Not to compare Plaschke and Steve Lyons, I felt the same way when I read the end of his story as I did watching Lyon put on the catching gear and try to block balls in the dirt.

If the McCourts or Lasorda or any of old teammates reach out to the Crews family after this, that will be a nice end to the story but I don't think Plaschke had to tell us he provided the mechanism for it to happen.

Mrs. Crews took the high road, as did her son. They were not really complaining just expressing the loss this many years later. Lasorda will hear about this --and McCourt-- and something good will happen.

I think you're right, it's just human nature. Tragedies happen, people mourn, and then they move on, perhaps because constantly remembering is too depressing. I mean, when was the last time you heard the name Mike Darr? Or Mike Sharperson? Anyway, nice article by Plaschke. He really is good when he's writing articles like this instead of columns about actual baseball.

I wonder if the trade to Atlanta is what started the downward spiral. He may be one of those guys who equate being traded with failure. I hope not, but it wouldn't surprise me.

4 I'm referring to Aybar, not Crews.

[54] We know; Crews went to Cleveland.

While we miss the departed (and I think about my deceased parents everyday) and we can study history, life is something that moves in just one direction: forward. You just have to keep going. You don't get a choice.

What do you guys who know the farm system think of the early power from Jacksonville OF Anthony Raglani, 4HR/51 AB, and 1B John Lindsey, 4HR/33 AB?

Very small sample, etc. But how do they project? Decent power? Ready for MLB when, or if?

I'm a little surprised to see someone as slow as Saenz batting third. :-) Oh well, maybe Kent will hit a couple of home runs.

Furcal, SS

Pierre, CF

Saenz, 1B

Kent, 2B

Gonzalez, LF

Martin, C

Clark, RF

Valdez, 3B

Bob et all! They just mentioned in the Mets/Braves game that Smoltz and Glavine think they are the players who have played in the most different stadiums of anybody in MLB history...is there any place where one could find such data?

Slightly off-topic but looking at my platoon watch schedule.

If the Giants don't skip any turns, the Dodgers will face only one lefthander in the series. They could skip Matt Morris but I think teams are hesitant to skip over starters once they get into the rhythm of the season.
No matter what the Padres do, skipping Wells on Tuesday for Peavy or pitching Wells, the Dodgers will face Wells next weekend. In fact, they will face both Maddux and Wells, the wildcard being facing either Hensley or Peavy.

So, in total, probably only two lefthanders next week and even looking towards the Arizona series, they will face one lefthander in that series (Johnson or Davis).

So two members of the 1988 Dodgers met rather early demises. What happened to the rest of the team? Fill in the blanks...

C *Mike Scioscia - manager of Angels
1B *Franklin Stubbs - hitting coach for Macon Braves
2B Steve Sax - "Steve is currently piloting a new sports networking site called allsportsconnection.com. Steve is focused on fitness and took the initiative to sponsor and develop a tool for athletes to form teams, post local events, and find places to play." (Wikipedia)
3B Jeff Hamilton -
SS #Alfredo Griffin - coach with Angels
OF *Kirk Gibson - coach with DBacks
OF #John Shelby - coach with Pirates
OF Mike Marshall - Recently fired as manager of American Association's El Paso Diablos. Still lives in El Paso.

Dave Anderson -
*Mike Davis -
Pedro Guerrero -
Mickey Hatcher - Angels coach
Tracy Woodson - Head baseball coach at Valparaiso University
Rick Dempsey - Orioles broadcaster
*Danny Heep - Head baseball coach at University of the Incarnate Word (San Antonio, Tx)
Mike Sharperson - died May 36, 1996, age 34
Mike Devereaux -
Jose Gonzalez -
*Chris Gwynn - Padres scout
Gilberto Reyes - Manager of Mets affiliate in Dominican Summer League
Orel Hershiser - ESPN commentator, ex-Rangers pitching coach and Dodger kingmaker
Tim Leary - art dealer in Beverly Hills (as of 2002)
Tim Belcher -
*Fernando Valenzuela - Dodgers Spanish radio broadcaster
Don Sutton - Washington Nationals broadcaster
Shawn Hillegas - living in South Fork, Pa., according to Wikipedia.
*John Tudor -
Brian Holton -
Ramon Martinez -
Alejandro Pena -
Tim Crews - died March 23, 1993, age 31
William Brennan -
Jay Howell - in real estate business in Florida
Jesse Orosco -
*Brad Havens -
Ken Howell - Las Vegas pitching coach

9 - I was thinking that too. I don't understand Grady's insistence on keeping the rest of batting order intact when substitutions are made. Would Kent or Martin be so disoriented if he saw a 3 next to his name that he wouldn't know what side of the batters box to stand in?

shawn green just hit his 3rd homerun of the season.

I don't see why batting Saenz third is a big deal. He's arguably the best hitter on the team against LHP.

The Dodgers' schedule looks quite favorable this year. They play games against 18 different teams, with the same number of home and away games versus 11 of those teams. Of the 7 teams with imbalance, the breakout goes like this (with positive numbers meaning more home games than away games):

Mets: 4
Houston: 1
Atlanta: 1
Pittsburgh: -1
Cubs: -1
Florida: -1
Tampa Bay: -3

15 It's not a huge deal, but it follows a pattern. Like batting Valdez 6th ahead of Ethier and Betemit, apparently because that's the batting order and we're sticking to it, injuries and days off be damned. I doubt it will make a big difference in the course of the season, but I don't understand the logic.

8

John Lindsey is 30 yrs old. He is just a minor league roster filler.

Raglani is kind of interesting but at 24 yrs old and repeating the league for a second time, I don't really see a player that can have a significant impact on a big league club.

basically, in order, these are the players at jacksonville that people should care about.

Scott Elbert
John Meloan
Mike Megrew
Chin Lung Hu
Justin Orenduff
Zach Hammes
Wesley Wright

Danny Heep - Head baseball coach at University of the Incarnate Word (San Antonio, Tx)

The University of the Incarnate word. And, they have a baseball team. Okay then...

I count 37 different parks for Smoltz and 36 for Glavine.

Fred McGriff played in 45 by my count. I have Rafael Palmeiro playing in 44.

20
It's supposed to be a highly regarded Catholic liberal arts college.

The baseball team is 28-19 now.

If it wasn't for steroids, Palmeiro would have only played in 32.

21 45 for Julio Franco too.

22 Just out of curiosity, are you counting all the weird parks like Hiram Bithorn, the Tokyo Dome, Cashman Field, etc.?

25
I was counting all the individual stadium codes listed on the Retrosheet entries for all the players. So the alternate sites would be listed.

But I counted very quickly.

FNSWPT is reshowing excerpts from last night's game, right now, for anyone who missed the end. Or just wants to watch it again.

JaRon was a great player and could have had a great career...During the summer of 2000, I remember seeing him every time I played at the Wooden Center - and every time I went to McFadden's...

I have a crew of people into the office today, so it's my job to feed them. I'm going to Phillipe's for french dips. But I also brought in Bagels from a place on Beverly called Brooklyn Bagels. Not only do the sell very good bagels, but they have a bunch of old L.A. and Brooklyn Dodger photos on the wall. Some (Drysdale, Koufax, Campanella) are signed. Very cool.

Tim Leary - art dealer in Beverly Hills (as of 2002) 12

Who knew. I remember he was also a very good hitting pitcher.

29 Can you phone in an order, with the pregame crowd it is going to be pretty crowded for another hour or so.

>>> Dodgers manager Grady Little was ejected by plate umpire Joe West in the third inning for arguing balls and strikes.

"You can't argue balls and strikes. That's a written rule," Little said. "He had a little bit better angle on those pitches than I did. But all we knew from the dugout was the reaction of our players and I wasn't getting a good feel about the reaction." <<<

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18252555

22 Hmm. I guess I was confusing Heep with Danny Thomas (not the entertainer, the minor league ballplayer who wouldn't play on Sundays because his religion forbade it), because I immediately suspected that the college was one of the very conservative Christian fundamentalist ones that seem to have proliferated over the past ten years or so.

Moral: don't jump to conclusions, and use Google.

32 If my lip-reading is accurate, Grady's last statement before getting tossed was "that was a good pitch."

Joe West, of course, continues to be an utter disgrace to the game of baseball and should have been fired long ago.

Before the game started, I said to my dad, "Uh-oh, Joe West is behind the plate. Someone's going to get ejected tonight. I don't know what he'll do to draw attention to himself, but I guarantee you there will be some sort of incident."

33 Danny Heep was the one who wouldn't hit on Sundays because his bat forbade it.

Danny Thomas, who wouldn't play on Sundays, killed himself in 1980.

34 If your lip-reading wasn't accurate, Grady may have questioned West's ancestry...

35 He should have asked Jobu to change the bat's mind.

Why people make fun of Kentucky.

http://tinyurl.com/2qzcjv

Kobe's on fire.
28 in the 1st half--11-17 FGs
Lakers up 48-39 at half.

Kobe ends the half with 28 points. He couldn't miss from three in the last four minutes.

36

You have a funny way of putting things Bob. j/k.

Can the Lakers play that level of defense for the 2nd half too?

hmm.

19-Nate,What about Xaviar Paul?You don't consider him a prospect with upside?Granted he hasn't done much yet this year ,but played pretty well last year.
I saw the Suns thursday and saturday.Chin Lung Hu is a wizard at short and swinging the bat with much more authority than last year.Raglani looks alot better at bat than last year also.He got several clutch hits in the series I saw.Last year he looked kind of clueless at the plate.
Cory Dunlap has a quick bat for a big man,but looks horrible at first.
Meloan put out a fire friday night and looked pretty unhittable.Mike Mcgrew gave up a few shots but overpowered some hitters also.
Brian Akin threw pretty well in relief friday night including two filthy inside pitches on a good hitter trying to get a bunt down.
Scott Elbert missed his saturday start with tendonitus.Hope they're watching that kid close.

come from behind 4 games in a row?

Pirates have scored 6 runs in this series, only one has been driven in by a hit.

Who would have thought that Brett Tomko, Mark Hendrickson and Randy Wolf would have more strike outs than Brad Penny.

44

Paul has decent tools (especially his arm) but he is never going to hit enough to do something in the majors. Dunlap can work a walk but he needs to work a diet. he is listed at 200lb or something ridiculous like that. You've seen him, where do you think he is at? 250? 280?

Tomko is a platoon pitcher. Only start him at home!

45 Dodgers are currently 4-3 when the opponent scores first.

The Dodgers are also 6-0 in the last game of a series, so that streak is on the line today.

45

that's what it looks like. I missed the first inning did Martin make a throwing error or something, I was in the kitchen fixing me something.

The unfortunate list of major league players who killed themselves:

http://tinyurl.com/29s2el

For some reason Tomko looks a bit like he's scared to throw strikes.

52

Chris Duffy took third on Russell Martin's throwing error, and then scored on Freddy Sanchez ground out.

54

i hope he just keeps us in the game.

55

resting him today wouldn't have been a bad idea he did catch 10 innings yesterday.

I have a feeling that in a few years a Google search combining "russell martin" and "heart and soul" will come up with 5 million hits.

I was at Davey Lopes' extra inning grand slam. He hit it against the Braves in 1978 against Craig Skok.

I actually thought it was against the Mets and Tom Hausman.

Lopes also had a walkoff slam in 1979 in the 9th inning off of Bruce Sutter.

58 - 680 so far. From that mustard seed a might tree will grow.

out

He looked out.

File this game under "Days, One of Those"

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!

Further enraging D4P, that play is still scored as a sacrifice fly.

Juan Pierre is so cool.

That was horrible in every respect. Pierre was in the wrong position all together to make a good throw.

99.99% of the time I support the no cursing rule on this forum.

But it's a .01 kind of moment.

Even if he caught it he was on his heals.

When things go wrong!! Might as well have a horrendous one and hope it's out of our system. I'll pass on remarks about Pierre for he is our man for a long time.

That's a case of someone's weaknesses undermining their strengths. Both Pierre and LuGo know that runners will run on them even on shallow-hit balls, and the home fans know this, and so they become so intent on doing what they don't do well they lose focus on what they do do well.

If I could write that thought better, it could be the basis of a best-selling business management book: The Juan Pierre Effect.

I don't think the people on the field are supposed to take the day off.

Dios mio, this is some terrible baseball.

71- No offense, but if I saw such a book on the shelf, I'd set the whole rack on fire.

Vin Scully could also write a business book about Juan Pierre. "You've Got to Get Over It"

73 - That is the effect.

Sign that guy to play goalie!

71 That was well put, but having only seen Pierre this year, the stadium fans and myself have no idea what Pierre may do well.

74
Except in most businesses, when you make a glaring mistake, you don't get a chance to come back right away and make up for your error.

Instead you just get fired. Or step down to spend more time with your family.

I'm struck by how insightful Jon's initial assesment of the Pierre signing was. Most people just see the stat vs. scout dichotomy, with Depo as the stat guy and Ned as the scout guy. But Pierre doesn't fit that analysis. He's a stat player for people who look at the WRONG stats. Looking at him play it's hard to believe the Dodgers did any scouting on him. All GM's rely on stats. Some just look at the wrong ones.

Here come the Suns...

I'd trade Smush for Pierre right about now.

77 Yes, but they know what he can't do -- throw the ball. Same with LuGo. When a ball is hit to them and a runner can exploit it for an extra base, you can hear the whole crowd suck in its breath.

It is this team's biggest weakness -- the kind of flaw that will cost them a crucial game or two at the end of the season.

Gil Hodges

83

thanks Bob.

My question though, who holds the Los Angeles Dodgers (not Brooklyn) record for most grand slams?

my guess was Ron Cey.

Jared Weaver might want to change his last name.

Mike Piazza is the LA grand slam king with 8.

82 - His arm is much worse than I realized going into the year. It is one thing to hear that he has a bad arm, but to see runners take an extra base every time is crazy. LuGo too.

Good point. However, presumably, Juan will hit well for the full season. The contract the D's gave him is a big part of the problem. The guy is probably stunned to find such a vocal bunch of baseball people who reveal flaws he hadn't even considered much before. Now the guy looks scared that he has to justify himself every minute to this huge bunch of possibly hostile fans.

86

AHA!

Ron Cey hit five slams as a Dodger. Shawn Green hit six.

Phillipe's was mobbed. But no more than any typical weekday lunch crowd. Sounds like I didn't miss much.

71

true

Coming into the game, Dodger pitchers as a whole were out-OBPing and out-SLGing Juan Pierre

ground rules.

Tomato killed it.

Attack of the killer tomato!

BARRY 740

82 My point is we would think he can't hit, catch a ball or beat out a bunt from what we'v e seen so far.

The official scorer must respect Pierre's arm because he didn't give Bay a sacrifice fly on the error.

I would have assumed that Duffy would have scored easily.

I wish Jason Bay's first name were Eric. Then we'd have an E-Bay.

Yah!

One of those days goes both ways.

Martin looks like he has been crying in his mascara.

Russell needs a better batch of eyeblack.

When I think of our 1-2-3 hitters today, I think of:

http://tinyurl.com/2kr9ms

everyone runs...

everyone walks...

Let's have a round of applause for the second bases-loaded walk in Brady Clark's career.

106 - Or walks.

yay!

Clark's bases-loaded walks now equal his bases-loaded HBPs.

walks after being down 0-2 warm my heart.

Coming into this season, Wilson Valdez had batted with the bases loaded just twice in his career.

46 pitch 4th inning for Gorzelanny.

Lakers scored just 10 points in the 4th quarter.

I think this is why we're so apprhensive about the great start. Playing Pittsburgh, Colorado, and San Francisco covers up a lot of mistakes.

Not that I'm complaining.

115 Today is a perfect example of the season, they compete for a half or three quarters but they cannot carry it for 4 quarters.

116 But who is really good in the NL?

117 What the Lakers need is a Sam Cassell kind of player, just someone else who has the personality to say, Kobe, I will take the shot and make it.

It was a lot easier to pass to a Bobby Horry, Derek Fisher, or Brian Shaw than to the guys on the team right now.

Good fast inning to put the pitcher back on the mound.

114 - Quite a nice break for Tomko.

What exactly are Pierre's good points? I must have missed that meeting.

Bad points:
-Cannot throw properly
-Cannot track a flyball or catch properly
-Is mainly a singles hitter
-Does not walk at a decent rate for a leadoff or #2 batter
-Attempts to steal bases at inopportune times
-Gets caught stealing way too much for a player whose supposed forte is stealing bases

Good points:
-Plays 161 games a year (may also be included under bad points)

Jack Wilson looks like a prison inmate. Those deep sunk eyes could start a horror franchise.

Pierre is a nervous little guy. Maybe there is something to the idea that he's suffering under pressure to live up to his contract.

122 - He works out for a couple hours after every game.

pierre hit that ball pretty hard

122 - He practices bunting a lot, including rolling balls down the line.

122 He wreaks Juan Pierre-brand Havoc on the basepaths. Or don't you read the LA newspapers?

re: the 46 pitch inning, I can already envision the Jim Tracy postgame Q&A. It really doesn't matter whether the Pirates win or lose -- he put Gorzelanny in a position to win; that young man worked through his troubles and deserved a chance for the win, and he learned a lot about himself today by working through the adversity. Bonus points if the Pirates actually do win, of course.

122 - Hits for good average, doesn't strike out, has good speed. Those factors make him a servicable player in the 2 spot.

118 Great question. Maybe the Mets...It's why I still think the Dodgers have a decent chance in the NL.

Also, when Pierre goes 1-5, 1-6, or 1-48, that one hit immediately follows his fascinating and timely deconstruction of the opposing pitcher's strategy.

Josh Wall had a solid outing for Great Lakes today.

7IP 3H 0ER 0bb 6K 3.68 era

hopefully he can start to get it going. when he was drafted he was a very projectible pitcher who could turn into something big couple years down the line.

I feel sorry for good young hitters like Bay who are exposed to Tracy's tutelage

It seems like LaRoche has always killed the Dodgers.

I was watching retro gameday, what was that pitch?

CATCH A FLYBALL

137 - it was right on the letter P too

Good throw, you know, in terms of location.

another gift double from JP.

how many times are we going to listen to vin say "a leg double"?

Wonder what Ned Colletti is thinking right now.

Work that center fielder boys. He's got nothin.

Tomko's looking like Tomko this inning.

and Pierre looks like Pierre

It's hard to imagine how the great Juan Pierre debate can even be a debate at this point. Whether you prefer esoteric stats or your own two eyes, it all looks pretty ugly.

Here's my early season JP scouting report:

Fielding: decent jump on balls and good speed, but tends to slip, trip, or drop the ball once he arrives.
Throwing Arm: weak, very weak.
Plate Discipline: atrocious; swings at everything. It's like every pitch is a hit and run call. It's conceivable that he finishes the year with walks in the single digits.
Power: ugly, cover your eyes ugly. May go a month between extra base hits.
Speed: in a pre-season drill where everyone races around the bases and gets timed, he may be the fastest guy in the league; unfortunately, when you go a month between extra base hits (see above)this doesn't come up too often.
Basestealing Ability: does not seem to read pitchers particularly well or get a great jump; relies on speed alone to steal bases at a barely passable 70% clip.

Overall Rating: only make offer in order to feign interest and hope that another team in your league will bite and sign him to a long-term deal.

End Report

I really thought I was going to be able to put aside all of the statistical arguments and just enjoy the aesthetics of watching JP play baseball this season, but there really isn't much pretty about having him patrol the outfield. There are a few enjoyable moments when he is on the basepaths, but even those are few and far between and greatly outweighed by watching him flail away at bad pitches and dink grounders across the infield.

I've kind of been proud of not saying anything about Pierre these first few weeks.

Not anymore. This dude is terrible, and I have no problem with anybody piling on. It's like my friend texted to me the day we signed him: "Ha Ha Ha...You'll see"

Indeed.

Didn't you learn from the Pedro debacle, Grittle? Take him out!

Tracy's gonna leave Gorzelanny in to hit with 2 men on, even though he probably has just 1 inning left in him.

Take Tomko out now! Preserve the Quality Start!

149
Tracy wants to put Gorzelanny in a position to succeed with respect to a Quality Start

Olmedo kills the Pirates.

Olmedo!

Nice catch

Olmedo hits baseballs in exchange for money

The killer tornado tomato, much feared by Pirates everywhere.

155 - So then what does Juan do in exchange for money? He sure doesn't hit.

So then what does Juan do in exchange for money?

Unspeakable things, apparently.

[147.]

I think the DT Snark-O-Meter just hit 89.9% ;-)

159 Which, if we're lucky, should be about Pierre's 2007 OPS+

The problem with the Juan Pierre discussion is that he is what he is, so I am not sure where it all ends up.

He is not going anywhere, at least this season so aside from venting, there is nothing productive gained by talking about it.

161 Is there ever anything producting gained in a chat room other than venting?

Eric Gagne just came out of the A's-Rangers game in pain. Looks like something with his upper right leg. Knee or hip or something.

Had to go out and fly the RC helicopter my son gave me for my birthday. Its so fine to have warm weather up here, but I missed Sienz homer. Was it a fastball!

162 - sometimes you learn something

A couple of streaks on the line, Dodgers record when a pitcher has a Qualtiy Start, 9-0.

If they score another run, their record when scoring 4 or more runs, 10-0.

Finally, one possible positive change, the Dodgers are 0-4 when their opponent scores 5 or more runs.

162 I believe there is some venting here but its balanced with good discussion.

163 I just noticed that. I guess it was only a matter of time.

If we still had Nomo, we would really have the Red Tomato and the Cyclone Kid! Wow, I think maybe they will ruin Bills if they don't let him start somwhere, even if it has to be the minors.

Come on Jimbo.... Sac Bunt here.

is it drizzling at Dodger Stadium?

Billingsley's getting crushed.

159 What is my opinion of Pierre's performance?

What is my opinion of his performance!!?

170 - Bobby Cox had LaRoche bunt in the 9th inning of a game last year.

The Braves lost.

172 You wonder if Chad is comfortable with this role, he has given up runs in 4 out of his seven appearances though a couple of times it was in blowout wins for the Dodgers.

Vin: "Boy we got some bad wood here."

Cue Tommy Lasorda jokes.

175 It's hard to tell with these sample sizes, but it really seems like he's not. Hopefully Ned and Grady will realize that soon and send him to Vegas.

Billingsey hasn't looked very good on this level even as a starter. He walks too many people and his strike outs are way down.

[173.]

:-D

His highest MPH fastball today was only 91.
The top prospect Billingsley was a 95-98 guy IIRC.

Mop it up, Rudy

Grady brings in "white flag" Seanez.

180 I saw a 93, plus the LA gun is always slow. Pitchers going from LAS or JAX always seem to lose a few MPH going to LA.

178 -- That's false. Billingsley for a period last year was one of the best starters in the National League. He had some dominant games, and even in ones in which he walked too many, he still kept the opposition's scoring to a minimum, which is the only result that matters, not how many walks were given up doing it.

182 I'm catching up on my "Planet Earth" viewings.

According to fangraphs.com the Dodgers have a 4% chance of winning this game. That high?

180 -- Billingsley was NEVER a 95-98 MPH guy. He was a 92-95 MPH guy who'd reach 96 once in a while. Billingsley hit 95 a couple days ago. A couple of days. His arm probably shouldn't be used on a day or two of rest any more than Kuo's. Billinglsey's GOOD relief appearances have been made on a lot of rest. When he is brought back too soon, he flops. He is not a reliever.

184 - CD, I am a huge Billingsley fan, but think about what you just said: stretches of brilliance and outcome over peripherals, that is like a Braves fan pointing to Francoeur's RBI total last year. He was lucky last year, he has been bad this year, he is still young and he was awesome in the minors, but that is the way I see it.

185 "Planet Earth" is off the charts good. It's now third, behind "Cosmos" and "Blue Planet: Seas of Life" as my favorite Doc series of all time.

188 I think some of his poor numbers this year come from misuse. It's like hitting and running with C--i at the plate.

I thought that was out.

Las Vegas could use Meloan or Tsao.

The last time a Dodger had back to back games with a grand slams?

Uh-oh This Matt-cat looks dangerous-I didn't know the Pirates had anyone like this. Pierre couldn't advance on that? What the hey.

Can we bring Chacon back in?

Martin should stick with this look. He looks like the Crow.

Martin almost rids the Dodgers of the meddlesome Pierre!

197 Curses!! He missed. Foiled again....

So why isn't this guy with almost Gagne like nos. the closer?

Capps' body is 32% neck.

Noooomahhhhhhh

Now the record when they score 4 runs or more is in jeopardy.

Don't tease poor Marlon. He only plays once a month.

Nomar. hit a homerun!

That may have been the pitch on 0-1.

Pinch-hit Betemit for Valdez?

199 - 12 HR for 94.1 IP career is the biggest thing against him

NOMAHH!!

How does the runner not get to third with 2 out?

A parachute job for an RBI.

Hmmm, do we have anyone left? Lieberthal?

Marte, somehow that does not scare me.

188 -- RBI's are a useless stat, but I have argued here before that the only stat that really matters for a major league pitcher is ERA. And I am not a believer in DIPS theory at all. Some pitchers are just easier to make good contact on. Every hitter will tell you that. I have always paid more attention to K's and walks when it comes to MINOR league pitchers. Once they are in the majors, all that really matters is keeping opponent runs off the board, and Billingsley was a success in that regard in 2006. It is amazing how when reality differes from sabermetric theory the sabermetricians just trot out the old "luck" chestnut. In time, Billingsley's MLB K-to-walk ratio will show progression to the mean, and he will be even better than he was at keeping opponent runs off the board, but his ERA under 4.00 last year was just fine at it was.

211 Betemit, Martinez and Lieberthal.

Lucille II? Hmmm, I guess we're counting on the hit parade to continue.

Martinez?? Really? Let's see how this goes...

The confidence in Betemit is null.

This is why both Valdez and Martinez shouldn't be on the team.

Grady Little going toe to toe with Jim Tracy's strategery

Lucille hits one like Lucy.

213--Kaz Ishii would have appreciated that sort of support.

As far as Billingsley is concerned, I think he has to be either plugged into the 5th starter spot (unlikely due to Tomko and Hendrickson's recent success), sent to AAA to get stretched back out, or only used in long-relief appearances with a few days rest in-between in the majors. The last option seems to be the best option, but it's up to Grady to stick to it. Considering everyone else in the bullpen is perfect for short duty, seems like it would be a feasible option.

213 - He struck out 59 batters and walked 58. If you don't believe in DIPS, fine, but here is a list of successful major league pitchers with a 1:1 K:BB ratio:

Somehow having to face Marlon Anderson or Ramon Martinez with the game on the line does not strike fear!

233 - I guess that isn't true, maybe knuckleballers or guys with a sinker could get away with it. Billingsley is neither, though.

223 I think what he's trying to say is that his K:BB ratio will obviously improve and the fact that he was still effective even with the poor ratio last year bodes well for the future.

Pin this loss on Billingsley. There's a reason he's not in the rotation. He's lucky he's not in Vegas.

226 - I said that he was young and very good in the minors. I hope and believe he will be very good going forward, but he had some serious flaws last year, is all I'm saying.

I agree with Canuck that Billingsley isnt a reliever. He needs to be in a rotation, be it Jacksonville or the Dodgers. I dont want to see Billingsley sent to Vegas again.

McClouth one ups Pierre

In a perfect world, The Mustache is on the same page with all of us. Let Hendrickson throw a few good games, sell high, and plug Billz into the rotation in May or June.

Make up for it Pierre!

Thattaboy!

Pitching deconstructed.

please throw a fastball

Keep it off the ground, Olmedo!

I can't believe they called that strike three.

Goodness.

I don't understand the argument against defense independent ERA. Aren't some teams' defenses better than others? In what way isn't that luck, from the perspective of the pitcher?

Bad call

No worries. Win two out of three. Just keep winning series, and all is good.

we missed a bunch of opportunities today.

Well, phoo.

Not a good game today.
The level of confidence the team has in Betemit/Billingsley could be really low.

221 -- Ishii was satisfactory in 2003. He was far from perfect, but I certainly wouldn't say Ishii "didn't look good as a starter" in 2003. In 2004, Ishii went in the toilet, with both his ERA and his K-to-walk ratio worse than they were the previous season. And since he was 30, there was no reason to think the K-to-walk ratio would improve.

238 I believe that dips attributes everything other than homers strikeouts and walks to the defense. If that's the case, then there's plenty of room for argument.

On the replay, that 3rd strike looked more borderline than in real time. I still think it was ball though.

They had Olmedo and Kent up as the winning run in the 9th so they did keep battling but unlike yesterday, their sloppy play cost them today.

Another note, after losing their first 2 games, they won 4 straight. Since then, their pattern is lose 1, win 3 straight, lose 1, win 3 straight, lose 1 win 3 straight and lose 1.

We'll see if that pattern continues starting on Tuesday with Derek Lowe bouncing back from his poor performance in Colorado.

246 It looked like even more of ball to me on replay. No way it droped that much between the plate and the catcher. Oh well.

245 - Most people look at GB%, FB%, LD%, BABIP, ect. now. I think DIPS has been expanded upon, in other words.

245- There's a fine tuning argument, but not a philosophical one. Unless errors are the best available measurement of fielding. Anybody want to take that side?

Billzy should only pitch in mop. I'm just not that impressed with him. Even though he had some good moments last season he hasn't lived up to the hype. He belongs in Vegas.

Somehow, I never tire of seeing crocodiles attack zebras or wilderbeests.

249 That's good to know. I've been out of touch.

250 I don't think anybody argues that it wouldn't be fabulous to know a pitcher's performance independent of defense. I think the argument is whether DIPS really does that. But I am woefully out of touch on the topic.

With a healthy Schmidt and Kuo this is the rotation I'd like to see.....

1) Lowe
2) Penny
3) Schmidt
4) Wolf
5) Kuo

Bullpen
1) Saito-san
2) JBrox
3) JoeyB
4) Tsao
5) Marky Mark
6) Bretty

If Schmidt's not healthy, I'm leaning towards Marky Mark to take his place in the rotation.

I'd advocate a Bretty trade. But I don't see what we'd get back that would be of any use. We're loaded.

351

there was a month to month and a half stretch in the second half that billingsley had the best era in the NL. Then he pulled a side muscle and was sidelined. He was impressive then. Pitching infrequently, in a roll he is not familar with this year is hurting his ability to be effective. I find it hilarious some people are ready to throw billingsley to the wolves based and then turn around to annoint wilson valdez king of LA. I guess it is really "what have you done for me now?" philosophy.

255 Not me, I am just wondering if he has adjusted to it, part of it is being aggressive which he is doing. He will be fine but getting a little beat up should not hurt him if he is the pitcher that I think he will become.

253 - DIPS was a big step forward, it was a huge idea, but it wasn't the last word. Using batted ball information it is possible to explain a lot more, though HR, BB and K numbers, along with GB%, are still the most important pitching numbers that go towards determining ERA. Well, that and luck.

255 251 He belongs in a rotation.

255 - You realize that isn't at all what I am saying, right?

Billingsley should be sent to Vegas. Let him get back to starting, building up his innings. Right now, Billingsley is just eating up major league service time in a role for which he is unsuited, and it can't even be argued that he is being "broken into" a role at which he has a long-term future, since the Dodgers have always said that they still see Billingsley's future as that of a front-line starter. Neither the Dodgers' nor Billingsley's best interests are being served right now. And what is going to happen when both Schmidt and Brazoban come off the DL? Not to mention Kuo? I don't think Tsao should go back, that's for sure. He is not just useful now, but has a real future as a Dodger bullpen arm.

258

I dont necessarily believe he needs to be in a rotation but he isn't a short reliever. Pitching on back to back days or short days rest is something he has never done in the minors except for that 3 week period in AA in 2005. I still if you leave him in long relief, pitching 3-4 innings at a time, he will be fine. And if a spot opens up in the rotation later on in the year, he will have enough stamina to go straight from long relief into a starting spot.

259

yes and thats why 255 was not directed to you.

It's (always) possible I'm misreading Repent or Burn, but I took him to mean not that he didn't believe that DIPS was useful, but that he didn't believe in any tinkering with component stats. That's the part I don't understand. Particularly if he believes that they mean something in the minors.

ERA matters more for pro players inasmuch as the the outcome of the games are important at that level, and not very important down below, but it doesn't seem like it should say anything more about the pitcher than it would at other levels.

Whether computer nerds put their thumbs on the scale using luck is interesting, but there is luck in baseball. Right? Nobody really wants to argue that that's made up, do they?

of course if i correctly put 251 instead of 351, it might have made more sense who i was directing my comments to :)

261 Well one problem and its a good one for the Dodgers, is that they are getting good starting pitching so they have not needed lots of long relief this year.

I think Chad will be here for another month or so but once Brazoban is ready, then maybe Chad should go down and start.

261 That might work, but it requires a managerial and organizational discipline that does not seem to exist.

To expand on what I said about Tsao in #260, I can see Meloan and Tsao battling to be Broxton's set-up man in the not-too-distant future, and whoever loses that battle will probably be the best "7th inning guy" in the game.

262 - Whew. Good. I really like Billingsley, I want him to get every opportunity and improve all of his component ratios. It galls me that a little luck from Tomko and Hendrickson keeps someone who might actually be good out of the rotation.

Yhency has one option year left, right? If he can be left in the minors this year, I'd prefer that he be. First year coming back from TJ isn't usually as productive as the next one, IIRC. And it's not like we're hurting for middle relief.

269 makes a good point. I wouldnt mind leaving Brazoban in AAA all year. His control is going to be way off this year and id rather have him figuring it out in AAA and in LA for our pennant run (optimism!!)

269 - That isn't a bad idea. Especially considering how erratic he was before he got hurt.

269 -- I don't know if Brazoban has an option year left. Can anybody confirm? I also was thinking that I'd prefer Brazoban spend 2007 in the minors, for the reason Andrew states: pitchers just back from TJ surgery are always pretty erratic, especially with their control. But the Dodger brass (in spring training) sounded like they were looking forward the Brazoban re-joining the the big club this season.

hey canuck, did the scout.com article on elbert's shoulder tendonitis say anything new?

Dice-K on the RedSox-Yankees network tonight.

When Kuo's 100% healthy he needs to be in the rotation. If Neddie and Co. decide to put him back in the pen I'm gettin' out the hickory stick.

The bullpen Billzy experiment is not necessary and it's not working. Especially with JoeyB being the most dominant LH reliever in the league right now and the way Tsao looks. You send Billzy back to Vegas. Start him there, and hopefully he'll be dominant. If that happens you he gets the upper hand on Marky Mark/Bretty in the rotation by June.

You still need a guy like Hendy on your team. A guy that can eat innings in a blowout. I actually trust Mark Mark to get out a tough left handed bat in a close game.

18 Months, right? That's the timetable to come all the way back from TJ. A year of rehab, and six months of adjusting, rebuilding arm strength, and getting comfortable throwing all your pitches.

I'd have no problem leaving Brazoban in the minors, at least until late August. Maybe even the rest of the season.

If Chad isn't going to get the chance to throw 2 or 3 innings at a time then he should be in Vegas working on his control. While he had the splendid ERA last year it was a lucky ERA and it looks like he could certainly use some work. When I watch him pitch I find it hard to believe that he and Cain were once considered to be at the same level. That might still happen but right now he needs some innings, not sitting in a bullpen pitching a couple of innings a week.

275

are the childish nicknames really necessary?

He has pitched in parts of three seasons, before this year, but he came up in August of '04, and DL time doesn't count against the service clock. MLB4U has his Service clock at: 2.065. But maybe options don't run on the service clock.

If he's out of options, he only gets a month of minor league rehab time before he has to be recalled, right? Or am I misremembering that?

278
You're fighting a losing battle, trying to converse with certain people on a reasonable level.

277. I wouldn't call it lucky ERA. I'd call it fortunate ERA. For example he pitched 5 scoreless against St. Louis.....on 6 hits and 5 walks. How in the name of Sam Hill does that happen? He got out of a lot of jams. I'll give him credit there.

My problem with Billzy is that he reminds me of Ishii. I get all tense and I feel strained when I watch him pitch.

278. Like Bombko? CQH..

I dont know what CQH means....

I looked it up. Compromisso com a Qualidade Hospitalar.

http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/CQH

It can't be service time. That wouldn't make any sense. So, even though he lost almost all of last year, that probably counts as his last option year. Oh well. Unless I'm wrong. Sounds like a question for Gurnick's mailbag.

281 - I wouldn't call that a redundant statement, but I would say it was the same point expressed with a synonym.

273 -- The only new information of interest in the article is that Elbert had "shoulder aches" at the end of last season. That is what kept him out the AFL. By spring training his shoulder felt completely normal.

I think he has at least one option year if not two but I read the tea leaves as seeing him in the LA bullpen instead of Vegas if he is healthy.

Jeff Pearlman on Josh Hamilton--

Points out near end that going into Friday Hamilton had 5HR and 11 RBI in 11 games. Fairy tales may not come true, but Hamilton's comeback is remarkable so far.

http://tinyurl.com/3bfl2o

I checked the Yankees' transactions, they purchased his contract in November 2003 so I think they first put him on the 40 man just prior to trading him to the Dodgers, he used his first option in 2004, was up with the big club for all of 2005 and 2006 (DL).

He only uses his options if he is sent down to the minors (not on rehab assignment) so he still has two.

I would say that "luck" should be credited with causing Billingsley's low 2006 ERA if there was NO qualitative difference in the way Billingsley pitched WITHOUT runners on base and WITH runners on base. But Billingsley DID pitch better once runners got on base. He would stop nibbling, stop trying to get batters to chase bad pitches, which is presumably what minor league batters Billingsley faced would do. When Billingslwey would concentrate on throwing strikes, he would get a lot of weak contract, a lot of easy outs. It was not like he was constantly being saved by spectacular defensive plays, which would also be an indicator of Billingsley "getting lucky."

291 - Still, if a pitcher is relying on pitching better once he gets men on then it is luck if he is successful with that strategy for long. He can be remarkable, but so can Tomko, a certain amount of consistency is necessary to be a good pitcher and Billingsley isn't there, yet.

Do we have a forensic linguist or analytical grammatician in the house? tskent reminds me an awful lot of old friend bluetahoe.

292- I agree. Bills has great stuff but lacks command of his pitches. He can't put them where he wants to. I don't know if he ever will-- I hope so. But he's not there yet. I know he had a good stretch last season. But he just needs to somehow gain command.

I know the feeling here about regression to the mean and I won't argue. But Tomko looks really good right now.

294

its the same story with tomko. good at DS, bad everywhere else.

great pitch by Dice-K to arod right there.

Billingsley was worse with a runner on first than with the bases empty. But better in all other situations. His OPS (and sOPS+ and tOPS+) allowed splits by runners positions lines up with his babip splits, without taking a burp on men on first.

He was a crummy relief pitcher for the 3 2/3 innings he was used as one, last year, too.

He was worse by .150 OPS allowed, in Vegas last year, with runners on, than with the bases empty.

The Discovery channel show Planet Earth is a very incredible and depressing show to watch. One moment your rooting for the Walrus to get away and the next your bummed that because of failure the Polar Bear has made a fatal error.

The Dodgers Great Loon affiliate is the 1st baseball stadium to be using Solar power for it's scoreboard. Amazing that a team in the Midwest can do it while a Stadium in Southern California can't do it. How hard is it to give Real Goods a phone call?

Dear Brian Cashman,

Don't PANIC! No need to get all JITTERY! I can help you. Won't you let me help you? Please?

Your buddy,
Ned

back to back to back to back!

poor chase wright.

Wow. All you Discovery channel watchers just missed the second four consecutive HR game in two years.

Unbelieveable. I just saw what buddy natepurcell just saw.

I love baseball.

293 There is a very good reason for that. Names may change...The mania remains the same.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go work on my Andrew Shimmin blog.

no surprise, no mention of the 4+1 game by Miller and Morgan

J.D. Drew, the second hitter for each of those events, of course this will get more play but I still think 4+1 was more dramatic and since I was there, I get to say that.

future trivia

who is the only player to be involed in 4 consecutive homeruns in 2 games in following years?

or something like that...

305- Morgan wasn't watching it, so he feels unqualified to comment on it.

Aloha,

I eagerly lurk on this board each day. I rarely post because, frankly, unless you need a Waikiki surf report, I don't bring anything of value to the board. However, today I must vent. I have seen every Dodger game this season and Juan Pierre is simply a horrible player. And I don't just mean overpaid. I think he would still be our weak link even if he were just our 5th outfielder. There had to be hundreds of little leaguers in the stands today laughing at that fly ball that he dropped. Almost every little leaguer in the stands could have made that catch. Pierre could not. I am not one of those fans that thinks Colletti is always wrong (in fact, I like the team that we have). But he certainly made a mistake on Pierre.

I feel a little better now. Back to lurking.

Mahalo.

301 - And Ortiz wasn't one of them! How can that be, my fantasy team asks?

ah, someone remided Miller of it at the break

There's the mention of the 4+1 game.

John Miller finally gives us some props. I would say our achievement is a bit more remarkable since it was against Trevor Hoffman and not some kid straight out of A ball.

313 - Don't forget the fact that it was also the bottom of the 9th inning.

309 - Hey stick around, I was just wondering about the surfing in Waikiki.

I'm getting a little worried about the Giants. By the summer their rotation could be the best in league with Zito, Lincecum, Cain and Lowry.

3 of the positions were the same (RF, LF, and C) with Kent at 2B and Lowell at 3B being the difference.

The only Yankee I can see Ned trading for is Mientkwerjwe;lkjrwelkcz

309. It's pretty much done for the day. You want to get down there in the morning.

316 - Don't worry. When Barry Bonds hits number 754, Bud Selig will send somebody to "take care of him" Harding / Kerrigan style, and the SF offense will nose-dive.

:)

314- and in the waning days of a pennant race... No comparison.

316 Unless they plan to only give up 1 run a game, I'm not too worried.

I know guys like Lincecum look really good but Lirianos are rare (oops sorry about Giants) so I don't think he will step him and win 12-15 games for them this year.

His biggest impact could be in the bullpen.

I cannot believe that the Dodgers 4+1 game did not get mentioned until well after the last homer cleared the wall.

I'm not suggesting bias. I'm just saying it's weird. I did some small-time baseaball play-by-play and I got to meet some of the bigger names. In order to be good, you literally have to use part of your life to live the game and now what's happening around the league.

I wonder if Miller knew about the Dodger game before he mentioned it. Someone said he might've been reminded on the break. If he needed a reminder, that's shameful.

... So, is JD Drew the only player in baseball history to have been a part of TWO straight 4-HR rallies?

I was able to rewind the DVR and see it. No matter what team does it, 4 straight homers is pretty impressive.

Glad to see JD in on it again.

324 - I think it has only happened twice period.

Has anyone watched the new "hit" comedy "Notes From the Underbelly"? My wife saw a commercial on it, and wants me to look into it...

326 - It must have happened more often than that - Jon Miller was talking about the only other time a single pitcher has given up straight 4 HRs (which wasn't the 4+1 game, which was off of multiple pitchers).

327 - I wrote about it for Variety. I wouldn't call it a hit.

I didn't get to see the 4+0 :( - glad I saw last year's 4+1.

It happened twice in 1964 I think

I wrote about it for Variety

Do you have a link to the article (assuming it's free)...?

331
Nevermind: I found it on The Google

Does Jonathan Broxton remind anybody else of Peter Griffin from Family Guy? Not just a weight thing. I think there is a similarity facially. Look at the picture of Broxton attached to the article about our bullpen that is at Dodgers.com.

I wouldn't call it a hit

The commercial called it a hit, so it must be true.

I take it you don't think the show is all that great...?

My feature:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117962362.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

Phil Gallo's review:

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117933293.html?categoryid=32&cs=1

334 -- In Great Britain, the TV channel that bought the UK rights to the American series "Smith" promoted it on their commercials as the "hit American series Smith." This was long after CBS had cancelled Smith after three episodes.

334 - Based on ratings, at least, it's not a hit.

The guy at Baseball Almanac has already updated the entry for "Most Consecutive Home Runs by a Team in One Inning":
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_hr8.shtml

4 Homers in a row were hit by Milwaukees Braves in 1961,
Cleveland in 1963, Minnesota in 1964

Networks that advertise brand new shows as "hits" = One of my pet peeves

339 You have so many.

If only everyone were exactly like me.

Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits.

- Mark Twain

With Pettite pitching right now, it brings up a point...why dont managers do this more often?

usually between starts, pitchers would throw a bullpen session to stay in shape, why not let them get their work in when it matters?

242 -- Mark Twain lacked foresight.

"As an amusement it is too fleeting. As an occupation it is too wearing. As a public exhibition there is no money in it."

-- Mark Twain, "The Science Of Onanism," 1879

There's lots of money in "it" -- now, at any rate. The economy of the San Fernando Valley pretty much depends on "it."

48-Nate-sorry-I left the computer for awhile-Regarding Dunlap's weight-I'd say he's pushing 300.The dude looks obese.A ground ball went under his glove because he couldn't bend down enough to snag it.
I think I asked before,but never saw an answer.Where is the Orr kid from Canada.Is he starting in the short season leagues?

343 The guys at Bronx Banter think Torre is horrible with his BP. So, it could be he was just out of pitchers after the last two games.

Wow this Yankee pitching staff is kind of a mess. Is Scott Proctor going to pitch in 75% of the games this season or what?

345 -- Orr is still in extened spring training. He'll probably be in the Gulf Coast League in June. I doubt he is advanced enough to start in Ogden. Frankly, Preston Mattingly shouldn't even be in low A now. He needs to go to Ogden in June and try low A next year.

Joe Morgan: "I've never seen four homers hit in a row before."

I suppose that Joe couldn't be bothered watching highlights from a game last year.

The Yankees don't stand a chance with their pitching staff.

Morgan: "I never get to see Tampa Bay. I just watch highlights or read about them."

Joe, you can get MLB Extra Innings at home. You can even write it off as a business expense on your taxes.

348. Regarding Preston Mattingly--very true.

Mattingly's off to a bad start at Low A
40abs
.150/.143/.225

15ks, 0 bbs

Actually, no one on that Great Lakes team is hitting.

Kershaw needs to keep his walks down.
13ip 11bbs 16ks 0HRs

My favorite was when Miller was talking about not understanding the Japanese announcers and Joe said, "Well, one was a man, and the other one was a woman." Really? How interesting.

RIP Juanita Millender-McDonald.

348 352

it seems like every top positional player in the whole league has started out really bad. I do agree Mattingly seems overmatched right now but Id just let him keep on truckin and see if he can make some adjustments as the season goes on.

Bell has been walking at a good rate though, so that is encouraging.

some players with Mattingly's build who are current top prospects and how they hit in the midwest league..

reid brignac: 264/319/416

brandon wood 251/322/404

354
I guess her office is still denying that she's sick.

re kershaw

if you look at his game logs, he had that horrible first outing and in the following two outings, he has been progressively better. It should also be noted that Kershaw is a Texan and isnt probably use to the conditions of playing in michigan. Hes pitching again tomorrow so we'll see how he does.

Dear People of DT,

Anybody who takes 356 as an invitation to run Monty Python, 'pining for the fjords,' type shtick is going to hell. It's a zero-tolerance situation. I'll have my team of self-flagellating albinos deal with Timmermann for inciting such a thing.

Yours in Ch-i,
The Pope

She's stone dead
That's an ex-representative

Beautiful plumage the south central representative.

If she wasn't nailed to her seat, she'd be pushing up daisies.

Oh, you contrarian DTers.

It's not a palindrome! The palindrome of "Bolton" would be "Notlob"!

In the event anybody doesn't get the joke:

http://www.davidpbrown.co.uk/jokes/monty-python-parrot.html

Meanwhile ... for Las Vegas Abreu played 3rd base today and is hitting .393.
LaRoche played left field with Loney back at 1st base.

The Sox sweep. 7-6, 7-5, 7-6. It must be tough to win games when you give up seven runs a day.

7-6, 7-5, 7-6

Couple tie-breakers, and one break of serve in the 2nd set...?

365

Is losing a tiebreaker in tennis sort of like losing a 1-run game in baseball? Is it more luck or skill?

2007 Salaries

Jason Giambi: $23,428,571
TB Devil Rays: $24,124,200

NATE!!! this is for you: http://tinyurl.com/2wq4jp

(no not pix of our pal Sal but perhaps the next best thing...)

366 - I wonder if there are advanced Tennis statistics? I imagine not, since there aren't teams and usually the good players are self evident. I can't believe that Nadal keeps beating Federer on clay. What is the equivalent? If Tiger was terrible at Augusta every year?

I remember my all-time favorite tennis player (Stefan Edberg) losing (in the semi-finals?) at Wimbledon to Michael Stich one year 6-7, 6-7, 6-7. There were no breaks of serve in the entire match.

I'm not sure there's a golf equivalent to the different surfaces used in tennis. It's true that different golf courses favor some players more than others, but there's really no course where Tiger is at a disadvantage relative to any other player. If Tiger plays well, he'll win, regardless of the course. The same cannot be said for Federer on clay, especially vs. Nadal.

371 - I was just pointing out that the best player in the world is mortal on one occasion, but unbeatable elsewhere. It is bizzarre. I guess there is no equivalent. Why is clay so different? Is everything slower on clay, or faster?

372 - Clay is slower.

Clay is a very slow surface. Serves slow down and there is a greater emphasis on ground strokes.

Clay also makes the players clothes get dirtier.

373,374 - Thank you.

I really, really don't like Rafael Nadal. I am a Europhile and yet he seems like a garish European stereotype.

Did anybody besides Bob notice what an incredible game Jamie Shields had tonight for the TBD?

Now if only they had a bullpen...didn't they have a couple of all-stars back there last year? ;)

I got crickets when I mentioned I liked Shields in the CMC.

Finally got around to reading the Plaschke Tim Crews article and found it very riveting. I didn't have any problems with the last paragraph. Well written, all the way around. vr, Xei

Yes, clay slows the ball down (like Bob said) and puts more of an emphasis on ground strokes, speed and footwork. I never liked playing on clay, as I found the ball not always taking a true bounce (found the same problem with grass). I hated travelling to Florida for USTA tournaments as we would always end up playing on clay surfaces, which many in the southeast were use to, but us California tennis players almost always played on a hardcourt surface. You have to rake your own court too. No Zamboni.
vr, Xei

The French Open is the only Grand Slam I don't watch, and that's because of the surface. I don't really get a kick out of watching baseline tennis. Two guys hammering ground strokes back and forth until somebody hits it into the net.

Wimbledon will always be my favorite, because the surface is so fast and serve and volley players reign supreme.

381. Well, if you want serve and volleying, you should watch/play doubles. Men's singles at Wimbledon has pretty much gone from "serve and volleying" to just "serving". The true serve and volleyers in today's men's tennis play doubles. Most of the great serve and volley singles players have retired. The return of serve has become the most important shot in today's game. I play a serve and volley style, but I can't agree that it's the most interesting to watch. I like to watch tennis on all surfaces, as it allows players with different skill sets to succeed. vr, Xei

Doubles is great to watch. The speed of play is unbelievable. I just wish today's singles players played doubles and mixed doubles, like in the good old days. I guess the risk of injury and fatigue factor preclude that nowadays.

Martina was probably the last of the great players to play singles, doubles, and mixed doubles in each tournament.

363 - I found Abreu at third very interesting, as well.

Today on Dodger Talk, which has been a tad more bearable recently, Harvey mentioned Nomar's Spring Training offer to move to third and then re-iterated that some source had told him that Nomar has since offered to move again--recently even.

I wonder if the Dodger organization is putting Abreu above Loney at this point. While I personally cannot wait to see them both in the starting line-up for years to come, and putting Abreu's recent hot AAA hitting aside, I think Loney is the more "proven commodity" which Ned seems to go for.

But this apparent, albeit rumored, ignoring of Nomar's offer, coupled with Abreu getting time at third, makes me think that Abreu has in fact surpassed Loney on the "prospect chart."

I realize that it is easier to simply replace one element with another, as the Dodgers could do with an Abreu for Betemit swap, but I think Loney deserves a go before Abreu.

If Loney was upset about not making the team, just imagine how he will feel when other AAAers start being called up ahead of him.

And I know there was some discussion about Nomar's defense probably being considerably worse that Betemit's..but it was mostly conjecture, however informed.

If by April's end Betemit is still struggling, I think the Loney/Nomar plan should get a shot. If Nomar struggles, then sit Loney down and tell him you love him and will see him sooner or later, and get Abreu on the next flight.

Wilson Valdez was not mentioned on purpose. A great guy to have off the bench, but let's keep it at that, no?

Doubles tennis is rarely shown on TV anymore. I remember as a kid that doubles was shown almost as much as singles. Those days are gone, as are the days of serving and volleying in singles. I found men's tennis more interesting to watch in the 80s, before they started hitting 140 MPH serves.

384 - I am skeptical of reading too much into an Abreu-Loney prospect race. The Dodgers don't need a SS or 2B, so if Abreu is going to make the team it will have to be as a 3B. Loney is playing RF for the same reason. Being flexible and forward thinking doesn't mean that Loney's star has fallen, it was just a bad month. The first man up (besides Kemp, if they do keep him down for awhile) will be Big Game James.

Actually the bet would be who gets hurt bad enough to warrant a DL trip 1st. A 39 year old 2nd baseman who still slides head first into home and 1st base or an injury prone 1st baseman. If I was betting I'd put my money on Kent being the 1st to visit the DL this year which would make Abreu the callup.

Hey, I'm 39 and I can still do that stuff.

387 - Kent may get injured, but Betemit is a week or two from losing his job. Besides, Abreu knows how to play second and Loney knows how to play first. This only makes them more flexible.

Loney's off to a slow start in Vegas:

68Abs
.265/.316/.382

LaRoche a little better:
62Abs
.274/.333/.452

Mitch Jones (a 29yr old OF)--has been playing great for Vegas--
.340/.386/.755 in 53Abs.

Tony Abreu's fast start:
56Ab
.393/.470/.589

I wonder if Vegas is a fluke, or if he's really improved that much. I doubt they'd let Kent go next year in order to give Abreu 2nd base.

Abreu at 3rd shouldnt be an option considering his limited HR power.

After the spate of ex-Dodger injuries I was wondering if Ned has traded or released anyone who is performing at a higher level then when they were with the Dodgers. Can't count JD since he opted out on his own.
Milton Bradley hurt again
Gagne hurt again
Willie Aybar missing in action
E Jackson is starting but he still has the same problems he had with us a year 1/2 later
Tiffany is still out due to surgery, should return this summer but he's no longer even mentioned as a prospect
Navarro is starting but a year later still hasn't done anything to date other then play alot
Pedroza has been moved to catcher
Ruggiano is in AAA
Joel Guzman is in AAA, both Guzman and Ruggiano are scuffling for Durham, but it is early in the year.
Sanchez was good until he got hurt, then suspended, then hurt again.
Milton has been okay when healthy but not healthy enough to warrant much concern.
Choi is out of Major League baseball.
Robles is in AAA
Seo struggling in Tampa Rotation
Baez barely a setup man in Baltimore
Jason Philips backup catcher in Toronto
Jose Cruz on the short side of a platoon but doing what he does best, smacking lefties
Ketchner - doing nicely in AAA, have to wait to see what he does when given a Major League chance with the Padres
Odalis Perez - Yikes
Dessens -
Schmoll - AAA fodder
Cody Ross - part time player, can't crack the starting lineup of one of the worse outfields in the league
Blake Johnson & Julio Pimental - to early to tell as both are in A ball for KC
Ricky Ledee - out of baseball
Johnny Nunez - Heard great things but the 21 year old is in low A and has been creamed so far in limited innings.
Jose Valentin - Now we have a winner, excellent year last year but he left as a free agent and wasn't released or traded but who wouldn't rather him in CF last year and this year?
Jeff Weaver - Nuff said

Players he has traded for or signed and then traded or released during his reign include Baez, Carter, Seo, and Dessens.

Both Loney and La Roche have started to heat up after slow starts. Both were hoping to make the major league roster so I think they had to go through an attitude adjustment.
As that team heads into May, I would not want to be facing Loney/Kemp/La Roche if I was a pitcher.

No doubt a new post up top is coming soon, but I'll post anyway. There was a story this morning on NPR about someone who found a reel to reel tape in his mother's garage labeled "Koufax's No Hitter", and it was the 9th inning from Sandy's first no hitter in 1962 vs the Mets. Great story for a Dodger fan. To hear the actual story and an edited version of the entire 9th inning go to

http://tinyurl.com/ys6y44

393--Bradley started in CF yesterday. He's not hurt and played great down the stretch last year for the A's.

How can you not count JD Drew?
Just because he opted out didnt mean the Dodgers couldnt try to sign him back.
Ned opted to give Pierre/Gonzo/Wolf that money instead of Drew.

Drew's playing great but in Boston's lineup it was obvious he'd flourish. He'll get plenty of pitches to hit.