As long as Rollins starts all of the remaining games this year at short, he will be, according to Jayson Stark, the first NL shortstop to start everyone of his team's games since Bill Russell did so in 1973.

Maury Wills started 164 of the Dodgers 165 games in 1962.

If you're a Mets fan.

You mean the Mets haven't been choking prior to tonight? They were swept at home. By Washington.
(No offense, Sam)

They lost two of three in Florida.

They're ahead 6-0, so I doubt they're too broken up about it.

I still think the Phillies come up a buck short at the end but hey I thought the Brewers were a lock.

I predict that if the Padres win tonight, they will make the playoffs.

Dodgers infielder Tony Abreu, who suffered an injury to his groin in Sunday's victory against the D-backs, will probably not play again this season as he awaits the results from an MRI taken on Tuesday.

Pierre, CF
Young, LF
Kemp, RF
Loney, 1B
Martin, C
The Rock, 3B
Valdez, 2B
Hu, SS
Loaiza, P

"I haven't been able to do anything. I'm just waiting for the MRI results and to see what the doctors say," Abreu said. "I have plans to play in the winter, but I don't know what's going to happen with this injury. I might need surgery."

I'm guessing Bob has figured out that there is no scenario under which they miss the playoffs if they win tonight.

Eckstein and Cairo have had some excellent plays in the field.

So if the Phils and Mets are tied after tonight, Phils go against the Nationals and Mets get Florida, with both teams at home.

Florida's looked pretty bad lately, although I guess they pulled out a big one today.

For the first game, the Nationals run Tim Redding out there against Cole Hamels -- they have the same ERA, give or take .01.

Redbirds 3
Mets 0

"Asked Grady about possible coaching changes, and he didn't really bite. ``We'll see,'' is all he said, which to me is a strong indicator that something is going to happen. My guess is Bill Mueller goes back upstairs, so they'll need a hitting coach, but there could be some other changes, as well. ..."

it sure seems quicker now, I remember when he initially came up it looked a bit long but I guess he fixed a couple of things in his swing & it now looks very nice. It also says a lot about him as a "thinking mans hitter" he sprays the ball TO ALL FIELDS so that alone impresses me a bunch.

Phillies 6, Braves 4.

to me it SCREAMS OUT off season coaching staff moves, I'm pretty happy by that tid bit T.JHere thanks for the info.

In Queens, it's Kim/Perez, Seddon/Maine, and Willis/Glavine.

2 ptiches and out for Cla Meredith.

Milwaukee and Toronto entered today at 81-77, one game in front of the Dodgers. If those two stay in front of the Dodgers record-wise, the Dodgers are assured of a top 15 pick in the draft.

That is important because if they sign a Type A free agent (say, A-Rod for example), they would have to give up their 1st round pick to the team that lost the FA (in this example, Yankees), unless they have a top 15 pick. In that case, they would only have to give up a 2nd round pick instead.

http://mlb4u.com/profile.php?id=991

1) A-Rod

"Rafael Furcal, who stole 35 bases last year and was expected to trigger the offense in combination with Juan Pierre, injured his ankle in March and had only 12 steals entering September -- he and Pierre producing on-base percentages that would be impressive only if combined"

Barry Bonds had a .609 OBP in 617 PA in 2004.

If the Dodgers had fewer weaknesses, I think it would be a great thing, but committing that much to one player on an otherwise flawed team is a mistake.

Of course, I have no faith that Dodger management can find a better use for the 25-30 million, so I guess I would object to the deal based on principles, not reality.

An awesome Ross Newhan article.

Countdown of risky things to do.

5 Surf in the Farolon(sp?)Islands off San Fransisco.
4 Give a contract to a veteran pitcher
3 Eat a random collection of mushrooms picked by an amateur.
.................

Actually Frisco avoided paying much for pitching in a remarkable fashion until the Barry signing---long may it live.

you also missed an incredible 1st inning from Loaiza

Old enough to have a kid (david newhan) playing in the majors.

.919 season, .915 career

Now your talking N.Cal-D...

can you disclose some details MollyKnight like is she all air brushed & so forth...

Or what Greg Miller was supposed to be, there's still hope for Elbert though right.

Actual line: .296/.379/.470

Please ignore the rest of my prediction, which included:
1) 94-68 record
2) Furcal scoring 125 runs
3) a "no-gaping holes" starting rotation

yea you're right. Miller is a better comparison due to both of their high groundball ratios.

morales, jimenez and francis is a good core to build around with Greg Reynolds on the way. I also think Jason Hirsh can be good as well.

Yea, I like that team.

9-5 Padres, end 7th.

I went to my excel sheet of 2007 free agents and noted these things...

Kris Benson 2007: DID NOT PLAY, torn rotator cuff

HR: 33 in 2006

http://tinyurl.com/2s6zhq

3rd inning groundout lowers JP's OBP to .32997.

Recovery time from start to start can tell you a little bit about that but your right he does have a bit of a herky jerky delivery.

Plachke makes a push to Trade Kemp.

Josh Rawitch defends magmt from the standpoint that they won't suddenly trade Kemp
USS Mariner defends Kemp
True Blue LA defends Kemp
Molly Knight defends Kemp
Dave Stewart defends Kemp
San Gabriel Valley reporter (scanman) defends Kemp
Baseball-Prospectus Defends Kemp
Baseball-Reference Defends Kemp
Grady Little defends Kemp
Ross Newhan defends Kemp

I have a feeling nobody has stepped up to defend Plaschke.

I think it would be an interesting study by the saber types to figure out the threshold when an injured player (like Furcal) becomes a liability to the team.

I'm sure VORP and WARP type of stats can tell the story somewhat decently, but it seems like an in depth study would be a good idea. It could be the next revolutionary type of thinking in baseball.

And Vin kind of lectures Loiaza too. "You just can't do that in the big leagues, can't keep going 2-0, 3-1, and expect to not eventually get hit."

I prefer Esteban Lousy myself.

Thank you ScareDuck...

Bob I'm pretty impressed with your quickness in shopping.

Wow.

Brilliant job, Ned.

well I did here Loaiza is nursing some injuries but even then, why? I'd much rather sign Wolf for '08.

Penny
Lowe
Bills (break out year, yes I said it 1st!)
Loaiza
Schmidt (depending on how his body responds/coming off season ending surgery)

If he plateaus at that for the next 10 years, I wouldn't mind either :)

I think that lineup scores a lot more runs than with A-rod, and we diversify our risk in case of slump/injury.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/gear/86dd/

A blue version is not yet available.

Kemp: .874 season, .825 career
Loney: .929 season, .922 career

Hopefully, his Dodger column will get the same treatment, with prominent photos of the under-25 set.

When I covered high school sports, I enjoyed covering girls sports from time to time because girls tended to be far more honest when you spoke to them.

High school boys already know the officially sanctioned cliches.

maybe I should have said I'm expecting him to win a few more games, cut me some slack Eric I'm just a random fan I'm no Hall of Fame research stud... :o)

Instead of individual knife slots, the whole thing is strands of rubber that you slide the knives into, putting as many as you want wherever you want. Much more flexible and useful, and it holds scissors too.

I haven't described it well. I'll look for a picture.

But anyway, I agree. The thing is, what Hope said was true, but she probably could have eaten a few more of her words...

Did Martin hit a homer?? I'll consider this later.

Do we have a chance--yes, if our relievers are almost perfect. For most of the first half this was true!

Martin makes it closer, but my logic still has some weight.

I think it is very much dependent on our relief pitching, as well, of course on an offense.

http://tinyurl.com/2xpbn4

Here it is -- http://tinyurl.com/323ozf

This guy likes his so much he wrote a blog post about it.

He made it a point to say that Billingsley's one of the hardest guys he has faced, because his pitches move so much.

You guys wanna hear no cliche's I'd point you to boxers those guys INVENT ways of cursing... but I've read Bob is no fan of the sport.

Your mileage may vary.

And then some.

I don't even like it when the Dodgers are at bat.

You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes
You get what you need

:-)

Well, Seanez pitched through this season much more effectively than I ever imagined. I never had much confidence in him but he was usually pretty solid and so I have to admit I was wrong about him. And also that I won't miss him at all.

You guys are starting to remind me of my former co-worker who always looked at guns on the internet during his break.

I worrried the contact with the rubber tendrils would dull the knives, but I haven't noticed anything like that.

(d) A fair ball touches an umpire or a runner on fair territory before touching a fielder.
If a fair ball touches an umpire after having passed a fielder other than the pitcher, or having touched a fielder, including the pitcher, the ball is in play.

to each his own, I'm a huge boxing fan, Baseball & Boxing that's pretty much all I truly like in sports, I'm pretty surprised you like football that sport can be pretty vicious as well (on & off the field) I still don't know what Bear baiting is???

Yes.

It's effectively a walk.

It's effectively a walk.

Bear-baiting was popular in England until the nineteenth century. From the sixteenth century, many herds of bears were maintained for baiting. In its best-known form, arenas for this purpose were called bear-gardens, consisting of a circular high fenced area, the "pit", and raised seating for spectators. A post would be set in the ground towards the edge of the pit and the bear chained to it, either by the leg or neck. A number of well-trained hunting dogs would then be set on it, being replaced as they tired or were wounded or killed. For a long time, the main bear-garden in London was the Paris Garden at Southwark.

Hahaha, lol. uh man..

Bear baiting was a spectacle that dates back a long time.

It's pretty much what it sounds like. A bear was used as bait. You would chain a bear up in the middle of a ring and then send out a bunch of dogs to attack it. Either the bear would attack the dogs or the dogs would kill the bear.

I'm sure a great time was had by all.

It was popular during the Elizabethan Era.

There's an M. Vick joke in there somewhere, but even I won't touch it.

Apparently, it runs in part on a new engine called an Ion Thruster.

Dr. Emiliano Lizardo could not be reached for comment, and there is no truth to the rumor that a watermelon was included in the launch.

woah, that's really bad, I guess there's a good reason it hasn't been a "sport" for 2 centuries .

Queen Elizabeth II is merely just fascinated with stags.

Peavy would be saved for a tiebreaker or Game 1 of the NLDS.

Kemp: .871 season, .823 career
Loney: .926 season, .920 career

I am powerful like that.

252 Well, you can especially do that when Clint Hurdle is managing, getting his whole bullpen in one inning.

Can we sue the doctor for malpractice?

By the way, have I missed anything? Judging by Gameday, I haven't. The kids doing alright, at least?

No? Ok.

Game's being turned off officially now.

What a rip-roaring offensive display during this hot streak by the Rockies, and what a pathetic display by the Dodgers over the same period. This is gonna be a long off season. Hope they can at least wake up vs. the Giants.

Night!

He's the greatest Dodger's pitching prospect since WHO???

HUH???

The Rox can mash---Tulo, Helton, Hawpe, Atkins, Holliday. They will probably be better than the Dodgers next year unless major changes are made on the Dodgers-end.

A-Rod or bust.

Grady said before the game that the Dodgers need to ``stay the course'' with their young players and their plan and not stray from it. He asked, part rhetorically and part earnestly, what the Dodgers had been doing since they last won the World Series in 1988, a clear reference to the fact the team's longstanding method of signing high-priced free agents simply hasn't worked out, and that the current plan of drafting and developing is the right one. Some will applaud what Grady said, while others will dismiss it. But the Rockies are a perfect example of what can happen when you have a lot of young talent, you're patient, and you allow it to develop. They endured years of growing pains, including a good portion of this year, but it's all paying off now.

I don't know maybe subconsciously I'm letting out steam or something, but I swear Grady makes me scratch my head sometimes, but all managers do that I guess, never mind...

A-Rod will become part owner after he retires.

So, are the Dodger's prepared to offer a similar contract package as the Cubs are proposing?

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/070926

"We know the course we're on and we're going to stay the course," Little said, referring to developing from within rather than rebuilding through free agency. "What have they been doing here since 1988? It hasn't worked. This course, we'll try to make it work."

"I foresee Ned trying to do anything he can to make us better and complement the course we're on," he said. "The mixture of players I like most is a group of players, regardless of age, who know how to play the right way and go about their business the right way on and off the field and who come to the park every day playing hard and expecting to win a game."

Toes crossed...

Bills, Loney, Martin, Penny, Saito

Interesting, no?

I get it, God. I suck. Just send the lightning and be done with it.

But I noticed we lost. So that's nice.

Could be worse, you could endure a three hour tragedy with the blue-tinged baseball team.

My g/f and I are trying to get tickets to see Sweeney Todd up here, which I've heard is quite a good version, even if there's no Angela Lansbury to be found.

336 Gary Miller, ESPN Sportsmouth was in attendance, rocking the white guy supreme look. And Zak Starkey was, indeed, drumming.

But the real reason for the post: Sitting three rows ahead of me was a big dude in a Cowboys SuperBowl Championship Letterman jacket and a Cowboys jersey. This guy, honest to God and with the utmost sincerity, was giving Juan Pierre the M!V!P! chant!!

He did it first when he was announced for his first at-bat and I figured he was just fooling around. But he was very amped at Juan's general play, and after the two great catches and the two stolen bases, back into it he went, "M!V!P! M!V!P!"

I don't think any comment is necessary except to say this guy is probably not alone in his estimation of Pierre's worth (ouch!).
I just knew I needed to share this with you all.

It was a heady time for heterosexual males with musical tendencies.

I was raised to love musical comedies by my heterosexual parents. The fact that enjoying musical comedies has become a shorthand for being gay was a totally alien concept to me.

I went to summer camp when I was 11 and my counselor tried to test our knowledge of musicals by singing the beginning of a line of a song, and asking us to complete it.

My score: 100 percent.

My cabinmates' score: 0 percent.

In retrospect, I believe our counselor might have been gay.

Now my son is actually writing a musical. He is a fan of Stephen Sondheim like I was a fan of the Kinks, except I never really thought I was going to be a boozy rock star, but he thinks he is going to make a living writing music for the stage.

He also thinks he's going to marry Jenna Fischer.

184 - The phrase "love to see" does not belong anywhere near "Dunn to play LF, Bobby Abreu to play right field," unless you are a fan of lots and lots of opponent doubles and triples! ;)

Fortunately, most people have moved beyond that nonsense. Except for all of my friends, who are the same Neanderthals I've hung out with since Little League and American Legion ball. They love to rib me for liking musicals.

But they also fail to pull wool on the same level, because the womenfolk love a man who loves a musical. Your son is already ahead of the game.

And do the Devil...er, Just The Rays really need another #1 overall pick to go along with that, um, AL strikeout leader they already have?

It's a good makeup over there. They've had a lot of young guys they stood by and they let them grow. And now they're reaping the benefits.

.404/.451/.734/1.185

Please, Dodgers, ignore the jock-sniffer with the lisp, and listen to the voice of reason. We love you, Ross.

http://tinyurl.com/25c2sg

"Ever since Ned and I came to this ballclub, we do everything together," Little said. "When decisions are made that work out OK, we celebrate together. When decisions are made that don't work out too good, we cry together. We don't sleep at night together."

Little, red-faced, quickly added:

"I said the wrong words."

Well, they're still preaching the "everyone's aligned" message. (Except certain veterans, I guess.)

http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_7021681

He's partly right and partly wrong, but there are some interesting quotes in there.

"We need more power," said Garvey, now in the team's community relations department. "And you still need a balance of veteran ballplayers. You still need a Garciaparra and another guy who can hit the ball out of the ballpark who's got experienced and professional maturity."

Does that mean Garvey thinks Nomar is still "a guy who can hit the ball out of the ballpark"? Nomar has, at least, kept his opinions on the vet/kid brouhaha in house and moved from first to third w/out public complaint.

Trade 23-year-old Kemp and his 10 home runs, 10 stolen bases and .331 average in 94 games? Trade 23-year-old Loney and his 14 homers and 63 RBIs in only a half-season?

I say, bring on Tony Abreu, Delwyn Young, Clayton Kershaw, Chin-Lung Hu, that much more talent and attitude.

I say, forget this semi-youth movement and officially make it full-fledged.

It's nice when the Philosopher King commits to a youth movement. It's nice when the humble commenters commit to a youth movement. It's unbelievably freaking awesome when a Hall of Fame baseball writer commits to a youth movement. Ross Newhan should carry a fair bit of credibility with McCourt and the front office turds. This is huge.

Not a big Garvey fan.

Garvey said that initial `70s group of young players had few veterans to actually lead the way, and thinks this year's Dodger team compares better to the Padres team he, Graig Nettles and Rich Gossage joined as free agents and led to the World Series in 1984.

Garvey put up Nomaresque numbers for the Pads in '84:

'84 Garvey: .284 .307 .373 OPS+ 91
'07 Nomar: .283 .328 .371 OPS+ 79

I suppose that as long as Garvey is on the payroll, Don Sutton won't be joining the broadcast team.

If Steve Garvey and Tom Lasorda have any input on anything, I'm officially rooting for Al Qaeda. We deserve it. Hit us hard.

marty 80
bill crain 81
d4p 82
trainwreck 83
clair malone-evans 83

It's only a matter of time.

I used to wear OP short shorts with one of two pairs of Vans: a solid red, or a Hawaiian style with colorful palm trees and stuff. I even bought the high-top "skate" vans when they came out (circa 1987?), even though I didn't skate.

That was during my sexy phase, when girls really liked me for some reason. I grew out of it fast.

What does that mean?

Read it and weep boys and girls.

http://tinyurl.com/2aw5lr

(And 350 -- thank you!)

Thank goodness for Ross Newhan.

With the fishesingly

I suppose I know Dilbeck means something else than what these words plainly say.

But it still bypasses the real problem in favor of a mythical one. A team can have a good deal of talent, young or old, and still fail if there are missing elements. It's not "youth" per se that failed us. We didn't have "too much" of anything except mediocrity. We were deficient in certain areas. If players could have been found to address those deficiencies, it wouldn't matter what their age was. And, in this case, players were available to address some of those deficiencies, but they were required to wait their turn owing only to some mysterious code that valued intangibles over tangibles, or sought to achieve return on investment even after that investment was proven wasteful.

Don't go to Boston for the springtime
Their payoll's on the high end they don't got lots of room
If you don't produce they kick you on the sidewalk
By a café where you'd probably be workin' soon
Don't go to Boston
I say "No", would you come home to me

And I said, hey A-Rod why don't you settle down
Boston ain't your kind of town
Their winter's cold and there ain't nobody like me
I'm the poster known on The Tubes as D4P

Don't go to Denver with the snowfall
On TV or in the newspaper you won't be found
Nobody cares bout the Rockies on the east coast
When they go to bed at night your game's just goin' down,
Don't go to Denver
I say "No", would you come home to me

And I said, hey A-Rod why don't you settle down
Denver ain't your kind of town
Their winter's cold and there ain't nobody like me
I'm the poster known on The Tubes as D4P

Now the rumor mill goes 'round and 'round
And I doubt that it's ever gonna stop
But of all the players we've lost or found
And all that we ain't got
We still need a batter
Not a broken ladder

Please come to LA to live forever
A dynasty alone is just too hard to build
You'll live in a house that looks out over the ocean
And there's some stars from Hollywood
Livin' up on the hill
Please come to LA
Don't say no, won't you come home to me

And I said, hey A-Rod why don't you settle down
LA's your kind of town
You'll get your money for nothin' and all your chicks for free
I'm the poster known on The Tubes as D4P
I'm the poster known on The Tubes as D4Peeeeee—eee-eeee