arrogant NYY fans are being treated to this A-Rod performance. Being the vindictive little man I am, I would have much preferred to see them trade him, listen to all the NY "good riddance" talk and then have him go on this tear for another team while those same NYY fans sit there stupefied.

371 - Wow, it really is uncanny.

LAT, you are no Chicken Little.

372. I guess its showing that I am tired and a little cranky today.

Its just that NY fans somehow thought (1)there was a better 3B somewhere on the planet and (2)they were entitled to him.

372. At least I got it in before you opened the game thread. That's progress for me.

Oh, no, I totally agreed with you in 371. At least for the NYY fans who were on A-Rod's case - he did have his defenders.