I leave the house each morning with the thought that I hope I don't get injured. Didn't help a few weeks ago when I sprained my ankle walking down my porch steps.

Nomo?! haha Oh boy. Sad part is, he will probably crack the starting rotation there.

Very cool Q&A with Hall of Fame writer I came across:

http://mlbfleecefactor.com/2008/01/04/q-a-tracy-ringolsby-of-the-rocky-mountain-news/

I leave home everyday thinking I'm going to get killed by a drunken hang glider.

But I worry more than others.

Thanks to us, fanerman now leaves home everday thinking he's going to be struck by a falling turkey.

That's okay, thanks to yesterday's thread, you don't have to guess how I worry about getting injured when I leave my house.

Odalis Perez is available? Sign him up!

6 As what?

He may be worried about "the crazy lil' women" there in Kansas City.

2 Painting with a broad brush:
It's [Blogs are] basically a written version of talk radio.

Perhaps there is some truth to the comparison in that the product is dependent on the qualities of the host.

8- He did share one prominent physical feature with Little Jimmy Rushing.

Except you meant Nomo, not Odalis. Nomo was not a FToG.

3 There actually was a domestic violence case in Utah this summer where a guy threatened his wife with a gun, then took off in a hang glider, flying over Utah Valley. It's not every day you hear a report about an armed and dangerous man who may be overhead in a hang glider. He ended up shooting himself in mid-air and crashing into some bushes.

And you think all the action is in L.A.

HOF voters' comments dissected at Baseball Analysts.

http://tinyurl.com/28v79a

I saw the Gerry Fraley column the other day and that same quote popped out at me too:
Raines' case was hurt by his reluctance to run in all situations, as Rickey Henderson did. Raines seemed at times too concerned about preserving his stolen-base percentage.

Y'know, making outs IS a bad thing, therefore avoiding them is a good thing.

not sure why he's coming backe, i thought nomo had a promising new career with that silent library clip from yesterday.

12- That'll be a Law and Order pretty soon. Inspector Gadget will find the body using GPS. Pretend Vincent Donofrio will share a poignent moment with the widow.

8 'I'm going to get me one.'

12 Edgy.

Oh, Hideo Nomo, I wish him well. Some of my best baseball memories involve him -- watching him pitch in Candlestick and being surrounded by Japanese rooting for the Dodgers. Who else ever made it safe to root for the Dodgers in Candlestick?

Nomo played for the Brewers? I have no recollection of that (along with lots of other stuff). Boy he must have looked funny in that ugly uniform.

I wish him lots of luck. If David Wells can pitch at 45 why not Nomo at 39? (I'd use Clemens as an example but, well you know, that just doesn't hold up anymore. Unless of course you believe in the magical powers of vitiam B-12 shots.)

in Utah this summer where a guy threatened his wife

Which one...?

19
I believe an examination of David Wells' ERA and Hideo Nomo's ERA at age 38 tells the difference.

19 Nomo had some great years and moments in Dodger blue - the Coors Field no-hitter (not in progress) - but he sure looked done his last couple tries in the majors. Wells has had an ERA+ 100 or better every season, 1997 (age 34) until last year. Good luck Hideo, but I'm not betting on you.

Bob is just so much pithier than the ordinary commenter.

If Hideo can get a shot, someone had better sign Odalis.

I'm a busy man. I have to be pithy.

22 Or his home run at Coors, rounding third with that huge grin on his face?

When is Omar Daal coming back? He'll only be 36.

21. So what your saying is if Nomo gains 100 lbs. he should be fine. If he follows the LAT diet of doughnuts, pasta and red meat he should be ready to go by spring training.

Picking up 100 lbs. in two months? I smell a reality tv show. . .

4 I was hit with many many drops of falling water going to work today. I should have brought a change of pants =(.

One for Bob: Ever heard of Vastragotaland? It's got the same phone code as Sweden, but is it a separate country?

31 Nevermind. It's a county in Sweden.

30 Where I am, the water is not so much falling as flying sideways at a high rate of speed. I was fortunate enough to have a change of pants at work.

33 It was certainly falling at an extreme incline for me. Otherwise my pants would not be so wet. Actually they've dried off a bit. I borrowed a space heater from my co-worker.

The Miracle Mile still awaits a drop of precipitation.

In Carson City they're talking of the chance of this being a 50 year event.

It's all dry on the South OC front.
33 ,34 where are you 2 located?

37 I am in Berkeley/Oakland.

My daughter says she saw a news report that said this is supposed to be the biggest storm in LA's history. Could that be true? (Not that she saw it but that the news was correct). Just starting to rain in West LA.

I don't what the storm will be when it hits LA but here in the bay area it's already been one of the most violent I can remember in years. What Fanerman said; Walking from BART this morning my pants got sopping wet from that aforementioned sideways rain and wind. It's so violently windy that my cats are unable to sleep! Oh the humanity!

Hope no one's planning on driving anywhere today; I wouldn't.

Strike that, my cats are able to sleep. Order is restored.

However, I keep hearing sirens, which is unsettling - both police and fire, and car alarms.

I think I just saw Margaret Hamilton fly by on her bicycle.

{41} Doo doo doo doo doo doo da, doo doo doo doo doo doo da...

This storm is supposed to hit us here in Utah tomorrow. While my kids are taking ski lessons. That should be an eventful day.

While my kids are taking ski lessons

Do you rent the whole mountain?

The biggest storm ever in LA was in 1938 I believe. It flooded everything, washed out all the trails in the mountains. I think after that one is when every waterway in the county was paved over.

43 Good luck with that. Ski resorts in the Tahoe area were shut down yesterday due to wind
gusts of up to 100 mph.

39 Yeah I don't know about LA, but this is as hard as I've ever seen it rain in the East Bay (in my 5 or so years here).

6 Odalis Perez is available? Sign him up!

Is this some sort of sick joke that I'm having a hard time understanding? It is awfully cloudy outside, maybe they're infiltrating my brain.

PS- Sons of Steve Garvey have one of the funniest headlines I've read in a while...

47 Yeah, this is one of the worst storms I can remember. If I can get through the day without a power outage or a leaky roof or something, I will be quite grateful.

31 Västergötland is probably most famous for its duchess.

44 It's a big resort, with I think 8 different mountains, depending on how you count. So there's enough room to fit our entire family reunion!

46 I called the resort and they said not to worry, don't always trust the weatherman. I'm going to call again on our way there. They do close some lifts when it's windy, but I'm not sure they realize just how windy this one could get. Plus 3 feet of snow.

50 The Duchess of Västergötland doesn't quite roll of the tongue the same way as the Duchess of York.

All I had heard re: Los Angeles was that it would be the worse storm since January 2005.

52 The Duchess of Västergötland may be harder on the tongue than the Duchess of York, but she's easier on the eyes.

52 That's funny...I was just about to comment
that Vastergotland was starting to roll right the tongue...

50 Oops, a nearby ant colony has apparently been flooded out of its home and is now trying to take up residence in mine. Dang, and I had just returned that aardvark to the zoo, too.

Having lived through many an East Coast blizzard, ice storm, and blackout, it's always slightly amusing to hear Californians talk about bad weather. I feel like dusting off my Paul Hogan accent. "You call that a storm..."

But we're on:

STORM WATCH!

57 I've spent three years in Sweden (not in Västergötland, although both sides of my family are from neighboring counties) and I can honestly say that I'd rather deal with the blizzards than these monster California rain storms.

57 - Having been through an East Coast Storm of the Century (TM), all I can say is that a blizzard of snow is more fun than a blizzard of rain.

I listened to a Torre interview yesterday on the ESPN Dodger page; it appears he still doesn't know much about our players.

That is some cause for concern, I'd say. He should be doing extensive research and video watching.

Out here by Sacramento they're talking about 60 MPH gusts and the rain has been heavy - 3+ inches expected on the day, 5-10 ft of snow in the Sierras. It's no hurricane, but it's one of the biggest storms, especially in terms of wind, that I recall coming through in the last 15 years.

57 New Yorkers don't get the sheer entertainment of playing car pinball.

61 What kind of stuff was he saying?

63 It's not like there aren't terrible rainstorms in New York. They just have them in the summer. Woo!

Looking at the weather report, it's supposed to calm down quite a bit by tomorrow (in the East Bay). Is that what everybody else has been hearing? Only 1 day for the storm at its worst?

64 Basically, he's waiting for Spring Training to find out who's who and whatnot. Also, he's impressed that other clubs ask about the young guys, so he's looking forward to seeing them play.

67 - Has kind of a "Your product intrigues me, and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter" feel to it.

Looks like I'm going to have to do a twist on the annual "Don't pay too much attention to Spring Training stats" post again.

"Your product intrigues me, and I've already signed up for a three-year subscription to your newsletter, but I haven't read it yet."

"Your product intrigues me, and I've already signed up for a three-year subscription to your newsletter, and you're paying me millions of dollars for the subscription."

61 - So is there a link?

I'm doing some photo research for work and just ran across this gem. Yeesh.
http://tinyurl.com/ynrvsl

Mr. Johnstone, are you serious with that shirt?

66 Yes, today's storm (the second of three) is supposed to be the worst in terms of wind and rain. The next storm is supposed to be colder, dumping snow on the Bay Area peaks.

66 It's really starting to gale now in Carson City...later today it will turn to snow, and won't that be fun.

The third system is not supposed to clear until
Tuesday.

71 You'll find it here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=LAD

The worst weather experience I had was probably the flat tire I got during a hurricane-induced rainstorm while on my way back from Camden Yards in 1992.

The strangest was probably the August snowstorm I got caught in while camping out in the Flat Tops near Steamboat Springs - I think that was 1980.

71

It could be an insider podcast (i.e. Baseball Prospectus style subscription required), but here you go:

http://tinyurl.com/2fefvm

It's under "ESPN.com features"

I heard this interview for free. It was on the Mike Tirico show featuring fill-in Eric Kuselias yesterday.

67, 68 -- I don't think there is anything wrong with what Torre said, and in fact I would be surprised if he had said anything different. And, Jon, I'm sure the player stats in spring training won't matter to Torre either. Managers judge young players by what they see with the naked eye. I remember two years ago that Grady Little was reported to have been seen shaking his head watching Hee-Seop Choi do a simple workout in spring training. Choi was released not long after I read that.

72
Not to mention the exposed male chests.

75 77

Man... even after I checked for a link I still double posted it... aw man.

78 - Yet you see these Wilson Valdez characters every year, and people in power talking about how great they look, when it's clearly a fluke.

I think managers do use the naked eye, but (I haven't listened to the interview yet) I don't see why Torre couldn't be looking at some footage and scouting reports of these guys from last season. If he's not.

New DePo interview:

http://beyondtheboxscore.com/story/2008/1/4/15148/92664

76 When I saw your comment about Camden Yards I thought, "No way it was open in '92" but you were right; it opened in '92.

Great ballpark. I saw the Dodgers play there! It seems like it was in '03 but my memory fools me much too often to be sure and I'm too lazy to look it up.

I liked the new DePo interview.

Apparently, LHP Mike Megrew, whom Logan White drafted in the 5th round in 2002, and who was on the 40-man roster before being removed to make room for somebody else, has been signed to a minor league deal by the Padres.

"my memory fools me much too often to be sure and I'm too lazy to look it up."

I think I saw that sign on Bill Plaschke's desk once.

Not yet raining in my part of West LA but boy does it look ready to. My friend who lives near Walnut Creek has already had trees blown over (through her fence no less) and three leaks in her 7 year old house.

86 So do you think I have a promising career in sports journalism ahead of me?

The thing about rain in California is the weight of it. In the kind of storm that the Bay Area is having and we are anticipating, the rain comes down so hard and there's so much of it. I've not experienced that anywhere else in the US.

I remember trying to drive during a storm in the 80s when it felt like somewhere above me, someone was literally pouring an endless bucket of water on my car. Sometimes the rain and wind combine so that it feels like the ocean is breaking on your windows. The sheer quantity and velocity of the rainfall creates almost instant flooding in the streets, not to mention deadly mudslides. I've never heard of a blizzard causing a river of mud to slam into a neighborhood with just a few seconds' warning.

Californians' have a difficult time explaining how treacherous these sorts of rainstorms can be to northern-latitude types.

PS, I liked the DePo interview too. I'm sure Ned liked this part:

"I think makeup is critical. This game is a grind, and consequently it takes tremendous mental toughness to succeed. Makeup is often what separates the Championship players from the rest of the pack. Nobody on talent alone is a Championship player. The chemistry element, which I think you're hinting at, is much trickier. I don't know that anyone has figured out the alchemy involved there. I don't think many people would doubt its' importance, but I for one question our ability to manufacture it. You're talking about very complex interactions."

89 Doesn't all water weigh the same?

90 I think "weight of rain" = "force of water falling" and not "weight of water." The force of the water falling would be affected by the wind and not just gravity. At least I think that's what dzzrtRatt is saying.

82 Does DePo have a gag order regarding the Dodgers?

92 I seem to recall that he did.

89. Mudslides have more to do with the topography of California than with any "heaviness" of the rain.

No rain at LAX yet. I should have an amusing commute home on the 405 North.

90
Actually not all water weighs the same.

Not that msot people could discern the difference.

93 - I'll bet he has an active gag reflex regarding the Dodgers.

Yes, part of his severance package essentially bought his silence. But I'm pretty sure you can read between the lines of the interview linked above and apply it to several Dodger situations.

I had no idea DePo was so funny. Compared to The Great Communicator's oft-defensive and snippy responses in interviews, it's DePo who comes off as the more PR savvy of the two.

96 I think we all be thankful that a handful of brave Norwegians could discern the difference.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_heavy_water_sabotage

I'd like to know if the "proprietary measures of performance" DePo refers to (but won't divulge in detail) involve

1. new combinations of things that are already counted (e.g. hits, walks, etc.), or
2. counting new things

Don't worry about this storm too much. KCAL9 apparently "does something" about the weather...or so they say.

99
Nobody else is allowed to know about the process except for Ricky Jay and Ben Gazzara.

96 Not everyone is a Bob Timmermann, unfortunately.

The rain has been pretty anti-climactic up where I am. More like a hard drizzle so far.

102
I carry around a precise scale to measure the density of each rain drop.

96 A mole of H2O has the same mass (and if g is fixed, the same weight) no matter what, doesn't it? Most people do discern the density differences, however.

Eric...the guy who fell 47 stories in New York and lived...what exactly did he land on?

97 -- I don't believe anybody, even DePo's most vocal critics, ever said that DePo didn't give good interviews when he was with the Dodgers. I certainly always thought he did well in that area, and intelligent people usually do well answering questions. But there is more to being PR-savvy than giving good interviews. If you bring Milton Bradley to your team with no idea what kind of PR nightmares Bradley will likely bring with him, you are either NOT PR-savvy, or you think the PR problems will be worth the production on the field.

105
I would assume some rainwater has "stuff" in it. Dirt and such.

104 Is that what you got in place of a sextant?

98 Of course they could. They come from the land of the ice and snow, from the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.

109
I swiped the scale from the Los Alamos National Lab.

108 Which is why one shouldn't drink it. Especially here.

105 ... discern the larger density differences ...

111 Bob, you're not supposed to swipe stuff that glows in the dark.

By weight, I was referring to velocity -- presumably caused by wind -- and density -- which is the more unique aspect of these storms. Things get very wet very fast it makes a lot of noise.

Admittedly, I was also speaking poetically to some degree. I keep forgetting I'm an English major in a roomful of mathematicians.

Here in Walnut Creek we had mostly really bad wings this morning and late last night, but everything is calm now.

*winds

113 Man, my nephew shoplifted these the other day. I didn't know to tell him it was doubly wrong.

http://tinyurl.com/2gghhv

We need baseball season to come. This rain play by play just doesn't cut it.

Speaking of which, it's a lot less windy here in SF now at least, so maybe it's calming down. But I'm still on Storm Watch!

116 Oh, I thought maybe you made the mistake of ordering in Dominos.

114 What about the average velocity of an unladen swallow?

Nobody else is allowed to know about the process except for Ricky Jay and Ben Gazzara

Just don't let it go to the Japanese...

I had no idea Luis Ayala and Dick Cheney were buddies.

120 What do you mean? An African or European swallow?

Our signing of Chan Ho Park ranks right up there with the Royals taking a flyer on Nomo.

Rumor has it that Beane is making Huston Street available. Are we willing to part with Abreu or Hu for Street? It is not like we need another potential closer this year. But Street has three years left on his contract and we may be without Saito next year. Street would be a great set up guy for Broxton or vice versa.

124 -- We don't need a closer, or a set-up man, or even a seventh inning man (Proctor will be that). We don't need Street, period.

Proctor is all things to all men especially Joe Torre.

90 96 Water falls in drops suspended in air. In any given volume of air (cc, cubic inch, cubic foot, etc.) there will be a certain proportion of water to air. That volume will be heavier if there is more water per cc or cubic inch in one rainfall than in another. So it's the density, or the weight per unit volume, that dzzrtRatt is referring to. The effect can be then intensified by the speed of the wind, at least horizontally, as it hits your body. I suppose there could even be a factor of downward wind involved to a slight degree from time to time, but I don't imagine that's significant. I have no idea what might cause water to fall in larger "clumps" or drops - maybe something to do with the water density of the clouds as they release their precipitation.

124 Street would cost way more than Hu or Abreu. Probably something along the lines of LaRoche + Elbert.

125 - to age 5, I lived on Houston Street in Sherman Oaks. Just north of Fashion Square.

A gag order is one thing but that interviewer just pretended Depo was never even associated with LA. To ask about Bradley only as an A and a Padre without mentioning his problems in LA simply strains creditability. I assume it was a condition of the interview. Depo is very articulate and I think any alleged communication issues he had involved his communication with players not so much the media. Lord knows there were many a DT thread devoted whether a player was entitled to know that he was the subject of talks or whether Depo owed a play the curtsey of a phone call. In the end, I hope Depo's gag order has a termination date because one day I want him to write a tell all. Reading the interview and being reminded how intelligent Depo is makes Ned's canned drivel sound all the lamer.

The behind the scenes story of DePo's tenure with the Dodgers would indeed make a great book someday. Too bad Michael Lewis wasn't there to be the fly on the wall.

107 - I think DePo's most vocal critics argued that he was incompetent in every aspect of public relations. Whether they were exaggerating for effect or not, that was clearly the impression they passed along, and one that stuck for many people.

And for that matter, the production of Bradley for the most part was worth the PR problems - yet DePo's detractors wouldn't even entertain that notion. Basically, until the Bradley-Kent and domestic violence kerfuffles, there was a strong argument that the PR problems of Bradley were meaningless.

Even suggesting as a hypothetical that DePo had no idea what PR problems might bring is misguided, isn't it? Do you think he thought Bradley would be a saint?

130 - I was under the impression that the gag order ended once DePo got his last dollar from the Dodgers. I'm guessing DePo just doesn't want to talk about that period.

130 -- I don't think Ned does a bad job with interviews. Ned uses the same "GM-speak" that DePo used when DePo was our GM. And does anybody think what DePo said about his definition of a "Moneyball player" sounds like anything other than a canned response? By that definition, anybody can be a Moneyball player, in the right circumstances. As for Ned, he has only sounded bad when he has been in the position of having to defend the indefensible, like after he's made a bad trade, and pretty much anytime he has said anything about Juan Pierre.

133 - That definition is the point - Moneyball wasn't radical, it was common sense. Absoultely, anyone can be a Moneyball player in the right circumstances, which is what made the uproar against it so preposterous. Myself and many others have been saying that Moneyball was about valuation ever since the book came out, but people needed a bogeyman to fight.

I give loads of credit to DePo for not talking...

The interview makes me miss Depo

136 Pretty much every mention of DePo I hear/read about makes me miss DePo.

130 I wasn't around here back then. I think I might have enjoyed threads calling for the GM owing plays curtseys by phone. Especially after a double play; I'd guess that would merit a special curtsey. ;-)

132 -- I covered the possibilities by offering TWO hypotheticals, and personally don't buy the first one (but grant that it is at least possible, however improbable), while I do believe the second one: DePo thought that Bradley's production would be worth the price of any bad behavior of the kind he was known for. At the time of the trade, I did NOT accept that Bradley's production would make up for the bad behavior I expected to be forthcoming, and in hindsight I have not changed my position on that.

How many five-year-olds could you take in a fight:

http://tinyurl.com/376z47

139
Milton's production was enough that without him we would not have won the 2004 pennant. To say his behavior wasn't worth the production is wrong if winning is the goal.

Since he ultimately become Ethier I don't see how the acquisition of Milton could be seen as negative no matter how you slice it.

134 -- I agree that Moneyball was about valuation, taking advantage of inefficiencies in the market. At least that was the "big picture," the philosophy behind what Lewis described Oakland as doing. But I think "Moneyball player" means something different than than that, without even having to describe what I think it means, because I believe you already KNOW what I think it means, so common is the understanding of what it means. In the face of that comon understanding, DePo now essentially says, "Well, I have a different definition than the common one," and while I won't say that people can't redefine things or disssent from majority opinion about definitions, when the new definition can apply to virtually everybody, it is, I submit, an extraordinarily useless definition, that defeats the purpsose of language and definitions by confusing matters rather than clarifying them.

140 That is so eight days ago. ;)

142 - I couldn't feel more differently. It's not DePo's fault, or Lewis' fault, that people - including those who didn't read the book - chose to redefine the thesis of Moneyball.

If 10,000 people want to call a chair something that you eat for lunch, and other, less voiciferous people take the time to point out that a chair is actually something you sit in, that doesn't make the correct definition wrong. Moneyball never meant something as narrow as find a good OBP player. It always meant something more, regardless of what Joe Morgan or Bill Plaschke might think.

Just because "Moneyball player" could conceivably apply to anyone, it never applies to everyone at once. It applies to given players in a given set of circumstances - and it's the fact that a player can go from being overvalued to undervalued or vice versa that makes the concept so useful. Otherwise, you end up valuing players the same, by their original reputation, regardless of how valuable they really are.

I was just driving in the car an hour ago and KFWB interupted their regular news cast with "This Just In" breaking news. Britney lost her visitation rights. This is "breaking news"? This is news at all? KFWB should be ashamed of itself.

145 - Ultimately, like it or not, Britney Spears has sold a gazillion records. That makes her more of interest, objectively, than the average mother. She may not be worthy of that interest as a mother, but it's undeniable that that interest is there.

There are also two children whose well-being, I don't think it's melodramatic to say, is in jeopardy. They are not the only two children in this situation by any means, but they're probably the two children that most people would have some interest in.

I'd rather KFWB devote airtime to the horrors in Kenya, but it's hard to argue that the majority of listeners are more interested in Kenya than Britney.

141 -- We won our division in 2004, not the proverbial whole bowl of wax, and even if we had won the World Series, and one stipulated that we wouldn't have done that without trading for Bradley, the question must be faced, "What level of disgrace are you willing to tolerate as the price of winning the World Series?" It is a question of whether the end justifies the means, and I say no. In the 30 years I have been a Dodger fan, I have seen a lot of losing and I have seen a lot of useless, crappy players on the Dodgers, and yet I have accepted the losing and crappy players (like Juan Pierre) if not quite with a smile on my face, then at least with a certain stoicism, or at worst, a certain resignation. For me, where the real PAIN has come in being a Dodger has been in two things: (1) bad trades involving giving up players I want on the Dodgers, and (2) having players on the Dodgers I just despise on a human level, like Bradley and Sheffield, players I just hate to root for but feel obligated to root for because of their uniform. The fact that players like Bradley and Sheffield are actually talented somehow even makes it worse to me, because I know they have skated through their professional lives getting cut slack that mediocre talents would never have benefitted from.

146

I just feel bad for her at this point. I know she needs to be held accountable for her actions and that these children must be looked out for, but it must be awful to have something so personal displayed for the public to see. I got angry this morning when I saw the paparazzi chasing after her ambulance. I understand the consequences of being famous, but still...it just plain sucks for her.

147 - Well, I'd say that Bradley has gotten plenty of comeuppance. And maybe there's something wrong with me, but I don't think he disgraced the Dodger uniform. I can think of worse, at any rate.

Bradley gave me occasional doses of pain, but the day-to-day pain of certain mediocre players has been worse for me.

On the other hand, I did welcome the Dodgers' trade of Sheffield, however shortsighted it might have been from a talent standpoint. Then again, I kept wishing for Karros to leave.

LAT, it could be worse. It could be Tom Cruise news.

but it must be awful to have something so personal displayed for the public to see.

Am I right to think that she somehow needs the attention?

From what I recall, acquiring Milton Bradley was a bit of a necessity. The Dodgers were planning to sign Vlad that year, in addition to signing Juan Encarnacion, while putting Shawn Green at first. Thus giving the Dodgers an outfield of Encarnacion-Roberts-Guerrero. However, when the Vlad deal fell through, the Dodgers were not only planning to move Green back to right field, but the Dodgers were throwing names like "Bubba Trammell" and "Jeremy Giambi" as possible first basemen in spring training. As much I as was wary of Bradley's "baggage" at the time of the trade, it was much better than hearing Bubba Trammell being announced on the PA as the starting first baseman.

Counterpoint to the Britney news:

http://www.baseballmusings.com/archives/024385.php

154 Wow. That was chilling, touching, and very, very good.

Canuck - this is good news for you, if you haven't gotten to see Mad Men yet:

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6516793.html

Canadian broadcaster CTV said Thursday it has acquired rights to the first two seasons of Mad Men, the dramatic series about 1960s advertising executives that was a breakout hit for AMC last year.

CTV said it would say "soon" when it would begin airing the first 13-episode season, which debuted on AMC in July 2007. No other terms were announced, other than that CTV had also acquired broadband and video-on-demand rights to Mad Men's second season. The second season hasn't yet been produced.

150. Very good point. I'll listen to Britney news all day if means not hearing from Tom Cruise again.

146. I recognize its news and should be reported. I just can't give it breaking news status. Giving it special treatment as though it is something that really affects our lives. As for the kids, I feel badly for them but there are lots of children all over Los Angeles who are far worse off. And who knows maybe the kids will turn out fine. I think I have mentioned that I coach Janice Dickenson's daughter (AYSO) and her daughter is a great kid.

It would be nice if the Canadian networks acquired a few more good U.S. TV shows.

And the iPhone. We still don't have the iPhone.

LAT, I'm sure you would be happy to read that Tom was abducted by the Thetans infesting him.

If only it were true...

153. Now that is something people should read or hear about. Touching, especially the part for Amanda. Makes one realize how lucky we are and the debt we owe those in the trenches.

"I coach Janice Dickenson's daughter (AYSO) and her daughter is a great kid."

A solid argument for nature over nurture.

158. Alas if only it were so.

155 -- Jon, Canada does have the AMC channel, but I suppose CTV bought Mad Men because Canadians without cable or with only the most basic cable package didn't have the chance to see Mad Men.

You must have forgot, but after Mad Men premiered on AMC I commented at Screen Jam that I did not like the first episode and had no desire to watch any more. I do know that you really loved the show. Different tastes, I guess. However, I am looking forward to AMC's SECOND original series, Breaking Bad, which starts Jan. 20. The 15-minute preview AMC has aired looked interesting, and the creator and executive producer, Vince Gilligan, was one of my favorite X-Files writers.

162 - Oh yeah, I remember now.

I've got a screener of Breaking Bad that I'm going to watch this weekend.

Speaking as an English major, I have to defend the coverage of Britney Spears' sad story. It's like a novel -- this Disney girl who is offered up to the public as a kind of virginal sexpot who, over the course of just a few years, becomes someone who apparently is so depraved she can't even see her children, much less raise them. How did that happen?

I'm influenced by recent reading: The Steve Martin memoir of his comedy career and especially the new bio of Charles M. Schulz contain (especially in Schulz's case) rather disturbing portraits of the families these icons grew up in.

Sometimes, it's voyeurism. But sometimes it's the normal human impulse to understand. I couldn't care less for Spears' music, but her story has gotten so wild, I am not ashamed I am curious what's going to happen next, and hope for the best for her and especially her kids.

I rarely feel sorry for someone who brings all their troubles (such as they are) upon themselves, especially when the troubles are an utterly predictable consequence of engaged-in behavior. People like Ms. Spears get what they deserve*.

*Excluding the hundreds of millions of dollars

I'd all but forgoten about OP but with #'s like this 8-11 with a 5.57 ERA in 26 starts I wonder who will take a change on him? He is left handed so he has that going for him.

This same thing happens over and over again with teen stars who become the flavor of the moment despite usually lacking any discernible talent. Tune in six or eight years from now to see Miley Cyrus's sad descent into oblivion.

Who was the last teen star that didn't self-destruct and actually continued to have success in their field? Jodie Foster?

166

he has LOOGY written all over him |insert drum beat here|

167 Guess it's like ballplayers. They know they have a brief shelf life, during which time they rake in millions of dollars. Why can't they set some aside for a rainy day and go easy on the partying? Why doesn't someone in their lives -- a parent, a sibling, their manager -- take them in hand and encourage them to think about what kind of life they want after the glory days?

The novelist in me says it's because to all these people, Spears is just a means to their own ends, and what happens to her ultimately doesn't matter to them, as long as they get to benefit while it lasts. She's a drug addict in free fall, and she can't rely on anyone she isn't paying to help her overcome it. That's lonely.

Funny, I didn't realize I felt this way until you guys started talking about it.

164 - I just read both those books, Ratt. Highly recommend them.

167 - If I'm not mistaken, Justin Timberlake, Keri Russell, Christina Aguilera and Ryan Gosling were all in the same Mickey Mouse Club troupe with Britney, had success soon after and seem to be thriving.

169 She probably can't rely on anyone she is paying, either.

I can't for the life of me fathom what, other than unadulterated selfishness, goes on in the heads of parents who push their kids to become teen superstars. That script almost always has a terrible ending. Every once in a while you get the occasional Jodie Foster or Ronnie Howard or Danica McKellar who turns out OK, but the other 99% of the time they end up in life's scrap heap. That's a lousy future to sentence your kid to.

170 Yeah, the Martin book is terrific. I wish it had been longer, because I finished it in one day and was left wanting more.

172

I guess that is what is so sad to me. She was pushed into a career that eventually led to this point. I don't deny that she is an adult and needs to make better decisions, but I still wish things had turned out better for her. Who knows...maybe this is just the rising action to the climax of her story, which will involve a spectacular turn around and an interview with Oprah

I still wish things had turned out better for her

Things didn't really "turn out": she made choices that were almost guaranteed to lead to where she is today.

a spectacular turn around and an interview with Oprah

And yes, a comeback and interview with Oprah or Babwa Wawas is virtually inevitable. And we'll all have to act like we're surprised and happy for her.

Blech.

167
Who was the last teen star that didn't self-destruct and actually continued to have success in their field? Jodie Foster?

Ken Griffey Jr.?

Only 41 days until pitchers and catchers report to Vero Beach.

And ony 74 days until they report to Glendale!

You want to watch an episode of Full House with me now?

I don't think of Britney's behavior as bizzare. Michael Jackson was bizzare (with or without the child abuse). Brit is just a drug addicted fool. No better or worse than any other celeb addict. In fact, Brit is so pedestrian she's still a 75 year old millionare, four diet binges and 10 years of litigation away from Anna Nicole.

122 I got it.

I read the post that the soldier/blogger left behind earlier today. It really is painful.

Did others see this amazing picture, via Deadspin, yet SFW.

http://tinyurl.com/2edzom

I'm am most definitely NOT trying to start a conversation about Juan Pierre.

What I want to know is, what kind of fan would actually think the following factors were important to his or her enjoyment of a baseball team and its success? What's going on inside their minds? That's what I want to know. This is the guy Ken Gurnick used to answer another fan's question about Pierre vs. Ethier.

"I'm tired of all the baseball experts criticizing the season Juan Pierre had. All he did was lead the team in at-bats, runs scored, hits, triples, and -- more importantly -- played in all 162 games! There have been countless Dodgers players hurt for so many games that it's great to see a player come to the ballpark for every game and actually play! What a concept."

Starting from the last statement: It's a matter of luck whether a player is available to play 162 games. So, this guy is saying basically "I like players who are lucky. I don't like players who are unlucky."

"Lead the team in at-bats." At-bat stats for a player should be on the manager's bubble-gum card. The player doesn't.

"runs scored." If a player plays all 162 games and bats in the 1 or 2 hole, this is sort of inevitable. Besides, he didn't lead the league, just the team, a fourth-place team. Have Pierre change places with Ethier and Ethier would probably lead the team in runs.

I get hits and triples, but still, saying a guy deserves to start because he led the team in these categories is a tautology. He played a lot so he led the team in these stats. He led the team in these stats so he played a lot.

But beyond that, what fan would find this information persuasive, important or even noteworthy? The team didn't win.

All this talk of 2003 in a previous thread and the Milton Bradley days really makes me accept my label as a fan in Webster's literal sense. Looking at the past Dodger teams now, I have to say I was quite deluded in thinking so optimistically about our chances for a WS. Will I look back on today 8 years from now and think the same of myself? Probably.

Also have to agree with 141 on this matter. Mt. Bradley's eruptions were bound to happen, but his production helped push us over the top. If he could stay healthy and out of trouble his 2003 numbers would probably be closer to his career averages.

Question for anyone who has been to the Continent recently?

Do I just need one type of adaptor for a trip to Germany/Czech Republic/Austria, aka the kind with the two round prongs on them?

182. I wonder what happened in the 10 mins after that picture was taken.

BTW, had to believe that is only 13 feet. Can you image what Roy Schider was facing in a 20+ footer.

122 Just acquaintances. Real buddies get a full spray.

The last episode of Zoey 101 is on and my daughters are already telling the TV screen "Your show got cancelled. That's what happens when you can't keep your legs closed."

I'm a proud dad.

Loney is on the Lakes game!

189 - So why did Freaks and Geeks bite the dust? Linda Cardellini has still never had a baby!

"Freaks and Geeks" bit the dust because people from Greg Brock's demographic did not appreciate it on as many levels as people like me.

Hey Jon, I have a question, IIRC, Jamie Lynn got pregnant since the writers strike began thus this last episode had to be written after the strike as well. How were they able to get it written?

i know i'm late to the party, but i just watched the local 10 o'clock news and noticed you all were having crazy weather out there, hope everybody there is ok.

i'm so sick about hearing about britney. but my girlfriend is still holding out hope for her, so who knows, maybe she still has a shot.

183
dumbest stat of all is "games played." does anybody, anywhere, remember a major league game in which every position wasn't filled for every inning? i mean, if juan pierre hadn't nutted up and jogged out to CF 162 times IN A ROW, would the grass between the guys in LF and RF have gone unattended? (and, yeah, feel free to fill in your joke on that). games played, in the majors, has got to be the dumbest of all the dumb stats.
191/192
Freaks and Geeks bit the dust because network execs didn't get it, not because viewers didn't get it. i know a guy with a really dumb dog; dog chews on everything, craps under the couch, etc. he changed the dog's name to "suit" in honor of a guy he knows at NBC.

183 , do you really want to re-open the debate as to whether staying healthy over a full season is a skill?

And isn't choosing to enjoy (or hate on) a player like Pierre, regardless of whether the team wins or loses, part of what being a fan is all about in the first place?

Wait, nevermind, I'll just go back to thinking about 2003. The year that...uh, Juan Pierre led his team in at-bats, runs, hits, and triples, and played in all 162 games. Anyone remember how they did?

You guys see that Luis Ayala was shot while hunting in Mexico?

http://mlbfleecefactor.com/2008/01/04/nats-rp-luis-ayala-shot-in-hunting-accident/

Holy cow, there's a new Friday Night Lights tonight!

193 - Unless the last episode referred to her pregnancy, why did it have to be written before the strike?

That being said, is it a WGA-written show? When I worked on So Weird, I was in the Writers Guild of Canada because it was shot in Vancouver

199. I am assuming it was written after the pregnancy becasue Nick cancelled the show due to her condition and she moves to London in the final episode. (Sorry if I ruined for Brock who was no doubt TiVo-ing it.) I don't know if its a WGA show. I thought all regaular shows were WGA.

198
I thought you would have known that being an industry insider and all that.

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man [or woman] to inspire any sympathy in D4P.

I don't follow the show enough. Maybe they always planned to do a London episode. I'm sure the answer's online somewhere.

Don't follow the show enough? What do you do with all your time. Keeper of DT, Variety writer, SI contributor, father of 2.5 and husband can't take more than 23 hours a day.

And on the distaff side, it was UCLA 69, #2 Stanford 56.

Kathy Olivier gets one or two wins like this every year to let her keep her job.

[Zoey 101] completed production on its fourth and final season in September, and new episodes are still scheduled to air through 2008.

http://tinyurl.com/38mbup

Looks like they had an entire season in the can when the strike hit. IMDB says it's taped in L.A.

Over 7 inches of rain in some of the local mountains so far. vr, Xei
SFW: http://www.vcwatershed.org/fws/trico24h.htm

I hate those Larrabee scumbags.

I don't see Larrabee and Dillon having a friendly exchange of game films.

206 Thanks Andrew. I believe she knew she was pregnant in Aug. She probably told Nick which wrote and filmed the last episode before the strike.

193 = another fine example of what happens when you a-s-s-u-m-e, brought to you free of charge by LAT.

I didn't like that ending to FNL. I'm tired of them hitting that same beat.

Can't say I'm happy about that Stanford result, either.

That Julie is nothing but trouble.

185 Yes, the generic two-pronger should work throughout the continent for ungrounded low-wattage devices.

There are, I think, two different standards for the grounded stuff, but the generic plug fits in both. Sweden and France are on different standards for that, but I was able to use the same plug in both places.

214
Thanks. The only things I'll be plugging are battery chargers.

As someone who just powered through the last eight episodes of Lost today, can anybody tell me my season three was so poorly recieved?

Ok. Your season three was poorly recieved :-)

I didn't think season three was poorly received at all. Season 2 was.

Man, it is raining cats and dogs now.

If anyone is out there still maybe you can help me.

Does anyone currently have XM satellite radio?

Do they carry all the Dodger games and if so, do they use the local announce teams?

Thanks.

219
My father would say it is raining like a cow pissing on a rock.

Season 3 of Lost was poorly received by some people because they split the season up and people felt the first half dealt too much with the other island and watching Sawyer and Kate in bear cages.

And it didn't seem like the plot was going anywhere, although it really was. The episode about Hurley restoring the van was troublesome to people along with the episode about the couple that got buried alive.

222 So in other words, it was from people who just wanted to see the same characters revisted over and over again. I really liked the Nikki and Paolo episode.

The only truly bad episode of Lost I can recall is the one where they build the church, even the tattoo episode held my attention.

221 XM does carry all of the Dodger games but you get the home teams announcers.

Sorry, 224 was in reference to 220

223
There were people who wanted "answers" and people who wanted "story." The "answers" people gave up for the most part.

I always enjoyed the show, although I think the half-season that is going to air this year is going to be hard to take because nothing will be settled and who knows when or if ABC will ever finish the series.

The WGA strike could be settled and then we could get a DGA or SAG strike. And, eventually, Sumner Redstone will have to go on unemployment.

226 Eh, I was satisfied in terms of answers, we went from knowing nothing about the others to knowing nothing, as well as starting to sow the seeds of what the Dharma corportation was doing. I was happy.

I was late to the Lost party, catching up on seasons 1 & 2 during season 3. As a result, I had to wait for the season 3 DVD to come out. Having watched the episodes straight through (without the season split up by a few weeks at a time), I really enjoyed this last season.

223
I also greatly enjoyed the Nikki & Paolo episode, and I liked how they kind of blended them into previous events (specifically the plane crash) even if it was kind of corny. I'm also sure Kiele Sanchez had something to do with me liking that episode! :)

I am greatly looking forward to season 4, however abbreviated and disjointed it may be. Also, now I can check the Screen Jam archives for Lost talk!

214 215 If I remember correctly from my last adapter purchase, the only country in Europe that doesn't use the 2-prong is England, but I don't remember what their adapter looks like. I ended up going with the truly universal adapter that has all kinds of holes for any country's standard.

185 Austria and Germany use 220VDC. See the link for European standards.

http://www.sizes.com/materls/elecEurop.htm

Be sure the electronic devices you take with you have a switching power supply built in. If not you will need to also use a power converter. Laptop computers normally have them built in (it's in the rectangular box on the cable that you plug into the wall). Cell phone or PDA chargers don't always have them. I have a Palm PDA and had to order the switching charger.

Have a great trip.

226 - Is there a real possibility of a WGA settlement followed by a DG and SAG strike? I was under the impression that the deal the writers get would by the basis for the other guilds. I am starting to think that the WGA should have postponed their strike a few months so that the DG and SAG intervention would have been looming immediately.

If the WGA wins, the other guilds will probably be happy to piggy back their deals onto the WGA one. But, if the WGA rolls, they probably wouldn't be.

232 - I can't see the WGA rolling. They would be crazy to roll right before the DG and SAG upped the ante in the summer.

It's not always a good idea, but I don't think it's ever crazy to roll when you haven't had a paycheck in two months. Principles and convictions are easier to hold when your bills are paid.