Memories... From the corners of our mind... Distant rhetorical question memories... of the way we were...

From an MLB.com story about the Pirates saying they like the renovations done to Wrigley Field.

"It's not up to Major League standards right now," then-manager Jim Tracy said. "Have I ever seen a Major League surface at the outfield like that? Never."

Dodgers hitting with runners in scoring position: .267/.350/.393

good lord that's disappointing

The Dodgers have yet to record a catcher's interference play, too - that's disappointing! They better get their act together or this is going to be a long season!

Small sample sizes, indeed.

3
There's only been one all season ... sniff...

2 - That's actually pretty good. What do you think is fair to expect?

Number 8 hitters have out OPS'd those batting 3, 6, or 7.

5 - actually, I guess it's mainly the BA that's disappointing, I'd prefer to see it a little higher, in the .285 range

The Wizards' gold and black jerseys might be the ugliest jerseys in the history of sports

7 No NL team hit .285 last year.

A team batting .285 would be pretty amazing.

In 2007, four teams hit .285 or higher with RISP:

Tigers - .311/.383/.478
Yankees - .293/.378/.451
Braves - .291/.379/.468
Rangers - .285/.366/.468

The 2007 Dodgers hit .278/.359/.395

http://www.bb-ref.com/pi/shareit/BT6j

10 Jon, did you get the e-mai?

11
I forgot to add, overall MLB hit .272/.357/.423 with RISP.

8 Oregon's black uniforms with black lettering might be the stupidest uniforms of all time.

9 , 10 - I'm just talking with runners in scoring position. If I'm looking at the numbers right from last year, Atlanta hit .291 with runners in scoring position, everyone else was somewhere in the range of .260-.275.

I just prefer to see more hits with runners in scoring position, because that's the most likely way to score.

Maybe my standards are just a bit too high.

14 - those are stupid, I'll agree, but Washington's are just flat out ugly

What a difference a week makes. Today is the 5th straight start for Kemp, and the OF distribution numbers are as follows (through last night):

Starts (including today)
Andruw 16
Ethier 16
Kemp 10
Pierre 9

Innings
Andruw 133
Ethier 129
Kemp 87
Pierre 65

PA
Ethier 65
Andruw 62
Kemp 46
Pierre 35

14
The yellow ones (with or without yellow lettering) might take the cake. They just assault the eyes.

15--Why would you expect a team to have a higher batting average with RISP, than if no one was on base?

I like how the lineup on Tony Jackson's blog today has position numbers listed rather than the standard "LF", "SS", etc. Maybe the change of pace will be a good omen.

Yeah, we haven't even had the chance to use the Vonnegut-inspired "So it goes..." for Pierre starting over Kemp.

I hope we never do.

19
Why would you expect a team to have a higher batting average with RISP, than if no one was on base?

2007 MLB
Nobody on: .262/.324/.417
RISP: .272/.357/.423

2006 MLB
Nobody on: .264/.325/.428
RISP: .270/.356/.426

2005 MLB
Nobody on: .258/.318/.412
RISP: .267/.350/.420

I would imagine part of the difference is from pitching from the stretch.

My First Prediction of the Year

Given the roster limitations, I think Nomar has about 3 weeks to show that he can play everyday, if not, he may not be on the roster on Memorial Day.

19 - because getting a hit with runners in scoring position is the best way to score runs.

23
I can't see Nomar getting released unless he does some serious grumbling.

Also, you can't call it a prediction if you use "he may not be...". Use won't!! :)

22 - also, I suspect part of it is from seeing relievers rather than starters (how often do we see a guy pulled after giving up a couple of hits midway through an inning?)

Dodgers are .143/.652/.143 after 3-0 counts, this year (with a .125 BABIP), good for an sOPS+ of 14. They went .467/.949/.933 in those situations, last year, sOPS+ of 114.

I always assumed that batters hit better with runners in scoring position because it meant that the pitcher was already somewhat ineffective because he runners get on base.

Do we get to have the debate about whether clutch hitting exists now? Hopefully it will be as fun as it was in 2004.

29
Bill James is starting to believe in clutch hitting. But my friend Phil Birnbaum is betting money with people (to donate to charity) about whether or not someone can identify a clutch hitter.
http://sabermetricresearch.blogspot.com/2008/02/clutch-hitting-bet-part-iii.html

I had a really clutch sandwich, yesterday. Hadn't eaten all day, and I was flagging badly, but that sandwich put me right back in the game.

The league-wide RISP numbers are interesting--relatively small jumps in BA and SLG, but a high jump in OPB. Doesn't that suggest that there are only a few more hits (and on average, only a few more singles) with RISP but a lot more walks? Given that RISP = 2nd, 3rd, or both, doesn't that make sense, given that pitchers might be more apt to pitch around hitters to set up double plays, or pitch around strong hitters in a lineup to get to weaker ones? I'm really not sure it shows that hitters are normally better in those situations--it seems to me the strategic factors probably play more of a role. I like Bob's idea about pitcher ineffectiveness too :)

30

James has been watching too much Big Papi.

31

I'm about to take a clutch bathroom break.

30
As far as I know James has just said that the evidence that previously convinced him clutch hitting didn't exist wasn't very good and he's no longer convinced. In "Underestimating the Fog" he wrote that he now thinks there isn't any compelling evidence one way or the other.

Is there something newer?

clutch hitting is psychological, plain and simple. Some guys can handle the pressure of getting a hit late in a close game that makes the difference between a win and a loss and some guys can't.

Clutch is ill defined, I'll admit, but it's a very human element of the game.

Lineup from TJ. Kemp and Ethier flipped.

Furcal 6
Ethier 7
Kemp 9
Kent 4
Loney 3
Martin 2
Jones 8
Garciaparra 5
Billingsley 1

34
I interpreted that essay to mean that he's open to changing his mind.

Some guys can handle the pressure of getting a hit late in a close game that makes the difference between a win and a loss and some guys can't.

If a guy hits a hard line drive right to a fielder in this situation and makes an out, does this mean he couldn't handle the pressure?

35 I'm willing to believe that some guys are unclutch, but not that people actually get better in clutch situations.

Andruw Jones

Bases empty: .273/.385/.455/.840
Runners on: .069/.156/.069/.225

38 - this is one of the problems with this topic, people who normally talk about the aggregate suddenly use an example of a single plate appearance; and vice versa.

Another problem is that when you look at clutch hitting isolated (really hitting in general) you tend to ignore clutch pitching (or pitching in general) and clutch defense (or defense in general). A pitcher can also be clutch, a fielder can be clutch making a defensive stop. It's sort of like the luck/skill conversation we had a while back.

39 - that's fair, and probably pretty accurate.

It's sort of like the luck/skill conversation we had a while back.

Right, which is why your blanket psychological assertions do not work for me.

(from last thread): Thanks for the well-wishes! She has already adapted surprisingly well, seeing as she was definitely a lefty. Sure requires more attention nowadays, however!

23 Nomah, more than anyone in recent memory, has really been a team player about his demotion(s) and position switching. I don't have a problem with Nomar being on the club in a limited role.

I totally believe in chokers. Richard Quest, for example.

44

What about Latrell Sprewell?

45- I'm watching an NBA game for the first time this year, right now. Noon-thirty can't come soon enough.

It's still better than soccer, though.

44
Andrew, you mind if I borrow your Wilson Pickett line? Only for my personal use in private non-commercial context, you understand.

47- I give it freely to the public domain. Raising awareness of Wicked Pickett is a mitzvah.

48
What a guy!

I believe the large disparity in OBP with RISP compared to with no one on is solely due to intentional walks. You would never intentionally walk someone with no one on (well other than Bonds). But almost all intentional walks occur with RISP. I think if you took out those walks you would have OBP only 8-10 points higher with RISP, like BA is.

49
There's a first.

Bad news: Josh Rawitch's blog says Bennett is starting.

Billingsley seems to get lit up whenever he's behind the dish. Damn!

Not sure how many people access DT with their blackberry, but I've found the Opera browser works really well. Blackberry's browser struggles handling the comments.

Yes, that did happen the one time Bennett caught for Bills.

Left field has a .572 OPS this season

I don't get this. According to ESPN, Ethier is OPSing .820 and Pierre is at .688. To the best of my recollection they are the only 2 players to man left-field so far this year. What gives?

51
No, I've been impressed with Wilson Pickett lots of times.

54 Bills also had some UGLY spring training pairings with Bennett. But when paired with Martin in his last exhibition start (Red Sox), he was great. Just like he was great last week.

55
Ethier and Pierre have played outfield spots other than LF, and have apparently hit better in the other spots.

Are we supposed to believe it's random that both of Bennett's starts have happened with Billingsley on the mound...?

Matt Kemp and Trevor Hoffman at the Great Wall of China on Fox right now

58 Makes sense. Thanks, D4P.

How odd that Ethier would mash when he plays right field but struggle when Kemp is in the line-up.

How odd that Ethier would mash when he plays right field but struggle when Kemp is in the line-up

Kemp is probably more likely to be in the lineup when a lefty is on the mound, which means Ethier is more likely to struggle.

Any other conundrums you need me to solve?

62 - just Bennett being on the roster, and catching Billingsly

58 - It's night and day.

Ethier has a 593 OPS as LF and 1120 as RF. The pressure of filling JP's shoes must be too great.

Left field is haunted.

Nothing compared to the pressure of filling his cap however.

Actually, Pierre has only batted while playing LF this year. His other PAs came as a pinch-hitter, where he's 1-2.

As I suggested before, Ethier plays LF when Kemp plays RF, which means that a lefty is probably on the mound. Ethier plays RF when Pierre plays LF, which means that a righty is probably on the mound.

This probably explains the difference in Ethier's performance in LF vs. RF.

Could somebody who's watching the basketball game explain what just happened?

53
I would concur. I use Opera for DT on my BlackBerry. It's like night and day.

Most other mobile apps I use are ones that are already formatted for BlackBerries such as ESPN or MLB.com.

69
I'm not watching, but now I'm intrigued.

Are night and day really that different?

71- Washington had the ball and tried to inbound, but the Cleveland player tipped the pass up, then came down with it, which looked like a steal, to me. But the ref whistled it dead. Then they had a jump ball. The announcers said it was a double something (double violation, maybe?), but didn't explain what either of the violations were. Or why it became a jump ball, instead of reverting to Washington's ball to inbound.

Just caught a minute of the Giants game in St Louis. Showed ex Giant pitcher Kirk Reuter in the stands. I hadn't realized this before but, separated at birth: Reuter and Dobby the House Elf.

Also noticed in my channel flipping: The Washington Wizards have had more trouble finding non-repulsive uniform color choices than any other franchise I can think of.

73
Are you sure it wasn't a double foul?

I don't think anybody touched anybody else. It looked like the play was whistled dead before they had the chance. Unless it was off camera. But it was the ref standing at the baseline who made the call.

Is there an NBA version of Gameday?

Is there an NBA version of Gameday?

I prefer CBSSportsline's "Gamecenter".

http://www.sportsline.com/nba/scoreboard

I am trying to look on NBA.com to see if the official play-by-play is posted, but NBA.com refuses to load on my computer.

Which is a PC. And running IE.

Perhaps the NBA is too edgy to operate in that environment.

No help there. "Jumpball received by Delonte West."

Doesn't say why there was one.

80 was directed at 78. I couldn't get nba.com to load for me, either.

Here's the PBP on Sportsline.

http://cbs.sportsline.com/nba/gamecenter/playbyplay/NBA_20080419_WAS@CLE

Mark Grace is wearing a Steve Lavin collar.

how late in the game was it? trying to check espn360

84 - never mind, the replay is not on espn360

It was the one that came before the jumpball at 15 seconds remaining.

68 Bingo! Ethier is OPSing 1.048 vs. RHP so far this year but only .411 vs. LHP. This surprises me. I always thought the line on Ethier was that he hit lefties quite well.

87

I think the line probably included more than three weeks of a baseball season.

The Braves and Dodgers each have 7-9 records, despite having outscored their respective opponents by 23 and 13 runs, respectively.

vr,
D4P

88 Touche

90

Didn't mean to be snotty, but it appears he's had about 20 at-bats against lefties so far.

I think NBA.com's homepage was designed by the guy who brought us the black on black Oregon basketball unis.

I really like Dick Stockton as a basketball announcer, but I'm not sure about baseball...

Dick Stockton was the announcer for Carlton Fisk's home run in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series.

He's done a lot of baseball, mostly with the Red Sox.

Phew. Eric Karros just told me that all Andruw has to do is get a few hits and then he'll get going.

92

Why assume the creator is male?

94
I guess I missed that game.

I think NBA.com's homepage was designed by the person who brought us the black on black Oregon basketball unis.

Is Delwyn Young breaking rule 11?

Woah. Delwyn's an interesting dude.

Delwyn Young shouldn't be allowed to read the lineups with Joe Beimel around.

Don't sound so excited Delwyn...

97
Back in the day, the networks brought in the local announcers to do some of the play-by-play during the postseason.

1975 was the first time I was exposed to Marty Brennaman. Repeated exposure to Brennamans over time has given me brain damage.

98
How do you know it wasn't a monkey...?

98

:-)

104
You can do much better than a monkey with the Nike money.

They got a team of dolphins making their uniforms.

106

Family Guy dolphins?

91 No worries, you weren't snotty.

My problem is I tend to be paranoid about Ethier because I'm so afraid he's only a couple of 0-fers away from riding the pine. Ergo, I tend to over-react when I see anything too negative in his stats.

No, they use manatees. They are like dumb and ugly dolphins.

I like Delwyn Young a lot more now.

Oh yeah, it was manatees. My bad.

Having the lineup read by players doesn't really add much to my enjoyment or understanding.

There's really no worse feeling in the world than realizing you forgot to clean the rice cooker.

Ethier hits better when in rightfield -- that's just because Pierre makes everyone else in the lineup better.

Ha! Ethier's stats vs. lefties are, I think, just a by-product of a small sample size. But that's the point of this thread, isn't it?

Wow, Bennett can't even throw the ball back to the mound.

Billingsley is bringing the heat.

I got NBA.com to display the banner, but nothing else. The Cleveland Cavaliers site won't come up. And the Wizards site goes through a long intro and then says "reference error."

Nice inning for Chad to start. Great inning in fact. He even survived the Wood Chipper.

116 The gun isn't slow like Dodger Stadium.

Nice inning by Chad. He´s control is looking better every game.

Btw, here's a paraphrased rehash of the online chat conversation I just had with a Comcast support person, after I noticed my Fox channel hadn't been coming in at all today, or sporadically (it is right now, at least). So:

"Are you the name on the account?"
Me: No, my landlord is. I have the number on the box though.
"What is your relationship to the owner of the account?"
Me: She's my landlord and lives upstairs.
"I cannot help you without her consent."
Me: Huh??
Then:
Me: Can you at least tell Comcast that Channel 2 is not coming in for us right now?
"Thank you for contacting Comcast. Have a nice day."
DISCONNECT.

The second pitch Bills threw to Kelly Johnson was a pitch I can't remember ever seeing him throw, or at least it moved more than any of his fastballs. It was 92 and tailed away from Johnson. Is this a new type of fastball he is throwing?

The gun in Jacksonville is slow, too, unless Kershaw only tops out at 92-93 and sits at 88-89.

Brazoban was low 80s, but that may have been a lot of change-ups. He pitched a pretty dominant inning, probably because I showed him the shirt before he went out there.

I miss Blake.

What was Chad's fastball velocity in the first?

As usual, Nomar really makes 'em throw some pitches.

There we go.

Rudolph tomahawked that one.

125

93-96

that fastball with the movement is his 2 seamer.

YESSS!!

Take that!

Take that Comcast and everyone who hated on me, Andruw Jones!

125
Stayed around 94 and hit 96.

Yea.

Yeah, Andruw!

Druuuuuuuuuw.

Tomahawk Chop that, Braves fans!

Kemp's got a little Elaine in him; just pushed Jones from behind, in the dugout, by way of congratulating him.

128 ...Rudolph?

Gameday has Andruw's dong landing somewhere in the parking lot.

i liked how furcal kept slapping andruws head with such vigor

136

Get out!

I can't say I'm thrilled with seeing Bennett catching Billingsley. Uh oh, I thought, Bills will have a poor outing now. Then reality crept in. We can't really assume that Bills can't pitch to Bennett based upon just one or two outings when Bills was off his schedule. So the trouble isn't Bennett, necessarily. My feelings instead come from past seasons in which Billingsley has always pitched significantly better to Russell, or so it has seemed. But could that be more a by-product of Lieberthal's game-calling being poor than of Russell's being so good? Could Bennett actually be decent at calling a game? I suppose today is the test case, now that Bills is back in sync. If Bills has a rotten outing today, though, someone has got to tell Torre that Russell has to be Billingsley's personal catcher.

136 No way.

The Spurs looked awfully old in the first half.

I just saw a commercial with Stan Sitwell and Wayne Jarvis.

I've gotten NBA.com to load its scoreboard for today's game, but the Cavs-Wizards play-by-play page is broken.

I am determined to find out the truth. No matter what it costs. I can't let down a major award winner.

Yesterday Andrew was dancing around singing "Tonight, tonight, tonight! It's coming tonight!"

137
Yes, Rudolph.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=3520

143
I'm assuming that Christopher Guest is directing those DirecTV commercials since they star three regular members of his troupe.

141 I don't think its fair to judge any of the backup catchers who play around 15% of the time.

141 - how much do catchers actually call games anymore? I was under the impression that it was really someone in the dugout calling the game for the catchers these days.

That said, I do think the relationship between a pitcher and a catcher can be important... I remember Maddux having a personal catcher for a number of years.

141- I don't like Bennett. I do like Billingsley. It's convenient having someone I don't like to blame for any failure of the person I do like.

146 - nba.com does not like safari either. I think it might be best to wait for high lights during half time of the geriatric series

145 In keeping with the interesting way he spells his first name, ESPN shows that Andruw spells his middle name Rudolf (no ph).

I think game calling is a mix of bench and catcher, with different teams letting the catcher do more or less. But I think it's primarily still catchers calling the majority of pitches in a game. Be interesting to know if veterans like I-Rod have more leeway than youngsters.

I hope Kemp doesnt become the Dodgers version of Jeff Francoeur.

Francoeur would drive me crazy if he played for the Dodgers. His approach is awful, and it never changes every ab.

151
Oops, you're right. Rudolf it is.

Ok, I am going to start a sports cable station, and I promise that no former athletes will be allowed to do color commentary on my station.

Who wants to invest?

Monitor this thread for the answer as to what happened.

http://forum.officiating.com/showthread.php?p=504091

"16 Seconds left in Wizards vs Cavs game. Cavs up by 7.

Arenas inbounding the ball under the basket in their backcourt. Arenas throws the ball in and West jumps up and tips the ball. Unsure if it hits the back of the backboard or if Arenas comes in and appears to touch or grab West while he is still out of bounds or what. Announcers were confused (shocking) and there was no real explanation given. Apparently, the refs called a "double violation" and jumped the ball at Center Court."

148 So it's not the game calling. Poor word choice on my part. But pitchers praise Martin's handling of the staff. Billingsley and Martin have a relationship going back to the minors, which has always seemed to make Bills more comfortable with Martin, leading to a stronger performance. I suppose, though, it's time to see if Bills can do it on his own. He's a big boy now.

Was it Park who always pitched much better to Piazza than to any backup catcher? Or maybe it was Nomo.

This is now feeling like a Dodger victory.

Way to pitch out of the inning without allowing a run, Chad!

that's disappointing, an off road racing commercial without the traditional "SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY!"

Also, wow, Jeremy McGrath is still alive, go figure

153

We already have our version of Francoeur. He's playing 3B today.

138 - Wow, you're not kidding. Guess I shouldn't have switched to Suns/Spurs (or remembered to hit record on the Dodger game before I did).

Can't wait for a highlite on that.

I just don't know. Nothing I do seems to make the new version of Gameday fit comfortably on my screen or even gives me the main parts I want. Does this happen to others?

I saw a commercial for a NASCAR thing in Mexico City, this morning. I hope nobody tells Furman Bisher about it.

163 The thing I would like NOT to do when viewing via gameday is scroll between team boxes. The testing engineers may have been at lunch when that part of the process came up.

Has Gary Bennett's toss back to the pitcher been discussed here yet?

Was it Major League or Bull Durham where the catcher had to think about porn to get over his mental block of getting the ball back to the pitcher?

Bennett clearly has issues.

Has Gary Bennett's toss back to the pitcher been discussed here yet?

115

166 It has been discussed here, and the most reasonable answer I've heard is that he claims to do it order to save wear and tear on his arm.

166 - Major League II

161 Francoeur's strike out rate is 20% almost double that of Nomar's.

Francoeur's line .280/.319/.466
Garciaparra's .315/.364/.526

164 The country that brought us the Zimmermann Note?

Five years from now, everybody will be using screen resolutions that make new Gameday readable. They're just ahead of the curve, whiners.

157 Chad Krueter

Monday and Steiner now criticizing Bennett's slow toss back to the pitcher.

The Bison is roaming ...

Cox playing IF in with a 1-0 score in the 4th?

And it doesn't matter.

just looking at baseball reference and I noticed the Giants were the first team to win 10000 games, looks like it was a couple years ago as they are now at 10190, was there any sort of espn hoopla when they broke 10000?

I miss Blake more now than I did the last time I said I missed him.

Ugh, that was a wasted opportunity if there ever was one. Nice pop ups, Lonestar and Nomar von Meek.

Thank goodness Nomar is back.

Get Well Soon, Andy.

I beg you.

170

I'm referring only to their shared aversion to not taking pitches, or did you really think I was saying they were the same player?

so, how long does Nomar get to play himself out of the job?

Two pop ups with a man on third...kind of a summary of the Dodger season so far.

183 The rest of the season.

170

It is also ridiculous to cite Nomar's career numbers when he is clearly years past approaching the line you printed, but thanks.

16 pitches per inning for Bills.

I know its too soon to say it, but when Nomar isn't hitting, nobody is easier on pitchers.

182 Yeah, but Nomar has been very successful despite that. I just think some people here are overly critical of Nomar. He's an easy target.

But JoeyP had a better comp in Kemp.

Wow, you really have to have bad control to walk Francoeur.

Looked a little like Kent was lolly gagging that grounder there

Eh nvm, gameday messed up.

189

He has not been successful in some time, and he is an easy target because he is terrible.

Billingsley got 8ks in 4ip!

The country guys singing about viagra is the most distrubing thing on television.

Nomar...Andruw...Russel, nearly everyone...deserves about 50 at bats, before you can make an informed judgement on them.

194 - amazing what happens when a starting pitcher gets to start on his normal rest and program

Nice walk.

Nomar is an easy target b/c I can't think of anything he does to improve our team over other 3B options.

Jones seems to be drawing a decent amount of walks so far.

This is the first time I've ever seen Gary Bennett bat.

200
And hopefully the last.

196 Nomar got about 500 at bats last year, though I don't really see the point in pointing out he sucks every time he gets out.

this is totally anecdotal, but it seems that the Dodgers tend to do better when they get the lead off man on more often than not in a game

201 - I remember Bennett went on some ridiculous one week terror for StL a couple years ago, but that's about it for him offensively.

Billingsley gets the bunt down!

It was vintage 2003 all over again in Brewer land today.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2008_04_19_milmlb_cinmlb_1

195- It's like a Deliverance prequel.

After watching the replay of Andruw's homerun, the ball could have left the stadium. The ball went right through the entry way, one bounce and it's over the railing at some stadiums. I'm not sure what the concourse is like in Atlanta.

207 LOL!!!

Eric Karros' response to those fans who criticize players for not getting a bunt down:

"Get a bat and bunt yourself!"

196 Before the game Furcal had 62 AB, Russell 54, and Andruw 56.

202

Nomar got about 500 at bats last year...

That would mean something...if a player's stats were identical from year do year.

CAREER HIGH TYING K.

9Ks

202

I don't see the point, either. I was just making a simple comparison to Francoeur's approach. Someone else misconstrued my point, so I felt the need to rehash old news. But I'm used to it from that person, so I should've let it go.

It's bad enough they blast volume of the ads way over the volume of the program they appear in. Now they have to do the same thing with the in-game ads, too.

212 So you can't infer how a player will do based on how he did last year?

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3354682

I think there should be a rule that the word "journeyman" can't be in an obituary headline.

now I know what you guys mean about "Tell me the score Rick Monday" I was driving...

where was that at!!!

Chipper watches strike three however it is called ball three, then walks

220

Kemp would've been rung up on that. Guaranteed.

195 - No. By FAR, the most disturbing thing on TV these days is the ad with the two little girls telling their daddy he needs to color his hair so he can get back in the game. I'm not sure that a PSA for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints would be creepier.

There it goes

Touche.

158 - care to follow up on that feeling?

2nd game in a row Billingsley had to be perfect. Tough/impossible to do. Hopefully we get out of this down only 1.

This is why Blake Dewitt will be heading to the minors tonight.

McCann is a slow learner.

228

Because Nomar kicked a sure DP due solely to slow reflexes?

I now miss Blake even more than before when I said I missed him more than the first time I said I missed him.

221 It was inside but Chad might get that call if he wasn't so wild.

216

Scareduck, I just got back from RadioShack for that very reason (of hating annoying radio commercials). I bought a boom box...with a remote control. The point was to find one with a remote, so I could mute the radio without having to get up from wherever I'm sitting.

--"Classy" not flashy looking.
--Battery or AC cord (included)
--Smallish, but deep, rich sound.
--CD (plus cassette deck hidden in back, prety neat)
--Extendable fully rotating antenna
--Good reception, I can pick up a week AM 790 signal in the Inland Empire.
--No Mp3 player hookup, too bad
--$70 (same price at other stores)

Link:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2104235&cp=&sr=1&origkw=sony+boom+box&kw=sony+boom+box&parentPage=search

Glass is one-tenth full. Great toss by Kemp.

wow, the Braves coaches ain't trusting there bullpen sending there chubby catcher to try & score (every run counts, run!!)

Nope, because the Dodgers will need 12 pitchers and they don't want to waive Delwyn Young. Dewitt is the only one they can option.

I have no problem with sending DeWitt down. I don't think the team really needs 12 pitchers, but DeWitt should be playing every day. And he probably shouldn't be starting over Nomar.

Is this the third or fourth triple A pitcher the dodgers have faced the in the past two days?

We need to light this guy up.

I wonder if Lowe's frustration last night had anything to do with having Nomar and Kent behind him in the infield -- not good for a sinker baller.

238 James was a decent starter for the Braves last year.

That was an interesting swing by Kent...It was almost beer league softballish.

Just getting caught up here.

208 The concourse that Jones HR ball rolled into is an enclosed hallway, pretty wide, and is filled with interactive games for kids. Radar gun toss, hit John Smoltz, etc.

There actually used to be a yellow line on the wall that was the same height above the ground as the wall is in the outfield, with a life size photo of Andruw clearing the wall to bring a HR back in.

Wonder if they've replaced that photo with Kotsay?

240 I think scoring 0 runs while he pitched would be more frustrating.

I find my self NOT reassured with Loaiza warming in the pen.

Now this game is just getting depressing.

This team is almost painful to watch right now.

Great start by Bills ruined by a tough 5th inning.

I agree with Andrew. Why do they need 12 pitchers again?

It's not like Billingsley went 3 innings.

Why is it that we either score 11 runs or 1?

The Kingdome had open concourses. That ball would have ended up in the railroad changing yard.

:-(

Joe "Internet God" Beimel is in to pitch.

250 Because we played the Pirates, but unfortunately we can't play them forever.

Did they announce on t.v. that the Dodgers will go to 12 pitchers after the game? I would think that tomorrow would be a good day for Nomar to sit. Why not ease him back into the game?

Who on Earth would vote for a Joe Beimel bobblehead?

well at least it isn't Loaiza coming in to pitch, I gotta say though, he [Loaiza] did pitch pretty good about a week ago no?

If I was a ML manager this is what I'd do differently from the norm:

1. bench my all-star catcher in any game where we are a. up/down by more than 5 runs, and b. have secured a win/loss using skins golf scoring.

2. Have one league minimum paid, no upside arm (C.H. Park) that would eat all innings no matter what in out of hand games. Thus no 12th RP ever needed.

3. Pinch run more

I miss Blake, ah, never mind ...

255

Our resident front office employee assures us that Dewitt is going down.

256- People who noticed that there was a vote on the matter. Did you vote? Maybe somebody linked it here, but I missed it.

256

I guess a lot of people...

Free basketball in San Antonio!

260 I realize you are in jest but all I am doing is trying to add a little balance and also report what I read last night on the Dodgers.com site.

When I show my bobble head collection to my kid and he sees Beimel up there and wants to know who he is, it'll be a proud moment when I say "you know, I don't remember."

I'm off to dinner with the kids (central time zone).

See what you can do about working some magic here guys.

264

Sorry. Maybe I'm reading things wrong, but you seem to always pick out arguments with me that I'm not trying to make.

I've gotten a cold vibe from you so far, even in person, so that's probably adding to the whatever this is.

Let's get some timely hits boys, no more mister nice guy...

Can anyone here explain service time for minor league players. I was certain that there was a certain amount of games/innings before a year was credited...however I read an article several days ago that stated since Tampa Bay delayed (three weeks)bringing up Longoria, they gained an entire year of rights.

Our players are at least a year behind the Snakes and Rockies, partly through being blocked by safe old vets. They need to go through the ugly struggles that young players do and this may be the year. I am sorry they couldn't help take the pressure off Bills and his 9 K effort. But he has to go through it too and learn not to throw a jillion pitches and walk five. His stuff looked great. Stay the course and we will be looking good in August. I hope people have the courage to stick it out.

269 172 days counts as a year. Since you can't be a free agent with less than six years of service time, Longoria won't be able to leave in 2013 when he has 5.99 years of service time.

Damn---Nomar!

Why not bat Martin directly for Bennett?

273 There you go.

Pierre's ass was in the dugout with that horrendous swing (on a curve) but at least he didn't pop it up.

Wait, why do this, now you have move the pitcher up in the lineup.

Big Shot Tim!

Rule 1, folks, Rule 1.

Woke up with a headache to the fifth inning. Ick.

that was a tough catch by Ethier, it deserves a bit more enthusiasm than "and it was... caught."

More free basketball in San Antonio!

Meanwhile, more free basketball in San Antonio

speaking of screwy samples, that's what a .500 BABIP for Atlanta against Billingsley today?

Would the Lakers have an easier time against Phoenix or San Antonio in the Conference Finals?

Can Furcal teach Pierre how bunt for a hit? He's so very good at that.

from what I've seen of San Antonio and Phoenix today, I'm not sure either of them seem likely to make it past the next round.

the fox guys just compared kemp to mondesi. I involuntary said "God, I hope not" out loud.

283 - I would suspect that the Lakers will play the Hornets in the conference finals. But between San Antonio and Phoenix, I think I'd rather see Phoenix in the conference finals, the loss of Marion is going to hurt the Suns in the playoffs more than they realize

286 - it was Karros making the comparison, and in a good way. Given that he was a teammate of Mondi, I don't see how it was a bad thing.

Yeah, Mondesi wasn't all that bad.

282- Lots of strikeouts means a lower denominator.

is that EK? I never watch baseball on fox. I had no idea.

Yeah it's Karros alongside Dick Enberg.

Manu makes sure there's no more free basketball in San Antonio with an insane lay up to win

I thought it was Dick Stockton. Dick Enberg works for CBS.

292 I thought the broadcast was stunningly adequate. now I know why.

EK almost dropped PVL on national television...

have we hit any 3 run dingers this year?

Re: Bobbleheads

I think it would have been pretty rad to do a Vin bobblehead during the 50th anniversary year, but I imagine he wouldn't love it.

Hey Bob, you need to call Thief River Falls on behalf of Daric Barton.

Never mind

Orange alert for Daric Barton.

294 295 Bob's right; it's Dick Stockton. Wrong Dick.

To score 2 runs in two games off of the stiffs Atlanta has run out isn't encouraging. At least I'm not as frustrated as Suns fans must be right now.

But if Bluebleeder still cares, the Dodgers have hit 1 3-run homer this season. Kent had one against the Pirates.

Who wants to revise their estimate for how many games the Dodgers are going to win? If they lose 90% of games against good teams and win 70% of games against bad teams, we just have to define how many good vs. bad they have on the schedule. Number of playoff victories for this year is easy to predict, sadly.

Win or lose, it's a nice thing to watch a baseball game.

305 The Cardinals are the best team in baseball right now.

Though I guess that does fit in with Jon's post.

306

Gotta disagree there. This team is really frustrating to watch, especially in these last two games. Seeing the team constantly behind fastballs and making weak contact is a little disturbing. And this is against pitchers that have never had any success at this level.

I'm certainly not ready to jump ship yet but I must admit I'm kind of surprised by the rather lackluster offense thus far. I thought a (Pierre-less) lineup where pretty much everyone has a little pop and figures to OPS between .800 and .900 would provide enough balance to give us a more consistently productive attack.

There's still plenty of time for things to gel but we're losing games here that we should be winning, and come September these losses will be magnified.

309

It's still baseball though, right? It's not like watching the Dodgers lose in water polo.

Water polo matches don't take as long.

I only watch baseball when it's the Dodgers.

17 games is 10.5 % of the season.

Cycle alert canceled in Oakland.

Stand down.

312 Yeah but assuming you LIKE baseball that should be an attribute. Plus you don't have to see Jeff Kent in a Speedo.

Boy, sure seemed like Billingsley pitched better than his final numbers would indicate. The 9 Ks looks pretty good, but the 5 BBs and 99 pitches (in 5 innings), well, not so much.

311 - water polo actually more fun to watch, but then I use to play, so I'm biased that way

311 However, as George Carlin pointed out, water polo is extremely cruel to the horses.

318 - there should be an "is" somewhere in there

320
And a "d"

321 - I don't pronounce the "d" when I speak, so I see no need to type it

322

Are you a former student of mine?

323
Apparently so...

Tipping Pitches 101 is the most interesting Baseball Tonight segment I can remember.

Watching Baseball Tonight seems very un-edgy.

It was a pit stop; I'm done now. But it was three minutes that I don't regret.

Andrew now has a t-shirt from the greatest university in the large state that is between California and Washington.

But I thought you gave him an Oregon State t-shirt...

323 - where do you teach?

KG16, are you the one who said you now play poker for a living?

Speaking of teaching, this is on online conversation I had with a student yesterday:

Student: Your class is really great. Usually I can't stay awake in history class, but when you tell stories and curse, you make it really easy to pay attention.

Me: Thank you. That's very nice of you.

Student: I feel funny saying something so nice without saying something mean.

Me: Go ahead.

Student: You're fat.

331 - did for a while, being a lawyer again, playing poker part time, why/

Just curious. It's an interesting way to try to make a living. Did/do you play both online and live?

334 - when I was playing full time, I played exclusively live, mainly cash games. Split time between southern California and Vegas.

I'll occasionally play a free roll on line. Don't really like it all that much though, except for the part where I can play six games at once.

It's not as interesting a way to make a living as many people think. It's different, and it's a great conversation starter, but it can be a drag, like any other gig. And when the cards get cold, it can be a terrible way to live.

331

That is very funny :)

329
Andrew wanted the OSU t-shirt so he could tangentially be attached to the Obama campaign.

Hey everyone,

Is it unusual to say I'm not bothered by these two losses at all? I don't get it. I'm fully convinced that this offense will come around. I thought Bills had a good start today, even if he gave up 4 runs and a few walks.

Outside of that, the only thing I'm worried about right now is the offense, which continues to not hit home runs like last year. But unlike last year, I have a great feeling they'll pick it up. And they don't have to do a thing: just let the hitters we have feel it out.

I guess if there is one thing to worry about right now, it's the front office panicking. My feeling is, this is the Dodgers' chance to start over. If we're going to overcome the mediocrity of the past, just FORGET EVERYTHING. Don't even think about "we're x games out" or "we went y games without winning a playoff series." FORGET IT! The Dodgers players and executives should just enjoy the ride like the 2004 Red Sox did and have some fun!

For the first time in a decade, the Dodgers have most of the players we want. So... why not just let them play? A panic trade or firing the GM after the season would just be bad business, let alone bad karma.

336 What's so funny about 331? Did you mean 332 ?

331 is some sort of subtle British humor. Or like the humor in a Wes Anderson film.

289 our very own host proudly sported his Mondi shirt on DT day last year

331 is actually a secret code. And Frip has blown my cover for some reason.

Things could be worse. Imagine what its like to be a Pittsburgh Pirates fan. Plus they mostly live in Pittsburgh.

329 Atta boy.

Don't forget everyone. Go Green!

338 I'm with ya Logik. I also have this feeling that they will pull it together and make us proud. I would appreciate it though if they stared justifying this feeling I have.

I feel very comfortable with my 74-win projection.

335 I have a friend of a friend who played in Vegas for a year. He made enough money to live. Thing was, however, the standard deviation of his average monthly winnings was roughly equal to his monthly winnings. Tough life. And being Vegas, it's not like it was an easy place to make friends.

Joe Garagiola doesn't believe in clutch hitting. And he's talking about BABIP.

For those who don't know, Garagiola works a few DBacks games per year and he's doing his first game tonight.

Is that the Joe Garagiola who narrated and broadcasted on all of my old World Series DVDs?

also,

RIP John Marzano.

Yes. Yes it was, a little older and slower but that was indeed him. Cool.

...and now back to your regularly scheduled DTing...

I used to teach at various junior and state colleges in Orange and LA counties.

I'm out of the profession now. Some are jealous.

The Dodgers should stop competing and just concentrate on their own individual stats.
Just play and enjoy the game and leave the worries to ownership, management and the fans.

Lambo!

Maybe we should call up Lambo.

Did anyone find today's article by Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times poorly written? He wrote about Andrew Jones's homecoming to Atlanta. It had intermittent spelling errors and long-winded content. It was like Abe Simpson was telling me a story.

I'm expecting someone to say "most articles by LA Times sports writers are poorly written."

My apologies to Abe Simpson. Flying Hell Fish and all, I know he's better than that.

352 - well, unless one of those schools was either Cypress College or Long Beach St, it's unlikely.

Icaros aren't you barely in your mid-30's?
Excuse my ignorance I always thought you had to be a bit older to teach college & such

357

Long Beach State was one, but I mainly taught workshops and tutored there.

358

Early 30s (currently in the Magic Johnson/Sandy Koufax year). Got my Masters at 25. Taught for four years after that.

359 - I had two short story workshops with Greenburg (I think was her name), and a novel workshop (the professor's name, I don't recall). Graduated summer 2000, novel workshop was Spring semester 2000. (I was an English/creative writing minor)

Though, based on your prior comments, it would appear that we would not have been there at the same time.

So Danica Patrick actually won a race. She will not be the Anna Kournikova of auto racing.

I flew into Chicago on Friday thinking I had a 2 hour layover on the way to Hong Kong. Because of a typhoon in Asia it turned out to be an 11 hour layover.

Cubs had a day game so I took the train/bus to Wrigley ($5 for an all day pass) and caught the Cubs-Pirtates game. I had always wanted to see Wrigley and was not diasppointed. Got great seats for $28 just walking up even though there were 39,000 in attendance.

I love the ballpark. Scoreboard is a bit old fashioned but there are lots of seats that are close to the field and the fans were great. Nobody leaves early and most of them stayed for several minutes after the game was over singing some chant that sounded like, "Hey Ho, Chicago, Cubs gonna win today you know" or something like that. Very different from DS.

I got back to the airport with a few hours to kill before my flight. What a great day!

359 If I have given any impression of coldness or unfriendliness, I apologize.

I'm glad you enjoyed the trip to Wrigley, but comparing Cub fans and Dodger fans and Wrigley to Dodger Stadium is hard to do.

A very high percentage of the fans going to Wrigley are taking public transportation, so there's little need to leave a game early. Also the stadium is in an urban area, so there are places to go before and after a game right by the stadium.

At Dodger Stadium, most fans are making a much longer trip by car and people want to get home.

I was at Wrigley last year and I was sitting in seats that cost me $56 each. And people in my section had left early.
https://griddle.baseballtoaster.com/archives/959021.html

365 Thanks for the link. I didn't see anybody with a trombone.

I suspect being a day game and the score being close (Cubs win 3-2) kept lots of people there. I did see a few leave early, but not many.

The public transportation was good. I was on the bus 5 minutes after leaving my seat. No reason to leave early. Last time I was at DS I stayed till the end of the game and it was well over an hour from the time we left our seats until we were on the freeway. Still though, DS is my favorite place to watch a game.

BTW-Marissa Miller threw out the 1st pitch and Ryan Dempster promptly gave her a huge hug. It's looks like they know each other.

363- Don't feel bad, I don't like Icaros, either.

365
If you sit in the $56 seats, the trombone (and the rest of the brass band) stands close to you and blasts you during the game.

Hard to be overly optimistic about the remainder of the road trip.

With Steiner, Lyons, Stockton and Karros handling the broadcasting, I see this as a no Vin situation.

360

I was there around the same time. I got an MFA in creative writing (poetry) from CSULB in 2001, my BA in 1999. I know Greenburg.

363

No problem. I appreciate the note. Sorry for being an instigator. Clean slate starts today.

367

As well you shouldn't.

Okay, time to fly home. Hopefully the Lakers win and I don't die.

I need the DT collective mojo to shine brightly on me today. The final game of our league championship is today (we played a double-header last week, we won one & lost the other) coach gave me the honor of opening the season up (pitching) & now he's giving me the honor of closing it up (pitching) wish me luck, I definitely need all the good mojo/vibes I can get.

Go Scorpions!

Matty, Nomar and Jeffy sit

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

Kemp did start 5 straight until today, I don't think if the Dodgers score runs today that it will be a reflection of this lineup, certainly the 3 sitting out are going to play the majority of the time.

371 Good luck Blue, just be agressive and throw strikes.

thank you BH. :o)

Yesterday's game really bummed me out. Might have to take a break from this team for a bit.

But I WILL try to follow The Minotaur's start today.

TSN is reporting the Blue Jays have released Frank Thomas.

NPUT