• Anonymous

    Those of you dreading my idiotic posts of the past month should be a little concerned that me and Donnie B have the same lineup written down… Except Trenaor/AJ in an ideal world, of course.

    • Anonymous

      Don’t demean yourself, and don’t let the rest of us do it either. We simply have differences of opinion.

    • Anonymous

      You’ve been funny today. 
      This line-up was easy though all righties except Ethier vs the LHP; Treanor over Ellis because Ellis is 1 for 6 with a K and a GDP vs Miley plus he had caught 6 games in a row and also Treanor catches Capuano quite often. Given that Mattingly will not bat Cruz second as yet, the only question was the order of  Hairston and Mark in the first 2 spots.

      • Anonymous

         Perhaps I read too much into the Jerry over Shane choice, Terry makes a good point downthread.  Maybe a true fan can navigate Shane from BUR through southern glendale and get him to the church on time.  Any real dodger fans in the Glendale PD?

  • Anonymous

    Those headshots are something.  Of those, we could field a very babyfaced 5 of a starting 9 right now.  Can’t believe we’ve had those guys that long.

    • Anonymous

       Kind of a reverse Jenny Craig before/after – most of them are much heavier now.

  • Anonymous

    Any idea when Victorino is going to be in the lineup…  doesn’t look like he is as anxious to get here as Ramirez was…..

    • Anonymous

      Shane is a good 7th inning bat with the right pitcher matchup versus a given roogy/loogy type.  Great pinch-runner, too.  I’ll be impressed if Donnie keeps him from starting for a bit.  That would be a bit of the alpha-male kind of management he badly needs to finally show, almost forty years later.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Terry-Pruett/1707390003 Terry Pruett

      Philly is in Washington DC today. If the trade was finalized at about 12 EDT, it might have been a challenge for him to take care of any personal business and then get a flight that would reach LA by 6 or 6:30 PDT. Hanley was in Florida, had to move only one time zone away to St. Louis, and he had more notice. It’s actually fairly common that a player who is traded misses the first game.

      • Anonymous

        Hard to argue with facts like these.  Do we know the move to put him on the 25 man yet?

  • Anonymous

    The Fillies are still having a Hunter Pence Bobblehead Night promotion on August 21.  :)

    http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/hunter-pence-traded-giants-hunter-pence-bobblehead-day-183931908–mlb.html

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Terry-Pruett/1707390003 Terry Pruett

      Pence always kind of reminded me of a living, breathing bobblehead.

      • Anonymous

        No doubt – guy exudes awkwardness – wether he’s running, hitting, or just standing still – looking at him play ball reminds me of a deer or horse shortly after it’s taken it’s 1st breath and tries to stand – dude seems proportionally off.

        • Anonymous

          Thank you for putting that into words. I knew I didn’t like him but I couldn’t figure out why.

    • SteelMohawk

      I am just glad we don’t have to watch hi take warm up swings every night.

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

    I believe Victorino will suit up Wednesday. 

  • Anonymous

    He’s not nearly so weaselly looking in that photo.  Maybe Philadelphia does that to a person.

    I hope he wears #80 as a Dodger for old time’s sake.   

  • Anonymous

    When all is said and done, Dodgers got two fairly talented relievers, a stud infielder, and one weasel, all without giving up Carlos-Santana-esque prospects (we can argue whether Martin was such).  As long as Zach Lee is not the PTBNL for Victorino, I’d have to give Ned a pretty good grade on this midseason.

    • Anonymous

      If H Ramirez keeps hitting 2-run jacks in SF, sure.

      And if B Belt keeps on playing like a worse version of our 1b, I’ll guess Ned gets a C+, not like he has much control over that.

      • Anonymous

        I’m surprised the Gnats didn’t dump Belt for bullpen help, which they desperately need. Of course, there may just not be much of a market for him.

        • Anonymous

          What happened to their other lefty Pill?

          • Anonymous

            Pill is 829 OPS for the year in Fresno.

            Hell of a lot better than whiteside’s fresno ’12 line, incidentally.

          • Anonymous

             But Whiteside (unlike Posey) can catch.

        • Anonymous

          is this post serious? Belt is 24 yo. The Dodgers have 1 position player at AAA younger than Belt. Belt has fine minor league numbers, makes ML minimum and has options; no ML team would give up on a player like that so easily. 
          What would a package of Sands,SVS,and IDJjr bring? 

          • Anonymous

             Belt is clearly in over his head. AAAA-minus player.

          • Anonymous

            That has nothing to do with your obviously ridiculous suggestion that you were surprised the Giants didn’t give up on him

    • Anonymous

        Hanley fell into our lap; other teams felt they made better offers for him in their own opinion of course but could not take on his full salary. At present aside from Hanley we gave up 2 players for Victorino and 2 players for a player to replace one of the players we gave up for Victorino. Victorino and League are rentals who based on their 2012 performance to date are overpaid. I do not give a good grade for that mixture; check back in October if you wish

  • Anonymous

    “#80″ – has Jerry Rice….And, now…..”Shane Victoinoooooooooooooooooooooo!” 

  • Anonymous

    Ned is on 570 right now.  He’s been working with the Cubs to get Dempster for 2 months.  Cubs were asking high to start and never relented.  Ned had players he wasn’t willing to deal and tried to make something else work, but the Cubs wouldn’t change their stance.

    • Anonymous

      Kudos to Ned for sticking to his guns.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jim-Hitchcock/1676059435 Jim Hitchcock

    Thought it was pretty neat when Misty May said `Go Dodgers!’ after her game last night.

  • Anonymous

    So do the Dodgers have to make a move upon finalizing the trade, which I assume has been done because of the deadline, or do they only have to do it once Victorino’s in the game?  

    In other words, will the – ahem – odd man out be in uniform tonight or not?

    • Anonymous

       If you mean Uribe, he was rocking the blue hoodie during the SF series, at least during the night game.  So, not really in uniform as of a a few days ago.

    • Anonymous

      Normally, any roster moves are announced before a game, not in the middle of a game.  I don’t know whether they can or can’t be done in the middle of a game, though.

      As noted above, Victorino probably can’t make it in time to be in tonight’s game.

      • Anonymous

        Correct.  He won’t be in until tomorrow morning.  So I guess I’m still wondering if the roster move has to be made now, or if it can wait until tomorrow.

        • Anonymous

          No reason to play a man short until the short man arrives tomorrow. 

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

    I didn’t realize until now that there was a day game tomorrow. 

    • Anonymous

      Without violating any rule…it’s a businessman’s special.

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

    Uribe has one plate appearance since the Ramirez trade. 

    • Anonymous

       One too many.

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

         He’s batting 1.000 since the trade!

      • Anonymous

        He pinch hit for Belisario with 2 outs in the 10th inning in the hope, I assume, that he would smash a pitch with one of his flailing swings. It was a perfectly reasonable choice.

    • Anonymous

      With both Oakland and the Yankees needing infielders, why is it we never heard his name even rumored. You’d think Ned would have been on the horn to them right away…

  • Anonymous

    Donnie2X has to be pretty happy with what he has to work with vs. about 10 days 
    ago.

    I would have been worried about the pitching prospects we lost, Eo, Linblom, and Martin given pitching was the only strength in our thin org. talent. But the new ownership seems willing and is already building the system through international free agents and should use the draft well.

  • Anonymous

    “PTBNL” – Player To Be Named Later…
    …..
    Are there any great baseball stories / anecdotes / controversies, etc…about any PTBNL’s?

  • Anonymous

    Will our new reliever be in uniform tonight?

    • Anonymous

      he is on the roster unlike Victorino

  • Anonymous

    Bills looks like he’s on the way to the lockup

    • Anonymous

      I hope you mean he is locking up batters and not letting in any runs and not that he did anything stupid that would require he be locked up.

      • Anonymous

        I meant that in that particular photo his face looks so serious, he looked like he had just been pulled over by the police (sorry to worry you Noah!)

        • Anonymous

          In Australian, that would be ‘pulled over by the Provos’, wouldn’t it?

  • Anonymous

    I am hoping that, with Victorino presumably at the top of the order, Mattingly will be less reluctant to hit and run.

    • Anonymous

      Oh yeah! Victorino’s raw nos. aren’t very exciting by themselves. But its the defense( which I seem to value more than most here), and his promised joy and aggression when batting lead-off, that many people seem to think will be a great benefit of his changing teams. I am looking foward to it.

  • Anonymous

    Did Victorino have his “cryin’” reputation when he was with the Dodgers?  Maybe that’s developed since he left, and he’ll shift to some version of the Happy Hawaiian.  Just the other night, I saw LoDuca say he is always a Dodger, and maybe Shane will come out with that kind of attitude too.

    • Anonymous

      He never played on the ML club. There is no cryin in minor league baseball

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

    From ESPN:
    Over the past five seasons, only seven MLB outfielders have been worth Wins Above Replacement than Shane Victorino.
     
    Highest Wins Above Replacement
    OF Since 2008
    Ryan Braun          27.7
    Matt Holliday       24.5
    Josh Hamilton       20.5
    Jose Bautista       20.0
    Shin-Soo Choo       19.1
    Curtis Granderson   18.8
    Carlos Beltran      17.7
    Shane Victorino     17.0
     

    • Anonymous

      I hope this is regarding defense only, or it would imply Shane has been worth more than Kemp.
      But then again I have noticed that seeing a player on your team’s everyday play still seems to be more revealing than the present defensive metrics.

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

         It includes offense and defense, the latter a category where Kemp has not rated well historically.

        • Anonymous

          Gold gloves notwithstanding.  Not that I put a lot of stock in GGs, but still. 

          • Anonymous

            Rfield is a component of WAR. Kemp’s Rfield’s since 2008 are 9, -3, -37, -5, and this season -6. Total of -42 meaning this stat says that Kemp has cost the team 42 runs over a replacement level player since 2008. The formula for WAR takes the sum of the components and seems to divide by about 10 so fielding has subtracted about 4.2 from Kemp’s WAR total over the period. Victorino’s Rfield’s are 9,-1, 1, 2, -1  total of 10.
            Former Dodger farm hand Franklin Gutierrez had an Rfield of 32 in 2009 for example. Denard Span is, I think, the highest CF Rfield so far in 2012 at 12.
            Another part of WAR is Rbat. For 2012 Span is 5, Victorino -3, Kemp is 22.
            All these stats are counting stats like HR not like BA so 22 for Kemp is very good given how little he has played. 

      • Anonymous

        Kemp wasn’t this good until last year.

        • http://www.facebook.com/people/Terry-Pruett/1707390003 Terry Pruett

          Actually, Kemp was at 18.2…IF you exclude 2010…that -1.4 year was truly terrible.

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

    More:
    In terms of advanced defensive metrics, Shane Victorino rates very poorly
    at something specific– fielding balls to the deepest parts of the
    ballpark.
     
    He rates last in MLB in what is known as “plus-minus” rating on deep
    balls. What this means, in simplest form, is that he’s not making plays
    that other outfielders are making. Nor is Hunter Pence.
     
    Worst Plus-Minus on “Deep” Balls This Season
    Shane Victorino     -23
    Michael Saunders    -18
    Adam Jones          -17
    Jeff Francoeur      -17
    Curtis Granderson   -17
    Hunter Pence        -17

    • Anonymous

       Anecdotically, I think Ethier would rank pretty good on this.

      • Anonymous

        I would too, although some metrics made out Ethier as poor at this, I think.

        • Anonymous

          Again, it’s anecdotal, but I recall his making several very fine catches going back on balls.

          • Anonymous

            He just made a very nice one against the Hated Ones on Sunday.

          • Anonymous

            I don’t consider him an outfield liability, but he’d be more suited to left, I think.

          • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jim-Hitchcock/1676059435 Jim Hitchcock

            To WBBsAs (below):

            Dunno. Ethier has a gun, Victorino not so much.

          • Anonymous

             Ethier looks to have a strong, accurate arm, but he has rated as below average since he’s moved from LF to RF.

          • Anonymous

            You seem to know what your talking about Tiensy below. I have heard Vin say that ironically Ethier’s arm is not thought of as good as it is because teams are afraid to run on him. Could this be a problem with the ratings?

          • Anonymous

            He made a great catch at the phone booth park!

      • Anonymous

        To me, at least, the coming in part is a canard that started when he was trying to stay out of O-Dog’s way.

    • Anonymous

      It sounds like he has problems going back on fly balls.  But so does Kemp.  It’s not easy, they just can make it look so easy.  But then again Philly has no “deep” parts at their ballpark, right?

      • http://veryolddodgerfan.blogspot.com/ veryolddodgerfan

        so those numbers indicate someone is having trouble going back on flyballs. is that what we’re saying?

        • Anonymous

          ” fielding balls to the deepest parts of the ballpark.”

          Assuming Victo doesn’t play a deep CF a la Willie Mcgee,  then it sounds like he has difficulties with balls hit over his head.  Or maybe he has problems preventing a double from turning into a triple.

          • http://veryolddodgerfan.blogspot.com/ veryolddodgerfan

            honestly people why not just look and see. could there be anything more important to spend time on then create stats for people who don’t watch the game.

          • Anonymous

            Everyone is entitled to do what is important to them, just in case you haven’t realized.

  • Anonymous

    The bright side for me of the Victorino acquisition is that Dee Gordon’s days as a leadoff hitter are finished, at least for 2012.  I’d say Luis Cruz’s performance also indicate that Gordon’s days as a starting shortstop are also finished.  The infield seems so much more stable with Cruz as the anchor. 

    • http://twitter.com/nrmnbates Eric Enders

      Cruz is just in the middle of a hot streak. There’s no reason to think he’s a better player than Gordon in the long term, or really even in the short term. Let’s not fool ourselves — Cruz is soon going to fall back to earth just as hard or harder than Herrera did. (I’m definitely in favor of keeping him in the lineup until that happens, though.)

      • Anonymous

         Even if Cruz falls harder than Herrera, he still would be hitting no worse than Dee. And Cruz can field the position.

        • http://twitter.com/nrmnbates Eric Enders

          Lest we forget, Gordon had an extended hot streak last September too. I am also not certain his defense is worse than Cruz’s. Errors aren’t everything.

    • Anonymous

      I think Dee Gordon is still the starting Dodger shortstop of the future, so I wouldn’t count him out.  But Cruz may get most of the remaining starts this season, at least.

      • Anonymous

        I expect Dee to spend some time in ABQ  beyond any rehab assignment, but still have hopes for his future. Cruz has been better than decent, but I think Dee has a higher ceiling.

        • Anonymous

          I prefer Cruz’s defense.  not flashy, but steady.  Makes the tough plays look routine, though he won’t make the spectacular play.  Gordon’s speed should give him the edge on offense, but so far, it hasn’t.  His upside is higher, but his downside is a lot lower.  And we’ve seen a whole lot of his downside this year. 

          I’m rooting for the kid to succeed, but my head and heart disagree on this one. 

    • Anonymous

      First I agree.  I hope Gordon is nothing more than a pinch runner when he comes back in September.  Hard to believe an error prone SS is something acceptable.  But then again Cruz had a mental error of his own last night.

  • Anonymous

    Yeah, good for Ned for not giving in and trading away a blue-chip for a 2-month rental. Kinda humerous that Theo and the Cubs then say, “OK, you won’t give us anything but lower-level prospects? No-thanks, we only take lower-level prospects from OTHER teams…” Douchebags.

    • Anonymous

      Yup, exactly.  Although I bet they were offered one (and maybe more) of our other pitching prospects, like Gould, Withrow, Sanchez, Miller, Ely, Ames, St. Clair, maybe even Tolleson, most of whom are at higher levels.  Any one of whom is better than the dreck they actually traded for.

      • Anonymous

        Pence did go cheap, but I’m not sure he produces at the same level in ATT. 

        • Anonymous

           In a bigger park, a big dropoff from a strikeout-prone hitter.

          • Anonymous

            Aaron Rowand redux, let’s hope.

          • Anonymous

             Nobody could be as bad as Rowand.

      • Anonymous

        Don’t agree with you at all on the Dempster trade. From MLTR:
        Landing a solid prospect in Christian Villanueva was a reasonable return for the Cubs considering that their leverage to move Dempster was limited by his 10-and-5 rights, writes Keith Law of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req’d).  Villanueva was blocked in the Rangers organization but should have a chance to shine with the Cubs.

        • Anonymous

          You’re welcome to your opinion.  I have yet to read anything claiming that either moved prospect was a top 10 (or even top 20) in the Rangers’ organization, or would be in ours.  Your quote confirms that the Cubs were forced to accept dreck for Dempster because they had zero leverage.  I stand by my original statement.  Dreck, indeed.  (And there are reports that we had offered a premier prospect, which neither of those is, plus others.)

          • Anonymous

            You are not thinking. They are 22 yo. 22yo player that are in their teams top 20 don’t get traded for rentals very often.

    • http://veryolddodgerfan.blogspot.com/ veryolddodgerfan

      there are no dodger blue chips

  • http://twitter.com/nrmnbates Eric Enders

    That mugshot of Kemp looks nothing like him. Weird.

  • Anonymous

    After dumping their deadwood, the Fillies are beating Strasburg 6-0 (including an inside-the-parker by Rollins).

  • Anonymous

    According to Gnatbeat writer Henry Schulman, “Giants already selling No. 2 Pence jerseys. Player is not even here yet. Burriss’ body isn’t cold yet.” In fact, the Gnats have such confidence in Pence that they have called up minor-league mediocrity Brett Pill to provide yet more offense.

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

      Brett Pill will outhit Allison Pill, is my only prediction. 

      • Anonymous

         Who?

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

          Google is your friend, my friend. ;)  Just like TV is my friend.

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

    Lost in all the trade frenzy is the fact that the Rockies, out of the race for awhile, basically made no moves other than trading Marco Scutaro for a piddly prospect and trading for Jonathan Sanchez awhile ago.  Why on earth did they basically stand pat?

    • Anonymous

      Except for CarGo and Fowler, who are still under team control or long contracts, they didn’t have a lot to offer contenders.

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

        I guess that’s fair, was thinking they had a couple of relievers (since contenders seemed desperate for relief help) and guys like Cuddyer, but maybe they wanted to hold on to him.

        • http://www.facebook.com/people/Terry-Pruett/1707390003 Terry Pruett

          I thought Cuddyer would go.

  • Anonymous

    Jonathan Broxton’s Redlegs have blown a 6-0 lead v. the Padres.

  • Anonymous

    I’m a little surprised the Anaheimers are actually letting Vernon Wells play.

    • Anonymous

      Showcasing him.

      • Anonymous

         In hopes of what?

        • Anonymous

          Dumping him on somebody desperate in the next month. Injured OF?? Call Arte at 1-800-AnaheimAngelsofAnaheim.

          • Anonymous

            Yup.  I could see him clearing waivers in an August trade.

          • Anonymous

            Ha! Way out on that limb there are ya nsxtasy???

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Terry-Pruett/1707390003 Terry Pruett

    Re: the discussion of defensive metrics…my opinion is that these are not nearly as informative and accurate as batting and fielding metrics, particularly for outfielders and corner infielders (especially 1st basemen). In some cases they make no sense at all. The problem is the translation into “runs” and “wins”. I refuse to believe that any one every day major league centerfielder, lets say, is 30 runs better than another regular defensive centerfielder over the course of one season (which I’ve seen in B-R), much less 2 to 3 wins or more. I believe defensive value as it effects wins is over-amplified in these translations. I believe in the value of defense, but the deltas of value in defense are far smaller than offense and pitching.

    In 2010, we’re told by B-R that Kemp cost the Dodgers 3.6 WINS. Not runs. Wins. Now, he played poor defense that year…downright bad…but I’ll be damned if ANY MLB centerfielder cost his team almost 4 wins on DEFENSE. Or was WORTH 4 wins. No way..

    • Anonymous

      I can see that defensive metrics are not very intuitive, and it’s hard for casual fans to follow (as we don’t have access to the data or the time to crunch the numbers ourselves), but is it really that farfetched that a Franklin Gutierrez can be worth 40 runs over a Kemp? We are talking 300+ balls that are in play in CF, not to mention many borderline opportunities for the runner to advance or not based on the CF’s arm. If a batter can be worth 8-9 wins to his team above the replacement level in 600 PAs, I think it’s plausible that a fielder can be worth 3-4 wins to his team in 300+ chances.

      • http://veryolddodgerfan.blogspot.com/ veryolddodgerfan

        oh no not those poor dreaded “casual fans.” the horror

        • Anonymous

          Oh come on now, context makes it obvious that by “casual fan” I mean people like myself who just like to watch and follow baseball without making a living from watching and analyzing baseball (who thus have access to BIS data).

          • http://www.facebook.com/people/Terry-Pruett/1707390003 Terry Pruett

            I understood what you meant…

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Terry-Pruett/1707390003 Terry Pruett

        I’m sorry, but it IS farfetched in my view. The deltas are so narrow compared to offense. The difference between offense and defense is that 95% (or more) of the plays on defense are plays that they will ALL make. Defense is easier to do…by far. Very narrow deltas. This also doesn’t take into account positioning, etc. My argument isn’t that Kemp is a good defensive centerfielder…I think right field is in his future. My argument is that the difference between good and average is just not that much…particularly if you’re going to translate it to wins. And…I’m not a casual fan.

        • Anonymous

          Fixed the “casual fan” comment. I didn’t mean it in a derogatory manner, just meant those who don’t work in baseball for a living–unless you do, then apologies for assuming otherwise.

          As for the substance of your comment: the difference between a good fielder and a bad fielder may be indeed smaller, but then again the difference between Uribe’s OBP and Kemp’s is 10%. Obviously there are other factors, but I am just pointing out that the difference between a mediocre hitter and an elite one isn’t so pronounced either once we stop expressing the numbers in the typical fashion.

          I would love to know more about the UZR and defensive metrics in general and I admit I take it more or less on faith. But I don’t think there is any reason not to accept it at least as a baseline either.

          • Anonymous

            >> then again the difference between Kennedy’s OBP and Kemp’s is 6%.

            More like 9% (.420 vs .331).

          • Anonymous

            Yet doesn’t it shock you that Kemp is merely 9% better than Kennedy at getting on base?

          • Anonymous

            But that’s nine percentage points better, not nine percent better.  Isn’t he 27% better in terms of OBP?

          • http://www.facebook.com/people/Terry-Pruett/1707390003 Terry Pruett

            I’m sure the raw data is very accurate…my point is that there is something lost in the translation when amplified into wins. I also believe that there’s probably a much larger delta when it comes to middle infielders…thus making the statistics more valuable…and a miniscule delta when it comes to first basemen.

          • Anonymous

            I think OFs get more credit for plays made because an OF hit is typically worth more than an IF hit. As far as the issue with the delta goes, doesn’t the UZR already take that into consideration? After all, what it does is calculate the run value of a play compared to the league average success on such a play. Again, I am just a casual fan and have no mathematics background, but the issue, if any, seems to be with the weight assigned to each play than with the deltas.

    • Anonymous

      >> Re: the discussion of defensive metrics…my opinion is that these are not nearly as informative and accurate as batting and fielding metrics,

      I’m guessing perhaps you meant to say, “…not nearly as informative and accurate as batting and PITCHING metrics”?

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Terry-Pruett/1707390003 Terry Pruett

        You are correct, sir.

    • Anonymous

      Do you disagree with their estimates for runs/wins above replacement, or do you disagree with the conversion between runs above replacement and wins above replacement (typically at roughly a 10-to-1 ratio)?

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Terry-Pruett/1707390003 Terry Pruett

        I think the former to a smaller extent, and the latter to a larger extent.

        • Anonymous

          Check out MLB standings that show run differentials, and you’ll see that differences of runs correspond to differences of wins, and that 10-to-1 ratio is pretty accurate as a average rule of thumb (although there are always outliers, of course).

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Terry-Pruett/1707390003 Terry Pruett

    Trout has another dinger tonight. Geez…just stop it…

    • Anonymous

      He is the kind of guy you watch for pure enjoyment, not for defensive metrics :)

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Terry-Pruett/1707390003 Terry Pruett

        Amen, brother :)

    • Anonymous

      Hey, the Halos drafted him, so they get the benefit.  Good for him, good for them.  (Also, good for them by trading the Yankees for that pick.)

      He was the #25 pick in the first round, and with the exception of the #1 overall pick of Strasburg, he’s easily the best pick in the round. So lots of teams passed over him for lesser players. There’s no certainty when it comes to drafting.

      • Anonymous

        Looking over that round, I see that the #3 pick by the Padres was Donavan Tate, who is still mired in A-level and hasn’t done much since starring as Jimmy Cooper in “The O.C.” and Tom Shayes in “Damages”.  :)

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Terry-Pruett/1707390003 Terry Pruett

        I was actually saying it in admiration…what a player! My favorite player to watch right now.

        • Anonymous

          Sorry, you sounded envious.  Which would be perfectly normal…

          • Anonymous

            I’m envious.  I wish I had one-billionth of his talent.  I love the fact that at 42 I still get excited over a budding baseball star.  I haven’t been so excited since Piazza.  I love baseball :)

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

    Lots of pregame notes from Eric Stephen:

    sbn.to/M2mLyk

    • Anonymous

      Great shot of Tommy asleep! Nice story about Poole as well. Wish Gibson was back on our side.

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

    Miserable non-Prime Ticket game. I swear there have been more KCAL games this year than any year in recent memory. 

    • Anonymous

      Welcome to my world.

    • Anonymous

      Quick questions, as a non-resident of L.A.

      1. How much do they charge for a full season of Prime Ticket? Or is it normally included with most cable packages beyond the basic ones?

      2. Does Prime Ticket include anything in addition to most Dodger games?

      3. What is KCAL – a competing subscription cable network, or something else?

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

        Prime Ticket (Fox Sports West 2) is basic cable. It had the Lakers for years and years, it has also had lots of USC, UCLA, Clippers, etc. 

        KCAL is over the air channel 9.

        • Anonymous

          As an MLBTV subscriber, I notice no difference at all.

        • Anonymous

          Thanks!

    • Anonymous

       I notice no difference whatsoever.

    • KT

      I’m stuck listening to Mark Grace going on and on about Goldsmidth HR

  • KT

    Beautiful Catch Jerry!!!!

  • Anonymous

    JonnyTAFKAJ asked earlier if there were any great baseball stories/anecdotes/controversies about Players To Be Named Later (PTBNLs).  Here’s my contribution:

    Harry Chiti was traded for himself.  In April 1962, Chiti was traded from the Cleveland Indians to the New York Mets for a player to be named later.  He batted .195 in 15 games for the Mets.  In June of that season, which was the Mets’ first, Chiti was sent back to the Indians as the player to be named later.  He never played another game in the majors after rejoining Cleveland.  

    • Anonymous

      Already described in the link I included in my earlier reply.

      • Anonymous

        nsxtasy:  My apology.  I didn’t see it.

        • Anonymous

          Still it’s a great baseball story :)

  • Anonymous

    I’m impressed with Goldschmidt, but very tired of him.

    • Anonymous

      I would say that this means that Goldschmidt will hit only a solo home run in the 1st inning tomorrow, but that would be impossible because he bats clean-up.  Unless, of course, the first three D’Backs in the lineup have already scored.

  • KT

    Took me 1/2 an hour just to catch up on all the posts since noon today…wow

  • KT

    Come on Mark

  • KT

    MARK!!!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1813400086 Howard Kulzer

    My contribution to the player to be named later, i recall a shortstop who was traded from the Cardinals  to the Giants and in the process decided to go by a different name, which made Tim McCarver quip, “He could qualify as the player to be named later.” I believe when he got to the giants he went by Jose Gonzales, but not sure what his original name was, but somebody out there probably does.

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

        And Santiago Casilla is the former Jairo García. Gnatdom makes you want to hide your identity.

    • Anonymous

      >> in the process decided to go by a different name

      Cue Vin, to tell us how Edison/Edinson Volquez was originally Julio Reyes.

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

    Ellis? Ellis?!?

  • KT

    Come on Matty

  • KT

    I have to have the volume really low…Gracie really gets on my nerves

  • KT

    Come on Dre

  • Anonymous

    Looks like an interesting game going on here in Chicago, going to go watch it on my local cable sports channel…

    • Anonymous

      Never mind, no longer interesting.

  • KT

    Come on DP

  • Anonymous

    Lincescum surrenders his first run of the night, and Mets lead 1-0 in the second.

    • Anonymous

      For the most part – I’ve really enjoyed following Lincecum’s starts this season. :)

      • KT

        me too

      • Anonymous

         Ditto

  • KT

    No no-hitter in Chitown

    • Anonymous

      Yes, no no-no.  :)

  • KT

    Nice hit Luis!!

  • KT

    Come on Matt…bring him home

  • KT

    Good eye Matt
     
    Come on Chris  help yourself

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

    “The twit read …” – Vin Scully reading a tweet from Shane Victorino.

    • http://www.twitter.com/ElJefedor Jeffrey Thomas III

      Listening to Vin talk about twitter: priceless.

      • Anonymous

        At the risk of a Rule 5 violation, a visiting twit made the London newspapers last week.

  • KT

    way to track that one down Dre

  • KT

    Good Catch Jerry

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

    Who needs Victorino in left field anyway? ;)

  • KT

    Come on Dre start it off

  • Anonymous

    1-2-3 innings are an underrated pleasure.

  • Anonymous

    Anyone know if Theodore Roosevelt Lilly is scheduled for more home games in RC?

    I’d like to take my kid to see him.

    • Anonymous

       Where?

      • Anonymous

         rancho cucamonga.  do the locals call it RC?  I would.

      • KT

        rancho cucamunga

    • Anonymous

      Friday is away at Lake Elsinore. Looks like they have a beautiful stadium

  • Anonymous

    lets hope both 2-1 games in progress swing in opposite directions

    • Anonymous

      ouch, that’s the wrong direction

  • Anonymous

    So why wasn’t Goldschmidt smart enough to sign with the Dodgers?

  • Anonymous

    I’m really tired of this.

    • Anonymous

       Cap vs the snakes, especially the better part of the order?  Yes, we all are.

  • Anonymous

    Gain momentum by beating the giants, give it all away the very next series, huh.

    • Anonymous

      And the Dodgers lost 3 games in a row before sweeping San Francisco.

      • Anonymous

        They love messing with our hopes I guess

  • Anonymous

    Victorino would cut off a ball like that, but I don’t think Kemp’s hamstring lets him.

  • Anonymous

    Couple rough pitching performances the last couple of nights, but these things happen.  Both Aaron and Cap had been doing more for us than we could have asked.  They will bounce back.

    On the brighter side, this game is far from over. 

  • Anonymous

    RIP, Gore Vidal

  • Anonymous

    The Dodgers are either hot or cold.  It’s been a pattern much of the season.

    • Anonymous

      true, especially this 2nd half, every win or loss has been part of a streak, except for the first game

  • KT

    way to track that one Jerry
     
    Come on Blue…Let’s score some runs

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

    There have been two “at the risk of a Rule 5 violation” comments today. Both were obvious violations and were deleted. 

    • Anonymous

      Politics? huh – I missed them both – too bad ’cause I enjoy a good political argument, though I realize this is not the place so I abstain – although if presented I’d reply.

      • KT

        is that what 5 is…I never look at the rules^_^

  • Anonymous

    First Harang, now Cap – giving up the killer, deflating multiple-run bombs.

  • Anonymous

    Only 1 run and 3 hits through seven, they forgot to bring the bats home from the road trip…

  • Anonymous

    This is getting tiresome.

  • Anonymous

    I was hoping for more from the offense just from the jolt of knowing management is doing all it can to provide the team with added players and payroll but, I’ll go ahead and chalk it up to running into a team on a roll – the Dirty Snakes looking good right now.

    • Anonymous

      I’m jealous of their offense as well as the run the Pirates, Reds and Nationals have pulled off so far. Thanks a lot McCourt.

  • http://veryolddodgerfan.blogspot.com/ veryolddodgerfan

    i was hoping for more talk on the Toolsy stat. really . i missed the discussion. sounded like fun.

    • Anonymous

      Have you no sense of decency?

  • Anonymous

    They haven’t made Miley work at all.

  • Anonymous

    5 in a row for the Snakes over the Dodgers after this one. Screw Gibby.

  • KT

    That play just says it all for the last two games…Not harping on Jerry because he’s played a good outfield…just the play in general

    • Anonymous

       Atrocious call, and I don’t like to call out umpires.

  • Anonymous

    Justin Sellers DH’ed for RC tonight
    24 yo Eric Eadington in his second pro season will play at his 5th level as he was moved from RC to AA to replace L. Bawcom who was traded to Seattle. 

  • Anonymous

    Gnats win, first place tie broken

    • Anonymous

      Gnot yet and, because they’re Gnats, they won’t be there long.

  • KT

    good play to stop it Luis

  • Anonymous

    I anticipate an injection of energy from Victorino tomorrow.

    • KT

      good we could use some

    • Anonymous

      Yeah would be nice – weird though – you’d think after the sweep of SF, it would propel the team to continue the roll, instead they go into the tank. 

  • KT

    hope we get tomorrow’s game just to keep the snakes off our backs

  • KT

    Night all
     
    Remember 1210 start time tomorrow

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

    NPUT