Legendary Dodgers announcer Vin Scully was named the Best Radio Play-by-Play Announcer, and Los Angeles Kings announcer Bob Miller was named Best Television Play-by-Play Announcer at the Southern California Sports Broadcasting Awards. (Photo: Jon SooHoo / LA Dodgers)
At the 21st annual Southern California Sports Broadcasters awards luncheon on Monday, Vin Scully was named the Best Radio Play-by-Play Announcer for the 13th time. Scully, who is a member of the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Hall of Fame, has also won the Best Television Play-by-Play Announcer honor 10 times. This year, the TV honor went to Bob Miller, longtime announcer of the Los Angeles Kings.
This year will be Scully's 63rd season announcing Dodgers games. No matter how many times I see, say, or type those words, they still amaze me.
Rick Monday, who will return for his 19th season as a Dodgers announcer, was named Best Radio Color Commentator by the Southern California Sports Broadcasters, in the annual ceremony held this year at Lakeside Country Club in Toluca Lake.
Clayton Kershaw was also on hand to accept the Chuck Benedict Outstanding Achievement Award for his accomplishments on and off the field in 2011.
0 recs | 339 comments
LOL at the Yahoo news story, kinbote.
Eric Stephen - January 30, 2012
He's BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK
http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120130&content_id=26518292&vkey=news_la&c_id=la
silverwidow - January 30, 2012
Yeah, Tony Jackson saw him at CBR yesterday
Eric Stephen - January 30, 2012
Eric Gagne says, Have I got a story for you!
Humma Kavula - January 30, 2012
What you thought was your daddy….
Oh wait, the Vedder thread was earlier.
Eric Stephen - January 30, 2012
Sign that man to a long term contract
Michael White - January 30, 2012
He’s no Kenley Jansen, though.
TomasC - January 30, 2012
The man who should have been a guard in Legends of the Hidden Temple.
David Young - January 30, 2012
Honda CR-V for the win
/Bueller
Eric Stephen - January 30, 2012
A guy who killed two people in a car accident
seems like an odd spokesperson for a car
nolander - January 30, 2012
Live a little.
Eric Stephen - January 30, 2012
I drive a CR-V, and let me tell you: it is a car for tiny, old assholes who don’t know anything about anything and cars least of all.
Humma Kavula - January 30, 2012
Well then color me a tiny old asshole
Jack Huber - January 30, 2012
The way I know this 21-year old award is bogus
Vin Scully hasn’t won both play-by-play awards 21 times.
David Young - January 30, 2012
True. But in fairness, Bob Miller is a damn good announcer.
Nolij - January 30, 2012
did chick hearn ever win one?
G.Scott - January 30, 2012
IMHO, this list is BS
and the fact that it’s an article from Boston.com practically negates any and all chance of objectivity, but seriously? The Giants’ offseason ranks above the Dodgers’ because they traded for Melky Cabrera? I know we didn’t do much other than resigning Kemp, but damn…that be harsh.
TomasC - January 30, 2012
to their credit, they didn’t spend money on Ellis, Capuano, Harang, Hairston and Rivera.
G.Scott - January 30, 2012
Hey,
Capuano and Hairston will probably actually be good acquisitions
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
I think Ellis, Capang and Rivera will all be solid, if really overpaid, contributors this season: I’m totally confused as to where the need for Hairston came from with all the OFs on the roster.
TomasC - January 30, 2012
On the plus side, you have two years to try to figure it out.
Humma Kavula - January 30, 2012
Awesome! I do enjoy a good challenge.
TomasC - January 30, 2012
As Uribe insurance at 3rd base i like him.
But getting both Ellis and Kennedy was stupid.
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
Hairston is more of a 2B/3B that can play OF to fulfill a utility role. The real question is why one needs Hairston, Ellis, Kennedy and Uribe all on the same roster.
David Young - January 30, 2012
Choosing two of those 4.
I’d want Hairston…and Uribe. Sadly enough.
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
Uribe
Is he done, or is it more of an Adam Dunn “there’s no way he can be that bad two years in a row” kind of a situation?
TomasC - January 30, 2012
There is not universal agreement that Dunn is not done.
Humma Kavula - January 30, 2012
His year-long slump genuinely surprised me
I kept waiting for him to go on a HR tear for a couple series in a row, but it never happened.
TomasC - January 30, 2012
Sliders are a hell of a drug
G.Scott - January 30, 2012
Matt Kemp agrees
Maddz - January 30, 2012
and all midwest fat kids
G.Scott - January 30, 2012
I expect him to bounce back. I would put the odds at 60/40 that he OPS’s above .700, which would be a big help in the current offensive environment.
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
Careful about that term “bounce back.”
Humma Kavula - January 30, 2012
I’m pretty sure Uribe’s OPS will be under .700 in 2012. I’d probably take an even-money bet on that, let alone bet 40 to win your 60.
David Young - January 30, 2012
Bobby, what’s our bet — over/under 715 or something like that?
Humma Kavula - January 30, 2012
.715 sounds right to me. I think I wasn’t on-line when that came up – you got the sweet end of that bet.
David Young - January 30, 2012
Over a .715 OPS for the year for me, you took the under
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Do you have a fork? Stick it in him. He’s done.
iiidown - January 30, 2012
Agreed
Ned really does love his depth.
TomasC - January 30, 2012
When you sign mostly guys in their mid to late-30's
You need depth.
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
That and believing that IDJJr doesn’t have enough to even be an MLB backup, and not developing more middle infield prospects.
David Young - January 30, 2012
IDJ, Jr. didn't show much when he was in the show last year
All the same, is he really worse than Chin-Lung Hu was? To my untrained eyes, he just looked inexperienced, not necessarily unworthy of playing in the league.
TomasC - January 30, 2012
I think Ned really hated playing Chin-Lung Hu, and I think he really hated having to sign and play Shea Hillenbrand, thus his on-going fetish for depth.
David Young - January 30, 2012
Would it be fairer to say that both the Giants and the Dodgers had shitty offseasons?
Humma Kavula - January 30, 2012
The Giants was worse. LA at least locked up Matt Kemp. Tim Lincecum put the finishing touches on his “two more years at a lotta dough and leave for free agency” plan.
David Young - January 30, 2012
The Giants never fail to astound me. For years — years! — they have seemed to be One Slugger Away from greatness, and for years — years! — they have avoided getting that slugger in free agency.
Of course, the Dodgers never fail to astound me, either, and there’s the rub.
Humma Kavula - January 30, 2012
The other side of that coin could be
you’re fairly easy to astound.
The other OTHER side of the coin is that both Coletti and Sabean made pretty stupid decisions. It’s really anyone’s guess.
TomasC - January 30, 2012
I thought
Social Security was the third side of the coin
mleadman - January 30, 2012
Yes
All I’m asking for is a little fairness here. :-)
TomasC - January 30, 2012
I don’t think he’s ranking offseasons
this is like a college football preseason ranking. He has both SF (16) and LA (18) as middle of the pack teams. Sounds about right to me.David Young - January 30, 2012
For IVdown said in last thread-
you could make the argument that Greinke is possibly just as good as Hamels and Cain by virtue of his peripherals, but wouldn’t you rather have the pitcher that has the peripherals AND the surface stats? That’s without even counting that Hamels is left-handed with a phenomenal changeup and control (read: will age better than the other two).
When you tell me the story of a starter in line for an ace-type contract who has 7 years at the MLB level, yet only once pitched like an ace, and mysteriously underperformed in the past two years and who’s fastball just lost an MPH last season….i would say run away and sign one of the other two guys who are at least as good if not better.
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
This is easy
sign whichever one agrees to sign with you
G.Scott - January 30, 2012
Only after
you lock up Kershaw.
David Young - January 30, 2012
sure
G.Scott - January 30, 2012
The one that doesn’t have the surface stats is probably cheaper.
fbihop - January 30, 2012
Considering the possibility of money not really being much of an object
At least compared to now, i’d definitely take the best one available.
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
it’s an object, but as it relates to choosing between a 20mil pitcher and a 23mil pitcher, it’s nothing. years would be a bigger holdup
G.Scott - January 30, 2012
I also thought about this earlier
Whereas he doesn’t have the ERA the last two years, while still having the peripherals, that might make him cheaper once FA comes, and so he can normalize his home run rate.
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
A fair point
Though with his strikeouts and walks, you put him in a park like Dodger Stadium you will see those home runs dropping a ton back to his KC days. That is one thing, for another, I believe he is the highest ceiling of the 3, though lowest floor. So where there may be risk for worse seasons, there’s also possibility for elite seasons, as neither Cain nor Hamels have had a season like Greinke’s 2009.
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Greinke’s ERA+ in 2009 was 205. Since 1947 (65 seasons), there have only been 15 times a pitcher had a 190 ERA+ or better, 29 at 180 or better. (Minimum of 30 starts). It’s 20 and 39 respectively if I loosen the minimum to 28 starts, 22 and 42 if I change the min to 162 IP.
That’s not an elite season, that’s freakish. I would think Cain or Hamels have just as much chance at one of those too.
David Young - January 30, 2012
And he did that with arguably the worst infield in history behind him.
rWAR accounts for that and they say it’s the third greatest season of all time with less than 250 innings pitched.
regfairfield - January 30, 2012
yuni lives!!!!
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Cain will be going from one extreme pitcher’s park to a neutral park, and he’s never shown elite ability, though a very good number 2. Mark my words, Cain is the ‘worst’ of the 3. Hamels has more ability than Cain for sure, though again I don’t think he will ever reach the heights that Greinke has. That said, Greinke never will again, though I honestly believe Greinke can have a 7 WAR season in the next few seasons.
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Since you want to use peripherals almost exclusively, apparently:
2009 Greinke xFIP: 3.09
2011 Hamels xFIP: 3.02
So if xFIP represents a true talent level, doesn’t Greinke’s 2009 get outdone by Hamels’ 2011
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
Greinke’s ERA+ that year was much better though. ;)
VegasBlues - January 30, 2012
But then i get to use his league average last two years;)
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
Banana Cream pie is better than German Chocolate.
This argument is ridiculous.
G.Scott - January 30, 2012
That's ridiculous
German chocolate is clearly better :)
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
fuck that guy
G.Scott - January 30, 2012
I don’t care about the Greinke / Hamels / Cain argument.
You’re clearly wrong on this though. Banana Cream Pie is much better.
VegasBlues - January 30, 2012
I'm telling you
German Chocolate pie has better taste per slice ratio than Banana Cream pie
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Cherry pie
David Young - January 30, 2012
This dude looks super familiar
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
he has been in stuff
nolander - January 30, 2012
This totally looks like The Captain, Zoe's ex husband in How I Met Your Mother
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
x
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
aww, picture's too far over :(
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
you aren't in wide?
nolander - January 30, 2012
Man, get wide dude!
David Young - January 30, 2012
I wish I knew what this meant
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
sbnation has wide view and narrow view
nolander - January 30, 2012
On the top right side of this page you should see
Click on wide. Note: it will reload the page, so finish "z"ing first.David Young - January 30, 2012
Sweet, thanks
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Same person
David Young - January 30, 2012
nailed it!
What movie was that original one from
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
oh Bobby…
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
I haven't seen all the things you old people have!
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Twin Peaks was an actual good version of Lost before Lost was even a concept
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
The Captain was on Twin Peaks?
They did a Twin Peaks episode of Psych that was great
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
he was Twin Peaks
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
why would I watch something that doesn't even have a shitty ending?
or did they wrap it up before it got canceled?
nolander - January 30, 2012
Heroes :(
They need a gdamn real ending for that show!
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
A show has to be really bad
for me to get that invested in it and just give up halfway through a season
nolander - January 30, 2012
hell, I’m still watching House just to watch moving pictures of Hugh Laurie.
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
Season 4 of Heroes?
Yeah, lots of that one was shit. I enjoyed most of seasons 2 and 3, though some of their turns were really stupid.
I still think Sylar should have joined the good guys fighting against the government.
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
No I couldn't even get through 3
I just really didn’t even want to know anymore
nolander - January 30, 2012
It makes me sad that things I like turned out so shitty :(
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
this is why I don't invest in shows
until they have some success in their second season. Less frustration and heartbreak that way.
nolander - January 30, 2012
I generally (not on purpose)
find great shows way after they become big. Started following Heroes in the end of season 3, following How I Met Your Mother just in the summer of 2011, Scrubs by about season 5, and Arrested Development after it was all over.
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Did you ever play Alan Wake?
nolander - January 30, 2012
I did, got maybe halfway into it, but had too many moments one will have in a free wandering game where nothing is happening cause I missed some tiny detail
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
you mean the pages?
I mean one thing against it was simply that the combat sequences where arguably too long, but I loved the crud out of it.
nolander - January 30, 2012
and its not a free roam game
its move to the light the game except for the last chapter
nolander - January 30, 2012
so TV show, not movie
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
Kids
David Young - January 30, 2012
Robert Downey Jr?
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
Now you are just baiting.
David Young - January 30, 2012
I am. Homeboy is the mayor in Portlandia now : )
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
Yes he is. That’s too hip for IvPuppy though. ;-)
David Young - January 30, 2012
What the hell is a German Chocolate pie?
David Young - January 30, 2012
right? The shit is this shit?
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
just give me all the chocolate
nolander - January 30, 2012
what are you going to do with it? Put it in a made up pie?
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
is this a real question?
I’m going to eat it. All of it.
nolander - January 30, 2012
you son of a bitch!
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
Not if I get there first
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
your lives are incomplete. You are the Zach Greinkes of pie eating
G.Scott - January 30, 2012
I don't have anxiety about eating pie ;)
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
shut up and give me pie
nolander - January 30, 2012
I've never seen a better reason to give a rec than this
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
If you remember anything about what I say
Is that I don’t buy info xFIP almost at all.
And I have no idea why you think I’m just using “past” peripherals, I’ve talked about how good his 2010 and 2011 peripherals were, in fact you talked about me talking about them.
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
you’re a walking contradiction, Bobby.
G.Scott - January 30, 2012
I usually quote xFIP for other people’s expense, it’s not my cup of tea. I vastly prefer regular old FIP to it.
Greinke 2009 FIP: 2.33
Hamels 2011 FIP: 3.05
The big thing FIP does not have is hits in it, but for the sake of this argument:
Greinke 2009 H/9: 7.7
Hamels 2011 H/9: 7.0
Hamels is better, but not enough to overcome the huge gap in FIP.
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
it seems the difference between 2009 epic Greinke and every other year greinke is an insanely low HR/9 rate
at least periphs wise, so it doesn’t surprise me x-fip doesn’t see that as something he could keep up… and he didn’t.
nolander - January 30, 2012
That's a good point
Though he still (usually) has a pretty good HR/FB percentage, though he just about doubled his career average in 2011, which is a big reason why his ERA was as high as it was. If you take his ability and put it in a pitchers park (not to mention on a team in contention where he might actually have more incentive) or a neutral park and you’ll see those home runs drop :)
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
The same goes for Hamels, though.
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
it was like .43
the next closest year was the next one at .73. .43 is just not sustainable methinks, unless Grienke the mighty looked at this infeild defense and decided to become a fly ball pitcher or something insane like that.
nolander - January 30, 2012
You're right, he likely will never touch that career high again
If he keeps it around .73 and pitches like he has a combination of the last 4 years he will be perfect for the Dodgers.
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Sorry, I guess more about .8-.85
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
And like GScott said a thread or two ago
The mere fact that he’s the type of pitcher who won’t throw his best pitch because his team sucks should be a big warning sign on the effort front.
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
I don't even know what you are talking about
nolander - January 30, 2012
Yeah, i'm not sure what you mean
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Gary mentioned it earlier
And i’d heard it before, actually.
Apparently in 2010 it came out somehow that he was using his slider less because it “wasn’t worth it to throw a more dangerous pitch on a bad team” or something similar. His usage went from 20% to 15% from 2009-2010
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
Kershaw has gone from
22 to 18 to 7 to 5, even though his curve is an above average pitch, and was considered his best even at the start of 2010.
Even with a quote like that I’m not worried about a 5 percent drop.
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
it went back up this year
nolander - January 30, 2012
his curveball thrown also dropped liek 5 percent then went right back up
nolander - January 30, 2012
I assume you mean CK's curveball usage
Different reasons. Kershaw’s curveball usage dropped because idiot umpires quit on it and won’t call it a strike when it drops through the zone. So he had to develop another pitch and use it more, thus the slider.
David Young - January 30, 2012
You're missing the point
It’s the idea that he does things like that.
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
My point is that not using a pitch as much as before isn't the end of the world
I get what you are trying to say, that he could end up being a Carlos Zambrano type head case. I’m not worried about it, there are only so many head cases around the league. Greinke wants to play for a contender, the Dodgers will end up being that, so he’d have no reason not to give his all or what have you.
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Did you like Gary Sheffield as a Dodger?
VegasBlues - January 30, 2012
hell yes I did
I liked Manny too even after the suspension. I liked Kevin Brown too.
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Yeah, i never had a huge problem with Manny
Being a goofy idiot and being an asshole are two different things, and people always acted like Manny was an asshole, something that the entire Dodger clubhouse would have disagreed with.
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
Media was just butt hurt he no longer wanted to talk to them
Tommy Blackjack - January 30, 2012 via iPhone app
but he was just quoted as saying he’d be happy to stay in Milwaukee.
David Young - January 30, 2012
glass houses shouldn't throw cannons
nolander - January 30, 2012
I didn’t call us a contender.
David Young - January 30, 2012
come on milwakee won their division pretty handily last year
they aren’t the shitshow they used to be… they may have turned a corner. Until the turn the next one.
nolander - January 30, 2012
Only because of St. Louis’ injury problems.
David Young - January 30, 2012
they won 96 games
nolander - January 30, 2012
You don’t think St. Louis with better health and w/out Pujols’ abominable slump couldn’t have made that up?
David Young - January 30, 2012
I think 96 games is a damn good record and indicative
of a good team
nolander - January 30, 2012
I think they were fortunate in many other ways.
regfairfield - January 30, 2012
They meaning the Brewers or the Cards?
David Young - January 30, 2012
They were just in the NLCS
They have Braun, Corey Hart, Rickie Weeks, Yovanni Gallardo, John Axford, and Aramis Ramirez all for at least another 3 seasons. I wouldn’t be worried about them.
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Braun might regress seriously w/out PEDs, Hart blow generally, I wouldn’t count on a reliever being consistently good, Aramis could be breaking down rather than bouncing back.
David Young - January 30, 2012
If we really do believe Braun was on Peds
I only think his hr power will decrease, he’s still a great hitter regardless. Come on dave, generally at worst Hart is around league average, but the last two years he has really turned a corner (another TBLA Meme at work!) and been a good hitter.
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Plus Hart wears his sunglasses at night
It can’t hurt
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Prior to being traded by the Royals Greinke cut back on the amount of sliders he threw in order to make sure he stayed healthy.
VegasBlues - January 30, 2012
Also his brain is broken and he quit baseball for a year and a half. This does not scream make a huge long term commitment.
regfairfield - January 30, 2012
but he got better
nolander - January 30, 2012
If some consider the swimsuit shots
etc. that pop up in the comments here from time to time as NSFW, surely these “Delocated” ads that are appearing here must be also. Also much more unpleasant to have on the screen. I’d much rather be inundated with Brad Ausmus’ surfboard photo than those.
David Young - January 30, 2012
I guess Jim Crane was tired of the tweets
bhsportsguy - January 30, 2012
Houston Trial Ba—
oh fuck it.
Humma Kavula - January 30, 2012
Houston Hindenburgs
latenite - January 30, 2012
Houston Dead Memes
Tommy Blackjack - January 30, 2012 via iPhone app
Mike White approves.
David Young - January 30, 2012
Houston Led Zeppelins
fbihop - January 30, 2012
Houston Halens
G.Scott - January 30, 2012
Houston Hagars
fbihop - January 30, 2012
Houston Problems
Xeifrank - January 30, 2012
Houston Icaruses
Pure Azure - January 31, 2012 via Android app
naming a professional sports franchise has to be the toughest marketing job outside of BP
G.Scott - January 30, 2012
batting practice is harder?
Xeifrank - January 30, 2012
fyi this post isn't showing up on the front page
nolander - January 30, 2012
It’s secret.
Eric Stephen - January 30, 2012
It should be showing up now.
Thanks for letting me know.
Eric Stephen - January 30, 2012
Now I can procrastinate better.
Maddz - January 30, 2012
For Joe
G.Scott - January 30, 2012
From the dead thread, relevant info on similar chord progressions
Four chord song
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
I wish it was a II V I
Maddz - January 30, 2012
I’m not that jazzy : )
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
that progression is in pretty much EVERYTHING, though a good pop example is Sunday Morning by Maroon 5.
According to the internetz, the chord progression that video uses is a I V iv VI
someone who’s done theory more recently can chime in
GET IT
Maddz - January 30, 2012
well, I guess he’s not chiming in, but I do know that Pachelbel’s Canon and Green Day’s Basket Case have the same chord progression, which is neat
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
apparently, it’s not the only one
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
ONE TIN SOLDIER RIDES AWAY!!!!!!!
David Young - January 30, 2012
now that's comedy
/Slappy Squirrel
Tommy Blackjack - January 30, 2012 via iPhone app
The progression I referenced in the last thread (What I Like About You et al.) is I-IV-bVII-IV. In the favorite rock key of E, that’s a simple E-A-D-A
David Young - January 30, 2012
Talking about Toronto as a possible Votto landing spot
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/01/blue-jays-notes-beltran-fielder-cash.html?utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=twitterfeed
G.Scott - January 30, 2012
On the first half of this, some guys are simply smart. And guys like Beltran with injury histories should avoid turf like the plague.
David Young - January 30, 2012
what kind of turf do they have though? I thought newer turf was just fine.
nolander - January 30, 2012
gameday grass apparently by astroturf
nolander - January 30, 2012
saw that
Sounds they offered a lot of money to different guys who wouldn’t take it
Tommy Blackjack - January 30, 2012 via iPhone app
Not mentioned
The LA Galaxy were given a special achievement award at the 21st annual Southern California Sports Broadcasters awards luncheon on Monday for their outstanding 2011 season.
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
#LAGalaxy #MLB #SoccerRules
Xeifrank - January 30, 2012
The Magic scored 42 points total in the first 3 quarters tonight. They finished the game with 69 points.
The All Star break can’t come fast enough for them. Once that comes and goes they can trade Howard and dump as much of the rest of the trash on that team as possible.
VegasBlues - January 30, 2012
Are their players just done trying?
wow. I held the Bucs in 2k11 (they had lebron and josh smith) to 35 points in 3 quarters and thought “no team would really ever be this bad”, but damn, 42 points is awful close.
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Article from John Sickles about the 25 best pitchers in baseball
http://www.minorleagueball.com/2012/1/30/2758481/the-top-25-pitchers-in-baseball-how-they-were-seen-as-prospects?ref=fangraphs
and their prospect ratings before they made the majors
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
20) Brandon McCarthy, RHP, Athletics, 4.7 WAR: 2003: Grade C; 2004: Grade C+; 2005: Grade A-.
That’s one hell of a jump when you consider how tough it is to get a grade of A- from Sickels.
VegasBlues - January 30, 2012
I guess he figures anyone can k 10 per 9 in A ball
being able to repeat that in AA is much more impressive
nolander - January 30, 2012
And we are underway in Clippersville
Let’s see what they do at the sign post up ahead.
Xeifrank - January 30, 2012
I expect the GPS to fritz, but it will be entertaining
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
The brilliant people in the NBA front office apparently scheduled a game in Indianapolis this weekend. Not surprisingly the Magic weren’t able to find hotel rooms for their team for the Saturday game. They instead are having to stay in Cincinnati.
One would think the Super Bowl would come to mind when making a schedule.
VegasBlues - January 30, 2012
they take the Grammys into account every year, I wonder what the history of scheduling around the Super Bowl looks like
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
I’m guessing Miami and New Orleans have the hotel capacity for it not to matter.
VegasBlues - January 30, 2012
We have all been constantly surprised that they are holding the super bowl in indiana
why not the NBA?
nolander - January 30, 2012
I wasn’t all that surprised that they gave it to a city with a new stadium. New York was surprising since it isn’t a dome.
VegasBlues - January 30, 2012
I'm just shocked people are actually willing to go to indy for the super bowl
nolander - January 30, 2012
Every paper that exists in America and has an expense account is going to send someone to the Super Bowl.
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
sure them
but they don’t book ALL the hotels. That means people are actually going to indy to party…. and its not for nascar.
nolander - January 30, 2012
AND
they aren’t staying in trailers
nolander - January 30, 2012
Indy's big race is Indy Car racing, not NASCAR
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
that might be worse then nascar
JUST WATCH F-1 YOU HICKS
nolander - January 30, 2012
All those hicks at the Long Beach Grand Prix…..
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
Why would you stereotype southerners?
thats just rude.
nolander - January 30, 2012
The NASCAR race in Indy might be watched by more people now. I honestly have no clue. I just think the Indy 500 has fallen off the map in the last decade or so.
VegasBlues - January 30, 2012
Because the draw is the NFL. The city is a bonus. A nice bonus if it is South Beach or Bourbon Street, but a bonus nonetheless.
David Young - January 30, 2012
and I’m sure there are hotel rooms available, just none up to NBA standards.
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
When its in New Orleans the city is far more then a "bonus"
nolander - January 30, 2012
People will go for the Super Bowl no matter where it is. I suspect that people will make the stay longer depending on the city. More days in NOLA, check. Less days in Indy, check.
David Young - January 30, 2012
More people will go if the location doesn't suck
nolander - January 30, 2012
Why?
The game tickets sell out no matter what. How many non-ticket holders, not affiliated with the teams/press/game, make that trip otherwise? Enough to really matter?
I would have no desire to be in NOLA during the Super Bowl if it was being played there, unless I held a ticket to the game.
David Young - January 30, 2012
Weren’t there something like 10,000 fans that watched the game on a big screen in the parking lot in Dallas last year? Not counting the fans that weren’t let in. I’m guessing even more go to the city just for all the other stuff that is involved with the Super Bowl scene.
VegasBlues - January 30, 2012
I will guess 90+% of those people live in the greater Dallas-Ft.Worth region. Shouldn’t be too hard to get 10,000 locals to show up to something good there.
David Young - January 30, 2012
yes
people did it for the goddamn NBA all star game in vegas, you don’t think they will do it for the super bowl?
nolander - January 30, 2012
You can’t prove a supposition with another supposition.
David Young - January 30, 2012
Dallas sucked, I was there – too spread out and freak snow storm made it blow
Hollywood Joe - January 31, 2012
and of course, the Steelers lost
Hollywood Joe - January 31, 2012
yes
nolander - January 30, 2012
I don’t really like New Orleans
After 2 hours I am ready to get out of there. Food is overrated, drinking seems cheap and dirty. City is decadent, but not in a good way – at least for me
Hollywood Joe - January 31, 2012
I had no idea what you meant by paper the first 4 times I read this
It wasn’t till the 5th time i realized you meant newspaper, lol.
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Oh that. Yeah, only way I’d go to Indy is if my team was playing and I got free tickets.
VegasBlues - January 30, 2012
Not a bad town – I have been there and enjoyed it
I wouldn’t want to live there, but a fine place none the less
Hollywood Joe - January 31, 2012
Taylor (only the last link opens in a new window, FYI)
Player A: 128 ERA+ the last 4 seasons
Player B: 126 ERA+ the last 4 seasons
Player C: 126 ERA+ the last 4 seasons
Any guesses to each player before you click or see who is who?
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
does mousing over count as clicking?
ERA+ SUCKS
nolander - January 30, 2012
Well you can read the names if you do that, lol
And yes, I’m clearly not a fan, but I thought I’d use something he likes to use :)
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
well fip x-fip tera and siera and era all suck too
gotta use the eyeballs
nolander - January 30, 2012
They all have their place as long as don’t believe in one true pitching metric and avoid doing things like evaluating Matt Cain with FIP.
regfairfield - January 30, 2012
I hope he leaves san fran so we can finally find out
Whats the most homer neutral park there is?
nolander - January 30, 2012
PNC probably but it’s not like Cain falls apart on the road.
regfairfield - January 30, 2012
I figured Hamels would be player A to prove your point more
But sure, i said, they’re all the same if not better. Now if you were to weight it so that more recents performances count more (because, well, they do), Hamels and Cain would be ahead.
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
I want Cain because fuck the giants
nolander - January 30, 2012
to quote Nolander
fuck
that guythe giantsIvdown - January 30, 2012
*They're just as good if not better
i’m not saying that Hamels and Cain are clearly superior, just that, all things considered, Hamels is the one i’d most be willing to commit to long-term, considering Greinke’s mental issues, dropping velocity, and underperformance.
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
The whole point of anything I've said is to give Greinke his fair due, which it doesn't really feel like you've given him
because I like to have pointless causes all the time :)
It started with the ERA+ from Greinke’s last two years making you think he’d clearly be the worst option of the 3, which is why I’ve said what I have. It may be time to put this to rest.
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Eh.
Cain and Hamels are consistently good or great, and Greinke has six season of average with 1 phenomenal year.
I’m just not a fan of getting league average production for 20 mil a year. Might as well go for what you know will work, compared to what might work better in a different environment. I never said the difference was huge, just that Hamels>Cain>Greinke.
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
I completely understand what you're saying
I think Greinke has an ace season and one or two #2 seasons left in him and he’ll still be a big name in baseball, it’s just that his history suggests that you’d get more average than great, and i don’t believe that that’ll cut it at $20m
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
If anything I'd agree that Hamels would be the more sensible choice over everyone
I’d still take Greinke over Cain though no matter what, lol.
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
I'm somewhat iffy on Cain.
I never pay attention to what his stuff is and where his strengths are, so i kind of stayed silent on him if you didn’t notice.
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
I just figured it was cause you'd rather have Hamels
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
It'd be fun to sign him away from the Giants
That’s for sure.
It’d be especially fun if Lincecum walks the next year and we sign him too.
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
There's a guy i'd definitely be worried about signing
His walks have gone up each of the last 2 or 3 years I think, I’d want to see him lower those back down this year before thinking of signing him to a 180 million dollar deal.
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Same, actually.
Not very enthused on Lincecum’s future prospects. Remember in 2009 how everyone was talking about how much better Lincecum was and how we should have drafted him?
(I posted on dodgers.com in 2009, that’s where that came from, of course)
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
he was better
and if I could have him from when he was drafted through the 2009 season, and then trade him for kershaw I just might do it.
nolander - January 30, 2012
That’s the only reason I’d want him.
iiidown - January 30, 2012
Here's my point crashing down again
2008 was a good-great year, 2009 was freakish, 2010 was good-great, 2011 was good. You’re really underselling him. I understand your liking of someone who will do the same great job year after year.
Listen to what Reg said, don’t hang your hat on one statistic, try and use many, you are really leaning heavily on ERA and ERA+, look at his K/9, BB/9, HR/9, H/9, FIP, xFIP (still don’t like it much), WAR, etc…
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Looking at K/9, BB/9, and HR/9 is redundant when you look at FIP
Same with fWAR.
If anything I’d look at tERA or SIERA, both of which tell different stories.
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
Not necessarily
You can come up with a million different combos of the first 3 to make up a fip. For instance a team with a shitty defense would benefit more from a strikeout pitcher than a guy who walks less.
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Which is partly why looking at one combination of the three isn’t as useful as them separately.
I tend to just look at the K/9 and BB/9 rates and then look at ERA and IP. I used to be really into FIP and tERA, but honestly, I feel like the first 4 are the most important. I mean, i’ll glance at FIP, etc, but i pay the most attention to the rate stats, ERA, and then i’ll check IP just to see how injury prone or efficient with pitch counts a guy is.
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
Actually it would have proved my point more if Greinke was player A
Cain actually fares best in this scenario, though I still think he’s the least talented of the 3, which isn’t a bad thing.
If you do a 3 year sample size (which is usually the appropriate sample size for a player) Greinke stays at 126 and Hamels moves to 120. If you want to use just the last 2 years then clearly ERA+ vastly favors the others over Greinke, but I’ve said many times as to why ERA+ completely discounts everything that Greinke has done in that time.
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
I'm not a big fan of on-again-off-again ace players.
I’d rather take the consistent Fringe Ace/#2 guy every time.
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
128 and 126 ERA+ are essentially equal. This scenario basically says they are all equal.
David Young - January 30, 2012
Basically
Though technicalities are what make arguments worth having, haha.
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Please, for the love of god, someone come up with something interesting to talk about. I’d rather see an article about Weinershnitzel chili dogs than have to read anymore of this Greinke / Hamels / Cain conversation.
I haven’t looked at the scores. Have the Clippers turned the corner tonight or did they run into a wall?
VegasBlues - January 30, 2012
mission impossible in imax was breathtaking
nolander - January 30, 2012
not it wasn’t, liar
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
brad bird is awesome
excited to see what he can do with more live action under his belt. Iron Giant, most underappreciated animated film or what?
nolander - January 30, 2012
oh definitely most under appreciated.
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
It was fine when the characters didn’t talk to one another.
Pure Azure - January 31, 2012 via Android app
I must be getting old
Dunks don’t really excite me much anymore. After seeing Blake Griffin on constant rotation I developed a deep spiritual hunger to watch international news.
Pure Azure - January 31, 2012 via Android app
3 AM Infomercials
iiidown - January 31, 2012
Spoiler: it will be decided when two of them never make it to free agency and the Yankees give billions to the one that does.
regfairfield - January 30, 2012
I don't know, the Clippers seem to be underperforming their peripherals.
Their FG%+ is something like 120 but they’re only making like 10%
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
Don't worry
You’ll see a lot more when none of them are in LA a year from now
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Into wrestling at all?
I hear the undertaker came back tonight, lol
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
why didn’t they do that at Royal Rumble? Are the programmers ignoramuses?
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
They fucked up the rumble
Seamus won instead of Jericho when there was this super huge build up for Jericho and Seamus has been spending the last month and a half beating a shitty wrestler who will never go anywhere. I hope Raw is good tonight or I’m going to be disappointed. The Rock better be coming back soon, damnit!
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Jericho is still wrestling? He was my favorite because I could imagine him doing sex things to me.
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
lol
Yeah he came back last month
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
Because then he has to win or he looks like a chump.
That and his knees might explode if he went over the top rope.
regfairfield - January 30, 2012
lmao
That’s what happened with Jericho though, freakin a! I can remember a time a year ago when I hadn’t watched wrestling for 9 years…what happened???
Ivdown - January 30, 2012
they turned the shit out of that corner
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
blake griffin
http://deadspin.com/5880763/blake-griffin-just-dunked-on-the-entire-perkins-family-tree
nolander - January 30, 2012
oh WOW!
Everyones talking about it. Poor Perkins.
funkyjam - January 30, 2012
Perkins just got Shaun Bradley’d
fbihop - January 30, 2012
Does chris paul have his 16 tonight?
nolander - January 30, 2012
yes, the streak continues
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
and
14 assits. 14
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
how many of those where lobs
nolander - January 30, 2012
the square root of this apartment
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
you live in an apartment that is less then 300 square feet?
are yous ure you live in LA and not NY?
nolander - January 30, 2012
DT is moving again.
Tomorrow is Jon’s last day on ESPN LA.
uschris0304 - January 30, 2012
well that didn't last
nolander - January 30, 2012
remind me of this tomorrow when the site is live so I can update my RSS feed
nolander - January 30, 2012
I don’t get it. Was ESPN that horrible that you go through the pain and excruciation and decreased revenue of running your own site? Very interesting.
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
its possible espn la doesn't actually get him that many hits
its not like he was pasted up on espn.com
nolander - January 30, 2012
but he’s at least got a) the ESPN card to throw down for credentials and b) a salary.
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
he did mention freelance work
and he might be choosing to focus on other endeavors instead of baseball
nolander - January 30, 2012
maybe a Variety promotion. I dare say, I am intrigued
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
My take from what he wrote on his main page is that it was a decision made by ESPN.
http://www.dodgerthoughts.com/
This is a little excerpt from what he said.
VegasBlues - January 30, 2012
A word press blog. Well that’s something.
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
I follow a few blogs that use WordPress but they aren’t high comment blogs. Not sure I’m a fan of a busy site using that format.
I’ll still read Jon’s work as usual. Not sure I’ll comment. No loss to him as I’ve never commented on ESPN (and I rarely have anything good to say).
VegasBlues - January 30, 2012
USA Today, surprisingly enough, uses WordPress for their blogs, but those commenters are largely idiots
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
I never get tired of doing this
nolander - January 30, 2012
Don’t they use the Facebook plugin for comments?
VegasBlues - January 30, 2012
I guess they do now, three years ago though….Word Press
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
i've heard word press is on the way out
but I know nothing(or w/e it is the humma says)
nolander - January 30, 2012
I’ve used WordPress for the past few years and I really like it. All depends on the theme that you have.
We’d get dozens of comments on some pieces, which is pretty great for a state-level politics blog.
fbihop - January 30, 2012
A return to the toaster?
David Young - January 30, 2012
where do you see that?
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
Just about every link on that page
is dodgerthoughts.sportstoaster.com slash something.
David Young - January 30, 2012
The site is live now but I never tried accessing his ESPN blog through dodgerthoughts.com link, so I’m probably not dealing with any redirect issues.
VegasBlues - January 30, 2012
comeonawhat?
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
I hope
this doesn’t get our softball team relegated to the B league.
Xeifrank - January 30, 2012
nice work
Hollywood Joe - January 31, 2012
I guess Jon thinks
that he hasn’t yet turned the corner.
David Young - January 30, 2012
non sequitor that's not a non sequitor
Sunset Junction is a hell of a bend
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
Should he marry Kokowum?
Nolij - January 31, 2012
Well, that officially means that I now have absolutely no reason to ever visit ESPN LA
Hollywood Joe - January 31, 2012
4th best team in the NBA
rolled tonight.
Xeifrank - January 30, 2012
You know, I'm not exactly in hiding like Howard Hughes ...
If you have any questions, there’s actually a place where I’m answering them … :)
JonWeisman - January 30, 2012
I figured you might be bombarded on the twitter. So what’s this change in the big city? #Gossip
Josie Becker - January 30, 2012
as far as my dns is concerned you are in limbo
nolander - January 30, 2012
Ditto
fbihop - January 30, 2012
If your comment section was open on DT I’d have posted there!
I use twitter to follow people and keep up to date. In the couple years I’ve been on twitter I’ve never once posted on it though. Heck, I have it set to auto log me in and I honestly have no clue what my screen name even is.
VegasBlues - January 30, 2012
The old comment section isn’t dead yet.
Anyway, I can confirm that ESPNLA changed its priorities in terms of what it wanted from its Dodger blog.
JonWeisman - January 30, 2012
Less intelligent, beautifully written personal-yet-relevant articles
More “Billingsley is mental weaktard” one-line paragraphs?
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
I actually really liked your blog but ESPN’s commenting system is pretty bad so i never bothered.
Taylor Maricle - January 30, 2012
I realize this isn’t a popular view, but I think people are too picky with their commenting systems. You go to ESPN.com, you log in, you type your comment, and it posts. And then you watch the other comments get posted too, without having to hit refresh.
I know that SB Nation has a better system and now a broader community, but honestly, it wasn’t as if the ESPN system required an advanced degree to use.
JonWeisman - January 30, 2012
My biggest problem with ESPN’s comment section was that it hindered long, in-depth back and forth discussions. A reply like mine here would get lost in a pile of comments while on a site like this it is easy to distinguish who I am replying to.
I gave up on commenting on ESPN a long time ago so what I said above may no longer be true.
I’m also a very picky person who got hooked on the internet thanks to fantasy sports forums and other video game forums. I was used to the forum format that was easy to reply to others in and it took me a while to start reading blogs. This site is one of the first blogs I’ve bothered to stick around at (as an active poster) because of it’s comment section.
If this place wasn’t around I’d probably have gotten used to the ESPN format (or some other format).
And now I’m going to bed because I just spent way too much time talking about commenting systems…
VegasBlues - January 30, 2012
nice
ESPN wants more blowhards, film at 11
Hollywood Joe - January 31, 2012
If he's not Howard Hughes
Why do I have all these jars of urine in my house?
btimmer - January 30, 2012
I demand answers
nolander - January 30, 2012
Katherine Hepburn’s at the door. Bob, get dressed.
Little Blue Bicycle - January 31, 2012
I said the Clips the would lose
I was wrong
Lex in Brooklyn - January 31, 2012
Lakers have the closest thing there is to an NBA bye tonight
at home against Charlotte. Vegas has the Lakers as 13 point favorites. I think they win by more and then people will say, wow this Lakers team might be pretty good afterall and we will all die a little inside.
Xeifrank - January 31, 2012
Lakers have lost 8 of their last 11 to Charlotte, including 3 of the last 5 in LA (though they won the last two at Staples Center).
Eric Stephen - January 31, 2012
Yeah, but those teams didn’t have Josh McRoberts on them!
Xeifrank - January 31, 2012
new post
http://www.truebluela.com/2012/1/31/2761152/dodger-thoughts
Eric Stephen - January 31, 2012
WHAAAA NO CHARLEY STEINER??????
CHARLEY IS WAAAAY BETTER TAHN VINCE CULLY, THAT GUY IS OLD, HE SHOULD RETIRE CHARLEY STEINER IS THE GREATEST PLAY BY PLAY OF ALLLL TIMEEEEEEEEEE
/sarcasm
Manning4Prez - January 31, 2012
You must Login with your SB Nation account and be a member of True Blue LA to post a comment.