Have I underestimated him this year?

Too soon to tell but I'm looking forward to finding out.

Loney, Kemp, Ethier, Betemit, LaRoche... and those are just the hitters! And we got more coming. And have I mentioned the pitching?

I haven't been this excited in a long while but, again, I'm up because we beat the Giants.

I am cool with you know who (acceptance again) and Kemp and Ethier to start next year.

http://slashdot.org/articles/07/07/12/1236231.shtml

I want to watch 1,500 HDTV channels at once!

>>> Hong-Chih Kuo, who is on the disabled list because of a sore elbow, played catch for the third day in a row Friday.... <<<

http://tinyurl.com/2bw7kz

From my vantage point, it looked like the air was filled with fog in that inning, and that those bloop hits might have been lazy fly outs on another night. It seems like they just went up, got caught in the fog, and fell just in front of the fielders. Ethier's bases-clearing double was exciting, though. It was as if Randy Winn was tired of missing those bloops and played a bit shallow, and then couldn't catch up as Ethier's hit sailed over his head!

I had one of those guys sitting behind me who was describing every nuance of baseball to his company. At one point he claimed that Nomar is a sure Hall of Famer while Jeff Kent isn't quite good enough to be inducted.

Martin's hits were smoked tonight. And Loney hits everything, everywhere, hard.

I'm back. Sakes alive, that was fun. Did I just say "sakes alive"? I don't care, I'm just giddy from the game, which basically erased the sour taste of having watched the last game the Dodgers lost in SF, the last game I saw in person, the infamous Baez meltdown game. Anyway, that's all gone now.

"Treadmill to Oblivion" indeed.

Brent, I hope that wasn't you I saw booted out of the game in handcuffs. ;-) Paul and I went to the game together and saw a Dodger fan taken away to much delight of the Giants fans - who were much more into that incident than any of the action on the field at that point. (This was when Loney singled and then was thrown out trying to steal, a play I barely saw because too many Giants fans were standing up to watch the thing in the crowd.) Anyway, our section was very full of Dodgers fans, which was awesome, less so for the pained Giants fans in the area.

After Barry got his last at bat - and his second double play (hooray! one of many wonderful things about tonight - the usual mass exodus of fans left. And that's when it was still 3-1. Sad, sad.

Brent, Paul and I debated whether it would be better for the Dodgers to keep adding runs in that late inning or stop so we could see Saito pitch, too. That would have been fun, but we decided routing the Giants was much more important.

Billingsley looked really good for the most part, after some early inning erraticness (and some of the called balls looked pretty close, at least from my vantage point). Also, the Giants geriatric lineup looked weak and unthreatening. I feel bad for Matt Cain, I really do - 10 losses? Are you kidding me?

Anyway, most of the Dodgers and Giants fans were well behaved, but there was definitely some rowdiness as more beer flowed through the veins of those already a bit belligerent.

Loney made two sweet plays with the glove - and one Buckneresque moment, too. I want to see the replay of the one diving grab because it happened so fast in front of me.

So my fears that I'm a jinx are at least temporarily over. Paul, myself and Icaros all survived and enjoyed the game immensely.

13 Icaros, welcome back. We're not jinxes!

15 Yes, and for a moment I had the mean thought of - "hmm, maybe he can go on the DL for 15 days, rest up, force the Dodgers to play Betemit." Of course, then Betemit got an at bat and made a terrible out on one pitch.

Btw, I took a few pictures but don't know how well they came out yet, my zoom wasn't working too great tonight.

Yes, I definitely noticed that from my seats looking right down into the dugout (from about 1000 feet up).

He was grabbing his rib cage. It's time for him to fess up. This is getting ridiculous.

In fact, after our phone call, the Dodgers exploded. We're the opposite of jinxes!

Wish I could go tomorrow, too.

Well, I'm still buzzing from the game but also need to go to bed, so, night all!

That is all.

I have an alibi in place.

http://tinyurl.com/yoljeb

"If the Twins made Santana available, they could target elite prospects from pitching-hungry contenders such as the Mets, Dodgers and Diamondbacks, not to mention — ahem — the Red Sox and Yankees.

Imagine if the Twins could land a package that started with the Diamondbacks' Justin Upton or Dodgers' Matt Kemp, potential long-term replacements for Torii Hunter in center field."

I, too, was disappointed that the Giant fans all left after Barry hit into that second double play with the score 3-1. It is almost as if they acknowledge that there's nothing for them to watch except Barry Bonds' home run totals. If it went to the bottom of the ninth with that score and they got a couple of runners on, wouldn't they want to be cheering their team on?

By the time Vizquel singled with two out in the ninth, I'd say about 90% of the seats around me were empty.

Can we please stop with the "trade Ethier" campaign?

There is no Trade Ethier campaign, but the Bench Nomar and Pierre campaigns have been marching from county to county all season.

I myself am crossing my fingers that Wolf or Kuo can get healthy quickly and prove something before the deadline so Ned doesn't have to do anything.

Let's not turn ourselves into the those two AL teams of which I will not speak.

Unfortunately, it appears unlikely that either of them will be able to prove anything before the trading deadline.

>>> Wolf healing slowly: Wolf, who received an injection July 5, still has some inflammation from a shoulder impingement and hasn't thrown since a July 3 start against Atlanta. He won't even begin tossing for several more days, so he's unlikely to start a Major League game for weeks. <<<

### Hong-Chih Kuo, disabled with a sore elbow, has resumed tossing but he's weeks away from competitive action. ###

http://tinyurl.com/3cwnb9

This could be one of those times where you have to include someone like Hu - not advocating it mind you, I enjoy the heck out of that guy - but he could be at his highest, hottest value right now, who knows.

Adding Johan Santana, now, that would be hard to turn down. Can you imagine a rotation of Santana, Penny, Lowe, Billingsley, Wolf/Kuo? And maybe someday Jason Schmidt, too..?

Dreaming...

I'm not sure which is the better way to go. I think they need a true power hitter, and can't really afford to play single-double guys in power spots. Remember also that Kent is no longer a power treat, and will be replaced soon by a traditional middle infielder.

OTOH, I love watching Ethier and Loney hit AND play defense. I just wish one were a SS or CFer.

Of course, like the rest of you my true fear with trading either guy is that Colletti will settle for some over-the-hill former power hitter in return.

The Padres are holding back Peavy until Tuesday because of forearm tenderness. Young will start today instead in Arizona.

http://tinyurl.com/2jbyxp

I love the kids waiting in the wings like most, but to trade someone that has more or less proven himself in the big show over a few guys waiting in the minors is foolish. A lot of people preach to give the kids a chance, let them slump, but not Ethier. Sell high!

Again, just an observation.

Furcal, SS
Pierre, CF (three straight multi-hit games and five in last six games)
Martin, C (has reached base in eight straight PA and has five consecutive hits)
Kent, 2B
Gonzo, LF
Loney, 1B (eight hits in last 14 at-bats)
Betemit, 3B
Ethier, RF (five hits and six RBI in his last two games)
Lowe, P

This has replaced my other quixotic battles:
1) the double error
2) getting my workplace to appropriately punctuate Veterans Day
3) asking Congress to declare my birthday a Federal holiday so I can always have the day off.

Pitchers I wouldn't mind Ned making a deal for that might be available.

Jennings, Millwood, and Bush

It is a small list.

Perhaps I can call ToyCannon something like ToySanchoPanza now.

2. November 11 is Veterans Day.

Martin had some good pitches to hit last night and smoked them. It also looked like
Garciaparra had a few pitches to hit but didn't.

After getting 3 hits with a HR Ethier finally has some trade value, but now everyone wants to keep him... I always felt that he needs to play a few years b4 you'll know what kind of hitter he will be. Will he flatten out and be a Hollandsworth or continue to improve? He has proven that he is a ML ballplayer.

OK, I've got nothing...

There is no apostrophe.

New York Times discovers that Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent don't like each other.

http://tinyurl.com/2bharn

Remain calm. Remain calm.

How can their be no possession of the day by the veterans? Like the Puerto Ricans said "it is...our day"

An Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U. S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday - - a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as "Armistice Day." Armistice Day was primarily a day set aside to honor veterans of World War I, but in 1954, after World War II had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in the Nation's history; after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting in its place the word "Veterans." With the approval of this legislation (Public Law 380) on June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

Looking for Dodger players on Facebook.

Never argue with a man who has the resources of the world at his fingertips. The time to get him is at DT games when he doesn't have the advantage. I have a whole slew of questions prepared in advance.

This was Mike's time to shine.

Ratas!

Goodnight.

That was an egregious case of false advertising. And you know, you can't spit out peanut butter.

I think I'm going to have chew on some garlic to improve the taste in my mouth.

If I were a Giants fan, I would be very annoyed.

These guys are not at thier best right now...

And so it begins...?

I'd go so far as to say that almond butter is "better than peanut butter".

So I'm breaking it down into discrete sections.

Garret Atkins had a streak of two games last year with 2 GDPs. But no one else from 1993 to today in the NL.

That was one excited Dodgers fan.

Betemit now has a homer in every 13.4 at-bats this year which has to be towards the top in the majors.

Anyone else see how gimpy Furcal was slowing into third?

Fielder
Bonds
Howard
Griffey
Dunn

So the rest for Tomko tomorrow.

Or given a contract extension.

Name one person in this world that thought the Giants would be winning immediately.

Dye
Qualls
Gagne or Otsuka

but for the most part, it's been quiet.

Hey! Maybe the Dodgers should go get Ponson! He's got to be a bargain by now.

Proctor is not a Bronx Banter hero.

But he'll be effective to give us more depth with Tsao, Saeanez, Beimel, Brox, and Saito.

Oh joy. BTW: did you know that Kuo should be spelled Guo...?

Oh yeah! Seventeen years ago, I got married! :)

But in the English language press in Japan uses Jojima.

http://www.japanball.com/news.phtml?id=9987

Why run on 3-0 though?

Very clever. It's been wonderful, thank you.

Coincidence or commentary?

I'm not seeing the attraction here.

Should the Dodgers try to trade for Gagne--if he'll accept a role other than closer? If so, what's he worth now, especially since Boras is his agent and negotiating an extension with Ned might not go so well? Gagne's reportedly not dominating people but is still effective.

I was just thinking about that this morning.

If the season ended today, the NL playoff teams are the Dodgers, Padres, Mets and Brewers. MVP? I'd have to guess Fielder (OPSing 1.005), then Martin.

If the Cubs catch the Brewers (I bet you didn't think you'd be reading that phrase in a serious context after the All-Star game this year!), then maybe Soriano? or possibly Ramirez (but he has fewer PA)?

If the Braves catch the Mets, then Chipper (OPS 1.015); if the Phillies do it, then maybe Ryan Howard or Chase Utley. In fact, Utley might win it even if the Phillies get close but don't make the post-season.

If the Snakes get in, then, uh, that's too depressing to think about...

Next year it will be Martin trying to stave off a whole bunch of Marlins.

I hate you.

Yours,
Andrew Shimmin

I'm just sayin'...

Finding another effective starter may be costly in terms of our youngsters. Save the kids and keep the money to go after Zambrano in the off-season, and work on extensions for Martin, Lowe, and Penny.

Seriously, I give it two weeks if not sooner before a change is made.

I'd like to know what Houston's asking for in exchange for Jennings who is a pretty solid innings-eater.

So read quickly.

Or you can reserve a copy. The waiting list is around 1400. I believe there is a pool of 800 books to fill those.

If we could find another starter for cheap, would be better. But don't see too many out there without costing us a bundle.

The fastall was supposed to be a lot lower than that. A horrific pitch.

well, before today started at least

I think the broadcaster just earned himself a mute button for that.

Also he knows he's using the pen tomorrow and Tuesday so he has to be mindful of that too.

It's that kind of selflessness that can bring a team together.

Furcal is a terrific athlete, but his mediocre fundamentals on defense continue to be a problem.

What day is it today?

3 in the dirt and the game is most likely over.

poor lowe. dammit.

What the ...?

That's good, I guess. I dunno. I got nuthin'.

Right?

The Cycle Alert Working Group issued a white paper on this topic a few years back.

Momentum ebbs and flows so much, so quickly, and so dramatically, it's almost like it doesn't exist.

Lowe did not look good in his final two innings today. It wouldn't have made sense to leave him in.

Given that one wouldn't assume Tsao would give up a grand slam, Little managed this one right. The only question might be only getting five pitches out of Broxton - maybe Little should have gone straight to Saito to get the final four outs.

Of course, there are other issues we have in this game...

Against RHP
Nomar .291/.326/.349 .675
Saenz .213/.278..340 .618

Both are awful, but Saenz is Pierre-like against RHP.

The problem in 1997 is that the three singles were hit by players in ascending order of speed. If Mondesi had hit the first one, he would have come around to score on the third.

Bottom of the 9th, Dodgers Batting, Behind 0-3, Dustin Hermanson facing 5-6-7
Cody Ransom replaces Deivi Cruz playing SS batting 6th
--- 5 S Green Single to LF (Fly Ball)
1-- 6 R Ventura Walk; Green to 2B
O 12- 5 A Cora Strikeout Looking
Jose Hernandez pinch hits for Dave Ross batting 8th
12- 6 J Hernandez Walk; Green to 3B; Ventura to 2B
Hee Seop Choi pinch hits for Yhency Brazoban batting 9th
R 123 7 H Choi Walk; Green Scores; Ventura to 3B; Hernandez to 2B
Jason Christiansen replaces Dustin Hermanson pitching and batting 7th; Antonio Perez pinch runs for Hee Seop Choi batting 9th
R 123 3 C Izturis Reached on E6 (Ground Ball); Ventura Scores; Hernandez to 3B; Perez to 2B
Matt Herges replaces Jason Christiansen pitching and batting 7th
R 123 8 J Werth Single to RF (Line Drive); Hernandez Scores; Perez to 3B; Izturis to 2B
Wayne Franklin replaces Matt Herges pitching and batting 7th
RRRR 123 2 S Finley Home Run (Fly Ball to CF-RF); Perez Scores; Izturis Scores/unER; Werth Scores
7 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB. Giants 3, Dodgers 7.

On 9/18/2002, the Dodgers lost to the Giants 7-4 and Russ Ortiz hit a home run in the game.

I fear Bronx Banter.

:-))

Hendrickson may hit.

BWAhahahahhahahaha!

Giants Suck.

Thank God

of course those weekly paychecks probably remove some of the sting...

Q & A with Clayton Kershaw

http://tinyurl.com/2koaek

The Giant fatalism is so very gratifying. ;)

>>> He hit over .300 in his first three minor league seasons before slumping to .254 at Jacksonville last year, when a "tired eye" obscured his vision at the plate.

"I see the ball better now and I'm more comfortable because last year I couldn't see," Hu said. "Last year my eye was not healthy, but this year it's working so it's better." <<<

http://www.lvrj.com/sports/8507152.html

I just can't figure how Grits can use a guy recently nursing a bad arm and watch him load the bases, then pitch to him knowing a disaster would give the much frustrated Bonds a chance to save the game in the next inning. This when all the pitchers had a weeks rest. Is it me, or was it kind of stupid.

Many pitches on Gameday didn't jive with the broadcast (don't know who is examining that little strike-zone box on each pitch). It's games like this that make my wife think I'm a psycho. Perhaps she's right. Glad to win, obviously. Only real concern is Saito's 2d consecutive blown save. Hope he's not starting a trend. Heard Gagne's for sale.

I like Loney's defense as well, but can you believe he already has 6 errors as a first baseman. It isn't perfect.

However unlikely, some team desperate for starters might be willing to take a chance on him. If so, let's hope Ned's a great salesman---"...Tomko has GREAT STUFF, just needs a fresh start with a new team... not pitching too badly, just down on his luck..." C'mon, Ned!

We can hope. I'd love to see Tomko do well, but now no one has any confidence in him... including him.

or is it just another fluke that baseball throws at us from time to time?

I still don't understand the talk about needing a setup man. Until you try Meloan why would you trade for one? Seems to me we need someone in the rotation much more then we need a setup man.

I would agree on giving Meloan a callup to strengthen the pen if an available starter is not available.

Not only do we not need to make a trade, we really need to NOT make a trade. Wolf is going to return before the trade deadline, and whether he is good or bad, he IS going to pitch. Kuo will probably be ready by then too, and Hendrickson is doing well of late. I guarantee that if we trade for another starter, it is just because Little and Colletti are hankering to stick Billingsley back in the bullpen.

And what the heck do we need another reliever for? To pitch the seventh inning? Seanez isn't good enough for that? Notwithstanding what happened today, Tsao is good enough for that too, and Meloan is hanging around Jacksonville waiting for a call to the show.

I reiterate what I have said before about Colletti: the man makes trades because he clearly has a deep-rooted psychological need to make "busy work" for himself. Ned needs to "do" something, to feel like he is contributing. And I will say again that I want a conservative GM, and again I will quote John Stuart Mill, who said that for conservative purposes it is sufficient to sit and think, and usually just to sit.

Pads look like they are swinging for the fences. Gonzales almost hit it out to dead center.

After watching this game, I come back to one moment:

Winn drives the ball off his foot, and then takes a heck of a long time to get back into the box. I'm thinking this whole time: I wonder if he's taking longer than he has to in order to get Tsao to think about his next pitch more, and to cool off enough to make a mistake. I'm thinking: maybe Russell should have Tsao throw a couple while waiting out this delay, just to keep Tsao's arm sharp.

Next thing we see, Winn blasts a mistake pitch for a granny, and Broxton is in too late.

Feh.

Also, Bonds sent it to extras with his stolen base. Man.

Boras is going to get A-Rod to do something embarrassing. Even beyond the present situation!

And he can tell us stories about Yogi Berra!

.405.439.898 MK
.232.245.508 JP
.333.405.936 LG
.322.365.840 AE

http://www.answers.com/side-wheeler&r=67

http://tinyurl.com/2ny5z9

And I too like Hoffman, even if he never has a chance as a Dodger, because I don't see why he would ever play over Pierre if Kemp can't.

The way I look at it, the more prospects, the better. Still very early for Hoffman. spent a lot of the time on the ice and HS baseball in Minnesota is nothing like the amateur apprenticeship that most of these pro baseball players had. Is figuring out some things as a hitter. And is a big kid who runs pretty well.

Perhaps Steven Shell and Josh Sharpless can be teammates.

Nonetheless, he now has a second RBI off his solo homer. Young also homered in the inning, and also has a double in the game. The balls are jumping out of the park, as the 51's have 5 total (Lindsey and McDougall also have one).

For the Cardinals' first baseman, ESPN lists:
Pronounced: POO-holes

The new layout seems to be in place.

That didn't get them much at the end of the year.

I could also see a scenario wherein he replaces Tsao and Houlton replaces Tomko.

I've got to go play a ridiculously early soccer game in ridiculously foggy conditions (less visibility than there is a chance of Tomko winning today), but when I come back I expect to hear that Meloan's coming.

make it happen Ned!

I liked the part where he dressed up as a samurai after a team meeting to show his dedication, and everyone thought he was joking.

>>> All James does in the New Abstract is review the first 130 years of the game, decade by decade, and rank the top 100 players, all-time, at every position. While being a hoot to read. For 998 pages. <<<

### For years, the baseball establishment dismissed him as a stat geek and crank. In the introduction of the New Abstract, James notes Sparky Anderson once described him as "a little fat guy with a beard who knows nothing about nothing." ###

http://www.dailybreeze.com/sports/articles/8516452.html

I don't think I would take the Baseball Encyclopedia as one of the two books from my baseball library and I am pretty sure that baseball books would not be the first thing I would grab if I was leaving a burning room.

The 2001 Historical Abstract is known for introducing James' Win Shares, which he would go in more detail in his next book and also for his updates to his player rankings from the earlier edition. Craig Biggio is one of the poster children of that book, as James ranked Biggio the 5th best second baseman and the 35th best player of all time. The other four are Joe Morgan, Eddie Collins, Rogers Hornsby and Jackie Robinson.

The 1985 edition has a great example of how unfair it is to compare Koufax's best seasons to fellow HOF teammate Don Drysdale.

Realistic scenario: Hull called up, Abreu optioned.

Can you name the two batters that have lower batting averages.

Hint, one has been in the news very recently while the other will be front in center very shortly.

>>> Aaron acknowledged he barely survived his chase with his sanity and love of baseball intact. He smoked and fretted during semi-sleepless nights in lonely hotels under fake names, and he occasionally couldn't help thinking about everything that could go wrong in a stadium full of people each night - especially after receiving the death threats that eventually sparked a wellspring of public support for his quest. <<<

http://www.dailybreeze.com/sports/articles/8516492.html

And Buddy is on the hill for the Braves today.

Suzyn Waldman has said variations of the thought, you'd better sure if you are going get rid of a 23 year old arm re Edwin Jackson, at least four times in the top of the first inning.

Btw, it's extremely foggy here today - will probably clear up a bit this afternoon down at the stadium but expect the possibility of more weirdness with pop flies and so forth. Maybe the fog will help keep in the park deep balls hit off Tomko.

It sums up how I feel, for the most part. Anyway, worth a read. What do you think?

I do think that if the Cubs ever made a World Series, the ratings would be quite strong.

I believe the Angels-Giants World Series got poor ratings despite being a very exciting series.
When I filled in for Jon on "Fungoes", a friend of mine who grew up in New York told me, "I'd read the whole thing, but it's got too much stuff about the NL West in it. Who can read all that?"

if he was still the dodger's GM, I would imagine martin would have been traded for hee seop choi's second cousin.

Hoping Tomko can get back on track and finish off the sweep and 11 in a row in SF.

Furcal, SS
Pierre,CF
Martin, C
Kent, 2B
Gonzo, LF
Nomar, 3B
Loney, 1B
Kemp, RF
Tomko, P

Murray's team:
In a little over 2400 plate appearances:
0.261/0.329/0.383, 4.4 runs per game.

Mueller's team:
In a little over 1000 plate appearances:
0.306/0.370/0.437, 5.2 runs per game

Wil Nieves is starting for the Yankees in the game.

Navarro has an OPS+ that is 50 points higher than Nievers (26 to -24).

the place overflows with whimsy some days, why jump that one comment?

>>> "All I can say is Sheffield knows what he's talking about. That's all I'm going to say," Lofton said. <<<

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19752536

Remember, never yell "Choi" on a busy blog! Your 1st Amendment rights don't apply!

who cares? he lasted a year and a half. if people's heads are going to explode, they should probably pick something that is more than a blip on the radar screen.

"Who cares?" You're the one who brought him up, out of nowhere.

and it has been my observation that a lot of comments on DT are somewhat "out of nowhere" in nature.

but trust me, I won't bring him up again.

You might read or re-read the guidelines at the lower right part of the sidebar. "It's all a big conspiracy" violated #6 on the list. The guidelines are there so that we can talk about subjects that can lead to trouble. I'm trying to respond very carefully, and even with #632 you're mocking
me.

Sorry, Jon. it really wasn't my intention to slam depodesta. I was actually a pretty big advocate of his. choi too, for that matter.

I am going to take a nap, and try the whole DT thing a little later.

I smiled when I read your comment and then cringed at the thought. Just like many others on this board think that Colletti will trade Kemp for some rental and cringe.

623 dkminnick
I remember reading an article when Navarro was on the big club, that White said that Martin would be an All Star.

DePodesta didnt "lust" after Navarro at the trading deadline. If you recall, he acquired Navarro in the winter of 2004. It was a deal made to get Shawn Green's contract off the books--and the team needed a catcher in 2005 until Russ Martin was ready. Navarro was a good risk to take. Get Green's bad deal off the books, and get a solid prospect.

It worked. Navarro played well in 2005, and Martin was ready by 2006.

If Ned and the scouts thought Martin was ready and didnt like Navarro--how come Martin wasnt given the job out of spring training in 2006?

If anything is "out of nowhere" thinking, it was your false statements and generalization.