Phillies Preview - Hurting Every Which Way
by Phil Gurnee on Aug 9, 2010 12:40 PM PDT
in Team Previews
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Hard to believe that we haven't played our nemesis yet. Maybe a good thing as the Phillies we are about to play are not the Phillies who worked us over the last two NLCS.
62-49, 2nd place in NL East (Schedule and Results)
View League Standings and Leaders
Manager: Charlie Manuel (62-49)
Scored 524 runs, Allowed 464 runs. Pythagorean W-L: 62-49
Per Baseball-Reference
These Phillies are paying the price in 2010 for those injury free NLCS years. Some teams have injuries but the Phillies have injuries. At one time this year every single member of the infield has missed significant time. Even the tree trunk, Ryan Howard went down. Without Howard and Utley, they will be trying to win a playoff berth without all cylinders. From what I understand both players should be back by the end of August. The best prospect in the minor leagues was promoted several weeks ago but instead of wowing, he's shown that he's still a work in progress. A DaVinci for sure, but one's whose canvas still needs some fine tuning.
Since we haven't seen this team since last October:
Changes:
Notable Losses: Cliff Lee, Stairs
Notable Additions: Polanco, Oswalt, Dominic Brown
Old Friends: Wilson Valdez, Werth, Baez
On The DL : Howard, Utley, Victorino, Moyer
Position Breakdown
1st Base- Ryan Howard went down, so Ross Gload / Mike Sweeney are now holding down the gig. They are a far cry from Howard, just as Podboy is a far cry from Manny. On the plus side for them is that Sweeney can mash LHP so they don't have the weak spot when a lefty is pitching that they used to. On the down side, Sweeney could just as easily hurt himself waking up leaving them with only Gload.
2nd Base - Hard to believe but old friend Wilson Valdez is the starting 2nd baseman while they wait for the Utley. Valdez is your basic AAAA utility infielder starting at 2nd base. While we lament the fact our lineup has the likes of Podboy, Ausmus, Carroll, and Theriot, the Phillie fans will not be very interested in our whining watching Valdez man 2nd base.
SS - Jimmy Rollins missed a bunch of games, and other then taking a walk at a career clip is not doing much else. He's almost doubled his walk rate to 12% but has zippo power, so basically he's become Jamey Carroll. Rollins hasn't had a slug% below .400 since he was 23 and if he doesn't improve, his .379 slug% will be the lowest of his career.
3rd Base - While all the other infield positions have been a downgrade since we last saw them, 3rd base has been an upgrade with Polanco. Not that Polanco is anything special, that was how bad Feliz was. Polanco is carrying a nifty .350 OBP but it is all batting average driven as the man simply doesn't walk (4%). He's carried that plus .300 average long enough that we know he can hit.
Catcher - Ruiz used to be only a Dodger killer but he's now doing damage to everyone as he built upon his solid 2009 season. His .360 wOBA and .824 OPS puts him among the top five NL catchers. Interesting how he's become a solid offensive contributor starting at the age of 30, after several years of offensive futility.
CF - Shane Victorino is another Phillie missing in action but he'll be returning sooner then the other disabled players, but not in time to face the Dodgers. Jayson Werth has moved from RF to CF during Victorino's absence so they are better off offensively in CF before the Victorino injury. Problem is the huge drop off in RF with Werth playing CF. Werth has picked a great year to have his best year. Werth was the talk of much trade speculation but they must be thrilled they did not pull that trigger. He simply keeps getting better and better and this will probably be his peak season. With a .923 OPS, along with his gaudy .396 wOBA Werth is simply one of the best players in the NL.
LF - Raul Ibanez was struggling headed into June, but in July/August he's on fire, with a 1.076 OPS since the All-Star break. I guess that fork they tried to stick into him in June, broke.
RF - Luckily for the Phillies they had behemoth Dominic Brown tearing up the minor leagues when Victorino went down, but for now, he's not living upto the hype. From Baseballhq.com
At 6'5" 200 pounds, he's tall, strong, and extremely athletic. Brown has all five tools in his arsenal. He's a natural hitter who battles left-handers and right-handers equally well. He's improved his ability to recognize pitches and can use the entire field. The question coming into the season was how much power he would develop - he has already established a career high in HR. His bat speed, strength, and backspin project to plus power. Not only does he hit well, but he has excellent speed. Brown likely won't steal many bases, but he is a solid baserunner and fine defender. He could use some polish with his routes and jumps, but his arm is well above average and he should become a terrific defender in time. Brown is a career .296/.373/.464 hitter in the minors.
In time he will probably be the monster they expect him to be but for now Ben Francisco looks like he's poaching some at bats. Francisco is a nice fourth outfielder to have hanging around and would probably make a great platoon mate for a team who needs a lefty masher, and he might even be able to do more if given the chance.
Bench - With all the injuries it is very thin. Schneider (back up catcher), Cody Ransom (2nd/3rd), Dobbs?. The others have been mentioned.
Starting Pitching for our Series: Couldn't have asked for a better scenario to miss Hamels and Halladay.
Game One - Kyle Kendrick - TSL .4.48/5.12/4.72 last 30 days 4.07/5.94/4.36. Gets by with a 90MPH fastball, Cutter, and change up. Doesn't K anyone, doesn't walk anyone.
Game Two - Roy Oswalt - Phillies got the prize but they have to hope "dead arm" was the only problem that Oswalt had after his last start, and that it doesn't last long. After all the deals this team would be plenty scary if the rotation was Lee, Halladay, Hamels, and anyone else, so I'm glad they decided to ditch Lee, sign Blanton, and go after Oswalt instead. No one should need an intro on Oswalt, he's good when he's healthy. Actually he's great when he's healthy.
Game Three -Joe Blanton is having an unlucky year but his luck has been changing l over the last 30 days. His TSL for the season is 5.65/4.49/4.40, while his 30 day line is 3.82/3.20/3.94.
Bullpen: Lidge is back but it is Madson who is having the biggest impact on the bullpen. Lidge gets to close and continues to rack up saves in a very rocky way, but Madson is still the best arm in the bullpen. Durbin, Contreras, and Baez make up the rest of the RH crew. JC Romero appears to be the only LH and he's been awful so maybe Andre and Loney won't be so useless when confronted with a left hander late in the game.
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Wonder why the auto tag link did not work
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
Same happened for me on the week in review. Probably just a bug.
by Eric Stephen on Aug 9, 2010 12:52 PM PDT up reply actions
The way this season is going
Dodgers will lose to Kendrick and Blanton. Beat Oswalt.
Domonic Brown
Has not taken a BB yet and has K’d 33% of the time. Don’t throw him anything but borderline strikes.
Who do you think is most likely of the four? Strasburg?
I think I would pick Heyward, if I had to pick one.
I started an Astros franchise last night on the show
Traded away every useable part on that team and got Buster Posey (they made him a beast with the last update) and Madison Bumgarner, then I had a created 3B power prospect to the mold of Adam Dunn in the minors. My first season I won about 64 games, then I went 47-115, and I was so dissapointed that I didn’t break the loss record. A season later I brought up the power hitting 3B prospect plus my first rounder pick from 2 years before (average hitting LF) and I won about 65-70 games, and I am on my way up, haha.
This is what you people get for me being bored at work.
"Stop exploding you cowards!!!"
You lost 115 games in a videogame? Holy crap.
by Michael White on Aug 9, 2010 1:18 PM PDT up reply actions
You should have seen how awful this team was
It was almost as shitty as the current astros lineup, haha. Buster Posey was the only CLOSE to above average hitter. I had 3 people with sub .200 batting averages. This was done on purpose so I could build through the draft. I didn’t sign any good free agents or anything either.
"Stop exploding you cowards!!!"
The Show seems to have gotten a lot better since I last played. I don’t think there was any advantage to losing and the draft was pointless. You also had no control of the minor leagues.
Besides, by the time you figure out the game, it was near impossible to lose even 20 times.
by Michael White on Aug 9, 2010 1:32 PM PDT up reply actions
Yeah, the last 2 years they have put draft compensation into the game
I think it all started from that Billy Beane game from 2009, which I had but couldn’t remember what it was called.
If you are a good team and are 25-30 in the draft, the draft is essentially worthless to you…but if you are 1-10 there are some serious studs, 11-24 some players who become every day players. What I love about The Show is that players actually progress in the minors and while they are young in the majors, so you can actually build through the draft rather than build through free agency and trades.
If I was playing all of these games I doubt I’d lose more than 30 with the current team I have, but since I simmed pretty much all of the 3 seasons I’ve done this team hasn’t done well at all.
"Stop exploding you cowards!!!"
Ah. So you are simming it. Makes sense.
I might actually pick the game up, it sounds a lot better than it used to be.
by Michael White on Aug 9, 2010 1:43 PM PDT up reply actions
translation
don’t muscle in on my racket.
by Tommy Blackjack on Aug 9, 2010 1:47 PM PDT up reply actions
If you want a baseball game
and you don’t want to have to mod the shit out of the old MVP games, The Show is the way to go.
Have you ever tried just turning off the TV, sitting down with your children, and hitting them?
I had 2 “The Show” games before. The only part I found challenging was trying to develop a player and make the big leagues.
But the second version I had pissed me off because you only had control of your own player on defense and the AA defenses sucked. So my FIP was awesome by my ERA sucked. You basically have to strike everybody out.
by Michael White on Aug 9, 2010 1:47 PM PDT up reply actions
Minor league defenses are the most frustrating thing in any baseball game I've ever played
No Hitters and perfect games are lost all the time thanks to crap defenses…Shawn Green!!!! lol
Road to the show is always fun, but Franchise is my bread and butter.
"Stop exploding you cowards!!!"
The game play is the best of any baseball game I've ever played, and I've had every The Show and MVP game
Yeah, I like to sim a lot of the games, but once I start getting better I will start playing in September if I am close to the playoffs at all.
"Stop exploding you cowards!!!"
A good computer game is Baseball Mogul
You can only manage games rather than play, but if you like to simulate, it has just about every big prospect in every team’s farm systems and you can go from there. I did a league with some friends and some people I didn’t know 2 years ago and it was really in depth and a ton of fun. Each day about a week was simulated and we could make trades with other managers and stuff like that. It was a blast.
"Stop exploding you cowards!!!"
Was waiting for someone to mention it
There’s always a handful of glaring holes/bugs, but it’s a much smoother and more fun interface than OOTP.
There are some problems after a few seasons with just simming, but it’s not a huge deal. I’m thinking of downloading Mogul onto my computer at work…but I somehow don’t think my bosses would like that ;)
"Stop exploding you cowards!!!"
I actually did that once
but the amount of minimizing and screen shrinking I had to do to make it all incognito made it unplayable.
I like to play through every game of the season on the play-by-play mode.
This year’s biggest downer for me is that it’s supposed to be netbook compatible, but the graphics for that screen size still have a lot of flaws. Kind of stuck in my craw; haven’t bought the new version for the first time in years.
I have never payed for baseball mogul ;)
I’ve had since 2008 for free from my friends.
"Stop exploding you cowards!!!"
playing the actual game is haaaaaaard
pitching is doable, but hitting is friggin impossible to do well. I also get enraged when I have a laughable OBP since taking a walk is probably the hardest thing to do in the game.
by hee came hee seop'd he choi'd on Aug 9, 2010 1:47 PM PDT up reply actions
Plus, you can download rosters from old scout guys that include all the minor league players for each team It is awesome!
by robotmadeofnails on Aug 9, 2010 2:40 PM PDT up reply actions
So what you're saying
Is not to create a team centered around Buster Posey and Bumgardner?
by BFDC on Aug 9, 2010 1:24 PM PDT up reply actions 3 recs
I tried for better players like Heyward and Gallardo, but I couldn’t get them for what I had. So i had to settle for this crap ;)
As soon as Posey is a free agent in 3 years I’m just going to offer him ARB and get draft picks for him, same with Madison.
"Stop exploding you cowards!!!"
Then a tradin him I'll goooooo!
I’m actually building a very good team with what I’ve done through drafting, and I’ve gotten a very good 2B, SS, LF in drafts so far, and I’ve got a young catcher (though I’ll use him for draft picks in 3 years) and a very young 3B masher (building my team around him), and the pitching staff is surprisingly good…I had a 3-22 pitcher with a 3.75 ERA (Bud Norris I think).
"Stop exploding you cowards!!!"
The dude is a stud for this crap team
I had to trade him because he wanted 11 million dollars a year, and a team winning 60-70 games shouldn’t pay a pitcher that (Royals…).
"Stop exploding you cowards!!!"
It’s normal settings, so I can’t get anything for free. I had to trade Berkman, Oswalt, and Bourn to get Buster Posey alone. Then I think Wandy Rodriguez and Carlos Lee to get Bumgarner.
Sometimes there will be a random player who is worth a lot in trades for whatever reason, and if a team is low at a certain position if you offer them a player at that position they will be more likely to accept. It’s really cool too because, by default, it takes 2 or 3 days for a team to accept a trade instead of just saying yes or no to it right away.
"Stop exploding you cowards!!!"
How does this game work?
You play armchair GM and the game simulates everything? I’m assuming you don’t actually play all of those games.
I started off only playing AAA games because that team was actually really good, and played about 20 or so (only hit, didn’t pitch), then I decided to sim a few seasons to see how the team turned out. Tonight I will play some of the games.
My favorite part of franchises is armchair-gming, I feel like I was born to do it :)
"Stop exploding you cowards!!!"
I liked
the 2k series for armchair GMing, since there was an actual GM mode with owner mandated moves
How would you define your approach to management, apart from being brilliant?
Yeah that was a cool feature
But this one is more in depth with the draft and free agency.
"Stop exploding you cowards!!!"
I have a wicked sweet 2k10 shirt
it says “Go Longo!” on it. One of the few pieces of swag I enjoyed.
Leading the league in OMGs || Proud owner of a Chad Billingsley Real Doll
If this DTV thing goes through in 2013 or 2014, would the channel likely be on one of the basic cable channels or would you have to pay more to get the channel?
damn it
sorry world for not titling that – DTV?
How would you define your approach to management, apart from being brilliant?
I would guess
and it’s just a guess, that it would be in the same cable package tier as Fox Sports West / Prime Ticket is now. The Dodgers can’t demand more than the Lakers already have in this town, can they?
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
Depends if they partner up with someone else like the Kings/Ducks and Clippers.
Google before you Tweet. It's the new Think before you Speak.
They and the Clippers are the main pair on Prime Ticket
Can’t see a new Dodgers TV channel being in a higher tier than Prime Ticket already is in.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
Piece on J Gibbons (sorry if mentioned earlier)
(From Dylan Hernandez): Jay Gibbons “embarrassed” by the Mitchell Report, gets a second chance with the Dodgers, @stevedilbeck writes: http://tinyurl.com/2f4wb9h
I don’t usually read Dilbeck any more but seems worth a look…
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 read that
good piece. Pretty much just about him being out of baseball, but after watching a playoff game and just getting the itch back.
by Tommy Blackjack on Aug 9, 2010 1:39 PM PDT up reply actions
So I clicked on this article about someone on the Twins being smitten with Robin Meade because she is hot. The article is really not that interesting, but I did notice this
Wanna ’fess up, Cuddyer? How about you Repko? Mauer? Kubel? Anyone?
I like how Repko is lumped in with Cuddyer, Mauer, Kubel…
It was covered in the last thread
awesome picture tho
by SeanMillerSavior on Aug 9, 2010 1:51 PM PDT up reply actions
Just went into the older thread, and I had missed those later comments. My bad.
Brother’s logo is the picture in Dodgers’ colors
what up Brim bro
glad to see your brother is turning it around. Still rather he come in against lefties, but he did have that scoreless inning the other day, so good for him.
by Tommy Blackjack on Aug 9, 2010 1:56 PM PDT up reply actions
well I actually did miss that in the last thread haha
so thanks
William Doolittle at your service, a.k.a. will do.
OT - Watching Deliverance
Movies in the 70s didn’t use a whole lot of incidental music. I can’t tell if I like it better or if it’s just different.
How would you define your approach to management, apart from being brilliant?
we should ask him
how many hill folk he had to kill, and whether or not it was self defense.
How would you define your approach to management, apart from being brilliant?
I'm glad I didn't think of rewatching that before I left!
{cue banjo music}
I did tease my stepdad, who has a fear of bears due to a couple of bad experiences, that he should watch “”http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119051/" target="new">The Edge" before heading to camp.
Also didn’t watch: Wolf Creek.
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
link break
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119051/
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
speaking of music
did it trip anyone else out that No Country for Old Men had zero background music? at least none I can remember.
by Tommy Blackjack on Aug 9, 2010 2:15 PM PDT up reply actions
for clarifications sake
incidental music = background music. But yeah, I think they were going for an older feeling with that movie
How would you define your approach to management, apart from being brilliant?
the "squeal piggy"
molestation almost rape scene
How would you define your approach to management, apart from being brilliant?
Ned Beatty
and I didn’t think there was any “almost” about that scene, at least in the uncut version.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
either I misinterpreted something or HDNet movie channel cut something out
How would you define your approach to management, apart from being brilliant?
Hmmm....
Maybe i’m misunderstanding the question, but I think a lot of 70’s movies have great incidental musinc
French Connection
Seven-ups
Hot Rock
Taking of Pelham 123
Rocky (as much as I hate the music now)
apocalypse Now
The conversation
Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Taxi Driver
The list goes on. Or are you talking about something else?
Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man
It's just not used the same way as now
Now you get 30 song soundtracks and pop music round every corner. Deliverance just used Dueling Banjos in key spots, the Bond films did the same thing, using the theme song throughout the movie.
But I’d say the majority of the film just had background noise, whereas I feel modern movies the majority of the film has some music playing somewhere in the scene.
How would you define your approach to management, apart from being brilliant?
Did anyone see Ned's and Joe's quotes about Anderson in the Dilbeck piece?
Firing offense, IMO. For both of them.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dodgers/2010/08/only-dodgers-question-on-garret-anderson-is-what-possibly-took-so-long.html
Wow 2 straight Dilbeck pieces that were worth reading!
Honestly though, is there anything that surprising in that article? Yes Ned and Torre like veterans on the bench. They liked Garrett. They kept him around too long, we all agree with that. But nothing earth shatteringly different there than what we already know about Ned and Joe.
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
Right, but
the difference here is that they both pretty much admitted, in an interview, that their respect for GA’s pre-2004 ability outweighs their desire for winning. There’s not even any sentimental value for keeping the guy a la Ken Griffey, as he was never a Dodger.
by The Dude Abides on Aug 9, 2010 4:31 PM PDT up reply actions
I agree it's quite lame on their part. I guess I just find none of it surprising.
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 find it surprising that they admitted it
They both knew in early May that GA had nothing left, admitted to Dilbeck that they kept him around for sentimental reasons, and implied they knew his lack of performance was hurting the team. Yet they kept him around for three more months after they knew he was done, while sending Xavier Paul back down to AAA after OPSing around .800 during his first go-round with the big club. What’s worse, Ned explained to Xavier that he needed to start acting like a big leaguer when he told him he was being sent down. Nothing like getting in the heads of your young players. I wonder if that messed with his psyche, because he’s hit like crap with the big club ever since.
by The Dude Abides on Aug 9, 2010 6:49 PM PDT up reply actions
yeah, it really bothered me reading that. This coaching staff is proving more and more that they don’t really have a clue how to deal with younger players. It’s said because the team is mostly younger guys and you have to wonder what they are really being told when things don’t go right.
by Tommy Blackjack on Aug 9, 2010 6:56 PM PDT up reply actions
Yah I agree with finding it bothersome. It's all just making me hope
they go younger with manager next year. Wallach or Ausmus or someone like that would be better about dealing with things like this. Of course, they’d still need to be on similar page with GM so NedCo has to be more flexible about the veteran fetish.
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
that's what I would be hoping for with Wallach
he can obviously handle younger players, being in AAA and all.
by Tommy Blackjack on Aug 9, 2010 8:32 PM PDT up reply actions
GA,
“Its about time Joe! I wanted to take my family on vacation before summer was over!”
"If your Mr. October, I'm Mr. Spring, Summer and Winter!" - Tommy Lasorda to Reggie Jackson
Me: “Hey, the Dodgers got rid of Garrett Anderson.”
Co-worker: “Oh yeah, when did that happen?”
Me: “Yesterday.”
Co-worker: “Is that a good thing?”
You have 1 guy that you are 100%
sure cannot do it vs 1 guy you have no idea if he can do it.
I’ll take my chances with the second guy.
As long as Ned learns from his mistakes about employing players that haven’t been productive for several years, I’m good.
Jay Gibbons
The 2010 version of 2006 Marlon Anderson
In other news...
Chargers’ fans have been seeing therapists since Nate Kaeding’s playoff choke job.
"If your Mr. October, I'm Mr. Spring, Summer and Winter!" - Tommy Lasorda to Reggie Jackson
One for game changing missed FG...
in his Playoff career!
"If your Mr. October, I'm Mr. Spring, Summer and Winter!" - Tommy Lasorda to Reggie Jackson
Buster Logic
Buster Olney on twitter: Mariners could consider Bobby Valentine as next manager because he has Japanese connection.
Underdog: You mean like the manager they just fired? Sigh.
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
Save money
Ichiro as player/manager. He’s a popular guy. Could be a real “player’s coach.”
Also, he’s got lots of heart.
I went to a sushi restaurant last week called Ichiro and they had a baseball player design etched into the front of their menus. It was pretty cool actually.
Where's that at?
Does sound kinda interesting, even if kind of corny.
He’s probably in the top 3 of active baseball players I’d want to meet.
I think he grew up deaf
for the first 14 years of his life, and he simply appreciates the gift of auditory communication more than most and expresses himself thusly.
by Eric Stephen on Aug 9, 2010 3:19 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
He heard it through the grapevine
And I’m just about to lose my mind.
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
Wakamatsu from what I been told doesn't speak Japanese.
Bobby Valentine managed in Japan for years. Not as ignorant as you may think.
Ivdown
my YMCA dance is so good because of the large amounts of bar/bat mitzvahs I attended back in middle school. :)
Thanks, robotmadeofnails! I’m glad you liked my wicked sweet dancing skills. :)
Leading the league in OMGs || Proud owner of a Chad Billingsley Real Doll
Random question
Say I was constructing a website. And I wanted to show a gallery of images, previewable as thumbnails. What would be the best way to host those images?
Leading the league in OMGs || Proud owner of a Chad Billingsley Real Doll
Like, something that would be able to be accessible via a web page?
Leading the league in OMGs || Proud owner of a Chad Billingsley Real Doll
Yeah, there’s something I installed at work a while ago that thumbnails everything and makes nice pages.
Do you have control over the server?
I think we have to create a server…so yes?
Leading the league in OMGs || Proud owner of a Chad Billingsley Real Doll
word
thank you. helping my old boss out :)
Leading the league in OMGs || Proud owner of a Chad Billingsley Real Doll
So I guess none of you listen to ESPN.
Jalen Rose and Jay Mariotti have been going on the last hour or so that Matt Kemp wants to be traded because he thinks ownership and the front office can’t build a competitive team in the next two years. The source would be Jalen Rose himself over drinks after a game, or something.
He's controlled for only two more years. I guess he figures why should he stay if the team is not good enough.
Who knows, maybe he read Humma’s fanpost.
Like the Dodgers?
Have you ever tried just turning off the TV, sitting down with your children, and hitting them?
Player collusion is illegal?
Thats bullshit and a half.
Have you ever tried just turning off the TV, sitting down with your children, and hitting them?
Rose is claiming
That Kemp told him this?
So Rose is either lying or breaking huge news.
by Michael White on Aug 9, 2010 3:46 PM PDT up reply actions
If Kemp really wants to play on a winning team, that would be a good thing.
If Kemp is talking about getting traded because Ned wants to do something stupid, that would be a bad thing.
People don't think it be like this, but it do.
If Kemp really wants to play on a winning team
I’d suggest he start hitting the fucking ball.
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
by Phil Gurnee on Aug 9, 2010 4:02 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
This is good advice
You can bitch if you’re doing well, but if you are sucking, STFU.
"Stop exploding you cowards!!!"
Well
it was a private conversation supposedly, so who knows.
Have you ever tried just turning off the TV, sitting down with your children, and hitting them?
And he can start playing elite defense.
by robotmadeofnails on Aug 9, 2010 4:12 PM PDT up reply actions
He's been playing pretty close to elite defense
For the past month or two. He was crappy during the first couple of months.
by The Dude Abides on Aug 9, 2010 4:36 PM PDT up reply actions
My sister and brother did
My mother waited out in the parking lot for them.
Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man
So basically he went the Scarface route in Half Baked
“Fuck you, Fuck you, Fuck you, you’re cool, Fuck you, I’m out!”
To the surprise of no one
Brennan Boesch (OF) DET 8/9/2010
Boesch is not in the lineup for Monday’s game against the Rays, the Tigers’ official site reports. Boesch has been slumping for nearly a month, hitting just 12-for-97 (.124) since July 10. He’ll sit out for the second time in three days.
Just took him longer then expected. Hope he enjoyed his run.
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
Oh no...another ex-Giant
DON’T DO IT, NED!!!!!!!
by The Dude Abides on Aug 9, 2010 4:38 PM PDT up reply actions
Matt Kemp's new neighbor
Donna Summer. Matt’s new cougar?
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
Heard this: it was at the behest of Ned Colletti, who wanted Kemp to “work hard for the money.”
by Eric Stephen on Aug 9, 2010 4:55 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions 3 recs
Andy LaRoche (age 22, AA): .309/.419/.483
Trayvon Robinson (age 22, AA): .303/.402/.448 (entering tonight)
Oh, right
because he is on the 40-man. Ned protected from himself!
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
If Ned makes a trade on 8/31 that has Trayvon as a PTBNL
Either Ned is seriously deluded or the Dodgers had a helluva three-week run.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
The problem with extreme paitence is that the Dodgers front office doesn't care for that.
Look at DeJesus’s 2008 season. Dodgers didn’t give a crap about it.
Why do you say that?
Who knows what would have happened last year had he not broken his leg? Are you suggesting they should have brought him up in 2008? That seems far-fetched.
by Eric Stephen on Aug 9, 2010 4:56 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
The third base job was LaRoche's in 2008
Until his thumb was broken.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
They only signed Hudson for one year
Both he and DeWitt were supposed to be stopgaps, the bridge to DeJesus, until he broke his damn leg.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
And now he's out of their plans because of Theriot.
If you’re concerned about OBP, you don’t trade for Theriot.
Ned's story is, and is going to remain
that the Cubs wanted DeWitt or better prospects that he wasn’t willing to deal in exchange for Lilly. To Ned, the better deal was DeWitt, but to make that work he needed a 2B in return, and that was Theriot.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
I don't want to get too far into quote parsing
but Ned did say
We could have had Lilly without trading DeWitt, but there were more dynamics than meets the eye.I assume that means more/better prospects in the deal besides or other than Wallach and Smit, and that Ned didn’t want to move said prospects (Jerry Sands? Trayvon?). I suppose it could mean Chicago wouldn’t have sent the $2.5M in the deal.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
I don't see Theriot making DeJesus out of the team's future plans
That’s a silly leap in logic.
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
Theriot is controlled until 2012.
DeJesus is going to be at least 25 after that. If your goal is to compete now, you can’t afford to develop DeJesus on the fly. To Ned, he rather have the finished product in Theriot.
I’m questioning if the front office even thought it was a good season. They rather see a higher BA than OBP from their leadoff men.
That’s more of a speed/needing to make things happen approach. Pods and Theriot can steal bases. So, Torre wants them there until Furcal comes back. When Furcal comes back Theriot will move to 7th.
C'mon now
You KNOW that was when Ethier wasn’t with the team because of the baby being born.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
He could have easily put Kemp or Loney in the 3 spot.
He did it because he seriously thinks that Scotty Pods and Theriot on top give him the best chance to win.
I will only agree that
Joe sees Pods as slappy, fast leadoff guy, and Theriot as no-power, punch to the right side, second-place hitter – essentially both are what Torre sees as old-school, prototype 1 and 2 hitters.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
Torre did do that the next day
Furcal and Theriot have been in the lineup together only twice.
The first game has Pods, Theriot and Furcal with Ethier gone.
The very next day (with Ethier back batting 6th) was Pods, Furcal and Kemp. Theriot batted 8th that game.
Nevermind the fact I heard the man say Furcal would bat 2nd when he comes back Tuesday (or whenever).
Unfortunately
Joe does have a track record of saying he will do one thing, but when the time comes he does something different.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
Theriot is making $2.6M this year after losing his arb case
Ned may or may not want to pay him ~$3M next year or whatever the year after.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
Since they control him
They can always flip Theriot over the off season too
Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man
Except they wouldn't.
They had a similar situation with Sherrill, and they didn’t do it. They like Theriot. They’re keeping them.
They'll have to decide between
Theriot at ~$3M, Belliard at ~$1M, or someone else at $?. Carroll will still be here.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Ned signs Theriot to be the starting 2B, but I wouldn’t say it’s a lock either.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
You know what they say
You can’t walk off Chattanooga
Google before you Tweet. It's the new Think before you Speak.
Didn't he break his leg in ST 2009
before the Dodgers had a chance to give a crap or not about it? Well, it was March 2, two weeks into camp at most.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
So how long until Furcal returns?
From mlb.com last night:
Another Tuesday return for the Dodgers, shortstop Rafael Furcal, seemed less likely Sunday than it did the day before. After saying he expected him back Tuesday, manager Joe Torre used the word hopeful on Sunday instead.Furcal did play on August 2, so if they decided to put him on the DL retroactively, he’d first be eligible to return on 8/17 against Colorado, missing this entire road trip. (Note, even after Belisario is activated, there is an open spot on the 40-man roster for Juan Castro.)
Furcal has been out since Monday, and after an MRI came back favorably, the team felt a trip to the disabled list was unnecessary. Furcal has yet to hit and didn’t exactly seem optimistic.
“I cannot run 100 percent, I cannot swing the bat good,” Furcal said. “Throwing is not bothering me much. Problem is sometimes I have a sharp pain [when leaning forward to field a ball].”
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
listened to the radio today in the car
seems like every caller wants to blame Kemp for the team’s misery.
Adam Morrison has more rings than Lebron, Bosh, and Wade combined?
Brilliant move from Colletti (for himself) to plant that in the public’s head early in the season. It definitely fits in nicely with the LA desire for a true star, and the expectation, even among casual fans that Kemp was going to be that star this year.
well, I think SOME disappointment is understandable
but yeah, it’s (predictably) getting blown out of proportion. I can only wonder what would have happened if this had all been going on with the Yankees! I did live in New York during the Strawberry era, and this all reminds me very much of that situation. I’m reasonably more optimistic that the Kemp story will have a happier ending than that- and preferably, with the Dodgers.
yeah
Kemp was sorta struggling in CF early in the year, Colletti rips on him for that after giving him a new contract and now every caller/the media thinks he sucks in CF. I mean sure he hasn’t been as great as he was last year but people make it seem so much worse and are all of a sudden willing to trade him. Its ridiculous.
Adam Morrison has more rings than Lebron, Bosh, and Wade combined?
From Bison to
The sports loving public is always looking for a new person to blame. It’s one reason why I’m sorry GA is gone. he made a convenient if pointless scapegoat. Glad it’s no longer Chad Billingsley at least. And now Martin is injured.
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
hey, don't forget Manny
his determination to “quit on the Dodgers” has been so strong, it has shown up on his MRI as a serious leg injury!
Kaka
played through the world cup with no legs, obviously Manny just isn’t a true competitor
How would you define your approach to management, apart from being brilliant?
no
I meant beforehand. But Andrew Siciliano mentioned to Tony Jackson this morning how “some fans” were cynical that Manny was faking/exagerrating, to which Jackson, no Manny apologist, said that his injury was very real, and Manny was very frustrated about it.
The beat writers are so much better than
the radio talk show guys, who are the lowest of the low. (This excludes the Dodger Talk hosts who are knowledgeable about the team.)
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
different jobs. I mean, I agree 100%, but if your’e on commercial AM or FM radio your job is basically to get people mad, to blow stuff out of proportion, and basically appeal to morons.
completely agree
Ken Levine occasionally makes a comment that you’d expect to see on the Dodgers.com message board (don’t we all), but he more than makes up for it with his great sense of humor, especially at his own expense.
Russell with HR #7 today
It’s taken him some time, but he’s starting to put up solid numbers
by SeanMillerSavior on Aug 9, 2010 5:18 PM PDT reply actions
Thinking about Kuo getting used last night
His second night in a row, in a pointless situation.
Ideas:
1) They’re showcasing him to another team who wants to see that he can hold up during the stretch run
2) They’re testing whether he can hold up as the Dodgers’ closer for the rest of the year, so they can trade Broxton
3) Torre’s Magic 8 Ball said “My sources say Kuo.”
People don't think it be like this, but it do.
4) Torre's general cluelessness
regarding how to handle a bullpen without Mariano Rivera.
by The Dude Abides on Aug 9, 2010 6:57 PM PDT up reply actions
who is this Geoff Geary?
and what does he do?
by Tommy Blackjack on Aug 9, 2010 7:09 PM PDT up reply actions
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gearyge01.shtml
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
Remember Your Roots
Hopefully Dewitt and Koye Hill will remember their Dodger roots tonight and help the Cubs defeat the evil ones.
games like that
make me wish I had extra innings.
by Tommy Blackjack on Aug 9, 2010 7:22 PM PDT up reply actions
Steven Ames is a baller for the Loons
I have a feeling he will be a September call-up next season
by SeanMillerSavior on Aug 9, 2010 7:22 PM PDT reply actions
hes a RP
so although he is in low A now, he can sky-rocket thru the minors if he keeps producing
by SeanMillerSavior on Aug 9, 2010 7:27 PM PDT up reply actions
cubbies score 1 in the top 1st off bumgarner, they've got 1st and 3rd with 2 out
William Doolittle at your service, a.k.a. will do.
alfonso just hit a double to keep the inning alive
blake at the plate
William Doolittle at your service, a.k.a. will do.
Dewitt forgetting or remembering his roots
So far Dewitt has come up twice with bases loaded and 1st and third-no rbi"s. Koye HIll has a hit
Dewitt doing it with the glove
According to the Giant announcers, Dewitt has made two fine defensive plays one accounting for a double play. Can’t tell sense I am listening on the radio. These days all giant failures come with a level of drama and angst that is truly amusing to non-giant fans.
hm
the fact that he suddenly is saying that, makes the whole “he is just negotiating” seems more legit.
Have you ever tried just turning off the TV, sitting down with your children, and hitting them?
Actually
His teammate asked if he was going to sign and Lee said “I don’t think so”.
“I don’t think so” > “no”
everybody's gonna pay
cause the million dollar man…..ALWAYS gets his way. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
by Tommy Blackjack on Aug 9, 2010 8:52 PM PDT up reply actions
he would literally
buy the championship. I mean, he has experience.
by Tommy Blackjack on Aug 9, 2010 9:11 PM PDT up reply actions
You really had to make sure you were in the front of the line when the WWF was handing out gimmicks.
“Ted, have we got a gimmick for you, The Million Dollar Man. You throw money around, get hot women, and taunt children”
“Sweet”
“So what about me”
“Garbage man”
lol
no kidding. I have a great book called “Wrestlecrap, the worst of Pro Wrestling.” It’s like a history book of the worst gimmicks and storylines in Pro Wrestling history. It’s horribly hilarious.
by Tommy Blackjack on Aug 9, 2010 9:31 PM PDT up reply actions
anyone with a lot of money
that doesnt have to give half of it to his ex-wife : /
William Doolittle at your service, a.k.a. will do.
McCourt’s ownership has two problems.
First, Fox held the TV rights back when they sold the team. Any owner would be hamstrung in that situation, no matter what his financial status.
Second, McCourt believes a competitive team need only cost $100 million. That’s all he plans to spend, whether he gets a new revenue or not.
A new owner would change the second problem, but not the first. Only time will change that.
People don't think it be like this, but it do.
the Padres are winning the division right now
with a payroll way below the Dodgers. This is a good team we have that is severely underachieving. We can’t blame the entire thing on McCourt and his bullshit.
by Tommy Blackjack on Aug 9, 2010 9:39 PM PDT up reply actions
You left out the biggest problem McCourt ownership has
the massive debt service due to the highly leveraged purchase.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
If he’s right about his second point, then yours is irrelevant.
At least it has been so far.
by Michael White on Aug 10, 2010 7:33 AM PDT up reply actions
The $100 payroll
could be dictated by the budgeting necessary to accomodate the debt servicing.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
If that’s the case, then he is not correct.
by Michael White on Aug 10, 2010 8:27 AM PDT up reply actions
We are going to pass
our Philosophy 101: Analysis of Argument and Critical Reasoning class!
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
Signing Zach Lee will cheer me up from this season. Scouts say he can throw up to 95 (regularly sits 89-91,could add more velocity), plus curve and change, and18 years old. He has clean mechanics and has great extension.
If he signs, he automatically becomes a top 10 prospect for the Dodgers. Just my opinion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4wFtTj0-k4&feature=player_embedded
Trailer for Tucker and Dale VS Evil, looks sort of funny although the trailer seems to give away the whole movie.
18 yo Ralston Cash with the best night (by far) of his young career
5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K
Only to be shown up by his own teammate, Beyker Fructuoso, who has put up
2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
two things
1. Nice hawk, very Chuck Liddell
2. How big is Sands? He looked massive compared to the umps and manager.
by Tommy Blackjack on Aug 9, 2010 9:46 PM PDT up reply actions
Umpires are full of themselves at all levels. Ya, Sands was pissed, but let that shit go. Don’t be a little bitch and eject him because he hurt your feelings by showing some displeasure against your call.
by UCLADodger32 on Aug 9, 2010 10:21 PM PDT up reply actions
And Mota strikes out 2 and gets a 1-2-3 inning....sigh
William Doolittle at your service, a.k.a. will do.
Giant TV announcer know Dodger fans are watching...trying to torture us
(slight paraphrasing)
“Blake DeWitt has been hitting .348 since joining the Cubs”
“he’s been a factor in this game, mainly for his defense”
“ya know, I think he’s the reason they (the Cubs) made the trade, they keep raving about him”
“of course, they got a couple of additional prospects, too”
DeWitt taken out on a double switch
3-3 Bot 8. Uribe at first with nobody out.
Troncoso officially optioned
http://www.truebluela.com/2010/8/9/1614854/ramon-troncoso-was-optioned-to#comments
No confirmation on corresponding move however.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
i thought
the move was bringing back Belisario?
by Tommy Blackjack on Aug 9, 2010 10:06 PM PDT up reply actions
what in the heck?
figures when I have the sound off, something weird would happen. On a 1-2 pitch, ball fouled off, and the runner reaches first. They said something about Buster Posey getting in the way of the swing, he gets charged with the error. I didn’t understand.
Cubs' strike 3 swings were on balls 20 feet out of the strikezone (give or take)
Huff Posey and Burrell coming up in the bottom of the 9th. oy.
Pat Burrell almost ends the game
then almost gets thrown out at second, but no such luck. What can MCC whipping boy Aaron Rowand do?
argh!
damnit! Missed a 2 run HR by about 2 feet.
“Just about every other yard in America” it’s a homer, according to the Giant announcer. nice touch.
Marcos Mateo now pitching for the Cubs
3-3 Bottom of the 10th.
WOW
ishikawa out at the plate. still 3—3
"You can't please me. You never met me. Zoë, why do I have a wife? "
DOUBLE DOWN THE LINE BY TORRES
Ishikawa coming around third. Bobbled in right. Throw to the plate and he is
OUT. 3-3 Top of the 11th!
OUT AT THE PLATE!
Nice throw from the RF after bobbling it. Runner missed tagging home by a few inches. There are actually people that think baseball is boring?!
John Ireland
would complain that the game is too long and should be decided in the 7th inning by both managers lathering him up in oil… the first one done wins.
yeah really
with all my anti-ESPN comments in the past, I’m trying to tone it down a bit, but they’re making it awfully difficult for me to do that these days. East coast bias has been bad enough, but this year, it seems the hosts and guests have resorted to bashing baseball itself! Unbelievable. Guess there aren’t enough vuvuzelas in it for them.
I would hardly hold up local yokel John Ireland
as representative of ESPN’s national outlook. He’s nothing but the local idiot blathering on the radio on the local station that happens to be ESPN radio’s affiliate. And LA local sports talk radio has been generally imbecilic for decades.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
Torre said he’ll return but Furcal didn’t sound confident. I’d lean toward Furcal not being activated. At least not for tomorrow.
has he even been put on the DL?
I was under the impression he was day-to-day. My guess is if he doesn’t start tomorrow (which I doubt he will), they’ll officially place him on the DL, retroactively, and call up another bench player.
STARlin Castro on
Bochy sticking with the LOOGY? Nope
I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.
that was lame
bloop single that hung up there forever. leadoff single, with the middle of the order coming up.
This plate ump sucks
That was strike 2
I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.
yup
and that’s another single. 1st and 3rd, no one out, Posey and Burrell coming up. Are you really not bringing in your closer in this situation?!
But Joe Torre did it!!!
/snark
I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.
by angelofdeath on Aug 9, 2010 10:53 PM PDT up reply actions
I'd hesistate to bring the Wild Marmol
into an inherited runners situation. WP, PB, BB all coming into play quite a bit. At least gives you pause.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
At least the Giants are having to sweat
Not confident the Cubs can pull it out but hoping. No more miracles for the Cubs
First and Third with no outs
So lame that teams won’t use their best relief pitcher due to the stupid “save” stat.
That's the Gnats feed I think
I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.
by angelofdeath on Aug 9, 2010 10:54 PM PDT up reply actions
5.5 GB
Not that we’re running out of a list of things to complaing about or anything, but we could’ve claimed Pat Burrell, right? We’d have Burrell and Lucas May. Instead……we have Scott Podsednik and no catcher. I can’t wait to hear more about what a “miracle worker” Ned is with these trades in the days to come.
Ok, that’s enough moping for the night. Good night.
Burrell was cut by the Rays (because he was awful) and signed with the Giants on May 29th. Manny was healthy during that time.
Big difference.
oh yeah
I forgot about Manny. Fair enough on Burrell, but I’ve been too nervous to check how little the Pads gave up for Ludwick. Their fans seemed pretty happy with the trade, so I didn’t even bother to look.
I think we filled out quota for lead-footed outfielders
I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.
by angelofdeath on Aug 9, 2010 11:00 PM PDT up reply actions
*out=our
I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.
by angelofdeath on Aug 9, 2010 11:00 PM PDT up reply actions
do we pay a luxury tax
when Dunn joins the team?
by Tommy Blackjack on Aug 9, 2010 11:07 PM PDT up reply actions
Phillies will have a second lefty in the pen
Antonio Bastardo is getting called up today, per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.
by Eric Stephen on Aug 10, 2010 6:14 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
New article is up
http://www.truebluela.com/2010/8/10/1613989/it-dont-mean-a-thing-if-they-aint
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
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