Over/under on people misspelling the Marlins pitcher's last name: 30

on a good note Randy Johnson looked pretty bad & his velocity was also bad, hey man, I gotta look for something positive for my Dodgers. :o)

1

with out looking Bob...? then I agree.

2. Would you rather have the Big Unit or Scherzer in the rotation? vr, Xei

Fun With Meaningless Numbers

Chad Billingsley gave up 5 runs in his last start against Arizona. He had previously given up 5 runs or more in a start 5 times. In the start immediately following the 5+ run game, Chad's numbers are as follows:

29 IP, 21 H, 16 BB, 29 K, 1.24 ERA

He has given up 1 or 0 runs in the last four such games (he gave up 4 runs -- 2 earned -- in a 2006 start).

So sit back, relax and enjoy Chad's first win of the year tonight!

If Jones puts up another month like this one, I'll be lobbying for Pierre to be in the lineup.

Dodger Win Probability:
Simulator: 49.80%
Vegas: 50.00%

anybody got a coin I could borrow? Or perhaps we could just have Bob flip his new notebook out the window. :)
vr, Xei

1
I thought with that comment that Rick VandenHurk was the emergency starter tonight.

8
But with a hard name, people take time to look it up.

8 1 Luke Prokopec

Welcome to May, Furcal! What a difference health makes for Raffy:

Apr 2006: .198/.306/.219
Apr 2007: .203/.272/.243
Apr 2008: .355/.444/.579

4

Hall of Fame #'s & all I'd definitely want Randy Johnson on my team but lets face it he's on decline big time, with 2 back surgeries & 40+

11 I hope today is April 30. Otherwise, I'm 24 hours late to pick up my wife and kids from the airport!

13
Ha! A bit of a calendar brain cramp from me there.

Is (to get the ball rolling) Olson wearing a concert t-shirt under his uniform?

Kemp just missed a dinger (he hit it off the end of the bat) game of inches.

Make em throw a strike Kent. Unlike Kemp.
vr, Xei

How close was Kemp's ball to going out, for those of us on audio only?

1 down, 29 to go.

Is it just me, or did Gameday have Kemp's flyball over the fence?

18 - Gonzo caught it against the wall. So, very close.

Olesun was lucky to get out of that inning alive.

Listening to Steiner is even frustrating on TV. I thought the ball Kemp hit would be out of the stadium.

The Bison™ threw the bat & had the look of I JUST MISSED IT, SHUCKS!

In the last thread, JoeyP called me out and said something about Cory Wade being a result of Depo's influence on the the Dodgers' drafting. There is no reason to believe that. White usually does take college players that late in the draft (10th round), and did in the two years before DePo came aboard. You can't have an entire draft consisting of high school players, as the ones worth having tend to not accept slot money after the first few rounds and just go to college instead of turning pro. JoeyP has already been told that Depo was against drafting collegian Justin Ruggiano because he did not like Ruggiano's college stats, but White took Ruggiano anyway, after the 20th round, because a Dodger area scout liked what he saw in Ruggiano. That is sufficient evidence that DePo didn't want just ANY college players, and White isn't against them.

22

Definitely, Kemp & Kent just missed going yard.

The over/under bets have been voided.

Force majeure!

7 I wonder what Simulator knows that Vegas doesn't.

20 not just you Kevin

Viva Los Pistoleros!

That sort of reminds me of one of my favorite Monty Python sketches, The Bookshop, in which a man comes in asking for books that sound like famous books and/or authors, but spelled slightly differently. At the end he asks for Olsen's Standard Book of British Birds, and John Cleese, the bookstore owner, asks him incredulously, "O-l-s-e-n?"

Customer: "The expurgated version."

http://www.intriguing.com/mp/_scripts/bookshop.asp

22

I too cannot believe Ohlsin got out of that inning without a run

27
I had a few more lined up too!

you guys should have seen Bills first pitch to the Marlins 1st batter (Filthy!!) out side corner with great great late life to it (came back for a strike) man those pitches give me goose bumps... He just K'd the dude by the way.

I understand the criticism of Steiner's home run or non-home run calls, and I didn't hear today's, but if a ball is thisclose to going out, isn't he allowed to be excited about it and raise the possibility that it's going to go?

Dang, I was about to bet on the over

Nice enough inning for Bills, hopefully he stays consistently on the strike zone.

Well, one walk but a pretty good first overall for Bills. Even if he pitches solidly for a few more innings, I will certainly sweat in the 5th.

Glad to see Chad lowering that BABIP.
vr, Xei

34 - Yah especially on one that deep. I thought it was out, too. The winds are also swirling there today. It'd be more irritating if he got that excited on a ball that ended up being a lazy fly out.

I find it interesting how Gameday throws all the pitches at you, in rapid succession, when you open it up in the middle of a long at bat. Reminded me of how the snakes slithered on top of Medusa's head.

They're going to the 12th in Our Nation's Capital.

Martin just made Olson pay dearly...

40 Or like listening to Rick Monday.

How did Steiner call that one?

Golden God!

"With a rocket of a home run," says the Marlins announcer.

Man Russell spanked that ball badly!

Oelsan has been riding the tightrope, and Martin finally got him!

Golden God!!!!!!

Olsun looks hung over in his Gameday picture.

44

He actually played it cool.

Terry Donahue was named UCLA Alumnus of the Year.

That's 21 straight years I've been denied.

I haven't seen a hitter get to 0-2 so quickly and so consistently since Billy Ashley.

Amezaga just took a double away from Jones.

10 days ago Martin was hitting .197. After the HR tonight he's at .284/.418/.443.

Darn. Andruw really roped that one, looked like extra bases, but Amazega raced it down. Guess that's a good sign for Jones.

50 What's the over/under on number of years until Bob is named UCLA Alumnus of the Year?

51
The silver lining is the Jones has yet to be hit in the face by a ball hit to the OF as a Dodger.

44
"With a rocket of a home run," says the Marlins announcer

Going to break, Monday just described Martin's HR as "going out like a rocketship."

51 I umpire a lot of Pony League baseball. If a team has only eight players on hand, it is not penalized at bat. However, if it has only seven players available, there is an automatic out when the eighth spot in the line-up would come up. Hello, Andruw Jones.

Monday - "he hit it out like a rocketship:

54 Today's the day Andruw breaks the slump!

http://www.sonsofstevegarvey.com/2008/04/you-heard-it-here-first.html

yeah, I agree Ohlson's pitches look pretty hittable from my television.

Bad call. Billingsley got over slow, but he beat LuGo.

55 Look at it this way. That reduced by one the number of his competitors.

wake up Billz

Man, he was totally out. I hate Gonzalez so much.

54 In journalism, that's called a standing head.

Loney needs to start letting the 2nd baseman get balls like that more often. That's a few where he's ended up in no man's land when the pitcher doesn't get over in time.

Oh man, did Gonzo just steal a base on Golden God?

I meant 60 about the standing head.

That was weird. That almost could've been a UI call. Ump's interference.

67

... It was a foul tip, but I guess foul tips are in play now.

55
They already gave awards out to John Wooden, Francis Ford Coppola, and Tim Robbins.

How can I compete?

67- The ball was ticked foul--the ruling was that Martin had caught the foul ball, then dropped it transferring hands. LuGo would have been out (and I would hope Furry would have spiked the ball, after tagging him out), had Russ gotten the throw off.

Siddown, Rabelo. You were schooled by Professor Billingsley on that pitch.

71 I think it's time to license and commercialize the Cycle Alert System.

That hit him on the toe.

67 - I'm guessing Loney has a bit more range than our current second baseman. If it was Hu, I'd agree, but with the statuesque Jeff Kent there...

74
Not to mention a national sponsor for the Catcher Interference Alarm Bell.

74
Or I could just write UCLA one humongous check.

So, let me get this straight. The UCLA Alumnus of the Year Award doesn't require that you graduate from UCLA?

hey all, whos the home plate ump tonight?

60

Jones hit a solid ball the right center.

how in the world does Gonzalez end up & 3rd base, oh wait, the ump just called it a hit batter so Gonzalez had to come back & the batter goes to 1st.

Good job by the ump getting some help to make the right call there. Amazega tried to sell that it didn't hit him.

80 - HP--Dana Demuth.

75
I'd say you're ahead of me (I'm listening on the internet), but I think part of the time difference is that Rick Monday delays his calls of game action until his pointless stories conclude.

Gamecast is stuck on Aultsenn pitching to Kent in the 1st.

78 On a librarian's salary? But I bet you could as CEO of the Cycle Alert System and Catcher Interference Alarm Bell Company.

67 That's generally true and is probably what Loney is thinking, but that's at least twice where Kent really was there to make the play. But I guess it's easy to say with hindsight, it happens pretty fast in real time.

ugh, it looks like Billz & Russell got crossed up there, the runners advance to 3rd & 2nd...

85
That's the best one yet. You probably have an advantage though in that baby name book authors consult you and your kids for possible baby names. :)

Looked like Martin almost took that one on his bare hand.

Whew. Got out of that weird inning unscathed.

Should've been a passed ball on Martin, I agree with the Marlins' announcers. Fortunately, the play doesn't much matter.

84- It took Charlie and Psycho a minute to figure out that it was a HBP, too. The only reason it got past Martin is that it kicked back funny after hitting the toe.

Not to wish ill will on umpires, but I like it way better when Russ getting crossed up leads to an umpire injury rather than Martin getting hurt.

High drama. Bottom of the 12th. Our Nation's Capital.

72 Waitaminnit. If it was ruled that Martin caught the foul tip, couldn't he just have thrown to first for the out? Gonzalez must have left with the pitch. Doesn't he have to go back to first on a caught foul?

83 ah thanks, was he just at dodger stadium for our little 5 game home, or involved in something on sports center recently. I feel like i've seen alot recently

the bat boy is almost as tall as Raffy, that's inspiring to me...

Grabowski?

97 - You want to be a bat boy?

94 Nats tie it on a bases loaded walk. Now going for the win with nobody out. I feel like I'm filling in for Sam D.C., or something.

Larry Bowa says that Hanley Ramirez is the best shortstop in the NL, followed by Rollins. Hope Raffy isn't offended, though Bowa's basically right.

darn, I see AZ got by the 'stros by a run that included a 2 run jack from micah

and wow that was close..alright two on no outs, lets go fellas

A foul tip by definition has to be caught. And by definition, it is treated like a pitch and the ball is still in play.

If Martin failed to catch the ball as it came off the bat, then it is just a foul ball.

Foul ball foul tip

Stainer - "Amezega MAKES THE PLAY!! no he didn't" oh man LOL!!

Great diving effort by Amazega on Furcal's liner, which fortunately he couldn't quite reel in.

bad Torre. bad. bad.

I'm not digging the bunt there.

... Two on, nobody out. Looks like a big inning getting started. What should we do?

Why, take the bat out of our next hitter's hands, of course.

Foul ball does not equal foul tip.

The comments don't like some punctuation.

I didn't give Ethier a spot start on my fantasy team tonight for him to bunt, Joe.

i dunno C bill is so slow, I'm actually ok with a bunt there..lets hope Bison can drive one through, or at least give it a long ride.

A short outing in DC for Jon's Buddy.

Oalson really missed an easy opportunity to nail Chad at 3rd base.

104 I think it would've been funnier if he'd said, "Oh no he didn't!" {snap!}

and there we go boom 3-0 blue

woohoo!

... Atta boy, Mr. Kemp.

Yay Bison! Mr. Clutch strikes again!

And sweet to score the 3rd run on Gonzo's arm.

112 Hey, I'm doing the DC updates!

Actually, what happened? I think Game Day in DC froze on me.

bison keeps on plowing

its over in D.C. 3-2 nats

He's a robot. made of nails.

Kemp's trying to prove that he's better than JP at absolutely everything.

119
That's on a need to know basis.

The clutch Bison

110 - I have the Bison on my fantasy team, so I'm enjoying the inning despite Torre's idiocy.

woohoo failed pick off at 2nd..matt advances to third

You guys agree that if Olson throws him [Kemp] another off-speed pitch he K's him right? I feel like better pitch selection & Kemp would have K'd

122 - He's tougher than a robot made of nails. :)

Bisons are not extinct!

havoc?

103 Thanks, Bob.

And sweet to score the 3rd run on Gonzo's arm.

I'm not sure it meets the minimum criteria required to be called "arm."

Did Kemp steal that off of Oolsun or the Catcher?

This intentional walk is dumber that Torre's bunt.

Was the infield up on Kent's grounder?

130
Bisons?

Sigh, I'm going to have to crush both of my hands with dictionaries.

133 It has fingers at the end of it and a pointy thing halfway down, so that works for me. But I take your point.

I love the intentional walk with two outs... always seems to come back and bite the pitcher.

129 - ah yes, tougher, my mistake.

128

It was just stupid to throw him anything even resembling a strike on an 0-2 count.

135 - Well in all fairness, Martin did homer off him earlier.

A thundering herd of bisii?

137
Dictionaries? I only read things with The Olssin Twins on the cover.

128. Maybe he was still scared of the fly ball that Kemp hit in the 1st.

34

Ohlson is a tall drink of water so you do the math.

Does anyone not enjoy the fact that the Pirates beat the Mets 13-1 today? I sure did.

Please rank the following in descending toughness -

Robot Made of Nails
Matt Kemp
Darin Erstad
Mike Marshall
Trot Nixon

146. I do, since 2006 I can´t stand the Mets.

Does anyone not enjoy good grammar? I sure doesn't do.

Is this the Torture Timmermann thread?

--

I think I heard a Rule 1 violation from Loney after that out, but maybe it wasn't him.

146
Since Nate McLouth was prominently involved, I thoroughly enjoyed it too.

I sure could go for a tasty peach right about now.

147 - the correct answer would be:

Matt Kemp
Robot Made of Nails
Mike Marshall
Darin Erstad
Trot Nixon

151 - They come from a can. They were put there by a man in a factory downtown.

151
Jacob is going to eat a peach and then sit down to read "The Boys of Summer" and then watch "Rushmore" on DVD.

Billz just threw Ramirez a 95MPH lazer & he hit it to fastball alley.

147 - Which Mike Marshall?

152 I meant Mike Marshall the outfielder.

it really looks like Billingsley is barring down on Hanley Ramirez (sp?)

I'm on Gameday, but for audio I have `Eat a Peach' by the Allman Bros.

157 - I thought so
Matt Kemp
Robot Made of Nails
Darin Erstad
Trot Nixon
Mike Marshall

... Billingsley!! Most impressive.

158 Well, since you asked, I think you meant bearing down...;)

no complaining about a high pitch count after three innings when Billingsly has struck out 5

Chad-K!

Is <ol>sen still in the game?

"bearing down" -- but you got Hanley Ramirez spot-on. :-)

... How about we don't disparage Mike Marshall.

After all, Phil Garner picked a fight with him.

163 - He's on pace to go seven innings, so I'm definitely not complaining.

Pitch counts:

Billingsley 46
Olson: 65

157 - I stand by my ranking

man, I wish Billingsley busts a Brad Penny 14 K surca '07...

Bills looks good... so far. {cue ominous music and thunderclap sound FX}

If he makes it through the 5th I'll feel less sweaty.

Of course, that could also be because I need a shower. And have to step away from the game for to finish a review, sigh.

167 I disparage out of love.

167 Sorry, but disparaging General Soreness is considered good sport around here.

The Aflac question is either a trick question, or it's not. "Who holds the Dodger single season record for most extra base hits?" Steiner clarified that it meant either in Brooklyn or L.A, but didn't clarify further than that.

167

I remember watching that on the news...

But that Lucky Ole'sun
Aint got nothing to do
But roll around Heavan
All day.

I actually think I know the answer to that question.

The Marlins Aflac question is which Dodger player holds the all-time HR record for a Dodger 2nd baseman.

They jokingly asked if it was Steve Sax. Or Billy Grabarkewitz. And no, it's not either of them.

So, not a trick question.

o.k. they said Babe Herman which wasn't what I was gonna say (I was gonna say Green) I'm thinking I'm not way off on this, is he the L.A. record holder or at least in the top 5?

180 They're all trick questions.

I had the volume down, since I've been watching Bissinger's little tantrum during the commercials (it's here, if anybody's interested: http://deadspin.com/385770/bissinger-vs-leitch), so I don't know whether mention was made of the team's name in 1930.

Yes, the answer was Davey Lopes, in case anyone was wondering. (re: 179 )

I'm liking this, Chad. Keep it up.

7 pitch inning.

Pitch Counts through 4:

Olsen: 79
Billingsley: 53

181- Shawn Green is tied with Duke Snider for third place. Duke Snider is also in second place. And tied for fifth. And the sole owner of eighth.

183- There should be a language warning on that link, obviously. Slipped my mind.

Did Rick Monday mean the former Braves catcher or the Orioles closer when he said Greg Olsen was in a hurry?

189 How did he spell it?

You mean Old Friend Gregg Olson?

... Kemp is taking over the World.

So Chad's a bad call away from a no-no?

191
Yes, but I was trying to sort of stick with the theme by having that be the only time I spell the Marlins starter's last name correctly.

193 That, and 5 innings.

Greg Olson was on the Braves and the Twins. Gregg Olson was on a lot of teams, including the Braves, but Gregg Olson and Greg Olson were not teammates on the Braves.

Greg Olson's full name was Gregory William Olson.

Gregg Olson's full name was Greggory William Olson.

Greg Olson was on the 1990 NL All-Star team. Gregg Olson was on the 1990 AL All-Star team.

This Bison's not a bad hitter... and fairly strong, too.

My lord, he practically one-handed that one out of the park.

Kemp's hitting .406 vs left handers this year.

was that a pitch out to Kent?

Olsen's Standard Book of British Birds is pretty close to getting the axe here.

198 - yes, but how is he against tough righties?

The throw beat Kent to third, but Cantu couldn't handle it.

I think Oollsseenn''ss about done.

I don't know if it was the camera angle, but Kent looked glacial on that run to third.

Lets pour it on. We've got the voodoo inning coming up.

Martin's OBP is quite Golden in the past 2 weeks.

Darn it, Crazy Eyes hasn't been all that clutch today. But hard to carp about it at the moment.

Had Kemp hit the HR in the 1st what would be his status in the cycle alert?

What's with all the pitchers' duels in Boston?

I'm sorry (watching the Costas slash the Deadspin dude) it looked to me like the pitch to Kent was a PITCH OUT.

Just saw this on MLB.com.

Smoltz: "I'm coming back as a reliever."

http://tinyurl.com/4r2p7f

Chad's first real bad pitch of the game.

212
Clearly JoeyP's fault from 193 . :)

... I can't believe they're sending up Olsen to hit.

Why is Olsen hitting?
He's thrown over 100 pitches in 4 innings.

Letting Olsen bat here down 4-0? I understand that they're bunting but still...

Well, now that the runner's at 2nd, this makes even less sense leaving Olsen in there.

People are so flustered that Olsen is hitting, they've decided to spell his name correctly.

Argh. Of course now it's 3-1 to the pitcher. C'mon Chad!

Cant walk the pitcher Chad.

Sheesh. That's not gonna make Dodger coaches too thrilled. The Marlins give you a gift and you send it back.

Wow, the mighty 5th inning is apparently why Olsen was allowed to bat. Unbelievable.

219 - the pitcher walked Chad. They're tough hitters. Maybe the Marlins manager will tell Hanley Ramirez to bunt.

for a minute there I thought # 48 was Brazoban.

I forgot, this was my inning to sweat about Chad and here it is.

lets go, come on now..lets throw strikes now CB

What is up with the bad Chad showing up in the 5th?

I'd be PO'ed at that call by the blue.

227

... Absolutely. That was terrible.

Caron Butler's layup with just under 4 seconds extends Washington's season.

big pitch

the umpire has definitely been weird on the strike zone this at bat.

228

consistency is all we ask for...

Let's get a DP here Chad Billingsley.

caramba

He'll be lucky to make it out of this inning.

... Chad should be pitching out of a windup here.

don't run Loney guy... (Loney has a gun)

that was large..atta boy j lo

Wow, after back-back walks and bases loaded--Uggla swings at the 1st pitch and pops it up.

Its all going the Dodgers way since Friday.

you guys notice Billz boding movement there? he's reminding him self not to open up to soon, good for him.

amazing how close furcal made that play.

I really thought Furcal would get him. Blast it all.

Gulp.

239 Didn't Kemp hit a grand slam off the first pitch.

Geez, that could've been a lot worse.

... Hanging slider leads to the RBI. Not a good pitch at all.

so close yet so far... game of inches, game of inches.

244 - yep, after we kept noticing the hittable pitches that the Dodgers ignored on the first pitch

great pitch...few

that could have been much worse.

That's a bit more like the 2006 Classic Chad.

248 I didn't see the game and Kemp is pretty much a first pitch swinger. But it is not always a break that a guy swings at the first pitch, sometimes they just miss it.

The Uggla AB was an awful approach.

That's the Billz we wanna see, yes!!!

Bare down Bills™

Thinking positively, actually getting out of a fifth inning is an encouraging sign.

Im with JoeyP.. It's not like Uggla hit it hard or anything.. It was a defensive swing that you don't wanna see on the first pitch with the bases loaded

Bare down Bills™

That's Bissinger's favorite Deadspin commenter.

I wonder how many Logan's Run headlines this pitcher has seen.

So after they have Olllssseeen hit in the 5th, they change pitchers anyway?

... The Marlins send their pitcher up to bat, then replace him in the top of the next inning.

Explain that drop of brilliance to me.

253

is Uggla on your "Roto league" or Fantasy league of some kind?

I loved it!

255 Agreed!

{exhale}

253 - yeah, but it's better than bunting.

Ok, got through the 5th, relatively OK, lots of pitches thrown..Hopefully, Chad has gotten over this mental hurdle, and sail thorugh to at least the 8th

The fifth inning course. Good news it´s over.

Yes, even the announcers were assuming Olsen was done and trying to find some rational explanation behind that bizarro move, but ultimately could not. Strange.

253 I agree, Billz had really been struggling to throw strikes. Uggla should have made him work in that situation.

Loney Jones Dewitt is a black hole this game so far.

256--Not only that, but if a pitcher walks the last two guys to load the bases with less than 2 outs, you gotta take a strike especially if you're down by 4 runs. The key to hitting is always not making an out. I like Uggla's power at 2nd, but that AB is one reason why he may never be a strong OBP guy. Just dumb hitting. Maybe it was an aberration.

Of course, Olsen hitting in that ending isnt even defensible. Marlins deserve to lose tonight.

Have the Dodgers ever had a more highly-touted player than Andruw Jones have such a lousy April?

Looks like the skipper is letting Billingsley go another inning, I like the move specially because he got out of that last inning with minimum damage.

Bills couldn't wait to get back out there to pitch, apparently.

Wow, quick top half of the 6th, did we even come up to bat? Hope Chad relaizes it is the 6th and not the 5th.

... If anyone touted Andruw Jones "highly" before this season, they were kidding themselves.

... Wow -- FANTASTIC defensive play by Loney.

there we go JLO!!

Well done, NicknamelessOne!

and then billz brings some nasty pitches for his 7th K

well that was easier than the 5th

make that 8 Ks

I believe Chad did indeed realize this was no longer his Cursed Inning. That was about as efficient as it gets. Nice.

I wonder how I'd do in a Roto League, I wanna take the plunge but I'm afraid I'd shuck but then I think how you guys might have done on your first Roto league?

281 He has finally faced The Fifth and defeated it. On to the next level.

Billz K rate is amazing this year.
He's the most dominant guy on the staff.

He's still under 100, so I think he'll be good for the 7th.

Wade/Saito can finish it up.

Furcal is all-star bound.

so far.

Furry en fuego

That's the Dodger record extra base hits in April for Furcal, isn't it?

287 - "for extra base hits"

Wade scares me a little, I have to admit (it kind of looks like he is throwing meat balls out there) But I guess he keeps the hitters off-balance or something.

283 How many extra lives has he earned so far? Does he need more quarters?

284 -- JoeyP, when Billinsley first came up to the majors, in 2006, do you remember posting here about how Billingsley couldn't seem to strike anybody out?

I was afraid to mention that I got in and started watching your 5:30p, right about when Bilss started going south. But after those K's I think we are somewhat safe.
Bills seems to have these inning long spells. Oh, well Pitch Fx, I doubt its classifying Bills pitching correctly, but he has two pitches that go about 85, and one rises 13", one 4". that must be nasty on a hitter.

if Kemp would to get a hold of one of those pitches by the Marlins pitcher (95mph) he'd really give it a ride.

282 This year's my first. Typical rookie, too many Dodgers, my team was lousy but is doing better of late. I nabbed Scherzer too. I also dropped Jones and picked up Werth, we'll see how that goes.

... Kemp WALKS!

/lurk mode off

289

have you ever tried to hit a meatball?

/lurk mode on

LaRoche with a HR in the first inning in the 51's game.

Kemp Walks!

If there are two guys for a double steal...

Gameday made those pitches look like strikes. Were they close?

297 Call him up already!

291--I do. I was concerned bc he didnt miss many bats (very few swing and misses).

He's really improved.

282 My first roto team was terrible.

So was every one since then. This year looks promising at least.

299 Nice.

299 - and I have both of them on my roto league team :)

Come on James right here baby.

D. steal would have helped more before the pop-up.

305 Me too :-)

"Let's see if Torre counters," wonder the Marlins' announcers. With what? Pinch hit for Loney?

Of course, it would be nice if Loney did what he's capable of here, erase the previous few at bats today.

Darn, I have to leave in 15 minutes. The Dodgers blowing it open would make me feel better about doing so.

Are we waiting for a pitching change, or has Yahoo GameChannel locked up on me?

297

I hope the Dodger medical staff stand pat & let's La Roche come back when he has HEALED PROPERLY.

Taylor Tankersley needs to Albomize those ears.

It´s impressive that Martin always looks to be ahead of the count. Easler is doing a wonderful job with him, hope it happens with Kemp.

why are their little girls just screaming...anyone else notice thats all that can be heard in dolphin stadium

"The candy-colored clown they call the sandman"!!!!!!! (™ Marty)

Thanks, Marty.

I hope Tankersley really TANKS here...

Loney is pretty good at baseball.

... There you go, James. Great job.

WooHOOOO...that a boy baby, a triple to center off the base off the wall

there we go

Sweet Baby James!

Shoulda stuck with 'oleson.

Thank you, Loney, for hearing my plea in 309 :-)

And as J Walter Weatherman would warn the Marlins, "And that's why you NEVER walk someone to get to James Loney."

Guess the Marlins figured out how Torre would counter the pitching change.

Thank you Jacob for shouldering the nats update burden in my absence.

Was putting kids to bed.

Though I'm a shameful enough father that I did follow the extras on my bberry during said bedtime operations.

When your three year old can say "put your blackberry down!" you've got to re-evaluate your priorities a bit I suppose.

I have to admit I chickened after 2 strikes on Loney and stepped out for a second. What a faithless fellow. And I come back he's on third---wait home.

I'm a little surprised there letting Billingsley go another inning, these things will bite the Dodgers come crunch time.

Billingsley batting for himself here. Interesting.

Billingsley bats here? Really, this looks like where I'd send it Chan Ho for the 3 inning save.

our bullpen is AIR TIGHT these days, come on Torre!!

When your three year old can say "put your blackberry down!" you've got to re-evaluate your priorities a bit I suppose.

I'll say. My dad wouldn't have put up with that kind of back talk.

4 runs scored with 2 outs!

329 - This lead is even safe from Danys Baez

Billingsly has thrown 95 pitches, he should be able to go another inning, plus, with the exception of the 5th, he's been in total control. Nothing wrong with running him out for the 7th

Tonight, I'm very glad to have both Loney and Billz on my fantasy squad.

So we complain when Bills comes out and we complain when he stays in? Why not save the bullpen for another inning if possible? I'm fine with this.

Hey, I think Bills needs work to get it together. Pull him if he hits 110 pitches no matter what.

331 great note there, this is just becoming incredible the kind of work were doing with 2 out.

and what a grab by Billz

... I'm happy Bills is still in there. He's doing fine and not being overworked. There's no reason to replace him at this point.

Holy cow, what a reflexive grab by Bills. That's a Web Gem tonight for sure.

335

I STRONGLY disagree with your post. ;o)

Habs score twice in 30 seconds to tie the flyers late in the third.

Now flyers on powerplay.

I don't know if this went unremarked upon earlier, but nine unearned runs in today's Pirates/Mets contest in Shea.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=280430121

Must have been a lot of booing.

334 Me too! :)

nice to see cody ross again

341 Isn't the District giddy with another game against the King.

Bills arm is gonna be sore tomorrow & SPECIALLY tuesday but by Wed he'll be just fine.

and now the flyers score to take the lead

Only 8Ks? Weak.

and flyers take the lead.

If you've never followed hockey, I never followed hockey til a couple of years ago. Then the Capitals acquired Ovechkin and I figured I should check this guy out if he's gonna be the best athlete playing in the city. Now I love it.

It's a pretty compelling watch, though very different in person. Hockey has the greatest "better in person than on tv" ratio of any of the major sports for me.

Something about the cold.

that'll work. 7 innings, 8Ks, 4 BB, 3 H

OK, great work tonight by Chad...with a day game tomorrow, saving some arms in the bullpen..imagine we will see CHP for 2 inning mop up

351

... IIRC, Steiner mentioned that HCK was warming up.

Rafael Furcal is on a sick zone of somekind.

Pet peeve time. If you make a small typo in your comment or forget a "the" or "a", you really don't have to make a whole new post to correct it. The human mind can self correct most of that stuff anyway. Sorry for being such a ninny.

I'd love to see kemp get into one here

Gameday should have a sidebar to let us know who is warming up

I'd be interested if it were on tv..and if the kings were at least relevant..I just haven't had much hockey in my life lol..

Ethier with a hit! Now AJ is looking like the fat kid standing outside the candy store looking in, and salivating.

Hockey is a very cool sport to play I actually played hockey & was pretty good at it (I played for my local boys club) I didn't play competitively though it was mostly for fun.

it was hockey with roller skates though.

that was a badly botched rundown.

354 I agree it's not necessary, but I do not share that pet peeve.

Kemp in a rundown. There's something you don't see every day.

Hey, they got Kemp out.

man, these Marlins players are pretty horrid on the pickle & they totally forgot about Ethier, WOO!

who's hurt?

Matty does seem to have one of those little episodes a week or so.

Haha! Kemp gets into a run down and allows ethier to follow raffy home.

Thats a pretty classic Bison moment right there. Makes up for his rookie like mistakes with pure athleticism.

365- Marlin's pitcher. I think. Definitely a fish.

Bison is really grazing hitting in the 3-hole

Ned can be expecting a call from Pierre's agent any time now.

Good game for the Dodgers.

357- While the Kings have been pretty bad for a while now the future does look somewhat bright. They have a very good young offensive core to go along with a pretty good defense. The glaring issue with the kings the lack of a goalie and until they figure that out chances are they won't be very good

346 After my 5 1/3 IP performance a week and a half ago my arm was sore for a full week. Then again, I hadn't thrown a pitch in 5 years :) I'm curious to see how it'll feel when I finally toss a ball again.

So is Dejesus going to be Russ Martin lite for us?

Old Man Pythagoras says this is a .600 team i.e. 16-11.

370 You have to wonder how long Torre will let Jones go on like he's going before JP starts getting more playing time again.

The Marlins are bad at defense. Way bad.

372 yea i've seen enough to know we've got some good young talent. My roomate is from darien conn. and is a big yankees rangers giants fan, we made a deal where I'd try to keep up with the kings if he followed the knicks.

373

5 YEARS!! man, your arm & whole body is gonna be sore still, but yeah, your arm for sure will still be sore.

Actually, I like having Pierre as the #4 outfielder. He is fine starting one game per week. And, if Jones doesn't start hitting soon, I think we are going to start seeing the Ethier-Kemp-Pierre alignment.

I'm only able to have gameday up. It mentions injury. What happened?

376 I think I'll still take Druw's defense and arm everyday over JP

378- haha well the good news is the Kings (minus a few years in the early 90's) have never been serious cup contenders so it's not like they have had a fall from grace quite like the knicks. Not many organizations have ever had such a fall

Russ is going to break 100 walks this year.

OBP machine.

Okay, probably not, but 80 is doable!

The Kings have not been relevant or exciting since the Gretzky days at the Forum. Had a nice run when Allison, Palffy and Deadmarsh with a great upset of the Red Wings, But since the team has floundered as ownership is apathetic towards the team. Even the Ducks of Anaheim has carried the Cup!

I remember I hadn't pitched for 2 years once & I swear I couldn't move for 2 days (not that bad but you get the idea) but I guess it depends on your body & such. I wasn't exactly in shape back then though.

2 walks for Druw tonight. Does that count as ending the slump?

386. Last time I checked, the projected number of walks was 125.

Hey quick question..
Are Kemp and Billingsley arb eligible after this year? I know they eshausted their rookie status in '06 but I'm not sure what their status is as far as arbitration for this upcoming offseason. Kemp was in the minors for 39 games last year so i don't know if he would be considered a super two or if he is even eligible at all

381 Matt Lindstrom, tight lower back.

DeWitt's warning track power paid of right there, YES!!

388 Two weeks before I pitched in that game, I had to go to two tryouts for teams and could barely walk later that day. It was another 4 or 5 days before all the soreness was gone.

5 years ago was when I had pitched last, but even that was just a weekend tournament. It's been 9 years since I've pitched regularly.

what does it take to hit it out in that place?

(rhetorical question. I googled the dimensions when loney's drive didn't go out)

My word. Triples wild.

The Dodgers are determined to make a liar out of Pythagoras.

Dewitt fo shizzzz!

Each hit from DeWitt drives the knife (or fork) deeper into LaRoche's back.

387 Arty Moreno has made all teams from anaheim really easy for me to hate lol..I mean I guess its kind of cool thats hes fueled the Freeway series rivalry, but still I don't like him or teams from Orange County..

I hate Gary Bennett.

o.k. guys I'm gonna say it, I really REALLY don't like how Bennet throws the ball back to the pitcher.

399 Or Nomar's. Or Sweeney's. It's going to be interesting.

399

Not necessarily. May the best player win the job.

DeWitt's ball would have been sooooo gone in the Coliseum.

Big Papi up, tie game, bottom of the ninth . . .

If I'm LaRoche, I'd be trying to get back as soon as possible. DeWitt is showing everyone, he belongs up here

405 - um, wasn't it to right?

401 402 Insert Monday's "Bring back Piazza" thread here ;)

Assuming this game ends 14-1, what is the Dodgers' Pythagoran record on the year?

(Ortiz singles to right . . . Manny coming up)

my eyes are deceiving me...

Piazza, nothing--Send us Barabbas! I don't care, just as long as it's not Bennett. What's Sandy Alomar up to?

400 I agree, should send the Clippers to play at Pond.

410 -- Pardon me, 13-1.

Boring announcement:
Geovany Soto is on my fantasy league team.

End of boring announcement

Martin is at 3rd to build his comfort level.

408 I was referring to the HR he hit there off Papelbon.

(Manny walks . . .)

man if I had Tivo I'd record Martin playing 3rd but it would be even better if he made a play.

415 99-63

416 You really are determined to show those 7-12 year olds whose boss, huh.

410- 17-10.

that's a sac fly with JP in center

This is the fourth game this month in which the Dodgers have scored 10 or more runs--the first time the team has done so in the month of April since 2001.

423 what is the 410-17-10 record for?

it's almost as if Bennett is throwing grenades or playing that horse shoe game.

422
I'm beating you. And my brother.

But I'm getting slaughtered by the 11-year old who doesn't even pay much attention to his team, but just started playing because my nephew had a team. The kid leads in nearly every category except saves.

391
Players are arbitration eligible with 3 full years of service time. Also, the top 17% of players (ranked by service time) with between two and three years service time are considered "Super Twos" and have an extra year of arbitration eligibility. These players' 3rd year, rather than being under team control, will be their first of 4 arb years.

A full year of service time is 180 days, and all days on the 25-man roster or DL count toward that service time. Generally, Super Twos have around 2 years, 130-140 days or so service time.

Martin and Ethier will almost certainly be arbitration eligible after this season as "Super Twos". Martin is at 1 year, 150 days before this season, and Ethier is at 1 yr, 153 days. Ryan Howard was a Super Two this season, and went to arbitration (and won!) with the Phillies.

Neither Kemp, Billingsley, nor Loney will be arbitration eligible until after 2009. Coming into 2008:
Bills - 1 year, 110 days
Kemp - 1 year, 49 days
Loney - 1 year, 12 days

*Source: Cot's Baseball Contracts

17-10 is the Dodgers Pythagorean record.

421 - huh?

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/LAD/2008_sched.shtml

BRef shows the Dodgers 124 RS and 106 RA going into today's game. That's 137 and 107 in Canuck's scenario, and so 91-71.

426- The Pythagorean Record, based on the number of runs scored and allowed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_expectation

425 Between 2002 and 2007, the Dodgers never had more than 2 games in the month of April in which they reached the 10-run threshold.

Kemp is truly a horrible base runner. Yes, Ethier scored on the play, but you don't run in a situation like that. He was in no man's land - half way between first and second. When you have a nice lead - late in the game - you don't need to take dumb chances.

Hope Ned can resign Ferkel

It's sickening that Kuo can still throw 95 after a million elbow/shoulder operations.

386
(LA & Brooklyn) Dodger catchers with 80 walks in a season:

Joe Ferguson, 1973: 87
Mike Piazza, 1996: 81

Piazza had 21 intentional walks in 1996.

429- Alright cool.. I pretty much understand arbitration for the most part and I figured Martin and Ethier would be eligible but I wasn't sure so I figured I'd ask. THanks alot

430 ah thanks, I still don't understand that completely, sort of though.

and wow a throw out at home kept the sox game at 1-1 with 2 out..now my gameday isnt moving anymore on the sox

Red Sox win on Varitek's single.

Do you have to pay for that service Eric?

431 My figures are probably off because I was using the 1.83 exponent.

441
The Play Index? That is $29 per year on Baseball-Reference.com. I use it multiple times per day, so I'm sure it's worth it.

It's crazy how Umps can even throw fans out of games.

432 - my bad.

Honestly, I don't know what they're going to do with LaRoche. DeWitt is playing great.

444
The umpires are ulimately responsible for the safe conduct of a game.

So, after doing math, like a chump, I found this.

http://replacementlevel.com/stuff/sg/Calculators.html

401 Count me among the members of the hate club for Gary Bennett. But I absolutely despise Fox ownership for letting a prospect--who once wore the catcher's mask much more admirably--go before fulfilling his enormous promise with the Dodgers organization:

Now he won't even reveal the slightest bit of upset over the Dodgers for passing him over before the 1999 season, when, as the team's bench coach for two years, he appeared to be an obvious managerial choice. They went with Davey Johnson, who was fired after the 2000 season and hasn't managed in the majors since.

http://tinyurl.com/6m4apd

Seriously. Davey Johnson.

Top Chef spoilers frowned upon?

446

DeWitt is doing a respectable job but let's be honest if La Roche STAYS HEALTHY he blows him & Garciaparra out of the water assuming he plays to his potential of course.

450
Yes. Although I'm not really invested in any of the characters I'd prefer to be surprised at the end.

KKKKuo.

The Dodgers have two bases loaded triples tonight. They only had one bases loaded triple all last season.

416
I almost got Soto for my fantasy team. For most of the draft I had two picks in a row, but I forgot there was a supplemental round which broke up two of my picks. I already announced Fukudome and Soto as my two picks, but only got to keep Fukudome. Soto went to my friend the very next pick, roughly 30 seconds after he found out who Geovany Soto was.

454
It's like they were magically touched by Alfredo Griffin!

you guys think Rafael Furcal is gonna have a career year (contract year) I really hope so cause we're gonna need him to be at his best this year. What ever happened to Etanislao man.

Over the last 9 games, Russell Martin has reached base in 29 of his past 44 plate appearances for a robust .659 OBP.

Stats at the end of April very respectable.

DeWitt .279 ave and 11 RBI
Loney and Kemp with good RBI numbers
Martin coming on strong
Furcal amazing

MLB.com has the Pyathgorean records for all teams on their standings page, and it's updated immediately after the conclusion of each game.

The Dodgers currently:
RS RA XW-L
137 107 16-11

Interestingly, they use the refined Pythagorean formula: RS^1.82/((RS^1.82)+(RA^1.82))

Maybe Pathagoras knows how you raise a number the 1.82nd power. I sure don't.

458

thats pretty good, even for a Golden God.

Maybe Pythagoras knows how you raise a number the 1.82nd power.

Pythagoras would use a calculator. Or in the old days, he would have had a big book of logarithms.

... Something I found interesting:

Of the 27 games the Dodgers have played this season, by my count 14 of them (52%!) have been blowouts -- games decided by 5 or more runs. The Dodgers have won 9 of the 14.

Also, I've counted 8 one-run games, and the Dodgers are 5-3 in those contests.

So, every single game the Dodgers have won has been either a blowout or a one-run game.

In games decided by 2 to 4 runs, the Dodgers are 0-5.

Probably doesn't mean anything, but there you go.

With Martin so hot, I wonder if Bennett will still start tomorrow, as Torre intimated he might.

451

According to D Leung, La Roche hit a foul ball off his toe and this is currently giving him more problems than his original injury. If De Witt continues to play at this level and actually starts to show some power, right now it is all warning track power, it might become harder for La Roche to find playing time

More update from Diamond:

"This was his day off," Torre said. "I said, 'you want to play third?' His eyes lit up." Martin is expected to start at catcher tomorrow. Torre reasoned that he had to play Martin there in case something happened to Gary Bennett so the team wouldn't be left without a catcher

For those who missed the Bob Costas segment on blogs vs. traditional media last night, they have it up on Deadspin:

http://deadspin.com/385770/bissinger-vs-leitch?autoplay=true

Will Leitch handled himself a lot better than I would've thought after the reading the blowback on it earlier. I can't believe what an obnoxious boor Bissinger was.

466 - I love the idea that Martin's "day off" is 7 innings behind the plate and 2 at third.

468
I have an unreasonable fear that the day after emergency catcher Delwyn Young gets DFA'd, a throw from Gary Bennett will injure his third 3B this year, and that 3B will be Martin.

Today is the 2nd anniversary of the Great Carter-Baez Debacle. While enjoying the pleasant buzz of a 5-game winning streak, I think it's a good time to reflect how far we've come since those dreary days.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SDN/SDN200604300.shtml

465

It's a little frustrating reading that ONLY because he has so much talent & always seems to be a)hurt or b) is a TOTAL bust when he is given the opportunity, well let's just hope for the best...

470
It's amazing that the Padres won the division with some of those players.

Looks like Billingsley's amazing Reflex-o-Catch will be one of the day's top ten plays on Sportscenter -- coming up next!

467 - Joe Posnanski just weighed in on the Costas show as well. As always, he's well worth the read.

http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2008/04/30/prayers-sometimes-get-answered/

Aw, man, Bills' play was only #8? Feh.

Russell Martin is an on-base MACHINE. He's made out of golden nails.

Posnanski's blog got a little face time in the pre-panel montage.

Some day, I hope Jon will be hauled onto national television and forced to account for something I've said.

Why would the Dodgers sign Juan Castro?

387 I missed my shot so I won't make a big deal out of this, but to say that the Kings' problems have been because of ownership is ridiculous. If I offered you the chance to have a billionaire owner who spent to the cap every year and otherwise stayed out of the way, you would be grateful.

And the Kings finished 21st in attendance despite being in the tank the past 2 years. To say that a team averaging over 16,000 people a game is irrelevant... well, it bothers me.

Suns seek consistency

>> The Suns open a five-game series against the Tennessee Smokies with a 1:05 p.m. businessmen's special today, and former major-league pitcher Tanyon Sturtze is set to make a spot start for Jacksonville. Right-hander James McDonald and young left-hander Clayton Kershaw were supposed to start the first two games of each five-game series, but they each were pushed back one day so Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti and his senior adviser, Bill Lajoie, can see the two top prospects pitch Thursday and Friday. <<

## The Suns already have seen two of their relief pitchers promoted to higher levels this season. Cory Wade went directly to the Dodgers last week, and Yhency Brazoban was sent to Triple-A Las Vegas on Monday.

Kershaw might be next. ##

http://tinyurl.com/4f5qka

Per Baseball Tonight: Owings has the fifth highest OPS in history (min 75 PA) only after Ruth, Williams, Gehrig, and Bonds. He's ahead of Pujols!

LaRoche went 1 for 4 including his first home run as Las Vegas lost 18-16 to Albuquerque tonight.

477 - Well, you are the edgy one.

482 18-16. What is that? A football score?

484
I wonder how long this took to play?

Albuquerque Bottom 6th

* Pitcher Change: Ramon Troncoso replaces Greg Jones, batting 7th, replacing Eric Stults.
* Brett Carroll flies out to center fielder Xavier Paul.
* Jason Wood grounds out, second baseman Kevin Howard to first baseman John Lindsey.
* Dallas McPherson walks.
* John Baker reaches on fielding error by second baseman Kevin Howard. Dallas McPherson to 2nd.
* Alexis Gomez singles on a ground ball to left fielder Terry Tiffee. Dallas McPherson scores. John Baker to 2nd.
* Chris Barnwell singles on a fly ball to right fielder Wilkin Ruan. John Baker scores. Alexis Gomez to 3rd.
* Marcus Gwyn singles on a line drive to right fielder Wilkin Ruan. Alexis Gomez scores. Chris Barnwell to 3rd.
* Jai Miller singles on a ground ball to right fielder Wilkin Ruan. Chris Barnwell scores. Marcus Gwyn to 2nd.
* Andrew Beattie doubles (10) on a ground ball to left fielder Terry Tiffee. Marcus Gwyn scores. Jai Miller scores.
* Brett Carroll singles on a line drive to left fielder Terry Tiffee. Andrew Beattie scores.
* Defensive switch from shortstop to second base for Luis Maza.
* Pitcher Change: Greg Miller replaces Ramon Troncoso, batting 6th.
* Defensive Substitution: Rex Rundgren replaces pitcher Ramon Troncoso, batting 7th, playing shortstop.
* Jason Wood grounds out, shortstop Rex Rundgren to first baseman John Lindsey.

Las Vegas Top 7th

* Luis Maza singles on a ground ball to center fielder Brett Carroll.
* Xavier Paul flies out to left fielder Alexis Gomez.
* Terry Tiffee homers (3) on a fly ball to right field. Luis Maza scores.
* John Lindsey singles on a line drive to left fielder Alexis Gomez.
* Andy LaRoche reaches on throwing error by catcher John Baker. John Lindsey to 3rd.
* Greg Miller singles on a ground ball to pitcher Marcus Gwyn. John Lindsey scores. Andy LaRoche to 2nd.
* Rex Rundgren reaches on force attempt, throwing error by pitcher Marcus Gwyn. Andy LaRoche to 3rd. Greg Miller to 2nd.
* Danny Ardoin singles on a line drive to center fielder Brett Carroll. Andy LaRoche scores. Greg Miller to 3rd. Rex Rundgren to 2nd.
* Wilkin Ruan singles on a ground ball to left fielder Alexis Gomez. Greg Miller scores. Rex Rundgren to 3rd. Danny Ardoin to 2nd.
* Pitcher Change: Brandon Villafuerte replaces Marcus Gwyn, batting 9th.
* Luis Maza triples (2) on a fly ball to center fielder Brett Carroll. Rex Rundgren scores. Danny Ardoin scores. Wilkin Ruan scores.
* Xavier Paul singles on a ground ball to second baseman Andrew Beattie. Luis Maza scores.
* Terry Tiffee strikes out swinging.
* John Lindsey doubles (8) on a fly ball to left fielder Alexis Gomez. Xavier Paul scores.
* Andy LaRoche flies out to right fielder Jai Miller.

This guy does a really good job of mimicking batting styles. Totally safe for work:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9SdRitr5o0

482 Not likely.

487 Sorry, I meant 484 :(. The implication being that 18 points is a strange number to score in football.

I just wanna say how much I appreciate/love having Russell Martin on the Dodgers. And I dont even mean that in one of those, he's a great player, type of ways (although that definitely helps). Its more one of those slightly irrational, special admirations, where I feel like I am witnessing greatness that is too subtle to be fully appreciated. I know this is likely to be found blasphemous by some but the last athlete I felt that way about was Nick Van Exel. I always thought Nick the Quick would win the MVP the next year, as irrational as that sounds. I think I probably will feel the same away about Russ until he disappears. I dont know how I got to comparing those two athletes, one a supposed underacheiver, the other an overacheiver, but alas.

Before the season started my realistic goal for the Golden God was to OPS .860. I still think he has got a 50/50 shot of doing that(but he should win the MVP regardless). Even though only 40 players in the majors last year OPSed .860 or over, I thought the Dodgers had four players who could do that this year. Its crazy that, until a couple of days ago, the only two Dodgers in that rarified statistical air were Furcal and Either, and neither of them IMO have a chance of keeping that up over a full season (although Raffy is starting to scare me, in a good way).

484 - They scored 18 last night (won that one), and have scored 109 runs in the last 11 games.

18 is all that unusual football now. It's much more common than 5 or 11.

489

I don't think Van Exel was an underachiever, although his career did kind of flame out partly because of his poor attitude. He was a 2nd round pick and very few 2nd round picks become a minor star like he did.

Does anyone else out there think we need to get D. Young some more at bats? With our 4 man outfield, it seems improbable that he'll get a start out there unless Jones starts sitting and 2nd base doesn't seem to be an option since he hasn't played there yet.

489 ,492
I have a soft spot in my heart for "The Lake Show" teams of the mid-1990s. The 94-95 team is my favorite non-title era Laker team. Even though Ceballos and Van Exel left on bad terms, I really liked that team. I felt bad for Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell for never getting a ring with the Lakers.

Tomorrow's game will start at 9am. Kind of weird to have the game over before lunch.

DeWitt is playing stellar defense

>> Defense is something DeWitt admits he didn't pay serious attention to until last season.

"Not that I didn't work at it," DeWitt said, "but last year I had to take a step back from everything."

Prompting the re-evaluation was a demotion at the beginning of the season. DeWitt, who was rated the best pure high school hitter by Baseball America in the 2004 draft, started the season at Class-A Inland Empire. He spent the final month of the 2006 season in double A.

"I didn't have my head right," he said. "I wasn't concentrating on what I should've been doing." <<

## Bowa said that when DeWitt was called up from minor league camp into big league camp this spring, he saw that DeWitt had trouble with balls to his right.

Bowa began working with DeWitt on a daily basis to remedy the shortcoming. ##

%% Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully hinted Tuesday night that he might retire when his contract expires at the end of the season. %%

http://tinyurl.com/5r3lf9

462 What's Bob doing answering math questions? You better not do that while I'm around. Stick to history and other suitable topics for librarians. ;-)

495
Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully hinted Tuesday night that he might retire when his contract expires at the end of the season

Whoa! I have chosen to avoid thinking about the day Vin is no longer calling Dodger games. Maybe they can have him record a bunch of words and names, and CGI Scully can call Dodger games for the next few years.

Seriously, if Vin wants to have some personal time, more power to him. He's certainly earned it.

I have but one request: let's give the man a proper send off. A day. A week. A series of ovations could never be enough, but the man deserves to be thanked by as many people as possible. He deserves that from all of us.

493 Me too and I don't know why. Maybe Chick was particularly good that year. Or maybe they were just overacheivers, although I remember them as inconsistent and reliant on crazy three-point led 4th quarter comebacks. I get sad when people remember Elden as a "slightly-better Kwame."

495
Nooooo!!! I have only gotten one chance to listen to him this year.

498
I think when the Lakers upset the Sonics in the first round (2nd straight year the Sonics lost to an underdog in the 1st round), Chick said something like "The Sonics are dead!." :)

There are still tickets left for the final regular season home game September 25 against the Padres!

The Lakers sent Chick out with a title (although they didn't really know it at the time). For the Dodgers, to paraphrase Jake Taylor, there's only one thing to do: win the whole...thing!

500 Yeah, I remember something along those lines. I hated the Sonics back then, I really thought they were bullies, but in retrospect, they must have been one really entertaining team.

Pictures from Scully's Fordham gala here:

http://wfuv.org/gala/08/

I still got my Cedric Ceballos jersey. I can remember the season before he arrived when Vlade was our leading scorer averaging 14 points a game. I will always love Cedric Ceballos.

If we sign Juan Castro (as Tony Jackson is practically begging for), someone needs to get kicked off the 40-man roster. Perhaps the immortal Mario Alvarez?

The NY Times article alluded to by Dylan Hernandez and 495 :

http://tinyurl.com/5v2cka

504
I went to one game during the 1994-95 season, and I remember watching Ceballos after he came out of the game in what I think was a comfortable victory. He seemed to spend a lot of time at the scorers' table in deep discussion and from the stands I couldn't figure out why. It turns out he was arguing with the official scorer because he was credited with zero rebounds! Classic Ced.

I think the funny part is that Tony Jackson thinks that the Dodgers may want to sign Juan Castro to keep the Padres from getting him.

This would be akin to the U.S. and the Soviet Union racing to be the first country to mass produce Trabants in the 1950s.

492 "Does anyone else out there think we need to get D. Young some more at bats?" I've been saying that for a couple of weeks now -- give the guy a start over Pierre one of these games. Of course, I've been saying it to you guys, not to Joe Torre directly so not sure much will happen to oblige us on that one. But I can't imagine the Dodgers will have both Jones and Pierre on the bench all that often. Once would be nice, though.

--
I just realized another reason they want Russell to start tomorrow, despite the early game after a night game -- and besides the obvious, that he's hotter than Hades right now and is 1000 times better than Gary Bennett: Because Kuroda probably wants to only pitch to Martin, given they've established a relationship and he trusts him. At least for now that's probably a requirement.

505
Not only that but who leaves from the 25-man roster? Delwyn can't be sent down without clearing waivers, so he's a DFA candidate.

Sweeney is starting tomorrow. If he doesn't get a hit, maybe he could get a DFA, but I doubt it.

Hu could be sent down, but that leaves them still with only one backup they trust for 2B/SS/3B.

Pierre could be Russ Ortiz'd, but that's highly unlikely (but how awesome would that be??!!).

Maybe Wade could be sent down, but is Torre comfortable enough to go with 11 pitchers? Isn't that why Wade was brought up in the first place?

I just wish Abreu's health or return timetable was more known so we could avoid these Castro shenanigans.

I would not release Pierre to make room for Juan Castro.

Wow. I've got to stop reading True Blue L.A; Andrew is destroying my brain.

If Castro is signed then Hu goes down.

Sweeney is running out of time to prove he has anything left.

Why would they DFA Delwyn, although if he is not going to play 2nd, his value on the Dodgers is limited unless Pierre is traded (which should happen). Heck, we play a catcher at 3rd. I don't see why we can't go with Young at 2nd for a start or two.

I liked the mid-90's teams of the Lakers as well quite a bit. Ced had some big games and while those teams were never in danger of taking it all, they did surprise some people. They were really a bunch of castoffs - Sedale, Ced, and Van Exel. Definately an underappreciated team given that Laker fans just expect to be in the Finals every year.

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If Castro is signed then Hu goes down

You might be right, but what does Castro do that Hu doesn't (besides be a "GREAT guy")? I guess that brings us to the whole point of this: there is no reason to have Castro on this team.

I can kind of see the argument of wanting Hu to get everyday playing time in AAA, but there's value in the 150-200 major league PA he's going to get too.

Frank McCourt needs to intervene now and relieve Scully of broadcasting all road games this season.

Steiner and Lyons already do all the road games versus the Central and East divisions, so adding the rest of the road schedule from the West Division wouldn't be that drastic a move. Then Scully would only have to do the 81 home games at Dodger Stadium.

That might be the only thing that would persuade Vin to consider returning in 2009.

If Vin Scully wishes to retire, he should be allowed to do it. The man has been on the job longer than most of wish to be on the job. He's older than my dad, except my dad's dead, so, as Bill James said, that sort of trumps being old.

I apologize if this seems flippant. Vin Scully does a great job. And he has more than earned the right to do whatever he wants to do in life.

I agree that he's more than earned the right to do whatever he wants to do in life. I just hope that what he wants to do in life is broadcast baseball games until he's 120 years old.

He's sort of in the Laurence Olivier stage of his life, where he needs only lift a finger or two for a giant payday that he can pass on to his children and grandchildren. It's hard to turn down $3 million a year, or whatever it is they're paying him now.

Oh, I totally agree. No one should put any pressure on Scully to do anything at this stage of his life.

It's just that the New York Times article indicated that Vin may be leaning toward retirement only because of road time away from his family, while at the same time wanting to continue as long as his health is good.

I'm just saying that a compromise might be reached that could satisfy all parties. I'd hate to think that Vin doesn't really want to retire, but will, because Dodger management is not willing to allow him to cut back on unnecessary trips to Denver, Phoenix, etc.

I think that Scully's integrity and honor would prevent him from making such a request of the Dodgers while he is still under his current contract. A pro-active move by the Dodger organization might be in order right now to keep him happy and keep him happily involved, but only if that is indeed his wish.

I was still hoping that Vin would call Super Bowl C. Then I could die.

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Die of a heroin overdose by the way.

BTW, can I change my handle to BallsDeep?

Not that RBIs really matter, but still:

Our $9 million/year centerfielder has twice as many RBIs as our $18 million/year centerfielder.

471 I shouldn't say he tanks (he had plenty of walks) I guess I expected him to come in Russell Martin style.

Martin's last 9 games (Dodgers are 7-2):

14-28 with 13bbs.

On April 20th, he was hitting:
.197/.300/.328

On April 30th, he was hitting:
.292/.439/.449

NPUT