how many playoff appearances in that time though? '88, '04, and '06 i remember distinctly... and i know there were at least one or two in the 90s ('96 perhaps?) where we got swept, right? but for all those winning records we sure didn't get anywhere.

I'm starting to think we need a new rule, along the lines of:

13) telling people (directly or otherwise) what they can and cannot talk about

ah, i looked it up. swept in both '95 AND '96. and we lost the west by a single game to atlanta in '91 (man, i absolutely loathed the braves for so long in the 90s). and we were in first in '94 till the strike hit.

Didn't O'Malley (or was it some other historic Dodger owner/GM?) at one point say that one maximized profits by always putting a contending team on the field but not by winning it all. If you have a contending team, the stadium will be full, so why spend the extra money to win the World Series? Second place teams tend to be more profitable than first place teams. That's the theory anyway, and the Dodgers seem to be adhering to it.

we lost the west by a single game to atlanta in '91

I didn't look it up, but I think that was Darryl's big year for the Dodgers. Was that also the year we lost the 10-run lead (or whatever) to Kruk's Phillies, and a 7-run lead (or whatever) to the Astros?

[4] i'm not clear about why there's a penalty for winning... is it that expectations are higher, so people are disappointed if you don't win the next year? it seems that even a consistent 2nd-place team would have to win a couple division champs or something every now and then to avoid the same problem. and besides, from what i understand, the extra playoff games themselves are very profitable, and tend to be sold out. so why wouldn't a contending team want to win it all?

3 Tell me about it. I lived in North Carolina in the 90s. The long suffering Braves fans were great, but the ones who jumped on the bandwagon when they started winning constantly rubbed it in my face. Watching the Twins beat them in the World Series, while in a room full of Braves fans, was almost as good as watching the Dodgers win.

[5] yeah, that was darryl's big year. and, i didn't check if it was the same year as those games, but we had the same record as our pythagorean record...

I hated the Braves in the 80s and 90s as much as I hated the Giants

6 I think the thought is that it costs more to win the World Series than it does to make the playoffs only (or to lose on the last day of the season). How many years has it looked like the Dodgers just needed that one big bat to take them beyond the first round of the playoffs? Well, that one big bat would cost an extra 15 million in payroll in today's dollars. I'm not saying this is what's happening -- certainly, there were no worthy bats available this past year. I'm just speaking hypothetically, and I'm pretty sure that I have heard that idea put forth by someone in Dodger management at one point -- who was speaking hypothetically, of course. Or perhaps the context was "but we will spend the extra money anyway."

2. I don't think D4P should be allowed to talk about adding rules.

[10] that seems a little silly, when you consider all the absolutely stupid free agent money that gets spent these days. it's not about total spending as much as it is about spending wisely. it's not that $90 million will get you second place and $110 million will get you first. if the $110 million team is paying $7 million a year to jason marquis and $10 million to ted lilly, and $4+ million to mark derosa, then they're still not going to win.

11
You're not the boss of me, now!

12 Ah, but it may have been true in earlier days of free agency. The quote I'm thinking of is probably from the late 70s or the 80s (given that there's when most of baseball memory rests). I would not be surprised, though, if it were even true into the 90s. It just seems interesting given the Dodgers performance over the years.

2- But doesn't that rule violate the other rules, and in some ways violate the nature of the list?

Last night was not a banner night for the Thank Yous. At least five of them got knocked around. Can we make today a day where people just go along with them - including #10?

15
Not sure what you mean, but keep in mind all rules are preceded by "Thank you for not..."

This just makes me nervous about the inevitable bad month to come. I wonder what they're record over the past 20 Septembers has been, by comparison? Probably a mixed bag.

17 - I tried to reword that more logically but I can't. Time for some peanut butter.

What their record... that should be. Sigh, I need coffee.

---
It seems like all the teams in the NL West this year have now had a decent-sized winning streak - is that right?

Ah, I feel better now. There's a big typo in the new DVDTalk newsletter which just arrived in my email box.

I've got 4 free tickets available to tomorrow's School Field Trip day game. I can't shake loose of work so if anyone is interested let me know via molokai@yahoo.com and put Dodger Game in the subject. They are in the loge section and since these games are very sparsly attended you will be able to sit anywhere you want in the loge once you get in. The tickets will be emailed so you need to have a printer that can print a readable bar code.

18 I can't find the post I made about it, but it's pretty bad since 1997.

Hey, there it is:

http://truebluela.com/story/2006/8/29/13317/0528

So were more like the Hare then the Turtle. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that for most of those years our best player was the catcher who normally was flogged during the season.

From benmaller.com:
"The Dodgers are worried that Jason Schmidt might not pitch again this season, according to a major league source. Schmidt, who signed a three-year contract for $47 million, has a bad shoulder and could be shutdown for surgery soon. Schmidt is 1-2 with a 7.36era this season in three starts."

Did Schmidt's shoulder really turn bad only a few weeks into this season...?

Did Mueller's knee really turn bad only a few weeks into last season...?

Not so fun fact:

April '05 .807 OPS, 5.5 Runs/gm
April '06 .727 OPS, 4.9 Runs/gm
April '07 .699 OPS, 4.7 Runs/gm

Plus there's reason to question the 4.7 runs/game. We're batting 20 pts higher with RISP. BP has us at 108 EQR vs. 121 actual runs.

For a guy who had to be hit with a cattle prod to admit he was hurting this is amazing.
If Kuo/Billingsley can't break into the rotation with Schmidt out then what the hey.

I think either Guo or Billingsley will be a regular in the starting rotation by June 1st. All things being equal it would probably be Guo due to the fact that he was earmarked for a starting role more than Billingsley was during spring training. Guo's limiting factor in May will probably be his pitch count limit. vr, Xei

26 - Not even necessarily a source within the Dodger organization.

28 - I think offense is down across MLB, isn't it?

Not that I doubt the severity of Schmidt's injury, but I've never seen anything legit come from benmaller.com.

I will not sit idly by and watch the credibility of benmaller.com be besmirched in such a manner. You have offended me, sir. Pistols at dawn!

I am disappointed. Not about last night but in general. I recall sitting there through the Dan Evans era thinking gosh one day when we rebuild our farm and some of these big contracts are gone were going to be so good!! And now that's all going into the tubes. We decided to take garbage from our division rivals (Schmidt, Gonzo) and decided to resign Nomar instead of Drew when we had Loney waiting. We decide we must not allow SF to get Pierre...the total money wasted on those 4 guys could fetch us a legit superstar in 2008 (if as Ned claims, it was just impossible to do anything last off season via trade or free agency to get a legit player in his prime) and not block our top prospects.

33

Not until you slap me in the face with your batting glove.

31 NL figures

4/05 .741 OPS 4.4 r/g
4/06 .759 OPS 4.9 r/g
4/07 .731 OPS 4.4 r/g

Dodgers April OPS+
4/05  109
4/06  104
4/07   96

Looks like Tommy Lasorda made the Dodgers into Sinatra's team: "Ridin' high in April, shot down in May."

It seems like the press is poised to pounce on Colletti for the Schmidt signing, as they do whenever a GM brings in a big-ticket FA who gets hurt. The morality players are hoping Schmidt can't play this season, just to teach everyone a lesson.

Somehow, Colletti is skating on Pierre. A FA can play lousy baseball and that's okay, but God forbid he should let a ball hit his wrist (Drew/DePodesta) or come up lame like Schmidt.

34 I don't see how you can blame Colletti for Schmidt unless he knew he was injured when he was signed. I don't know anyone who was against the signing at the time.

It seems like the press is poised to pounce on Colletti for the Schmidt signing

When players have pre-existing conditions (e.g. Mueller), it seems reasonable to criticize a GM for a signing when, from the outside, it appears that a little "due diligence" would have uncovered the condition and raised a red flag.

I don't know whether Schmidt's shoulder problem was pre-existing or not.

well, wasn't schmidt's velocity down somewhat last year too?

If anything the Schmidt injury makes Colletti look smart. He's the only GM who got a top 10 FA starter to sign a 3-year deal.

It's common sense man. A guy goes out there for the Giants and is a model citizen. Never heard anything bad about Schmidt at all. Good team mate, hard worker. Had 4 or 5 great years. Then that team decides not even to entertain the idea of bring back their ace? So normall some could say well they didn't have the money or they had others to fill the spot, but in this case they go out and get Zito for 120 million. So that's how I blame him. I am not saying I am right, just saying how I feel.

Will Colletti ever just allow the team to start the season with a high-ceiling yet "unproven" rookie/young player?

If Nomar never gets hurt, does Loney get traded? Will Kemp get to play in place of anyone but Ethier? While Dioner Navarro was certainly no veteran and less-than "proven," does Martin even play last year if he doesn't get hurt?

It's really strange, but I can't see any other way for the players I want to get a real chance to get that chance without hoping for people like Pierre, Gonzalez, and Nomar to get hurt.

36 - Well, okay then :)

Completely off topic but as I was watching last nights game, I became sick to my stomach when reality came-a-knockin. I don't know how management can continue to send JP and the Goon out to start EVERYDAY when as demonstrated last night(yet again) that EVERY time a runner is on second base, a base hit will score him if the ball is hit to LF or CF, usually uncontested or with a throw home not worthy of a 12 year old little leaguer. This is totally and completely unacceptable for a major league team to accept so willingly..eh....VOLUNTARILY! Also the fact that if someone hits a ball in the LF corner (semi deep), they're looking at two bases on what would have been a single for EVERY other major league Left fielder. I can't take watching it anymore night in and night out. Something must be done obviously, but how long do the Dodgers sit idle before too much time has passed?

45 I am afraid the answer to your last question is about another 130 games

I think this year we're getting a taste of Angels baseball. That is the pitching is so good it masks a dysfunctional offense. Ideally management would recognize these flaws and correct them- turning an 87 win team into a 95 win team. However the media won't tolerate drastic changes/upgrades while the team is winning (see Lo Duca trade). Of course we may have a deeper problem i.e. management doesn't see the flaws to begin with.

I don't know whether the report on Schmidt needing surgery is accurate or not but a part of me hopes it is. Not that I want to see the man get cut on but it would be nice to hear that there is a reason for his poor performance this year and that it is fixable. He has been of no value to us this year. If they can patch him up and he can give us 2 good years after that it would be an improvement over where we are now.

47 I'm just worried we're going to be in for another one of Ned's AMAZIN' trades around the All Star break.

"From the management staff that brought you Julio Lugo, Toby Hall...!"

39 Maybe my point wasn't clear. I was just noting a tendency of the sports media. It's my observation that GMs are treated more harshly if they spend a lot on a FA and he gets hurt than they are if they spend a lot on FA and he plays poorly.

Part of it is the assumption a FA signee might be nervous, trying to prove he's worth his contract, adapting to new surroundings, etc. FA's are given at least a year to do this, even though they're getting paid the same in the out years as in this supposed period of adjustment.

But injuries are something GMs were supposed to foresee.

Re: Schmidt. All I can say is I hope it's an injury that has impacted his velocity, rather than skills falling off. I'm willing to wait a few months, since at this moment it looks like we've got enough pitching to survive a long stint on the DL; and a lot of us would like to see Billingsley or Kuo get some starts, even if they're still on a learning curve.

and decided to resign Nomar instead of Drew when we had Loney waiting.

i hear you on the Loney situation but Drew walking angered me at the moment but then i thought about it better & i felt happy he went to Boston. Think about in Jason, Drew's had only 2 good years in the majors if i remember correctly. I don't doubt if he can stay healthy he'll be a good productive player though.

48 - "It would be nice to hear that there is a reason for his poor performance this year and that it is fixable."

How about the same thing happens, but he's only out for four weeks? Would that work?

50
Your point was clear. I wasn't disagreeing with you.

We are 5th in the NL and 1st in the NL West in runs scored. Shouldn't we wait for that to not be the case before any panic over the offense sets in?

52 That would be even better. I really don't want to see him get cut on but I really do want to see him return to form.

52
Works for me. I doubt he ends up with surgery.

49
Can't mention the loser trades without the others side of the coin called Marlon Anderson and Greg Maddux. While trading Guzman, Navarro, Seo, Ruggiano, and Pedroza didn't cause us to lose any games, getting Marlon and Maddux did help us win some games. The net result was a thinned out 40 man roster but a division title. Not that Ned should take much credit for the Sept exploits of Marlon but he did make the deal.

54 We are 5th in runs scored and 13th in OPS.

54 I just hope we can sustain the production. I'm hoping that when Furcal and Betemit's bats wake up it will make up the difference when Gonzalez's production comes down to earth and Pierre continues to OPS .650 in the 2 hole.

We're 7th in the NL in runs/game

56 Man, we do think alike on the roster. I was going to say the same things especially on Anderson, Maddux and yes, Betemit who was part of the team that had that big run in August.

I can sense that the natives are getting restless. I share your concerns. Pierre is as lousy as we all feared, and I don't understand the talent-stashing in Vegas.

I also maintain that attending a game in the Stadium, with the exception of the premium luxury seats, is a subpar experience at best...

59 Just to give context to the runs scored discussion, the NL West has 4 of the top 6 pitching staffs in the league. The other divisions have one team each in the top 6. Only Colorado, whose starters usually pitch much better on the road than at home are in the bottom half of the league.

Hopefully, once the NL West ends in divisional play, the offenses will break out.

Here are the current OPSes by position, and what will "probably" happen to them from here on out.

Will probably get better:

3B: .535
SS: .558
CF: .605

Will probably get worse:

P: .519
LF: .880

Will probably stay roughly the same:

C: .802
1B: .787
2B: .832
RF: .753

57. Darn good thing games aren't decided by who ends the game with the higher OPS. Do you really think it's time to worry about this? We are a better pitching team than offensive team and our offense is still good. It won't lead the league but our pitching might and if our offense stays where it is (and there's every reason to believe it will) we should be in good shape. Nobody on the offense side is playing over their head.

If Schmidt is out for the season, the Dodgers are done.

"Done" as in will struggle to maintain a .500 record for the season.

If we changed our line up and put our 8 regulars in order of OBP it would be:

Martin
Kent
Gonzo
Nomar
Pierre
Betemit
Ethier
Furcal

I was surprised to see that Betemit (12 BB) has a better OBP than Ethier (4 BB).

I don't want to get too much into Drew's history. I can say that aside from a fastball off the wrist, JD Drew has been pretty good the last three seasons with OPS+ of 158, 148 and 125. His OF defense is solid.

Nomar OPS+ has been 106, 99 and 120 and his defense is solid.

And really who is the bigger injury risk? At least Drew can play his natural position with his injuries where Nomar can't.

Then factor in a guy with gold glove defense at 1b (loney) who hit for a better avg than any proballplayer in any league vs Drews replacement (gonzo for 8 million in reality).

The way I see it Loney, Ethier and Drew are better on defense than Nomar, Ethier and Gonzo and I would think our hitting would be pretty close to the same.

Gonzo has already fallen to earth and Furcal and Betemit need to make up for it right now.

61
Never having sat in the premium luxury seats I can't comment on how cool that experience is but the reason I keep going to the games is the group of people I've come to know much like the DT group. I'm disapointed when I arrive and strangers are in my friends seats and the game is never as much fun. That pretty much is what kept me going to Clipper games all these years.

64--Why do you keep telling people not to worry about stuff before it happens? Part of being a fan is predicting and anticipating what will happen in the future.

Telling people not to worry about the Dodgers overall low OPS, is like telling people not to worry about the Juan Pierre signing until he actually plays.

The reason why people rightfully worried about Pierre, is bc they knew what kind of player he was. Likewise, the reason why people are worrying about the low OPS, it will eventually catch up to the Dodgers.

This team's pitching THAT good, to make up for a bad offense, especially with Schmidt out. Hendrickson, Wolf, Tomko--thats not a playoff caliber 3-5.

61 Having sat all over the stadium the past couple of years, I guess I have been fortunate in not having some of those bad experiences. I did see one fight last year that was close by.

Also, I went to the game last night, got to the Sunset Gate (Elysian Park)at 6:10 and was out of my car and heading to the stadium in 10 minutes. I have attended three of the biggest crowds, Opening Day, Jackie Robinson Day and last night and getting in and out have not been a problem. However, I have yet to be in the stadium when the game ended so I can't vouch for getting out in a timely mannner.

Still hard to say what the changes to the parking system have done, I like the organized way they park cars in the lots, I still think that getting in is the big issue.

Not that Ned should take much credit for the Sept exploits of Marlon but he did make the deal.

If i remember correctly Kim Ng was the one who championed that move.

65. How could you come to that conclusion? We are 2nd in the NL in ERA and Schmidt only served to hurt that so far. Kuo is for real (and Bills may be ready too) and will step in when Hendrickson and Tomko falter.

69. I'm not saying don't worry because it hasn't happened yet. I'm saying don't worry because I don't see reason to believe it will. That's very different from saying don't worry that Juan Pierre will be bad. He was already there.

ToyCannon i emiled you regarding the ticks, hopefully somebody wasn't faster than me.

Yeah, and despite his crummy performance last night, I have faith that Wolf will still prove a solid pitcher for most of the season. You have Lowe, Penny, Wolf, Kuo, Bills, and Hendrickson (a combo of 2 of those last three anyway) and you have a pretty solid, deep rotation - and that's not counting Schmidt, the status of whom we still know very little about save for blog rumors. That's not to say I wouldn't worry at all about the offense, but if they can get a little help from a Kemp or a Loney this year, with the guys they already have, I see no reason to believe they won't continue to score runs as they did last year, power or no. Especially with Arizona the only team in this division with what I would term a consistently dangerous offense. (imho)

I was listening to one of the games in SD on the SD radio broadcast. The broadcasters both thought that Furcal didn't look right. On a ground out they said, "He just doesn't run like the Furcal I remember".

It it pretty hard to evaluate him by listening to the radio. Has any one who saw him last year and has seen him lately got any thoughts?

The issues for me right now is the left side of the infield, they just cannot play a Wilson Valdez type guy there and expect to compete. Also, Raffy needs to come back, if he hits like this for another month, that will be problem.

If Schmidt is out for a time (right now, I would say early June would be a great guess for the Dodgers), I think they have to think about moving Chad into the rotation.

Hendrickson has proven to me that he can be effective as a 6th guy, spot starter and multi inning guy, I don't think he can pitch on less than 3 days rest out of the pen but I do think he can give you 2 innings at least twice a week.

If Ned was ever going to be bold, and those of you out there in DT land will laugh at this, but it would be bold to move a guy like Tomko right now, I would move him, use Chad and Kuo in the rotation, you would Hendrickson available to back up the starters and then bring up Brazoban to join Saito, Broxton, Beimel and Tsao. If Schmidt is able to join up, then you can decide what to do with the other starters.

Offensively, I think if Betemit just can't make it (and last night he had a hard grounder right to the box and another that Hudson made a real good play going to his left, than either the Nomar experiment to third has to be explored or you roll the dice with LaRoche.

As for the outfield, I think Ethier will be fine, though he needs to find his stroke against lefties, if Kemp can have a big May, than we will see what the club does with him.

75 He seems to move okay on the basepaths and in the field, I just think as much as we might downplay Spring Training, getting at bats is important and he really didn't get that many plus missing the first part of the season, he has only been playing two weeks so I think it might until the middle of May when he gets back to himself. But right now, he is pretty bad.

[65] i respectfully disagree. schmidt's important, but our season doesn't hinge on him alone.

[76] i'm more than okay with trading tomko, but what do you think we could get for him?

I do worry about third a little, and I've been on Betemit's side so far. I still think he'll pick it up, but the team's got to be losing patience. What I worry about with La Roche is that they'll be a drop-off in defense at third - Betemit (and Martinez and Valdez) have all been pretty solid there and La Roche has kind of scared me with his D. Granted that's just looking at Spring numbers, apparently he gets better as he goes along, but I would expect a slight drop in D there at third if they put him in this year.

79 Some magic beans? A new third base coach? I'll take it!

1st should improve. Nomar has never seen an OPS that low for a full season.

Just a comment from Jayson Stark of ESPN.com on baseball's offense in April.

"Runs scored are down 0.8 per game from this time last year. Home runs are down nearly 20 percent. The major league slugging percentage is down 28 points.

82 Maybe he needs more rest during the day.

At night: .356/.407/.507 (80 PA)
Daytime: .179/.200/.179 (29 PA) all 5 hits are singles

81 I think Tomko would bring a lot more than you think. He has started 4 games this year and his worst start is 3 ER's in 6 IP. His best is 6 IP and 0 runs.

The question is what do we want. We are not going to get a power hitting outfielder for him nor will we get an All-Star 3B. We have good players in the system. Unless we can get a super star I would rather keep a serviceable starter. With the injury to Schmidt I am glad we still have him.

Maybe so - I would like to think you're right, and I would certainly like extra serviceable starters, but I've just never had much faith in him. I'd take a good prospect in exchange. With Schmidt's injury, I see Kuo, Bills and Hendy as all superior options to Tomko.

If I recall, Tomko was fairly effective out of the pen last year. I actually would prefer to move Hendrickson as I perceive him to be just as expendable, but with more value.

86 What team not in full on rebuilding mode what benefit from Hendrickson?

Just watched the protest march go by my office on the way to City Hall. I would guess there are at most 10,000 people. I wasn't here for last year's march, but I'm told it was wall-to-wall people. The bacon-wrapped hot dog vendors are doing a brisk business.

Really OT but for those who have possible UCLA and Dodger post-season conflicts.

The October 6th game between UCLA and Notre Dame at Rose Bowl has been chosen by ABC Sports to be their primetime game of the day so that means a 5:00 p.m. PDT kickoff.

USC hosts Stanford that day (they will probably have a 12:30 kickoff).

Last year, the day of the Dodger's sole home playoff game also had two home college games and some other events happening in downtown.

Traffic to the game wasn't that bad as I recall.

87 - I think there are several teams who could use a 5th starter/swingman type guy. Toronto comes to mind first. Though - due to injuries - I could see Baltimore and Houston pursue a starter.

When it comes to a trade I think the first thing we need to figure out is what we want, not what we want to get rid of.

My view of San Francisco City Hall at the moment consists of a thousand of people waiting to get into the Conan O'Brien show here. I sit here at work looking jealously upon them.

The Padres recalled one of my favorite names today, btw - Royce Ring. Sounds like a guy who should have loads o' bling.

91. Right. And all I want is prospects, especially OF prospects. The only places in desperate need of upgrades are CF and LF, and CF is closed off for 5 years. Kemp should be able to slide in to LF (or RF, with Ethier moving over) as soon as the Gonzales experiment is allowed to end (might be next year). Still, a couple more OF prospects would be a good thing.

We could use a kid catcher (single A) to back up Martin, too. But I would not trade for major-leaguers at this point -- not unless it's a blockbuster for a superstar.

Is there a link anyone can direct me to that lists all of our draft picks over the last few years?

Yeah, OF defense is seriously under rated. And I thought Lofton looked bad!

If the trade deadline were today, I would try to get Scott Rolen.

97 That would keep LaRoche down until 2011.

95 Go to dodgers.com, look under the "roster" tab and you will find links to drafts going back until 2000-2001.

Hypothetical question for 2008. Salaries don't matter in this question. I use Ichiro and Jones below but you can substitue any quality player of your choice.

1. Would u guys rather have Pierre in CF and Ichiro in RF (Ethier/Kemp in LF)

2. Would you rather have Pierre in LF and Andrew Jones in CF? (Ethier/Kemp in RF)

3. Juan Pierre in CF flagged by Kemp and Ethier.

100

I would prefer #2. I think Ned might go for #1 to give us a trio of "leadoff" men.

99 Thanks. That is exactly what I was looking for.

www.thebaseballcube.com goes way back.

100 If salary isn't a consideration, then isn't #2 the obvious choice?

Wonder what Messrs. Cashman and other pitching-strapped GMs would offer for Joe Mays--who'd probably look good in pinstripes but who'll probably never wear Dodger blue. Former All-Star and all that. Think he has a May 15 Dodger decision date.

Add R. Seanez, which solves the problem of what to do with him when bringing up another reliever who has more upside.

Add Mark Alexander, selling point of being Dodger minor league pitcher of the year last year, who's struggling now and is another pitcher unlikely ever to wear Dodger blue.

A package would be a start at clearing up the pitching logjam with no real loss and might even bring back someone with, say, some power potential...but who'd bite and offer what?

98--Not if LaRoche moved to 2nd base, where he should be playing anyhow IMO.

I'd deal for Rolen also, but I doubt the Cardinals would give him up for nothing. I doubt he'd want to leave St. Louis anyways. He's somewhat of a local product there.

106 The reports I've heard have LaRoche moving further down the defensive spectrum sooner rather than later. If his glove isn't great at third, there's no way he could play second.

105
You don't see trades very often involving journeymen minor leaguers as the centerpiece. I assume that's because every team has their fair share of them. I'd assume the Yankees would try to get use out of an Aaron Small type player in their own system rather than trade for someone who has a similar chance of success.

108
We traded them Tanyon Sturtze a few years ago for Brian Myrow so the precedent is there for moving ex big leaguers in the minors for prospects to the Yankee's.
Mays might have value but I don't think were moving Hendrickson/Tomko until they know what is up with Schimdt.

I think if we traded Mays to anyone, we'll be doing it for his sake and not to get much in return. We might get something a little better for HendricKo, as said above, for one of them, but yeah, we may not be moving anyone until they know what's up with Schmidt. I'm with GoBears, though, OF prospects are what the Dodgers should be getting in return for any mid-level trade at this point.

Does anyone know if Bigbie renegotiated his out clause? Is there a new deadline for when he has to be in the bigs?

I'd be more interested in making a deal with our normal trading partners. They have outfielders and infielders galore and plenty of single A pitchers and even a couple of AAA pitchers but what they don't have and what we do have is an excellent prospect at 1st base and quality relief pitchers. I'd be more then happy to send them Loney and Tsao for Longoria or Brignac with either one capable of moving to 2nd base or playing 3b in case La Roche is early Crede or worse. My favorite deal and one I wanted since last fall was Loney for Upton and sticking Upton in CF but with the signing of Pierre and Upton playing upto his potential that dream has fallen by the wayside.

43 I don't understand this either. What happens at the end of this year if say, LuGo finishes the season healthy and ends up with numbers like .280,18,85?

Will Ned allow Kemp to be the frontrunner for the position next year or will he need to sign another veteran to come in and hold the position? It just seems apart from injury, no home grown talent will be given a legitimate chance to earn playing time.

Not that I wouldn't do the same thing but I think Ned liked Schmidt as a person and as a player and wanted him on his team and signed him thinking that Schmidt wasn't just a fastball pitcher and could be effective with a 89 mph fastball.

I also think Frank McCourt insisted on signing Nomar because he liked him as a fan when he played in Boston.

If Ned thinks Nomar will injure himself by throwing from third then why not protect Kent as well. Kent had oblique problems last year.

Here is some real craziness for everybody. Lets assume Steinbrenner does something Steinbrennerish again and trades AROD to the Dodgers for Penny, Lowe, Furcal, and Brazoban. For the Yankees, cain to third, Furcal to second. For the Dodgers, AROD to ss, Nomar to 3b, Loney to 1b Bills and Kuo to the rotation.

112
Is Joel Guzman playing 1B for Durham?

cain = Cano

I don't see us getting anything of much value for Hendrickson or Tomko. And if that's the case, I'd prefer holding on to them for the depth they provide. The only way you might get something in return for them is if you add one of our highly touted and blocked prospects to the deal. I would first figure out what position it is you want to improve at then trade Tomko/Hendrickson plus a highly touted prospect at that position for a solid veteran in return. I wouldn't do it, but this is the only way I could see us getting anything useful in return for a trade of Tomko or Hendrickson. And I don't see Gonzo, Pierre or Nomar getting traded at all. It's still early but I am coming to the conclusion that improvement to this team can only come from injuries to some of the subpar performing players who are blocking some of our better young players (Kemp, Loney, LaRoche, Abreu, Guo, Billingsley etc...) vr, Xei

115
To answer my own question, Guzman has only played 3B and DH this season. But I thought I remember the D-Rays trying him out there last year.

118
They did but he impressed the DevilRay coaching staff when he played 3b this spring so they are giving him a shot there. It is all a moot point if he can't hit.

117
There's always a possibility someone desperate will overpay. Victor Zambrano did net Scott Kazmir from the Mets.

120. Yeah, I guess "anything" is possible but given how last years trade deadline was so quiet and unspectacular I don't see that happening. My guess is that for Tomko or Hendrickson, you'd get a very low level prospect, one without the hype or perceived potential of Mr Kazmir.
vr, Xei

121 I agree with Xei, and I certainly wouldn't expect the Rays to want Hendy back. But Tomko would be a vast improvement over the back end of their rotation. So would Joe Mays for that matter. But I wouldn't expect the Dodgers would get much in return, so... But the Rays definitely need pitching and do have many position prospects, so as much as I get nervous about the idea of trading with them yet again, if it was a reverse trade - a Dodger veteran for a Ray young player (with maybe a mix of both) I wouldn't necessarily mind.

R.I.P. Tom Poston - aka "The Peeper" and "George Utley" from the best Newhart shows. Also later married one of my favorites, Suzanne "Emily Hartley" Pleschette.

Of course long before that he was one of the men on the street from the Steve Allen show, more recently he would appear on various sitcoms. One of the great second/third bannanas in television history.

No one born in the 1980's or beyond will know who I am talking about.

123 - No one born in the 1980's or beyond will know who I am talking about.

They'll be familiar with his work as the Capital City Goofball, however.

123
I have to be honest. I know him from Family Matters.

124 Touche and I should be ashamed of calling anybody out.

123
And Suzanne Pleshette has been battling lung cancer recently.

She didn't get that deep voice by accident.

123 Ah, too bad. Tom Poston was classically hilarious.

http://tinyurl.com/37rl7b

Poston, who in his youth had been an acrobat with the Flying Zepleys,
Who knew?

Anderson playing 1st and batting third in tonight's lineup. I remember that there were complaints that Leyland did the same thing when he rested Larry Walker in Colorado and had the weak hitting replacement (I don't know who he was)bat 3rd in his place, so as not to mess up the player's rythms. Apparently Leyland's heart just wasn't in it.

Too Bad. I liked Tom Posten

123 I remember him from Mork and Mindy. I was born in 1980.

I feel sort of strange regarding his death, since he was always my first pick in the celebrity "Dead or Not Dead" game, in which two people challenge the other to guess whether a given celebrity is dead or not.

Ah man :-( I loved his "Peeper" episodes on the original Bob Newhart show.

I don't know why they can't just have Loney play first tonight because he... oh, what's that? Oh right. Never mind.

Don't mind having Anderson get a start, actually, but would almost it rather be for Gonzo (sounds like Nomar should be rested for day games only, based on aforementioned stats). Hope Penny's on his game tonight.

133 I think that is the problem, Nomar is going to play almost everyday and generally, teams (not just the Dodgers) don't like to have their best postion prospects just sit on the bench.

100
#4 - Juan Pierre packaged for Andruw Jones

133 - Anderson seems like an odd choice as a replacement firstbaseman; I always like Olmedo to get some 1B at-bats.

Wonder what Marlon's splits against Livan are?

True 'nuf, I guess I just wish he'd either a) not play every day (before he gets hurt) or b) play third sometimes with Loney up (not to beat that old drum again).

So, to start planning ahead - we have Kuo and Brazoban presumably close to ready. Brazoban can stay in the minors for awhile if necessary, but if the Dodgers want to bring them up, or at least one of them, in the next week... that means one or two people have to go. Seanez seems to get most of our votes for one slot. Who gets the other? (Is there where a trade happens? Does Valdez go to clear space for a pitcher, or more likely for Matt Kemp.) Anyway, the next coupla weeks will be interesting.

136 Just looked it up - Marlon is 10 for 32 lifetime vs Livan, with 2 doubles and a triple. 790 OPS. Not bad.

Brazoban wasn't too great in the first place. Why are people so eager to put him back in the pen?

136. They wanted Marlon's left handed bat in the lineup vs Livan Hernandez. Olmedo will probably pinch hit for Marlon if they bring a lefty in to face him later in the game.
vr, Xei

139. Because he's got ghame?
vr, Xei

He wasn't good in '05 but he was great in '04. And I guarantee you he's better than Rudy Seanez. (My personal choice would be to see Meloan this year, but that will come later.)

As a point of reference Ricky Henderson never had 200 hits in a season. I bring it up cause he is by far the greatest leadoff hitter I have ever seen and a counter point to all those "yeah but he (Pierre) gets 200 hits a year nonsense".

141

I mean, I still have the shirt and all, but he's pretty unreliable. We already have a whole pen full of guys better than him, with the possible exception of Seanez.

133 I checked, first Nomar is 0 for 11 so whatever they are, they are better than that.
Anderson (over 30 PA) - .313/.353/.438

Raffy in 66 PA - .345/.400/.621
Luis in 52 PA - .304/.385/.587
Betemit in 10 PA - .500/.500/.800 (1 HR)

142 Does Yhency have more than 1 pitch this time around? I remember him having alot of difficulty as the closer in '05 because he only threw fastballs.

142

He had a good ERA and a good number of strikeouts in '04, but 15 walks and 2 HRs in only 33 innings is not great.

Speaking of shirts, when are the new ones supposed to be delivered?

143 I have not seen anyone make any comparison to Rickey Henderson when it comes to Juan Pierre.

I would love to attribute the right DT poster but I think that person summed up it correctly by saying that Juan Pierre has pretty much done what he does, when he does get on base, he will steal some bases and probably because of how good Nomar and Kent are at driving in runners, is going to score runs. So when you see over 40 steals and 90+ runs while playing nearly everyday, both sides will be able to point it and "See we were right."

My bad, no one here has made the comparison, you guys are way to smart for that. However, thats the kool aid people are drinking about Pierre in the press, on the internet, on the radio, on diamondvision and in the stands. I just thought I'd share my method of debunking the argument. I simply say, who is the best leadoff hitter ever and most people my age say Ricky. Heck, Ricky says Ricky. So then I say well there is no way Ricky is that good he never had 200 hits, let alone 4 times in 6 years. And they all say, well yeah but.......and then they start arguing with me in reverse. It's great.

Greg Miller pitches tonight for Vegas, btw (speaking of yet more pitching options).

150 Rickey averaged about 90 walks and 16 homers a year. Now he wasn't a great base stealer by percentage but certainly he stole them when the game was on the line.

Rickey, Tim Raines and Craig Biggio, two out of those 3 will be Hall of Famers while Timmy gets to be in the Hall of Very Good.

Where can I find the each Dodger's runs created for the current season?

Could be Anderson's on the bubble and this could be he's getting a shot to see if he's worth a roster space. I can believe that, given that they have 2 pitchers and Kemp they need to make room for.

Zach Hammes made his 2007 debut today for jacksonvile going 2 innings, giving up 1 hit, no runs, no walks and 2 ks.

good start for the behemoth.

This was in Tim Brown's new blog entry on Yahoo:
"You've really got to see Dodgers catcher Russell Martin play to appreciate his energy, his enthusiasm for the game, and his feel for leading a veteran pitching staff in just his second season. Asked if Martin reminded him of anyone, Manny Mota mentioned Ivan Rodriguez first, then shook his head and said, "Tony Pena. He's a young Tony Pena." Grady Little, on the same question: "Players who played before our time. I don't know who.'"

(The entry leads with a piece about Rich Harden, and whether Beane is shopping him around, which sounds unbelievable to me.)

speaking of AA players, Xavier Paul is really making me look bad. While playing CF, on the season he is hitting 293/375/467 with 3 homeruns.

he still striking out a bit too much (25% of PAs) but so far, so good right now.

157 I've noticed Jacksonville is scoring a ton of runs this season in a bit of a contradiction from last. It seemed like last year there were alot of 3-4 run games and this year the box scores I read on 6-4-2 have alot of 5+ run games. Whats the difference?

157

more older, minor league filler players who have been through the league before.

Honest question, how many of Pierre's runs this year have come when Furcal gets on base ahead of him and Pierre gets on by grounding out to second base? Probably not many because Furcal has been pretty abysmal himself, but it feels like every time I see Furcal on first and Pierre up, that is the outcome. 1 more out, and Pierre on first.

I hate to break the unwritten rule that recently came into existence (not reading all the posts), but I couldn't get past the first 50 because everyone's being so dang negative. Haven't we hashed out all the "veterans over rookies" conversations already? Are we still surprised that Pierre is a sub-par baseball player? Can we be that upset that we're half a game out of first place?

Sorry if someone else brought up the same points, but I just hate when things get too repetitive around here.

153
Feel free to subtract the first "the" in my post if you wish it to read like English.

161

I just hate when things get too repetitive around here.

I don't want to repeat myself, so I'll just agree with you.

Edwin Jackson maybe one of those guys who has a perpetual cloud over his head. Or in baseball terms, always has runners on base.

Today he is down 5-0 in the second inning where he has walked a few, a few infield hits, couple of out that produced runs and a 3-base error on a throw Jackson makes on a bunt single which results in 2 runs.

He has now walked more than he has struck out, something like 13k/14BB in 21+ innings, has has .BAA over .290. Tampa Bay may not have a lot of pitching but I just wonder how long you let Edwin start.

He is out of options so perhaps you let him keep going out there but at some point I guess it just goes back to there is no such thing as a pitching prospect.

Edwin Jackson had a short outing against the Twins today.

According to Gameday:
1.1 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, pulled with bases loaded

164 you win!

Dodger Thoughts 1952:

What's Dressen doing with running Furillo out there in right? The guy doesn't have it. Shuba or Amoros should get a shot. But then again, Dressen is all in love with Pafko's veteran presence in left.

Dodger Thoughts 1958:
Just another walk for Elmer Valo

Dodger Thoughts 1960:
Why won't Alston put Koufax in the rotation fulltime?

Dodger Thoughts 1968:
Just how long did we sign Zoilo Versalles for?

The Ron LeFlore piece over at Cardboard Gods is very good.

167 Dodger Thoughts 1948
I hope they give George "Shotgun" Shuba a chance to play outfield everyday.

What do you mean Edwin Snider, that guy couldn't carry his bat or glove.

Dodger Thoughts 1953:
Walter Alston, sure he can manage in Montreal but the guy couldn't even play ball in the majors. Geez, I wish they would given Dressen at least a 2 year contract, we've only won 2 pennants in a row.

Dodger Thoughts 1953:
Walter Alston, sure he can manage in Montreal but the guy couldn't even play ball in the majors. Geez, I wish they would given Dressen at least a 2 year contract, we've only won 2 pennants in a row.

Dodger Thoughts 1980:
Am I the only one that thinks that kid Valenzuela is too fat to be a good pitcher?

I just hate when things get too repetitive around here.
--
I just have to take the (heat). I had two repetitive posts today, and I didn't get my point across. I directly affected this blog in a bad way. But I know I'm a better poster than that, and I will come out (tommorrow) and be a better poster."

Hah Bob just opened Pandora's box o' parody.

Dodger Thoughts 1947:
It's great that the Dodgers are using a black player, but Robinson is wasted at first base! He'll have more value as a middle infielder.

But he's old. Campanella or Newcombe have more upside.

Dodger Thoughts 1974:

Jeez, I can throw the ball further than Jimmy Wynn! Why doesn't he just hand the ball to Ferguson every time there's a play at the plate?

Only in the minors:

http://tinyurl.com/34jct9

I wonder if Andy Van Slyke's or Donnie Baseball's kids have a host family?

174
Just trying to keep things lively.

Bob, did the free blanket serve as a crying towel last night?

Dodger Thoughts 1947:
Thanks to the improved defensive stats, we see Robinson is a terrific glove man anywhere he plays. So a utility man with some pop? Who can't use a guy like that? Even if he is 28 years old.

176 Ohhh I would be very careful talking about the Toy Cannon that way.

Dodger thoughts 2006:
What's the point of signing Nomar when we have Choi?

(yes, that one hurt)

182 Oh, I know. I'm already looking over my shoulder.

Dodger Thoughts November 1978==

Time to bust up this worthless team! They can't beat the Yankees though they are just as good or better. The players are all losers and should be traded. Lasorda is the pits as a manager. He'll never win a WS.

Dodger Thoughts 1988:

This team needs more power at the corners!

Some OT NBA talk - What a weird playoff game going on in Toronto.

Bosh, who is Toronto's best player gets 3 fouls in 9 minutes and does nothing in the first half. However his team shoots 61% and outscores the Nets by 20 in the first quarter to get out to a nice lead at halftime.

Dodger Thoughts 2011:

They're extending Pierre for three more years?

187 - By the Hammer of Thor!

blerg....

Dodger Thoughts 1989

I am a senior in high school and it's all good. I will be getting chicks forevor and I love beer. I heart Micky Hatcher. And nothing beats my taped on picture of Gibson with beers, on the field after beating Oakland on top of my pee chee folder..

I am so excited over last year I really feel like this is the start of things to come.

Dynasty just cause your on TV you have nothing over my dodgers.

Greg Brock - NASA is spinning lies about your gal.

http://tinyurl.com/2c4kx6

Dodger Thoughts 2012 (after Kemp takes over CF):

Juan Pierre would have had that.

I believe we should congratulate Marty for giving new style nicknames to help us differentiate between the two Mike Marshalls.

Iron Mike (the pitcher) and General Soreness (the guy who stood around in right field).

192 Speaking of nicknames, I would love to see a glossary of Dodger Thoughts nicknames on the sidebar here.

192
Perhaps it should be Dr. Iron Mike
http://www.drmikemarshall.com/

Funny Funny stuff

193 I think that almost all are unofficial and unsanctioned by the host. Some of them do seem to be tolerated, however.

Lucille II and Ghame Over were the only ones that had official sanction I believe.

The latter gained official sanction by appearing on a T-shirt.

I didn't consider Ghame Over to be Brazoban's nickname, just the phrase everyone typed when he closed a g(h)ame.

And yes, Bob, you were the first.

Hey, there's a new post up top!

196

I guess now that I think about it there aren't too many Dodger nicknames indigenous to Dodger Thoughts that have caught on. The only ones I can think of are Lucille II, Ghame Over (did that start here?), and 3.5.

Any more?

It's from when he was a Giant (yuck!) but tonights pitcher used to be known as "Cheeseburger" Hernandez. Not hard to guess how he got that name.

161,

I completely agree/second your thoughts.

You guys are right. Pierre is a great player, and only veterans know how to win.

End of negativity.