Then, I got to the fees:

Online Processing Fee-29040 4.10

Handling Fee-29040 13.50

C06 Facility Fee 9.00

Will Call for Internet Orders 0.00

TOTAL: 80.60

A 50-percent bump. I mean, it's just amazing.

BTW, how does Pierre already have 10 stolen base attempts? He is cheeky. 3 caught already, so he is break even at best. I don't know if he has bad instincts or they simply expect it, but he doesn't seem particularly good at stealing bases. He should have been caught last night too.

4- I noticed the same thing, for a speedy little guy he gets pretty bad jumps when he steals, maybe he doesn't lead off enough.

What a joke.

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.

PS I think i'm becoming a grumpy older person.

Here's hoping he figures things out.

Loney's only hope to make the team seems to be through injury to Nomar or Betemit continuing to hit below .150--that and Ned and Grady waking up to moving Nomar to third.

As I understand it, Texas still pays a portion of ARod's salary (for some reason, $7 million a year sticks in my head, but I don't know....). Hypothetically, let's imagine ARod opts out of his contract at the end of this season, but the Yankees keep him anyway by extending his contract, perhaps giving him a per-year salary bump. Does that invalidate the standing contract, thus taking Texas off the hook? Or would they still have to contribute $7 million to that new salary, until the duration of the old contract has elapsed?

I think Pierre's an exciting player once he gets on-base. It's almost like every time you look he's in scoring position.

However, if the trade ws AROD and $60 million to Yankees for Soraino, then perhaps all the money has already been exchanged.

I'd put Nomar at 3rd if Betemit can't figure it out, If not him bring up Etanislao or put Wilson Valdez there.

Back in spring training when the subject of A-Rod's opt out clause was being discussed I remember reading that if he opts out the happiest man in the country would be the owner of the Texas Rangers.

Unless you're under 13!

Looks like mostly crapola to me, but there's a few decent ditties in there I suppose. Have at it.

Hm. I don't know why I've become such a fan of the guy. Maybe it's because I've noticed that most of the folks here rag on him a lot (and yeah, he does throw like a girl and sometimes he turns routine fly balls into little adventures) but gosh, he's just such an exciting player.

I'm thinking he'll be good for stealing bases for a good 4,5,6 years & then he'll just be to big & strong to steal bases.

I went with Machine Head by Bush, I was gonna go for "I can't drive 55 by Sammy Hagart for comical reasons, I always thought the title for that song was pretty funny.

He's getting on base (first) a lot, and almost always gets to second one way or another - sometimes stealing, sometimes by more usual methods. From there he gets home when a batter hits a single. It keeps happening. I can't see what's wrong with that. He's helping a lot. And it's fun to watch, too.

Dodger HR hitters
Luis Gonzalez - 3 (2 solo and 3 run HR)
Andre Ethier - 2 (1 solo and 2 run HR)
Jeff Kent - 1 (solo)
Russell Martin - 1 (solo)
Nomar Garciaparra - 1
Jason Schmidt - 1 (solo)

Percent of Dodger runs by homers

2004 - 42%
2005 - 35%
2006 - 30%
2007 - 14%

He isn't the only one though, the team as a whole is hitting (.234/.300/.357/.657) with no one on, (.316/.379/.431/.810) with runners on and (.297/.380/.439/.819) with runners in scoring position. It is like the team is even flukier than last year.

Rodriguez has four seasons left in the record $252 million, 10-year agreement he signed with Texas before the 2001 season. He is owed $27 million in each of the final three seasons -- with the Yankees responsible for $50.7 million and the Rangers owing $30.3 million, including $9 million in deferred money.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2807727

Finally found the article I remembered reading in Sports Illustrated. :-)

>>> If Rodriguez were to vacate his $252 million Texas contract and leave the Yankees after the 2007 season, the biggest winner would be Rangers owner Tom Hicks, who is paying about a third of A-Rod's current contract. Such a move would save Hicks about $29 million. <<<

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/jon_heyman/02/07/wednesday.scoop/1.html

>>> Odalis Perez (1-2) went five innings for his first win, giving up four runs and seven hits, with a walk and two strikeouts. <<<

And would have really loved watching him play this year in San Francisco. :-)

Let's just agree that Pierre needs to be a more selective base-stealer, get better jumps and run faster.

So how is everyone else celebrating National Yankees vs. Red Sox Weekend? I'm going celebrate by not watching TV, for one thing.

I'm a sucker for big crowds & roars

[45] hehe, it was meant more as a back-handed compliment than a real put-down. i mean that on a purely aesthetic level, he's an entertaining player, but his faults are so much more glaring when your team is the one who pays the price for them.

>>> Without question, at this moment in time the AL Central is the toughest division in baseball. However, in the coming seasons we may see a new power division emerge.

Will it be the AL East, what with that pair of traditional, moneyed powerhouses hanging around? Or maybe the NL East with the well-poised Mets and ever-resourceful Braves?

Nope.

Rather, in the very near future, it's likely that the NL West will come to be regarded as the most formidable division in the game. <<<

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6698040

Furcal: 18% (6 ks/33 abs)
Pierre: 8% (6/72)
Nomar: 9% (6/64)
Kent: 12% (7/57)
Gonzo: 9% (5/57)
Martin: 20% (11/55)
Ethier: 7% (3/42)
Betemit: 29% (11/38)

The Dodgers are terrible with 2 outs, but good otherwise. Granted, you have to be better to make it to two outs than one out, but they're relatively bad with 2 outs. Here's how their ba/obp/slg ranks with all MLB teams:

No out
(7th/3rd/13th)

1 out
(3rd/5th/5th)

2 out
(26th/26th/28th)

I can figure out what's going on, simply because the inserts and commercials are in English.

But I'm a little confused....

http://tinyurl.com/36muzt

By the way--couldn't you be hung in the middle ages for charging someone 25% interest?

shoulder tendonitis. thats all i know.

http://www.lvrj.com/sports/7132321.html

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

It was a good show - definitely recommend Dan to any families. He's almost the anti-Wiggles.

But they said it was the mildest kind of shoulder separation. Frankly, I expected them to shut him down for two weeks when he went on the DL. Instead, they shut him down for one week and tried having him spend his second week on the DL playing in Las Vegas. It just looks to me like they rushed it. I'm hoping to see him back on the field in a couple of weeks. But this may be just wishful thinking on my part (since he's my favorite player).

I'm also curious whether we can't find the old spring-is-for-optimism theme again. There seems to be a lot of fretting about HRs. (Who cares? An unstoppable rash of singles is more demoralizing to the opposition than a couple long balls); and Pierre's caught-stealing stats (no one likes them, but they're part of the game when you don't rely on the dinger). Somebody even seemed worried about Martin's K-rate.

It's April.

You've now lost to the Red Sox twice in a row. Tomorrow is the make or break game. Your season literally depends on the outcome! And you're starting Chase Wright? Seriously? Just so you know, Brett Tomko will have four days rest under his belt, as of tomorrow. Say the word and he could be on a plane out there tonight.

Your pal,
Ned

You can get a loan from your home laon & pay the car cash, you save allot more money that way.

Wang is coming back for them next week though, at least they have that going for them.

Furcal (.78) and Pierre (.74) lead the team in outs per PA. Kent (.59), Valdez (.59) & Martin (.70) were the best.

Martin (.20), Kemp (.19), Gonzo (.19), Pierre (.18) & Kent (.17) had the highest runs scored per PA. Betemit (.06) & Martinez (.00) had the lowest.

Kemp (.38), Kent (.33), Martin (.32), Gonzo (.29) & Nomar (.28) had the highest runs generated per PA. Betemit (.16) & Martinez (.13) had the lowest.

Why are Betemit and Martinez still on the 25 man roster?

Not if you have a 3 plex, the house pretty much pays it's self.

because it's still april.

>>> The Colorado Rockies placed reliever Ramon Ramirez on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right elbow and designated pitcher Matt Herges for assignment. <<<

http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/story/10141319

Of course, that was when mortgage rates were at 17%

You know it's funny we're in first place, hitting aside from power is good our starting pitching has been great our relievers have pitched great & yet us Dodgers fans always find something to moan about.

You never know when Ringo or Paul might show up in the tri-state area, though.

as you can tell i'm not educated on VW bugs.

And D'oh!

you just brought back memories of me living in mexico when i was 16,17 years old & watching meteor showers from time to time.

http://www.space.com/spacewatch/070420_ns_lyrids.html

Um, no Peg.

I live at a slightly higher altitude than most in L.A. County and it's surprising how much better the star-gazing is up here.

looking back at it now they really were.

http://tinyurl.com/33kk5p

that ball is gone if it were a 1:10 game.

Ian Snell, you are no dummy.

It's a thin line between fatigue and Mononucleosis.

It's my body catching up from the "Tristan and Isolde" marathon Wednesday.

Why, no, I'm not 60 years old. Why do you ask?

You won't appreciate it fully.

Some would say we've evolved...But I disagree.

Now David Steinberg, he was funny.

KILL THE UMPIRE!

Tommy Lasorda should teach him some techniques

that's the only name i could think of too, god knows by dad told me that story more than a few times.

Matt Kemp was one of the batters and said his shoulder felt fine, he did some light catch, no update on when he would restart his rehab assignment.

Stargell's second blast:
http://retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1973/B05080LAN1973.htm

The first one was hit back when the fences were about 15-20 feet further back.

Ferguson Jenkins, maybe. And I've already forgot about Bruce Sutter.

Matt Kemp is gotta make up his mind if his shoulder is gonna hurt or not.

Because the real reason Grady went out to the mound was to talk to Joe West. He didn't send his pitching coach out there. And he dallied knowing West would have to come out to speed the game along which would give Grady the opportunity to get a few words in. Obviously, West was not amused. :-)

Juan Pierre .278/.303/.333/.636
Dodger pitchers .182/.300/.333/.633

Three hits for every run is a real pain in the neck.

http://tinyurl.com/2o5k3m

okay nm, one hitter too late.

It's available now and in the seventh inning with Industriales leading Santiago 5-0.

Allegedly.

But 0 HRs allowed in 26ip will make most pitchers look good.

In an unrelated incedent, there is a busy signal playing over the top of the game on the MLB Audio feed...

In fact, the word "dislike" is mild. I really hate The Eagles.

I'll have to check, but I'm pretty sure you just violated The Patriot Act

287 The Dude knows all.

Industriales' pitcher doesn't throw very hard, but the Santiago pitcher is in the low 90s.

Yeah, where the heck is Steve? I'm actually kind of worried.

Brutal.

if you lose in that situation, you win at barrona. my buddy took home like 8 grand for having aces full and losing to a 4 of a kind.

I do not approve of such a substitution.

Using Valdez in his place I disagree with.

* a few economists would like to remind you that nothing in life is free, as the costs are either non-monetary or hidden

370 Some poker clubs have jackpots for tournamentsm, I saw a similar hand with the players having AA vs. KK and AKK flopped.

I forgot Saito was batting 3rd in that last inning, my bad.

Without the error and the passed ball, the inning would have gone:
Ethier walk
Valdez force out
Valdez goes to second on wild pitch
Saenz strike out
Furcal grounds out

Relying on the other team to mess up is a brilliant, dependable strategy

IF he wants to run in front of Gonzo, more power to him.

They are so smart!

Yes, I own a copy.

The invisible percentages of lefty/lefty

Perhaps if this had been an HD broadcast, he would have been in the frame.

Look for the old 9-2 groundout!

My Dodger Mojo is in tack, thank you very much Martin!

just got an IM from a friend saying "turn on the game the pirates have 5 IFers in" and the first pitch i see, russ martin says "no that's ok, go back to watching star trek"...awesome!

Me oh my and a custard pie.

I love you.

Those are good burgers.

Tomorrow I managed to luck into Diamond Club seats for autograph day so I got that going for me.. which is nice. Definitely wont be leaving that one early.

Of course, if you are picking Don Kelly for your team...

I've got this friend I work with. I told him the Dodgers are a shoe in to win 95 games. He said I was stupid. He said they'd go 84-78. LOL.... 84-78, what an idiot. He also thought Joel Guzman was the Dodgers shortstop of the future. And no, my coworker isn't addicted to hard drugs...I think. LOL..

And, yea, it came to pass...

Do you have any crystal balls for sale?

I'm trying to put up a new post, but still having problems posting. But keep an eye out for it.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Irony alert, Russell Martin in a segment on blocking balls and of course they committed the sin of putting the analyst in the story by having Lyons try to block balls in the dirt.

Article here: http://tinyurl.com/2tk26h

I'm sure that it will be fixed soon, so here's what it says now:

"
LOS ANGELES -- Catcher Russell Martin hit a grand slam off Pittsburgh's Shawn Chacon in the bottom of the 10th inning as the Dodgers rallied for a 7-3 victory on Saturday night.

The Dodgers pushed across a run in the bottom of the ninth to tie it, with Wilson Valdez scoring on a passed ball.

Jonathan Broxton (1-0) earned the win by pitching a scoreless 10th inning.

Brad Penny was seeking to become the first Dodgers pitcher to win his first four starts of the season since Kazuhisa Ishii did it in 2002, but the Pirates spoiled his night.

Pittsburgh capitalized off a Dodgers error in the first inning and took advantage of three walks in the third inning to beat the Dodgers, 3-2, in front of a crowd of 48,995 at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night.
[...]

The Dodgers scored runs in the first and sixth innings and threatened to score throughout the game but were unable to get a hit when it mattered most."

I particularly like that last line!

That trio definitely earned an LOL.

The note was cited to Dodgerthoughts.com

Actually tonight's game got me thinking things are almost too good. We have had such a nice easy season so far--almost winning at will--it is going to be difficult when the team cools off. And we will cool off. So should we be preparing for it now so we don't over-react when it happens or do we just keep telling ourselves that we are the Yankees and entitled to the best record in bseball all season long?

Kemp had to terminate his rehabilitation assignment with triple-A Las Vegas and return to Los Angeles on Friday when he experienced soreness in his shoulder after making a throw earlier in the week.

"We just went a little quicker than we should have," Conte said. "We found out that he couldn't do what we wanted him to do, and that's why we pulled him back."

Kemp hit during a simulated game Saturday and played some light catch with Conte, but he must demonstrate the ability to throw at full strength from the outfield before he resumes his rehabilitation assignment, Conte said. <<<

http://tinyurl.com/2kh2jg

http://tinyurl.com/244r8v