Now that Edmonds is already hurt, Rotoworld proclaims that "GM Kevin Towers really could use one more outfielder." Get on the phone, Ned!

Given the success of taking it slow with Billingsley as well as the relative failures (as of now) of "rushing" Edwin Jackson, Greg Miller, and others, I would have to think they'll have this pitcher who does not really exist in the minors to start the season.

It's not like we have a shortage of potential #5 starting pitchers right now.

1 Do it!!!!!

Forget Vinny, why is Dodger Stadium missing from the debate?

I don't take the Kershaw 5th starter talk seriously. Should I?

Why doesn't anyone throw the screwball anymore?

4
Screwballs make arm go OWWWW!!!

0 i think it has more to do with mental make-up and maturity more than anything else. the key question is when things start to go wrong will it break the kid? numourus prized prospects show glimpses of how great they could be but once things start to go wrong it shatters confidence which cannot be re-tought and could take a very long time to re-gain.

that is up to managment and scouts to figure out how he'll handle failure at the big league level at this early of an age. it sounds like he passed an early test giving up an early homer and loading the bases with a HBP and shaky defense. but he never waivered continued to pitch his game and struck out the side. than may have impressed torre and ned more than his stuff.

As if the normal throwing motion wasn't hard enough on the arm, the screwball makes my arm hurt just watching it.

Why isn't today's game on 790?

Putting Kershaw on the 40 man right now, espcially to start the season seems like a waste. Burn up a year of service time, set up a situation where he can be out of options at age 22 if he struggles and booting someone off the 40 man just seems unnecassary. I'd much rather McDonald get the first shot.

8 NM, I looked up the Dodgers' broadcast schedule on their website. Pretty disappointing.

6 That is probably your best post here. Good job.

9 Man, you are obsessed with our 40-man roster space. Aren't there some scrubs taking up spots that could easily be dumped?

There is a lot of bad weather on the east coast today. Anybody in Vero to give a forecast?

12 There's guys that shouldn't be on there like Alvarez and May, but if Ned wanted them protected from the Rule V for some reason, there's no way he'd expose them to waivers.

Jon cleverly LAT'd himself on the last thread.

There was a lot of talk about Pink's and Carney's hot dogs yesterday, but...

Where's the love for SKOOBY's? Skooby's is a neat treat with better fries than either of the other locations, or at least I think so.

Other than them, no the 40 man has no dead weight.

Tough inning for Bills.

12 Mainly, I'm more concerned that Kershaw isn't really ready, pulls an Edwin Jackson, and we have to trade him when he runs out of options.

15 - We had a lot of injuries for that game. There, I said it again!

20
But now it lacks context...

Those Ivy League schools can be pesty. See Princeton, 1996.

I thought you guys said Gamecast was already working. I can't find it on espn.com anywhere.

22
I don't think they're using Gamecast for all games.

22 23 only televised espn games.

If you like hockey, the Daily News will set you up:

http://www.insidesocal.com/kings/2008/03/new_faceserr_names.html

The line that is blue is called "the blue line."

Let's not forget that Kershaw had 67 walks in 89 IP last year. He still has control issues to work out. Wouldn't it be better for him to do that in the Southern League than in the National League? And of course, there's all the roster/contract issues to consider.

To paraphrase a wise old coach named Yoda: "Much to learn, young Kershaw has. Finish his training he must!"

26 Either way I pray that his start coming up is on a weekend so we can all watch it on KCAL.

being new here is it ok to violate rule #9 if it's against the dodgers?

26 Actually he had 67 walks in 122 innings, which is a very different thing.

Am I a bad person because I see it as a bad thing when Nomar hits a homer?

28 - Thanks for asking, and no, it's not.

But the road is being paved for Kershaw to come up sooner than later

I'd like an adjudication on "sooner than later." I'd always figured that was just wrong, that there ought to be a "rather" before the "than." But now that Jon has used it, what with his Master's in English and all (and I don't mean that to sound sarcastic) and his demonstrated ability to write circles around the likes of me, I'm starting to think that the colloquialism trumps the grammatical persnicketiness. What's the ruling? Shall I stop cringing every time I hear "sooner than later?"

PS: Offer to stop cringing is not extendable to such offenses as "revert back" or "a whole nuther."

28 Alas, no.

29 It's spring training, so it's not as black and white as the regular season.

Get ready for a "Nomar locates his power" article later with no mention of 30MPH+ gusts.

That said, I won't complain if he does hit some out more frequently.

Chad Billingsley pitching: Home runs for everybody!

I don't envy the Dodgers.

If the Dodgers' main concern was maximizing Kershaw's value, then it's pretty clear to me that they should start him in the minors this year. He needs more seasoning, and even if he was ready, it's probably a good idea to trade his age-20 season for a later season, as others have stated.

But that's not the Dodgers' main concern. Their main concern is winning pennants. The two things are not unrelated, of course, but IF the Dodgers determine that this year the NL is theirs for the taking, it MIGHT make sense to start Kershaw in the National League this year.

When I look at the NL, I see heavy competition in our division, so it's likely a good idea to ignore this argument. But I think there's room to argue that the Dodgers might right now be the best (or second-best) team in the NL and that plugging in Kershaw over whoever is currently the 5th starter puts them over the top. It's a very tough decision to make.

As much as I understand the desire for caution with Kershaw, it's hard not to get a little excited at the prospect of subbing in Kershaw (and all of the excitement that would bring to each of his starts this season) for Loaiza or 80% of Jason Schmidt. It would seem to be an extremely formidable 5 man rotation.

29 i think it's possible for nomar to have a .825 ops season, if he continues to hit the snot out of the ball and does happen to start he could carry that momentum and have a very good season. i don't think that would be the worst thing for the dodgers, may not be the best.

29 Nomar homers-good - he might have a good year

Pierre homers- not good- he might "earn" a starting job but there is very little chance he will be good.

I thought Mike Marshall was teaching the screwball as part of his 'subversive pitching mechanics' camp as the pronating motion is less stressful on the elbow than supinating.

31 - The "rather" can't be implied? You're right, I suspect.

I think it's more likely that we'll trade for Brandon Inge than go with Kershaw as our #5 to begin the year. I dismiss it completely.

Barring injury, Loaiza is the clear choice for #5. If he can't cut it, we have Stults, McDonald, Meloan, & perhaps Park/Johnson. That doesn't even include Kuo & Schmidt.

What's clear is that his timetable might be pushed up. We all [or mostly all] expected to see him at the end of the year, as a kind of preview of 2009. Many expected him to arrive around midseason. Now, it sounds to me like he is being prepped to be ready whenever and wherever. I'm not sure I like that message. It's not like we're desperate for pitching.

Ideally, he's in the rotation 2009 with a small taste of the bigs to end 2008. What would bother me would be for him to join the bullpen midseason [ala Joba] in a "playoff push" situation.

What's up with Bills? Maybe he's working on some pitches or something.

43 his fastball is topping out at 86

Is this Bills' first start of the spring?

44 joking

it seems like a trend that has been happening throughout baseball, many top pitchers have had rought springs.

43 It's probably just a flyball pitcher throwing in a small park on a day when the wind is blowing out strongly.

41. I'm actually willing to be convinced that I'm wrong.

I used to insist on "I couldn't care less" until I figured that the sarcasm in "I could care less" was so obvious that there was no need to get bent out of shape about it.

Actually, that's a common theme of getting older, I think - reducing the number of silly things about which one gets bent out of shape. Who has the energy?

This Andruw Jones weight issue--I guess I can understand somewhat his logic about coming into camp heavier, and thus in his mind having more power...

But unless you're swinging a bigger bat due to a weight gain...it seems to me that the only way you're going to hit the ball farther is by increasing your bat speed. Is Andruw's weight gain really going to improve that?

I'm not worried about his defense in the OF bc he still has great instints and his being a little slower should not affect his arm strength.

However, his bat really worries me.
He might be an "old" 31, considering how many games his body has put in playing CF.

The biggest consideration with Kershaw is workload. It far outweighs anything to do with his ability to learn on the job or to weather tough outings. The worst case scenario is not so much Edwin Jackson as Mark Prior. I suppose its possible that being the 5th starter in the majors would tend to limit his innings compared to being an ace in the minors. That might argue for actually bringing him up. I'm less concerned about the service time issues. If he turns out to be the stud we all hope when he gets to free agency, that's a problem that's several years away. Who knows what the team's or his situation will be at that point?

If I can turn back to the topic of the last thread, I wanted to ask Bob if there's any discussion at work today about new marketing opportunities. Think about - The Richard Riordan Central Library - Better than Vin Scully (tm).

26 Luke Skywalker did pretty well for himself. I mean sure he lost a hand and all that, but still . . .

48 I always say "I couldn't care less" because when I hear people say "I could care less," they don't normally sound sarcastic. But I don't really fuss over it.

49 Short-term I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. He's only gonna be here 2 years. For his career getting fat probably isn't a good idea.

51 No, he did not! His trip to the Cloud City was pointless at best, and put his friends in danger just as Yoda predicted.

51 But was it his pitching hand?

48
You have nothing to apologize for in my book.

At my workplace, we have signs stating that we're closed for "Veteran's Day" and they refuse to fix it.

However, the same people who make signs do say that the library is closed on "César Chávez Day."

49 I think Andruw's weight gain 'logic' has something to do with his keeping his batting stance in check, which he blamed for his problems last season.

So the Veterans Day isn't actually the Veterans day?

Veterans Day has no apostrophe.

53 I'd agree with pointless; his friends were in danger regardless of his choices. But does Luke become who he needs to be later without disregarding Yoda's advice? That's up to debate I think. Or more pertinent to this blog, does Kershaw become who we want him to be by being molly-coddled or by being thrown into the fire?

That question aside I agree more with your general point about workload being the biggest consideration.

57 Somehow I think you know 58 and are saying something clever with your use of capitalization, but the lack of apostrophes makes me think otherwise.

31 It's none of business, but I'd like to offer my thoughts on the subject. I believe the colloquial can trump the grammatical when the issue deals with how an expression sounds. For example, people nitpick "I could care less" because it doesn't make grammatical sense. However--and this point is argued best by Steven Pinker in his masterwork, "The Language Instinct"--the reason why that usage persists is that it just sounds better than "I couldn't care less."

To my sensibilities, I get "sooner than later." It might be a cliche or overused expression, but that doesn't make it out of bounds. Sorry for butting in. I really like this site.

Yeah, I blew it.

So Veterans Day isn't actually they Veteran's Day?

You know what, never mind.

53 - He also found out a little tidbit about his family tree while there that ended up being pretty important to the story.

Jason Johnson... must have grown up in Rock Ridge.

59 Has Kershaw even gotten to the cave where he beheads Darth Vader/himself? Is that what the home run he gave up in spring training was? It's like Kershaw's still lifting rocks over his head and now we want to send him to fight Darth Vader. I guess we don't expect him to become a Jedi immediately, but does the risk of Kershaw losing his hand (or worse) outweigh the growth in mental fortitude he could/would get from fighting Darth Vader and coming out alive?

48 - I insist on "I couldn't care less."

65 - Splendid!

64 - Shoot, should've posted a "SPOILER ALERT" there.

61 For example, I say "It's none of business" when I mean "It's none of my business." It just sounds better.

68 Heck, it was 28 years ago. Might as well post a spoiler alert about the Lincoln assassination.

Is it safe to assume that pitching in the majors is more stressful than pitching in the minors? If so, do the Dodgers allow for it when they attempt to project Kershaw's work load for the whole season, if they're expecting to promote him to the majors in the second half or September?

I'd err on the side of caution, until he shows he can throw a lot more strikes. I'd also break him as a long reliever, kind of like Earl Weaver used to do.

WRT the post topic, I found this in a March 31, 1985 story about Larry Bowa in the LAT. The quote given is from Bill James' contemporaneous Abstract:

"On Fernando Valenzuela: "He now has 61 career wins. At the same age, Tom Seaver had 32 wins, Steve Carlton 31, Don Sutton 34. Gaylord Perry had 3, Warren Spahn none and Lefty Grove none. Fernando is two months younger than Mark Langston, the rookie phenom of the Seattle Mariners, and two years younger than Orel Hershiser.""

WRT Larry Bowa:

"Don Zimmer, the Cubs' third-base coach, responding to Bowa's public criticism of Manager Jim Frey, summoned Chicago Tribune reporter Fred Mitchell, put on his reading glasses, and began reading a prepared statement.

After pointing out that Larry Bowa is the most selfish player he has ever known, Zimmer warmed to his subject. "He is not a team player, and he cares for no one but himself. If I were (catcher) Jody Davis, I might have choked him. On throws to second that should have been stopped, Bowa made no attempt . . . "

On and on Zimmer went, accusing Bowa of not speaking to Cub star Ryne Sandberg for more than a week. "If you can't get along with Sandberg, you can't get along with your wife," Zimmer said."

68 What? Noooooo! I've only seen Episodes 1-4 and I thought Skywalker was a common last name in those parts.

66 - Has Kershaw even gotten to the cave where he beheads Darth Vader/himself?

I'm worried he goes into the cave and finds a Dodger wearing a #96 Kershaw jersey, but it turns out it's Greg Miller. NOOOO!!!!

Torre successfully pulls the hit and run with James Loney on first and Andruw Jones at the plate, which has got to be the worst hit-and-run combo in baseball history.

I'm leaving for Vero Beach tomorrow. Will be at Sunday's game. Kennedy Space Center on Monday for the Shuttle launch.(!). At the games again on Tuesday and Wednesday.

For purposes of recognition, I'll have my 8 and 11 year old long-haired boys with me, and one of us will probably be wearing a Toluca Baseball T-shirt or hat (navy with a Texas Ranger-style "T" logo). I'm bummed I didn't get my DT T-shirt order in!

Anyway, post here if you are also going, look for me there, or drop an e-mail to my handle above at mac.com.
Thx,

Doug Minnick

50--I agree. IMO, Edwin Jackson's debut at 20 wasnt the problem in his development as a MLB hurler. It was his injury that really hurt him.

I think learning on the job at the MLB level (while maintaining a steady and not too demanding workload), is better than throwing the same amount of innings at the minor league level. Plus, at the MLB level there's more equipment available to say 'coddle' a young pitcher. Some of the minor league clubhouses are rather dingy.

Here's what Joe Torre has to learn about Juan Pierre: Yes, he can have a game like yesterday's where he gets hits, steals bases, and makes good defensive plays; but he often follows it with a game like today's where he does nothing. I would say his talent tantalizes, but it doesn't. It barely even teases.

Oh, my. Nomar plunked right on the hand and rushed straight to the dugout.

Is anyone else thinking significant downtime for Nomar would be good for the team?

29 Question is, do you feel good Nomar may have just broke his hand?

" "If you can't get along with Sandberg, you can't get along with your wife," Zimmer said."

There's gotta be a Dave Martinez joke in there somewhere.

59 I guess you could also make the case that Yoda didn't think that Luke was the real deal to begin with. If it was all up to Yoda, Luke might have been toiling in the swamps of Degobah well into his 30s, all while the critical campaigns of the rebellion rolled on. And what to make of the fact that when Luke comes back, Yoda, on his death bed says, "Oh by the way, your training is finished?" I think this is all arguing for Kershaw moving up sooner rather than later.

On a similar note, I wanted to pose a grammatical query to this group. My office has recently put up those irritating motivational posters. The one in the lunchroom says something like "Often countless unseen details make the difference between ordinary and remarkable." I think it would be a much better sentence if it said "the ordinary and the remarkable." Is it actually wrong though? Dangling modifier?

79 Not if it makes Ned think about picking up the phone to see if Inge is still available.

"Is anyone else thinking significant downtime for Nomar would be good for the team?"

Sure, good for the team, in that getting Brandon Inge will probably only cost us James McDonald and Ivan DeJesus.

I picked up MLB 2K8 yesterday. It has its flaws, but I am enjoying the game.

Here is my lineup:

Furcal, SS
Loney, 1b
Kemp, RF
Jones, CF
Kent, 2b
Martin, C
Ethier, LF
LaRoche, 3b
Pitcher

So far, it is working out really well. Pierre and Nomar have come in for pinch running and hitting. They have made no difference on the outcome of the game, but Pierre is helpful for the double switch.

83 Oy vey. You're right. Delwyn get your 3rd base glove! Andy keep jacking up the home runs! Nomar don't be too injured.

82 - Plato would approve of your syntax.

61. No need to apologize. My question was for the group, not just for Jon. I appreciate the point you're making, but I fail to see how "sooner than later" sounds better.

Ah well, it's my problem. Well, and my students' problem. Thanks for the free therapy session.

Nomar "appears to be OK."

Inge alert status: Orange.

at game: Nomar got hit right on the hand and looked in a lot of pain. he screamed a few rule violations. Laroche took over at third and nomar has left the field.

82 - I don't think so. I mean, I understand what he's saying, and economy counts for something.

You might want to look here for some counterweight:

http://www.despair.com/viewall.html

Is Delwyn Young still a lock to make the team? With his spring (1-17 with 11ks) so far, I think the Dodgers would risk sending him down to AAA even though he's out of options.

I cant really see other teams wanting him, since most other teams probably already have a Delwyn Young type of player of their own.

92 i would have to believe he gets picked up by someone. it's not worth the risk, he's put up numbers every year, 17 ab's are nothing to worry about albeit they're about as bad as they could be

91 I know all about the despair posters, but thanks for the link. Predictably, the posters in my office have had the opposite of the intended effect. They make most of us feel sad and embarrassed.

82 While I love the cool animated Yoda (who should have taken out the Emperor in Episode III), the muppet version is so charming in the Empire Strikes Back.

And he does make the key speech of the whole series when he moves the X-Wing Fighter out of the swamp.

"Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes. Even between the land and the ship."

92 I think there's no question he'd be snapped up right away. And I don't necessarily think every team has a Delwyn Young-type player of its own -- a switch-hitter who can mash and play both infield and outfield.

92 He had some good games in LA last year so I think how he does in Spring Training won't matter as much.

92 I think his all-of-a-sudden stellar defense will offset his little slump

I agree with Cargill, while Delwyn isn't completely a lock, I think the Dodgers like him enough to not want to take the risk of losing him. And I think they would lose him.

Man, I tuned in late, but what's up with Bills today? Was it really just wind blowing out and working on pitches? Or was he off? He also struck out 4. Guess it isn't a big deal. Then Nomar hits a home run and then gets hurt. Weird game.

92 I'm sure the Red Sox would rather have him than Brandon Moss or Jonathan Van Every. Most teams fourth and fifth outfielders are not good.

I am fairly certain Andy would have rubbed some dirt on it and taken his base. Or even more likely, Andy would have recognized the inside pitch, and taken the other way over the fence.

Come on Nomar, man up.

85 Unless you're locked in with a Wii, DS or 360, check out MLB '08 The Show...it's significantly better. I use it on planes when I'm too hyper to read.

Roster & player attributes they assign can be mildly entertaining. MLB '08 has no evidence of Kuroda, and the only Sweeney in the game is Mike. May be a MLBPA issue, the most famous non-participant is an aging free agent LH slugger named "Reggie Stocker".

And just to bug me for the 2nd year in a row they insist Kuo throws right handed (but bats left).

brandon inge here we come

Great. LaRoche falls on his wrist.

Down to the minors now.

95 Its true. Yoda in Empire is 10 times cooler than Yoda in any of the other films. Every speech, almost every line, is pure gold. What about "Excitement? Hmmm. Adventure? Hmm. A Jedi crave not these things."

Still, there's a fine line between Yoda and Larry Bowa. He's either breaking Luke down to build him back up, like any tough minded good coach, or he's breaking him down to be a jerk, and because he doesn't believe in him. His attitude at points is like, I'm sure you're going to blow it, but there's always Leia.

laroche diving to catch a bad throw from catcher and ball hit his wrist. he has now left the game quickly.

100 How many teams have terrific fourth outfielders and lousy starting outfielders? Not that we need to go there.

104 Luke and Anakin in unison: "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

Ghosts of JD Drew and Jayson Werth haunting this game.

104 106 is that some kind of sick joke?

laroche diving to catch a bad throw from catcher and ball hit his wrist. he has now left the game quickly.

So who's at third now? Abreu? Or did we trade for Inge already?

{in voice of Monty Python's General character:} Right! Stop that! This started out as a perfectly fine little exhibition game but now it's just gotten silly. Right! Manager - on my cue. Stop the game. Before anyone else gets hurt. Right!

I would guess Tiffee or Lucille

110 - only if you believe God likes jokes.

112 if pierre could make the throw to 1st give him a shot.

112 Well, they wanted to see if DYoung can play third....

117 Is he at third?

Kemp appears to have ADD, he can not sit still on the bench. Changes his seat after almost every AB.

stupid danny arodian.

See what happens when you give Russell a day off.

Ha ha, you guys really are cut-ups. That's a good one. Nomar and LaRoche getting hurt in the same game, just when Brandon Inge rumors have been swirling around. Very funny. You almost had me there.

119 is there video of this game?

115 God loves jokes. In Exodus, when the Egyptians are chasing Moses across the parted Red Sea, God knock the wheels of the Egyptians' chariots to slow them down. He's an omnipotent God who just allowed Moses to part the Red Sea and he's flicking off chariot wheels like a boy pulling wings off flies. That is a god who likes cruel jokes.

Come on, the last time those two went down it was the Shea show. Bring him back for an encore, it worked so well last year.

Given his contract Inge should cost us zero in talent, great fielder, decent power, and he works hard. I think Tony would agree that for this lineup he would be a better fit then a more talented option.

Ankiel smashed Broxtons first pitch.

I thought the platypus was proof that God liked jokes.

118 I'm just speculatin'.

DodgerThoughts favorite Jenna Fischer turns 34 today.

Nomar is okay, I am guessing he will do an MRI or x-ray if something flares up.

all joking aside what are the odds that both of them will be out longer than 3 weeks? i would guess not much, if nomar did break a bone in his hand he would probably be ready in 3-4 weeks.

Morgan Ensberg should have been our NRI.

125 I hate LOL at gallows humor, but you are making me.

76 I'm flying down tomorrow night and will also be at Sunday's game. I'm going to Kennedy Space center too, but will unfortunately miss the Monday shuttle launch. Sounds exciting for the kids though.
I look like an accountant. I don't really have any distinguishing characteristics, except for maybe this big green tattoo of a snake on my face. If I see you I'll say hi.
-james

126 Who's on third?

JtD batting cleanup today for the Ray's and playing LF. I think it is supposed to be an ego booster.

A Chavez

Do I want to know the score?

i dont think laroche's injury is that serious. Chavez is playing 3rd now.

129 - Jenna Fischer and Jeff Kent with the same birthday. They're like peas in a pod.

123 - no.

I was wondering why Kent was wearing that yogurt lid around his neck.

Monster homer for Ethier!

"Andre Ethier has left the building in a BIG way! A home run that traveled WELL over 400 feet!"
- Steiner

Man. This RF battle is heating up!

Jeff Kent is the Roy to Jenna Fischers Pam.

139 More like peas and carrots.

I worked with someone who once won a chance to be an extra on a "Cheers" episode. He said the hard part is that you cannot react to whatever the characters are doing or saying unless you are a part of that scene.

Mostly you are having fake conversations consisting of saying things like "peas and carrots" to each other.

145 Not even, I cannot see Pam ever being engaged to Jeff Kent.

Diamond Leung on Clayton Kershaw:

>> His fastball is blazing <<

Reminds me of someone else who's name comes up here often. :-)

Jeff Kent is neither peas nor carrots, he's chili with beans. Something good, something bad, gives you indigestion.

146 I think I heard that called "nattering and grommishing".

Extra 1: Natter, natter, natter.
Extra 2: Grommish, grommish, grommish.

Something like that.

grrr mlb.com isn't giving updates, anyone get any hits after dre-dre's bomb.

So any updates on LaRoche and Nomar? For those of us who can't listen to the game...

150 Meant to write: "I think I have heard of that ..."

152 From Josh Rawitch's blog comments:

Nomar injury update: Right hand, taken to the hospital for x-rays, not expected to be serious.

LaRoche injury update: Right hand swollen, not the left wrist, taken to the hospital, x-rays, not expected to be serious, details at a later time.

Posted by: alex41592@aol.com | March 7, 2008 12:04 PM

154 Thanks! alex must be hanging out with the Dodgers' medical staff. ;-) Okay, less worried now.

I'm glad that Abreu is playing today. If he can stay healthy that gives them another in-house, temp option.

155 - or listening to the game.

This is getting comical

144 Sadly, that's the line of the spring.

Andruw goes way deep.

Andruw!

151

Inside the Dodgers is getting play by play updates

Boy the "live" box score on MLB.com is more like "suspended animation". It's so 3 innings ago.

Man, I swear I typed and sent that like 5 mins ago. I guess MLB.com isn't the only one stuck in neutral.

Go Andruw! More home runs, less fried food.

Delwyn Young with what sounds like the defensive play of the spring so far, according to Steiner.

Delwyn with another highlight play. Does he really have good range (not relative to Kent, but to to avg. 2B)?

Or is he doing what Karros used to accuse J.T. Snow of: skipping a beat then diving to make ESPN.

alex from ItD said the x-rays were precautionary for LaRoche and he should be fine. Phew!

161 are you talking about tony jackson's blog? if so i'm on the site and can't find it.

167 insidethedodgers.mlblogs.com

167 I think he's referring to the Dodgers.com "Inside The Dodgers" blog.

Tony Jackson's blog is approaching must read status.

So Ethier's doing it all today, and Repko shows off a strong arm, and yet I can't bring myself to read Tony Jax blog.

Tony Jackson hasn't said anything about what's happened in the game. Aside from that comment about agitating us while not responding to comments about Pierre, he seems far more reasonable than Placshke. If only he were more open-minded about the whole Pierre debate.

Quote of the day from Inside the Dodgers:

"El Lay Dave is the poster child for what is wrong with blogs."

Inning ends on a Hu-to-Young-to-Lucille DP. What are the odds that ever happens in an actual game?

that DP combo in that order 300-1
to end an inning 500-1

El Lay Dave is the epitome of what's wrong with society overall. I say that we publicly stone him.

173 What inspired that?

mlb.com has kuo playing SS, anything to get him on the roster i guess.

MLB.com's scoreboard boxscore has Kuo playing shortstop for the Dodgers. Too bad ESPN isn't televising this one. :-)

Heck, I thought I smelled torches.

WOW! Beaten by cargill06. :-)

177-I think he called Billingsley a "horse." We won't tolerate that, of course. Around here, it's mythological creatures or bust.

hampton left todays start with a strained groin, makes me wonder how weird it is that some guys are just built so fragile.

182 Or both. http://tinyurl.com/35c3ck (SFW)

He really does fight crime in his off hours!

"Byrnesie, is it true that while you were in college at UCLA that you had an intruder and dropped him with one punch, knocking him out COLD???
By LARRY BARKER From COLUMBIA, TN

"Yes! That story has been told and re-told, but the best part about it was the fact that it made the LA Times the day after...I had a great game that same afternoon against SC....I woke up with a thief/ intruder standing over my desk who was rummaging through my things...I decided to take matters in my own hands, leaped and knocked him with a flying right hand (I got him good!)...The LAPD was called and they had their way with him too, since there had been a series of vandalisms and sexual assaults in the area during the preceding weeks and the intruder apparently had a rap sheet....The bad guy lost that morning and then that afternoon, we beat our rival, USC, and although I'm still not quite sure how the story surfaced, the headline read: Byrnes KO's intruder and then SC! Pretty crazy, especially because college baseball doesn't get much press in the LA Times..."

http://www.byrnesie.com/ssp/qa/

184 sfw= safe for work?

"I... leaped and knocked him with a flying right hand (I got him good!)"

Somehow I'm guessing it was more of a dive than a leap.

186 Yes.

Who just said this?

"A lot of this on-base percentage is taking away the aggressiveness of some young kids," he said, according to the [newspaper]. "Most of the time you've got to put handcuffs on a young guy to keep him from swinging. [The young players are] playing good, real good. I'd like to see them more aggressive."

"I really, really hate the called third strike. I hate that. You're guessing and you ain't ready to hit."

"He doesn't have to tell me," [player] said, according to the report. "I know I [need to be aggressive]. It's hard for me to swing at that first pitch. But that may be the best one I get."

Dusty Baker?

Someone not affiliated with the Dodgers please?

187 Thus his throwing style was discovered.

player- andy laroche
quote- larry bowa?

190 If you answered that without checking, congratulations. Or you just really know Dusty.

189-I'm terrified that it's Larry Bowa. Just what we need...

NedCo?

190 Answer is Dusty, paper is the Cin. Enquirer and the player (take a deep breath)is Adam Dunn.

194-Whew.

How did that guy manage Barry Bonds for years and not, you know, put two and two together?

Yep! Dusty Baker! I love what he said about Corey Patterson too.

Dusty Baker is the best manager ever.

This might be the best thing for my career. Moving to Left Field, I don't have as much ground to cover. My arm is definitely much better in Left Field... You have to sacrifice for the betterment of the team.

Who said this quote yesterday?

200 If you want hear Dusty out on this subject.

http://tinyurl.com/yovn8x

Memo to Dusty: Jay Bruce is clearly not ready. What you guys need is a speedy, hard-working centerfielder. Needs new home. Doesn't require much care or feeding. Like new. Can be had at cost or below. Inquire within.

Is the guy over at Jackson's blog called Karl Hungus among us?

Speaking of which, whoever among you posted this in the comments on Tony Jax blog (I finally had to look), kudos to you. Cracked me up.

>>Tony, any news on how the 0-4, 3 LoB showing will affect Pierre's approach? Is he going to arrive two hours earlier tomorrow to get in some extra baseline ball-rolling?

Anyone catch the name of that rightfielder of ours who singled and homered? That kid's got some real potential.<<

204 hits for a high avg., and get's lot of hits. also, very aggresive at the plate.

206 Tony probably realizes that he has opened himself to this daily (and to me, somewhat annoying) dialogue of Pierre talk.

204 Plus he has looked at strike three only 58 times in 7 1/2 seasons as a full-time major league hitter.

208 Yeah. It will get old very fast.

"The main thing is he's still young," Baker said "What's Corey? 28 years old? To me he hasn't scratched the surface as to what he can do. He plays a great centerfield. He's one of the fastest runners in the league."

208- You can't tell the only portion of your readership that's bothering to comment on your blog to screw off, then put up a post taunting them the next day, without getting some of it back. No victims, here, just volunteers.

202 So, is that a trick question or blatantly obvious?

208 But his page hits are up! And there are more comments! Thus, it must be a good thing, right?

I think Jon should do a post about how puppies and kittens should be eradicated, just to get "ratings" up.

202 - Junior Griffey?

So, I was at Langer's for lunch today and William Bratton was there. I resisted the urge to yell "Freeze!"

205 That guy stole my gmail name!

I fear I've said too much...

217 Since I e-mailed out the tickets to last year's DT day, I take the 5th on all identity quesitons.

Not that this will make Jon feel any better.

Pac-10 head of officials told Andy Katz today that while there was body contacton the play involving Collison at the end of the game, it is not the kind of foul I like to see called at that point of the game. But it is a judgement call.

Again, is a foul a foul or should officials take other factors into consideration?

214 I call counting stats! I found the glee in 20-something comments pretty funny. DT has long stretches where the average must by 20 comments/hour (480/day).

202 and others

It was... Juan Pierre? nope! Johnny Damon.

I heard this on ESPN radio yesterday and recorded it for accuracy. Initially I thought it was Pierre but then he brought up Melky Cabrera.

216 But did he have the pastrami?

This is no real surprise, but a new update from Diamond Leung:
Schmidt to the DL
>>Joe Torre has finally conceded that Jason Schmidt will open the season on the disabled list. "I don't think it's any secret Schmidt not going to be ready for opening day," he said, adding that the right-hander would need to go on a rehabilitation assignment. Schmidt made 70 throws yesterday but it was off flat ground and he hasn't returned to the mound since this latest bit of fatigue. Esteban Loaiza should be considered the favorite to take the fifth spot. Hong-Chih Kuo will pitch tomorrow, and Jason Johnson and Chan Ho Park have performed well. The wild card could be Clayton Kershaw, who will get a start. Torre said in the past only an injury would necessitate Kershaw getting the call-up, but that was before Kershaw impressed in his debut in a big league uniform.<<

A foul is a foul is a foul. Don't change the rules just for the last few seconds of the game.

That said, this was not the sort of foul that would have been called at any point in the game.

I'm actually pretty amazed that he's never broken the non-game-chat True Blue LA record. He must get several times more hits than I do.

I tweaked my back this week. I have taken it for granted all my life, and now I am wishing I had treated it with respect and honor.

216 I really need to take the Redline down there.

214 But not dogs and cats? This poses an interesting problem.

227 Well, it sets the scene for an animated version of "Children of Men."

223 I'm a UCLA guy and I was stunned that that call was made. It really was a no-call play, pretty much like the immediately preceding Stanford bucket was a no-call (Love flopping on incidental contact). Could have been an "and one" situation for the Cardinal there.

228 Hah hah, that's actually exactly what I thought of after I wrote that.

I think I'll get right on that screenplay.

"Puppies of Dogs"

That Rogue Wave song "Lake Michigan" is pretty good Nate.

226
Go to Langer's between the Thursday sessions at the Pac-10 tournament. They clear everybody out after the second game. Or make you go sit in a restaurant. Hike back up to the 7th/Fig stop and then hop on the read line to Westlake.

If you buy a day pass for Metro ($5) you can get off and on as much as you want.

They clear everybody out of Langer's between Pac 10 games? That doesn't seem right.

229 - This is why there's no point in debating this stuff.

http://sportsreport.freedomblogging.com/2008/03/07/poll-did-ucla-get-lucky/

Questionable calls are just part of the game.

Oh man, Daylight Savings Time begins this weekend? Feh.

My 9:40am Sunday morning game's gonna be painful. Better remind my team or no one will be there.

I'm feeling sleepy already.

I got an e-mail from Kaiser with the appointment time for my physical. It starts out with "We will be measuring your height..."

It's just like the NFL Combine!

Hopefully Bob can beat Dan Marino's score of 14 on the Wonderlic test.

Sportscenter is going to debate which team has a better chance of winning the title, UCLA or the Lakers.

225 Back pain is the worst, based off personal experience. Steady exercise and working the lower abs is what helped me get through it.

The pain can be almost unbearable at times, but not as bad as watching our new "LF" throw a 3 hop throw to the plate on a runner tagging up from 3rd.

238 The Lakers because all it takes is one game to eliminate UCLA.

So Greg Miller's slated to pitch again tomorrow, FYI.

235 what game?

239

Any recommended exercises? It is the lower right back. I am just planning on very little "activity" for the next couple of weeks. I don't want this to become chronic.

242 Soccer. Unfortunately. If it were softball I could probably take a catnap in the outfield.

238
John Hollinger doesn't have championship odds for the NCAA, but the Lakers have the highest probability to win it all at 21.5% (narrowly edging out Boston's 21.3%) according to him.

243
Get an exercise ball. Best exercise tool for strengthening your back and abs.

234
Jon is doing his best to be honest, forthright, and magnanimous.

We should all take a lesson from him.

Or we could just gloat instead!

245

If that comes to fruition, Eric, that means we might see a Lakers/Celtics finals. Wow, I quite honestly thought I wouldn't see that for at least another 25 years.

243 Lie flat on your back and pull your knees to your chest and hold it for 10 seconds. Do that five times. If you are not in too much pain, do stomach crunches too.

245. Ken Pomeroy will have something up on Basketball Prospectus once the brackets are announced.

244 of is the most fun position in softball, a lot of action on virtually every pitch.

Maybe I saw a different replay than everyone else, but Darren Collison was clearly fouled by Lawrence Hill just as Collison was going up. Hill's left hand hit Collison's right elbow before the body contact and before the block. The replay from the center court camera shows this.

Last year Pomeroy had UCLA with a 16.6% chance of reaching the Final Four and a 3.18% chance of winning it all.

248
The Lakers' complete resurgence this season has been a welcome surprise. Hard to believe it's been 21 years since the baby sky hook!

246

Already got one

249

On it

thanks

Deadspin now is featuring the "foul" on Collison.

http://ballhype.com/video/lawrence_hill_non_foul/

I found a video of the play. It's hard to see that his hand hit the elbow with this video quality, but you can tell that contact occurred because Hill's hand slows down after it hits Collison's elbow.

Take that dead horse. A beating.

251

That is why I keep asking to play outfield. That and so many of our outfielders don't back each other up, hit the cut off, or make good reads. But no one else is willing to play third, so their I stand.

Nomar's x-rays = negative

234 "There's no point in debating this stuff. Questionable calls are just part of the game."

Just wondering, is that now your official stance on The Play™?

258 playing LF/ LC the last couple years has destroyed my arm, that's the only downside. i don't play it anymore to save my arm for sunday night flag football.

A few more tight hamstrings bothering some veterans toward the end of March could put Repko in Center, LaRoche/Young at Third, Abreu/Young at Second, Hu at Short, and Ethier in Left. While that might not be amusing, having Jones, Furcal, Pierre, Schmidt and Nomar nursing injuries on the bench to start the season would be amusing in a cruel way for Ned.

259 The chance of us wasting prospects and money on Inge just went down significantly. Hope we get good news on LaRoche.

261

High school pitching destroyed my arm. Now I need to throw all year round to keep my shoulder from going out in the middle of a season.

243 I found a lot of yoga poses seem to work really well. The one i found that helped the most was lie flat on your back, with your knees bent. Then using your lower abs, (and i stress using the abs!) lift your pelvis up slowly. You will feel it (working abs) if you do 10 reps, 2-3 sets.

Stretching and anything else that can get your blood flowing seemed to help too.

I wish i was a yoga expert, i could explain it more clearly. I am sure any Yoga site will have many exercises. Good luck!

Bob or Eric - anyway to find out the % of North American born black ballplayers by %, split between position players and pitchers today, as compared to 1976?

243 , 265 - With the work effort of Juan Pierre, you should be better in no time.

I like Inge's game, just not in a Dodger uniform.

266
Probably the wrong Eric, but here I found 1975 vs. 2005:

http://www.jbhe.com/vital/49_index.html

260 - I think that deserves a category of its own.

I'm checking in and praying LaRoche has nothing serious( though for some reason I'm less than optimistic. 243 Kevin, I have had several rehabs forminor back problems that threatened to go chronic in my 30's. All involved strengthening abs, with many kinds of crunches (often lying on the back and raising head and or knees). The one firm rule that I learned from actual experience, is don't do anything resembling a sit-up( or anything) with straight legs!

252 That's what I've been saying all along too; people are focusing way too much on how much ball he got when you really need to take in the whole picture (body and off-hand)

In Dylan Hernandez's new piece on today's game, the quote from LaRoche befuddled me, though obviously I'm missing something.

>>"Carpool," LaRoche said as he scurried out of the Dodgers' clubhouse.<<

266 Nobody's ever kept official numbers on that sort of thing, but the person most likely to have some stats is Dr. Richard Lapchick at the University of Central Florida. You can find his e-mail on this page.

http://tinyurl.com/2xg9df

272 He went in the same vehicle with Nomar?

268
Gracias

Men's Health magazine and online version offer a lot of great exercises. Strengthening your core is key. A strong core will compensate for so many other areas and will is a great injury preventer. Good idea to get the back healthy first before doing any serious workouts though.

OT-Trainwreck: I just heard some guy on the radio say that Larry Drew, Jr. is not only the best point guard in L.A., he is the best guard in California. And he was given the choices of Jrue Holliday, Jermine Anderson and Malcolm Lee.

More Carolina love.

272
LaRoche excused himself because he rode in with someone else and needed to leave.

BTW, the silence on his x-ray results is scary.

Wasn't Larry Drew, Sr. the guy guarding Magic Johnson when he famously passed behind him and over his head to A.C. Green for a dunk? It's a clip constantly shown in 1980s Laker highlights.

Anyone else picture LaRoche and Nomar in hospital wheelchairs racing through the halls like in the movie Days of Thunder?

In all seriousness, I'm getting this sinking feeling that LaRoche is going to get labeled as "injury prone" like JD Drew did when the big injury wasn't his fault.

278 Kinda what I was picturing. I wonder if Jerry O'Connell was one of his co-passengers.

New post up top.

260 - I'm a Bruin fan myself, and I thought they caught a break based on the replays I saw. If there was contact with the body, it was minimal but I've seen the Bruins on the short end of other games in past years of some questionable calls. The good point is they fought back from 11 points down with 6 minutes to go and put themselves in a position to get the game into OT.
One thing concerns me come tournament time, Shipp and Collison and others are going to have to knock down some perimeter shots or the zone is even going to get packed in deeper inside the paint making it tougher to penetrate for layups, ect.. They don't have to be three pointers but they have failed to even knock down open looks from 15-18 feet in the last few games. That is their one weakness I see that could derail their tournament hopes, otherwise their defensive intensity, never give up attitude are enjoyable to watch.

As far as the Dodgers, let's hope we don't start getting the rash of bad luck injuries that we did in '05. Even though we have better depth now, I'd rather not test it too much this early into the season.