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
It was kind of fascinating to read the different Jason Schmidt reports as they flowed through the channels like tumbleweeds down a summertime Los Angeles River. From a distance, they all were essentially the same, but each one added to the overall tableau.
The day began with Dodger manager Joe Torre telling reporters that he wasn't counting on the pitcher being ready for Opening Day, as Dylan Herandez noted in the Times.
"I'm not saying he won't be," Torre said, "but I don't want to raise any red flags if he doesn't throw one day."
But it's easy to be conservative in February. The question as March 31 approaches, especially if understudies Esteban Loaiza or Hong-Chih Kuo (or any Dodger starter, for that matter) have their own problems, is whether Schmidt and the Dodgers will still be cautious if the pitcher has the appearance of being able to take the mound. Can they maintain the attitude that Diamond Leung of the Press-Enterprise was among those reporting Schmidt had after a big moment late last month?
Schmidt said he experienced somewhat of a breakthrough while working out with physical therapist Brett Fischer two weeks ago -- he was able to throw without some of the stiffness that had caused discomfort. Yet, he understands that coming back from a torn labrum, frayed biceps tendon and scarred bursa is a complicated recovery process.
"I don't want to read too much into it," Schmidt said. "It doesn't mean I'm over all the bumps. I still have a long ways to go."
Schmidt is scheduled to continue rehabilitation this spring and throw on a different schedule than the other pitchers. Torre would only go as far as to say he expected Schmidt to appear in some form of a spring training game.
To put this all in a larger context, John Nadel of The Associated Press caught that Schmidt didn't really think anything was wrong with him at Spring Training last year, even as batterymate Russell Martin did.
"Playing catch last year, playing long toss, the ball would just die at the end," he recalled. "It's different this year, the ball is carrying better. I didn't really think there was (something wrong last year). Spring training's always been an up-and-down thing for me."
Dodgers catcher Russell Martin saw it differently.
"Early in the spring, I remember he wasn't throwing as hard as I remembered when I faced him," Martin said. "The ball didn't have the same jump. After a couple weeks, with the velocity not picking up, I was concerned. He said he felt fine.
"After a while, he gained a little bit of velocity, but not as much as I expected. He reached 88 (mph), but that wasn't Schmidt-like."
Back in the present, Schmidt further put things in perspective within Ken Gurnick's MLB.com story.
"I thought this would be a piece of cake," he said. "It's been tougher than I thought. There have been bumps in the road.
"I've been confident I can come back the whole time. I didn't know how long it would take, but I never doubted it. I've been working every day since June. I've been pressing toward the goal [Opening Day]. I don't think one day will kill me if I won't be out there. There is that possibility that it may not happen right on Opening Day, and I'm sure I'll be able to deal with that."
Schmidt is now 35 years old with 13 seasons and nearly 2,000 Major League innings logged on that shoulder. He might be forced to become more of a pitcher and less of a thrower, but he's not far enough along to know even that. He said he's hopeful he'll come out of this good as new, or at least good enough.
"I don't know if I'll be better than I've ever been," he said. "I'll just be happy to compete. I'm not getting too up or too down. Just trying to stay on an even keel."
That's simply critical for a recovery that demands patience. As Gurnick wrote, "The labrum tear was not anticipated and was the most severe of the three injuries, requiring anchors to reattach it to the bone and the lengthy recovery time to ensure it won't detach."
The Dodgers seemed to have learned caution, but like many Spring Training stories, it's the kind of thing we hear every year. The team almost needs to keep Schmidt on the disabled list come Opening Day – even if he's ready to pitch - to counter fears that their lessons of past seasons are being forgotten. It might be time for the team to set a new standard for caution.
The key to all this could be Kuo, who is out of minor-league options, and Loaiza, who burdens the Dodgers with a $7 million contract. The more capable they look, the easier it will be for the Dodgers to be drift along with Schmidt.
See them tumbling down,
Pledging their love to the ground!
Lonely, but free, I'll be found,
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds ...
Cares of the past are behind,
Nowhere to go, but I'll find,
Just where the trail will wind,
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds ...
I know when night is gone,
That a new world's born at dawn!
I'll keep rolling along,
Deep in my heart as a song,
Here on the range I belong,
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds ...
* * *
Meanwhile, as most of you know, a familiar face is taking a shot at making the Kansas City starting rotation, and we're not talking about Brett Tomko. At age 39, Hideo Nomo is attempting a comeback. Dick Kaegel of MLB.com has more:
He's wearing No. 91 on his back, not the 16 he showed to batters with his twisting windup in his NL Rookie of the Year season of '95. "The Tornado" was asked if his devastating split-finger fastball was as good as ever when he pitched this winter in Venezuela.
"So-so," he replied.
For the Caracas Leones in seven starts, Nomo had a 6.59 ERA, an 0-2 record and opponents had a .310 average. But he pitched just 13 2/3 innings, not much of a test.
Nomo was asked about it and gave a lengthy answer in Japanese.
"Some days it rained and sometimes he couldn't throw from the mound," translator Shingo Matsubara said. "But his shoulder and elbow -- he didn't have any pain at all."
In short, Nomo feels his right arm is ready. He had some setbacks after the removal of an elbow bone chip in June 2006. He also had shoulder surgery in October 2003. …
"If, after the arm trouble that he's had, he is anywhere close to what he used to be, especially with this [split-finger] as an out pitch, we might have something," (Royals manager Trey) Hillman said. "We'll evaluate that when we give him opportunities and when he's ready to face hitters."
* * *
The list of marquee Dodgers heading to China for the team's two exhibition games will be a short but worldly one, as Tony Jackson of the Daily News indicated: Andruw Jones, Nomar Garciaparra, Matt Kemp, Hong-Chih Kuo, Chin-lung Hu, Chan Ho Park and Takashi Saito. That might disappoint Dodger fans in Asia (a few of whom are faithful readers of this site, I'm happy to say) but will help calm those who worry the Beijing trip will undermine the team's preparation for the 2008 season.
"The most important thing is that the people we keep back and the people we take with us get their work in," Torre said. "You probably won't see a lot of pitchers because we are only playing two games, and that is a long way to go just to throw in the bullpen."
It should be noted that according to Gurnick, Saito won't be going to China.
* * *
From Richard Perez-Pena of the New York Times via Kevin Roderick's L.A. Observed, this little tidbit about new Times editor-in-chief Russ Stanton:
Colleagues describe Mr. Stanton, 49, as smart, low-key and (a) little quirky; he keeps an extensive collection of Los Angeles Dodgers bobble-head dolls in his office.
* * *
Don't miss my other posts this morning: the celebration of Red Barber's 100th birthday and the reminder that Dodger Thoughts shirt sales end Saturday.
* * *
Update: Dodger minor leaguer Wilfredo Diaz told police he was robbed at gunpoint while walking "walking from a nearby gas station along a dirt path that leads to Dodgertown," Lamaur Stancil of TCPalm.com reported today. (Thanks to Andrew Breitbart for the link.)
He said four men wearing black masks and dressed in black clothing appeared and yelled at him to get on the ground, the report states. One of the men pointed a handgun at Diaz and kicked the pitcher in his side while he was on the ground, the report said. The men took $10 and some change from Diaz and fled toward Aviation Boulevard, the report states.
Diaz turned 21 last month. He pitched for Ogden in the Pioneer League last season.
The first two comments to the article range from skeptical to mean-spirited.
"The team said Thursday that the damage was more extensive than first believed. There is a complete tear of the radial collateral ligament and avulsion fracture, in which a small bone fragment had been pulled off by a tendon.
Bryant was examined in Los Angeles by Dr. Steven Shin, a hand specialist who recommended surgery to repair the ligament."
Hard to believe he's going to play the rest of the season with it. Playoffs start in about 9 weeks. They say the surgery would sideline him for about 6.
I doubt they will show up in time for my Vero trip, but I'm hoping to make it to AZ work a weekend, and if they are here, I will be representing.
If their playoff spot was more assured, I would advise Kobe to get the surgery, so the team can be at full strength in the playoffs, even as a 7-8 seed.
But, if Kobe can play reasonably well (he has had very good games this week -- along with some clunkers) he should avoid surgery until the offseason.
Colleagues describe Mr. Stanton, 49, as smart, low-key and (a) little quirky; he keeps an extensive collection of Los Angeles Dodgers bobble-head dolls in his office.
He shot a combined 7 for 29 in those games (24%), but also had 18 total assists in those games. Kobe has enough weapons around him and is a smart enough player to still be great even when he's not shooting well, which of course will happen at times with a dislocated finger.
If he misses 6 weeks, there's too great a chance the Lakers miss the playoffs to make the surgery necessary.
If this finger injury is a problem that could affect him in future years -- and admittedly I don't know that it won't -- then I'd be more on the pro-surgery side. I would just advise Kobe to wait since the injury should have time to fully heal with offseason surgery.
I'd also advise Kobe to skip the Olympics, but more because I'm a Laker fan! :)
I'll just take 6th Street if I ever have to do that again.
Just wondering man.
Don't forget, we need to get some tickets for some Padre/Dodger games at Petco, DT roadtrip via Amtrak, who is with me?
Yeah, I just want to have a community based projection to stack up with the other projections out there (Zips, CHONE, PECOTA, etc) just to see how we as a group too. I'm not concerned with everyone's personal predictions, but more for the average as a group.
That said, if I am right on a personal prediction, you probably won't hear the end of it! :)
The Dodgers are in San Diego for the following series:
April 4-6 (Fri-Sun)
June 10-12 (Tue-Thu)
September 8-10 (Mon-Wed)
Obviously, the April 4-6 series would work better for traveling DTers, but I'll be there.
Who else is interested? We might have to organize this!
Is their a weekend game? I would love to go.
Why don't you go ahead and use music written by dead people. It's better music, and it keeps me from having to read what the guy from Boston thinks about anything. Win/win/win.
Yours in Ch-i,
The entire world.
http://weblogs.variety.com/season_pass/2008/02/lost-episode-3.html
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/feb/15/dodgers-pitcher-robbed-gunpoint-outside-dodgertown/
Is that "Jumbo" Diaz?
http://tinyurl.com/ynr82u
That's a wow. How far did those thugs have to drive to get to a Dodger LHP?
Also, from the article: "The men took $10 and some change from Diaz."
1) It's nice to see Diaz wasn't carrying around buckets of money (I don't know what his signing bonus was) like some NBA players that have been robbed of far more
2) You just don't see many robbers taking change these days. The recession is affecting us all!
Ouch, that is pretty painful. I was on the other end of a game like that once. My fourth time up in the inning, I popped it up on purpose, it was too ugly.
I think my co-ed league starts in about a month. I need to get out and practice hitting.
How far did those thugs have to drive to get to a Dodger LHP?
That's a good one.
Brian Fuentes lost his arbitration case, and will be paid $5.05m (he asked for $6.5m).
Brad Hawpe signed a contract for $3.925m. He was headed to arbitration - $3.575m/$4.35m - and they settled for slightly less than the midpoint, but Hawpe can make $100k in PA incentives to more than make up for it.
http://tinyurl.com/339642
The rest is just gibberish.
I was surprised that there was a guy named Gary Burghoff there, he hadn't been on my Radar before today.
I just wrote a 100 word comment on what we can expect when Schmidt comes back. Good thing I refreshed so I didn't post the gibberish.
At some point this spring, Jason Schmidt is going to throw a pitch at full effort. The question will be, will he be honest with the medical staff about his condition before he throws that pitch. I think part of the reason of having Loiaza and the others in camp is to relieve any pressure Schmidt might have to get back sooner.
No one knows if he will recover and how he will do once he does pitch in games that count. All we can hope is that he does not pitch before he is ready.
It seems to me that you don't want to follow Schmidt's progress, then - you just want to be alerted when he's ready to go. Which is fine.
Jon Heyman gives the Dodgers a good grade on their off-season.
5. Dodgers. They spend too much time worrying about public relations, hiring, firing and switching p.r. people like George Steinbrenner used to change managers. But it doesn't take any spin to know Andruw Jones will be a major upgrade in center field. And while Joe Torre's time was really up in New York, he may just be the tonic a divided clubhouse needed.
One negative is their continuing reticence to consider trading any prospects; in a year when three top-of-the-line starters were traded, the team with the best farm system got none of them. A-
I just don't want the leaps and speculation about what it means in the longer term as far as if he'll be as good as before, better than before, etc...
We'll know when he is healthy and actually is pitching in a game and the I want info on his progress. The gibberish about what each step he takes means in terms of when he'll be ready to be the guy he was before the injury is what I think is unnecessary.
That is my favorite comment ever on this site.
While there might have been a legitimate concern since Ned came from an organization that was known for dealing prospects to win now, as he now enters his third season with the Dodgers, this perception or fear just has not materialized.
What was it we said about writers predicting what they WANT to happen instead of what will actually happen?
Tampa Bay got a top starter, and they have the best farm system, so he's technically wrong.
I still feel bad for the guys at USS Mariner.
The problem is not so much that Colletti's traded a lot of prospects, but that he's gotten nothing in return when he has. He's traded a number of reasonable prospects: Navarro, Guzman, Jackson, Aybar, Tiffany, Jhonny Nunez, Big Pedroza, Ruggiano, and Denker.
In return he's gotten nothing of value except a couple good months of Marlon Anderson. And, indirectly, Scott Proctor.
Aybar and Danys Baez got him Betemit who along with Lugo did provide some key hits during the 2006 playoff drive.
The Dodgers probably don't win a few games without Marlon Anderson.
Denker could be another Adam Riggs.
Adkins was the sandwich pick, Withrow was our own pick.
Julio Pimental is now the #5 and Blake Johnson is the #14 for the KC system. We sent them away so that KC would take on the salary of Odalis.
i still don't like either pitcher's chances to do well in the majors.
So is this your last spring in AZ?
Hey, if I need $10, I'll just make a bet on a basketball game with Eric Stephen
Zing! Thank goodness we only had a gentleman's wager on last Saturday's USC/WSU game.
And even though we didn't formalize it, I'd like to think we implicitly had a bet on this game: http://tinyurl.com/3yq9z2
Happy Birthday Jane Seymour.
Right, which is why I posted 76
79
That is not the point, they still need to be in the conversation when discussing prospects that Ned has traded. As of now Pimentel is the highest rated prospect we traded who is still considered a prospect. You might argue that Big Pedroza at 15 for Tampa is higher then KC's number 5.
Until we see how Ruggiano Big Pedroza, Nunez, Pimentel, Johnson, and Guzman play out saying we didn't trade anything is premature given the return.
I'd like to get as many as possible. My goal is to see if -- as a community -- we can project our team just as well as some of the modeling systems out there (Zips, CHONE, PECOTA, etc).
I would like predictions of BA/OBP/SLG for the 10 "regulars" on offense, and ERA/WHIP for as many pitchers as you deem necessary (ideally the 5-7 starters and 4-5 top relievers).
Please post any entries here in the comments, or over at True Blue LA -- http://tinyurl.com/2ry3m4 -- and I will take any and all entries posted by midnight next Friday night (Feb 22).
Thanks!
So I'm reading about the shooting in Illinois. I'm from Illinois and even considered going to NIU at one point. Anyway, the stupid media has to pepper the story with a rank system, continually mentioning Virginia Tech as the site of "the worst school shooting in modern U.S. history".
We got a lot of this about Columbine being "number one" until VT last year. Does anyone else think it is irresponsible to continue to mention these incidents with a rank system? Doesn't it seem it would get some nutjob to try to become number one?
Geez, does it take a genius writer or editor to figure out that we don't need to have a rank system reported? Will these deranged/psychotic shooters become A&E Biographies one day?
I'd much rather know how Jason Schmidt's last bowel movement was.
I'm done.
Nomar: .276/.335/.422
Ethier: .288/.361/.457
That's the top ranked rant I've seen on this site. (Cue Andrew Shimmin...)
Seriously, though, I agree with you. Continually mentioning the ranking of these incidents is akin to having a press conference explaining that it sure would be bad if terrorists were to attack our water supply since we are pretty vulnerable specifically in these rivers, etc.
Why encourage the yahoos?
Thanks.
Were there horrific school shootings in 'pre-modern' U.S. history?
And I also agree with you.
I don't have any studies on this, and I'm not saying the media isn't violating rule 8, but do you really think it's a key factor in determining whether an unhinged person will commit an unhinged act?
I think the media has the right to put the event in some context. Whether they're performing that right properly, I can't say, but I don't think it's inherently wrong to compare yesterday's tragedy to Virginia Tech. I'm fairly certain the next serial murderer will be able to make the comparison if that somehow really is his or her motivating factor, with or without the media's help.
"I dominated that era and I did it clean," he said. "I can stand by my numbers and I can be proud of them."
http://tinyurl.com/2trtaq
As an example, the VT shooter made references to the Columbine shooters. I'm sure there is a line between responsible journalism so we have the information we need and it is thoroughly reported, and going overboard in making some of these shooters and their dogma part of a growning cult. I sure don't know where that line is.
My rant was simply the way I felt after reading the reports on a few sites that all continued to include the VT rank. While context in media reporting is indeed important, I don't see the need for body counts compared to other body counts.
I think as an educator I might react to this differently than others might. I hope I'm not violating rule 5, I'll stop it all now.
Now back to baseball and the reason Jon has given us this site.
Ditto
vr, Xei
But I understand your aggravation.
Ive been around. Yea, last spring. Hopefully i can make it out to some ST games.
No stopover in Taiwan.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dodrep16feb16,1,4080451.story
Anyway, Jon, I just ordered by DT t-shirt. The 08 season is finally real!
I was already excited by the fact that it had Ichiro Suzuki on the cover, not someone on the Giants (as typically happens based on regional printings, if you live in the Bay Area). So that was a positive. Then I read their A's preview and a few others - teams I'm interested in but not the Dodgers, because I like to save that.
Then at lunch I finally read their Dodgers preview and my opinion of the whole magazine went a bit down the tubes.
Maybe it was one ludicrous error - I can only assume it's an odd typo - that aggravated me:
"The rotation's depth? Since they're still paying him, the Dodgers can always turn to Loiaza. At some point, though, they will be forced to give opportunities to the promising arms of Clayton Kershaw and Eric Cyr."
Eric Cyr - you read that right. I can't even imagine a pitcher they might have confused him with - Eric Stults? Eric Hull? Doubtful. Maybe just a cut and paste mistake and the clueless editor missed it. But boy just that one line alone made their credibility go out the window.
The other thing that kind of bugged me - even though some of this criticism is fair to a point - is that both the writer of the main article and the "rival scout" quoted in a sidebar piece continually harp on these two points: The clubhouse chemistry; not giving their young players a chance. Far too many times to make the point useful.
And despite making the latter claim, they basically say "well, except for Chad Billingsley" and "well, except also for James Loney" and "well, except for Russell Martin and Matt Kemp and Jonathan Broxton." Basically the point has some merit based on recent history but they just sound so clueless in the write-up.
The rankings of their top prospects seems pretty good overall, though, and they have Meloan as the next "impact rookie" (other than Andy LaRoche).
They also seem to underrate their bench quite a bit.
The other write-ups I've read so far were better, but maybe that's just because I'm not attached to those teams.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/
http://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/index.cgi?franch_ID=LAD&year_ID=1988&draft_type=junreg
"The Diamondbacks got a lot out of their talent level in winning the division last year. This is a team that was outscored by the opposition. For them to get into the postseason was quite an accomplishment. And they do have some growth potential with their younger players....
What is puzzling, though, is the front office didn't do anything to beef up the offense. It's willing to gamble that Eric Byrnes didn't have one of those meteor seasons and is headed back into oblivion. They put their offseason effort into adding to the rotation by acquiring Dan Haren, which is as positive an addition as anyone in the division made. With Webb and Haren, Arizon has the only bona fide one-two punch to its rotation....
But the offense is still suspect, and then they got a trio of Houston discards for their closer, Valverde. I wasn't a big fan of his, but he got the job done. Tony Pena has a good arm, but having a good arm and being able to get the 27th out are two different things...
The guy in center {C Young} and shortstop {Drew} might become better players but I don't seen any drastic upside with them."
Big Fat Catcher has retired. Moneyball loses, real baseball wins. Rejoice, ye crusty old scouts!
Kobe will play in All-Star game
http://tinyurl.com/2fey3o
David Stern is one annoying person. Oh well, hopefully he just stands at the three point line the whole time.
Bryant also said it was the preference of Lakers owner Jerry Buss that he undergo the procedure now rather than wait.
"He's concerned about my hand post-career and I appreciate that," Bryant said. "But we want to (contend for a championship) now."
http://preview.tinyurl.com/27sc37
Joe Torre is not the kind of clubhouse politician Little seemed to be. It will be results or nothing.
Of course, in a team game like baseball, what contributes to results is in the eye of the beholder. Pierre will realize that and will try to break the April stolen base record, whatever that is. Then Plaschke will say "you can't bench the guy who just had more stolen bases in April than anyone in the grand history of the game." But I still think Torre won't buy it if Pierre is OBPing not much more than his BA and if his throws from deep left land somewhere in short left.
10 most likely regulars -incl. 2 in LF & 3B:
Furcal .289/.352/.420
Pierre .292/.329/.368
Kemp .314/.361/.506
A. Jones .266/.345/.525
Loney .325/.391/.494
Kent .282/.375/.488
Martin .290/.370/.466
LaRoche .270/.365/.460
Ethier .285/.350/.440
Nomar .283/.335/.435
Starting Pitchers:
Penny 3.35/1.23
Lowe 3.78/1.26
Billz 3.51/1.27
Kuroda 4.13/1.32
Loaiza 4.37/1.35
Schmidt 4.09/1.29
Kuo 4.41/1.38
Relief Pitchers:
Saito 1.51/0.98
Broxton 2.13/1.07
Beimel 2.33/1.18
Proctor 2.46/1.20
There you have it. It might be on the optimistic side as far as pitching but realistic as far as hitting, I think.
Looking forward to the drama of the '08 season!
Will I be alright, or am I going to have to sneak into the cargo hold?
Also, a little Public Service Announcement: Don't bring your children to the DMV. Go while they're at school, or drop them off with a neighbor, let them play in the street, or whatever, I don't care; just don't bring them to the DMV. Thank you.
I had little problem with the Suns-Spurs incident because the ground rules were clearly laid out and apparent to everyone before the incident. Stoudemire and Diaw knew the rules and should have acted accordingly.
As far as Kobe skipping the all-star game, on the surface I think he should obviously sit out. But, if there is some under-publicized policy such that players must miss a real game to sit out the AS game, then Stern is in the right here. The NBA wants to avoid players sitting out for bogus reasons, and I can see where they are coming from.
Kobe and the Lakers are wrestling with the issue of whether he should sit out six weeks for a surgery that was recommended by doctors, so it looks bad from a PR standpoint, but I can see the NBA's reasoning since Kobe hasn't missed any time because of it thus far.
Besides, Kobe can still "participate" in the game by playing limited minutes and taking it easy when he's out there.
I would take the passport anyway, the more proof the better.
If winning a championship is the goal, then there's only way to do it, Mr. Mamba. Sit out these next six weeks and hope your supporting cast is good enough to get into the postseason. If they aren't, you weren't going to win a championship anyway. If they are, then it doesn't matter where you're seeded -- with you and Andrew Bynum back in the lineup, you'll be the team to beat in the Western Conference playoffs.
Hollinger also notes that his playoff odds state the Lakers need 48 wins to make the playoffs, meaning they only have to finish 13-17.
http://tinyurl.com/2t7e6y (Insider needed)
Not to be off-topic, but since you have covered the Dodgers, what do you think of the closing of Dodgertown in Vero Beach, and the subsequent move to Glendale,AZ?
A historical shame, or good riddance?
Good riddance. Vero Beach is Florida's version of Pullman, Wash. The closest airport is 50 minutes away, and there are no non-stop flights there from Los Angeles, so if you want a non-stop, it's 90 minutest to Fort Lauderdale or two hours from Orlando. Plus, every spring training road trip except the Mets is an hour away, and the town is so small there is little to do at night, and getting into a decent restaurant is difficult because the town is so small and over populated during spring training, although no longer for the Dodgers. There are small crowds and the community doesn't really care. I'm sure it was a great, great place at one time, but that time passed before I covered baseball.
132 Maybe he uses it for his ID at the gym.
Sure, because heaven forfend that place become a nuisance to visit.
I agree with you, and that's why I think Kobe should wait for surgery until the offseason.
Isn't it more like they benefited from the complete stupidity of the players on the other team? Which is fine with me.
I like David Stern because of the absurdity of this replay of the Miami-Atlanta game in which neither Miami's old (pre-trade) player nor their new players will be allowed to play. I haven't watched an NBA game in a decade, but I'm going to make sure to watch that fiasco. (When is it?)
The problem with the penalties in the Spurs/Suns series weren't the suspensions of Stoudemire and Diaw (as I pointed out, everyone knew the rules ahead of time), but rather the suspension on Horry was too light.
I agree with you that there shouldn't essentially be an incentive for cheap shots. But the way to combat that is to harshly penalize the one that committed the cheap shot foul.
If his boyfriend Duncan so much as slightly bends a finger, he'll excuse him
That doesn't really help your argument. Do you have evidence of Duncan getting preferential treatment?
Eric, the Hawks and Heat (or what's left of them) will replay the end of the previous game on March 8, just before their scheduled game that evening.
When you have actual evidence of a possible serious injury that can affect a player's ability to play, and you make him play an exhibition game anyway?
There is also evidence of Kobe being hurt and then playing 201 minutes in the next 5 games, just over 40 minutes per game.
The NBA is protective of it's All-Star game, as it is the annual showcase event for the league, and it wants it's stars to play. I don't view this as that big of a deal since Kobe will just end up playing limited minutes and will probably take it easy on the court.
136- There are already too many people. That there should be additional people, who can't possibly have any business there makes it worse. They're just in the way. I don't gripe about kids on planes, because they have to be gotten off to wherever they're expected the same way I do. But at the DMV, they're completely pointless. They wouldn't even be useful for cheating on the tests.
#56 is Pepper Martin
#57 is Steve Martin
#58 is Strother Martin
#59 is Martin Mull
My fear is based on Colleti's anal retension of old vets, and other orgs. demanding our first tier youngsters instead of 2nd tier people who are better than what they settle for from other organizations. We must only trade any prospects for superstar difference makers, because we can field an above averager team at any position right now. Pitching help you say? I would be violating rule 8 if I gave my opinion on middle relievers or gauranteed contracts for starters!
maybe their plan is to let Chan Ho Park get smoked by the Chinese teams ? :P
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