" If only, [Buzzie] Bavasi suggests, Bostock would have spent the night of Sept. 23, 1978, in the Water Tower Hyatt, with the rest of his Angel teammates.

"Bostock didn't stay at the hotel when he was in Chicago," Bavasi said. "He stayed at his relatives' home. That's normally a violation of club rules, but he received permission from the manager and the traveling secretary to stay with his cousins.

"If he hadn't, he would've stayed in the hotel and none of this would've happened."

And 10 years later?

"He'd have still been playing for the Angels today."

Bostock ended up hitting .290-something, so he definitely earned his entire season's salary. And, as Bavasi pointed out, it's not like the team would have doubled his salary if he'd hit .500 the following month.

Also, LaRoche went 2-6 in extended ST, he will play 3B today and possibly start his rehab tomorrow.

Game story tells how a picture of a gnome gave the hitters luck.

I can remember as a kid reading the Times sports section reporting Bostock's death and not wholly understanding that he wouldn't be back.

Bostock's presence on the Angels was enough to make this Dodgers fan into an Angels fan, too. I can remember swinging the bat and wanting to be Lyman Bostock. After his death I never did become much of an Angels fan.

The Dodgers are last in the majors in OPS with runners on, at .224/.290/.310/.600.

I guess that Furcal probably has a lot to do with this...

11 - The fact that I really disagree with you on your answer makes me feel that that's probably not a good question for this site.

I usually let bad news roll off me like rain on a parka since the world is full of it but sometimes the news sticks to you and you can't shake it for a few days even though you have zero personal connection. This one bothered me for a long time.

For a very brief time he was my favorite ballplayer.

I remember I was at my brother's house in Corona watching the Dodger game, and Vin said something to the effect that this was the worst news he'd ever have to give. Next thing I knew Drysdale's picture, almost like a ghost, was on the screen, superimposed over the field. It was chilling for sure.

They waited to announce it until Ann Meyers could be reached. You could really feel the pain in Vin's voice that day. It was just so sad.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/john_donovan/04/21/donovan.windup3/index.html?eref=T1

And no, it's not the baseball boogie video from the 80's. Sorry, I don't know how to do tiny url's, so if anybody wants to throw out a helper it would be appreciated.

"" Never have I been asked to make an announcement that hurts me as much as this one. And I say it to you as best I can with a broken heart."

Thing is everyone knows the name Clemente. Sure Bostock maybe wasn't quite on that level, but would seem a hero to many.

I had two Bostock cards: a 1977 Hostess card (one that I'd cut out of the bottom panel of a Twinkies box) and a 1978 Topps card. I used to be quite fastidious about how I'd organize my card collection. I'd divide them into teams, study the cards at length, and then order them according to which players I liked the best. I remember being impressed by how good Bostock's stats were. Plus, his Hostess card looked really cool. So Bostock's '77 Hostess card was given pride of place on top of my Twins stack, while his '78 Topps card enjoyed similar status at the front of my set of Angels.

Upon learning of Bostock's death, I remember feeling it was so unfair that such a good player could be cut down in such a senseless, brutal manner. After reading the story in this morning's Times, that feeling came to the fore once again.

1) 30 Rock and Scrubs are switching time slots, or as Variety calls them, timeslots.

2) Milo Ventimiglia and Alyssa Milano play an engaged couple in "Pathology," which Variety says "goes well beyond the level of gore most auds can take."

3) Danica McKellar will be at the L.A. Times Festival of Books on Sunday.

http://www.latimes.com/extras/festivalofbooks/2008stage_schedule_sun.html

I hope bad things happened to that guy during the time he was in jail.

30 Rock and Scrubs are switching time slots, or as Variety calls them, timeslots.

Really? Man what a bummer; now I have to wait until 10pm to finish watching the Office + Rock block.

8:30 - Do the dishes, take out garbage, etc.
9 - Office
9:30 - 30 Rock

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT197805060.shtml

As a kid, whenever I'd wear a Dodger hat or shirt (which was often), I'd frequently have people say to me, "I bet your favorite player is Steve Garvey, right?" A semi-befuddled look would come across their faces when I'd respond, "No. It's Lee Lacy."

By the way, I don't have any memory of ever seeing the Toy Cannon play for the Dodgers. Thanks goodness for his '74 TRADED and '75 All-Star cards. For me, those are what associates Jimmy Wynn with the Dodgers.

http://tinyurl.com/39s5sz

I've printed one out in color and pinned it onto the tackboard at my desk. Now let the mojo do its thing, baby...

http://tinyurl.com/5bvkzb

The cases of Leonard Smith, Dan White, and John Hinckley made insanity pleas politically unpopular and the standards were changed.

"I'm not looking into setting timetables or setting myself up for failure," Schmidt said.

It's a good strategy that both teams are taking to heart. For the Lakers, even without Bynum they have a decent shot to get to the finals. However, as I've said all year, my favorite to win it is the Spurs.

Did you mildly stress about choosing a name for your kid? It is three weeks away, and now I am over analyzing everything.

"If Tejada cooperates with federal prosecutors and offers them something they don't already have, he might be able to settle with them and continue a great baseball career. It would be a difficult thing to do and would violate baseball's code of clubhouse omerta."

Thanks, Jon. That is helpful for me to relax. This might be one of those, "wait and see" moments for naming him. Our OB told us he has puffy cheeks right now. He gets that from his Aunt

http://tinyurl.com/3nekx4

I remember both Wynn and Tommie Agee had TRADED cards that year.

funny that you mentioned the daughter name. If it was a girl, I have a name I would use with no hesitation. I wonder if this is a guy thing

He later calls me that by the time he got to the hospital, they had filled out the birth certificate and it was too late.

Wow

1 Jacob
2 Michael
3 Joshua
4 Ethan
5 Matthew
6 Daniel
7 Christopher
8 Andrew
9 Anthony
10 William

Nomar Garciaparra homers to help Dodgers beat Reds 9-3

His HR accounted for the last two runs LA scored.

The lede:

All the slumping Los Angeles Dodgers needed was a familiar face in a familiar place.

Nomar Garciaparra celebrated his return to the third spot in the batting order with his first home run since Sept. 14 and three runs batted in, helping Brad Penny stayed (sic) perfect at Great American Ball Park in the Dodgers' 9-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night.

Torre quote:
"Hitting in front of (Jeff) Kent, you knew he was going to get some pitches to hit and know what to do with them," Torre said. "It takes experience. A lot of guys don't think of that when they're younger."
Hmmm, what about the year from mid-06 to mid-07? BTW, Ethier, Loney and Kemp have all the other starts at #3.

A lot of guys don't think of what when they're younger...?

Officially, my father's first name was Henry, but NOBODY outside of the Social Security Administration called him that. He went by Vernon, his middle name, or Tim (obvious nickname).

We have exactly one daughter and no sons.

72 Did anyone ever call you Bobby?

Rule 8 violation! I've asked that question before. The answer was a resounding "No".

Yeah, so they just swing at the, um, good fastballs...?

I'm confused!

Naming our Daughter was easy. She was named months before she was born. If we are to ever have a boy, the process will be a little more difficult, as I am set on naming him after Simon Bolivar's most trusted General, and no one else seems to be with me.

After giving birth to four sons, my parents gave up on the idea of having a child named Mary. My mom did win a huge stuffed animal at some event and she put it in the garage to be given to her first granddaughter.

I believe one of my niece's did get the toy, but my mom was not around to see it.

And she wouldn't have been my wife.

I was trying to think of everyone's hobbies last night. Like Marty with barbecue, etc. Let's make a list - what's your favorite non-sports-related activity?

I'm not sure snark is a hobby, by the way.

In one of the biggest success stories for NBC's diversity writing program, "My Name Is Earl" writer-producer Danielle Sanchez-Witzel has inked a two-year overall deal with Universal Media Studios. The seven-figure pact marks the first overall deal to come out of the 8-year-old program.

In the first year of the deal, UMS will loan out Sanchez-Witzel to 20th Century Fox TV to continue working on NBC's comedy "Earl," where she will be upped to co-executive producer beginning in the fall. She will be developing new projects for UMS during both years.

Once an aspiring sports broadcaster who covered the Stanford baseball team for the university's radio station while a student there, Sanchez-Witzel shifted her attention to feature producing when she enrolled in the masters program at the UCLA School of Film & Television. "

BBQ- I cook this way about 3 times a week on the Big Green Egg. In fact, I have some pineapple in the fridge that is calling to be skewered tonight.

Reading, walking, playing guitar, cooking, and I am beginning to enjoy fixing things around the house.

It was a fine article, Ross, but do you really think we got hosed on that one? Even now?

As far as hobbies:

~ Cooking (not just BBQ)
~ Antique pottery and tile collecting, strictly Southern Califoria.
~ Fishing
~ Golf. Not so much anymore with my bad back

my dad goes by his middle name, so he saw no reason to give me a first name i would use. it stinks, even if lynn nolan ryan suffers the same fate.

We have 2 girls and the first name (Maxine) was a snap. Number 2 was agreed upon a few hours post-birth (Sadie beating out Sonia) based on our perceptions (dead wrong, by the way) of the kid's personality in the first moments of life.

I disagree that girls names are easier. I had a good list of contenders for boys' names, which I now won't use, since we're done having kids. I like common names that have fallen out of popularity in recent decades. For boys, I was into Arthur and Clifford (both family names).

109 I believe 4 out of 5 couples I know, the wife took her husband's name.

I suggested for my wife to keep her name, especially since there are no boys in their family. She looked at me funny and took my name.

112. Aren't Sadie and Sonia both names that have actually become more popular in the last couple of years. A couple of decades is pretty standard for the rotation of names. There was a really interesting article a couple of years ago about how it happens. Upper class people tend to want avoid names that are popular with the hoi polloi, so they choose names that have fallen out of favor over the last 20-30 years so their kids can be unique. These names then filter out through the rest of the population and the cycle starts again.

Some of the baby names on the popular websites are hilarious. My favorite that I saw today:

ESPN

that's right, you read it correctly.

I have another friend whose last name is Cha and for a while he and his two brothers had a law pratice.

Related: Lyman Bostock is a heck of a name.

Please, tell me you are kidding :)

Writing, card playing (all games. would kill for a decent 2-7 game at my stakes, but i'll settle for tv hold 'em), web management (both sites no one goes to and a fairly popular simpsons message board), cooking and wasting three paychecks at restaurants in the greater la area.

Just don't marry anyone named Brown, Pitcher or Weasley.

Fun fact: this woman lives in Ohio and her front lawn is an homage to Disney.

It's quite possibly the best name in the history of canines, and I didn't even consider he'd have a surname when I named him. It was a lucky accident.

Oh boy, that makes me think of some awful stories I have heard about in-laws and wedding prep.

I am so thankful that I get along/love being around my in-laws.

0-6 vs the Dbax/Braves.

8-5 vs the Giants, Padres, Pirates, Reds

I hear you on the decent stakes games. I get bored at most card nights because my circle is pretty cheap when it comes to gambling. Of course, this means I play horribly and lose my small buy in

http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/dodgers/la-spw-tradebox22apr22,1,4070485.story

The #4 worst trade is a little much. It wasn't even a bad trade IMO. I'd much rather have Brad Penny than any player we gave up.

Even if you thought it was a bad trade...was it really one of the worst in Dodger history? DePodesta hatred runs deep.

Worst card game ever: 7-2-7 So painful-I just fold everytime (unless I'm dealt a 7).

Tommy Tims
Sammy Sams
Alfonso Alonzo

112 I gripe about this almost anytime I'm at a shopping mall, and most recently, at dodger games. Woman behind me couldn't stop praising the accolades of Jacob's finger-painting skills. drove me nuts.

http://tinyurl.com/6pcbwa

I'm still looking for a pot limit Omaha high game here in California. Even if I'm trying to focus on tournaments rather than cash games.

I have met several pros and they are pretty nice and willing to give advice as long as you don't talk about bad beats.

To bring things back to baseball, what's the over/under on the number of runs the Dodgers will score today? 1?

As I recall, in addition to losing the beloved H & S, the sportstalk types really zero'd in on the catcher question. Like it was proof that DePo was such a nerd, he didn't think a team really needed one.

Then, of course, Penny's elbow gave out.

At the time of the trade, a Dodger-connected neighbor of my brother's told him LoDuca was traded because the team thought he had a gambling problem. True or not, we now know he was a juicer who pulled others into it. So it's surprising that Newhan gives DePo no credit for possibly wanting to rid the team of a bad influence, and making the best deal he could for him.

Another Newham hallucination: Franklin Gutierrez has "fulfilled his promise?" He is an adequate part-time player with a little power. He might improve, but as of now, the Milton Bradley deal still looks like a good one -- even better since Bradley brought us Ethier.

The article is weird, too. It's supposed to be the five worst trades, except #2 is really four trades by two GMs over a several year period, none of them connected, and #4 is three trades, one of them in 1998 and two of them in 2004. Did the Times lay off its editors, too?

170 - it's pretty much Winnie Cooper for me

Granted, it would be a nice find if you got a number of level headed players.

164 Frankie Valli was a childhood hero of mine, even if he got sick every time my parents tried to take me to a show.

Awesome.

Actual daily activities: helping kids with homework, reading books to kids, fixing things around the house, landscaping, home improvement

They're all working on the JoeChats these days.

I would feel good about that kind of game.

I can't stand games with wild cards, especially Baseball. Every time I am looking at the other guys cards, I got em beat and than a freaking 9 comes on the last card. Ahhhhhh

Deeb himself would likely condemn my "hey these two cards connect, neat" style, but ah well. How you play to beat nickel-dime varies too highly from large games for me to put much though into it.

183 The bit about VORP had me laughing for a full fifteen minutes, I think.

Actually, his first name is John. He is in a direct line of first-born sons named John that goes back to the 1600s. I wasn't going to mess with it. But he's been Vinny since he was born, and it's been the perfect name for this stubbornly quirky kid. Plus, I know if I yell his name in a store, there's almost no chance someone else will answer.

It may as well be Chutes and Ladders.

I'm amazed you ended up with an unbroken line back to the 1600s. Going back that far, infant mortality was really high. I have one great-grandmother Caroline who was the third Caroline her parents had. The first two died, and the parents kept trying again until one of the girls named Caroline lived.

I can typically double my money on $150 buy on 3-6 limit game. I just play moderately tight/ aggressive style. It takes patience and can be really boring, but it makes people pay in the end. Of course, there always those sessions where you get junk and the guy next to you keeps winning with J/6 off suit.

Adolphe has really been dropping in popularity the last 60-70 years.

His sons are ZY and XY.

Z has a son named XY.

XY has a son named Y.

Naming your little girl Rocky would just be cruel.

Fortunately, the idea of naming one's firstborn son after one's hometown did not continue in my family. This would have resulted in my dad being named Whiskeytown and me being named Oakland. And, worse, my kid being named El Paso.

Aretha
Celeste
Bovary
Delores
Mulva

If that's true, how come more pets aren't named Pee, Poop, Cry or Sleep?

I even remember spinning old Four Seasons songs on my little 45 player when I was about 8-9. Nostalgia gets stronger the older you get.

What did you get deleted for?

But then I remember the pleats and the WalMart.

But who would be heads, and who would be tails?

And there should be rides.

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

Pierre replaces Andruw today.

---

Welp, I've got a late afternoon press screening to attend - of "The Wackness." Hopefully the Dodger game won't also be full of wackness before I catch up to it.

Located just minutes from historic downtown Pierre, South Dakota.

But looking at the family tree, I can't really blame her, there are better boy names in the family tree... at least on my dad's side. On my mom's side, they're all Spanish names, and with a Welsh last name, I doubt any of them would work well.

I can run it at home now. Provided it will work in Vista.

They'll only get me to stop posting on Dodger Thoughts when they pry the keyboard out of my cold, dead hands.

Is its name "Tommy" by any chance...?

238 Boomer nostalgia is one thing. Pretending that most pop music since that era isn't a massive cultural embarassment is, however, unnecessary. My millenial son and his friends are much more into Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, the Beatles and the Who than any of the current stuff. John Mayer makes him want to puke.

Okay, what is the name and address of this place that I must drive to right now based on the description?

The only thing I've done in the last ten years is play softball and I gave that up two years ago. It is not because I'm old but because all my friends moved away two by two to raise their families back where they came from. I need to pick friends who are native and don't have the urge to run home but we are few and far between.

272
My best friends wife is familiar with it, her family has shopped there for years. Her family grew up just West of Cal State LA but she is now in Kansas. The hardest thing for a Mexican in Kansas to adapt to is not the cold but the food.

231 I remembered being discolored by the idea of shared cards (I grew up playing almost only stud, but once you get the nuances it becomes much more than a gimmick.

Glad to see Kemp commanding center instead of JP.

I would say baseball and computers are my biggest hobbies, but perhaps my biggest non-sports, non-technology hobby would be theatre. I enjoy going to live theatre (my fiancee and I go just about every other weekend) and have performed in a couple of community theatre musical productions.

I'm working on making reading news and working out more like hobbies, but I'm having trouble...

Strangely, I'm not depressed by that.

http://tinyurl.com/6eldfb

I personally love the Bulldog one, but how is the Kevin Brown one sold out?

So, who in the heck do I contact to get this reversed?

Go fig.

I also enjoy anything I can construct with my hands. Making candles, for example. And I made a mountain duclimer once, even though I have no idea how to play it. I just thought it would be a cool thing to build.

285 =(

KG16 -- if possible, feel free to contact me at jacobburch at gmail dot com. I don't feel like derailing DT into PT, but perhaps I can work on getting a PLO game for you to practice on [as well as bug you on a number of questions I've been having].

Then all that stopped when the diapers and sippy cups came into my life. But I only missed the old days occasionally. Raising my stepson and my son were as compelling an experience as any I've ever had. And now that my son's about to head off to college, I admit I am looking forward to enjoying the old-fart, low-carb version of my previous life.

That will get it done.

Huh? Then what is this place? Isn't keeping us on the straigt and narrow your hobby. Heck, without DT, Bob would be hanging out on street corners doing the cancan. D4P would be buring down WalMarts. Daniel would have five more children. Brock and Bob would not have their aspiring P.I. agency. And Lord only knows how many more hours I would have billed.

http://tinyurl.com/2j9qk8

Paul Anka sings Smell Like Teen Spirit

A dame was involved.

And based on today's long overdue visit, paying my dentist will be a hobby of mine in the immediate future.

Used to play it all the time in high school. Was pretty good for a while.

I'm not sure what it's made of.

The best part about your question is that I first thought you were asking about my dental visit! Luckily, no bridgework is necessary for me.

Alas, I haven't played the card game bridge. I'm sure I would like it, but I never played it growing up.

He got shot earlier, but still walked all the way to the library. He was so tough, he refused to fall.

I used to bowl in leagues, but that's hard to do without a car. I'm getting into photography, but I'm still quite bad. I enjoy photographing the outdoors; getting out far enough away is often a small challenge because I don't have a car. I like home theater. Living in an apartment is not ideal for it, but I've managed. I've picked up the guitar again, an instrument I stopped playing a long long time ago. I'm slowly getting better but I'm pretty confident I will eventually.

Hmm. I really ought to buy a car.

I am trying to put together my first softball team to play in Pasadena.

Brewers win.

She doesn't like it when I say, "Instead of memorizing this code, why can't I say 'I have 12-15 points, and 4 plus hearts'?"

Too low-brow?

Well, you did say "non-sports related"

That's why I left out Softball

Has anyone read Doug Fine's Farewell My Subaru yet? Just started, fun book. Inspirational but not preachy and he's pretty clumsy about some things.

Okay, off to see Wackness. Go Dodgers!

Going from Jon's addendum of it being non-baseball related, aside from attending a local college's football and basketball games, cooking (both actually cooking and working with a cooking "school"), reading (aside from Prospect books, non-fiction, humourous fiction (Sedaris, Vowell), political/current events), I have golf clubs I think I played within a year, poker (last time in Vegas, locally in the last year).

I guess that's it outside of trying to answer quesitons before Bob.

I share this hobby, although it's like trying to wake up before a rooster.

I've heard stories about this ....

Today's opponent is last with 2, with the 3 inning save, the Dodgers now have 3.

Mon: My son's baseball practice
Tue: My son's soccer practice
Wed: My son's soccer game
Thur: My daughters' soccer practice and my son's baseball practice
Fri: more baseball practice
Sat: Soccer and baseball games

Not very well-rounded obviously but tons of fun

Even though Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball on the Super Nintendo was the greatest baseball video game ever!