The Most Wonderful Time of The Year
by Eric Stephen on Apr 6, 2009 12:00 PM PDT
in Game Threads
Email
PrintLos Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres, Apr 6, 2009 4:05 PM PDT
"Sometimes I feel so weak I just want to explode
Explode and tear this whole town apart
Take a knife and cut this pain from my heart
Find somebody itching for something to start"Bruce Springsteen, The Promised Land
After waiting through what seemed like an eternity through spring training (it was actually only seven weeks), baseball's glorious day is finally here. It's time to keep score for real. The Dodgers open defense of their 2008 National League West title today at 4:05pm in San Diego. The Dodgers, as they are built, are certainly capable of capturing the flag for a second straight year. Here's a group of predictions from around the baseball world:
| Source | Record | Div |
| Baseball Prospectus | 92-70 | 1st |
| Keith Law, ESPN | 88-74 | 1st |
| Sports Illustrated | 88-74 | 1st |
| 18 of 20 other ESPN writers | --- | 1st |
| The Hardball Times | --- | 1st |
| 9 of 12 SI writers | --- | 1st |
While it appears the Dodgers are in fact the favorites to repeat as NL West champs, the Dodgers haven't won the division in back-to-back seasons since 1977-1978.
Another tough road to hoe is today's mound opponent, Jake Peavy. While the Padres may easily be the worst team in the division, Peavy is a code the Dodgers have a tough time cracking. Of the last 15 times Peavy has started against the Dodgers, the Padres have won 14. Peavy himself is 11-0 with a 2,00 ERA in that span, striking out 98 while only allowing 97 baserunners. For more analysis of Peavy and his Dodger counterpart, Hiroki Kuroda, be sure to check out Brendan Scolari's excellent breakdown here.
Here's the 25-man roster available to the Dodgers for today's game in San Diego (thanks to Diamond Leung for the news yesterday from San Francisco):
Catchers (2):
Russell Martin, Brad Ausmus
Infielders (7):
James Loney, Orlando Hudson, Rafael Furcal, Casey Blake, Mark Loretta, Doug Mientkiewicz, Blake DeWitt
Outfielders (4):
Manny Ramirez, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Juan Pierre
Starting Pitchers (5):
Hiroki Kuroda, Randy Wolf, Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, James McDonald
Relievers (7):
Jonathan Broxton, Hong-Chih Kuo, Guillermo Mota, Cory Wade, Will Ohman, Ramon Troncoso, Ronald Belisario
For the Dodgers to get to The Promised Land, they will need to field this lineup or something close to it quite often in 2009:
Furcal SS
Hudson 2B
Manny LF
Ethier RF
Martin C
Loney 1B
Kemp CF
Blake 3B
Kuroda P
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2009 Outlook
This is the year. Go Blue.
New outlook posted at:
by thinkbluebleedblue on Apr 6, 2009 12:26 PM PDT reply actions
Vargas to 60-day DL
Confirmed by TJax.
I suspect Schmidt will be put on the same list today. Which means we don’t lose ANY players. Amazing.
re:
See, what was all the fretting about? Even Troncoso made the team. All good decisions so far this spring. Very impressed with the final roster.
Yeah
It’s hard to imagine a much better roster given the options we all feared.
by Eric Stephen on Apr 6, 2009 12:38 PM PDT up reply actions
Remember when people were talking about this as our lineup?
Martin
Loney
Dejesus
Hu
Dewitt
Pierre
Kemp
Ethier
I remember talking about signing CC and then just going with a defense/speed lineup. My how things have changed! :-)
by Brendan Scolari on Apr 6, 2009 12:41 PM PDT up reply actions
Nice
It seems like we are really getting the best 25 on the roster this year as well.
by Brendan Scolari on Apr 6, 2009 12:39 PM PDT up reply actions
Whew
My laptop power cord crapped out on me this morning, but I was able to secure a new one (thanks, Best Buy!) so my Opening Day is not hindered!
Woohoo!!
GO DODGERS!!!
I’m so mad I have to miss basically the whole game today. I have total faith that we can win today though.
by Brendan Scolari on Apr 6, 2009 12:32 PM PDT reply actions
Guesses
1st hit – Hudson
1st HR – Ethier (3-run shot in the 1st)
1st win – Kuroda
by Eric Stephen on Apr 6, 2009 12:37 PM PDT up reply actions
Guesses
Hit- Furcal
Home Run- Manny
Win- Kuroda
by Brendan Scolari on Apr 6, 2009 12:42 PM PDT up reply actions
Kuroda v. Peavy
LAT’D from previous thread:
The latest run on my simulator has the Padres as very slight favorites in today’s game against the Dodgers. The simulator has the Padres win probability at 51.09%, with the total runs scored at 7.2.
Current Vegas
SD -122 (54.95%) down from -130
O/U 6.5 -120 up from 6.5 -115
Best offensive performances coming from…
1. Adrian Gonzalez
2. Manny Ramirez
3. Chase Headley
4. Andre Ethier
5. Brian Giles
Top 10 Most Likely Final Scores
1. SD 3-2
2. SD 3-4
3. SD 1-2
4. LAD 2-1
5. LAD 3-2
6. SD 3-1
7. LAD 3-1
8. SD 4-2
9. LAD 4-3
10. SD 1-0
Two reasons
(1) he sucks (the reason we wouldn’t have put him on the club)
(2) the club wanted him, but not enough to remove someone from a 40-man spot. Yet.
by Eric Stephen on Apr 6, 2009 12:58 PM PDT up reply actions
re:
Probably because he’s not on the 40 man roster and they decided to see what Troncoso could do while Weaver pitches in AAA instead of losing someone off the 40 man roster for someone with such marginal skills as Weaver possesses.
We are a fine-tuned machine
double or sometimes triple barrel question answering. Mid-season form. That’s what we’re in!!!
Since the roster is set
I have the official True Blue LA© recognized opening day Dodger payroll at $98,912,500.
That includes a $250,000 reduction in payment to Andruw Jones, or half of his $500k salary since he made the team.
I’m also assuming Claudio Vargas does not get any roster bonuses since his DL injury is his right elbow (part of his deal).
Still surprised Schmidt didn't go on the 60-day DL
but Miller will clear waivers anyway (will someone claim a guy with 224 walks in his last 225 innings?)
Eric/Brandon
I think we should add a Pick of the Game to our Game Threads from the three of us.
I’m picking Kuo today.
Sort of a "pick to click", if you will?
Stealing from Hawk Harrelson?
Picking players with no real system to determine who “wins”?
You bet your ass I’m in!!! :)
My pick to click is Ethier (he of the 3-run HR in inning 1).
re:
Yes, I actually like their “Pick to Click”. In fact I’’m one of the few who enjoy Hawk. It is because he was the first player to tell Charles O Finley to go to Hell back in 1967 and that got my attention.
His time with the Athletics ended abruptly in 1967 when Harrelson angrily denounced team owner Charlie Finley following the dismissal of manager Alvin Dark. Saying that Finley was “a menace to baseball,” Harrelson was released and ended up signing a lucrative deal with the Boston Red Sox, who were in contention to win their first pennant since 1946.
Harrelson is often credited with inventing the batting glove by wearing a golf glove while at bat with the A’s; however, Peter Morris’ book A Game Of Inches says the batting glove may have been used as early as 1901 by Hughie Jennings, and were definitely used by Lefty O’Doul and Johnny Frederick of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1932, and later by Bobby Thomson in the 1950s. Morris does credit Harrelson with reintroducing the batting glove in the 1960s.
Finley – A menace to baseball.
Harrelson – A menace to my ears.
Dodger Fever: Catch it every summer; head to the ER every October.
by Tango and Cash on Apr 6, 2009 1:23 PM PDT up reply actions
My enjoyment of Hawk
is purely for comedic purposes. He is so overly homeriffic he’s almost a caricature. I have loved “Pick to click” for years. Hawk was at his peak as an announcer for me during the Hawk & Wimpy days (Wimpy being Tom Paciorek), and while Hawk & DJ are similar it seems Hawk has become a bit more pompous or mean-spirited at times.
Things I love about Hawk:
1) “He gone”
2) “Stretch”
3) He hates Jay Marriotti
4) When he just proclaims love for some player (e.g. “I love you, Damaso Marte.”)
5) Originator of “The Big Hurt” nickname
6) The utter despair and/or silence when the other team does something positive.
Millwood
with a gem in Texas and Cliff Lee gets pounded making you wonder if he’s not hiding an injury.
Notify Webster's
We have to change the definition for the 2nd straight year of the adverb, “CliffLee,” as in “He pitched rather CliffLee today.”
2007: bad
2008: great
2009: on notice
Picks
W) Kuroda
L) Peavy
S) Broxton
1st hit: Furcal
1st homerun: Ethier
Dodgers record 9 hits in this contest.
GAMETHREAD!
It’s close enough to game time!
Dodger Fever: Catch it every summer; head to the ER every October.
It doesn’t look like a game thread. Is this some kind of a trick?
Dodger Fever: Catch it every summer; head to the ER every October.
by Tango and Cash on Apr 6, 2009 1:27 PM PDT up reply actions
Two clues
1) this is in the “Game Threads” section (noted at the top)
2) all Game Threads will have “Team X @ Team Y” in blue at the top.
I was waiting all day to yell “First!” and now it’s been ruined.
Dodger Fever: Catch it every summer; head to the ER every October.
by Tango and Cash on Apr 6, 2009 2:13 PM PDT up reply actions
I guess I’m just used to gamethreads going by without comments, giving me ample time to act like a child.
Dodger Fever: Catch it every summer; head to the ER every October.
by Tango and Cash on Apr 6, 2009 2:14 PM PDT up reply actions
Are you going to make girly drinks?
Dodger Fever: Catch it every summer; head to the ER every October.
by Tango and Cash on Apr 6, 2009 2:21 PM PDT up reply actions
Very interesting
Pedroza was also moved back along with Guerra and Pratt. Mattingly going to High A?
Today's opening day roster
with their numbers on opening day as Dodgers:
Furcal (2006,2008): 6-9, 2B, 2 BB, 4 runs, RBI
Ethier (2007,2008): 0-6
Martin (2007,2008): 0-8, GIDP
Loney (2008): 2-3, BB, run
Kemp (2008): 1-4, run,
DeWitt (2008): 1-2, 2 BB, run
Pierre (2007, 2008): 0-6
Marlin
Lineup is a little shaky but I love the rotation. They have their two worse hitters batting 1st and 2nd. By August it will look different. It will help if Hermida finally lives upto the promise.
Casey Blake has a tall order today
No Los Angeles Dodger opening day starting #8 hitter has ever hit a HR.
The last #8 Dodger to homer on opening day was Don Zimmer, who walloped a dinger for Brooklyn in Philadelphia in 1957.
Also noted
Baseball-Reference’s play index now goes back to 1954, which is a full two years earlier than before. Cool!
Last time El Lay Dave
was here I bet he never heard of Belisario. Is that a great pitching name or what? Every year we have one guy step into the bullpen we never expected to be of use so it would not surprise even with his sketchy history that he’s the guy this year. Maybe some pitching coach did something right, maybe relief pitching is the answer, maybe the reason he was suspended for a year is what was holding him back. I don’t know but I do know he was the most impressive pitcher we saw out of the bullpen since he arrived. Gas is gas and he throws gas.
Clearly Men At Work
Australia is a largely untapped market when it comes to the internet, and my homage to the 1980s band from down under clearly lit that spark!
Irony or Karma?
After sometimes missing work on opening day for “sickness,” what would you call it now that I am not working, yet am actually sick? Well, at least I get to watch games.
BHSportsGuy
made fun of the Arizona lineup today. Specifically Felipe Lopez and Tony Clark. They have combined for four home runs today.
D4P made fun of Kevin Millwood starting opening day for the Rangers. He threw a gem.
Should we make fun of Orlando Hudson to help him get off to a good start to his Dodger career?
In my DT roto league I had Lopez starting instead of Pedroia until I heard that Pedroia was healed. I flipped them Friday. Oops.
re:
After spending $91 on Pujols and Beltran I spent the next four hours waiting for the studs to play out and for the league to come back to my spending level. We started at 09:00 AM and ended at 09:00PM. 21 teams of 25 players takes a long time but our league has been stable for years and it is the only time we see each other.
One of the best friends of the commissioner is an ER Doctor at the hospital and we get to use two conference rooms to do our drafts. This year one owner couldn’t make it live so he hired a kid to be his proxy and then spent all day on the phone from Hawaii. I’m not sure how the girlfriend handled it or what the final cost was to use a cell phone from Hawaii for 720 minutes in in one day but maybe he had a plan that covered it
I’ve got Kuo for when he takes the closer job from Broxton:) Kershaw was a keeper and I got DeWitt for $1 as my last pick. If I don’t finish in the top three I’ll be disappointed considering I started the auction with Longoria(3) and Hamilton(3). I won’t mention the name of the player I took just for fun.
Complete Roster:
Go Deep, owned by Phil Gurnee
Pos Active Players Team Con Sal Stat Elig Games Played By Position
DH C 1B 2B 3B SS OF
1B Albert Pujols StL 2011 54 act 1, 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2B Rickie Weeks Mil 2011 15 act 2, 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SS Elvis Andrus Tex 2011 7 act S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3B Evan Longoria TB 2009 3 act 3, 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
OF Jay Bruce Cin 2009 10 act O, 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
OF Carlos Beltran NYM 2011 37 act O, 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
OF Justin Upton Ari 2009 10 act O, 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
OF J.D. Drew Bos 2011 11 act O, 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
OF Josh Hamilton Tex 2009 3 act O, 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
C *Joe Mauer Min 2011 19 act C, 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
C #Carlos Santana Cle 2011 1 act C 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
UT Scott Hairston SD 2011 1 act O, 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CM Blake DeWitt LAD 2011 1 act 23, 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MI Ronnie Belliard Was 2011 2 act 123, 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
P Clayton Kershaw LAD 2010 8 act
P Adam Wainwright StL 2011 20 act
P Joe Nathan Min 2011 18 act
P Josh Johnson Fla 2011 13 act
P Manny Parra Mil 2011 8 act
P Dallas Braden Oak 2011 2 act
P Hong-Chih Kuo LAD 2011 2 act
P Jerry Blevins Oak 2011 1 act
P Aaron Heilman ChC 2011 1 act
Pos Reserved Players Team Con Sal Stat Elig Games Played By Position
DH C 1B 2B 3B SS OF
SS #Gordon Beckham CWS 2011 1 res S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
P #Phil Hughes NYY 2011 2 res
Another potential opening day Dodger feat
Only one LA Dodger starter on opening day has walked 3 or more times: Pedro Guerrero in 1984.
Might Manny join him today?
A review of Belisario
from the old Baseball America Prospect Handbooks:
Belisario went reverse Ismael Valdes on the spelling of his name.
2003: Ranked 12th with Florida
Signed the same week as fellow countryman Miguel Cabrera, Belizario came to the Marlins with significantly less fanfare…both are on track for the big leagues. Blessed with what some consider the loosest arm in the organiztion, Belizario pitches at 90-93 mph and has touched 98. Everything he throws moves, especially his two-seam fastball with hard, boring action. He still throws a curveball and sliger, both of which are solid average, and his changeup is improving as he tinkers with different grips. He has a fun-loving personality, loves to complete and enjoys being on the mound…Just 148 pounds upon signing…He eventually could wind up as a closer.
2004: ranked 14th with Florida
Few members of this list have proven as maddening to Marlins brass as Belizario. Last year alone he missed curfew the night before a scheduled start, skipped conditioning sessions and showed up his pitching coach during mound visits. His immaturity and hard-headed nature got his shipped back to extended spring training in May, where for three weeks he was forced to report at 7am for early cardiovascular work….In terms of pure stuff, some believe he outranks even [#5] Yorman Bazardo and [#4] Scott Olsen…He projects as a premium set-up man or prehaps a closer, but first he’ll have to get his emotions under control and bring his work ethic up to a consistently acceptable level.
2005: Ranked 25th in Florida
On pure arm strength alone, Belizario will get a longer leash than many of his fellow pitching prospects. He pitches at 93-95 mph and tops out at 98. He also shows a decent splitter and a slider that needs to be tightened up….Makeup has been a question throughout his career as he can be hard to coach.
Quite a remarkable recovery for the once frail and immature Venezuelan.
re:
We knew those old natty volumes would come in handy. My wife looks at my prospect books and wonders why I need BA/JohnSickels/Derek McCamey to tell me the same thing every year. Luckily her schoolwork takes up 90% of the house and my baseball stuff only 1% so she doesn’t have a leg to stand on when it comes to getting rid of stuff we no longer need.
Cue D4P
(or don’t. Seriously, please don’t)
Belizario, listed at 150 pounds in the 2005 BA handbook, is listed on Dodgers.com as 240 pounds today.
re:
He better stop getting thrown out if he wants to steal 30-40 bases. His numbers this spring were awful.
Loving Prime Ticket
Number of Dodger games watched in HD prior to 2009: very few (living in SD)
2009 HD Dodger games: lots
For instance
last season I didn’t even get to watch the No-Hit Win against the Angels (it was on KCAL, so not on Extra Innings).
Do you know why
games on KCAL are not picked up on Extra Innings?
by Michael White on Apr 6, 2009 3:45 PM PDT up reply actions
Extra Innings
usually contracts with the regional sports networks for the games, which accounts for a large percentage of all broadcasts.
I’m debating on whether or not to get MLB.tv. I might not be able to use it a lot this summer. Probably just end up getting MLB radio so I can listen to Vinnie.
Dodger Fever: Catch it every summer; head to the ER every October.
by Tango and Cash on Apr 6, 2009 3:41 PM PDT up reply actions
Be careful
with MLB Audio, you will only get Vin for the first 3 innings of the ~120 games done by Vin.
Yea, I realized that too late. I’m trying to decide if the MLB premium package is worth the extra 30 bucks.
Dodger Fever: Catch it every summer; head to the ER every October.
by Tango and Cash on Apr 6, 2009 3:59 PM PDT up reply actions
Going to commercial
on Dodgers Live, the camera showed Ned Colletti making Dylan Hernandez crack up. I want to hear that punchline.
"So then I said, forget it Frank, I'll just give them Santana. Who needs young depth at the catcher spot anyway?"
by Michael White on Apr 6, 2009 3:48 PM PDT up reply actions
Also a perk
moving from SD, is that I had zero pre-game coverage last year, and very limited post game.
I thought the funniest thing today besides
My having the D-Backs kick sand in my face was AZ bringing in the lefty specialist who immediately gave up the tying HR to a lefty.
Yeah, but in the middle of trying to deal with a bad power code!
I am guessing one issue with Miller (and I am guessing its the same with Orenduff), once you are off the 40-man roster, if you play in the minors, you are not using up an option.
Off-topic
but the ESPN headline for the basketball HOF class says “MJ, Admiral headline new hall class.” I’m not necessarily saying Stockton should be ahead of David Robinson, but shouldn’t there be all 3 of them in that headline?
Maybe it’s because he didn’t have a nickname.
Dodger Fever: Catch it every summer; head to the ER every October.
by Tango and Cash on Apr 6, 2009 4:05 PM PDT up reply actions
If his other nicknames don't pan out
like J-Mac, McDizzle, etc, perhaps McDonald can be the Zoom Calibrator!
I just realized
I believe this is the first Dodger game at Petco I have watched with Vin Scully announcing since the 2004 trade weekend (the one when Milton Bradley made the awesome catch over the CF wall and told the crowd to shush on his way to the dugout).
Kemp’s too low in the batting order.
Dodger Fever: Catch it every summer; head to the ER every October.
Martin should bat 2nd; Hudson should bat 7th or 8th.
Dodger Fever: Catch it every summer; head to the ER every October.
by Tango and Cash on Apr 6, 2009 4:13 PM PDT up reply actions
Must….nitpick…can’t………stop…..
Dodger Fever: Catch it every summer; head to the ER every October.
by Tango and Cash on Apr 6, 2009 4:13 PM PDT up reply actions
Me too
I sit there guessing what it is. Plus I figure the longer it takes to show up, the better it is, the logic being that the more runners that score and the more bases involved take longer for the person to type in the information.
by Michael White on Apr 6, 2009 4:19 PM PDT up reply actions
re:
Right, once you see runs the pressure is off. Amazing stuff gameday is. More information then watching on TV.
In those 15 Peavy games
The Dodgers scored more than one run in the 1st inning only one time. They won that game, with a little help from 5 late HR and Merlin Magic.
I like that trend.
I do think that going for the extra base more often than not
is a good play.
But I’ll have to watch the replay to know for sure.
BH & I saw Peavy in Phoenix
on March 27, and he was surprisingly solid that night. I expected some rust as well. Maybe he got his good performance out of the way. :)
Even better
is that we scored without Manny.
Nice that Hudson got a hit in his first Dodger at bat and scored a run. Sign him to an extension.
Giles hits a squeaker, and the Padres get a run in.
by Linix129 on Apr 6, 2009 4:25 PM PDT reply actions
In the 12 man
DT roto league Loney was dropped and had no owner for one day. I felt bad for him but someone finally scooped him up off the waiver wire. You can’t have a DT league and not have Loney on a team. Just ain’t right.
Oh, a run!!!!!!?? You can’t go the entire season without giving up a run?!! Nice job, Ku-Blow-da!!
Dodger Fever: Catch it every summer; head to the ER every October.
Tongue-in-cheek. I’m just getting the ‘blow’ meme started early. Oh, Derek Lowe, how we will miss you.
Dodger Fever: Catch it every summer; head to the ER every October.
by Tango and Cash on Apr 6, 2009 4:32 PM PDT up reply actions
re:
We aren’t idiots here, if you have to tell us it was tongue in cheek then you kind of lost the fun of the post. Sarcasm is welcome here, so we can see how badly it works in print.
It was more for the new guys who weren’t here last year, and aren’t familiar with the ‘blow’ meme.
Dodger Fever: Catch it every summer; head to the ER every October.
by Tango and Cash on Apr 6, 2009 4:35 PM PDT up reply actions
Yea, that looked like it would’ve been gone elsewhere.
Dodger Fever: Catch it every summer; head to the ER every October.
by Tango and Cash on Apr 6, 2009 4:28 PM PDT up reply actions
I like to think
Kuroda knew which park he was in :)
Or Gonzalez didn’t listen to Jim Lefebvre and his “don’t swing for the fences at home” philosophy. :)
Manny and Kemp were right near the warning track.
by Linix129 on Apr 6, 2009 4:28 PM PDT reply actions
Izturis with a home run
as the Orioles try to keep the Yankee’s from winning 162 games. Got to love a 200 million dollar team with a bullpen that the Nat’s would be embarrassed by. I know Yankee fans think they have a good bullpen and Joe Sheehan thinks they have a surplus of bullpen talent but they will find out they are wrong.
Cool feature added
I’m not sure if this was here last year….
On our front page, the line score runs at the top, and the link to that day’s game thread will always be there during the game. Check it out if you haven’t seen it already!
re:
Earlier this spring he suggested we could trade them Loretta or DeWtt when Arod went down for their “surplus” bullpen. I looked at the bullpen and didn’t come away thinking they had anyone who was better then what we have at the back end.
He’s not going to be right about everything.
Dodger Fever: Catch it every summer; head to the ER every October.
by Tango and Cash on Apr 6, 2009 4:49 PM PDT up reply actions
Baseball-Reference.com
Splits for individual players are down right now, as their server is having problems.
Andy Laroche
did not have a good day. 0-3 (did have a walk and a run though) and two errors in the field.
Never
a good day when Izturis has more rooms then you do. On the plus side his team came back and scored 4 runs off the soon to be replaced Cardinal closer. Chris Perez was the correct answer not Mr Motte.
It's all good!
Glad to be here. I may have to come up with a Kuroda photoshop this year to go with my Billingsley one.
by the big grabowski on Apr 6, 2009 5:02 PM PDT up reply actions
I like having the game recorded
when good things happen. Now I can plan a dinner around the good stuff. We need a knock on wood app
Not too shabby. Doing well for my roto team “Kemp Hardly Wait” as well.
by the big grabowski on Apr 6, 2009 5:06 PM PDT up reply actions
Haha, nice. I also have “Ethier Or” and “One is the Loneyist Number.” My dad came up with my favorite Dodger pun for his team tho, “MannyFest Destiny.”
by the big grabowski on Apr 6, 2009 5:09 PM PDT up reply actions
The one thing I love
about the highlight from Game 3 of the NLDS of Manny scoring, is that when he’s sliding into home, Larry Bowa is like 5 feet away celebrating. Love it!
Prime Ticket
has been reading True Blue LA! Today’s trivia question. Casey Blake is the 6th different OD 3B for the Dodgers in the past 6 years. Name the other 5.
Loyal readers should know this one! :)
200+ comments thru 3 innings
Not bad for this site. Game threads at the LA Times is tough with their commenting format. Looks like TBLA will benefit posting volume wise on that.
3-1 through 3 innings, looks like the Dodgers win expectancy is up to 75.8%
Peavy at 51 pitches through 3 is nice of LA.
vr, Xei
re:
They fixed it today. Nice addition.
We basically have five people talking to each other, kind of what DT does with 10-15. Better then Andrew and Tango talking to each other.
Eric is doing double time at DT. If he stayed home we’d have 500 comments by now.
Yep, you were always too busy actually going to the games to hang out with us.
Dodger Fever: Catch it every summer; head to the ER every October.
by Tango and Cash on Apr 6, 2009 5:14 PM PDT up reply actions
I think there were some 1000+ game threads last year. Of course that was like 3 posters doing most of the damage.
by the big grabowski on Apr 6, 2009 5:13 PM PDT up reply actions
That was usually when the guys from the Reds’ blog invaded.
Dodger Fever: Catch it every summer; head to the ER every October.
by Tango and Cash on Apr 6, 2009 5:15 PM PDT up reply actions
Gameday is behind
Inning is over. Loney was stranded. Kemp flew out, Blake struck out and was thrown out at 1B (passed ball), and Kuroda grounded out.
Nice work swinging at the first pitch Giles, other Padres, take note.
by the big grabowski on Apr 6, 2009 5:15 PM PDT up reply actions
dammit
I need get out of the office and in front of a television.
by the big grabowski on Apr 6, 2009 5:16 PM PDT up reply actions
That's the second time
That a foul ball has been caught on the left side of the diamond, the other time was the Fielder pop up.
Yes
but being behind they will have to pinch hit for him as we move later in the game. The best thing about Hoffman leaving was Bell moving to the closer role and him not being there to get to Hoffman.
Also a key this inning
if Kuroda can get a 1-2-3 inning, Peavy’s spot leads off the 6th, so they could have to pull him then.
We never should have re-signed him. He’s done.
Dodger Fever: Catch it every summer; head to the ER every October.
by Tango and Cash on Apr 6, 2009 5:27 PM PDT up reply actions
There was a point in the AZ/Col game
when the camera showed Baylor and Tracy flanking Hurdle, and I was happy to not be a Rockies’ fan.
I'll miss #17 pick in a few years
but that man can play second base.
Or chewing on that huge wad of tobacco (or is it gum)?
Dodger Fever: Catch it every summer; head to the ER every October.
by Tango and Cash on Apr 6, 2009 5:37 PM PDT up reply actions
Peavy is at 86 pitches though 6
and he’s retired 9 in a row.
Peavy leads off the 6th.
If I know Bud Black, Peavy will be batting.
It's the other way
he really trusts Peavy out there. And it’s hard to knock him given how Peavy has settled down and is in a groove now.
REMINDER: 2009 Dodger prediction poll
will run until 10pm tonight.
Will the 2009 Dodgers be more like 1963 or 2004? You decide!!!!
Lest we forget
I do have Eckstein on my fantasy team in the TBLA Yahoo league. But let’s just stay at 1st, mmmmkay?
You have Eckstein on your team? That was NL only, right?
Dodger Fever: Catch it every summer; head to the ER every October.
by Tango and Cash on Apr 6, 2009 5:49 PM PDT up reply actions
hey everyone
a little late to the party here. I don’t have a way to catch the game today unless I dish out some cash for MLBtv or something and MLB Network’s live look in show seems to be allergic to the West Coast. How is the team looking?
Good so far
Got some singles early, couple with good control pitching from Kuroda. Some long Padre ABs seem to be catching up with him.
Peavy has settled down after a slow start.
whoa
Gonzalez almost had that. MLB network finally does a look in at the game right when that foul happened. Scared the crap out of me.
Nice
I was just about to say how we needed some of those sliders that Brendan showed us earlier. Strike 2 was a beauty on the corner.
In Play, out - sweeter letters were never more put together
to define an opposing teams at bat in a crucial situation.
Heading home
and I hope to see more then 3 runs in our corner by the time I get there. The key question is well Rick Monday tell me the score in the next 15 minutes?
I’ll let you know.
hell yeah
I made it home just in time to see Kemp go deep.
by the big grabowski on Apr 6, 2009 6:05 PM PDT reply actions
7th inning
Chase Headley, switch hitter
Career as LHB: .276/.309/.448 (~122 PA)
Career as RHB: .265/.351/.405 (~239 PA)
About the same…trade some power for some onbasability switching sides i guess.
Onbaseability is my new favorite word.
by the big grabowski on Apr 6, 2009 6:19 PM PDT up reply actions
Luis Rodriguez
if he’s allowed to hit:
2006-2008
as LHB: .257/.313/.350 (~385 PA)
as RHB: .237/.295/.263 (~128 PA)
Couple of good pitcher covering plays
today so far, including that one by Wade. Good job by a reliever remembering to cover 1st base.
I like how they have a giant alert at the top of screen letting everyone know when Manny is due up.
by the big grabowski on Apr 6, 2009 6:21 PM PDT reply actions
Not quite quick enough on the draw. Snap.
by the big grabowski on Apr 6, 2009 6:31 PM PDT up reply actions
They’re going to have Belisario get a bunch of saves, and then trade the Proven Closer for somebody awesome.
At least that’s what I am going to choose to believe.
by the big grabowski on Apr 6, 2009 6:51 PM PDT up reply actions
My uncle’s name is Philip Phillipson.
My grandparents were insane.
by the big grabowski on Apr 6, 2009 6:55 PM PDT up reply actions
Damn
I really hate North Carolina, but have almost the same hatred for Mich St for beating USC.
by Linix129 on Apr 6, 2009 6:55 PM PDT reply actions
Magic has to be the worst NBA analyst, he only talks about the superstar players, and probably couldn’t name the 3-12th men on any other team but the Lakers.
by Linix129 on Apr 6, 2009 6:59 PM PDT up reply actions
Dodgers feed dropped off the earth on the iphone App, not sure why. resorting to the san diego feed.
Ew.
The Padres’ announcers are horrible.
by the big grabowski on Apr 6, 2009 6:56 PM PDT up reply actions
Blake + PIerre. Most awesome bench ever.
by the big grabowski on Apr 6, 2009 6:57 PM PDT up reply actions
Or as my girlfriend calls him, “The douchey guy.”
by the big grabowski on Apr 6, 2009 6:58 PM PDT up reply actions
or "The Bull"
or “Big Bad John”
Whatever you want to call him (except “Fuck Face” or something like that).
“The Dodger’s pitching, which is not their strong suit, is so today”
Is it really bad enough to call it “not our strong suit?” Bah. Give me No-Score-Monday.
Not their strong suit. People cannot stop bashing the pitching.
by the big grabowski on Apr 6, 2009 7:03 PM PDT up reply actions
It's like saying
Heidi Klum’s legs aren’t her strong suit. Just because they aren’t her face or, umm, torso, doesn’t mean they aren’t very, very good.
james loney sb?!?! what has the world gone to?
Dodgers - 2008 NL West Champions
Cardinals - 2008 NFC Champions
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