Yeah, but would they be the right kind of victories at the right time? Young players might win, but they do it for themselves, not the team.

What D4P said. Victories, Schmictories, I'd rather win the right way.

Hey this is fun! Let's keep this going.

So, I kind of had my heart set on going to the March 9 game vs. the Red Sox, but at 7:05 AM there were only general admission tickets available (for the grass).

Should I go for the G.A. ticket or just buy the 3-game mini plan for the reserved seat and stubhub the other two games? Much as I'd love to go to the other games I can't take the whole week off.

I think the title of the post sums up my feelings.

I'm surprised it is that few, frankly.

Been to Vero many times, and usually had crappy seats, especially in recent years when it became like a horse race for tickets due to the internet. Left field berm was the best I could get a couple of years ago when I went online at exactly the moment tickets were available.

I have found that there are alway scalpers waiting as you enter the gate with tickets for really good seats. You might pay $5 or so above face value, if you wait until a half hour before game time.

would scalping for tickets at an eaerlier time mean paying even more above ticket price? say a day or two before games, is that even possible?

..can someone explain exactly why the big Lakers / Grizzlies trade will somehow involve my 76ers losing one of our coaches??

This ticket buying process is frustrating. No tickets showing for more than two people and the best ones so far were in centerfield half way up. Hard to believe 5 minutes after they went on sale that this is the case.
vr, Xei

I think the Ticketmaster site must be hosed because it's coming up unavailable request even for the $2 tickets.
vr, Xei

Ticketmaster says they are sold out! Ugh!
vr, Xei

The world of StubHub says hello to xeifrank.

But I think it's time we stop children
What's that sound?
Everybody looks what's going down.

I got my tickets at RazorGator.com BEFORE they went on sale. I'm front row in section 23. I got them maybe on Wednesday of last week.

I just checked that site, they have plenty of tickets still on sale.

So what would be the difference between Pierre/Garciaparra and replacement level players in this scenario?

I wonder if the estimation considers potential days off for each player and their possible replacements for that day.

D4P will love this:

http://tinyurl.com/2y77k6

18
Vindication!

19

I'm just going to go ahead and count that as two Super Bowl victories for my team from here on.

Fear not, surely Arlen Specter will get to the bottom of this.

20
Me too. I still don't understand how having the cheaters paying a fine to the NFL compensates the cheatees for the cheating.

22

How much money would New England have to send you to make you feel compensated?

23
Exactly! Paying a fine (no matter how much, or to whom) doesn't make up for the offense. The only fair thing to do is to strip New England of its titles and distribute them to their rightful owners.

Course, you can't expect the NFL to do anything because they have no incentive. Their job is to make money, not to be fair or just.

No one will believe me and will just think I'm ranting, but I swear I've always believed there was something fishy about the Rams-Patriots Super Bowl. It just wasn't right.

25

They still should have won, but Martz blew it.

So close to the Promised Land with my computer. I've got all but one file recovered. It's my Quicken file which maddeningly sits on an iDisk waiting to be restored, but won't.

The Genius Bar guys better figure this out tomorrow.

27

Are you supposed to tip those Genius Bartenders? Do people hook up at the Genius Bar?

Everybody knows the last rigged football game of any consequence was the UCLA-Iowa Rose Bowl back in 1986.

Ronnie Harmon certainly fumbled a lot that day for a guy who never did it all season and wouldn't do it much in the NFL.

28
My girlfriend likes the Genius Bar guys. She thinks they're really geniuses.

She doesn't know much about computers. They tend to be a bit on the scruffy side though.

They still should have won, but Martz blew it

Absolutely. Martz is a moron.

27
So, did you find out what's wrong with the computer?

Great -- guess the family isn't going to the Coliseum after all. Thank you scalpers for pricing us out of the game. Man I'm in a bad mood.

32
I believe the heads that read the hard drive on the old computer got out of alignment. I could get it fixed for a big price.

There is a problem with getting rid of the computer because the hard drive could be taken by a guy up to no good and he could steal my identity and sell my worldly possessions to a Nigerian prince.

33
Remember that the Dodgers allowed season ticket holders to buy 16 tickets. That's pretty much an invitation to having all the tickets on the secondary market.

I bought 3 tickets from StubHub and the price wasn't outlandish. Depending upon your level of outlandishness.

34
That could work for me, because the Nigerian Prince could then offer me your worldly possessions in exchange for helping get his wealth, beautiful (did I mention, virgin?) sister out of captivity in Nigeria.

Can't you just keep the old computer, or have the hard drive erased?

36
The old computer will be a bit of an albatross. Eventually, I will have to take it to a place that recycles computers and watch them erase the hard drive.

Fortunately in the Pasadena area, there are a lot of places that handle such stuff. Those Caltech nerds go through laptops like TP.

34- There's a really easy way to fix that. Do you have a hammer?

25 I'm inclined to believe you, but I'm very biased against the Patriots.

39
I'm biased against the Patriots because I think they cheat, not vice versa.

40 That's why I'm biased against them, too.

Wow, 16 each. That's RIDICULOUS.

Wait until you find out what it will cost you to park around the Coliseum.

LOL, you gotta be rich these days. Crazy.

Regarding spring training tickets...
Jon, would it be alright to post an offer for Vero Beach tickets here? I've got extras.

I'm not sure if it's kosher or not.

Yeah, heck -- if anyone has extras to the Coliseum and doesn't need the money scalping, I'll gladly pay you face value and shipping costs. Thanks. My name here @ aol. Thanks.

Can someone here pass this article along to Clayton Kershaw. I'd like to buy some shares.

Buying Low: Minor Leaguer Takes Stock of Himself

http://tinyurl.com/37tt7w

I'm not following it closely, but is bouncy-hair Lopez playing less than he used to? Seems like he's hardly been in this game. It's a two point game, with 2:23 left, for anybody interested.

Tie game.

Either Jon is avidly watching.

Or he's off doing parental type things.

And that was oddly punctuated.

I was gonna ask.

Why you used two sentences instead of one.

The two schools in the NCAA that have played each other the most times face off at 3 pm PT.

It's the 328th renewal of the Basketball Civil War.

The Beavers lead 180-147.

Free basketball in Pullman.

The two schools in the NCAA that have played each other the most times

I did not know that. Now I feel kinda special.

The first time I ever held the hand of my first ever girlfriend was at a Basketball Civil War in 1987. The Beavers were way ahead, before the Ducks had a miraculous comeback to win.

The Oregon website calls it Civil War CCCXXVIII.

To be accurate, Oregon and OSU have the most games in Division I. I guess there is some lower level pair that has played more.

But for many years, the Ducks and Beavers would play three times a year. There would play a tournament involving a bunch of Northwest schools and the final was often OSU versus Oregon.

This was back in the day when Oregon State was pretty good. I don't see why they can't be good again. If Washington State can be good and Oregon State can be good in football, it can't be that hard to get one or two good guys to go to Corvallis. There's got to be another Charlie Sitton out there.

Bouncy-hair Lopez will now be known as Goaltender Lopez.

There's got to be another Charlie Sitton out there

Or AC Green. Or Gary Payton.

I wonder if Cougar fans ever think, "There's got to be an other Mark Hendrickson out there."

If this game goes six or seven more overtimes, Lawler's Law may come into effect.

Wouldn't Wazzu fans settle for another Craig Ehlo?

Yeah, I guess Stanford had it in the bag all the time.

They almost let Taylor Rochestie give them the Tyus Edney treatment.

I know Stanford and WSU play pretty boring basketball, but were there seriously zero turnovers between the two teams? That has to be a mistake on ESPN's part, right?

Okay, the recap explains that there were 4 TO's for WSU and 17 for Stanford, the box score's just messed up.

Virginia Tech beat Virginia. Again. You may return to your regular PAC-10 program. ;-)

I don't know if anyone's mentioned it, but I'd like to wish everyone on DT a blessed Groundhog Day. Sometimes in the pursuit of statistical analysis, we lose sight of the really important things.

Yes, happy Groundhog Day everyone! Sounds like Punxatawney Phil saw his shadow so six more weeks of winter. Not that we needed a rodent to tell us that this year...

Meanwhile, I will be hosting a live blogging (chat of sorts) tomorrow during the Super Bowl if anyone's interested, swing on by! Both the game and the ads will be discussed. It's a test run for when I will be doing a live blog of the Oscars (assuming there is a ceremony this year). So help me practice and work out the kinks and snark on the game at the same time.

http://underdog.typepad.com/wandering_outloud_/live-super-bowl-and-super.html

I'll try to help, but you'll be fine, Dog.
While I'm a very minor fan of movies compared to many at this site, this is a chance to say that my opinion of Bill Murray's "Groundhog Day" has improved over the years to an impressive place.

8 - Kupchak, exploring every avenue, buys Aaron McKie's contract to include in the Memphis trade, which balances the $$ per the NBA trade rules ($750,000). Memphis is expected to release McKie.

I'm guessing McKie gets to keep the $$ as contracts are guaranteed at this point in the season.

But I'm not sure what Philly gets out of this, other than letting McKie rake in a cool $750,000.

When Bynum returns, Lakers will have tallest front court in the NBA: 7/1, 7/0, 6/11.

I don't think Wazzu and Stanford play boring basketball. Give me a tightly defended, low scoring, half court game anyday over some run-and-gun snoozefest.

If you divided the Pac-10 into classes, who would win?

Freshman Team:
O.J. Mayo
Davon Jefferson
Kevin Love
Jerryd Bayless
James Harden

Sophomore Team:
Buzz-Cut Lopez
Bouncy-Hair Lopez
Ryan Anderson
Chase Budinger
Taj Gibson
Jordan Hill
Aron Baynes
Tajuan Porter
Russell Westbrook

Junior Team:
Darren Collison
Josh Shipp
Luc Richard
Jeff Pendergraph
Taylor Rochestie
Jon Brockman

Senior Team:
Kyle Weaver
Derrick Low
Robbie Cowgill
Malik Hairston
Maarty Leunen
Bryce Taylor

Actually it turns out Baynes is a junior. They need him a lot more than the sophomore team does anyway.

Give me a tightly defended, low scoring, half court game anyday over some run-and-gun snoozefest

Nothing quite as a beautiful as a well-executed weave.

I guess you probably hate the shot clock, the dunk shot, and the three-point line.

I like all of those things. I just like defense too.

Admit it! You hate scoring!

Although college basketball would be better off if the 3-point line was moved back a foot. It's too easy a shot, plus moving it back would spread out the defense and bring the inside game back to prominence.

75
And they should increase the foul limit to 6.

76 I disagree with that; however, if you make it through regulation and you're still in the game, they should give you a sixth foul for the overtime periods.

Right Right and a better Right

I do like that Freshman class. I think I'd go with them. OJ and Harden getting outlets from Love.

If you bring the inside game back to prominence, the inside players will pick up more fouls.

79 That's their problem. DQs will cause them to learn to play without fouling, which will lead to more field goals, fewer free throws, and more interesting games.

ToyCannon is a godsend. Thank you sir.

70 I think the sophomore team would take that one.

69 I'm pretty sure I read in the LA Times that McKie was a "retired free agent". Yes:

http://tinyurl.com/28hpl2

That doesn't sound like they had to pay "Philly" anything. McKie resigned (real word "resigned", no hyphen) as 76ers coach yesterday. What the 76ers got out of it is that they're no longer paying him a coaching salary, that's all.

Dodgers' exhibition game at Coliseum sells out

>> The Coliseum was known for its unique dimensions, as the left-field foul pole was only 251 feet from home plate. Compensating for that was a screen in left field that stood 42 feet high.

Left field will be even closer to home in the upcoming exhibition, somewhere in the vicinity of 200 feet. <<

http://tinyurl.com/2ulx3j

The guy standing behind the announcers for the UCLA-Arizona game is Bob's new hero

"Wimp" isn't a rule one violation.

M'bah a Moute is the truth.

Trainspotting is on showtime, WOO HOO!

I like the old, floppy-haired James Keefe better than this version.

Odalis Perez, who to my amazement is only 30, had a tryout with the Phillies today.

And that's your Odalis Perez Update.

http://tinyurl.com/38dprv

If the Dodgers do not resign Nomar, Furcal, and Kent for next year and ignoring Pierre for now, their lineup could be as follows:

Martin, Loney, Abreu, LaRoche, Hu, Ethier, Jones, Kemp.

My question is, which of those players is most likely to not be in the starting lineup for 2009?

Sorry everybody...Good Guys 3, Ducks 0 tonight, but I can confirm that the Parrostache is even more awesome to behold in person than it is on tv!

I'm coming to you live from the Galen Center. Everybody is wearing the same color but me.

I am in a green sweater.

and 69 , thanks for the explanation, I guess he didnt officially "retire" from the Lakers then?

91 We've been through this before--resign is an ambiguous term, but I appreciate your intent. I think that would be a great foundation. It wouldn't cost much and if we needed more offense we would be free to obtain one or two mashers. There is absolutely no reason for any of these names to be gone* unless in a trade for a superstar. Mark this.

91 -- All those guys will be in the line-up. Saying anything else would be crazy talk.

man, reading The Times piece on how quickly the Coliseum games were sold out only made me think of one thing NIGHTMARE TRAFFIC & how horrid it was when I went to opening day at Dodger Stadium this year, veremos.

Why is the left field foul pole going to only be 200 feet from home plate at the Colliseum when it was over 250 feet back in the days? That is pretty much the standard field size for Little League. I ended up using Stub Hub to get some good/costly seats for the game. I can't believe how quickly they sold out online and how many they allowed season ticket holders to buy (up to 16 seats each).

vr, Xei

I wonder how many home runs a guy like Pierre would hit if only he was right handed & played everyday at the coliseum.

If LF is shorter than 250 feet at the Coliseum, I believe that the rules state that balls that clear the fence are just doubles.

It's been a while for me, but traffic at the Coliseum seems much more manageable than Dodger Stadium, as you have multiple freeway and surface street routes from different sides, don't have to deal with having the heart of downtown smack between the west side and the stadium.

101. Just show up early, it's going to be an experience worth any traffic delays. I hope they let people in early to watch BP. Would be great to watch Pierre blast home runs over the left field netting during BP.
vr, Xei

The Coliseum has been remodeled a lot since 1958. There isn't as much field on it now. That's because they don't need to have a track around it.

Looking at the parking structure from MSN Live search it looks pretty basic but I guess it works judging from Sam DC's comment.

Parking at the Coliseum is the free market working to perfection.

Well, I just saw the second episode of Lost.

And that's all I can say!

106 -- Can you say if it was better than the first? Worse? About the same?

106 That is a horrible thing to say. I spent most of my Friday discussing the in and outs of the first episode. Today was a much appreciated day away from Lost talk.

Just when I thought I was out, you pull me back in again.

107 I'm guessing from the exclamation point that it was awesome and probably some what mind bending.

Is it Thursday yet?

107 - It's different. I don't want to say it's better or worse. I might say I ended up liking the first episode more, but in some ways that's a different issue.

Last night someone asked me to run something through my simulator. They wanted me to change the OPS component of one player in the lineup to see which lineup did better, a lineup with the player having a higher OBP and a lower SLG or a higher SLG and lower OBP, but each with the same OPS. What I did was take Matt Kemp and batted him 3rd and made him an .800 OPS player, with one version of Kemp having a .350/.450 split and the other having a .400/.400 split. I batted Kemp 3rd and had the Padres vs Dodgers (Peavy vs Penny) with a 5000 game sample size. For the Dodgers the team with the .350/.450 Kemp had a win% of .5078 and the team with the .400/.400 Kemp had a win% of .5284, which translated to a 3.3372 win difference over a 162 game season. If you want to figure out how many runs that would be, you could plug this into pythag. Each team was scoring just under 4 runs per game (Peavy vs Penny) in the sim. Nothing ground breaking, just posting my results. vr, Xei

So I am standing in the concession line just before tip-off at the Arizona @ UCLA game and I look to my right and I see someone who looks real familiar, at first I am trying to figure out who it is, then it hits me, that guy looks like Shawn Green.

So, as I am standing, I'm thinking why is Shawn Green at a UCLA game, I ask my friend, does that guy look like Shawn Green, he thinks so and he starts asking other people around us.

Anyway, I reach the front of the line and order my drink and I finally hear this guy's voice and it sounds like Green. So now, I'm thinking, look, he's just here to watch the game so I won't bother him but then I think, why not just say something cool and let him know that I recognized him.

So I turn to him and say "Shawn." He acknowledges its him and then I just say I was fan of his when he was a Dodger and said thanks for all his hard work and play. He replied, that he appreciated the kind words and then he went back to get his food.

I saw Greg Brock at the game and told him, darn it, I should have gotten Green's autograph for LAT's daughter.

BTW - Not that this means anything but in person, Shawn Green looks in shape and all that but he is not that big a guy.

106 Talk about living up to the blog title..

For What It's Worth!!!

106 , 113 Something's happening here. What it is ain't exactly clear.

112 Probably just as well my son and I weren't there. He might've fainted upon seeing Shawn Green and my kid would've had a hard time getting discussion from me if I saw Greg at the game. Or you, for that matter.

lol...

115 I've seen Karros at the game and I've always wondered if alums Chase Utley or Garrett Akins go to games but Shawn just stood in those cramped spaces for his food and didn't make any fuss or try to big time anyone. I'm sure he would have signed an autograph or shook your son's hand.

SB, I usually sit in the 300s and GB and I will be at the Oregon game so if you want tomeet up, just let me know.

I seem to remember a Greg Brock.

Or maybe I am getting that name confused with Sweetbreads Bailey.

BH,

You made my daughter's night. Even though she was jealous you got to meet him she loves hearing stories about him being a class act. As for the autograph, thanks for the thought but she has her fair share. I think there was a time he wondered if he needed a restraining order. I wish you had asked him if he would be playing this year and if so, where.

120 I thought about it but I just wished him luck in the future figuring he was there to watch a game.

Jon,
What "hook-ups" do you have that allows you to get these episodes early? Is it through Variety?

Santana Deal Took Intense Negotiating

>>Rather than negotiate an extension to Santana's old contract, which would have paid him $13.25 million for 2008, they decided to draw up a new contract. <<

## The Mets could wind up paying Santana as much as $157 million if the $25 million option for 2014 is exercised or vested. ##

http://tinyurl.com/25ydpt

112 He never looked all that muscular, but are you saying he's not as tall as he seems to be?

My impression is that he's something like 6'4", 200 lbs or so.

98 Why is the left field foul pole going to only be 200 feet from home plate at the Colliseum when it was over 250 feet back in the days?

Bob answered this question in general terms in 103 . Here is a link that gives some insight into the 1993 renovation which is probably the main reason for the current problem in left field.

>> Prior to the 1993 football season, the Coliseum underwent a $15 million renovation. The Coliseum's floor was lowered 11 feet and the running track was removed to create a more intimate stadium. Fourteen new rows of seats (approximately 8,000 seats) were added down low, bringing fans closer to the playing field <<

http://tinyurl.com/2tjzof

I probably just missed it, but I don't recall a link here to a discussion by Joe Sheehan on Friday at Baseball Analysts of Takashi Saito's splits beginning:

"Takashi Saito has a very unique fastball. When batters swing at an average fastball, they miss 13% of the time, but with Saito's fastball, they miss 42% of the time."

http://baseballanalysts.com/

(Second post down, as of the moment).

95 - We have been through the word resign before and I forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder and next time I will resign to re-sign.

Is Longoria untouchable? If the Rays were to obtain some combination of Ethier, Young, LaRouche, Bell, DeJesus, MacDonald, Kuo for Longoria, might they trade Crawford for a Homer Bailey type pitcher?

Most people mistakenly believe that "For What it's Worth" is about the Vietnam War.

Far, far fewer people believe that the song is about the Sunset Riots.

In fact, it is about LaRoche and Ethier starting over Garciaparra and Pierre. True.

Seems Randy Johnson will be slated behind Webb in the D-Backs rotation. And Tony Clark will still be looking for a job...

http://mlbfleecefactor.com/2008/02/03/d-backs-rumors-haren-tracy-t-clark/

Is Longoria untouchable?

Yes. He will be the Rays' face of the franchise and best player soon.

FWIW, PECOTA rates Longoria the WARPiest rookie, 11th WARPiest position player, and as having the runs-savingest glove in baseball.

I've also read Langoria has a very healthy night life...

Today's featured fan comment on ESPN informs me that the deciding factor in today's football game will be "who wants it most".

Not who taped it most?

Heh heh.

Is Pau playing for the Lakers today in DC? Doesn't look like it from the box score, but also doesn't look like they need him today.

Let the record reflect that I made the first Buffalo Springfield reference in this thread back in comment 13.

The Laker box score shows a "DJ Mbenga".

Huh?

I just read on Dodgers.com that the Stadium will have a free shuttle going to the Coliseum & it will start at 1pm.

Wow, former Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz passed away. And I thought he had been dead for decades. But he was 98 when he passed on.

They never did say what was the specifics of the joke that he told in public that got him fired. He must have violated one of Gerald Ford's 12 "thank you for not..." guidelines.

138
He's on his second 10-day contract. He was picked up after Ariza got hurt I believe.

I have all of DJ Mbenga's remix EP from iTunes.

---

Yay, I get to play soccer in the freezing rain this morning! Huzzah! Why is it scheduled to be sunny on Monday and crummy on the weekend? Who's the planner up there! I demand answers.

The Lakers shot 65.8% from the floor in the first half, to 35.7% for Washington.

One of the teams is up by 22 points.

140 Yes they did, it was a very racist joke.

Looks like there's no new episode of "Breaking Bad" tonight.

145
TV channels don't like having some of their premier programming get slaughtered by the Super Bowl.

There is an episode of "The Wire" on HBO tonight, but HBO tends not to concern itself with such trivialities.

146
I know. New England ruins everything. Cheaters.

Speaking of everyone's favorite NFL franchise, I put up a thread about today's Bowl of Large Size on The Griddle.

148
I saw it, and restrained myself from commenting further on said franchise or your neighbor's car.

Please check out the 2008 Dodgers Preview that I wrote. Any feedback would be appreciated...

www.melnickandgrecofantasysports.com/DODGERS-2008-FANTASY-PREVIEW.html

The Lakers are back to making me feel happy.

And the Rams now have two Super Bowl wins!

The Rams don't exist. I don't know what that team in St. Louis is.

152

Maybe they'll come back. Georgia's dead. Would you let them back in to your heart?

Georgia's dead

Ding dong...

150 Off the top of my head you value Loney way too highly, 1st basemen with 20 home run power aren't that valuable in fantasy. I also think your Penny, Lowe and Schmidt projections are way too enthusiastic and penciling in Kemp for 26 home runs, when he's never come anywhere near that since high A is a bit overzealous.

I also think Kuroda will strikeout more than you think, pitchers tend to get a bump in their strikeout rates when they come from Japan.

I think 26 homers for Kemp is a very reasonable over/under, assuming he plays full time.

156 I think a good baseline for Kemp is around 20, with a through the roof optimistic projection. He can go banana this year, but based on how he's progressed 20 homers is a safer bet.

D4P, the Lakers signed DJ Mbenga to a couple 10-day contracts after Bynum got injured. He's a back-up center type who used to be on the Dallas Mavericks.

Tim Brown looks at the National League West:

Division Tour: NL West

http://tinyurl.com/yqh6xp

158 And the M is silent.

I guess I stopped paying attention to the Lakers when Bynum got hurt.

160

So it just sits there & doesn't talk? seriously why do they even bother putting it there if it's just THERE.

I know the Griddle's hosting a chat today for the Stupor Bowl, which is great, but no reason you can't check in with two live blogging events. So join me for an experiment in live blogging too, beginning at 3pm Pacific:

http://tinyurl.com/2gj33w

I have to approve each comment so hopefully I won't get overwhelmed, but that probably won't be a problem.

161

You're such a quitter when times get tough.

159

Thanks for the link, the Padres are the only team that scares me, I know Arizona is gonna be good with the Rockies giving us some competition as well but the Pads for what ever reason always gives us major head aches.

164
When the going gets tough, I get going.

But seriously: there's not much point in following the Lakers until Bynum comes back. Kobe will take a million shots per game, and when he makes them they might win, and when he doesn't they'll lose.

There. I just saved you a lot of time.

166

they just traded Kwame Brown and others for Paul Gasol.

They should be relevant again to you.

167
But Ariza's still hurt. Plus, Bynum's better than Gasol, and Gasol won't know what he's doing at first.

150 Pretty good little write-up you have there. Here are my only suggestions:

- Kemp's batting average should stay around or above .300 based on his speed and propensity for line drives, but those in OBP leagues need to devalue him slightly
- A. Jones will have a hard time hitting over .270 and I'm expecting something more like .260. Even in 2005 and 2006 when he had great power years he only hit .263 and .262
- I expect Martin's SB output to remain fairly constant since he likes to run as much as Grady did. I doubt stealing bases puts nearly as much strain on Martin as crouching 150 times a game.
- Kuroda will probably be closer to 7 K/9
- I expect Billingsley's WHIP to continue to improve and be in the 1.30 range

169 In the Martin point, Torre's name should be in there instead of "he"

168

Bynum and Gasol are two different players and essentially, a better offensive threat than Bynum right now.

I don't think you are grasping it. We just replaced Kwame Brown with an all star power forward who is a perfect fit for the triangle offense.

168

Seriously, I don't know how you cannot be excited unless you really aren't a laker fan.

We just replaced Kwame Brown with an all star power forward who is a perfect fit for the triangle offense

I can grasp that.

Pau Gasol Fallout: The Lakers Better Be Good

>> The Lakers realized they had a chance to use Brown's deal as a bargaining chip for trade instead of expiration and sought out to get this team what it sorely lacked—not Jason Kidd but a power forward that would allow Lamar Odom to move back to small forward and more importantly, compliment Bynum's skills. <<

http://tinyurl.com/2kw9vd

And really, Kobe doesn't always take a million shots. He's been pretty good about only taking a million shots when it's clear nobody else came to play. Usually a lot of teammates in double figures, like today.

162 So it just sits there & doesn't talk? seriously why do they even bother putting it there if it's just THERE.

Sorta like the "h" at the beginning of words in Spanish, no?

I would think Mr. Mbenga's name is pronounced differently in his native tongue, but English speakers just can't handle it.

Don't forget! Help me test this live blogging software in my own super bowl chat, now live at
http://underdog.typepad.com/wandering_outloud_/live-super-bowl-and-super.html

jump in and out anytime!

In Kwame is the K or w silent. English doesn't have a Cw or Kw combination. Actually it has a close one and it's Qu.

In Timmermann, is it the first 'n' or the second one that's silent?

180 I would think Mr. Timmermann's name is pronounced differently in his native tongue, but English speakers just can't handle it.

His native tongue is librarian-speak, I think. But they generally pronounce words the same as the rest of us. Except maybe for "vase."

In German, Timmermann is just spelled the way it is because Germans like words to be extra long. All the surnames that end in "-mann" were originally spelled in "-man" and then in the late 17th and early 18th Century, Germans added the second n to all those names.

Recently, I got an angry email from a Bart Timmerman, who uses the email handle of btimmerman@gmail.com, which is one letter off from mine, and he said he gets emails intended for me and it bothers him and I should tell my friends to stop it.

Bart will now receive hundreds of mocking messsages from Bob's legion of fans.

I get a lot of misdirected emails. I just delete them. Someone thinks I'm a member of some Federal regulatory commission on banks.

I never seem to show up at the meetings. I've also gotten e-cards and condolences for the wrong people.

I wonder what happened to Vishal? is he still in collete or what.

162 I imagine the "m" is there to represent some sound that English speakers can't really make. Kind of like the "!Kung".

183 Interesting. I always thought your name was pronounced like "Tim merman n".

184 I think you should, too, Bob. And remember, March 22.

189
You mean I should send my niece a birthday present?

190 No, you should send me a birthday present.

190 You should, indeed, send her a gift. But more important, you ought to write a birthday enkomion to me on the Griddle.

Never really thought of Bob as Pindar. D4P is definitely Sappho (the ladies love him).

NY GIANTS!!!!

Eli Manning is now a legend.

Do they still do those Disney commercials?

Wow. That play where Manning barely escaped the rush and Tyree caught the ball off his head was unbelieveable.

Man, can I see more clearly why I am a serious fan of baseball and not football or basketball. Their minor leagues are college students! Could the Patriots have sucked worse for the last ~7 weeks. Less than two weeks till skilled athletes report.

186 At least you don't get e-mails from match.com about the people who have sent you a message. I wonder how much luck the guy gets with the handle of Karl Hungus.

Best Super Bowl ever.

183 My guess would be that the double consonant changed the sound of the vowel ever so slightly in 17th- and 18th-century German. I can ask the German linguist down the hall from me at work on Tuesday.

183 My guess would be that the double consonant changed the sound of the vowel ever so slightly in 17th- and 18th-century German. I can ask the German linguist down the hall from me at work on Tuesday.

That's a good article in "Baseball Musings", even though most analysis is based on the past. It's good that it comes out that way, but I'm sure most of us came up with the same conclusion just in our minds. I'm pretty sure Colletti & Co. will come up with a solution to the solving of the Pierre mistake, I just hope it doesn't take too long.

just saw a lost ad and noticed something that i haven't heard anyone say anything about: at the last shot (the one where there is a shot of the island) the reflection of the island doesn't match. instead, it looks more like a city scape. i just pointed this out to my girlfriends and they haven't heard anything about it. has anyone here?

Should be interesting to see how the polls come out tomorrow. I wonder if the Giants will get enough votes to overtake the Patriots. I'm not sure that their victory today is enough to do it, with their 6 regular season losses and all. The NFL has really must get rid of this playoff system.
vr, Xei

Jeff Kent is Mormon?

http://umpbump.com/press/umpbump-presents-the-all-mormon-baseball-team/

Lakers with Gasol and Bynum (when healthy) give the dominating Celtic frontline a handfull...

Did anyone watch House tonight?

http://weblogs.variety.com/season_pass/2008/02/house-cold-as-i.html

I had no idea most of those guys were Mormons. Halladay, Ellsbury, Killebrew, Eckersley... in fact, the latter's a famed ex-alcoholic, so he couldn't have been too devout a Mormon. And Kent? Color me skeptical.

Andre Ethier might be Mormon. His wife is a devout Mormon, but I don't know if he converted.

Ive heard the Jeff Kent is a mormon thing from a couple people. Maybe even read it on this site before.

208
Raises hand.

208 Yes. One of the better ones.

206 Oh, brother. He's not sanctimonious enough to be genuine.

RIP, Barry Morse.

Looks like Don Mattingley's wife has some serious problems per Diamond.
vr, Xei

214. Are you a subscriber of an obituary email service? vr, Xei

Death stalks me.

Mormons aren't (as religious groups go) especially sanctimonious. They do tend to be a little smiley, for my taste.

215 Wow, that mugshot is... um... not flattering.

213
Kim's photo gives Nick Nolte a run for his money.

Not many people who are suffering from some sort of mental disturbance look particularly flattering in photos. It sounds like a pretty sad story.

Free Super Saver shipping, for a limited time only:

http://www.amazon.com/19-0-Historic-Championship-Englands-Unbeatable/dp/1600781500

Tom Brady Scoffs at 17 Point Prediction

http://youtube.com/watch?v=kJ2yK5C9Ae4

When Mattingly left I didn't even consider this kind of problem. Now it makes more sense. It will be interesting to see if he comes back to baseball when he gets this behind him.

224
What kind of problem? What's going on?

NPUT