Blah blah Red Sox whatever. Will A-Rod be a Dodger?

[Ghoulish Delight]

I freaking hope not.

Okay, so first it was, "We've got a contract with Little and believe in him, he's our manager." Then it was, "Dodgers talking to Girardi, Little's going to be axed." But Girardi went to the Yankess so it became, "Dodgers talking to Torre, Little's going to be axed."

No Little has announced his resignation. So at this point all the signs are pointing towards Torre indeed becoming the new Dodger manager, which might not be a bad thing.

Unless it means A-Rod ends up coming with him.

No. No. No. Say "No" to A-Rod. Unless they can get him under a contract that reflects his actual playing worth (which is consistent, above average, but NOT stratospherically good as Scott Boras would have you believe), he's nothing but a money drain and a guarantee that they Dodgers will lose the best of the huge field of young talent they've got. Bad news.

I swear, if the Dodgers get A-Rod and Martin ends up somewhere else, I may have to give up on baseball.

[mousepod]

This is going to be fun.

[Alex]

A Rod is as stratospherically good as claimed.

But even that stratospheric goodness is not worth what he'll be paid. One player just can't have enough impact on a team. If the ownership is willing to pay the price A Rod will cost without counting it against whatever internal payroll limit they will have then they'd be pretty stupid not to sign him if they can.

If instead they're going to take the approach of "the money for A Rod has to come from the money for the other 24 players" then they'd be stupid to sign him.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Dodgers management has proven time and again to be of the latter mind...overpay one or two players praying that they'll carry the team, sacrificing any sort of long term stability by not having enough money to keep a quality level of supporting cast for that one superstar. It doesn't help that they have a penchant for picking superstars that get injured.

[Kevy Baby]

They needed to make a move of some sort. I liked Grady, but I honestly do not know if he was good for the team or not. I am excited about Torre coming on board.

But A-Rod? Not at the expense of many of the current crop of talent on the team (Martin, Garcia-Parra, et. al.). I believe that the team, pretty much as-is, is a solid team in need of better leadership.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Little definitely needed to go, but I think he deserved a little better treatment than he's gotten in the last week.

[Kevy Baby]

In other Dodgers news: they will switching from KFWB back to KABC next season - a move I appreciate.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Andruw Jones!

I think this is a great move for the Dodgers. They got a good player for a discount price. There is the risk that last season was not just a temporary slump, but with the short-term 2 year deal, Jones definitely has motivation to improve. AND it gets Juan Pierre, who can neither throw a ball nor track a fly ball after 11 seasons, out of center field. Yay!

Most importantly, this all happened without decimating their pool of young talent.

[Kevy Baby]

For once, the Dodgers make the right move in the off-season

[SacTown Chronic]

Horrible move. If 18 million per year is a discount for Andruw freaking Jones, and it's not - the Dodgers' offer far exceeded anything Jones received from other teams -, I'd hate to see list price.

Jesus, 18 million per for a .222 hitter (.263 lifetime) whose power decline coincides with the implementation of MLB's drug testing policy. Unacceptable. But then, this is what you get for hiring someone who learned at the knee of baseball's most overrated general manager, Brian Sabean. Bring in overpriced, over-the-hill talent and watch your team suck in August and September. Now there's a blueprint for success.

[Ghoulish Delight]

By discount, I meant length of contract. Had they signed him for the 5+ years he was reportedly looking for, I wouldn't have been particularly thrilled.

He's clearly no Cabrera, but at the cost of NOT giving up Loney, Kemp, Billingsly, Broxton, Krenshaw, LaRoche (there was talk of deals for as many as four of that bunch), he's a veteran presence from a team that won games.

And 30 is not over-the-hill.

[Kevy Baby]

I was going to talk about his benefit to the team being beyond what he offers with his stats, but GD beat me to it.

I believe his experience that he can share with the younger players is his biggest contribution. The fact that the Dodgers did not give up any of the players mentioned in GD's post is what makes it a good deal.

[SacTown Chronic]

30 is over-the-hill for an athlete in obvious decline. And Andruw Jones is in obvious decline. The Dodgers are the laughingstock of baseball this morning.

You're right though, this deal isn't too terrible because of the length of contract. A five year deal would have made the Giants' signing of Zito last year look inspired by comparison -- and I spent last season laughing at Giant fans for the Zito deal. So no, this deal doesn't tie up the team financially in the long term, but it's another example of Colletti's incompetence and McCourt's baseball ignorance.

[Ghoulish Delight]

If all he does is stop the hemorrhaging of runs caused by Juan Pierre's complete inability to learn his position in a decade, then he's worth it.

[SacTown Chronic]

Amen to that.

[scaeagles]

What sport is this again?

[Ghoulish Delight]

I'd also point out that, average aside, dude had 94 RBI, which was is 8th consecutive season with 90+. I don't really care if he's on base, as long as the people ahead of him are and he's sending them home.

[SacTown Chronic]

"If it doesn't involve a ham and a bone, it's not a sport." ~ scaeagles

[Ghoulish Delight]

Of course, now it looks like the next move might be to offer Matt Kemp up for starting pitching. It'd be a shame to see him go, but it'll be easier to take if they get value back for one young player and not have put Schnidt or Loiza in the starting roation, rather than throwing 3 or 4 prospects for a single bat.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Egads, looks like the Mets are shaping up to be a powerhouse this season. They might have sold their future off, but they tentatively have Johan Santana (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22896918/). That gives them three 15 game winners. And if Pedro's healthy after surgery...yikes.

ETA: Oh yeah, I forgot that Pedro was back for the tail end of last season...and looked like Pedro. Yeah, I think they're in good shape for pitching.

[Ghoulish Delight]

And for post #3 in a row:

Less than 2 weeks until opening day!

All of the questions for the Dodgers remain unanswered, which makes me uneasy. On paper, they've got a lot of great pieces to work with, but it's hard to see how they'll come together.

Pitching: Kuroda's looked good through spring. They were hoping for a solid #4 starter. If he stays strong he might even be a good #3 or #2 option. Loiaza looks like he's going to get that wild card #5 slot by default with Schmidt slow to rehab. He also had an encouraging spring, but I'm not holding my breath. With Billingsly needing to prove that he can deliver in his sophomore season as a starter, the rotation only has 2 proven pieces, which is unsettling. At least the bullpen should start strong, hopefully that starters can burn enough innings to keep it that way.

Outfield: No change here. 5 players, 3 positions. It's not a horrible dilemna to have, but there's bound to be someone unhappy with not enough playing time. But if Jones "bounces back" (I'm still not convinced that someone who had 90+ RBI needs any bouncing back) and Kemp learns to pay attention his 3rd base coach, they should produce some big numbers.

3rd Base: My how quickly things change. They went from a logjam to potentially starting a gimpy 3rd stringer opening day. Hopefully someone can hold down to fort to prevent a panic trade for a short term solution.

Ooops, almost forgot about Kershaw. I watched one Spring game where he pitched and saw some jaw-dropping stuff. But I'm really wary of bringing him up so soon.

[Moonliner]

Let's review the prospects for my hometown team...

New stadium, The Pope, Players, Coaches and no freaking parking. This team can bite my shiny metal ass.



Sorry Kevy. :D

[Kevy Baby]

I'll break your string... [ETA: Moonie beat me to that]

I am looking forward to how Torre will bring it all together. The Dodgers haven't had a good skipper since Tommy Lasagna (and it was cool seeing him coach a couple of games down in Vero Beach while Torre and half the squad were in Japan).

Otherwise, I haven't been keeping up on the Dodgers as much this season.

Although I would LOVE to go to the Coliseum game!!!

[SacTown Chronic]

I am looking forward to how Torre will bring it all together.My guess is he'll do it by sitting calmly on the bench while picking his nose for 9 innings.

[Ghoulish Delight]

And here we go.

Juan Pierre is already whining (http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080321&content_id=2449183&vkey=spt2008news&fext=.jsp&c_id=la) about his role.

[Kevy Baby]

Yeah! Good way to start a season: beating the Giants 5-0.

Penny kicked some serious ass!

[Ghoulish Delight]

I was so excited to come home and watch opening day on TiVo, completely forgetting about the local blackout. Fooey. Had I remembered I would have at least followed the game on Gameday at work. Oh well, gotta love the outcome. Good to see Kent flashing some power early on.

[mousepod]

I was bummed that I'd miss it. When I got home they were airing it on FSN.

Really tested my allegiance. I spent the last decade in SF, so I was hoping for more of a battle.

Ah well, it wasn't like they were playing the Mets...

[Ghoulish Delight]

I was bummed that I'd miss it. When I got home they were airing it on FSN.I was afraid of that. TiVo went for the ESPN listing, which was a false listing. Feh.

Baseball tonight was falling all over itself over Johan Santana, but they barely mentioned Penny.

Santana: 7.0ip, 3 hits, 2 ER, 2BB, 8K, 1HR
Penny: 6 2/3 ip, 4 hits, 0 ER, 2BB, 3K, 0 HR

That gets just an afterthought mention?!

Oh well, at least they gave the #1 web gem to Furcal.

[Ghoulish Delight]

I should start keeping track of how theoretical runs Andruw Jones prevents from scoring this season that Juan Pierre would have given up.

1

[Strangler Lewis]

It must be nice to have a third base coach who stands for something.

[Ghoulish Delight]

The Dodgers need to lobby MLB to just stop counting the first inning.

Leaving tonight's aberration out, the Dodgers have been outscored 42-36 on the season. Chop of the first innings of every game and they've got a 32-29 edge.

[scaeagles]

Or you could be a fan of the Diamondbacks and not have to make excuses.:p

OK, I'm not a fan....I just hear they're doing well.

[Moonliner]

The Dodgers need to lobby MLB to just stop counting the first inning.



Sure, as long as you can also convince them to stop counting the other eight for the Nationals.

[scaeagles]

I had to post the funniest sports headline I've seen in a while....apparently the Yankee's have a pitcher named Wang, who won his fifth in a row today. The headline -

"Yankee's Wang comes up big".

BWAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!

[Kevy Baby]

Since it is humorous enough, you shall be forgiven for posting something about the Yankees in the Dodger's thread.

[Strangler Lewis]

Good-bye, Mike Piazza. Notwithstanding his recent comments about New York, he should go into the Hall of Fame as a Dodger. His last day torching of the Giants that kept them out of the 1993 playoffs despite 103 wins was epic. A necessary reminder of why the wild card is an abomination.

[Kevy Baby]

I wonder why the mid-season departure? That is strange.

[Strangler Lewis]

Step one: retire.
Step two: come out?

[Kevy Baby]

Step one: retire.
Step two: come out?Oh, not THAT rumor again :rolleyes:

[Ghoulish Delight]

I wonder why the mid-season departure? That is strange.
He wasn't playing. He was a free agent and no one was signing him.

[Strangler Lewis]

Oh, not THAT rumor again :rolleyes:

I personally would rather believe he and Jeff Garcia are closeted gay men than that their actual preference for wives was Playboy Playmates.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Not a bad showing for Kershaw. First road game, got himself into trouble but worked his way out of some jams. He made a perfect pitch to Reyes, DeWitt should have turned that double play, gotten him out of the inning, and hopefully through to a better 5th. Tough break, but I think it was a good second outing overall. Definitely looking like the real deal.

[Moonliner]

Saturday - Dodgers vs Angels.

The boys in blue had no hits.

The Angles allowed no hits through a full nine innings.

The game was not recorded as "no hitter"

The dodgers won by a score of 1 to 0.

I love this game. (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=kurkjian_tim&id=3465888&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1)

[Strangler Lewis]

And yet the problems with the game is summed up in the sentence "He probably could have gone another inning or two." While there is beauty in the agonizing decision to remove someone pitching a no-hitter for offensive reasons, taking him out because he reached his pitch count limit is just gross. Harvey Haddix is spinning in his grave.

[Ghoulish Delight]

The Angles allowed no hits through a full nine innings.

Actually, to be precise, it was not a full 9 innings, the Angels only pitched in 8 innings (since the Dodgers were the home team and had the lead, they never batted in the 9th). Thus the game does not count as an official no hitter.

[Gemini Cricket]

No hits? Bo-ring! I saw that game... snooze-ola. If ya wanna see hits, fellas, watch football.
:D

Reminds me of Carlin's Baseball and Football sketch (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YphEUa5LPjM).

[Ghoulish Delight]

I can't watch that sketch anymore. During the years I had a season pass to Magic Mountain, they played it incessantly on the TVs in the ride queues. I had it memorized and never ever want to see it again.

[Gemini Cricket]

I can't watch that sketch anymore. During the years I had a season pass to Magic Mountain, they played it incessantly on the TVs in the ride queues. I had it memorized and never ever want to see it again.
You should perform it for us sometime.

I'm going to an Angels baseball game tonight. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are playing the Oakland Athletics. We have good seats for tonight. My friend Cam has season tickets for front row seats over the Angels' dugout. I hope no foul balls come our way, there's no one to hide behind if it's coming too fast to catch. I may be on TV tonight.

[Kevy Baby]

Dodgers looked good tonight. Hiroki Kuroda was one hit away from a perfect game and not a single Braves hitter was able to get up to three balls (so obviously no walks). Also, Angel Berroa made a great play in the ninth that I would have loved to have seen (was only listening on the radio).

So, even though the Dodgers are at less than .500 (.494 to be specific), they are now tied for first place.

[Not Afraid]

The only thing I know about someone named A-Rod is that he's having an affair with Madonna.

[Tref]

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z1/Tref_foto/wang.jpg

[Ghoulish Delight]

one hit away from a perfect game and not a single I started the game late via TiVo. I was skipping through it at a pretty good clip so I could catch up to live and watch the end in HD since our TiVo is not HD. When watching the game like that I tend to miss some of the overall context of what's going on. It took me a few beats to work out why exactly the Dodger Stadium crowd was cheering a double by the Braves.

Realizing he had the perfect game going made Blake Dewitt's sepctacular play in the 7th on Blanco's bunt even more extra awesomer than it already was.

The Dodgers desperately need to make a trade for some starting pitching soon. It was good to see Kuroda at his finest, but their rotation is barely hanging on. It's going to hurt, but they're going to have to make the tough decision and trade one or more of the brigade of awesome young players.

ETA: Oh, and under the heading of, "the defense steps up when the pitcher is pitching well," since when is Angel Berroa able to cover as much ground as he did on that play in the 9th?

[Kevy Baby]

The Dodgers desperately need to make a trade for some starting pitching soon. It was good to see Kuroda at his finest, but their rotation is barely hanging on. It's going to hurt, but they're going to have to make the tough decision and trade one or more of the brigade of awesome young players.I will have to admit that I am not keeping up on the day-to-day as much as I have, but as I was listening to the post-game, there was a lot of discussion about how the Dodger pitching was starting to get into the groove and how the Dodgers were really starting to gel as a "team."

[Ghoulish Delight]

I will have to admit that I am not keeping up on the day-to-day as much as I have, but as I was listening to the post-game, there was a lot of discussion about how the Dodger pitching was starting to get into the groove and how the Dodgers were really starting to gel as a "team."
Yes, a groove where the in the 3 game series with the Giants, the starting pitchers in the two games that they WON went a total of 9 innings. Relievers pitched 11 of the 26 innings.

The starting pitchers are doing better in the innings that they're in there, but they just don't have anyone that's been able to consistently give them more than 5 or 6 innings except Kuroda. That's a recipe for destroying even the best bullpen.

[Moonliner]

It took me a few beats to work out why exactly the Dodger Stadium crowd was cheering a double by the Braves.



Errr??? Wouldn't a double by the braves muck up the perfect game thing? What am I missing here? What was the cheering for?

[Ghoulish Delight]

Errr??? Wouldn't a double by the braves muck up the perfect game thing? What am I missing here? What was the cheering for?Acknowledging and applauding the effort of Kuroda and the fact that he made it 7 perfect innings. Standard appreciative crowd response (usually even for a visiting pitcher) in that situation.

[Moonliner]

Acknowledging and applauding the effort of Kuroda and the fact that he made it 7 perfect innings. Standard appreciative crowd response (usually even for a visiting pitcher) in that situation.

Ahh! They were not cheering for the braves double but for Kuroda.

That makes sense now. Thanks.

[Ghoulish Delight]

And, as if to prove that I know baseball, look what happened last night. 4 stellar innings from Billingsly, only to fall apart in the 5th, requiring 4 more tough innings from the 'pen.

Starts like Kuroda's are few and far between. No one expects 1 hit complete games every day. But damn it'd be nice if they could get 2 games in a row where a starter gets them into the 7th. It just doesn't seem likely with the group they have.

[Kevy Baby]

And, as if to prove that I know baseball, look what happened last night.Yeah, I was thinking the exact same thing last night.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Oh yeah, forgot about Lowe. He's actually been pitching very well but that's gotten lost as he's been a victim of no run support. But his last 4 games have been really impressive. If he and Kuroda can keep that up, that helps. Still need at least one more consistent front-line starter though.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Bloody hell. I post that only to see that the rumor is the Dodgers are looking to trade Lowe for a shortstop?!?!

How does that make any sense. Sure, they've lost Furcal for the season. But they've got Nomar, Maza, and even Berroa is threatening to get his average up over the Mendoza line. With DeWitt and LaRoche acting as more than adequate 3rd base options, they've got plenty of flexibility at SS.

Does the offense need a boost? Hell yes. But there isn't a player out there that's going to get this Dodger offense better than mediocre, they are going to have to rely on pitching from here on out. I don't see how trading your most consistent pitcher away for a position player that you've already got 3 options for improves your team.

Stupid Dodgers.

[Strangler Lewis]

This is probably as good a time as any to sell my Bobby Murcer bat.

More seriously, it's always a drag when the golden boys of my childhood move on.

[Kevy Baby]

Spoilered in case GD is watching tonight's game on TiVo

Who is this Greg Gibson A-Hole?!? Blake was correct that the ejection was Bullshyte. And then to throw out Torre?!?

Hopefully this inspires the Dodgers tonight.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Good for Torre for standing up for his man.

Boo hiss to the crowd for sitting politely watching Ethier pop out. Did the place fill with Angels fans for the evening? WTF. It's the Giants, the Dodgers have put on a clinic of relief pitching and have climbed their way into a game that looked over half way through the 4th inning, and the manager just got tossed. That stadium should have been roaring on that 2-2 pitch, what the hell?! It's the GIANTS people, make some bloody noise!

[Ghoulish Delight]

Oh, and let me add, that's gotta be one of my favorite Vinny ramblings I've heard. "...and an expert in fertilizer." Bless you Vinny.

[Ghoulish Delight]

OMG, Andruw Jones struck out!! What ARE the odds?! :mad:

ETA: Damnit, what the hell?! Silent crowd again. That's pathetic.

[Kevy Baby]

Oh, and let me add, that's gotta be one of my favorite Vinny ramblings I've heard. "...and an expert in fertilizer." Bless you Vinny.That was frickin' hilarious. "And he has switched from horse to bull fertilizer."

[Ghoulish Delight]

Heh, seems I'm not the only one who noticed the comatose crowd:

http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080729&content_id=3218205&vkey=news_la&fext=.jsp&c_id=la

Almost makes me miss Barry. At least he always elicited some freaking emotion from the crowd, even if it was retarded emotion.

Almost.

[Kevy Baby]

Almost makes me miss Barry. At least he always elicited some freaking emotion from the crowd, even if it was retarded emotion.

Almost.Yeah, not so much.

Thanks for the link to the article.

[Moonliner]

Baseball Challenge question....

In a regulation length MLB game what (in theory) is the smallest possible number of pitches an individual pitcher can make to finish a game?
(he has to pitch the entire game, no getting pulled or ejected, etc...)

[Ghoulish Delight]

8. 1 pitch per inning for 8 innings if the pitcher is on the home team.

Here's how - 1st batter in the inning hits the first pitch for a single. Instead of returning to the mound, the pitcher hands the ball to the catcher who stays behind the plate. If, for no good reason, the runner at first tries to steal second, then the catcher tries to throw him out but the next batter interferes, the batter is called out and the runner returns to first. Repeat until there are 3 outs in the inning. 1 pitch, 3 outs.

Realistically the answer is 24. 1 pitch per out for 8 innings by the home team pitcher.

[Moonliner]

8. 1 pitch per inning for 8 innings if the pitcher is on the home team.

Here's how - 1st batter in the inning hits the first pitch for a single. Instead of returning to the mound, the pitcher hands the ball to the catcher who stays behind the plate. If, for no good reason, the runner at first tries to steal second, then the catcher tries to throw him out but the next batter interferes, the batter is called out and the runner returns to first. Repeat until there are 3 outs in the inning. 1 pitch, 3 outs.

Realistically the answer is 24. 1 pitch per out for 8 innings by the home team pitcher.

Sticking to the "realistic" scenario. 24 is not correct. The home team pitcher would have to pitch the top of the ninth for an additional three pitches. (and no, 27 in not correct either)

[Ghoulish Delight]

right, duh, bat 8 pitch 9. Shameful.

Okay, what's your magic for getting 3 outs in under 3 pitches?

[Ghoulish Delight]

right, duh, bat 8 pitch 9. Shameful.

Okay, what's your magic for getting 3 outs in under 3 pitches?

[Moonliner]

It's the away pitcher.

Score of 0 - 0 going into the bottom of the ninth.

The first batter hits a walk off home run on the first pitch.

25 Pitches total. The home team wins and he loses the game 1-0.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Oh bah, I read "win" into your question. Oops.

My answer of "8" still stands.

[Kevy Baby]

In certain circumstances, a game is considered regulation length in as few as five (complete) innings. Using GD's one pitch per inning scenario, it would be 5 pitches. Using the three pitches per inning, it would be 15 pitches.

ETA: Darn it, I'm still incorrect (I too read in that it had to be the winning pitcher). Minimum is 13 pitches.

[Kevy Baby]

My answer of "8" still stands.What answer of zero?

[Ghoulish Delight]

In certain circumstances, a game is considered regulation length in as few as five (complete) innings. Using GD's one pitch per inning scenario, it would be 5 pitches. Using the three pitches per inning, it would be 15 pitches.
Actually in that case it's 12. If the home team is leading after the top of the 5th, it's a regulation game, so the visiting pitcher would not have to pitch the bottom.

[Ghoulish Delight]

What answer of zero?
What answer of zero? ;)




for the record I didn't edit your post. You must have hit "quote" right after I submitted my edit

[Kevy Baby]

Which brings up a question that I have wondered: what is the lowest ACTUAL pitch count a pitcher has ever had in a complete game.

[Kevy Baby]

Actually in that case it's 12. If the home team is leading after the top of the 5th, it's a regulation game, so the visiting pitcher would not have to pitch the bottom.13 - see my edited post (which I added after you quoted - this thread is going too fast).

[Ghoulish Delight]

12. Visitor doesn't need to throw a pitch in the bottom of the 5th.

ETA: Oh, wait, right, the home team needs to score a run. Yeah, 13.

[Gemini Cricket]

The Red Sox were swept by the Angels. They played badly. They deserved to get whomped.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Which brings up a question that I have wondered: what is the lowest ACTUAL pitch count a pitcher has ever had in a complete game.
Greg Maddux owns the 3 lowest complete games pitch counts, the lowest being 78.

[Kevy Baby]

Greg Maddux owns the 3 lowest complete games pitch counts, the lowest being 78.Hmm... I thought it would have been lower.

But thanks for the info.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Hmm... I thought it would have been lower.

But thanks for the info.10 pitches per inning is considered an efficient rate. At 78 pitches for 27 outs, it took Maddux fewer than 3 pitches per out. That's just unreal.

[Kevy Baby]

That is not just great pitching, that is also having a great team backing you up on defense.

[Moonliner]

My answer of "8" still stands.

Technically no since you stated "if the pitcher is on the home team"
Under your scenario you would still fall prey to bat 8 pitch 9.

[Tom]

According to Baseball Almanac (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/boxscore/08101944.shtml), Charley "Red" Barret of the Boston Braves has the record for fewest pitches in a complete game with 58 on August 10th, 1944. The game lasted one hour and fifteen minutes.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Dang, my reading comprehension sucks today. The stats I found on Maddox say "three of the top 6" not "the top three". Yeesh.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Wow, I was keeping busy today. This tiny bit of news managed to slip by me until now...



Manny Ramirez is a Dodger!!!!!

And the price? 1 slumping 3rd basemen who will admittedly be very good at some point (of which the Dodgers literally have a surplus) and a pitching prospect whose accomplishments so far seem to include getting drafted a few years ago. Joe Torre is a damn shrewd businessman.

This season just got waaaaaay more interesting. This has to be the most awkard game of Andruw Jones's life.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Hahah, they've already edited together a Manny Ramirez dramatic trailer, complete with Vin Scully voiceover. :cheers: I love baseball.

[Moonliner]

Did I see that right? Ramirez will be a free agent at the end of this season?

[Kevy Baby]

Damn (tonight's game, not the Manny Ramirez news)

FWIW, Manny will wear #99 in LA

[Ghoulish Delight]

Did I see that right? Ramirez will be a free agent at the end of this season?
Oh, no doubt he's a short-termer. But it'll be fun while it lasts. And they've made an immediate improvement with near-zero cost. They've got such a deep farm system right now that who knows. If Ramirez does what they got him to do (unlike a certain Andruw Jones who shall remain nameless) and make a respectable playoff run, perhaps they'll cash some of that out to sign him.

Plus, if he fails spectacularly to produce, it'll be worth it just to see how much louder the Dodger Stadium crowd boos him than Jones.

[Strangler Lewis]

Re the quiz: batters can be penalized a strike for stepping out of the box without permission or refusing to take their place in the batter's box, etc. Thus, no pitches actually have to be thrown.

Indeed, no strikes would even have to be called if the losing team persisted in going to the plate with altered bats. Then the batters would be declared automatically out.

[LashStoat]

Little's going to be axed.

Dear Mr. Delight,

Isn't that the name of the rabbit that Munchkin has been harassing? I mean it's tough enough for a bunny to put up with bullying...but back in St. Olaf we would never solve the problem that way...

:rolleyes:

Love and hugs,

The Stoat.

[LashStoat]

Dear All,

We need to start a "Save Little And Vilify Evil" campaign. We could save bunnies, whales, gerbils, bacon (?) ...even stoats (though some are obviously beyond saving).

Join the S.L.A.V.E ranks today, and get lucky without a rabbit's foot !!!

[Strangler Lewis]

Wow, I was keeping busy today. This tiny bit of news managed to slip by me until now...



Manny Ramirez is a Dodger!!!!!



On this board, you really should have started a new thread called "We've got ManRam." Or "ManRam is coming, and I'm thrilled."

You know. To lure the bachelors into a sports thread.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Just bought tickets for tonight's game.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Fun game, tough loss. Photos and useless prattle here (http://bacondelight.livejournal.com/).

[Ghoulish Delight]

Man, the Dodgers are so close to being awesome. The pieces are all there. I can understand why Torre and co. are having such a hard time giving up on Jones (as much as I do enjoy booing the bum). The thought of a Dodger lineup with the real Andruw Jones would put fear into the hearts of the NL. How much would Torre love to be kept up at night deciding who should bat 8th; Martin, Blake, or Loney .

Kemp
Martin
Kent
Manny
Jones with his head screwed on
Garciapara
Blake
Loney

That's guarnateed offense.

Now about Brad Penny...

[Kevy Baby]

Funny: I was thinking the same thing while driving home tonight listening to the first couple of innings.

[Ghoulish Delight]

It's official, this season for the Dodgers has entered a death spiral.

Lost to the Nats. Shameful.

[Moonliner]

It's official, this season for the Dodgers has entered a death spiral.

Lost to the Nats. Shameful.

Good lord, I missed that one. Oh the humanity. Dogs sleeping with cat's can't be far off...

[Kevy Baby]

It's official, this season for the Dodgers has entered a death spiral.

Lost to the Nats. Shameful.And to think I got excited about Maddux coming on board.

Granted, the problem lately has been with offense...

[Ghoulish Delight]

What a difference a week makes!

I LOVE watching the Dodgers right now. You gotta believe that they all have side bets with each other in the dugout.

Coincidence that things changed when Kent went down. I bet he's a freaking drill sergeant on that team. He's old, he hurts, and he wants a damn World Series. Torre seems to think that might have something to do with it:

"Maybe the shadow of the big brother is not around," Torre said of Kent's departure. "Maybe it frees them up to do other things. I don't know, but that's what came to mind for me. ... These guys are free spirits, but they have been a little hesitant from time to time."All I know is that I just put my name into the mix for the opportunity to buy playoff tickets and wish Kent a relaxing, comfortable, stress-relieving, recovery. No rush. Big brother can come back for the playoffs when discipline's the thing.

[Kevy Baby]

Eight down followed by eight up. Wow

[Ghoulish Delight]

And a good win yesterday. Shaky pitching, got behind early, but ground it out and took the win. And what an asset having Nomar as a utility man is!

Compared to Arizona that has looked anemic for almost 2 weeks. Yeah, things changed on a dime (and may very well again, though things definitely look to be in the Dodgers favor).

Of course, whichever of the two make the playoffs, they're going to have their work cut out. They'll be playing a tough team in the first round that does NOT want to go out to a team that's barely hovered at .500 all season.

[Kevy Baby]

Starting today, the Magic Number was 1.

Spoilerized in case GD is planning on watching games tonight via TiVo:

Right now, in the bottom of the seventh in St. Louis, the Cards are up 10-3 after a Ryan Ludwick homer (the second homer of the inning!) with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. It is beginning to look like the Dodgers will start their last regular season home game of the season with the NL West Division Title already wrapped up.

[Ghoulish Delight]

I've been following online.

I've got my division series tickets.

Tonight's game should be interesting. I expect there to be a very interesting starting lineup, or at the very least a lot of early substitutions. From here on out, the last 4 regular season games don't mean anything for the Dodgers, time to rest the weary and get the bench players some looks at pitches.

I also expect Greg Maddux to be pitching at the fastest pace of his career. They're gonig to want to get in that locker room and break out the champagne ASAP.

[Kevy Baby]

I've been following online.Game Day Live is SO FREAKING COOL!!!

[Ghoulish Delight]

What's weird is that every once in a while when I go to a team's mlb site, it pops up the MLBtv video feed. I don't know what triggers it, but I ain't complaining.

[Kevy Baby]

What's weird is that every once in a while when I go to a team's mlb site, it pops up the MLBtv video feed. I don't know what triggers it, but I ain't complaining.The D-Backs site had that when I went there, but it was about an inning behind the actual game.

[Ghoulish Delight]

This sucks. The game is at 3:30 today. I've set the TiVo to record it. But I've got to make it to the end of the work day AND through a night of pool league at a bar without having it spoiled. My chances are slim.

[Gemini Cricket]

GD, do you think it will be a Freeway Series this year?

[Ghoulish Delight]

I'm hoping for Dodgers, Red Sox. It'd be awesome for Manny to take down the team he spurned.

[Moonliner]

I'd be on board for Dodgers - Red Sox.

Oh, and we get the game at 6:35pm. Much easier to make it home in time. :D

[Kevy Baby]

Oh, and we get the game at 6:35pm. Much easier to make it home in time. :DSo, how did your local team (Washington Nationals) do this year?

[Moonliner]

So, how did your local team (Washington Nationals) do this year?

Who? I don't know who you are talking about. The only pro team left the city years ago....

[Strangler Lewis]

Who? I don't know who you are talking about. The only pro team left the city years ago....

Do you mean the Senators? Or the Colts, the Bullets or John McGraw's Orioles?

[Ghoulish Delight]

Ugh, my media blackout is going to have to start soon. This is going to be a long rest of the work day.

[Kevy Baby]

I meant to post about this last week when it happened. The Dodgers have now been involved in TWO weird situations this season.

The short of it is: Bengie Molina (of the Giants) is credited with hitting a home run but is NOT given credit for scoring a run.

Huh?

I watched it unfold Saturday night and I am still not sure how anybody could come to this decision. It makes no freakin' sense. Here's how it came about:

Bengie hits a towering drive to right. The ball bounces off of the top of the wall and into play (there was someone on base who scored, but I don't recall who it was). Bengie isn't able to run well, so he is only able to make it to first. Emmanuel Burriss comes out to pinch run for Molina.

Bruce Bochey (Giants manager) comes out to dispute the call, claiming that the ball actually hit the ROOF, which would have made it a home run. After reviewing the play, the umpire changes the call and declares Molina's hit a home run. Here's where things get weird (besides the fact that they are using instant replay in baseball).

Burriss (the pinch runner for Molina) was then determined as being in the game (more specifically, Molina is out). It was then argued by Bochey that since the original call was overturned and Molina's single became a home run, Burriss shouldn't be ruled as actually in play - you aren't going to put in a pinch runner in the middle of a player rounding the bases on a home run.

But no; Burriss was ruled as the player of record for the run scored, even though Molina was the person who hit the home run. Molina still got the homer but did not get credit for scoring the run.

Listening to a incredulous Vin Scully try to figure out the logic (or more specifically pointing out the lack of logic) was amusing.

And I don't even care that the call went against the Dodgers or that it went in favor of the Giants (LA already had the NL West title locked up). The 15 minute delay was ridiculous!

ETA: one story on the above (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=280926126&prov=ap).

[Ghoulish Delight]

Yeah, that's patently retarded. The Angels played the game under protest. I'm guessing that the league will review it and change the call.

[Kevy Baby]

Yeah, that's patently retarded. The Angels played the game under protest. I'm guessing that the league will review it and change the call.That was awful nice of the Angels to protest the game on behalf of the Giants :)

(that's two amusing typos in a row).

[Ghoulish Delight]

Oops. Molina still equals Angels in my head.

[BarTopDancer]

Not hockey :(

[Kevy Baby]

Not hockey :(No, we're talking about real sports.

:evil:

[Ghoulish Delight]

Grand slam! Grand slam!

So I delayed going to the bar as long as I could and then somehow kept my eyes averted from the TVs for the inning and a half left in the game when I got there.

So when I left the only thing I knew was that it went a full 9 innings, which means I knew that either the Dodgers won or they lost it on a walk off in the bottom of the 9th.

Yay for winning! Although the over-analytical side of me had kinda hoped they lost. I will be shocked if they win BOTH games in Chicago. Since we have tickets for Satuday's game in LA and assuming they're only going to win one, I'd have hoped it's the one just before the game we're seeing so they have momentum.

But a win's a win and now maybe we'll get to see them go for the sweep!

[Ghoulish Delight]

:D :D :D :D :D :D

I feel sorry for Zambrano....a little.

[CoasterMatt]

Oh, how I would love to see the Dodgers vs. Red Sox.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Seriously.

[Ghoulish Delight]

By far the most important play of the night was Furcal's at-bat in the 2nd inning. Not only for keeping the inning alive and getting Martin to the plate, but for the fact that it was on a bases loaded drag bunt for a single. No more questions about whether he's healthy enough to use all his abilities after that!

[Ghoulish Delight]

Sweep!

[Strangler Lewis]

Manny should win NL MVP.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Hard case to make when he played less than half the season in the NL, even with his impact.

And as far as the post season, Loney is clearly the MVP of the Dodgers series.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Crap.

On the plus side, erase one uncharacteristic error and the Dodgers win that game. They can't be too upset with that.

[CoasterMatt]

Crap.

On the plus side, erase one uncharacteristic error and the Dodgers win that game.

You mean leaving Lowe in there after the 5th inning? ;)

[Kevy Baby]

Crap.Wow. I am so tired, I forgot that there was a game tonight.

[Gemini Cricket]

You mean leaving Lowe in there after the 5th inning? ;)
Yeah, they should have pulled him.
Besides, he was sweating like a pig. The poor guy was melting away.
:D

[Moonliner]

Crap.

On the plus side, erase one uncharacteristic error and the Dodgers win that game. They can't be too upset with that.

Or if Manny had just run rather than standing there and admiring his work they would probably have had at least one more run....

[Strangler Lewis]

LEAVE MANNY RAMIREZ ALONE!!!

Just leave him alone!

[Ghoulish Delight]

Or if Manny had just run rather than standing there and admiring his work they would probably have had at least one more run....
Meh, Manny would not have been able to drag his sagging butt around for a triple.

[Kevy Baby]

WTF?!? Do the Dodgers not want to make it past the NLCS?

[Gemini Cricket]

Dodgers are out. It's Philly 5-1!

[Ghoulish Delight]

So let me get this straight. Elimination game, and you leave Nomar Garciapara, Jeff Kent, and Greg Maddux out of the starting lineup.

Chad Billingsley has been stellar this season, don't get me wrong, but Greg Freaking Maddux? Like he's better out of the 'pen? Cripes.

And I know they want to keep the geezers fresh for later, but now there is no later! Start at least one of them.

Grrrrrr.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Quoting from another thread to avoid further derail of that thread:

As an example, I'm watching football with my 9 years old son yesterday, and a commerical comes on for the movie about two friends that makes a porno. My son says "What's a porno?". Like I want to explain to my 9 year old son what a porno is? But I suppose the inappropriateness of commercials during family viewing time is another issue....just making a point about how times certainly are changing.

The movie is "Zach and Miri Make a Porno", Kevin Smith's latest film. Fox got a ton of flack during the first game of the world series for running the ads. They pulled them from the 2nd game. By the third game they were running a version where the title was shown as simply "Zach and Miri".

I relate all of this because of the irony of that happening, meanwhile once the game went into rain delay/postponement last night, KTTV, Los Angeles's local Fox affiliate, threw Married With Children on instead. Hahahahahah.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Congrats to the Phillies. I was impressed tonight. It could not have been easy to prepare for a 3-run sprint like that. What a different mindset it must be to come in and immediately have to compete without the comfort of knowing you might have a few innings to warm up, get loose, look at some pitches and figure the pitcher out. They came out and looked fired up in that "6th" inning and kept it going. Nice job.

But I also gotta give credit to Baldelli. That was one of the most amazing homerun swings I've ever seen. Even at full speed live I didn't think it had any chance of going out it was such an awkard swing with the ball up and in. In slow-mo replay, it was even more amazing. That was unreal reaction time and strength to put that ball over the fence.

[Strangler Lewis]

Given how long these games have become, I could almost support four inning regulation games. However, I imagine they'd still be bloated by starters who would only go 2 1/3 innings, an endless series of ineffective ooh-so-scary chinbeards in between and a 10 million a year closer who would come in to get the last strike.

[Moonliner]

Beer sales would plummet.

[Kevy Baby]

Given how long these games have become, I could almost support four inning regulation games. However, I imagine they'd still be bloated by starters who would only go 2 1/3 innings, an endless series of ineffective ooh-so-scary chinbeards in between and a 10 million a year closer who would come in to get the last strike.Okay, so Strangler Lewis is not a baseball fan...

Beer sales would plummet.So; how did your local team do this year?

[Strangler Lewis]

I am a fan of all major sports. However, developments in the game--or in the culture--can cause them to go to sh*t as pro basketball and heavyweight boxing have. You can't tell me that the rise of the closer, the set-up man, starters who only go five innings and the longer time between pitches have made baseball more watchable. Nor have the tough-guy chinbeards, mohawks and "cowboy up" nonsense made baseball players more worthy of being boyhood heroes in my book.

[Gemini Cricket]

Totally missed out on the game last night. I was busy turning a friend's yard into a cemetery.
:D

[Moonliner]

So; how did your local team do this year?

Beer sales went through the roof. Apparently, depressed people are heavier drinkers.

[Kevy Baby]

You can't tell me that the rise of the closer, the set-up man, starters who only go five innings and the longer time between pitches have made baseball more watchable.As a fan of strategies, this isn't necessarily a bad thing in my book. While I don't necessarily like how it extends the game, the increase in specialization has not been a distraction for me.Nor have the tough-guy chinbeards, mohawks and "cowboy up" nonsense made baseball players more worthy of being boyhood heroes in my book.I'm not paying attention to what the players have on their face when I watch baseball.

Beer sales went through the roof. Apparently, depressed people are heavier drinkers.Did they ever figure out a parking strategy?

[Moonliner]

Did they ever figure out a parking strategy?

Yes. The strategy is that fans are expected to use public transportation (aka the metro). It fits well with the drink more beer philosophy.

Attendance was way way way off projections for the new stadium (even allowing for the craptastic team).

Family attendance fell the most, and that's a bad group to lose. I blame the parking issue, the team is blind to that or at least won't admit it's a problem.

[Strangler Lewis]

As a fan of strategies, this isn't necessarily a bad thing in my book. While I don't necessarily like how it extends the game, the increase in specialization has not been a distraction for me.

Joe Madden's having his right fielder play infield to maximize the chance of a force at home was an interesting strategy. Pinch-hitting for your catcher--or your starting pitcher--or taking a big bat out of the line-up for a late inning defensive replacement are interesting strategies. They are interesting to the viewer because they can backfire in dramatic ways. Lefty against lefty is not interesting because if it fails, so what, that happens, and it's not worth the ten minutes spent on the conference and the pitching change.

[QUOTE=Kevy Baby;249796]I'm not paying attention to what the players have on their face when I watch baseball.[QUOTE]

What do you look at when they show a close-up of the pitcher's face before every pitch?

[Alex]

90% of the my interaction with baseball is still on the radio or in the stands, rarely do I watch it on TV. So I rarely see the players clearly.

But when I do, I honestly don't care what their facial hair (or any other hair) situation is and at least to me has no bearing on their hero worthiness: which is, regardless of those things, zero. I don't think I've ever thought "that guy would be a great player if only he'd shave every once in a while."

Emotionally, I would love a return to the era of complete games and four man (or even three) rotations. But that ship has sailed.

[Gemini Cricket]

Red Sox, Papelbon... scary eyes, intense stare... creepy.

[Kevy Baby]

I'm not paying attention to what the players have on their face when I watch baseball.What do you look at when they show a close-up of the pitcher's face before every pitch?Like Alex, much of my baseball experience is on the radio (though less than Alex's 90%). But even when watching, I never really notice facial hair/etc. I may look at his expression, or make note of how tired they are looking (things which have an impact on the game) but not their individual look (which doesn't have an impact on the game).

Yeah, I might see some of the periphery stuff (Manny's hair was a mild distraction), but for me it neither detracts nor adds to the game; it just is what it is.

[SacTown Chronic]

Rickey! Rickey! Rickey!

Rickey Henderson 94.8%(bastards!) first-ballot HoF.


Rickey don't like it when Rickey don't get 100% of Rickey's Hall of Fame votes.