Go Anderson Silva! Sorry, Brad.

Jon, I hope your grandma makes it to the finish line in that race. My grandma, who is three years behind, had a little something in common with Wooden this week when she took a terrible fall. It was pretty scary for a while, and even included a helicopter ride, but the good news is she is now quite stable and should head home in a couple days.

Young on the roster as an infielder makes the case for Nomar as a super-utility player that much stronger, because he could back up at short too if Furcal needs a breather.

Or for that matter, Jason Repko used to be a shortstop.

What is Build-A-Bear? Is it the new Beanie Babies?

3 Didn't Andy Laroche get drafted as a shortstop? I may be confused.

4 Not to be confused with Dodger Beanie night (May 9).

5 - Jeff Kent was drafted as a shortstop. Shea Hillenbrand was drafted as a shortstop.

Mark Hendrickson was not drafted as a shortstop.

7 I would rather have Laroche at any position defensively than those three, unless the position was power forward.

4 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Build-A-Bear

Did Andy say that Nomar was a future hall of famer?

Emergency shortstop? Why not Nomar?

11 - Exactly.

-3-

Hoooray! I am not the only one who believes Nomar could make a swell super-utility man. For the life of me, I cannot understand why the Dodgers have yet to give him some action in left field.

Assuming he could be a decent LF, he could give Torre a ton of flexbility. You could use him in a pinch at all four IF spots and LF, and he should be a decent PH.

14

For those lucky enough to see the Dodgers on TV in spring training, I would love to see your detailed reports on how LaRoche looks as a hitter. Specifically, is he covering the outside part of the plate, at least most of it? Not saying he needs to belt outside-black pitches for home runs, and I realize some hitters like Garvey chased sliders off the outside corner forever. This is different. Andy's outside coverage needs work.
Near as I can tell, that's why some of the Dodgers brass are skeptical about him, or at least more skeptical than his excellent minor-league statistics show. It's a little similar to the Andy Marte debates. Against better pitching, Marte's inability to cover most of the outside part of the plate was exposed. It put him on the yo-yo between Triple-A and the majors. I tend to think the Braves scouting evaluation was affirmed there. f you're giving up too much of the outside part of the plate, you might not be in trouble in the PCL or another Triple-A league, but you're in big trouble in the majors.

13 - Tons of people have suggested Nomar as a utility player. And he doesn't need to play outfield to do it - they will already have five outfielders on the 25-man roster.

It's pretty doubtful Nomar would be a decent left fielder, but in an emergency ... :)

Just wanted to check in quickly from Florida (and possibly risk a Rule 11 violation). I was at the game today and can vouch for Young's dazzling plays. Ethier also had a couple of nice catches in RF and gunned out a runner at second who was trying to stretch a single into a double. Hu and LaRoche also made a couple of terrific plays.

The defense was the highlight of an otherwise dull game. Other notes: The Dodgers only had two hits, and one (Martin's) could have been ruled an error. Because they were wearing helmets, I confused the base coaches for baserunners on more than one occasion. Nomar only saw about 4 pitches (in 3 at-bats). The Mets fans really love stupid heckling about Hu's name. There were three beachballs. Tradition Field is nicer than Shea Stadium.

That is all.

15

I hear you...Guess I like the "super" part of his utility role, supers being guys who play IF and OF. Seems to me that in the interest of preparation, now is the time Nomar would at least be exposed to the OF so that he could be somewhat prepared there, in the event of an emergency. Very small point.

Like you said, It's only May. But I enjoyed watching DY immensely today. I remember watching last year when he was demonstrating his hitting talents and there was a rumor his fielding needed improvement. Well I don't think it does anymore.

18 Where did the time go? It seemed like it was only February a day ago.

16 I thought Martin's single looked pretty legit. The SS laid out for it and just couldn't come up with it. Andruw's hit was the one that wasn't hit well.

Ross Porter on Shawn Green:

http://www.realsportsheroes.com/notebook.php

I just hope he doesn't bust a Chad Fonville, but seriously, I hope it wasn't a mirage.

Not sure if this will interest most of you but Orel has beaten Allen Cunningham and Freddy Deeb to make it to the final 8 in the NBC Heads Up Poker Challenge. He now faces ex-MIT genius Andy Bloch.

Go Bulldog!

Thanks for putting that Milton Bradley piece up there Jon.

Delwyn, please keep it up. It would help to get a few hits too.

I am not one of those "I told you so" people. Rarely do I say that. However, for those who have consistently said that Delwyn cannot play second base, I would love to say that rare phrase after he proves that he can.

While being more versatile will help his chances of making the team, I still suspect we'll see Abreu on the squad as the late inning defensive replacement for Kent. Angel Chavez looked overmatched at second base on Friday, not that one game means everything, but that is the Ramon-type I think Jon was referring to.

I heard John Manuel from Baseball America on the radio this morning and he said that after BA's Top 100 prospect list came out, he heard from two scouts and Kuroda's former manager. They told him that Kuroda should have been on their top 100 list. Also, after Kuroda's performance, he said that it appears that his fastball sits at 91-93 mph, his secondary pitches are pretty good, he's appears to be a solid 6'1", so his body is not a negative.

Overall a solid No. 3 starter.

"To put into perspective what kind of career Shawn Green had with the Blue Jays, Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Mets, he retires as one of only four active players with 300 home runs, 1,000 RBI, 1,000 runs, 400 doubles, a .280 or better career batting average, and 150 stolen bases. The others are Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey, jr., and Gary Sheffield, all of whom have at least 1,400 more at-bats."

Who knew?

Yeah, it was a pleasant surprise to see Brad Penny at the UFC. I yelled out his name and thankfully no one tried to start an anti-Dodger argument. Brad was dressed out in full Dan Henderson gear too.

Just want to thank Shawn Green for being a great player for the Dodgers. He was the shining light for a few years for our team and I want to thank him from the bottom of my heart. I may have had issues with him in his last year on the team, but that pales in comparison to what he did for us.

Thank you, Shawn. You were a great player and from what I have heard, you have been a great person to the fans. Thank you for the memories.

Green was true blue.

I sure enjoyed the Hebrew Hammer era. I wouldn't mind seeing you take over for Mark Sweeney one day. Keep your options open.

My pup, Pirate, was given a Mets Build-A-Bear from a Dodger beat writer who will remain anonymous last year. And it's still Pirate's favorite toy. I believe it's in bed with him under the covers right now.

Young's next session with Bowa and Duncan should be about turning double plays without obtaining an 8 inch gash on the shin. Young is another reason to not trade for an Inge. If Young can play third the Dodgers would appear to have depth there. Between Dewitt, LaRoche, Young, and Nomar the Dodgers should find someone that will produce without making a trade at least before July.

RE: the promo sked. I see the heart-warming Father's Day Catch listed on June 15 vs my 2nd fave team, the Leyland-helmed Tigers. I'd better start warming up my throwing arm... the game is in DETROIT. Nice work, promo-sked maker! Oh wait, does that mean, Dodger stadium will be open even though the Azul is in Motor-City? In that case, nice work, Facilities Manager!

not to pile on with the shawn green love... but i met his parents several years ago; we chatted for much of an afternoon. they were very cool -- polite, funny, smart, etc. don't know if it matters, but thought i'd add that.

19 Where did the time go?

Time can tear down a building
Or destroy a woman's face
Hours are like diamonds
Don't let'em waste

-The Rolling Stones

Destroy? That's pretty heavy man. I always wondered what their female fans thought of that line. Time doesn't merely age their face, it bloody DESTROYS it. Like what it would look like after Godzilla got done with it.

on another front: i bet d. young becomes a big player for the dodgers. i guess he's old for a prospect, but his career arc could be like, say, brian harper was for the angels/twins; a guy who comes out of the minors at a relatively advanced age, plays at a very high level for a few years as a mostly offensive player, and disappears just as quickly... i predict young could wind up being a better option for us than eithier or the left fielder who must not be named.... and i still like eithier.

The Father's Day catch is designed to be when the Dodgers are out of town I believe. It's easier to have people on the field then.

35 If Keith Richards wrote that line, that's pretty funny.

Pierre in the first inning already making things happen with his speed!

The next-to-last line in Alex Beith's post at BB is a nice compliment to Jon, and I agree with him.

https://bronxbanter.baseballtoaster.com/archives/915555.html

Steiner: "You know things are going well in a lineup when you have Matt Kemp batting 8th."

Either that, or you worse hitters ahead of him.

Either that, or you have worse hitters ahead of him.

I don't need no stinking "Preview comment before saving".

41 Well, to some extent, for pretty much whomever (and even it was ever Pierre or Furcal) was hitting 8th, that would be a accurate statement but I agree with your conclusion too.

Is the game on the radio?

If so can someone tell me the station?

44 I'm listening from mlb audio. But the thing says "KABC".

I was listening on KAVL 610 out of Lancaster but it appears they've lost the audio feed. Perhaps KABC has, too.

44 Dodger Radio Network

Station On Dial City
KABC 790 Los Angeles
KHJ 930 *Los Angeles
KDEF 1150 +Albuquerque
KNZR 1560 Bakersfield
KBOV 1230 Bishop
KROP 1300 Brawley/El Centro
XESS 620 *Enseneda/Tijuana
KCBL 1340 Fresno
KYVA 1230 +Gallup, NM
KAVL 610 Lancaster/Palmdale/Victorville
KSFN 1140 Las Vegas
KPSI 920 Palm Springs
KFUL 1270 *Palm Springs
KPRO 1570 Riverside
WSTA 1340 +St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
KYNS 1340 San Luis Obispo/Santa Maria
KHTS 1220 Santa Clarita
KVEN 1450 Ventura/Santa Barbara
WTTB 1490 +Vero Beach, FL
KEZL 1400 Visalia

46 I am listening to 790 but I live really close to the station so not sure what that means.

Frank McCourt and Steve Garvey are scheduled to be on for an inning today, Frank is on right now.

If anyone has an extra ticket for the Coliseum game, let me know. Not only will I pay you for it but I will bring cookies for the whole crowd.

50
Now your interested!
I might have had one free up because of a Wiggles conflict.

790 is nice, it is the 1st time I've been able to listen to the game at home in ages. To bad I have to listen to Rick and Charlie.

51 Yeah, now I am, I thought I might have a conflict but now I don't.

If I have to hear that commercial for certain surgical procedures all season, I will have to get small incisions to my ear drums.

52 But it's non-invasive!

MLB.com is listing Hull in the box score after Lowe and Stults but that is wrong, Mr. Sturze is pitching in the Top of 5th.

One day my ability to spell Tanyon Sturtze's name correctly will reap me a large financial windfall.

Just you wait.

55 first I forgot the e, now the t.

BTW, have you fixed your TV so it blackouts the players from that unnamed school UCLA is playing today?

56
Now my cable company wouldn't agree to it.

Instead I just run up to the screen fast and black out the names with a Sharpie.

I could be wrong but it sounds like there are at least as many Mets fans if not more than Dodger fans at Vero today.

57 If you could get Phil Knight to buy them the same kind of uniforms that Oregon wore against UCLA last week, you wouldn't have to do that.

Batter-by batter results can be found in the comments section of John Rawitch's latest post, if anyone is interested. That's how I know that I may not need to spell Sturtze much longer.

Okay, I've finally enjoyed a Rick Monday story. The "Steve Sunday" thing was pretty good.

Nicest way to describe a manager who wares out his pitchers' arms:

Steiner: "If Torre believes in you, he's not afraid to let you stay in the game."

61 Its funny, because its true.

I am here at the game in Vero right now and just wanted to mention that it is quite a strange, but good, feeling to be at a dodger game and not care at all about the outcome.

Hey Lexinthedena, there's a new BBQ place I found. Bean's BBQ on Fair Oaks just south of Woodbury. Nice, meaty pork ribs and their spicy sauce has a nice lingering heat to it. Check it out.

After Michigan State hit yet another three-pointer against Indiana to put them at 9 of 10 from 3-point range and 21 of 25 overall, Dick Enberg said, "If this were a carnival, there wouldn't be a kewpie doll left."

Presently Michigan State leads 59-29 with a little over one minute left.

65 Nice, sounds like a place to pick up some food before a UCLA football game next year.

I guess USC isn't coming to Pasadena until the end of the year.

USC will likely play in Pasadena in December and January 2009.

68 Where's your passion bucket?

69
I, for one, look forward to a year of Ben Olson overthrowing UCLA's slow receivers with bad hands.

66. Tell the truth did you have to look up the spelling of "kewpie doll" or is that just one of those Bob has a really large brain things.

(Or the third alterniative: I am a really bad speller. (Which is indeed true.))

Not sure where those periods go-- don't want this thread to take a period in the parentheses turn.

For some reason when I was a wee lad, my mom told me how to spell kewpie doll.

I guess it should be capitalized.

71 Tried Red Mango yogurt last week, not to bad. Still have not had yogurt from Pinkberry.

I like Red Mango way better than Pinkberry. Your search can stop, unless of course you want to go to Big Chill.

(I was there last night, Big Chill. Had an embarassing moment. Was with wife and kids, ordered 4 yogurts to go and realized I had no cash and found out they don't take credit cards. Ooops.)

man! i just came back from my game, what a great great team victory we had today against the team that left us on the field a few months back (we returned the faver today) what was even cooler is that it was the last game of the regular season (we'll see them come playoff time) but it just felt so good seeing there faces as i scored the winning run.

ps by the way im typing all of this with my left hand (mobile) cause i have ice on my right shuolder and elbow.

Considering it's Chow's offense, you're more likely to see Ben Olson throw a series of sideways passes to receivers and running backs that are not Reggie Bush and Mike Williams.

Pass complete. Gain of two. Second down.

bhsportsguy - because you asked -

"Hello there, a DodgerThoughter dropping by, can one of you seasoned Torre watchers drop by DT sometime and tell us if Torre uses the same relievers over and over more than usual."

In short, yes.

In long form, Cliff Corcoran has a post in the archives called "The Lesson of Stevie Hearsay". It goes up through 2005 and describes Torre's formulaic overuse of "his guys" in great detail.

Since then, we've seen "The Formula" first hand - once a guy is plugged into a role, its his; nothing short of injury (or a command from the FO) can disrupt "The Formula".

Based on Jon's roster listing on the sidebar, I'd say in a save situation, you'll see Proctor (7th), Broxton (8th), and Saito (9th), with Beimel mixed in as needed. As long as Broxton and Saito are OK, that'll be fine. For your guys' sakes, I hope neither of them gets hurt or pitches poorly.

there was also a lot of yelling and bear hugs as you can imagine.... :)

there was also a lot of yelling and bear hugs as you can imagine.... :)

77 Thanks Shaun P. I don't think this will be last cross-over BB/DT chats.

76. You won't be happy unitl Ben Howland is coaching every UCLA sport and Keven Love is playing QB.

81 He likes the baseball coach too.

81 Hey, have you seen Love's outlet passes?

ok which one of you wrote this?

http://www.protrade.com/content/DisplayArticle.html?sp=Sfc307e48-e87b-11dc-bfa8-9568e713147f

81 All kidding aside, I wouldn't be going halfsies on season tickets with BH if I wasn't optimistic about the football program.

But if they win seven games next year, I'll be pleased.

85
You mean there will be a chance for the signing of the historic Brock-Timmermann Pasadena Peace Accord this fall?

And should I invite Rick Neuhesiel to participate in the Griddle's NCAA tournament contest this year?

86 He's a little older, a little wiser, and a little more humble now.

Or so I've heard. Once or twice. A week.

84 Is there any further info on the Inge trade than the rumor put forward by the Detroit papers? I still refuse to believe that we'd actually go for him.

Maybe we will get to see Kevin Craft throwing to Nelson Rosario.

Not that it matters, but I tuned in late, saw the Dodgers were up 5-3, went away, came back, 3 runs for the Mets in the top of the 9th? Was that on Mike Kop(not Kevin)love?

The MLB.com box score is behind.

Now a runner on 1st with Sweeney up.

Er, after a strike 'em out throw 'em out DP, now there's 2 outs and no one on.

88
Rob Neyer described the proposed deal as a Dodgers fan "worst nightmare."
"Maybe this is just a lot of idle talk. Maybe the Dodgers really do know that LaRoche is a future star, and that Inge is a future stay-at-home dad. But if I were a Dodger fan right now I'd be very, very afraid. Because the only thing that's going to keep the Dodgers from playing important games in September is boneheaded moves like this one."

Wasn't Nelson Rosario the president in Idiocracy?

93 No, that would be President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho, but close.

An "L" for the Dodgers. I look forward to next week when we'll see more minor leaguers playing at the end rather than NRI players like Flotsam and Jetsam or whoever was pitching there at the end.

92 But that's more like commentary on the trade rumor than further news on the trade rumor.

I refuse to believe it. If I try to believe it, my head will explode.

I do think an awful lot of people are freaking out about a rumor in which there's no evidence the Dodgers are interested at all. Of course, they may have been marginally interested, or listening when the Tigers called, or who knows. Neyer's right of course, if there is credence to this it's absolutely stupid unless, as someone else pointed out, Inge was gonna be our backup catcher instead of 3rd baseman, but that's unlikely (and expensive for a backup catcher). I refuse to believe it, too.

The other explanation could be the Dodgers weren't publicly commenting on any feelers the Tigers put out, to see how it flies out there in PR and Web-land. It doesn't fly very well, so I hope that's the end of it.

Bob, how did you get CBS to skip almost 3 minutes from the unnamed school vs. UCLA game today.

Your powers of persuation are stronger than you think.

65 Oh cool...I will hit it up. Thanks.

97
It's a UCLA basketball game. You only need to watch the last 5 minutes of the first half and the first 10 of the second half.

77 Following up, I think if you go back and look at some of the comments in BB from the last few years you'll see what Shaun is talking about. Actually, you could just look up anytime Sturtze or Farnsworth was brought into the game.

He also has a tendency to go for experience over youth, often to detriment. He continually trotted Bernie Williams out to CF even when every single person could see he could no longer field, throw or hit. Then, he just played him as the everyday DH. I think you guys should be worried about LaRoche becoming expendable or riding the bench because Nomar is considered a vet who's "been there" before.

Whoopie Goldberg is killing Kevin Love on the post.

I'm more optimistic about Torre in this regard than I would've been because a) what I've been hearing about him this year he sounds at least open to playing some of the "kids." And because those "kids" are for the most part so clearly ready that he'll have no choice but to play them. I may be Pollyannaish about it but that's the feeling I have. And regarding pitching, as Shaun said, the fact that they have Proctor + Beimel then Broxton then Saito so clearly delineated in the bullpen makes it easier to not worry about it - unless, yes, one of those key guys gets hurt and then we might, dog forbid, see some NRI vet plug the hole instead of a kid like Meloan or Hull. I worry about that slightly, but otherwise I think this is a better year for us to have Torre over last year.

100
Doesn't Torre remember Nomar sulking on the bench during the marathon game at Yankee Stadium when Jeter fell face first into the stands to make a catch?

UCLA still allows Mata-Real to get playing time?

I keep forgetting to mute the game until Billy Packer says something.

Otherwise, nice start for UCLA.

Greg Brock has a golden idol in the shape of Billy Packer that he makes an offering to every other Thursday.

Prior Is Trying Again in Padres Comeback

>> If everything goes O.K. through spring training and the requisite minor league rehab starts, Prior is expected to make his Padres debut around June 1. <<

http://tinyurl.com/2crhcy

I do love Billy Packer.

Why does this headline on MLB.com bug me so?

"Vets lead the way, but Dodgers fall"

Alright, go UCLA, but I'm outta here.

Park makes his pitch in return

>> So far, Park is enjoying his return to the Dodgers. One of his first calls upon signing was to the legendary Sandy Koufax, who he had a chance to work with early in camp and many times during his first stint with the organization. <<

http://tinyurl.com/28tjhs

107
Could you stop writing the letters to CBS praising him? You've turned Billy Packer into the Joe Morgan of college basketball!

RE 108 I say cheer up Underdog (although he has probably left the building). Loney Kemp and Lowe had good days, Martinez did not, and we probably weeded out a couple of NRI pitchers. Not a bad day at all.

111 I'm still here - I'm now spending the afternoon killing ants all over my apartment while watching the game. Oh the loss doesn't bother me at all, the key players played well, the players we'll presumably not see hide nor hair of in a month played less well. It was just the headline that irked me. Like trying to keep that mostly overblown "faction" (vets vs. youth) alive. Probably just being oversensitive.

I think UCLA could really use Andrew Bogut now.

I doubt you'r being oversensitive. The media seems to have a large group of idiots who will go to any lengths to keep a story alive. They should see that its a very short journey to the thought, If Vets are leading the way, Dodgers will continue to lose.

Dodgers' rotation has the potential to be a definite strength

>> The fifth spot in the rotation is up in the air until Jason Schmidt's shoulder is ready, which likely won't be until May 1. But one Dodgers official said Friday, "My guess is June." <<

## One NL West manager said last season that "Billingsley will be the best pitcher in our division" within two years. ##

http://tinyurl.com/2sn4ht

Packer seems to be totally pro-Arizona today, but, maybe that's just me being oversensitive again. Heh.

I haven't seen Kevin Love make a three pointer in a month.

115 I liked this quote right after the one on Schmidt: >>Until then, there are several options, including left-hander Hong-Chih Kuo, of whom Arizona's Eric Byrnes once said, "I hope I never see that guy again." > "I've said since the first time I faced him that he was going to be a big-time pitcher. And he already is. Have you seen his legs? One of his legs is bigger than both of mine."<<

Sorry, that glitched out; second quote is another one on Billingsley, from Jeff Francoeur.

Nice piece.

Bseball Tonight on ESPN (My first one of 2008). Of course they are interviewing a . . . Yankee. Joba Chamberlin.

OK I''l take it back. The teaser before the commercial says they will be looking at the NL West when they come back. I'm guessing they will give it 60 secs and then 20 more mins of BoSox-Yankee stuff.

117
So you didn't watch the USC-UCLA game on Feb. 17?

Love was 2 of 4 on 3-pointers that night.

122 I didn't see a lot of that game. I heard I didn't miss much.

We are doomed. Steve Phillips picks Dodgers to win NL West. He picks Furcal to be the diffrence and team leader. Eric Young also picks Dodgers cause of Joe Torre and John Cruck goes with Rockies. All pick NL West as toughest deepest div. in MLB.

I have been silent on the latest trade rumor because I feel like my viewpoint goes without saying at this point. How's that working for everyone?

Byrnes is 0/4 against Kuo, but no strikeouts. He's 3/19 with 8 Ks against Tall Chris Young. Short Chris Young is 0/8 against Tall Chris Young. I expect a lot of reverting to the mean for D'back batters against Tall Chris Young, this year.

How did Westbrook get that back?

Seanez pulls groin/not serious

per Diamond Leung

http://tinyurl.com/38skdv

125- I think you're right; everybody knows how much you covet Brandon Inge--no reason to stir the pot.

The unnamed school isn't really getting their money's worth for these fouls. They might as well be playing hack-a-Bogut, if every little bump is going to be called, anyway.

I don't like people co-opting my boycott of the unnamed school's name.

126- I misremebered that; SCY is 0/10 (with a walk) against TCY.

Tributes to Daily News departees:

http://thenutgraph.blogspot.com/2008/03/our-colleagues.html

130- Oh. I thought it was a solidarity thing. I'm happy enough to call Arizona, Arizona.

Maybe John Wooden got a hole-in-one on a short par 4?

Why is it amazing that a well-off person plays golf?

135
John Wooden wasn't well off when he was UCLA's basketball coach.

130- Is the Short Chris Young/Tall Chris Young shtick open source, or do you want that all to yourself, too?

136
I bet he did not have problems getting onto courses.

137
That's in the public domain.

138
UCLA's team has played at Riviera for a long time, so I assume he got invited to play there. Eddie Merrins, whom Packer alluded to as the source of the anecdote, was both UCLA's coach and a pro at Riviera.

So, who makes the three pointer to send this to overtime? I'll say the albino.

I don't think Jake Busey will do it. I am more worried about Bayless.

I vote for Tim Thomas.

Wow, that was bad.

That is infuriating.

Hooray!

I can breathe now.

The Lakers-Mavs game is having a similar ending.

147 - Two interesting things.

1) I didn't know the Laker game was going on now.

2) I care.

The Mavericks white guy is better than Arizona's.

148
Looks like there will be free basketball for Jon.

Nope - this was my 15 minutes of semi-freedom. Now I have to go make room for our infant car seat.

125 I think silence is the appropriate amount of emphasis.

There's still more Pac-10 basketball to go tonight. The Civil War on the Hardwood is at 7:30.

Can the Beavers go 0-18? This could be their best chance for a win.

80 You're very welcome. tommyl's point in 100 is excellent too. Your hope is that Torre kept playing Bernie because he had a decade-long attachment to him, and has no such attachment to Nomar, so . . .

102 Torre might surprise us all. The problem is, Torre's history screams "I won't trust kids unless I absolutely have to." A Juan Pierre DL-trip followed by Kemp hitting like Shane Spencer in August of '98 would be the ideal situation.

The other fear is, especially for Broxton, that Torre comes to rely on him too much, and works his arm into the ground, leading to injury trouble down the road. Now maybe Broxton is one those rubber-armed dudes who can handle that. For your folks' sakes, I hope he is.

153 There's a chance that Arizona could play Oregon State twice in their next 3 games.

There is also a chance that UCLA will play Cal back to back.

I'm sure someone has suggested this stat or a better one to deal with speed in a players offensive contribution. In this case to acknowledge speed as benificial in some one like Pierre's case take (OPS x 1000)
+ speed( SB -2(CS)) gives Pierre 718. Quick and dirty-yes. Without much theory behind it --yes. Fair?-- I think so. These numbers were for 2007.

121 I couldn't agree with you more about all the attention paid to the Red Sox and Yankees. The worst part is that the media and baseball complain about poor television ratings when the AL east isn't involved too heavily in the playoffs. If they would cover other teams more the ratings might be better when the Sox and Yankees aren't playing.

And its more than likely that Oregeon and Arizona will be playing for a first round bye and a .500 conference record on Saturday at Oregon.

Key Pac-10 games:
Tonight, Civil War.
Thursday, UCLA hosts Stanford for the regular conference championship; USC clinches at least 4th place if they can beat Cal; Arizona and Oregon try to add to their NCAA resume.
Saturday: Washingon State can clinch 3rd place in the Pac-10 with a win at home against Washington; Arizona State can guarantee a bye into Thursday but could Oregon State's last shot to avoid an undefeated season; and the aforementioned, Oregon hosting Arizona to finish in the top 6 in the Pac-10.

I'd rather have Brandon Inge than Gary Bennett. As long as Brandon Inge has no expectations of starting more than 30 games, and is not in the mix at third except as a defensive replacement once in a while, then he's a perfectly good player to pay $1.5M. (So, Tigers have to pick up $4.5M and take Gary Bennett in return. That'd be an awesome trade, actually.)
God, I really really don't ever want to see Gary Bennett hit for the Dodgers. Let alone 4 times in one game. Good lord.

160 - The entire reason Inge wants to be traded is because he wants to play every day.

Sabathia's Success Could Lead Him Out of Cleveland

http://tinyurl.com/33hp5z

Joe Torre: "What's unusual here is I've never been involved in an organization that had this many young players that seem capable of playing at the Major League level." (Dodgers.com)

It almost sounds like he thinks that is a bad thing.

Inge can want all sorts of things. I want to start every day as well. And Inge and I have an approximately equal chance of being above average major league hitters in 2008.

164 - I was only responding to your own words: "As long as Brandon Inge has no expectations of starting more than 30 games ..." You made his "want" part of the discussion.

163 I see that quote as more or less fitting into what I was getting at 102 , but I guess you could interpret it more cynically.

from Dodgers.com:

Torre held a long meeting on Sunday morning with owner Frank McCourt and general manager Ned Colletti regarding the state of the team. "It was just catching up," Torre said. "It's the first time I've seen them in the spring."
Would love to hear what they discussed. Maybe something along the lines of "go get me a 5th starter" and "forget about that that thing (Inge) we discussed yesterday. Andy looked good out there today." Or "I'd like to get a look at the kid-Kershaw"

one more "how much longer do I have to bat Kemp 8th for what he did last year?"

Diamond Leung at PE blog: "Rudy Seanez felt some tightness in his right groin".

How many groins does Seanez have?

169
Unless Seanez has some unusual anatomical disorder, I believe he has two groins.

I can post pictures using myself as a model, but I believe it would run afoul of several of Jon's guidelines.

163
That quote sounds like a good thing to me. Sounds like he is impressed with how good our young guys are and how many we have.

170 - Just rule 5.

172 several Jon-how bout rule 2.

I'm sorry, I'm still paranoid about Colletti and Torre in collusion to not give our prospects a fair chance. But I feel the longer they wait, the longer the baseball literature and even the "common wisdom" could penetrate their thoughts. As the
Stones once sang "Time, is on my side".

Yes it is!

It's a little-known fact that I have the words "no-hitter" tattoed on my person.

But I won't say where.

The ending joke to the Simpsons was great.

The Civil War is closer than expected. The Beavers are still hanging around with 8 minutes to go.

175 And I'm going to spoil it here. If you Tivo'd it, skip ahead.

In their "The Departed" satire, the episode ends with Ralph Wiggums pointing to a passing rat. Ralphie: "The rat symbolizes obviousness!"

Pac-10 standings heading to the last weekend:

UCLA 14-2, 26-3
Stan 13-3, 24-4
WSU 10-7, 22-7
USC 9-7, 18-10
ASU 8-8, 18-10
Ore 7-9, 16-12
___ 7-9, 17-12
Wash 7-10, 16-14
Cal 6-10, 15-12
OSU 0-16, 6-22

If UCLA and Stanford tied at 15-3, the first tiebreaker would be record against the team with the next best record. Both UCLA and Stanford swept WSU. UCLA lost a game to USC and Stanford lost a game to ASU.

NPUT

170-Hopefully it's within bounds, however, to consider Rudy as portrayed by Steve Martin in The Man With Two Groins.