A worthy trio. Hopefully Casey, JR, and Ted make it in next year.

1 - I kinda want to join the voting board just to vote for J.R.

My apologies for a quick off-topic comment, but something in the previous thread reminded me of it:

Is there any chance, Jon, that the "rules" could be moved to a location of greater prominence? Perhaps it's my browser, but to even view them requires scrolling down very far, and they're easily missed. Not that I'd like to think I do or would break rules often (except probably rule 8 and perhaps 11 from time to time), but for some reason it grates at me slightly to have the rules stuck at the absolute bottom of the page.

That having been said, back on topic, I now have a significant desire to pick up The Long Season - anybody here have a chance to read it?

3 - Since I sort of wish there didn't have to be rules at all, I like them at the bottom. And I feel that by and large, people have done a good job of informing others about them when needed. It's not as if they change very often.

I appreciate what you're saying, though.

I think they're easier to find at the bottom. Just hit END. Unless you've got hundreds of comments open, it'll take you right to them. If you've got hundreds of comments open, refresh, and then hit end. Plus it's easier to direct new users to them than it would be to say, "Please consult the list of site rules located beneath the Best of Dodger Thoughts book link, and above the outside links."

I don't know that much about the Baseball Reliquary, except that I'm itching to visit. Here are the criteria for selcetion into the Shrine of the Eternals, for anybody as in the dark about it as me:

"The Shrine of the Eternals is similar in concept to the annual elections held at the Baseball Hall of Fame, but differs philosophically in that statistical accomplishment is not a criterion for election. Rather, the Shrine's annual ballot is comprised of individuals – from the obscure to the well known – who have altered the baseball world in ways that supersede statistics."

Anyway, three fine selections this year. But no love for El Tiante and the Quiz?!?

Anybody know who votes on these selections?

6 - A $25 membership gives you the right to vote.

How did Quiz die? I was looking over the site and don't remember him passing in 98. He was young. What happened?

Cardboard Gods today is awesome.

Hardball Times had an article on defense today. I found it interesting. The Dodger's second basemen last year (mainly Kent I'd imagine) were below average, but the rest of the infield held up pretty well.

http://tinyurl.com/37uytm

8 Quiz succumbed to the big C.

4/5 - Gotcha. I think it's more a personal annoyance every time one of the more common regulars makes a 'rules' joke and I have to scramble down to get a chuckle. =P You all must submit to my need for convenient humor! Harrrrrrr.

Additionally, I very much agree with Josh in that I didn't really know about the Reliquary but it sounds like a fun place to visit.

8. Cancer (glioblastoma multiforme). It was a very quiet, sad day in KC the day he died my wife says (she lived there). Everyone loved him.

10 I want to see defensive stats from this season. I feel like theres at least 3 games in my mind that we basically gave away because of errors including last night.

Lots of updates to this post above.

Anybody interested in Quisenberry should read Josh's entry about him, which as a bonus contains a poem Quisenberry wrote.

I was a Reliquary voter for a couple of years, but somehow let my membership lapse. Also, a friend of mine delivered the speech inducting Satchel Paige a few years ago, so I got to write the speech. (Paige's son was there to accept.)

3. having unknowingly trod upon rule #1 just last night, I think they could be more prominent.

but I was quickly informed of it's existence, so it does seem to be self-policing.

Seems to me if the Marlins were to trade Cabrera to the Dodgers, Kemp would be the first guy they want.

Stumbled on a great read via Hardball Times today: http://tinyurl.com/3cvqkx

Explains the intricacies of service time- notably how Milton Bradley for example missed by 3 days of becoming a FA last November.

9 When is it not? I agree that today's is particularly inspired.

I have no problem with Kemp and Loney getting more seasoning in Triple-A. They're young and should benefit from trial-and-error in a less intensive environment. If they apply themselves, next time they come up, they should be more able to succeed long term.

Basketball was Kemp's sport not that long ago. I believe another 200 at-bats in Triple-A should improve his breaking ball recognition and balance as a hitter, his routes in the OF and his overall feel for the game. It's a fine line, sure. Triple-A pitchers aren't able to test him in areas the way major leaguers will, but at this point, I like the idea of Kemp getting more experience without the intense pressure of being in the majors. I still think he is consolidating and developing some skills that he will need to stay in the majors.

As for Loney, much of the same. Yes, he has a pretty swing, but he is still learning how to "back up" the ball and "let the ball travel," techniques that will boost his power.

I would like to read more about what impact Murray is having on the young hitters, what instruction he gave to Kemp and Loney and Laroche, what areas he may have emphasized with them before they went to Triple-A. I also would like to know more about what Murray did with Betemit. On the surface, the Murray-Betemit tutorials didn't work as I had hoped. I figured that a Hall of Famer who was a switch-hitter might be able to assist Betemit. From what I could see, Betemit regressed, became a lot busier in his approach, preswing and swing, especially when viewed from the dugouts. His head was all over the place.

19 Then how much did Bradley's suspensions really cost him, eh? (Assuming suspensions don't accrue service time; that would be common sense, but common sense doesn't always prevail in labor contracts.)

what are Kemp's # at AAA since returning from injury? Anyone know (roughly) without having to go look?

Just wanted to pop in to add that Brosnin testified on Curt Flood's behalf in his case against baseball. Brosnin, Jackie Robinson, Bill Veeck, and Hank Greenberg. That's a dinner party I'd like to attend.

Two questions:

(1) how long before local/national media slap the "H&S" label on Russ?

(2) this summer I move and start a new job in Santa Fe Springs (where the 605 and 5 meet). Any recommendations on where I should live, or insight into traffic patterns?

Unfortunately, Steve Yeager is no stranger to freak accidents. Hope his recovery goes well.

23 In 14 games he has OPSed .987. (I looked).

25 I don't know that much about Santa Fe Springs, but Whittier or La Habra has some nice areas and is not too far from Santa Fe Springs.

25 I suggest you monitor a site like sigalert.com to see how the freeway traffic congests during your expected commute times.

Where you can live is a function driven by your tolerance of commute distances and traffic and your economic status. Are you already local or coming from out of the area?

25 If money is no object, how about Manhattan Beach and commute "against" traffic on the 105; especially good in a carpool.

25 I think the San Gabriel Valley in general is pretty livable if you don't mind hot summers. Of particular note, the best Chinese food in the western hemisphere. Close to 605 you've got Walnut, Diamond Bar, Puente Hills, Whittier. Closer to LA are Alhambra and Monterey Park.

I'd also suggest Long Beach as a possibility. Cooler weather. You might be able to commute by transit (blue line north to green line east). Seal Beach is also a straight shot down the 605, but its behind the Orange Curtain.

Best wishes to the Boomer. My all time favorite player.

thanks ODF!!

9 It WAS awesome.

31. Better than Vancouver's Chinese Food? The best Chinese I've ever had was there, by far, but I've been to the San Gabriel Valley.

31 I live on the East Coast but visit LA on business a few times per year. There is no authentic Chinese food where I live. I lived in China for awhile and miss the food a lot. Can you recommend some places, especially in the Hermosa Beach area, but I will travel if the food is good enough.

I've never been to Vancouver, but I'm fairly comfortable with giving the SGV the #1 seed.

Thanks for the input, everyone; it is much appreciated. I'm leaning toward the South Bay, either Manhattan or Hermosa.

SGV chinese food is amazing. I love dim sum, and there are at least 7 terrific dim sum places there. Also there are truly authentic Szechuan, Chinese-Islamic, Shandong, Chonqing, etc. restaurants spread around Alhambra, Rosemead, San Gabriel, Monterrey Park. I could eat there for months and not go through all the great places available.

Hope Yeager is OK. Although, after the Bill-Russell-bat-to-the-throat incident, if he recovers fully from this, I'd check his DNA, and his closet for cheerleader garb.

38 Does it break any DT rules to recommend a particular place?

I recommend going over to True Blue LA and reading Grant's latest post if you want to be reminded why Tommy Lasorda is such a ... something.

Anyway, it's a great, and horribly depressing, post.

Dim Sum:
888 Seafood, Valley Blvd. S.G.
Mission 261, Mission Bld. S.G.
Triumphal Palace, Valley Blvd. Alhambra
Elite Restaurant, Atlantic Blvd. Monterrey Park

Shanhai:
Mei Long Village, Valley Blvd. S.G.
Green Village, Valley Blvd. S.G.

Dumplings
Din Tai Fung, Baldwin Ave. Arcadia
Dumpling Master, Atlantic Blvd. Monterrey Park

Szechuan:
Oriental Pearl, Valley Blvd. Alhambra
Best Szechuan, Garfield Ave. Monterrey Park

Hunan:
Hunan's, Valley Blcvd. Alhambra.

Thanks

My next trip will be greatly enhanced.

[42] i've been to din tai fung in beijing, and it was absolutely sublime.

Ahh, Chinese food talk. My favorite! :) SGV does indeed kick butt as far as chinese eateries go. I've been to Vancouver a couple of times, and they do have some decent chinese restaraunts but the SGV easily gets the nod in my books. 2nd place on the west coast would have to be the SF bay area, from SF stretching down the west side of the bay down to the Milpitas area there are some wonderful chinese restaraunts.
Of course none of them compare to the chinese food you can get in a large country called China. Their restaraunts are very unique. You can easily get your own private room, with 2-3 waitresses decked out in beautiful traditional chinese dresses there to serve your whole party. Most restaraunts are beautifully decorated, the food is delicious and dirt cheap. The only problem I had was finding a cold beverage. For some reason they don't believe in cold beer or soft drinks. They serve them at room temperature and when asked why, they say it's not hot outside, why would you want your beer cold. Then to top it off, they pour your beer into a glass of ice, so now you've got watered down beer, that really isn't all that cold, and you aren't suppose to drink the melted ice that comes from tap water. Great food, but be prepared to drink room temp beer or get lucky and find a restaraunt that uses a refridgerator, or just drink hot tea or H20. Go Dodgers!!!
vr, Xei

Stop it! You people are making me hungry.

Amusing note in Catfish Stew...
"Due to a malfunction on the big screen, there were more unfamiliar names in the A's lineup than usual near the end of the game. Toris Snelling, Tock Cust, and Tobby Crosby all appeared, thanks to a "To" image artifact on the display board in left-center."

(Tock Cust sounds vaguely like a Rule 1 violation.)

45 Don't use ice. I have a friend who lost 20 pounds on what he calls "The Shanghai Tapwater Diet". It was not pretty.

Loney now 123 HR-less ABs and counting in AAA... that isn't good.

45. See, I think Vancouver is getting the short-shrift here. I've spent a good amount of time in Vancouver and San Francisco, and would definately rate Vancouver above San Francisco. Maybe it's just something about Canada and Chinese food since the only place east of the Rockies where I've had very good Chinese is Toronto.

41 - That was a good read.

Nomar now on 127 abs with 1HR and counting in MLB... that REALLY isn't good.

41 and 50

Good read, but very depressing

I have no facts to support the following statement -

Nomar is either hurt or can't handle the sleep cycle associated with raising new borns.

I don't get 41. Was Andrew's column written back then (and if so, by whom), or was it written now but as if it had been written back then?

I have much more confidence that Nomar will hit then I do that Loney will hit but I have a decent amount of confidence that both will hit. Nomar is a streaky hitter and other then last year he normally starts out slow.

Just finished reading Josh's latest entry in the toaster and it occurred to me that the Toaster is filled with great writers. I used to just think of Dodger Thoughts as a community but I read all the Toaster blogs and appreciate them all. You have the Griddle for all breaking news, Jon for thoughtfull Dodger commentary, Josh for paintstrokes of imagination, and the Juice for humor and music. All in all a great place to spend some time between programming.

56 - What about all of the other toaster blogs? I will admit that those are the ones I read too. I check out Bronx Banter from time to time, but team specific sites are hard to read if you don't care about the team.

[54] seems to me like the latter.

54 The latter, given that it references OPS. But the fact that you had to ask the question means it was very well done.

[57] catfish stew is generally brilliant.

The latter, given that it references OPS. But the fact that you had to ask the question means it was very well done

No, it means that it was confusing. The fact that the piece mentions peripherals, OPS, etc. is what confused me. It sounds like "now" talk, but was written in the 1993 present tense. That's fine, but I would have thought there would be a note to that effect.

Isn't Andrew, like, 24? He'd have to have been mighty precocious to have written it back then. And a plagiarist to have posted it without attribution if it had been written by someone else.

57 Catfish Stew is always interesting even if you aren't an A's fan. There are always some good photos over there, for one thing. And don't forget about Humbug, except I miss the Mystery Photo posts.

The Banter I find difficult to get into, as it's so massive. Mike's Baseball Rants seems more of a single-team blog than it used to be, but it's still interesting sometimes. I like Scott Long's posts about music. And I sometimes go and post on Bad Altitude, because it seems like a pretty good blog and it's kind of a shame that it doesn't really have an audience (or at least it never gets any comments).

But for me, the Holy Toaster Trinity is definitely Dodger Thoughts, Cardboard Gods, and the Griddle. I make it a point to read every post at all three of those (except on occasion when Bob churns out posts with such rapidity that one slips by me).

Whither Sons of Steve Garvey?

[61] give the man a little artistic license.

He'd have to have been mighty precocious to have written it back then. And a plagiarist to have posted it without attribution if it had been written by someone else

All of which added to my confusion, along with this line: "I've decided to fill some space on this blog by rerunning some old classics"

66 Look at the bright side. At least he's really the gender you think he is. (As far as I know, anyway...)

It seemed quite obvious to me that the True Blue L.A. piece was written from a "faux time machine" perspective.

67
Good point.

68
The only thing that kept it from being obvious to me was the lack of a note to that effect.

49. If it was SF only, I would rate Vancouver a little higher, but throw in all the great places to eat including Redwood City, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Milpitas, San Jose... and Oakland has a decent little Chinatown that most people don't know about. If I liked the Hong Kong and Taiwanese styles of Chinese food a little bit more then Vancouver would move up my charts. It's still very good and with most areas, you have to know where to go, and it's usually done by living there or being carted around by someone who does live there. Go Dodgers!!! vr, Xei

Thanks for all the love.

66 I'll leave this one shrouded in mystery.

61 - There was a note at the top that it was the greatest hits of True Blue LA. I liked that it talks about the trade from the perspective at the time. In retrospect it is soul crushing, but at the time there were some small rays of hope (that Pedro would get hurt).

[63] i usually skim through mike's rants, because sometimes there's a really interesting historical comparison he's come up with or something. i read bad altitude fairly regularly because it's NL west, and because i knew mark through friends back in college, and he writes well. i almost never look at cub town or bronx banter though, unless there's some big news that interests me, or a particularly striking column.

mostly i hang out here and on the griddle, and i read every catfish stew religiously as well. i poke around on the juice occasionally, and i've just started getting into cardboard gods over the past week or two, but it's definitely a fun read.

Shawn Green looks like an alien with his shaved head.

I always read Humbug, even though the update rate is erratic.

And, of course, Screen Jams.

Marty's list is great. I've been to about half those places, and second the recommendations. Mission 261 is maybe a bit too precious, but also ridiculously good. Din Dai Fung may be my favorite restaurant, with the one downside being that there's usually a wait involved. To the list I'd add -

China Islamic in Rosemead (I think its in Rosemead)
Dumpling House in Temple City
NBC Seafood in Monterey Park (also absurdly popular, esp on weekends)
Heavy Noodling in Monterey Park

Part of the problem with the SGV is that cooks move from place to place often and new places are always opening. The best recommendations usually start with "I ate somplace earlier this week . . . " The ones mentioned, though, are all good standbys in any event.

On a slightly different note, I know we've had lots of discussion at times on places to eat before and after ballgames. I want to recommend the bbq place in Chinatown, Spring Street Smokehouse. It opened a year or two ago, but is much improved now, especially for game nights by the addition of a beer bar, with micros on tap, and a big screen tv.

75 I must admit I would read Screen Jam more often if the title of the latest post appeared in the sidebar like the baseball blogs do. (Yes, I'm lazy.)

i'll admit, i don't read screen jams. sorry jon. there's only so much time in the day.

64 ... and Fire Joe Morgan ... is there a hole in the fabric of the web?

i thought we were just talking about the toaster! fjm and the baseball analysts are also must-reads.

They added beer to Spring Street SmokeHouse? I'll have to go back. I went a year ago, but was unimpressed. There's also BBQ King on Cesar Chavez and Figueroa. Not the greatest, but I liked it better than Spring Street.

BTW, my favorite BBQ is J&J BBQ on Adams by Fairfax, and Jaybee's on Avalon in Compton.

78 - At the rate I've been posting, believe me, you have time...

I've been continuing to think about Screen Jam, which is clearly evolving for me in a different way than DT. It's pretty clear that I don't have it in me to dedicate myself to two blogs at once as far as posting with frequency. Not right now, anyway.

So, one thing I think I'd like to see happen is to get the community going over there, so that even in the absence of me posting, people still enjoy gathering and chatting. So I may make a more explicit effort to encourage open chats.

I want people to feel they can chat on any topic over there the way they do here, even when I don't have a fresh or particularly interesting post up.

81 - The thing I miss most from my former life in the Valley is the El Paso Barbecue in Tarzana.

Unfortunately, we have no Tarzana Barbecue in El Paso.

82 - What about guest posts from the community, for example: D4P could write a post about why he refuses to watch "The Office" and XeiFrank could discuss his least favorite shows that he doesn't watch. Those examples sound snarky, but I would like to read posts by a lot of people here about television and movies.

Is BBQ really the biggest hole in the LA area's cuisine choices? The only metro area I can recall with fewer good BBQ options is DC.

83 You don't work that far from Adams and Fairfax. Give J & J a try for lunch. The pork ribs are really good. Very nice guy runs the place too.

81 Call me crazy but I prefer Spring St. to the Barbeque King. The King is, above all, too inconsistent. I've had meats there that are downright tough. I've definitely heard mixed things about Spring St., but thing's I've had there have been tasty. I think, perhaps, they've raised their game in the cooking department, and as mentioned, the beers on tap put them over the top.

86 L.A. isn't loaded with them but there's some good Q to be had. J & J, Jaybee's, Phillips, Mom's (on Imperial, not the valley), Tasty-Q, Woody's, etc.

Ugh, I guess I missed the return of new Veronica Mars episodes.

88 Oh, I understand. I wouldn't rate BBQ King very high, but I was really disappointed with Spring Street the time I went. As I said, I need to give them another try now that you can get beer there too.

80 No, Bob and I were wondering where SoSG and FJM went - the sites weren't being found. They are now, though.

82
Have you considered combining DT and SJ into a single blog that intermingles Dodger and Entertainment-related posts? I'm sure there'd be some drawbacks, but at the very least, the Entertainment stuff would be a lot more visible than it is over on SJ, simply because DT (presumably) gets a lot more traffic.

87 - Thanks, Marty, I will. I also like the Pig.

93 - Well, that's how it used to be - with a heavy weight on Dodgers, of course - before I split off the entertainment stuff. Remerging them is on the table, though not in the immediate future.

[86] i would wager there is a lot of korean BBQ that you wouldn't find in most other cities...

John Maine, the only pitcher in baseball with an ERA lower than Brad Penny, is pitching against the Giants right now (1 ER in 4 IP). His peripherals are decent, 8.47 K/9, 2.06 K/BB, .46 HR/9, but I think he is due for a major regression (since his ERA is 1.45 that goes without saying). His BB/9 is 4.56, his BABIP is .229 and his HR/FB is 4.4%. Hopefully our man Brad will be sitting in first by the end of the day.

91 Spring Street BBQ is usually very good, give it a second chance and try the hot links and/or the tri-tip. Good stuff.

If you're in the Valley, try Dr. Hogly Wogly's Tyler Texas BBQ in Van Nuys. I haven't eaten there in forever, but I remember it being excellent.

In sort of a Screen Jam/DT vibe- it appears a movie version of Moneyball is getting closer to a reality. I'll try to share if I hear any casting info.

99
I remember when there were rumors of Clooney playing Beane.

I really want to know who plays Nick Swisher.

Jeremy Brown is the A-list part, I'm thinking Horacio Sanz. Not to mention the guy with the man-boobs.

97 - I am a prophet! John Maine gave up a home run to Dave Roberts this inning and his ERA is now above Penny's.

100 - Yeah, that's what Beane needs - another boost to the ol' ego.

Anyone like Lucille's BBQ? I went there down here in Orange County (Lake Forest) and it was good. Real good. A little pricey. I know they started in LA area.

I love Screen Jam and think 85s idea is a good one. In fact I just left there to find your writing on UNITED 93. Wow, that was great, great writing Jon. I didn't expect all that!

I finally saw the movie last night and it was the best movie of 2006 for me. So I wanted to read your story, which was amazing.

It takes the place of Children of Men as number 1. I am trying to get thru your 2006 list!

(I still havent seen little children so that could bump 93 back a notch)

Francisco Cordero got another save today. That's a save in five straight games. Is that close to a record?

He's pitched six straight days but his cumulative pitch count is only at 54.

I typically look to my Big Green Egg for good BBQ

99 I see Billy Crudup as Billy Beane.

Korean BBQ is great too. Soot Bull Jeep and Chosen Galbi in Koreatown are very good. You sometimes smell like a charcoal briquet afterwards though. I could eat Kimchee all day.

100 Jack Black should grow out his hair and play Swisher.

107
Nice choice, but he may look too young.

110 Remember, he'd have to play the 18-19 year old Beane as well as the 40-year-old Beane.

I just read the Griddle for the first time today. I am horribly embarrassed at how narrow my blog reading has been. I have been missing so much, and now I have endless entries to read.

Colin Farell (Miami Vice version) for Swisher?

112
And I just added one!

Speaking of the Griddle, I'm a little surprised Bob didn't get any flak for his cheap shot at Erin Andrews the other day...

[108] would you happen to know where i could find some korean spicy chicken? i believe it's called something like "booldak".

[107] i'd like to see billy bob thornton.

Thornton's "Sling Blade" persona would have been good as Chad Bradford, if he was a little younger.

115
I am sure Erin Andrews is an expert on players in the upcoming MLB draft.

116 I just posted that question on Chowhound. I'll let you know if anyone answers.

Eric Bana or Bill Campbell could be good Billy Beanes. Of course, Bill Campbell has as much chance as I do to headline a Hollywood film.

120

Try this.

http://www.chow.com/digest/2150

116
You could drive up to Berkeley :)

96. True, but I would put Korean BBQ in a different category than American BBQ, one that a lot of cities are lacking. I was more wondering about whether or not anyone thought that the LA area was lacking any other types of restaurants, BBQ was the only one I could think of.

Baseball, TV and movies and food (and occasionally poker) are topics that I am willing to discuss at anytime.

105
To answer my own question:

I found that Dr. Mike Marshall appeared in 13 straight games in 1974. He shares that record with Dale Mohorcic.

Eric Gagne (2003) and Rod Beck (1998) each saved 6 straight games.

I 2nd 85. I stopped going over to screen jam because nothing was happening. Just some suggestions:
1. Guess writers, whose column would be approved by you but not edited. This could run the gamut from entertainment(TV, Movie, Theatre, Live Music) to food(best Chinese).
2. Display the Screen Jam threads over here because as Eric says many of us are to lazy to see if anything new is going on.

According to Joe Morgan, Billy Beane himself will write the screenplay to "Moneyball: The Movie"... and star in it... and work the camera...

I was waiting for a Spiderman 3 thread at Screen Jam, so I could go off on how bad it was.

126
Not only did he appear in 13 straight games, check out the innings he pitched. I still think his 1974 season gets short shift when it comes to amazing pitching performances. He basically took the place of 3 bullpen pitchers.

126 Which still leaves us with the question, "Who has saved the most consecutive games without really funky facial hair?"

I hope it's cool to point this out...

...but apparently, I've upset Dontrelle Willis.

http://tinyurl.com/2r7gpf

132 - I saw that!

Amen to 125. I would also add Coffee and Novels...maybe some Theology but thats just me.

My best friend owns a restaurant in Louisville, and I went and stayed with him for derby. It is a hot spot in town and he was excited to see if he would get an celebrities to come in for KD. So he calls me today and says: "Look at CNN.com." The headline is: "OJ kicked out of Louisville steakhouse." Guess where he went after he got kicked out? My friend's restaurant, which served him and let him go. Now my buddy is getting calls from the news to comment on "why he served the Juice."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/05/09/simpson.snub.ap/index.html

129)

I have heard mixed reviews, but I am still tempted to go and see it.

I can always rerun my review of "The Da Vinci Code" on the Griddle.

But I only review books there. I will have a guest reviewer later today.

132 - Wow. I am impressed that word made it back to him.

129
Don't the creative talents all peak with the 2nd film? I find it interesting that they are all made to sign 3 movie deals when working with Marvel projects but really two would be ideal and then bring in some new blood.
For anyone who ever enjoyed comics and big business manipulations a great read on how Marvel came back from the dead and how it was put on death row in the 1st place I'd recommend "Comic Book Wars" which shows how two billionaires were outwitted in the end by the good guys and saved the company and started it back on the road to become the next Disney.

132 That's awesome.

I feel kinda bad now.

On the other hand, please note the qualifier "kinda." I don't feel as bad as I feel when I watch Pierre make out after out.

[122] thanks for the link, but that doesn't exactly sound like the dish i'm looking for. the spicy chicken i seek is more fajita-style, cooked in a skillet, with onions. it's not crispy like friend chicken. i mentioned it to a guy at a local korean restaurant here in syracuse, and he said it was one of his favorite dishes too, but they didn't serve it at his restaurant. i asked him if he knew where i could find some and he said... "um... you could go to korea?"

135 Probably about a year after the verdict, some friends of mine played an afternoon round of golf at Rancho Park. For those not familiar with West LA, Rancho Park is located across the street from Fox Studios and close to Westwood, Century City, etc.

Anyway, we getting some carts and the guy running it showed us the sheet where people sign for the carts, and there was O.J.'s signature, he was about an hour and half ahead of us. Never saw him though.

O.J. was kicked out or asked to leave Riveria Country Club during his trial, so sightings of him at Rancho Park increased until he moved to Florida.

Rancho Park is a very good public course, known for long rounds of golf. Arnold Palmer shot a 12 on one of the holes during an Los Angeles Open that was played there and there is a plaque noting that by the hole.

139
Well I think the second one is the best, so I guess you are right.

The contenders for the next Peter Parker are Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Jake Gyllenhaal. The contenders for Mary Jane are Mandy Moore, Camilla Belle (When A Stranger Calls), and Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls).

The bad guys for the 4th film are Carnage, Lizard, and possibly Black Cat.

132 Diamond Leung has to be the youngest beat writer for the Dodgers, I would love to hear his thoughts about blogs like DT.

I'd easily go with Jake as SM and his sister as Gwen:)

146 Ummm, are they skipping the part where Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy have a relationship?

I have not seen No. 3 so I can't comment on that part of the storyline yet.

[132] haha, congrats.

132 - It seems like the RPE reporters get more info from the players than other papers reporters.

147
Gwen Stacy is in the third movie, played by Bryce Dallas Howard.

144 - Joseph Gordon Levitt is the best young actor in Hollywood. In both Mysterious Skin and The Lookout he blew me away. None of those girls knock me out the same way, but Kirstin Dunst is no great shakes anyway.

132)

Could we trade Pierre for Dontrelle straight up?

151
Yeah, I finally saw Brick last night and I think he maybe the smartest actor when it comes to selecting roles.

152
I think Dontrelle would convince Ned to reacquire Pierre.

83 We had my father's birthday dinner there this past January on one very cold night. The Q warmed us right back up; a good meal, indeed.

Add BBQ restaurants: Dr Hogly Wogly's Tyler Texas BBQ in Van Nuys (although it's been quite awhile since I've been there.)

Delgado drives in Beltran from first on a soft line drive double and the game is tied in the top of the 8th.

147
No, hence the smiley. I'd like to hear everyone get all wierded out about it, even though hey, it is just acting.

You don't need the best young actor to play SM. It would be a waste of talent.

143 Not long after the verdict I saw O.J. putting on the practice green at Griffith Park.

Sorry, didn't hit submit on the preview screen, walked away, came back much later, saw it and reflexsively clicked it. I see 98 beat me to Dr. Hogly Wogly's AND the similar disclaimer!

153 - He has completely grown out of his "3rd Rock From the Sun" image, and it is only a matter of time before he is a household name. He has stuck with indies/small pictures so far, but SM4 would be the sort of splash that catapulted Vinny Chase into super-stardom after Aquaman.

108 Eating kimchee all day long might induce some interesting, uh, side effects.

I've always thought Zak braff would make a good Peter Parker.

Not sure if any one has seen this, but here's what Jim Callis had to say about our catcher this morning:

mike (sacramento, ca): How does Russell Martin compare with Mauer and McCann? As a Dodger fan I suppose my view of Martin is significantly slanted. Give me some perspective, please?

Jim Callis: Pretty favorable . . . you're not being a homer for the Dodgers. I think Mauer is a cut above, but Martin is very comparable to McCann.

Pretty fair comparison I think.

160
And here I thought "Angels in the Outfield" already made him a household name.

There is even a blog called "The Juan Pierre OutWatch" that launched this season to track every single out Pierre makes.

Where can I find this little Gem?

164
I think it was "10 Things I Hate About You" that put him over the top

Anyone else notice that Alex Cora has a higher VORP than Kent?

[162] i don't like him at all.

[167] bill plaschke, undoubtedly.

165

juanpierreoutwatch.blogspot.com

http://juanpierreoutwatch.blogspot.com/

132 Dontrelle is right about one thing - we'd be a lot happy bunch of fans if we had the 2003 Juan Pierre he refers to:
BA OBP SLG OPS+
.305 .361 .373 98

170 - 3 seconds... I chock it up to my tube being further away.

[169] well, he would if he used VORP, anyway.

I do not really want Dontrelle on the Dodgers anyways, so keep up the good work Humma.

163 My question about Mauer is whether he can still catch in the near future. Dude is like 6'4" and getting bigger as we speak. Is he as much of an impact player if he's at first?

174
haha, I was waiting for that.

Russell batting THIRD today! But the back end of the lineup is the best argument yet for calling Kemp and Loney up from AAA. Does anyone expect anything from numbers 7-8 today?

171. I wish someone would make a blog where they track all the bad baserunning and fielding errors that he makes and the results of those mistakes.

178 Kemp yes, but Loney still would not play that much.

178
Where did you find the lineup?

Real men swing pink bats:

http://tinyurl.com/33pcqn

Good for them.

179 I considered it, but it's hard enough to keep up with his outs. I can barely get out a few obnoxious words and a quick recap of four or five at-bats... I hope I can keep it up. It's more effort than I expected.

Valdez, Clark, Tomko

niiice.

Per Tony Jackson (who does a good job posting the lineup)

SS Furcal
CF Pierre
C Martin
2B Kent
1B Saenz
3B LaRoche
LF Valdez
RF Clark
RH Tomko

182 They had those pink bats last year as well. You can probably still see a couple out in the wild to this day. Betemit would use one every now and again if I remember correctly. Valdez might have also used one this season.

Nice to see the Giants lose this game because of their defense.

185
Good grief.

187 Mets' announcers talking about a missed a strike call, then the pop up falling in, now a two run double by Wright.

Doesn't Ethier do well enough against lefties to keep him in tonight?

183. Surely there must be someone else on this board who wouldn't mind tracking all of Pierre's baserunning and fielding mistakes also. I wish I had the time or lived in the LA area to get all the games but I can't possibly. But I know that I myself have seen at least 10-15 mistakes he's made and that's only during 20 or so games that I've seen partially.

good news: gonzo's off better news: nomar's off. bad news: valdez is our left fielder.

185 With that lineup, I see this game shaping up to be influenced (surprisingly) by Wilson Betemit.

Most of the comments this afternoon will start, "Lamentably..."

I saw OJ at Knollwood golf course in Granada Hills several times after the verdict. Once he was swinging his driver and making a joke about how it was his "weapon." Another time I saw him in the parking lot yelling a blonde woman, who I took for his girlfriend.

185 Ethier had played 23 straight games.
Gonzo had a day off last week, Nomar had a day off last week too.

On the otherhand, the Dodgers have been just one of those teams for Willis. In the last 3 years:

1-3 5.56 22.2 27H 14ER 3HR 13BB 20K .297 BAA

I understand sitting lefties against Willis - who only has two "quality" start this year, though, and one was the 6/3 variety - but not to the point of starting Valdez in LF. And why bat him 7th? At least at 8 he wraps around (sort of) to the other "rabbits".

190 Ethier has never faced Willis before and he won't after tonight either.

194 I saw him there also, on one of the fairways. He did have a slight limp in his gait, but he still looked pretty physically formidable to me.

Didn't see Pedro Guerrero with him, though.

191 This may sound horribly naive, but why does only Pierre get this treatment, I again point out, Ned signed him, Juan Pierre took the best deal and now he is here.

He certainly is not the only player in the league who is horribly overpaid and certainly many disagreed with the deal.

But unless you plan to look and critique all the Dodgers equally, than I just think it is unfair.

Has he made mistakes, sure, but so has probably everyone else in a Dodger uniform this year.

Again, it seems that certain players (HSC, Kevin Brown, Dreifort, Pierre)get identified with the last couple of GMs for the Dodgers and I think get put under too harsh a light.

I'm not saying don't be critical but to put the fortunes of the 2007 LA Dodgers on back of Juan Pierre just seems to be a bit much.

198
I have tried not to bash Pierre unless I am responding immediately to a specific play, because I think it is pretty obvious how most people feel about him. No need to beat a dead horse.

When it comes to bashing Ned, that is a horse I have beaten to death, burried, resurrected, and then beat to death again.

I try to stick to commenting on our young players, because I am in general going to be more positive towards them.

[198] i think a big factor is the gap in perceptions. many people see his speed and his batting average and honestly think he's a good player. these are the people that were thrilled when ned signed him, (even if many of them might now slowly be gaining awareness of the holes in pierre's game). many of us have firmly believed all along that pierre is not a good player. and that perceptions difference that's how a lightning rod is born.

in the case of brown and dreifort the gap was in expectations (based on salary) and performance (generally tied to health).

According to my wife, I will apparently be escorting her with our family to Friday's game, sitting in infield reserve as part of some nursing association group.

Sonia Henie's tutu!, how do I explain baseball to our foreign student from Norway?

200 You forgot his perceived defensive prowess in that first sentence.

200 Although Ned has said some interesting things about Pierre like his ability to get on base, other things that I have seen make it painfully clear that he knew what he was gettting and to go over and rehash why I think he did it no longer is something I want to rehash.

But does keeping track of an outs or misplays make it any better.

202
Try the BBC site. The Norwegian might find the British English easier to understand.

http://tinyurl.com/35fcst

205 Thanks Bob, although our Norwegian almost sounds like a Valley native. Well, she'll at least enjoy the scheduled fireworks show, assuming the smoke from Griffith Park clears by then.

This Mitchell investigation is kind of getting ridiculous. I mean do you have something or do you not? And if you do- lets hear it. I cant understand why is dragging on for so long. The longer it goes on with no teeth the more it looks like a Bonds sabotage. Which is fine with me, actually.

205 Oh, and "Centre Fielder" looks mighty weird.

Well, as the self-designated Pierre basher...

...I felt it would do no good to bash Ned. That decision was made and Pierre was given his deal. That is done and nothing can be done to void it.

What could be done is to change the perception that Pierre is a player that was worthy of such a deal. Obviously, the front office was of the opinion that he was worth it... and to a certain extent, he is living up to the expectations set forward. He is on pace for nearly 200 hits, stealing at his career rate, and he could very well set a career high in runs scored. All this despite the fact that he's been terrible.

The OutWatch, I hope, is a dumb/obnoxious way of looking at this problem and spreading the meme that he's terrible. Maybe Grady Little will bench him. Maybe Matt Kemp will get the CF job. This is all very unlikely -- tilting at windmills -- but hey, I'm just one guy with a blog.

Make that: one guy with a blog that makes Dontrelle Willis cry.

Nice to see Martin batting 3rd, though I suspect that's just an artifact of tonight's unusual lineup. Once Nomar returns, he'll likely take back his unrightful spot.

Game thread open up top.

Eric Reed's reward for his hit yesterday was a demotion to Albuquerque. Reggie Abercrombie is back up.

Humma, I think you should fudge the Willis quote a bit and use it as your tagline.

The Juan Pierre OutWatch
Dontrelle Willis, "This site upsets me."

213 Done.

[206] omigod! is she like, cute? i bet she totally is. like, fer shure.