always comforting 7 days from the opener having 2 infield locks.

I vote for Koplove, by process of elimination and because nobody else is probably going to vote for him.

Thanks for going to the trouble, Jon. We know you're otherwise occupied these days.

1 Could be worse. The two locks could be Nomar & Ramon. Palindromically putrid.

1 - I had the same reaction.

2 It would be fun if the final roster spot was sort of like "American Idol," or the last spot on the all-star teams. ;-) Fun, if scary.

Anyway, yeah, not a great way to kick off the season, but at least it's likely Nomar and Kent will be back soon if not immediately, and LaRoche in the wings when he's healthy. And at least we do have Abre-Hu.

5 More fun if the roster cuts and starting lineup were more like "Survivor". Think the team would vote off Pierre before Ethier?

Repko still hurting Dodgers and still getting hurt.

From Dodgers.Com

Reliever Joe Beimel reported no further problems after taking a Jason Repko line drive off his glove hand in a Saturday simulated game.

Repko did not make the trip to Tucson and because of sore quads has not played since last Monday.

i'm reading wed will be bills vs lincecum. i'm guessing monday penny vs cain tuesday lowe vs. zito?

regarding next years wbc

The second- and final-round venues will be announced in April and will be on both the East and West coasts of the United States. Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles is the leading candidate to host the semifinals and final.

Did Myers get released?

The 18 "locks" include only 9 pitchers. The 6 "most likely to succeed" includes only 5 players one of which is a pitcher. That gives us 23 players and only 10 pitchers. The "competing for 1 spot becomes "competing for 2" and 1 must be a pitcher because there is no way the 25 man roster has only 10 pitchers. I'm guessing you just left a pitcher out of the 6 but I cant figure out who since Seanez and Brazoban are in your "competing for 1 spot."

25 man roster speculation. It's almost time for real baseball.

9 If Dodger Stadium does host WBC action in March, I wonder what kind of effect that will have on construction, which I guess should be the Lodge level. Considering the Dodgers will be playing home games until the end of October, if there are games in March, which is only 4 months to do some major work.

Philippe's should operate a stand inside the stadium. That's an LA landmark eatery that many people associate with the Dodgers already.

The elitism bothers me a little, though. Those restaurants (Canter's, Camacho's, etc.) are going to be on the field level, only accessible to the folks who can afford the priciest tickets. They should be on the reserved level, at the very least.

Cargill, I think you bought the season 6 pack in the RF/All you can eat pavillion, this little note at the end of the article Jon linked to above should interest you.

"Tickets in the all-you-can-eat section sold for $35 compared to just $5 in 2006 when fans purchased food a la carte (discounted tickets are available for groups). After deducting food costs, the team reported revenues of $17.60 per individual."

So try to eat at least more than $18 dollars worth of food each time. (I think day games are easier because you drink so much more).

11 - You're right. Let me revisit that.

Rich Lederer gives a historical distillation of the Coliseum as a baseball venue at Baseball Analysts:

http://baseballanalysts.com/

12 i like it, the old man wanted to take me to cabo oct 9th to 16th, i made him re-schedule to the end of oct for tha very reason.

13 I think once each level gets expanded, they will add more food choices. Next year will be the Loge and then in 2010, the reserved level.

11/15 - No, actually, I'm not wrong. Because you forgot that that "competing" category also includes "hanging loose in case of more injuries." Basically, Saito is the 10th pitcher, all the pitchers are competing for an 11th pitcher spot, and the rest are hanging loose in case of injury.

11/15/19 - Well, okay, I was a little wrong. I think it works now.

13 That's because field level received a major rebuilding/upgrade this off-season. Next year will be reserved level. I think it's 3 years to go for the whole stadium to be done. Food concessions were specifically mentioned as a main focus of the upgrade, and depend on a complete rebuilding of the infrastructure, specifically facilities for food storage. I think they're digging into the earth wall backing that part of the stdium to make a lot more room.

OT: Marty, my dad said he remembers Joel Werk, and he said he played baseball with Jeff Werk. He said if you brought up the name Lockridge, he would know. Pretty funny. My dad and my uncle were doing some major reminiscing yesterday, it was pretty cool. I guess my uncles Arcadia team lost the championship in a close game to Pat Haden and Bishop Amat. I guess my uncle locked up John McKay the whole game, and on a close play in the endzone the refs said my uncle pushed him out and gave them the TD and that was all she wrote. He also rushed for 120 something yards. They got scholarships to SC, my uncle CPSLO. The CPSLO coach eventually went to Weber St., and then Wake Forest, and wanted to bring my uncle with him. My uncles Wake forest team got beat by Oklahoma 77-7. And it was my uncle who scored those points via blocked punt. They also said Barry Switzer, on his Thursday night show, said Oklahoma obviously outclassed Wake Forest, but he singled out my uncle Thomas Lockridge, as one of the best special teams players in the country. I guess he had like 7 punt returns TD's as well. It was pretty cool hearing all those stories.

The fancier restaurants are always with the more expensive tickets. That's part of the incentive to get people to buy expensive tickets.

Dodger Stadium is unique among parks in that there is no common area for all fans to walk through. To do so would require a small mountain to be excavated.

This would likely then make the stadium structurally unsound. But at least we could all eat pastrami sandwiches.

18 21 Sorry, right: loge next year, reserved the following year.

19 , 20 thin reminds me of an episode of happy days.

If Nomar starts the season on the 15 day DL does the 15 days start running on opening day or can it be backdated to the 1st ST game he missed?

22 Needs some serious editing, so be forewarned.

8 i'm guessing since zito threw on friday he's slated to start the opener. nice to win the season opener this year start 1-0 and collecting at least 13 hits. maybe honeycutt should throw BP that day so we can get adjusted to zito's 84 MPH heater.

If you really want a Pastrami sandwich, all you really have to do is ask nicely. I have sat Top Deck before and was able to go to the Reserved level to get a Wetzel's Pretzel. Also, I have sat Reserved level before and gone down to the Field Level to get a custom bat made. Of course, it also depends on who is guarding the staircase that day, but usually being honest and polite gets you where you need to go.

I'm sure it may be a bit harder during sell out with the big crowds.

22
Arcadia lost to Bishop Amat in a first round playoff of the CIF Southern Section AAAA playoff game 35-20. Haden and McKay hooked up for three TDs in the game.

Amat won the AAAA championship 18-17 over Lakewood, winning on a California tiebreaker. The ball was put on the 50 and each team ran four alternating plays. The game ended with the ball on Lakewood's 46.

Park, Koplove, and Falkenborg seem to have a real uphill battle considering that Brazoban, Troncoso, and Seanez are currently on the 40-man. It's possible that Seanez would be released if he doesn't make the roster though.

31 they left yhency back in flordia, i don't think he's making the team.

30 LOL. Ah, I think I may have misunderstood the championship part. Nothing like remembering the good, and forgetting the bad, I guess. My Dad was way off, I don't see any controversy in that score. Do you know where I can find the NCAA record book? I have had no luck thus far.

I have equal parts excitement and dread for Saturday's Coliseum game. It'll definitely be a "once in a lifetime" sort of event, I'm just worried that finding parking will take a lifetime. Plus, the dimensions necessitated by changes to the stadium since 1961 should make it something other than a real baseball game. I assume everyone saw the picture over SOSG.

31 If Seanez doesn't make the club, they'll just release him, Brazoban is going to be optioned unless he goes on some miracle diet and loses 25 lbs by next week, and Troncoso was just added to the 40-man so he will get optioned to. Since Park has a split contract, maybe he'll just go down to LV to continue to start since the Dodgers probably want to wait on Kershaw until June/July so Park, Stults or Hull would be the most likely pitchers to come up if needed.

DL dates can be backdated to the last day the player appeared in an exhibition game. The Tigers did that with Curtis Granderson.

32 - So then Braz to the DL and Troncoso makes the roster. Then you decide to either keep Seanez, or release him and add one of Park, Koplove or Falkenborg as the 12th pitcher.

30 Nevermind, I found it. I had to simplify the search.

21

It's nice to see all these improvements to the concourses (and yes, they surely need them). I just hope that McCourt won't go through all this trouble and then just build a new Dodger Stadium Downtown in 2012. If it would come to that, why waste time with the rennovations?

There is one big reason why I'd be in favor of a downtown Dodger Stadium: access. It'd be loads easier to get into and out of. But in the end, if the improvements continue as they are, the best new ballpark is the same ol' one I've been going to :)

34 The last time I thought about parking at the Coliseum so seriously was the 1984 Olympics.

I ended up taking a bus from Century City and then seeing empty parking lots as I got closer and closer to the Coliseum.

I may end up parking my car there that morning, take the bus home and then finding my way back there later on.

30
Back in those days before I learned the evil ways of USC I was a huge fan of the Haden/McKay combo.

Park has to be a lock for the long reliever/mop up guy role.

I know he's not on the 40-man, but they'll just release Seanez like 31- mentions or they can 60-man DL Schmidt.

I just cant see the entire bullpen being filled with 1 inning guys.

37 No, they'll option Brazoban (I don't think you can DL someone just to lose weight)

So I'm going to the games on the 13th and 15th of April and I'm trying to figure out who will be pitching those days. How do you think they'll handle the rotation with off days on the 3rd and 10th? Is the 9th the first time we'll see the 5th starter? If thats the case I'm thinking it'll be #3 and #5 for my games, so Bills and Loaiza/whoever. Does that sound right?

To the best of my knowledge, there's no actual rule that states fans can't go down levels at the Stadium. If you explain to the stair-czars that you're just getting a sandwich and not trying to sit in someone's baseline box, you should be able to do it.

43 - Does he still have options? If so, then yes that would be the way to go.

40 Can anyone think of a good reason NOT to take buses from Santa Monica to the Coliseum? That's my plan unless I get advised to reconsider.

Anyone thinking about taking the shuttle from the Stadium to the Coliseum?

"The Dodgers will be offering complimentary shuttle bus service from Dodger Stadium to the LA Memorial Coliseum on March 29, 2008. Shuttles will begin running at 11:00am and continues until two hours after the game concludes. Enter Dodger Stadium through the Sunset/Elysian Park Gate, park your car for free, get on the shuttle and enjoy the hassle free ride! After the game, shuttles will be waiting to take you back to Dodger Stadium. It's as simple as that."

I like Troncoso's power arm and so does Torre. He might sneak onto the roster and could eventually set-up Broxton.

39
Judging from all the trouble it took to build Dodger Stadium back from 1959-1962, I would think that trying to move the team out of that stadium and into a new location Downtown would be akin to moving heaven and earth. That is if you had to have about 30 EIRs drafted to move heaven and earth and then hold five different elections to vote on the matter.

And then go to court six times.

41 I liked them too but that was when I was (like Marques Johnson said he was too before he went to UCLA) a USC football/UCLA basketball fan.

51 - I was like that when I was a kid too. I liked the Rodney Peete/Todd Marinovich/Rob Johnson era Trojan football teams, but was a bigger fan of Bruin basketball (starting with Shon Tarver).

It wasn't until I went to a UC school (SB) and UCLA got Cade McNown that I switched to the Bruins fulltime.

28 8 i'm guessing since zito threw on friday he's slated to start the opener.

Correct. The Giants announced at the very beginning of spring training that Zito would start the first game and Cain the second game.

Anyone here ever seen Troncoso pitch?

I don't know what to make of him on paper. He's 25 and the 52 IP he collected at AA after his promotion is the sum total of his experience above A+ ball, so he's been a bit old for every league he's been in. He doesn't have eye-popping K numbers (215 1/3 IP, 179 K, 7.48 K/9 milb career), 67 BB is reasonable and he seems to keep the ball in the park with only 7 HR allowed. With all his options available, he would seem a bit unlikely for the pen on Opening Day, but stranger things have happened.

54-He pitched in Saturday's (televised) game and looked pretty sharp, I thought. I'm rooting for him.

54
I agree, can't see Troncoso making the roster unless injuries start to decimate the staff. His High A numbers were eye popping but he was very old for the league. I think we need to see a lot more success at AA before he's a real consideration. I'd bet that Troncoso is being showcased more then he is a bet to make the team.

13 That's a "right on brother" from me on all the points you made. Damn, a Philippe's double dip with mustard horseradish is going to be in my near future.

53 whenever you get depressed about schmidt, at least we didn't bite on zito.

As far as parking for this saturday's Coliseum game, I'm just going to go real early and hope for the best. My father and I will just make it an all day excursion. I thought about the Dodger Stadium shuttle, it would be nice for getting to the Coliseum but I don't trust the Dodgers that they would have enough shuttles to get everyone back to the Stadium before midnight. People taking the shuttle to the stadium will be staggered at different times, but coming back will be a different story. I don't trust that they will have enough shuttles. And since I don't live in the area and am unfamiliar with the city bus system, I don't want anything to do with it. Especially late at night that close to south central.
vr, Xei

Tiger Woods will not win every golf tournament he plays in.

The trend in baseball is for teams to use 7,8,9 starters over the course of the year. We will for sure see some games started by Park, and probably some by Kuo. Kershaw is a given, the only question is when. Who is the official 5th starter on opening day is pretty irrelevant. Especially seeing as how the schedule is light on need for this person for the first few weeks. Torre may or may not be willing to use them as long man when the need arises. If not, this lucky 5th starter just sits there 9 days out of 10 in April.

53 Jon also stated Zito for the opener as fact in his THT article, pointing out that Ethier/Pierre/Zito are all lefties.

So how about Young for Opening Day LF for an all RH OF against Zito? After all, he's demonstrated that he knows how to tattoo a Zito mistake.

61. If Guo makes a meaningful start, then Bob will have to eat his words! :)
vr, Xei

61
Can I put soy sauce on my words? They may go down easier that way.

64. You can use wasabi.
vr, Xei

64 Bob, now is not the time to give in! Now is the time to deny you ever said such a thing! Now is also the time to go into the toaster archives and delete or change any relevant posts!

If there is a lesson from our modern times, it is this: Deny! Deny! Deny!

65
I can deal with that.

54 I sat near the scouts behind home plate when he pitched Sat., they perked up but I didn't see/hear anything significant. Honestly, it took me a batter to figure out who it was...and I was distracted by another type of talent.

When Kershaw pitches tonight in Surprise, he will have my full attention. You folks in L.A. still have an hour or so to hit the road if you want to see the 6pm game in person.

22 Great to hear MC. Yeah, Jeff is Joel's little brother. They were a very sports-centric family. Their little sister was also a Rose princess.

62 Great idea, re Young. But it ain't gonna happen. :-) Although he's never faced Zito it appears, Ethier also isn't that bad against lefties in general. There's a drop off but it's not too bad.

54 Troncoso hits 95 and has an excellent cutter. This can be very seductive to a coaching staff.

62 Don't do that. The best way to beat Zito is to fill your lineup with as may left-handed hitters as possible. He has a much more difficult time getting LHBs out (career .729 OPS against) than RHBs (career .669 OPS against).

69 Pretty funny. Sounds like Arcadia was a pretty cool place to grow up in those days. I wish I was around to go to one of those Van Halen block partys.

72 Right now it sounds like the best way to beat Zito is to fill out your line up with 8 batters and a pitcher.

72 Interesting. At a quick glance, it seems like the last three seasons have been reversing that trend for Zito; of course, sample size becomes an issue.

2005 - 2007 OPS against:
RHB: .675, .757, .726
LHB: .631, .769, .724

Sometimes I wonder if some LHP have weird non-conventional numbers against LHB because opposing managers sit all but the best LHB against them.

Zito has been so lousy this spring he will probably shut us out.

And we will win anyway when we torch the Giant bullpen.

76 And I will be blamed for jinxing it. Forget I said anything! Zito's unhittable!

Which pitchers are scheduled for tonight?

I'm predicting an Andruw Jones bomb off Zito.

(Taking pressure off underdog)

70 Ethier started against Zito in that meaningless last game of last season, when Zito went 8 and won handily.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/pvb.cgi?n1=zitoba01&n2=ethiean01

Turns out that Zito is the pitcher Matt Kemp has faced the most in his young career: 6-12 (all singles), plus 3 BB.

God I love baseball-reference.com!

79 Kuroda and the Minotaur, I believe.

82 The mlb.com writeup on yesterday's game agrees. It also notes that, as we had heard, "Before the game, Dodgers management will meet in Phoenix to discuss roster decisions." It's customary to hold off the announcements until after the game, isn't it?

43 No, they'll option Brazoban (I don't think you can DL someone just to lose weight)

If Mike Marshall could be DL'd for general soreness, then I'm sure Yhency can be put on the DL for general obesity. Or at least "Double Bacon Cheeseburgeritis."

Mike Marshall didn't go on the DL with "general soreness." He just asked out of the lineup in San Francisco one day with that description.

BTW, we, as Dodger fans, probably should thank Reggie Willits for dumping a bump immediately after Hu entered the game at 3B. Willits beat it out (he is, after all, a good bunter), but Hu did make the barehand pickup and throw and looked ok doing so - or so I heard. Probably good that it was seen in game action.

LA Times, 9/21/1987 by Sam McManis:

" One example is recently recalled outfielder Ralph Bryant, who is hoping that a strong finish will lead into a good spring training and land him a roster spot next season.

Sunday, Bryant found himself starting in right field because Mike Marshall was out with what the Dodgers called "general soreness." Marshall later explained that, though sore, he really just wanted a day off going into tonight's series at San Francisco.

86 Yes, it was a very, very close call. Hu looked fine, especially on such a challenging play.

87
The "general soreness" game was actually in L.A. against Atlanta.

The older I get the more I can relate to general soreness.

Milton Bradley sat out a game last week due to General Soreness.

What's the ICD-9 code for General Soreness?

81 From your favorite website.

On this day in:
"1982 - Pitcher Fernando Valenzuela ends his holdout and reports to the Dodgers spring training camp in Vero Beach, Florida. In 1981, Valenzuela captured the Cy Young and National League Rookie of the Year awards after winning 19 games with a 2.48 ERA and 199 strikeouts. After winning just $42,500 in his rookie season, Valenzuela had asked for a raise to $1 million in 1982. The Dodgers unilaterally renewed his contract for a reported $350,000 instead."

Over on Joe Posnanski's blog, he suggests an example to illustrate Bill Bryson's call for "old words worth reviving" (the word in question being Bryson's example, the use being Posnanski's suggestion):

'Ugsome: A late medieval word meaning loathsome or disgusting.
We must bring this back. I suggest we begin by saying, "Juan Pierre's swing is ugsome."'

91- What did he ever do to Milton Bradley? I served with him during the Carter administration.

General Soreness is a good man!

I loved him in Dr. Strangelove.

I haven't gone skiing much before this year. After a season on the slopes, I have advanced from "general soreness" to "aggravated soreness in my knees".

97 Promoted to Major General Soreness, eh?

98 Indeed!

97 Promoted to Major General Soreness, eh?

TC: The older I get the more I can relate to general soreness.

Ted/Robin: General Soreness!

Me: Zito's Opening Day start is major trap in the making...

Ted/Robin: Major Trap!

Whatever happened to Private Soreness?

In case 101 made no sense to you:

http://tinyurl.com/3b67b9

101 Happy Slapsgiving!

http://tinyurl.com/3bvugk

How does General Soreness outrank Major Soreness?

102 That was Kaz Matsui.

The Rays just made a shrewd business decision by demoting Evan Longoria to AAA even though he's their best 3rd baseman. He'll be up in June, which gives the team another year of service.

107 So why is it shrewd if the Rays do that but when the Dodgers do the same kind of thing they're stupid? (Not disagreeing with you, just playing devil's advocate here.)

108 Probably because the Rays aren't going to win the division this year anyway. But in a few years, when they're really good, it will look like a genius move.

108 He's better than Willy Aybar. That move means they don't care about winning right now imo. Unless I missed something about Eric Hinske.

108 TB knows Longoria is better and would make their team better now, but are doing the smart thing and saving themselves money because they've got no shot this year. The Dodgers on the otherhand send better players down and think the vet's give them the best chance of winning. AKA stupid holmes.

In today's LA Times, Kevin Baxter writes, "But contracts are not likely to sway Torre's decision in picking a starter in left field where Juan Pierre, in the second year of a five-year, $44 million contract, is battling Andre Ethier, who will earn $424,000 this season....it's becoming more and more likely that Ethier, who is batting .344 and is tied for the lead among National League players with five spring homers, could start over Pierre, who is hitting .188 with a .253 OBP."

Not sure if this was mentioned, but today's game is actually being broadcast on FSN Prime. The broadcast schedule on the Dodgers website shows it's only on mlb.com, but my TV listings say otherwise.

107 Have the Dodgers ever done the same kind of thing? Sending Kemp and Loney down in '07 didn't impact their free agency dates. Obviously it would with Kershaw this year, though.

I could see the Rays winning the wild card. I think Longoria only needs to be down for something like 21 days before they can call him up.

112 We are parsing that bit, and the Torre quote that follows it, on the newly reinvigorated OutWatch today.

http://juanpierreoutwatch.blogspot.com

114 It's one month, not two.

114 Yeah that's more what I was wondering about (Kemp and Loney, rather than players like Aybar). I wasn't necessarily saying they were the same thing, but just wondering aloud. Anyway, yeah I think Longoria won't be down for very long. If he is, then the Rays really are out of it (mentally, and literally).

114 I thought I read somewhere that it was only 14 days. I'll see if I can find the link.

113 my local cable provider says fsn is carrying the game.

NL-only Fantasy Baseball?

Hey folks, 5 Dodger Thoughts readers are starting a (free) fantasy baseball league for fellow Dodger fans. We have two more spots, so if you'd like to join in, please shoot me an e-mail at axc227@case.edu

Someone on a Royals board said Meloan for German would be a "dream come true" and that he's "Papelbon-esque."

He's good but talk about overrating someone!

After more research on the Longoria issue, I found this link which claims the media has been wrong with predicting he can come up in April. According to this, two months is the more likely schedule to avoid early free agency in 2013.

http://tinyurl.com/2tjxef

According to the St. Pete Times, the numbers on Longoria are 12 days to delay free agency and two months to delay arbitration.

http://www.sptimes.com/2008/02/24/Rays/Longoria__Ready_Or_no.shtml

113 Not sure if this was mentioned, but today's game is actually being broadcast on FSN Prime. The broadcast schedule on the Dodgers website shows it's only on mlb.com, but my TV listings say otherwise.

My local cable co's (COX) guide is showing the same thing, Dodgers vs Kansas City at 6:05. I guess we won't be certain until game time.

122 That's a pretty poorly-written blog entry, alas. First the guy claims the media reports are "erroneous." Then he goes on to confirm that the media reports are, in fact, accurate and it's merely their opinions that are erroneous. (The print media are speculating that Longoria will be called up in April once his free agency has been delayed, while the blogger thinks Longoria will be called up around Memorial Day after the possibility of early arbitration has also been averted.)

In all the confusion the blogger manages to imply that the free agency and arbitration cutoff dates are the same, which in fact they are not.

125 And that's exactly why I come here and post my own erroneous tidbits. Someone here usually is able to straighten me out and teach me the real facts! Thanks Eric.

Anyway, discussing this is interesting because it has identical implications for Kershaw. Perhaps we'll see him around Memorial Day, although the Dodgers have less reason to worry over money than the Rays do.

I think it's a little different in Kershaw's case though, because the Dodgers actually might need him more to start the season than they will in late April or May. I think if he was going to make the team before the All-Star break, then he would make it now. We really could use his services now while Schmidt is out and Kuo is still building arm strength. The later in the year, the less we may need him, although I believe he would be a better option than those two later as well as sooner.

127 Billingsley pitched 136, 146, 160 and 147 innings in the last 4 years. Kershaw pitched 122 innings in his first full year of pro ball, I would think they don't want more than 150 innings this year so he will probably start but go no more than 5-6 innings a week so if he has 55-60 innings pitched by beginning of June, then you might see him.

Wow, just noticed on mlb.com that Inge will start in CF while Granderson is out. I think they need Juan.

124 Also, Thursday's game against the Angels at Anaheim was being listed (until today) on mlb and Dodgers schedule as not being broadcast at all, not even on MLB.TV. Now it's down for MLB.TV. But it's also on the other FSN channel - FSN West - the Angels' channel. Still no broadcast of any type for the final ST game against the Red Sox on Sunday, 3rd of a 3-game series. Strange. Maybe that will change too. But the Red Sox schedule shows the same thing.

130 I was kinda hoping for that myself, but I'm afraid anybody interested in Juan will instead pick up Reed Johnson.

Sounds like a flower growing in a cess pool. Sam DC will not taking pictures of anything but the ballpark next week.

http://tinyurl.com/32vdn7

Tony Jackson reports that Saito is sidelined with a tight buttocks.

It seems like there are an inordinate number of butt injuries this spring.

And in case gpellam is reading, that should be "is" and not "are."

134 Better than Kaz Matsui's injury report, I guess.

I don't mean to be a Negative Nancy, BUT I don't like all these injuries to Saito, and I'm beginning to worry if his age is catching up to him.

I think Saito may be pulling a Kent.

138
You're more of a Pessimistic Patty.

I love Saito. But with Broxton and Meloan in the hopper, he's the one key player we can most afford to lose.

I need to buy four fairly decent tickets, $50 each maybe, for the Dodgers/Pirates on April 14 or 15. Nowadays, is there an obviously preferred way to buy tickets -- StubHub, CraigsList, Ebay, Dodger Thoughts Clearinghouse, etc?

Don't know if it was mentioned already, but the Giants outlook has worsened. Kevin Fransden might be out for the year with a ruptured Achilles.

http://tinyurl.com/227lkr

137 Or Felix Pie's.

Aack. Somehow I forgot about the DT Exchange Thread.

142

Surprisingly, Stubhub works very well for normal Dodger Games. In many cases you can get face value or less for a certain seat. The only drawback is the required 15 dollar FedEx charge.

Second is Ebay. If it isn't a "buy it now" listing you might actually get a good deal. Ebay is reputable and not that shady.

Dead last is Craigslist... a lot of ambiguity, although I've found some success with it.

In addition to all of those, you can go over to the Dodger Stadium box office and buy direct.

136 I am glad that I'm remembered even in my silence. Unfortunately I am remembered for my obnoxiousness more than anything else.

I just wrote a syllabus for the first time in my life. Usually I just purloin someone else's and suffer the consequences of my laziness when the end of the quarter comes and I don't know what was required of my students.

143 Wow, I almost feel sorry for them. Almost. Not that Fransden was going to be an all-star this season, but he was definitely going to be valuable to them. Time for them to step up those Inge talks or sign Loretta.

I was on the AirBART shuttle the other day and I overheard a conversation between a brother and sister. The brother was trying to decide between buying Giants season tickets or A's season tickets. I felt like stepping in and saying "if you actually care for either team, you will be much happier if you buy A's tickets." But I thought they'd think me rude for butting into their conversation and a nutter for butting into their conversation about A's and Giants season tickets.

134, 137 I like to think that despite my advancing age I am progressive in liking the lessening of up-tightness about referring to injuries and anatomical parts.
But this week with its reported gluteus, buttocks, and anal fissure surgery is making me think I may be getting a bit more information than I really want.

As an SC alum, I highly recommend parking on the north side of campus streets along Jefferson (i.e. the Shrine is a good option) if possible. It is much easier to access the 10 and 110(north) freeways from this position after the game, as well as find parking initially. Also, I noticed when there are events at the Coliseum that are not SC football games, everyone tries to park right around the Coliseum, which creates a mess, b/c there isn't nearly enough parking for everyone. This makes the north side of campus an even better option, although with 115k people it is going to be tough everywhere. It takes about 15 minutes to walk across campus and Expo Park to the Coliseum from here.

Too bad the new Metro rail line from Downtown to Culver City with a station for Expo Park won't be ready for another 2 years as this would have helped a lot, and actually given the experience of going to a baseball game via metro rail, which isn't going to happen at Dodger Stadium for a long time if ever.

I went to a USC football game a few years ago and parked on 37th. I ended up walking around for an hour because I didn't realize there is both a 37th St. and a 37th Pl. So, you know, make sure you know where you park.

Also, I'm watching the Lakers recap and they just showed an advertisement for the Dodgers game tonight at 6 on FSN Prime Ticket.

138

I too am worried about Saito. I am beginning to wish I had not made him a keeper in my fantasy league. I forget his age sometimes, since he has had such crazy success. Oh well, maybe he has another great year in him, but this could be a trend.

I'm getting dropped off at the Coliseum! I'm still looking for a kind soul to give me and two friends a ride back.

You can find out once and for all if I am really Bill Plaschke.

In a freakishly strange moment of "luck" I received two front row seats for the last game at Holman. Well, they were next to the Dodger dugout, actually directly in line with 3rd base, and I even accidently gave Repko some signs when he was coming in. Ugh, I've been coaching for 3 months and it just happened. It did feel quite stupid, and I am glad Bowa didn't deck me. (Bowa did make the right call case you are wondering;) But, the point of this was that Manny Mota arrived on his bike or trike, before the game. He was saying how this was a sad sad day for him, and how he was going to miss Dodgertown. Well, apparently he had probably been signing balls in his room the night before and he had hidden them in his basket to pass out to those nearby. He seemed like he was trying to surprise people. Russel also passed out a few boxes of balls to the players and they tossed them to various people during the seventh inning. I guess it just struck me that Manny would be thinking about Dodger fans the night before, and that he would put out the effort for fans he doesn't even know. I guess I was also thinking that decades of people like him are really what made Dodgertown something special.

154
But you hate that one outfielder.

156 You discount the idea that Plaschke/Timmermann could be schizophrenic? Do so at your own peril!

157 I think the two-headed beast is not schizophrenic, but rather deceitful and evil. He has one true nature, it is just the nature of a liar.

What a great word "liar". Look how it's spelled. So terribly pleasant.

142 A weekday game against the Pirates shouldn't be a hot ticket item, so I'm thinking you could get some pretty good tickets for below face value on ebay.

Normally I'd say $50 apiece would get you just about any seat in the stadium, but I just checked the Dodgers web site for face value prices and WOW did they jack up the prices this year. Didn't the worst field level seats used to be $25 apiece? They're $50-60 now!

158 Is it a coincidence that with just two transposed letters, liar becomes lair? I think not.

158 What a great word "liar".

A great word from one of my all time movie scenes. :-)

"I've heard that you're a low down Yankee liar."

159 They have not been $25 for a couple of years I believe.

162 Hmmm, I mostly just get my tickets on ebay anyway, but I did get one set of tickets last year in the outer loge and I think I remember them being from $20-25 each, so I'm guessing field were more like $30 last year. Either way, I don't see myself getting any tickets directly from the Dodgers this year since prices on ebay will most likely be much cheaper.

154 Sent you an e-mail.

from Diamond Leung's blog over the the PE:

Juan Pierre was seen in the clubhouse staring into space looking glum. He declined comment when this reporter approached. The lineup was eventually posted and Pierre wasn't in it. During batting practice, Joe Torre stood side-by-side with Pierre in left field, chatting for nearly 15 minutes. "He's fine," Torre said. "He wants to play."

Posted by Diamond Leung at 5:21 PM, March 24

165 Say what you want about his playing ability, but I bet Juan Pierre looking glum is heart-breaking. He probably looks like a little leaguer after he strikes out.

107 108 109 110 It's only shrewd if they don't get caught later in a money logjam. It also doesn't help when you do have the chance to have the best team in team history, are looking for the locals to pony up for a new waterfront stadium, and Evan is a big part of why the expectations in Tampa are soaring.

Remember, the Rays had absolutely wretched pitching after Kazmir and Shields, and in the pen, and Pena didn't start with the club, Iwamura only played in 120 or so games, and Upton too spent his fair share of time on the DL. Those are their 1, 3, and 4 hitters. If that doesn't happen the offense is better over the year, and with Iwamura moving to 2B and Bartlett at SS, their atrocious middle IF defense gets remarkably better. If Percival holds up then their pen is better as Reyes can set up.

They sent Niemann down not only because of the money [like Longoria], but also because they want to protect certain scrubs who shall remain nameless who have no options left. The hope was that with Niemann starting [he won the job based on performance] and Price coming in June/July, that maybe the Yanks kids won't pitch like stars and Andy P. has some injury troubles, and then the Yanks are in trouble, and add a Beckett injury to Schilling and the Sox are in trouble. The Tigers have great hitting, no doubt, but it wasn't Miguel's absence that cost them a playoff berth but their pitching, and that got worse with adding Mr. Willis to the roster. The Rays had a chance, albeit a small one, at making the playoffs as a wild card. No more. Not with Longoria and Niemann both sent down.

The last shrewd move that was made was last year, when the Brewers sent Braun down for the very same reason as the Rays sent Longoria down. How many games did the Brewers finish out of the playoffs? How many more wins might Braun have brought? How much are the playoffs worth, both short and long term? The Rays just made the same mistake. And they don't even have to make the playoffs, as a truly competitive year would boost fan support and team revenue [in that sense, Longoria pays for himself]. True, they will play better when he comes up, but the bubble will have burst before then [as it usually is with their historic poor starts]. Carlos Pena otherwise said it best: Every single one of us wants him here. And with him not being here, the integrity of "sport" is gone and now it's simply dollar-value entertainment.

Something else for the Rays to answer, as a side note, is simply getting rid of Elijah Dukes. D. Young I can see, since it wasn't any off the field woes, but his getting in management's face, but you bag on Dukes, who has tremendous upside and you grab the recovering drug addict and alleged wife-beating Mr. Aybar. That's about insane as insane could ever hope to be, as Aybar has no upside with Longoria looming, and with Baldelli out, well, someone could have used one Elijah Dukes.

Does everyone know about the Dodger Thoughts Ticket Exchange Thread? Is it working out for anyone?

https://dodgerthoughts.baseballtoaster.com/archives/922849.html

I'll publicize it more this week.

151 SC is saying $30 to park in any of their on-campus lots on Saturday.

170 - What's the tipping point on acceptable pricing vs. gouging?

171 I told the friendly customer service rep that I was already out $200 for the tickets to the game. If they rebuilt Ebbets Field for a single game I wouldn't think I'd have spent $300 to go.

Hey, we're getting the Royals feed? That's kind of cool.

From an ItD (Rawitch) commenter:

Dodger Lineup for tonight's game vs. Royals on Prime Ticket:
Furcal, Sweeney (DH), Kemp, Loney, Jones, Martin, Ethier, Hu, DeWitt

Posted by: alex41592@aol.com | March 24, 2008 05:34 PM

With the similar uni's, it's like we're playing...ourselves.

Opposite-field home run by Furcal to lead off the game.

Damn Raffy, opposite f.ield, we might need to drop you in the lineup

Dodgers missed Tomko, who is apparently in a fight for a 5th starter job, by a day, according to mlb.com:

Tomko has an 8.59 ERA and a batting average against of .382. He will start on Tuesday night against the San Diego Padres.

178 - 176 But the results would likely have been similar.

This game allows us to examine the differences between Dodger Blue and Royal Blue. It turns out that Dodger Blue is just the slightest bit darker.

sweet, the telecast has a radar gun.

Eric, whats your favorite Texas beer? Im going to a bar that has 2$ Texas pints tonight.

Shiner Bock!

Actually, I'm partial to Shiner Blonde. But Shiner Bock is much more famous.

Yeah, it seems like they have Shiner Bock everywhere, Ill try the Blonde though. Last time I went, I had a couple Fireman's 4s, which are great, but harder to come by.

182 183 Another vote for Shiner Bock. Good stuff.

http://www.shiner.com/

This is a pretty nice lineup.

DeWoot!

sexy play by Blake ranging to his left.

damn, Jon you wrote a really good one...

Great play, DeWitt hasn't looked like he's that far away all spring.

Did he get a big bonus?

190

He was a late first round pick. So above a mil for his signing bonus.

186 Forgot the lineup, this is probably a better defensive team than we'll put out all season.

Looks like he can "DeWitt" at 3rd [drum beat]

3 batters, 3 ground outs. Kuroda hit 93 on the FSN gun that inning.

Furcal has looked pretty good with the bat so far this spring. If he's back to 2006 form we're in good shape.

$1.2 mil to be exact.

191 I always wonder about at what point these guys spend that money.

On the one hand, they might never make it to the majors, so they gotta save it.

But, to be succesful, they need to have confidence in themselves, so must think they are going to end up getting paid.

Rafael Furcal should be back to his old self now that he's healthy, man he uses a really big bat...

http://tinyurl.com/2colos
Gurnick:
No roster moves today; Kershaw will NOT pitch tonight after all.

Torre said a roster meeting among club officials resulted in no moves. Instead of making cuts in Arizona, the entire squad of 40 (Yhency Brazoban is in extended Spring Training in Florida) will make the trip to Los Angeles for games against the Angels and Red Sox.

But 20-year-old pitcher Clayton Kershaw was scratched because there weren't enough innings to go around. He threw a light bullpen session in Phoenix and might pitch on Tuesday after a scheduled short start by Opening Day starter Brad Penny.

boooo!!!

199 Oh, also the headline thing about Nomar and Kent and the DL. Torre seems to lean toward it for both, but allows that Kent might be ready:

"We'll sit and talk on Thursday and make a decision on both he and Nomar [broken hand]," Torre said, "either the disabled list, or if it's reasonable for them to be ready.

"I'm more optimistic [about Kent], .... With Jeff, it comes down to he could be ready, but is he totally comfortable to do everything? ... With the DL, they would be back six days into the season. It's crazy not to take advantage of that."

Garciaparra still can't swing a bat.

For that last sentence, I don't think Gurnick meant since AS-break 2006.

...but if he pitches Tuesday, how will he also pitch on Saturday at the Coliseum? He must pitch Saturday at the Coliseum!

Have I mentioned that I'm going to the Saturday game?

199 Well, at least that frees up my evening to watch Stanford get beaten in the women's tournament.

Wayne Gretzky is wearing a Royals jacket???? If it had been a Blue Jays jacket, sure...

Also, it's hilarious that they have George Brett on and they're asking him questions about Wayne Gretzky.

Bison stampedes into second.

So if Nomar AND Kent start the season on the DL are we looking at Abreu, Hu, and Martinez making the team? Once Kent comes back will it be Hu or Martinez who gets the boot?

I would prefer having a quality utility guy, but wouldn't it be better to have Hu get more reps in AAA so we can gauge his value better for next year? Maybe some team will cut a decent utility guy and we can be rid of Lucille II for good.

Man, Buck really got under that sinker. You don't usually see that much loft on a ball off a sinkerballer.

Gathright is such a show-off ;)

WOW. Kuroda nearly got taken out.

Gathright literally jumped over Kuroda's head down the line.

I gotta say, Kemp looks WAY better this year in the outfield & at the plate, he really looks like a ball player these days...

Let's see Juan P try that.

Kuroda is leaving a bit too many pitches up in the zone this spring. I hope his command comes along once he gets some more work in.

Either again!

Ethier looks like a left fielder

Aside from Old Man Kent™ I kind of really like our up the middle of: Martin, Furcal, Kent (if for anything his bat) & Jones

Bye Juan! Bye!!!

Andre, you did what you needed to win the job, now save those for the season

And then Hu's on third

Huuuuuuuu!!!!!!

Juan has to be looking really glum now!

The KC announcers have yet to crack a Hu joke. Amazing.

I think Ethier has legit won the job.

Watching Hu run is a joy. As much as Im a fan of Raffy, I hope Hu starts for us next year.

Opposite field power from our left fielder. And now I have The Who singing "Hu are you? Hu, Hu! Hu, Hu!" over and over in my head.

223 They have yet to crack a personality either.

227 - or seem to notice that there is an actual major league baseball game going on in front of them

"Making an out 7 out of 10 times is a good thing"... that means an OBP of .300, right?

And it's statements like that one that make it so much harder for me to defend certain aspects of the old school approach.

Now they are talking about Hochevar....

226 -- I have been thinking of that song as well. It should be played at Dodger Stadium whenever Hu walks up to the plate for an at bat.

Who by the way, I do not despise anymore due to the emergence of the Minotaur.

Without Luke pulling that move, Kershaw would be Detroit property.

This game is throwing me off. The Dodgers and Royals have such similar uniforms.

223 I don't think I've ever heard more boring interview.

I know it was mentioned before but since I just tuned in an inning ago, may I say something I never thought I'd say? This game has too much blue! Eyes hurt! Make it stop!

Watching on the computer I can't tell which team is what from a distance. One of the many differences between baseball and soccer - they couldn't do this in a soccer game.

Get the ball down Hiroki!

[215,216] - What'd he do?

237 - opposite field home run, looked rather effortless too

238 - Nice

235 No. It doesn't happen in baseball either outside
ST. The Dodgers should be wearing away colors, not blue tops.

Jones just looked brutal during that at bat.

Andruw looks bad

Dodgers vs. San Diego

Hu's afraid of the big bad Wolf?

(first comment typed with new baby on lap)

235 That comment just made me think of Chan Ho Park's karate kick.

241, 242 - $18 Million doesn't buy as much as it used to buy.

Boy, if you guys thought UCLA got beneficial calls from the refs, you should see the Stanford women's game. It's blatantly clear who the officials want to win.

243 Why, if you didn't have that baby protecting you, I'd... I'd... ;-)

243
http://tinyurl.com/3vuxo

So earlier today I tried to convince my Tigers fan friend that they definitely need Juan Pierre. But was only willing to trade us Inge, and then he decided he didn't even want to do that! I offered to toss in a reliever like Troncoso since they need one. He was tempted but turned me down. What gives? I quit my position as Dodgers Fantasy GM.

Hu's your daddy?
Hu ya gonna call?

The Royals shortstop looks like Bubbles from The Wire.

246 - Hasn't that game just started?

Another RBI for Dewitt. Mr. Clutch.

245 . Oh great! A lot of money has been poured into CF by the Dodgers recently. Perhaps we have a long summer to look forward to in debating whether JP or Druw should be starting.

Sweeney's had a good game. Is he a lock for the bench?

245 - Jones has looked good, if not great, all spring, he's having a bad night... it tends to happen.

256 - The .400 spring OBP supports your side.

256 . Good to hear. Thanks.

257 - my only complaint, looking at his spring stats, would be his high strikeout rate. But then, I tend to think those matter...

256 Loney has done worse, both tonight and generally.

that thing was up around the letters & still... Who is that kid...

Kind of a mixed bag for Kuroda tonight. He has left way too many pitches belt-high over the middle (like that one Teahen just hit out), but has pounded the strike zone and worked pretty quickly. If he can improve his fastball location he could rack up the innings with a sub-4 ERA, but otherwise I think we're looking at a lot of homers and an ERA closer to 4.50.

And Druw doubled in a run just a few moments ago. er, I should say he singled in a run and then tested Teahen's arm and was thrown out at second. But it was a nice hit down the line.

The only thing that worries me about Druw is that tattoo on his arm. Everytime I see it I momentarily forget it's a tattoo and from a slight distance it looks like he has a severe skin disease.

256 . But Loney coming off a great year. Druw, not. As I recall, a lot of discussion here when he was signed, and then he shows up with a weight that the Dodgers didn't seem to be comfortable with. I was just worrying about whether or not people saw signs that he would bounce back.

With the new influences in the Weisman household, I was not looking forward to posts titled "The Tortoise and the Hare"

Bad sequence from Beimel there.

Looks like Ramon Tron-tron is coming in.

Just looked up Teahen's #'s, there not eye catching but he did hit 18 home runs in 393 at-bats in '06 with an OPS+ of 122.

Troncoso's throwing motion looks really awkward. I thought he was supposed to throw gas?

That lead evaporated rather quickly.

Dodgers, with this lime-up, ought to be doing much better against this team.

Troncoso's not getting himself any closer to that final roster spot tonight.

270 A run per inning for the offense isn't enough for you?

yeah, I know, Beimel kind of just came in, messed things up & left...

270 This way, Ethier can hit the go-ahead 3 run HR and settle the LF question for good!

Or a base-clearing double. I'm not too picky.

Gathright just stole a double from Ethier.

For those not watching,

Ethier drills it to right center, Gathright shadowed to left center, tracks it down and at the last second, dives backwards and makes the catch.

Oh well. I might have to get my Slappy voodoo doll ready. Hopefully I can find a head small enough.

272 Not against this lot. They ought to have at least 10 runs by now. Even with the dubious relievers they should be ahead.

264 - I'm not all that worried about Jones' weight. He's always been a big guy and he still seems pretty nimble. And it's not like he came in with 25 lbs of chub around the gut.

Will his numbers be as good as they were in Atlanta? I doubt it, he's going to have a lot more games in the Ravine and the big parks that populate the NL West, and not the bang boxes of the NL East. But he's going to be a marked improvement over last year, he's a favorite for the Gold Glove (and part of me kind of wants to see Hu play second all year so the Dodgers can go for gold up the middle).

It's not like he's forgotten how to hit a baseball very hard. Plus, I recall something about him having an elbow injury last year.

279 Really? Are teams averaging 10+ runs a game against KC this spring?

Billy Butler is a really good hitter.

That is all.

LOOGY's are killings us today peeps...

Although I am not getting great vibes for the immediate future I keep seeing good things in the beyond. I get the feeling this Hu is going to hit, and with a bit of pop too. If his defense is as good as advertised he will be a huge asset.

Butler is a really good hitter.

overkill wins.

279 De La Rosa's a pretty mediocre starter, but after that we had to face two relievers who posted sub-3 ERA's last year (Soria and Mahay)

Aloha Mr. Meyers.

280

my understanding is that The Ravine® is no longer a pitchers park.

The problem hasn't been the Dodgers' offense today. The problem is the bullpen came in and stank. Myers is not going to be on this team, Troncoso, despite rumors as of late, will be in the minors in a week, and Beimel needs to wake up but will either be a) fine, or b) replaceable. The Royals also have some good hitters.

Wake me when it's next Monday.

Have they announced the next round of cuts yet?

Greg Jones wins the evening's Award for Reliever Who Did Not Stink. Congrats, Greg!

291 I think Mike Myers was just cut 45 seconds ago. ;-)

All I know is that the Royals & Dodgers Uni's are confusing me...

Does his jersey really say Gobble?

289 - Thanks to those luxury boxes, definitely.

295 - If it's Jimmy Gobble, then I suppose it would. Unless they spelled it wrong.

I am reminded of one of Jon's earlier posts.
Will Saito and Beimel will be able to repeat/maintain their performance of the recent past?
The stats that Jon presented said not likely.

289 - I'm looking at numbers right now... I'm surprised to see so much of the NL East down in the rankings. Dodger Stadium is 12 out of 30, Coors and the Bank are in the top 10, Petco is last.

Though, I have to say, I'm not sold on the methodology.

Lakers update:

I give up! How about we just leave the Warriors here and call it even?

This might be the one team the Lakers don't want to face in the first round.

72-64 GSW, 3rd qtr.

Candice Wiggins has the same number of points tonight as UTEP (42).

300 - the Lakers are closing the gap, and they're wearing the throw backs. Plus, I don't think Golden State will be able to hang in a 7 game series with Gasol and Bynum back.

298 You have a point with Beimel, but I think Jon's study avoided the elite closers like K-Rod and Rivera. While Saito doesn't have that long of a track record, I think his level of dominance in his only two years would still put him at that level (when considering ratios and such).

303 - I didn't avoid the elite closers at all. There were a few exceptions to the rule.

301 - Because of the refs? :)

Living in the Bay is insufferable when any of their teams is any good and they play a LA team. Everyone up here is a Warriors fan now.

304 Without the hometown officiating, Stanford would be winning by only 25 instead of 35!

FWN West will carry the LAD/LAA game on Thursday.

FSN. Oops.

Have the Dodger players ever experienced such a spate of posterior pains, prior to the arrival of Trainer Stan Conte?
It seems that we have an unprecedented epedemic on our ... hands.

Ho hum, another 2-for-3 with a homer and two walks for Ethier. Power and patience, but no steals! For shame!

Was looking at Saito's numbers at baseball cube and found:

1) that the cube has his stats split up between Takashi Saito and Takashi Saitoh (the latter being his Yokohama stats + 2006 Dodgers stats)

2) his numbers with the Dodgers are much better than his stats in Japan (understood that he was used as both a starter and reliever over there). As I understand it, this is the exception rather than the rule for pitchers coming over from Japan.

3)he has no stats for 1997 or 2001 (was he hurt?)

Needless to say, I've really enjoyed watching Saito throw down the last two years and hope that the spell he casts over NL hitters is not broken.

Wow, just figured out during the Dewitt at bat that I was getting tonight's game on FSMW here in Indiana!

great AB from Dewitt. Hopefully he can carrying that approach with him when he gets to Jacksonville.

If you're Furcal do you steal second here?

Very good at-bat by Delwyn.

We've got a pretty chunky lineup with Pierre not in it. Not much of a chance for pitchers to relax.

Nice. At least we made the opposing manager remove his pitcher with two outs in the ninth inning of an exhibition game.

It looks like Ethier is tied for the major league lead with 13 BB's in spring.

Dang, looked like Bison had a good swing at it, but it must have been off the end of the bat a little.

No joy in Mudville. At least he hit it hard.

319
Yeah, a little bit more on the good wood and that ball was bye-bye.

I didn't see any of this game til 1 out in the ninth. Just saw the replay of Gathright jumping over our pitcher (Kuroda?). That's a fifteen minutes of fame moment.

I was wondering how come these announcers barely identified the Dodger batters. The Royals' announcing team would drive me insane if I lived in KC. They sound like high school kids pretending to be broadcasters.

I'm not sure I get the gloom and doom about the Lakers I've read here the past few days. They've been sans Gasol and Bynum, and played pretty well without the latter for awhile. Imagine when they get those guys, and Ariza even, back for the playoffs? And even without them they've been doing pretty decently. Sure, it's going to be a dogfight no matter what. The Western Conference is murderer's row. But they figure to have a good shot at it all.

But boy, I do hope to not have to see much of Radmanovic again for awhile.

Looks like the Lakers are going to ___.
vr, Xei

322 You missed the Brett interview. I turned the sound off for awhile.

Alex Rios is getting a 6 year/$65 million extension.

Bargain.

311 - I think he said the grip on the American ball is better for his slider.

323 The Radman is moving his feet as fast as he can.

The announcers were fine. We tend to be too hard on people for not being Vin Scully. These guys were nowhere near as bad as the nincompoops you'll find announcing for most teams.

I would listen to the Royals announcers any day over the dopes that the Padres trot out.

328 Those are feet? I thought they were granite sculptures.

There's baseball on the talkin' picture box?

I'm with Eric and Bob on this one. I felt the KC duo was just fine and I'm wondering what all the complaining is about. When I saw the name I wondered if that was Frenchy's son and so it was.
It was cool to see a game where they concentrated on their team instead of the Dodgers. I think we already know everything there is to know about our team.
Joey Gathright is a 4th outfielder. If Juan Pierre was coming up right now he'd be a 4th outfielder and Joey is probably better then Juan. No wonder we couldn't trade JP with players like Gathright and Crisp available.

Ethier even got the MLB.com headline

332 - FSW was carrying the Royals broadcast of the Dodgers-Royals game. I watched about three innings, there was no mention by the announce team (two in the box, one in the dug out) of the game that was actually being played while they were talking.

It was mystifying.

As for the Lakers, apparently, you're not allowed to actually score in overtime.

Lamar Odom just committed a lane violation on a free throw, negating a miss by Monta Ellis. It was the first of two attempts by Ellis. Odom had no business stepping in the lane.

Ellis made the do-over.

The late ending of the Laker game will make it hard for me to wake up for fake opening day at 3am.

If Ethier doesn't get the job, we must come up with some variety of protest. I just can't believe Torre, of all people, would be that thick.

Derek Fisher for MVP

That is a rare times the Lakers have utilized a foul to give with a 3-point lead. Fouled Baron Davis with 4.0 seconds left.

Sasha Vujacic and the zone defense were made for each other.

If you haven't seen Baron Davis rollerskating to Cool it Now by New Edition, you really need to.

It's hypnotic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDlaVqVz17g

337
Fake opening day? You and Roger Kahn think alike.

https://griddle.baseballtoaster.com/archives/929212.html

336 - That was Kobe, not Lamar.

338 - I'd pretend that I won't go to any games while Pierre is starting, but realistically, it won't be until at least June that I get to the Stadium, and I doubt I'll be able to make more than a couple this year, any way.

As for how to protest, I'm inclined to buy an Ethier jersey. But then, I'm also inclined to by a #16 jersey with my name on it.

Argh - D-Fish writhing in pain. Anyone have a decent mid-range jumper?

339
You must be way ahead of me. I'm watching (in SD) on NBA TV, which apparently is quite a bit behind the Laker telecast.

The Warriors announcers are not pleased with the offensive foul call.

Hah hah. Trainwreck, are you watching the FSN Bay Area telecast too? The Warriors announcer is even more biased tonight than usual. He called Ellis' steal the best steal he's ever seen, and Fisher being fouled was "atrocious and awful."

342
Perhaps "fake" was too strong. I'm just a strict constructionist when it comes to this coming Monday.

345 - it was the three pointer in the corner that I was talking about, gave the Lakers their first lead of overtime.

I agree with the announcers that this was a wonderful game. But his non-stop rant about this is more atrocious than the call itself.

Gotta love Kobe talking smack at the free throw line. "Game over. It's game over."

346
They were fine until the Warriors became decent last season. I guess when your team is terrible everything is not an injustice.

336
Good catch. I rewound it, and both Kobe and Odom stepped in early, but the ref clearly pointed at Kobe as the violator.

Oh well, I'll take the win!

351 That's basically it. They didn't use to be that one-sided. And they do give the Lakers props and criticize the Warriors. But they so clearly root for the Warriors, too, that it's distracting to say the least. They don't realize between the diverse sports crowd up here and NBA TV that not everyone watching is a Warriors fan (loyal or bandwagonesque). Ah well, time to write. Hasta lumbago.

well, with the games over, I suppose I should get back to work. G'night all, here's hoping this is a 100 win season for the Bums.

352 Yeah that was another moment that irritated me about the announcer - I kept yelling, "It was Kobe ya fool!" because he was ripping on Lamar Odom.

353
They are cool guys though. I have talked to Fitzgerald before a game and I have talked to Barnett at some local bars here.

I was ready to call Time Warner cable in disgust at the end of regulation. As Baron Davis was at the line for the tying FT with a few seconds left, my NBA TV HD switched (at 10pm) to a "no HD programming at this time" screen.

Luckily, I remembered within about 20 seconds that the game was probably also on regular NBA TV. It was.

I actually really like the Warriors announcers. Sure, they are homers, but the analyst seems to give a lot of good game insight. He said Farmar has improved this year because he has improved from a "two foot plant guy" and can now finish/explode off one foot.

It was a refreshing change from hearing Stu Lantz talk about momentum.

358
Yeah, I never got to experience Chick. But when I was down south, I really did not like the Laker broadcast team.

I wonder if Sonny Mcleans (a local Boston bar) will stay open all night and just cut-off alcohol, they probably are upset that they are losing two nights of Boston Red Sox revenue

However they do get two nights of PDT evening games (though most of their fans will probably being going to the games).

I love Stu Lantz's unintentionally comedic hypothetical conversations between players that he does going into commercial breaks.

Hubert Davis just predicted on SportsCenter that Western Kentucky will upset UCLA.

361
Ha! He can be going on and on about God knows what, but he always seems to end with "on the Lakers basketball network." A true professional!

359 Really, tonight Chick would have put the game in the fridge with 2 minutes to go.

358 That's Mr. Mo to you.

362 That's one of thpse predictions that if he hits it, it is remembered, if not (and no double digit seed has ever beaten a 1 seed in a Sweet 16 game) he'll just say that UCLA did what it was supposed do.

362
Hubert picks against UCLA in every game! He is just one of those Tar Heels that hates UCLA.

358 The analyst is fine, I agree, but the lead announcer really has grated on me the last two years, well before tonight's game. But yes the analyst is usually pretty astute. And I haven't listened to too many Lakers games with their announcers since I lived there. Chick Hearn was part of my childhood and I have affection for him because of that, but not quite at the same level as I do for Vin Scully.

Okay, enough procrasti-netting.

365
no double digit seed has ever beaten a 1 seed in a Sweet 16 game

Didn't George Mason beat #1 UConn two years ago? Or is that not technically correct because it was a regional final? Were you talking only regional semifinal games?

368
That's what he was referring to. A regional semifinal.

UCLA is favored by 12 1/2 and they are the biggest favorite of any team in this round.

George Mason was an #11 and beat a #6 (Michigan State), a #3 (North Carolina), a #7 (Wichita State), and a #1 (Connecticut).

I'm still bothered by UConn beating Washington in the other game in that region.

I think I have more admiration for Chick than even Vin. Chick invented a lot of the terms we use today in Basketball play by play. Even basic ones like "dribble drive" and "slam dunk." Those were Chick Hearn originals.

Besides that, there was nothing better in its day than Chick Hearn and Stu Lantz.

Today we have Stu and Joel. Joel Meyers is certainly better than Paul Sunderland who couldn't even keep up with the action. Trainwreck, my guess is if you lived out here sometime between 2002 and 2005, Paul Sunderland was the lead announcer.

370
I remember when I used to think Nate Robinson and the Huskies were likable.

371
I heard Paul and Joel. I find Stu to be too homerish too.

368 1 seeds are 5-2 in Elite 8 games against 10 and 11 seeds (5-0 against 10 seeds, 2-2 against 11 seeds, the last 11 seed to beat a 1 seed was George Mason over UConn., the other time it happened it was LSU over Kentucky is 1986).

1 seeds are .500 against both 2 and 3 seeds in Elite 8 games (16-16 and 7-7, respectively), against all other seeds in Elite 8 games, 1 seeds are 15-4.

Dancin' Homer on Fox LA. This is not a drill.

If UCLA loses to Western Kentucky, I am going to McDonalds with a baseball bat and putting a whooping to Grimace.

Win or lose, I'm quite fond of the Western Kentucky Androgynous Blob.

376

LOL. Line of the night! good night everybody!

Passover, in Peep form:

http://tinyurl.com/35kkr9

The last matchup of a #1 seed and a double digit seed in a regional semifinal was in 2006 when #1 Memphis beat #13 Bradley by 16.

In Aught Five, #1 Illinois beat #12 UW-Milwaukee by 14.

In 03, #1 Oklahoma beat #12 Butler 65-54. In 01, #1 Michigan State beat #12 Gonzaga 76-62.

In 1999, #1 Duke beat #12 SW Missouri State 78-61 and #1 Michigan State beat #13 Oklahoma 54-46.

In 1997, #1 UMass beat #12 Arkansas 79-63.

I'd look for more, but I'm dog tired and there's a cat sitting on my lap.

Mathematically, in a 64-team field, the only double digit seeds a #1 team can face in the regional semis are either a 12 or 13.

379
Weird when food is more useful as a funny prop than when it is used for consumption.

LA Times

"It's kind of funny," Ethier said with a smile. "Everyone says 'Let's wait and see what happens in spring training.' But at the same time, some people come back and say 'Well, it's only spring training.'

"I was told to come into spring training and show what I've got. And I did what I was asked. It's management's choice who they're going to put out there."

If I was about to lose a peak year to a flea, I'd be pretty bitter.

I lost my peak years to service in World War II.

From that Times story:

But Ethier, 25, has more power, a better arm and will drive in more runs, tools that would make him more valuable off the bench. And that fact, ironically, could wind up costing him the starting job.

Right, because you only need those things in games once in awhile. Most balls hit to left field, it doesn't matter whether the outfielder can throw the ball. And runs are overrated. Having the "most runs" doesn't always equate to winning the game.

"They bring different things to the table," Torre said. "Obviously, Pierre is that guy who's going to put the ball in play. He's going to be a threat on the basepaths."

Obviously, only part of that statement is true.

As has every other writer, the deep sadness of Juan Pierre is a major part of the story. As if he's the only disappointed player to lose his job to a better performer this spring, or ever in Dodger history.

This is so strange. A player who is a sentimental favorite, but only among the press. Don't they realize that most readers find the image of a weeping ballplayer making $11 million while hitting .188 kind of pathetic?

By the way, Kevin Baxter and his online editor ought to learn to spell Ethier's name. It has only one 'i' and it's after the 'th' not before.

384
Reading the LA Times is way worse for your brain than doing drugs.

Is the Red Sox - A's game being televised? If not, is it on a website?

It's on espn2

387 - Not in my house. To think, we had 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. feedings to be awake for, and there's a baseball game on TV, and we couldn't see it.

387 Jon and I live in the same zip code so I can confirm that the game is not on where I live. I was up because of a fever and baseball would've been nice but it ain't happenin' here.

384 Baxter's analysis probably came from the coaches themselves.

379 Where I had Easter dinner, the placecard holders were peeps on a crucifix.

I'm guessing some won't find as much humor in that as I did.

Nice article on the history of the BA stat. The conclusion was "It is time to turn the tide. All fans of the game that haven't already must change their irrational view that batting average is The King of all batting statistics. Please do not accept irrational views held because of tradition, because someone who seems smart holds these views or because it seems somewhat reasonable. It's time to judge hitters on what actually creates runs at the plate – getting on base by any means/avoiding outs and earning bases."

http://www.dugoutcentral.com/blog/?p=1154

384 Were I JP, I'd be in a deep funk too. The team traded for a guy to take my position without telling me, I've had such a lousy spring that I'm about to lose my new position, and I'm hardly a crowd favorite. Tommy Lasorda likes the other guy. Plus my biggest defender is a guy who writes silly things about my ring in a box. I seriously feel sorry for him; I lost a starting position to a better player once, and it hurt. But I still think Ethier has won the job, based on the little competition NedCo set up in left.

393 Not only that, but his biggest defender has a habit of being ostentatiously wrong. You know, having a ST battle for a starting job is silly, but no on forced Pierre to hit below .200. He kind of did us a favor.

BTW, FJM has finally gotten around to the Plaschke/Pierre piece.

389 Funny - it was on here in the east coast (NYC)...I wonder if they're going to tape delay it for the west coast.

Reportedly, there was a DirecTV issue with ESPN2 and other channels and it was nationwide.

I had the game on, but was asleep.

382-I'm pretty sure Ethier reads DodgerThoughts.

Also, I was able to watch the game this morning. Though I woke up like a kid on Christmas morning when my alarm went off at 6, turned the game on, and then promptly fell back asleep until 8.

Gotta say, it was really cool seeing Japanese fans cheering hard for MLB. I don't know why it moved me, but it really did. Maybe because of my growing sense that every other country in the world hates us.

Frankly, I'm finding it hard to be optimistic that the Dodgers are going to do the non-stupid thing with regard to the Pierre-Ethier-Kemp situation. Anybody read the PE Enterprise story? Torre says that while Kemp and Ethier are talented, nobody knows what they would do in 600 at bats. For God's sake, just shoot me now.

Also, as much as I'm on Team Ethier, it's kind of sad to see Pierre implode like this. We need all our players to feel as valued as possible; an anti-Pierre campaign will only hurt us, as he's not likely to be traded any time soon.

384 Maybe the Cardinals should keep Albert Pujols on the bench; having his power off the bench would really help them.

398 - They'll do the right thing. Probably not as quickly as we'd like, but soon enough. Pierre can see the writing on the wall, and so can everybody else. It's over. Ethier has won, and the only thing left to decide is whether Pierre stays or goes.

If it helps any, I'll start a Pierre is valuable off the bench campaign.

397 Seriously he does?

Ned's brain represented at least half of the thinking that sent Loney to Vegas to start the season after Loney showed he was the best option during that spring. Did Ned learn anything?

If there is competion between outfielders that competition now seems to be between Jones and Pierre. If Pierre wins, Kemp and Ethier can take care of CF and RF and Jones would provide power off the bench.

402 -- That's nice, Jon, but the people in power would probably just dismisss you as an internet agitator. You know, somebody living with his wife and three kids in his parents' garage.

The Dodgers have a chance to start the season with one of the best defenses ever. Martin, Hu, Furcal, and Jones up the middle, Abreu/Dewitt at third, Loney, Kemp, and Ethier.

Unless Andruw is awful or injured I don't think JP will be in CF very often this year.

what happened to kershaw last night?

Does anyone know how Bos-Oak roster configuration is in terms of the 25 man roster. Meaning, when Boston comes to play in LA this weekend, are they only brining a 25 man roster, or did MLB allow them to bring more to Japan? It just seems weird to play 2 regular season game, followed by 3 exhibition games.

404 Jones is playing everyday, there is no competition for his spot. A decade's worth of Gold Gloves by itself would give him the job.

408 He might pitch today, the Dodgers are trying to stretch out their starters and they need their bullpen guys to start pitching more often too. Kershaw is not going to be staying after this weekend so they had him throw a bullpen last night.

I would say its likely Kershaw will pitch on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.

409 sorry for the typos, no coffee yet!

JP's already suggested that he would demand a trade if he loses left field. My question is, do the Dodgers do it? I don't believe the team is obligated to trade him, or am I wrong?

410 - I am just saying that if spring were truly a competition, Kemp and Ethier were the winners and Pierre and Jones were not. And if spring were not a competition but merely a time for the veterans to get themselves ready for the season, then Pierre and Jones are sneeking up to the season opener.

414 Martin and Loney are sneeking up with them.

409
The Red Sox and A's had a 28-man roster for the two games in Japan (or has since it's not in the past). However, three players are "ineligible."

Presumably, for the games in L.A., the Red Sox can bring in a few more minor leaguers, probably up to the 40-man limit. They just didn't want to have fly out more people than they needed. As we know, that issue was a bit contentious.

416 - Thanks Bob. I see JD is in mid-season form already by calling in sick on opening day.(back spasms).

417
And Drew's backup hit the game-tying home run in the ninth.

For some reason my world view does not allow me to accept that Pierre will start over Ethier in the long term. I fully expect Ethier to be our starting left fielder by June, if not sooner. If the Universe does not provide this for me, than I will rethink my world view.

418 My alarm was going off, I hit snooze (like usual) turned over and saw the HR. I am sure JD Drew will parlay this injury in to not showing up in LA this weekend. I will refrain from any swearing with my disdain of that man.

more evidence that keith law is a jerk

Aaron (Irvine, CA): When is baseball going to get real revenue sharing and a salary cap so we can start a year without already knowing that no matter what, a hand full of teams will be in the playoffs?

Keith Law: (12:12 PM ET ) The rules say eight teams make the playoffs. A salary cap isn't going to change that.

A quick new post up top. Might or might not have more later today.