LAT from other thread:

Here are some observations from the first 3 games:

--Russell Martin looks thinner to me this year. Maybe its just my imagination, but his face doesnt look as round or body as stout as last year.

--Andruw Jones---looks old. Still with great instincts in the OF, but looks big and slow. He's going to have to hit home runs this year to be a true difference making player.

I think this Giants series was probably an indicator of what the year will bring. Lots of low scoring, close games. Dodgers just dont have the consistent big home runs guys to always get offense.

Last night's 9th inning was a joke for other reasons than for what were already stated. Forget Juan Pierre (who shouldnt have even been up), but giving up an out down 1 run isnt a very smart play.

And why did Joe Torre wait until the 5th to go to Billingsley? They do have TheWeatherChannel in the clubhouse right? It was probably a pretty good bet that there'd be a rain delay. Why warm up one of your best starters to only pitch him 1 inning?

Bizarre game.
The Giants are a really really bad team.

The Giants are a really really bad team

As I've said before, it's truly hard to believe that Sabean has kept his job. The only explanation I can come up with is that he must have been doing the bidding of ownership, such that they can't reasonably hold him personally responsible.

Serious question: are we really supposed to believe that the difference in Sabean's performance compared to what any of us could have done (or any other random person) is really worth however much money Sabean gets paid?

It's actually is a good play to bunt if you're trying to get one run with the top of the order coming up.

http://baseballanalysts.com/archives/2006/07/empirical_analy_1.php

Only two games of watching him, but Kemp just seems a little antsy and is swinging at pitches just off the plate (mostly a bit high, and inside pitches).

Pitchers are challenging him, and Kemp's minor league numbers show a 3 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio. Thus, he's unlikely to improve on that anytime soon, we just need him to start crushing the ball more often to balance that out. No reason to think he won't adjust, it might just be a few weeks.

He's 23 years old.

I don't know that Andruw looks old to me, I don't recall him ever being a very fast runner. He beat at that 6-4-3 DP attempt yesterday - good enough for me. I just see him pulling every single outside pitch. If he can fix that, we're happy. If he takes too long or doesn't, then he repeats last year.

I was at the game last night, and I'm betting that, at the time Torre chose to go to Bills, the rain was looking pretty weak. Then it picked up while he was warming up. I was sitting there thinking the storm wouldn't amount to much, and minutes later they rolled out the tarps.

To add to the booing discussion, it took the crowd about 8 Kuo pitches before they started booing him. A last-minute fill-in making his unexpected season debut. Sheesh.

However much you were concerned about a hitter three days ago is how much you should be concerned now.

Eh, I'm not too sad about last night. It was a strange game played in bizarre conditions.

What I AM sad about is that I'll have to wait six more days to see a proper Chad Billingsley start.

Weather: 1 Torre: 0.

3 games, 3 lineups.

I hope this doesn't continue.

How about a little consistency?

It looks to me like Kemp has been trying to lay off the border line outside pitch, but I think he's gotten a few called strikes that were very questionable. So, now maybe he thinks he can't get a break and has to swing at them.

6
I also seem to remember MVP runner-up David Wright having a pretty putrid April last year. Russ struck out three times last night. That is something that he has never shown the propensity of doing even in the minors.

He may be off for a bit, but he is simply the best catcher in the league and he is too good not to find his stroke after 15 games or so. Just as a reminder, Magglio Ordonez, Alfonso Soriano, and Justin Morneau are a combined 2 for 27 on this young season.

3--

Based on table 2, the sacrifice bunt still seems like a poor play in most runner on first, no out situations. The one exception, not surprisingly, is the NL pitcher spot, where a successful bunt reduces the expected runs by only .019 (.739 with the ninth place hitter up and a runner on first/no outs to .720 with a leadoff hitter up, a runner on second and one out).

It's still reducing the expected runs, plus this study assumes that the 9th place hitter is most of the time a pitcher. Whereas last night, there was an actual hitter in that spot. There's no way I'd ever bunt in that situation.

5--If Torre's as old school to judge the weather by just how it appears, and not by radar--that could be a problem.

11 Expected runs are reduced, but the odds of scoring one run increase.

8 - Other than Pierre starting one game, the same eight position players started all three games.

Part of me thinks that Kemp should try to hit the ball in the air more often to take advantage of his power, but I'm not sure his OBP can take the hit that would ensue from fewer groundball singles.

Jones looked fine to me last night, if still not as quick as usual in his batspeed. He had a nice double last night but on a pitch he might normally have hit out. Still, he doesn't seem "slower" at all. He looks as superb in the outfield as I'd hoped, and ran down the basepaths at a pretty good clip from what I saw.

I worry about the amount of worrying going on here after three days and a 2-1 start.

You have: a brand new manager, still getting the feel for his team after a discombobulating spring that took place in 4 time zones and with split squads all over the place, plus the infield injuries. I really didn't expect a hot April from the Dodgers at all, if they are 4 games over .500 to end the month I'd be okay with that.

14/8 - And yeah, I was just about to type the same thing.

1 -- Low scoring, close games ALL year because that's what we had the last two games (not even all three)? Look, the Giants are a bad team because their offense is hopeless (scored four runs against us in three games). But the Giants pitching is GOOD, and Cain and Lincecum are better than just good, they are great. Our offense is going to get shut down by great pitching often, because that is what happens to EVERY team's offense when facing great pitching. One through eight, right tnow, our line-up is more talented offensively than any Dodger line-up in many years. We are going to score a lot of runs this year. A lot. Those runs just aren't going to come easy against really outstanding pitching. Fortunately, there is a lot of bad pitching around that we will exploit.

I finished watching the game this morning over breakfast, and I must say, that was one weird ride. It never felt like a real game...kind of hard to explain, but it was just strange. Our offense did not step up last night, but I am frustrated by the inconsistent calls at the plate. There were quite a few strikes called that were way off the plate, and I think Dewitt beat out the play at second on Pierre's bunt, but, oh well.

Sad there is no game tonight, and why does it take so long to start the final four? I am dying for some more basketball.

3 games didn't change the fact that we have legit hitters 1-8, and that's before we get LaRoche back. (I'm not convinced that DeWitt can keep this up, although I'm impressed so far.)

Other than JP, no one makes me cringe when I see him at the plate. Or on the mound, for that matter.

14/17

Don't you think theres some value in setting a lineup and letting it play out a little while (i.e. seme players, same batting order... )? Impossible to prove I suspect.

5 I'm sure the Doppler was showing weak rain at best. We really only got maybe half an hour of significant rain. That just happened to be when Chad took the mound.

I'm mad that I went to sleep after checking Extra Innings at 10pm to find no Dodger game, only to find out this morning that the game started only 5 minutes later!

And I thought Billingsley was brought in because they thought the rain would be light and not cause a delay. I didn't have much of a problem with that move.

OT:

I finally watched the first episode of Battlestar Galactica season 3.5 (I think it is 3.5, I can't keep up, but my neighbor buys the dvd's and lends them to me). Man, this show is fantastic...what a great first episode.

I just noticed in the play by play that Loney advanced only one base (2nd to 3rd) on a double by DeWitt in the 7th. Was this some sort of a pop fly double for DeWitt? I looked in the game thread last night and didn't see a lot of outrage, so I assume it was defensible that Loney didn't score.

21 - You haven't made the case that Torre hasn't been doing that. I mean, all things considered, one change is hardly a big deal.

I'm scheduled to appear on XM Satellite Radio's Baseball Beat with Charley Steiner at 11:25 a.m. - channel 175.

http://baseballbeattheblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/baseball-beat-thursday-april-3rd.html

It was a bloop that dropped out of the glove of Rowand.
Loney thought he was going to catch it.

25 ya dewitt was thinking double out of the box on a bloop to rowand. rowand almost caught the ball it was deflected off his glove so loney had to wait.

The doppler radar was showing there would be rain early/midway through the game then clear out. We were commenting on it during and before the actual game. If we could see this, why couldn't Torre or someone with close contact with him. Next time they should put the doppler radar image up on Diamond Vision. vr, Xei

Are anyone else's internets misbehaving today? Mine are having problems...

27

Hooray! I get channel 175 on the computer.

ps: welcome back D4P; and yes I realize I'm very late realizing you returned.

I thought maybe Torre would use Pierre as a pinch runner for DeWitt in the 9th and use a different pinch hitter. I suppose burning another bench player with the threat of extra innings played into that decision.
vr, Xei

Kemp seems like he's missing a lot of fastballs in the strike zone right now. It's always surprising to me when pitchers challenge a player like Kemp by pumping the strike zone full of fastballs, but until this point it's worked. I wouldn't want to make a living trying to blow fastballs by Kemp though.

It's time to get excited about the minor league season. Others please help, but here are some names I'm looking forward to tracking this season:

AAA

Meloan, Miller, & Orenduff all look to establish themselves as legitimate options for the big club. I expect all of them to be treated as starters, but the jury's still out on their future roles. Miller and Orenduff appear most likely to be relievers down the road. (Stults is the other starter to follow.)

With no infielders worthy of mention, Paul & Repko are the two to watch. Paul is an especially interesting prospect, as he has yet to put it all together offensively.

AA

Again, mostly pitchers to follow here. Kershaw & McDonald are the big two, with Wade, Braboban, & Alvarez also worth watching. Anything less than domination from Brazoban will be disappointing, and Wade has been mentioned as a future bullpen option. (Am I leaving anyone important out? Hammes?)

In terms of position players, May is the big name. Can his defense catch up to his offense? The other interesting prospect is DeJesus, who would appear to be a candidate to break out (in a modest way!). Hoffman is the only other name that caught my eye--barely.

A+

I need some help here. Some of the pitching names blur together for me at this level. Adkins, Wall, & Guerra are all worth following. Not sure about Bastardo (!), Pratt, Pfieffer, Sexton, and Cody/Garrett White. Any further input is appreciated.

Bell is the big name on offense. In a system lacking in big-time power prospects, he stands out. The outfielders have me a little stumped: Berezay, Giles, Hunt, Locke, Robinson, & Rogowski. None of them is highly regarded, but further illumination is welcome.

A-

Looks like Morris, Justin Miller, & Aguasviva are the key names for pitching. Steven Johnson & Smit also stand out.

On offense, Baez & Lambo are the star attractions, with Mattingly and Jaime Ortiz also interesting.

I'll leave the Rookie levels alone. I've done enough damage :)

24 The first couple episodes of season 3 are mind blowing, but it slows down significantly in the middle of the season. Im excited for the new show on Friday but Im not nerdy enough to stay in on a Friday night to watch it.

1 - Andruw Jones---looks old.

He looked pretty good tracking that ball over his head last night. It's been a long time since I was that comfortable with a Dodger OFer tracking a flyball down like that.

36 They know their audience apparently.

The host on MLB Home Plate (ch 175) discusses the Dodgers at this moment, AND speculates a Pierre trade.

Its like Dodger Thoughts on the radio for the moment.

35. Where is Withrow pitching at?
vr, Xei

I think in the case of Kemp, being probably the highest beta player on the team, he should be penciled in somewhere and not have to guess where he fits in that day. Lets see what we have. You can either look at it as: its only 3 games we dont know what Torre is doing yet or its been 3 games and he has already been used 3 different ways:

-started and hit 3rd (where the teams best hitter usually is)
-come off the bench mid game (L/R splits justify?)
-started and hit 7th

So what is going to happen Friday?

I was just saying I hope this isn't how it goes over time..... might be nice to not guess what he is expected to be.

Minor League acquisition question for you: Does anyone know how Alberto Concepcion ended up on the Marlins' organization?

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Alberto%20Concepcion&pos=C&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=444337

http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-aR.3pW00d6La91k_wR0Obts9?tag=alberto_concepcion

Thanks in advance! Looking forward to the REAL opening night, which occurs tonight here in Jacksonville. Be sure to check my blog for updates!

41 Thinking Matt Kemp will suddenly fall apart if he has to bat 10 minutes later isn't giving Matt Kemp very much credit.

41 - Look, I'd like to see Kemp in there every day. But I don't think it's reasonable to give a manager zero latitude.

The batting order issue for Kemp is related to lefty vs. righty on the mound, and is not a big deal at all.

410 All's fair in love and war, right?

That is in no way true nor should it be.

But the main thing is, when are these type of nonsensical sayings, memes, notions,...whatever you want to call them, going to go away? Or are we stuck with them forever?

"Animals are smarter than we think they are."

OK, that little notion has been around for about 150 years now, since the modern age. So have we caught up to it? Can we now say that dogs are, you know, JUST ABOUT as smart as we think they are? I mean finally?!

No, it will never go away. Never. The Eckstein phenomenon won't go away after he's gone. There will be new Ecksteins with the same myths to go with them. Guys who flip out will always have "energized" the team. Quiet women are wildcats in bed. Crusty old cryptically "wise" baseball managers will always BE wise. Coworkers 200 years from now will STILL feel the need to come up with things to say to each other in the elevator. When really, it's as pointless as a pitchers wins-losses, and we all know it.

And you don't have to be sophisticated or educated to break free of the delusions. The mass man has his common sense and that's all it takes...if he'd only use it. He didn't HAVE to believe that you needed 8 glasses of water a day. All he had to do was look around him and see that NO ONE was drinking 8 glasses of water a day, yet they WEREN'T dropping dead. In fact they made it through the day perfectly well.

Serious question: are we really supposed to believe that the difference in Sabean's performance compared to what any of us could have done (or any other random person) is really worth however much money Sabean gets paid?

Does he actually get paid his marginal revenue product? Probably not by traditional means. The simplest explanation would be that the Giants really like what he does, sort of an Austrian subjective value thing.

41 - This is refreshing. AB's so far this season:

Furcal 15
Ethier 13
Martin 13
Loney 12
Andruw 12
Dewitt 12
Kent 11
Kemp 10
Delwyn 3
Pierre 3

40 Looks like Ogden.

41 With Kemp, maybe he was trying to take a little pressure off when he came back to the line-up, since he's obviously pressing a lot right now. I don't think Torre's too worried about him, but probably thought it would be better for him to ease back into it lower in the order until he gets in a groove. Just a thought.

46 -- Oooh! The Austrian school of economic thought! Been a long time since I read some Ludwig Von Mises.

42 -- What is your blog's URL?

welcome back D4P; and yes I realize I'm very late realizing you returned

Thanks.

37--I think his instincts are still great. But I think in Tuesday's game there was a blooper that he didnt get too--and that raised my eyebrows since he normally plays very shallow (since he is great going back on balls).

51 -- http://360.yahoo.com/eldertrunk

42 Minor league free agent I'm guessing. He has enough service time.

when is cleveland gonna decide to score a run, for pete's sake??

37 - Because he plays so shallow, we'll be seeing a lot of that this year. Great to have him out there. Any post-game explanation on the apparent confusion with Ethier last night? The annoucers seems to agree that Druw would not have been able to throw out the runner in any event.

I tried to post this last week from my Blackberry, but it would not post for some reason.

I had a meningitis scare which turned out to be an unidentified and particularly nasty virus coupled with a migraine. Anyhoo, I had to get a spinal tap, CT scan, chest X-ray, and 4 vials of blood drawn. The whole time I had Dodger Thoughts updating on my phone.

11 hours in the emergency room and a spinal tap are just a bit easier to handle when debating lineups and discussing our boys in blue. I literally was reading everyone's posts while in the fetal position getting a 5 inch needle inserted into my spinal column.

Thanks for the site Jon, and thanks to all of the regulars who make this site so interesting and readable.

35 - you forgot George Lombard and his Fabulous Orchestra, playing nightly in Vegas.

Boy that sounds intense, CajunDodger. I'm glad you're feelin' all right and hope you dont have to go through that again.

Now you can turn this blog up to.. eleven!

58 - glad to hear you're ok, sounds like a rough patch

From the department of Didn't See That Coming: Russell Martin begins the season 0 for 11.

58- Glad to hear you are feeling better.

Anyone can go 0 for 11, even Albert Pujols, at any time in the season, except for possibly Ichiro. The bats will warm up. I am not worried about the offense at all.

Unless Pierre is up in a key situation in the 9th. But I doubt we'll be seeing much more of that...

60 , 61 , 63

Thanks. Feeling better, but my wife nearly killed me because both she and my son got the same thing. Not fun.

27 does XM or can you link the show to your next thread Jon, Id really like to hear it. I'm at work & can't hear it :o(

66

If you have an XM subscription, you can listen live at http://www.xmradio.com

Even without a subscription, I believe XM radio online offers a free trial to listen to their online streams, including Ch 175.

45. What the frip?...I expect Bills to pitch a few innings over the weekend...Glad Chan Ho got called up. He deserved to be there from Day 1...I am looking forward to watching the D's live on Japanese TV this weekend when Kuroda pitches. It will be my first chance, since MLB.TV is blacked out in Japan. In the Nomo-Kaz years, I could watch 2 games a week on NHK, but nothing since. So, I was happier than most D fans when Kuroda was signed. (An every day player would have been even better)...By the way, even though I rarely post, I often read. Cheers to Jon and all the great posters...

67 They must have just added that channel recently, I never understood why they wouldn't let subscribsers listen to that particular station online since it is XM-generatated content.

Jon, don't bring up Charley's wearing a hoodie.

57 - The ball was definitely drifting on Ethier, back towards center. Unless Andre enthusiastically called him off, I think that's Andruw's ball as "Mr Gold Glove best CFer of his Generation". I was surprised he was so non-chalant about it.

As far as the throw, Andre would have to catch the ball and throw across his body whereas Andruw would've been throwing with momentum. More reason for Andruw to have taken more charge out there.

55 Thanks!

64 - Ichiro started the spring 0-for-21 this year. It was his 2nd longest streak since coming over I believe (of course this didn't technically count though).

68 Torre said that Billingsley will pitch on Monday in Arizona, so Molly only has to wait 5 days.

If a certain team wins a basketball game on Saturday, that might one of the few Dodger games this year that I will miss completely.

Johnny Cueto looks completely unhittable right now. The D backs have no chance up there. Gracie and the other Snakes' announcer are in awe.

70 Didn't it also looked like Ethier lost that one in the heavy rain? I know I wouldn't have been able to find the ball in all that wet glare (of course, I'm not a professional athlete.) But either way, I agree t hat Druw should've been on that one instead.

Apparently this is a bad opening week for soft tossing lefties.

If the Nationals hold on their 5-0 lead, they will be 4-0 while the Phillies will get their fans in mid-season form by going 0-3.

73
bhsportsguy is actually off chanting "Rock Chalk Jayhawk!" now.

It's all been a facade.

Hey, Odalis did great.

74 Yeah, Cueto looks nice. 5 k's in 3 innings.

Look out Yunel Escobar, Blake Dewitt is 3rd in baseball in VORP.

75 - Perhaps Druw was leery about playing in the Dodger outfield after his buddy Raffy clued him in on what could happen out there. Ethier probaly didn't dispell this perception with the ball he robbed from JP in ST ;)

31 for a while I was having trouble loading DT, other than that ok

That was just a strange play. Ethier was looking at Andruw, expecting him to take the ball, but I am wondering if both players kind of lost it in the rain.

I hope the Jean Pedro trade rumor is true. I would much rather have Repko on the bench. JP is not only unworthy of a starting spot, but he offers little off the bench outside of pinch running. If I were the GM, I would eat half of the salty one's contract and even throw in mid major prospect just to rid myself of the distraction.

Speaking of mid majors, what the heck is the College Basketball Invitational? Are people actually paying money to watch NIT rejects Bradley vs.Tulsa in a 3-game series?

It's way too early to be concerned, but does it seem that Martin is late on every fastball thrown at him so far? I was shocked he saw any breaking/off-speed stuff last night.

Nate Silver's projected Pecota standings show that the Giants will give up the 4th lowest amount of runs in the NL (Dodgers are 3rd)

However, Pecota also projects that the Giants will score less than 4 runs a game.

The D-Backs and Dodgers are both projected to win 87 games and tie for first.

Well it appears Marcus Giles has changed his mind and decided to sign with the Dodgers. He's on his way to AAA -- again.

This is a little strange considering DeWitt leads the team in hits. Hopefully its just one more insurance policy and DeWitt still gets most of the starts until Nomar or LaRoche is healthy

http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/story/10756833/rss

84
There were over 9000 people at Bradley for Game 2 of the CBI. Tulsa drew over 7000 for Game 1.

This comes from a guy who has been to not one, but TWO NIT games at UCLA.

83 - Yeah the rain probably, though it didn't seem like Ethier wanted ball or think it was his. They also changed the lighting, right? But haven't heard that mentioned by anyone as a problem.

86
The 1993 Marlins averaged 3.59 runs/gm in a league that averaged 4.49. And they were in a slight hitter's park.

The NL averaged 4.71 runs/gm in 2007, so an offense averaging under 4 runs per game would be bad. Factoring in AT&T Park as a pitcher's park, and the Giants wouldn't be quite as bad as the Marlins, but the fact that their offense is roughly comparable to a first-year expansion team is awesome.

Jon that's so far out that you're going to talk to Charlie. People can say what they want about his and Tim McCarver's announcing ability, but as far as interviews they are the most conversational, simpatico, and just FUN guys there are. True gentlemen. I'm going to take an early lunch so I can zoom around town pointlessley and listen to you. I think you and Charlie will make a good combination. Both non-rigid, non-egoist, fluid communicators. Don't be so introverted though, it's not that kind of show. It'll work best if you try and rise to his upbeatness.

59 I guess Lombard (or Griffin) could see some action if you-know-who is traded and Repko runs into something, but I can't say I'll be following his numbers too closely. I'm curious who will play where. I'm hoping they let Paul play CF, but they might put Repko there and go with the dreaded four-player rotation.

good to see leyland isn't panicking after 2 games.

91
Every once in awhile, the local station in SD that carries the Padres shows "The Tim McCarver Show". If not sure if there are new episodes or if they are repeats though.

Jon gets to be a guest with Charlie Steiner, but I get rejected by Warren Olney.

Let's see if I ever pledge money to KCRW.

Wait, I don't pledge money to KCRW.

87 We already debated that one earlier and last night. It hasn't been confirmed by the Dodgers, and in fact Colletti said he didn't know where that came from. Shall we wait 'til it's more official? As I said earlier, if he costs little and goes to AAA or replaces Chavez, I don't have much of a problem with it since they do need infield depth. But, until it's confirmed...

84 Took me a minute to figure out who Jean Pedro was. Heh. Thought maybe it was some hot new prospect we were trying to acquire.

88. Wow. Not bad. The CBI is kind of like the early December bowl games among 6-5 teams, but whatever puts fannies in the seats. I guess that much interest shows that the NCAA could easily expand to 128 teams.

And when I think Tulsa, why is it that T.J. Rubley comes to mind?

Bob, shouldn't you be stretching and running wind sprints, getting ready for your talk?
vr, Xei

35 Let's also add RHP Javier Solano (newly signed from Mexico) to the Low A Great Lakes watch list. BA seems to think highly of him.

97
The CBI's marketing slogan now that Bradley is in the final is:

The CBI! It plays in Peoria!

87
I am trying to wrap my brain around the roster moves that are coming. Chan Ho is already on his way. If Giles comes in, I guess that means that Hu goes down followed by DeWitt once Nomar/LaRoche comes back. After that, I would think that Troncoso would be next.

95 I give money to both KCRW and KPCC, my game is to try and figure who Larry Mantle will vote for president.

However I do think that KCRW's biggest draw is their musical programs which one reason why I tend to listen to KPCC more.

99
The spirit of Rule 9 has been violated by post double nine.

89

It was kind of comical. Ethier had this look of "really, this is my ball to get?" and Druw was sort of just standing there ho humming, "sure, you go ahead and take it", but it didn't look like anyone was saying anything out there.

Does anyone want to write the Angel Chavez Dodger career retrospective? It should be both thorough and appropriately moving.

Jon, even if it's off air, please mention to Steiner that G/Kuo is pronounced ("Gwo") with a G sound and not a K sound. Have him pass the info around the booth. Thanks!
vr, Xei

103

Yep... Most of the NPR weekend mainstays are on KPCC, such as Car Talk.

104

The perfect rule violation?

104. Yeah I noticed the rule 9 violation too. I assume it still stands for non Dodger games?
vr, Xei

Just turned that Ari-Cin game on MLBTV. Quite a crowd there in Cincy today to watch that one - not quite Marlins-level, but pretty sparse.

Ah, it's kinda rainy there, looks like.

108

I love Click and Clack (sp?)

I don't even work on cars, but that show keeps me entertained on walks.

this is just way cool

http://tinyurl.com/36b3sc

Thank you for not:

typing "no-hitter" to describe any no-hitter in progress

Emphasis mine. "Perfect game" falls under the penumbra of "no-hitter."

108 They have tried Car Talk a few times on KCRW and it only lasts a few weeks. Not sure why, there was a rumor that Harry Shearer did not want to lead into Car Talk.

But also I think Car Talk is pretty expensive to license so that is another reason why they don't play it.

Mark Grace certainly doesn't care about Rule 9.

99
I would not worry too much as Rule 9 is not a hanging offense unless you've done it multiple times. Jon is a merciful judge.

Hopefully, the Padres get worn out having to play today while the Dodgers bus down. With Chacon pitching, they may get tired having to run the bases all game long. vr, Xei

Cueto with another k and perfect inning . Two great catches by Dunn so far but one was his fault becase he took a bad route.

118. Yeah, it's not as bad as returning a book late to the library. vr, Xei

120. But if you keep doing it...
vr, Xei

118

You can however note the "level of interest" rising in the game.

Is 120 a direct rule violation?

118 What about 120? I feel like we might as well not be here at all.

119 Randy Wolf is not exactly good at keeping the bases clear either.

120 Stubborness will not endear you to judge.

119 Randy Wolf is not exactly good at keeping the bases clear either.

120 Stubborness will not endear you to judge.

102. The silly nickname Jean Pedro is actually an homage to my favorite actor Jean Reno, who's real name is Juan Moreno (no joke). Reno was born in Morocco to Spanish parents who had fled the Franco regime (Francisco, not Julio).

118 , 120 - Get a rope...

128 I'm breaking the glass on my emergency Angry Mob Gear. The pitch fork and torch haven't been used in ages.

My MLBTV picture today literally looks like watching a live watercolor. It'd be kind of cool, actually, if I wasn't trying to follow the game.

And... as the sea captain would say... Thar she blows. Thar, she blows.

Perfect game, no hitter, shutout gone for Cueto. Upton just took him deep. Too bad. He still looks awesome though.

And Justin Upton makes it moot.

Justin Upton does not like rule 9 violations.

bablue jinxed it.
vr, Xei

Well now that it doesn't matter anymore - I can point out how odd it is that the DBacks have had two rookies through no hitters vs. them previously; this would've been the third. If it hadn't been jinxed that is.

Justin Upton is unphased.

128
New York City?

Does Rule 9 apply to spring training games?

On a related note, has there ever been a (9-inning) no-hitter in a spring training game?

On another related note, has there ever been a (9-inning) complete game in a spring training game?

Replace "through" with "throw." And replace that wet towel inside my head with a brain, please.

Comment 99 has been deleted.

Too late. The damage has been done. I guess we could also blame Mark Grace.

140. How about 120? It's like an addendum to 99.
vr, Xei

140 You have closed the barn door, but that cow is gone.

140
In an homage to the upcoming Get Smart movie, 99 has been 86 'd.

140 - Wow, they came fast after that.

Bablue, did you see the other commenters telling you to stop?

138 - See 115 .

I am just shocked that he kept ignoring Bob

140 Minutes from his voice being bounced throughout the universe, he has time to check his comments.

I can just imagine Jon's interview with Charley Steiner being derailed by Jon's preoccupation with DT comment maintenance. :)

144 If Jon were Control, Bablue would already be dead.

149. I wonder if Rule 9 violations would be allowed if we had a Cone of Silence?
vr, Xei

144 Being the obsessive guy that I am at times, I just projected that right now, the Dodgers will miss this kid their first time seeing the Reds in the latter part of this month.

103 Larry Mantle walks his dog in a friend of mine's neighborhood. He apparently doesn't clean up after.

bablue, for future reference, you may inform people that they might like to pay attention to a certain game by posting that it is "interesting." Today's D-Backs-Reds tilt, until the Upton home run, was "extremely interesting."

I'll just be happy to see the Reds beat the DBacks.

I need a website to waste some time, and I don't want to manage an auto shop...any suggestions?

Besides this place...

150 But what if they instead spoke in a foreign language. Or used flash cards?

175

Just to interrupt; wow, who's THIS guy on the Charley Steiner show right now?

I HATE bloggers... worst development in baseball

He said something to that effect. Way to lead into Jon, buddy.

149 And then Jon would delete his account, and we'd be racing to post...

"It's all over now, bablue."

[I stupidly thought linking 175 would magically let you guys tune to XM Channel 175]

Murray Chass (sp.) gives the perfect lead in to Jon.

144 Would you believe, a three-hitter pitched by a journeyman pitcher? How about a seven hitter pitched by a group of girl scouts?

So I'm listening to Steiner's show before Jon comes on. I have no idea who this schmuck is that Steiner is interviewing before Jon, but here's what he just said.

"I have no use for bloggers. It's the worst development I've seen in the media in my lifetime. I know how to work for a newspaper. But anybody can be a blogger. They just say 'I'm a blogger.'"

(And by the way, I don't see how 120 violates the rule.)

157. They said that before Jon came on/
vr, Xei

Is anyone excited about the Get Smart movie? The commercials have my nine year old son in stitches so I'll be seeing it 1st weekend no doubt.

Cueto had excellent minor league numbers.

6ip 10ks 0bbs today against a decent d-bax lineup in a hitter friendly ball park.

Dusty gets to have fun with both he and Homer Bailey later this year.

157/160 - Yikes. What prompted Chass to make that comment?

Murray Chass is a huge (Rule 1 Violation).

Has it been noted that in the top of the 4th, the Fightin' Phils already have 4 errors today?

At least you guys are making me laugh :)

Bloggers take away newspaper subscriptions.

166 I would say it's because bloggers regulary compare his intellegence to a below average rock.

162

I guess it depends on the blogs he has looked at for two seconds. You could say that about a lot of blogs out there...

Murray Chass is an FJM favorite.

171 - But was someone doing that on Steiner's show? I know Chass feels that way - I was just wondering what made him say it today.

165. and Edinson Volquez if he can keep his walk rate down. They have some good young live arms in Cincy. Feel sorry for them pitching in that park though.
vr, Xei

Oh my bad I didn't think you were serious. I just said perfect inning instead of perfect game after Bob's comment. Didn't know you guys were that superstitous here and I don't see the rules anywhere. Its not like a blog has any effect on an ongoing game but rules are rules. Didn't mean any harm just trying to keep everyone updated.

155
vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/

Just wondering, but why does Rule 9 apply to non Dodger games? And even more importantly, if the Dodgers are being no-noed, isn't it our duty to jinx it?

You should apologize to Chass on behalf of bloggers everywhere, Jon. Whatever it is, we'll try not to do it again.

Either that, or you can just prove him wrong by being yourself while he being himself and let the listeners decide.

Don't forget to ask Charlie - whom I like overall a lot - if he's gotten a new prescription this year because he seems better at judging fly balls now. ;-) Have fun, I'm off to work.

166

Ironically, a tease to your interview!

166 He probably feels threatened that he's gradually being made irrelevant by a group of people who do his job better than he does, with more intelligence and insight, and for less pay.

Bloggers are the bane of the lazy reporter, because their existence emphasizes the frequent differences in quality between work produced by someone who's doing it as a labor of love, and work produced by someone who's just going through the motions for a paycheck.

176 - The rules are on the sidebar. I know it's quirky, but thanks for understanding.

From Murry Chass's Wikipedia entry (which seems ironic, though I am probably using ironic incorrectly here.) Some of you might recall his rant last year that got some on the internet a little annoyed.

"Chass is a noted baseball traditionalist who laments the shift in baseball news coverage from daily beat-report biographies (the common purview of columnists like Chass) to more statistics-driven analysis (sometimes called sabermetrics), exemplified by Baseball Prospectus and used by both fantasy baseball leagues and, increasingly, Major League Baseball team management."

"In 2007, Chass asserted that, among "certain topics that should be off-limits," are "statistics mongers promoting VORP and other new-age baseball statistics." Chass particularly believes that in "their attempt to introduce these new-age statistics into the game," these "statistics mongers" threaten "to undermine most fans' enjoyment of baseball and the human factor therein."2 In response to these comments, Baseball Prospectus published an open letter of response, and Chass was criticized from a number of sources within the sabermetrics and sports-blogging communities."

158
But since the account wasn't deleted (thankfully), we can simply describe this thread as "Tangled Up in bablue".

176 It's all right, amigo, I'm still blaming Mark Grace for the jinx anyway. We are a superstitious lot here, yes. But it's part of the game. (But do take a scroll down to the lower right hand side to see all the rules of the land here, for future reference.) :)

I know it's not usually his style, but here's hoping Jon comes out with guns a-blazing. Put Chass in his place.

178
The rule applies to all games, even ones against the Dodgers. Obviously we would all want the Dodgers to win rather than have a no-no against us, but a no-no is historic enough to be privileged to just be a part of it.

100 - Javier Solano from the Monterrey Sultanes. Champions under the leadership of Felix Fermin. They love their baseball down there (up there for me). Great place to see baseball, if you earn in dollars. VIP seats go for about $33 bucks, bleachers a couple of bucks and parking $3.50 (with wash, still less than $5 bucks). Children under 12 and senior citizens get in free (great place to retire), though I don't think that California drivers license are a valid form of identification when trying to establish your age. They have a Texan pitcher down there named Lee Derek.

181

Ding, ding, ding...tell him what he's won

185 Jon has repeatedly excused announcers from obeying Rule 9. The reason is obvious: they have to provide a service to their listeners by providing the most accurate news they can. Imagine you tune in late. Wouldn't you want to know that the pitcher has been perfect so far? Isn't that key information?

179. What happened with Charlie's laser eye surgery? I heard all the radio commercials before the surgery, but nothing aftewards. Guess it was less than a success.

158 The Chocolate Watch Band version is my favorite. Can does a nice one as well.

I always saw rule 9 as less superstitious and more along the lines of keeping things in perspective. Pitchers carry perfect games or no-hitters through 5 innings quite a bit, so it would just be tiresome to always point them out, when they almost always get broken up. Maybe in the 8th inning I would want to hear about it, but just not so early in the game.

188 Cool. What kind of grub do they offer at the stadium? Anything out of the ordinary?

Well I was going to change my name anyway as I said last night but now I have a better reason, to rid myself of the shame... :)

I saw a perfect game in person at Chavez Ravine...or the stadium near Chavez Ravine

195

I think I changed my name 3 times

196
Thank you. Thank you very much.

Oh boy, oh boy, here we go. Jon vs. Chass, on UFC on XM Radio! Now.

Can anyone tell us what Jon's saying on XM?

Is Dodger Thoughts really slow for everybody else?

201 Yes.

The Angels game appears to be a little interesting.

Steiner is asking Jon to comment on bloggers who post their entries "from a beer-can strewn one-bedroom apartment."

Chass particularly believes that in "their attempt to introduce these new-age statistics into the game," these "statistics mongers" threaten "to undermine most fans' enjoyment of baseball and the human factor therein

If the new-age stats are phony and worthless, they can't reasonably be expected to undermine our enjoyment.

If the new-age stats are legitimate, we should be using them.

Where does the enjoyment undermining come into play?

204

Steiner has no right to bring up my lifestyle.

206 Come on Nate, you have a 12 pack of beer in your studio apartment.

204 LOL.

I'm pausing it now and will listen to it in full later. Jon's being really fair-minded and respectful to Chass while also making the point that analysis can come from anywhere and the debate and stereotypes here are not beneficial to anyone in the long run. Nicely done, Jon. More later.

Disappointingly, Steiner didn't ask Jon a single question about baseball or the Dodgers. It was all about bloggers vs. fossils.

210
No questions regarding the origin of "The Bison" either!

I tend to only drink beer that comes from a bottle or on tap. I know...I am elitist that way.

Or, a beer that has a swirly light at the bottom of the glass. Seriously, is that supposed to make me want to spend $12 on a beer at Dodger Stadium?

210 It was classic talk radio, point/counterpoint. Besides, does America really need to hear Jon explain why Ethier and Kemp should start ahead of Pierre no matter how they did in ST.

I just drink rain water and grain alcohol.

Royals/Nationals World Series?

Jon did a good point about getting the message across to judge one's work rather than the source of the content.

212

A large "Premium" Rolling Rock is $11. You might as well pay the extra dollar for disco lights on the bottom of your glass. It's the best value.

213

Jon should have thrown a shout out to the Minotaur, Bison, Bull, Golden God, Solution, 3.5, etc, etc.

That would really confuse Charlie.

Jon should have done a "Jungle" take.

219
I believe Jon was "racked" by Steiner after the call ended. :)

215

hah!

While all of this was going on (what a day so far at DT), the Worlds Greatest Offense of All Time™ is being shut down AGAIN!!

Royals 3
Greatest Offense of All Time 0

6th inning.

Are you kidding?

When Juan Pierre sat, he gave way to...

...Grady Sizemore, who now owns the longest active streak in baseball.

Okay... who's 3.5?

221 In fairness, they scratched Miguel Cabrera from the lineup today. Without Cabreara, is it really the World's Greatest Offense of All Time?

198 - Saw that game myself, hence the moniker. In my day, out of respect for the Angels, we called it Chavez Ravine. I no longer have respect for the Angels of OC.

223
Ethier

3.5 is Andre Ethier. So named because when he became a Dodger, some felt that his ceiling was "fourth outfielder." Others felt he was a fine third outfielder. These two camps split the difference.

Of all of Jon's rules, Rule 9 is the only one that irks me. I generally don't have a lot of tolerance for superstition. However, this is Jon's yard, and I am content to play by his rules.

I'm actually very thankful for the other rules, particularly Rule 5. Nothing can ruin a terrific message board faster than a Rule 5 argument. I'm also thankful for all the other commenters here who abide.

214 - That tops anything I said!

229 Its funny because I think its probably true.

But does that go well with barbeque?

228 I'm annoyed by Rule 10.

No, not really.

228
I am not a believer in the jinx phenomenon, but I look at Rule 9 as an opportunity to be creative when describing a no-hitter in progress. It's sort of like when the NCAA outlawed the dunk. It forced players to be more creative around the basket, and of course helped unleash the greatest offensive weapon of all time!

I like the quirkiness of Rule 9. I never think of it as a superstition thing, just as an "appropriateness" thing.

229-230 I try to work in a Dr. Strangelove reference whenever possible.

194 - A lot of stuff that would no longer be considered exotic fare in Southern California, burritos, tacos and the lot. Oh, something called "gorditas", which are like corn fritters full of spicy stuff full of lard. And of course, the beer, which the players are allowed to advertise on their uniforms.

I've always wondered how far the word "any" in Rule 9 goes. Does it apply to a minor league no-no? Yeah. Okay, then, a Little League no-hitter? A PlayStation no-hitter? Strat-O-Matic?

You can get terrific gorditas in Grand Central Market, downtown L.A.

234
Marty has also been dead-on correct about Jim Murray, Larry Bowa, and the mustard.

I once bought a case of that stuff, but the last two jars spoiled.

237 - See, there you go, no longer exotic. Now if you get down to Oaxaca and see the Warriors play, you can get tacos full of fried bugs or Mexican cavier (ant larvae).

i currently own the #1 waiver wire spot in my fantasy leage, the trade offers are rolling in as enveryone wants cueto.

236
There's probably a chart somewhere, but I would guess any no-hitter that can be reasonably followed by DT members online (probably down to high school level in some cases) is subject to rule 9.

If a video game or Strat-o-Matic game has a no-no going, there probably has to be more than one DT member involved for it to be subject to the rule.

If Barry Zito pitches another game wherein he threatens to finish out a start without a single swing and miss, should we try to avoid jinxing that?

Okay, trying to put the shame behind me.

Its nice that when I check the leaders in BA on MLB Extra Innings Loney and Dewitt are the top two in the NL.

228 , 232 - I like the rule, it's like someone finally wrote down one of baseball's unwritten rules.

I know there are other sports where you don't say "shut out" when holding the other team to zero points. It's bad form, karmic retribution.

I am starting to realize just how good MLB Home Plate (XM175) is.

241. I believe that's very close to how the Supreme Court argued the case. :)
vr, Xei

241 - Speaking of which, during the rain delay last night, I got caught up in an ABPA game between the Cards and the Dodgers (2004), which had a rain delay and went for 19 innings. Dodgers won as Choi scored on a sac fly.

247 - his name is pronounce Ch-i around here

248 . Thanks. Is the dash silent?

245 I would play a drinking game with the Dibble and Kevin Kennedy show that follows Steiner's show (down a shot after each time Kennedy mentions managing or when he was a manager) but I would not be sober for my afternoon at work.

250
The whole Kevin Kennedy / managing reference thing sounds like one of those funny exaggerations, kind of like bloggers in their parents' basement (although that is tired), but it's amazing just how often Kennedy mentions his managerial days. I would guess that in over 90% of Kennedy's appearances, he mentions his days at the helm.

Cordero strikes out Byrnes to finish off the one-hitter.

Today Kennedy is a model of restraint in that regard, at least compared to his usual self.

If XM wants to get more subscribers, they can make a demo reel with the last half of today's Charley Steiner show.

The Dodgers get referenced an awful lot on 175, but it's bound to happen if Kennedy and Steiner have their own shows.

OT:

Baseball-themed crossword at the New York Sun today.

http://www2.nysun.com/crosswords/subscriber_puzzle.php

240 I've got the #1 waiver in Xeifranks league, but here's the kicker: I've already used my five adds this week. Just brilliant.

Between the Dodgers last night, Arsenal getting robbed of a penalty yesterday once again and this Cueto fantasy debacle, these last 36 hours or so haven't been too kind to me. Sigh.

Fantasy Question if anyone would like to give their opinion:

I'd get:

Ivan Rodriguez
Aramis Ramirez

They'd get:

Russ Martin
Kevin Youkilis

The only other 3rd baseman I have right now is Kouzmanoff.

257 Bad for you. Pudge is a significantly below average catcher now.

257 i'd keep your guys regardless of categories... i'm guess it's not an ops league.

I think you'd be better off passing on that trade. I think its a wash, personally; Aramis Ramirez is a VERY good 3B, but you're also trading away the franchise in Russ Martin (even with the 0-11).

Youk is pretty good, but if you already have a starting 1B, it might be worth the risk, but there won't be much gain either way; it just depends on what your needs are.

d

Its much harder to find a great hitting catcher than a very good 3B, so yes, just to support 260 I'd just keep what you have.

The coolest sustainable energy idea I have ever heard of, by far.

http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/20500/

SFW

The coolest sustainable energy idea I have ever heard of, by far.

http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/20500/

SFW

The coolest sustainable energy idea I have ever heard of, by far.

http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/20500/

SFW

Cueto-mania?

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20080403&content_id=2488067&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

262, 263, 264 - I think you should look into recycling your posts.

Yeah, sorry about the triple post. I guess someone, or something, is trying to get me to cease and desist from posting here while at work.
Fine...whomever you are, you've won. Sorry about the mess, Jon, it wont happen again. I will be the silent observer in the corner from now on. :(

Yeah, sorry about the triple post. I guess someone, or something, is trying to get me to cease and desist from posting here while at work.
Fine...whomever you are, you've won. Sorry about the mess, Jon, it wont happen again. I will be the silent observer in the corner from now on. :(

Yeah, sorry about the triple post. I guess someone, or something, is trying to get me to cease and desist from posting here while at work.
Fine...whomever you are, you've won. Sorry about the mess, Jon, it wont happen again. I will be the silent observer in the corner from now on. :(

192-Can I just say, MC Safety, that you have excellent taste in music? Discussion of Can and the Dodgers in a single thread...never thought I'd see the day. (But where exactly do Can cover "It's All Over Now..." however?)

Murray Chass is a fool. He picked us 4th in the division in Sunday's NY Times, remarking simply, "Joe Torre does not have a very good team." That he's anti-statistic and anti-blog surprises me not one whit. Bill Plaschke, East.

kouz.

That's genius if you did that intentionally.

264
The only thing that reminds me of is that awful movie with Keanu Reeves and Morgan Freeman regarding some energy source -- forgot the title -- and in the preview someone asks Keanu what he's doing, and he pulls down the sweater covering his mouth and yells, "the best I can!".

It's a classic Keanu moment and I have no idea why it's stuck in my head.

272 - I agree. Post(s) of the day, all six of 'em.

Cool, thanks, that's what I figured. I don't think I could bear trading away Russ anyway.

Zach the Ripper, didn't you have this problem before? That's a rhetorical question and you don't have to answer.

If Zach stops now, the terrorists have won (did Chass say something about blogs being repetitive)?

270 I believe it's on a 7 inch with Yoo Doo Right, that's all I got thus far. I'm still looking though.

262
263
264
Thanks for the link. I love that stuff.

Ah, Zach the Ripper.

Ah, humanity.

They could anchor one of those off of Candlestick. Though I think torn that down and salted the ground.

I don't know if its been discussed yet so sorry if this is a repeat but does anybody else notice how badly Kemp is pressing? Swinging out of his shoes at everything and trying to make a good impression I guess. I know, I know its still early in the year but I had a sneaking suspicion that Torre was going to view Kemp as Pierre's platoon-mate because Ethier and Pierre are both LH. Hopefully Joe will reassure Kemp that he's in there for an extended period of time so the kid can relax and rake. I also don't like seeing Kemp and Loney batting so low in the order I think its counter-productive to their young talent. If Loney hit 2 and Kemp hit 3 they would surely get better pitches to hit than in the 6/7 spots. Who commands more respect from the opposing pitcher, DeWitt and our pitchers or Kent and Jones? My ideal lineup:

Furcal
Loney
Kemp
Kent
Jones
Martin
Ethier
DeWitt/LaRoche/Nomar

Forget about the whole righty-lefty lineup alignment and bat the personel in a position that gives our team the best chance to succeed.

270 I'm not having much luck finding it. I'm not sure if this recording I have is live (if it is it's fantastic) or not. I'll have to ask my friend.

Fantastic job today on the Beat - very enjoyable segment.

283-Can that possibly be right (and this is way off-topic, but it wouldn't be the first time for DT)? The only place I've seen those songs yoked is on a single by Damon & Naomi, who cover the Can on one side, the Dylan on the other.

Have you heard any of the recordings of Can jamming with Tim Hardin?

284 If this is the same Jeff Erickson of Fantasy Baseball Hour on XM, I have enjoyed your show for the past few years.

Also enjoy Down on the Farm Fridays.

If it is not the same Jeff Erickson, pardon.

Wouldn't that be Rotowire Jeff Erickson?

282 - I think the line up that Torre has makes sense. Martin is probably the best all around hitter on the team and should get a lot of at bats (plus, his ability to steal bases vaults him to the top of the line up). Line Drive Loney (if that's the name we're going with) should be in the 5-6 range because it gives him a better chance to come up with runners on (last night notwithstanding). I could see switching Kemp and Ethier, but I think at this point they are interchangeable in the line up; plus, if Kemp is pressing hitting 7th, what is he going to do hitting 3rd?

287 Or Rotowire's Jeff Erickson.

Nice game for EB last night.

285 I saw that album on Discogs as well, but the song I have was definitely not recorded in 1998. I haven't heard any of those sessions with Tim Hardin, but I'd love too.

Pretty wild one heading into extra innings in Philadelphia.

Just a friendly reminder...

Kershaw vs. West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx

Tonight @ 4 p.m. PT

282

That is my lineup (except switch kent and Jones) in MLB2k8

I missed Jon on XM! NOOOOO! I usually go to lunch and listen to Steiner right around that time but of course I missed it today. Anyone have the audio posted?

288 Good points, I like Russell hitting 2 hole as well and Loney is a good guy to have up with RISP (5/6 hole) but I think Kemp in the 7 spot is bad. If Kemp is in the 3 spot, pitchers are more likely to challenge him with a steady diet of fastballs in order to face Kent and Jones with less runners on. I look at Loney as a good OBP guy with occasional long ball pop(also a good fit for the 2 hole). We need 2 guys with passable to good OBP's at the top of our lineup, that killed us last year. If Loney and Furcal were at the top and getting on consistently, that puts a ton of pressure on the opposing pitcher. Like I said in my above post, its still early and I'm sure Joe will continue to tweak the lineup but I think we should be trying to get the player with the most raw power on our team (Kemp) in a position where he will have the best opportunity for success.

even the wildlife hate the Red Sox

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/15784355/detail.html

293 Your MLB2k8 lineup is nearly identical to mine as well, replace Jones in CF with me, I absolutely rake in that game :)

296 - To be fair, it looks like it's Red Sox fans that they hate.

I'd like to thank El Lay Dave and Jacob L for coming to the library today for my talk. If anyone else is a regular visitor here and I didn't recognize you, I thank you for attending also.

It was both fun and exhausting. I didn't have a dress rehearsal of my presentation so I had to do some editing on the fly to make it fit in the time I had.

You didn't see me Bob? I was the one with a parrot on my shoulder.

I saw a guy with a marmoset ...

298 true and to be honest I think that is where most of my "hate" is focused. I guess it's really all things Boston.

I was the parrot.

You know...

Why DON'T they just rename the Honda Center the "Honda Civic Center"? That sounds so much better.

Well, actually, the "Honda Pond" sounds better. This has been your LogikReader Random Thought of the Day

Nice piece, even if from a Fantasy baseball angle (I don't mean that disrespectfully, but often Fantasy baseball pieces are not all that well-written), on The Minotaur:

http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/fantasy/story/10758210

If you are still listening to XM, a discussion about bunting led me to check a few stats.

Willie Mays had 13 sacrifices in his career.
Barry Bonds has 4 sacrifices in his career.
A-Rod has 16 sacrifices but none since 1999.

The Griddle has been on autopilot. But since there are no rules over there we discussed Bush and the fact that no one has gotten a hit got a hit off of him during his opening day first pitches.

The Griddle is going on vacation Saturday. But I'll have my computer.

So we'll have to complain about the fact that there are no rules to be annoyed at during the UCLA game. Go Bruins!

How many double plays are we going to see this season if Jones and Kent hit back-to-back?

Since Loney is producing so well in the latter part of the game, (innings 7, 8, and 9, sometimes called "money time"), why not call him "The Money Man"?

Hey, it's just a suggestion.

Not sure if this has been posted yet, but I found it pretty interesting.
Branch Rickey's scouting report on Drysdale
http://tinyurl.com/2shzo6

305 I can proudly say that I'm one of 22% in my sportsline fantasy keeper league. The really tough question is after this season I can only keep 3, who do I keep?

Kershaw
Billingsley
Loney
Kemp
Pence
Kendrick (2B)
Cain

311 - Less than if they were hitting apart.

Yes, we have no Giles:

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

Minor League Affiliates AAA Las Vegas, AA Jacksonville, A Great Lakes, A Inland Empire all start today, except for Rookie Leagues (Ogden, Gulf Coast Vero Beach) which start mid-June (June 17, June 19).

Are Great Lakes Loons the A+ and Inland Empire 66ers the A-, or the other way around? It does not appear to be an official designation anymore. Do the + and - (such as they are) apply to their whole respective leagues? Do players ever get promoted from A- to A+, or normally only from A of either type to AA and AAA?

316 Loons are in what is known as a Class A league while Inland Empire plays in High Class A league.

Josh Bell, among others, was promoted from the Loons to the 66ers.

Bob gives a good talk. It was particularly well suited for political junkies, history buffs, urban planners and baseball geeks. As such, I enjoyed it all, though I suspect portions of the talk were lost on portions of the audience.

Also, Bob asked me to suggest a DT/Griddle book club. We'll be starting with "The Power Broker," a light and breezy read about Robert Moses.

The Midwest League is A. The California League is Advanced A.

316 The Solution™ is still the solution!

Bob gives a good talk

But can he back it up...?

311 - Sounds good, but we should be careful. If we try to combine it with KG16's desire to promote Loney's line drive hitting, we could be in for a Rule 1 violation.

From Jayson Stark

The Dodgers already run an impressive rotation out there, fronted by Brad Penny, Derek Lowe, Hiroki Kuroda and Chad Billingsley. But it might look even better around July.

They could get Jason Schmidt back by late May. And they've already begun internal discussions on how to get maximum late-season impact from their favorite phenom, Clayton Kershaw.

TRIVIALITY ANSWER
Your new leader in on-base percentage: Todd Helton (.431). In home run ratio: Jim Thome (one every 13.4 AB). And in runs scored: Ken Griffey Jr. (1,546).

They've kicked around the idea of limiting Kershaw's early-season innings in the minor leagues by replacing some of his early starts with planned bullpen breaks, where he would pitch only a couple of innings. That way, if they opt to call him up midyear, he should be fresh enough, theoretically, that he could be used normally, as opposed to finding himself in a Joba Rules-type scenario.

Kershaw, who just turned 20, had a stupendous spring, giving up only one run (on a solo homer), whiffing the likes of Prince Fielder and David Ortiz, hitting 98 mph on the radar gun and earning scout adjectives like "electric" and "special."

"This guy is real," said GM Ned Colletti this spring. "He's definitely real."

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&page=rumblings

318 I say the Lords of the Realm with time for a role play where I play Bowie Kuhn and Bob plays the arbitrator who took down the reserve clause. Jacob can play either Andy Messersmith or Marvin Miller.

316 A little long but here is a pretty good explanation.

Class A has been divided into two levels since Minor League Baseball made an adjustment in 2002, although most experts still recognize three because players are promoted by major league clubs as they always have been:

High-A - One level below Double-A, the California League, Florida State League, and the Carolina League remain at a higher level of play. High-A teams are often located in large and mid-size cities (San Jose, CA; suburban Roanoke, VA; etc). This is often a second or third promotion for a minor-league player, although a few high first-round draftees, particularly with college experience (college players tend to reach the majors faster than those drafted out of high school, because they usually possess more "big league ready" skills), and players burning up the foreign rookie leagues will jump to this level. These leagues play a complete season as "AAA" and "AA" do (April through early September). Several younger Japanese, Taiwanese, Korean and Australian baseball players get their start at this level as do some of the aforementioned top American "rookie" prospects. Many of these teams, especially in the Florida State League, are owned by the big league parent clubs and use their spring training complexes.

Low-A - Full season leagues like the South Atlantic League and Midwest League are a mix of high-quality first-season rookies from the previous year's draft and undrafted signings, as well as players moving up from the Short-Season leagues.

318
Thanks. I wish I had had a dress rehearsal. I left out the part about Roz Wyman being a superdelegate this year.

"This guy is real," said GM Ned Colletti this spring. "He's definitely real."

No. No he isn't. He is a Minotaur. With an arm that is literally electric.

J.R. Towles' double ties it in San Diego. Unfortunately it wasn't off Heath Bell, so I can't type "For whom the Bell Towles."

328
You know who's probably happy right now?

J.R. Towles' kin.

Cycle alert in San Diego?

328 Maybe you could call J.R. Towles skins the Padres in the 7th.

329 Great, now I'm stealing his lines.

That deserves a Towles House Cookie!

Seriously, Scott Hairston. I don't know if I was a Padre fan would I want the guy to succeed or not.

Bad pun karma puts the Pads back in front, 3-2, bottom 7th.

Scott Hairston, for the record, has twenty-six career home runs, including two so far this year.

334
Since being acquired by the Padres last season, Hairston has hit .392/.448/.902 at Petco, with 7 HR in 58 PA! (Including today)

isn't a cycle less common than a no hitter.

why isn't it taboo to reference a cycle while ones in place?

Orange alert for Scott Hairston. This is an orange alert.

"This guy is real," said GM Ned Colletti

So I guess e^(Kershaw) cannot be expressed in terms of sine and cosine. Also, (Kershaw)^2 is positive.

Because everyone knows you can't jinx a cycle.

So what's the deal with Ogden and the Pioneer League? That was always a Rookie-level league, then last year they started calling it "Low A" or "Short-Season Class A." Now this year it looks like they've changed the designation back to "Rookie." I'm assuming the the actual quality of play of the league has remained fairly constant, and that all the back-and-forth is mostly semantic.

I think more in terms of absolute, so, |Kershaw|

341 ah yes, of course

Does anyone know what the prognosis for Elbert is this year?

345 Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus wrote a couple of days ago that Elbert will start the season in extended spring training and said that Dodgers officials are worried about his lack of progress in his recovery so far, although they aren't saying so publicly.

339
I need to re-familiarize myself with the color system.

313 he can't even be picked up in my league, i guess this confirms that he is not real.

Trevor time in SD

Yellow alert - Player needs triple for cycle
Orange alert - Player needs double for cycle
Red alert - Player need single for cycle

If a player needs a home run for the cycle, the level of the alert varies depending upon the determination of the Cycle Detection Warning System, which is headquartered in Thief River Falls, Minnesota.

346 - thx. Doesn't sound too encouraging.

I don't get it. Does NedCo mean that Kershaw ONLY has a real component, or that Kershaw has a real component but also an imaginary component?

Does |Kershaw| = Re(Kershaw)?

OK, Astros need to score here off Hoffman, because:

(1) The Padres shouldn't win; and
(2) Scott Hairston should have a chance to hit a home run and complete his cycle. In a losing effort, of course.

346 Here's a preview of the guys in the minors.

http://tinyurl.com/2nfhoe

One away in San Diego.

Two gone now.

Game over.

San Diego will continue its long national nightmare.

But they win this game.

338- No, a no-hitter is less likely than a cycle.

"This guy is real," said GM Ned Colletti this spring. "He's definitely real."

Haha, I love it. A direct shot at us "bloggers" who have designated him as already fiction.

It's close, though. 255 no-hitters; 276 cycles, according to wikipedia.

And... not to tell Bob how to go about his business... but when are we going to be told to stand down? I want to stand down!

Interesting article on yahoo sports by Jeff Passan regarding Larry Bowa and other 3rd base coaches and this new rule restricting their movement around the 3rd base box. At least two other third base coaches see Bowa's point and claim this rule actually makes them feel less safe. As usual, the "suits" try to tell the baseball guys how to do their job on the field. Over regulation and an over-reaction to the tragedy last year. This all to the game's detriment - The Selig way!! The game has grown only because he buried his head in the sand and chosen to ignore the elephant in the room while raking in the profits and gloating at how he ran Peter O'Malley out of baseball!! God, I hate that former used car salesman!!

Orange alert for Scott Hairston. This is an orange alert.

Bob does not use the word "cycle" in his alerts, necessarily. So wouldn't it be all good with the matter of jinxing anyway?

Good interview with Steiner, Jon. It's not easy talking on the air, unless you're that kinda guy. One could sense your mind had a lot to say after each question, but your mouth didn't quite know how to put it…to pare it down.

Thoughtful writers like you don't often excel verbally, at least in those "Live!" situations, (too many internal thoughts and counter-thoughts vying for expression). The inverse is likewise true, and much worse; fast talkers are a clichéd bores with pen in hand.

A few points to keep in mind if anyone finds themselves in the blogger vs. Pro discussions.

1. Quality: The overarching assumption in these discussions is that Pros are simply better than bloggers. Pro-bloggers should aggressively and even condescendingly point out how very bad Pros have proven to be. Give examples, name names.

2. Credentials: Pros LOVE this word "credentialed". As if they've been endorsed by God Himself. Sport are not science. Plashkie is not a surgeon. One could sort of care LESS if they're "credentialed". I can't think a realm where credentials mean less than in sports coverage.

3. Pros have Access: This is not always an attribute. Pro-bloggers need to point out that being an insider often means being a mere courtier to power. A part of the establishment and beholden to access. This all counts against being an independent teller of hard truths. Which has been the very appeal of bloggers.

4. Anyone Can Blog: No, not quite. Anyone can ATTEMPT to have a blog, just like anyone can attempt to write for a paper. Bloggers and Pros exist in the same capitalist meritocracy*, the good ones will sell (be read) and the talentless will fall by the waste side.

5. Merit*: A concept that should be turned around on the Pros. A blogger has to survive on his talent alone (word of mouth). A Pro can ride the coattails of an established paper. It's parasitical. (If you get really mad you can call them parasites.)

6. Bloggers are Anonymous: "No one knows who they are", as the Pros put it. Even though most every Blogger has an "about me" section. Granted, this is one issue that the Pros have a point, albeit a superficial one. However, it's not about who you are (subtle elitism there) it's how you write, it's what you have to say. Some of the greatest writers of all time have written anonymously or under pseudonyms.

7. Statistics: Blog supporters should always have a good, crisp, non-academic line about the importance of statistics. Such as, "statistics are not just numbers on a page, they are how we measure performance…they are how we come to know things, REALLY know things." On the point of statistics pro-bloggers need to positively shame the Pros. Talk about how the older generation "fell asleep at the wheel." "Time just passed them by." Throw in the word "primitive" at every opportunity.

362
Stand down.

363 What I don't get in the great box debate, is how can MLB enforce a rule about standing in the box, when they haven't defined where the box should go? Since it's not well defined, I think in the meantime clearly we should let Bowa draw out an acceptable box for the ground crew. San Diego has already changed their box for our upcoming series:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080403/news_1s3padnotes.html

365
That was great. I especially liked the breaks in the paragraphs.

I wonder if the writers are upset about FJM?

368 Heh.

The dimensions of the coaching box and its location is depicted in Diagram 1 at this link:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/01_objectives_of_the_game.pdf

369 I couldn't possibly see why they would be.

Ah HA!

Jon asked when it happened "What prompted Murray Chass to react like he did?"

FJM has the answer; It appears to be his parting shot. That makes so much sense.

371 Interesting, I wonder then why I keep reading that the location varies from park to park, and it seems San Diego already expanded their box. Tim Brown's column on yahoo mentioned earlier specifically states, 'According to the added element to Rule 4.05, the coach must stand his ground – in a box that is not standardized from ballpark to ballpark – "until being passed by a batted ball."'

Assuming our coaches boxes are the correct dimensions, which looks about right to me, why are any other parks different? Or, is that itself a myth? If the dimensions are something that are unenforced by MLB, then I still think it's an easy fix for us to move/enlarge it.

yea, I just read that one. But he won't know until the pony arrives

Did Murray realize his interview was being broadcast over computers, or was he told it was being transmitted via Morse Code?

Friendly reminder, James McDonald takes the mound against West Tennessee in 10 minutes for those who care to listen in. (There will be no Minotaur sighting until tomorrow night.)

377 It wasn't me who messed up, honest (it was John Shoemaker!). He said Clayton would start opening day.

If you live near Jacksonville, you may want to pencil in June 14 (Jon Meloan bobblehead night) and July 12 (Chin-Lung Hu bobblehead night) on your calendar.

I would feel bad for Murray Chass, but for one I suspect Mr. Chass has a fair amount of money, and two, it's one of those "one small step for man..." moments.

The free audio at milb.com rules.

Minor league baseball loves its fans.

380

I'm human. I still feel bad for anyone who loses his job, at least ones who get laid off.

NPUT

363, 371 - I'm sorry I gave credit to the wrong writer- it was Tim Brown, not jeff Passan, My Bad.

Howver, if the boxes aren't uniform, then how come it's okay for umpires to decide who can venture in and venture out of the box, seems pretty arbitrary to me and open to whether an umpires likes the coach and the team a lot or holds a grudge and becomes a stickler for another team. Then you have an uneven playing field, where one coach can go up the line to direct his runner home and the other one is restricted. I see a whole Pandora's box full of protests coming on in MLB if that starts happening. Of course, Bud Selig will act clueless as usual and Bob Watson will do his usual judgments based on city locale like he does for bean ball wars, just ask Scioscia!! Bob Watson, the
Stu(pid)Jackson Anti-Socal Czar of discipline of Baseball!! Look back on how he handles the Rangers -Angels scuffles and how many hit batters without retribution the Ranger pitchers were allowed to target before the Angels realized they would have to do a bench clearing brawl to force action and endure suspensions on their own. That's Stinking Bob Watson for you, him and Selig, kissing the Yankees and Red sox behind and sticking the knife in the Dodgers and Angels back!!

381 "Minor league baseball loves its fans."

Minor league baseball is trying to hook people on the free version so that when they start charging for it in 2009 or '10, people will have learned to rely on it and be willing to pay.

Their site is run by the same people who run MLB.com.

385 That will learn me to make assumptions.

325 Thank you. But what did you mean by this:

"most experts still recognize three because players are promoted by major league clubs as they always have been:"

and then you list two types, not three. What's the (former) third type?

@286/287 - Yeah, one and the same. Thanks.

Lineup from Diamond:

Furcal, SS
Martin, C
Loney, 1B
Kent, 2B
Ethier, LF
Jones, CF
Kemp, RF
DeWitt, 3B
Kuroda, P

Our $18 million CF has already been dropped to 6th. Fabulous.

Is Kent ever going to be moved down from cleanup this year?