Jonathan Livingston Baseball Fan

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… The lopsided score and the chill coming off the San Francisco Bay forced many of the 43,050 in attendance to leave early. By the end of the night, seagulls circled the park, expecting the place to be theirs. …

— Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post, reporting from AT&T Park on Monday (via Sam Sokol).

  • Anonymous

    I’m still in shock that Uribe got a PA last night.

    • Anonymous

       Mattingly should have at least given Harang his rightfully earned AB.

      • Anonymous

        Likely the same result

      • Anonymous

        Harang had a career night at the plate.  I thought for sure he wouldn’t get the sac down, let alone a hit and a run!

        Not bad for a good candidate for worst-batting starter in the NL in the past decade.

        • Anonymous

          Still, probably a better bet than Urinnedy.

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

      Prepare to be shocked, Uribe is starting at third today.

      • Anonymous

         Thanks for letting me know before I ate lunch.

  • Anonymous
    • Anonymous

      not bad, 96 mph & only 16 years old! you can’t help but think what type of delivery & arm motion he has though.

  • Anonymous

    It’s still too early to eat crow on my assessment of the Puig signing but I’m starting to wonder if maybe he’s worth it. That is the beauty of pessimism, everything turns out better than you thought it would…  

    • Anonymous

      Yes, but you waste a ton of money on all those bomb shelters to protect you from the sky falling. 

      • Anonymous

        Apparently you don’t know any pessimists. A real pessimist knows that NO defensive or preemptive moves can save him, he just bends over and bids a fond farewell to a favored part of his anatomy…

        • Anonymous

          I’m no optimist, but think of all the money you’ll save on brown lipstick that way!

    • Anonymous

      I think we can have him in the ravine by June, if we’re really lucky.

      I’d prefer that we didn’t resign shane, even if he has a 400 obp in the next month, on a related note.

      • Anonymous

        I have that preference too, but then I may end up with the quandry: Why did we get rid of EO?

        • Anonymous

          Eovaldi went to Florida for Ramirez.  Your quandry will be in missing Lindblom, but if Victorino helps the Dodgers get to the playoffs, I can probably live with it.

          • Anonymous

            If the Dodgers get to the playoffs – Victorino has already helped – having 3 RBI in a 5-4 win can be classified as “help”. Therefore, the *if* in your premise above has already been fulfilled.

          • Anonymous

            IMHO, Victorino’s performance yesterday gives him a WAR of 1 so far.  Hanley’s efforts on Sunday likewise.  Hanley’s first game, he drove in one run and scored the other, but the Dodgers lost, so he doesn’t get any credit.  And yes, I know I’m using WAR wrong.  But these are two examples where you can point to specific contributions from players that led directly to victory.

          • Anonymous

            SaMo below gives no credit to the pitchers

  • Anonymous

    Jon
    What is your honest assessment of the Uribe situation? Is Mattingly stuck with him and therefore stuck with chaining him to the bench? Why won’t Ned just release him, or is he hoping someone will need a vet infielder before Aug 31 and try to get something in return? Will he actually be back in 2013?

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

      I think Uribe is seen as the last option off the bench.  I don’t think the last option ever plays a lot.  I don’t think there’s a lot of faith that someone from the minors would do any better or would benefit from sitting around.  I’m a little surprised Uribe has lasted this long, but there shouldn’t be grandiose expectations for a 25th guy to begin with. I don’t think there’s any hope that he’ll bring anything in trade value. 

      Next season is a long time away, but at this point I’m not sure why he wouldn’t be at Spring Training. However, if I had to bet, I’d bet that he’ll be gone by Opening Day.

      I think, at this point, it’s not worth investing any energy worrying about Uribe’s status. 

      • Anonymous

         Except when he’s hitting second in the starting lineup?

      • Anonymous

        I’m not a Piniella fan by any stretch, but he at least would have the basic sense to have pinched Chad B instead of Uribe last night.  Lou would do it with Zambrano all the time when Z had a decent bat.  Literally, anything is better.  Donnie himself should bat instead.  Why not?

        • Anonymous

           Donnie probably would have had a better chance of getting a hit.

        • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_7VN5CNNJSLBZQXS3NX7DTIUTA4 jasonu

           Donnie himself should bat instead
          –
          How many times a game do you think he says this to himself for real in his head. Looking all calm cool and collective:

          Need a flyball -Donnie himself should have bat instead

          Need a grounder to the right side- Donnie himself should have bat instead

          Just don’t strike out and Put the ball in play-Donnie himself should have bat instead

          Strike out, just don’t hit into a tailored made double play -Donnie himself should have bat instead

          Juan Uribe in the hole-Donnie himself should  bat instead

          Loney on deck-Donnie himself should have instead

          Should I double switch with Rivera-Donnie himself should bat instead

  • http://www.facebook.com/josh.richey.77 Josh Richey

    Apparently Uribe is batting 2nd tonight.

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

    So Uribe is starting at third today and batting second… Uh maybe he’ll see good pitches in front of Kemp? Just struggling to see the point in it all.

    • Anonymous

      Correia: Juan, the next pitch will be a slider in the dirt.

      Urinnedy: OK, I’ll swing at that.

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

        Maybe Donnie forgot that they recalled Herrera.

        • foul tip

          Cruz is likely to get a complex of some kind.  He fell off from how he played at
          first, but he’s still a better option than U.  Cruz has had a couple timely hits lately, too.

          When’s the last time U had a couple hits of any kind?

          • Anonymous

            Cumulatively, probably in his last 40 games or so.

          • http://www.facebook.com/people/Casey-Barker/100003908968118 Casey Barker
          • Anonymous

            If only Correia would throw him a slow knuckleball. For the record, Uribe is outhitting Billingsley, .191 to .184. That might be why he got the pinch-hitting nod, LOL

            Victorino LF
            Uribe 3B
            Kemp CF
            Ethier RF
            Ramirez SS
            Loney 1B
            Cruz 2B
            Ellis A, C
            Billingsley P

    • Anonymous

      I’ve actually been kind of wanting to see Uribe play a full game. I’m sure he’ll remind me why he doesn’t play much after the game is over however.

      • Anonymous

         Wanting any such thing sounds like masochism.

        • Anonymous

          Lol, actually I just feel a little bad for him.

  • foul tip

    Near as I can tell the Dodgers have two guys named Loney.

    James Loney appears in upper parts of boxscores.  But then the other one, GIDP Loney, appears in the lower part just about every time James appears in the upper.

    But GIDP Loney never appears unless James Loney does.

    What kind of name is GIDP, anyway? Maybe from the old West?  As in Giddy-up, horse?

    James Loney plays 1B.  But GIDP Loney doesn’t seem to have a lineup spot.

    Who’s on first?  Anyway? 
     

  • Anonymous

    Since I don’t read very much about other teams I have missed the boat on how impressive the Nationals have been. I believe they now have the best record in baseball. Wow.

    • Anonymous

      The Nationals are a force – and the idea that they would shut down Strasburg is insane. The guy is pitching great, feeling fine, and they want to save him for future seasons? They’ve got a real chance to go to the WS if they keep playing as is, and they want to worry about next year, and the years after that? It’s like having a horse at the top of his game, no injuries, before the Kentucky Derby and saying, “Naw, let’s keep him out of the race, save him for next year.”

      • Anonymous

        And guess who had a major role in building that force?

        • Anonymous

          The Montreal Olympique Stadium?

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

          Good ol’ Stan.

        • Anonymous

           Losing a lot of games and picking 1st overall in drafts that had Strasburg and Harper?

      • Anonymous

        Horse racing is a one-year event.  Strasburg has an entire career in front of him. If he blows out his arm a second time, the Nationals might never make the playoffs.  I understand why they want to take the long view. 

        • Anonymous

          The point is, you have a chance to win the whole shebang THIS year – you have a top-of-the-line pitcher who has shown absolutley no indication that his arm is “tired” and you want to consider shelving him for the stretch run because he MIGHT hurt himself?
          Asinine.
          There is no guaruntee  that the Nationals will be in a position to contend for the WS next year, or the year after that, or the years after that. If the Dodgers chose to shut down a perfectly healthy Kershaw this year to save him for the future, you would have no problem with that?

        • Anonymous

          He could be put out to stud.

      • Anonymous

        clearly you were listening to Jim Rome today.

  • Anonymous

    The Ds are still giving up too many runs in the 6-8 inning stretch.

    Of course, this has nothing to do with our pen, they were awesome three months ago, so the past week is totally meaningless.

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

    Kemp on MLB network live from PNC Park right now.

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

    NPUT

  • Anonymous

    Right now I have confidence in Jansen, and sometimes Guerra and Beli.  After that I have no confidence in our bullpen.  This is not good.

  • Anonymous

    And here I thought those were buzzards circling the Phone Booth.