I am confident that we'll be getting some very good news today.

I took a sleeping pill (doctor's orders, I swear), so I feel asleep right before DeWitt's HR. He really hammered that ball, and off of a good pitcher. I'm feeling extremely optimistic going into tomorrow.

curiouser and curiouser, two hours before game time and we don't yet have a line up

The DeWitt homer was a shot. I was watching the game on NESN, their announcers are a bit concerned about Papelbon.

Season predictions:

>by season's end, DeWitt will be the regular at third, LaRoche won't quite be able to escape the injury bug

>our pitching will not quite live up to expectations, leaving us a little short both in the starting rotation and in the bullpen

>Pierre will become a regular fixture on the bench, Torre having the strength and air of authority to make that decision and stand by it

>Furcal will have a career year

>Kent will have an up and down season and would be replaced by year end at second, if only Abreu could stay healthy

>Loney will be talked about as one of the premier first basement in the majors by year end

>Kemp will be talked about as having terrific potential at year end

>2nd place in the West, 1 game behind in the wild card at season's end...but it will be a fun season nonetheless

but what do I know....

2 There will probably be an announcement between 12 and 1 with the 25-man squad, probably tomorrow's starting lineup, and, as a sort of extra, today's. Before the 25-man squad and tomorrow's lineup can be announced, Torre and Coletti probably want to speak to the guys personally. Hence the delay.

5 - I know Torre had mentioned speaking with the guys before any announcement, I just figured that it would have been one of those things where he told them "be at the park by 10, we have a lot to discuss"

What a cool game last night! We parked at the Sheraton in downtown LA (had a parking pass there) and took a cab to the game.

The ovation for Scully was wonderful. The dimensions were quirky, but the atmosphere for baseball was great.

I was disgusted by the amount of fights there were. In my section alone (section 17, foul territory in LF) there were quite a few loud drunks who heckled far too much for my tastes. And to prove that the drunks didn't just dislike Red Sox fans, one stood up and loudly and repeatedly yelled "Jew" at a man walking by wearing a yarmulke. My mouth was agape at that one. Also, a very inebriated Dodger fan saw someone in our section wearing a Red Sox sweatshirt, so he sucker punched him twice in the back. Turns out the victim was a high school kid here with his team from Palos Verdes High school. I felt so bad for the team when their coach made the decision to leave early.

Oh yeah, and to top it all off since it was so crowded after the game we couldn't get a cab, so we just kept walking, and walking, and walking, and ended up walking the 4 miles back to our car. Just practicing for the Carlsbad 5k next Sunday! :)

Oh yeah, I really hope Sweet Caroline isn't played ever at Dodger Stadium. That was just wrong last night.

And the whole "blue light" fiasco was rescued by the hilarity of having Neil Diamond played and me getting a hard time from the people around me for recognizing the song in about 3 notes.

If DeWitt is named 3b starter, what can we expect from him over the next 2 months? I would be happy with slightly above average defense and a .700ish OPS. I think a .230 avgerage by May is reasonable.

The big issue is _Andy's injury might be something that lasts longer than the 8 weeks we heard. DeWitt still at 3rd late in June is not a good thing.

I don't think most of the people knew that you had to pull out a plastic tab from the blue keychain to get it to light up.

And the whole effect wouldn't work anyway because they didn't turn off the lights.

9 I think slightly above average defense might be asking a bit much. He was pretty much average last year using bad fielding metrics (fielding percentage, range factor) but I have no idea how that would translate. My observations tell me he has really bad reactions, so I'm not hoping for much. A slug heavy OPS in the low .700s, something like .230/.270/.375, seems about right.

7
Residual Oakland Traitors vibe/stench from back in the day?

When the Dodgers played the Yankees in the Roy Campanella fundraiser in 1959, the Dodgers played a day game in San Francisco, flew back to L.A. for a game starting at 8 pm, and then flew back to San Francisco for another game the next day.

what blue light? I didn't get one, I want my money back. I did however get all of the free Jolt energy drink I could possibly want. I didn't go overboard becaue once was enough for those porta-potties

Oh yeah, I really hope Sweet Caroline isn't played ever at Dodger Stadium. That was just wrong last night.

Why was it "wrong"? This was an exhibition game, and they played the opposition's song. Like international sports (soccer, hockey, etc.) play the opposition team's national anthem as well as their own. That's generous, and nice. Playing the wrong song after the game - that's a different matter.

13 That's amazing. I had wondered whether they fit it into a free day or what.

Was there a special significance (for Campanella, perhaps?) to the date the game was played? Otherwise, I suppose it must have had to do with the Yankees' schedule. In 1959, there was no American League team on the west coast - the closest one was the Kansas A's, I think? The Yankees must have had to make a special trip out here on a free day (and planes took longer to get here too). An away series at SF must have been the closest they could manage, if there was no home series when the Yankees' could visit LA.

I guess we need a singalong song for the Dodgers. You can't really sing with very much of "I Love LA." Plus, it's saved for the end of the game.

I nominate "Lola."

Oh yeah, I really hope Sweet Caroline isn't played ever at Dodger Stadium. That was just wrong last night.

Too late. It isn't played every game, but I went to about 25 games last year and I heard it several times. Every time one of these weird type things happen at Dodger Stadium (i.e., the trees in the bullpen or the Loge Level outdoor wankfest), I imagine I hear Jamie McCourt's shrill voice: "Oh, Frank, you know what would be a greeeat idea? Play "Sweet Caroline" at the ballgame! They do it in Boston!"

BTW, I like the song fine at the game. It reminds me of going to Boston to watch the Dodgers play.

15 It makes as much sense about playing an anti-L.A. song after every victory.

The reason for the long drumroll before Pierre's benching, if that's what happens, is his stupid streak. He's the one who defines reality in Manichean terms of "I'm a starter" or "I'm a cast-off." What Torre is really claiming for himself is the right to make out the lineup card. If we keep Pierre, he'll play plenty. Just not every day.

16
The Yankees come out to L.A. during a break in the schedule when they had two consecutive off days.

17
I suggest we all sing "L.A. Woman." And no shortening the song to fit it between innings. I want to hear 40,000 people sing "Mister Mojo Rising! Mister Mojo Rising!"

According to Rawitch:

The following players have been reassigned to minor league camp - Brian Falkenborg, Mike Koplove, Greg Jones, Clayton Kershaw, Chan Ho Park, Rene Rivera, Danny Ardoin and Ramon Martinez.

So, we start the year with Hu, Dewitt, Young in the infield mix. Whodathunkit? And does this mean Repko's staying?

22 I used to impress my friends by knowing when to switch into "Got to keep on rising." Man, that is an awesome album.

My favorite part of the night was "winning" the seat upgrade from Stubhub. My second favorite was watching the cops arrest people for stealing the blue and white flags around the stadium.

As for parking, my uncle works for the USC fire department so he scoped out an empty lot and told us where to park. I'm glad we didn't do the shuttle. Another uncle and cousin took the shuttle and actually caught a ride with yet another uncle back to the stadium.

All in all, it was a pretty dang cool experience, and I did get to watch the game from 3 vantage points. Our original seats were way up in left field, but they weren't terrible. Our upgraded seats were behind home plate and they were pretty good, too. We met up with other family (said aunts, uncles, cousins, etc) towards the end of the game. They were down the right field line. Even though they weren't as high up, our seats in left field were way better.

Unless a bizarre Pierre-for-random-thirdbaseman trade occurs, I fully expect Pierre to get the opening day start. Ethier would start the second game, with Pierre coming in later as a pinch runner, which would keep his Silly Streak alive.

Then again, there's this vibe that the Dodgers are doing the right things lately...

I can't believe we dodged the Chan Ho Park bullet.

I live in SF and wanted to get the Dodger recap from last night and any word on the roster. When I listen to KABC on line, am still getting a Doctor show-do I have to have the pay for audio now to listen to the Dodger talk portion?

If Torre does make Ethier the starter, I hope that he sticks with him. I don't want it to be like last year with LuGo, and we wind up with a three-way platoon with Kemp, Ethier and Pierre. I don't mind if Pierre starts once a week, but I want Ethier and Kemp to play everyday, no matter what.

That's 8. That leaves 2 more to go or disabled list.

26 I think the best way to deal with the consecutive games streak thing is to kill it as soon as possible.

28
Usually the online broadcasts stop once the broadcasters sign off. There must be a sponsorship issue that keeps the postgame show off the internet.

31 - I agree. Killing it last year would've been great.

23- Do you have a link for Rawitch or was it a radio interview?

31. Maybe they should have Pierre start every game in the leadoff slot. Then, following a pop up to the shortstop, he leaves the game to a standing ovation as Ethier takes over in LF.

34. http://insidethedodgers.mlblogs.com/

A consec games streak kept alive by pinch-running appearances would quickly become a laughing-stock. If he goes in as a defensive replacement we could see catchers scoring from 2b on singles to LF. That won't last long. End the streak on opening day- it will be a tiny footnote and quickly forgotten.

At this point, starting Pierre at all is something of a laughingstock. If the Dodgers are determined to start the better player, I can see them making such a silly concession to Pierre's streak until they can trade him to a team for which he could play everyday.

Consecutive games streaks cannot be extended if a player appears only as a pinch runner. A player has to bat once or play in the field.

36- I thought InsidetheDodgers was down for remodeling(?). Anyway, I can't open it with my browser.

23 That can't be the complete list. There are now 28 players listed on the Active Roster, but that includes Schmidt, Nomar, LaRoche and Abreu, and no mention of DeWitt. Rawitsch says Schmidt, Nomar, LaRoche are going on the DL "officially" so that will be updated soon. But until they also put Abreu on the DL, they can't add DeWitt - whom we know is going to play. Unless they plan to give Abreu a minor league contract, or option him, and put him on the minor league DL, like they tried last year. That will lead to more union trouble, and I hope they don't do it. But they may be figuring DeWitt is all they need until Nomar and LaRoche return, and they're going to do without Abreu who doesn't seem to be able to stick around for very long without coming down with some ailment.

According to Tony Jackson, Ethier is the starting left fielder!

39 - So the correct terminology is "late-inning(s) defensive replacement" instead of "pinch runner?" I'm not sure I can type that about Pierre and keep a straight face.

Wouldn't matter if he pinch ran:

"a pinch-runner is not credited with a game played for the purpose of consecutive game streaks, per Rule 10.24(c) of baseball's Official Rules."

42 - sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

42 Woo-hoo! It's V-E day!

Rejoice! I was so close to being first to post it by my browser crashed. Darn you Louis in SF!

36 is not working for me..it's like it's stuck from a few days ago if there is a new post up

Ethier has been named to start tomorrow.

40. It was down, and Josh talks about how their still having problems. Of course, you have to be able to get into the site to read that!

"they're" still having problems

With Ethier now starting, do you think last night's lineup will be tomorrow's lineup, sans Pierre as a DH?
Heres how I would pencil it in

SS Frucal
C Martin
LF Either
CF Jones
RF Kemp
1B Loney
2B Kent/Hu
3B Dewitt

I know Kent would never bat 7th, but at this point in his career, its what he should be batting at. Loney should bat lower so he wont clog up the basepaths, yet knock everyone in. Anyways, any suggestions???

Jackson sez Torre sez Pierre will be "a regular bench player."

Colletti's GOT to be working on a trade.

48, 40:

Here is the post:

Please forgive the absence...the MLBlogs system has been going through lots of changes and I haven't been able to post for several days. I'm still trying to figure out all the nuances, but I think I've figured out how to post so I wanted to pass along to you all what I know as of this morning.

The following players have been reassigned to minor league camp - Brian Falkenborg, Mike Koplove, Greg Jones, Clayton Kershaw, Chan Ho Park, Rene Rivera, Danny Ardoin and Ramon Martinez.

Going on the DL officially are Andy LaRoche, Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Schmidt.

I'm sure more moves will be made prior to first pitch tomorrow, but that's what we've got for now. I plan to post later tonight if there's time, but obviously things are a little busy getting ready for Opening Day...

Now we get to find out what an outstanding team player is made of. Pinch runner supreme that will handle his benching with aplomb.

Because that's what team guys do.

53 "Torre said there also could still be a last-minute trade."

Via Jackson:

"Joe Torre broke the news to Juan Pierre this morning. ``He just said `OK,' but I know he is disappointed, and that's fine,'' Torre said. ``You don't want a guy sitting on your bench who just accepts being on the bench.'' Torre said JP will be a regular bench player, pinch hitting, etc. ``

42
Everybody dance now!

Time to celebrate with some bacon-wrapped hot dogs! Cheers!

"Pierre"... "regular bench player"... how do we ensure this is not a dream? I'm going to go jump off the roof and see if I can fly. Back in 5 minutes.

Now what am I gonna do? lol

So Torre gets some props now from this site's denizens? It looks like he's starting out as he means to go on. No nonsense - play the best players.

53 Why should Kent bat 7th now, he was one of our best hitters last year?

I'm not sure how I feel about the Pierre thing. It's obviously great, but I really don't like decisions being made based on Spring Training.

wow awesome.

63. Well, based on last season's numbers, Ethier should start over Pierre.

63
Joe does talk about on-base percentage, so maybe he noticed how bad Juan was in that.

Today is a great day.

Woo hoo!

(goofy dancing ensues)

63 - And its why we were 21st in the league in runs scored. I know that lineup isnt really going to happen, just saying I think Kent would not have so many expectations batting cleanup. He's just not going to hit 25-30 HR anymore. Getting 15 HR out of the #7 spot is much more valuable.

You know, I've been an Ethier advocate for two years, and while I certainly think Torre made the right move, I do feel a little sorry for JP. He's probably right to complain about NedCo's inconsitency, although I still think it was his job to lose this spring.

70 No expectations in 7 spot, not cleanup

65 Of course I know Ethier is better, but coming into Spring it seemed to be set in stone that Pierre was the left fielder. Maybe I'm wrong about that, but it doesn't seem like the idea of Ethier starting wasn't taken seriously by management until a week or two ago.

If Ethier - and Pierre - play in April and May as they've been playing in March, we will surely end up with a few more wins now. Someone else will surely do the math, but I'd guess about 3-4 more wins, anyway. At the end of the year, that could make a huge difference.

We can only surmise, but last year, even if Little wanted to use Loney rather than Garciaparra, he felt he had to "go along" with Coletti. OK, this is one year later, and Coletti has shown over the off-season that he's learning from his mistakes. But also, Torre doesn't have to "go along". This move also sets a precedent for 3rd base when Nomar and LaRoche both return - the best player will be the everyday player.

Great news.

somewhere Juan Powers is sitting and looking very sad right now. I wish I could see it.

70 While age could cause Kent to drop off a cliff at any second, he was far more productive last year than Jones and Ethier, and was almost equal to Kemp's fluky production. Jeff Kent was not the problem last year.

74 If they live up to their projections, it's about a two win difference.

Gameday is showing

Furcal
Martin
Ethier
Kent
Loney
Kemp
Pierre DH
Repko
Dewitt

Kuroda P

as TODAY's (not tomorrow's!) lineup.

Yeah Pierre was treated unfairly. But so was Lando and everything turned out ok.

I do feel bad for Juan Pierre, too. I kind of hope he's traded so he can continue his streak and get to 3000 hits.

80 in a White Sox, Tigers or Giants jersey.

77 - in this division, two wins is huge come September

79 - I'm sorry, I don't buy the "Pierre was treated unfairly" line. Like all ballplayers he faced competition for his spot on the team. Everyone knew the terms of the competition: Spring Training. Pierre's competition did better than he did, thus he gets to be paid to watch games with the best seat in the house.

How in the world was Pierre treated unfairly? He was benched for a better player. How is that unfair?

Do you really want to live on the same planet as Hall Of Famer Juan Pierre?

Repko playing CF. Other fielders beware.

84 - I have no problem with that, as long as he doesn't go in as a Dodger

How is this game not on tv?

why the heck is russ catching his fourth straight game before opening day?

87 I've been wondering if maybe it was too expensive to get all the unionized TV crews to move all the equipment early this morning from the Coliseum to DS. Just a thought.

88 They have a day off already Thursday, and Martin has only just been getting his swing back during the last 3 or 4 days.

striking out the side in the first, I think I'm going to like Kuroda.

In a world where I bust my butt working for what seems to be pennies on the dollar compared to what these athletes are making, I have no sympathy for a guy that makes 45 mil over 5 years being paid to do nothing. If JP feels he is being treated unfairly, he should look at his bank account. If anything, he is being treated more than fairly multiplied by 1000. Not to mention the fact that he can request a trade and go to a team where he would be treated fairly, in his eyes, while the Dodgers surley will pay a hefty price tag for their mistake. It's a tough tough world JP, but deal with it and your millions.

Gameday has been optimized - updated every pitch. In fact, it's about 7-10 seconds ahead of the radio. I thought they had stopped doing radio delays - no?

I think the game isn't televised because FSN felt that it wouldn't get that much of an audience going up against NCAA basketball. There's also a Lakers game later tonight.

93 My Gameday is still delayed a bit, but that might be due to my spotty wireless internet.

93 When I say "radio" I mean via Gameday Audio. (In Santa Barbara, real radio Dodgers network is not broadcasting ST.) It's about 2 pitches behind Gameday - could be 30 seconds. Maybe Gameday Audio has built-in delays even if real radio doesn't. Live radio has never been 2 pitches behind.

How has JP been treated unfairly? He's still getting paid.

I'll cast my vote right now for Mr. Joe Torre as National League Manager of the Year 2008.
Do they have a WoRP for managers, maybe something like WoRM? By my calculations this is a net+ four and we just made the playoffs with 91 wins.
My girls and I are off to opening day tomorrow! Let the X generation dynasty begin!

So how about 3b after Monday? DeWitt? Hinske? A Helms deal? Times says NedCo's looking for a short term fill-in.

General manager Ned Colletti, who signed Pierre, downplayed the significance of Torre's decision.

"Is he a bench player or is he not starting tomorrow?" Colletti asked. "It's a long season. You've got to compete, you've got to play. I understand the build-up to Opening Day. But you look at a lot of Opening Day rosters and there are players you can't even recognize. It changes day by day."

here at the stadium (thanks BH!) Kuroda is nice & lose at 91-93MPH

Oh, happy day! I truly believe that the pressure from the fan base (and particularly from this blog) helped influence the media which in turn helped influence the team. Obviously, Joe Torre doesn't take advice from blogs, but everything contributes to the atmosphere around the team.

Onward to 90-plus wins!

This is about winning, not covering your butt. Ned is a sad character.

70
Kent can hit, Kent just isn't able to run very fast right now, as evidenced by the near triple play last night.
Speed wise, Loney and Kent kind of remind me of Karros and Piazza. They will be more prone to be involved in DP's.

92
Now is the time to embrace JP as the late inning specialst. The higest paid base stealer in the land. Filling in for Ethier, Jones, and Kemp when they rest, JP will start what, 30-40 games. He's great insurance if someone gets hurt.
You are right, Juan can cry all the way to the bank.

If they want to get some theme music, I'm with Bob, who I thought had a beard. Use a band form LA like the Doors or the Eagles.

This is going to be a fun season with alot of twists and turns.
I am prepared for a last minute trade.
TC predicted that it will be ...
Won't say it, don't want to jinx it.

To the extent that Pierre signed with the understanding he'd be playing every day, it's a little unfair. Given perfect knowledge, and assuming the Giants' offer wasn't that much less than the Dodgers', he might have signed up north, instead, and everybody would have been happier. Maybe future players who aren't very good at baseball will think twice before dealing with Colletti.

100--Sounds like Torre can stand up to Ned and make the correct decisions.

Ned needs to get over it.

103 I guess it'd be too much for Ned to congratulate Ethier for earning the starting job. Why rain on Ethier's parade, Ned?

On the absence of Dewitt from the roster, Kevin Pearson on the P-E blog says:

"Now, here is where it gets tricky...3B Blake DeWitt and INF Angel Chavez are non-roster guys currently "in camp". Abreu will be DL'd on Monday, likely making room for DeWitt. But the Dodgers are still working on making a trade for a 3B/Utility infielder, so that could clear up some room, too. Chavez could be sent down, could be part of a trade, could remain. Who knows. But yes, there are 27 Dodgers for 25 spots."

Has anyone else had any trouble getting Gameday Audio to work over the past few days? I typically use Firefox, and I've never had any trouble with it before.

105

So who is looking for a Center Fielder?

105

I think the unfair part is having another center fielder signed a year after your big contract, and you put up the same numbers that were to be expected. So, this all just falls on Ned. Pierre did what Pierre does and he came to this team thinking they wanted a starting center fielder with his game. I understand he signed the big contract and played himself out of left field, but it doesn't change the fact that Ned blew it on this one for the team and for Pierre.

109- I couldn't get mlb.tv to run at all in Firefox for a couple of days. I found the clearing the cache (CTRL-SHIFT-DELETE) fixed the problem completely.

105 - I would prefer that we didn't have to rely on such players making that kind of decision, but that may be our only hope.

I also agree with regfairfield. Making the right decision for the wrong reason (maybe ST numbers are just a pretext, which would be fine) sets a dangerous precedent.

112

Are you also having problems with the Dodgers site being shifted to the Right using Fire Fox?

I have to scroll over to get the text, same on all the MLB team sites.

Weird

115- Nope. It's loading fine, for me.

Zappala's going to be along any minute telling people to try Opera. . .

I still think that the first time Ethier slumps, even a little, Pierre is back in the starting lineup. Assuming he's not traded that is.

111
So Ned blew the call, but JP wears the bench out for 9 Million a year.

JP's batting top of the third, let's see how the news does or does not effect him.

Charlie says JP's batting .169, woof! But he gets a hit...and then gets picked off trying to steal...WOOF trying hard are we.

Isn't that great. Phew finally gets a hit and immediately get picked off.

100 Ned's comment makes perfect sense. JP is on the trading block. You don't need to run down the product just when you're trying to sell it.

Besides, he's got a soft spot for the lil' fella.

Colletti sure did waste a lot of money on JP. On the other hand, he practically stole Ethier from the A's. So his reputation does not suffer.

The lesson for JP is, there are no guaranteed starting jobs in baseball. As if watching Gonzo and Nomar get benched last season didn't demonstrate the point.

Has Derek Lowe been heard from?

How do you bold text on here?

Saw where the G'nats want to unload Ray Durham and Dave Roberts. Also, that Zito's velocity is down.

121
Click on the "Fairpole" blog to find the answers on a lot of those questions.

I think that many of you are being far too hard on Coletti. He did not have many options last year after counting on JD Drew to stay on. (That was his mistake - being naive about Boras and Drew. Drew had an opt-out in his contract, and Coletti just pretended it wouldn't be used because JD "told him he was happy here".)

Pierre was an OK choice at the last minute last year. The problem was the 5-year contract. But that's how it's going with all free agents nowadays - if you want them now, you have to sign them up for 5 or 6 years. Do you think Alex Rodriguez will be worth $28 million per year in 8, 9, 10 years time?

Coletti has actually done extremely well with shorter contracts for his other acquisitions - Schmidt, Gonzales, Jones, Kuroda. The best way to look at it is that for any player you need you're usually going to have to take them for more years than you'll need them. As long as you take the extra years' salary as required to get the trade done, and can afford it (McCourt's call), you sometimes will have to do it. it's a shame with such a mediocre player, but Pierre played a part last year - until adding Jones to the mix, this year, they needed someone there last year.

The main thing is that the Dodgers, including Coletti, bit the bullet and did the right thing. He should be commended.

Not Defending Ned, but what if:

Ethier and Kemp hadn't panned out and instead just turned out to be prospects with promise?
Ned may still harbor some feelings like this.

Joe Torre makes alot more money than Ned.

As it has been pointed out, the Dodgers are a family run business. I have a hard time believing that any major contract doesn't need to have the owner's support and blessing.

Juan Pierre's agent, whoever that is, did a great job for his client.

Wasted even more money on Schmidt so far.

Dodger shuttle plan a disaster

>> Interestingly enough, Dodger Stadium is only 6.1 miles from the Coliseum, so some fans could have walked faster than the time it took to wait for a shuttle. <<

http://www.presstelegram.com/sports/ci_8745229

I just noticed this, the bullpens have grass now, for what perpose I dont know...

Tony Jackson makes it sound as if Ethier has been named the everyday left fielder but everything else I'm reading merely indicates that he won the start for opening day.

Do I bust out the champagne, or not?

128
Grass AND ivy or something growing on the walls of the bullpen.

129 He's the everyday left fielder. Torre has named JP a "bench-player".

9 - You are discounting any contribution from Nomar?

112 Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, that trick didn't change anything. What is weird is that I don't get the usual login screen under Firefox, but I do under IE. In either case the usual Gameday Audio dialog pops up, but the audio player never seems to launch. Could it be a Java problem (or something like that)?

If any of the LA area papers has a sports cartoonist, now he/she could draw Ethier waving a menacing bat as he walks into the clubhouse after knocking down the front door.

If anyone doesn't get the reference, Ned has said young players need to kick the door down to play for the Dodgers. And that's pretty much what Ethier did. It just took too long for it to be acknowledged. But if Ethier hadn't had his monster spring, I have little doubt JP would be in left due to PVL issues.

The cartoonist also could draw Ned and Frank sitting down--with Ned very visibly nervous--as the two talk JP's contract. "Well, Frank, er. Mr. McMcourt, er, Mr. Court, er, Sir, it was like this....I think..."

We talk here about the millions the Dodgers are paying JP and what a travesty it is. But big picture, if you consider the Dodgers' total revenue, those wasted millions won't do near the damage they would in many other places. After all, wasting a lot of money on outlandish contracts that bring very little return is a long-standing Dodger tradition.

Let's hope this particular tradition is discontinued.

127
That's 6.1 miles with a significant uphill portion at the end.

104 "Use a band form LA like the Doors or the Eagles."

Good. Lord. No. The Doors I wouldn't mind. However, I do remember this story about them, dated Oct. 21, 2006, in the LA Times:

>>Now it can be revealed: Jim Morrison once had creative differences with a baseball game.

An old interview of Ray Manzarek of the Doors by radio talk show host Terry Gross of "Fresh Air" was replayed Friday. The keyboard player spoke about when a Dodgers-loving engineer dared to bring a TV into the studio during a recording session of "Light My Fire."

"Jim comes out of his vocal booth, and he starts dancing around," Manzarek said. "He's having a great time. Then he comes over to the TV set and sees the TV set and looks around and notices that it's on…. He freaks out, 'Why is a TV set on in the recording studio? … We're doing "Light My Fire" and a baseball game is on the TV set?'

"Jim picks up the TV set and unplugs the thing and hurls it at the control room…. Hits the control-room window — thank God, the control-room window is double-thick glass. Bounces off the control-room window. Falls on the floor and shatters into 500 pieces. That was the end of the session."

Two thoughts: Obviously Morrison didn't realize the Dodgers were in a pennant race, and he was smart because, after all, you should always unplug a TV set before hurling it.<<

134
After all, wasting a lot of money on outlandish contracts that bring very little return is a long-standing Dodger tradition.

There was a guy in front of me as I walked to the Coliseum who was wearing a "Strawberry 44" uniform. I was appalled. Extremely appalled.

I guess Torre must have asked Martin again today: :-)

Dodgers give fans a little fun

>> "Joe (Torre, the Dodgers' manager) asked me if I wanted to play today or tomorrow," Martin said of the last two exhibition games before the Dodgers open the regular season Monday by hosting the San Francisco Giants. "It took me about point-five seconds to say today." <<

http://www.presstelegram.com/sports/ci_8745228

137 Ha. I saw him walking away from the Dodger rally and did a double-take.

This Sox rookie pitcher could be real good--like our Clay good. I'm amazed that he seems to be working off his off-speed pitches, especially with our young hitters, and after a bad streak. He sucked up and got rid of Loney and Kemp pretty easily..

Ned is now in the booth with Steiner and Monday

"Colletti said he was still trying to add another player today as other teams finalize their rosters."

Beware, the Ned pattern, pairing a great move with a horrible move, often on the same day.

Count me in the disappointed with Ned's comments on left field group, but I suppose it's to be expected. Torre is the undisputed alpha male now.

127 -- I have a hard time calling the shuttle service a "disaster" considering that it was free. I appreciate that it saved me $60!

By the way, I wouldn't be surprised to see Abreu traded instead of DLed.

124- Pierre was an okay choice if he'd have been willing to sign a Kenny Lofton deal. He wasn't. So, Colletti shot himself in the foot for a player who's not very good, because he was afraid of letting Jayson Werth and Repko and Loney compete for OF time. At least two of those players are better than Pierre.

And he was afraid of trading for a CF (other than Brady Clarke, whom he got for the remains of Elmer Dessens, and who would have been a bad, but adequate backup plan). Also, Matt Kemp was a starter on opening day. So, even without Pierre, the outfield would have been reasonable.

There was never a good reason to sign Pierre. Pierre was never the only other choice--there were hundreds of possible choices. Signing Pierre was better than a few of them, but it wasn't in the top 20.

139
Presuming that we saw the same guy with a Strawberry replica jersey, I don't believe the guy got the jersey because he was a high school teammate of Strawberry.

If there is more than one person with a Strawberry Dodger replica jersey, I'm going to have to make a list and recreate scenes from "Munich."

Kuroda is making me smile, big time.

Most dissapointing event of the weekend was not seeing JD Drew step up to the plate in front of the LA crowd. Ned would probably be orchestrating the boos.

I'm really happy too with what I see (especially having Martin, Kuroda, Saito, and Ethier (!) on my fantasy team).

But listening to Charlie Steiner and Rick Monday on mlb.com is killing me. Rick is only annoying but Steiner is such an IDIOT! Sorry if that violates this forum guidelines ...

It's so bad I'm listening to the Boston announcing team.

GO DODGERS!

Mick

144 The Dodgers tried to do the right thing and I'm not sure how much they can be blamed for what transpired. They thought they could get a handle on the number of fans by having them call for reservations. But the telephone lines were often busy and some fans also may not have bothered to call. Obviously, they never expected 35,000 people to show up there.

Even on gameday, that looked like a short and filthy inning of 97mph fastballs by Clay.
Anybody watching?

I wonder what ridiculous article Plaschke is going to write tomorrow blasting Torre for starting Ethier? Between that and the ridiculous anti-SC articles he likes writing with bad facts, he is my least favorite sportswriter.

Pair this with TJ Simers who on his radio show this summer was still blasting Depodesta for trading Lo Duca and Mota for Penny, stating that even now that was a terrible move. I haven't read a Simers article since; if I want to read someone who knows nothing about sports I'll read Bill Simmons b/c at least he's funny.

Just as I suspected. They can use whomever the wish, including Kershaw, in an exhibition game.

I can't work up any Steiner rage. I kind of like him now. I appreciate his intelligence and comfort with the English language. He's not Scully, but he doesn't try to be. When you say "idiot" I'm nonplussed. I can see disliking his style, I can see disagreeing with his opinions on certain matters, but I haven't heard too many statements that I would call unintelligent. He seems more thoughtful than most broadcasters.

Listening to the KC feed of that exhibition game last week made me appreciate not just the Dodger broadcasters, but the Angels, the Padres, the Giants, the A's, ESPN's, Turner's, Fox's... We could do a lot worse.

147 Was the Strawberry jersey a road uniform? Because that's what I saw.

153
Plaschke probably won't write about the Dodgers until after Opening Day. He was in Phoenix to cover UCLA.

If the Dodgers lose on Opening Day, he will have a scapegoat pegged within 5 minutes of the final out.

155 - now that I'm temporarily displaced in the Midwest, I don't mind Steiner as much. Other announcers are MUCH worse.

Steiner's flaws:

A bit of homer
Any ball hit over 300 feet is in danger of leaving the stadium.
A bit too proud about not knowing certain facts.

Considering the alternatives, the man is great. I'd much rather have him than Matt Vasgerrian.

156
Yes, it was a road jersey. It was a white guy wearing it and he looked to be in his late 20s or early 30s.

150
You will not find the Boston radio announcers to be much of an improvement.

161 - living in LA we have been spoiled with great announcers. Vinny, Chick, Bob Miller, etc. I am a Raiders fan and loved listening to Bill King. Even the homer announcers like Tom Kelly and Chris Roberts are good announcers.

The current Lakers crew is a bit of a mixed bag, but for the Dodgers I still love Vinny, and Steiner's style I have come to accept and actually start to like.

160 Yes, same guy I saw, you can count me as a character witness if you need help with your alibi.

The list in 159 sounds right. I'd add that he's a little more tickled with Steve Lyons than I find necessary; but he's okay by me.

163
I propose we meet on a train to discuss this matter further...

155 At least we dont have to listen to Mike Krukow a 162 times. By far the worse in any announcing genre is Stu Lance. Just amazes me how he continues to call games in the 2nd largest media market in the US.

157. I think that Plaschke will write that the Ethier move was a great decision, made by a wise, proven baseball man like Joe Torre.

Ugh. Ok, based on the feedback I'll give Charlie and Rick another chance. But the prospect of normalizing to them gives me the shpilkes.

BTW, Bob you're right about Boston's crew ...

Mick

166
Most announcers get a pass if they are identified with a very successful era in the team's history.

Nice story about a guy who got to do it all again on Saturday.

Still Delivering

>> For some reason, the best sales came near Section 10 - where Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Nat King Cole sat behind home plate. Each would order four sodas, hand Owens a dollar bill, but ask that only three cups be poured. The other soda, they gave to him, and in return asked for a cup of ice filled to the top.

"Maybe I was na ve, but I finally figured out they brought in a flask with them to spike the drinks," Owens said. <<

http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_8745485

168
Joe Castiglione and Dave O'Brien have made many a grown man weep.

man, you dont get the full effect of how great Kershaw is until you see him live, WOW.

One of the best things about UCLA's run is that it's kep Plaschke away from the Dodgers. You almost wish that college hoops season could last forever.

Personally I'd rather have a team of Vasgersian paired with an 80's or 90's fan favorite... Hershiser? Karros? Any other ideas?

Woo!

Well, gosh, what're people gonna complain about now? ;-) I'm sure we'll come up with something.

I watched some of the archived telecast of last night's extravaganza, this morning. Great fun. Jealous of those of you who were there, though judging by the descriptions of the shuttle mayhem and Eric's mention of some of the obscene fans who were there, maybe not as jealous as I was. But it looked like an electric atmosphere.

Sounds like we shouldn't count on the roster being the same tomorrow as it is today.

I wouldn't mind picking up Wes Helms, if the price went down radically or if he were put on waivers and had even cheaper. All I know is our line up on paper will look a lot better than the Giants' line up on paper tomorrow, no matter who ends up at third.

167 I don't think he'll be so kind. Plaschke will claim Torre has caved into the bloggers. He'll compare him to some embarrassing old uncle he had who grew long sideburns and wore love beads in the early 70s. Just as his uncle tried to be cool and failed miserably, Joe Torre is trying to be blogger-friendly and is hurting the team by putting a guy who "plays the game the right way" on the bench. It'll be seen as a shot across the bow to other "right way" players like Nomar and Kent that they'd better go buy computers and figure out these fancy blogger stats or else Joe 2.0 might replace them with robots, too.

172 How's he faring? (Since I can't watch today's on TV)

169 - Agreed, but Lance is still terrible.

Now Gus Johnson calling this Davidson-Kansas game is fantastic!

Late to the party, but let me add:

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!

I am chortling in my joy.

Torre has made Plaschke irrelevant today. Who do you really think the world will side with: A crummy sports columnist or the World's Most Beloved Manager (TM)?

he's got like 3 K's in 2 innings but his fastball (watching it live) is scary man!

It could be a lot worse than Charley Steiner, that's for sure. At least he talks like he's read a book once or twice in his life. Boy, is he a gasbag, though! Last night, he and Monday spent the entire 8th inning talking about "Opening Day butterflies," and then when the commercial arrived, Steiner said, "We will continue this conversation" like everyone REALLY wanted to hear more about the subject.

The new MLB Gameday app doesn't seem to like my Firefox browser, although it does like Safari.

OMG!! He just made David Ortiz look really bad...

Regarding Pierre's contract, I know that a player can demand a trade if he is traded during the first year of a multi-year contract. But is that still true after the first year?

just picture Sean Casey

easiest thing in the world: picking people apart and finding faults in others.

hardest thing: apparently finding something nice to say. sheesh

Hey you'll be surprised, but Kuroda and Kershaw have combined for 8 strike-outs.
Does it scare you?

183 someone put it on Youtube!!!

Sadly, Plaschke is "relevant" as long as he has a job. The McCourt's are highly PR-sensitive, and BP is the hometown paper's award-winning columnist.

Interesting game.

pierre...
yes, signing pierre was a lame move, and playing him last season at the expense of ethier and/or kemp was stomach turning. but now that pierre is benched, and the move is officially viewed as out of favor, it's interesting to think how quickly the definition of "good" and "bad" is changing... it's relatively new, in baseball terms, to say, with certainty, that a guy coming off a year with 190-something hits and 60-something SBs should lose his job.

179. Plaschke is the kind of writer who tries to get on the good side of the "proven veteran" of the moment, and right now, Torre is king of the vets, which is why I feel he will be praise the decision.

I think Plaschke is actually a great writer. He's just not a good sportswriter. If he wrote human interest stories or was a novelist; he'd be fine.

193 I think Plaschke is actually a great writer. He's just not a good sportswriter. If he wrote human interest stories or was a novelist; he'd be fine.

Seriously? I can't imagine reading a novel composed of one-sentence paragraphs with white space in between each one. The publishers would save on ink costs, though.

Dodgers place Garciaparra, 2 others on disabled list

>> "There may be other people that become available through the course of today," general manager Ned Colletti said. "No reason not to use every day. Nothing may happen, chances are nothing will happen. There's always a chance something will happen." <<

## "I'm sure Ned is not shutting any doors anywhere," Torre said. "We stayed late last night, we were here early this morning. We don't know if anything's going to happen." ##

%% The Dodgers are keeping 11 pitchers including reliever Ramon Troncoso, a 25-year-old right-hander who has never played above Double-A. %%

http://tinyurl.com/33d6fn

Kershaw going for a 4th inning...

194
The short paragraphs are Plaschke's style for the columns. But in longer words, like his Lasorda biography, he writes in a much more conventional style.

Not to start a partisan ruckus, but Colletti's quote in 195 is worthy of Donald Rumsfeld.

No Reason Not To Use Every Day
by Ned Colletti

Nothing may happen.

Chances are nothing
will happen.

There's always
a chance
something will happen.

Is anyone elses Gameday frozen?

Rule 9 reprieve.

199
Yes. But I switched to turning on the radio.

198 Doesn't have to be Donald Rumsfeld. A few years ago some people put out a book of Phil Rizzuto's broadcasts in verse form. "Oh Holy Cow" if memory serves.

197 I did not know that. I'll concede that he could be a better writer when he steps away from his column shtick as I've got no basis to judge it. Content aside, I still dislike the writing in his columns.

Kershaw threw a BP fastball (88mph) to the bosox guy who got the hit, he went back to mid-90's heat to the other bosox hitter & promptly K'd him.

203
I read Bill Plaschke's books, so others don't have to.

201 Thanks. It is nowing moving--rather like molasses, because I assume you are referring to an event that hasn't reached Gameday yet.

While Honeycutt was unsuccessfully trying to change Loaiza someone was successfully changing Big Bird. :-)

Rays shock many by demoting prospect Longoria

>> Mark Hendrickson is not such an outrageous choice as the Marlins' Opening Day starter, according to one scout who says that the 6-foot-9 lefty was "better than I've ever seen him" this spring. Hendrickson, acting upon the advice of pitching coach Mark Wiley, reduced the velocity on his curveball and ended up with a bigger, more downward break. The pitch now serves as a better complement to his fastball, which Hendrickson tends to throw up in the zone ... <<

http://tinyurl.com/24lwjh

So, do you all think Pierre will make an appearance tomorrow to keep his consecutive games streak intact?

The streak needs to go away. Can't let that effect game decisions.

What's the Kershaw line update?

I wonder if now that Pierre has been benched, might he get playing time if Jones is still hitting .220 say 2-3 months into the season?

207 The qoute from Mr. J. Gomes, one who was shocked:

"If I say I commit to winning, he's on my team for sure. I think everybody wearing a Tampa Bay hat and uniform wants that guy here. I don't think it's a good day on the players' end and for everybody in a uniform."

At this point Gameday is so behind and beffudled that they announced Manny Delcarman replaces Clayton Kershaw---back to the car for the ninth on radio!

Plaschke will throw JP and his "ring in a box" under the proverbial bus and praise Torre. As someone said above, Torre is the ultimate PVL.

212
All over people, nothing more to see here. Move along.

208 So, do you all think Pierre will make an appearance tomorrow to keep his consecutive games streak intact?

My guess is if there is reason for Torre to believe Pierre will be traded he will try to keep the streak going and Pierre can continue it elsewhere. If that's not the case then I wouldn't be surprised to see Torre break it sometime in April. I remember Torre saying that he wanted to break Dale Murphy's streak for the good of the team but Ted Turner wouldn't allow it. I doubt he'll have that problem with McCourt.

214 Took me a minute to figure out for this is the exact time of day the stratosphere changes to radio waves and I could barely hear anything.

It's interesting to me that they would be stretching Kershaw out to starting innings this early. Do they intend to use him or call him up early? The current "wisdom", which could be totally wrong for some subset of pitchers, is that youngsters shouldn't get near 200 innings till they pass their 22 and 23 years. Thinking about pitching from an injury nexus point of view has me obsessing this year.

216
He'll be throwing on a schedule, with a pitch count at AA or AAA, right?

I would think so. But of course, innings are a crude indicater, probably appearances or pitch count is more important. Some of his innings were very efficient today. But he threw as many pitches as Kuroda (62).

Ned mentioned that they would like Kershaw to pitch about 165 innings this year. Probably a good plan. I am all for bringing him up slower than faster. We'll see him late this year and I think he will be in the rotation next year.

Just my humble opinion but I really really hope they take it easy with him [Kernshaw] his arm is still very young, you gotta build it up

Sorry I just don't think they should boo the president.

Bush getting booed in D.C.

whether you like or dislike the President, you need to respect the office. Booing is completely inappropriate.

219 - I like those comments by Ned.

Politicians should be booed at all baseball games. They'd stop going.

223 These are emotional times. Let the people express themselves.

Politicians and American Idol contestants.

Oh, Lord.

http://www.beloblog.com/Pe_Blogs/prosports/2008/03/colletti-on-pierre-situation.html

General Manager Ned Colletti -- the man who gave Juan Pierre the 5 year, $44 million deal that has handcuffed the Dodgers in a sense -- said he had not talked to Pierre about losing his CF and now LF spots and finding his way to the bench.

In fact, Colletti said he did not plan on going out of his way to talk to Pierre about the situation and left that up to the already frustrated player.

"I'm here," Colletti said, almost defiantly brushing aside the question. "He knows where to find me."

I like the Braves' uniforms.

No matter if I hated a president, I just wouldn't boo him. It's no big principle at stake, you just don't like seeing ANYONE be embarrassed or feel unliked in front of everyone.

I am in the no booing camp. People have plenty of ways and venues for expressing their political opinion.

I'm not going to violate rule 5, but I will say there are times when I have wanted to boo certain politicians. And I often left my emotions get the best of me.

Wow...Odalis sure looks like he is in good shape. I had heard that he was in the best shape in 10 years, but hadn't seen him yet.

Do you think he has that uniform tag sticking out of his collar on purpose?

I remember Arnold getting boooed at Dodger Stadium. A stadium is about as good a venue as you can get for expressing yourself if you ask me.

I boo the Rose Parade Grand Marshal, too; I know nobody elects them, but they seem pretty close to politicians.

228

Ned is really clueless when it comes to PR. He knew those questions would be coming today... All those beat writers want to grease him as a potential source. If he'd prepared a funny and slightly self-deprecating answer - or even a positive one (like "we've got young players who have developed very rapidly - it's a good problem to have"), they would have eaten it up.

Just heard the news. Hallelujah!

If I were the catcher I'd run up and tell Perez about the shirt tag. There's something always goofy about Odalis. He's just a shirt-tag-sticking-out kinda guy.

is there something wrong with my TV or do the Braves' unis no longer have red in them?

and if so...why is every team in MLB moving towards those same uni colors??

It's ok to yell shut up and sing, too, right?

234 - Just stick it in your back pocket, or sit on your hands. What would be the limit since your argument is that its appropriate to express yourself? What form would be inappropriate for you. Manny Acta not catching the ball because of the 50 year embargo against the Dominican Republic (er make that Cuba)? The democratic players wearing black arm bans?

236

I don't see the problem with Ned's comment. Why should he make a special conversation-with-player exception for Pierre.

A player doesn't perform...he gets benched. Run of the mill situation.

Now that Juan Pierre is out of the way. What will it take to get rid of Joe Morgan?

241 Uhh no...but booing is booing, and is not an inappropriate thing to do at a baseball stadium. In my opinion.

243

A talented African-American to take his place.

presidential boo bird
i wouldn't boo a president either. it's like booing ourselves, a little. though it should be noted the presidential public appearance, at a ball game, is a political act. so if it happens to backfire...well, let's put it this way. if a president can accept being cheered for no good reason at a public event, he/she can accept getting booed.

Dunno if this was mentioned before but didn't see it - Ken Rosenthal by way of MLBTraderumors.com (but as illegitimate as all that sounds this all seems probably true):

>>Rosenthal notes that the Dodgers will go with Blake DeWitt at third base who has never played a game above AA. This comes after the Dodgers failed to acquire either the Astros' Mark Loretta, who was unavailable and the Royals' Esteban German, who was too expensive. The Royals were asking for the Dodgers' third best prospect, shortstop Chin-Lung Hu.<<

246
Point taken, but it's not so much about logic, as simple decorum.

I haven't heard the hip hop song yet, but I understand it is by Ozomatli, a group with as much L.A. cred as the Doors or the
Eagles.

I'd be pleased to stay with the Randy Newman song. Of course, maybe the fact that I only hear it after a win has clouded my judgement. :-)

I'm glad that I can now officially start feeling sorry for JP. I'm going to enjoy that more than getting mad every time I hear his name.

I don't want to get too involved in this argument because I might violate rule 5, and I also do see both sides of it, but I hope people who advocate against booing the president if the mood strikes them also insist people wouldn't boo Juan Pierre when he's in the outfield or whoever else. As long as it's 100% no booing anyone, then I can respect that.

This conversation got me to watch the National's game, and what do I think I hear.
Joe Morgan! But I guess it's humorous if he's not against the Dodgers.

Btw, I thought the stadium looked attractive enough from the design plans I saw online, but the new Nationals Park is quite lovely now that we can see it for real.

The Nats also have to feel happy to have Nick Johnson back this season. They'll be a bit more dangerous.

And, wow, recovering from a broken leg he tests Francoeur's arm twice!

But he is against the Dodgers. He just said he was unhappy Levebvre won the rookie of the year over him.

228 JP's been pretty open about his feelings--he doesn't blame his teammates or even Torre all that much as far as I can tell, he blames "management" for signing Jones, not telling him about it, and thus clogging up the outfield. Hence, Ned's snippiness. Both the pro-JP and anti-JP forces are against him now.

244 - Booing a player is part of the game. IMHO, Rule 5 extends to the ballpark.

The Ozomatli song "City Of Angels" would be a good one. Ozomatli is very much an L.A band, plus they are very active in the community. We should start a campaign to make "City of Angels" our "Sweet Caroline".

I prefer that we never play on Sunday nights simply so that I don't have to hear Morgan trashing the Dodgers all game.

There is a Nats-Braves game thread on the Griddle and I have no Rule 5.

I also have fewer comments.

You're right Marty, when Joe broadcasts the Dodgers, he is against the Dodgers. It always shows. And the worst thing is that he seems to jinx them. FJM!

Is Sam DC at the game?

252 - But what are they going to do with Young? Resigning him was a nice touch, but didn't make much sense baseball-wise.

Sounds like we'll get another chance to boo the president. He's going into the booth.

Politicians ought to know they could and probably will be booed when they step into a non-political arena. It's a reality check. Usually, the advance team flushes out anyone who isn't willing to act like an Oprah audience member. The American people know their opportunities to express themselves directly to a political leader are few and far between, so they avail themselves of the opportunity. I think it's healthy. As for "respect for the office," there are obviously times when one must show deference to the commander-in-chief. I'm an old-fashioned "politics should stop at the water's edge" kind of guy. But at a ballgame? Let 'er rip.

I felt bad that I decided to skip the Coliseum game last night so I decided to ebay tickets to the game today. So glad I did. Sat right behind home plate and say Kershaw. What a talent. About 25K in attendance. was able to stroll around the stadium to check out the improvements. All in all a great day. I was trying to tell all the Red Sox fans to pay attention with Clayton on the mound so they can say they saw him when.

Bush is really nervous in this conversation. It's kinda painful.

Oh and I race to the bathroom when I get into the stadium and hear that JP will not be the starting LF. That made my month.

This is one of the most awkward interviews I've ever seen. Ever.

Wow. Someone needs to buy the man a beer.

265 I'm trying to figure out the connection between Juan Pierre's new role and the bathroom.

Was JP in there throwing up? Or was Ned hiding in there so as to avoid him?

I caught a little of baseball tonight before the game, they had Morgan on and asked him something about youth vs experience and his answer was "I'll always take the experience." Something tells me there was a time when he would have held a slightly different point of view, like say, the early to mid 1960s.

Also, I don't be-grudge Morgan his dislike of the Dodgers, he did play for the Big Red Machine back in the day. I'd be like getting upset at Larry Bird for having a bias against the Lakers.

If I were president I wouldn't say anything was a "nerve racking" moment.

264 266 Maybe it's true what they say about his isolation in the White House. He seems almost stunned by his mixed reception.

268 I still dislike Morgan for playing on the Big Red Machine, so it's even.

George is loosening up a bit now.

Man, has Bush ever internalized that Texas thing. The MIL-waukee Braves?

President Bush, criticizing OP's pitch selection. Nobody better tell Odalis.

OK. He gets points for the hot air comment.

i can boo my TV. and i am.

Although the hot air comment probably wasn't appreciated by the guys in the booth.

Boy, I glad that's over.

>I'm

267

As you know they broadcast the radio coverage into the men's room at DS where I heard that JP will not be the starting LF tomorrow.

Odalis Perez looks like he did back in 2002/04.

That was painful

Was 266 a joke?

Like, a 2000-vintage joke?

254
Not talking to someone about their future role in an organization, especially whey you're paying them $9Mil a year is pretty dumb...wait we are talking about Ned C....so that's an oxymoron I suppose.

Starting Ethier was certainly my preference, but I have to admit, JP has gotten absolutely lambasted in the process. There's no question he's the fourth best outfielder of the four in question, but I feel bad for the guy. He should be starting somewhere in the MLB, and has gotten the rug pulled out from under him. Them's the breaks, and I applaud Torre for doing the right thing. But I still feel bad for JP...

Torre unveils opening Dodgers lineup

>> Having earlier declared that Andre Ethier had won the starting left-field job from Juan Pierre, Torre returned switch-hitting shortstop Rafael Furcal to his leadoff spot and said the left-handed Ethier will bat second on Monday against Giants southpaw Barry Zito.

Right fielder Matt Kemp, second baseman Jeff Kent and center fielder Andruw Jones will form an all-right-handed 3-4-5 heart of the order, with Silver Slugging catcher Russell Martin sixth and first baseman James Loney seventh.

Assuming there is no acquisition and rookie Blake DeWitt starts at third base, he will bat eighth <<

## Torre joked that he toyed with the idea of batting Opening Day starting pitcher Brad Penny eighth. ##

http://tinyurl.com/28p6uo

Did any of you east coasters watch the Bill James interview on 60 Minutes? Which segment is it?

279 I don't know why I find it surprising that Steiner/Monday talked about it during the game. To me, the whole Pierre story is like dirty laundry, something not to discuss in front of the children. It's like telling the kids Dad lost this month's mortgage payment at the track.

Looks like the last one.

Thanks for reminding me to watch Bill James.

285 We win! Playing the game is just a formality now. :-)

290 Phrase Dodger fans don't hear much anymore: "(Veteran) is blocking (Prospect)."

Jeff Kent must feel like he's stuck in a dream where he has to play for his old high school team.

283 I think this is really overdoing it. Colletti is in an awkward poisiton. I think that he really is genuinely and truly "letting" Torre make the decisions as to who plays where, whereas last year he and Little probably had "discussions" where Colletti could and would use his influence to make sure Pierre played. To approach Pierre now to talk about Pierre's role changing since he was hired would be seen to infringe on Torre's authority.

The only thing Pierre would need to talk directly to Colletti about is if he wanted to ask to be traded, as a result of Torre's changes. And that indeed is a discussion that should not be started by Colletti, only Pierre, at least until such time as Colletti might in fact want to trade him. For Colletti to initiate the discussion now might imply he thinks Pierre should go, which he doesn't (at this stage) - and wouldn't want to make Pierre feel any worse. So that's why he'd be leaving it up to Pierre to approach him.

Some comments after finally recovering from the day at the Coliseum.

I overall enjoyed the day, got to see the Coliseum the way it was in the 50's when the Dodgers came aboard. Got to see Garv, Monday and Reuss, pictures with all three, autographs for the book signings for Garv and Monday. For all the negative things you say about Monday and his announcing, he is still a stand up nice guy in person and so is Garv and Reuss. The group around us in section 1 in right field was good natured and fun and we had a good time during batting practice and the game for the 6 innings we were there. I normally have tired of the wave, but it was kind of cool to see 115,000 plus do the wave for several rounds in the 5th inning.

A couple complaints about fan fest:

1) Where were any beverage vendors in the area? People could have got dehydrated and sick waiting in the autograph lines for the legends. Even some of the workers in the fan fest area were wondering where you can get some water. My wife had to go completely to another end of the Coliseum to a Carl's Jr stand to get some lemonade.

2) The legends autograph lines had no control or security whatsover. For those on the back end, the line basically didn't move and I bailed not wishing to waste the whole afternoon on standing in line with no guarantee of getting an autograph. I arrived at fan fest at 12:30. One guy in line said he was seeing people inviting other people to cut in line, it was chaos and a free for all.

Finally, I think the Dodger organization severely underestimated how many buses/shuttles they would need. We left after six innings and it took us two hours to get on a shuttle and we didn't get home till 3 plus hours after we first got in line at night. Jon was right when he said he didn't trust the Dodgers to accomodate the masses with enough shuttles. In retrospect, since my wife and I arrived around noon, we could have got a decent spot at USC, we should have sucked it up and paid the $25, we would have got home about an hour and a half quicker for sure.

The pre-game ceremony was great, especially giving tribute to Vinny. Vinny's short gracious and humble acceptance speech brought tears to my eyes. He is not only an LA treasure but a national treasure that we may never fully appreciate till he's gone. I admit, we as sports fans growing up in the 50's through 90's were spoiled with Chick and Vin.

That is all for now!! I did enjoy and will treasure the thought at being at this once in a lifetime event!!

286 It's the third segment. Nothing really illuminating, or anything that people here don't already know about James.

Bill James will be coming up after this commercial break.

294- Thanks. I didn't refresh.

And way to be a bummer, too!

Apparently D4P was Morley Safer, all this time.

ZIMMERMANNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I dug through the SI vault to find articles about the young (19 and 20 year-old) Dwight Gooden. Sure enough, there are no shortage of people who mention Gooden's poise and self-control. Just worth keeping in mind that people are pretty willing to see just what they want to see when faced with a young phenom.

These articles are an interesting trip down memory lane. I'd forgotten how absolutely dominant Gooden was at his peak.

April 15, 1985: "What Gooden has is control—of his pitches and of himself. He has always had control, even when he was a child, which is why it seems unlikely he will lose it, and why his future appears so bright."
http://tinyurl.com/yv8jw4

From July 2, 1984: "What makes Gooden so good? Some say his pitching style, same say his poise...Gooden is the youngest of six children born to Dan and Ella May Gooden of Tampa. "The next youngest is 31, and that has some bearing on his maturity," says Dan.
http://tinyurl.com/38oqke

From Sept.2, 1985:
"Any superlative that you could come up with would apply," says [Davey]Johnson.
"He has great poise, control and natural gifts; he's eager to learn and eager to win," says [Gary] Carter.
"His curve is as good as [Bert] Blyleven's," says San Diego catcher Terry Kennedy.
"What's he going to be like when he's 30?" asks former political hardballer Richard Nixon, now a Mets fan.
http://tinyurl.com/3y4rbh

Francona's head is very, very shiny.

Kuroda, Kershaw blow away Sox

>> Torre said the challenge with Kershaw in the season's early months is to give him enough innings to improve while keeping him fresh enough to help the Major League team in the second half of a long season.

Part of the plan is for Kershaw, after making a handful of starts, to spend some time in the bullpen to conserve his arm, a tactic the organization is using with many of their young starters. <<

http://tinyurl.com/ys58c9

I'm sure glad I wasn't sitting next to Odalis when he lost his win on a passed ball by Paul Lo Duca with two outs in the 9th. :-)

NPUT