Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
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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
Hawpe is none to good against LHP though this is offset by Spilborghs who just murders them with a 1.278 OPS this year. Holiday is very pedestrian on the road.
San Diego is the place for such records!
Uh, yeah Bob. I think they will.
I should probably hate the Dodgers instead.
So I think you just have to understand the kind of situation we have out here with Mr. Church.
If Webb wasn't playing for a direct competitor that we need to lose, I'd be really enjoying this run. There is something so appealing in a run like this. As baseball fans, part of the reason we watch so many innings of baseball every year is so we can get a chance to see something magical.. something most professional major leaguers can't come close to doing, and this streak certainly is getting to that point where it is exciting to watch. Man, I wish he didn't pitch for the DBacks though.
Career SB - Rickey Henderson 1406 - current highest Lofton 620
Career 3B - Sam Crawford 309 - current Finley 124
Career hits - Pete Rose 4256 - current Biggio 3031
I don't think anyone is even on pace to break these records.
The answers are pretty easy and pretty obvious.
where did those Tim Hallgren quotes come from in your comment in the last thread?
And Diaz K'd.
Harris F9.
Meanwhile, the Angels get a gem from Santana, and Shields and K-Rod blow it.
Aug 22 vs MIL
Aug 28 @SD
Sep 2 vs COL
Jenks did not pitch in Oakland.
Hooray!
Shuey had a hip problem, not an arm problem.
Matt Kemp underwent an MRI on the right knee he slammed into the wall trying to make a catch on Wednesday after it became swollen yesterday. Kemp is out of the lineup, but available today.
That would be his 2nd good outing in a row. A boy can continue to dream.
1st game - Lackey one of the top 5 pitchers in the AL going against a top prospect but still just his 1st start in the big leagues. Red Sox rough up Lackey and the Kid does just enough with big help from the dominating bullpen to get a win.
2nd Game - Josh Becket another top 5 pitcher going against the worse road record pitcher in the AL. Santana throws a gem, probably his best game all season and even when Shields gives it all back, the Big Daddy Vlady comes through and Gagne is booed off the mound.
Not easy being an ex-Dodger in Beantown these days.
Speaking of Greg Miller, Edwin Jackson with another solid outing tonight. 6 innings 2 runs, but got no support. Walks were high as his command wasnt there, but he battled like crazy and ended up with a nice game. That makes 5 quality starts in his last 6 outings.
You know how I feel about the Z!
Do you mean former All-Star Oral Hildebrand?
http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hildeor01.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hildege01.shtml
Scott Rolen strikes out swinging, catcher Jason Kendall. Albert Pujols out at 1st. Albert Pujols out on batter interference. Three outs."
Bah, no time!
It's also not counted or listed in the boxscore.
That's a positively Stults-ian performance!
By the way, what happened to The Windmill? Someone take away his rotor?
We'll worry about that come World Series time!
This is like the opposite of misery.
What's that, the door?
Sure, Mr. McMahon, come on in!
I saw Fogg throw a shutout in Seattle last year.
The Rockies also started Elmer Dessens last night.
I have a brother named Michael.
Speculation.
Contreras is pitching tonight for Chicago.
I'm afraid the offense might quit here, and rest on their laurels.
Wells, Contreras, more reason to root hard for Stults tonight.
I'm just going to beat my head against a wall until I develop a subdural hematoma.
It's been nice knowing you folks.
He's injured right now.
Lee 2007 OPS+: 128
Holliday 2007 OPS+: 146
Byrnes 2007 OPS+: 117
There is, however, a guy named Bonds who plays LF in the NL with an OPS+ of 183. Someone with PI access at baseball-reference can tell us if there is someone better playing LF in the NL.
http://japanesebaseball.com/players/player.jsp?PlayerID=1064
And Xavier Paul is back from injury and hit two HR's in the Suns' game.
Bonds 51.3
Holliday 50.9
Byrnes 35.6
Lee 33.6
he could be a nice upgrade in the OF giving us enough depth to trade for a decent SP.
They're on the front page of that site.
The leaders in each league in Japan in triples have 6 and 5.
Japanese players don't go for triples often.
Sweeney, often described as a professional hitter, has played with seven different teams in his career, including three stints with the Padres.
Sweeney was forn on Oct. 26, 1969, 10 days after the Mets finished off the Orioles in the World Series.
They would if Juan Pierre played over there.
Yes, Japanese players don't go for a lot of triples.
First of all, there are no good triples parks as just about every stadium has a similar layout with symmetrical fences that don't give up bad bounces.
The fences also aren't really deep. There are no stadiums with 420' sections. They are almost all 330-400-330 stadiums.
Also, Japanese players are really afraid of being thrown out on the bases.
Ichiro had 12 triples in one season for the Mariners, but he has just 55 in his career in MLB.
with the start Stults has so far we can kind of rest easier so far.
We've got the "early bird special" lineup today -- almost exclusively old guys. Any reason why?
Maybe it boosts Stults' confidence to be surrounded by seasoned veterans.
Discarded pizza boxes are a cheap source of cheese.
I'm being set up.
Stults is locating his pitches very well more than anything & it doesn't hurt that the Rox haven't seen him all that much.
God bless you!
I wouldn't, he's breezing threw the Rox hitters & only at 88 pitches, no way plus the dude can hit!
Whatever Hillenbrand does, D4P will charge him with a GIDP.
leave it to Hillenbrand....
But sometimes you just have to put in Proctor and gamble.
That was pathetic.
My g/f's making me watch Naruto so I'm glad I have the laptop actually on my lap to watch the game instead.
Is it safe to say that D4P would approve of the uniformity of the ballparks in Japan?
Best game of the year by a 4th/5th starter?
He wouldn't like Hiroshima because the fences are pretty shallow there. It's under 300' down each line.
Yet, it doesn't give up a lot of home runs.
His minor league peripherals leave me wondering how he's succeeding here, but I have to say everytime he's started, he's been a joy to watch.
Lets send him over to teach a clinic.
With that triple, Juan Pierre has now surpassed Rickey Henderson's career total for triples.
67 to 66.
Been out of town for the last week - this is my first time with connectivity. Looks like I have a lot of posts to catch up on. Not the happiest of weeks in Dodgerland. Hope everyone's keeping a stiff upper lip.
No, I just knew Rickey Henderson didn't hit a lot of triples.
It would entail lots of calisthenics to create a lean physic in hopes of making the body more aerodynamic and faster. But subsequently causing the player to lose muscle mass which would create a weaker throwing arm. This would indirectly cause more players to take the risk of an extra base due to horrible throwing arms.
Fortunately, I bought a copy of "Trepanning for Dummies" and I seem to be doing OK.
Of course I'm talking about when he was a "big deal" in Japan.
But one of them really, really, really, really hurt.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ARI/ARI200309100.shtml
Tracy was outmaneuvered by Bob Brenly in that game!
Bob Brenly!
Brenly would be dumber than a pile of hammers, but hammers actually have a function on this planet!
Dodger winning streak: 3
You do the math.
The Saito Stopper™ Doesn't every team wish they had one?
Batting average -- .417
ERA -- 4.65
OK. The Dodgers are 3-0 with Shea Hillenbrand starting at 3rd. Impressive.
Stults outpitched him tonight.
El Lay Dave, sadly I only vaguely remember that other Mark Sweeney game, sorry. All of the starts in which Adam Eaton gives up grand slams tend to run together after a while...but was Matt Morris really 6-2 at one point this season?? I guess that's about as believeable as the Giants having a better record than the Phils at the time!
http://www.draysbay.com/story/2007/8/16/124248/375
http://tinyurl.com/3xvmo6
The quote might only be available to subscribsers.
http://tinyurl.com/3xvmo6
The quote might only be available to subscribsers.
Hey guys! Just got back from the game a half hour ago (hey it's 2 hours from LA to SB). Great game tonight. I really thought the game was going in the L column tonight with Kemp and Loney sitting but Stultz had a GREAT performance. When I saw the strikeout meter I was like "is that for real?" It was! 9 strikeouts and only 2 hits allowed tonight for our starter... well done.
This had to be, I swear, the greatest stadium experience in my entire life... a lot of things came together. I parked at the park by the academy gate for free... It might be a risk but its only a short walk from the park and saves 15 bucks.
New Loge area is quite cool; very chic. It might even have a bar!
There are indeed other sausage selections besides the classic Dodger Dog. By the way, Bob, if you're reading this, thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU for telling me about the grilled Dodger Dogs. I had a regular one, then tried a grilled one. I could not believe it made such a big difference. The grilled ones are fantastic, usually sold at the stands behind home plate on all levels.
by the way, I got to the ballpark with 20 min to spare. I owe most of that to my impromptu freeway route:
From Thousand Oaks onward, I took a slightly unorthodox route: going up the 23 into the 118 and then booking the 5 south and finally taking the Glendale Fwy into echo park THEN going left on Scott Ave. Thats like 6 detours on one trip and it paid off.
"a short walk from the park "
In this context, "park" means Dodger Stadium. I parked next to a regular "public park" that was by the Academy Gate.
vr, Xei
You're welcome, but I didn't tell you anything about grilled Dodger Dogs.
I actually prefer them steamed.
It's nice to avoid having to deal with that 101/405 interchange.
Steamed ones get cooked more thoroughly.
Sure, I'm 44, but let's keep that to ourselves.
"His father, Harold, a Yankees partisan from East Harlem, once dressed young Rudy [Giuliani] in Yankee pinstripes and sent him out to play in the Dodger-mad streets of Brooklyn. Too young to have any say in the matter, Rudy was set upon by the neighborhood toughs, Dodger fans all. A gang of boys seized him, placed a noose around his neck, and threatened to lynch him."
I guess booing hadn't been invented yet...
They weren't booing. They were saying "Ruuuu-deee!!"
The "carbonized casing" doesn't prevent the heat from the grill from reaching the stuff inside. When I've been lucky enough to get a grilled Dodger Dog, it's never been cold in the middle to my recollection.
The only other Dodger farm team in postseason contention is Jacksonville, which holds a two-game lead over Montgomery in the redundant Southern League South.
http://www.loons.com/store/store/index.html?c=3&i=7&t=0
>>The three-time Cy Young winner threw 60 pitches, 47 for strikes against the Gulf Coast Dodgers, and was perfect through three innings before giving up a three-run home run to Pedro Baez on a cutter with two outs in the top of the fourth. He allowed three runs and three hits with one walk and four strikeouts.
Martinez threw 29 pitches in the fourth, 11 of them to Andrew Lambo, who walked. The bottom of the inning took so long that rehabilitation pitching coordinator Randy Niemann decided to send him to the bullpen to finish with 20 fastballs.<<
One less option for Ned if he's not convinced Kemp/Ethier can play everyday.
Tad Iguchi, Mike Lowell, A-Rod, Michael Barrett, Mike Cameron, Andruw Jones, Aaron Rowand, Eric Gagne, Mariano Rivera, Barry Bonds, Tom Glavine, Milton Bradley, Francisco Cordero, Curt Schilling
It's going to be a bad winter.
But some days (like, er, today) my utter mechanical ineptitude just gets to be too much.
I need to put up a shelf. It's an old plaster and lathe wall. Hardware store around the corner only had one shelf option -- simple pine shelf, two wood brackets.
Four hours later I have put 17 holes into the wall. I just counted them. Happily, two of them contain apparently secure anchor screws.
Now, I just need to get the brackets attached to the shelf the right distance apart from each other. Sounds simple I know.
But in fact for me it's not so simple to screw down into odd shape brackets that don't stand up straight. A work table and a couple vises would do the trick. Hmmm, don't have those. I'm sure I can use these soup cans and phone books to work something out though.
Just kill me.
>> QuesTec's apparent influence did not seem to surprise Steve Trachsel, a veteran pitcher with the Baltimore Orioles. He said he had seen no difference in how white and black umpires called his pitches, but did say that QuesTec did alter umpire behavior.
"I've been told by the umpire that because there's QuesTec today, they can't give you that pitch," Trachsel said. "You know what kind of zone you're going to have when QuesTec is there." <<
http://tinyurl.com/2n9lt2
I just don't think they grill the Dodger Dogs very well. They're either BBR or they're undercooked and cold.
I grill Dodger Dogs up here at the house and they taste great. I do not, however, have a beautiful baseball field behind the garage, so that's one for Dodger Stadium.
7 7/8 here and a fitted cap aficionado as well. This combination results in few caps.
Recently I tried to order a pennant from the Loons online (as well as the Suns), but they weren't available. An email resulted in a very nice note that they would ask the marketing guys. :)
If they don't have caps in my size, I could wear the pennant I suppose.
That original post still is sitting, still is sitting right atop my windshield of lore. It shall be lifted nevermore.
Even I have a level and a measuring tape. And I rent!
I made sure to take my Dad's level after he passed away. I think it's been in the family for over 50 years.
In 2006, Welke had one of the smallest strike zones in the majors, with 8.9 percent of plate appearances resulting in walks (compared to the major league average of 8.4 percent). Welke ranked 65th of the 83 umps in strikeout rate, with only 16.1 percent of batters striking out. The ERA when he was behind the plate was 4.72; the MLB average was 4.53.
Welke has been remarkably consistent in the number of strikes he calls -- 53.7 percent of pitches were strikes in 2006, 53.8 percent in 2007. However, his K/BB ratio has somehow risen from 1.81 to 1.92, which presumably means MLB hitters (at least in Welke's games) are taking a somewhat more aggressive approach this year than they did in 2006.
The games Welke has umpired in 2007 have generally been slugfests. His ERA is 5.70, as opposed to the MLB average of 4.41.
http://cityrag.blogs.com/main/2007/08/celebrity-cribs.html
In fact, I got the shelf up. But it wasn't level (it was at first, but when I tightened the screws and straightened the bracket one end took a nosedive).
So I fixed that.
And that's when the tip of the bracket split off.
And if you worried this would end without me bleeding, you can rest easy.
Giambi, for some reason, really annoys me more than any other player on the Yankees.
But I also dislike Mike Mussina, who is nothing like Giambi.
How can you dislike a guy who went to Stanford and does the New York Times crossword and showed up Cito Gaston?
Because he whines a lot and makes excuses for everything.
>> Wolf's left shoulder, which has kept him out of the Dodgers' rotation since July 3, is pain free, and Wolf will attempt to throw on the side next week, either on Tuesday or Wednesday.
A pain-free session would be the first step toward a possible September return, but Wolf said that if he experiences any pain during or after the session, he will stop throwing and his 2007 season will be over. <<
## Matt Kemp, who has a bruised right knee, sat out Friday's game and might miss tonight's game as well but manager Grady Little said the injury won't be a long-term problem.
"He says he can play, but we're going to wait a day or two," Little said. ##
http://www.presstelegram.com/sports/ci_6654982
Pudge has 10 home runs! That would make him one of the Dodgers primary power threats!
But, but, but he was the starting All-Star catcher. He can't be bad!
I look forward to his free agent signing with the Dodgers.
your being pessimistic when in truth it's more of a 50/50 type deal.
Shelf up. I'm off to pillage and rampage.
Bring me some mead!
Federal Law prohibits the sale of mead in the District of Columbia on Saturdays.
A MAN like me takes what he wants.
[ducks]
Furcal, SS
Pierre, CF
Kemp, RF
Kent, 2B
Saenz, 1B
Martin, C
Gonzo, LF
Hillenbrand, 3B
Billingsley, P
http://insidethedodgers.mlblogs.com/my_weblog/2007/08/my_how_times_ha.html
When I first moved into my new apartment (this March) I went to Ikea and bought a towel rack since I share a bathroom and the only hanging device is on the shower door. Of course, I let it sit around until today when I finally decided to install it. True to their colors, Ikea forgot to include one of the hooks that connects the bar to the mounting surface so I'll have to wait in the customer service line to get another one. At least I can kill two birds with one stone and finally get the two screws I need to complete the third drawer of the chest of drawers I bought (also back in March).
I would not assume that.
Just so people know who they're dealing with.
Go Billingsley!
Anyone seen "Wild Hogs". I think it must have by-passed the theatres, but it has quite a cast.
Again even taking into mind that it's from the PR department, the iTD post on Dodgers.com is an interesting view of how people view the team's approach.
http://tinyurl.com/34ffuj
Remember, the Dodgers want the Phillies to lose.
It's been a good day for old friends.
Today's LA Times letters were dumb by even LA Times letter writers standards.
They all sounded like they were written by Dana Carvey's Grumpy Old Man.
And we're facing another lefthander tomorrow (Jeff Francis) so it could become three days.
And old friend Buddy has fallen behind 3-1.
Penny, Lowe & Bills will return.
Stults will be available.
Wolf and/or Kuo may be recovered from their injuries.
McDonald will be in AAA and should be ready to help in 2008.
Miller is improving his control and may also be ready to help in 2008.
I do not hold out much hope for Houlton as a SP as he is less of an option than Stults and will be out of options in 2008.
Schmidt will probably not be available in 2008 as his shoulder injury was severe and not many pitchers can come back from such an injury within a year or at all.
Hopefully, the GM will not resign Tomko and will non-tender Hendrickson.
Since there will be very little or no quality SP available in the FA market maybe the GM will finally rely on internal choices.
Did you know that Eric Byrnes knows the names of EVERY president?
And he can say them in Latin too!
I didn't know that was possible.
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