Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
Jon's other site:
Screen Jam
TV and more ...
1) using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity
2) personally attacking other commenters
3) baiting other commenters
4) arguing for the sake of arguing
5) discussing politics
6) using hyperbole when something less will suffice
7) using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively
8) making the same point over and over again
9) typing "no-hitter" or "perfect game" to describe either in progress
10) being annoyed by the existence of this list
11) commenting under the obvious influence
12) claiming your opinion isn't allowed when it's just being disagreed with
There is only one Chad Billingsley – except when it comes to talking about Chad Billingsley. Then, there are two.
There's the starting pitcher who seems to use a hundred pitches an inning and just skates by, and the 22-year-old who is already performing better than most everyone his age.
When people debate Billingsley's value, it's not always clear which Billingsley it is they're talking about, and that can cause confusion.
But the thing is, there is only one.
He's the pitcher who isn't the best starting pitcher on the Dodger staff – not nearly having the seasons that Brad Penny or Derek Lowe are. Billingsley is the guy who in his past three starts has lasted 16 combined in-nings while throwing 301 pitches. In that period, he has walked 10 batters and allowed 17 hits, six of them for extra bases.
Not great. Right now, when Billingsley takes the mound, there is suspense as to whether he'll last six innings. That's a fact.
But that same pitcher has already shown improvement from last season, reducing his walk rate by nearly 33 percent while improving his strikeout rate by roughly the same percentage – Billingsley has 64 Ks in 65 2/3 innings in 2007.
Billingsley, who turns 23 on July 29, faces an interesting test in his next start, Monday at Houston. He will be coming off a career-high 113 pitches (and how noteworthy is it that that's his career high, meaning he has been well-protected or over-protected, depending on your point of view). We don't really know how he'll respond. Billingsley has alternated quality and sub-quality outings over his past five starts, and at a minimum, you'd like to see him bounce back again. But you don't know.
Still … in an interview with NBCSports.com this morning, I was asked which Dodger was most likely to have a big stretch run. And I thought, there's Russell Martin, but you'd expect him to taper a bit under his workload by season's end. There's Rafael Furcal, but we don't know whether his ankle will allow it. There's Nomar Garciaparra, who is too due. There's Matt Kemp and James Loney and Andre Ethier, but they're already doing so well that it's almost impossible for them to kick it up a notch.
And my thoughts turned to the pitcher who struggled to get through five innings Wednesday: the one and only Chad Billingsley. He's young but improving. Overall, he's not overworked – in the season's first 95 games, he has thrown 65 2/3 innings and 1,145 pitches. And the closer we get to the end of the season, the more he is going to face NL West teams whose strengths are mostly on the mound and not with the bat.
Not to dismiss the importance of averaging five innings per start as opposed to fewer, but Billingsley is not reliable now. So stipulated. But something more than wishin' and hopin' tells me that he's going to start seeming reliable before the season's out. He's learning, and the difference between him and the likes of Brett Tomko and Mark Hendrickson is, at age 22 23/24ths, Billingsley is already ahead of the curve.
* * *
From Dodger Thoughts commenter Sammy Maudlin:
"Forty years ago today (July 18, 1967), a 22-year-old righthander only lasted five innings against the Phillies. Don Sutton gave up three runs and lost to the Phillies' Rick Wise, who pitched a shutout. Sutton record fell to 6-11; he would finish the year at 11-15."
Adjusted for the era, Billingsley's career totals at the same age and at the same stage are better than Sutton's.
* * *
Here's something you might not have expected: For the season, the Dodger offense has most productive with runners on base, as Dave Studeman of The Hardball Times sees it:
Despite a lack of home runs (only the Nationals have hit fewer in the NL this year), the Dodgers have man-aged to get lots of at bats with runners in scoring position, and they have batted .292 in those situations (includ-ing a .366 average with runners on third). The interesting question is, how have they managed to rack up so many at bats with RISP?
Honestly, I'm not sure. They're only average in doubles and triples. But it appears as though the Dodgers are bunching their hits, batting .261 with no one on, but .294 with someone on base, any base. When you bunch hits together, runners move into scoring position and eventually score.
* * *
Someone who has played the game actually values on-field performance more than clubhouse leadership, reports John Delcos of New York's Journal News.
It's Willie Randolph, the ex-Dodger and current New York Mets' manager:
That Julio Franco found work with the Atlanta Braves isn't surprising.
What was surprising, however, were the lack of references, especially when it came to the "clubhouse leader-ship" issue.
Manager Willie Randolph said Franco should get more playing time with the Braves, and the reason he didn't with the Mets was a .200 average.
"If you play, you have to produce. That clubhouse stuff is overrated," said Randolph, who volunteered the in-formation unsolicited. …
What irked some players was Franco wouldn't hesitate to get in the face of some of the younger players about doing their jobs when he was hitting .200 with one homer with the Mets.
"To be a leader for me, it's not enough to talk all the time," Valentin said. "You have to go out and do it your-self."
Franco, who will turn 49 in August, said he wants to play until he's 50. He also said before leaving the Mets that "I can still hit."
I'd be jazzed to see a 50-year-old ballplayer. But if he's on my team, even if he's the nicest guy in the world, I'd want him to be able to help on the field. Otherwise, I've got a coaching slot for him.
* * *
Update: The Cubs traded ex-Dodger Cesar Izturis to the Pittsburgh Tracys today for a player to be named later, reports The Associated Press.
In 65 games for the Cubs this season, Izturis was batting .246 with eight RBIs. His playing time had diminished after Ryan Theriot took over as the No. 1 shortstop.
Manager Lou Piniella said he initially penciled Izturis' name into the lineup for Thursday's game against the Giants before the trade was made.
"Cesar was a really good guy. He wasn't getting much playing time here," Piniella said. "In fairness to him, let him go somewhere where he can play."
The 27-year-old Izturis is in the final year of his contract.
"Theriot really took over the job," Piniella said. "There is nothing wrong with Izturis. Izturis is a good player."
* * *
Update 2: Ned Colletti's tenure with the Dodgers gets a B- from Nate Silver of Baseball Prospectus, to sum up a lengthy article.
* * *
Update 3: Sports Illustrated writers present the best games they've ever seen. Unfortunately, a Cal grad writes about "The Play."
Colletti was just on WFAN in NY. The podcast isn't up yet, so to sum it up Ned said he's looking for pitching, said there aren't really any good starters available, and that he's comfortable with the hitting as it now stands. He was asked about Teixeira, and he basically said why would he want to trade for a first baseman when he already has a future star in James Loney.
Can you elaborate?
Andre Ethier in nearly 200 plate appearences, had 14 walks. Since Mueller put a uniform back on, in Andre's next 81 plate appearences, he has walked 14 times. A breakdown of his strikeouts show that he struck out 25 times before and 4 times after the change.
Just saying.
Dodgers RISP in 2006
.286/.379/.445
In 2007
.291/.377/.416
Slugging is down due to Nomar, Kent, Furcal and Pierre not being able to get much more than a single most times when they do get a hit in those situations.
really enoyed your read Jon speacily that part on top it kind of co-insides with the Daily News article on Andre Ethier hopefully he can "kick it up a notch" cause he is very important to the Dodgers success in the 2nd half.
So this is what I'm talking about. This very week, the difference between Billingsley and Hendrickson might be negligible. On that I can agree with you. We don't need to argue that point. But you then seem to take offense that people are more excited about Chad than about Hendrickson, and the reason for that is Chad's potential to improve is measurably different. Can you concede that?
I think Ned said "why would he?" not "Why he would." or "Why he wouldn't."
When did we sign Voldemort?
"Billingsley has been putting up outstanding numbers in the majors for over a year, at an age when most players are still in Class A ball. He's done better than many if not most Hall of Fame pitchers did at the same age."
He's not great right now, but would you like to trade him? Send him down? Get him out of the rotation?
How does Chad compare to Cole Hamels? Hamels is 23 1/2 years old. Strikeout rate the same as Chad's. Averages 6.5 innings per start this year. Only walks a batter every four innings. But he has a worse ERA and ERA+, gives up more home runs. And he was an All-Star.
And then there are stats like Saito's strikeout to walk ratio which go beyond any analysis.
Growing pains blow. It would be nice if we could get a Doc Gooden type of debut but we won't so we need to be patient. He can't get better if he doesn't pitch.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=6474
But he nibbles. There, I criticized him.
How sad that I went outside of the organization and missed the greatest and most fun debut of all. Time for a data dump.
Ashby-like
Erickson-like
Tomko-like
Where each inning is a breathless adventure into the unknown, where pitch count accumulates faster than the national debt, and the likelihood of a 7+ inning victory is as likely as the Iraqi government restoring civil order.
Okay
*He's reasonably good at evaluating talent in a baseball sense, particularly when it comes
to evaluating players out of his own system.*
I would say that's Ng and White, but okay.
However, he's not so good at evaluating talent in a financial sense, what you might call 'valuation' as opposed to 'evaluation.'
Couldn't agree more
Finally, scouting and development appears to be a strength, at least based on the progress of guys like Martin, Loney, Jonathan Broxton, and Kershaw.
He brought in exactly zero of those guys. White runs the draft.
The trade for Andre Ethier is also the sort of move on which reputations can be made.
Whoa, I like Ethier, but..umm...what?
Los Angeles is a pre-millennial dream trapped in a post-millennial universe,
Ummm.... OK....
Dodger Stadium's dimensions are "Euclidean?" You say that word, but I do not think it means what you think.
Come to Los Angeles! The sun shines bright, the beaches are wide and inviting, and the orange groves stretch as far as the eye can see. There are jobs aplenty, and land is cheap. Every working man can have his own house, and inside every house, a happy, all-American family. You can have all this, and who knows... you could even be discovered, become a movie star... or at least see one. Life is good in Los Angeles... it's paradise on Earth." Ha ha ha ha. That's what they tell you, anyway.
Anyway, I didn't get it.
Actually, Ned released Ledee, who was then picked up by the Mets.
Better than non-Euclidean.
Cthulhu F'htagn!
So Nate Silver doesn't like Bilingual ads in the urinals. Oookay.
Who knew?
The majority of BP writers have issues with Southern California. Not the baseball teams. Just the whole idea of Southern California.
And why does he focus on "bilingual ads in the urinals" when there are bilingual ads all over the park and times when the scoreboard implores the fans, "Hagan ruido!"
Regardless, it's a poorly-worded phrase.
Because then you wouldn't need to say bilingual. You would just say "ads" instead.
It was a shot.
70 - Or, it was careless.
I don't really want to defend it - because in the end, it has to stand on its own. I'm just saying, throughout this article, we have found nonsensical word usage. There's evidence to think that this was just another piece of nonsense rather than a calculated shot at people who speak Spanish.
This is a team that was once associated with highly-identifiable players who spent long tenures with the club, but now Brad Penny is the most senior Dodger, having joined the team on July 30, 2004.
Poor, forgotten Olmedo!
His knee was down.
What's up with all the racial stuff? When did Archie Bunker start writing for BP?
A. Ramirez singled to right, D. Ward and R. Theriot scored, A. Ramirez to second on right fielder K. Frandsen's throwing error, A. Ramirez to third on catcher B. Molina's throwing error
What is "post-millennial tension"?
65 Jealously can be such an ugly thing.
Maybe Logan's Run.
Both Kent, and Furry seem to be getting around on the ball of late, hopefully that continues.
3rd base...Nomar needs to be played only in those situations where he has demonstrated to be profecient this year, other wise it needs to be BoomBoom.
1. Olmedo Saenz 1B-3B (off-season)
2. Brad Penny P
From 2005 season:
3. Jeff Kent 2B (off-season)
4. Derek Lowe P (off-season)
From 2006 season:
5. Rafael Furcal SS (off-season)
6. Nomar Garciaparra 3B (off-season)
7. Brett Tomko P (off-season)
8. Ramon Martinez IF (off-season)
9. Joe Beimel P (off-season)
10. Takeshi Saito P (off-season)
11. Russell Martin C
12. Andre Ethier OF
13. Jonathan Broxton P
14. Chad Billingsley P
15. Mark Hendrickson P
16. Wilson Betemit 3B
From 2007 season:
17. Mike Lieberthal C (off-season)
18. Juan Pierre OF (off-season)
19. Luis Gonzalez OF (off-season)
20. Rudy Seanez P (off-season)
21. James Loney 1B
22. Matt Kemp OF
23. Eric Stults P
24. D.J. Houlton P
25. Roberto Hernandez P
Broxton and Houlton debuted in 2005, Loney, Kemp and Stults debuted in 2006.
If this is "tension", how does one begin to describe the Kevin Malone, Tommy Lasorda or Fred Claire eras?
I believe the term for that would be "ague."
Yes, I said it. It doesn't make me any less human.
The good old days.
Bet they don't say "Dodgers".
We can move on to a discussion of Tony Jackson and elevators.
Me and you
your momma and your cousin too
Rollin down the strip on vogues
Comin up slammin cadillac doz
Anyhoo, I don't have a problem with the Silver grades. In fact, I think he was a tad generous with some of the moves, which I didn't expect from BP.
This seems like a terrific move at first--we're looking only at Garciaparra's 2006 for the time being--but .303/.367/.505 is really not all that special out of a first baseman, especially when his defense is not an asset, and when he missed a quarter of the year to injury. Plus, Garciaparra earned an additional $2.5 million in playing time incentives, bringing the total cost of the deal to $8.5 million.
Then they go on to give Ned a B-plus for the deal.
#$!&@* the heck?
http://tinyurl.com/ywmgro
But that doesn't make sense. We're supposed to believe that Ned did a "good job" when Nomar played well, but a "bad job" when Nomar sucked? I don't buy it.
Having looked over all the grades now, I don't like them. Not so much the actual grades themselves, but the methodology. First of all, It's not completely clear to me whether the grades are based on what was known at the time of the trade, or based on how the trades have turned out. It seems likes a mix of the two. Second of all, I don't see much point in crediting/blaming the GM for how players have performed after they arrive, as that's mostly up to the player, manager, coaches, etc.
First 22 ML starts
(select RHP's)
ERA (as starter)
Oswalt 2.88
Verlander 3.05
Zambrano 3.41
Bills 3.54
Halladay 4.01
Cain 4.11
Lackey 4.23
Peavy 4.39
Bonderman 5.37
Quality Starts
Oswalt 16
Verlander 15
Halladay 13
Peavy 13
Bonderman 13
Zambrano 12
Cain 11
Lackey 10
Bills 8
Bud how do we know that Colletti "saw something in him"? It's equally (if not more) likely that either Ned would have been content with LuGo's performance from last year, or that LuGo has exceeded Ned's expectations. From what I can tell, the GMs who identify diamonds in the rough and players who are most likely to have better-than-expected seasons are those who look at peripheral stats (e.g. Ks, WHIP, BBs, etc. for pitchers, BABIP, LD%, etc. for hitters) and identify players who have been "unlucky" in the past and who are "due" to produce better results in the near future.
Ned does not strike me as that kind of GM, which makes it difficult for me to give him credit for finding players who exceed expectations.
I believe a certain SI.com blogger wrote something about how Bonds was just going through a dry spell and the Dodgers were fortunate enough to be playing the Giants then.
Just now, Matt Wise hit an infield single, and during the at-bat, as Nippert was pitching away from him, Uecker was remarking how the pitcher was staying away from Wise's power, "Once he extends those arms from his 165 lb. frame." And then after Wise got his second career hit, Bob tosses in, its too bad that the DH held him back (Wise played for the Angels prior to going to Brewers).
I just finished reading about it a few minutes ago. Too bad, but I'm past being surprised about it. I'm beginning to think most fighters use some kind of roid-like product, and to be honest, I don't really care all that much anymore. Those guys train like maniacs, take constant punishment and get injured all the time, and are expected to go fight other trained assassins 3 or so times per year. If anyone needs the beneficial effects of roids, it's them. I guess roids still illegal, but I sometimes wonder what MMA would be like without them. Would guys only fight once a year? Would there be a lot more career-ending injuries? I don't know.
I've stayed away from the review. Do they reveal the ending in it?
http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/25459
My other big fear is that as I go into a bookstore to buy the book, someone will do a drive-by and yell out spoilers at me. How are you guys getting a hold of the book?
127 - I don't think it's live yet.
BTW: I just realized that there are two different grades for Nomar: one for the first contract and one for the second. The second contracts is given a "D". That makes a lot more sense.
That is how I am with all sports. I would prefer they not to do it, but I know they do and that will not change.
We did wait in line in Westwood at the Avco, I think we saw the 4th or 5th showing on opening day.
On Harry Potter, I will be among those at the game on Saturday with a copy waiting at home, even at a minute per page it would take 12 hours to read but I will probably skim read it just to get the major story points and of course how everything turns out. Later I will read it more carefully to see how the whole series connected or maybe it didn't.
Actually that's Squiggy's line.
I do not know any "Of Mice and Men" references.
radar on tv or in stadiums should be outlawed.
>>> But unbeknownst to most everyone, Ethier was playing with a bad shoulder. Ethier said he had strained it and inflamed his biceps tendon, that the shoulder was giving out on him.
"I was trying to hide it and not let it show, just trying to stay up here," he said. "Keep a job and earn a job. You never know if you're going to be here. <<<
http://www.dailybreeze.com/sports/articles/8590847.html
Good lord, isn't that like saying that the new Hummer gets slightly worse gas mileage than previous models?
In my quest to avoid all possible spoilers, I've failed so spectacularly that I think I've actually heard all of them, with the final result being that I have no idea which ones are correct--after a while they all begin to contradict one-another.
Unless, of course, JK Rowling lied and every main character gets killed. Some by more than one person.
"Guess he got out of that carbonite ok."
I eat cherries.
If some loudmouth at the game tries to get cute, there will be serious shenanigans.
She should just end the book in the middle of something major and leave the rest of the pages blank.
Okay, here's the link to the interview. Personally, I'm having trouble with the feed, but maybe you'll have better luck.
The Giants are still losing.
For Vin's sake, lets hope that Bonds hits it next week at AT&T.
>>> It's no surprise that 51s second baseman Wilson Valdez's season-high 13-game hitting streak has coincided with Las Vegas' season-best eight-game winning streak. <<<
### Also, 51s catcher Octavio Martinez was activated from the disabled list, and catcher Gabriel Gutierrez was optioned to Class-A Inland Empire. ###
http://www.lvrj.com/sports/8592752.html
Cherries are the best and easist fruits to eat. I've yet to see a Cherry Tree with actual cherries on them only blossoms.
I did that also. Not too inconvenient as I was a UCLA student at the time. We loved it.
Any book. She's like a hummingbird. She has to be moving to stay awake. Put her in a chair and it is snooze time. She spends the whole day in class walking and has to grade the writing assignments standing up. 20 minutes in a car and she's fast asleep.
That might not sound cruel compared to other kinds of hazing, but in our secluded world, it hurt.
That said, I think that my favorite Harry Potter movie experience comes via Brad Neely's alternative soundtrack for the first movie, entitled "Wizard People, Dear Reader." You can see part of it synched over the movie here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTPfMk34lz8
(warning: Likely NSFW, and there can be some stronger content)
I find it remarkable that the man had the drive to do this to the whole movie.
My source blew this one. I don't really care as I don't think his knee's can hold up to extended minutes anymore anyway. Guard situation is now in bad shape as all the other PG's have been signed. Looks like Brevin Knight is all that is left barring a trade.
Chicks love Watership Down.
So far, I've made, or had made, peach ice cream, peach cobbler, peach bars, peach pie and peach daiquiris.
Make it three...!
I wish i knew how to make those things.
My wife's squirrels never let me get much of our fruit. Not one bloody apricot this year.
Personally, I think the movies are too faithful to the books, and would be better served by streamlining and condensing so we could actually spent some time on the dramatic moments -- as it is, with occasional exception they feel like Cliff Notes versions of the books, racing from scene to scene with little emotional impact.
The LOTR movies are an excellent example of how to greatly condense long, complicated books while staying faithful to the overall essense, IMHO.
Plus, my job is basically to read non-fiction, so I haven't cracked a novel in years. I relax by watching baseball.
Et tu, Daniel? Would it help if I say that my wife and her family read the books?
It does seem late to catch up, however.
that's the way i felt about Transformers the director was way to faithfull to the cartoon in it's fast paste style. It was a nice action packed movie though.
D-Backs and Giants can pass each other in their buses as they switch sites for the weekend.
vr, Xei
Eh, maybe I have it wrong. Doesn't really matter.
When my wife and I were dating, we were sitting on a bench and a squirrel came up to us. For reasons unexplained, I held my finger out toward it. I guess I thought I could pet it or something. The squirrel apparently thought my finger was a peanut or something, and latched on with it's REMARKABLY SHARP NEEDLE-LIKE TEETH. I raised my arm up in shock, and the squirrel didn't let go. I had to shake violently to get it to release.
Needless to say it drew blood, and I got a tetanus shot.
The movie is nothing like the cartoon aside from the fact that there are shape-shifting good and bad robots.
My brother's family are diehards.
there pretty acrobatic but i've seen a few to many road kill squirrels for my taste.
Now that I no longer have any outdoor dogs the squirrels have won the battle especially since they have 3 feeders of their own. It is a constant battle now with squirrels during the daytime and the opposums, raccoons, and rats at night. My cats have done a decent job on the Ben's but they rightfully stay away from the Weecha's.
vr, Xei
222 Don't jinx it!
Yes, but her catch phrase is "I've made a huge mistake."
Comedy! I just laughed LOUD at work reading that. Co-workers are looking at me strangely now...
vr, Xei
Why not make some peach chutney?
I saw two squirrels attack two kids in Boston Commons. The mom stood there laughing, while the kids screamed in terror.
If only Barry White was around to give them a lesson.
If you got married in Reno it would've been "I made the biggest little mistake Michael."
Whatever it takes.
My wife is quite adept at hanging bird feeders in such a way that squirrels cannot get at them (think fishing wire).
Is anyone else having just ridiculous, biblical problems with ants right now?
vr, Xei
I don't remember the cartoon all that well but i do remember it was fast paste & i got that feeling with the movie as well. I guess i was hoping it be like Batman returns or The Matrix were the stories were very believable & the acting was great.
6IP 2H 0ER 0BB 7K
I am! I live in the foothills and it has been RIDICULOUS lately. My whole downstairs smells like insecticide right now. It's disgusting.
I had a huge ant problem for the last two weeks. I seem to have finally broken their spirits.
Marty do you live in Altadena?
Hes in the GCL. He didn't pitch that much last year (he was probably injured) so they are taking it slow with him. He's another one of those projectible bodies that needs to gain 20lbs.
Take that zoo laws!
i heard if you draw a line with a chalk in between there path you mess up there communication system, i can't tell you if it's true or false cause i've never tried it.
http://www.baconsalt.com/
actually...no. The level where he is right now is HUGE surprise to me. To give an example, the 6th overall pick in this years draft Ross Detwiler made his professional debut for the Nationals today against the Dodgers...in the Gulf Coast League. Usually, the summer they are drafted in, college draftees will play in an advanced rookie league like the Pioneer League or a short season A-ball league like the Northwest League. In their first FULL season is where they would normally start out in Advanced A-ball. So right now, Adkins is above the curve as far as professional ball placement goes.
Exactly. Minions take note.
I did a little reading about some kind of gel that works its way slowly through the colony and eventually wipes out the queens. Anybody know about that? Its supposed to be not dangerous for kids.
For those keeping track of my food tendencies, I used to eat almonds, but then they ended up being the last thing I ate before a stomach bug knocked me out for two weeks.
The almonds had nothing to do with it, but they have that association.
Sorry almond growers.
OK, gotta get back to the 10th grad student research presentation of the day (who say that professors get summer vacations?).
Sounded like it. I wish we had moved there instead of the West Valley. Love the foothills.
http://tinyurl.com/27ztdl
vr, Xei
a lot of us think he should be up with the big club already, well at least now he's with in driving distance.
http://www.terro.com/
Minor Leagues
Hu is the SS on the minor league team beating out the much more ballyhooed Reid Brignac who is having a down year.
Meloan is the relief pitcher
Major League Rookie All-Star Team
Not a Dodger to be found. Not sure how Salty beat out Loney but he did.
Minor League Surprise Team
Our own McDonald makes it as a SP.
Houlton, Stults or Hernandez could be here for a short while once Meloan settles in.
So he did this as a Junior?
They won't eat your ants but they will eat all of your leaves of your favorite plants.
Are you kidding, he's local and he's ours. We love our Lambo.
cool little write up on Meloan
Furcal, SS
Pierre, CF
Martin, C
Kent, 2B
Gonzo, LF
Nomar, 3B
Loney, 1B
Kemp, RF
Lowe, P
297)
Would your patronus be an image of Ethier sitting on the bench after yesterdays performance?
I thought the point of a platoon was to play the better hitter vs. the handedness of the pitcher...
vs. LH:
Betemit: .250/.300/.429/.729
Nomar: .213/.294/.279/.573
vs LH:
Ethier: .301/.369/.459/.827
Pierre: .248/.267/.277/.544
He has been this year.
vs RH:
.288/.325/.345/.670
.295/.370/.460/.830
And I still can't get over his Home versus Away split:
Home: .333 .392 .396 .788
Away: .217 .246 .271 .517
Betemit has 118 AB versus RHP, 28 versus LHP.
Ethier-
.301 for the season
.301 vs LHP
.295 vs RHP
?
Can that be possible? Especially with more PAs vs. RHP? Or did he drop under .300 with his last AB yesterday? (I seem to remember him walking)
ethier is hitting .318 vs lefties and .295 vs righties.
Furcal
Martin (Handles the bat very well & takes pitches plus speed)
Ethier (hot right now power & avg)
Gonzo (veteran with pop having good year)
Kent
Kemp (K's some but great power)
Loney (gap power)
Pierre (only cause he makes 45 mill)
______________________________________________
what do you think.
>>> But unlike Murray, who didn't offer the constant feedback that Ethier craves, Mueller has gotten Ethier to use his hands in concert with his head and his heart. <<<
http://tinyurl.com/2zwn3c
oh shoot i forgat Nomar.
That's a good thing.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=452
I still wish to know Nate's stance on the Dodger Stadium elevators.
i didn't think it threw very well i suppose.
I think most people here agree that the best line-up (on a typical day) involves an OF of LuGo, Kemp, Ethier, and an IF of Betemit, Furcal, Kent, Loney, and Martin.
If I were Colletti, I would sit down and have a nice conversation with Raffy. I'd tell him, look, we appreciate that you're willing to play hurt. We appreciate that you don't want to let your teammates and the organization down, and we admire your toughness. But it's clear to everyone, even the most casual fans, that your injury is hurting your performance on the field. We intend to make the playoffs this year and it's very important to us that you are healthy when October comes around. We would like to put you on the DL for three weeks or so to give your ankle a legitimate chance to heal.
If Furcal agrees to this, great. If he doesn't, put him on the DL anyway. He's hurting the team, and we have the hottest hitter in minor league baseball at AAA who also happens to be an outstanding defensive shortstop. Hu would be a more than capable fill-in for three weeks while Furcal rests the ankle. Plus it gives us the added benefit of getting a look at Hu in the major leagues. Either this off-season or early during next season, Colletti will be faced with the decision of whether to extend Furcal's contract, which means now is the time to be gauging Hu's potential to eventually be an everyday SS.
The DL move really needs to happen whether Furcal likes it or not. I don't think Colletti has the stones to do it, though. I hope he proves me wrong.
i think the movie spent WAY too much time focusing on the human storylines rather than the robots, which of course the cartoon never did.
on the other hand, even though i was a big fan of transformers growing up, i still thought the movie wasn't awful. i had very low expectations going into it because of michael bay, but it was fun popcorn fare, and the robots looked pretty cool, you have to admit.
Marlon Anderson
Anyone care to guess what the reaction from the Stadium crowd will be?
It should be a standing ovation (and it will be from me). Recent history suggests it will be booing.
Leaving Ethier out of the lineup is stupid. It demonstrates Grady's willful ignorance.
as far as believable storylines go you have to think Batman Begins was pretty good though. i made a typo on my previous post & put batman returns.
Actually, this brings up a topic I've been thinking about for a while. It's the latest in my periodic series, "Ideas Which Would Almost Certainly Work But Which Are Too Weird For Any Team to Actually Try." You might remember the last installment in the series, The Left-Handed Catcher.
The Dodgers should play five infielders and two outfielders every time Derek Lowe pitches. Lowe allows three and a half times more ground balls than fly balls. A lot of these ground balls sneak through the infield. All of these would be caught and turned into outs with a five-man infield. And a few regular groundouts would also be turned into double plays since the fielders wouldn't have to range as far to field the ball.
Lowe allows, what, maybe four fly balls a game? Sometimes one or none at all. With a two-man outfield, maybe one additional fly ball would fall in per game. And the occasional double becomes a triple instead. I think it would be a reasonably rare occurrence and certainly a good tradeoff for eliminating all the groundball singles that sneak through the infield.
I found it interesting that some DT posters (whom I respect greatly) suggested that Giants fans at the All-Star Game were classless for booing Penny, Sammy and Martin. That was funny and indicates the strength of the rivalry.
Too many Dodger fans are just too boo-happy. They'll boo their own No. 5 starter is he goes 3-0 in the count.
Knowledgeable fans will know who Anderson is. So I think Greg Brock and ToyCannon are going to the game.
That will leave about 45,000 others to boo. Except if it's early in the game, it will be about 30,000.
I thought it wasn't fair that the good leader Robot was a trailer while the bad Leader Robot was a cool fighter jet. The movie was actioned packed with lousy storyline & acting.
Easternmost in quality.
Westernmost in flavor.
Abreu would be an adequate replacement at SS for a couple of weeks.
Comment status: comments have been closed. Baseball Toaster is now out of business.