Jon, my sister took SSM math courses through high school here in LA, I was on the more traditional route of Algebra II, Geometry and Trig/Pre Calculus.

The only thing I remember about SSM is that you would add up all the numbers in groups of ten.

Tonight's Lineups:

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal/

(No Bison, if you were wondering.)

From last thread regarding the comment that the Dodgers.com website showing fly balls caught by Pierre in his game highlight reel.

81.
It seems that Dodgers.com is always playing up Pierre as if to make up for all the negative press he recieves elsewhere.

For example, here are the first 2 paragraphs of the Dodgers.com write-up:

To Moneyball disciples who worship on-base percentage, the Dodgers' signing of Juan Pierre and his recent promotion to leadoff hitter are compound head-scratchers.

Pierre made some sense out of it Tuesday night with a career-high four extra-base hits to support Brad Penny's seventh win, while the Dodgers toyed with the Nationals, 10-0.

Now I don't mind them playing up our players a little bit, making them seem better than they are, but the whole thing, especially with Pierre, smacks very much of a PR department in panic mode.

2 So Abreu's in again. Makes me think LaRoche will be the one to be sent back down when they need an extra spot soon. Having him play everyday whether in LA or Vegas is the best thing so if they're not gonna let him in LA...

What do the #s next to each name in the Post's lineup reflect?

5 - position.

2 Not a good sign if you are a LaRoche fan with a lefty pitching today and Abreu still in there. Of course part of this could be Grady wanting to use the same lineup as yesterday.

Pierre made some sense out of it Tuesday night with a career-high four extra-base hits

Because the fact that he, for the first time in his career, had four extra-base hits in a game this season helps explain why he was signed based on his stats prior to this season.

So we're going to go ahead and roll out a sub .400 slugging, left handed OF. Awesome.

7 It might have more to do with Abreu's perceived edge in defense with Lowe on the mound, in spite of 3B being LaRoche's 'natural position' and Abreu learning it within the past 4-5 weeks.

9 Well, they are facing a lefty pitcher.

Oh, wait.

6 D'oh. I mean, duh. Thanks.

Yeah, LaRoche could/should also get some looks in the OF. I wish they'd just give him a chance, or send him back so he can play full time at both 3b and the OF. Though I think 10 has a good point as to what their thinking is.

I refuse to get upset over anything Gurnick writes. When the revolution comes, scores will be settled. Also when the revolution comes, we're going to get whoever re-wrote Oh Happy Day for Jackie Robinson Day, to re-write it again. Oh happy day (Oh happy day)/when Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death walked (when Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death walked). . .

Meanwhile, Delwyn Young just drove in 2 runs to edge the 51s closer, now down 6-4. More interesting than that: Kemp is not in the line-up again. Hm.

Also, that Pollok guy we mentioned last night, pitched one scoreless inning in relief, so far.

LaRoche and Betemit are getting the shaft. That platoon was working fine.

15

< .200 avg is fine?

14 Delwyn Young has been hitting the ball well lately. I remember a DT commenter predicting at the beginning of the year that he would tear it up in AAA this year. I wonder if he could get a look soon as Ned likes to ride a hot hand.

15
Abreu had a "hot bat". Apparently Jones, Bigbie, and Kemp don't.

16
Yeah, because LaRoche was putting up a good on base-percentage and Betemit was hitting a lot better since they went to the platoon. Abreu is not a third baseman.

18 Mitch Jones! Yes!

Abreu has 16 PA. At the 16 PA mark, LaRoche was hitting .444/.625/.556.

Abreu is off to an "interesting" start. His .313/.313./.375 line is worrisome for obvious reasons.

It's pretty cool that if you type in "Jason Schmidt" into Google News, this DT post of 45 minutes ago is the number 1 result.

Inside the Dodgers (Josh Rawitch) on Schmidt's outing:

"He threw 71 pitches, 51 for strikes and topped out at 91 mph while averaging 88."

Good news out of San Bernardino. Just got a call from Mike Saeger, the 66ers broadcaster, who tells me Jason Schmidt went 6.0 innings and allowed two hits, one walk and struck out seven guys. He threw 71 pitches, 51 for strikes and topped out at 91 mph while averaging 88. Afterward, he said he felt great, so there should be a story with quotes from Jayson Addcox relatively soon on dodgers.com.

-ItD, MLB.com

I doubt Little is sold on LaRoche. The last two spring trainings, LaRoche flopped. Little's impressions of LaRoche aside, I tend to think a return to Triple-A would be good for LaRoche. It's great that he drew those walks out of the No. 8 hole, but I'd like to see him batting in third, fourth or fifth with Vegas and get his game going. He's not going to get regular playing time here, and I think he needs it. The challenge of coming back from labrum surgery is part of it. Further, as I recall, LaRoche injured both shoulders last year. Would be nice to see him get regular starts to get reacclimated. Am glad that he got exposed to the majors, but I don't think this is the optimal situation for him.

As a lifetime Laker fan (I believe I went to my first Laker game in 1971 while the first Dodger game I went to was in 1972), I cannot recall a more tumultous time for the organization.

Also, I have heard more from Kobe in the last two days (Kobe was/is not a local media guy in terms of doing radio interviews outside of Laker commitments). Not saying that he was wrong and not saying that his frankness is not welcome but the Lakers need to step up and do something right away.

So, I caught a few innings at lunch today of 51s at the Sounds.

http://tinyurl.com/2drofh

Hot muggy smoggy day. Lots of guys giving autographs. Sure wished Schmidt was pitching in Nashville. I forgot how big Loney is. No camera. Wilson Valdez made a great acrobatic snag of a line-drive in the 2nd. Lundberg threw a couple of lolipops and paid for it. Then he came up in the third and scalded the ball, he was grinning back big time on 1st base. I'm taking the kid tomorrow night.

From a Baseball Poster at HQ who saw Kershaw and company pitch last night:

Ladies and Gentlemen, I've seen the future and his name is Clayton Kershaw....

Seriously though, I just got back from Kershaw's outing tonight in wonderful downtown Midland, Michigan (talk about the middle of nowhere).

Kershaw looked very impressive. The 19-year-old Kershaw is listed at 6'3", 220 and that looked about right. Very clean mechanics and he does a very good job of repeating his deliver and arm slot.

He threw primarily fastballs and curves....I think I saw only 1 change up in 8 innings.

Not 100% positive about this, but it looked like he was throwing both a 2 seam and 4 seam fastball.

He does a good job of getting on top of his pitches (some lefties have a tendency to throw from a low 3/4 arm angle and it causes their stuff to flatten out and makes it difficult to throw an effective curveball). Kershaw showed none of those tendencies and did a very good job of pitching downhill and keep his fastball low in the zone.

The curve was very good - though he still needs to improve his control. It has very good late break. It rotates in from a 1-7 direction and then dives down at the last minute (similar to Tim Lincecum's nasty curve but with some cutting action as well). Hitters on Dayton (Cinci's Low-A affiliate) couldn't touch the curve so they just took it. Some bounced in the dirt for balls, but others were just flat nasty. Definitely a swing and miss pitch.

The 2 seam fastball sat in the 91-94 range and had some decent donward action and a bit of run (in on lefties). The 4 seamer was fairly straight, but after the 1st inning he did a good job of keeping it down and he showed plenty of velocity with it. He hit 94-95 several times in the first 3-4 innings.

Kershaw kept his velocity well through the entire game. I think he thought he was coming out of the game at the end of the 6th inning because he just unleashed some serious heat on the last batter he faced that inning. He started him with a 96 mph fastball - strike 1, then hit 97 with the next one (for a ball), then another at 96 for strike 2, then a nasty 74 mph curve ball that was dribbled to 3B for the 3rd out.

Kershaw came back out for the 7th and then the 8th. Dayton had a difficult time squaring the ball up against Kershaw and on the night he gave up just 1 hit.

On the evening, Kershaw went 8 innings, gave up 1 hit, 1 walks, and 7K.

For the year he is now 5-2 with a 2.34 ERA, 28BB/68K, and a very impressive .178 BAA in 50IP.

Also say Preston Mattingly (2B, LAD) (Donnie Ballgame's son) and a 1st rounder (supp 1st rounder) in 2006. I'm not seeing it yet. He looked fine at 2B, but the bat looked slow and indecisive.

Also Scott Van Slyke (OF, LAD) (1 of 2 Andy Van Slyke off-spring in the minors), Drew Stubbs (OF, CIN), Chris Vailaka (SS, CIN), and Josh Bell (3B, LAD).

Stubbs looked every bit the free swinger he was in college (at Texas). He swing at the 1st pitch in his first and second AB (ground out, fly out) and would likely have done so in his next AB as well, but Kershaw bounced a curve - don't worry Stubbs swing at the 2nd pitch for another groundout.

Josh Bell looks like a player. He looked like a man-child out there and if he can develop some plate discipline, should hit for power in the majors. He entered the game hitting .280/.361/.473 with 9 doubles, 6 home runs, and a 0.56 EYE - and was in the midst of a 14-game hitting steak. Bell ended up going 3-5 on the night and is someone to keep an eye on. Defensivley he looked very raw and will need to work hard to stay at 3B - though he did show a good arm.

...sorry for the long post....did I mention that Kershaw looked good?

25 Can Schmidt be successful at 91, though my research indicates that his history is that his velocity increases (if this makes sense) as the season goes on.

29 Mattingly is a long term project (though after last year's draft, Logan White thought his future was at second base), he is not one of those guys who focused solely on baseball. I think it will be interesting when he goes to a hitting league at his next stop.

Couldn't agree more with Jon's comments about resting Martin. I'll attempt to illuminate why Little would be so sluggish on this front. He's a Bobby Cox disciple. Cox is Old School in terms of resting his lead guys. He wore out Galarraga in 1998 and I think it showed up in the postseason. He's ridden Andruw Jones like he's Sea Biscuit. In this area, Little is a bit better than Cox, but his handling of Martin needs to improve. Tuesday's game represented a golden opportunity and Little whiffed. What a shame, because the Dodgers are embarking on such a rugged stretch. Would love to know if the Dodgers' bench coach was being proactive and recommended that Martin come out. That's what bench coaches are supposed to do -- think ahead.

It's also disconcerting that Saito would have to ask for rest. Little should be looking for ways to find him rest.

On a positive note, I like that Houlton is being considered for a promotion.

31 From what I've heard, that's right around where he was last season. It's also where he was during his second start this season.

29

very encouraging report. Mayo updated his 1st round mock draft today. He still has the dodgers taking bumgarner and his reasoning for it doesnt really make any sense because it doesnt fit White's mold of first round pitchers at all.

31

mattingly is one of those players where white decided at 31 and not another pick until the 4th round, he could spend that pick on a boom or bust player like mattingly because his tools really excited White. Of course hes not going to show significant improvement in the first 2 years he is in the system but by year 3 to 4, if he is ever going to do something, that is when he should get it together and break out.

Did anyone happen to watch the Giants-Mets game yesterday?

I was watching on TV. There were some great pix of Lincecum's face as he delivered the pitch, and that look instantly reminded me of Hershiser in 1988. He has the same head tilt, peering at the target from the corners of his eyes. He even covered his mouth with his glove as he was walking off the field at the end of an inning in exactly the same way.

Next time he's on the tube, see if you don't agree with me.

35 And according to reports at the time, he was probably going to be picked by the 2nd round at the latest so that pick cannot be viewed as a huge reach.

Milwaukee gave up seven runs in the eighth inning to lose (understatement) 2-1 lead over Tim Hudson and Atlanta.

Interesting comment from Little regarding Pierre's bat angle. Would like to see the press delve more into this subject. Even Pierre's critics have to admit that he has a special ability to get the barrel on the ball. His obsession with slapping grounders and avoiding flyouts, however, is a problem. Being defensive isn't a solution. Pierre was extremely defensive in April, for the most part. Groundballs aren't going to cut it at this level. Just take a good swing and let the chips fall. There is a realm between weak grounder and harmless flyout where Pierre can have success and also be more apt to keep OFs honest. I think he'd gone over the top with trying to keep the ball out of the air.

My guess is Little feels the same. Had to be sickening for Little to watch Pierre's defensive approach to hitting. Little's grounding came with the Braves -- an organization that, more so than most, is strongly geared toward letting the bat fly, driving the ball, the anti-thesis of a slappy approach. Would love to know if Little has attempted to adjust Pierre's approach. That was an interesting reference to bat angle.

31

All else being equal 91-95 is where he can dominate, my guess is he will be a little less effective, but serviceable in the 88-91 range.
But its a nice start, no?
I recall he was up and down last year, but mostly in the low 90's with his fastball.

30, not 31

Tony Jackson just answered my question about Kemp (as to why he hasn't played first games of Nashville series):

"Kemp didn't play because the 51s had to change planes before leaving Las Vegas for Nashville, and Kemp's equipment bag somehow didn't make the transfer. This according to DeJon, whom I just talked to."

He also said this, FWIW: "D.J. Houlton isn't going to start Saturday night. Barring a major development, Hong-Chih Kuo is going to be the guy. We asked Grady about D.J., and he didn't want to say the guy has no chance to get that start, so he didn't. But D.J. has no chance to get that start."

hey toycannon, can i post that write up on minorleagueball.com?

We asked Grady about D.J., and he didn't want to say the guy has no chance to get that start, so he didn't. But D.J. has no chance to get that start."

haha.

44 I wouldn't mind seeing Houlton get a start if we needed him to. If anything its a great trade showcase.

I wish Matt Kemp's bags had found their way to D.C. instead.

Poor DJ Houlton, so close and yet so far.

just curious..Kershaw or David Price?

43
I don't think so. Rob and John kind of compete against each other though Rob posted this in the open forum not as a column.

Price would probably be on the faster track to the bigs (or maybe they'll make their debuts around the same time, who knows?) but as good as he is I'd take Kershaw.

Price sounds like an older more advanced Kershaw. Just replace CK's curveball for a slider.

How about Kershaw and Porcello?

And with a little more persuasion(money) we could have had both.

48

oh right. i didnt realize it was one of the writers of hq, just maybe a subscriber on the forum.

Didn't LaRoche have a similar equipment mishap when he was called up - only he ended up playing?

Where can I read ToyCannon's write up?

Xavier Paul hit his 6th homerun today.

283/359/435 for the season.

51

that seems to be the theme with alot of Whites late round prep draft picks.

two dodger draftees will most likely be back to back #1 overall picks in the draft. thats cool.

53 Sort of, except I think LR's equipment ended up making it in time? It was just from the hotel to the game... Kemp's never made the trip. Still, seems like a kinda lame excuse or like they're hiding something. But not worth thinking much about.

56
Have to admit I don't understand the logic. I'd rather throw bonus money at these guys given Logan's track record then watch them become number one picks for someone else.

When you see how much money is wasted on mediocre free agents doesn't it make more fiscal sense to spend a little more on the draft. The Yankee's and Red Sox went over slot last year and it helped them have very deep drafts to replenish the thin farm systems.

57
Sort of like Kissinger saying he had a stomach ache in Pakistan, when he was really in China negotiating a visit for Nixon?

The parallels are eerie!

58. Completely agree. Cut the annual payroll by $5-$10 million and plow that money into signing draft picks and some international signings as well.

58 Of course the number of bonus babies that have gone bust, though cheaper than FA signings, is pretty staggering.

Kemp could have borrowed some bats from somebody, although unless somebody else used the exact same model, he might have been concerned with a heavier or lighter bat disrupting the mechanics of his swing (like Ethier earlier this year).

So Kemp maybe could have DHed, if it was a DH game, but playing the field would have been a problem with no glove. Borrowing a glove is something of a taboo in pro ball. It happens only rarely. Guys are very protective of their glove and the way it fits them. It's sort of the ballplayer version of asking to borrow someone's toothbrush.

Spikes and the correct size uniform could have presented a problem too. Not to mention a jockstrap.

58
That is why I wanted us to give in to Hochevar. I would have rather spent that money on him than Tomko.

http://www.baseballanalysts.com/

jack mcgeary draft spotlight.

62 Did you see that story about the used sports equipment store selling a couple of A-Rod game-used gloves. I think the guy ended up selling them for 5-7K.

62 - There's little I hate more than having to lend someone a glove at a softball game. You don't want to be a jerk and say no, but I find it, as you say, really unpleasant.

Speaking of letting one get away, I really think we're going to wish we signed Alex White (I think that was his name, ended up going to UNC).

Can Schmidt be successful at 91, though my research indicates that his history is that his velocity increases (if this makes sense) as the season goes on.

i've seen him throw 88-91 and be successful during his Giants days, & like you mentioned hopefully his velocity will increase as the season goes along. It maybe wishful thinking in our part but we shall see.

59 Exactly like that! Indeed. Except different.

61. But think about it this way. You don't sign a Juan Pierre and use the $45MM over the life of his contract to sign 10 guys over slot. It only doesn't make sense if people who have signed for $4.0MM out of the draft have a less than 10% chance of being as productive as Juan Pierre.

67

yea i think Whites going to be a first round pick in 2 years.

Russell Martin's All-Star Game chances just improved.

http://tinyurl.com/2x5vo4

I don't need him to make the All-Star Game to validate how good he is, but I know others are interested.

Jack: Anytime there's a short sample of evidence (only 7 starts) results can be a bit skewed

this kid gets it!

Why is there an infatuation with drafting left-handed pitchers when most hitters have platoon advantages against lefties?

72

Et tu, Weisman?

https://griddle.baseballtoaster.com/archives/677642.html

75 - I gave it the Dodger context.

But yes, I should have linked to you... :(

70 But nobody thinks that way and when you look at the fact that there are 750 MLB players at a given time in pro ball, the fact that any of them are successful enough to have made to this level and stuck is given a lot of stock.

And while Logan White certainly is off to a great start in his 5 years for the Dodgers, for most of the prior 20 years, it was the international signings and a late late round courtesy to Tommy Lasorda pick that was the fruits of the system.

I think it easy to say, not spend money at the Free Agency and use it for draft picks but there is so much more risk and also time into getting that benefit that I think teams with the resources are going to do both but they are not going to pick one over the other.

EL SEGUNDO – In response to inquiries regarding Kobe Bryant's comments in the media today requesting a trade, Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss has issued the following statement:

"We are aware of the media reports. However, Kobe has not told us directly that he wants to be traded. We have made it very clear that we are building our team around Kobe and that we intend for him to be a Laker his entire career. We will speak directly to Kobe and until we do that, we will not comment publicly about this."

Part of me is scared to see Russell at the all-star game because I always have visions of Pete Rose.

I for one hope Peavy starts over Penny...let him mess up his form

78. You would think, but then we have all of these picks that are tossed back end up getting picked higher in future drafts because we didn't spend the money. I'm not advocating not spending on free agents, just the increase of pools of funds to sign draft picks.

79

i dont think Kobe is going anywhere but i do think Lakers will have to do something significant this summer.

81 Peace accord, I do think that a lot will be revealed if certain players drop due to "signability" issues and teams like the Mets, Dodgers and Red Sox pick them.

80 Speaking of messing up his form, Bobby Abreu has never been the same after winning that Home Run contest.

If only Nashville had a sporting goods store Kemp could have played in the last two games. But apparently, all country means all country.

81
Exactly, though I am advocating a more judicious use of our Free Agent dollars but then I've thought that about every management team.

66, I have a friend that used to carry an extra glove for just such occasions. He said if his ever broke it was his "back-up" and then he had no issues with loaning it out. He didn't say anything about extra jockstraps.

84
HQ and BP both predicted sharp decreases in his production this year.

Best game I ever had was when my glove broke and I borrowed a glove from my centerfielder. The team made him let me use it the rest of the year. Since then I always carried an extra glove and never minded loaning them out.

Okay, last comment for a while but now that I get out of work at 3:30 I love East Coast game times.

What happens if Kobe is traded to the Spurs and Duncan and Parker wind up with the same injuries as Luke and Lamar and Brown?

If Kobe were on the Mavericks this year and got eliminated by Golden State in the first round, would he still be demanding a trade?

What if Kobe were on the Suns and got eliminated by the Spurs, would he demand a trade?

How much luck was involved in Kobe getting his three rings. Sacramento should have beat eliminated one of those rings. Kobe, Shaq and the Lakers were emabrassed by the Pistons the last time Kobe made it to the finals. Nothing is guaranteed.

74 I was trying to find the BA article where they talked about that, my general thinking is that it is more important to neutralize LH batters and give up whatever platoon advantage RH batters get versus the lefty.

Right now, collectively teams are 16 games under .500 against lefty starters. That could be due more to the structure of certain teams that do really bad against them.

Loaning a glove to a person that is a decent player who lost a webbing etc, is one thing, loaning a glove to a person that never has a glove is asking for it to be thrown across the field.

91
/Begin channeling of Peter O'Toole/

In here (points to head), NOTHING is written!

/End channeling of Peter O'Toole/

91 No question that injuries play a role in what happens in the post season.

No matter what you think about the prior 6 games in that 2002 Conference Championship, the Kings had home court in the biggest game of their franchise and lost it.

Of the 3 teams that won the finals, the best team was the 2001 team that got on a roll and only lost 1 game in their last 20 odd games to the title.

How much luck was involved in Kobe getting his three rings

A lot of things certainly went their way, but that's not uncommon for the teams that end up winning. They easily could have lost to Portland the first championship year, then easily could have lost to Sacramento if not for the Marv Albert "Horry for the win.....YESSSSSS!" moment. On the other hand, they might have beaten Detroit if Karl Malone hadn't gotten injured. There wasn't much luck involved in the 15-1 playoff domination year.

85, Ha ha. I know you probably meant that in jest but, Nashville is a pretty great baseball town. I've said it before, the Milwaukee organization is light years better than the Pirates. I didn't know about the Sulhpur Dell until I got here, but there's lots of history and the Old Timers association and Vanderbilt is pretty fun to watch, Belmont too. It's too bad that they have probably let the Sounds go, hopefully only to a few miles south of the city.

This may have been discussed earlier today. If so, sorry.

http://tinyurl.com/2t2vcm

Ranger Fans want Loney, Bills, and Mattingly for Texiera. Thoughts?

If they would take Kuo or Elbert instead of Bills and I would do that trade.

97 - Yes it was in jest. I am not buying that Kemp is not playing, as hot as he has been, because he didn't have equipment.

Im afraid the next news we hear about Elbert is that he is going under the knife for "exploratory" shoulder surgery.

I hope not but its always in the back of your mind when pitchers miss over a month and the team isnt really talking.

98

but we have NOMAR!!!

So looking ahead a little bit, how does our rotation shape up? Assuming Kuo gets the call on Saturday, does he get to keep his spot as long as he pitches well? Does Hendrickson have to have another poor outing to open the door since Schmidt should be back soon? How much longer until Schmidt is ready? Does Billingsley get a look if both Kuo and Hendrickson falter? Inquiring minds want to know!

91,96 During the 15-1 playoff run in 2001, Derek Fisher hit 35 of 68 threes, and Rick Fox turned into an absolute defensive stopper after being mostly worthless. Call it luck or call it selling your soul to the devil, that was a remarkable run.

In 2000, the Lakers were down by 15 to Portland in Game 7 of the Western Finals, with 10 minutes to play. That was an amazing comeback. Part of me wants to put that comeback in the same rarified air as the 4+1 game, but I don't know if that's an insult (and if it is an insult, to which game?). All I know is during both games I experienced a wide range of emotions from gloom and doom to absolute euphoria.

I don't remember the exact call, but Chick Hearn capped the Laker comeback against Portland saying something like "Portland will have to open the bottled water on the plane ride home, because there will be no champagne." I know I butchered that quote; I really should listen to that when I get home tonight.

104 I think for the singular stand out momentfor the Kobe and Shaq era was Kobe's lob to Shaq that brought the house down.

That game against the Trailblazers was insane. I went from being so sad, to falling to the ground with joy. I knew the Lakers still had the Pacers to deal with it, but I knew they were going to win the title. I had been disappointed practically my entire life with the Lakers and then they finally came through.

105 Aside from Magic's baby hook in 1987, that is my all-time favorite Laker play.

And, for the record, I hope that:

(a) the Lakers don't trade Kobe
(b) Mitch Kupchack goes bye-bye
(c) Kobe regrows the afro from the early championship days.

I lived in an apartment Eugene when the Lakers beat Portland, and I could hear all the Blazers fans in apartments around me that whole game. Immediately after the game, I went outside to see what I could see and I saw a very angry female Blazer fans kicking and body-slamming a sofa in the street. It was hilarious.

The Magic Johnson Lakers seemed to dominate throughout the playoffs that lead to a championship and the Kobe Lakers seemed to need a few good bounces and last second three pointers on their way to their championships. I enjoyed them all.

106
It was the greatest live sporting event of my life.

Lakers have been a very lucky franchise since the last days of West and company. I figured it was payback for all the losses to the Celtics/Knicks.
1. Finding a team stupid enough to trade the best player in basketball if not history for a bunch of spare parts.(Winters, Meyers, Bridgeman) and other dreck.
2. Getting the number one pick in the country from trading Gail Goodrich several years before when Magic decided to forego his junior year. At that time GM's didn't understand the concept about "protecting" the traded draft pick. After that debacle they did.
3. I don't even remember off the top of my head how a team that had Kareem/Magic was even able to draft Worthy. It would be like a team with Duncan/Parker drafting Durant.
4. Orlando so bungling the Shaq negotiations that he ends up demanding a trade. Was it so long ago that Shaq loved Jerry Buss for bringing him to LA?
The GM's in each instant deserve credit for making the deals but really has any franchise had better luck then the Lakers?

Kareem, Magic, and Shaq and if a better GM had been on the ball in any of those instances none of those players would ever have worn the purple and gold. Probably 3 of the greatest 10 players to ever play basketball. Not the biggest Shaq fan but some would put him there.

Kobe's acquisition was pure skill but if Shaq hadn't dropped in their laps they would not have dealt Vlady for the rights to Kobe.

109 The difference between those two runs was that Magic's Lakers played against better quality opponents in the finals while Shaq and Kobe's teams toughest matches were in the Western Conference.

106
You must be a young one to grow up disapointed in the Lakers. What was that period 91-2001?

23 "It's pretty cool that if you type in "Jason Schmidt" into Google News, this DT post of 45 minutes ago is the number 1 result."

sort of reminded me of...

Navin R. Johnson: The new phone book's here! The new phone book's here!
Harry Hartounian: Boy, I wish I could get that excited about nothing.
Navin R. Johnson: Nothing? Are you kidding? Page 73 - Johnson, Navin R.! I'm somebody now! Millions of people look at this book everyday! This is the kind of spontaneous publicity - your name in print - that makes people. I'm in print! Things are going to start happening to me now.

Coop-a-loop!

I was too young to see the Showtime era, so I absolutely hated Michael Jordan and the Bulls for preventing me from seeing Magic win a title.

110 - Nothing like selling high on Don Ford!

98

in all seriouness, i would look into trading for tex and only do it if he signs an extension. I think he is an awesome all around player and would be worth a pretty big contract but if he leaves after 2008 and we give up all those pieces im going to be one pissed off dodger fan.

so I absolutely hated Michael Jordan and the Bulls for preventing me from seeing Magic win a title

Magic getting injured vs. Jordan's Bulls was a low point in Laker history. Maybe not the lowest, but certainly down there.

106 In the 1979-80 season, the Lakers traded Don Ford and their 1982 #1 pick (would be 14th overall) to the Cavaliers for Butch Lee and their 1982 #1 pick (1st overall).

Wasn't Butch Lee the guy hugging Magic at the end of 1980 Game 6 after the buzzer sounded?

I always think payroll when mind playing trades. Texas might want prospects but I don't think the Dodgers want to add too much more payroll.

Nomar would have to move to third or left if the Dodgers were to pick up a stud first baseman and I am giving up on that hope. I would keep Bills. AROD and Tiexiera are both rentals and both Boras clients.

"First I get my name in the phone book and now I'm on your ass. You know, I'll bet more people see that than the phone book."

Ahhh, another Steve Martin classic.

Magic didn't get hurt against Chicago in 1991, did he?

He was definitely hurt in 1989 against Detroit (along with Scott), turning an 11-0 start to the payoffs into a sweep at the hands of the hated Pistons.

Teixeira is a Scott Boras client and even if our GM wasn't predisposed now to distrust Boras, Teixeira will almost certainly want to test free agency.

110 Yeah, those Laker teams started four #1 overall draft picks, with Mychal Thompson coming off the bench as another #1 (1978).

I'm kind of hoping the Lakers are metaphorically destroyed, so that they can can be rebuilt without Kupchak or the Spawn of Buss ruining things. Seriously, given how quickly DePodesta was run out of town, how does Kupchak still have a job?

118 - Magic getting hurt in '89 against the Pistons, after the team went 11-0 in the Western Conference playoffs, was worse.

any of you think Brad Penny swings like he's bowling? I noticed it yesterday, he kind of reminds me (his swing & leg work) of a little known ex-Dodger Jose Gonzalez.

turning an 11-0 start to the payoffs

I always knew the NBA was rigged ....

122 - Yeah, Eric has it right. 119 is correct also.

122
Wait: is that right? For some reason I remember Magic being hurt against the Bulls, but maybe it was the Pistons.

124
Because, it is really Jim Buss that runs the show. Mitch is essentially there to be the fall guy. Mitch was in charge before, but not anymore.

127 Jim Mora, when asked about the scandal, said, "PAYOFFS?!"

130 - it is really Jim Buss that runs the show.

And Bynum is a Jim Buss guy. I think much of this stems from management's unwillingness to part with Bynum. Kobe obviously wants to upgrade the talent level to "win now" proportions, and Bynum is the single piece they have to make that happen.

132
Yeah. Phil and Kobe have made it known they do not think Bynum will be anywhere as good as Jim thinks.

Magic's pregame kiss of Isiah Thomas followed by knocking him on his butt during the game was classic.

Running Boston out of their gym showtime style only to eventually be defeated by east coast thug ball was educational.

132, 130. I've heard this about Jim Buss before but I don't know what it's based on. Why is Andrew Bynum a 'Buss' guy, and how do we know Kupchak is just a figurehead?

Kobe has already retracted his trade "demand", but I think he is very serious about his opt-out in 2 years. This is Kobe's opportunity to say "Give me Jerry West and one of Garnett/Kidd/J O'Neal at the expense of any other current employee (player or management) of the LA Lakers, or I am out of here."

That bit about Kobe being the catalyst for Shaq leaving town really touched a nerve too. I've steadfastly believed it was Jerry Buss's sole decision to move Fat-quille out of town rather give him the $30M/year extension he wanted. Everyone "in the know" seems to now concede that's how it all went down.

It is my humble opinion that Jerry West left the Lakers because Jackson was insisted on signing the players he wanted to coach. Mitch is still fetching Jackson's players and therefore it is Jackson and not Mitch that should be on the hot seat.

i wonder what the bulls would give up for Kobe.

Detroit had a lot to do with Shaq not getting his $30 million.

138 - Anything and everything, right? I've read where Luol Deng is "untouchable". C'mon, you'd give up Deng to get Kobe.

It'd be a lot more interesting if Chicago had gotten the Knicks pick in the top-3.

135
Jerry Buss has even said that it was Jim who picked Bynum and he does not want to give Bynum up. Jerry put Jim in charge of the basketball operations and Jeanie in charge of the business side.

Maybe Tyrus Thomas, Hinrich, Sefolosha, cap filler, and 9th pick.

Final thought (for me on injuries).

In 1983 (yes I'm that old), not only were Norm Nixon and Bob McAdoo banged up in the Finals against Moses Malone and Dr. J's 76ers, the not yet named "Big Game" James Worthy hurt his knee a few games before the end of the regular season and missed all of the playoffs. The Sixers may have still won the title that year but I don't think they would have swept the Lakers if Worthy had been available.

But then in 1987, while that was a great Laker team, Bird was hurt and wasn't himself and yet the Celtics were a baby hook away from making that a longer series.

137 - I think that was certainly true the first go-round with Phil. West left because he could see the writing on the wall (Phil becoming "family" and wanting much more say in personnel decisions). I think this time around, Phil is more hands-off and West would be coming in as a "consultant", perhaps even leaving Kupchak in as official "GM".

Jim Buss is the one that needs to stay out of things. He needs to be an owner, not a player personnel guy.

138 - FWIW, here's Bill Simmons Chicago trade (which he deems is his the #2 most likely deal, behind a Phoenix/Marion deal):

Deal No. 2: Chicago trades Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Victor Khryapa and the No. 9 pick for Kobe

Maybe Tyrus Thomas, Hinrich, Sefolosha, cap filler, and 9th pick.

that doesnt sound like a bad trade. Who woudl you pick with the 9th pick? Nick Young?

Chicago does not want to give up Deng, from what I have heard and if they won't give him up, have to get Hinrich in the deal.

146
Depends on coach and style of play. Would need a scorer so maybe Jeff Green.

Young would be a possibility though.

Can Tyrus guard 4s effectively?

Game thread is open.

I don't think he could handle really strong ones like Brand, but his length helps.

Drafting Noah would make some sense, but I hate him too much to want that.

153 - Would help to stockpile some bodies in preparation for the new guy in Portland.

Fools! The whole lot of you that think there is a "fair" or "equal" trade for Kobe. There is no trade worth the best player in the league and best player of this generation. Yeah, we'll give u Kobe for this piece of trash or that piece of trash.............come on! NOBODY is worth Kobe!

If the Lakers were able to trade for Garnett or Jermaine O'Neal, how do you think Kobe would react being the second option in the triangle offense again? I would think the Lakers would go through the same scenerio that made them trade Shaq to please Kobe.