text:
Lunch, moves, lineup
Had the chance to grab lunch today with my White Sox counterpart, Scott Reifert, who was the one you all have to thank for Inside the Dodgers. He started Inside the White Sox midway through a season and they finished with a World Championship. If only it were that easy! In any event, it's somewhat normal for us to try and get together with our colleagues at other teams when they're in town and this was a very welcome exchange of ideas, especially since we'll be sharing a Spring Training complex with them in years to come.
After lunch, we officially made the move to purchase the contract of Brian Falkenborg and put Scott Proctor on the 15-day DL. Making room for Brian on the 40-man came by putting Gary Bennett on the 60-day DL.
As for tonight's lineup, here it is…
Pierre, LF
Ethier, RF
Kent, 2B
Martin, C
Loney, 1B
Kemp, CF
DeWitt, 3B
Berroa, SS
Stults, P
264 Comments
It's great how this move happened on a day when Nedorino gets ripped in the paper for his poor trade making! Gotta love how the world works don't you.
Well, no piano for JP today 🙂 kind of wonder why the move between Ethier and Kemp in the lineup – hmmmm!
Hi Josh, thanks for all the updates. Quick question, why hasn't the Dodgers promote Russell Martin for the All-Star game like last year ?
More about batting and "patience". I think patience means not swinging at pitcher's pitches (balls, corner strikes) and swinging at hitter's pitches (fat strikes – fastball down the middle, hanging breaking balls). So among the regulars, who swings at the most balls? Only 20% of Martin's swing are at balls. Not surprising that Kemp is at 1/3; he is raw and fooled a lot. But check out where the veterans stand. It always looked to me that JP made a lot of weak contact on bad pitches to hit; here's some evidence.
Stolen from the Dodger Thoughts comments:
21. StolenMonkey86 2008-06-25 16:34:26
To be fair, "Swinging at Bad Pitches" may be better measured by out-of-zone swing percentage than with P/PA.
O-Swing% from Fangraphs, 2008
Martin: 20.26%
Furcal: 23.78%
Loney: 25.87%
Ethier: 26.28%
Kent: 27.74%
DeWitt: 27.87%
Pierre: 29.19%
Kemp: 33.65%
westernmost (from previous thread) – what's still telling about both lists is that Kent and Pierre are still on the bottom half. I can take Kemp being at the bottom because with his potential, he will make up for it in homeruns and RBIs, unlike Pierre and Kent.
enchanted – LMAO!! Mrs. P and the spatula is just too hilarious!!
I read elsewhere that Proctor was going on the DL. But the option seems official. That's an impressively bold move with a guy who has been in the majors for several years.
But I was posting because we have a problem. A few people mentioned the Simers article, and usually he screws around with people–this time, he let Joe and Ned talk. And there is a real problem:
According to the article, "Torre says he likes the approach Juan Pierre and JeffKent take, and Russell Martin does well at times, but the rest of the Dodgers' lineup is too impatient and swings at too many bad pitches."
Name the only players on the active roster with lower on-base percentages than Juan Pierre? Jeff Kent, Angel Berroa, Luis Maza, Mark Sweeney, and Danny Ardoin. And all the pitchers except Eric Stults.
Name all the players on the active roster with worse OPS than Jeff Kent? Juan Pierre, Luis Maza, Angel Berroa, Danny Ardoin, and Mark Sweeney. And all the pitchers except Eric Stults and Hong Chih Kuo.
Let me repeat that–Hong Chih Kuo has a better OPS than Jeff Kent.
In other words, except for emergency players recently called up from AAA because of injuries, and the horrible Mark Sweeney, Jeff Kent and Juan Pierre are the two worst hitters on the team. As someone pointed out earlier, no one takes fewer pitches than Jeff Kent per at-bat, and only Kent and Matt Kemp (a .290 hitter and the team RBI leader) take fewer than the LEAD-OFF hitter Juan Pierre. Put aside the fact that Kent and Pierre are continually inserted into the top of the line-up–once again today, first and third, there is a larger problem.
Our manager most likes our worst hitters.
That's it. There's nothing more to say.
Our manager most likes our worst hitters.
We could joke that if Ethier wanted to earn more playing time he could be less patient at teh plate, hit fewer long balls, and get out more, but that's not really funny.
Our manager most likes our worst hitters.
We're doomed if that does not change. I would like to believe that this is Joe Torre simply not looking at statistics. And as bad as that would be, it's far worse than the alternative explanations. But I think that the reality is taht you're not going to change a guy who has been a manager for 23 years, and whose success is apparently more related to the unlimited payroll his Yankee teams had.
It's a real problem, and those who think that Torre's managerial skills were better demonstrated by his losing records witht he Mets and Cardinals, and just barely ahead with the Braves, have a much better argument.
Our manager most likes our worst hitters.
We need a new manager.
Going to the game tonight so you guys take it from here.
In case anyone missed on the old thread, I've lost more confidence in Ned:
It's almost July, why is Ned still GM? He'd be happier than a pig in s*!t if Ng or White left to Seattle… then we'd have no choice as loyal Dodger fans but to abide by his longing to have all the successful components of the 1997 All-Star team.
"WOW!!! Mike Mussina!!! That guy works wonders for the Orioles! And all I have to do is give up Looney, Del Witt and… what's his name?… Peyton Kershaw? WHERE DO I SIGN?!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
By northstateblues on June 25, 2008 4:41 PM
"Hey Ned, I'll give you 4 shiny nickels for that measley quarter you're holding"
"I'LL TAKE IT!!! heh heh heh, sucker."
By northstateblues on June 25, 2008 4:44 PM
I have a new song coming up, just gotta run a quick errand. I'll give you a hint, they're pronounced Len-Nerd Skin-Nerd.
As for tonight's lineup, here it is…
Pierre, LF
Ethier, RF
Kent, 2B
Martin, C
Loney, 1B
Kemp, CF
DeWitt, 3B
Berroa, SS
Stults, P
Joe: They say we're old and we can't see
Anything good about walks or OBP.
Juan: Well I don't care if all that's true
'Cause you got me, and baby I got you
Juan: Babe
Both: I got you babe I got you babe
Joe: They say our love won't win no games
But I don't care if we go down in flames.
Juan: I guess that's so, I don't care either
as long as I get to start instead of Ethier
Juan: Babe
Both: I got you babe I got you babe
Juan: I got 8….point 8 mil, and I put you…. in my will.
Joe: And when I'm sad, you're a clown
And if I get scared, you're always around
Joe: So let them say your hat's too big
'Cause I don't care, let them call me pig
Juan: Then put your little hand in mine
There ain't no hill or mountain we can't climb
Juan: Babe
Both: I got you babe I got you babe
Juan: I got you to write my name
Joe: I got you to lead the game
Juan: I got you to pull up my socks
Joe: I got you to take me on walks
Both: I got you babe
Again……………For goodness sake Joe, bench him once. Bat him eighth once. I'm getting tired of hearing this song.
I've gotten up to June 15th in the Song Blog. Enchanted's Bohemian Rhapsody is the last one at the moment. I hope to catch up tonight.
C'mon Dodger Blue!!!!!
leefink – very sad, but unfortunately true – if something doesn't happen this young group is doomed.
Have a great time birken!
Eric – thanks for the Groundhog Day song again. LMAO!!!
What's the unnatural attraction between JoJo and his pet PVLs?
It ain't healthy.
It ain't right.
It's good to see most of our heavy artillary in there tonight.
The next thing to do is to use some of it against Gavin Floyd.
Eric Stults is like having nine position batters in the lineup.
gosh i knew it. damnit i knew it. It's not even fun making fun anymore. Were a laughingstock.
Darn, that piano I had programmed for Pierre got Proctor. I'll have to check out the systems to get the right P guy next time. Either way, I think we have benefitted from that piano.
That's good perumike – the wrong P – LMAO!!! The right P's mom is chasing down enchanted as we speak. Either that or she's in Ned's office insisted Juanpy play everyday. LMAO!!!
I must repost this from the previous thread… such great points… hopefully someone up top may read them.
Required reading, reposted from Jon Weisman's "DodgerThoughts" column today… but this is from response #144… Eric Enders… who basically puts this Simers thing into CLARITY BEYOND BELIEF!
Management (Colletti, Torre, et al.)… ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION???
Class Is In Session:
""144. Eric Enders
The following is long and rambling and may not have much of a point.
One thing about the Simers column is that it aptly illustrates the two main problems with the Colletti-era Dodgers.
–1. They refuse to acknowledge — and often refuse to repair — even the most obvious mistakes.
"You're looking in hindsight, so your vision is perfect," says Colletti, who apparently works with blinders on, the only logical explanation for some of these deals. "Who has come back to haunt us?"
A better question, I said is, "who did you acquire who really improved the team?"
"Ethier helped us," he says. "Maddux helped us, Lugo gave us some support, Anderson certainly helped us in September of '06, and Hendrickson pitched. You do have to have players who pitch and play in the games."
– – – – –
First of all, when you're asked what good deals you've made and the third one that comes to mind is Julio Lugo, that's bad. What's worse is that Colletti insists that the trade helped the team. This is a guy who was allowed to bat 164 times and posted a 41 OPS+. This is a guy whose acquisition was an unmitigated disaster.
This is a guy who was almost completely redundant in terms of the Dodgers' needs: He started two games at his natural position of shortstop, 13 at his secondary position of second base, and every other game he played was at a position where he was in over his head offense-wise (3B, LF, RF).
Even allowing for the fact that Colletti was being harassed by a buffoon of a columnist, the fact that he could make such a quote is pretty damning of his qualifications to be a general manager. It indicates that either (1) He is clueless beyond the pale where player evaluation is concerned, or (2) He resolutely refuses to acknowledge even the most egregious and obvious mistakes.
You could say that he's trying to avoid becoming a Ricciardi, trying to avoid running down a player in public. But he's the one who brought up the subject of Lugo. He could have simply said nothing. He has no reason to want to placate Lugo. This is not a player who's under contract to the Dodgers, or who conceivably could be in the future. This is a guy who is in the process of playing his way out of the majors, and whose defining moment in the major leagues was the time he smashed his wife's head into the hood of her car. The point is, there's no reason for Colletti to avoid the truth just to spare Lugo's feelings.
One could reasonably argue that the Lugo trade benefited the Dodgers not because of Lugo himself, but because of the draft picks they reaped when he departed. I myself would make this argument, actually. But Colletti specifically avoids this interpretation, and given the indifference he's shown toward the draft with both the Dodgers and Giants, it's not plausible that Withrow and Adkins were the reasons he made the trade, or the reasons he thinks it's successful.
On to the next problem raised by the Simers column….
–2. The Dodgers' player evaluation is so incompetent that they have shown a near-complete inability to distinguish the players who help them win from those who don't.
If you give the Dodgers a choice between two baseball players, a good one and a bad one, there's at least a 50/50 chance they'll pick the bad one.
Moreover, the things management says publicly are often provably false, even comically false. The main failing of the Dodgers' beat writers, who I think generally do a good job, is their complete refusal to question the hokum the Dodgers spew forth. Even when the Dodgers say something about player performance that's provably false, the writers will unquestioningly regurgitate it as fact. Perhaps this is because they are in awe of Torre, or afraid of incurring his wrath. But then again, it was the same way under Grady Little.
"Torre says he likes the approach Juan Pierre and Jeff Kent take, and Russell Martin does well at times, but the rest of the Dodgers' lineup is too impatient and swings at too many bad pitches."
Perhaps Torre is engaging in motivational psychology here that's specifically directed toward Matt Kemp, in which case you can ignore the following. But if we take the statement at face value, it's hard to believe a person who's been around baseball for 50 years could actually believe it's true. Perhaps it's simply a case of being too close to the situation — not being able to see the forest for the trees.
Here are the players on the current roster, ranked by pitches per plate appearance (50 or more ABs):
1. Andre Ethier
2. Russell Martin
3. Delwyn Young
4. James Loney
5. Blake DeWitt
6. Mark Sweeney
7. Juan Pierre
8. Matt Kemp
9. Jeff Kent
So the five most disciplined hitters on the team are young players. Moreover, the guys whose approach Torre goes out of his way to praise are two of the worst three hitters on the team in terms of plate discipline. Torre's comment, with all due respect to his experience, is completely, laughably false. It shows either (a) a complete disregard for whether the things he says are actually true, or (b) a fundamental inability to analyze the game of baseball. Neither option reflects well on him.
This inability to accurately evaluate players is the main thing that's plagued the Dodgers under Torre. I'm not saying this would be a great team if Torre had deployed his players in a manner that made sense. But it would be somewhat better, and I think it's reasonable of fans to expect the team to field the best lineup at its disposal.
Instead, Torre seems to have picked his favorites and not wavered from those favorites, even when the player is a washed-up relic hitting .100.
We're less than halfway through the season, but Torre and Colletti have already, at various points during the year, made the following misallocations of playing time:
Sweeney over Young
Proctor over Kuo
Proctor over Wade
Loaiza over Kuo
Pierre over Kemp
Pierre over Ethier
Pierre over Young
Bennett over LaRoche
Maza over Hu
Maza over Young/DeWitt
Tiffee over LaRoche
Garciaparra over LaRoche
Garciaparra over DeWitt
It's hard to win when you don't know who your best players are.""
I'm very impressed with all the time and effort put into the parody songs. You guys should put together a compilation CD.
I'm really hoping that Stults has a great night. I've always liked the way he's pitched when he's been called up. I would love to see Ethier have a big night tonight and get back on track. It's really unbelievable the comments that are made about the young players by management and the media without any regard to what the hard facts bear out. I totally agree with Garvey's comments about being patient for things to develop.
im pumped i just got tickets for the dodger angel game on friday. i hope there are as much fights as there were at angel stadium earlier in the year. i went to the sat. game and i couldnt believe how many fights there were at angel stadium more than in years past…but they were great!!!
10 dollars to watch my favorite team beat up on the team i hate the most…and your gonna promise me that there will be at least 10 fights in my area?? lol. all i can is that it is gonna be a great night…ill have 911 on speed dial :]
bluecrewgirl – all the kids need to have a good night so maybe they can start shutting their management up for good, not that they have to prove anything to us – we know the real score so-to-speak 🙂
i was going to post about the O% but westernmost beat me to it. i think those numbers, just like the other ones say more than enough.. and yet the only people with actual votes refuse to see them.
i saw that proctor was placed on the DL.. i think what's interesting about this situation is that he actually accepted the assignment to triple-A. i've been riding proctor all season, and i've really been hating him lately, but i have to give him some credit today. for him to agree to accept a triple-A assignment with his service time, etc. says a lot about him. it means he understands he's been terrible and that he will do what's best for the team. apparently, even when they found out about his elbow and said they'd place him on the DL, he said that he would go to triple-A and pitch hurt if he needed to (so that we wouldn't all think he was going to the DL to stay on the major league payroll). Obviously, they wouldn't do something so stupid as to let him further injure himself, but it's good to know he's not a terrible person.
i think the main point of this is, WHY IS HE AND EVERYONE ELSE PITCHING HURT??? and why did joe torre not know that proctor's elbow was bothering him until today?? and why did stan conte just not tell him!!! this constant miscommunication is really bothersome. conte is an idiot and needs to go, and torre needs to pay better attention or he will further ruin our team! imagine if they let a nagging injury to someone like Russell go unnoticed and it turned into a bigger problem!!! they CANNOT keep ignoring the players problems! again, conte is an idiot, and needs to go!
kssparkuhl, that was an excellent post. I felt a little queasy reading Ned say that he considered Lugo a good pickup. I attended a game in September 06 (SD@LA, Wells vs. Maddux, 3 days before the 4 consecutive HRs), and all the chatter I heard around me when they brought in Lugo was of how much of a crybaby he was. Picked up from the Devil Rays into a team with October within grasp, all he could do is complain he wasn't the starter. and he wasn't half as good as Furcal. I don't remember who we traded for him in particular (I kinda don't want to), but he was a bad rental, barely worth his trouble for utility insurance.
To the tune of "Gimme Three Steps" by Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Well it was Cashman and Ned in the Dodger
The Yankees have some shopping to do
Kershaw's was throwing, Cashman's eyes were glowing
He was looking at you-know-who
He said, "How much for the fella with the hair
darkened yella,
Throw in the Bison too
I need Hank off my back, a universe restored back
And I could do it with some help from you"
Ned said, "Won't you
Gimme three vets, gimme three vets mister
Gimme three vets, maybe two
Gimme three vets, gimme three vets mister
And I'll wrap 'em up pretty for you"
The fans were scared and fearing for their team
They were shaking like leaves on a tree
"We jest him in fun, but he can't be so dumb
To clean out the future Chavez Ravine"
And Ned says "Wait a minute Cashman, that trade won't
be fair, man
Don't wanna cause trouble for you
We have lots of third basemen, I don't want 'em to
waste, man
Take DeWitt and LaRoche too"
Ned said, "Just Gimme three vets, gimme three vets mister,
Gimme three vets, maybe two
Gimme three vets, gimme three vets mister,
And I'll wrap 'em up pretty for you"
On an August day, there's no joy in L.A.
As the tears fall on the floor
And I'm telling you son, it hasn't been fun
Wishing we were relevant once more
The kids we had hyped are in the Bronx, pinstriped
Winning with a youthful core
We're suiting Mussina, Pettite and Abreu, forget it,
Tardy Frank's showing Colletti the door
And Colletti begs
Gimme three steps, gimme three steps mister,
Gimme three steps towards the door
Gimme three steps, gimme three steps mister
And you won't hear from me anymore
apologies to Lynyrd Skynyrd
Aaaaurgh! Kuroda is still not ready either!
From Diamond Leung's Press-Enterprise blog:
Hiroki Kuroda (shoulder) will pitch in a simulated game Friday and not make his Saturday start, with Chan Ho Park going instead.
bluecrewgirl – dodgereric began a blog titled Dodger Lyrics that has all the songs and lyrics listed. He is still working on it, but the work in progress so far is awesome. The link is below 🙂
As far as a cd – I can't sing – LOL Well, I can sing 1st grade songs when I have to, but that's the extent of my singing abilities.
The Dodgers are struggling for runs. Young hit a HR yesterday for the total run production of the game. Pierre went 0-4. Yet today Young is on the bench and Pierre continues to play. This is absolute lunacy! The total reason that the Dodgers are not in First Place today given Arizona's problems is JOE TORRE (with able assistance from Ned Colletti). If he had played an outfield of Young, Kemp, and Ethier consistently with a stable batting order, the Dodgers WOULD BE IN FIRST PLACE TODAY. Instead, he constantly moves the players with the most run production potential in and out of the lineup or in different batting positions. It is extremely hard for young players to adjust to constantly changing lineups and to become comfortable and confident. Add to that his continual hypocritical criticism of the younger players and you have an environment for failure. Simply put, TORRE IS A TERRIBLE MANAGER FOR THE DODGERS REBUILDING PROGRAM. Despite "his" success in New York, he is way over his head here. And rather than face his own shortcomings, he constantly tries to place the blame on the younger players and justify his playing less productive veteran players and constantly changing lineups. He is arrogant and stubborn and refuses to recognize the reality of the situation. The Dodgers are wasting a great opportunity to succeed in the NL West despite rebuilding, and the blame rests with MANAGEMENT.
Northstateblues – AWESOME SONG!!!!
sara – the team would definitely be done without Russell!! As much as Joe loves his vets, without Russell, there is no pitching, there is no hitting, and most of all, there is no team captain. No slight to Andre, of course, but Russell is the team captain, and I know Andre knows that too 🙂
Bravo North!!!!!!
northstateblues – HILARIOUS! I love that Skynryd song – great fun to sing along with.
sara – I see I left out catching, but that is kind of a given if Russell ever gets hurt. I was thinking more in lines of pitchers having a more difficult time because Russell would not be catching.
btw, boston up 5-0 in the 8th. it would really help my fantasy team if they held on to the shutout, and it would really help the dodgers!
and dnelson, fresno state up 6-0 in the 8th! 🙂
Go Fresno!!!!
dnelson, i knew what you meant.. russell is this team's everything, and obviously, knock on wood that nothing happens to him.. but i was merely trying to make a point about stan conte's incompetence =/
Go Bulldogs 🙂
So the two teams are the Bulldogs and ESPN's analyst is Orel "Bulldog" Hershiser.
We need Orel as our pitching coach or manager.
We are watching the game – pretty exciting!!! If they win, at least we can say it was a California team (which happens to be from the central valley). It is really, really big news here, even if they don't win – really good for the school and the WAC division they are in. The local news even asked my father what he thought "If he thought Fresno could win" and he said – they are the underdogs – they have already won back when they beat Arizona State (sorry Andre!)
jhall – I'd even settle for Orel getting Steve Lyons' or Rick Monday's jobs!
Great one northstate!!
sara – I know what you were saying too, but maybe somebody will read it and maybe think for a change and fire Conte's dumb ***. 🙂 Maybe we need to make them think about things like that – then again the word "think" has left their vocabulary lately.
clayton Allison (future Dodger) is pitching the last inning for Fresno – wow!!!!
Just an Aussie's 2 cents worth. This team simply can't win the division with JP playing everyday. It worries me that the Dodgers never play their best team. I've never seen our best yet. A number of us yesterday commented that you could bet your house on DY being on the bench today and so it is. I've joined the group that believes that Joe is really only a mediocre manager. This is no Yankee team. There is no quick fix by cheque book. His pre-Yankee record is coming back to bite us.
If Mark Sweeney deserves his place on the roster because of past exploits then we're not in this to win. If Joe believes that JP is the answer at lead-off because of his speed (but speed is worthless if you don't get on base) then we're not in it to win. AND if Joe thinks a 40 year old future HOFer is the backbone of our sluggers then we're not in this to win.
Once again I'll sit in front of my computer and cheer as hard as I know how but also realising that today our best team is once again not on the field.
Sorry for the rant but there are times that I feel we're being continuously mislead by those who profess to be telling us the truth about our team.
Thanks DNelly. I will definitely check out Eric's site. For any one that's interested, someome made a great post that echos many of our sentiments on the Dodger Blue Notes blog on the latimes.com. It's the top post on the entry titled This Slump is Really Stretching Our Headline Writing Skills. By the way, has anyone else had problems watching the video highlights on mlb.com since they updated the website? I never had a problem before and now I can only watch the small ones on the web pages and not the ones that are in the video highlights page. I downloaded Silverlight, so I'm not sure what the problem is. I apologize if this post comes out in one paragraph. I am still working on trying to get spaces in between paragraphs.
I hesitate to intrude into this bizarre cult. Now by claiming it's a cult, I don't wish to imply that everything you believe is wrong-even those "Mormon" ladies in Texas probably know George Washinton was the first President; but, I have seen one of the best minds of your generation destroyed in front of my eyes by yout cult and now the only contributor left on this blog with anything interesting to say seems to be in danger.
First let's get to Torre's " the moron" comments; he claimed (if I can read English) that the less experienced players on the Dodgers are swinging a bad pitches-in a hundred or so comments on this blog that claim is "refuted" by looking at NP/PA which says nothing about swinging at bad pitches. (but it does have the positive outcome of making Ethier (who I like too) look good). Finally after many,many comments westernmost (see above) mildly points out the flaw in the cult's reasoning and gives us a stat with which I am not familiar namely "O-swings from fangraphs 2008" which at least shows Kemp swings at a lot of bad balls. While I don't know how this stat is defined so I can't discuss it in depth, I have noticed that many Dodger hitters greatly expand their strike zone with 2 strikes on them so they are very hard to walk. Pierre is one who does this. Kemp strikes out a lot-even more than last year-this, in case you don't know, is not good. dnelly (above) forgives him but I don't.
Juan Pierre has an OBP against LHP of .427 this season (in spite of his lack of walks) which is best on the team among regular position players while Andre Ethier has an OBP against LHP of .254 (and a BA of .170). I pointed this sort of thing out many weeks ago but leekfink told me not to worry. I admit I didn't take his advise so maybe it's my fault. Ethier can't hit LHP this year and by the "reasoning' of this cult should sit against them but that "moron" Torre keeps hauling him out there even as Ethier's BA against LHP sinks and sinks. (Of course JoJo is smart enough to bat Ethier down in the order against LHP and up in the order against RHP which explains the "mysterious" switch of Kemp and Ethier that dnelly mused about.)
Kent got off to a very bad start this year then hit the ball hard but at fielders. He doesn't swing at bad pitches so what is wrong with Torre praising him for that? I know why this cult hates Kent but that doesn't make him our worst hitter or even one of them as leekfink claims. Kent is SLG .500 over the last 30 days for example.
Pierre's OBP leading off a game is .400. Should he sit for Delwyn Young against RHP? Maybe, but last year Pierre couldn't hit LHP in the first half and hit RHP very well.
It is so dishonest to say we are 17-27 with Pierre leading off when we are 17-27 without Furcal. BA's for June Kemp .263, Ethier .200, DeWitt .185 but what's the point of talking to a cult.
Beautiful swing by Ethier! That's how it should be done
Congrats to Fresno State. Lowest seed ever to win a CWS!
Did you guys notice how Ethier and Kent both were in hitter's counts when they connected? Then Loney comes up and goes after the second pitch… =[
And Vin Scully is talking about the same thing!
YAY to Andre! and Russell!…. KEEP VOTING FOR RUSSELL, you dodger fans are falling behind on this voting business… i already wrote in a previous thread how to keep non stop voting.. just USE everyones email that you know haha 🙂
They're off to a good start… =) I'm so upset I didn't go to tonights game I wanted to have Ethier sign my ball at BP tonight too… I was on call for work & now I don't even need to go in 😦
The Angels series this weekend is going to be very interesting & intense.. I wonder how the line-ups going to be… besides Pierre leading off every game… haha
miketink, I have a hard time believing that anyone would read that mini essay of yours, regardless of whether or not the content was worthy lol
Nice two runs to start off with.
Let's hope they get some more.
If there is no point in talking to a cult, then why do it Tink? Why take the time? Why bother? Doesn't make any sense!!!!!!
jhall – perhaps another joey 🙂
LOL Nelly. I'm having a hard time getting the words, Self Absorbed A**hole out of my head.
Can't figure it. LOL!!!
LMAO!!!!! you got that right!!!!
It's OK to come on and state your point of view, but when you feel the need to belittle others and be a condescending a**hole about it, it usually points to a low self esteem for some reason or other. Probably can't please his significant other is my guess.
I know it's early, but I'm for Stulz staying in the rotation 🙂
Yep Nelly, I agree. Stults has looked good.
Too bad the Dbacks won today… that usually means we're going to lose. Prove me wrong today!!
I'm glad you explained it Jhall .. I spent 5 minutes trying to find out about what cult was being discussed.
Smile when you say cult!!!
Proof positive that God does in fact, occaisionally have an off day. LOL!!!!
LMAO!! too funny rodmky ~ I stopped reading once Andre's name came because I could tell by the beginning it wasn't going to be good. And if we are considered a cult – I am okay with that – it's a pretty damn good one, and ingenious I might add. I bet leefink or jungar come on and set it straight. Then again – you don't want to mess around with "E" LMAO!!!
You know, I'd almost bet that Tink is really Ned. LOL!!!!!
I knew you would set it straight enchanted – nobody wants to mess with you ~LMAO!!! Are you still dreaming of spatulas? LMAO!!!
WTF does that make me – Jim Jones??
Way to get out of a rough inning – Go Dodgers – need more runs!!!
Nice play by DeWitt and Berroa!!!
PARTY TIME!!!! Kool Aid for everyone!!!!
I guess that would make you Tammy Faye Baker, Nelly. LOL!!!!
My Loney has a first name,
It's J-A-M-E-S
My Loney has a second name,
It's L-O-N-E-Y
I love to watch him every day
And if you ask me why I'll say
'Cause James Loney has a way
With H-I-T-T-I-N-G!
By leefink and martinloneykemp
Gotta get everyone some new sneakers.
NO PLEASE NO!!!!! LMAO!!!!! Then who are you and eric?
Right on Mr Applewhite!!!
I vote Charles Manson, but…
Nice at bat Matthew Ryan Kemp 🙂
We're waiting for Ned Bop to fly over.
Way to go DeWitt !!!
Another just missed by DE WITT, great shot though for 2 ribbys.
Ned would be more like the comet Kahoutec, and you know what a dud that was.
Nice timely hit by Dewitt! As well has he's done since being called up, I believe Laroche is expendable.
enchanted – so you are Charlie? LMAO!!!!!
i vote Stulz to take Sweeney's spot as DH 🙂
Can Stults be our lefthanded PH?
STULTS is like having a DH.
Pierre needs to go to bed. He needs to get up extra early because tomorrow it is a day game. Mrs P. Juanpy needs to bed now – he needs his sleep.
I'm Jim dammit!!! I was thinking Charles for Eric – he's got the charisma, though JoeyP's effin' nuts.
PierreEW – I am not referring to our beloved Pierreseastwest 🙂 You can stay up as long as you wish.
BTW, nice bunt Pierre!!
I've got a special JP song for later.
Are we the Inside The Branch Dodgeridians now?
okay – where does jhall fit in all this
* you are jim
*eric is charles
*I am tammy
*jhall is …….
westernmost – you'd settle for Orel getting Steve Lyons' or Rick Monday's jobs! Well, I'd settle for Orel getting Charlie's job!
dnel, I second your vote to have Stulz take Sweeney's spot as DH!
tink thinks that we're a cult??? Don't see that.
Not here long; I just had to say hi to my ITD buddies! 🙂
jhall is on the SWAT team waiting outside. LOL!!!!
Jhall's Marshall Applewhite
Actually, the D-backs lost 5-0….Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the D's also have a 5-0 lead in the 5th. Stultz pitching well again.
Hey CP!!
Squeeky? Is that you??
Where's my dinner?
I must have missed that somewhere – thank you for keeping me informed LMAO!!!!!
* enchanted – jim
*eric – charles
*jhall – marshall applewhite
*nelly – tammy (ick!!) without the mascara please LOL!!
HEY CP – GLAD YOU COULD STOP BY!!! The boys are being crazy like usual – 🙂
hey there jhall!!! I still love to read up on ITD, even if I don't post. But I had to make a couple of comments! 🙂 But I'm not here very much while the game plays; there's no TV in our computer room. Well, gotta go; I really don't want to miss watching anymore of the game. See y'all later!!!
dnel, yeah, I can tell the craziness!!! 🙂
Where's Bonnie Nettles?
maybe sara? or cp?
Josh Please thank Vin for recognizing the Fresno State Bulldogs. Dodger fans in the central valley thank him for that. It's good to represent the state of California too. One of the Fresno State Bulldogs is going to be pitching for the Dodgers someday soon. 🙂
Yes Dinelley I knew you didn't mean me.
Another nice at bat for Mr. Kemp 🙂
Too bad the Dbacks won today… that usually means we're going to lose. Prove me wrong today!!
By firstname.lastname@example.com on June 25, 2008 8:01 PM
They lost what game are you looking at?
Too bad the Dbacks won today… that usually means we're going to lose. Prove me wrong today!!
By firstname.lastname@example.com on June 25, 2008 8:01 PM
They lost what game are you looking at?
miketink, you DO bring up good points. I'm not much of a stats guy, more of a "gut feel" guy, though that philosophy hasn't done our nation too much good the past eight years…but I won't go there. My gut feel tells me the Dodgers are treading water. My big problem with Pierre and Kent and Nomar isn't their OBP or their strikeout numbers on a Tuesday. It's the fact they are NOT the future of this franschise and there's no point living in "today" with this team. I don't believe Ned's 2008 creation can compete in a pressure sereis with the likes of Boston, Anaheim (yeah, Anaheim, not L.A.) or any other AL power. The National League doesn't scare me but bad play by opponents doesn't make the Dodgers good or even a contender. If you want to call this blog a cult, then call it the "Youth Cult." Because within every blogger gripe or complaint runs the common thread that all of us in here want the kids to get the ABs and innings. It's a simple as that. Joe, our "moron" sees it from a different angle, and while I won't cast aspersions at his legacy, he's not really serving this franchise right now. I'd rather lose 110 games this year if it means nirvana a few years from now. After 20 years of waiting, I can wait a bit longer. PLAY ALL THE KIDS.
I would love to see a grand slam by Stults.
Oh you're Tammy
I guess not.
Cult? That guy is looney….a bunch of crazies maybe. I say a bunch of passionate Dodgers fans who care and are worried where the organization is going. The article that Torre states he likes Pierre, Kents and martins approach is baffling. I see the stats that you guys put up and I watch alot of the games and it bears out that the vets have worse at bats than the young guys.
I feel this is Joes and Neds way of trying to make an excuse for the poor record. Ned you should look in the mirror, maybe your approach of trading and signing has beens and never weres (bad english but you get the point) is the reason this team is struggling. My god the young guys give us all hope. Kent I am a fan but he has been more unpatient than Kemp or anyone else. Also any normal runner would have scored on Loneys flyball but Kent was not able. And Joe did you see Kemp burn around the bases on Dewitts double, no one else on the Dodgers at this point would have scored on. Yeah he is really hurting us.
I know I am rambling a little but this is unacceptable(sorry JHALL) that the kids continue to be blamed and that our future hall of fame manager has not been paying attention to the injury report and continually run pitchers out there that hurt the team. HOw about your freaking approach to managing this team. I have been a Torre backer, but you lose that right when you admit incompetence!!!!
Frank I implore you read the qoutes that Ned gives he is clueless and Joe is not the man for this team. Do not let Ned make some asinine trade to disrupt the only hope we have and that is watching our young kids develop!!!!
Sorry for the long post!
Obviously khali is the Vincent Bugliosi of the group!!
That's our Juan!
You tell'em Kahli and DodgerBoy.
PierreEW – I truthfully can't tell if you are kidding 🙂
This is dnelly (formerly known as dnelson)
Did anybody think differently about that at bat – not me 🙂
I think I am suffering from multiple personalities – I don't know who I am anymore – help!!!
dnelson, missdebbie, dnelly, now tammy
Nice efficient outing by Stults…what a nice game to watch.
Nice play kent…
I guess it is kind of cool that we have achieved Cult Status. LOL!!!
Eric's gonna love it when he sees this stuff. LOL!!
I like kpookiemon's name "Youth Cult" or maybe we can find a way to string the young player's names together to make on word – sort of like martinloneykemp. I had done a song using some of them, but I don't remember the song.
KLEMD- right?
I imagine his shock though when he finds out he Charles Manson.
Stults needs to stay in this rotation at least until he shows that his first starts are a fluke. I don't think so. This guy just may have come around, and we need pitching like we've seen from Stults. We know Lowe won't be here next year. Let's just make him expendable now and trade him for some value. Penny can go too as far as I'm concerned.
SHULTS has a nice one going here.
i'll have to check with my Government to see if an Aussie can be a member of your cult ….
La de Melk
Has a European ring to it.
I've always liked Stults, messagebear. He hasn't had a great era in the minors, but he's always done well when called up. Maybe he thrives better under the pressure of the big show.
Too late Rodmky, you're already a member. LOL!!!
We have a starter gin into the 8th…wow I did not know that was possible…Great job Stults!!!
Great defense by Dewitt again in this game. He just knows how to play. I am sure Joe probably thinks his approach is wrong, but I love this kid and the rest of them.
I don't think eric will want to be Charlie – no!! LMAO!!
eric will have to change his blog to Cult Lyrics instead LMAO!!!!!!
hahahaha I bet the White Sox fan saying CY Stults.
Our songs are destined to be Cult Classics.
DNELSON I know who you are.
SHULTSY really going good.
Only fatigue can stop him.
But he's not knocking himself out.
Thank you PierreEW – I really wasn't sure with all the shinanigans going on 🙂
When I get to the bathroom
I go back to the top of the john
Where I stop and turn
and I go for a spin
Till I get to the bottom and I fall right in
Yeah, yeah, yeah
hello eric – I am glad your back, we have been attacked and are now being referred to as a cult – help!! LMAO!!!
"You may be a blogger
but you ain't no Manson."
Welcome Charley!!
That was one helluva ballgame pitched by Stults!!
Good job Stults. Keep Penny on the bench. Stults 2-0. Maybe we found a sleeper pitcher for the rest of the year.
We should hear for ndeschenes tonight. GREAT GAME DODGER – GREAT TEAM EFFORT – ENTIRE TEAM!!!
lbirken saw a great game!!!!
A win is always good for morale. I'm off so have a great remainder of your evening.
Wow Stultsy!!!! Fantastic job!!!
WOW! What a pitching gem by Stults! A very rare complete game shutout. I hopr he doesn't get sent back down with Kuroda coming off the DL.
One of the best, if not the best, pitching performances we've had all season.
Thanks, I've been out in the garage carving a swastika into my forehead.
Interesting you should pick me to be Charley, e. My last name is only one letter off.
You too Rod.
And you as well rodmky!!
NOWERDAYS a complete game shutout almost feels like a no-hitter.
And he can hit too.
goodday rodmky – I am assuming it is daytime where you are at – yes?
Goes to show you there may be actually a silver lining to some of these injuries.
LOL Eric.
Stults rhymes with Cults. How fitting…
LMAO!!!!! oh eric – that's right!!!
A lot of people couldn't pull that look off eric… LOL
enchanted – maybe it's your special powers LMAO!!!!!
Now let's all put on our new sneakers, drink some Kool Aid, and go out and burn a bulldozer!!!
We'll have to cut the baseball from the Dodger logo into our foreheads.
LMAO!!!!!! crying again – LMAO!!!!!!
G'night, rodmky! It's pretty cool to talk to someone on the other side of the planet!
And what's all this crap about Procto leaving? Man, I was waiting for him to come in again with his can of gas when I had my laptop with me. I was going to steal something from Jim Rome's show: "BOHICA, here comes Proctor!"
Nells is kinda the hip den mother to three delinquints.
Safe to say we don't color within the lines.
If you think about it, we are acting like a bunch of 6-8 year olds – making up songs, playing good guy/bad guy games and now we are making a club – all part of being a kid. So, it's not a bad thing – a good imagination is nothing to be ashamed of – fantasy is one of those fun things that gets lost in the monotony of the day.
OK, Dr. Hook. Sylvia's Mother:
Juan Pierre's mama says Juanpy is playin', playin' in left field tonite
Juan Pierre's mama says Juanpy don't tire, and never needs a respite
Juan Pierre's mama says Juanpy is speedy, and that his bunting's alright
And Juanpy's contract says $27 million, for the next three seasons
Please Mrs. Juanpy I just can't stand ita
Why can't we sit him awhile
Please Mrs. Juanpy I don't want to see him
Juan Pierre's mama says Juanpy's a hitter, and that his average is high
Juan Pierre's mama says Juanpy is steady, and has him a very good eye
Juan Pierre's mama says Juanpy's quite scrappy, so c'mon and give him a try
And Juanpy's contract says $27 million, for the next three seasons
Please Mrs. Juanpy I just can't stand ita
Why can't we sit him awhile
Please Mrs. Juanpy I don't want to see him
Juan Pierre's mama says Juanpy's scurrying, he's stealing him a second base
Juan Pierre's mama says Juan wear your hat crooked, and wipe that smile from your face
And Juan Pierre's mama says, Juanpy's hard working and that lead-offs his place
And Juanpy's contract says $27 million, for the next three seasons
Please Mrs. Juanpy I just can't stand it
Why can't we sit him awhile
Please Mrs. Juanpy I don't want to see him
Not play tonight
Please, sit him tonight
Not a necessity to color in the lines – How many artists do you know that color within the lines? Most good artwork is abstract – no lines!
and this whole time we thought your were just watching a game – LMAO!!! or is it one of your lost oldies – LMAO!!!
No, that one was an "in game" composition.
Wow !! I don't work that fast, plus I was too busy laughing my *** off. However, I did start one, just haven't finished. Actually, I have about 3 in progress – I go back and forth, but that's how I read books too. I read several different authors at the same time, switching around depending on my mood/attitude, etc.
Well, toodles Tammy, Marshall, Charley, and all the little cult people somewhere out there in the dark.
I'm ready for my bedtime now Mr. DeMille…
good night enchanted – thank you for letting us be in your presence – LOL!! seriously – have a wonderful sleep and I will blog you in the morning. I am sure Marshall Applegate and Charlie are working on something. I'm sure the details will be awaiting sometime between now and tomorrrow am.
Goodnight 🙂
So if we have Manson around, are the rest of us part of The Family?
Someone needs to do the song Helter Skelter! 🙂
I did a stanza up there a ways, Mike. Which member would you like to be. Come to think of it, I think enchanted has to assign one to you.
yes, I think so – I didn't think of that song, but it's definitely a thought – you are good at these too – you could try 🙂
eric – he is in charge – LMAO!!! and he has retired for the evening – LMAO!!!
Absolutely Super Charged Magnificent 5 to 0 Victory by Our Beloved Los Angeles Dodgers over the Chicago White Sox!Super Hero Eric Stults turns in a Sandy Koufax Type Performance, with a Masterful Complete Game 4 Hit Shutout and 3 Strikeouts! Absolutely World Series Performance and isn't World Series Victory what We think about when we mention the name of the All-Time Great, Sandy Koufax! Eric, Way to go with the Sacrifice Fly and RBI! That's what we call a Complete Game Victory! Since Baseball is a Game Of Numbers, Don't you find it Amazing That Eric wears Number 50 and we won 5-0(50), This Being The Jubilee 50th Year Of Our Dodgers In Los Angeles!This Team of Destiny is Real, and Will Reach It's Full Truth When The World Series is Won! Super Hero Blake Dewitt Made His Dodger Uniform Sparkle with a much needed Double and 2 RBI'S! Other Super Heroes include Juan Pierre,Andre Ethier,Russel Martin, Tower of Power, James Loney, and Matt Kemp each with their Base Hit, in fact, All of Our Los Angeles Dodgers were Super Heroes, Including of course, Superman Himself, Jeff Kent! Let us not forget our Super Heroe Joe Manager Joe Torre For His True Dodger Dedication and Brilliance! Oh Beloved Year 2008 A.D.Team Of Destiny, We are with you all the way up until the World Series Victory and Beyond!
I do alright with these songs, but I'm not too well versed in Helter Skelter. Maybe I will listen to it a while online and try to come up with something.
Oh Mighty Enchanted, please bestow upon me my cult name!
Hey nellie, you still there? I stuck a photo of me on the music blog from back when I was about 20. I think it'll fit as a Manson photo. I'm not sure I'm going to leave it there though.
okay – I will look – be back 🙂
ndesechenes ~ always good to hear from as usual. Sorry we couldn't get a win for you yesterday, but boy, did Stults do a wonderful job tonight. And you are right, tonight was a complete team effort, with both hitting and pitching. So, hopefully they will come out and do the same thing for us tomorrow, and we will once again hear from you. Have a wonderful evening, and I hope to hear from you tomorrow 🙂
Eric, that is a great pic of you! And thank you for putting one of my songs on the blog, The DL Bunch. I think my only other song was to the tune of the Hokey Pokey, but wasn't a masterpiece. I'm honored to be on your blog!
eric – I would say so 🙂 This is so cool!!! You are amazing. It is fun to go back and read the songs over again. It will be great to have the resource to pull them back into ITD when needed. You are at the top of the list again. However, I'm not sure how to get to the blog if you are not in the "most recent comment section" . I have been putting the link every now and then throughout these last couple of threads. Too cool!! 🙂
perumike – kids songs are too masterpieces – don't kid yourself – I have been trying to work with some and they are some of the most difficult to rearrange 🙂
Mike, if I see a song in the threads, it goes on the site. If I miss one, mention where it is and I'll do my best to toss it in there. I'm no critic, I just want everyone to have fun with it.
Nelly, I just put it into My Favorites. Seems to work for me. As soon as I catch up, I'm gonna try something else with it. If it works, it should be easier to find stuff.
It looks great the way it is – like I said – fabulous!!!!!
BTW- my son really likes the car!! He likes our mustang, but yours is definitely up there. 🙂
We should try to get Josh to link to Eric's blog on ITD.
That might be like John Lennon getting invited to Nixon's White House.
perumike ~ I am sure eric will try – it really wouldn't be much different than some of the things that go onto the "Sons of Steve Garvey" blog – they do parody too.
Thanks – I always forget about the favorites thing:)
Do they drag Dodger management through the muck?
They mostly play on the players, but they are pretty cynical when they are blogging during a game. They do mention "Why isn't Ethier playing – why Pierre everyday" but probably not to the extent we do. I can look and see what they did for yesterday's game. They tend to be more critical on days we lose. And you are talking about people who have played the game too. I will let you know. They do use alot of pictures. I am finishing up my morning song, and then I will check it out. The bloggers on DT are not necessarily nice to management either.
1. Frank McCourt. If it weren't for you, the Dodgers would have Vladimir Guerrero.
2. Ned Colletti. If it weren't for you, the Dodgers wouldn't have Mark Sweeney.
3. Joe Torre. If it weren't for you, Scott Proctor would be out of a job.
4. The NL West. If it weren't for you, the Dodgers wouldn't still have a shot at winning the division.
5. You and me. If it weren't for us, nobody would care about this $119 million, six-games-under-.500, broken-down team. Go Blue!
eric the above came from Sons of Steve Garvey,so yes, they do pick on everybody 🙂
Well, one thing's for sure. We can't be having many rules. The only one I could think of is that everyone has a right to their opinions.
Except, of course, when they conflict with The Cult!!!!!MMMMMOOOOOOOHHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
LMAO!!! When they do their threads, it's usually Steve Sax, Eric Karros, Orel Hershiser, and Alex Cora (sp). So, if they are allowed to say these things ( and they were Dodgers) you would think it's open season on the rest of us.
I could see them liking the songs just by some of the things they have done using parody. If they look into it, they might even mention on their own site.
A cult? Really? Like Mussolini or Kennedy? Josef Stalin or Ghandi? That's funny. If I get to join the Cult, can I be Ian Astbury?
Great Dr. Hook cover, enchanted. One of my favorites, been listening to it a lot lately.
Glad to hear a great win and awesome performance from Stultz. Curious how we do against Disneyland this weekend. I always go into these series optimistic. Hopefully Torre will notch some W's in his Managerial Career against Anaheim for once. It's getting really tired taking crap from my cousins every time their Little League team rips us a new one. I just tell them it's only because the "old" Dodgers are telling them how to win. That shuts 'em up.
Eric Stultz is Pitching today
Eric Stultz is gonna rule this Day
Eric Stultz is gonna shutout this Day
Eric Stultz they're coming to play
White sox coming to get you
Strike one
Ball in Play
Out recorded hey hey hey…..
Eric stultz your gonna win today
Eric Stultz its just like Shea
Eric Stultz your here to stay
Eric Stultz your the Dodger to Play
Runner at third
Torre gives the green light
one out nothing to lose
Sac to the right field track
Eric Stultz kicks *** on the mound
Eric Stultz kicks *** at the plate
Eric Stultz makes schmidt look like a nutsack
Eric Stultz throws a complete game shutout
Eric Stultz
Eric Stultz
Eric Stultz
Oh Yeah I'm coming to shut you down an down an down again……………..
almost done……………..
Thats my Helter skelter Stultz post….
eric – do you know how many you posted? It's got to be @150 or so.
donfish – very nice job on a very good classic song 🙂
It looks like you are done – fantastic!!
Now, get some sleep 🙂
Good night eric – job well done!!!!
Are you sitting down?
Donfish's "Eric Stultz is Pitching today" is #196!
Oh my gosh!!!! wow!!!!!
And that's in a 196 entries in 53 days – Wow!!!
I'll start mentioning the Dodgers' record without Furcal as soon as the media and the broadcasters start mentioning the Dodgers' record with Pierre leading off.
The two are one in the same.
The difference is there is nothing JoJo can do about Furcal's injury while he can easily remedy the Pierre leadoff problem.
Also, miketink, you are correct that Pierre has a good OBP in his first AB and against lefties. So I have no problem if JoJo wants to send him up as the leadoff hitter whenever we face a lefty and then sit his **** down after our first offensive inning because after his first AB and against righties, Juan sucks!!!!
eric – did you put yourself on the featured blog space? That was very cool either way 🙂
mlk – miketink came out of nowhere and accused us of being a cult – If he only knew that every blog on this Dodger site is saying the same exact thing. It doesn't matter which one you click, the topic is the same. Why is Pierre playing everyday and/or leading off ? What's up with Sweeney? Fire Ned, Fire Conte, and Fire Joe! Why are the kids to blame? Trade Rumors These are the same topics that are sweeping through every blog site related to Dodgers.com 🙂 The issues are staring our management right in their faces and they are turning away and pretending they don't see the problem or like some think, they are complete idiots.
Nelly, I don't think Mozart was that prolific!!
MLK, right on! The biggest difference between our arguments and Torre's (and Ned's and their apologists) is that we don't cherry-pick our stats to prove our points. They are undeniable.
Miketink says, "Pierre's OBP leading off a game is .400." True. But his OBP while in the leadoff spot is .298. Maybe we should let him lead off the game and get him the hell out of the lineup after the first inning.
Charley's tired. Charley needs to hit the sack. Charley will join his cult pals in a few hours.
Goodnight and God Bless………
LOL, while I was looking up Pierre's stats, mlk was writing it!
Nelly, I didn't do or say anything to get on there. I guess they just picked up the large amount of memory usage and looked into it themselves.
Nice win tonight and what a great game by Stults. Could he be our pitching version of DeWitt?
G'night for real………
In honor of newfound CULT status, here's one from the vaults (to the tune of The Cult's "Love Removal Machine")
Hit Removal Machine
Fell to the green grass 'cause Sweeney was there, Oh-no-no-noo
Mendoza's pupil, he's got me in fear, yeah, yeah, yeah
Torre said, "Do all those things that you do for me
You know what I mean, boy
Do all those things that you do for me, yeah
Hit Remover
Hit Removal Machine
Just for once, earn that paycheck
Hit Removal Machine
BA, BA, BA, BA, Batting average falls to the ground
He's a batter no one pitches around, Oh no
Having trouble following the action
Upside-down, psychotic reaction, oh
Hit Remover
Hit Removal Machine
Just for once, earn that paycheck
Hit Removal Machine
Look out, here he comes
Look out, here he comes
I said, Look out, here he comes
Look out, here he comes, yeah
Mendoza line's breakin', baby
Mendoza line's breakin', baby
Mendoza line's breakin', baby
Mendoza line's breakin'
Oh no!
The hour's getting late, so I'll head to bed after firing off this last song, in the style of David Bowie's "All The Young Dudes" (or Mott the Hoople, if you're hip to that)
Now when the stadium opens up, Juan's first in line
He earned himself that ring when he was 25
But in L.A. will that bat come alive?
Andruw's on the DL, nursing his knee
Nomar's straining to hit off of a tee, what a pull
Please be more careful
Oh the television men are crazy
Calling the juveniles' Delinquent Wrecks
Oh man I need a drink when they're touting the vets
But who carries this wreck?
The young dudes
All the young dudes
Carry these Blues
The guys writing news
Can't buy a clue
All the young dudes
Carry these Blues
The guys writing news
Can't buy a clue
Andre's stepping up, knocks two out the yard
The next day riding pine, absent from the card
But we can hope, yes, we can hope
Bison's at the plate, coming through again
Knocks one out to Saito sitting in the pen
But his name's on the rumor page again
Well I've drunk a lot of whisky and I'm feeling fine
Gonna make my way to bed
But with these rumors going 'round, they're in my head
Will they ever get it? Don't trade the dudes
All the young dudes
Carry these Blues
The guys writing news
Can't buy a clue
All the young dudes
Carry these Blues
The guys writing news
Can't buy a clue
Good stuff people – insanity is pretty much a prerequisite!!
Peru – take your pick Tex Watson or David Karesh. LOL
I just had a thought… since we listed names like Charles Manson, Marshall Applewhite and Jim Jones, next time somebody puts one of those in a search engine, the Inside The Dodgers site will pop up!! That'll confuse the hell out of them. LOL
Of course like all cults will come the inevitable FBI investigation and the storming of the compound…
Anyway, what a maroon. And didn't we somewhere around March/April suggest that JP get his lead-off at bat then get defensively replaced in the second inning? So actually (though inadvertantly and for a different reason) we were correct in our assessment.
Later people. I gotta go out to the west Texas town of El Paso this morning. Have fun!!!, and let not the sands of time get in your lunch.
Boy, enchanted – up very early!! Have fun in El Paso (I have been there ). reading the comments ~ LOL!!
~ your faithful servent – tammy LOL!!
northstateblues – VERY IMPRESSIVE!!! WOOOOOHOOOO!!!!
also very impressed that you did those at 2 in the morning
Good Morning Dodger Blue Fans!!
It's always nice to wake up in the morning and know your beloved Dodgers won last night. Eric Stults was incredible last night(he's a keeper Joe), and thank you to all the players that contributed to his run support and a shut out ~ (Pierre,Ethier,Martin,Loney,Kemp,DeWitt and Stults, himself). This song very much wrote itself after all the talk about kids vs. vets, and the treatment that our young players are receiving due to ridiculous claims from all facets of this management team.
Song: "Head Games"
Original Song: "Head Games"
by Foreigner
Game day, alright
Fans won't know,
They won't know if it's real
Been a long night and
Something ain't right
Joe don't know,
He don't know how we feel
No line-up ever seems right
Won't talk about the reasons
Why you don't play 'Dre everynight
It's high time to draw the line
Put an end to this game
Before it's too late
Head games, it's you and the vets
Head games, we can't take it anymore
Head games, we don't wanna play the…
Head games
We daydream for hours it seems
We keep thinking of youth, thinking of youth
These daydreams, what do they mean
They keep haunting us, are the warning us
Daylight turns into night
We try to find the answer
But it's nowhere in sight
It's always the same and
You know who's to blame
You know what we're sayin,
Still you keep on playin'
Head games, that's all we get from you
Head games, we can't take it anymore
Head games, we don't wanna play the…
Head games
So near, so far away
We try to figure the cause
We don't know what to say
It's so clear, We're sorry to say
But if you wanna win
You gotta learn and stop playin'
Head games, it's you and the vets
Head games, we can't take it anymore
Head games, we don't wanna play the…
Head games
Head games, that's all we get from you
Head games, we can't take it anymore
Head games, we don't wanna play the…
Head games
Head games, it's you and the vets
Head games, we can't take it anymore
Head games, we don't wanna play the…
Head games
Just to let you know – the central valley has been in party mode all nite and morning because of Fresno State's win last night to capture the NCAA Title in baseball~ the news is everywhere!!! Congratulations Fresno State Bulldogs!!
lol – "I Got You Babe" is playing on the radio right now – is that an early sign that Pierre is already at the stadium getting ready for today's game? – LOL!!
eric – that would be entry 199 – OMG!!!! who will be 200?
I had to look it up just to see – definitions of our new identity – LOL
Definitions of 'cult' (kŭlt) – 6 definitions – The American Heritage® Dictionary
cult (n.) A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader.
cult (n.) A system or community of religious worship and ritual.
cult (n.) The formal means of expressing religious reverence; religious ceremony and ritual.
-or if you don't like those definitions, here are some more – looks like we might be #5 – LOL
Main Entry: cult
Pronunciation: \ˈkəlt\
Function: noun
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: French & Latin; French culte, from Latin cultus care, adoration, from colere to cultivate — more at wheel
Date: 1617
1: formal religious veneration : worship
2: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents
3: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents
4: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator
5 a: great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad b: the object of such devotion c: a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion
— ***·tic \ˈkəl-tik\ adjective
— cult·ish \-tish\ adjective
— cult·ish·ly \-lē\ adverb
— cult·ish·ness \-nəs\ noun
— cult·ism \ˈkəl-ˌti-zəm\ noun
— cult·ist \ˈkəl-tist\ noun
— cult·like \-ˌlīk\ adjective
I would have to agree that enchanted is charismatic 🙂
Violets are blue
Roses are red
Is this good enough
For Song Two Hundred?
Josh, I visited the White Sox Blog site that you referenced to yesterday and this is what Scott had to say about Dodger Stadium – you probably already know this, but it's good to hear how others view Dodger Stadium 🙂
Dodger Stadium
So this is my first visit to Dodger Stadium …
As we walk in from the bus in mid afternoon, I see a guy in Sox uniform playing catch with a young boy in Sox garb right in front of our dugout. I know those mannerisms, I say to Steve Stone as we walk in past first base. It's Robin Ventura, playing catch with his son, Jack. It's great to see Robin, I congratulated him on the great job he did during the College World Series, and then felt very old seeing Jack running around.
The playing surface at Dodger Stadium was immaculate. It ranks up there with the very best in baseball. The stadium itself was a mix between the 1980s and some of the newer work the Dodgers have done to the seating area. Overall, the ballpark seemed older than I expected, but then it is now one of the oldest in baseball … which is amazing.
I've said before that I believe all of us are 12 years old inside, which means for me, it's always 1977 in some spot in my mind.
So it was fun to see Vin Scully — and great to listen to his telecast — Steve Garvey, Fernando Valenzuela (1981, I know), Ron Cey and run into Charlie Hough in the press box.
very good – good morning!!! 🙂
Enchanted, I will take David Koresh.
We have charismatic leaders, and lots of willing Kool Aid drinkers, so all signs point to a cult.
I'll have to sing a song as David Koresh…maybe "Come On Baby Light My Fire"? 🙂
Or maybe Disco Inferno?
Perumike ~ Isn't it sad what Dodger mangagement has done to these supposedly normal people – I can't believe we are doing this, but it is too funny not to. LOL!!!
now known as Tammy 🙂 LOL!!
LOL Tammy! I think we need a Patty Hearst as well as members of the SLA.
maybe cp is up for that job ! LOL!!
Isn't it amazing that Dodger management has not only screwed up our young players, but now the have taken about 50+ seemingly normal people and turned them into willing participants into a cult – we have truly gone over to the dark side – literally! LOL
When there is nobody left on this blog because we all went to some remote part of the world to have a Kool Aid retreat, then they will feel bad! 🙂
LMAO!!! enchanted already left to El Paso – LMAO!!! maybe to get the kool aid – LMAO!!!!
The song "Secret Agent Man" could be used 🙂 We've already had our names taken away LMAO!! (song's playing on radio) We all need a number – LMAO!!
Sweet win last night and incredible outing by Stultsy. Lot's of fun with our new Cult Status. LOL.
Super song efforts North, Dan, E, and Nelly. Got me started laughing already.
Eric, once again, thanks for your blog site and compiling our song efforts. The site is awesome.
Let's get Kersh his first win this afternoon. He's made 7 starts and pitched very well but still has no win(s) to show for it.
Good morning boys and girls…
Hey, if everyone else has a pseudo name, then I am Patty Hearst!!! 🙂
Patty Hearst at the suggestion of ITD's den mother, dnel! 🙂
But getting back to the Dodgers, great game last night! Great pitching performance by Stults! I was very pleased to see that! Yes, I want to see more of him; I just don't want this to be a fluke. But I really don't think it is. Stultsy pitched very well for us in NY in 2006. The Dodgers haven't given him a real chance to make it in the biggies before now. I just hope they give him a fighting chance to fight his way onto the regular rotation!
Maybe now that we have been getting a little more consistency in our hitting lately, perhaps today is finally the day that Kersh gets his first MLB win!
Go Kersh!
Go Dodgers!
Good morning jhall and cp — this is your den mother – Tammy (may I remind you without the mascara -LOL) 🙂
Hey enchanted – did you get that? CP wants to be Patty – make sure you write that down – ok? LOL!!!
actually enchanted went to El Paso, but reason is unknown so who knows – LOL!!!
As for the Dodgers – what a wonderful team effort last night! Boys – that's how to play Dodger baseball! That is probably one of the best team efforts in a long time, both pitching, hitting and defense working together. It's hard to even give our PVLs a bad time when a game goes so well. However PVLs – you are on a very short, short leash!
Also, did you know that Dodger Lyrics is a featured blog on the mlblogs home page? So, it will definitely be looked at by others – what fun!!
I'm glad to see you grasping onto that "den mother" label!!! Girl, you do have a bunch of labels here: dnelson, dnelly_ae16, Debbie, den mother, Tammy… Did I miss anything else? I probably did! 🙂
Russell Martin Rules! (I can't believe he had to change Torre's mind, but he did.) Whatever happens with the rest of Eric Stults' career, no one can ever take away last night. He threw a shutout in The Show. For one day at least, Eric Stults is THE MAN. I salute him.
(Not to be a wet rag, but I did notice that 17 of his 27 outs were in the air, with only 4 going to infielders. If Stults stays in the rotation, his next start is Tuesday at Houston; that approach may not work as well in that ridiculous bandbox of a stadium, esp. with him being a lefty and that insanely short porch in LF.)
From the articles:
Stults threw 81 of 116 pitches for strikes, though it appeared his night was over after the eighth inning, until catcher Russell Martin lobbied on his behalf. Torre told Stults that should anyone reach base in the ninth, his night was over.
"He saw the look in his eyes," Martin said. "He deserved it."
[Stults said,] "When I was walking into the dugout after the eighth, Joe shook my hand and said, 'Good job,' and I went and sat down. And Russell was like, `You want to keep going?' I said yeah. So he went up to Joe, asked him if I could keep going. Joe looked at me and I was nodding my head yeah, so he said, `We'll take it one hitter at a time.' "
"I was getting tired, and I did feel like I started losing command of my pitches. When you're in that situation, you try to do everything you can to get outs. So I went at them with fastballs and I was fortunate to get three fly ball outs."
I see that link on mlblogs home page! Great to see! But who is that in pink???
hey westernmost!
Yeah I see what you're saying about Stults pitching in Houston, but he did pitch very well in Cincinnati! Perhaps there's hope! Besides which, I can forgive a bad outing (if that comes to pass in Houston) if he pitches well afterwards!
I don't know who's in pink. As for the name thing – I really was messed up for a while there last night because I really didn't think PierreEW knew it was me, and I guess I haven't learned his sense of humor yet, but it was discovered that he knew it was me. I do feel like a den mother at times trying to maintain control – oh wait – that's one of my jobs at school too. However, the ITD boys are out of control with no chance of coming back anytime soon, and it will only get worse if Dodger management doesn't fix this fiasco of a team and get back on track by player the right boys. Then again aren't we all out of control to some point because that is why we are on here in the first place continuously lamenting over our frustrations. LOL!!!
Goooooood mornin' ITD!!!!!!
drinkingmercury and nelly, I see you've been busy little bees…….
cp, I have no idea who that is in pink. But that's definitely me on our site. At least it was me in '73 or so. I got worse. I didn't cut my hair until around early '76. By then, the only place I was shaving was a strip right up the middle under my jaw. The sideburns were hanging down a couple of inches. I would have fit in at the Ranch, at least physically.
yeah, those ITD boys can get just a wee bit out of control (what, ya think?) 🙂 I must say though dnel, you keep up with them pretty well! You're right about Dodger management. I have a real hard time believing that they have no clue what's going on here. But it's hard maintaining that when there is so much evidence the points otherwise. (You know, Conte doesn't tell Torre anything or Torre doesn't listen to what Conte is saying, etc!?!) I don't know which way it is but logically you'd think that a future HOF manager would know how to take care of his players, right?
That is so cool that Dodger Lyrics is the featured blog today on MLB.com. I think the guy in pink may be Pedro Guerrero from that corny video they did in 1988.
Yeah, eric, you would have fit – at least in looks! 🙂 Yes I was alive during that awful time, but I was a very young girl (only 8 in 1969). But I've seen enough pics from that time to know the look! 🙂
And who is (or what is) drinkingmercury?
Pierre's arm is pathetic


text:
According to a report on CVG, a Game Developers Conference session with No More Heroes creator Goichi Suda (pictured) got a little strange yesterday when a homeless man (not pictured) joined Edge for an interview.
"There were plenty of drinks flowing at the event so nobody took much notice that this second 'journalist' was heavily soaked in beer", a "senior informant" tells the site. "Warner [Bros.] thought the guy was with Suda's people and the journalist seemed to assume he was with Warner."
"He managed about 10 minutes seated with Suda, mostly stroking his chin and nodding his head."
"Eventually it became quite clear he wasn't a journalist - he was in fact a homeless guy that managed to blag himself all the way to the interview."
Apparently the man was then "quietly ushered away", leaving Suda "speechless".
Let me set the scene here. These events aren't exactly Fort Knox. And The Game Developers Conference is renowned for being a little boozier than most other shows. So the fact he got in isn't very surprising.
The fact he lasted ten minutes? That's an achievement. Or an indictment on the amount of beer Edge writers are normally soaked in!
Homeless man wins GDC, secures interview with Suda 51 [Edge]

subset: commoncrawl


text:
From Olympics to the streets: Medalist homeless in California
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- At 16, he had the long, tapering swimmer's muscles that made it impossible for anyone who saw Brian Job in a pool to miss what he was -- a budding champion, who that year would win a bronze medal in the 200-meter breaststroke at the Summer Olympics in Mexico City -- or to imagine what he would one day become: homeless.
Job, who pronounces his name like the Bible's long-suffering character, had become the first high school swimmer to break the one-minute barrier in the 100-yard breaststroke on March 29, 1968. Forty-five years later to the day, Job was released from the Santa Clara County main jail after his arrest for interfering with firefighters, who, according to a Palo Alto Police Department spokesman, were attempting to extinguish a fire Job had built in a restaurant parking lot. Job insists he and some of his fellow "outdoor citizens" were merely having a late-night barbecue.
Already on probation for disturbing the peace, with at least a half-dozen arrests for petty crimes pending against him, Job suffers from bipolar disorder and assorted addictions,
according to his family. Job is convinced his family has spent years plotting against him and maintains he is resolutely "unipolar." The things he accomplished to become a star for the mighty Santa Clara Swim Club --overcoming a club foot, months in a painful body cast, a broken neck, going headfirst through the windshield of a car -- were so remarkable that sorting out fact and fiction is nearly impossible.
One thing is certain: In the four decades since he gave up competitive swimming, Job gradually moved from the world he once inhabited -- based on long, grinding hours of practice and split-second victories -- to an alternate reality where he is in complete control.
At some point, the rush of water and adrenaline that made Job a star at the Santa Clara International Swim Center, and later for Stanford University, was transformed into a torrent of words, flowing from him unchecked by the customary brakes of logic or circumspection.
"He's mentally ill and totally delusional," says Lisa Uzzell, Job's sister. "We had to get a restraining order to keep him away from my parents' house after he almost burned it down when he caught the rug on fire. He's manic-depressive, but he thinks nothing is wrong with him, so he doesn't take his medication."
But if Job has fallen far from his former Olympian heights, his landing on the streets has been mercifully short on self-awareness. He says he has given away a fortune that, by his own accounting, would amount to billions, perhaps trillions, of dollars. He owns very little, and needs less, including food and sleep. The token of his life's greatest moment, the Olympic bronze medal, remains at his parents' home in Los Altos. He has touched it exactly once since 1968.
When he was 18, with the whole world chasing him, Job dreamed of putting himself so far ahead of the churning contrail of his competition in the 200 breaststroke that no one could possibly get near him. He was obsessed with putting the world record out of reach, "where nobody can touch it," and in 1970 he did just that, obliterating the old mark by nearly 2 seconds. That same year, during his freshman season at Stanford, he lowered the U.S. mark every time he entered the pool at the NCAA and AAU championships, 10 records in two weeks.
He would continue to impose his will on the rest of the world for another two years, until an untimely debacle at the 1972 Summer Games in Munich, where Job went from holding the world record to not even getting to swim in the finals of his event. Even his world record was wiped out in Munich by his Santa Clara Swim Center teammate, John Hencken, who took the gold medal Job had been favored to win.
Job's only memories of Munich, where members of the Israeli Olympic team were killed by terrorists, are clearly a figment of his overheated imagination -- a le Carré-like tale of "going over the wall with the terrorists, thinking they were Israelis." But he has no recollection of his own disaster in the pool, where he inexplicably failed to get past a qualifying heat in the event he was favored to win. Today, he says he was swimming cautiously to avoid disqualification and simply didn't post a time good enough to advance.
"I don't remember, to tell you the truth," he says, closing his eyes for a moment. "I'm rolling the tape back and I'm getting a blank stare."
Job often draws blank stares as he jabbers at people passing by along El Camino Real, or in Lytton Park downtown, where he is a regular. Whether he is there, or buttonholing passengers at the Caltrain station, Job often dons special sunglasses that he says double as a video camera. "People are not really supposed to know what I look like, because I'm the most dangerous person in the world order," he says in a low voice. Then he mentions a "trillion-dollar company" that he owns, and explains his Spartan existence is the result of giving away all his money.
Before he supposedly invented 3-D printing, gave Apple's Steve Jobs the domain name "me.com" -- "Steve called me to apologize for screwing it up," he says -- and provided the impetus and inspiration for dozens of Silicon Valley's most famous ideas, Job was, in actual fact, a Santa Clara Swim Club teammate of Mark Spitz and Don Schollander, who won 14 Olympic gold medals between them. Spitz was a natural in the pool in every discipline and distance, but if he hadn't enlisted Job as his study partner at Santa Clara High, he might never have graduated. No lie, says Job's sister.
Like Spitz, who moved from the Central Valley to swim for legendary Santa Clara coach George Haines, Schollander came from Oregon as a teenager, and Job moved west from Ohio at age 15. "He was being pushed," Job's sister Brenda told Sports Illustrated in a 1970 article about the exploits of the entire family. The shove came from their mother, Mary Job, who made all four children swim laps in the lake they grew up on, morning and night. "I hated it with a passion," Brian told the magazine. "It got to the point that we were crying while we were doing our laps." His brother and sisters all quit swimming, but Brian felt obligated to carry on for his mother's sake, and continued to suffer bizarre injuries. At one point, a horse fell on him.
Last week, Brian Job said, "What our parents did to us would be considered child abuse now," and his sister Lisa theorized that their mother, who was their coach, may have suffered from the same manic-depression that she believes afflicts Brian. Lisa became a national age-group champion, Brenda was a state swimming champion in Ohio and their older brother, Stephen, swam with Schollander on a national champion medley relay team at Yale University.
When Schollander returned to Santa Clara in 2006 for a reunion of the swim club and its Olympic stars, he hadn't seen Job in years. "He was dressed very nattily," Schollander recalls by phone from Lake Oswego, Ore., where he became a real estate developer. "He was a very dandy-looking guy -- kind of eccentric."
As they stood on the pool deck, Job told him about his years at Harvard Business School, followed by Silicon Valley startups Networked Picture Systems and Via Video, where he was founder, chairman and CEO -- all true, apparently, though Job's claim that he had become a venture capital investor wasn't. It's likely that when Schollander returned to his hotel that night, Job returned to one of the many squats he has occupied since becoming homeless.
"He told me all these things that he had done successfully in terms of startup companies and high-tech companies," Schollander says. "I came away from that thinking, 'God, that guy's probably the most successful one of all.' I did!"
Even now, old friends from Job's days as a top swimmer find his predicament hard to believe. "He's really a brilliant guy, which is why this is so sad," says Anne Cribbs, who won a gold in the 4x100 medley relay at the Rome Olympics in 1960, and has been a mainstay of amateur sports on the Peninsula. "I had a lot of conversations with him on the phone. He took to calling some of us in the middle of the night, so it got to where you didn't answer your phone. It's just so sad."
According to Job's resume -- which is available at the website created for his current, more fanciful operation, called Job 1 -- he "retired" from running companies in 1987. That was around the same time that his sister says he lost his Sunnyvale home to foreclosure, blowing wads of money on a Ferrari, a huge satellite dish, and stereo speakers so enormous they needed helium tanks to run. "He started getting goofier and goofier," Uzzell says.
When he was still on top of the world in 1971, Job seemed to see his own shadow at the bottom of the pool, and in it a glimpse of the fate that awaited him. "If you ... have ability, you can get better," he said. "But it's so darned easy to blow it."


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Frying Eggs and Braising Lamb for Seder at Balaboosta
Like last year and the year before it, Chef Einat Admony is hosting a second night Seder dinner at Balaboosta. This year's meal is a collaboration with Chef David Tanis (New York Times columnist and chef of Chez Panisse) and Pastry Chef Keren Weiner (of Il Buco), and together, the three chefs will work to present a five-course meal the second night of Seder, complete with wine pairings and live music. We joined Einat and David in the kitchen to see the making of two dishes to be served at the dinner: a quail egg starter and a braised lamb main.
The eggs are rolled in matzo meal and crushed almonds, then fried and served on a large spoon with garlic aioli and pickled scallions. Chef Admony wanted to include an egg component in reference to the seder plate, one that could be eaten in one bite yet served family-style.
The braised lamb shank, served with harissa-honey carrots, chickpeas, and a green sauce is a dish that gives homage to the traditional use of lamb during spring celebrations. Although Chef Tanis uses European techniques to cook this protein, he draws on Middle Eastern flavors of mixed spices to make this more consistent with the Seder menu.
Although the two chefs have two different cooking styles, they both lean towards strong flavors and simple dishes. "We share a similar sensibility about food," said Chef Admony about her collaboration with Chef Tanis. "This lamb dish is one that we would serve at Balaboosta. It's also fun to sit together with different chefs and toss around ideas, collaborating together on a meal like this.
The Seder dinner at Balaboosta also includes a radish salad with roasted beets and rhubarb, a Yemenite soup with fenugreek matzo ball soup, red quinoa kale chips, a fish dish with swiss chard and lemon broth, and a chocolate caramel tart with coffee-cardamom ice cream for dessert. The courses are to be served family style, and Chef Einat looks forward to the communal nature of the dinner, and mixing together the guests.
"It's going to be fun, it's going to be funky, even the music. We want everyone to enjoy themselves, and go out of their comfort zones."
See how these dishes get made in the slideshow »
As of now, tickets are sold out, but interested eaters can call Balaboosta for the wait list.
214 Mulberry Street, New York, NY 10012 (map)


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Well - I guess this is not the right forum to discuss these issues - pls have a look on the just created viewtopic.php?f=10&t=13009 .
Let me just give a short "my view", so these issues do not stay open for all times - and it may be of interest to others too:
Please do not forget: This was not a planned event - it just happened to be! And while we ATCs still tried to discus how to handle that - we were overtaken (at least me). Those tow mishaps (see Trennor and Icecode) just happened in a rather critical time-frame - i have no idea who looked on MPmap (or on the newly available MAP) at that time:
- there were 8 targets in the EDDF area, 4 on Final/Localizer, 2 in pattern, 2 approaching
-- 3 of those had big problems reacting in a normal time-frame and/or even holding altitude, heading and speed
-- 1 even accelerated on Final from 220 kn up to 350, overtaking others on final (1 reason for GoAround)
-- 2 were on GoAround
- MPchat was terrible overloaded, I am not sure if anybody did read all messages - I could NOT (sorry - but dear pilots: ATC has to read them all and has to respond to many - while pilots can concentrate just on a few dedicated ones!). I am sure I missed a few in that critical time-frame - especially: All were on MPchat!! - on FGCOM that would not have been a problem!
- special to Icecode: Not sure if I actually overlooked (or maybe you did not see on screen) - anyhow: You did right Going Around! And for sure you got vectors from me for that. I have no idea why you suddenly decided to turn in to final - while still some others were on final - i guess to that time you were #4! By the way: To that same time also one other plane, also being on GoArround) decided to do the same strange thing - and even did not respond to my very nicely questions etc.. And you decided to start discussing instead of following advise to get you out of a crash-situation - well you know me since a long time! I hope we still are friends - sorry that you did not get the trophy to be first - better luck next time!
- special to Trennorr: I am not sure, but if I remember correct you were the one who was lined up for rw 25R (in the middest of 2 other planes on final). Then you suddenly turned left going into direction of 25L, and while I was typing to warn you - you suddenly decided to turn back right - and then ended your flight just prior TouchDown on the "Center Taxiway" between those 2 runways. I am really sorry I had no time to film that !!
- One word to IFR/VFR: I try to be open for all visitors, independent of skills - as long as they can handle their plane and communicate with ATC. And for sure the skills are drastically different! So I see IFR/VFR in a very basic way:
- IFR I can direct to a VOR and get them from there onto ILS
- VFR I have to vector all the time and even advise on speed and altitude
Thats it -- I guess for anything else you need a closed event with minimum skills!
So: I liked it - but believe me: The last 1h was pure stress - that made me sleep well afterward.
I hope we all see us again soon


text:
Season 5 Episode 6
"Two Truths and a Lie"
As the officers of 15 Division try to hunt down the killer of Brian Gowdy, Andy and Sam go on the road to interview a list of inmates at Millburn Penitentiary. All are known associates of the prime suspect; one person on that list happens to be none other than Jay Swarek, Sam's elusive father...[button color="red" size="small" link="http://www.globaltv.com/rookieblue/index.html" target="blank" ]Official Site (Canada)[/button] [button color="red" size="small" link="http://abc.go.com/shows/rookie-blue" target="blank" ]Official Site (U.S.)[/button]
The body of Brian Gowdy, who was reported missing in "Going Under," was beaten to death after taking an unknown subject for a test drive of his car. Another man, who owns a similar automobile, reported a suspicious man who showed up to test drive his car. The suspect met both car sellers at the same gas station. Brian Gowdy's twin, Jim, has no idea who would want to kill his brother.
Sean Harrison matches the description of a potential suspect, but it's his ex-con pal, Larry Chisholm, who may be the killer. The guy may have been repaying a debt from prison. Sam and Andy head off to have a chat with a few inmates. The ride over to the prison is a bit awkward. Andy suggests they play a game called "two truths and a lie." One of three things stated by a player is actually a lie. It's Andy's way of trying to get Sam to say what's bugging him. It doesn't work.
Jim Gowdy may have been the true murder target. He may have foreclosed on the home of an inmate at the penitentiary. Larry Chisholm is picked up at the bus station. Sam is thrilled to get this news. That means they can roll out of the prison. Andy begins to realize why Sam is acting so out of sorts. One of the inmates on the list of those they were to interview has the last name of Swarek. Jay Swarek to be exact. He's Sam's father.
Sam doesn't want to talk about his dad. Andy knows he shuts down whenever life gets in their way. Sam takes a big step by turning over his father's file. Andy reads through it before the ride back to 15. Also heading back to the station are Nick and Gail, who tells Larry Chisholm that his buddy, Sean, told the cops he loaned him his car. The prisoner is in disbelief. When they pull into the station, Larry smashes the car window and tries to kill himself with a jagged piece of glass.
Sam doesn't believe the Larry Chisholm they've been hearing about is the type of guy who would carry out all the actions attached to him lately. They head back inside the prison to talk to the one man who may be able to shed some light on a few things. Jay Swarek is less-than-forthcoming with information. He's more interested in taunting Sam, who exits the interrogation area. Andy stays behind to question dear old dad.
Back at the station, Sean's wife, Kelly, gazes at the evidence board of pictures showing a dead Brian Gowdy. Chris notices that she seems a little spooked. At the prison, Andy learns from Jay that Larry's pal, Sean, controls him. He had him try to track down the man who was having an affair with his wife. Larry brought Brian Gowdy to Sean. He had no idea that his friend was going to kill him. Before Andy leaves, Jay asks what Sam told her about him. The answer is that this is the first she's ever heard of him.
Traci and Nick head over to Sean Harrison's house to make an arrest. They find a distraught and broken Kelly scrubbing the blood off of her rug. She stabbed Sean to death with a knife. He knew she knew he was a killer. He was beating her until she saw the knife. Kelly believes it's as if Brian placed it there to protect her now that their plans of disappearing to Costa Rica together are no more.
Traci is ticked when her ex, Dex, is MIA for a Leo pickup. It's because he was in a bar fight. Steve pays him a visit at the hospital. The two of them verbally spar about the custody situation with Leo. Later, Dex shows up at the station. Traci lets him know that no one will ever love Leo like the two of them do. They have a nice moment together that Steve witnesses from afar. In other random relationship news, Gail works on an online dating profile for Nick. Also, Chloe lets Dov know that she knows he fought for her in the hospital.
Sam pays a return visit to the prison. He lays out how he feels about his dad. He lets him know he's free of the guy. He no longer has to waste one more emotion on him. Sam tells his dad that he forgives him before making his exit. He later tells Andy that he blew his dad's alibi when the police came looking for Jay on a robbery-assault charge.
Sam lied to make sure his dad would be sent to prison so he'd stop hurting his family. Andy assures Sam that he's nothing like his dad. The two of them declare that they love each other. A short time later, they are in bed together playing one more round of "two truths and a lie" – the clothing optional version.
On the next episode...
STAKEOUT - Traci & Chris Pt. 2


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Rangers' all-time Top 5 in-season trades
Pair of deals set gold standard for teams looking to make moves
The Rangers have always been a team to watch for midsummer trades, whether they're to upgrade the club while pursuing a division title or trying to rebuild by plucking prospects from other organizations.
General manager Jon Daniels loves to wheel and deal in July, and two of his trades are among the gold standard by which all non-waiver Trade Deadline deals are measured. Sellers look to duplicate his 2007 deal, and buyers hope to get a player who has the same impact as the one Daniels landed in '10.
1. July 31, 2007: The Rangers received shortstop Elvis Andrus, catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and pitchers Matt Harrison, Neftali Feliz and Beau Jones from Atlanta in exchange for first baseman Mark Teixeira and pitcher Ron Mahay.
This trade provided the foundation for Texas' rebuilding program and may have been the most important move in putting together two American League pennant-winning teams. Andrus, Feliz and Harrison have all been to the All-Star Game since the trade.
2. July 9, 2010: The Rangers received pitchers Cliff Lee and Mark Lowe from the Mariners for pitchers Blake Beavan and Josh Lueke, infielder Matt Lawson and first baseman Justin Smoak.
Lee wasn't all that great for Texas immediately after the deal. He went 4-6 with a 3.98 ERA in 15 starts down the stretch. But in the playoffs, Lee was outstanding, beating the Rays twice in the AL Divison Series and the Yankees in Game 3 of the AL Championship Series. He wasn't quite as stellar in the World Series, but the Rangers wouldn't have made it that far without him.
3. July 19, 2000: Texas received infielder Michael Young and pitcher Darwin Cubillan from Toronto in exchange for pitcher Esteban Loaiza.
The Rangers were way out of the playoff race by mid-July, but that wasn't the reason for the trade. Manager Johnny Oates had become fed up with Loaiza and gave general manager Doug Melvin a "him or me" ultimatum. Young was a Double-A infielder at the time and not on any lists of top prospects. But he ended up breaking almost every career club hitting record during his memorable 12-year stay in Texas.
4. Aug. 8, 1996: The Rangers received pitcher John Burkett from the Marlins for pitchers Rick Helling and Ryan Dempster.
Texas was leading the AL West and trying to make the playoffs for the first time in club history. Burkett proved to be a crucial piece, joining Ken Hill at the front of the Rangers' rotation. They had lost five straight and nine of 10 when he beat the Angels, 7-1, on Sept. 21. That victory and one by Hill the next day were two of the biggest wins in franchise history until the World Series runs in 2010-11.
Incidentally, Texas reacquired Helling in 1997 for reliever Ed Vosberg. That turned out to be another huge trade for the Rangers, as Helling helped them win two more division titles in 1998-99.
5. July 28, 2006: The Rangers received outfielders Carlos Lee and Nelson Cruz from the Brewers for pitchers Francisco Cordero and Julian Cordero, and outfielders Kevin Mench and Laynce Nix.
Lee was Texas' target in this deal, as the club tried to upgrade its offense for the final two months. Cruz was secondary, but Daniels likes to have a second player in any big deal like this. Cruz took a couple of years to get going, but his All-Star bat has been huge for the Rangers the past four years. This deal edges out acquiring David Murphy from the Red Sox in the 2007 Eric Gagne trade for the No. 5 spot on the list.