• foul tip

    LATd myself by a few minutes, which isn’t unusual.  So…

    A while back, in response to one of Jon’s past postings about his Grandma Sue I mentioned my own 100+ mother and the apparent similarities between the two.  I’m pretty sure they would have liked each other.

    And as I’m pretty sure I said first time, I’m not quite as far along myself as Mom’s age may make me sound. l’m an only, and I came along very late.

    If DTers will indulge me a bit I’ll close the circle–

    Mom passed two months short of 101, a few days before Thanksgiving 2010.  In years just prior, at an age where any serious medical issue would have claimed most people, she bounced back from several, leading me to nickname her “Timex” after the old watch commercial..”takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’.”   Fight as she would and did, complications from a fractured femur were too much–though the femur actually had begun to show signs of healing.  She read a lot and was very sharp until almost the very end.

    Think about what these two ladies experienced….two world wars, the depression, man on the moon, the cold war,cures for many diseases that claimed many of their peers, conversion to indoor plumbing in Mom’s case, the explosion of knowledge, technological advances, and much more.  Halley’s comet appeared twice on its 76-year rendezvous with Earth while both were here.  Both were very small children when Titanic sank.

    Mom taught 34 years, mostly elementary grades, earning a reputation as tough but fair.  A campaign to get her 100 birthday cards on her 100th in Jan. 2010 resulted in a flood of not just letters but some outright testimonials, a few saying she was their inspiration to become teachers.  In her quiet way she had positive influence way beyond anything she ever dreamed.

    In her last days in the hospital she would do things like compliment nurses on their hair and clothes and ask how their day was going.  She drew a crowd at times even though they and probably she knew the end was near.  “Remarkable” was a word I heard more than once about her.

    As I think I said in my first mention of the similarities between Grandma Sue and my Mom, both were Grand Old Ladies–very high praise in these parts and in those, too, I feel sure.

    The world is better because both lived.  May the same be said of all of us when we’re gone.

    • http://underdog.typepad.com/ underdog

      Thanks for sharing that sweet, moving story, Mr. Tip. :)  Sounds like an amazing lady.

    • Anonymous

      Beautiful words foul tip.   Congrats on having someone that important for so long.

  • Anonymous

    we should call this “The Return of the Juans”.  Or, perhaps, “The Disappearance of the Ellises”.

    and sellars gets a start.  I have been looking forward to that.

  • Anonymous

    So far I find myself uninterested in Kennedy and Hairston, curious about how bad Uribe might get, and bewildered about Loney’s swing.  Loney has, thank goodness, not reverted to crowding the plate that I think plagued him in the first half of last year but has yet planted his front foot and turned on a pitch that would pull a ball to the right side.

    His swing looks like Mike Scocias (sp) use to look like and while it was hard to get a fast ball past Mike, he rarely hit the long ball because he didn’t plant his front foot and turned his hips much.

    Loney, please resurrect your swing from late last season.

    • Anonymous

      If anything Loney has already saved at least two Dee Gordon throwing errors.

  • Anonymous

    Game #4, and Donnie has already given all the non-pitchers a start.

    • http://www.linkmeister.com/wordpress/ Linkmeister

       PVLs. They need lots of rest. ;)

  • Anonymous

    The Dodgers don’t have that deep of a bench and the non-starters aren’t much better or worse than the starters they would replace.

  • Anonymous

    I would like to wish everyone a beautiful Sunday…wherever you may be.  May it be a day filled with laughter and memories.

    And this certainly made me laugh, even if it is for all the wrong reasons:

    “James Loney .111, Juan Uribe .111″

  • Anonymous

    Interesting game in Baltimore by Jason Hammel.

    Who is on the Orioles now. I did not know this. Nor did I know Jeremy Guthrie was on the Rockies.

  • Anonymous

    The game in Baltimore is no longer interesting. Justin Morneau had a leadoff double in the 8th.

  • http://underdog.typepad.com/ underdog

    Good luck to the Dodgers in this House Money game! :)   Seriously, I want them to win as always but don’t remember feeling this un-stressed about a regular season game in quite some time. I know the Pads don’t want to start 0-4 so odds are in their favor. But let’s get our hands on those brooms, shall we?

    • Anonymous

      As they account for seven of our first 10 games, we need to stockpile wins. We won’t know for a while yet how well we’ll do against the better clubs, and the Padres figure to get better as they get healthier. So, by all means, broom on!

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/WJIZD64EG2GE77HFFMKC6EBDRI zjh

    Had great tickets to todays game with my best bud….but felt too guilty going without my wife and kids on Easter.

    It was a tough call, but I’m glad I stayed home.  I’ll be there in spirit.  Go Blue!

  • Anonymous

    What happened to Vinny? He isn’t on the radio :(
    Did they change policy that Vinny does tv and radio the first three innings to Steiner tortures us for 9 full innings?

  • KT

    Maybin was caught off 1st

  • KT

    Harang is not getting ahead of the batters…at this rate it’s going to be a tough or short game for him

    • KT

      We need a DP here

  • Anonymous

    Here we go again…!

  • Anonymous

    Looks like typical get-away day swinging early in the count for the Dodgers.

  • Anonymous

    I intensely dislike the Madres’ camouflage jerseys.

    • KT

      I on the other hand being prior military like them intensely

      • Anonymous

         I have nothing against camouflage on military uniforms, but they don’t belong on baseball uniforms – especially since the Madres are not playing on a sandlot.

    • Anonymous

      I have to agree with you there WBBsAs

  • KT

    Much better inning

  • Anonymous

    I don’t want to criticize Donnie (or anyone, this early in the season), but this is the fourth different line-up in four different games.  Is there really such a degress of uncertainty about who should be playing?

    • Anonymous

      Mattingly’s thinking is often explained at dodgers.com (or here or at tbla or at other blogs). Loney’s sitting in game 2 was explained by his being 1/7 with 4 K’s vs Luebke. Game 3 line-up was explain as getting LHH in against the RHP plus getting some older players a day off which Mattingly made clear he views with increased importance compared with last season. This latter principle explains why Mark Ellis is sitting today while playing the back-up catcher in a day game after a night game is, at present, a MLB truism. Mattingly did say, at some point yesterday, much to both my approval and amazement, that catcher Ellis might start today. I have no knowledge, at present, of how the final decision was made. Approval merely because it showed an open mind. I like a manager who thinks about the line-up on a game-to-game basis; but putting that aside, there is no uncertainty that has been revealed by the Dodgers about who the starting 8 are.There is a depth chart at dodgers.com. 

      • Anonymous

        Mike_tink–I may have been a bit flip.  I do understand (broadly) Mattingly’s thinking, and I know I can find details in the places you mention (personal timing prevented me from checking on Loney’s particular record against Luebke).  And I realize that there is no question about the starting 8.  But four different line-ups in the first four games makes it seem that way.

        I support giving some extra rest to the older players (espescially since the offense depends on Ellis and Uribe simply being not bad) and resting the catcher (I like AJ Ellis, but it’s not like Mike Piazza where we need him in the lineup every day).

        But there are some pieces of the thinking that I disagree with. Sitting Loney because he was 1 for 7 against Luebke seems silly. It’s far too few at-bats to really have a good idea of how he will hit him (let’s say Loney goes 2-3 that day, and then ends up a .300 hitter against Luebke–does that mean he’s a great hitter against Luebke?)  And frankly, we need to see if Loney can hit left-handed hitting well.  I love James Loney (my brother and I even wrote a song for him), but if he cannot do it, we are going to need to make a change at first base.  Something that Magic, et al., will have to do by July.  It’s not like Luebke and Clayton Richards are Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels.  If you want to sit Loney against those guys, or flip Rivera and Ethier against the second or third best left-handers in the league (we know the best), I understand that.  But this really is the ideal time and the ideal opponent to see if what we have can work.

        Fundamentally I disagree with a philosophy that sees such game-to-game change in the line-up.  If something is not working, I get it.  But so far, so good.  I think you can over-manage a team.  If everything works out, I think the team is going to be better if Gordon-Ellis-Kemp-Ethier-Rivera-Loney-Uribe-Ellis are the same line-up more like 3 out of every 4 days (rather than 1 out of every 4 days).

        All that being said, I do expect to generally see a little more consistency.  There tends to be a push in opening week to get everyone some playing time and some starts.

        • Anonymous

          Thanks for answering. Perhaps I could have been more clear on Loney sitting vs Luebke. Mattingly emphasized the 4 strike-outs in 8 PA in his comments as reported at dodgers.com. Also, perhaps you did not know LHH hit 157 against Luebke last year.

          • Anonymous

            Again, I did not follow the details, but I understand that basic issue.  But my point still holds.  If Loney goes 2-3, he goes from being a .143 hitter against Luebke to being a .300 hitter!  Does that mean he goes from being bad to being border-line great?  I think it really means there is just too small of a sample size.

            I did not know Luebke’s BAA against LHH.  But if you look at his career numbers, there is a smaller gap–.154 vs. .228 in 2011, but .186 v. .234 career.  Of course, he’s only pitched a few innings before or after 2011 (and he is now .500 against lefties this season).  It’s just too small a sample to really explain this.

            But my point is larger.  If you can’t trust James Loney to hit against Corey Luebke, what left-handed pitcher can you trust him to hit against?  And if you can’t trust him to hit left-handed pitchers, then (sadly) we need a new first baseman.  But the only way to really know if Loney’s second-half was a blip or a resurgence is to put him out there every day and see how he does over the course of a long stretch.  If it come May, and Mattingly thinks he needs to sit Loney against Corey Luebke, then Ned Colletti needs to either trade for Luebke or get e new first baseman.

          • Anonymous

            You are under valuing Luebke esp. vs LHH. He moved into the SD rotation at the end of last June.He held all hitters to a 218 BA, K’ing 111 in less than 101 innings. Yet you write as if he is one of the worst LH starters in MLB “ If you can’t trust James Loney to hit against Corey Luebke, what left-handed pitcher can you trust him to hit against?” If I tried I could name at least 20 I think. Brian Matusz comes to my mind first. 
            What exactly would you have Colletti offer for a LH starting pitcher who probably makes ML minimum and who isn’t arbitration eligible until at least 2014? Jansen might be enough if SD wanted relief pitching- in other words that part of your comment is ridiculous. As far as getting a new first baseman come May if Loney isn’t hitting by then, my question is how? Neither Albuquerque nor Chattanooga have professional first baseman while Gordon needs a skilled first baseman which imo Loney is. 
            Putting Loney out there every day one strategy but so is sitting him against a tough LHP who has stuck him out 4 out of 8 PA. I have no problem with Mattingly thinking in detail about every game line-up esp since he gives the press specific cogent reasons for his choices.

          • Anonymous

            I’m a bit out of order here, because I can’t reply ot the last message.  But this is intended as a reply to that.

            I may be undervaluing Luebke.  But even Kershaw after that amount of time in the majors (roughly equivalent to the start of the 2009 season), I would think of as the same way.  I am not writing like Luebke as if he is one of the worst LH starters in MLB–but that he is a sophomore pitcher on the weakest team in the NL West.  It’s possible that he turns out to be a great pitcher (see Kershaw), but I think you have to view him for what he is now.  As I said originally, I don’t want to criticize Mattingly, and I appreciate that he explains the logic of his moves (it’s a change of pace).  But I disagree with it.  Using limited stats on a sophmore starter to justify sitting Loney seems thin to me.  I would be happier if he said that he thought Luebke was developing into one of the best LH starters in the game.  Even if you could not back that up, I would at least understand that.

            I was being hyperbolic about acquiring Luebke or another first baseman.  Luebke is going to be in the Padres system for several years, of course.  But my point is that if he is the caliber of pitcher where you sit your starting first baseman against, then he is the caliber of pitcher that we want.  As for Loney–I don’t know from where a replacement may come, and I am hoping that we don’t need one.  Maybe Jerry Sands pans out.  Maybe there is a deal out there to be had.  But right now, I think it is still worth seeing if Loney can do the job.  If we think he needs to sit against unproven left-handed pitchers, then we need to do something else.

            I do want to take one exception to you post, because there is a contradiction there.  If we need Loney defensively in order to save Dee Gordon, then we need him regardless of who is pitching for the other team.  That suggests, perhaps, that what we need is a better hitter elsewhere on the team (say, trading for David Wright), and hit Loney 8th.  I don’t (entirely) agree with that solution, but if you need Loney for his defense, you cannot substitute Loney (potential gold glover) for Juan Rivera (a converted subpar left-fielder).

  • KT

    Dee extends the inning where Harang could have used the help…now he walks the next guy and throws a mistake pitch where he luckily got away with it

    • KT

      the mistake costs us another run

  • Anonymous

    Steinered again! Unfortunately, my video feed isn’t working in San Pedro de Atacama.

  • KT

    good hustle dre
     
    Come on Juan

    • KT

      Nice juan
       
      Come on James

  • KT

    that was scary…glad we turned the DP

  • Anonymous

    According to Steiner, Clayton Richard was batting with the bases loaded and nobody out, and then grounded into an inning-ending DP.

  • Anonymous

    One pitch, instant relief. Gotta hope the other guy runs out of gas, though.

  • KT

    Matty!!!

    • KT

      There’s still time to win this one

    • Anonymous

      Breaks the spell, we’re back in this one. Keep the brooms handy.

  • Anonymous

    Steiner sounded as if he wanted to call that one a catch by Maybin.

    • KT

      Maybin should have caught it…If he got back to the wall more quickly he could have jumped and snagged it…It cleared by maybe a foot and a half…the wall stopped maybin from jumping

  • http://www.linkmeister.com/wordpress/ Linkmeister

     WBBsAs, what do you do there? Are you an archaeologist?

    • Anonymous

       I’m just visiting for a few days, though I did my M.A. thesis on llama and alpaca herders farther north, in Lauca National Park.  I have some longtime friends here, but now I write guidebooks and other travel stuff – see http://www.southernconetravel.com/

      • http://www.linkmeister.com/wordpress/ Linkmeister

         Ah. Hard work in interesting places.

  • KT

    Nice K lindblom

  • KT

    Well at least Juan is hitting the ball better today

    • KT

      nothing out of the infield that inning….terrible

  • Anonymous

    Its one of those situations. I didn’t realize it, but Richard is a long time Dodger killer. It goes well beyond luck, at least statistically. The stress he went through pitching to two batters with Dee on first may have got to him a bit.Hope it happens again, Dee apparently can be a game changer.

  • KT

    Kennedy swung at ball 4 to end the inning with Kemp on deck

  • KT

    oh well…terrible game by the pitchers

  • Anonymous

    at least he didn’t walk him.  ouch.

  • Jibin Park

    Well, it looks like the Dodgers won’t go undefeated this season….

  • Anonymous

    That’s Headley.

    • KT

      0-12 then a GS

    • Anonymous

      oops.  I rather assumed that this was a “Blazing Saddles” reference . . .

  • Anonymous

    i couldn’t help my self so I looked up Dee’s minor league numbers (he’s legit and still very green) the only question as Vinnie pointed out is that hopefully he can hold up for an entire season. Another thing that impressed me is that he really seems to know his roll…

  • Anonymous

    Put the brooms back in the closet.

    The first two games seemed to confirm my hopes that our star power would be even better than last year. The second two seem to suggest that our role players need to improve quickly if we want to contend for a playoff spot. Fortunately, there are 158 more games remaining in which to accomplish that task.

  • http://www.linkmeister.com/wordpress/ Linkmeister

    Coffey and Elbert need to get untracked in a hurry. We need trustworthy arms out in the bullpen, and so far they haven’t shown they have them.

    • Anonymous

       Obviously I have seen get untracked before and knew what it meant even though right now the idiom makes no sense to me esp. in the case of Coffey and Elbert, in fact get on track seems to make more sense. One dictionary dated it from 1939. 

  • Anonymous

    The Padres home runs are not chippies, our home runs seem to bearly go over the wall. yikes!

    • KT

      That ball was very low to put out of the park

  • KT

    DRE!!!!

    • Anonymous

      …hits the game-tying… oh, wait – never mind.

  • http://twitter.com/wpoon91 Westley Poon

    Anyone see the end of the Angels game? Men on 1st and 2nd with no outs in the top 9th, Royals up 7-3. They brought Broxton in and he struck out the side: Hunter, Wells, Morales.

    • Anonymous

      And I believe he also got the save yesterday.

    • Anonymous

      Good for Brox. I will not second-guess why the Dodgers let him leave, but I hope he gets comeback of the year.

      • Anonymous

        High heat (97 mph) got two of them and the third with slider in the dirt.

  • Anonymous

    Competition gets a little tougher April 17th,18th and 19th.

    • Anonymous

      the pirates just took two of three from the phillies.  the competition could get tougher tuesday.

  • Anonymous

    on the upside, a late inning collapse at AZ leaves the giants 0-3.  on the downside, the same collapse leaves the dbacks 3-0.

    we can pick our poison, I suppose, but it’s always a good thing when SF loses, especially when it probably hurt a bit.

    • Anonymous

       Buster Posey is following Bochy’s advice and wimping out around the plate. Tonight, he cost them the game.

      • Anonymous

        yeah, I think he flinched, too.  I can certainly understand it, but I think he flinched.

        • Anonymous

          Discretion is the better part of valor

          • Anonymous

             Plenty of Gnatfans think he’s too timid to play the position any more.

  • Anonymous

    Uribe is actually outhitting Loney!  Is that a surprise or was that expected?  Or is it irrelevant?  Or is it laughable?

    • Anonymous

      Its early.  But, after 4 games last year both were hitting .133.  Uribe peaked at .256 on April 29, at which point Loney was at .209.

      • Anonymous

        You are right Bob it is early. A lot more baseball to play. But what I sarcastically meant to say was that. Uribe will only outhit someone who has a .000 batting avarage.

        • Anonymous

          Got it!  But wish I had gotten it earlier.  Looking at Loney’s game logs during most of the early going last year was quite depressing.

  • Anonymous

    So the Dodgers are about twice as valuable as Instagram it seems.

  • Anonymous

    Wondering….

  • Onlyatriple

    brother and sister DT readers, I have two tickets for opening day that I would gladly sell at cost to you.  They are field level, section 241 CL, near the front row.  It comes to about $103 per seat.  I went suddenly from no seats to extra seats.   Not sure how to communicate about this, but if you can figure out a safe way to contact me, I would be happy to sell it to you.  

  • Anonymous

    The list of invited guests for tomorrow’s ceremony (per Dodgers.com) does not include Koufax. Was he not available?

    • http://www.dodgerthoughts.com/ Jon Weisman

       I can’t imagine any other conclusion could be drawn.

  • http://underdog.typepad.com/ underdog

    Further evidence that the early season stats may not reflect year-long success, I give you the Giants, whose offense won’t average this many runs, and who got a shutout in Denver from Barry Zito today for their first win.  This may mean the Rox are even worse than I thought, however. 

  • Anonymous

    4 runs surrendered and 42 pitches thrown in Yu Darvish’s first MLB inning.

  • http://www.dodgerthoughts.com/ Jon Weisman

    NPUT