TJax reported that this morning as well. The good news is that neither mentioned whether permission was granted, or if so, whether White accepted the interview. There are 7 other confirmed candidates, including several that interviewed yesterday or today (Ed Wade, Jim Beattie, Bob Watson, etc.)

I think they should interview Rick or Matt White instead. Or even Jaleel White. Just not Logan White.

1 Make that 9 other candidates. Wade, Beattie, and Muzzy Jackson (Royal AGM) interviewed yesterday. John Mozeliak (Cardinal AGM), Steve Lubratich (Cleveland Director of Player Personnel), and Ruben Amaro Jr (Philly AGM) interviewed today. Bob Watson and current Astro AGMs David Gottfried and Ricky Bennett are also being considered for the position.

At least with so many guys, there's a good chance White doesn't get the job (if the Astros were looking for the best man, Ed Wade would have never been interviewed).

I don't think the Dodgers can deny permission, its an interview for one of the 30 top jobs that exists in his field.

If it was a lateral move, that's one thing, but its not.

I hope Logan is familiar with the Peter Principle.

Stay and enjoy the success of a homegrown team.

If you must be employed by Houston, please trade Roy Oswalt to us for six tickets to the the AM/PM pavillion.

5 Carlos Lee approves of the trade. And says he has dibs on the tickets.

What I learned today:

1. I would have been bunting with two on, nobody out, and down a run in the ninth. I am glad to be wrong today. In the same situation in the future, I would still be bunting. Seems getting the runner to third with one out is the play to me.

2. We won without a delayed steal attempt by an old, slow guy. Can somebody remind Grady of that? I don't want to see Shea or LuGo or Kent trying to steal. Even against the Cubs.

3. I loved the Gagne years. I wanted to match/beat the Texas offer and keep him here. Ned was right to give the job to Saito. He is a legit Cy Young candidate. Other than Russ Martin, he is our MVP. Leads the bigs in era now gents.

4. Grady hit Abreu 8th. In the not so distant future, Abreu with speed and some pop in his bat will earn his way to the top of the line-up. Grady will eventually have to realize with four more years of Pierre, that Slappy belongs in that 8th slot.

5. Matt Kemp can homer outside Dodger Stadium. Time for him to hit a few more this year in SF, AZ, and Colorado. Then in NY. Then perhaps ..... Cleveland?

6. I love three run homers in the ninth inning that give us the lead.

7. I love three run homers in the ninth inning that give us the lead.

8. I'm still waiting to pay for my postseason ticket strip until after the SD series. Payment is due Sept 14th. It took 2 months for a refund last year after only using one set of tickets. I want to pay for them, believe me.

4 Why would they ask for a team's permission if they couldn't deny it? I doubt that a team ever actually does deny it, but I would assume that they could. But there's still always the chance that White simply declines to interview, which isn't uncommon. He's only been AGM for a year, there's a chance that he doesn't feel that he's ready to be GM. Or he could simply want to show some loyalty to the Dodgers.

I'm hoping that Tal Smith just convinces McLane to hire his old Public Relations Assistant, who also happens to be an 8 year veteran GM. You can't beat that kind of experience!

Anybody know what ever happened to J.R. Richard? Last I know he was living under a freeway in Houston. I recall a network news segment on him but that was maybe ten years ago.

He threw smoke.

9 Purely by accident I ended up having a beer with J.R. Richard last summer. He was a nice guy and seems to be doing well. The days of freeway underpasses are definitely behind him.

8 One would think that White is smart enough to know he should wait for a good opportunity, and that Houston is not a good opportunity. Going to work for a crazy owner rarely works out well unless your name is Cashman. And Houston, more than any other team, has gone to great lengths to destroy its farm system, which is something I suspect wouldn't help lure White over there.

Eric, you serious about beers with J.R.? Hope he is doing well.

Yeah, serious. Some friends and I went out to a bar and J.R. Richard and Vida Blue happened to be there. Didn't take much convincing to get them telling stories about the old days.

Heh, Vida Blue was at a baseball camp I attended back when I was 13 or so. He seemed like a guy that just loves life and had no problem signing autographs and taking pictures with anyone who asked him.

Johnny Bench, on the other hand, couldn't have been more unfriendly and didn't sign autographs for anyone.

13 That's pretty much been my experience with each of those people too.

Matt Kemp

BABIP: .410
LD%: 16.8
Expected BABIP: (16.8 + 12.0)/100 = .288

Kemp seems to be getting a lot of groundball singles, which might be what's driving up his BABIP well above what would be expected.

I live up in WA and am not going to be able to make Sunday's (9/16) game against Arizona. I have one field level ticket I would like to make sure gets used. Please email me if anyone is interested. randy.ross@xerox.com

13 14 Nicest player I eve met was Joe Kerrigan, the longtime pitching coach. While in the minors, he used to tell my buddies and me the answers to the nightly trivia question so we could win steak dinners.

7 I can't imagine anyone who has watched Dodger baseball over the last 7 years being a proponent of the bunt with runners on 1st and second. If it worked 100% of the time fine, but it is so easy to just force the guy out at third. Then what are you left with? Even more so down a run. In a tie game again you might be able to justify it, but not down 1. Jim Tracy was a bunt addict in that situation and it usually worked about a third of the time.

In case you couldn't tell I absolutely despise that play.

18 I'm not exactly against "Moneyball" philosphy or your opinion, I simply think that the situation dictates what you do there. In most situations, Ethier's ball is a fly out to left, hard to advance a runner who might be the second out to third.

I doubt the third of time statistic, I suspect that it works at least 75% of the time. A lot could go wrong though. I believe Ethier has good enough bat control (or Ramon Martinez) to get the ball down the third base line.

7 - I'm being a little snarky here, so I apologize in advance, but...

(Referencing #3 on your list) Ned didn't exactly "give" the job to Saito. If you'll recall, Saito didn't even break camp with the Dodgers. Saito was a gloriously lucky discovery, and I have no problem giving Colletti credit for bringing him into camp. But I don't think even Colletti himself would claim he did so with the plan or idea that "Sammytime" was about to begin.

I'm trying to remember if I heard any predictions of just how good a player Martin was going to be a year or two before he arrived. I remember people mentioning him with the other prospects, but nothing prepared me for what he has become. Watching him pick a guy off first and score easily from third on his gimpy knee continues to amaze.

(In fact she got Kemp, Ethier, Martin and Bills on one ball)

Wow! (And the Sandlot 19 reference was funny too.)

On the baseball gods, I was at a game at RFK last year where Ramon Ortiz (!!) had a no hitter going through the top of the eighth. In the bottom of the eighth, he hit a home run. The fans cheered and cheered and finally he came out for a curtain call.

Then he lost the no hitter to the next batter he faced.

Ned deserves credit for (like most if not all GMs) inviting a bunch of journeymen pitchers to spring training, throwing them against the wall so to speak, and then keeping the ones that stuck.

Saito happened to be one of those who stuck. I doubt there was any grand insight on Ned's part. He got lucky, though he deserves credit for taking the right approach.

The wrong approach? Trading prospects for Danys Baezes and Lance Carters.

By the way, my son's school is selling magazine subscriptions as a fundraiser. I need to buy something, but I have no idea what. Last year it was Shutterbug, which proved to be not my cup of tea.

Sports Illustrated is an easy call, but I'm wondering if there are others out there I should consider. What's the thought on ESPN the magazine?

22 If you were a good dad, LAT, of course, you'd take her back to get Loney and Laroche on there.

Those Ethier/autograph story from the last thread was interesting.

Last month when the Dodgers played the Cardinals, my wife, my parents and me were there. It was the Penny game that Loney hit the homer. Well anyways, we were sitting right on the field down the RF line, about as close to the RF'er as any fans could be.

I wanted to pull Ethier's chain a bit, so I tried to get my wife to yell at Andre to get his attention: She was going to say, "Andre, Andre! I'm pregnant". Then I'd get a picture of him blushing and all embarrassed. Unfortunately, we didnt end up doing it.

The only other memorable parts of that game was that Loney hit a bomb right over us that was foul earlier in the game, then struck out. But then came back in the 9th to hit the GW homer.

For all the talk about Ethier having a great arm, it doenst compare to Ankiel's. I think that was only Ankiel's 2nd major league game as an OF'er, but he threw some rockets from the warning track in warm ups. He's definitely athletic out there. Ethier looks fundamentally sound, but he's wasnt very fast and broke back on just about every ball initallly even if it was shallow.

Right now the D's lead the leaque in striking out opponents, and have the fewest K's themselves.

25, Good idea Sam, I'll take any excuse to go to a game.

Don't shoot the messenger, but driving into work just now, Simmers was saying on the radio that he was hearing "rumblings" that the Dodgers are not as high as they once were on LaRoche. Apparently 'some people' feel he has too big a swing and is too vulnerable with that swing. Simmers said he wouldn't be suprised to LaRoche moved eventually.
(LAT runs for cover now.)

26 - "I wanted to pull Ethier's chain a bit, so I tried to get my wife to yell at Andre to get his attention: She was going to say, "Andre, Andre! I'm pregnant". Then I'd get a picture of him blushing and all embarrassed."

Why?

We won't shoot the messenger..yet! not getting to listen to Simmers I have no idea what his track record on info is.

29 I'd be upset if:
A) It probably wasn't something Simers pretty much made up
B) I didn't expect it to happen already.

JR Richard, whenever he was pitching against us, I felt we had little chance. The numbers bear out his dominance against us.

Place/GS/W/ L/ CG/ SHO/ IP/ ERA/ H R/ER/HR/BB/IBB/SO/HBP
LAD/24/15/4/14/5/208/1.86/124/44/43/9/75/1/218 0

DodgerStadium /13/7/2/ 7/3/107/1.77/64/21/21/8/34/0/118/0

But he was no Larry Jaster
1966
LAD/5/5/0/5/5/45/0.00/ 24/ 0/ 0/ 0/ 8/ 0/ 31/ 1
5 games, 5 shutouts.

29 - Whatever ... I don't trust Simers not to sensationalize the Dodgers' concerns. And either way, LaRoche still might be traded. For the Dodgers, LaRoche won't have proved himself until he hits .400 for a month.

So it turns out Rick Ankiel is on the juice.......allegedly

http://www.tsn.ca/mlb/news_story/?ID=217745&hubname=mlb

35
Nevermind! I should really read the old threads first before posting anything.

My gut has been telling me for some time that Management is not high on LaRoche, and I'd be more surprised if we kept him for a long time than if we traded him in the near future. I'm inclined to listen to my gut at the moment, as it is not hungry.

For the Dodgers, LaRoche won't have proved himself until he hits .400 for a month

With no walks.

Tony Jackson actually did a nice job writing an article about the game this morning. I wonder if he knows Dylan wrote the song or if he's only familiar with the PPM version?

Watching the replay last night it really was just a high fly ball that caught some air. Vinny was talking in the 8th about how the wind was picking up from right to left. Then Ethier hit it up in the wind as on cue.

30--Its all in good fun. I'm sure Ethier would have known we were just messing with him, unless he really did have multiple gf's in different cities.

Old school types still want a power hitter at third. I'm not surprised to hear that NedCo--who else would it be--remains iffy on LaRoche. Yet #10 has several things going for him too. Nomar has proven more brittle that ever, and Hillenbrand has done nothing to win the job. Abreu would be an option but he seems penciled in to replace Kent. NedCo could have moved LaRoche in July but didn't. My guess is that all Simers has heard is NedCo kvetching about LaRoche walking so much, which is akin to kvetching about Kemp on the basepaths.

You guys are making BHSPORTSGUY nervous.

I should have noted for what its worth (not very much really) that Simmers was absolutly fawning over Russel Martin. He was also very high on Kemp's abilities but questioned his work ethic and maturity. In fairness he suggested that anyone's work ethic is suspect when compared to Martin's. (I'll agree with that.) Either Simmers or Rogin said Ethier is "moody"--whatever that means.

An example that hits closer to home about why we really shouldn't care about LaRoche's current struggles:

Paul Konerko with the Dodgers: 144 AB, .215/.272/.306

Old school types still want a power hitter at third

Actually, I think New school types have a greater demand for power hitters at third.

Old schoolers are content with high PVL at third (e.g. Nomar, Hillenbrand, Mueller, etc.).

40 But LaRoche has 20-25 home run power.

40
Actually all he probably heard was Tommy bemoaning the fact that La Roche didn't bow properly when he passed by, and thus Tommy is not high on La Roche.

I doubt if Ned ever talks to any media off the record about any of the players.

Tommy will talk to anyone who pays him attention as long as your somebody.

Ankiel's at .358/.409/.765 after 81 MLB at bats.

Averaging 1 homer per 9abs.

I dont think he can get in trouble since he took it before it was banned. But I'm sure the "feel good" story will now change. Its too bad, bc what he's doing is something unseen in baseball.

Last guy to dominate in pitching (of course Ankiel only had 1 good MLB season), and then also be a hitter was I guess Babe Ruth?

If the Cards put Ankiel's in CF, he might be the best CF'er in the game if he OPS's 900 or so.

40
That is a bit strange. La Roche will hit more home runs then Nomar/Shea/Abreu combined.

Really the only question is health not ability. If they feel his back will hold him back from hitting his ceiling then I can understand them not being comfortable headed into 2008 with him as the 3b.

24. ESPN is much worse than Sports Illustrated. The only magazine subscription that I've found to be worth the money I spent on it is The Economist.

Incredible libraries. http://tinyurl.com/27wwqb

47
I love the story but how did a guy who's MLE show a sub 300 OB% all of the sudden morph into Jim Edmunds Prime?

Jeff Francouer had the same kind of start but eventually his plate discipline caught up to him. The same should happen for Ankiel but it is a great ride at the moment.

LaRoche doesn't have a long swing. His swing is actually quick. But he does let the ball get deep into the zone before he swings, and if he is doing that and trying to pull the ball, well, that AB is going to end up in a strike out. LaRoche just needs to relax a little, but easier said than done when there is so much pressure on him right now.

[44, 45, 48] Potential aside, NedCo's still going to make him produce more than good AAA numbers before he let's him settle in. I have no doubt he'll have to battle someone for the job next spring.

ToyCannon's right though about noting the injury concerns, as well as Simer's source maybe being Tommy.

This story at Bleed Cubbie Blue says Andre Ethier is a jerkface to people wanting autographs.

http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/

I don't buy it.

54
This just isn't your day I guess.

54
Did you see that Ned signed Juan Pierre to a 5-year contract? It was mentioned in a previous thread.

If you look at this "Who would you like to see at 3B poll" on KFWB.com...

This proves once and for all that the average Dodger fan is, how should I put it....?

http://www.kfwb.com/pages/7789.php?

51--I think the thing with Ankiel is that he hasnt been a hitter very long (career wise), and that he could learn discipline along the way.

His situation IMO is different from a guy thats been a hitter his entire career and has never walked.

With all of Ankiel's power, I doubt he'll get much to hit and it'll be interesting to see if he can not chase balls. He has 10 walks in 81 ABs so far. Not great, not terrible.

57. The amazing part of htat is not that 43% voted for Nomar but that 7% actually voted for Hillenbrand. That 7% must Padre fans or people joking around.

55
No I guess it isn't.......I'm done for the day.

56
Lame attempt at comedy. You can do better than that I'm sure.

Lame attempt at comedy. You can do better than that I'm sure

I assure you, that was no laughing matter.

Between the Logan White news and the LaRoche rumblings, this thread is giving me indigestion.

61
See. Now that's funny.

50 Amazing pictures Sam.

The Lenox Ma. library, run by a private group, just spent millions restoring some domed cielings covered with artwork. At your cite, I found a cite about "Librarys We Love" , by the Berkshire Publishing group, based two towns away. It didn't mention the Lenox Library! Gives me something to snoop into.

56 LOL

It wouldn't bother me if Logan White get the gig. If his dream is to be a GM then I hope he gets it. He won't be our GM so he might as well be someone else's. It is not like they have very many openings every year.

It is interesting that they are interviewing so many and Kim is not even on the list. I think she has a better chance of outlasting Ned and getting our gig then she does of someone hiring her from the outside.

57 LaRoche has 59% of the votes and Nomar has 31%. What were you expecting?

That is because about 10 of us just voted for La Roche. Before he posted the link the link, Nomar was ahead.

68 Make it 11.

58
From Baseball HQ:
"Market Ticker... Rick Ankiel (OF, STL) continued his fairy tale story on Thursday with two home runs and seven RBI against PIT. Ankiel now has nine homers and 29 RBI in only 81 AB. How long can this continue? With a PX over 200 and a ground ball rate of only 29%, with 22% line drives and 49% fly balls, the power seems real. However, a 39% hit rate and a batting eye of 0.38 in the majors and 0.27 at AAA Memphis say Ankiel's .358 BA is headed down soon. His xBA is .291."

68 There is a lesson about something here. Maybe the age of the net.

Logan White seems a better fit for the Pirate job then Houston.

I was reading through one of Logan's old chats just a couple of days ago and wondering if he had GM aspirations, and more so, if he'd be qualified. What's the general feeling here on whether he'd make a good GM (contracts, deals, etc)?

69. Make it 12.

I voted for Andy.

68 They wouldn't let me vote for A-Rod.

Of course!! The whole interviewing with Houston thing was just cover, but it's so obvious...PITTSBURGH is going to hire Ed Wade now!!

(seriously, Dodger fans, your team has made the playoffs 4 times since the Pirates even had a winning season. Things could be a lot worse than having to watch Juan Pierre in CF for four more years, would you prefer it be Adam Hyzdu and Chris Duffy instead?)

76

I don't know...if we had Duffy, I could fantasize about signing one of the 2,000 free agent CFs on the market this winter who are better than Juan Pierre.

77
Speaking of fantasizing, have you been "bowling" a lot lately...?

78

No, that ball has apparently gone into the gutter.

76 Speaking of Hydzu, my friend and I were trying to make a list of the guys that have pretty much bounced through every stat heavy organization. We came up with Hydzu, Jack Cust, Carlos Pena, and Mark Bellhorn. Are there others?

79
Spare me the details...

Just kidding. That's too bad. It seemed to get off to such a great start.

80
Hee Seop Choi!
Hee Seop Choi!
Hee Seop Choi!

Das hinted at this, but Pittsburgh just fired Dave Littlefield.

Did not see that one coming.

I was wondering why I would be nervous and then I remembered.

81

Yeah, keeps happening that way. I've stopped trying to understand.

Sat in the RF bleachers at Wrigley yesterday for that glorious game.
Was singing the praises of our 5 sub 25 year old position players.
These fans were knowledgable and seemingly geniune when Ethier came up. I spoke highly of him(the knew and respected the Bison,fyi)to no one in particular when they insisted b4 the game Ethier was surly and rude talking with the bleacher bums. They said he ended it by throwing the ball as is custom, but OVER the bleachers to spite them after some verbalbanter.
Doesn't sound right or necessary. Might want to address this.
The Windy City fans do have a bit of a drinking problem and a growing fondness for booing and hecklin' however.

Perhaps the only way to have a shot at AROD is to shed some long term salary. And the only way to move Pierre would be to include a prospect. If LaRoache were that prospect it clears that position, rids us of Pierre and we keep the rest of the kids. Wishfull thinking I know, but I can dream can't I.

Everytime I heard something about Hydzu I thought they were talking about an invasive plant.

87

More wishfully, I'd trade Furcal with Pierre. A-Rod at SS. Andy at 3B.

I don't want to hear that A-Rod can't play SS anymore. He can.

86 As mused about in previous thread... it seems Ethier deserves more of the benefit of the doubt than Cubs fans would want to give him yesterday, and even if he did do a couple of obnoxious things it's possible given the history of Cubs fans vs. the history of Ethier that it was at least in part spurned by their own obnoxiousness in the first place. Maybe he was tired of their "verbal banter." Maybe they didn't deserve a ball.

Like I said in previous thread, the autograph story also sounds like one that has some truth to it but which gets exaggerated and distorted to tilt to one side.

85
Weird. Guess you'll have to revert to DGs.

Now that Littlefield is gone, who takes over as worst GM? Bowden? Bavasi? Flannagan?

89
Even better.

89
Those two for 2008 are around 22 Million if I'm right.

Wrigley Field doesnt have a typical baseball crowd. Its not far from Loyola or DePaul (Lincoln Park), and Wrigleyville is filled with recent college grads.

The Cubs games are more about being seen as social event than actually being interested in the team.

The way the ballpark is nestled into a regular neighborhood is nice though. Doesnt surprise me that Ethier got yelled at bc the Cubs do sell beer in the bleachers.

LaRoche up to 70% in the KFWB poll, I wish they would include the number of votes.

89 - I heard that if A-Rod goes somewhere else, he will want to play shortstop again. I'm not a big fan of trading Furcal, we do need a lead off hitter that has some ability to get on base. Can Hu play second? And of course, if we move Pierre (please) what do we do about center? Bring up Young?

In a perfect world in which that could happen, who would bat leadoff?

Both Kemp, and Ethier have to be better than Pierre has been. What about Furcal to CF.

I don't buy into the idea that a leadoff hitter needs to be a powerless entity. I'd let Kemp bat leadoff. He's faster than Pierre and Furcal anyway.

So Pittsburgh joins Houston in their hunt for a GM.

I know I thought Pittsburgh was a likely candidate to replace their GM a week or so ago when Houston dumped their manager and GM.

Of all the divisions in baseball, you have to think that given enough resources and time, a GM could take a team like Pittsburgh and make them competitive.

Other possible but not likely teams to replace their GM.
1. Washington Nationals
2. Cincinnati Reds

I think that is it, the other bottom teams have recently replaced their GMs and I think Toronto and Texas are going to stick it out.

Its really more likely that Pittsburgh will be the last club to make this move.

Now, hiring a new manager, let's see.

Maybe the White Sox only because of Williams and Guillen's relationship and the White Sox fade in 2006 and their collapse this year.

Other than that, only Houston and probably Pittsburgh, depending on the new GM, are going to be having a press conference announcing that change.

Realistically, Pierre's future with the Dodgers is probably secure.

That being said, one thing that will likely have some influence on his future is how the team finishes the season. If they finish first in the division and/or win the wildcard and/or do well in the playoffs, it'll be easier for Management to dismiss his performance and keep him on the team than if they don't make the playoffs and people start pointing fingers.

Ethier shouldn't interact with road team crowds,period.
Pull him aside...

2008 lineup I'll never see:

Kemp-RF
Martin-C
Loney-1B
A-Rod-SS
Kent-2B
Ethier-LF
LaRoche-3B
Young-LF

101

Yea, but if they start pointing fingers, that will motivate them to grab more placeholders and ship out the kids.

Pierre plus youngsters > No pierre plus the SF Giants

know what I mean, Vern?

103

Kemp in CF, Ethier in RF.

103-Even with two leftfielders, that is a sweet lineup. I lament the fact we'll never see it as well.

Dan Evans is a perfect fit for that Pittsburgh job. I'll bet Jim Tracy, who's desperately clinging to his own job, has already made that point with somebody in the Pirates management team.

103 I'd bat Martin lead-off over Kemp. If Kemp hits home runs, might as well hope someone's on-base, right?

Martin is fast, gets on-base, has some power, too.

"We came up with Hydzu, Jack Cust, Carlos Pena, and Mark Bellhorn. Are there others?"

Jeremy Giambi played for Beane, Epstein, and DePodesta.
Mike Rose played for the DePo-era Dodgers, plus Boston, Oakland, Arizona, and Cleveland.
Tom Wilson has played for the Dodgers, Cleveland, Oakland twice, and Arizona.

105 Works for me!

though we might see a little Craig Monroe-ishness from Kemp at first until he settled into center. But I'd be willing to take that on.

Btw, Soriano's a leadoff hitter with power. I think we saw that this week. Of course he seems to have more power right now than anyone else in their lineup, and I'm not sure I'd want that to be the way the lineup went.

108

You can bat Martin leadoff if you want. I don't think lineup is nearly as important as just having the best people getting 4 at-bats a game.

99 - of course the lead off man doesn't have to be a powerless entity, but too much power at the lead off spot (even the #2 hole) is counter productive.

Hypothetically, let's say Kemp becomes a 30 HR power hitter. As the lead off hitter, he'll have about 20-25% of his PA with no one on base (leading off in the first inning), assuming an equal (random) distribution of HRs, that would be 4-8 HRs of the solo variety. Then consider that he will be hitting after the 8th spot and pitcher's spot for the other 75-80% of his PA, meaning we're looking at a good chuck of those where no one is on base.

I'd rather have a guy with decent power (15 HRs or so) and a good to very good OBP leading off. Lots of doubles and a few triples from my lead off guy would be the ideal.

111 Yeah I know line-ups don't really matter so much. But yesterday we were complaining/making fun of the Cubs for leading off with Soriano. Seems like leading off with Kemp is kind of the same idea.

Btw, if Gonzo plays tonight in Ethier's or Kemp's place, I'm gonna turn a Hulk shade of green, especially since we're gonna be there in person.

Literally everyone in Chicago media and fandom want Soriano NOT leading off.

Only Alfonzie and Swet Lou dissent.

114 I will have my camera ready.

I have no problem with Soriano batting leadoff. He's one of their top hitters. Good that he gets the most at-bats.

30. Jon Weisman
26 - "I wanted to pull Ethier's chain a bit, so I tried to get my wife to yell at Andre to get his attention: She was going to say, "Andre, Andre! I'm pregnant". Then I'd get a picture of him blushing and all embarrassed."

Why?
-----------------
Because JoeyP is secretly Ashton Kutcher.

Swet Lou?

Try Sweet Lou.

112

I think you're overblowing it. The leadoff batter bats first in inning one. How many times will he leadoff any inning the rest of the game?

By the way, has the shiny new toy at Baseball-Reference been pointed out yet? Minor league stats, finally!

http://minors.baseball-reference.com/teams.cgi?yid=2005&lid=SOU&tid=JAX

121

Grrrrrrrrrrrriddle!

119 Did you see him yesterday? I think the original name was appropriate.

107 I was about to make the requisite DePodesta to Pittsburgh crack, but, yeah, Evans makes a lot of sense. I just wonder if he's learned anything about assembling an offense while he's been in exile.

122 What is this "Griddle" of which you speak?

Soriano has only 49 RBI this year, despite 22 HR's and a .528 SLG% in 500+ plate appearances this year, mostly in the leadoff spot. He also has a .337 OBP. Probably a decent comparison to what you'd get from Kemp in the leadoff slot.

Adam Melhuse.
Phil Hiatt.

114 - at this point in the season, we simply must field the best eight we have. i agree that starting ethier & kemp over gonzo is a no-brainer.

on a somewhat related note, i wonder if we're likely to see nomar starting at 3b anytime soon. the quotes have made it sound like they're in no rush to get him in the lineup, but knowing our management, every time laroche gets an o-fer (regardless of many double plays he helps turn) makes me worry for his future.

What is this "Griddle" of which you speak?

It's a location where a fella can retard to a saunter and abide his existence in totality, provided he maintain his timepiece on West Coast time.

I even put up the initial post about Dave Littlefield this morning from a moving vehicle.

I was not driving however.

126

That's still way better than what we've gotten from Furcal/Pierre.

120 I'm sure the difference between Martin-Kemp going 1-2 versus 2-1 is not huge. But, given 2 approximately equally good hitters (Both have ~.300 EQA's at the moment), I'd have the guy with more power batting after the guy with more walks. Purely based on sense and not evidence.

120
Soriano likely bats behind a pitcher, not to mention the 8th place hitter.
Unless you pinch hit, how often are runners on before him?
What about a slow runner clogging the bases directly in front of him (thinking Zambrano here)?
To top it off, Sweet Lou claimed he didn't hit and run with Soriano as a lead runner earlier that series because he was still a bit gimpy, i.e. not a baserunning threat. The result of that happened to be DP.

Have you seen Soriano's line?Something like 22 hrs and 48 RBIs...

You guys can bat Loney leadoff for all I care. I just want lousy hitters like Pierre and 2007 Furcal out of the lineup.

131 Wasn't Furcal a Repko-less spring training away from being one of the best everyday players in the NL West? If Furcal gets healthy or whatever and reverts to his 2005-2006 self, I wouldn't complain if he led-off.

135 Or played everyday.

You guys can bat Loney leadoff for all I care

I'll give it some thought.

Soriano career numbers..

Batting 1st .294 .341 .545 .886
Batting 2nd .161 .161 .258 .419
Batting 3rd .260 .310 .452 .762
Batting 4th .195 .227 .390 .618
Batting 5th .268 .312 .513 .824

most of his ABs are in leadoff but has basically a full season worth of AB's at 3rd/5th.

Why are people here acting like a middle-of-the-order-batter always has men on base?

Our 1-2 are never on base, so I think the pointing out of Soriano's RBI and talking about 8 and 9 hitters (who will often be quality pinch-hitters) is a little misguided.

All I can tell you is I'm drafting Furcal in my fantasy league next year, because he's probably the prime candidate in baseball for a much-improved 2008.

120 - By hitting behind two batters that are, by definition, not good, the lead off hitter has fewer chances to come to the plate with runners on base, thus fewer chances to generate runs. Whether he's leading off an inning or coming up with two outs and nobody on base, what difference does it make? Those are the likely scenarios that a lead off hitter will see, at least in the National League, which partially explains the stats in 126.

131 - So Soriano is better than Pierre. Glad we cleared that up. :)

Still doesn't mean Soriano should bat leadoff. With his power, he should be driving in guys like DeRosa and Theriot from lower in the lineup.

135

In another comment I specified 2007 Furcal as being lousy. And this whole discussion was based on trading him to make room for A-Rod at SS.

Obviously, if Furcal is on the team, I wouldn't bat Kemp leadoff.

140 - I almost wrote a Furcal-Izturis comparison post this week. But Izturis has just gone too far off a cliff offensively (with OPS+ at least). What offense he did have just disappeared.

139 Wouldn't you also theoretically get more at-bats/game as a team if people with higher OBP's batted before people with lower OBP's?

141 142

All I can say in response is that I have witnessed many situations this season where Furcal and Pierre have batted with runners on base, and when they do, I'm usually wishing someone else was batting in their places.

145

Perhaps. The Dodgers should try it sometime.

139 - It's about probabilities. It is more probable that the 3-4-5 hitters will come to the plate with runners on base (better hitters in front of them), than it is that the 1-2 hitters will come to the plate with runners on (1st inning, hitting behind 8-9 hitters).

With respect to Soriano's RBI totals, it makes sense. There may be a cause and effect issue, but if you look at most lineups, the guys with the highest RBI totals tend to bat 3-4-5.

Pierre and Furcal are among the lowest in rc/27 on the team and get the most ABs.

In Soriano's case I think they are doing the right thing because of his past performance at leadoff, the fact that he is a threat to steal 40 bases and because the Cubs have Armis and Lee in the 3/4 hole.

The Dodgers could try batting Pierre 9th. At least when Penny is pitching. (yes they'd be better off not playing him at all but we all know that's not going to happen)

148

What if Soriano only hits well when he hits leadoff? The numbers in 138 prove that just as much as your RBI count and un-backed-up probabilities.

If Juan Pierre is going to be a starter on our team for the foreseeable future, I believe he would have the most value hitting in the #9 slot. Many of the lineup generator tools show that batting your pitcher 8th produces the most runs per game. It is a slight increase in runs per game to do so, but an increase nonetheless. Pierre's low OBP, SLG and OPS doesn't do us much good hitting in the #2 hole where he would get ~126 more plate appearances to stink than in the #9 hole. Batting Pierre 8th, in front of the pitcher spot would hamper the one skillset that he does bring to the table and that is stealing bases once he does get on base. If he were to hit 9th, he would basically be the table setter for the top of the order, with 126 less plate appearances and he would have more freedom to reek havoc once he does get on base. Martin, Ethier, Loney (take your pick) should be hitting in the #2 hole. vr, Xei

Merry go round version of DT.

From BP Goldstein before his chat. NL players who made big moves up the prospect charts based on the 2007 season:
"Six-foot-five right-hander James McDonald came out of nowhere, suddenly throwing in the low 90s with a plus curveball and decent change, which propelled up to Double-A while striking out 168 in 134 2/3 innings.

Honorable Mention: Shortstop Chin-Lung Hu stepped up his offensive game in a major way, as one of the minors' best defenders hit .325/.364/.507 between Double- and Triple-A while continuing to astound scouts with his glovework. A solid hitter with little in the way of tools, outfielder Delwyn Young stepped up his game by hitting .337/.384/.571 at Triple-A Las Vegas; he might now project has having some career beyond that of a Quadruple-A hitter."

150 I doubt Soriano will be much of a basestealing threat from this point forward. It would be a huge shock if he ever stole 40 again. Power hitters who steal bases, their steals tend to drop very dramatically as they age. This has already started happening to Soriano. Look at the SB records of guys like Canseco, Strawberry, Mays, and Bonds for comparison. Or A-Rod, who has never stolen more than 28 since going 40-40 nine years ago.

150 - Lee, Aramis, Soriano at 3,4,5.

Soriano is their 3rd best hitter. He's a power hitter that has a ~.335 OBP. He should hit 5th for them.

152 - just checked baseball reference (though I'm not a subscriber, so I don't have full access). According to the splits, the two Dodgers with the most ABs with no runners on base are Furcal and Pierre (http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/bsplit.cgi?team=LAD&year=2007) , each with 344 ABs. Martin is third with 266. Pierre, Kent, and Martin have the most AB/PAs with runners on base.

With respect to Soriano batting better when he leads off, I have no problem with that argument. My point is that the lower RBI numbers, and thus fewer runs potentially scored are due to the fact that he has more at bats without runners on base than the other hitters in his line up. It would seem to me, that if you have a guy who can hit 40 HRs a season, as Soriano certainly can, then you'd want him coming to the plate with runners on base, because that would mean more runs scored.

Rest in peace, Madeleine L'engle.

Three straight breaks of serve to start the Kuznetsova-Chakvetadze semi-final.

When my friend and I first started playing tennis years ago, we used the term "holding break" rather than "holding serve".

157 - And if his personality is so flighty that he doesn't know how to hit in any non-leadoff spots, probably wasn't wise to hand him an 8-year deal.

160 It seems rather careless to attribute the differences in performance to "flighty personality" without an exploring whether the leadoff hitter and cleanup hitter may be pitched to differently.

160
His deal was not wise in any sense of the word.

161 I like the word "an" as much as the next guy, but I'm still trying to figure out what it was doing in that post.

66 This is from the Houston Chronicle a few days ago:

Asked specifically if the Los Angeles Dodgers' Kim Ng was scheduled to interview, McLane acknowledged that he knew who she was but that her name didn't appear to be one he's been discussing with Smith.

161 - Handing an 8-year deal to a 31-year old who, for reasons unknown, can't or doesn't want to hit anywhere besides leadoff seems...unwise.

I'm fantasizing about a future Kim Ng powerplay to steal Colletti's job. Perhaps Toy Cannon can write the treatment.

I'm all for more Dodgers Fan Fiction.

Who would think that gender bias is helping out the Dodgers?

Where does the news that Jenna Fischer is now single go - here or Screen Jam?

169
Reported a couple days ago.

170 - Dang, I looked and looked and looked. Didn't see any mention of it.

Is Jenna's back still broken?

171
You gotta look four times, minimum.

171
Got to be real early in these parts when it comes to Jenna Fischer.

I'll still be okay with Rashida Jones.

172 - It's supposed to have healed. But could her sitting on the couch for the last few months been a root of the separation?

Would it be ironic if a broken back was the proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back" within the marriage? Can I get a ruling here? Was this joke already made 4 days ago too?

169 My girlfriend better watch out - she's got new competition!

{skulks back into his hefty fantasy world}

165 Except Soriano offered publicly to bat wherever they wanted him.

So who would win this poll:

2007 Dodger Thoughts Icon:

(A) Alyssa Milano
(b) Jenna Fischer
(c) Kim Ng
(d) Danica McKellar
(e) Andre Ethier (figure he'll get at least one vote!)

Maybe I'll repost it after dark.

{169}

That's too bad

Many of the lineup generator tools show that batting your pitcher 8th produces the most runs per game.

And I just thought LaRussa was crazy.

Batting Pierre 8th, in front of the pitcher spot would hamper the one skillset that he does bring to the table and that is stealing bases once he does get on base.

Why would it hamper Pierre's ability to steal 2nd in front of the pitcher? If anything, I'd think it enhance it. For one, if Pierre gets caught stealing its not as big of deal bc the middle of the order isnt coming up next. Second, if he does steal 2nd, the pitcher can then bunt him to 3b.

IMO, Pierre would/should have more freedom to steal bases at the bottom of the order bc if he gets caught he's likely not ruining a big inning, and you'd likely need stolen bases at the bottom of the order since the pitcher/leadoff batters likely wont have much power to drive you in from 1st.

179

I know a season-ticket-holding longtime commenter who is wondering why you didn't include Briana Banks.

181 - What about Pierre 7th, with someone like LaRoche 8th (who will take some pitches and let Pierre run)?

182
You forget to tell others again that it may not be safe to Google.

ESPN has breaking news that Troy Glaus received steroids for a couple years.

Yes!! Don't have to worry about him coming here.

The results of the tie breaker coin flips today (the coin flips determine where the games will be played):

• Padres @ D-backs
• Dodgers @ D-backs
• Rockies @ D-backs
• Padres @ Dodgers
• Rockies @ Padres
• Dodgers @ Rockies

185
See: Gonzalez, Luis.

From Tom Boswell's chat up right now at washingtonpost.com:

McKinney, Tex: Tulowitski... Saltalamacchia...Pedroia...Ryan Braun (who at 3rd base reminds me of an early Richie Allen)...Delmon Young...Chris Young... I don't remember a stronger Rookie class since '84 with Clemens, Puckett, Dwight Gooden, Mark Langston, etc. Am I overlooking a better year (before or since '84)?

Add the potential of these youngsters to the 2nd year players like Zimmerman, James Shields, etc., and I am excited about the future of baseball talent-wise.

What say you?

Tom Boswell: I say that's a great list and a valid point. Don't forget B.J. Upton. A GM told me he tought Upton looked better than Griffey at the same age. OK, that's hyperventilating. But...

188 - Uh, 2006 had Verlander, Liriano, Hanley Ramirez, Prince Fielder, Ryan Zimmerman, Matt Cain, Russell Martin, Jon Papelbon, Jered Weaver...

186 What about a wild-card tie with the Phillies or Mets?

[185} Do you have a link please? Or is it on TV?

179 - Danica for DT, Jenna for Screen Jam

191

http://tinyurl.com/yogkju

188 , 189 Yeah, 2006 was miles better. It will probably end up being the best class of all time. Don't forget that was technically Matt Kemp's rookie year, too.

DBacks pick up Bob Wickman for the stretch run:
http://tinyurl.com/2bevjy

I didn't see this anywhere, but forgive me if it was already posted. http://tinyurl.com/2f9o3y

196
I dub thee forgiven.

197
Who gave you the power to forgive sins?

I think we need a Dodger Thoughts confessional.

"Go my child and sin no more, for your penance, read aloud Delino Deshields OPS+ marks with the Dodgers six times and meditate on them."

So I'm not forgiven?

The confessional booth will be discarded in favor of both parties simply wearing a catcher's mask.

From Will Carroll's latest at BP:

# Speaking of catchers, one of the biggest questions at the start of the season was who was the best of the great young catching crop. Joe Mauer was coming off a batting title, with Brian McCann and Russell Martin not far behind him. With two of those, injuries and workload become the defining variable. Mauer's leg problems have started up the talk of moving him to third base or DH, but I'm more worried about Martin's workload. Even when injured, as Martin is after being diagnosed with a sprained knee, the Dodgers keep loading up Martin. At some point we're going to figure out either that Martin is a freak of nature, or that he couldn't hold up under this workload; I'm not sure I like that binary outcome. Only the knowledge that Stan Conte is watching all the Dodgers' players gives me any reason for optimism.

First Tomko to the Padres, then Wickman to the DBacks. The Dodgers should just call it a season and go home.

Only the knowledge that Stan Conte is watching all the Dodgers' players gives me any reason for optimism

Huh.

54. Ethier is not at a jerk at all. I know a guy at spring training that is even going with Andre and his wife to Disneyland. How many players do that??? He talked to my son all the time, too. Actually, Kemp is about the same. I think he even knows my sons name to this day. He's seems kinda wild though.

199
You may be forgiven, but D4P does not have the authority to grant absolution.

201
Come on, freak of nature.

Maybe I should talk to one of these guys:

http://tinyurl.com/2t5lps
http://tinyurl.com/34bzdt

Or better yet:

http://tinyurl.com/37x3yw

D4P does not have the authority to grant absolution

Respect my authoritah!

207
Go for the third guy. Don't waste your time with middle management!

179 - There are no diaper-wearing astronauts on that list, Sam.

198 85, 99, 61

211
Go and sin no more.

Amen.

This isn't meant to violate Rule 5. It's just a guessing game.

Guess who said the following:

One should pause, think and reflect. Why have the Democrats failed to stop this war, despite them being the majority? (The answer to that question is) the same reasons which led to the failure of former President Kennedy to stop the Vietnam War. Those with with real power and influence are those with the most capital. And since the democratic system permits major corporations to back candidates, be they presidential or congressional, there shouldn't be any cause for astonishment -- and there isn't any -- in the Democrats' failure to stop the war.

S/he also had this to say:

The life of all mankind is in danger because of the global warming resulting to a large degree from the emissions of the factories the major corporations.

214
Emma Goldman?

I know nothing about politics, so I'll guess Mrs. Clinton

214 Alyssa Milano?

Jenna Fischer!

210: (hangs head).

A foolish dreamer from Bucs Dugout: "Now there's a new game we can play: who's going to be the next GM? I'm holding out hope for Paul DePodesta, but with our current manager that likely is not a possibility. Then again, maybe this signals the deathknell of Tracy as well."

214
Al Gore or Juan Pierre.

Kim Ng!

Great guesses thus far, but keep trying!

Nancy Bea Hefley?

boy I blew that one... thanks for the answer, google!

Danica or Shea Hillenbrand.

209 But that guy is a middle manager!

You need to go here:
http://tinyurl.com/ypdlms

Also, this is an interesting article about HGH and its effects on athletic performance, which was referenced in FJM's latest post:

http://tinyurl.com/2utp39

By the way, when you find the answer, it is extremely surprising, but also weird... and unexpected, interesting, maybe prophetic, intelligent...?

OBL

I'm be somewhat impressed if someone guess the individual from 214 without cheating, though it could be obvious and I'm just stupid (I had to cheat to find the answer).

214 Hugo Chavez.

strike the last two words of 228 from the record please :)

229
Correct! Let's not tell Eric Enders what the acronym stands for.

Looking it up on Google, I see that I wasn't even close!

The person who actually said this is much taller than Jenna Fischer.

I think I'll go to Jamba Juice in the SF Centre. See if I can meet up with Andre and Russell and the boys.

233 I will not be baited by a man whose very handle is an acronym. Call me when you have a real name!

233
I think he stole it from Shea Hillenbrand.

It wasn't Generalissimo Francisco Franco?

229 I thought that was a new baseball statistic we were supposed to be tracking now.

Yes, the real answer is surprising.

I'm going to go ahead and lay claim to the closest guess so far. Not that that's saying much.

Actually, I think he stole it from Alyssa Milano.

Wow I never would have guessed that.

You think Hugo Chavez was a closer guess than Nancy Bea?

Whatever, dude.

man that really got me going... I'm ready for a New Post Up Top

244 - New post up top.

229 He reads Paul Krugman? He pays for TimesSelect?

(Note that I agree with Krugman roughly 95% of the time.)

246 The better question is how he gets internet in that REDACTED of his.

On Base Lercentage?

(Just kidding.)