the last shall be first

I believe Jon's story should be told in the form of a sonnet or an epic poem.

I am in the same boat, Jon.

2 Jon's Iliad?

Heres an interesting piece from a Met writer, who says Piazza should definitely go in the Hall as a Dodger, and in fact doesn't want him in as a Met..

http://tinyurl.com/465sa3

Note the views expressed in his piece don't express mine hah..

Jon has lots of love. He just doesn't know where to put it.

5
I think Paul Lukas is espousing a minority view there.

(from the previous thread)

I thought it would be obvious, but I guess I should explain why I would not boo when my home team (the Lakers) is down 20 points in the third quarter. It comes down to this: I am a hopeful fan. If my team is down, I always think they can come back. Even when the other team has a lead that is so big it seems insurmountable, the irrational part of me kicks in and says -- it could happen. I have seen many crazy things in sports, and so I never give up. My team will go on a 44-20 run. My team will score a touchdown, get the onside kick, and get a field goal in 6 seconds. My team will hit four home runs in a row. My team can do anything, if the magic just clicks in. Booing, for me, is tantamount to giving up, to saying my team stinks and they have no chance. By refusing to boo, I am clinging to hope.

BTW, Daniel...after 4 days of 94 degree weather, it's snowed(lightly) in Northern Nevada this morning.

Fans booing their own team doesn't bother me.

People who are bothered by it don't bother me as well.

Oh, by the way, I want people to pull back on using "Rule 1 violation" in a way that breaks the rule. Here's an example.

Permitted: "Buzz Bissinger just uttered a rule 1 violation."

Not permitted: "Rule 1 violation to you too."

Also, I wasn't able to get online for a huge chunk of time yesterday, but in reviewing the comments, there was some Rule 2 violating going on. Please dial it back - thanks.

8 so your not a practicing boodist

8
I tend to agree with you, and if booing was an epidemic at Staples I would agree 100%, but last night's booing was short and sweet. It may -- and I stress only may -- have contributed to the immediate comeback (a 14-0 run after the timeout), serving as a bit of a wake-up call to the team.

In 30 years, Jon will tell this story to his grandchildren, wearing a grey fedora. (with apologies to The Princess Bride)

The Grandchild: A story?
Grandpa Jon: That's right. When I was your age, personalized televisions were called books. And books have stories. Stories were what your great grandfather used to tell me when I was sick so today I'm gonna tell you a story.
The Grandchild: Has it got any sports in it?
Grandpa Jon: Are you kidding? baseball, fighting, torture, revenge, Giants, Padres, pennant races, true love, miracles...
The Grandchild: Doesn't sound too bad. I'll try to stay awake.
Grandpa Jon: Oh, well, thank you very much, very nice of you. Your vote of confidence is overwhelming.

I am not opposed to people who are not bothered by people by who are bothered that some other people are bothered by people who boo.

15 - That's very big of you.

15
Thank you.

You don't realize how long it took me to reread that sentence to make sure that all the clauses were in the right order.

14 - Hah. Incontheivable!

Actually, it is pretty contheivable.

I wonder if Brock will teach Jon's pending story in class one day, in lieu of "Uncle Tom's Cabin."

Any guesses on what Jon's story will be about? I just hope it's not American Idol related. :)
vr, Xei

And I wonder if all that time in jail made scareduck mad. You know, mean mad.

It will probably be some wonderful story about booing that we will all learn something from.

19 an informed source speaking on the condition of anonymity tells me it has to do the the whole Yamagucci/Dancing With the Stars fiasco

6 Let's just hope he doesn't get his nose broken by a falling frog in the meantime.

With the title of the post, I'm assuming Reggie Theus will be prominently involved in Jon's story.

0 Actually, Jon's got a second book deal in the works. It's to be a tale of an orphaned seal, and has a working title of `The World According to Arp'.

(ducks)

21 maybe it'll be about saving your breath instead of booing in baseball, because it doesn't seem to do a thing..heres looking at you Andruw

Jon, I want to give a hearty thanks to you for recommending Carney's. I had a chance to go to the one in Studio City last night, had the chicagoan and the chili dog, and some fries. I enjoyed the chili dog the best. The chili itself is really good, I think better than Pink's and maybe Tommy's chili.

It's also located near a bunch of other Hot Dog Places.

Caught the tail end of the Lakers game at the Bowling Alley next door... and we still got to the Arclight in plenty of time to see the New Indy film. I got interviewed by Ch 7 guy but it didn't make the air.

4 Menin aede, thea,
Suzanneou Russelleus.

9 Awesome. We've been getting rain here, but snow up in the ski resorts still. It's not often we get a snow advisory for 12-17 inches of snow in the mountains this late in May. Thankfully, we're looking to have beautiful weather for my hike on Tuesday.

15

Is there an extra "by" in the sentence?

I sing of the man with no arm, who, forc'd by fate,
And despite DT's unrelenting hate,
Expell'd and exil'd, left the Wrigley ivy.
Long labors in center then left field, he bore,
And in the doubtful West, before he won
The Dodger realm, and lifted the destined pennant;
His spurned speed restor'd to rites divine,
And settled sure succession in his line,
From whence the race of Dodger fathers come,
And the long glories of Chavez Ravine.

28 Easy for you to say...

30
Time to gouge out the eyes again.

I hope Jon's story involves pirates and treasure hunting.

I've got a new idea for a petition, and this one might actually mean something:

time for MLB to replace those easily shattering maple bats and go back to ash only. I've seen dangerously splintered bats in pretty much every game I've watched this season, and it's only a matter of time before something really tragic happens. Stop cheaping out, Selig!

The Studio City Carney's will always hold a special place in my heart. One night when I was 12 years old, I just happened to be in the parking lot there, waiting in a car with a friend listening to the radio, when Kirk Gibson had a particularly memorable at-bat against Dennis Eckersley.

30 I noticed too, but I was too nice to point it out.

35 Even Popular Science is weighing in on the issue!
http://tinyurl.com/6z9wqt

35
I won't sign that, because there's always a chance someone on their cell phone waving their hands to a camera will be impacted by one of the bat shards. I'm still holding out hope for that.

35 I play in a wood bat league in San Diego and had a maple shatter in my hands this past weekend. The barrel of the bat spiraled toward the pitcher at a high velocity, who jumped over it (thankfully). The barrel became impaled on the backside of the mound and when I retrieved the broken wood it was as sharp as a knife. Needless to say, I'm going back to ash or birch (a more durable hard wood than maple) despite the fact that my bat died a hero (a JP-espue flair into center).

While I understood nothing of what PD and Tom were discussing in the previous thread I sure enjoyed reading it. I know some of you hate long posts but some people here have something to say that can't be said in a few sentences.

Last nights thread was perfect for me, I gained some knowledge and I laughed, which is basically what I come to DT for.

So Underdog is it safe to say that the Buss family can keep the Lakers?

35
I'm just wondering who will be impaled first, a fan, a player, or a coach?

I'm a little shocked that they have let this go on for so long.

40
I play in a wood bat league in San Diego

Where in SD?

43 North County... Do you play down there? Most of my games are in Vista and Carlsbad.

44
I don't play, but I've been thinking about it. Softball is more my game though. I'm in UTC area.

6 Very nice Magnolia reference. Appreciate it!

2 An epic written in Spenserian stanzas would be a nice compromise between the two.

Or perhaps a whole sonnet sequence if you truly wish to tell a story ...

31 Needs another 4 lines to be a sonnet

45 Nice, I love it down there (I'm living in Irvine now) you should check out the league northcountymsbl.com, they have several different age and skill level leagues with 2 seasons a year Spring and Summer. The summer season will begin in late June and run through October and it costs about $125 plus $5 umpire fees per game. It's a lot of fun and games are on Sundays.

8

Well said Zappala, I love it.

"time for MLB to replace those easily shattering maple bats and go back to ash only.... Stop cheaping out, Selig"

Actually, the maple bats are significantly more expensive than the ash ones. And even if they weren't, Selig's frugality would have nothing to do with it. Players pick their bats, not the commissioner. If a player wants an ash bat, he uses one. If a player wants a maple bat, he uses one.

Ash may not be a choice for much longer anyway because there's an invasive insect species which has started killing most of the Northern White Ash trees and they are in danger of becoming extinct at some point in the next 20 years.

Anyhow, I suspect the bat shattering has much more to do with the thinness of the handles than the type of wood. Every year bat handles get a little bit thinner as players want more of the weight in the barrel. What we really need is a minimum thickness for the bat handles. That would solve most of the problem.

51

Thank you Eric! I think players are getting spoiled with the heavy barrels, and to think that a bat like that will hold up defies the laws of physics. I'm glad MLB is coming around on this, and we all know Vin has been on the bandwagon for years.

From a recent edition of the relentlessly brilliant parody site/mag, The Onion:

Nomar Garciaparra Tells Wife To Meet Him On Disabled List At 8 p.m.

51 My experience has been that ash splinters and maple explodes. I use the model C-243 which is a thin handled, barrel-heavy bat and haven't seen the ash break dangerously yet but it seems like every time I break a maple, the barrel goes flying in a scary direction.

Article about the demise of the white ash tree
http://tinyurl.com/5jtc8f

"My experience has been that ash splinters and maple explodes."

Yeah, that's definitely true. I just think there's a misconception that maple breaks more frequently, which isn't true. It just breaks differently. (And potentially more dangerously.)

51 - Yah, I was just reading about that. My mistake. So why did they switch over to using more maple bats? Was that the players decision? Sounds like Selig is actually concerned about it, though whether he steps in and does something about it is another thing.

Hopefully they won't switch over to endangered redwood or Amazon rainforest wood.

41 "So Underdog is it safe to say that the Buss family can keep the Lakers?" Hmm?

I didn't catch the game til a bit after it ended (via Tivo) so I mostly avoided the previous thread 'til later. :-) But I was a happy camper they came back! Sure, they can keep the Lakers, as long as they stay quietly in the background.

52 Vin always seems to say it's the quality of the wood that's gotten worse, though. Which strikes me as... not well-informed.

Up on ESPN.com, there's a Jayson Stark piece about all the recent contracts given to pre-FA players (such as Hanley Ramirez, Ryan Braun, etc). Here's a telling quote from Ned Colletti:

"If you know the person, and you know his priorities, and you know what kind of player he is now, and you know what kind of player you project him to be, and all those things are positive, then it's a great idea," the GM said. "But if you have any doubt about any of that, then you're really rolling the dice."

Good thing Colletti is risk averse and has no doubt applied this thinking to his recent FA signings as well.

I'm going to see Kershaw tonight in Zebulon. I'll try to get some pictures.

30 I saw it as well but didn't want to say anything either : )

58
I think Vin's wood info guy is the same guy giving him info on Hu's natural position.

Basically, Ned said it's a good strategy unless it isn't.

My maple bats have actually been more durable and I think it has to do with the hardness of the wood, ash flexes more so it breaks more often. MLB should look into birch, I have used them a couple of times and found that it has more pop than maple but breaks in a less frightening way.

53 Link is:

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/nomar_garciaparra_tells

63 no, that's not what he said at all

57 Maple supposedly goes further, although nobody really knows if that's actually true. I think what happened is Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs using a maple bat and then everybody else started getting in line.

Hall of Famer Willie Wells was well-known for his hickory bat. I don't know if anybody still makes those.

It turns out that there's a bat company called the Old Hickory Bat Company. But they only make bats from maple and ash.

59-Look, I'm as disgusted by our recent FA signings as well, and I'd certainly like to lock up Martin, Kemp and Billingsley at a bare minimum, but there's nothing egregiously wrong with that quote. It's not a guarantee that every player who starts strong will stay strong, and taking into account a player's work ethic and--that dread word--"make up" is not a hanging offense unto itself.

60-The place sounds even more mythical than the pitcher.

Behold Zebulon!

http://tinyurl.com/52u7jp

I think going 7-7 without Raffy (especially starting 1-5) showed me that this club might be in it for the long haul.

69-Not nearly the potenital though. http://tinyurl.com/4823ta

$1 beers will do nicely though.

59 Giving 39 million to a decent Japanese pitcher: not a risk.

Spending that same money to wrap up Martin or Billingsley for five or six years: risk.

73
That's the point I was trying to make.

74 And I'm agreeing with you.

Also, giving someone the opportunity to go to arbitration and make twice as much: not a risk.

73 or 36 million to a washed up bum of a centerfielder...or 44 million to a track star baseball player wannabe...or 47 million to a has been former #1 starter...

73 Its all a risk because of guaranteed contracts.

Now, history has shown that if things work out, locking up your own players through arbitration may save you a few bucks down the road. But its still a risk.

20 - you know, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry. Or even slamming the upstairs linen closet doors.

I do think that we'll learn how the Dodgers will play this out when it comes to Martin's negotiation, no point locking up Broxton, Saito always has going back home in his favor. And even Ethier is probably not going to have good enough counting stats to get a big contract via arbitration.

WRT maple vs. ash bats: why not allow carbon composite bats with the same deformation and weight density standards as wood? Pitchers probably wouldn't like it because the bats will stay in one piece and thus allow some hits close to the handle, but it would eliminate the javelin attack that seems to happen with increasing regularity these days.

77 But it really isn't. Even if Ryan Braun completely flames out today, the Brewers are only out six million a year, which is a lot less damaging than your average mediocre free agent bust.

Why is there no point to locking up Broxton? He certainly is going to become a closer before he hits free agency and will demand a closer's salary on the market.

Or is it just that no relief pitcher is worth locking up?

Hmm. If the Dodgers have to spend lots of money paying for Martin, Billingsley, Kemp, etc. in arbitration, that means they have less money to spend on high-priced free agent busts!

60 - Is that near Lizard Lick?

Dodgers are going to have a heck of a lot of players to lock up in the coming years. Not a bad thing if they are good players, but you need to clear as much dead weight as possible. Players making $10-$15 mil per year, signed long term that don't produce due to lack of skills or injuries makes it tough.
vr, Xei

72
You can tell Zebulon is truly friendly because the web page has "friendly" written in italics.

71 i think going 24-21 with penny, lowe having ERA+ of 81 and potentially an above average pitcher coming to fill the #5 spot shows me this team will be in it for the long haul

85 The nice thing about these pre-FA contracts, though, is that only the last year or two generally feature a salary in that range.

87. Would this potentially above average pitcher coming to fill the #5 spot be coming in from the planet Zebulon?
vr, Xei

81 I think a lot will depend if the player wants that security or wants to maximize his bargaining potential.

I am not disagreeing with you but for instance, I don't see Dave Stewart giving any discounts with Chad and Matt Kemp.

82 I guess what I mean is that Broxton could be signed for maybe something like 15 million for 4 years if you think he'll be closing next year or in 2010. But you can probably wait until 2009 to negotiate an extension.

85. et al - But think of some of the contracts coming off the books after this year. (Okay, there are still a couple of albatross-contracts after that, but...) As fanerman says, and then locking up the young players means less to then blow on free agents. It's win, win!

What major contracts expire after this year?

90
The discounts will come from the lack of player leverage. The longer the club waits (and I realize it's a two way street, it takes two to tango, and other bad analogies, etc) the more established the player becomes and the higher his baseline salary becomes.

If the Dodgers would have signed Martin in the middle of last season (assuming he'd sign of course), it would have been much cheaper over the life of the contract than if he signed now, especially any free agent years included.

92
Nomar (although he is still owed $2.5m in bonuses over the next 2 years), Loaiza, Lowe, Kent.

Ned, you so crazy.

94 ah thanks, and while im at it, does anyone happen to know what the longest distance is from home to any part of the outfield wall in all of baseball

96
In the majors?

I think Houston might be the leader in longest distance to home. It's 435 feet out to center at Minute Maid Park.

Players I would sign today, to lock them up at least through their arb years, if not any free agent years, in order:

1) Martin (arb through 2012)
2) Billingsley (arb through 2012)
3) Broxton (arb through 2011)
4) Kemp (arb through 2012)
5) Loney (arb through 2012)

I'm not in favor of the Dodgers ever locking up young pitchers. If ouryoung pitchers perform well enough to earn a high salary in arbitration, then we should call it a blessing. If they produce well enough and are healthy enough to demand a big deal upon free agency, we should call it a miracle.

96 I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing it's the 421 feet to right-center field at Phone Co. Park. That's one foot longer than Comerica's center field.

I should have known that Bob would answer both more quickly and more correctly.

97 yes majors, and yea your probably right I know that center field and mini hill is pretty huge, sorry was just wondering that.

thanks for the answers both

Minute Maid Park is also a paltry 315' down the left field line. And 326' down the right field line.

99 For the record, I agree though I think you could wait for Broxton.

Notice you don't have Andre on that list.

Home plate at Dolphin Stadium to the outfield wall in Safeco Field.

106 Broxton's talents as a dominant reliever are a lot less replaceable than Ethier's.

Consistently dominant relievers are one of the rarest things in baseball, you should make a big effort to keep the ones you have.

106
I included Broxton to get the pre-closer numbers discount. I would wait a year or so for Ethier, although maybe it wouldn't be the right message to send to lock up the other 5 without then locking up Ethier. :)

From the something that would never happen department, the Dodgers could also lock up LaRoche to the smallest ever 6-year pre-FA contract ever, since he "hasn't done it yet" in the majors. :)

Plus since Ethier's biggest asset is his defense, he's a lot more likely to be undervalued in arbitration.

so, at what point does Kent get moved out of the clean up spot? Does he really get to keep hitting (or, rather not hitting" from what is considered one of the more important spots in the line up (traditionally speaking, any way) when he is clearly the second worst hitter of the starting 8 (including Furcal, not including Jones)?

98 Doesn't the "Bermuda Triangle" in Pro Player Stadium (Florida Marlins) extend to 437 ft.?

113 Nope. It's 434.
http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Pro_Player_Stadium

Also, the stadium is now known as Dolphin Stadium.

Matt Kemp is not on the all-star ballot!

However, Slappy, Wartknee, and Andre are.

Somebody needs to talk to somebody at MLB.

115
The Dodgers submitted said lineup to MLB for the all-star ballot.

Here's a story you all may enjoy:

My place of employment had a lunch for all of us classified employees. Anyway, after the meal, they had a raffle, and one of the prizes was for four tickets to tomorrow's game vs. the Cardinals. The emcee put a different twist on the prize, however, as she asked questions instead of pulling a ticket to decide the winner. So I just had to raise my hand faster than the rest and the tickets were as good as mine.

First to five correct won, and here are the questions I answered correctly:

First question out of the box: Where did the Dodgers franchise begin?

Who is the voice of the Dodgers?

What year did the Dodgers last win the World Series? With a bonus question of: whom did they defeat?

And the clinching question: Who was the Dodgers manager when they moved to Los Angeles?

My seats are in the lower reserved, row G. Not too shabby. The only down side is that the Lakers play tomorrow. I guess I will just TiVo the game and hopefully avoid spoilers.

As you were ...

117 - you are lucky you do not work with any fellow DTers... the questioning may have gone on several hours if there were a few of us there

117
As an extra bonus tomorrow night is fire works night if you like that sort of thing.

LAT does not like fireworks but he has a good reason.

117
It's going to be hard to avoid the Laker outcome because if/when the score is shown on the scoreboard you will hear the cheers (or possibly boos) from the crowd.

So, if Andruw plays tomorrow night and the Lakers lose, you might not be able to tell what the booing is for if you don't look at the scoreboard. :)

according to espn, old friend Eric Gange has been shut down with shoulder tightness.

120 Also, the game starts at 7:40 (Dodger game) so they game will end in a bout an hour from start time. So I would avoid the message board (last night they did not put the results on the scoreboard until mid-8th inning break so that was about 30-40 mins after the Laker game ended).

Not saying you can avoid it but with wireless access and radios, I don't think you will be able to.

I like knowing the outcome before I bother watching something I recorded. If we win I can relax and enjoy it even if they fall behind, if they lose I don't want to watch anyway.

68 i play in a wood bat league in nashville (where the old hickory bats are made) they also make bamboo bats (not advertised) which do not break, they just wear out. sometimes it feels like you are hitting with a wet stick though... not as much rebound.

118 It's funny because the only questions I didn't answer were how many years have the Dodgers been in L.A. and who were Garvey, Lopes, Cey and Russell? Someone yelled out 50 years, and I wasn't exactly sure how to answer the other one with anything other than, "Only the best infield ever." But I am lucky none of you were (Murray?) present ... or else she'd have run out of questions.

119 I had no idea it was a fireworks night. That's pretty sweet. Maybe I'll see the Big Tuna finally pop the question.

120 Even if Andruw doesn't play and there are boos around the time a Lakers score might be shown, I'll just tell myself they are showing Giants highlights followed by NedCo fist-pumped on the screen. :)

125 - Garvey, Lopes, Cey and Russell? While I like your answer, I'm guessing they were looking for "the Big Blue Wrecking Crew" or the longest serving infield.

123
It's harder for me to watch if I know the outcome, and if the team is behind I can always fast forward anyway.

That said, I also have a burning desire to know the outcome immediately so I'm often conflicted when not live.

Some of my best memories from going to Dodger games as a kid were following a Laker championship series game during the Dodger game. It's kind of funny when the pitcher is warming up between innings and a huge defeaning cheer goes up in the crowd. The Dodger players probably know what's going on, but I would guess many of the visiting players didn't have a clue.
vr, Xei

126. No, they were four Dodger players who have never been in my kitchen.
vr, Xei

126 The winning answer was pretty weak. Something like Dodger infielders in the 70s. I let some other guy answer it to make it seem like a competition. He actually was given a bonus question to that: what were their jersey numbers? He got it but only after the crowd helped him out. I was not among the helpers.

Young established position players I'd have no problem locking up through arbitration.

But there's no way I'd lock up any of the pitchers (Broxton or Billingsley). Too much risk of injury.

And like 100 said---if they perform well enough to win arbitration, then thats great. It's perfectly acceptable to pay market value for good players. I'd much rather give 10 mils to Billingsley in arbitration, than shell out 7 or 8 mils for a Loaiza.

Highlights of late-round Laker playoff games are always shown on the Diamond Vision. Always. They also ruined the 04(?) Masters, the first won by Mickelson, which I was taping at home.

117
Nice. Pick me up at 6.

131
You are probably right. It will be interesting to see how the Longoria and Kazmir contracts play out.

133 If you want the last ticket, it's yours, mang.

135 There should be a Timmermann led trivia session for the last ticket

119 Does that story involve setting his roof on fire?

Culling from my Dodger Trivia Book:
Name the ex-Dodger who did this with another team:
Hit two doubles in one inning and exactly one year later hit 3 triples in one game?

136 Bob may change the topic to the history of how Southern California streets and boulevards are named?

136 - I bet Timmerman's would be a lot more obscure and difficult than the questions 117 got to receive his tickets. :) He just had to be quick with the hand in the air. I might have just had my hand by my head for a shorter trip into the air to be seen.

*Finally, Kuroda got a win for his efforts last night and Saito saved it instead of blowing a win for his fellow countryman. zif he had failed again to save, Kuroda would have had a severe case of the "willies", every time Saito would have come in for him in the future.

139 I have dibs on MLK Blvd!

K.T. Landreaux

142
K.T.

The original Ken Tremendous?

I just listened to Jon on the LAT Laker/Dodger weekly podcast, its the first time Jon did not mention Juan Pierre when being interviewed for more than 5 minutes. :)

Actually, quite good as always.

He's on the 5/21 podcast near the end since they spend 80% on the Lakers.

142 yesterday my friends and I were thinking of the best ways you could use the "eaux" sound in cheers or sports names and teams....such as "eauxmar vizquel"

I've always wondered what the K.T. stood for. It's not like his middle name started with T.

There seem to have been a fair number of Dodgers whose initials didn't match their actual names. Landreaux, J.D. Drew, and D.J. Houlton, for starters.

139
I may not be able to come up with a question. I fear that I'm getting "flu-like symptoms."

Or maybe I just need a nap.

144 - Was it coherent? There was a five-second delay between when I spoke and when I would hear them speak.

I want to back and read through last night's game thread. I'm guessing between the following occurrences -

-Bako's half hearted attempt to block Kemp off the plate on the squeeze play (But I don't want to be a catcher.)
-Baker leaving his 22 year old starter in for 114 pitches in 5 innings of a losing effort, and
-the Reds chasing around wind blown fly balls like drunken sailors.

it must have been a doozy.

144. Is there a link to that?
vr, Xei

150 It's on the sidebar under "Dodger Sites" and then "Blue Notes."

Luke Walton's "Best of L.A." list starts with:

Petco Park!

http://theguide.latimes.com/profiles/2761/lists/167633

Anybody getting interested in the up-coming draft yet? It takes place in two weeks. BA posted their top 100 draft prospects list yesterday, with scouting reports. Different mock drafts have been done, with the Dodgers taking different players in different mocks. The only clue I have heard about whom the Dodgers like for their first pick, #15 overall, came in a Keith Law chat last week. Law said that "I know one of their national guys loves Tim Melville." "National guy" probably means a cross-checker. Tim Melville is a HS RHP from Missouri, and I like him too.

152 Boo!

Along with DeWitt and Elbert, I think it's all part of the Dodgers' master plan to gobble up every high school first-round draft pick from Missouri.

He's on the 5/21 podcast near the end since they spend 80% on the Lakers.

It won't be long now until there's nothing but baseball for a month or two.

148 Yeah, it was understandable, "Dewittian embrace" should soon become as recognizable a term as 4+1 on DT.

153 When I e-mailed Kevin Goldstein last week, he told me that he thinks the Dodgers are going to pick Hicks but he also thought Hicks could go before their pick.

BA's latest mock draft had Hicks at 13 and Melville at 15.

152 He split his faves between his hometown of San Diego and his residence Manhattan Beach. I have probably eaten at the Thai Dishes he frequents with Farmar.

It only feels like 80%--Jon's segment starts at about the 39 (of 60) minute mark.

Here's a link to the mp3 file, if you want to skip the Laker portion:

http://tinyurl.com/4z9akr

153 -- If Hicks is available at 15, I would hope the Dodgers take him, and as an outfielder rather than as a pitcher. Melville would be my second choice.

153/155 - Given the Dodgers' recent love of things Missouri and HS pitchers, that sounds like a safe pick. I still think Hicks, though. I really feel like this year they take a position player first, to break the trend, but... I know how Logan usually votes so I'll probably be wrong. It's supposedly a deeper draft for HS position players than for pitchers or for college players, or different than usual. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how it goes; seems an unpredictable draft.

160 -- Oops, that was a reply to 157, not 153.

Well, given that Hicks is a multi-position guy, pitcher-outfielder, that does give me some hope the Dodgers will take him and then pull a Loney.

161 -- Yeah, everybody would want Hicks as an outfielder over another pitcher because we have a lot of pitching talent already and we never draft center fielders like Hicks early. But that aversion to center fielders on White's part may be what makes it unlikely the Dodgers will pop one in the first round.

159 I exagerrated a bit, sorry. It was probably because they respect Jon a lot and also they had a Spurs blogger on during the Laker portion so probably did not want to go that long with him.

153---Trade up and get Gordon Beckham---oops thats not allowed.

Seriously,

1st basemen---Yonder Alonzo, Miami
1st basemen---Justin Smoak, Clemson
3rd basemen-- Brett Wallace, Arizona State

115 Not an issue which ones are on the ballot. No Dodger outfielder is about to go to the all-star game.

First, we would need outfielders that provide more production than other outfielders around the league. Not that it is the ultimate measure, but we have #17,18,31,& 38 by OPS.

There was an ESPN.com article by David Schoenfeld about Lance Berkman's May (.530/.571/.931, 301 OPS+) and how it could be one of the best months ever.

http://tinyurl.com/5frb3r

Of the dozens of months they featured, there were no Dodgers mentioned, which was disappointing. I looked up some memorable months in Dodger history (and I'm sure I've only scratched the surface), and here's what I've found:

Cey, Apr 1977: .425/.543/.890, 289 OPS+
Piazza, Apr/May 1995: .537/.558/.927, 285 OPS+*
Wally Moon, Apr 1961: .417/.485/.883, 284 OPS+
Guerrero, July 1985: .460/.563/.794, 274 OPS+
Guerrero, June 1985: .344/.436/.860, 15 HR, 262 OPS+
Loney, June 2007: .440/.472/.780, 225 OPS+ in only 53 PA
Guerrero, July 1987: .415/.520/.683, 221 OPS+
Murray, Sep 1990: .411/.492/.625, 219 OPS+
Sheffield, June 2000: .384/.472/.798, 12 HR, 30 RBI, 216 OPS+
Piazza, June 1997: .431/.475/.752, 215 OPS+
Piazza, May 1996: .375/.468/.725, 213 OPS+
Sheffield, Aug 2001: .392/.466/.735, 212 OPS+
Sheffield, Apr 2000: .349/.460/.795, 10 HR, 209 OPS+
Piazza, Sep 1997: .406/.447/.719, 207 OPS+ (closing out his 2nd straight MVP award)
Guerrero, Sep 1987: .414/.500/.596, 202 OPS+
Sheffield, July 2000: .353/.509/.671, 202 OPS+
Murray, July 1990: .357/.453/.622, 201 OPS+
Green, May 2002: .316/.433/.694, 10 HR, 200 OPS+
Piazza, Aug 1995: .400/.440/.696, 190 OPS+
Loney, Sep 2007: .382/.429/.709, 32 RBI, 188 OPS+

*I combined Piazza's April & May because he was hurt and only got a combined 43 PA, but .537! C'mon!!!

151 - don't see a link to the podcast on the Blue Notes blog anywhere.

167 - It's a popularity contest.

152 - only one thing on that list is actually in LA proper. Some list!

169 Look under their bios/pictures on the right sidebar.

169- It's in the sidebar, without a label. If I hadn't had to unblock the flash script, I wouldn't have found it, either.

165- Exaggeration in a blog comment? Well, I never!

The lag is appreciable, but not awful. It would have been better if the hosts had figured out that there was one (better still if they'd fixed it); snickering and interjections don't work with lags.

Anderson, September 2006: .375/.431/.818, 220 OPS+, 1 second-greatest moment in team history.

For those listening to the Kamenetzky podcast, the interesting part starts at about 39:00.

170 "It's a popularity contest."

It is, but it seems to me that since the online voting started, the fans have done a remarkably good job of picking the most worthy candidates at each position. (A better job, actually, than the BBWAA does in the MVP voting, which is also a popularity contest.)

174
A perfect addition. I really haven't even touched the 1970s yet, except for Cey's great month (which I didn't know was so great outside of the 9 HR / 29 RBI!!!).

The lag was very noticeable, but seems like it's also pretty standard for all the guests on that show. The same thing happened to Molly when she was on it, for instance.

168 Great list. I remember many of those months.

In fact, I was thinking recently about Guerrero's monster June of 1985, which not only had the 15 bombs, but also an on-base streak of something like 14 PAs. Its surprising, to say the least, that his July was statistically better.

The popular theory at the time was that the tear he went on was catalyzed by moving from 3rd base back to the outfield (was that the trade for Madlock?). The idea was that, by not having to worry about defense, Guerrero just relaxed and went nuts with the bat.

With all the talk about moving DeWitt to second, I was wondering if there's any substantiation to the idea that a player's defensive responsibilities can affect their offensive production.

166 -- Alonzo and Smoak have no chance of being available at #15. In fact, they will both likely go in the top 10, and Smoak may even go as high as #5 to the Giants. Wallace could also go in the top 14, but there is a chance he will be available at 15. There is just zero chance the Dodgers would be interested in him. But of course I knew you would be lusting after him.:)

166 I'll say this for you JoeyP, you are consistent.

The Dodgers have drafted three college players in the first supplemental round, pitchers, Justin Orenduff, Luke Hochevar and James Adkins.

They have never drafted a college player in the first round and outside of Loney, DeWitt, and Mattingly, the Dodgers have not picked a position player in the first round or first supplemental. (12 picks, 9 pitchers, 3 postion players, 9 high school or JC, 3 college players)

176
As long as Carlos Beltran or Ken Griffey don't get chosen to start, I'll be happy.

I doubt the NL outfielder who presently has the highest OPS will get picked though. Is Ryan Ludwick on the ballot?

Okay, but can it do the Nomar batting glove thing?

http://www.nbc4.com/entertainment/16354440/detail.html

I'm guessing this item will never be on a Dodger bobble head promotion list:

http://tinyurl.com/5vz92n

More interestingly, we have two average and two bad outfielders. We have zero good outfielders.

183 - I bet the bear would be more productive than Nomar

With all the talk about how the National League has caught up to the American in quality, it's interesting to note that the AL's best three hitters this year (by OPS+) all played in the NL last season, and the top two played in the NL West. (Bradley, Quentin, and Hamilton.)

Kemp at least has the possibility of being good. Ethier probably counts as good thanks to his defense.

{181] Time for a quick check on those picks

2002 - James Loney, starting 1B for Dodgeers; Greg Miller, relief pitcher (3rd Option year), Las Vegas
2003 - Chad Billingsley, starting pitcher for Dodgers
2004 - Scott Elbert, recovering from shoulder surgery, extended ST, not on 40-man; Blake DeWitt, starting 3B for Dodgers; Justin Orenduff, starting pitcher for AAA Vegas (1st Option).
2005 - Luke Hochevar, unsigned.
2006 - Clayton Kershaw, starting pitcher for AA Jacksonville, not on 40-man; Bryan Morris, starting pitcher for A-ball Great Lakes, not on 40-man, Preston Mattingly, starting 2B for A-ball Great Lakes, not on 40 man.
2007 - Chris Withrow, starting pitcher in extended ST, expected to go to Pioneer League next month; James Adkins, pitcher for High A Inland Empire

11 out of 12 signed and all 11 are still with the organization, 3 players are on the Dodgers.

180--Thats true. The perfect guy for the Dodgers to draft would be SS- Gordon Beckham. He'd be raking in the majors by 2010, and the Dodgers would only need a 1yr stop gap between he and Furcal.

However, thats likely not happening.

I've longed for the Dodgers to draft a Ryan Braun, Lance Berkman, Evan Longoria, Alex Gordon type. But it probably wont happen this year.

187--The Volquez for Hamilton trade has been amazingly good for both teams.

Its quite possible, maybe even probable, that both will be All Stars this year.

This Spurs blog interview on Jon's podcast is just awful. This guy must be calling in from his basement. :)
vr, Xei

190 Those players are usually gone by the 5th pick (Gordon, No. 2, Braun, No. 5, Longoria No. 3), the highest pick the Dodgers have made in the last 7 years was no. 7, which where they picked Kershaw.

So, I don't think it is some master plan to avoid drafting good offensive talent, the reality is that they will not get a chance at a polished college hitter any time soon.

179
Guerrero's on base streak was 14 PA, and it stretched from July 23, 1985 (doubles in his last 2 PA to end a game against the Pirates) to July 26, 1985.

http://tinyurl.com/6n4dvb

190 -- Gordon Beckham also has no chance of falling out of the Top 10.

The type of player you say you've "longed" for the Dodgers to draft are always drafted before the Dodgers even have their first draft pick. What's the point in longing for an impossibility? You have to look at the players realistically available when the Dodgers have a pick. With Wallace you have named one, but even he has a chance to go before the Dodgers pick.

152 what an embarrassing list, Luke talking about the Padres and Chargers in his best things to do in LA list, please spare me..

191 ya it's been good so far, but i'm more or a hamilton guy then a volquez guy so just my personal preference i think texas got the better deal.

195 But JoeyP has always advocated getting a college pitcher who could in theory be up much faster, so the Dodgers avoid the Tomkos of the world.

185 - You've officially become redundant on this point.

Jon will love this article in which Terry Francona praises the fact that Clay Buchholz hid his injury from him and his coaches: http://tinyurl.com/65aovc

Baseball Prospectus's rundown of the top prospects by position continues today with the shortstops. The best shortstop prospect in baseball, as determined by PECOTA: Chin-Lung Hu.

(At least if you count Brandon Wood as a third baseman, which you should.)

200

So, what do you with do when the player admits there is something wrong and he still wants to play through the pain? This excludes Pujols because of his overall awesomeness and ability to slowly take down the Padres.

185 - by VORP Ethier is already almost a win over replacement, a point I made in my preview for the weekend Dodgers @ Angels series:

http://6-4-2.blogspot.com/2008/05/getting-ready-for-interleague-dodgers.html

The season is only a quarter over or so, and Ethier is getting irregular playing time. Assuming he only triples his playing time and keeps going at the current rate, that means he's two and a half WINS over replacement, and that's just based on some fairly pessimistic assumptions!

Further: he's tied with Russell Martin and — incredibly — Juan Pierre for fourth place on the team for Win Shares with five each. Ethier is hardly average or "just above average". Combine all that with his age and the likelihood that he'll improve significantly, and his value is even greater.

201 - don't count on that.

201 -- I read that, and where was Ivan DeJesus, Jr? Not even in the top 25, and an awful lot of complete stiffs were listed. Somebody might want to e-mail Silver. DeJesus is hitting for average, walking a lot, and playing good defense in a Double-A hitter's league at age 21. He's going to be some teams's everyday SS a couple years from now.

205 -- I meant, a Double-A PITCHER'S league.

205 I looked for DeJesus too, but the thing is, these lists consist of PECOTA projections using the player's record through the end of the 2007 season. This year doesn't play into it. If it did, DeJesus would be on there, I'm sure.

Another thing to realize is that e-mailing might not do much good, since these lists are not some guy's opinion, but are PECOTA computer projections for the guy's career.

191 - people keep repeating this as though it were true. The Rangers needed pitching MUCH more than they needed a good young outfielder. The real downside is that either the Rangers' front office doesn't know

1) how to develop young pitching, or
2) who to cut bait on

The current success the Rangers are enjoying, such as it is (in third place in the AL West and still a game under .500), is destined to be short-lived. Their pitching is just about guaranteed to collapse in both the rotation and bullpen. As has been true with all post-1999 Texas teams, they can hit all the home runs they want, but if they can't hold the other guys down -- and this Texas team has the second-worst run suppression in the league -- they'll end up with another .500 or worse showing.

200 - That's why injuries being faked are the least of my worries.

Based on limited 2008 playing time I have (in season) WAR for Dodger players as. Pleast note, this is based off of limited at-bats/small sample sizes. It takes offense (wOBA), position, base running and defense into account.
1. Furcal 7.1 WAR
2. Martin 5.0 WAR
3. DeWitt 3.7 WAR
4. Kemp 1.7 WAR
5. Ethier 1.3 WAR
6. Loney 0.6 WAR
7. Pierre 0.3 WAR
8. Bennett -0.1 WAR
9. Young -0.25 WAR
10. Kent -0.7 WAR
11. Sweeney -0.8 WAR
12. Jones -1.0 WAR
13. Hu -1.4 WAR
vr, Xei

Ok, just finished listening to Jon on the podcast. Jon did fine, but I quickly got sick of listening to the two hosts trying hard to be funny (but not).
vr, Xei

203 If Ethier keeps his isolated patience at .075 instead of the .060 or so he's been good for the last couple years he's a much more valuable player. We need to wait for most of the season to see if this isn't just a fluke thing.

208 Until checking, I hadn't realized that the Rangers actually posted a 111 ERA+ as a team in 2004 under Hershiser.

211
You were probably booing your computer speakers.

212 And for a bit of context on that, right now Pierre and Ethier have almost the same patience. It's early.

202 - I don't think you can have a hard and fast, bright line rule for when to shut a guy down. It really needs to be a case-by-case analysis. You look at what the guy can do at 100%, what type of injury it is, the effect that the injury will have on his game (ie a shoulder injury is less trouble for a first baseman than for a short stop, than for a pitcher), how good the potential replacement is, and how long you will be without the injured player, I think you also have to consider the player's own opinion (he knows his body best). The trouble is, not everyone will come to the same conclusion... not baseball, but how many people were ready to shut Kobe down for a few weeks when he tore a tendon in his hand? If that had happened, what are the odds that the Lakers are still playing right now?

210 - interesting that VORP and WAR are so far apart. How man PA's does it see Ethier getting at the end of the season?

210 , 217 - Er, how many PA's does WAR project Ethier to have?

211- They weren't completely unfunny--the "Logan White is overrated" shtick had potential. The lag really worked against them. If it really is a recurring problem, they're crazy for not getting it fixed. Or is this Marty taking vengeance on them, for some reason?

I can accept people having different decisions about when to shut a guy down more than I can accept players hiding information about performance-inhibiting ailments from their teams.

I was quickly reviewing 1st Round draft picks from 2002-2007 and its interesting to see where the Dodgers stand in comparison to other teams.

Arizona does lead with 5 1st Round picks in the majors (4 with the D-Backs, 1 with White Sox), KC is second with 4 players, the Dodgers are tied for 3rd (with Milwaukee, Tampa Bay, and NY Yankees) with 3 players.

The Astros, Cubs, Rangers and Reds have no players that they picked in the first round on their 25 man roster (Jay Bruce and Homer Bailey should change that soon).

One reason the Padres are struggling, no 1st round picks signed since 2002 have advanced to their big league club.

Certainly the draft goes beyond the first round but since it is the round where you are going to spend the most money for bonuses, you should hope do better than a lot of these clubs.

208 that's true their pitching is awful, but wouldn't you say that hamilton seems like a much safer investment? as volquez has struggled in "A" ball (7.53 in 35.1 IP) as early as last year.

221 One thing you have to remember about the D-Backs picks, except for a few picks, they always picked higher and sometimes much higher than the Dodgers and they got lucky when other teams didn't draft certain players like Stephen Drew.

The Dodgers are on track of course to get a 4th player added to their total (Kershaw).

The US Olympic baseball team will play its first game in Beijing on August 13. It will start at 3 am PT.

Korea will be the opponent.

Set your alarm clocks now!

223 Only Elbert (who was on track to advance to the big leagues), Kershaw and Withrow fall under this category for the Dodgers. It is not too big a leap to say all will eventually have a career in the major leagues.

213 - wow, that surprised me, too. They just haven't been able to pitch.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/TEX/2004.shtml

Look at that bullpen: there isn't a one with 50 or more innings pitched under 120 ERA+. Their rotation, on the other hand, was Kenny Rogers, Ryan Drese, Chris Young, and a bunch of filler. Relevant to my second point in 208 , they traded away Young, too, though you could argue that given the results he's getting this year, it was only a delayed problem. OTOH, last year the Pads were fifth in defensive efficiency in the majors at .706; this year, they're 23rd at .695. That's only a percent, but it might make a lot of difference to a guy as dependent on outfield defense as Young — and this year they were sporting Jimmy Edmonds in center for quite a while before they cut him loose. The Pads have a pretty random outfield right now, and I bet it's particularly hurting Young.

222 and a 7.20 ERA in 80 major league innings before this year

Hey, Scareduck, about the whole "Wow, Given Kutz STILL hasn't given up a run" thing on your blog. That's in 3.1 innings in Great Lakes. He was demoted to Great Lakes from Inland Empire, where his ERA was in the mid-4.00 range.

On Great Lakes, however, Miguel Ramirez has pitched over 19 innings without giving up an earned run this season (3 unearned).

221/223/225 - Are you turning into Sybill here? ;-)

No, this info is useful, thanks. The Dodgers track record overall in the drafts of the past 5-7 years is pretty impressive. A far cry from how they did in the 90s.

222 , 227 - Edinson Volquez is playing out his age 24 season this year. Safe? He was always known to have great stuff. Command has been a problem for him, sure, and the minors are loaded with guys who can't find the plate but can light up radar guns at 95. But as with Edwin Jackson (also playing out his age 24 season!), the Rangers had every motivation to find him a place in the organization and let him figure things out. That they didn't is just absurd.

221 - betcha they miss having Jered Weaver in their rotation, warts and all. Man, can you imagine the kind of microscopic ERA a flyball pitcher like Weaver the Younger would have at Petco?

219 -- Who said Logan White is over-rated? I must hunt them down and make them pay.

Kershaw will be pitching in 20 minutes!

232 They were joking. Again humor, hard to do at times.

228 - huh. I need to write a streak finder and fix things like reaching on catcher's interference and hit-by-pitches, which I don't now tally. It would certainly come in handy for determining things like the relative impressiveness of Kutz' streak, and dealing with things like level changes. (That's something else I need to do, too -- auto-detecting roster level changes.) Thanks for the catch.

230 i'm not too sold on edwin i think he'll return to his normal self any day now.

220 - particularly at the professional level, I can understand athletes not willingly disclosing information about ailments. This holds particularly for younger guys, they want to avoid the "injury prone" label, they can't get the big contract if they aren't playing all the time, and from little league on they are trained to "rub some dirt on it and get going", and of course there is the legend of Wally Pipp. I'll also mention that I suspect a lot of these guys For a lot of these guys, it's sort of a don't ask, don't tell policy.

So I guess the question is, how much of it is "hiding" and how much is simply non-disclosure (slightly different, I think)?

230 I can see why the Rangers wouldn't want fly ball pitchers in their organization, but they've been horrible at replacing them with ground ball pitchers.

When they traded Danks for McCarthy is about when I figured Daniels had no idea what he was doing.

229 I had two points, one it is useful to see if White's MO of drafting primarily high school pitchers in the first round was a viable strategy, his reasoning being he believes projecting pitchers is easier than hitting. And two, compare his results with the rest of MLB who each have different methodology than White.

It makes sense that some teams would do as well or better than the Dodgers since the Dodgers have not drafted very high in the first round. Arizona, Milwaukee, Tampa Bay and KC all have had many picks higher than the Dodgers and to their credit have drafted well.

But considering where they picked and White's philosophy, the Dodgers have done a good job too.

217. It's based on current numbers. I am giving Ethier a 70% playing time factor.
vr, Xei

238 They should open the vault for Wang if he becomes a free agent.

Huh, Texas has played as a neutral park from 2005-2007. Dodger Stadium is a much more pitcher friendly park.

Hitter friendly...

David Price makes his professional debut with Vero Beach today. That's what should have happened three years ago!

224. I will be there 6 weeks later. I will be missing the last week of the baseball season and first two weeks of the playoffs. Last time I went, I missed the final 8 of the ncaa tourney, the year UCLA lost to Florida in the final four and USC lost in the final 8. I tend to go on vacations during important sports playoffs.
vr, Xei

242. Per ESPN park factors (Runs).
Year / Tex / LAD
2008 / 1.126 / 0.894
2007 / 0.979 / 1.053
2006 / 1.081 / 1.046
2005 / 1.076 / 0.901
2004 / 1.217 / 0.909
2003 / 1.216 / 0.868
2002 / 1.246 / 0.825
2001 / 0.997 / 0.810

Only in 2007 was this true.
vr, Xei

245
Actually, you just missed UCLA losing in the Final Four to Florida, but USC lost to North Carolina in the Sweet 16. USC should have beaten North Carolina though. They had a big lead, but got into foul trouble and fell apart.

247. Details were sketchy, I was deep behind enemy territory and my internet usage was being monitored be two plain clothes police officers. DT was blocked, the site was being redirected to a webpage dedicated to He ZiZhen. vr, Xei

245
And you didn't miss anything by not seeing any of the UCLA-Florida game. Only JoeyP enjoyed that game.

Kershaw is pitching in the first inning and the Jacksonville bullpen has already started warming up behind him. Presiumably this will be one of those scheduled one-inning starts.

He strikes out two in the first, and might be done.

249 And Bob reconfirmmed his thoughts on Mr. Noah.

246 I was using the multi year park factors on Baseball Reference. I haven't used ESPNs since I refreshed the page and they all changed.

250. So how does this work? He alternates one and five inning starts, with five days rest between?
vr, Xei

252. Even Bill James (2005-2007) has
Tex 104
LAD 100
for runs scored. vr, Xei

250 He's done after one.

Now the good news. He's still lined up in the 5th starter spot.

253 Yeah, to limit his innings they'll give him the occasional one-inning start on his normal starting day. Last year we all had a collective heart attack the first time it happened because we thought coming out after the first meant he had either gotten hurt or traded.

They've pinch hit for Kershaw now, so he's out of there after one perfect inning with 2 K's.

Kershaw done after one inning. That's babying him too much, I think.

Well, I hope stevesaxarm got to the game on time.

He has 43.1 innings pitched with one more start in May so if he stretches it out to 5-6 innings, he'll be at their 25 innings per month pace.

He has 6 starts in June so they'll probably do this a few times a month.

251
Mr. Noah is going to find out soon enough what it's like to have someone who is a true NBA prospect play alongside him.

I wonder why they would do a 5 inning then a 1 inning start, instead of a 3 inning then another 3 inning start? I have no idea which is better, just wondering about the thought process and what makes the most sense. You want to keep him somewhat stretched so if and when he gets called up he can pitch more than 3 or 4 innings and yet you want to keep his pitch count limited.
vr, Xei

40 124

Re: wood bats.

You might want to check out the Baum Bat.
Go to www.baumbat.com This is a c-243 model.

My kids used these in wood bat leagues and for batting cages and practice when they were ages 17 to 21. One bat lasted 3 years, one bat lasted four years, feels and performs just like a wood bat. This saved us alot of money that would have gone to continuously replacing broken wooden bats. :)

So are we going to do a massive ticket buy for DT readers for CK's major league debut? Have to say, that'd probably end up being the most fun I'd have at the park in a long time.

236 - why not? Jackson's BB/9 is down by 0.20 over last year. Not a huge amount, but the kid's young still.

Bottom 3rd...
Arizona: 0-0-0
Florida: 1-0-0
vr, Xei

Dodgers Minor League roundup

>> Results of the latest games played by Los Angeles' affiliates <<

http://tinyurl.com/6973gv

264 Plus he actually has a defense behind him.

265
????

265
I thought that was R-H-E instead of the score by innings.

Hence my confusion.

Sorry about the thunderstorms, everybody. I knew it was going to rain, since I polished my shoes last night, but I didn't realize it would create flash flooding. Just be thankful I didn't wash my car, too.

I'm interested in why the Dodgers don't feel that competitive this year, when I kind of hoped they would be. My understanding of our mediocre record breaks down to the fact that we have a bunch of players producing at mediocre levels. Two guys way below and two guys above. But mostly just a bunch of averageness.

On the other hand, at 25-21 we are on pace for 88 wins, which is more or less exactly what this group's pre-season predictions said.

210 Xei, what do you have for Loney's defense? Based on that I would think -10 to -15?

258 Bennett's liable to be late...he had to instruct the Cincinnati infield on proper throwing into the stands technique.

Padres promote four players

>> The Padres announced Thursday they have promoted right-handed pitchers Jared Wells, Mike Adams and Josh Banks from Triple-A Portland in addition to a catcher from Double-A San Antonio, Colt Morton.

The club designated right-handed pitcher Justin Germano for assignment, and left-handed pitcher Joe Thatcher was optioned to Portland.

Additionally, the Padres placed right-handed pitcher Chris Young and catcher Josh Bard on the 15-day disabled list before their game against the Reds at PETCO Park. <<

http://tinyurl.com/5cc2ur

Arizona's series record against the NL West, 8 wins, 0 losses, 1 split.

Against everyone else, 2 wins, 4 losses, 1 split.

Dodgers against the NL West, 4 wins, 2 losses and 1 split.

Against everyone else, 5 wins, 3 losses, 1 split.

274 And yet Chase Headley still plys away in the Great Northwest.

262 I have used both baum bats and composites and have mixed reviews. When these bats are relatively new, they have great pop and the ball really jumps off the bat. They seem to weaken the longer they are used however and sometimes you feel like you hit the ball with a wet newspaper when they're older. We have several ex-minor league guys on our team so I actually get really good hook ups on bats. Some guys on my team prefer using baums but I just love the feel of squaring up barrel-head to baseball with real wood, it really is addicting and I don't think I could ever swing aluminum again.

277 oops...I meant composites not aluminum.

272. I have Loney with "no" or "0" adjustment for defensive skills. I have his 2008 park adjusted wOBA at .333, which puts him at -0.27 wins above replacement, then a one win adjustment for NL/1B, which puts him at 0.73 WAR. I also give him a playing time adjustment of 85%, which is the highest I go for any full time player. This is based on his at-bats for only this year, which is still a fairly small sample size.

Based on his 2008 Zips projections, I have Loney at .377 park adjusted wOBA, which in the end has him at ~2.56 WAR, a number he will probably end up closer to than his current 0.73.

Keep in mind this is my (grain of salt) calculation based on what I learned this offseason from Tango and USSM on how to calculate WAR. I didn't sleep at a Holiday Inn last night. :)

vr, Xei

271 - you realize that, with a little help, the Dodgers could be leading the wild card race and/or the NL West by Sunday night, right?

The Dodgers are three-and-a-half games behind the best record in MLB. I think that's pretty much the definition of competitive.

279 That must be a pretty aggressive park factor! (.72*14 (uBB + HB) + .9*34 (1B) + 1.24*9 (2B) + 1.56*3 (3B) + 1.95*5 (HR) ) / 190 (PA - IBB) = .349

Or maybe your numbers are just a couple days old. The difference between .349 and .333 over .85 seasons is about 8 runs.

270 That was a lot of fun. Just had more lightning in Altadena.

Draft talk has made respond on my iPod touch from a beach resort in southern Thailand.

Tim Melville
I really liked him going into this season. Great pitchers build, nice delivery, very good present day stuff and excellent growth potential going forward. But this spring he has been so inconsistent in his starts. I don't know if I would feel comfortable picking a prep arm who hasn't been lights out. What are the latest reports on Melville?

Aaron Hicks
his ceiling is huge but when I see from almost all scouting sources that the biggest question mark on him is if his bat will play, I become hesitant. If I am picking a position player in the 1st, I have to be confident in his bat...I'm not feeling that with hicks.

Brett Wallace
I really love his bat and unlike the other college players mentioned, he could be available at 15. Just to be clear he is not in the same breath as a Ryan Braun or an evan longoria- they all lap Wallace in terms of athleticism. But he is the type of hitter that WHite really likes so he has that going for him. If he can play a passable left field I would strongly consider him.

Out of those three my prey order would be
Wallace
Melville
Hicks

When I get back I will go more in depth.

284 Too be young and be Thailand. Again remember this a family website.

279 Also, how many PA is 85%? Looking at your numbers, that's only 500 or so, right? 1.83 wins = (wins/run) x PA (.044 wOBA diff)/1.15, so x = ~500. That implies 590 PA is full playing time.

I scheduled my day in part as if I would have to watch a late west coast game tonight. Guess I forgot that a picture of Indy Jones appeared on our schedule for May 22 rather than a game. So in some ways I feel like I'm all dressed up with no place to go, although a bit of sleep before the Cardinals is far from a bad thing.

286 The toaster ate my asterisks.

I'm jazzed to go see Indiana Jones tonight. It would be like the current dodgers replacing Pierre with Gibson.

281 They're holding their head above water, which is fine and all. There are pretty much the definition of a middle of the pack team right now though, with a $130M budget or whatever. I foresee yet another year of being a second-tier team, maybe scratching our way into the playoffs, only to win zero games. And that's more than a little annoying. I remain optimistic that several of the players will start to play better. But it is based on not much more than optimism.

Logan White has told Gurnick that this year we can look a little closer at need when it comes to how we use our first draft pick. He also said that the draft is deep in corner infielders, but we don't need those, so that rules out Brett Wallace.

I'm listening to the Marlins game on mlb radio and some guy will not stop yelling "si se puede"

290 Well, what you foresee is one thing, but again, the Dodgers' actual play so far has not been that of a middle-of-the-pack team.

yeehah!...3-0 marlins...see ya later danny boy

Kershaw's replacement, Rick Wise, er, Asadoorian, has pitched five innings of one-hit shutout ball and is also 2-for-2 with a homer.

If the Snakes lose tonight, their record out of the West will be 6-13, and they'll be 9-11 on the road. And those 2.5 games won't seem insurmountable at all. Si se puede!

Was this one of those wierd appearances meant to limit Kershaw's innings? Other wise why was he replaced by this Asihulian or whoever when he seemed to be doing well?

Nobody's saying officially, but presumably yeah, it was a planned one inning start. Although the Jacksonville announcer reports that Kershaw appeared surprised and bewildered when he was taken out.

298 Very strange. But it certainly feeds various theories that have him coming up to the Majors at some point for a stretch. Of course it might be a new way to handle young guys going through the "injury nexus" but I wouldn't think anything this drastic would be done for a normal year in the minors.

I had hoped we would not see Andruw Jones for 4 to 6 weeks. However, should both he and Furcal declare themselves ready to play on Friday which outfielder do you think Torre is most likely to bench?

A - Pierre because Torre no longer needs him to bat leadoff.
B - Ethier because Torre now considers him the 4th outfielder.
C - Kemp because Torre considers Wainwright a "tough" righthander.
D - Jones because Torre now considers him the 4th outfielder.

300 I wish I knew what to think with Torre.

Records since April 9th, when the Dodgers got swept by the D-Backs and fell 3 games back:

Dodgers 21-16
D-Backs 21-17

300 unfortunately It'll be B or C, but we could get lucky and have Joe believe that Druw still needs a bit more rest..

Joe Girardi is having an Earl Weaver style argument with the home plate ump.

Hat tossing, dirt kicking, the works!

302 Of course gaining 3 games in 4 days certainly helps your outlook.

284 - Brett Wallace's mom sat right behind me at an ASU game a couple of weeks ago. It was interesting to hear her chat with another player's mother about agents, the draft etc. I love Brett's approach at the plate....the big question is where does he play defensively. I don't think he's a 3B, not sure about LF. 1B might be his best shot.

Sorry if this was mentioned before but we are with in shouting distance of 1st place (2 & a half games back!!)

I love it!

I wonder if this is satire:

The Marlins, last in the majors in fielding, committed no errors in the series and repeatedly came through with clutch hits. As a result, Miami may be coming down with playoff fever: The crowd of 13,233 was the largest this week.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=280522128

Zebulon really does need that sign. I drove an hour and a half for one inning! It was worth it though. The guy sitting next to me knew Shoemaker and said Clayton was going to pitch Tuesday in Chicago. I, of course, have no way of knowing if that is true. He did hit 97 twice in the inning. I thought he topped out at 94. Only one wicked curve and Maybin at least got the bat on the ball.

Pictures- http://tinyurl.com/4zy3bj

LA Times gives their own DeWittian Embrace!

Logan White is referenced as saying that DeWitt played second base in 2006 since LaRoche was considered a better prospect.

Also, his hometown is declaring that it will be the "Summer of Blake" if he sticks with the club.

You can't make this stuff up.

http://tinyurl.com/4xxpah

Wasn't Maybin the dude who got traded for Miguel Cabrerra?

309 The only way this is true is if they believe elther Penny or Lowe are hurt and can't make their next start.

If Lowe and Penny start Friday and Saturday, I just can't see that happening.

Ken "Tremendous" Griffey finally hits his 598th, vs. the hapless Padres. Only 2 more to go for 600, in the quest no one seems to care about.

312 - Possible, though given Penny was skipped a day last time and has been ineffective as of late. You never know... Starting at Wrigley seems maybe too high pressure of an atmosphere for his first game, though, but The Minotaur has nerves of steel!

312 I was just hoping nothing was wrong. Volstad got nailed with a line drive in the first which kind of freaked me out. Guy was pretty old, but knew the entire Suns roster. Pretty much just gossip at this point though.

314 Its also on ESPN, at least Bryan F would be pleased though he might have negotiate away something real valuable to watch the game in Hawaii.

311 Yes, but most scouts think he was rushed and could use more time in AAA.

Miller pitched well tonight, glad we got him while he was still getting adjusted.

Poor San Jose, as if it didn't already have a complex about itself -- on the intro for the SJ Earthquakes vs. Houston Dynamo game on ESPN, as they showed the sponsors, they had a live shot of the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge.

312. Oh please, Wrigley is not even remotely close to a high pressure place to make your debut. Half of the fans won't even realize who's playing against the Cubs, much less that the starting pitcher is making his major league debut. I'd say that the only park with less pressure to make his start would be in Miami.
Of course, I'm a little biased since I do have tickets for Tuesday nights game. Do you think the clients I'm taking would be freaked out if I took a ton of pictures of the opposing team's starting pitcher?

Another reason the Cabrera deal was amazing. Miller will be out of options next year at age 24 and Maybin's will be gone at age 23.

319 The beauty of signing a Major League contract.

312 Ken Gurnick:

>>But it could be sooner than that. By throwing only one inning and a pregame warmup (the equivalent of a bullpen session), Kershaw could be slipped into the Dodgers rotation as early as Saturday night, when Brad Penny is scheduled to start. That would buy an extra day or more for Penny, who has scuffled through his past four starts while pitching through shoulder stiffness.<<

321
Now you have my attention. I have been given some nice seats for Saturday night's game as a BD present.

321

I'm all for Kershaw coming up SPECIALLY know that we're with in shouting distance of 1st place. I just really hope they monitor (no pun) his pitch count.

if 321 is really true, I'd dish out some seriously mula also for that, anybody know if it's for sure or not?

They have done this kind of thing before with Clay. I'm not sure it means anything yet. Well, we'll know soon enough.

In my imaginary world:

Andruw to the DL, Furcal activated, Brazoban and Hu to Las Vegas, Kershaw and LaRoche to LA.

Letting myself get ahead of...myself, if Kershaw joins a rotation with a 23-year old Billingsley, here are the LA Dodger teams with at least two pitchers younger than 23 to each make at least 15 starts:

1958: Drysdale (29 starts), Koufax (26), Williams (21)
1959: Drysdale (36), Koufax (23), Williams (15)
1960: Drysdale (36), Williams (30) -- Koufax turned 24
1967: Sutton (34), Singer (29)
1968: Sutton (27), Kekich (20)
1970: Alan Foster (33), Sandy Vance (18)

I've been a Dodger fan for something like 25 years, and I've never heard of either Alan Foster or Sandy Vance.

The 1958 team had 124 of 154 starts by pitchers 25 or younger.

I think Sandy Vance was a can't-miss Dodger mostly because of his name.

327
I meant 23 or younger.

328
I can't wait for Dazzy Koufax.

327 Didn't Alan Foster give up one of Stargell's out of the park home runs at Dodger Stadium.

326 Did you buy the hat?

Alan Foster among other things is noted for:
1) giving up the first home run to go completely out of Dodger Stadium
2) playing for the Dodgers and Angels
3) being the first pitcher to hold the distinction of beating the Padres as a Dodger and beating the Dodgers as a Padre
4) being really overhyped

Cardinals Offense = Yikes.

SLG .733, HR 12, Avg .336 - Ludwick

SLG .602 HR 11, AVG .351 - Pujols

SLG .507, HR 8, AVG .289 - Ankiel

So the Eastern Conference Finals actually got started.

334 I was going to write that but I figured you would beat me to it.

334 - well, so much for "we just have to win all of our home games"

couldn't happen to a nicer franchise

332 - Did you know that list would be four items long before you started writing it?

326 - amen

337
I have a dossier on most past Dodgers ready to go.

331 Yep! I was tempted to get the black and orange cap as a gag, but thought better of it and got a blue Brooklyn cap.

293 let's call the middle of the pack team's #11-20, fair enough? Who are the best teams so far, by record?

Boston
Arizona
Chicago Cubs
Florida
Tampa Bay
St. Louis
LA Angels
Chicago WS
Atlanta
Philadelphia
Houston
Dodgers

12th. It's all close and could change in a few days, but it is what it is. Middle of the pack so far.

327
Ah, prospects from my youth. I wonder how many here know the bizarre Kekich story?

342 Depends. Does Fritz Peterson post here?

342 ,343
That's the wife-swapping duo, no?

Holy smokes. Is there any chance Clayton Kershaw makes his MLB debut at Shea next week?

Tom, you were right about your assumptions about my WAR calculations earlier on in the thread. Loney's numbers were a couple of days old. :)
vr, Xei

Source MLB.Com right?

Clayton Kershaw was pulled from his start for Double-A Jacksonville after just one inning on Thursday, suggesting that he's on his way to the majors.
MLB.com believes he could start Saturday, with Brad Penny being pushed back. They'd certainly be rushing the 20-year-old, but it's possible that it could work out, as long as they're willing to live with him as a five-inning starter.

347
Kershaw for 5, Kuo for 4!

323 I wonder if Steve Lyons will call Kershaw "The Monitor."

348. Until I see it listed as official I will just believe it is speculation. We knew beforehand that he was only going one inning. It's not like he was going to go 6 and then they got a call from LA saying to take him out.
vr, Xei

350 - but it's more fun to believe that they got the call

More Kershaw info from Baseball America:

http://tinyurl.com/4g6yxt

>>Kershaw said he was unaware beforehand that he would only throw one inning.

"I had no idea," Kershaw said. "I thought it was just a regular start tonight. When I got two outs, I saw the bullpen warming up, and I thought he was just throwing to get ready for later in the game. But they took me out. It wasn't (the Jacksonville coaching staff's) choice, it wasn't my choice, it's just what you've got to do sometimes. I don't know anything about it, I don't know why yet—hopefully it's good, but we'll see how it goes.<<

LaRoche is 0-14 since it was announced that Andruw may need surgery. There goes that idea.

I think his psyche is just defeated right now.

353
I think his psyche is just defeated right now

That seems a bit absurd to me.

353 LaRoche is a streak hitter and besides 0-14 is not that bad.

345 Well the way they are setting this up, if he pitches on Saturday, he'll pitch again on Wednesday... in Chicago and miss New York.

Sorry Molly.

356
Wouldn't a Saturday start put Kershaw in line to pitch Thursday in NY, on 4 days rest?

On the other hand, I did defeat Andy LaRoche's psyche once in a game of backgammon.

You can try to discern more about the DeWitt Conundrum here:
http://tinyurl.com/6pbnmy

"I've been very fortunate over the last dozen years, having been in winning situations, and when you do have that experience, you realize what type of player really contributes to that," Torre said. "He certainly fits that mold. I put him in the class with Mike Lowell, not the best player in the world, certainly a player that will help you win."

DeWitt was sent down to the minors last month when Garciaparra returned from the disabled list, only to be recalled two days later when Garciaparra was hurt again. He has played well enough that Torre has strongly hinted that when Garciaparra comes back next time he wouldn't be demoted.

Already, DeWitt has become a roadblock for LaRoche, who was competing with Garciaparra to be the starter at third. LaRoche has recovered from thumb surgery and had played 21 games for triple-A Las Vegas as of Wednesday. (Assistant General Manager Logan White noted that because the Dodgers had a top third base prospect in LaRoche, DeWitt played the 2006 season in Class A at second base.)

347, 350 - Please say it is so! I happen to have tickets for Saturday, that would be a fortunate turn of events. I was dreading another turn of Penny getting lit up again. My wife and I are there with my friend who lives here now but was born in St. Louis and is a lifetime Cardinal fan. I was dreading a 10-3 drubbing over Penny, but this gives me some hope for something different. I will be holding my breath!!
I am spending the day there with going to the 60's luncheon Meet and Greet first. I hope to meet Claude Osteen who pitched a 10 hit shutout against the Cardinals in the very first game I went to at Dodger Stadium in June of 1968. A 5-0 win over the defending WS champs and soon to be NL champs again. I also want to meet Chuck Essegian, the rare Armenian baseball player who made Dodger lore with his 2 pinch hit HR in the 59 WS. I am 1/2 Armenian myself.

354 Can you elaborate? It could be WAY off base, but with DeWitt getting the annoiting oil treatment, it sure seems like LaRoche won't get his chance anytime soon.

I'm one of his biggest fans and feel very bad for him.

361
It seemed like you were implying his 0-14 stretch was a result of him being "defeated". I just think it's only 14 ABs. It happens; he's still raking in Vegas. I think he should be called up whether he goes 5-5 with 5 HR tomorrow or 0-5.

355
...besides 0-14 is not that bad.

I guess it could be worse than 0 for 14.

He could be -5 for 14.

As for me, the perverse good/bad news is the worse LaRoche plays in AAA, the less likely it is that Colletti can trade him.

The good news is that during the 0-14 stretch, LaRoche has 5 walks vs. only 2 strikeouts.

0-14 is a stretch of 4 games, give or take, without a hit. That's no beuno, but it's also not the end of the world. But at the same time, barring an unforeseen injury, DeWitt is the third baseman this year and LaRoche is going to have to wait for an opportunity next year.

Here's the bad part about the LaRoche situation: as it stands right now, the only way Andy comes up to the big club is if DeWitt struggles badly, which would be bad for the club (with Nomar still hurt of course).

Why not get creative, and have LaRoche come up to the big club since there's nothing more for him to do in AAA, and he can start at 3B or 1B against all LHP. That's roughly a third of the remaining games. For the rest of the games, he can pinch hit and/or spot start. He's a better hitter than anything on the Dodgers' bench right now, so at the very least LaRoche would help the club in that way.

366 I like the idea, but Delwyn "No More Options" Young owns that spot right now. I don't see Torre letting go of Sweeney.

I'd be more inclined to put LaRoche in the Hu/Maza spot. I'd rather see him do surprising things from a backup role than spend the rest of the year at AAA. I'd define him as the left-side-of-the-infield guy.

Hu needs to start in AAA>

Glad to know the St. Louis Post-Dispatch web site is on top of things as usual.

Play spot the error in this capsule story that went up tonight:

>> The Dodgers hope to activate two former All-Stars from the disabled list during this weekend's series against the Cardinals. Shortstop Rafael Furcal (lower back strain) is 5-for-9 in his career against Wainwright. Andruw Jones (torn cartilage in knee) is hitting .167 this season.<<

Hey, America's Finest Sportswriter works for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch!

370 I thought he wrote a column for the LA Times.

368 I'll take a shot at it, underdog. I'll say that Jones has not yet been de-activated.

371 - Ding! Ding! Ding!

369 - Ah, I shouldn't give them such a hard time, since those kinds of errors are everywhere I suppose, but that's about the third one I've seen in one of their online articles over time.

Btw, I've never caught a mistake in a piece by Tom Timmerman! Just for the record.

There may have been one, but I've never caught it.

The other piece in question was posted by someone whose name looks like a typo.

The preceding post was missing an "n." The editors regret the error.

And on that night, I'm going to bedd, dreamming of St. Louis Cardinalls.

On that note. I'm cracking up.

A video of the most unusual pitch I've ever seen. This might be a chestnut, but it's the first time I've seen it.

http://tinyurl.com/2v2b9q

That's my dad's specialty! He used to practice it during backyard wiffleball sessions.

There's also the variation where you throw the ball under your leg.

I just had a weird dream.

In this dream, the Dodgers were playing a game. I was watching on television. During the game, the Dodgers traded Blake DeWitt. DeWitt walked out of the dugout to the showers. He had a plane to catch.

At first, the other Dodgers in the dugout seemed dejected. But then, one asked who DeWitt had been traded for. Then they started jumping around like they'd won the pennant.

Later, the news was reported that DeWitt had been traded for the Yankees' Vice President of Media Relations. In the dream, this man resembles movie producer Bob Evans. In my dream, this man has two jobs -- he's on the Dodgers' payroll, but he also covers the Dodgers in a major outlet. "Because of his skills and unique dual role, this man puts us over the top in how we are perceived as a ballclub," said Dream Ned Colletti.

I told you it was weird.

357-If he pitches Thursday it will be in front of me, four of my best friends in the world, and the entire baseball department of ESPN the Magazine. I'm bringing a posse!