Typical blogger explanation.

Real baseball fans need look no further than Joe Torre, who's winning ways are finally being bought into by his players.

In all seriousness, it can't be much longer before Plaschke-types start praising Torre for the magical turn-around in the team's performance.

LF: .250/.345/.290/.635
CF: .173/.289/.255/.545
RF: .352/.392/.593/.984

Of course I'm talking late in the season here. If Torre is at all willing to bench Jones, I'm guessing it wouldn't be until sometime late in July.

There were two reasons why the Dodgers signed Jones, one was for his power, 1 home run a month, not quite what they wanted, the other was for his defense.

The best defensive outfield the Dodgers have right now is Ethier, Jones and Kemp.

"We didn't waste $81,000,000, we spent $81,000,000 as insurance."

Which way would you go today to get to Farmers Market from South Pasadena?

A) South on the 110, west on the 10, north on Fairfax

B) South on the 110, north on the 101, south on Western

Post your answers here standard text message rates apply.

In that scenario, DeWitt got his month and LaRoche would get a month, and then the Dodgers would have to decide which finishes the season at third.

I'm thinking a couple of MLB bombs from LaRoche will cause Torre to find him playing time. Could he be a better back-up 1B than Sweeney? IF Nomar is traded or released (or accepts a role as a rover/pinch hitter), I would think Torre can find LaRoche 3 starts a week.

Well, I guess everyone needs a day off here and there

And Ned is already on thin ice anyway. If Jones continues OPSing under .600 and the Dodgers miss the playoffs, he's probably axed. If benching Jones results in the Dodgers reaching the playoffs, it might buy Ned another year of breathing room, so why not?

Does anyone know if there is a standard design for where the odd and even addresses are located on a given street?

For example, are the odds always on the West/North side?

I just thought this is something I should know if there is a standard way to numbering a street.

It's hard enough to fathom thinking Pierre should bat 2nd with Ethier batting 6th.

Torre set himself up for initial failure followed by subsequent success. No doubt the MSM will fall for his ploy.

he is steady and improving at third, he is steady and improving at the plate, and he has gone a whole month without an injury giving us some stability...

Usually most cities have established their numbering system for buildings long before most of us have moved there. The person or persons laying out the city could use models like:
1) the town where they grew up
2) New York City
3) making City Hall building #1 and moving on from there.

There are streets in Los Angeles where many of the numbers start from much of the city like 1st Street and Main Street. But there's a different numbering system in places like the Valley, the Northeast, San Pedro, and Venice.

South Pasadena, since it's a little city, doesn't use directionals on its streets. Pasadena does and uses Colorado and Fair Oaks as its zero points.

All of the streets in the unincorporated parts of L.A. County are supposed to have a directional attached to them even if there isn't a corresponding street for the other side.

Somebody here once got to sit down with a guy who worked for the County who was in charge of giving out numbers and names and found the discussion fascinating.

The first 20 days of the season were a kind of extended spring training, to make up for time lost to China, Arizona and just him being new to these players.

Day in day out, the value of Torre seems to be in his ability to get the younger players past their anxieties about their spot in the lineup so that when they're in the lineup, they're more likely to produce.

But maybe my starting premise is different from yours. The "regression to the mean" idea suggests that no manager makes a difference, and that the manager's role is, itself, superfluous.

I think that over the course of a long season with a team comprised of such a range of player types, a manager can influence individual performance. Not dramatically, but perhaps decisively, seeing as how "baseball is a game of inches."

There's no proving it, but I don't think things would look as bright if Little were still the manager.

(Which is not say batting Sweeney fourth makes any sense at all.)

There's always the brute force solution of uninstalling and reinstalling Firefox.

With Schmidt, Loiaza, Park, Kuo, Kershaw and McDonald already in-house along with the first 4 starters, there are posibilities to move one or more of those 10 along with Pierre and Young and possibly LaRoche and DeWitt to tweak the team.

1. What does this mean?
2. What is this conclusion based on?

(Okay, we already know how I feel about Delwyn Young getting a start - I would like to see that. One of these days, I guess.)

Sorry, I don't mean to sound grumpy here but I was kind of hoping that if the Dodgers could, you know, play a lot better, win 5 in a row, we could at least get a day off from harping on the line-up and comments like 1 .

I probably just need coffee. But I guess my cup is already half full. I'm just gonna enjoy the game quietly today, win or lose.

I had figured it out as combinations instead of permuatations.

If the Dodgers keep the same 13 position players, the total number of different lineup combinations would be 51,891,840.

Unless www.mathisfun.com lied to me.

Thanks, Bob. I figured it was worth asking in case I was missing the "system" this whole time. It is definitely frustrating when you are looking for the odd/even situation for a street, but you can't find any numbers on the buildings.

Seriously: there are 9 spots in the lineup. What kind of thought process leads someone to choose the #4 spot for Sweeney over the other 8 spots? I would just like to understand.

In Los Angeles, evens should be on the east and south. But I can't vouch for Venice. Bunch of effete laidback Westsiders!

Playing Kemp in CF, with Pierre in LF---just intensifies what a dumb decision it was to sign Pierre at all.

Even realizing Kemp could play CF before this season, may have kept the Dodgers from signing Druw as well.

cleanup is a PVL spot, and not even Jim Tracy could put Juan Pierre there

That's a guess. I have no idea.

Exact opposite here.
If there's ever a game that the backup catcher should start, it's today.

61 Yes.

63 I would've liked to have seen that too (and Russell playing 3rd base!) though like other people here I don't have much faith in Bennett and as I pointed out last night I don't think Russell will ever sit, at least not for a great while, when Kuroda is starting. That's just the deal.

--

Where's my darned coffee? Waitress!

*At 137, the Dodgers scored the third most runs in the NL, and the sixth most runs in MLB.
*At 107, the Dodgers tied with Atlanta for having given up the second fewest runs in the NL, and the fourth fewest in MLB.
*Rafael Furcal was first in hits (43), runs (26), and doubles (12) in the NL. He was second in OBP (.462) and batting average (.381) and 4th in steals (7).
*Chad Billingsley struck out 40 in 27.2 innings.
*Russ Martin had an OBP of .439 (good enough for 5th in the NL). Ethier OBP'd .400, and the Dodgers as a team were third in the category at .360.

I know I cherry-picked the good stats. But if you'd told me the above would be true back in March, I would have predicted we'd be in first place right now.

Or he could just really enjoy the PCL like Mitch Jones did.

Did I mention I need coffee?

Back later...

69
Maybe over 1000 simulated games it doesn't but for one game in Florida I'd rather have the slumping single hitting Sweeney batting 7th and either Martin, Ethier, or Kemp hitting cleanup.

What is the probability that Torre believes batting order hardly matter? I would guess "Very close to zero".

I think it's very likely that Torre believes batting order matters a lot, which makes "Why does Torre think Sweeney should bat cleanup?" a legitimate question.

BTW: Do SABR-types believe that setting the lineup is the most important managerial duty and that the lineup doesn't matter...?

Bless you, gourmet instant coffee.

I don't remember seeing such a high rating for a SciFi/Comic Book movie before.

One of those terms should never be with the other two.

Which also means that our cleanup hitter is going to do some damage today.

Cody Ross has been as bad as A Jones this year without the sterling defense. When you lose time to AA your on thin ice.

And I really don't appreciate that you do this just to tick me off.

SABR members are people like Trent McCotter who is a UNC freshman and specializes in finding obscure batting streaks from the 19th Century.

It has guys like Dave Smith, who has developed Retrosheet, and all he just does is organize play-by-play data.

It has people who can't believe the Dodgers left Brooklyn.

It has people who spend all of their time studying the Negro Leagues.

It has members who write books on the U.S. tour of the 1935 Tokyo Giants.

It has people who are specialists on the Pacific Coast League in the 1950s.

So you could ask all those people about lineup order and 95% of them will just shrug their shoulders and say "whatever."

Bless you freshly ground cruz del sol from Intelligencia

Do you mean in spring training? As far as I can tell, Ethier has never played an inning in CF in a major league game.

What's a better way to say "people who are a lot more knowledgeable than I am about baseball stats and stuff" than "SABR-types"...?

Seems like H Ramirez is okay, at least enough to come back out to the field. Maybe he just had hamstring tightness.

I don't know what shorthand you should use. You're just using one that is wrong.

b) he wants Sweeney to maybe get an extra at-bat to get him going

c) he wants to boost Sweeney's morale.

d) He thinks a veteran will do well against a young pitcher.

These are all possible reasons, similar to his batting Nomar third. But unlike with Nomar, we know this is going to be a rarity with Sweeney. I would not bat him fourth, but it really is just not that big a deal.

Dodgers have yet to hit even a badenhop single.

Hey, time is money, man!

Burke Heinrich Badenhop (RHP, FLA)
The 25 year-old 6'5" righty was acquired from Detroit in the blockbuster Cabrera/Willis deal in December '07. Badenhop was a 19th round selection in the '05 draft and has pitched well as a starter in the minors despite the lack of a plus pitch. He owns a career 2.89 ERA, 2.1 Ctl and 6.0 Dom. He's known mostly for his polish and command. He rarely walks hitters and keeps balls on the ground with a solid-average 86-91 mph sinker. Badenhop's other pitches include an average slider and changeup. Because he doesn't throw hard nor does he have a swing-and-miss pitch, he'll never become a high K pitcher. He is efficient and has enough durability to either remain a starter or become a long reliever.

You add hot water to the former to get coffee. In the latter, you have water pass through the grounds in some form and they take their flavor from the beans as they go into the pot.

A French press works on a slightly different method than the other two. So does an espresso machine.

Fresh Ground > Folgers-type ground > Instant

Taste, acidity, freshness, aroma, and depending on the method of extracting the flavor, boldness in the coffee.

Freshly roasted> one week on shelf> store bought whole bean> pre-ground coffee> foldgers

Oh. My. Lord.

Not only went deep into the hole to grab that one, but fired away from the outfield practically to throw out Helms. (Not the fastest runner but still.) Wowsa.

Alternately, the signal could be "hey we look to you to be a #4-type hitter. We can't carry you if you're 2 for 21."

But anyway, I think the pure purpose of it is a message to Sweeney.

"How does the Clover work?
The simple answer: Combine coffee and water, let them steep together for a set time, filter by vacuum and deliver to the cup. We call this VacuumPress™ coffee making.

The technical answer: After dosing it and grinding it to your specifications, you will add the coffee to the Clover brew chamber. You will choose the cup size and the steep time on the user interface, and then press the brew button. Clover delivers the exact dose of water at the temperature you've chosen. Stir and wait while the coffee steeps. At the end of the set time, Clover's piston rises, creating a vacuum that draws the coffee through the grounds. The piston will then descend and deliver the coffee into your customer's cup.

What does the coffee taste like?
Clover coffees are filter, or brewed, coffees, not espresso-based beverages. It allows you to tune your coffees to your own filter-coffee profile. Depending on the size of the filter, grind, temperature, time and coffee, you can find profiles similar to pour-over cone filters, or to press pots. Many people tune their coffees to mirror the vacuum pot, where the clarity of cup and honest expression of the bean comes closest to the roaster's cupping table. Ideally, you will experiment with the parameters and find your own preferred cup. "

from here: http://cloverequipment.com/whyclover/faq.aspx

That's about right

Yes, the Dodgers vs. new unknown rookie pitcher effect seems to be at work here.

Nice read.

The only thing that could have made it better was if his pants had split, or he'd lost a shoe.

And it directly hurts the pitcher instead of rewarding him for getting a player to hit into a sure out. I can understand a major leaguer misjudging a hard hit line drive right at him. But to misjudge a pop fly that badly? Thats just sad.

I long to work in a place with a fancy coffee set-up, but as long as I'm in government its not happening.

Most drip coffee makers are fairly decent once you pass the $30 range. The key is to maintain it well, clean it often, and to brew to your taste.

As for the instant coffee, my family in STL drinks it all the time, or they brew with the pre measured ground bags of coffee. I can't stand it, but there tastes have adjusted to it. Sometimes I wish I had never been trained as a Barista. Many of my drinks are ruined for me before I even get to taste it.

Hearing coffee that is "like salad dressing" made me almost lose my breakfast

That was pretty funny. I had a nice picture of hot balsamic in the morning.

That play by Pierre is the kind of thing that can happen to anyone once in a while.
It was right at him in a high sky, maybe even in the sun. Now he is messing up the pitcher a bit. Wow, am I defending him?

>>On his website, Lamar Odom tells a funny little story about a Laker team dinner, just before the Denver series, at a high-end steakhouse.

Odom says the place can be "rather expensive," especially, you'd imagine, for a large group.

When the check came, Kobe Bryant reached out his hand for it. "As soon as he picked up the bill," says Odom, "we all started chanting 'MVP MVP MVP!'"

"I thought that was pretty funny."<<

I really need that surgery one of these days. So hard to put the money aside for the short term, but the long term savings on contacts and such makes it worth it.

You say that a lot, but you dont have a clue about his vision. It could be tremendous it could be not so good, but to suggest a guy who hit over .340 last year needs vision correction surgery is a bit over the top.

I'm waiting for the surgery to start getting covered by insurance. I don't see why you would cover contacts and glasses, but not corrective surgery. If you have a flexible spending account, you can at least get the cost tax-free.

*Disclaimer* Daren Sutton conducts the interview, but it's still vintage Vin.

Interestingly, Eric Gagne amassed 34 strikeouts also in August 2003 in only 17.1 IP!

You can do magic
You can have anything
That you desire

Magic
And you know
You're the one
Who can put out the fire.

Do Do Do Do Do Doot. Do do do do do.

Are Loney and Kent both sitting for rest purposes? and I thought Martin was sitting, or playing 3rd today, or "resting"?

Are Loney and Kent both sitting for rest purposes? and I thought Martin was sitting, or playing 3rd today, or "resting"?

Are Loney and Kent both sitting for rest purposes? and I thought Martin was sitting, or playing 3rd today, or "resting"?

Are Loney and Kent both sitting for rest purposes? and I thought Martin was sitting, or playing 3rd today, or "resting"?

Misty visited the guys on the Cubs broadcast on Jackie Robinson night and she was wondering why Derrek Lee's name was missing and why his number was all different. The crew was kind enough to explain the tribute to Jackie Robinson without putting her down.

I thought it was cute, but if it was a guy I would have thought differently.

Kent is the more traditional day game off after a night game.

I can't believe I never figured that into my flexible spending account. Changes need to be made!

And 217 thanks

If you look past that fielding error haha

Great, now I have friggin' America in my head. Thanks a lot underdog!

a) Matt Kemp hits a home run
b) Matt Kemp draws a walk

Kemp's homerun power...it's coming right?

http://tinyurl.com/5uehpl

Also from that article:

Jones sat, not only to get Pierre in the lineup against Florida right-hander Burke Badenhop, but because Jones still is struggling at the plate and Andre Ethier isn't.

Jones, however, showed an obvious adjustment in several at-bats Wednesday night with an open batting stance against left-hander Scott Olsen.

Jones has been pulling off pitches all year. To reach pitches with an open stance, he must bring his left leg toward home plate and the momentum of that act theoretically nullifies his tendency to pull away. He flied out twice to center field and popped to second before walking twice, although, as the game progressed, his stance appeared to close.

"I'm trying everything," Jones said.

ZiPS had him at .260/.350/.436 for this season.

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

Yes, but is it one of those things you can completely do without until you start using it?

Yes, but is it one of those things you can completely do without until you start using it?

Probably. Although I have come to enjoy the taste of a good cup of decaf in the afternoon. So, for me it is more of the aroma/taste that factors in. I am not grumpy before my first cup, but I do think the morning routine has a psychological factor worked into it.

Or both?

Kuroda has made 65 pitches, you don't have Broxton available, Kuo pitched last night.

Do you keep Hideki in because he is pitching well, for at least one more inning.

If only I could be outdoors enjoying some lovely spring weather right now, I'd have it made.

And our boys name is Hiroki, Hideki plays for the yanks haha...its early

Pierre apparently has adapted to his role.

I would love to see him go opposite more.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=7456

Rafael Furcal, Dodgers. There's plenty of room for reasonable disagreements here. However, I'm going with Furcal because of his rather gaudy triple-slash rates (.381/.462/.602), and because he's authoring those numbers while providing good glove work at the most vital defensive position on the diamond. Of course, it won't last; at this writing, he's on pace for 72 doubles, and if reaches that mark then I'll do something sinister to myself, like boil my hands in oil, or watch the NFL draft. In any event, once all elements of the game are taken into account, Furcal is having the best season to date of any player in baseball. Also in the mix: Chipper Jones, Braves; Albert Pujols, Cardinals; Hanley Ramirez, Marlins; Chase Utley, Phillies.

Well, the Dodgers have a pretty deep bench today, so whoever they bring in to pinch hit is going to be pretty good.

295 - Blame DeWitt! He was the one who hadn't made enough errors to begin with!

I kinda like The Solution, but I only reject nicknames, I don't standardize them.

Plus now Hanley gets to leadoff the eigth. It was a pretty costly error, I would say.

Yep, although the Dodgers hope to provide loads of offense in the 8th inning, then white wash the Marlins the rest of the way.

Nothing, and I mean nothing from his minor league career would suggest he'd walk this much.

Actions speaking rather loudly right now.

Let's go Loney!

Oh right: it's only May.

He has a .412 OBP off lefties this year!! Terrible move by Torre.

Ah well.

No, it was a really weak grounder.

Loney Career: .349 OBP, .778 OPS off lefties
Andruw Career: .364 OBP, .879 OPS off lefties

And Andruw has a .412 OBP off lefties this year.
Not to mention then you could have had Loney pinch hit for Sweeney later. Absolutely unexplainable move IMO. Although i take it the only numbers Torre knows are this year's batting averages. Sigh.

I agree that if he's healthy, I'd rather have had him bat instead of Loney with the bases loaded last inning.

http://tinyurl.com/5q3vfx

SFW, though randy.

Not that I want to turn this into the second-guess-athon.

Very true but even if you just look at this year:

Andruw- .412 OBP, 34 PA
Loney- .250 OBP, 40 PA

It is a small sample size but Druw has shown he can still rake lefties where Loney has struggled. I can't think of one benefit of Loney hitting in that spot, can you?

If I'm the Marlins, I walk Kemp intentionally here.

My favorite player!

I'm just not that easily impressed, I guess.

Eric - How prescient you were.

Way to fight that one off.

Only tougher.

I too, am wondering when he's going to start hitting home runs, however. That will be nice when it happens.

Good Call Larry, I'm high fiving you in my mind.

I think I meant to say Bison, not Biaon. I don't think we have anyone with that nick?? ;)

Stole the base even while adjusting his helmet.

He's wrong.

And how long before Roger and Debbie Clemens do a talk show where they hold hands and clear the air?

Or she could kick him to the curb.

Okay, here we go!

I think that tells us all we need to know about that list.

One down.

Absolutely filthy.

As Greg Brock would say, We win!

Now I can resume my attempts at productivity with a Sammy Smile on my face.

Dodgers in 1-run games: 5-3
Dodgers in 2/3-runs games: 1-5
Dodgers in 5+ runs games: 9-5

Torre will probably say something to the effect that the team is playing and winning close games, which is a better indication of how the team is doing than just by a few blowouts here and there.

Outside the NL West, there are only 4 teams in the entire league that are more than 5 games out of first.

In any other division, the Dodgers would be right there. If the D-Backs play .600 baseball for the rest of the year it will be pretty hard to catch them. But both the Phillies and Cubs were 5 games out on May 1st last year and they went on to win the division, so despite the tough start, going 8-2 right now did keep them in the picture.

https://dodgerthoughts.baseballtoaster.com/archives/795979.html#comments

What team are you talking about...?

We don't need these guys...

Lousy good competition.

Also, its possible by the end of the next two weeks the Dodgers will replace Park with Brazoban so Chan Ho will come off the 40 man roster so they won't have to DFA anyone else.

If they do sign Castro, he will replace Hu who will proably play lots of 2B, 3B and SS in Vegas.

Also what this list you all are talking about?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/specials/fansurvey/2008/index.html?eref=T1

Kemp made the "Fantasy Baseball Who's Hot" list.

Also, Josh Peter wrote a lengthy, yet lovely piece about fan loyalty during recessions, including a can collecting couple at Dodger Stadium.

http://tinyurl.com/65y7l8

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/rpi?season=2008&sortColumn=rpi

I wouldn't expect a move re Loiaza unless either Schmidt or someone Ned is going to see soon is ready to for the show.

The list shown above also has a neighborhood ranking. Neighborhood? C'mon now, I'm not going to the baseball game to do stuff around the baseball game. I'm going to watch a baseball game. Wrigley is a notable exception.

"Rarely in the history of the game has a backup infielder had so much leverage."

Believe it or not, Angel stadium serves virtually the same Dodger Dogs that Dodger Stadium does. Farmer John Makes them, and while the franks aren't as long, they have the same mouth watering flavor.

The buns they use are much worse though. I defer to OC residents to break down the other concessions.

1) Hu needs more PA, and can get that in Vegas
2) the club isn't comfortable with Hu at 3B, and would rather have someone -- i.e., Castro -- that can play all three non-1B infield spots (even though as Xeifrank said, Hu is better at SS than Castro)

Is there anything to indicate that this list is up to date, or might it have been made a week or so ago?

And when you get down to it, either this team carries 11 pitchers or they have to get rid of either Pierre or Young. Only Young can play another position (and that is second base, though he is the 3rd catcher)

But you have 2 catchers (though I guess Martin is going to play 3B), 5 infielders, Loney, Kent, Furcal, Dewitt, Sweeney who only play their one position, and 4 outfielders, Kemp, Ethier (who is taking ground balls at 1B), Jones and Pierre, who don't play another position. Thats 11 out of 13 who don't have to worry about having a different glove in their locker.

So that leaves Hu and Young as the only 2 players who can play different positions.

True if Abreu were healthy, he would be the guy and Hu would be in AAA.

521. ToyCannon 2007-09-09 03:07:54
...
It is 3:00 on Sunday Morning and I've decided we need a DT Sunday Picnic Softball game where the over 40's play the under 40's once the Dodger season is over in November. The field on Ohio/Sepulveda should do the trick.

We never made that materialize. Pity.

I think in the next thread dzztRat was also acknowledged as missing from the top 20.

Also as a veteran, I believe he could refuse an option assignment. He might not have any more options but his time in the big leagues may make that point moot.

However, he was sent down without passing through waivers to start the season, so I'm all confused. The CBA is calling me; I might have to check it after lunch.

Or Mike Sweeny

"Also, its possible by the end of the next two weeks the Dodgers will replace Park with Brazoban so Chan Ho will come off the 40 man roster so they won't have to DFA anyone else."

Why would Brazoban ever be given a roster spot?

If he's healthy, Ghame Over is one of the best short relievers in the organization.

This is a keeper. Now if only I could clone myself.

On the Town - Think "Springfield Broadway Style"
Take Me Out to the Ballgame - Think Deadball baseball, vaudeville act
Anchors Aweigh - Jerry

http://tinyurl.com/3p3d22

The other problem is that he is a below average fielder at all three positions.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3377200

Look, it might not happen, to say the infield situation is pretty fluid would be an understatement.

But with Kent already taking a day or two off a week, plus the fact that even a youngster like Dewitt will need a day off probably necessitates some kind of move.

I'd like to see LaRoche and Abreu here and Hu and Dewitt playing in Vegas. But right now, no one knows for sure when that will happen (though in LaRoche's case, something will have to happen in about 2 weeks since his rehab assigment will have to end)

Should probably get a head count, and figure out where to get a block of tix. It's much easier to get Giants tix this year but for a Dodgers series not as easy...

It's also July 4th weekend series so that might make it even harder. Anyway, I say we don't do the 4th (Friday afternoon) and do Sat eve or Sun afternoon instead. Then I suppose all interested parties should email me at underdog8 at gmail dot com.

The Rocky Mountain News reports that Troy Tulowitzki has suffered a torn tendon in his left quadricep and could be out until at least the All Star break.

Man, Bad Altitude's been kinda quiet lately.

Still, I feel like the Rockies are kind of a sleeping giant. If the Dodgers can sneak away with 2 outta 3 there I'll be plenty satisfied.

(I did read the comments--I just forgot if this was mentioned.)

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/statistics/standings.php

LA's record is a little low per their run differential, but 3rd order runs allowed is the one that jumps out to me. Looks like the pitching staff is actually getting a little lucky having faced some bad offenses (SF, Florida).

But all in all, this win streak is putting LA back on it's expected record.

And oh yeah, looks like AZ really is this good. Most likely a tough summer coming for SF too.

Without him at a high level, they are not a good team.

>> Gonzalez, 40, had felt frustration while rotating in and out of the lineup with Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp toward the end of last season. In the offseason he criticized Dodgers management, saying it "had no game plan" while gradually giving its crop of youngsters more playing time.

"I'm not a big fan of gradual," Gonzalez said. "Everyone's in tune with development. I'm in tune to winning."

But Gonzalez said he was open to working with young players and even said he was thinking about becoming a minor league roving instructor after retiring as a player so he could "show them old-school baseball." {!!}

"I think a lot of guys are pampered too much these days," he added.

For now, Gonzalez is making $2 million from the Marlins, playing some right field and even beginning to take ground balls at first base -- all with a smile on his face.

"He's always happy, so we're happy," Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez said. "They (the Dodgers) got a lot of talent, but sometimes it's what you have inside the clubhouse. We're together." <<

{Whatever, Hanley.}

http://tinyurl.com/6d3zog

What if Gonzo had accepted Ned's offer of two years?

I wonder how good their chemistry is if they lose another 3-4 in a row? Or how tickled Gonzo would be if they bench him. Of course, they don't have Kemp and Ethier (though they may have Cameron Maybin coming up again this year).

I once heard one say a four-letter word,
And it sure wasn't "Sure, I'll sit on the bench every game while some young whipper-snapper takes all my PT".

I'm on for a DT picnic. I make the best potato salad you've ever tasted.

Mayonnaise-based or not...?

More than half a lifetime ago, Scully said in his speech, he and Ralph and Ann Branca had an audience with Pope Pius XII in 1956. "My Irish, red-haired mother said, 'Vinny, whatever you do, remember everything, so when you come home, I can share the experience,' " he recalled. When the pope appeared, the audience was arranged in a U.

"He was tall and gaunt with skin like parchment, with large black eyes that looked like he was startled," Scully said. The pope moved from person to person, speaking in German, French and Italian, until he came to the Brancas and Scully.

"And where are you from, my son?" he asked. Branca, the Brooklyn right-hander, said, "Mount Vernon," which the pontiff remembered from a visit to Fordham years before.

"And I'm standing there," Scully said, "ready to remember everything, and he turned to me, and there I am, my throat is dry, my knees shaking, my palms sweating and he asked, 'Are you with them?' 'Yes, your Holiness,' I said. And he left."

Scully added, "How would you like to go home and tell your mother that?"

I told you Luis Gonzalez was Yoko

What kind of potatoes?

So we posed this question: How much money would the Giants have to pay of Zito's remaining $112.5 million or so to get somebody -- anybody -- interested?

"The Giants would have to eat 80 percent -- I'm talking $80-90 million," the official replied. "But they'd never do that. If that's what they'd have to eat, they might as well just let the guy keep being horse[feathers]."

and

Meanwhile, clubs continue to hover around Tampa Bay in general, and Edwin Jackson in particular, figuring that the Rays will have to move an arm when Scott Kazmir comes back. But an executive of one of those teams laughed when asked if his club had a shot at Jackson.

"I don't see how they could move him," he said. "I don't see why they'd ever put him out there. The stuff is too good. Yeah, he's still inconsistent. But at least he's consistently less inconsistent than he used to be."

Here's a little tidbit at the end of Gurnick's latest on Dodgers.com, he's writing in past tense because this accompanies the preview of the Colorado series.

Ned Colletti, having returned from a trip to the Dominican Republic, visited the organization's Double-A Jacksonville affiliate, where he watched James McDonald start Thursday night and Clayton Kershaw, probably pitching in relief.

Kershaw, the phenom whose arrival in Los Angeles is only a matter of time, is being limited to 25 innings a month in an attempt to maintain his durability for a Major League stretch run.

I guess if your going to suggest a gathering, an afternoon post after a series sweep works better. This is such a pleasant place when everyone is in a good mood.

My stomach is doing flips with the prospects
of
Marty - Potato salad
BHSportsGuy - some kind of cookies
Kevin Lewis - Big Green Egg to the park so I can BBQ some Tri-Tip
Brent Knapp - world-class breakfast burritos
Phil Gurnee - Dicks favorite brownies

That's getting dangerously close to Mitch Albom territory. Generally speaking, it's never a good idea to report in the past tense on things that haven't happened yet.
http://tinyurl.com/4vzpu4

The McDonald/Kershaw show at 4:05 p.m. PDT

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/multimedia/audio.jsp

Free to listen, just register.

Chinese Chicken...is that dog or cat...?

"Kershaw, the phenom whose arrival in Los Angeles is only a matter of time, is being limited to 25 innings a month in an attempt to maintain his durability for a Major League stretch run. "

http://tinyurl.com/65qo7c

McDonald pitches at 4:05 Pacific time.

582 I had it for years and years before it was being sold in restaurants.

(But Eric won't get that joke.)

If we have it before the end of May she'll miss it because she's in India. I know she'll be very sad not to get to sample Marty's potato salad.

Hopefully Jon, won't get upset that I linked a HR story about it.

Anyway, at the risk of posting yet another item that may have already been posted, how 'bout a shout out for Ivan DeJesus? He went 3-for-5 with a homer, a double, a walk, two runs scored and three RBI on his 21st birthday last night.

Ivan continues to roll.

On an unrelated note, I was watching the Cubs/Mil game on ESPN last night, when anonymous play-by-play man (Gary Thorne, perhaps?) asked Steve Phillips why the Dodgers have struggled out of the gate. He, of course, cited the inability of the team to score runs, and score consistently. To give him the benefit of the doubt, when they were struggling, that was the reason. The correct answer would have been, "The Dodgers have won 6 out of 7 and are over .500. I don't call that struggling." Or if you want to dig a little deeper, "The Dodgers had a crazy spring itinerary, a new manager, and have taken some time to get their legs under them." Alternatively, I always like it when someone doesn't know the answer to a question, and they use the following response: "I don't know." It's better than being wrong.

I will never believe anything they say again. Which is good, actually, because now I can allow myself to be impressed by Blake DeWitt's defense.