Dodgers Gave Leake First Win, Now Look To Hand Him First Loss
by Eric Stephen on Jun 16, 2010 1:00 PM PDT
in Dodgers Game Previews
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PrintThe Dodgers continue running the 1975 World Series gauntlet this week with a second game in Cincinnati, in a ballpark in which they have averaged 10 runs per game this season. Keeping in line with that series, the Reds were shutout in the first game. We can only hope the second game doesn't yield another similar result.
Mike Leake has been a pleasant surprise so far this season for the Reds. He was drafted eighth overall last season out of Arizona State, and made the starting rotation this spring without pitching an inning in the minors. Leake has been a ground ball machine, allowing a ground ball rate of 51.7% of his balls in play, 20th best among the 110 major league pitchers with enough innings to qualify. Leake is 5-0 with a 2.68 ERA, a 3.95 FIP, and 4.21 x-FIP, and is the first Reds' pitcher ever to go undefeated through his first 12 MLB starts. He got his first major league win against the Dodgers on April 22, although he did give up five runs in seven innings.
That April 22 game was a game of notable events:
- It was the last start for Vicente Padilla, who will be activated from the disabled list Saturday to start in Boston.
- Garret Anderson hit a two-run pinch-hit home run that temporarily gave the Dodgers the lead
- Hong-Chih Kuo allowed a pair of runs in his first appearance of the season, and he hasn't allowed a run since, a span of 18 games and 17 2/3 innings
The Dodgers for a while had the honor of handing Leake his worst start of the season, until his last start. Leake pitched at least six innings in each of his first 11 starts, but the Giants touched him for five runs in 15 baserunners in 4 1/3 innings last Thursday. Leake is pitching today on five days rest, for the sixth time this season. He has pitched seven innings in four of his previous five starts with extra rest.
Leake will be the ninth starting pitcher the Dodgers have faced more than once this season. The Dodgers have fared well in their second time around, scoring at least four runs against seven of the previous eight starters in their second crack at him (the only exception was Edwin Jackson's nine scoreless innings at Dodger Stadium):
| Starting Pitchers Facing Dodgers More Than Once | |||||||||
| Starts | G | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | ERA | LA Rec |
| 1st Time Facing LA |
8 | 47.1 | 58 | 28 | 26 | 18 | 33 | 4.94 | 5-3 |
| 2nd Time Facing LA |
8 | 49.0 | 59 | 29 | 29 | 19 | 43 | 5.33 | 7-1 |
Clayton Kershaw is coming off a season-high 10-strikeout performance against the Cardinals, the fifth double-digit strikeout game of his career. Kershaw has had at least as many strikeouts as innings pitched in 10 of 13 starts this season, and for the season has 90 strikeouts in 77 2/3 innings. For those keeping track of such things, Kershaw is seven strikeouts behind Adam Wainwright and Dan Haren for the major league lead. If Lawler's Law (first team to score 100 points, wins) can be applied to baseball, maybe Kershaw can clinch the strikeout title by running another 10-K tonight.
Tonight is the first start ever for Kershaw on exactly six days rest.
Kemp Starting Anew
The last time the Dodgers played in Cincinnati this season, Matt Kemp was tearing up the league. He led the majors in home runs, runs, and RBI after that series, but struggled mightily since.
| Matt Kemp Coming Into Cincinnati | ||||||
| Split | G | PA | HR | R | RBI | BA/OBP/SLG |
| First 15 games | 15 | 74 | 7 | 20 | 20 | .333/.405/.730 |
| Next 48 games | 48 | 207 | 4 | 27 | 13 | .242/.300/.384 |
Kemp broke an 0-for-16 slump last night with a pair of hits and a sacrifice fly, driving in two runs. I'm convinced Kemp left his mojo in The Queen City back in April, but now he has it back. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
Fathers Day At Dodger Stadium
The Dodgers may be on the road this weekend, but you can still head to Dodger Stadium on Sunday for a special event. Here are the details from the Dodgers:
The Los Angeles Dodgers invite families on to the field at Dodger Stadium for the seventh annual Father’s Day Catch on June 20. The event, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., is free and provides families with the opportunity to play catch at Dodger Stadium in celebration of Father’s Day. Dodger partner Farmer John is donating Dodger dogs for the occasion, Sparkletts will provide water bottles and Coca Cola will supply PowerAde.
Fans can park for free at Dodger Stadium on Father’s Day. The Sunset Gate opens at 10 a.m. and families enter through the center field gates. Music, merchandise, the Dodger Ticket truck and Dodger fan clubs will be on site for the event. The first 3,000 fans in attendance will get a complimentary Dodger dog.
Notes
- The Dodgers officially placed Chad Billingsley on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Saturday, and called up Travis Schlichting, who figures to be around until Padilla is activated Saturday
- James Loney has five doubles in his last two games, the most doubles ever over a two-game span by a Los Angeles Dodger. He is the sixth LA Dodger to have two doubles in consecutive games.
- Loney tied his career high last night with four hits, the second time in a week he has done so. Loney has 12 hits, including six doubles, in his last 21 at-bats.
- Rafael Furcal tied his career high last night with five hits, and like Loney is working on quite a month of June. Furcal began the month with no hits in 11 at-bats, but since then has hit .386/.438/.682 with 17 hits, including seven extra-base hits, in 10 games
- Manny Ramirez has followed his forgettable .200/.310/.333 May with a resurgent .325/.372/.600 June, including three hits in each of his last two games.
- The Dodgers have signed Claudio Vargas to a minor league deal, and he is now on the Albuquerque Isotopes' roster. He was released by Milwaukee on June 4, after allowing 16 runs in 19 2/3 innings in 17 relief appearances. The Dodgers signed Vargas before last season, and traded him to the Brewers in July for catcher Vinny Rottino
- Felix Doubront, a 22-year old with four starts above Double A, will make his major league debut Friday, starting for the Red Sox, per Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Doubront will face Carlos Monasterios, a 24-year old with six career starts above Single A.
- If you haven't seen Andre Ethier's SportsCenter commercial, you can do so here. Now, you can now watch behind the scenes footage of Ethier shooting the commercial here.
Game Time: 4:10 p.m
TV: Prime Ticket
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I like the Kuo stat
Who would win Rookie Pitcher of the Year between Ely and Leake right now? Wish they were matched up today.
Right now: Leake
24 hours from now: Ely :)
by Eric Stephen on Jun 16, 2010 1:11 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
If it ain't broke
RT @DodgertownUSA: #Dodgers lineup: Furcal 6 Martin 2 Ethier 9 Ramirez 7 Loney 3 Kemp 8 Blake 5 DeWitt 4 Kershaw 1
by Eric Stephen on Jun 16, 2010 1:10 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
Game over in SF
Giants score two in bottom of the first. Anyone notice that the Huffman has been one of the best hitters in the league?
That Giants lineup isn't exactly fearsome
But they’ve got some guys having nice years. Torres and Huff primarily, though Sanchez has been nice since he got healthy (if extremely singles-heavy), and Uribe is again posting some nice numbers.
If Rowand was hitting at all, and Pandouche was doing anything near what he did last year, that’d be a pretty fair lineup.
Juan Uribe:
clean up hitter. ’nuff said.
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
It's game over because Lincecum is pitching?
It’s probably true given he’s facing the Orioles, but to be fair he’s not exactly been consistently unbeatable this season.
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
I'm actually liking Kemp hitting 6th behind Loney right now.
"You're the only woman to ever love me." "I never loved you." "I meant physically!"
Boston pitching matchups
Friday: Monk v Doubront
Saturday: Padilla v Wakefield
Sunday: Kuroda v Buchholz
That seems like a very winnable series to me.
by Eric Stephen on Jun 16, 2010 1:15 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
Wow
Kuroda is the best pitcher of the whole bunch. Both teams miss the good stuff. Good time for Beckett and Dice K to be on the DL.
A lot will depend on Padilla pitching well
Because I can only imagine the Boston lineup is gonna bomb Monk back to the Monastery.
Aww, my Andre has comedic timing : )
I should write him a sitcom.
I mean the acting was wooden, but the timing was on. It’s all in the timing
Look at that, he hit the f*cking bull! Guy gets a free steak!
Hardest Throwing Starters (per Fangraphs)
1. Stephen Strasburg (97.8 mph)
2. Ubaldo Jimenez (96.5)
3. Justin Verlander (95.7)
Kershaw is at 92.9 this year, which is fifth among LHP (Liriano, Lester, Sabathia, Price).
You have to call SSS on Strasburg right?
Surely that will go down as he plays every 5th game this year compared to 3 years in college. Unlike Ubaldo, Jimenez, Verlander and Kershaw who can throw this velocity with a better idea of what it takes to pitch for a full year.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 1:33 PM PDT up reply actions
Reds lineup
From last thread:
Cabrera SS
Phillips 2B
Votto 1B
Rolen 3B
Gomes LF
Bruce RF
Stubbs CF
Hernandez C
Leake P
by Eric Stephen on Jun 16, 2010 1:25 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
I'm not sure how many people here are familiar with cracked.com
But it’s a seriously hilarious website with satirical articles and other junk like that. It’s definitely worth spending a few hours on a bored day or night reading through the site.
I wanted to post this though because I know there are some soccer fans in here that I’m sure will get a nice kick out of it :)
http://www.cracked.com/blog/a-world-cup-preview-for-people-who-dont-care/
"You're the only woman to ever love me." "I never loved you." "I meant physically!"
I like Cracked the magazine, but it was just a poor man’s Mad.
by Eric Stephen on Jun 16, 2010 1:41 PM PDT up reply actions
I read something about that
and now cracked is bigger than Mad right now.
I’ve spent hours upon hours cracking up (forgive the pun) at cracked.com stuff.
"You're the only woman to ever love me." "I never loved you." "I meant physically!"
A poor mans Mad would probably still be a good magazine
but I must admit I have not cracked a Mad magazine in over 30 years.
I used to collect MAD and Cracked
when I was younger, probably twenty years ago or thereabouts. Haven’t read even one since then, though I see them in stores occasionally and consider buying one for old times sake.
Never do.
I had a special issue that was all spy vs. spy, hilarious.
by Tommy Blackjack on Jun 16, 2010 2:07 PM PDT up reply actions
So meercat,
was I deleted or moved? cause I leave for a second and it’s like I’ve gone mad
Look at that, he hit the f*cking bull! Guy gets a free steak!
Looks like Colorado negotiated that it would be in the Pac 10 South with Southern Cal schools
It appears if the Pac-10 does stop expansion at 12 teams, it will split the league into north and south divisions. Pac-10 sources indicated the most likely split in a 12-team league is Colorado and Utah joining Arizona, Arizona State, USC and UCLA in the south with the other six schools in the north.
http://www.dailycamera.com/sports/ci_15298600
Clearly they don’t want a repeat of what happened in the Big 12 North. That alignment would mean Northern Cal Schools (Cal and Stanford) would not play the Southern Cal schools every year in football.
I find it hard to believe that the Cal and Stanford – in fact, any of the “Northern” schools – are on board with that.
I believe the Pac-12(?) consulted the 1969-1993 NL West for geographic hints.
by Eric Stephen on Jun 16, 2010 1:49 PM PDT up reply actions
I was confused as a kid when Chicago baseball teams were in both the NL East and AL West.
by Eric Stephen on Jun 16, 2010 1:51 PM PDT up reply actions
Who would Henry Aaron have hit his 715th against
if not for the geographically challenged Bowie Kuhn?
Since when has actual geography ever entered into geographic conferences? Drives me crazy! Call it Div A and B, not north and south if it isn’t!
by KellyStephen on Jun 16, 2010 1:49 PM PDT up reply actions
You could actually call it East and West and it would work
Thanks to the funky California coastline.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 1:50 PM PDT up reply actions
Whoever got stuck in the North was going to be ticked anyway
The initial reports 6 months ago when rumblings of expansion first happened was the NW schools wouldn’t agree to expansion since they would likely stop playing the Southern Cal schools every year. NW schools needed to keep a foot in California.
Money is what got them to sign off on the idea. The cost/benefit of added revenue from expansion/championship game/ more markets for their new network was enough to get them to forget about the potential recruiting pitfalls. Or so the narrative goes.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 1:50 PM PDT up reply actions
Wow!
USC, Utah, and UCLA have big smiles right now. Way easier road to the PAC-12 title game
by Julio Nievas on Jun 16, 2010 1:49 PM PDT up reply actions
You think so? USC and UCLA were going to be in a different division then Oregon State and Oregon anyway (the two schools who competed for Pac 10 titles last 2 years.) New alignment removes Berekely, but Utah could be just as good by then anyway.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 1:52 PM PDT up reply actions
shoe
thrown
Look at that, he hit the f*cking bull! Guy gets a free steak!
by Josie Becker on Jun 16, 2010 1:53 PM PDT up reply actions
You object to the idea that Utah could be a better football team than Berkeley in a few years?
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 1:54 PM PDT up reply actions
Only because they won more games
Cal lost with way more style
Look at that, he hit the f*cking bull! Guy gets a free steak!
by Josie Becker on Jun 16, 2010 1:55 PM PDT up reply actions
I don’t have a dog in that fight but I would object to that as well. Utah does not have the resources to recruit like Cal. And, if you were a 17-18 year old kid and you had the chance to live in Berkley or Salt Lake City which one would you choose?
Yet they have churned out better football teams
Additionally, that resource gap is obviously going to go away thanks to the revenue sharing of the new conference.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 1:57 PM PDT up reply actions
selective memory
Utah’s been on an upswing, good for Utah, but Cal…has also been on an upswing though being historically…come on! USC is Cal’s longest continuous opponent!
Look at that, he hit the f*cking bull! Guy gets a free steak!
by Josie Becker on Jun 16, 2010 1:58 PM PDT up reply actions
You have to look at who the teams have played. Utah doesn’t play the same type of teams that Cal has played over the last couple of years except for one or two games a year.
They have won two BCS games. One of which was against a horrible Pitt team. And, that is an extremely small sample size. And, if they had to play a schedule that was similar to Cal’s could they have reached those games? Probably not.
Small sample size it may be, your counterpoint is pure guess work.
if they had to play a schedule that was similar to Cal’s could they have reached those games? Probably not.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 2:06 PM PDT up reply actions
If they prove that they can consistently that they can beat the big time schools on a week to week basis, not with a month to prepare then I will admit that I am wrong.
So basically
Every BCS team is better than every non-BCS team?
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 2:10 PM PDT up reply actions
Okey dokey
And I’m out.
Enjoy your Ess Eee See footbaww.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 2:13 PM PDT up reply actions
I can’t believe I just read this…
and on the 93rd postseason of the National Hockey League, the Slovakian-hockeygod Zeus commanded from high atop Mount Figueroa..."RELEASE THE MEAT TRAIN!" And it was good.
by DodgerBlueBalls on Jun 16, 2010 2:29 PM PDT up reply actions
In the past three seasons...
Utah has beaten Oregon State, Cal, Alabama, BYU, Oregon, TCU, and other “strong” schools. Yet here you are saying they can’t win against those teams?
by Julio Nievas on Jun 16, 2010 2:11 PM PDT up reply actions
If they played those schools in the same season it would be different. Which conference is tougher to win the Mountain West or the PAC 10?
My point was that if you take Cal, Stanford and put them in the MWC they would I would say win that conference 95% of the time. You take Utah or some other top MWC team and put them in the PAC 10 they win the conference I would say at most 5% of the time.
That's a bold statement
And I strongly disagree. You undervalue Utah a lot. They WILL be a Pac-10 contender.
by Julio Nievas on Jun 16, 2010 2:19 PM PDT up reply actions
Right now to the rest of the nation the PAC 10 is seen as USC and those other nine schools. Colorado and Utah are not the powerhouse teams to improve that image. And, they may be a contender the next two years that USC is down but after that just another also ran.
As if we give a shit what the rest of the nation thinks.
You’re new argument now is…. “but, but, the rest of the country thinks the pac-10 sucks.”
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 2:23 PM PDT up reply actions
I still stand by my orignal argument as well that Utah can not really compete in a weak BCS conference
If Utah wins the Pac-10
All it will prove to him is that the Pac-10 is a weak conference that can’t compete with the SEC.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 2:26 PM PDT up reply actions
I think the key here is that they are being compared to Stanford and Cal. Even going all the way back to 1958 (Cal’s last outright conference championship), Cal and Stanford have combined to win or tie for the conference lead just seven times in 52 years.
Is that too much for Boise State? I think not.
by Eric Stephen on Jun 16, 2010 2:21 PM PDT up reply actions
Pac-10
But the Mountain West is no cakewalk..
by Julio Nievas on Jun 16, 2010 2:15 PM PDT up reply actions
that your second book Eric?
Walking on Cake?
or
How to Walk on Cake?
by Tommy Blackjack on Jun 16, 2010 2:18 PM PDT up reply actions
Oh
it actually makes sense. A concatenation of two easy easy but having nothing to do with each other tasks into one task “cakewalk”.
No, no, no
That is not the origin of “Cakewalk.” The popular meaning which alludes to something effortless or exceptionally easy, derives itself from the carnival game Cakewalk which takes little to no skill at all to win a prize.
and on the 93rd postseason of the National Hockey League, the Slovakian-hockeygod Zeus commanded from high atop Mount Figueroa..."RELEASE THE MEAT TRAIN!" And it was good.
by DodgerBlueBalls on Jun 16, 2010 2:33 PM PDT up reply actions
BCS was afraid to give them someone better than Pitt. Could not have a repeat of Boise steamrolling OU. Bad for business.
Teams can only beat those who are on their schedule
This argument is total East Coast/SEC love garbage.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 2:11 PM PDT up reply actions
When was the last time a PAC 10 team ever scheduled some of those patsies the SEC big boys play in non conference?
But the teams that the SEC teams play in conference are a murderers row. UGA, UF, Bama, Auburn, LSU, Tenn, these are all teams that are normally in the national championship talk.
Of course they are
And the proof of this is by…. the fact that they play each other exclusively and beat each other.
When Pac-10 teams upset one another it shows the conference is weak, when SEC teams upset one another it shows the conference is strong. It’s a hilarious dynamic that people who like the SEC actually profess like it means something.
And that murders row of Alabama recently lost a BCS bowl to that worthless mid-major team Utah.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 2:22 PM PDT up reply actions
against a team that lost their starting qb in the first series
Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
SEC is notorious also for refusing to travel west
Its a joke.
Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
I doubt anybody regularly plays all 6 of them in any given year, and chances are 2 of them will be down like UG and UT were last year. I didnt believe it when Craig James told me that either.
I listened to Craig James once
and I ended up locked in a shed for a couple of hours.
by Eric Stephen on Jun 16, 2010 2:23 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
Oh right
The classic dismissal of any time not in a BCS conference.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 2:02 PM PDT up reply actions
You underestimate the HS prospects in Utah. And they now have a better advantage at recruiting against their rival, BYU
by Julio Nievas on Jun 16, 2010 2:00 PM PDT up reply actions
Depends on how much you like homeless people
Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
Did you not watch the Poinsetta bowl last year?
by Julio Nievas on Jun 16, 2010 2:05 PM PDT up reply actions
It’s Holiday Bowl lite.
Played at Qualcomm, one week prior to the Holiday Bowl.
by Eric Stephen on Jun 16, 2010 2:07 PM PDT up reply actions
Right. Off the top of my head, I have no idea if I watched that game last year.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 2:06 PM PDT up reply actions
Stanford’s good once every half decade. So is Colorado so let’s call that a wash.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 1:56 PM PDT up reply actions
After watching my Trojans get creamed by Stanford...
I disagree. Harbaugh is a great coach/ recruiter.
by Julio Nievas on Jun 16, 2010 1:58 PM PDT up reply actions
Things this shall affect
Countermarch, “Why Bruin a good thing, other UC”, USC,
Look at that, he hit the f*cking bull! Guy gets a free steak!
by Josie Becker on Jun 16, 2010 1:53 PM PDT up reply actions
OSU, OU, Cal, Stanford > USC, UCLA, UTAH, AU
by Julio Nievas on Jun 16, 2010 1:57 PM PDT up reply actions
Utah is the better fit. Those two are awfully close in football and Utah is much better in basketball.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 1:58 PM PDT up reply actions
Does Boise strike you as the New York City of the rockie mountains?
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 1:59 PM PDT up reply actions
And the ability to actually buy alcohol when you want to.
by KellyStephen on Jun 16, 2010 2:08 PM PDT up reply actions
I wish they can still go to 14 and add them. Splits the TV revenue again without adding big new market, but the competition would have been great.
I can’t see Boise State sustaining this. They’ll drop back down to mediocrity in another couple of seasons. Joining the Pac-Whatever will only hasten that process. (My opinion, at least.)
by KellyStephen on Jun 16, 2010 2:09 PM PDT up reply actions
Why?
They’ve survived coaching changes and its much more than 1 recruiting cycle by now.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 2:10 PM PDT up reply actions
History is littered with teams like this; I’m just betting on the cycle.
by KellyStephen on Jun 16, 2010 2:11 PM PDT up reply actions
They used to say that about Gonzaga Basketball
maybe some quality kids just like to have fun when they play football. If I was an offensive player, Boise is where I’d go if I did not have NFL aspirations.
Florida State is....not one of those teams
Who are these teams you speak of? Fresno State I guess, but they were never as good as Boise.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 2:12 PM PDT up reply actions
Oh, okay…
University of Houston
Hawaii
Portland State (years ago)
to name a few.
Look, I’m not trying to start an argument, and I have nothing against Boise St. But if you think that a team from a lesser conference will sustain itself over the long haul, there is no team that I am aware of in the past that has accomplished that. So I’m not prepared to say they are going to be the annommaly.
by KellyStephen on Jun 16, 2010 2:16 PM PDT up reply actions
Houston was impacted by the Southwest Conference breaking up
Hawaii was never at the caliber of Boise State.
Portland State must be well before my time so I’ve got nothing on that one.
Miami did it (I said Florida State but meant Miami)
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 2:19 PM PDT up reply actions
Nope…just someone who remembers things past the last 5 years.
by KellyStephen on Jun 16, 2010 2:22 PM PDT up reply actions
Off the top of your head who would those legends be?
Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, Luis Gonzalez, Karim Garcia?
Heh
I don’t even remember Markie playing for the Diamondbacks. I must replenish my Diamondback memory cells.
He got the leadoff hit off Rivera in the ninth inning of Game 7!
by Eric Stephen on Jun 16, 2010 2:06 PM PDT up reply actions
More importantly
Grace pitched for AZ in a blowout, and did the Mike Fetters face, and gave up David Ross’s first career home run and heckled Ross as he circled the bases. Classic.
by Eric Stephen on Jun 16, 2010 2:08 PM PDT up reply actions
Kevin Brown pitched an inning in relief on that day
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ARI/ARI200209020.shtml
by Eric Stephen on Jun 16, 2010 2:13 PM PDT up reply actions
Steve Finley.
Although maybe he could provide the catering.
by Eric Stephen on Jun 16, 2010 2:04 PM PDT up reply actions
If Randy Johnson is in it
You gotta figure he’d me like Furious D. Get’s out to an early lead, then looks back and stares the rest of the competition into backing down.
by Tommy Blackjack on Jun 16, 2010 2:05 PM PDT up reply actions
Recently every year
I think TBLA should have a booth where we raise money for ThinkCure by putting Eric in a Dunk Tank
I went last year. It was really fun to be out on the field. We took some photos all around the field, got on the big screen, and took photos making catches at the wall. My wife wants to go back this year.
Last year we got free hot dogs, water, and ice cream. I was impressed
by robotmadeofnails on Jun 16, 2010 2:47 PM PDT up reply actions
That sounds like lots of fun.
Was it packed or was there enough room to be able to do what you wanted to do?
There was plenty of room. They give you soft, squishy balls when you walk in, so no one is getting hurt.
by robotmadeofnails on Jun 16, 2010 3:46 PM PDT up reply actions
A cakewalk is an actual thing
it’s a dance contest where at the end the winning couple is given a cake. Cakewalk, It’s a southern thing
Look at that, he hit the f*cking bull! Guy gets a free steak!
are you afraid of being deleted again
so now all comments will only go in the general thread? This would have been great info back up there in the cakewalk discussion.
I took care of it for her…
and on the 93rd postseason of the National Hockey League, the Slovakian-hockeygod Zeus commanded from high atop Mount Figueroa..."RELEASE THE MEAT TRAIN!" And it was good.
by DodgerBlueBalls on Jun 16, 2010 3:04 PM PDT up reply actions
I think they are starting one soon
Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
and ignore the strong Cypress College program
blasphemy!
Look at that, he hit the f*cking bull! Guy gets a free steak!
by Josie Becker on Jun 16, 2010 2:29 PM PDT up reply actions
True story. In the early 90s, UCI put in a vote to the student body
A new library for the Science schools, or a football team. (Likely division 2 or I-AA). The student body chose the library.
NERDS.
They made the right call
I voted down, along with something like 70% of the students, a similar plan to start a football team at UCSD.
I didn’t feel like raising my fees for something that would take years to get off the ground, and wouldn’t be competitive in the long run, especially at a school which did not give athletic scholarships.
by Eric Stephen on Jun 16, 2010 2:35 PM PDT up reply actions
I think we would have given athletic scholarships for football.
Anyway, fast forward to one year ago when UCI started a new law wing and decided to jack up the tuition rates while giving free tuition and room and board for the new L1s.
They dropped the free tuition for the law school I'm pretty sure.
Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
Plus all the cash you’d spend on extra grilling and beer.
by regfairfield on Jun 16, 2010 2:38 PM PDT up reply actions
UCI is D-1 though
Division 2 football would bring in no money, but if UCI were able to miraculously put together a competitive product the windfall from athletics would be sizeable. Additionally, with all the expansion talk UCI could get out of the Big West which sucks as a conference and move to MWC to fill in for teams lost.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 2:38 PM PDT up reply actions
I will grant that. I had no interest in D-III or at best D-II football
by Eric Stephen on Jun 16, 2010 2:39 PM PDT up reply actions
MWC is great for baseball though
Fullerton and Long beach?
Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
Every other sport they have would get wrecked in a better conference
I suppose UCI has the cash to get over that in the long run though.
Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
Well
You make that sort of investment with a gameplan to grow into it and improve. If they didn’t improve in any of the sports, it would certainly be a waste.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 2:57 PM PDT up reply actions
At least our volleyball team would still kick ass...
Yeah the school has just always been super focused on competing with the other UC schools academically to make that investment, but eventually they will have to if they want to truly compete with Cal and UCLA in California.
Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
Football team could have funded a library or two.
by KellyStephen on Jun 16, 2010 2:43 PM PDT up reply actions
That library btw is fucking awesome
Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
Don’t forget Cal Poly Pomona. Reigning DII hoops champs (and my undergrad alma mater). Oh, they need a football team? That was killed by Roman Gabriel and the Mouse Davis/Neil Lomax Portland State team 25+ years ago.
by KellyStephen on Jun 16, 2010 2:42 PM PDT up reply actions
Cal Poly Pomona...grrr.
They’ve knocked my undergrad alma mater out from the DII hoops tourney for the last 3 years straight.
The only thing that would make this college football discussion better is if Xeifrank were here to remind us that college football currently does not have a playoff.
And it's the people
who claim that under no circumstances can the Boise’s and Utah’s of the world compete with the almight SEC that I actually start to want a playoff.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 2:29 PM PDT up reply actions
Its funny, because I am a fan of a BCS team (UCLA) and I fear they can not compete with those two teams right now. If I can admit it, why can’t everyone else?
College football isn't pro sports
What I’m sick of, is non-alumni with strong opinions about who should be competing with whom
Look at that, he hit the f*cking bull! Guy gets a free steak!
by Josie Becker on Jun 16, 2010 2:37 PM PDT up reply actions
The non-alumni fans bashing is always nice and controversial around here
That should be fun.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 2:39 PM PDT up reply actions
With that kind of logic, we’re only a minute away from chasing away Dodger fans who don’t live in Southern California.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 2:41 PM PDT up reply actions
Told you this would get people riled up.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 2:56 PM PDT up reply actions
I stand by my non-alumnus fan status. I liked USC growing up, just like the Dodgers.
My school (UCSD) doesn’t have D-1 athletics, so should I not have a school for whom to root?
by Eric Stephen on Jun 16, 2010 2:41 PM PDT up reply actions
And we always have room on the USC bandwagon for true believers.
by KellyStephen on Jun 16, 2010 2:46 PM PDT up reply actions
You should, and anyone who wants to root for the Dodgers should root for them
but when folk start talking about skipping years between Cal-USC, Stan-USC, and Cal-UCLA it’s obvious that they don’t understand the significance of those games for the student body.
And it’s kinda weird that non-So Cal people root for the Dodgers, but whatever.
Look at that, he hit the f*cking bull! Guy gets a free steak!
by Josie Becker on Jun 16, 2010 2:47 PM PDT up reply actions
Is it weird I root for the Texans?
Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
If you have no emotional connection to the team
then yeah
Look at that, he hit the f*cking bull! Guy gets a free steak!
by Josie Becker on Jun 16, 2010 2:51 PM PDT up reply actions
How exactly does living in SoCal give you an emotional connection to the dodgers?
What does that even mean? You have to be
Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
it's the team that was constantly talked about as I grew up
it was the stadium I was taken to as a child. Emotional connection that someone in Michigan couldn’t have
Look at that, he hit the f*cking bull! Guy gets a free steak!
by Josie Becker on Jun 16, 2010 2:54 PM PDT up reply actions
This all seems like you are intentionally trying to be exclusive
Your call I guess but I don’t buy in at all.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 2:55 PM PDT up reply actions
Thats super lame
So because I chose to root for a team that isn’t geographically close I’m a lesser fan? Thats lamer then lame.
Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
it's not about greater or lesser
I just can’t understand choosing a sports team, seems like something that choses you
Look at that, he hit the f*cking bull! Guy gets a free steak!
by Josie Becker on Jun 16, 2010 2:58 PM PDT up reply actions
I hate the Chargers and Raiders
So I chose to root for the new expansion team. Many people have different stories as to why they fell in love with a team, be it a favorite player, or w/e.
Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
well
My dad was a Yankee Fan as a kid, until the Dodger’s came to town. Not sure whose argument that supports, but I wanted to throw it out there.
by Tommy Blackjack on Jun 16, 2010 3:00 PM PDT up reply actions
I reject the idea that you even have to explain yourselves
It’s freaking sports. The point is to make you happy. If you enjoy any team, then mission accomplished.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 3:01 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
Good call. Bad beats = nails on a chalkboard.
by Eric Stephen on Jun 16, 2010 3:02 PM PDT up reply actions
Agreed.
Is it weird that I am a huge Dodger fan, but if I ever move to a city with a team, I will probably begin to follow and root for that team too? I just love baseball, and I would want to go to more live games than just when the Dodgers are in town. This does not include the Giants. Yankees, or Phillies.
by robotmadeofnails on Jun 16, 2010 3:03 PM PDT up reply actions
I agree with the part about wanting to go to live games.
I hope though that my Dodger allegiance will never fade. :)
I would always remain a Dodger fan, but I would want to root for the home team I am following too.
If anything, I see myself attending Rivercats games in the future (AAA Oakland)
by robotmadeofnails on Jun 16, 2010 3:47 PM PDT up reply actions
It took me ten years, moving 3000 miles away, and the team becoming insufferable, but I gave up being a Red Sox fan.
The Ultimate Ned's Kind of Guy
by Humma Kavula on Jun 16, 2010 3:48 PM PDT up reply actions
I started to sort of like Michigan football because I liked their blogger
Brian Cook formerly of fanhouse was just a hilarious blogger. He runs a Michigan blog which I started checking out more and more and next you know i kind of cared about Michigans upcoming games, results, etc.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 3:03 PM PDT up reply actions
But even if you aren’t geographically near a team, there must be some moment that grabs you. First game you watch with your friends happens to be….etc.
by robotmadeofnails on Jun 16, 2010 3:00 PM PDT up reply actions
someone understands
it’s not about being elitist, just seems odd to root for something you have no emotional connection to.
It’d be like watching a TV show that doesn’t really move you, just because TV is the thing to do.
Look at that, he hit the f*cking bull! Guy gets a free steak!
by Josie Becker on Jun 16, 2010 3:03 PM PDT up reply actions
I can agree with that
But proximity isn’t the only thing that causes an emotional connection. You have parents from other regions who carry their fandom with them, and end up passing it on to their kids, even though their kid has never been to a home game for that team.
I was a huge fan of the Twins when I was really young, for no other reason then I loved Kirby Puckett, and it carried over. Helped some that they were in the WS right at a time where I was starting to get into baseball. I didn’t really start to gravitate towards the Dodgers until several years later.
That I agee with
but that is called emotion and not geography. For whatever reason a sports team can grab us emotionally and it could easily having nothing to do with geography.
I’m a Texas Football fan simply because they were in the Cotton Bowl the first bowl game I can remember, and I loved their orange uniforms and the fact they had this wide receiver with the coolest name. It is all about emotional attachment not geographical. Sure many Dodger fans become Dodger fans because their friends/family were Dodger fans but for some of us it happens 6,000 miles away listening to a world series where they get their asses clocked 4 games to none on Armed forces radio.
I shouldn't have even mentioned geography
I mean it increases likelyhood of an emotional attachment but doesn’t guarantee it.
Look at that, he hit the f*cking bull! Guy gets a free steak!
by Josie Becker on Jun 16, 2010 3:06 PM PDT up reply actions
Its exteremly vague is my biggest problem
How does being a non-alumni or geographically close preclude one from having an emotional connection?
Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
Had you grown up in Irvine, it’s more likely you’d have an emotional attachment to them, since symbols and talk of the team would be everywhere. Can we at least agree on that?
Look at that, he hit the f*cking bull! Guy gets a free steak!
by Josie Becker on Jun 16, 2010 3:07 PM PDT up reply actions
Sure
if we can agree that one does not have to be an alumni of a school to be just as passionate about the sports program as an alumni.
I'll concede one can be just as passionate
but retain that the fan experience is different when one is a student/alumni versus a fan
Look at that, he hit the f*cking bull! Guy gets a free steak!
by Josie Becker on Jun 16, 2010 3:14 PM PDT up reply actions
Okay
but knowing quite a few USC grad’s I’d say that Eric is much more passionate about USC then they are. To be honest it seems to be a snobbish opinion but each to their own. Not having gone to a real college I’m on the outside looking in.
Your error is considering UCLA a BCS team. They are in a BCS conference, but that does not make them a BCS team. Utah and Boise State are indeed BCS teams.
by KellyStephen on Jun 16, 2010 2:44 PM PDT up reply actions
Nice. I thought the last Rose Bowl appearnce for UCLA was pre-BCS.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 2:59 PM PDT up reply actions
one of the craziest Saturdays I can remember was when the inevitable UCLA / Kansas State title game matchup was derailed by Edgerrin James in Miami, and the 4th & 1 vs K State
by Eric Stephen on Jun 16, 2010 3:00 PM PDT up reply actions
I apparently ignored Tennessee, who was also undefeated at the time and was in fact ranked #1 in the BCS heading into that Saturday.
by Eric Stephen on Jun 16, 2010 3:03 PM PDT up reply actions
Watching Edgerrin James
run over our defense may have been the most impotent feeling I’ve ever had as a sports fan. And we still almost won, it was a great game. The only good thing that came from that game was that James went on to become a great NFL back.
I guess that is what USC fans felt like when Vince Young made mincemeat of the defense.
Screw VY
Overrated sack of crap. Had his career game that night…ughhh.
"You're the only woman to ever love me." "I never loved you." "I meant physically!"
Great college QB
and he JUST.WINS.GAMES. Or something.
Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
He can of ran over everyone that year
overrated as a Pro player, but certainly not as a college player. He walked the walk
Comments like these
are why most of the world enjoyed the slap down last Friday. It is also why I like the fact you show up here.
Religion, Politics
and College Football
by Tommy Blackjack on Jun 16, 2010 2:32 PM PDT reply actions
Giants update
Lincecum almost killed by comebacker. He’s fine. Huff hits it in the water. Uribe goes back to back.
4-2 Giants Bot 6. On MLB Network.
well that's good
I know he’s a Giant and probably the Dodger’s worst enemy, but that is scary damn thing to watch a pitcher get hit in the head. Especially since I’ve seen it about 4 times in the past 2 seasons.
by Tommy Blackjack on Jun 16, 2010 2:38 PM PDT up reply actions
Yahoo reported Penkins has a torn ACL
No way he comes back for game 7 or the first half of next year.
nope, as Hawk Harrelson says
he gone
by Tommy Blackjack on Jun 16, 2010 3:00 PM PDT up reply actions
Is that the guy in Chicago? He makes me shudder
by robotmadeofnails on Jun 16, 2010 3:15 PM PDT up reply actions
yeah, White Sox guy.
probably biggest homer announcer there is.
by Tommy Blackjack on Jun 16, 2010 3:16 PM PDT up reply actions
Yes.
He is terrible. If you ever move to Chicago, you cannot root for the White Sox because of him.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 3:16 PM PDT up reply actions
The greatest thing about Hawk Harrelson
is that he gave the finger to the owner of the A’s when he was the biggest dick in sports. Hawk was a rebel back in the day.
Is there any difference between Mark Sanchez and Matt Leinart?
by regfairfield on Jun 16, 2010 3:12 PM PDT up reply actions
and Mexican?
Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
been accused of sexual assault?
Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
work ethic?
Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
Its not that he doesn't have talent
Its that he doesn’t seem like the type to put in the work.
Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
Wouldn't it make more sense
to say Leinart projects to be a league average QB? He isn’t anything yet.
I’m also quite bearish on Leinart.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 3:11 PM PDT up reply actions
I liked the fact he stayed in school
to have one more year of unbridled fun before joining the real world. So I hope he makes it.
Problem is
It turns out he didn’t do it to cling to childhood a little longer, but to postpone people discovering that he refuses to grow up.
No argument there
Except that thats where the whole professional sports pay system falls apart. He signed a contract, and by refusing to “grow up,” he’s basically failing to live up to his end of it. That is where the problem begins.
Whoa whoa whoa hold on now they go over slot during the draft.
by regfairfield on Jun 16, 2010 3:21 PM PDT up reply actions
Wow
You are breaking news to us thanks to twitter.
Looks like phil is the last hold out.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 3:21 PM PDT up reply actions
I have an app for my phone that combines gps locations and twitter feeds
and they are all usually in Glendale/Burbank, Westside (SM), Downtown, Los Feliz areas.
Heh
For all the growing the High Desert has done, its still a backwater.
/Born and raised in Lancaster/Palmdale.
That is the armpit of the high desert. I am in the much ritzier Hesperia/Victorville area :)
by Eric Stephen on Jun 16, 2010 3:40 PM PDT up reply actions
I used to hate your kind as a kid
Every time I visited my father in Pasadena and said I lived in the High Desert, the response I’d get was, “Oh, Victorville?”
Nobody had ever heard of Lancaster or Palmdale… gave me a fucking complex.
Ha!
I actually have no dog in the geography fight. I grew up in Palm Springs.
Low desert, high standards.
by Eric Stephen on Jun 16, 2010 3:45 PM PDT up reply actions
People don't consider Lancaster of Palmdale the high desert
For one thing its in LA County and a suburb of Los Angeles.
The fact that people in LA knew of Victorville and not Palmdale is surprising to me. Unless you are a bit older then me and Palmdale grew quite a bit since when you were a kid and when I was a kid.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 3:45 PM PDT up reply actions
Mid/Late 80s
Before that it wasn’t considered a suburb, really the only people that had heard of it were people that worked for Lockheed, or had been stationed there at some point because of Edwards. Or well, the shuttle used to land there periodically.
Wasn’t til I hit my early teens the place started blowing up.
A dumpling place parks down the street from my office every week or so. Haven’t tried it yet.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 3:28 PM PDT up reply actions
I work at LAX
I detested roach coaches that blanket the area here. Then I realized that there are these specialty ones that actually have food that I like.
Sheeeet
I almost have to hold out now, the last bastion of common sense resides within these frail walls.
I do have a meercat account
and for some reason people follow me. Why I have no idea, any story posted by me is posted by the truebluela twitter feed.
I just followed all the writers listed on Eric’s list. You are right though, yours only is the same post as the TBLA feed.
by Michael White on Jun 16, 2010 3:33 PM PDT up reply actions
I have a Twitter...
but I hate it…and never ever use it…it was just a tool I had for e-stalking someone…hey, shut up.
"You're the only woman to ever love me." "I never loved you." "I meant physically!"
the best of both e- and of stalking
Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
So does this mean
Dodger Stadium will get to host one sometime in the next decade or so? Theres gotta be more people that care about DS then Kansas City
Speaking of the All-Star game
if you have the time you should make it to the FanFest. I went to the one up in SF and it was fun. Maybe we should do a TBLA futures games with SilverWidow providing lecture material. The futures game should be an easy ticket to get.
I know there is an Angels fanfest fourth of July weekend
Which I was invited to through my best friends, an Angels fan, but we are coworkers and one of us has to work on that saturday, so I told him I’d work it for him.
I would love to go to a Dodger fan fest weekend thing.
"You're the only woman to ever love me." "I never loved you." "I meant physically!"
For just $12.99 a month, WOOF links up all your communication portals so you are always within reach…I just sent myself a WOOF!
This makes absolutely no sense to me
wtf?
"You're the only woman to ever love me." "I never loved you." "I meant physically!"
Speaking of college athletics
Nelson Figueroa was DFAd by the Phillies on June 3 and sent to Lehigh Valley. Two days ago, he was named IL Pitcher of the Week. Go, Nelson!
The Ultimate Ned's Kind of Guy
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