Just some thoughts that are equivalent to taking a Sunday morning drive.

http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_6048315

It's good to see that quote from Grady regarding Kuo's bad luck. That would seem to me to confirm that Kuo is going to a get at least a handful of starts to see if he belongs in the rotation.

In light of Schmidt's imminent return and Hull's quick return to Las Vegas, will Hull get a chance to pitch before he is sent back down? Unless I missed it, he hasn't been in a game yet, so he's only got today and tomorrow to get a shot. For his sake, I hope he gets a chance - it would be awfully anti-climatic to get your first call up to the big leagues without actually appearing in a game.

On a totally unrelated note, does anyone know of good book regarding the baseball - Dominican Republic connection. I am fascinated by the overwhelming amount of MLB players the island nation produces and I am curious how it all developed. Obviously Puerto Rico and some of the other Caribbean nations play baseball, but few seem to have the overwhelming devotion to it that the DR has. It's also interesting to consider that a country's main economic export commodity might be guys who can mash fastballs and unleash wicked sliders.

Hard to argue with the list overall, though of course I'm biased and would prefer to see the Dodgers (and frankly the Giants deserve to be too) ahead of the Mets. Didn't realize the D-Backs' starters rank first in K's, though a little behind the Dodgers' combined staff in total.

P.S. Although now living in the Bay Area, I'm a long-time Dodger fan. I believe the first Dodger game I attended was July 8, 1960. Dodger 5, Cubs 3. Hence, Dave60.

"We're in first place" (we have no defense)

"We're in first place" (we have no power)

"We're in firsr place... and stop interrupting my mantra!"

I already feel more at peace.

Given the political reality that Jeff Kent still on the current Dodger team represents the best hope for power and his range at second will get more limited and Juan Piere's limitations have been diagnosed to death, but both are imoveable parts because of contract and politics, is there any practical solution to this problem?

Unless the Indians decide to get crazy and offer us Grady Sizemore for pitching, I can only hope that are defense get's better, epecially Kent and somehow the Dodgers accept the idea that a platoon of Kemp, Gonzales and Pierre makes the most sense. In my mind Clark although slumping lately when he gets in provides excellent defense insurance for the outfield

Why not Abreu at 2nd with Betemit at third?

ugh.

I probably should pay attention to my nephew since he's 10 and I don't want to lose him.

Loons 1-0 in the second.

Ned needs to get a bat.....

LaRoche crushed that....dayum...

I'm trying to decide what to make of Steiner saying that Colletti called Abreu the greatest talent the team had in Vegas, when he visited. His stock hasn't risen that far anywhere else, right? That's not Logan White talking, is it? Do you think Colletti really believes it, or is it just P.R.? Alternate explanation is that he never said any such thing, Steiner misunderstood and didn't know enough to wonder about it.

that's a good question i hope somebody here has the 411 on it. Pierre just popped up he seems to be doing that allot lately

He likes it when the Nationals play NL West teams so we have two reasons to root against them.

As do I.

I don't think anyone was unhappy with Kent a week ago, so let's give him some time to get out of this slump.

I wonder if its Abs, or plate appearances that it automatically vests? Theoretically, Kent could play pretty much every day but if he racked up a bunch of walks, he wouldnt reach the 550.

i guess all i'm saying is that i want these old guys to get out of the way so the team can actually improve. (i.e. right now it seems so stupid not to go for mark texeira because we have nomar)

So he asks a lot if a game could be a no hitter. (Rule 9 has been explained, but c'mon, he's six.) Last night he asked, and I looked at the game status and told him the score was 6-0 so no, the Nationals were not pitching a no hitter.

And he thought for a minute and said, "Well, if they walked in the six runs it could still be a no hitter."

Well, I guess that's right, it could.

And with the Nationals, really, anything's possible.

Kent is really the only legit cleanup type hitter on the team at this point. Wanting him gone is like asking for this line up more often.... really odd IMO.

Hope Bob had fun explaining all that to his nephew.

"Well, it's not as exciting as a catcher's interference call, but . . . "

your probably right, also Garciaparra hesitation didn't help.

I guess, I just dont think there is any evidence that we have someone who will out produce him next year. But who knows, maybe there is- I havn't seen it.
This game feels over.

looks like Martin touched the runners arm before the runner touched the base.

Was it a memorable one, or does Grady need to take a crash course on Umpire lighting up from the Sweet Lou school of Blue diplomacy?

Why are we so willing to be so pessimistic when it comes to the good starts by players and yet not willing to be optismistic when are own players are not yet producing like they have in the past.

Penny's off to a good start, but its not really being pessimistic to think he wont maintain a 2.07 ERA all year, and to give up 0 HRs all year.

I think with Penny it's b/c last year was such a bitter experience in the second 1/2. We were right in the thick of the NL west race and he couldn't be counted on for anything (ANYTHING) in the second half. He completely melted down to the point of loosing his spot in the rotation in the play offs.

on the subject of Pinella's suspension,
did MLB or did the Cubs suspend him indefinitely?

Juss wonderin.

seems like the balls are dieing of exhaustion when he hits them, hopefully things change with him.

Matter of fact, Lou was questioned about the bump in his post game interview but claimed there was no contact, I think the Blue crew chief was claiming there was.

What not so instant replay to decide bump or no bump....what would Charlie Steiner think?...LOL

Mark Texiera would be such a perfect fit, but he's a Boras client, and will be a free agent...

Any other players have a realistic chance of getting to L.A?

MLB suspends Piniella for tirade

BHSportsguy what did you think of Moustakas (sp) & Matt Dominguez D? I think Dominguez has the better glove & arm, this is just the second time i see them though.

SI "MLB also said Piniella made contact with Wegner during the outburst -- which Piniella denied."

I feel a Smoker in our future.

Ill take that and be thrilled!

Classic Tracy.... left Gorzellany in when he obviously done.

wow. thats a terrible at bat gonzo. it looked like you were hitting infield practice with a fungo bat right there.

Outrageous!

Dodgers can get another run of the Pirates bullpen hopefully in the 8th or 9th.

"He's on second base, but I would not call it scoring position."

"If he needs a triple for the cycle, the outfielders are going to have to break both their legs."

W L ERA G SV IP H BB SO
11 0 0.64 13 2 65 34 4 111

thats why i picked him.

that hes really really good. haha

he played with maybin on the same HS team. he was 28 on my big board so not too much of a reach. hes pretty good i think he could be a larkin type player if things turn out right for him.

"if you're asking jim tracy if he perhaps left pitchers in the game a batter or two too many, I would be inclined to say that it isn't altogether improbable".

I don't miss it at all.

Seriously, having no trades also makes the draft go pretty fast.

thats true but todd frazier is still on the board. the guy can hit@!

it's also good to seem them in game situations right Nate, it tells you allot about there focus, game instincts & how they play underpressure/big crowds (sp)

So I missed the first 6 innings. Was Penny just off today or was he not hit that hard in general?

At least they, unlike my soccer team, came back from a deficit.

[209] --> [51] ;)

pirates called broxton perhaps the biggest man in baseball... ryan howard? david ortiz? barry bonds?

i already thought he was the largest man in the world.

according to Mark Grace, yes.

Short of a trade, which won't happen for at least a month and Kemp or Loney being called up and Nomar/Pierre being platoned (it won't happen) this could help

well that's Juan for your money.

255 Works for me. Can we also ask if they pitchers can toss the ball underhanded too?

Gio Carrara gets a call first.

I'm surprised Tracy hasn't started doing crap like that.

another point on that is that Grady took him out in an odd situation & only used him for one batter a while back, i just want him to get his confidence back, he is in our team.

He called Gorzelanny "Gonzalez" when doing the lineups at the start, called Andre Ethier "Adam," and called Billingsley "Billingsham!"

probably not.

Only problem is you ending up burning more players than with a regular pitching change.

really man

That previous play was very close to being grabbed fair before it went across the line, and an out. Very close.

enjoy this one cuzz it's one of the RARE come from behind types

Stange thing is that if you Google "Adam Ethier" you find tons of references to Andre which are just mistakes. Stranger thing is that Andre's brother is named Adam and he plays ball. Not very well though.

Husker Du was more an early 80's band. They broke up in 87 or 88.

nuthin' but the yankees. ever.

(an attempt at levity)

I would have thought you were older than 3. You're really quite precocious.

"You've got to talk about it," said Pirates manager Jim Tracy. "Is that going to say they're not going to make another baserunning mistake the rest of the year? You can't say that. You have to try and minimize them over the course of the season."

that's even better than the one I made up.

It seems like you get really defensive when people question how bad the offense is. And the Dodger staff the best you've seen in your lifetime? Its not even better than it was in 2003.

The Dodger XWL is about 3 games below their actual. That means they've been winning more games than they should, and typically stuff like that doenst continue.

I think you're caught looking at the short term results, whereas the answers to long term results lie in the process of how things happen. The Dodgers process of scoring runs isnt likely to lead to long term sustainabiltiy.

Fortunately, I only life 5 minutes from my job.

This team is making me crazy! Hope Saito isn't out too long, but at least we have Broxton.

They won't be called up until Ned/Graddy plan on playing them regularly and then space has to be made. Without a trade, who leaves? Clark and Betemit would be my choices.

There must be reasons to expect to win though right?

Just having a uniform that reads "Dodgers" across it, doenst pre-ordaine the team to win games.

I think your confusing negativity, with being analytical. Most of the hesitancy to crown the Dodgers NL West Champs, lies in the analysis of how they've been scoring and preventing runs this year.

Just as an example, the Dodgers in 2003 had a high water mark of 44-29 on June 21st. At the All Star Break of that year--they were 49-44. They finished 85-77.

Its hard to sustain "winning" over a 162 game season when the cumulative statistics dont back it up. Not many teams can get "lucky" all year long.

If Kent or Martin is out of the lineup, we really have no "dangerous" bats (at this point, anyway).

Is the Dodgers offense really underacheiving, given their roster?
What is the "actual" level?

Is Pierre at his actual level? Probably.
Is Furcal?--He could SLG more I suppose.
Is Kent?--Kent's old, what were seeing now, could be his level. He's still an .800 OPS'er.
Is Nomar?--Same thing that applies to Kent.
Is Betemit/Abreu/LaRoche---Probably.
Is Gonzo?---He's probably exceeding his level.
Is Martin?--Martin's probably exceeding his level.
Is Ethier?--Ethier's probably at his level.

Thats why people are wanting roster changes, because the offense as its oonstructed right now, really isnt underachieveing. They just dont have the talent.

i was going to pick chad jones but sox picked him 2 spots before.

haven't heard texas leaguer from a player or announcer is quite sometime, that quote was from Ken Gurnik Dodgers/MLB.Com.

ugh! there's counter points to your quote but i'm not even gonna bother.

Soto comes from the tall and rangy school of shortstops, as opposed to the short and quick type of tools that the other top Puerto Rican shortstop, Rey Navarro, possesses. His projection is excellent and he's got bigger and stronger in the last year. Soto's bat is a major tool. He has very good bat speed and shows present power and the ability to hit the ball hard to all fields. There hasn't been much talk of Soto moving off shortstop as he gets stronger, either. He has plus arm strength and smooth, easy actions in the middle of the field. Soto's stock has been steadily rising throughout the spring and he could be a draft-day surprise. He committed to Oklahoma State during the spring.

358- I agree with you. Asserting that the Dodgers are hopeless isn't analysis; there are a few problems with this team but none of them are obviously fatal. There are hopeless teams. I don't think the Yankees are hopeless, but I can see why some of their fans do. I can't see it with this team.

hes the best prospect in PR and perfect game crosschecker 68th overall.

i like him more then BA does although BAs scouting report says he could become a middle of the order bat.

5.

It's hard to tell with Ethier; I think he can put out an .800 OPS, but I might just be a bit optimistic.

As for Martin, here are his splits:
2006
vs RHP: .265/.335/.419, 8 HR, 386 PA
vs LHP: .366/.451/.521, 2 HR, 82 PA

2007
vs RHP: .283/.353/.417, 2 HR, 153 PA
vs LHP: .373/.458/.686, 4 HR, 59 PA

Martin has seen more left-handers so far, which has inflated some of his numbers, but he's also hit those lefties a lot harder than last year.

"Is Pierre at his actual level? Probably." Actually, as much as I have problems with Pierre, he's still been slightly underachieving even for him. Though he picked it up a bit for a little while recently, it's still a little below what he's capable of.
"Is Furcal?--He could SLG more I suppose." Yes indeed.
"Is Kent?--Kent's old, what were seeing now, could be his level. He's still an .800 OPS'er." Agreed.
"Is Nomar?--Same thing that applies to Kent." Nomar's underachieving though we don't know to what extent it's age, or a slump, or hurting or having twin babies back home or what. But he could still pick it up a bit.
"Is Betemit/Abreu/LaRoche---Probably." How do you know this? LaRoche just recently made his ML debut and barely got any chances. When he did he showed good plate discipline but wasn't really given much of a chance to do much else. Betemit's clearly underachieving imho. Abreu it's hard to tell in such a small sample size, though he's certainly been contributing.
"Is Gonzo?---He's probably exceeding his level." How so? Isn't this pretty consistent with what he is (though, yes, more power than what i expected from him given his tail-off last year or so). But he's always been a steady offensive player (his D is another question).
"Is Martin?--Martin's probably exceeding his level." Where do you get that from, exactly? How do we know he hasn't even hit his ceiling yet? I think he'll find even more power over the next year or two.
"Is Ethier?--Ethier's probably at his level." Possibly. for me the jury's still out on him, but I could see him actually developing still more power, too, as well as showing more consistency.

Of course, we also don't know what difference Kemp and/or Loney would be making at this point, though as Jon said in previous post it's hard to imagine them doing all that much better than Gonzo has so far. But over the long haul this season, I feel they'll need a contribution from at least one of them. (I would also be surprised if we didn't see an injury from Gonzo or Nomar at some point.)

On the other hand, Martin's only outpacing his expected BABIP by .006 points. Plus, he's a golden god. So, he's got that going for him.

Walk off home run for Vlad.

Gonzo is hitting .285/.376/.447 this year.
Last year in Arizona, he hit .271/.352/.444.
I think he's overachieving when you consider his age. His OBP increase is significant from last season.

Is Martin?--Martin's probably exceeding his level." Where do you get that from, exactly

Well, he's currently SLG'ing .500
Last year, he SLG'ed .436 for the Dodgers.
His minor league SLG average was .419.
I think its more probable that he is on a hot streak, rather than he's having a legit power spike in only his 2nd full year in the league. Especially since he never showed any of this type of power in the minors. Maybe he'll sustain it all year like Beltre in 2004, but given that he plays catcher and his historical averages, its not likely.

As far as Betemit/Abreu/LaRoche go--would you have expected more out of them combined than what they've produced so far? Third base hasnt been the main problem on the Dodgers this year. I think they've met expectation levels.

LHP 6'2 195 Scott Alexander

Scouting Report: Alexander was the biggest name to pop up in Northern California this spring and was drawing comparisons to 2006 Giants draftee Clayton Tanner. Like Tanner, Alexander is lefthanded and athletic, throwing harder as a senior than he did previously, and signed to Pepperdine. While the Waves have a shot at keeping Alexander, a good student, his athletic ability might be too much for teams to pass on. He also has a relatively fresh arm. He missed much of his sophomore season in high school with biceps tendinitis and was a reliever as a junior, as he also played outfield. This spring, though, Alexander has touched 93 mph and was sitting in the 89-92 mph range with his fastball. He has excellent arm speed and a smooth delivery, and the ball jumps out of his hand. He ditched his curveball in favor of a tight slider and showed flashes with both it and his changeup. Alexander was getting crosschecked regularly, which indicates he could get popped in the first three rounds.

Its the power that seems to have come out of thin air.

I guess if you think 3rd hasn't been a problem, then those three guys combined haven't underperformed, though, as I said above, I still think Betemit's way underperforming from what I expected at least.

Absolutely not.
When people do that (and Colletti does it), you get stuck with mistakes like Julio Lugo and Mark Hendrickson. Players that overperform 2 months, way above their career averages, and then they dont sustain it over the course of the season.

Its very very unlikely that Russ Martin can SLG .419 in the minors, then in one year jump all the way up to .500 (in his 2nd full year no less) and sustain that at the MLB level. In fact, I'm trying to think of an occurrence when that has happened (legitmately--not roid incuded), and I cant think of any.

yea he was taken and i liked him alot and would have taken him at116. do you like the soto pick?

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_6053132

Yeesh, do the Padres really have 8 picks in the first 88? Man, between they and the Giants, those two have a chance to quickly revamp their farm systems.

No argument here.
I think its the rate of improvement that I question.

390 This 37 year old feels depressed at such conversations, but knows that sports "age" is different than real age. Small comfort...

For the fourth and fifth rounds, I like Austin Bailey, Justin Grimm, and Seth Blair. Are they still available?

Of course, power develops. It just usually gradually develops, and Adrian Gonzalez is a good example of this.

Russ Martin's power hasnt gradually developed. Its spiked (for the 1st 2 months of this year).

Some pen stats from '03==

Gagne--82IP, 37H, 137 SO, 0.69 WHIP

Mota--105IP, 78H, 99 SO, 0.99 WHIP

Paul Quantrill--77IP, 61H, 44 SO, 0.98 WHIP

Tom Martin--51IP, 36H, 51 SO, 1.18 WHIP

Paul Shuey--69IP, 50H, 60SO, 1.20 WHIP

What jumps out at me is that the WORST of these allowed 15 fewer hits than IP.

Collectively--and incredibly--only allowed 262 hits in a collective 384IP--122 fewer hits allowed than IP. Collectively struck out 391 in 384IP.

yea still available. Grimm is leading right now although i do like dave stewart.

but hes a draft eligible sophmore! hes kinda like a bryan morris pick.

So what're the odds for the Dodgers first pick - pitcher vs. position player? I know White's (and company) are of the "best available" mindset but would we say 75% chance pitcher, 25% position player? I still harbor hope they'll nab a great hitter but maybe they can find some gems after the initial pick.

http://tinyurl.com/25fzm4

Rasmussen emerged as the area's most dominant arm, coming in a reported 5-foot-10, 155-pound package. Scouts agreed his curveball, a true mid-70s, 12-to-6 hammer, was the best pitch for any high school pitcher in the area.

Has four starts of 15 strikeouts or more. He had a 20-strikeout effort that was his best of the year.

Fastball is in 86-89 mph range and he reportedly got it up to 91 mph. He also throws a slider and a changeup.

WWSH

Yeah. He's more interested in helping the team win than putting up good stats.

http://tinyurl.com/366tz4

No tear, but no news

Takashi Saito does not have a tear in his left hamstring, which tightened up on him in the ninth inning and forced him out of the game. But he won't know anything more than that until today, so it isn't clear how much time he will miss. Grady hinted, in that typically Grady way, that Jonathan Broxton will close in Saito's absence if there is an absence. More on this issue tomorrow. That's it for today. I gotta get crankin' on my newspaper stuff, as there are big group dinner plans in about two hours.

WWSH

tim alderson RHP prep
brad suttle INF texas
nefi soto SS PR
scott alexander LHP prep
rob rasmussen LHP prep
hunter ovens OF prep

big, strong, fast, extremely athletic, signed to vtech to play SS for them and double up in baseball. He is really raw but classic boom or bust player.

Then there's Justin Upton. Has gone 20-for-44 with nine extras, two of them home runs. Is hitting .400 in Double-A. Kemp and Loney are heating up, too.

a little bit. hes never focused on baseball full time and could be something big if he clicks.

kinda like matt kemp :)

suttle could move quickly.

From the LA Times: "....Although the top of the rotation has been strong — Brad Penny, Derek Lowe and Randy Wolf have combined to go 19-8 with a 3.03 earned-run average — the rest of the starters the Dodgers have run out there were 4-11 with a 5.61 ERA before Saturday."

Kuo and Schmidt to the rescue--we hope.

In his spare time, Justin likes to visit the circus. He claims he likes the clowns. He says, "It helps me get into a hyped up attitude."

Okay.

Why‽

I checked every single tube of the entire internet, can't find the source of that quote. I'm presuming it bogus until proved otherwise.

BH and ToyCannon, I ended up missing the CIF Championships. Instead, we had steamed clams and fish and chips at the Redondo Beach Brewing Company. I went for the cycle and hit their four best microbrews. Good stuff.

It seemed that he would not be long for the game and since he had thrown 61 pitches in the first 3 innings. But then he set down 12 out of 13 batters and threw only 44 pitches in the next 4 innings.

However, with the Bruins leading 7-4 in the bottom of the 8th, with one out, he gave up the two hits for the first time since the 3rd inning.

After the UCLA coach came out to the mound, they kept Murphy and all he did was strike out the next two batters.

In the bottom of 9th and 121 pitches in the bank, Murphy gets the first two outs and then gives up a long flyball that goes off the CF's glove for a triple but then he gets a groundout to complete the game.

The crowd of just over 2,000 was split pretty evenly, there was a disturbance during the first inning but after that it was calm.

I have now seen three games in the last two days played with aluminum bats, I can now again understand why they use wood bats in professional baseball.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/dt//2007LA_-N.php

Um, wow.

I hate when college coaches sell recruits on morality and all this crap and get mad when players de-commit or something. They are just following the examples that have been set by the adults in their business. If Donovan is having second thoughts so quickly, it means he had to be unsure at the time he made his decision and if that was the situation, he should have known it was the wrong thing to do.

Way to screw over the franchise that wanted you so badly.

There is a job in Bakersfield waiting for me, with friends and people I really respect. But man...oh man...To get a job and move back here would be the bee's knees. I think I'm affected by my environment way more than the average person, because I just love being back home.

I can't wait to go to a game. I haven't been to one since we lost to the Padres on opening day two or three years ago.

Second, I don't fault Billy Donovan at all. Being in the midst of a job upgrade myself, sometimes a deal is so good, until you have to actually say goodbye to the people and institution you're leaving behind. It's hard. I remember getting out of the Navy, being so thrilled to be done, yet feeling terrible about leaving the people that meant so much to me. Of course, getting the hell out of New England made it easier. Donovan is staying in a state he loves. People are going to crucify him over this...But I won't.

The problem with life choices is that they affect your life, and they're massive changes. Sounds stupid, but wow, it's so difficult. I understand what he's going through. I just wish my choices involved millions of dollars. They don't :-(

484- That's got to be on of Bob's favorite games. Fifteen hits, five walks, two runs.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN200404050.shtml

My Dad gave up a ton of dough to stay in Southern California. He sacrificed a ton to maintain stability and live where he wanted. We could have been the upper crust of Arkansas, which would have sucked majorly. I thank him for that. Maybe Donovan is willing to sacrifice a little bit for stability and comfort.

Of course, these sacrifices are relative. Dude is still rich and young and handsome and living in Florida.

On second thought, I hate Billy Donovan. Stupid rich guy!

Which is just horrifying.

She's a chemist. So you should be able to recognize her.

Maybe second thoughtsitis is contagious.

The Dodgers needed a dependable outfielder and got one in Pierre but Peirre should have only been an insurance policy to Kemp, Repko, and Ethier and told that so Peirre could make an imformed decision when he chosse either the Giants or the Dodgers.

Peirre was not the only insurance policy available but I am OK with Ned doing what he thought best if he approached the signing as only insurance.

Anybody that has seen Abreu play should be excited that he is with the Dodgers. Regarding LaRoche, he has huge holes in his swing and has to be selective or look bad swinging and missing. Ted Williams and Barry Bonds generally swing at strikes and strikes that they can hit well and generally do not swing at the other pitches. If that leads to walks fine but taking hitable strikes just to make the pitcher throw more In my humble opinion leads to less success.

*A row broke out earlier this week with Los Angeles Galaxy boss Frank Yallop insisting Beckham would not be sent out on loan.
The club's general manager, Alexi Lalas, hit back by claiming he would consider a loan move for the former Manchester United star.
But Beckham has quashed the speculation by insisting he has turned his back on the Premiership.
'Will I be coming back somewhere on loan? No,' Beckham said.'That is never going to happen.'*

Greg, are you talking about the one across the street from Tony Roma's near Torrance Beach? I miss that place. Great burgers and fries, and of course the memories of growing up over there.

504 On Catalina, right next to PV BLVD.

Batters adjusted?
Lost Velocity?
Other?

Pitchers adjusted?
Lost bat speed?
Other?