I'm sort of bummed that I won't be able to join in the fun tomorrow, but getting married and fixing my house has me a bit scatter brained right now.

What would be nice is if the Transportation Center -- which could presumably know if one particular entrance/exit is more crowded than another -- could relay in-Stadium traffic info to the parking attendants, who could then move cones, re-route traffic, etc, to mitigate any problems.

Any sign that they'll do that?

Grand slam by Dioner Navarro gives Edwin Jackson a 9-0 lead in the Bronx.

Also: JimBilly4 and I will be at the game tomorrow -- but in our regular seats in the Loge.

Where is the DodgerThoughts get together? Not sure if we'll be able to stop by -- we'll be taking care of JimBilly4's many, many children -- but it would be nice to have the option.

4 Infield Reserved, section 3.

2 I'd settle for a traffic system that advises Rich Donnelly.

The Tampa Bay 5th
- B.J. Upton ground rule double to right
- C. Pena struck out swinging
- D. Young grounded out to second, B.J. Upton to third
- B. Harris doubled to right center, B.J. Upton scored
- E. Ramirez relieved M. Mussina
- T. Wigginton walked
- G. Norton walked, B. Harris to third, T. Wigginton to second
- D. Navarro homered to deep right, T. Wigginton, G. Norton and B. Harris scored
- A. Iwamura walked
- C. Crawford walked, A. Iwamura to second
- M. Myers relieved E. Ramirez
- B.J. Upton grounded out to second
- End of Inning (5 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)

The good people of the Bronx were not happy with that inning

Four walks and a slam - nice appearance.

Good Lord... Tracyball strikes again. Bottom of the 7th, down 2-1, Paulino (batting seventh) leads off with a double. The next batter, Jack Wilson, strikes out bunting. With the pitcher batting next.

Edwar Ramirez came in and threw 19 pitches. 2 were strikes.

I saw an interesting sight on the scoreboard in one of last year's DT Day photos. "Kemp CF" What an idea.

[7] i'm sure they gave it a nice bronx cheer.

6. If only.

More relevant to the last thread, I just want Jon to know that I care about very little but appreciate DT to a point that it might invalidate my coolness. But I dont care and all my friends know I was right about the kids, even though they still think I am a Juan Pierre hater. In any case, thank you Jon, have fun tonight and I will be back in town Monday (will they be in town?) with my season tickets until the end of summer.

P.S. Statistics still sucks,(in the sense that being forced to take two semesters of it in college is not fun), but nonetheless, its should be the required major of every sports manager/labor economist

There's no need to hack, underdog is back. All I can say is, after being in the woods for a few days, I was completely cut off from all forms of media, and re: the Dodgers, kind of glad. I think I would've been too queasy from watching last night's game, with all the ex-Dodgers having fun, and the win the night before would have been too stressful to watch. I was much happier listening to blue jays, quails and owls yap, chirp and hoot (in that order).

And I'm not sure I can bear to watch tonight's game either, so I won't.

Sorry I won't be with y'all tomorrow in person, but will watch the game and be in there in spirit.

Belated congrats to Meloan for the AAA promotion, btw. Here's to one more promotion before too long.

Cheers.

Happy birthday DT, there is no better place on the world wide tubes to discuss Dodger baseball and that is entirely in thanks to our gracious host and founder.

I am bring my sister and die hard Sean Green fan. She is of the opinion that we are all nuts and I anticipate we will do little to convince her otherwise. Having coerced her into wearing a DT shirt I am secretly hoping she ends up the only one. :)

15

judging on how exhausted our bullpen is he'll probably just get he's feet went in Vegas & get called up tomorrow!

The despised one seems to be well on his way to ending one of the worst slumps in MLB history [bottom 8 at Fenway]:

"J. Lugo homered to deep left, M. Lowell, J.D. Drew and K. Youkilis scored"

Prior to today's game, over the last 7 games, the despised one was 14 for 26. He's 3 for 4 today.

Tough to focus on the Dodgers with a solid documentary on human sacrifice over at the History Channel.

There's a Brett Tomko joke in here somewhere, but I can't find it.

Missed the thread below, but wanted to offer my congratulations too Jon. Five years in Internet Time is a heck of an accomplishment. I'm a better fan of baseball for I've learned and all the thinking I've done reading here over the years. So thanks for that.

I've been here less compulsively of late, but I cherish my friends at Dodger Thoughts. In some ways, it's been a real long couple of years for me, and sharing the emergence of such a great core of young Dodgers with you lot has been a real great wing of my life.

Have a great time tomorrow.

If Edwin Jackson can throw six shutout innings against the Yankees what's to prevent Brett Tomko from throwing six shutout innings against the Mets. Again, I predict an interesting night for Mr. Tomko. :-)

21 -- Jackson has actual talent, even if it has been hindered by inexperience, and Tomko does not, unless we are counting painting. Can we count painting?

In more important news, Joel Silver is doing a remake of Logan's Run.

How could that movie possibly be improved?

Skimpier outfit for Farrah?

Otherwise, I don't see it.

Woah!! In San Diego, a fake-to-third-throw-to-first actually works! On none other than Milton Bradley...hmm...

What happened to "Baseball Tonight"?.....My favorate show growing up has turned into "The View" for bitter anchorman and washed up ex-players.....

"He's nasty" and "that one was gone" is not analysis....

Boo! The Mets broadcast is on Extra Innings.

23 Farrah was overexposed in all senses even when that was first-run. Jenny Agutter, on the other hand, never appeared in another movie I've ever seen. Pity, that.

Three smug, chuckling references to the Dodgers' fans arriving late by the Mets' crew of Gary Cohen and Ron Darling, and the game hasn't even started yet!

I hope the baseball gods sprinkle Brett Tomko with some good luck.

That was by far the worst play of the year.

Meep meep!

That was Gonzo's fault. If the CF can get to it, it's his. Pierre called him off.

sigh.

but at least Brett Tomko looks pretty sharp so far.

33 You were saying?

33

D'oh!

Waitng till 10:30 for the start I had time to feel the Karma wasn't good. But I didn't dare miss the first fifteen minutes, like last night. Now I'm not so sure.

I'm in the NY market here in Rochester, so I'm actually watching it on SNY, comforted slightly that the SNY is the broadcast on EI, sorry for all of you struggling through the game sans-Vin.

But since I have Gameday Audio sync-ed up, anybody else catch Vinny piling on Rickey Henderson already tonight?

something like, "...I've got great hands, I can still play this game."

classic.

What happened?

but seriously he doesn't look bad, that miss play by our outfielders was the cause of that run, i like what i'm seeing from Tomko so far.

33 You were right, Bluebleeder, Tomko did look good. I was just giving you a hard time. Hard to blame him for inducing a flyout to left-center.

There was a foul ball toward the first base coaching box which Henderson now mans for the Mets, and apparently Rickey made a nice play on the ball.

I'm keeping count of the lateness cracks by SNY. I think we are at 4 for the broadcast, all of which were accompanied by nervous laughter by Ron Darling.

42 On the rare occasion (like tonight) that a road team's broadcast is on Extra Innings for Dodger home games, the "late arriving crowd" blasts are always plentiful. It's such a tired routine.

Not ever having been to the Stadium yet, I wouldn't know how bad it actually is, but I'm sure it's overblown.

Did the announcer say the "Messershmidt defense", for the mets or am I hallucinating. If not, how does he get that.

Nice at bat by Furcal making O.Perez make a lot of pitches, he K'd but nice at bat non the less.

Since Tomko is a thoroughly mediocre pitcher, and he's been so awful lately (last start notwithstanding), he should continue to regress to the mean and have a solid start or two. :)

btw, how do you pronounce Meloan's name? Is it "Me-lown" or "Me-loh-an"?

0 > Pierre's knowledge of the strike zone

Good, I was about to say, how can the Mets be a contender with Valentin a regular.

I love seeing Jose Valentin flub a grounder, although not much he could do with Pierre flying down the line.

I'm just too spiteful, saw that Lugo grand-slam earlier tonight and was thoroughly disgusted.

People were chanting M-V-P! for Russell Martin last night at the stadium.

Unfortunately, I firmly believe the baseball gods took note. In July? MVP chants?

A little spite feels good. You just have to be moderate.

Hilarious. According to Gameday, the entire ball of "Ball 1" thrown to Kent was in the strike zone. The entire ball of "Strike 1" to LuGo was out of the strike zone.

I would like it stipulated that the runner on third would be on second anyway with the walk, and would score from second a base hit with two out.

So stolen bases are, again, stupid. And we didn't score.

Then "Ball 1" to LuGo was closer to the strike zone than "Strike 1"

46

I think it's Me-loh-an but i'm not exactly sure.

55 I thought it was Me-lown.

53 I'll give JP benefit of the doubt since he is stealing at an 81%+ clip, but I agree with you to a point. Stealing 2nd base, getting into scoring position: generally good. Stealing 3rd with two outs: not so good.

But is it Mel'oan or Me-lo'-an

Interesting perspective on stealing signs from Vinny.

If it's not Me-lown, it should be, since someone (I forgot who it was) gave Meloan the Cheersian nickname "Mayday Meloan".

Oy, Kemp, that was not the best read of the ball off the bat of Valentin.

57 Sure. With LoDuca behind the plate, steal second. That's okay. Go all day.

Just pointing out (to the converted) 2 steals, zero R's.

59 What did he say? Last night he said something to the effect of stealing signs have been around forever, and that Green generally had the reputation of being a "good baseball man".

Wow, that was unexpected. Way to go Nomar!

Some guy in a Nomar jersey just hit a home run.

my eyes are deceiving me did Nomar just hint a four bagger?

That was a hell of a thing.

62 He generally echoed last night's statement at first, but then made the point that the responsibility of the sign stealER is huge because of the level of trust the hitter is putting on you.

He gave the example of a stealER putting the hitter in a bad spot by calling a curveball when a fastball is thrown.

67 Vin Scully™: Adding insight to Dodger games since 1950.

I wish Brett Tomko was a jerk. It would be so much easier to hate him if he was. He always comes off as a generally nice guy.

69 Guess it will be a little easier if he can't get a bunt down.

70 check

64 - Was it Suffering Bruin?

72 Ooooh, I think it was!

SB has crazy pop!

Nice for the Padres to finally be in the inexplicable position of losing a game to Adam Eaton. 4-2 Phillies, bottom 4.

Eaton is 10-3 lifetime vs. the Dodgers.

wow, Beltran is fast. I thought Kemp played the wall really well there and still had no shot at holding Beltran to a single with a strong throw.

Tomko is lucky that ball didn't end up in the seats, down & middle in to a left handed batter in not a good antidote

This ump is really squeezing Tomko. Nice K of Delgado though.

Since this is a Dodgers-Mets contest, and the Hall of Fame hasn't yet implemented my policy of a blank cap with all team logos somewhere else on the plaque, let's discuss which cap Piazza will wear in Cooperstown.

With LA: 160 OPS+ in 3017 PA, .331/.394/.577
With NY: 137 OPS+ in 3941 PA, .296/.373/.542

I wish I could attend Saturday's game just so I could be truly crazy and wear my Hideo Nomo Dodgers jacket.

so far though it looks like a respectable pitching duel.

SNY triva question: Who are the only two players to appear in 100 games each for the Brooklyn Dodgers & New York Mets?

78
Should Wear: Mets
Will Wear: Mets

Hey Dodger fans - new poster here.

Thought it might be a good night to get on board, with Tomko looking reasonably good and Nomaah clearing the fences.

Very nice blog Jon - I only learned about it a few days ago, and I've enjoyed everyone's commentary.

81 Duke Snider has got to be one of the two.

81 Hodges .

81,85 I looked it up; it's Snider and Charlie Neal.

83

welcome aboard Ghost O Malley

82 I'd lean toward Mets as well, but a decent case can be made for the Dodgers.

It would be sweet if he went in as a Marlin. The Piazza Marlins jersey is up there with Reggie Jackson Orioles and Pete Rose Expos as jerseys I want to own.

81&84 Duke is correct along with Charlie Neal.

SNY just realized the Mets' "old friend" tendencies.

88 I'll call your Piazza Marlins jersey and raise you a Kirk Gibson Pirates jersey.

88 I've got a Jerry Rice Denver Bronco jersey, as well as a Maurice Clarret jersey.

I remember hearing an argument for Carlton Fisk that went something like, "he should just wear a cap with a Nike swoosh on it." I keep waiting for that endorsement deal.

51 See where my spite got poor Jose Valentin? Now I feel a little guilty.

Every time a new JoeChat goes up at FJM, it's like Christmas.

82 An ESPN Poll last year found that 52% thought Dodgers, 41% Mets. Apparently, the other 7% either thought Marlins or that Piazza shouldn't make the Hall.

And there was this quote from MetsBlog

"According to the poll taken last summer by MetsBlog and Dodger Thoughts, the great Dodgers blog written by Jon Weisman, 82 percent of Dodger fans feel Piazza should enter the Hall of Fame wearing a Dodgers cap."

94 That's how I feel about Fitzy's Wicked Pissah Webcasts on www.townienews.com although that might be more of a dodgerblues themed attraction, perhaps too coarse for the DT crowd.

95,96 Thanks Indiana Jon!

Mark Ellis just made things uninteresting in Oakland, now back to this one...

i get the sneaky feeling the Metropolitans are pitching around Kemp with the pitcher batting next.

It might be time to move Kemp and Loney up in the order.

100- sometimes I wonder if Oliver Perez is capable of pitching "around" or "to" anyone. I think he just flings it and prays.

87 - Thanks, Bluebleeder87.

Wow - Tomko might just give us five innings tonight.

What has gotten into Tomko...this is just wierd...

94 I loves me some Joe Chat.

Beltran scaring me right now....focus Brett....

104 Regression to the mean.

Old friend Jason Phillips released by the Blue Jays, according to Rotoworld:

http://tinyurl.com/2m3peo

Tomko is effectively throwing his new cutter tonight.

yup you knew Furcal would get O.Perez sooner or later judging from that great 1st inning at bat, nice hit.

101

I think they rule is that they must be past their primes and making about $8 million a year before we can move them up.

Russell Martin is having "one of those series" so far.

Great story, Vin. I wonder if Kim Ng has heard it?

Sounds like bad news for Valentin.

A little late on this, but Pierre basically just stole Furcal's steal attempt in that at-bat. What a poor pitch to swing at.

115- Take a step or two further (than is wise), Furcal could well have moved to third on JP's eventual groundout. And may have scored on Martin's chopper.

wow, it looked like Beltran could've gotten to that. He gave up.

that was a bee bee stretch double by Kent i guess those legs of his still have some speed in them.

I love leadoff doubles!

Whoa whoa whoa, since when did we start doing that stupid "everybody clap yo' hands" thing?

120 anything is better than "dey oh"

I predicted six shutout innings by Tomko and his rediscovered 2-seamer and only a bad play in the outfield prevented that. Enjoy the new Tomko while you can. I have no idea how long he will last. :-)

Rauuuuuul!

121 I dunno, there's something especially irritating about this one. It seems that much stranger that I mostly hear it during Mets home games.

I only skimmed the comments from before I came home, so forgive me if I'm repeating:

I just checked the pictures of last year's DT day. It seems pretty odd that last year was Tomko vs. Perez, and this year is one day removed from the exact same pitching matchup.

124 I did notice the clap your hands thing. I doubt I noticed Dey Oh the first few (dozen) times I heard it, so yes, it's pretty irritating.

I will drop in to say that Erik Bedard is still very good.

That is all.

Hey Joe, we could have used you against these guys last year!

Just caught up with the game and, though I never thought I'd be uttering these words, I feel kind of sorry for Brett Tomko. He pitched quite well and should be winning 1-0 (or more, if the Dodgers could have driven Kent home that last inning). Ah well. It's good for the Dodgers if he pitches well - not only does it help the team immediately, but showcases him for a possible trade to someone else. More than Matt Morris can say these days!

109 Don't give me any hope. If there's one thing I can't stand it's optimism. :)

That was exciting.

I really wish that leadoff double had been cashed in... Hope it doesn't come back to haunt the D's.

One excellent play by Nomar tonight, one... not so good. (Though it was a tough play. Probably should've eaten that.)

Um... was Perez doing that all on his own or what? What a fool.

um, what the heck?

Until I read Dodger Thoughts, I never knew anyone called the Dodgers "the D's".

Was this someone I was missing out on all this time in my life? Am I that out of touch?

I feel like Principal Skinner looking for Bart at the 4-H Club sometimes.

135 I assumed it was just shorter to type.

136
I would assume that an abbreviation is designed to be shorter to type.

Does anybody use "D's" in spoken parlance?

That at bat was less Bison and more buffalo chips there, Matt. Ah well.

The only other teams that start with a D are the Diamondbacks and Devil Rays and they already have space-saving nicknames in the D-Backs and D-Rays, respectively.

Hey, Olmedo's up in the correct situation finally!

that's what I meant- I've never heard anyone say it out loud. I considered it an internet abbreviation, like LOL.

Joe Smith should have a much more average looking delivery.

137 I haven't yet, but I might.

My boss calls the local teams "Yankball" and "Metball" but "Dodgeball" just doesn't fit, so "the D's" could be a nice fill-in.

137 No, but I would be more likely to use it than I would "parlance".

141- If your last name is Smith there should be a law forbidding you to name your child Joe, or John....

143- "So here we have a young trophy wife...In the parlance of our times"

for a minute there i though Bob was at the game but low & behold.

137 Since everybody is lobbing the well-deserved platitudes at Jon, I thought I'd say thank you to you for being so hilarious and a treasure-trove of information. The Griddler is also the man.

I only recognize O's, A's, and M's for single letter names for teams.

Has the ump been calling those curveballs strikes all night? The ones that curve in and hit the plate only after they've landed in the catcher's gloves? You know, "balls" in other words.

146
No, I was just out to dinner.

147
You missed me wallowing in self-pity last night. I dubbed Greg Brock the new belle of the ball.

My cunning plan to download Deathly Hallows from iTunes at 12:01 is a failure because it ain't there.

Bummer.

those kind of leadoff doubles are not nice

I don't think Hernandez has much in the tank to begin with....He looks like Big Daddy Kane though, so I'll give him that...

I hate leadoff doubles!

i hope things don't unfold even more here.sigh.

150 Yeah, right. You'll always be commenter #1 x 1,000 around here. We all know that.

I just don't want to get the boot. Nice error, Roberto. And then a bomb.

Boo.

thanks Roberto!

crap

Well....Meloan shall be here soon I guess....

Time for Meloan. Roberto is not going to work out.

155 This violates a rule, right? This has to violate a rule!

:)

that's called pressing your luck Grady, i can't believe it.

Do we have to wait till AFTER the game to release Roberto?

Years from now, we will all be surprised to remember that Roberto Hernandez pitched for the Dodgers.

He's the 21st Century version of Camilo Pascual.

Roberto Hernandez is awesome for his age.

159 Hmm, 7 seconds, must be the Midwest time lag.

I think the torch has been passed tonight from Tomko to Hernandez.

So.

Repeat after me: Meloan. Meloan. Meloan.

Hernandez looks truly... old this inning.

Feh. I think I'll go back to the campground where I was blissfully ignorant.

"I can't believe it."

Must always be in quotes and listened to in Vin Scully's voice, via Jim Healy.

"I can't believe it."

After he get' released, how long till the Mets pick him up?

165 So is my grandmother, but I don't want to see her pitch either.

I wouldn't release Roberto but he's not pitching in anymore close games.

There is a reason that Hernandez was released by the Indians.

And now that I'm back here, I have to say that not allowing Tomko to go 7 was a horrible decision. And that ain't hindsight, I said it the moment I saw him gone. Grady Little hooks one too early for the upteenth time this season.

162- Who was he supposed to run out there?

171 Does she throw a splitter? Maybe a heavy two-seamer?

If she can keep the ball on the ground, let's give her a shot.

170 Just a day. And then he'll be the winning pitcher on Sunday.

Now, what was the reason they didn't leave Tomko in for one more inning? Was he fried? Seems like their beleaguered bullpen needs all the help it can get this week.

173- I hope the transparent hatred of Little is kind of like your shtick....

175 At this point in her career, the fastball is gone. All she has left is the changeup and the eephus. My mom is a lefty though, I could talk to her.

Time for a little Russell muscle

And the 2007 season has come full circle here on Dodger Thoughts, as we are now complaining that Brett Tomko was not left in the game long enough.

Mr. Anonymous or Feliz Navidad, take your pick!

180- When there is a "play juan daily" handle, we will have come full circle...

180 good call, never saw that coming

180
I am reminded of the song that the British Army supposedly played when Corwallis surrendered to Washington at Yorktown.

New post at Screen Jam, to cure those blues.

adding to Vinnie on O.Perez you can also call him "Pollito" & it's not a bad thing in the spanish community like he said.

173 The truly astounding part is not simply that we picked up a guy released by someone else. The truly astounding part is that other than Betancourt, the Indians' bullpen is dogmeat, and that proposition no better evidenced than by the fact that their closer [Borowski] has an ERA over 5.00. The other astounding aspect to the story is the ridiculous order of the thing, I mean, why bring in Beimel before Hernandez?

180 That is like a major indicator we've entered Bizarroworld, isn't it?

180 We need to get the Irony Committee on this, STAT.

Bob, where is the Irony Committee headquartered these days?

177 I don't hate Little. He's been fairly decent. He just pulls starting pitchers too soon too often. Or at least he seems to.

There is a bright side to everything (besides of course the fact that the Dodgers will win this game by an equal score of Game 4 of the 1988 NLCS): Padres are losing 7-2 in the 8th!

The fact that Saito isn't available tonight doesn't help any. The fact that Hernandez is one of his options, and one of the few not completely fried, isn't Little's fault, either. But, yeah, I would've left Tomko in one more inning and then brought in Beimel then Broxton. Hernandez would be kept around if the game went past nine, so we could wait til extra innings to lose.

180 - Exactly. I'm not in any of the principals' Marching and Chowder Societies, but the simultaneous calls to release Hernandez and let Tomko pitch longer have won the approval of the DT Irony Committee.

177 I think you're confusing him with "Retire 55"

190- Cool....sorry for the 'tude...

189 - You're looking at it.

190 Expanding on that. What irked me even more then Tomko not going out for the 7th was Pierre and Gonzo not being able to manage flyballs between them. Also, there were several called strike threes on dodger hitter taking curve balls that were right down the middle dead center of the plate.

190 Expanding on that. What irked me even more then Tomko not going out for the 7th was Pierre and Gonzo not being able to manage flyballs between them. Also, there were several called strike threes on dodger hitter taking curve balls that were right down the middle dead center of the plate.

187 - add to this allowing him to pitch on consecutive days AND after getting two hard line-drive outs of his three, who were the 9-8-1 batters. Color me doubly perplexed.

Looking ahead in the inning, this is where you really wish Kemp and Loney batted in front of Nomar.

A-Rod's manager can bat him eighth and get away with it but Nomar is somehow too big a star to be subject to batting order placement on merit?

189 - Right next to the Department of Redundancy Department and around the corner from the Natural Guard.

I'd love to hear Ned's reasoning behind bringing in a washed up reliever rather than calling up a young kid who is dominating in a hitters park. Meloan might not be great at first, but there's an excellent chance that he'll pitch better than Hernandez has this season.

Still not as good of a name as the Giants 3rd baseman...

Might be a good time for Gonzo to try for a bunt hit, with Feliciano in.

Okay. I just got in having missed the entire game so far, and I've not checked the thread here yet, but I wonder - was Roberto Hernandez acquired to come in with the score tied in the 8th (tonight) and NOT to come in a blowout in the 6th (last night)? Isn't this completely backwards? Am I missing something?

175 My daughter is still available to pitch. She always keeps the ball down, as in it rolls to the plate. No hanging sliders from her!

196 Right, the DT Irony Committee is present. But this kind of irony needs to be bumped up to the Internation Commission on the Detection and Sanctioning of Irony. I know they meet tri-annually, but they haven't met on Malta for ages, and I think the new spot is someplace near Murmansk.

The Irony Determination Committee was subsumed by Jon. There was infighting on the Committee and it was disbanded by order of the UN Security Council.

Mongo is in the 'pen...

192. I was surprised Grady removed Tomko after only six considering that Saito is unavailable tonight. However, Grady was unduly influenced by Hernandez's one inning last night.

>>> Without Saito, Little has Jonathan Broxton to close, although the manager conceded that the 1-2-3 inning Roberto Hernandez threw in his Dodgers debut on Thursday night against the Mets had more than the usual effect.

"With what was happening, any pitcher that puts up zeroes against that club, it's an instant love affair," Little said of the 42-year-old Hernandez, who has 326 career saves but hadn't pitched in a Major League game in a month until Thursday night. <<<

http://tinyurl.com/2v9ho7

Kent's off Reyes's Christmas card list.

211 - Kent can't be on anybody's Christmas card list, can he?

Is Kent on anyone's Christmas card list? Besides Milton Bradley's of course.

Sigh.

212 50 seconds. I was out by a Rich Donnelly mile.

207
The ICDSI did meet triannually, but during the last meeting half of the committee didn't know if that meant three times a year or once ever three years. Then some people said the word should be triennial and refused to appear until it was changed.

Eventually, the commission members who represented the Western European Dramatic Irony Bloc bolted the group, leaving the North American Pathetic Irony Cabal without a quorum.

215 - bonus points for bringing up Bradley, though.

I'm curious if there will be jockeying and infighting to get the best seats at the game tomorrow. Who gets to sit next to Jon and thus be next to the center of attention? Who gets to sit next to Bob and learn how to keep score and enjoy his dry humor? Who gets to sit next to Greg Brock and grill him about his real identity? This could get rough.

Kent probably sends out those really long, annoying, single-spaced, two-sided, small-type Christmas letters updating everyone on their lives.

And he handwrites every letter. While wearing a cardigan sweater.

"Kent's off Reyes's Christmas card list."

Did you guys notice earlier in the game when Reyes doubled and did some pimping after reaching second base? Kent was standing right behind him and giving him a look like, "I wish I could squash you like a bug, you cocky little so-and-so." I wonder if he had that in mind later on, because he seemed to put far more effort into breaking up that double play than he usually does.

218
If someone is sitting next to me tomorrow, then I've hired a good impostor to fill in for me at work.

man, we missed a golden opportunity there, oh well.

218 I'm taking my assigned seat. Barring that, I'll be in the far back corner of our section.

216 You are much smarter than me, I could never come up with this stuff....hilaroius.

221 I could do a passable job. I have a bit of librarian in me, and I could wear some platform shoes.

Kent's Hall of Fame speech will be interesting to watch, in the same vein that Wade Boggs' was. When you've managed to alienate all your fellow players, who exactly can you thank in your speech?

218 I heard Bob sadly won't be in attendance. And I think Greg Brock will be there but no one will actually meet him. Then we will all realize...that Greg Brock is in everyone of us!

226 your agent.

227

Then we will all realize...that Greg Brock is in everyone of us!

Well, since I'm what's wrong with America, then that means we're all what's wrong with America!

Hooray. You guys are to blame too, jerks!

And he handwrites every letter. While wearing a cardigan sweater.

i didn't need that visual in my mind.

James Loney vs. Billy Wagner, Part Deux. Let's hope for an encore.

We're not getting three on Wagner. Oh well, save the heroics for tomorrow.

Or, we can win 17-0 tomorrow. Either one is totally cool.

Loney needs a day off....

Kemp could hit three home runs with one swing of the bat.

Eckersley got the first two outs, too.

Thank you Mets announcers, for telling the Gibson homer/brake lights visible story yet again. You hadn't made that point quite enough yet.

If you go to library school and take a cataloging class, you get to learn the difference among all these terms:
* Triennial
* Biennial
* Annual
* Semiannual
* Three times a year
* Quarterly
* Bimonthly
* Monthly
* Semimonthly
* Biweekly
* Three times a month
* Weekly
* Semiweekly
* Three times a week
* Daily
* Continuous
* Irregular

that's all she wrote i still think we need Meloan sooner rather than later, hopefully they'll be some good news tomorrow morning.

229 - I understand that Elvis is everywhere,
Elvis is everything, Elvis is everybody, Elvis is still the King. Man oh man What I want you to see Is that the big E's Inside of you and me.

236- It's a sign of insecurity...many city's can not handle L.A's omni-relevance.....I take it as a compliment...

Bummer of a game...hope Penny mowes em down tommorrow...

236 My unofficial count of "arrive late" or "leave early" comments tonight was 87.

Time to stew about this loss in private. I gotta get some sleep since I'll be driving up to DT day from San Diego early tomorrow morning. See y'all tomorrow.

225 - Dine much with Hannibal Lecter?

you can also make an argument on why in the world the Dodgers gave Roberto Hernandez a gig after being booted by the Indians but didn't that happen with our boy Seanez also, oh well hopefully we'll get 'em tomorrow.

218 Who says we will be revealing our nom de plumes? Heck, I'm going tomorrow as long time lurker "crazylegs36" who does not post because his job is personal assistant to Carol Channing, who is a well known luddite and hates computers.

Just as long as you don't show up as Hannibal Lecter. Good night everyone.

240
Los Angeles: We Have Fewer Exploding Streets!

Los Angeles: Our Infrastructure Is Slightly Newer!

Los Angles: Our Mayor Has Better Taste In Extramarital Affairs!

Los Angeles: We Will Spare You "Los Angeles is Burning, the 1992 Dodgers story" as an 8-part ESPN miniseries!

Los Angeles: We've Got 88 Cities in Our County!

Los Angeles: Our City Doubles for New York Most of the Time

237 All those terms are really about home run hitting.

* Triennial: Juan Pierre
* Biennial: Jason Schmidt
* Annual: Ramon Martinez
* Semiannual: Mike Lieberthal
* Three times a year: Nomar Garciaparra
* Quarterly: Tony Abreu
* Monthly: Olmedo Saenz
* Biweekly: Andre Ethier
* Three times a month: James Loney
* Weekly: Luis Gonzalez
* Three times a week: Russell Martin
* Daily: Wilson Betemit
* Continuous: Matt Kemp
* Irregular: Andy LaRoche

Off to sleep. See many of you tomorrow. Others, I will see in spirit.

We didn't win.

I'm out. Have fun tomorrow everyone, when I get around to moving to Cali I'll join you for sure, gonna be crickets in here tomorrow night.

249. It's a day game, don't forget. I will be leading the group in movie chat.
vr, Xei

250 oops, thanks xei, don't know how I forgot that, I actually get to watch a Saturday Dodger game here in the NY market, happens about once a year.

249. It's a day game, don't forget. I will be leading the group in movie chat.
vr, Xei

I could watch the Hiphoppopotamus/Rhymenocerous episode of Flight of the Conchords over and over again.

Laroche in his last 10 games...

38ABs 6hr 5bb 3k .447AVG .314 BABIP

254. Nice stuff... but too bad he is blocked right now (Nomar, Betemit).
vr, Xei

The DodgerSims simulator says the Dodgers win probability for the DT game tomorrow is 63.0%. Enjoy the game, with the day being a day game, I may be out of the house and unable to keep the movie chat going while the game is going on. :) vr, Xei

Blowing a solid start by Tomko is akin to Pierre hit a triple with no one on and then stranding him. Hopefully Tomko is hitting one of those temporary patches where he imitates a decent pitcher if only long enough for the rotation to get healthy and/or pique another teams interest.

184. Chumbawamba played that tune on their album English Rebel Songs (1381-1914).

The Los Angeles Ordinaries in the last coupla months (I think, quick-counting):
May 18-31: 6 and 6
June: 14 and 14
July thus far: 9 and 7.
And so it goes, for the next baseball dynasty...

What a great surprise: an NBA official was caught. The guy under suspicion is from the Philly area, long-time gambling problem/debts, according to Jimmy Lynam's daughter, who usually has good sources.
Sports, including baseball, are rife with it...I can point to particular games in each major league the last few years wherein Occam's Razor would demand that conclusion.
Saw a Penn St/Michigan gridder a while ago that was simply beyond belief, and wondered at the time if the inducement was only money, or if serious threats to loved ones were involved as well. Given just the money bet legally on NFL games (which observers in the field think is not most of it), the surprise would be that there haven't been scams, regularly, as in German soccer.

Daniel should take it under advisement that, at nearly 11:30 last night, I agreed to drive with my wife by the local bookstore to see if there were any Harry Potter-related queues. As it turned out, there were literally hundreds of people lined up 4 deep along the entire two-block stretch of street, many donned in wizard garb.

238 Quoting Mojo Nixon is a misdemeanor in some states.

Brad Penny starts today with a 11-1 record. The last Dodger pitcher to start the season at 11-1 was Doug Rau in 1977. He had to the face the Mets at Dodger Stadium on July 25 . He gave up 3 hits to start the game and the Dodgers lost 1 -0. Craig Swan somehow managed to pitch a shutout against that heavy hitting Dodger team.

If I understand correctly 5 years ago today Jon typed away his 1st DodgerThoughts post Little did he realize 5 years later die hards like my self can't get enough of this great Blog & for that Jon THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

226 Wouldn't it be interesting to see Kent and Barry Bonds enter the Hall of Fame together? They could both thank nobody together, thank each other, or get into a fight. Or maybe Kent could just stand behind Barry and give him that same stare he gave Reyes at 2nd base last night.

261
The more amazing thing is that the 1977 Mets won any games that year.

265 Even more amazing if the 1977 Mets had won a game any other year. ;-) (Sorry, I couldn't help myself.)

Dodgers and Padres last 10 games: 6-4 and 5-5
Dodgers and Padres last 20 games: 10-10 and 11-9
Dodgers and Padres last 30 games: 15-15 and 15-15

So which team is the Mediocrities?

265 (for real) Yeah, for 265 read 264.

I would like Gary Cohen to provide for me definitive proof that no Mets fan left early during Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.

259 Yeah, these books are kind of a big deal.

The UPS guy has an hour and a half to get here before I leave. He's not going to make it :-(

LAPL branches will have Harry Potter books on Monday morning. There are six for each branch. First come, first served. You have a week to read it.

Good luck.

Just an FYI but Jon's link up top to one set of the pictures doesn't work anymore so if your interested here is the new link.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/91066300@N00/sets/72157600935039622/

This year I won't be shy with the camera as I'll be wearing my incognito outfit as we attempt to get candid shots of the group in action.

"Action" is not a term I think will be associated with this group.

Rotoworld says the Blue Jays released Jason Philips. He apparently hit .208/.269/.278 in 144 at-bats.

Does Pittsburgh need any help at 1b?

273
He's got to better than Wil Nieves.

Have fun today guys! I'll look for you in the stands when the Fox announcers point out the DodgerThoughts group and talk about what an influence we've all been on the team's changed makeover. Hope it's a good game! May it be Roberto Hernandez-free.

Greg and D4, no spoilers for two years, okay? I'm gonna wait 'til the movie comes out.

No, actually I think I'll get the audiobook. Is that on iTunes yet?

259 But you didn't actually buy the book, did you? I got up at 7am and went to my local grocery store to get a copy. $3 more than Wal-Mart, but I got the advantage of no lines and the smugness of not patronizing the biggest of big boxes.

Greg and D4, no spoilers for two years, okay?

To the chagrin of my minion(s), I don't read the books. So no worries about spoilers from me.

the smugness of not patronizing the biggest of big boxes

Smug away, DZ. Smug away.

What a bummer, just woke up and was reading the sports page and noticed Eugene Oregon is getting the Giants game today , no Mets vs Dodgers.

Was planning on getting my honey do 's done early and watching the game but now I guess will just spend the afternoon with the kids instead of telling them they can't watch Disney channel on the big TV because the Dodgers are on.

Article on Preston Mattingly from milb.com

http://tinyurl.com/28ta72

Have a wonderful time at DT day everyone, wish I was there.

Its a good thing I went back a bit in this post, as I had forgotten it was a daygame. Thanks to Steve and Xei I won't do something like get back from hiking and totally freak. It's a beautiful day in New England.

278 Do you have something like Gameday to give you a bit of a taste?
Actually, giving the full attention to the family is a good strategy for getting a positive out of a negative.

From ItD:

Time for some Dodger Thoughts

A large group from Dodger Thoughts is coming to today's game and we've got a few cool things in store for them. I'm fairly certain that anyone that reads this blog also reads Jon Weisman's site every day, as he does an incredible job of "covering" the Dodgers for someone who isn't out here every day. I'm sure when he started his blog five years ago today, he didn't think it would become what it has but it's very obvious what a big role it plays in many of your lives, which is something he should be proud of...

Here's today's lineup:

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

Per ItD . . .

I like the look of this lineup. I'm sure everyone at the game today will appreciate it.

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

Oops. I guess I should have refreshed. Sorry.

282
That's almost an entirely DT-sanctioned lineup!

New post up top.

What a perfect lineup for DT day. I wonder what other 'cool' things they have in store. Wish I could be with you guys, have a great day at the most wonderful stadium in baseball!

Looks like a great day for DT.
Can someone help me with an area of ignorance. How do the Mets come up with someone like O. Perez( and you know i don't mean Odallis). He looks great and he's like 26? What did they have to give up and did the Pirates get taken?