Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
Jon's other site:
Screen Jam
TV and more ...
1) using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity
2) personally attacking other commenters
3) baiting other commenters
4) arguing for the sake of arguing
5) discussing politics
6) using hyperbole when something less will suffice
7) using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively
8) making the same point over and over again
9) typing "no-hitter" or "perfect game" to describe either in progress
10) being annoyed by the existence of this list
11) commenting under the obvious influence
12) claiming your opinion isn't allowed when it's just being disagreed with
Anybody? Anybody?
Yanks lose.
ARod goes hitless, fans boo him.
ARod says, "I don't need any more of this".
Don't awaken me from my fantasy please.
Yesterday may have been the best college football day ever.
Too tired.
I spent much of my day in Pasadena. But overall, I spent the day with two friends visiting from Canada who are big Notre Dame fans. Jacob L borrowed my extra ticket and watched in astonishment and experienced great internal conflict over whether or not he wanted hated Stanford or hated USC to lose. Or just see his Bears go to #1, which they didn't.
I missed all the baseball action, but I will be home today to catch all the exciting action and then get tomorrow off for Columbus Day to recharge the batteries.
Last night's odd feature was sitting in my section at the Rose Bowl and then turning around to watch the monitors in the press box show the USC-Stanford game end.
Was that the guy who discovered that there was already a bunch of people living in what we now call "America"...?
Yes, but they opted not to drink any beer since they were pretty beat and it was fairly late. I treated them to dinner at Cafe Bizou, which at the time was full of disgruntled UCLA fans.
If the Powers That Be tell me not to come in to work, I'm not coming in.
I posted this before but worth saying again. It looks more and more like the Dodgers vet/rookie mix wasn't so much the problem as it was the Dodgers misfortune to play the Rockies too many times at the end of the season. The Rockies are destined.
But if Ned wants to think the Rockies and Diamondbacks are winning because of their very young players as opposed to inspite of their young players, that is fine with me.
Actually, very little is intruding on my fantasy. Every playoff game has gone my way except the Arizona ones. To ask much more would be greedy.
Speaking of greed, I am the worst kind of football fan. I pay no attention unless the Patriots are dominating, and then I jump in waving flags.
Try again.
That kind of disgruntled fan started to die out in the late 1980s.
(Of course, not living in Denver helps me remain a Bronco fan; if I did I'd probably hate them, too.)
And yes, did watch a bit of the footie this morning, indeed Liverpool escaped by the hair of their chins.
Speaking of which, off to play some meself.
http://tinyurl.com/2kwg6l
My listings say San Diego at Denver.
Strangely, I rarely watch pro football, but I usually know which game is on.
Perhaps it's the writer in me, but I'm always looking for a compelling story, and right now, I'm not seeing one. Except for South Florida. And here's hoping they and Hawai'i run the table just to mess with the BCS.
Longest current winning streak - Cincinnati, 9 games
South Florida is ranked ahead of Southern California
UCLA still is tied for first in the Pac-10 despite nearly all of its fans giving up hope.
Colorado could be playing in the Fiesta Bowl.
Illinois could be playing in the Rose Bowl.
You mean like when my brother called me during the Padres-Rockies tiebreaker and I gave him descriptions of each of the Rockies conga line of relievers they used?
"Well, Corpas is the best one."
"Herges I can't explain."
"Julio is in. The game's over."
One? Only one? Myself, I have been a Bruin Basketball fan starting with Gail Goodrich and have never stopped rooting for them, I even found Lavin likeable. But I am sure I can find one disgruntled Bruin during the last two years. What do I win if I do?
You get a gift certificate to the Disgruntlement Store. There's only one location and one clerk who works there. And he doesn't get paid a lot.
But only if you kill them because they are morons.
USC is #7
The other USC is #10
UCLA actually got two votes.
However in the coaches poll, the other USC is 7 and USC is 11.
So I think other coaches must like Pete Carroll more than Steve Spurrier.
Q: What do you remember about that first Dodgers game at the Coliseum in 1958, a game against the Giants that drew 78,672?
A: It was overwhelming. I had never seen a crowd like that. The roar was the thing I had always loved, going back to when I was 8 years old.
Back then, on Saturday afternoons, I would listen to college football on network radio. We had a great big radio that stood on four legs. I would crawl under it with a pillow so the speaker was directly over my head. It didn't make any difference who was playing. When somebody scored and the crowd roared, that sound came down like water from a shower head and I would get goose bumps. Wow, did I want to be there.
I was very fortunate because, around the time we arrived in Los Angeles, the transistor radio became really popular. That turned out to be a great break for me. I realized I was really talking to the crowd. It kind of helped my style, because I'm not so much an announcer as just a guy talking to you.
I now return you to your regular programming....
>> Owner George Steinbrenner delivered a stern message for the Yankee manager yesterday, saying Torre most likely would not keep his job unless the Yanks overcome their deficit against the Cleveland Indians and reach the AL Championship series. <<
## In the interview, Steinbrenner also predicted Alex Rodriguez will remain with the team.
"I think we'll re-sign him," Steinbrenner told the paper. ##
http://tinyurl.com/37zm4b
1) not use the West Coast Offense
2) use the West Coast Offense, but recruit the next Joe Montana to run it.
West really is best in the National League
>> and when three starting pitchers were lost to injuries in the second half, the Rockies simply stuck with their from-within philosophy and promoted the two best arms they have ever had — Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales. <<
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21169494
I can't help but agree with you Old Dodger Fan
At the time: promising middle infield prospect for the right handed half of a DH platoon
Now: The Indians second baseman for Baseball Tonight analyst.
A younger head coach with head coach experience, basically. And they have to be competent.
Let's hope New York doesn't get back into it because they are just no fun.
Cafe Bizou is amazing. I need to go their more often for lunch.
This has got to be one of the worst Autumns in Southern California sports history, with the Dodgers, Padres, Trojans and Angels all going into the dumper since Labor Day. How it ranks is a Timmerman question, I suppose.
One of the highlights of this last year was waiting in line at Holman field, for Vin to come down from his plywood anouncing booth, and then getting his autograph. He is a very gracious person. It was late and there were only a few people, but he signed for everyone, right there, alongside the lake. It's hanging on my wall now. I think it will be there for some time.
I think if the Yankees lose and Torre is let go, Torre will retire or take some executive post with the Yankees...A comment in the Nor Cal papers over the weekend had Dusty perhaps coming back to the Dodgers, if the Grady run sours in mid-season. Given the Ned connection that may not be that far fetched.
Hey, UCLA football went into the dumper in that same time period!
We want respect for our dumper residence.
They're just like all the other teams still playing in the postseason. They have their good points and their bad points.
They're going to need to get a win out of a Mike Mussina start. But I guess Stanford is an unstoppable force of nature now.
The Yankees and Steinbrenner like them so the fans opinions don't matter that much.
USC has to put up with Pete Arbogast on the air and online!
My guess is Cleveland.
I would say the Yankees would have a better shot against Boston just because they've had success against the Boston bullpen.
The "Don't Fire Grady Little" bandwagon begins.
The Yankees did win the season series against Boston. But then, they destroyed Cleveland in the season series, so that shows how much the season series means.
It wasn't the injury to Ben Olsen or the horrible performance by his replacement. It was the rest of the team. They offensive line looked unprepared and confused. The team incurred stupid penalties against a lesser team. The defense could not force a turnover from one of the worst offenses in college footbal. UCLA might have lost due to its QB situation but the rest of the team looked confused and, more importantly, uninspired. And that has to be put on Dorrell. I expected Bethel-Thompson to be misguided--not the rest of the team.
Save me a seat on the bus.
Why? Are quick series more interesting?
Pretty cool that a lot of you want Torre. There's a very vocal anti-Torre population amongst Yankee fans.
Grady > Torre > Dusty. I can't believe I typed that.
So, not only does that eliminate LaRoche from the plans, what happens with Nomar and his no-trade clause?
How do you do!
I've got Trojan Rewind set to record so I can hear Arbogast's call of the crucial plays.
I'm a bitter and petty man sometimes.
sign arod.
there. We are contenders next year.
Moreno needs to make good on promises to Angels fans
>> But now Moreno needs to bring in a hired bat to swat them over these first hurdles, and if it can't be purchased, it must be pried loose in a trade.
If he can buy Alex Rodriguez, he needs to buy him. If he can buy Torii Hunter instead, do it.
If he can't buy the thunder, then he needs to order Stoneman to find it elsewhere, even if it means trading some of the club's youngsters, both from the bullpen and the lineup <<
http://tinyurl.com/2fwxb5
It's amazing that his solution to both teams problems are the same: sign A-Rod.
Yeah, that's some hard hitting analysis there.
No talk of being completely over matched by Beckett in game one. No talk of being with out Mathews. Or of Rivera missing most of the season.
It's hard to believe I once took this guy seriously.
1. Garret Anderson - $12 million (2009 Team Option $14 million or $3 million buy out)
2. Orlando Cabrera - $8 million plus $1 million bonus (FA after season)
3. Kelvim Escobar - $9 million ($9.5 million for 2009)
4. Chone Figgins - $4.75 million (Will be a free agent after 2009 season)
5. Vlad Guerrero - $14.5 million plus $1 million bonus(2009 Team Option $15 million or $3 million buy out)
6. John Lackey - $7 million (2009 Team Option $9 million or $500K buyout, if Angels do not execute option, Lackey will be a free agent after 2008 season)
7. Gary Matthews Jr.- $9 million (signed through 2011)
8. Kendry Morales - $500K (signed through 2010)
9. Darren Oliver - $2 million (FA after 2008)
10. Robb Quinlan - $1.05 million (FA after 2008)
11. Scot Shields - $4.25 million (signed through 2010)
12. Justin Speier - $4.25 million (signed through 2010)
The Angels have around $77 million in guaranteed deals, they will have to sign K-Rod again, he made $7 million this year and can be a free agent after next season.
Mike Lowell looks really weathered in his MLB photo. Has he been working on the docks for the past thirty years?
Comment status: comments have been closed. Baseball Toaster is now out of business.