I'm still kind of in shock that Bonds didn't do bubkas this weekend, not even against Tomko. Some credit to the Dodgers' pitchers, they made some really excellent pitches to him. He never does well against Beimel (except once), and for the most part the other guys did well, too. Looked like he did miss a few good pitches to hit, though, and couldn't do anything against Tomko. Wow, no wonder he threw a laundry basket in the locker room yesterday.

Pre All-Star 2006
Rolen - 331/398/577
Nomar-358/426/578

Post All-Star 2006
Rolen - 253/333/447
Nomar-229/286/408

Nomar has fallen further then Rolen but other then PreAllStar 2006 he hasn't been in Rolen's class for several years. The dropoff of both players over the last 162 games is an interesting sideline to the 2007 season. As Andru Jones has heated up after a first half of futility, Dodger and Cardinal fans have to hope that the cliff isn't on the horizon for their respective 3rd baseman but a revival instead. Chances of a post season may depend on it.

Just wanted to see how it looks in italics.

I'm not convinced, though, that Boras is the "best" agent in the game. As I've said before, he doesn't seem to do anything that other agents can't do. It's not that they can't do what he does: it's that they choose not to.

While I agree with almost everything you do, I was disappointed several weeks ago when you asked a poster to stop linking to many of the local papers stories and he did. I miss those links since I don't make a practice of reading those papers, I thought it really it was up to us as individuals to click on the links if we were interested in the topic.

I do think time to time, that poster does post links to stories of interest, though not at the same frequency.

Sorry about the italics thing - I'm not at my desk.

Are you posting from an iPhone...?

Yes, it can. Different people will define "best" in different ways. The fact that Boras is so well known yet not hired by every player seems to suggest that some players define "best" in other ways than "gets me the most money".

I did read that Blake Beavan recently signed a LOI with a junior college as his representation (advisors since he wants to maintain his college eligibility) wants more than the slot bonus of 1.5 million.

Beavan, who many thought the Dodgers would have taken if available remains one of many 1st round picks that have not signed.

While the Dodgers still have Kyle Blair and Devin Fuller unsigned, according BaseballAmerica.com, the Giants have not signed any of their first round picks.

Link:http://mvn.com/mlb-rangers/2007/07/11/the-blake-beaven-conundrum-teixeira-digs-deeper-hole/

I was just going to ask about that, and a few other things.

1. Has Boras (or any other agent) ever rejected a client? If so, why? Was it because there was no room in the stable, or because the client didn't meet their standards (whatever those are)?

2. Are there any hypothetical scenarios under which an agent's interests diverge from that of their client?

And if he thinks a player is going to be a dud, why should he bother?

Is he duty-bound to represent the guy? No, he sends the guy packing.

From the Bill James interview: "I'm not cheering for Bonds, but then, I didn't much like (Henry) Aaron, either."

In his "Baseball Books" he made an attempt at writing an encyclopedia. In the Aaron entry, James writes that when he warms his coffee in the microwave, he enters '44' seconds in tribute to Hank Aaron.

Now, I'm off to the library to find out if he even wrote the entry. Either way, if I may borrow a phrase from my students, he's got me "bugging and tripping."

Because it only takes a glossy book to convince a gullible GM that a dud is actually a stud...?

Man, did you see the roster for the Long Island Ducks? (Check out link from Bronx Banter entry on that team.)

I recall during Pedro's days of playing all over the diamond, he wrote something like they asked him to play third base and Pedro said you mean over there and he just continue to hit the ball.

(Of course writing things that conform to my way of thinking always gives you a shot to become one of my favorites.)

Ah, Pedro. I remember James writing, "See, the Dodgers think, well, he's got fast hands and good feet so why don't we just put him at third? But the game is harder than that."

I loved it because the Dodgers were notorious for spraying guys all over the diamond. Konerko? To the outfield with you and if you can't play there, bye-bye. Heck, I saw Franklin Stubbs play more than one game in CF. I saw Pedro out there. Good times...

I really hope that's sarcastic.

In 2029, we may be laughing about the time we saw James Loney in RF. Or reminiscing about how the Dodgers dodged a bullet there.

Or about the 810 times we saw Juan Pierre in CF.

That was me, Cannon. Jon asked that I post those links in moderation. After several folks indicated they found the links convenient Jon changed his position and gave me permission to continue as before. What happened was that I began to post in moderation even though he gave me permission to post at my previous frequency. So don't blame Jon. :-) I guess I was psyched out. :-) I'll try to do a better job of keeping you undated in the future. :-)

Hall of Famers who played significant time at first and in the outfield:
Stan Musial
Frank Robinson
Hank Aaron (started at 1B in the 1973 All-Star game)
Carl Yastrzemski
Hank Greenberg

[ - - 1B - LF - RF - 3B - CF - 2B - SS - C - - ]
with the basic premise being that positions at the right end of
the spectrum are more difficult than the positions at the left
end of the spectrum. Players can generally move from right
to left along the specturm successfully during their careers.

You forgot Shawn Green.

His latest blog entry:

This time, it seems for keeps. This time, rookies James Loney and Matt Kemp are getting more than a cursory look and are viewed as more than fill-ins until a high-priced veteran gets hot or comes off the disabled list.

And the Los Angeles Dodgers are better for it.

This time Loney and Kemp might get the same latitude catcher Russell Martin did a year ago, long before he became the No. 3 hitter, an All-Star and clubhouse leader, the same latitude given to outfielder Andre Ethier, who batted .306 as a rookie, the same latitude given to reliever Jonathan Broxton, who might be the best setup man in the National League in his second year.

"They are coming along nicely," Dodgers manager Grady Little said of Loney and Kemp. "They are playing with a purpose and they will continue to have their opportunities."

The blog was edited from last night when he posted that Kershaw had been promoted to Jacksonville(!), I spent some time trying to find that piece of news but that is now removed. He also opined that Pierre would be moved to 4th outfielder status but he has softened that a bit too.

http://tinyurl.com/2ytrhe

That's his hot streak, so hot he's burnin' up: 785 OPS.

Rudy Law, Roger Cedeno, Wilkie Ruan, Jose Gonzalez, Mike Devereaux, Reggie Williams, Cecil Espy, Bobby Mitchell, Von Joshua, Glenn Burke, Joe Simpson, and Henry Cruz show they let anyone who could claim to be speedy play CF no matter how bad they are. No wonder I remember Pedro's days in CF fondly.

>>> "The pain in (Tsao's) shoulder is similar to what he had before," Dodgers trainer Stan Conte said. "I think it's a concern anytime you have to go on the disabled list with a problem in your shoulder. Until he gets his strength back, we're not going to let him throw." <<<

http://www.dailybreeze.com/sports/articles/8524437.html

The wink is implied.

http://uclabruins.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/07-ticket-openhouse.html

But Bonds is becoming a bit of a sympathetic figure to me through this whole thing. I don't think what he's about to pull off is being given the proper respect in a historical sense.

I think I'd be inclined to cheer the feat (assuming it isn't some pivotal situation in the game). I'm pretty confident I wouldn't boo, at least.

Pretty sure you'll be in the minority if it happens at Dodger Stadium.

One of those doubles came exactly 10 games ago, and the other two came eight games ago. The triple came seven games ago.

Look for a big series against the Phillies if he's going to keep that slugging percentage up. If he doesn't get a couple of doubles, that SLG will instead match his BA.

This is the kind of hard-hitting statistical analysis you can't get just anywhere.

Month/Avg/OB/SLug/OPS/BABip
June/400/420/730/1151/488
July/438/462/854/1316/447

A 1316 OPS after 1/2 a month. Can you be any hotter then that?

I saw him make a nice catch in the AAA All-Star game. He can come to LA if someone throws JP into a pool of quicksand.

$32 million / year anyone?

Sorry couldn't let that just hang there. I get your point.

And he looked surprisingly nimble on that HR (Betemit's?) he went up for this weekend.

On another note, no one took my bait a few posts back about the trading deadline, but one would have to expect the Giants to unload, if not Bonds, a bunch of guys on that team. Being in last place is fine, if you're breaking in a new group, but being in last place with veterans at every position on the diamond is a trainwreck. That's a promising starting rotation, but otherwise, one must avert one's eyes. Of course as soon as I say that, they'll win like 18 of their next 20.

I must say that among my friends, people are talking about it. Talking about what it means for the record, about what Bonds is like as a ballplayer, about steroids, about the steroid era and Bonds' place in it.

If the Yankees don't want Bonds, I don't know if there is any other fits for his services this year (assuming he's passed the record).

>>> Kuo throws again: Hong-Chih Kuo tried to play catch again, but said his elbow was stiff and sore. Kuo has had elbow problems since 2000 and he's out indefinitely. <<<

http://tinyurl.com/394m2z

I wonder if that's another part of the reason your circle isn't talking about him... for a long time in his career, very few talked him.

Bonds wasn't under appreciated at any point past 1991.

As I understand it, that's partly what motivated him to change his diet. He got tired of hearing about the exploits of the McGwires and Sosas.

That said, Bonds was the better player. But hardly underrated.

Might want to check your sources on that one.

http://www.lvrj.com/sports/8526042.html

"I don't care how much you say that I'm thinking, frat boy, I'm still not giving up herb"

Unless you think Griffey was worth 10 runs a year defensively over Bonds over the entire decade, he doesn't compare.

In 1995, he was 12th in the voting. With a 168 OPS+. Twelfth. Dante Bichette was second. I'm not saying Bonds should have won, but: twelfth.

The next year, 1996, Bonds had a 186 OPS+, best in the league. With Caminiti and Piazza both in the 170s, it isn't quite as much a crime, but Bonds still ranked behind Ellis Burks and Chipper Jones.

In '98, when McGwire came in 2nd and should have won, Bonds was judged less valuable to his team than Sammy Sosa, Moises Alou, Greg Vaughn, Craig Biggio, Andres Galarraga, and Trevor Hoffman.

I know that OPS+ is not the be-all end-all, and further, there are a lot of politics that goes into an MVP vote and that, having won three awards, voters were reluctant to give him a fourth until they had to in 2001. Still, he produced like nobody else over that period.

Maybe "underrated" is a bad way to put it. He was so good that his greatness was taken in stride; many casual baseball fans and even MVP voters did not recognize that they were watching the greatest hitter they had ever seen.

97 - Every chat thread at Screen Jam is open chat - even the ones that are over a week old :(

I think our man John is gathering apostles.

Bonds: 846.2
Thomas: 781.9
Griffey: 733.1
Martinez: 645.1
Bagwell: 625.6
Biggio: 590.5
Piazza: 517.3
Gwynn: 475

Bonds had 2 seasons at 200+ and 2 more at 180+ (just in the 90s alone).

Griffey Jr had a career high of 172.

Álex Rodríguez 1.061
Chipper Jones 1.020
Miguel Cabrera .996
Aramis Ramírez .908
Kevin Youkilis .904
David Wright NYM .879
Mike Lowell .864
Wilson Betiment .842
Adrián Béltre .826
Mark DeRosa .823
Caey Blake .818
Mark Loretta .805
Melvin Mora BAL .787
Eric Chávez OAK .764
Ty Wigginton TB .764
Garrett Atkins .757
Brandon Inge .747
José Bautista .742
Ryan Zimmerman .740
Edwin Encarnación .724
Scott Rolen .719
Aubrey Huff .697
Alex Gordon .675
Pedro Feliz .670
Nomar Garciaparra .642
Nick Punto .587

A. Because earlier this year he was given, what, 100 or 150 plate appearances and told to earn his job, and he struggled.

B. Because he has a funny name and a big contract and because he used to be really, really good.

I predict that Nomar will continue to play until the boos reach Tomko levels.

BA active career leaders (min 3000 PA)

1. Ichiro Suzuki (33) .332
2. Todd Helton (33) .332
3. Albert Pujols (27) .331
4. Vladimir Guerrero (31) .325
5. Derek Jeter (33) .318
6. Nomar Garciaparra (33) .315

Maybe if an AL team wanted him as a RH-platoon for a DH someone might be interested. But you'd be giving him away at this point.

He is so far away from getting booed that if that was the criteria, he could play until his kids start kindegarden.

Now I have only been to 13 games this year so perhaps I missed those occasions when the boo birds were out but if you think the fans who show up, for the most part, care about who is OPSing higher between Betemit and Nomar, well they don't. They cheer when "Low Rider" comes on the loudspeaker and when they hear "Nomar Garciaparra" is coming to bat.

Yet, Tomko has continued to play since the boos reached Tomko levels...

For the first two and a half months of the season, the Dodgers needed to improve the offense. They had better options within their own system -- no need for a trade -- and yet were reluctant to make the substitions they had to make. Now that's started to happen and the offense has improved.

For the first two and a half months of the season, the pitching was stellar. Now we are starting to see some injuries. Can one of the in-house options step up? Is there anyone available better than who the Dodgers have in-house? Or am I getting ahead of myself -- should the Dodgers avoid a panic move and wait and see how things shape up, pitching-wise, over the next couple of weeks and only consider a move right at the deadline?

Seating him on the bench would be the proper move, but I just don't see the Dodgers doing it any time soon.

No, but that is also part of why Nomar will get a long, long, and even longer look at 3B.

First reason, LaRoche isn't coming up unless Nomar goes down mainly because they can't option Wilson and also Wilson is a valuable lefty bat off the bench.

Second reason, his history, he has always put up numbers when healthy and unless he is withholding something, I am sure they believe that it will click for him at some point. They moved him (finally) out of the third spot to 6th and who knows if Loney, Kemp and Ethier continue to hit well, that could change.

Third reason, his popularity will also allow them to let him play through this. Unlike the Tomko situation and others in the past, Nomar remains popular with the folks at the games, the media and management so he will be given that "veteran" immunity for a while longer.

Good to hear you had a good time.

no but at this pub i went to a cougar did try to hunt me down and take me back to her den.

the only way that happens is if Billingsley gets hurt or becomes as bad as Tomko.

I never got her age (she wouldn't tell me). she said she was an environmental law attorney and looked around 35 to me but who knows, I'm bad at guessing ages and the bar had bad lighting.

It cements DT as the center of my baseball world.

Unless "coyote" is slang for something else, too.

You missed out using pickup lines like,
"Hey, you want to come back and CEQA my place?"

"I've got a draft of a plan that may impact us both in a certain environment."

"Let me pay for this drink out of my own Superfund."

133
How bizarre is it that Hu now has more home runs after a weekend of baseball in Vegas then Loney did in 2 1/2 months?

Women a decade older then me don't entice me. Besides, i wasn't looking for companionship that night; just wanted to have a good time at the pub with my buddies.

heh another funny story, at Foleys, out of everyone in our group (about 8 people), I was the only one they gave a giants mug to. I then proceeded to break the mug over the bartender's head and pull out a LA flag from my backpack and lay claim to the bar as Dodger Land.

no not really buts what i did in my head.

136 Okay, as I delicately dance around this but for underdog, "Cougar" refers to an older woman, usually in her late 30's or 40's who "dates" younger men.

Term used by motion picture movie, Oceans 13.

he is probably up there. I still really like Josh Bell but Hu's defensive abilities and closeness to the majors probably gives him the edge. Either way, it does look like we still have some impact offensive help in 2008 if we need it.

"Rodriguez may void after 2007 season (by Nov. 10, 2007)"

"Rodriguez may void after 2008 or 2009 unless club increases 2009-10 salary by $5M/year or $1M more than highest-paid MLB position player"

Boras is already priming the market by using that second clause to point out that what ARod would be opting out of in 08-10 is $27, $32, $32 million, so that is where Boras wants the bidding to start. With no real knowledge, I guess 8/32/256 with a couple well-placed opt-outs and some nice escaltor clauses. (The Yankees can match that with an offer of a 5/33/165 extention, with the current opt-outs then removed.) This is territory very few dare to tread. NY, Boston, Cubs (if Cuban can gain ownership that quickly). I find it at least a little difficult to imagine Moreno or McCourt pulling that trigger.

The Texas money in the current contract adds an interesting twist. Normally Boras opts out and lets the market drive the price up, fanning and fueling the flames as best he can. But the best offer the Yankees - always an important player in these highest stakes games - can make would seem to be an extension so that Texas' contribution remains in place. This allows NY to overprice the extension a bit. But those scenarios disappear with the opt-out exercised.

Besides, Nate is a Pac-10 guy.

146 Thanks, I pretty much figured it out from the discussion ;-) I guess I'm now old enough to date "cougars" and not think of them that way since they'd be about my age.

i got a letter back from bugs bunny.

I contemplated land use law before choosing the Ph.D. path instead.

Oh my goodness, I believe we have a new nickname for Juan Pierre.

http://www.lectlaw.com/files/fun19.htm

Even if it were to happen, the Cubs have said the sale won't take place until the season is over, and completing the process would take too long for the Cubs to sign any big free agents. (Much as the approval process prevented McCourt from signing Vladimir Guerrero in 2004.)

Basically what it comes down to is, there is no realistic way the Cubs could be a contender for A-Rod. I think it's the Yankees, Red Sox, or Angels, barring somebody coming completely out of left field.

I'm in.

i guess sweeping the giants puts us all in a pretty good mood.

Regarding the SI piece, I see our resident gilded divinity has taken a hand to providing the perfect conclusions to article columns. His blessings are indeed felt far and wide.

From the NBC press bio of Far Shariat, executive producer of the fall series, "Life":

"Shariat move to Los Angeles in 1996 to pursue a career in agricultural literature. After failing to land a position in this highly competitive field, Far settled for working in the film industry."

Wile E.
Elmer Fudd
Daffy Duck
Azrael/Gargamel

I rooted against:

Roadrunner
Porky Pig
Smurfs

I don't endorse this, but I have had friends who do.

Same concept, but Coyote Ugly has become far too commercialized.

A better conundrum was Tom & Jerry where they both took turns tormenting each other for their own perverse amusement. I don't recall taking sides, but I loved every second.

It doesn't appear that he does.

>>> Hu, whose homer made it a 6-1 game in the fifth, also went 3-for-4 and is hitting .444 (8-for-18) with three homers and eight RBIs in four games with the 51s.

"Maybe the (Triple-A) pitchers don't know me," Hu said. "I'm just trying to hit the ball hard and help the team win." <<<

http://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/51s/

--

I remember when I used to say that. Then 10 years goes by, quickly, and I remember what Grandpa says in Little Miss Sunshine and wished that I would have listened to Grandpa.

I rooted for him when he faced Daffy. I particularly remember the encounter where Daffy wields a staff, and spouts off a lot of staff-wielding rhetoric. Porky, dressed in some kind of monk garb, is unimpressed, and just holds out a small stick or something and Daffy spins himself into oblivion. I always wanted Daffy to wipe the smug off of Porky's face, but it never happened.

Pierre, CF

Martin, C

Kent, 2B

Loney, 1B

Nomar, 3B

Ethier, LF

Kemp, RF

Penny, P

per ITD plus some info on how to get a Billingsley jersey.

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

I will brook no arguments on this matter.

Water is wet.

Ethier and Kemp must be a better 7-8 punch than just about any other other team can muster up.

Month/Avg/OB/Slug/OPS
June/301/398/548/946
July/250/302/275/577

Exactly! The only word I could remember was "Parry".

D4P- Oregon just got two top basketball recruits from the 2008 class, including a 5 star big man.
http://tinyurl.com/2gcqao

BTW: Are you going to be a Duck for sure? If so, when do you move to Eugene?

I like Young but I don't see a future for him as a starting player on this team. He doesn't have the ability to play the infield effectively, his walk rates and strikeout rates in AAA have been just okay and I'm not convince he would be a better option then Ethier. I haven't really looked at who would be available out on the trade market but Young's hot hitting might have saved Laroche or some other highly touted youngster as the Dodgers trading chip.

well, Martin is 24 right now, with his first arb year starting in 2009 I think. It could save them in the long run if this year is any indicator of his future age 26-29 years.

Joe Mauer, who was entering his arbitration years, eligible for free agency in 2010, signed 4-year deal worth $33M thru 2010 season on 2/11/07- + he receives salaries of $3.75M in 2007, $6.25M in 2008, $10.5M in 2009 and $12.5M in 2010.

Brian McCann, who, like Russell was in his second year, signed a $26.8M deal thru 2012 season that supersedes deal for 2007 season on 3/22/07- + he receives a $1M signing bonus and salaries of $500K in 2007, $800K in 2008, $3.5M, in 2009, $5.5M in 2010, $6.5M in 2011 and $8.5M in 2012- + the deal includes $3M in salary escalators for the 2012.

234 If he is not moved, I see him as a younger version of Olmedo Saenz for next season.

231- being that Martin is a catcher who will be coming off of an outstanding season, it probably wouldn't hurt to wait another year. As long as Martin's agent isn't pushy like Scott Boras, I don't think it will be a problem.

I like the McCann type deal. Although if the Dodgers could add in more club options that would be preferable.

There's a few "upperclassmen" dorms across from Carson that you might look into, if you can. I think the complex is named "Earl". On the plus side, living in a dorm helps meet people, which is good if you like people. Carson has the main cafeteria around there, which would be convenient.

I think people generally go off campus to drink. I don't think alcohol is allowed in the dorms.

Martin 130 OPS+
Ethier 110 OPS+
Betemit 117 OPS+
Loney 170 OPS+
Kemp 153 OPS+
Abreu 92 OPS+

I think we might be the envy of alot of teams with all the young players actually performing well in the majors. I can't really think of a team that has that many players 25 and under producing producing above league average production.

I don't think you can actually choose the building. On the housing form, I stated that the upperclassmen dorms were my number one choice.

The thing I'm most looking forward to is the beer in Eugene. The hefeweizen I had while I was up there last time was terrific.

Broxton 163 ERA+, 1.23 WHIP
Billingsley 134 ERA+ 1.20 WHIP

an early look at the upcoming free agent market. If the top tiers all go to free agency, it looks like a pretty good class actually.

Fukudome is rated #6!

On another note, my boy Cory Dunlap appears to be declining :(

dunlap's fat is getting in the way of his baseball playing. I think Abreu will be a good MLB 2b or SS. I think his plate discipline will improve to respectable and I am a fan of his doubles power and switch hitting bat.

Maybe they are fast tracking him as our newest LOOGY!!!

Jaimie Walker
George Sherrill
Casey Janssen
Scott Downs
Joaquin Benoit
Octavio Dotel
Joakim Soria
Al Reyes
Santiago Casilla
David Riske
Rafael Soriano
Matt Capps
Ryan Franklin
Damaso Marte
Jesus Colome

258 I was thinking the same thing about Adkins. I could see him in the majors next year. Seriously. (Although, given how slow they're taking it with Meloan, maybe not.)

Flippant remark withheld.

i ageee dotel wouldnt be bad if the dodgers think his elbow will hold up. He isnt too old and he has shown he can be very good.

261

another reason is maybe the dodgers think Adkins is that advanced...or Logan is trying to justify the pick to all of us as a "look, see...he is actually good!" :)

he would still be under control of the dodgers. Although Saito returning next year is not a slam dunk.

What would you think about Fukudome? Do you think his success will translate over to MLB?

The only player I saw play in Japan whom I thought to myself, "Hey, he'd be good in MLB!" was Otsuka.

And I think I was right only by chance.

Thanks, Dave.