i like the rotation idea. but then i also think the best reliever should be used as a "fireman" instead of a closer, so what do i know.

LAT'd post from previous thread:

Pierre's crimes in CF are, I think:

(1) He takes odd, banana-shaped routes to fly balls, which negates his greatest asset (his speed); and
(2) On some base hits that would otherwise be singles, Pierre's arm is so poor that above-average runners can stretch them into doubles.

Of the above, (2) will almost never be scored an error unless Pierre clearly slips or something. (1) could be scored an error if Pierre fumbles the catch, but even then, I doubt it. The scorer would see Pierre hauling all out -- making extraordinary effort -- and simply not making the catch... and score it a base hit.

This is what makes the traditional fielding stats so poor.

ps. since we're playing the mets, i get to watch the game on tv today!! woo.

here's hoping i only remain in syracuse for another month or two.

Hmmm,no nomar again and Russ may never get a day off again.

Furcal, SS

Pierre, CF

Martin, C

Kent, 2B

Gonzo, LF

Ethier, RF

Loney, 1B

Abreu, 3B

Wolf, P

Alou is 7th in OF all star voting with over 300k votes. Every Mets player should have 300k reduction adjustment to their totals.

4 - See guideline No. 6 at the bottom of the sidebar.

[tinfoil hat]

I wonder if at least part of the reason that Martin gets no days off -- in addition to the fact that he's the only player on the team who can hit -- is a marketing effort to pump up his numbers and make his case for the ASG even stronger.

[/tinfoil hat]

I do agree Martin is ready for a rest. His last day off was June 2.

7 - I think him being the most reliable player on the team is the only noteworthy factor.

Meaning, Little won't care about the ASG.

9 My rational mind agrees entirely.

My irrational mind begs to differ.

My rational mind hears my irrational mind and holds its head in its hands. My rational mind is easily embarrassed and ashamed.

11 - Your irrational mind should have more things to worry about. Little simply doesn't need more incentive to play Martin every day besides the fact that he trust him.

12 Your irrational mind should have more things to worry about.

Believe me, it's a complicated relationship we have.

On Martin resting, Grady looks and sees 2 days off in the next week and a week in the AL parks where Russ may DH, I think that is why he is playing.

I'm in! I'm definitely in!!

Not that I'm excited about this or anything...

15

Didn't you single-handedly ruin the first one already?

I think that Martin plays because Martin wants to play and will be miffed if he doesn't, and he has all the admiration that I can manage for having such a state of mind.

That being said, kudos to the Jays, for having the nerve to play the infield in and not give up the early run. Once upon a time, what seems like quite a long time ago, I played 2nd or 3rd, and I despised having to play back and give up that run early. I trusted the pitchers enough, well, even if someone singles through our drawn in infield to score the run, I had the faith that our guy on the mound would then close the door and so no "big inning". So kudos again to the Jays for having the nerve to do what I always wanted to do.

And now, hopefully the change becomes permanent, and so good to see that Martin has been moved up into the 3-hole.

Lastly, I hope that Kemp gets to play more than I am thinking that he will. Not paying attention to any lefty versus righty thing, I'd have him in the lineup today over Ethier. Not trying to knock Ethier, but Kemp has over him what can't never be taught [and, Jon, how is that for the double negative], to wit, speed.

So speed can be taught?

18 Indeed. Just trying to make the English post-grad journalist and the master librarian a little edgy there...

And librarianship is a craft. And I'm part of a guild to boot!

Tony Jackson says Nomar might be getting tomorrow off as well.

20 They have a guild for librarians? There's a bar for lawyers, as in, we get to cross the bar, but, well, maybe the bar and the guild aren't a good idea for me, and on the Woody Allen premise that I'd never be a member of a club that would have someone like me as a member, so here I am, club-less and group-less [and I don't count the bar, as the enrollment is mandatory, so I had no choice or say in the matter].

This is the team I've been asking to see play. Now there is enough time to judge whether or not we need to make moves in late July. It is now not only on Ned and Grady, but it is on me too. I can't complain now that I'm getting what I wanted. I might be wrong about this, but I think this team can gell and be the balanced vet/youngster team that gets us to the next level.

I'm pleased that Grady pulled Juan in a double switch yesterday and put him back at the top tonight. He's either going to prove a lot of us wrong, or he'll be on the bench or batting eighth or on another team.

Jon and co., I have relatives from out of state in on the 21st. I want to make the game and I also have season seats up top. I am hopeful that I can get at least one seat with the DT group but I'll know more by Wednesday. Have you reached thirty yet? I'll get a seat if that puts you over the top and I'll figure out how to run a five hour errand that day.

I smell a sweep of the struggling Mets....but I'll be happy to win this series and take two from the Angels also.

21 While I think that Nomar's woes need addressing in some fashion, I am otherwise willing to cut the man some slack as a human since, well, anyone who's had to raise a young child knows how hard it is, and he has twins [they don't wake up crying for that rather early morning feed simultaneously, and I know, since I once had the good pleasure to spend a week or so at a friend's place helping him with the twins while his wife was out of town attending to her sick mother]. I am otherwise hoping that it is truly a case of the fatigued and somewhat distracted Nomar, and so maybe with some more time off we can have a more closer reversion to his early last year form. I'd take that on a less frequent basis with some added Loney over what we've seen from Nomar this year.

20 I figured it out, as in, I may sometimes be dense, but I'm not, to borrow from one Bart Simpson, dumber than a post, and so, I now believe that your guild is:

Librarians' Guild AFSCME Local 2626

Lawyer's aren't quite that organized and our idea of a good working union is expressed in the notion of bending over and saying, you can take us any way you like. Another applicable notion would be, impotent/impotence. Lastly, don't know whether your union protects the imcompetent [most do, unfortunately], but a good libarian is never to be despised, at least by those having need to do some research in an area outside one's area[s] of experience and practice. So kudos to you if you are that good librarian.

we're watching the mets broadcast a game from dodger stadium? KCAL must have dibs on this series.

25
For the record, I hate my own union. I am not anti-union. I just don't like mine.

Red alert for the cycle for Raul Ibanez.

Red alert.

However, Ibanez may not bat again unless the Mariners blow the save chance.

26 Hm? I've got Vin and the Dodgers broadcast on MLBTV.

shawn green is hitting 2nd for the mets? wow.

28 He did achieve the Practical Cycle though - he could have conceivably stopped at 1st on one of his homers.

Shawn Green is putting up LuGo-like numbers.

29. I am watching extra innings. maybe I should switch.

31
I'm a firm believer in the Practical Cycle.

rhythm method hitters always end up in trouble.

Shawn Green gives me nausea. For some reason I just want to pinch him really hard when I see him.

32 - still a huge whole in that swing, isn't there?

Martins defense is... on the verge... of... I hate to say it, but... bad.

cheapest.rbi.ever.

any shance reyes strips his transmission sometime tonight?

well, just from initial indications, this is going to be a long night.

when shawn green steals a base, the whole world is in a precarious position.

Has Jeff Kent gotten too old to play?

Randy Wolf and his first innings . . .

i was gonna say Kent had to catch that but watching the replay the throw was a bit off.

Why should that be Martin's error? The throw didn't hit the ground, hit Kent's glove, and should have been an out. Why does Martin get blamed?
Same thing on lots of outfield throwing errors, the throws are online, but somehow get away, the OF always gets the error. Stupid.

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking.

I can just picture the Mets blog comments right now. "I don't get what all the fuss is about this Martin guy, doesn't seem like his defense is all that." Yeah, always good to judge based on one inning.

And we all know how Wolf's first innings often go vs. the rest of his innings. Please survive this inning, Wolfie! (And all of us.)

The throw was fine. Kent just wasn't there in time to field it.

41

the ball tailed off at the end or else Green would have been hung out to dry.

41
Yes, his defense is very costly now.

45

you smoke Bob!!?

[puzzled face]

44 I thought the throw did hit the ground. It certainly wasn't a good throw, at any rate. Guess the error could go the other way, but as much as I love Martin, it's still on him to make a decent throw there.

Argh. I hate these first innings.

44 - I think the point I was making is that everything that could conceivably go wrong has gone wrong, or is in the process of going wrong.

Ok, thats enough baseball for me tonight. This team is broken right now.

41 - Seems like he can hit decently, but his defense at second is hardly acceptable

50 You've never seen the movie Airplane!, BlueB?

Jon, what is the count for July 21? I'm looking forward to meeting fellow DTers.

There is a heart & soul conference at the plate right now!

That was a good throw by Martin, but Wright had a good jump off Wolf.

2 runs is a pretty cheap escape after all of that.

I'll be blasted for this but again Russ made some bad plays in that inning.

45. have a lollipop

That SB was on Wolf. Good throw but way too late. But hey he survived with only two runs there. Hopefully it's just the typical 1st inning of shakiness for Wolf and not the shape of things to come.

Cycle Alert canceled!

Stand down.

55

nope.

54. Yeah. He just seems slow out there.

I hope no one would blast you for that.

i've learned not to be moody & rationalize things better when we face NY.

59. Well, he is still young, after all...sometimes it's easy to forget. Already he's being taken for granted!

On the Mets broadcast, the player highlighted in the Dodger lineup was The Player, with the note "70 hits, leads team".

59 - BLAST BHSPORTSGUY BLAST YOU!!

the mets announcers are dumping on juan pierre.

Oh my god I hate Pierre

Go Franco. 48. Wow.

Given that Martin's defense seems to be degrading a little bit, maybe giving the kid a few more days off should be considered, again. Or he could just catch way more than anyone in baseball and we will wonder why his skills are declining.

List of MLB catchers even close to the number of innings Russ had caught:
Jason Kendall.

If the Dodgers wanted to go all the way with the lefty thing they could have played Betemit instead of Kent, and put Abreu at second.

66. wise

It takes a sadist to stay up till 10:30 to watch us recieve El Duke'. But I quess I'm game. I truly believe we won't have more than a ten game losing streak, and then I bet we win 5 or 6.

73 - and then we can listen to people plead for him to be moved to first to keep him "fresh".

77

there is a difference

gameday is such a tease. It said in play out, then it's like, just kidding, Martin singled

Assuming the Mets are done scoring. That still leaves the pressing question: How are the Dodgers going to score 3 runs?

The Mets announcers can't dump on Pierre! Only we can dump on Pierre! Don't they know their place?

It's a little early to be saying Martin's catching skills are declining. Yes, it's possible he may be tired and need a break. I am not worried about him becoming Jason Kendall in July.

77. LOL

now it says there are 3 outs and it's comtemplating the meaning of life. jerk.

Grrr, Hilary Swank wearing a Mets cap was just shown in the stands. Forget it Hilary, we're through.

Tatum O'Neal would have had that.

ex-Dodgers are haunting us so far.

78 - I was making dark humor.

I really hate Jose Valentin. Anyone who was utterly worthless on the Dodgers and then is good for the subsequent team and likes to rub his nose in it is on my List.

He can't be perfect. We need some reasonable expectations here.

Did anybody else worry that we were about to witness an Al Campanis moment?

88 - Julio Lugo has a .215 EqA on the year, so I guess he's not on the list.

Vin's telling ethnic jokes..
Its wrong, yet funny.

Vin Scully just mentioned Gomez's vertical, and I rmemebr a player with the Devil Rays a few years ago who was highly valued because he could leap over a car. Baseball scouts realize that there's not too much jumping involved in baseball, right?

I am not saying Russell needs to be perfect, I just hate it when people want to blame others when it was a bad play that even our favorites make now and then, that's all.

Blue Jays already up on the Giants 3-1.

89 Thank you.

84. I thought she was from L.A. San Fernando Valley or something. Hmmm...

79. I know. I've been there too.

The combo of bad first innings from starters and feeble offense isn't a good one for the enjoyment of watching.

I don't want to not like Wolf.

94
Not directed at you at all BH.

Gack. Randy and Russ are having some problems together so far. They need to relax a bit, maybe loosen up with some wine, and... wait, this isn't a date, sorry, never mind.

Hallelujah, they actually retired Reyes! Huzzah!

Being 6-4 with a 36 inch vertical leap doesn't really make you an NBA propect. I heard about a guy named Wilt who was 7-1 with a 50 inch vertical. Now that's a prospect.

What is it with the Mets and our ex-players? This time next year they'll probably have Nomar and Betemit. They need to get their own G.M.

What was Vin's joke?

Wolf needs to get about 30 pitches into the game, he jammed Shawn Green who blooped a hit, Wright's hit might have been a regular grounder depending on where Furcal is playing if the infield is back so he will probably calm down, the trick is the offense.

Nomar getting three days off just seems strange.

105 On the other hand, they do have Aaron Sele in the bullpen and Ricky Ledee on the bench. I stop being scared right about there.

97
Hilary Swank was born in Washington, but went to high school in South Pasadena, but she lives in New York most of the time.

92. I missed Vin's joke. How did that happen?

A couple weeks ago he said girls shouldn't be ball "boys" because they might get hurt. Cringe. But he is (really really) old school.

Also Hilary Swank is a bigger celebrity than Robert Wuhl, so she can wear a Giants cap for all I care.

110 He's also says that coaches should wear helmets because they are old too.

99. Indeed.

Something about what did one dominican say to the other dominican...

I'm not joking--thats essentially what it was.

102. Maybe they had a spat before the game.

good at bat, Kent. Make him work.

Yeah, Vin's really spinning the background stories tonight. I think I've heard El Duque's life story about 12 times before but it's still cool to hear.

114 Yeah, I don't think it was that bad.

116 You may hear it again tonight. :)

108. Ledee! Well, he's an ex-Dodger so he must be good, right? That's how their GM obviously makes decisions.

111 And that's impressive how exactly?

109. So you're stalking her - is that what you're saying?

Reaching a new low, Baseball Tonight just had Steve Phillips debate...Steve Phillips!

Here's an idea: just show the freaking highlights. Comedy club tryouts can happen in your off hours.

How do Kent and Gonzo only have 17 at bats combined vs. El Duque?

106. What do you call a black guy who...

No no no, it was just a joke about how two Dominicans are talking and only know how to say "come here" so to say "go over there" the one walks over there and says "come here". Whatever, he's no Chris Rock.

123 Unlike Livan, Orlando has primarily pitched in the AL.

I miss the days when Steve Phillips was the Mets GM. Then we didn't have to see him, and the Mets were in worse shape.

125 Ah, that's right. It just surprised me is all.

Well, if nothing else, they've made him work a bit.

It's good to see Kent working the pitchers better the last few games. He's chased waaaay to many balls low and away this year, and this is the beginning of something good. Well, he is already good of course.

We should start calling Wolf "El Lobo."

122
Steve Phillips presents ...

Formidable Opponent!

Come on Loney!

Loney are the brave.

129 That's good.

124. That's funny. If Steve Lyons told it he'd be fired.

122

That sounds like Stephen Colbert's Formidable Opponent segment.

gameday suggested that El Duque got a couple generous calls, but I still don't know how much to trust the little ball indicator

Something odd just happened in the 51 game...

With Andy LaRoche batting, Marlon Anderson steals(1) 3rd base, Marlon Anderson scores. Delwyn Young steals (4) 2nd base. Delwyn Young advances to 3rd. Throwing error by catcher Mark Johnson

Did Anderson steal two bases on the same swipe, or did he advance on the throwing error?

...or not.

God, could the home plate umpire take longer to make calls? I ran around the block during the pitch, came back, and he still hadn't said "strike."

the good news is that Hernandez has thrown 40 pitches through 2.

135

they were strikes. Really really nice ones, unfortunately.

135. Strike 3 was right down the middle. Loney looked bad in that at bat swinging at a ball way out of the zone and then watching the one down main street. Looked better right there with the glove!

James. Yes.

Superb play by Loney over there.

Silky.

wow, the red circle said it was just off the outside edge. Oh well.

Hope Carlos Beltran doesn't have kids.

136
Sounds like a double steal and a throwing error by the catcher. So just one SB apiece for Anderson and Young.

Wright's talent comes from his eyebrows. Beware the eyebrows.

I love Vin's Beltran's pet monkey story.

137 Larry Poncino is the home plate ump. It's not good for viewing fans or broadcasters, but I would imagine he gives a verbal call before completing his elongated strike calls.

It seems the batters effected turned back toward the dugout well before the call was finished.

147 - I've got tweezers . . .

It's good to see Kent working the pitchers better the last few games. He's chased waaaay to many balls low and away this year, and this is the beginning of something good. Well, he is already good of course.

i've heard in the past thats were you get him out, curves low & away, fastballs low & away.

Wolf has settled down, maybe they could move the scoreboard to say 3rd inning instead of first.

145. I was just thinking that.

what's the pet monkey story?

145 Heh. "You mean kids live for how long?! No way, I'm taking them back."

147 But don't the womenfolk in NY go ga-ga over Wright?

150. A good tweezing and he'd be Shawn Green.

145 See that would have been great punchline but also a little too mean I think.

151 I thought that was Beltre.

So I'm going to see the 51's tomorrow in Tucson. When I made the plans I was excited to see Kemp and Loney. Can anyone tell me what I should be excited to see now?

149. Yeah, because usually they'd label it "Anderson steals third, Young steal second, Anderson scores and Young advances to third on throwing error." Instead of "Anderson steals third, scores. Young steals second, advances to third."

158 Choo Choo of course.

I'm going to make chocolate chip cookies now while I watch. that way if we lose, I'll get something out of it. I'd share but I don't think I can put them in the scanner.

he's also got a strike zone about as big as his call delays.

Of course, there is the famous "double double steal" by Vince Coleman and Willie McGee.

http://retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1985/B08010CHN1985.htm

CARDINALS 1ST: Coleman singled; McGee walked [Coleman to
second]; Coleman stole third and McGee stole second; Coleman
stole home and McGee stole third; previous two double steals
really all one continuous lay on which 4 SB were awarded.
Chicago Tribune reports that play started as double steal, but
Coleman overslid 3rd base. He leaped up and started for home. 'I
knew I couldn't get back to the bag', Coleman said. 'I was still
in no-man's land. So my reaction was to go to the next base.'
The Cubs had him caught in a rundown, but he got out of the
hotbox when either pitcer Scott Sanderson or first baseman Leon
Durham left home plate unprotected. After conferring by phone
with Seymouur Siwoff, the National League's chief statistician,
[official score] [Randy] Minkoff awared each runner two stolen
bases. 'He told me the rule book doesn't specifically cover that
situation,' Minkoff said. 'He said you've seen one of the most
unusual plays in baseball'; Herr struck out; Clark singled
[McGee scored]; Porter flied out to center; Pendleton walked
[Clark to second]; Van Slyke flied out to right; 2 R, 2 H, 0 E,
2 LOB. Cardinals 2, Cubs 0.

159. I meant 146, not 149.

157. Maybe for Vin but I'm not half as nice!

154. Beltran eats monkeys, StolenMonkey. Look out.

158 Delwyn Young? He's a good player. Eric Hull? They don't even have Bigbie or Jones any more. I got nothing.

155. Probably. He's got that pale skin, dark hair, scrawny build gold chain kind of look. I can see female Mets fans digging that. Aren't a lot of them from New Jersey? I'm so bad.

i heard it from Steve Lyons on a game of the week on FOX a while back. It was from a scouting report so i'm sure it was true.

The monkey story was just that Beltran bought a pet monkey a few years ago, and thought it was cool. Then was told that monkeys can live like 45 years or so. And he was less enthused. I'm paraphrasing.

God, I'm sick of their offense doing nothing. I mean, that was fun at first but it does get old.

LaRoche seems to be doing well, OPSing .829 since being sent down. Still hasn't found his power stroke though.

Oh yeah, and LaRoche. Poor lonely LaRoche.

Jason Phillips and Bengie Molina should race right now, while they have the chance.

El Duque's pattern seems to be curve, high fastball, inside fastball, sliders away.

168 Heh. Yeah, there's no accounting for taste. In New Jersey.

167. - the dodgers used to have a low-A team in the SAL, and I always made it a point to go see them when they were in town.

I remember delwyn young . . .

It seems like teams are swinging early against the Dodgers.

Dodgers are not doing poorly with pitch count against El Duque, 52 through 3.

173 - "one continuous lay on?"

yet another cheapie rbi.

Gack. These flares are gonna drive me insane. That was a good pitch by Wolf. Sigh.

I wish 3-0 didn't seem like such an insurmountable lead.

Bonds just hit a 2-run homer to tie that game.

166 - I couldn't decide whether to make a poo-throwing joke or quote "The Yarn of the Nancy Bell."

Instead, I'll just tell you I was thinking about each.

178 It's something positive, now all they need is hits and runs. Or a hit, to start.

Wow, that was Wolf's first K of the game.

3 runs seem like a mountain top these days.

oh goody it's Juan Pierre

Hey! I've sat in that seat that Jerry is in. My friend's father is Jerry's agent so I get that ticket a couple of times per year. Now I feel close to fame.

You have to work hard to walk Pierre.

o.k. Pierre please run wild on Lo Duca.

182. The Yarn of the Nancy Bell. I'm googling that one.

Grabowski principle?

Wow. Don't say this very often, but.. good eye, Juan.

I don't think I could ever dislike Russell Martin. No matter what he does. Is that the true definition of love?

havoc!

Nice to give the Mets a taste of their own medicine, for once.

thank heavens. a hit and a run.

i hope Russell runs on Lo Duca.

193 Only if you send him the cookies.

Personally I always use the Tollhouse recipe with no nuts.

Nice!
Martin was smart to hold at 1st there. I would have been tempted to stretch it.

i love it!! Russell you rock!

199 - Nice. I wouldn't have gotten a hit. :)

195, repeated.

LoDuca threw a rainbow there.

201 Well, it's just one of a hundred and eight reasons why Russell's there and I'm here with you guys. ;-)

198. Yes, that's what I'm using--I like walnuts but I don't have any. So they'll be nut-less. I could now make a Shawn Green joke but I'll refrain.

Yes I can be a Dodger fan and bake cookies too.

from robothal...

The Dodgers are interested in Dunn, sources say, but seemingly have no place to put him; Dunn is below-average in left field, and neither he nor the Dodgers' current left fielder, Luis Gonzalez, would be adequate in right.

I haven't seen anyone mention it, but was there a reason why the Dodgers didn't IBB their #8 hitter last inning with first base open and the runner at 3rd? I saw his BA was horrible, but figure that was more a sample size thing than a "he's really a worse hitter than Hernandez" situation.

As opposed to the Mets, who just make us want to toss cookies.

204 Remember to pre-heat the oven. I like to use parchment paper whenever possible.

from same article...

One executive, however, says general manager Ned Colletti is itching to "pull a Kenny Williams" and make a pro-active move. His No. 1 choice, Marlins third baseman Miguel Cabrera, is not available.

193
Some call it love, some call it obsession, but none dare call it treason.

Scoring runs is like a breath of fresh air.

193. You would root for Martin if he signed with the Giants?

Oh, I'm starting to recognize this team. Yes...I recall...the DODGERS. Hello.

Sweeet!

And 72 pitches for Hernandez now.

210 At least Colletti and Miggy are in the same sentence.

LuGo's bat has been pretty good for us. Now, can someone send him some flaxseed for his arm?

213. I couldn't even root for orel hershiser when he was a giant.

I guess you can chalk Gonzo up in the win catagorey for Colletti.

Wow, I thought Gonzo was toast there. It looked like Gomez had the ball in LF when Gonzo was still rounding 3rd.

the Mets are laterally getting a taste of there own medicine

gonzo was dead, dead, dead.

209. Oven's heated. Parchment paper? You mean on the pan? I've never tried that...

211
The last line in that comment came from this book title:
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/304290

Some John Bircher donated 4-5 copies of this to my elementary school library and they were always on the shelf.

They weren't big movers for sixth graders.

loney changed his batting stance from last year. Last year, he was more opened up, a little bit like gonzo but not as much.

213. He would never ever ever ever ever do that. NO. I'd forgive him.

223
I'm a Sil-Pat guy.

220 I thought that too but it wasn't close.

Classic. Eddie patted Gonzo on the head and Gonzo turned and kissed him on the cheek.

Man, for a second I thought Loney ripped that out. So much for that.

218. Hershiser was a Giant? I must have blocked that out. I'd forgive, but not root. There's a difference. After all, I can't be mad at Dusty Baker.

223 It stops the spreading of the dough on the pan and it makes it easier to clean up.

That's why if there any doubt you should almost always try for home. It's an extremely hard throw for an outfielder to make.

All this due to Pierre starting the rally. This is what Colletti had in mind. Not all those weak groundouts.

We need a shut down inning from Randy.

232
But you can achieve the same effect by chilling the cookie dough.

Pitch counts through 4:
Wolf: 68
Hernandez: 80

224. LOL. Now I have to see for myself.

234 Ummm, he walked, for the 10th time, I know Randy Wolf has walked twice in a game, LaRoche walked 16 times in a three weeks.

Yes, nice going by Juan but I am sure El Duque wishes he'd just thrown a BP fastball and lived with the results.

236. I must say, the last place I'd expect to find baking tips is a baseball message board. What a great game. God bless America.

240 Pecan Pie Bars and Lemon Bars are my specialty.

I always melt the butter before mixing it and use extra brown sugar because I like chewy cookies.

Your mileage may vary.

kaydcee, bhsportsguy, and now Bob -- if you thought XeiFrank was brutal with movie/TV chat...

That's twice Shawn has been late and got a hit.

I feel like martha stewart is here tonight. I am drowning in estrogen ;)

You know, it's kinda cruel to talk about and make cookies and not offer the rest of the class any. {whimper} {scratch at the door}

Argh, can't we get Shawn Green out?

A big league 3b should make that play.

Well, I say C
I say C-O
C-O-O
C-O-O-K
C-O-O-K-I-E-S . . .

Ok, um, just kidding.

Chamique Holdsclaw just retired. When will the Sparks catch a break?

242 Bob, you can also remove the cookies immediately after they come out of the oven and put them into a tupperware container leaving the top open for the steam, that will not allow the cookies to crisp up on the cookle sheet.

i'm fearing the 3 run dinger from the Metrosextuals

[lame attempt at a joke]

243
Other alternate methods:
1) Go to the store and buy some premade dough and then cut them up and bake them
2) Go to a bakery and buy some fresh-baked cookies
3) Go to a grocery store and buy a bag of Chips Ahoy
4) Go find a neighbor who has baked cookies and then break into their home and steal the cookies.

241. Pecan...YUM.

Is there a statistic grading a team's luck for each game? The Mets' luck quotient must be about +5 right now. I just hope Wolf's okay.

what happened to Randy?

254 Isn't that all part of the BAPIP or DIPS stat.

Another alternative:

Turn on oven, make cookie dough, eat cookie dough, turn off oven.

252 Except #3 should not be an option.

I do recommend Newman-O's however.

254
The luck balanced out there with that line out.

227. Sil-pat. Martha uses those. I've always wanted one. Better than parchment? The cookies are baking...

Hernandez came into tonight's game with a BABIP of .186 on the year

.... whew ....

Okay, the luck quotient just went down -1.

theres they way Wolf is hurting right now i'm sure its gonna sting a bit tomorrow though.

257 So who is Bowden planning to trade in July this year?

Wolf's not fooling them tonight.

Delgado - isn't he the guy that wouldn't stand for the National Anthem when he was in Toronto? Or do I have the wrong guy?

261 I take it that shows he's been really lucky.

251. Ha ha funny. Except, again, Wright would have to pluck to truly be a metrosexual.

264. I'm hoping Nick Johnson.

265 - he fooled delgado pretty badly on that one. whew.

Now THAT was a beautiful curveball. Sweet.

265 - well, Delgado there.

The Blue Jays gave Bonds an IBB to lead off the 6th.

I tell you what, I will bake Pecan Bars and Chocolate Chip cookies for the DT game on the 21st, so get your money to Jon W.

Knowing Bowden, he'll probably try to trade Soriano even though he's not on the team any more, for some middle relievers and a middle infielder.

273 - They wanted to clog up the bases early.

242. Brown sugar? Oops...well, one batch isn't going to quite be up to par. I was distracted by our actually scoring runs I guess...

Great pitch!

Seeing that wolfpack with no sign reminds me: I've been wondering for years, why do the Dodger ban all signs from the stadium? It seems to take away from the creativity of the fans (and perhaps encourages more beachballs). j/c

274 Only if you pay for my travel expenses, too. :-( (I'll be in SoCal next weekend/week but not again for awhile, alas.) Will be there in spirit.

Bonds intentionally walked to lead off the bottom of the sixth with SF up by 1.

??

El Lobo!

Maybe you should bake cookies more often, Kady. Anything that helps the Dodgers score runs.

Nice hit, Randy!

Unless the Reds really want to play Conine every day, LuGo could be part of the deal. June 15th is this Friday!

Wolfie got a hit!

I actually possess estrogen in substantial quantities and I know less about baking than these fellas. My props to ya'll.

scareduck must be at the game, he hasn't made his presence known today.

3-1 to pierre. could it be two in a row?

264: Dmitri Young certainly, unless he falls off a cliff. Maybe Ronnie Belliard, but hard to see too much of a market there. Probably a couple of relief pitchers -- you pick 'em.

275: Not likely to be much of a market for Nick Johnson who is still not back on the active roster from a broken leg last September.

285. Don't mind me asking you this, but are you a lady?

It worked out--since Wolf got a hit.
But Wolf's at 88 pitches, and Billingsley is already warming up. So why not just pinch hit for Wolf?

my goodness. two consecutive walks for pierre.

I am woozy.

Oh c'mon ump. That ball was lower than a toadstool.

283
The trade deadline hasn't been June 15 since Hector was a pup.

Pierre taking two full count walks? The sky must be falling. If Pierre can have games like this on a regular basis we can live with him.

I do not get this walk Juan Pierre strategy.

Okay Bob, the last time JP walked twice in a game.

El Duque walked Pierre twice.

Orlando fears Juan.

last year i would have gone bananas with this umps style

But it doesn't matter. An almost carbon copy of Pierre's previous at bat. Could it be... Pierre's learning... patience?

274. I'm checking the calendar. Oh, my guy's up. Coltrane!

288. "Not likely to be much of a market for Nick Johnson who is still not back on the active roster from a broken leg last September."

Buy 'em cheap, I always say.

289 Even if she said yes, would that prove anything?

Maybe Pierre's wake-up call worked? A player with a big contract actually listened to advice from his manager/coaches?

296
September 4, 2006.

293 Very nice reference, Bob!

RIP, Francis Hearn

Seems that hitting 8th has lighted a fire under Juan "I'm now willing to take the walk" Pierre. If the premise is correct, then more walking to him!

20th time in his career Juan's walked twice in a game.

See even the boys in the truck know its a rare occurence.

302. No, estrogen was mentioned, so I was curious. Sorry if I offended.

Pierre's multiwalk games not counting tonight:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/shareit/a9zY

Pierre has been reading Dodger Thoughts

can the met coaches not work the bullpen phone?

Might have been ball 4 that Russ swung at.

Okay, very nice, Timmerman. No sticking!

must give credit were credit is due, that was a perfectly placed fastball by "El Duke"

289 She's not a lady but the rest of us are, in fact. Picture a bunch of women who look like the pepperpot shaped ladies on Monty Python.

88 pitches for Wolf so far, 97 for Hernandez

316. I don't remember that episode.

Eddie Murray was deep in conversation with Pierre an inning ago. I wonder if he was telling him about the power of walks?

309 No problem, my point is that while I think most of us are pretty honest, I seem to recall someone hear recounting an incident with a poster who "misidentified" herself/himself so my point is that while I think Kadycee is a lovely person, the main thing I like about her is that she is a Dodger fan and apparently a cookie baker too.

293- Not the trade deadline, but the first day FA signees can be shipped off.

316 Maybe we are like the Kids in the Hall.

282. magical cookies. my specialty.

They are not getting cheated.

Schoenweis has gotten lit as of late.

322 We look like the Chicken Lady?

323 I hate those by mistake once. Found my hands really fascinating the rest of the evening.

No the Kids in the Hall gals were actually girly. It got confusing. I'd get a funny feeling inside.

Bunting in front of the pitcher?

The Mets are doing the Dodgers one better, letting Hernandez bat here. Randolph really doesn't like most of his bullpen, does he?

sac bunt in front of the pitcher?

327 Except for Dave Foley.

Thanks Willie for giving Randy a classic Quality Start.

Paul Maholm no longer holds the dubious title of "Last pitcher to walk Juan Pierre twice."

Pierre last received an intentional walk back on 9/10/2005 against Philadelphia when Charlie Manuel opted to have Ryan Madson put Pierre on to load the bases in a game the Phillies led 6-5 over the Marlins.
Juan Encarnacion followed with a strikeout, but Lo Duca singled in two to put Florida up 7-6.

it's david wright mousepad night at shea on the 28th, if anyone cares.

Wow, yeah. He basically gave up a scoring chance there so he wouldn't have to bring in Schoenweis next inning.

289. Yes, sir. Apparently the only one here. I showed up a few weeks ago. Hi!

Quality.

The Mets announcers are not doing a good job of concealing their disdain for the city of Los Angeles.

Shot of the skyscrapers near the stadium:

"Here's a view of what passes for a downtown..."

Wow, El Duque bats.

316. That's EXACTLY how I imagine you guys!

335, cool, I always thought this page was missing a female presence.

wow...what a veteran!

Heh, I remember that time Leno did a Jaywalking bit where he'd ask people for the time of day in NY and LA. The NY stereotype played out nicely.

I guess all those doubles last year for Gonzalez were not a fluke.

320. A Giants fan? Oh, and thanks for your hospitality.

322. LOL.

337
Oh no! There's a different style of urban planning than what's used in New York City!

Run away! Run away! Run away!

Was Loney a monk at one time? The wooden cross is so...monkish.

344 Wait a Giant's fan??

326. The Chicken Lady! I forgot about her!

Ethier isn't taking many walks these days it seems.

Lone-star!

way to go...Monk.

Loney showing some apposite field pop, woo!@!

Loney, two games, two RBI and another triple for the big guy.

Looks like Nomar is getting another day off tomorrow. Take all the rest you need Nomar!

that could have been a serious injury. head first into the wall. yikes.

There are a number of other gals who post from time to time or more often. Sometimes you can tell from the name, sometimes not.

I always assume Sam in SC is a gal, with a name like that.

352 He needed a nickname.

331. Foley's a little girly. Or, rather, womanly. But that's just my opinion. He's still cute.

LONEY!

357. and are you AC or DC, Sam in DC? ;)

Loney broke GameDay.

Isnt Randy Wolf among the league leaders in runs support?

340. Thanks.

359 Lately he's been Mr. Outdoors man with his beard.

kooky play.

I don't think I've ever seen a squeeze play end up that way.

337 -- Well, L.A. doesn't really have a downtown does it, so what they said needn't be disdainful. Skyscrapers and earthquakes don't go well together.

346 -- L.A. has urban planning? In Canadian high schools, one is taught that Los Angeles is what happens in the absence of urban planning -- a whole lot of urban sprawl.

a suicide bunt triple. well, not really, but it's odd.

It worked, but, next time, feel free to not run directly into the tag there, Monk.

348. Who misidentified him/herself? I was just curious what that meant. No Giant's fan here!!

Gameday wont pick up that play.
But that was a horrible call by Little, horrible throw to 1st by Loduca.

Just bad baseball all around.

Lo Duca got stingy & wanted the double play there.

If only we'd scored just then.

He made contact with that even though it was a pitchout. Nice execution there by Abreu. All that Proven Veteran Leadership is rubbing off on the kids.

368
If L.A. doesn't have a Downtown, I must be working in Brigadoon.

Nice job by Abreu to almost still get that bunt down on the pitchout.

362. it broke ron darling, too.

The pant legs pulled up is always a GREAT look Wilson.

372 JoeyP wishes that the word bunt is never typed on Gameday.

358. Good one.

346
Where's Jacob L? He's going to bring some urban planning smack talk here.

357. Well now I'm jealous.

Nice blooper for the Dodgers.

a duck rbi. good to see a little payback.

And Betemit gets to .200! (19 for 95)

371- One of D4P's friends from the ESPN boards.

380--Not sure why you suicide bunt with Abreu, since he's good at making contact anyways.

Doesnt matter as Betemit has some 'magic'--blooper to center.

Urban planning, better call the Van Buren Boys.

I saw Kemp and Loney smiling and laughing together. They must've learned that from veteran leaders Pierre and Gonzo. What chemistry!

For any of you watching on TV, was that play reminiscent of Furcal's bunt HR against the Giants last year?

That was sweet by Loney (delayed reaction here) - I was on the phone with a friend and watching and trying not to yell out in excitement, not wanting to be rude. I'm also glad Gomez is okay, after he'd smashed into the wall.

i was just looking at the Mets bullpen #'s & there's some guys that really have bad #'s. Guillermo Mota & Scott Schoeneweis just to name a few.

387 You think something's up with Nomar, I smell a Steve Finley situation (like the Angels).

368:

You answered your own question. You can't really build up in earthquake country. You have to build out.

As the replay shows, in the end, Abreu should have been out for being out of the batter's box when he made contact.

Which would have left a runner on 3rd and two outs and the same result.

More specifically, he's up to .200/.352/.411. Betemit's OPS+ has got to be 100 or more now (it was 99 entering today).

I'd like to see Wilson getting the lion's share of starts at 3B.

388 - and he had made pretty solid contact already during that AB. Just saw that replay, man that was a good job by Abreu, considering.

Vin's gearing up for a testicular cancer story.

399 - any particular occasion?

Perhaps I missed it earlier but I'm surprised there's not more joy/shock/talk about Grady sitting Nomar for an extended period. I think many of us wanted it but few of us believed it could happen. At least that's how I felt. Hope some will give Grady credit for making a tough call when he thought it would help. PR and fan worship be darned.

399
Schoeneweis is pitching and he had testicular cancer when he was in college.

118 pitches for Hernandez

After seeing the replay, that was quite a job by Abreu to get a bat on that ball and to have it go fair, even if Loney was dead to right.

Isnt an extended period more than 3 games?

Remember at the beginning of this game when everyone was depressed and thought we were doomed?

Matt Morris trying for a complete game win in San Francisco.

402 - oh, ok.

Gameday must be really broken. No indication that Schoenweis entered the game

401

if we keep on winning i hope Grady rolls with it.

406. doom hasn't left the room yet.

Hmm, maybe you're right, Bob. It didn't look like was out of the box at first but now I think he was. Well, anyway...

401 I was pretty overjoyed and talked a little about it. Maybe it just seemed so logical it was anticlimatic?

Let's go Chad!

Billingsley K/bb ratio is loads better than last year.

39/12 in 33 ip is exceptional.

394- If Nomar gets traded for Edgardo Alfonzo, um, that'll be something.

Come on Bills, let us pick up that hold, and then one for Broxton as well, and then that Sammy save.

401. I was actually just going to say something about that. I'm very surprised they've replaced him with Loney. Unless Nomar asked for time off to help Mia redecorate the living room.

413 What would be a similar type deal?

Nomar for Jeff Weaver?

Gameday is calling strikes out of the zone.

not that he needs it, but nice vote of confidence bringing in Bills vs 3 lefties out of the next 4 batters. Three-inning save coming up.

405. You don't HAVE to look for a way to disagree. There's no rule. How 'bout this: Would you have thought Grady would sit Nomar for more than one day?

..or maybe it's the umpire.

416

i wouldnt mind getting a terry evans type player; who the angels got from the cards for weaver.

Its like Jacksonville with Loney, Martin, Abreu (he came up late in 2005, I believe) and Chad.

406. Isn't that how most Dodger games start out?

It's fun to watch the "Best of the 51's" today.

Billingsley is really something nowadays. How long until he gets a shot at a starting slot?

bluto

Loney being called up came out of nowhere it seemed, at least for me it did.

You realized that the Dodgers have outscored the Mets 5-0 since they showed Jerry on the screen.

376 I had to check the encyclopedia to figure out what Brigadoon was. But thanks anyway Bob for the new wrinkle in my brain.

401. But glad they did, of course. I've been waiting for Loney a long long time...

I'm sure Nomar will be back in there tomorrow. Er, or the next day at the latest. But it seemed clear from Grady Little that Loney will spot Nomar quite often for a stretch.

Gameday says Bills is still 1-2 on Beltran, waiting for pitch 4 of the AB

Here it comes Bob!

425 Doing what he just did is very valuable to the team right now, but if Schmidt goes down, he's the next guy.

419--I doubt it.

I just think its a little ridiculous to give credit to people for doing things they should be doing anyways.

If Little benches Nomar for a week--then yeah I'll be surprised. 3 games--eh, it could be matchups, could be Nomar needs a break since he's played like every game of the year without many off-days.

the attempt to bunt for a base hit . . . again. some bad habits die very hard.

and here it is...testicular cancer.

428
Yeah, but do you know the definition of a "vinegaroon?"

Brigadoon also happens to be one of my dad's favorite musicals, for those of you keeping track of that sort of thing. Father's Day trivia.

Gameday's broken.

I hate to sound like a 12 year old girl, but "OMG! Pierre's on base again!"

Break up Juan Pierre.
2 walks and a single----in the same game!

Can't they move Nomar to, I don't know, bench coach? He's good with people. And he could pinch hit sometimes.

Nomar's got a special barbecue thing coming up, as per Dodgers.com, so I don't think he's going anywhere. Can't deprive the people of their BBQ.

perusing the boxscore . . . the mets don't seem to have a walk tonight.

Only I can say Gameday is broken. :)
vr, Xei

My dad had testicular cancer when I was a kid. He ended up OK.

Pancreatic cancer.
Not so OK.

This reminds me of that time I went bowling with some friends and one guy broke the lane. The pins flew funny, and the pinsetter got jammed. They turned the lane off and it was like 15 minutes before we got a different lane.

Remember Mota, Quantrill, and...I can't say his name.

Looked like the batter may have stepped out of the batters box when he bunted (squeeze play). I didn't have the benefit of a seventh instant replay though. vr, Xei

445 - My apologies. How about this:

Gameday will be going on the disabled list, and ESPN gamecast will be called up from vegas.

Since Gameday won't tell me, what happened with Billingsley vs. Beltran? Dare I hope a strikeout?

whoa. he tagged on a fly to the warning track in center?

Ground out to 1st base.

Pierre's trying to get on my good side. The little dickens.

Good hustle (because he was safe). That was awfully close.

Grounder to first, Loney bobbled it but recovered to toss him out.

3-1

bluto!

PS: Canuck, I had quite the ordeal trying to get to Winnipeg past weekend

Enter CBS. says Mota's in now.

How loud's the booing?

456
This leaves out the more important question:

Why in the world did you need to go to Winnipeg?

Calm yourself peppy. You're not that fast and we can't afford for you to make an out that way.

457
I didn't notice much booing. I think there is a nascent "Loooo" for Luis Gonzalez.

456 -- Why would you have trouble getting to Winnipeg?

This game is killing Gameday.

Was born there actually. Had a family event (wedding.) Somehow I have a romantisized version of the city. That it's not flat, boring and bereft of good food.

Willy Randolph is doing his best Jim Tracy impersonation. 4 batters, 3 pitchers so far this inning.

457. I don't recall any booing. No one remembers him, maybe. He was overshadowed by this other closer guy with funny glasses. Who broke my heart.

Feliz Navidad!

Air Canada wasn't cooperating, or rather their machinery wasn't. I was travelling with my 2 YO, and Air Canada wanted us to spend the night in Calgary.

I passed on the opportunity, although in my younger years I would have lived it up...

Nice to see that both Matty and James have had decent games since their call ups.

Light my fire - not.

465 - I would have thought with the steroid suspension and being on the stuff while he played us in the division series might have done something. Go figure.

I agree with Branch. Garciaparra sitting three days in a row, if that happens, is definitely news.

I believe 9/25 of the roster is age 25 and under now. That's also newsworthy.

Willie, you're killing me! I still have work to do tonight.

Billingsley out after 12 pitches?

471 Tony J. said that it was a possibility.

469. Wow. Dating yourself there!

473 Its the plan. Like Jim Tracy is back in the dugout.

470

Dodger fans don't put that much thought in to their booing. That would require people to have done some studying.

Last year, a guy behind me at a game mocked Kenny Lofton by saying "Thanks Cleveland, for sending us this bum!"

I was going to turn around and tell him all the other teams Lofton had played on since he was on Cleveland, but I didn't have enough time.

after a quick rehab, Gameday will be reactivated. CBS Sportsline will be designated for assignment.

470. I forgot about that...something else I've blocked out in Dodger history.

Hey, Kady, how are the cookies doin'?

memories of the broxplosion are still too recent for me to not cringe just a little bit right now.

Would be nice if Broxton got back in form with this trio coming up.

475. No. It's called K-Earth 101 on your FM radio dial.

Wicked, wicked pitch from Broxton. After the 98 mph fastball, the nasty curve is unhittable.

I thought they were supposed to be "stretching" Billingsley out. I really don't get removing him when he's dominant like tonight. He should go right till then end, or until he allows a baserunner at the very least.

477. Was he waving a flag?
vr, Xei

475 Reminds me of a joke I learned in Cub Scouts.

A young boy comes home after going to his first baseball game and he tell's his father about it.

The father asks, how was the game, and the son says very exciting, our team won on a home run. The father says did you get something to eat, the boy says yes I had a hotdog and a soda. The father then asks how was your seat. The boy says it was long climb to get to his seat and he was in the last row but right before the game, everyone in the stands turned and looked at me and said "Jose can you see?"

I will now do my 10:00 clock show in the lounge, two drink minimum.

481. Looks like it's the Mets who will be cringing tonight.
Can you imagine a Broxplosion? Would take weeks to clean up.

Broxton for now looks more conferrable pitching the 8th, his time will come though.

485 grady is very much a "formula manager"; the formula says with a 3 run lead or less, you put in your setup guy in the 8th, and your closer in the ninth.

487 Funnier than Vin trying to channel Mort Sahl earlier.

99 mph on that last pitch.

480. Hi BruceR - too good, actually. I've eaten 5. I think. Maybe more. Next time I think I'll do a pie. Apple or berry. I look forward to the advice it will elicit from the DT homeys.

Vin: "Of course for big leaguers it's not the speed, it's the movement."

Not sure about that. 97mph is enough to do the job, with or without movement.

488 - we can only hope. LA excels at unnecessary drama lately, though.

and you would have to use a wet and dry vac to clean up a broxplosion.

487. I like Vinny's joke better. =)

485 He's the 6th-7th inning guy, that's it for right now. There is no plan to stretch him out unless something happens to a starter. Also Kuo is a 5-6 inning guy, so they want him available for tomorrow.

481. I missed that thank god. I'm sure I'd harbor profound resentment.

Pauly looking at his protective albow patting was pretty comical right now.

497 You are correct.

481 - it may have been the most painful thing I have seen in several years.

488 And Mark Grace would be right there talking about how BIG that spill is, too.

Do you think LoDuca is jealous of Martin? Like a jilted wife. Maybe he says mean things to him when he's at the plate.

Go Baby Elvis!

That was a nice pitch.

Sickness.

that umpire hesitates before he calls a strike. I wonder if he is trying to be dramatic. that could cause problems in certain situations.

That was a beautiful pitch. Back to the bench, Paulie.

9 in a row retired by Dodger pitching.

503 - Like a jilted wife.

Like Sonia?

504 You are good with the nicknames.

Pies are my nemisis like Lex Luthor, I can make cheesecakes but not pies.

lol at gameday. after fouling off four pitches LoDuca takes one right down the pipe.

503 naw, at this point they probably have a catcher camaraderie going on. At least that's what it looked like when they were talking at the plate last time.

Can we revisit whether or not Broxton has the chops to close, now? Not saying he should, just saying he could. And how.

Sammy Saito, let's see how he does tonight.

514 I think he just needs to show them his second pitch now and then, sometimes he gets locked on throwing it 100 mph.

510. Ha ha. Yes, like that. Except he's not naked on the Internet.

this ump isn't maximum effort

507. I noticed that earlier too.

We almost got a Loney bomb!

517 - You never know, actually.

But yeah. Loney got that one out to the warning track.

511. You need a good recipe for the dough. Martha has one. You make it in the food processor. And then use wax paper to roll it out. Easy as...well, pie.

The dissemination of Loney bombs has been strictly regulated by several arms treaties signed between the US, Russia, and the Pacific Coast League.

Does Larry Poncino look strangely like Leslie Nielsen?

And so the Bison won't be getting an AB tonight.

Hopefully Saito gets them 1-2-3 in the 9th. You dont want it to cycle back up to the top of the Mets order.

520 Speaking of bombs, Brian Dohn says Jrue is a lock for UCLA while Darrell Scott will still have to be convinced that he will not be stuck behind all the RBs at USC to go to UCLA.

514. I think he's close to being ready. I agree that he needs to not fall in love with his fastball and could stand to develop a change. But he can bring it and he has the temperament for it. Get around Brox and you'll notice four things: He has a southern drawl, he's very young, he's very very quiet and just really big. I'm glad he's got another year to mature.

513. I like to think Paulie is bitter. I don't know why. I just do.

Um, the Metsblog needs a list of comments commandments similar to the one here on DT.

saitos K/bb ratio is disgusting.

528 - I can imagine what conversations between him and Grady Little sound like . . .

Lenny Harris is now coaching for the Nationals.

Wow, 92 wins in a row since 2004 when leading after 8 innings. Really? Are we that good? Of course, we do have a history with exceptional closers...

531 And Nate means that in the nicest way possible.

The Mets totally thought they were going to walk all over us tonight.

527
How many running backs does USC have on scholarship? Is Pete Carroll's plan to have each one carry the ball just once per game to keep them fresh?

532. Probably mostly like the sound of the air conditioner in the room.

527
I expect Jrue to be a Bruin and I expect to see Scott in the SEC.

Old Friend Alert!

It was about a year ago that he got DFAed, its dangerous to be a Vet 4th/5th OF with Ned in charge.

538. LOL

This thread is averaging 112 comments per hour. That's a lot.

whew. dramaless.

Only 40,4000 for a giveaway game, seems a little low but it is a Monday and they lost 5 out of 6.

you UCLA guys, did you see Jeff Withey changed his mind on louisville? apparently its between arizona and UCLA.

543
That's because we were promised cookies.

Can I say WE WIN? Greg isn't here...

The fruits of victory. How sweet it is.

I wonder how much Saito will celebrate if he ever closes a playoff game?

Will he be doing the moon-walk? Throw his glove up in the air?

Now that is a 7th, 8th, and 9th that we have come to expect.

546 The UCLA recruiting guys seem to think that he is going to Arizona.

mmmmm, cookies . . .

Ahhh, the Saito smile. It's the best tonic to soothe anyone's nerves or cure what ails ya. Wish they could bottle it.

I don't recall (small sample size I know) seeing Loney as happy as he looked after the game.

543. Is that like a pitch count? Are we in danger of overworking our fingers typing?

543 There's a speed limit here ??? ;)

Thank god for Sammy and for the Dodgers. The beginnings of a team are on the field now!

All these commercials act like computer keyboards are still super loud.

554 - Maybe Loney just saw a piece of that Saito smile.

534 The Dodgers only have 2 wins in a row when leading after 8 innings (tonight and Friday).

They lost last Thursday, leading 5-1 in San Diego heading into the 9th. There was a comment or two about it here.

547. If only Google or Microsoft would develop a way of transporting cookies through cyberspace. I mean, we can send a man to the moon...

Lenny Harris is now coaching for the Nationals.

yeah, he wears glasses & everything.

552

so do the arizona recruiting guys :)

his trainer is trent suzuki, whos currently the trainer for budinger and some other wildcats.

550 How about Game 7 (tm) ?!!!

Is Gameday correct? Gotay on 3 strikes looking?

557. I totally agree. But will Nomar be back tomorrow? No happy Loney?

554. Loney knows the spread in a major league locker room beats the heck out of Denny's.

I mean Monk.

Withey's recruitment is being run by Trent Suzuki, which means he will be a Wildcat. Suzuki even posts on GOAZCATS.com.

569

yea i know, he is CombatCoach on there. I read the rivals board but i never post.

if we get Withey, arizona's 2008 class rivals UCLA, probably even a bit better :).

Btw, I know this isn't ScreenJam but thought I'd plug a DVD I watched before the game, Days of Glory. Which is about Algerians who fought for France in WWII. Really good. Oscar nominated. If you haven't seen it already, it's out tomorrow.

Okay, I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow's game. Enjoy those cookies, Kady. Night all.

From a Mets blog after Saito struck out Gotay....

"Wow, this is special. I always wondered what it would look like if I batted in a Major League game.

Ruben Gotay just showed me."

The Mets have high expectations after a first third that was basically like having a balls hit in play average of .700 .

567 Seriously - that's exactly what that smile and high five-leap looked like. "I don't have to eat at the Memphis Appleby's again for a long time, and pay out of pocket. High five!"

561 Yes we can send a man to the moon but keep in mind he needed a space ship.

And there announcers, although not awful, showed that certain cockiness.

572. Thanks Underdog. I'll check out that movie...WWII buff here...

571
If we get Jrue, we would have 4 top 30 recruits. Most likely the number 1 recruiting class in the country.

576. So...a rocket ship is all we need. A virtual cookie rocket...

Hope tomorrow night is as much fun--and I hope Loney is at first base. And Pierre walks and steals, walks and steals...

555, 556 - I was just in awe, that's all.

And thanks Jon for providing the community where baking tips, random sitcom references and yes, Dodger baseball can be enjoyed by all.

579 UCLA is getting Jrue. It just hasn't been announced. He was in Westwood recently hanging with the team, apparently having a great time.

I've just finished a two-year grad program at UCLA where the team was in the Final Four each spring, yet I feel like I'm missing out by not being a student for the Kevin Love and Jrue Holiday seasons. What a great time for Bruin basketball.

I will have high hopes now for tomorrow night. I had envisioned us getting swept by the Mets and Angels in this time of transition, but maybe the new force can grow even faster than I envisioned. I like to hope so. But no shame in the new team whatever.

581. Yes, thanks, Jon. This is a great site. G'night!

487. 475 Reminds me of a joke I learned in Cub Scouts.

I heard that joke over 40 years ago. :-) Only then it was a young man named Jose who was visiting Dodger Stadium from Mexico.

Since May 1, Betemit's OPS is close to 1.100. Only about 60 PAs, but pretty impressive. In that span he has 11 walks, eight extra-base hits and 10 RBI.

What a gorgeous swing by Loney on that triple. Similar to Adrian Gonzalez.

Have enjoyed this site tremendously and will continue to do so.
Chocolate Chip Cookie tip;
When you mix in the flour, don't use a mixer. Slowly turn the flower in with a spatula. This will avoid "glutenizing" (I believe that was the term the baker told me)
the dough, thus avoiding that "doughy" taste.
Just trust me on this one, don't use the mixer, slowly mix in the flower.
btw- no longer in San Diego, but proudly wearing my DT t-shirt in Omaha, Nebraska.

Perhaps lost in the spate of promotions is how much better the defense is or should be. I see it going from a below-average defense to one that's slightly better than average and a lot more versatile.

Loney should be better than Nomar. Abreu covers a lot more ground than Kent. When Kemp and Ethier are the corner OFs, that's another upgrade.

What's more, the veterans will be fresher, which should translate into a little more mobility when they're out there. Both Kent and Nomar were showing some fatigue. And whether Pierre admits it or not, breathers should keep his legs fresh.

Okay, sounds like a cookie bakeoff needs to be scheduled.

Nate, Hallgren says in tonight's notes that he expects to sign the Dodger's top 5 picks though Blair will be the toughest to sign, Withrow will be in LA on Friday for a physical and will be at the game on Friday night, probably signed for just over a million.

572: Days of Glory is fantastic. I saw it at the Santa Barbara Film Fest and couldnt stop raving about it. I liked it more than Lives of Others, though not as much as Pan's.

Is it just me or is anyone else worried they are going to see PAYPAL*SHIFTYJ on their credit card statement and forget what that means... I can't wait for 7/21!

591

im not really worried about anyone else that should sign besides blair. Withrow and Blair are pretty comparable talent, they were even rated 29 and 33 on my big board. But im going to be a skeptic until they announce his signing.

to add, i think they probably called blair up before they picked him asking him his price range.

Okay, I was completely wrong about Gonzo. He is now my favorite Dodger. Even if he tanks the rest of the year, he has made me eat crow.

"Its more of a Shelbyville idea."

Another great Simpsons episode.

Of course Matt Groening's favorite line in the Simpsons is in this episode also:

"I call the big one Bitey."

596 Marge vs. The Monorail is my favorite episode of all time. Written by Conan O'Brien, no less.

My friend, a Mets fan, stumbled onto game tickets tonight, so I got to go to my second game in two days! Whereas my time with BH was great, I thought the crowd tonight was downright embarrassing. "Mets Suck" "LoDuca Sucks" etc. And it wasn't just two or three people. They were heckling random Mets fans so mercilessly, I cheered after Delgado got a hit, just out of frustration. With the exception of any pavilion trip, I can't remember crowds being this bad at the stadium. It really bummed me out.

But Loney made me happy! And a certain CF walked and stole a base. And the Dodgers won a game I attended...Amazing.

We win!

So is Meloan and Abreu enough to get Dunn from the Reds? His price tag can't be that high since he'll basically be a rental (although the Reds might be able to get more at the deadline next year). We're not giving up Billingsley, Kemp, or Kershaw and the Reds don't really need LaRoche, so it makes sense to give them a future closer and a possible future SS/2B. The only problem would be Nomar, but if management's willing to deal him there are probably teams who would love to buy low on him.

Mono... D'oh!
My favorite as well. Love the Nimoy cameo, too.

So is it time to ask Josh Rawitch to post a plea for civility... for the stadium? Seems like it's almost come to that. Keep hearing about things like this more and more. Maybe you could expand Dodger Thoughts day to include several thousand more DTers, just, you know, to class up the joint.

Sigh. Unless the Dodgers can petition the league to allow them to play with a DH, there's nowhere for Dunn to play. He's a horrible defender, and can't even play firstbase. I'm much happier if the Dodgers don't make a move at all rather than trade youngsters away for a guy with power but little else to offer to a team already trying to improve its defense.

you UCLA guys, did you see Jeff Withey changed his mind on louisville? apparently its between arizona and UCLA.
I think he is most likely going to Arizona. Lute seems to have a lot of connections in San Diego. Withey's trainer went to UCLA, but has connections at Arizona. Withey eliminated UCLA early in the game before deciding on Louisville. I believe that Arizona was one of his top choices.

Despite all of the talent, Arizona has been one of the biggest underachievers in college basketball. For the past 5 years, Lute has done a very poor job of developing talent. Whose to say that Withey won't be the next Kirk Walters. Walters was top recruit coming out of high school and he's done nothing in college.

Mustafa Shakur, Fendi Onobun, J.P. Prince, Jawann McClellan - none of these guys developed into the types of players that they were projected to be. Some didn't get the playing time to prove it. Lute's strategy of accumulating as much talent as possible is not a good one for college basketball. He is not looking for guys who can fit in his system. He's more concerned about whether they are top ranked recruits. Ben Howland on the other hand, is finding guys who can fit in his system.

if we get Withey, arizona's 2008 class rivals UCLA, probably even a bit better :).
Brandon Jennings is studly, but if UCLA gets Jrue Holiday – they'd have the best class in the country, by far.

Too bad Oregon can't recruit for their life in basketball.

600 Power and a very good on-base percentage, something that would fit perfectly in the middle of our line-up. Wouldn't it be nice to have:

Furcal
Martin
Gonzo
Dunn
Kent
Ethier/Kemp
Abreu/Betemit
Pierre

That's assuming that Pierre gets permanently banished to the 8 spot and management starts taking advice from me about the rest of the line-up :)

601 I'm not worried about kids that don't want to play for UCLA. At this point, I don't want kids that don't want to play at UCLA.

Top 15 recruiting classes have gotten us this far. Top 5-10 classes...Well, sky's the limit with this coach.

601 Kirk Walters was a top recruit? I thought I remembered him being another one of Lute's big man projects. I agree with you on Shakur and McClellan, but neither Onubon or Prince were exepected to be stars. In general I do agree with the assessment of Lute going with talent over system, but what're you supposed to do when so many good players want to play for you?

Dunn is a terrible firstbaseman. I'd rather have Loney and Garciaparra platooning. I mean, if it didn't take that much to acquire him, maybe, but I don't get as excited about it.

Meanwhile, since someone asked earlier whether LoDuca felt any animosity towards Martin, the answer is clearly no. From the Dodgers.com notes: ""He's done everything right. I wasn't as talented as Russell at his age, I didn't have the catching skills," said Lo Duca, who reached the Major Leagues at age 26, compared to 23 for Martin. "He's so polished behind the plate. Pitchers are comfortable throwing to him, he understands the game and he's an unbelievable offensive player.

"I just told him to get his rest, take your days off. He reminds me of myself, he doesn't want to take time off, neither did I. You get older, you realize it pays off." "

601 Why can't Oregon recruit? Is it Kent? The campus is gorgeous and the school is top-notch and the fans care and Eugene is a nice place.

I know Kent has had "issues" but Oregon should be able to grab the occasional stud or two.

I've found the fan behavior much better this year then in recent years. I haven't had one confrontation this year and rarely do I see a fight anymore. The LAPD presence is huge and they seem to get to the problem area's very quickly now. I think someone might have learned how to use this wireless technology called a "walkie talkie".

The "input team name" sucks chants still happen but the swearing is down, drunken louts are fewer and all in all I'm having more fun this year then I've had in a while. Unless I've just gotten used to everything and it just seems better but really isn't. I did talk to my usher about it tonight and he seemed to think the behavior was better. And my seats in are in the area that most of you would never sit.

Why would La Duca be bitter? He's got a great contract playing on the team in front of the biggest stage in baseball for the NL and the odds on favorite to get to the World Series. Life is good if your Paul La Duca.

606- I honestly have no idea, maybe I'll find out when I go up there next year.

They have no problem stealing recruits from UCLA in football. I have a friend on a certain Pac 10 football team and he said that Oregon has the nicest facilities he's ever seen.

I guess Oregon is more of a football school, but they should be able to get some decent basketball players. Romar has done a tremendous job up at Washington for the past 3 years in terms of recruiting, despite not having a lot of success on the court. Oregon has made it to the Elite 8, two of the past 5? years and what do they have to show for it? Kamyron Brown, Joevan Catron, Drew Viney - nice role players, but hardly studs. Maybe it is Ernie Kent. I've read in the papers that if Kent is fired, Mark Few (former Oregon grad) would jump at the job. Ultimately, it will be up to Uncle Phil whether Kent stays or not.

Having one of the oldest arenas in the country probably doesn't help Oregon with recruiting.

I have to give some credit to Pierre for his solid performance tonight. He really worked the count in his plate appearances. He stole a base, drew two walks, talked up on a deep flyball, and got a good read on a ball that looked like it might split the gap. Not that I expect him to have a game like this every night, but it shouldn't be too much to ask for at the very minimum, a few quality at bats a night.

607 You obviously have more personal experience than I have the past few years, so I defer to your assessment. But tonight, against the Mets, it stunk. It wasn't even quality heckling. Nothing funny or original. It was just a series of "Sucks" chants directed at New York, the Mets, and certain players. Mets fans were harassed. Players were called p---ies and what not. Granted, when the police or ushers made the rounds, it died down. When they left, it started again. A young female usher took a beach ball. Somebody called her a bi...Well, you know.

I wonder what type of person does that and doesn't realize how much they're being judged. Maybe they don't care. Maybe they're too dumb to know better.

Maybe they should be hit by a truck on the way out.

Ahhh lots of space here at the end of the post...for pix (and apparently movies also) from tonight's Phils/ChiSox game!

http://community.webshots.com/user/das411phils07

and yes there are plenty of everybody's favorite flyin' Hawaiian...

Oregon does not even go after top talent it seems. Washington and Gonzaga's recruiting has really hurt Oregon.

611 Where were your seats?

On a more random note, I finally got to see the Simpsons softball episode tonight which is interesting because every time we initiated pledges in my fraternity we had a night where we could quiz them on anything and just about every time someone asked what the various ailments of the players were. Between that and having an mp3 of the song they have during the credits I basically knew how the episode went, but it was nice to finally see everything play out visually.

>>> Former first-round draft pick Greg Miller, demoted from triple-A Las Vegas so he could remedy his wildness, struggled in his first effort at double-A Jacksonville, walking four of five batters he faced and throwing a wild pitch with the bases loaded … <<<

http://tinyurl.com/2cqmqq

615

Siiiiigh.

611 Our seats were nails. Infield reserve, section 11. Really close to where BH and I sat (In fact, I stopped by BH's seats to say hi...Couldn't find him). So many nice people around, and a few hooligans, buffoons, and nightmares.

Again, I'm totally open to the possibility that it was just a bad night with a select few morons. It just feeds into the things I've heard about the stadium these past couple years. ToyCannon says it's gotten better, and he's been to more games than I, so maybe I'm wrong. It didn't destroy my experience or anything...It was just really disappointing.

On the plus side, the usher near our seats was outstanding, so we got to bird dog her for six or seven innings.

Never heard the term bird dog her before.

617 Interesting. So far I've been to four games this year:

1. Jackie Robinson Night vs. the Padres (April 15th) - sat behind home plate in the loge, everything was very pleasant except for the guys sitting in front of us who decided to rail on the US when they sang "God Bless America" during the 7th inning stretch

2. Nomar bobblehad night vs. the Giants (April 26th) - sat in the outer reserve, but got to the game really late because of traffic; either way, this was the most unpleasant outing mostly because my seats were crappy and we were getting our butts kicked

3. May 16th vs. the Cardinals - sat in the all-you-can-eat RF pavillion and didn't really have any problems except for possibly some excessive heckling of the Cardinal fans in the area

4. May 27th vs. the Cubs - sat in the Loge about halfway down the 3rd base side and again didn't have any problems

Seems like outer reserve is where I've had the most complaints over the years due to excessive heckling and the occasional fight. Field level close to the foul poles can be rough too, but other than that it seems that things are fairly hunky-dory in Chavez Ravine.

618 As in she was hot?

621

That is what I assumed. They eye stalked her.

You kids today...You could take a page from the Rat Pack. This dame was the cat's pajamas.

Yes, she was pretty. And we looked at her. She was a bird, and we bird dogged.

Walters was top recruit coming out of high school and he's done nothing in college.

walters was a 3 star recruit coming. he doesnt count as a big time big man. Jawanns career has been derailed by injuries. he was money his freshmen year and looked like he was going to be great but knee injuries...sigh.

Shakur sucks, ill give you that. hes been a flat out bust. JP Prince never fit in. i still have high hopes for Onobun so hopefully he gets on the court his junior year next year. Last year they underachieved big time but the progression of budinger and hill gives makes me optimistic they can be alot better next year.

The hiring of O'Neil as assistant coach is probably the biggest reason why I would be optimistic if I were a Wildcat fan.

How well Bayless does sharing the ball, will be the biggest determining factor in Arizona's season.

623

It's Sinatra's world. She just lives here.

626 Listen up, tough guy. There are women, and there are birds. There is distasteful ogling of women, and there is bird dogging a dame with gams like the Mona Lisa. The uncouth among us treat women like objects. The gentlemen among us bird dog a broad with the best of intentions. It's all about class, baby. We bird dog because we love.

I think I watch too many Sinatra movies. You be the judge.

Haha, I was just quoting a song by Helmet called "Sinatra".

629 I just wanted an excuse to talk like an old timey 1950's person.

Gams, dames, broads, class, birds. It's funny because it's old!

Bart: Barbershop? That ain't been popular since aught six, dagnab it.
Homer: Bart, what did I tell you?
Bart: No talking like a grizzled 1890s prospector...consarn it.

By the by, the area around Los Feliz, NoHo, and Silverlake is ultra-hip. A friend of mine moved there to work at LA Children's Hospital, and wow...Boutiques and everything. I guess I missed the part where that neighborhood became Neo-Yuppie heaven. It was always a spot for the young, but it seems like a real upwardly mobile hot-spot.

I guess I missed so much in my years away from SoCal.

Interesting piece in the LAT on Mike Marshall's unorthodox pitching academy:

http://tinyurl.com/3xy5kl

WWSH

Why can't Oregon recruit? Is it Kent? The campus is gorgeous and the school is top-notch and the fans care and Eugene is a nice place.

And yet, Bob won't go there. It just doesn't make sense.

Having one of the oldest arenas in the country probably doesn't help Oregon with recruiting

This is a common rationale, though a sad one. As a fan, it doesn't get much better than Mac Court. Plus, I think that once players actually play there, they like it more than they think they will when they're just visiting the school. It's too bad that a bunch of high schoolers with bad taste who don't know what they're talking about will probably be enough to convince the school to abandon what should be a source of pride.

It also doesn't help Oregon recruiting to have UCLA, Arizona, and Stanford in the same conference. If you're a good enough player to get offers from them, why choose Oregon instead?

New post up top.

I'm with several people here; A trade for Dunn ain't the best thing. Can't remember how his range was (if he were to play outfield) but unless the Reds drank enough Kool-Aid to take Nomar and Pierre, it's not the best move. The last thing I'd want to see is any more youngsters ditched for aging veterans. Let's not forget: Dunn is a stirkeout a minute... not sure how he'd even fit in with the rest of the lineup.