True Blue LA

How do you have a 5.50 ERA with 3 IP

Fail

SeanMillerSavior - February 20, 2012 via mobile reply

Ned is piling up the minor league depth charts. FedEx, Fife, and Antonini all acquired last year. Three of the last four profiles.

If Fife or Antonini see any time this year before Sept…………

I love it when a plan comes together.

Capuano had his first healthy season since 2006 and Harang hasn’t cleared 171 innings since 2008. We’re getting into the pitching depth this year and Fife+Antonini is near the top of it.

Eovaldi………………….Yikes

Webby and Withrow better upto speed quick.

None of our NRI’s can even be counted on for a Eric Milton run of a few games since they are all relief pitchers.

Would like to see Savage get one major league start.

Just for the potential headline right? :)

Tommy Blackjack - February 20, 2012 via iPhone app reply

Kind of, but I always root extra hard for the ECR grad’s and especially an indy kid who should have retired but didn’t and is now as close as he may ever get to a shot.

and Lilly is getting waived!! :)

Xeifrank - February 20, 2012 reply

and picked up!

Depth is useless if you don’t plan on using it.

TWSS.

Can’t say I don’t miss your ridiculous comment while your busy teaching.

i mean this in the most polite way possible, but is there any logic to which players are selected for the player profiles? it seems like the last several have been middling prospects with no real chance to make an impact this coming season.

court168627 - February 20, 2012 via Android app reply

Well, they are on the 40-man roster.

Or not?

Yeah I don’t get it either.

Erickson wasn’t – but he is a non roster Invitee.

latenite - February 20, 2012 reply

Eric made the list but I think it would be any one invited to camp who has any chance of seeing some time during the season. We have 40 or more profiles, we have five writers, it gives us something to do until the games start playing. Are you actually complaining? or simply wondering why we are doing a profile for someone like Antonini who is simply roster fodder? Cause Jon Ely was roster fodder but thanks to our in depth player profile, by the time he made his 1st major league start those who read TBLA already knew who he was.

that’s the TBLA difference, guaranteed

no, not complaining. just genuinely curious if there were any particular requirements that the player had to meet in order to get profiled. i couldn’t see you doing every top 50 prospect and nri, so i didn’t know what classified as fodder and what didn’t.

court168627 - February 20, 2012 via Android app reply

I was perplexed in the same fashion…you are not alone!

latenite - February 20, 2012 reply

Michael Antonini sounds like the name of an Italian movie director

Eric made the list. He used the entire 40-man roster, then he selected some of the NRIs. The last four (The Filmmaker, Griff, FedEx, Single Bullet) are all on the 40-man.

I don’t understand why this is a difficult concept to grasp. These are all players who have a shot at playing on the Dodgers in 2012.

Right. If you are on the 40-man and you’ve seen AA ball, there is a chance.

Especially for arms, what with the injury rate for pitchers.

Possible Future Dodger ML players?

I’m interested…keep it coming

BaldBilly - February 20, 2012 reply

I try to do 50 reviews

Everyone on the 40-man and any minor leaguers who get invited to camp are automatic, then I filled the rest with NRIs with a reasonable shot.

We have some flexibility so if someone else makes a run in camp we can slot them in (see Nick Green in 2009).

On an unrelated note, waiting until the last minute to move when you had all week is ill-advised. But I should be in Arizona by tonight. Hitting the road soon.

Eric Stephen - February 20, 2012 via mobile reply

see Nick Green in 2009

Or Hector Gimenez last year! (I actually don’t remember if he was in the original list or not for 2011.)

Vector was on the list because he was weirdly on the 40-man already.

Good times

Eric Stephen - February 20, 2012 via mobile reply

By the time Eric gets to Ari-zona zona zona.

Renting a condo made of stone-a?

By the time Eric gets to Phoenix she’ll be rising?

Eric is trying to break the big “Who will start opening day?” story.

You’re gonna shit your pants when it’s Capuano.

Two Times giving Capuano the VDN treatment. Confidence booster.

Oh, I’m all for it except for two things:

1. I’m not really all for it, and
2. Shit will be in pants

If you look at the rotation circularly

there is going to be two lefties in a row at some point. If Billingsley doesn’t look improved this spring, coming of his ~~lackluster~~ mediocre 2011, I wouldn’t all be stunned to see a rotation of Kershaw, Lilly, Bills, Capuano, Harang. But I think management wants to see Bills step up to be #2, which probably makes the rotation CK, Bills, Lilly, Harang, Capuano

interesting. How does this affect the amount of fecal matter in pants? Frankly, that is much more of a concern.

That all depends on Billingsley.

That’s how I would do it.

2 IP, 2 K, 4.50 ERA

Any truth to the rumor that Antonini is Italian for Stults?

Just as long as it isn’t Italian for Goltz.

Antonini ends up as the 7th starter but he loses God’s coin flip and is terrible in a couple spot starts, clearing the way for Fifemania and culminating with the post “Rowdy Roddy Fifer”

Soooo 9 innings, 8 ERA.

LOL

Tommy Blackjack - February 20, 2012 via iPhone app reply

I saw a cool commercial yesterday

Featuring Kemp. It was showing his training in getting ready for the season while talked about Beast Mode.

Tommy Blackjack - February 20, 2012 via iPhone app reply

Antonini prediction

50 IP, 2.25 ERA, 35 K

Killed in tragic gardening accident.

“Accident. Yes. Accident,” says Bellisario, hiding his pruning shears.

LOL

Tommy Blackjack - February 20, 2012 via iPhone app reply

Must have turned it up to 11!

Loved his Blow-Up and The Passenger

This guy’s missing an “o”.

Thanks, I was aware of that. :-P

I see Dave made similar reference above, so at least I’m not alone.

Strangely enough, I’ve never seen an Antonioni film. I wonder if the wife would sit through a triple-feature of the two you mentioned plus Zabriskie Point.

One of my most uncomfortable moments

was sitting through the Zabriskie Point orgy scene with my dad. We had gone to the movie because of friend of my parents had a bit part in it.

just read the plot summary of that movie

i dont get it

It’s an Italian film director commenting on the United States of the late 1960s. It’s bound to be a bit oblique, don’t you think?

Saw The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

with my wife and my (22-year old) daughter. I’m pretty open-minded, as are they, but I wonder if my daughter was a little uncomfortable. Probably not, because we all discussed a couple of the scenes in there and what conclusions we were supposed to draw, etc.

I was uncomfortable period.

It was an alarming to watch an extended sexual violence scene, yet being totally aware it is a movie and noting the curvature of Rooney Mara’s ass at the same time. Uncomfortable is the right word.

Later on, when she comes onto Daniel Craig and they hit the sack, I was uncomfortable with that too, thinking, isn’t is obvious that she is somewhat damaged goods and, as a significantly older man, maybe he shouldn’t be taking advantage of this opportunity, especially in the intense situation they are in, no matter how strongly she is advancing on him.

I'm 31

and I still get uncomfortable watching movie sex scenes with my parents in the room. Sex was never really discussed in my house growing up until I came home at 16 and told them my GF at the time was three months pregnant. Funny enough, now that “the kids” are all grown up, my parents, aunts, and uncles are super raunchy with the sexual innuendos at family gatherings.

Don't know. Some of them haven't aged well

Maybe just Blow-Out and see how that goes…

I was thinking the order mentioned was the right order to try it: Blow-Up, Passenger, ZP.

If ZP hasn’t aged well, that may make it all the more interesting.

Might be

though L’Eclisse (Eclipse) is better than ZB. Alain Delon and Monica Vitti moping around!

the ending of ZP justifies it all. I actually think it’s one of his best. Plus seeing Hawthorne back then was a kick.

Pure Azure - February 20, 2012 reply

According to IMDB, that’s not his original ending – the studio edited that out.

David Young - February 21, 2012 reply

Uni-notable photo of the day

After you’ve taken in the sheer awesomeness of the photo, note that Byron Scott’s shorts and jersey and James Worthy’s shorts are bright purple, while Worthy’s jersey is a bluer shade. I think many assume the Lakers still wear that bright shade of purple out of nostalgia, but Worthy’s jersey is a more accurate depiction of what the Lakers currently wear.

Also those Nuggets uniforms are awesome.

That is the shortest I’ve ever seen Big Game James Worhty

the photo's from the 1985 Western Conference Final

number 2 Alex English was only 6’7", it must just be the perspective of the photo.

Damnit, Josie

You stole my thunder

Greg Stephen - February 20, 2012 reply

The Lakers wear

Forum Blue and Gold.

thanks Jack Cooke, but clearly there are two distinct colors happening in that photo : )

Has to be the photo, you don’t really think little James was wearing blue and mis matching with everyone else do you?

And yet it happened repeatedly

What likely is going on is mismatching of older and newer uniforms, made with a different fabric.

When you

Watch the video, he doesn’t look different in the 1985 playoffs. That uniform color did appear different in person than on film.

I imagine the 1985 television video recordings to be of lesser quality than some of the color still photographs of the time.

in the video they all appear like the bluer jersey James is wearing. The photos show the “well they looked purple in person” which we’ve all heard, but also suggests perhaps thinks were as uniform as they appeared.

What if Worthy’s jersey is just drenched in sweat?

he sweats blue ink?

The moisture would darken the hue of the jersey. I can’t imagine the Showtime Lakers having such an egregious wardrobe malfunction.

look at Worthy’s kneepad. Same shade as jersey

And at the same time Magic’s is perfectly dry?

I’m having deja vu about this.

this is all pre-league wide uniform contract, the jerseys were made by a local company. I’m fully behind the “there actually were two shades of laker uniform” theory

like the two different shades of blue lights

on the Vincent Thomas bridge. They went with two local vendors for the top and bottom

exactly. anytime you introduce a variable, you’re gonna get variation.

I find your photographic evidence persuasive.

TWBF’sGFS

It is, but don’t you think that is something we’d have remembered, the difference is startling.

In the mid-80s was there all that much color photography in the newspapers yet? (USA Today debuted in ’82). Our TV pictures were relatively low-def. Much of the televised basketball was taped-delayed?

I didn’t start going to games until 92 so I can’t give a eye witness account. Maybe Jim Murray can help out

but enough about the TBLA wives

Magic is wearing some awesome kicks.

Converse SuperStar isn’t it?

Converse Pro's

I think so, before they moved on to the Converse Weapons.

SBNation really needs to give me a sports fashion blog

Actually, you may be right Dave

Thought the Lakers’ Weapons had some purple and gold trim, so these all-whites would be Pros, but I don’t really know for sure.

Of course

Commenting on this picture just encourages more comments like this one

Who knows who #2 is for the Nuggets?

I do

Greg Stephen - February 20, 2012 reply

I already dropped it : )

I loved Amazing Grace and Chuck.

Sometimes I’m amazed at web content. Uni-Watch might take the cake from a sports side.

anytime I’m all “hey guys, isn’t this little uniform quirk interesting” and y’all are like “no, go eat cake”, I’ve gotten the photos from uni-watch. He’s an EPSN writer doncha-know

I’m not sure what you guys are complaining about. Cake is delicious.

Spice

Strange interest in watching Willow for the first time in 24 years

Good flick

Tommy Blackjack - February 20, 2012 via iPhone app reply

I get that and Legend mixed in my head for some reason.

Mike is overestimating Ely in this article; I highly doubt we see him added to the 40-man roster again. Antonini being that he’s LH will make some sort of appearance before Sept.

16 IP
3.94 ERA
All relief apperances

Ely has made starts for us two years in a row, does not seem like a stretch that it will be three years by the end of the year.

Dodgers had no prospect arms ready to make the leap back then. Also, it’s telling that they never went back to Ely for another start after April.

I agree as far as our prospects go

If one of our starters goes down for a start or two (hopefully no longer), then we’ve got Eovaldi who’s already got experience, possibly Rubby back in August (not sure if he just goes to the BP or not right away), Withrow who’s been in AA for a couple of years now (I think he’s ready to break out finally), and Webster who could be somewhat close.

If we need a starter and it’s around May or June I think Ely wouldn’t be the first option, though he might be if it were April.

Ya, I think there’s a certain comfort level there. He’s no world-beater but they know he can get outs against major leaguers for a few innings. Everybody else has much more uncertainty.

Michael White - February 20, 2012 via Android app reply

Highly disagree

If the Dodgers valued him one iota, they wouldn’t have sent him outright to AAA.

Also, Ely wasn't even invited to big league camp

Dude is finished with us.

Manny to the A's is all

official or whatever, a minor league deal

So how’s that work? He’s got to make the team, get added to the 40- (or 25-) man, then serve the suspension…. what is the point of making it a minor league deal?

he’s been granted the opportunity to serve his suspension.

No, he’ll serve the suspension either way. The minor leagues are under the purview of MLB. But the funny thing is that he can still play in ‘rehab’ games before his suspension finishes, just like he did with the Dodgers.

And I went to all three of the games in Albuquerque that he was scheduled to play at. He didn’t play in one because it was raining.

base salary believed to be $500k

so he has a 50 or 100 game suspension

50

so stupid for him not to serve that before

well that phrase does describe many of his actions

on the plus side

if he makes the team he won’t have to buy an apartment in Sacramento until the summer

I’m picking up what your laying down. Might be worth an extra trip up to my hometown to possibly snag a line drive home run in the LF grass. It will be weird to see him in a River Cats uniform.

jrock247 - February 20, 2012 reply

He already did a 50, why isn’t it 100?

you are at work?

No

This is why

The reduction from 100 games was part of a compromise between MLB and the players’ union, sources say.
.
The union believes Ramirez effectively served the 100-game penalty this year, when he retired in April and forfeited his salary; MLB had said Ramirez didn’t technically complete the suspension because he retired instead. Thus, the 50-game compromise.

Good stuff. Thanks

What would the answer have been if Michael was at work?

I have to admit, I don’t know this TBLA inside joke.

They need to plan their man dates.

Jealous?

Only of you.

creepy

TBLA slogan

You have more interesting…
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
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avatars.

i have been meaning to move on to another one.

i was just curious

http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-12-05/sports/30476786_1_manny-ramirez-suspension-reduced-team-signs#ixzz1mx1z0rQ6

According to Morosi, the reduced suspension was a compromise between MLB and the players’ union, who argued that Manny served his 100-game suspension last season (Manny chose to retire rather than serve his suspension). Manny’s suspension won’t begin until a team signs him to a contract.

OK, this tweet from someone named hireaustinhuff wins the internet for the day:<blockquote>sportspickle Moneyball 2: Back To The Minors

Outside of Guerra and Jansen

No Dodger relief pitcher pitched more than 9 innings in September and no reliever pitched as any as 16 innings. In fact only once did a reliever pitch as many as 15 innings and that was in April when Guerrier pitched 15.1 innings.

Is this a reply to my Antonini prediction? I said he’d make relief appearances before September, sort of like Brent Leach from a few years ago.

7 Relief appearances

10.1 IP, 5 ERs. Sent back down for Withrow when a starting pitcher gets injured.

http://www.cracked.com/article_19682_5-most-embarrassing-architectural-failures.html

Two of my favorite things: Baseball + Cracked.com

is about Tropicana field

Should read No.3

Stupid sbnation formatting.

There are three great things about SBNation formating

I can create a list without thinking
this leads to a preponderance of lists
Lists are awesome

High Fidelity captured the allure of lists quite well.

I just watched it for the first time Saturday night.

Meant the book. My favorite Nick Hornby.

have you read his latest, about trying to find out more info on this obscure musician?

No, I gave up on him a few books back. I think About a Boy was the last one I read.

I gave up on him a few books back

I liked HF, About a Boy was OK. Bride read the one about suicide, said it was ehhhh, I didn’t read it and we gave up. We both read the one about the woman who falls for the aging pop star — can’t remember the title — but it too was ehhhhh.

A Long Way Down—my wife read that too. Don’t recall the last one you’re referencing.

The title is “Juliet, Naked.”

If you enjoy High Fidelity, you might also enjoy Fever Pitch

Did

Lisztomania capture the allure of Listz quite well?

Is Rockman enough?

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/7594929/new-york-mets-jon-niese-gets-nose-job-carlos-beltran-suggestion

It's going to be a long year for the Mets

in a shocking development, turns out unimpared breathing is a good thing for athletes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/21/arts/design/art-by-sargent-johnson-berkeleys-loss-is-museums-gain.html?_r=1&hp

Sorry Josie

(I’m done posting random shit btw.)

Oh hyperbole

Arthur Monroe, an African-American artist and friend of Johnson’s, said that if the missing art had been by a white sculptor, “the university would have turned the campus upside down to find it.”

Words that make me say, "ugh"

emphasis mine

Gray Brechin, a Berkeley scholar of historical geography who specializes in New Deal art, … "You BOUGHT this? They SOLD it?" He identified Sargent Johnson as the artist and added, "I am astounded that they deacquisitioned it."

I’m in agreement with you.

I, for one, undisagree.

I believe that is the correct usage in the art world. Using a noun combining form as a verb may be painful, but art people are known for that kind of crap.

It’s not just that, it’s also using the de- prefix to form an opposite when other perfectly fine words exist. “I am astounded that they sold it.” Or, “I am astounded that they disposed of it.” Etc.

The Lin story might be the coolest NBA story of the past decade

And his name was mentioned on the 11pm ET edition of SportsCenter more times than the words “if” “but” “are” “be” or “what.”

agreed. Everyone loves a Cinderella.

The SNL skit about the media portrayal was pretty funny.

I listened to the Knicks game on the radio yesterday while driving. Seriously. That has to mean something.

He’s awesome.

He’s Linsome.

Am I doing it right?

If you’re trying to call him winsome, then yes.

What about “Linsoke?”

I agree. Because of him, I got mentioned as a journalist. (What a joke.)

I hope to see some of Eric’s pictures featured on the Bad Spring Training Twitpic Tumblr.

Which is a brilliant idea that I wish I had thought of.

oh man so much this. The “bad cell phone photography by sports writers” trope is one that was begging to be capitalized on (and I admit I’m guilty of)

Same with political reporters.

The "OOOOH LOOGIT ME I INSTAGRAMMED IT!" comment made me laugh

So the old Dodger stadium parking lots

they were color coordinated to your seat. If you had a field level ticket, you seat was yellow you parked in a yellow lot. I imagine the colored lots were done away with when they changed the seat colors, but was it still free for all parking until Frank took over?

Nowadays, the Color-Blind would sue.

Yes and it was amazing.

trying to coordinate which gate to go into is difficult, and unless you’ve got season tickets you’re sequestered to random outerlands. I hope that goes away with the new owner

I am in the minority

But I like the new parking system.

does it help get you in and out faster?

Are we still talking about parking?

hard to tell, we could use a few sellouts to test it.

at 25,000 fans piece of cake

The system was in

Place in 2009 if not earlier. Big crowds were always a issue but if you timed it just right you could get out from the outer sections, I think the inner sections were always a hassle regardless,

Back at 4+1, it took over an hour to get out from old lot 34.

if you are willing to run down pedestrians

you can do well exiting from inner lots.

Honestly, I’m more shocked no one has been run over at DS then I am about any violence. I feel when I’m walking I almost get hit every night and when I’m driving I almost hit someone.

yes

Agreed. I hope they do improve lighting in the lots in the future, not because I think it will significantly deter violence, but for this reason.

i understand permanent lighting

is mandatory in the near future

Yet another expense for the new owners.

I figured since so many of us had left early it would have been a piece of cake to leave the 4+ 1 game:)

First item was just me being snarky about the the attendance.

When Frank first made all those changes in 2009 he put rent a hand wavers on every corner of Scott to wave folk through so we could ignore the stop signs. I think that lasted a few months but they were all gone by the end of 2009. Not sure if he brings them back for high attendance games or not. They would also open the Scott entrance for existing purposes. That helped a lot.

Maybe. It keeps a lot of fools who only know the Stadium Way entrance/exit out of where I like to park, which helps. Sometimes, on lower attendance nights, I fly out of there when I can still see brake lights in the other exit.

me too

but i made a critical error saturday night. i wanted to park off the sunset gate, but am so used to going in off the solano canyon gate that i had to park further away than i wanted to. no way to get around it once i committed.

Saturday Night?

monster truck rally

my son wanted to go.

Before if you didn’t know what you were doing you were hopelessly screwed and could get trapped in the parking lot for ages, but if you had a plan you could be out in two minutes. The new system is designed to just make everyone unhappy.

I didn’t think it was a complete free-for-all. Inside of the inner loop road was still preferred parking of some sort and for the minimum fee you had to park outside of that road.

originally DS was built was just the inner loop lots, right? Those outerlands came later?

no

They have had the outerlands since 1970 if my memory is working, can’t speak for 62-69

It looks so well planned, and yet...

From the looks of the place, they haven’t put a drop of paint in the parking lots during the McCourt years.

In hindsight, given his financial situation, I’m stunned he put any money into the Stadium. The new seats iin what used to be foul territory were revenue earners, but he certainly did not need to replace every seat in the stadium, or widen the concourse at the field level.

Looks like

they were always there, but the configuration was a little different, with maybe a second partial loop road from Stadium Way (the 11 Fwy side) to Stadium Way (the 5 Fwy side).

Forgot the link.

The pic

I

Don’t mind it either, the Sunset exit is where I park 90% of the time if I park there, HJ goes in the Stadium Way entrance and still parks on the outer edge.

And yes, there was reserved parking that tied into season tickets that was on the same level but the outer lots were GA until whenever it was changed for the new system.

you see what loaning me that book has done? I have more ammo for trivial historical questions : )

No.

I believe it was $3, $5 then $7 until Frank showed up. (This is my memory of the cost)

free for all meaning park anywhere, not free parking, but I needed that info too : )

No matter where my seats are, I park in front of the Will Call booths. (That way, if I get too drunk I can always find my car.)

That sounds like a bad idea. Wouldn’t it better to be self-correcting – too drunk to find your car, keep wandering around?

my memory is the same. then 10, then 12, then 14, then 15.

Sounds about right.

Went straight from $10 to $15.

by pedestrian walkway he must mean concrete dividers that are pointed toward nowhere

twas fuzzy

Yes he was.

What is Manny playing for?

Can’t be money, he’s getting minimum
Can’t be one last title, he just signed with a last place team

same reason folk play softball in rec leagues, I imagine. Just he has access to a better rec league

same reason folk play softball in rec leagues

oh, he’s trying to get laid

That never works. The only women spectators at men’s games are GFs/wives and the women players in co-ed leagues usually already have BFs, usually who brought them onto the team to make quota.

He is playing for the beer. And because it’s the majors, the post-game spread.

Now you tell me

i did go to save the dodgers site

to look for game pics of miss bump-it. (the catcher) indeed she is all over some guy in the team photo

He is playing for the beer. And because it’s the majors, the post-game spread.

“Natty Light and cheese sandwiches?”

“Welcome to Oakland.”

I met my fiance playing co-ed softball.

The guy you stole her from was pissed I bet.

haha!

It was a confluence of strange circumstances that lead to our story.

to prove that he can do it "the right way"

and so his kids can stop crying. true story.

Meaning if he can’t hear them they have stopped crying? Or they are crying because their Daddy has been one of the few players in the history of baseball to be nailed twice by the PED police?

So YOU’RE the one who is still trying to figure out why Manny Ramirez does anything.

The man’s nickname is Manny Being Manny. There is no figuring him out.

There’s some evidence that, in his later years with both Red Sox and Dodgers, he played poorly when he couldn’t really be bothered and wasn’t trying. And that he did fantastically well when he really made the effort – which unfortunately also included taking steroids as going all out. He probably thinks that that if he tries hard he can still play great and establish a performance level that will a( get him traded to a contending team mid-season and b) get him a good salary next year. He’s ignoring a) his age and b) what he owed to steroids and current steroid scrutiny, which means he either won’t be able to take PEDS or will immediately be penalized and kicked out. Manny has a knack for ignoring reality.

Anyway, short version is he probably thinks he can reestablish himslef and get a salary next year. He’ll probably get in a few good games before he slackens or is injured, both from age.

Excellent analysis

agreed. although the irrational side of me hopes/believes that he’ll come back and dominate.

court168627 - February 20, 2012 via Android app reply

Manny remained as a dominant force for so long i just can’t imagine him OPS’ing below .800 if he’s healthy.

i can. but if he does that I’ll consider that quite the comeback

court168627 - February 20, 2012 via Android app reply

I see you are unfamilar with the Oakland Athletics.

If you mean the stadium

Yeah, that’ll be a disadvantage.

The A’s magical power to make any hitter they acquire turn into complete crap.

For some reason, it never dawned on me until just now how that name is becoming / has become ironic.

SeanMillerSavior - February 20, 2012 reply

He wants to leave the game a better way then he was going to, for his kids.

Tommy Blackjack - February 20, 2012 via iPhone app reply

500K is also a nice chunk of change for 7 months work

After seeing ex-players blow through all their earnings and Iverson squander 150 mil, who knows if Manny has properly invested his money

According to the sidebar on your right, from the Dodgers alone Manny will be receiving $8,087,432, and (a click away), $4,043,716 in 2013, deferred form 2010 and 11. Plus more money from the White Sox for both years. Plus, if I remember correctly, a huge amount from the Red Sox as a sort of deferred salary every year for the next 15 years or so. Aside from whatever he has invested in the usual sense. The $500,000 this year is meaningless in itself.

I honestly think that

1) he just wants to play
2) He figures that if he can put up1 or 2 good post-steriod twilight-years seasons that he might make the HOF despite his suspensions

$8,087,432 in 2012 from the Dodgers alone.

Who knew Cal State Northridge had an interesting radio station (88.5).

For you oldies types, if you ever wondered what happened to Robert Hilburn (LA Times Musical Reporter ) he’s doing a show on Sundays. This weekend he did the A – E top bands
A – Allman Brothers
B – Beatles
C – CCR
D – Doors
E – Eagles

As we were listening to the show I was telling my wife what a huge Bob Dylan fan he was during his reign as music critic, and she exclaimed no wonder she had been hearing Dylan songs all morning.

I couldn’t help but picture a Baby Boomer Generation at Leisure World tuning in for his show and having quite an animated discussion.

A co-worker of mine (well into his 60s) sometimes does that Sunday morning bluegrass show they have. Or at least he has in the recent past.

We heard it yesterday so it is still on.

Verdell has decided our birds need the radio on so she has chosen that station for them.

Yes it is, I just don’t know if he stills does it at all or not.

I can’t pick up 88.5 over here. Oh well, I would have been interested in his Dylan selections.

His show is apparently downloadable here. Things I did not know about Robert Hilburn:

A native of Natchitoches, La….a member of the first graduating class of California State University, Northridge when it was known as San Fernando Valley State College, where he was editor of the of campus newspaper for three years.

Maybe iiidown knew him! (I’d guess that must be the class of ’61 or ’62?)

Damn, that is cool that 50 years later he’s working on the radio for them. I think Marty started at the Times after he was gone, I’d be curious what he thought of him, I remember him being a huge proponent of the LA Times scene that spawned X and Los Lobos.

According to wikipedia, Hilburn left the LAT in ’05. Also from there:

he graduated from Reseda High School in 1957 and California State University, Northridge (journalism degree) in 1961

My recollection is similar that he thought highly of parts of the LA scene, including X, The Blasters, Black Flag, Circle Jerks, etc.

No, I know him

He’s a really nice guy. And I’ve been listening to 88.5 for the last couple months or so. I can get it until i go over the hill in Glendale.

That is good to know, for some reason I’d be bummed if he was an asshole. For a writer he has a decent radio voice.
Thought you’d like to know that when he announced the Doors as his best D band he said something like “I didn’t much like the Doors back in their heyday, I found them pretentious, but over time I feel I misjudged them”, then he kicked off their set with a 10 Minute live version of Light my Fire.

Alot of his reviews used to bug me but I’ll give him credit for getting me to listen to music I might not have if not for him since my peer group was more into AC / DC then the music he was cheerleading.

I used to have clippings about music from the LAT all over my bedroom walls when I was in middle and high school. A lot of those would be Hilburn reviews.

Hilburn's wife Kathy

is another great person who worked at the Times for years. She’s also a huge Dodger fan and had a large picture of Koufax at her desk

I’m liking him more every second

It is where I would have gone in 1970, after 2 years at Moorpark College, had I not entered the US Air Force in 1969. And yes, I read Hilburn every Sunday morning in the Times.

the US Air Force in 1969

That was one helluva tough time to be entering the military. Holy shit.

Bobby be lucky he was a Down.

helluva summer too

I went in because my draft number had come up, but I had prepared for that contingency, and took the Air Force entrance tests in Feb. 1969. I finished the semester, and took the summer off. Tavelled up and down California and Baja, surfing, sleeping in my station wagon, Had a great summer! Wish you were there! Then I went back to the Air Force recruiter and told him that I didn’t want to be drafted, so he scheduled me to enter service Dec, 26, 1969. Spent the next four years as a crew chief on the F-4.

Hope you drew duty stateside or some place relatively safe.

Thailand I believe is where he went

He’s got a lot of pictures of his barracks and stuff

I’m sure he didn’t show you the good pictures.

I spent six months in Texas (which I don’t wish on anybody), 2 1/2 years in lovely Victorville. and a year on Ubon Thailand. I was luckier than most servicemen.

Especially for those years.

Eric

Just spent 2.5 years in the Victorville area

I’m sure it seemed much longer.

I imagine Victorville in 1970 was a bit different than today.

Much different. The Red Log Inn was the hot spot in town. Country music galore! But, there was a topless place on Pearblossom highway by the Wonder Bread store, and a beer bar in Adelanto. Adelanto was about 1 block long then,

In honor of Durant and Westbrook

Speaking of someone on this page, other then Pippen and Jordan, who were the last teammates to score 40 points or more in the same game?

I know the answer to that question. An ex-Clipper is part of the duo.

What I don’t know the answer to. Durant and Westbrook did it during an overtime win as did the other duo. Other then Jordan and Pippen have two teammates ever scored more then 40 points in a regulation game?

And how about Denver? Durant and Westbrook almost go for a century in points against them and they still almost won.

One final stop before officially hitting the road

Was a stop at the Verizon store to drop off my Fios box and Internet modem. Surely this would only take a few minutes.

But I entered what appears to be the end of humanity, a purgatory of sorts. But I do get to find the answer to the question, “how long can it take to process the SEVENTEEN people in front me?”

Eric Stephen - February 20, 2012 via mobile reply

for-ev-er

for-ev-er
for-ev-er
for-ev-er

Tommy Blackjack - February 20, 2012 via iPhone app reply

holiday weekend fun!

Safe travels

On to Glendale

One way Fios is no better than cable, apparently.

I just realized

Juan Uribe is still a Dodger

thanks a lot Dylan Hernandez : p

i try to forget too.

court168627 - February 20, 2012 via Android app reply

You only come here for the uniform talk

He's gonna be much better this year, bank on it!*

(*It’s hard not to be better)

Impossible is the word you’re looking for.

he'll be on the team next year too

He will at least draw a salary.

Right, I’ll be shocked if he’s on the team next year. If so I think that means he more then bounced back, he delivered.

I got extremely excited for like half an hour when I thought I would be able to go to Spring Training this year — then I realized that I left it too late and everything is too expensive. Blah.

i have extra tickets to the dodgers giants game on the 17th that I’ll sell to you for face value

court168627 - February 20, 2012 via Android app reply

It is more that hotels, driving out there, etc. is too expensive.

fbihop - February 20, 2012 via mobile reply

i see.

well, there’s always next season.

court168627 - February 20, 2012 via Android app reply

Gonna save up and try to get out to LA for the weekend of July 13 to see the Dodgers play.

fbihop - February 20, 2012 via mobile reply

nice.

where do you live?

court168627 - February 20, 2012 via Android app reply

He’s in Albuquerque.

Yes

fbihop - February 20, 2012 via mobile reply

I lucked out with free lodging at my friend’s guest house. And the Prius gets very good mileage.

We Prius owners smile gently as gas prices slowly rise….

latenite - February 20, 2012 reply

Sportscenter

is using video taken by SBNation Arizona of Kobe Bryant talking about the Gasol trade rumors. They credit SBNation in the lefthand corner. It’ll be interesting to see if as SBNation’s youtube project expands, this will be a more common occurrence.

Honestly, the only thing interesting about the expansion of SBNation will be if they pay their bloggers a living wage.

I don’t see that ever happening. It just doesn’t make much sense for them as a business when they know there is an endless supply of bloggers willing to write for free (or for much less than a living wage).

It is already happening to a point. They have taken several bloggers (Grant) and added them to the “baseball” site (Rob Neyer) and they get paid. There is a difference between endless supply of bloggers and bloggers who can really write. You pick the cream and uplift them.

yes, this exactly

Exactly? When have I written anything that was exactly? You could improve this synopsis but you are being lazy.

:)

But you’re Famous!

I’m on top of the adequate pyramid

So was David Eckstein.

I know they have promoted some people and will continue to hire people as they get bigger. I don’t ever see them paying the writers of each individual blog though.

This is just my opinion.

I hold no illusions that I will ever see a dime, not that I deserve one. Eric gets a little something for being the editor of TBLA, but it is not much.

they’re up to some 20-30 full time employees. They showed us this pyramid at the SBNation retreat. SBNation.com >SBNation.com/[insert sport here] > [city].sbnation.com > bloggers.

city writers get paid right?

not full time pay but paid nonetheless

all city writers get paid. Only head bloggers get paid.

Not much in either case though.

nope. It’s supplemental income, in that it can supplement your cable bill

Which you should be writing off as a business expense!

Anyone

know a good place to get cannoli in Los Angeles?

Giulanis

Is decent

I haven't been here in forever but at one time

Eagle Rock Italian Bakery made ones that I liked.

How does one judge a cannoli these days? Just by the filling? The shells seem so generic these days.

it’s filling for me. If I feel like I’m eating an ice cream taco, we’ve got problems

Hard to tell in that photo.

Nice handlebar.

If you wanted an ice cream taco. If you wanted cannoli, you’d better damn well be able to taste cheese in that filling.

I think I should have written “cannolo” there; cannoli is, of course, plural.

Must keep blog clean

Must restrain from off colour jokes and about “taco”

Like the restaurant in the Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas, and in Century City?

Take the gun, leave the cannoli.

Jon Weisman laying himself open

Jon tends to be hard on himself, must be mentally tough for those of you who feel you are not living upto expectation. When you know your ceiling is adequate, it is easier to accept one’s lot in life.

You know what the first thing they tell you on the first day of any Psychology class?

If you let yourself, you’ll diagnose yourself with every mental disease we cover.

It strikes me that Jon very easily relates himself to many different people/characters from many different backgrounds because not only does he cover them as part of his job/hobby, he also has a breadth of experience to draw from.

No doubt, Jon holds himself to an unattainable standard, and frankly, I wish I could hold myself to such a standard and put in the work to try and reach that image of myself, but that’s just not where I am with my life right now.

this hits close to home

well at least the first few paragraphs did

Commenting on DT works for me only intermittently through my work fire wall for some reason, so I’d comment there, but I can’t. Not that I have anything to say. I’ve been lucky, very lucky in life. I was born to two parents who cared about their children but didn’t spoil them. I was born smart enough to skate through high school and get into UCLA at a time when it didn’t take perfection in grades, standardized test scores and extracurricular activity to do so. I was lucky enough to happen to take a course that lead to changing my major. I was fortunate enough to stumble into my career because someone who graduated ahead said, “hey send your resume to my boss”. I made a significant career change within my company that really paid off for me solely because I happened to be one of two people who was finishing up an assignment at that time.

On the personal side, I was fortunate to be raised in an extremely stable environment. A series of random social events had to occur for me to meet my wife, yet here we are, still married after 23 years, still happy after 27. Our first pregnancy yielded our only child. We wanted more, but it didn’t happen. While the economic ups and downs affected us, they mostly postponed things rather than create very difficult times.

Consequently, I tend to believe that no matter how much I think I have control over what happens in my life, I can only make decisions for the situations that I actual find myself in, and I seem to have little control over how and when those situations happen. Am I a success? Am I a failure? Did I over or under achieve? Maybe I just had some good blind dumb luck.

Think about the graveside scene at the end of “Forest Gump”. And the look at the feather.

Reading stuff like this actually helps me through tough times. Hell, when I had to quit my job because of my health I went from having a career job that I could build upon and live comfortably throughout the rest of my life to where I am now (living off of just over $12k a year in Disability). There was a time in my life when I was feeling really down about my current situation that I would lash out at someone like Jon posting what he did (because I see him as a successful guy), but not now. Now I appreciate it because it shows that no matter where you are in life many of us still deal with the same mental problems.

I had to take some new medicine today which has screwed with my head a little so I apologize if this comes across all jumbled. Oh and I would have posted this over at DT but I’m having trouble registering over there.

Good thoughts, and good luck with the new medicine.

I agree with Phil, Good thoughts and I hope that the new meds help.

Agreed.

Good luck with the meds. Tuning drug treatments must by trying.

I find my best success with DT by using my twitter ID to log in.

The Peter what's his face motto from Dodgeball

wow i had no idea jon's site went back to being independent

probably a good move…espn format just killed it IMO

And the LA Times format didn’t?

Both the LAT and ESPN paid Jon to write those blogs. Now he is self-hosting again. I think he’d like the paycheck back.

forgot la times

yeah that wasnt so good either

In a perfect world Jon gets a paying gig at the SBNation Baseball Site, writes a fictional baseball book that catches the eye of an astute producer, who hires Underdog to co- write the screen play.

There’s the idea for a good movie script!

journalism is dying as a money making venture

feel bad for people trying to make their bones in the field

Hard to make a living doing
it.

This is a really deep and well thought out article, wow

Eric Stephen, who didn’t even start blogging until 2009, is covering the Dodgers’ full-time beginning in Spring Training for True Blue L.A.

This is a really cool line though, even if the overall part is sort of sad from where Jon is coming from.

I’m so glad I didn’t read Jon’s post until the end of the day or else I would’ve totally useless at work. It hits home on so many levels. I feel fortunate that the Dodgers and sports in general has remained nothing more than a welcome diversion in my life.

I really don't mean to be insensitive

because I think everyone ever (surprise surprise) has felt this way: that is, inadequate in some shape and form at some time.

But there’s a big difference between running a blog that is a side business and taking on covering the Dodgers or any other baseball team as a full time gig. Eric is going to AZ for the full month of spring training, right? He doesn’t have a family or little kids to worry about, unlike Jon. If Jon was willing to take what essentially amounts to a beat reporter position, I am sure that with his credentials and ability, the opportunity is open to him. But I don’t think it’s personally worthwhile (and more importantly, I don’t think it’s healthy) to compare the milestones in your life with someone else’s in a vacuum.

This is a lot like when I see people I went to high school with passing the bar and becoming lawyers or starting their residencies at hospitals. I look at my life and go, “What the fuck!” And then I realize I don’t want to be an attorney. I don’t want to be a doctor. And I am where I am because of the choices I made, and I have to be happy with that, or be doomed forever to feeling like I’m coming up short. That seems like a really crappy lens to view my life through.

Might be the best thing you have ever written.

here

Thanks :)

the clarification was amusing :)

Keep in mind Jon is now pushing 40 and looking at your peers at 25 is different than at 40.

I wonder if I just aged Jon more than I should have.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Weisman

Jon has made it. He has a wikipedia page

Dude, Jon turned 45 last year. He’s looking to catch up to us pretty soon.

(He’s a year younger than my youngest brother.)

Damn, I keep thinking I’m the only one getting older and everyone else stays the same age

all right, all right, all right.

Hence like “this is a lot like” :D

again

I don’t want to denigrate anyone’s feelings or accomplishments or anything remotely like that. That was just my reaction.

Questioning/regretting past choices

is a national past time. It’s why a lot of people drink themselves to sleep each night. At least a couple times a month I ponder what-ifs, some for things that are over 30 years old. I try to maintain a sense of humor about the ridiculousness of life but every so often I fall into a funk like Jon is describing and really lose my self-confidence.

That’s only happened about 20 times since I turned 35. I get the regrets and wonder if the choices I’ve made are the right ones. There’s only two choices then: press on or quit.

Right. Everyone does.

Of course. I think you’d have to be pathological never to look back at past decisions at least occasionally. The difference is in the amount of time we spend dwelling on them.

There was that one Italian/Mexican girl I dated for a little while……

….and there was this tall blonde with hair down to her butt……

that was her back hair, and her name was Steve.

He preferred Stephan,

On the other hand

I had a Langers pastrami sandwich today for the first time in about 6 months. I just came out of the food coma.

I need one of those sandwiches.

I appreciate where you're coming from

Just to reply …

1) I wouldn’t characterize my anxiety as simply “someone else has X and I don’t.” I’m aware of the difference between my situation and Eric’s, and aware that I would never want to be a doctor.

2) No one has ever offered me a full-time job writing about baseball. So part of my anxiety relates to the fact that “I am sure that with his credentials and ability, the opportunity is open to him” isn’t true.

I am not crazy with ambition. If money weren’t an issue – if I could figure out, for example, how to reduce my the expenses so that I didn’t need more income, I’d be perfectly content with running Dodger Thoughts on my own, working on spec scripts when the spirit moved me, and otherwise just hanging out. However, I’m in a field that does not reward people except in very rare cases. So I feel I don’t have the option of smelling all the roses. Some. Not all.

If it were just about me, I don’t think I would get as anxious as I get. But it’s not just about me. It’s about four other people.

JonWeisman - February 20, 2012 reply

I wasn’t trying to reduce the totality of your anxiety to a simple comparison between you and like persons; as someone who routinely has anxiety attacks, I can appreciate the nuances of anxiety.

It isn’t my place, really, to respond in full to your post, and I’m sure if you were interested in my opinion (and I have no idea why you would and am under no illusions that you would want to know), we could take it offline and talk. I simply recognized some of what you were talking about in myself. I know what it’s like to see a presentation of a colleague and think “holy shit, I wish I had done that” or “why wasn’t I selected to do X?!” Of course, before Phil chimes in, my experiences are probably not nearly as dire/meaningful as yours, as I am 25 and don’t have a family I am responsible to/for other than two cats and a man who willfully and cheerfully puts up with my crazy on a daily basis.

But I do emphasize, and to a degree, I do understand. I just don’t think you should look to other people to measure up how you’ve failed but instead to see how unique and successful, in your own right, that you are. :)

empathize

I can’t spell

But you can write.

It is turning a corner when you are at a Clippers game and you are shocked when Chris Paul does not make the right play and assure a victory?

that’s putting on your right blinker : )

Man....

@jwquick: Wow. Oden knee surgery turns into another microfracture. Done for the season

Lamar Oden? Man the Lakers dodged a bullet

ohhhh Oden. Greg Oden. Yeah, poor guy

Maybe when a 19 year old looks like he’s 40, it means something?

maybe when a 19 year old has micro fractures it means something

@jwquick: That’s two microfractures on the left knee, one microfracture on the right knee

he already had one when they drafted him right?

Not that I’m aware of

If I recall correctly he had wrist problems while at Ohio State. Don’t think his knees were bad yet.

Right. Hand or wrist or something like that.

needs to go the brandon roy route

That is what is amazing about Portland, they lost a franchise player in Roy, and a hoped for franchise player in Oden, and yet, they are a very competitive team.

I think they’d be the best team in the West if Oden was healthy.
but he never will be so its pointless

Eric has not made much of a big deal about this but from this day forward until the start of the season, TBLA will have Eric every SINGLE day of spring training to give us real time daily updates. From this day forward, Dodger information will originate from Eric, not be regurgitated via someone else’s twitter.

Eric is living his dream.

All hail, and may he get to Glendale safely.

so he's beat reporting spring training?

He’ll be there the whole time.

He’s moving there today. Starting tomorrow he’ll be reporting from Glendale until they leave.

over/under on the suit cases

3

Move twice in the span of two months… or don’t pursue my dreams. Man that would be a hard choice. I hate moving.

How long could it take to pack a basement?

(because isn’t that where all bloggers live?)

Not me!

(I live in the attic)

The Attic is just the hipster name for the Friend Zone

Yeah but JD went from the friend zone to tapping Elliot Reed’s well sculpted back side.

he was never fully in the friend zone

Oh but he is at the end of Episode 1.

stupid Jar Jar

I still think Lucas could garner some serious good will if he released a short entitled Death to Jar Jar.

He should have redubbed the entirety of Jar Jar’s dialog and/or digitally erased him from the current 3D release. Missed opportunity.

redubbed with James Earl Jones

Morgan Freeman gets those gigs now.

I heard this song the other day and thought it a very ivdown song.

I imagine he dumped a bunch of stuff in storage, then packed for AZ like an extended business trip. At least I hope so.

Yeah I was wondering about that, is Eric moving to AZ for good or just for the month+ of ST?

Either way, very cool!

Just for ST. He’ll be back in the LA area for the start of the baseball season.

Under

If you don’t count his stuff he needs to do the job like his laptop.

yep..reminds me of slow jams host

R Dub’s dream was to host his show from a beach in brazil, but then he got the station director job at 92.3…moved to LA…got fired after 2 yrs…then made the move to Brazil

It is truly swesoke

I hope he truly enjoys it and it never becomes a drag on him. I’ll be his lackey 3/15-19.

Giving up home runs may not be what he needs

Not from me, but from the ladies in the bars….

o.k. I have wondered about the root of awesoke
but now swesoke? :)

BaldBilly - February 20, 2012 reply

Double typo

Eric once typoed “awesome” as “awesoke” and it caught on.
Keith once typoed “awesoke” as “swesoke” and it caught on, because the first part sounds like “sweet”, so:

ordinary < awesome < awesoke < swesoke

< solid <

ALL HAIL THE HYPNO BLOG

*clap

clap
clap*

This thread has made me Drowzee

ALL HAIL

hell yes

that's just awesome

Definitely living the dream as far as realistic dreams go (and not just a billionaire for no reason, lol)

I’ve realistically capped my financial dreams at 200 Million.

If you’re not strong by 20, handsome by 30, or wealthy by 40, you probably will never be.

(not original [and I might have switched the first two])

I’ve learned to live with that.

I was once strong and handsome, but now that I’m weak and ugly, I expect wealth to make up for it but she is proving to be an elusive mistress.

Well, I still have ~~three~~ two years (birthday is next month, can’t fool myself) to make a lot of money.

Damn! 0 for three!

But you have wealth in your childr———-, oh wait.

I’m going to have to carry this forever, huh?

how many site views do you need to generate per day..

to be able to create a site that pays you a good wage thru stricly ad sales?

Maybe its more complex…but if you wanted to write for the Dodgers full time and make a living doing it…dont you just need to create something people want to go to everyday?

If Jon during the heyday of the Toaster could not make it financially viable, not sure if anyone could.

blogs will become more profitable than they used to be, not less. Back then, people flocked to free content and still do, except now bloggers (at least the good ones) are becoming more able to draw advertisers to their sites as they become more viable, sustainable sources of viewers. It’s still a fight, but it’s going in the right direction.

Views can make you money.
You just have to sign up with google ads…or for youtube you can become partners with youtube and make money there too if you post enough vids that gather enough views

How much many is anyone making doing that?

Not sure on google ads but some performers make livings off their youtube content

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/11/business/media/11youtube.html but there are no specific numbers on how many individuals are actually earning significant income that way. Even the success story in that article says,

Granted, building an audience online takes time. "I was spending 40 hours a week on YouTube for over a year before I made a dime," Mr. Buckley said — but, at least in some cases, it is paying off.

He also had an initial investment for $2100, not including the computer itself and his on-line access provider, presumably something he was paying for anyway.

many=money

My friend

Earns a living with her food blog site, it averages 5 million visits a month.

more people eat than are dodger fans

no shit

that’s why a dodger/food blog would get ALL the visitors

daily updates on dodger dog condiment combinations

That is a huge blog site, if she gets 5 Million visits she deserves to earn a living.

Quick, without peeking, name any advertisement you’ve seen on TBLA.

What was the one with the girl with no pants talking about her rack?

Her baseball rack.

Head and Shoulders

Gillette

joe mauer

i saw him all summer, but for a couple days there was a girl selling ice tea i think and then it back to joe mauer

i'm running chrome

so i cant see anything

Complication #1 with web-based advertising.

People will come, Dave.

Fusion Pro Glide, Yahoo Fantasy Baseball, Smirnoff

Yahoo Fantasy Baseball was the only one I could think of, and only because it was recent and super damn annoying.

ads are blocked at home. i just remember those from my work computer using IE7 and no protections. Right now I’m at home using Firefox and NoScript

that one type of liquor that had a funny name

Budweiser

bacardi oakheart!

Follow @DavidYoungTBLA

?

It's a link

Click it.

I know, I know.

But it’s sort of an advertisement, no?

not a paying one

and not really selling anything either. I don’t make money from my twitter feed.

You could sell Slice-O-Matics!

It’s a floor wax AND a dessert topping.

Did you specify

“paying advertisement”? No, or I would not have said that. :)

go troll elsewhere

Or at least trolley.

remember this.

you have only yourself to blame.

Will Jim Tracy be staying on with the Colorado Rockies for awhile longer?

It indeed appears that Jim Tracy will be in the Rockies org for awhile still. From Colorado’s official twitter feed:
Tweet1

#Rockies & Manager Jim Tracy have a handshake agreement for Tracy to continue to be a part of the organization’s leadership team.

tweet 2:

#Rockies Dan O’Dowd: “We expect this relationship to continue for a number of years.”

tweet 3:

#Rockies Dan O’Dowd:“We are building a culture of value together in a world of performance.”

Player/Coach!

What exactly does Jim Tracy do to guarantee him a cushy job after he ‘retires’ from coaching?

Not winning a division or playoff series is the new market inefficiency

I think Antonnini makes between 6 and 10 MLB starts this year with an ERA between 4.10 and 4.40.

if he does the dodgers are going to really really suck

and by that i mean win maybe 70 games..if the team has to dig this far to get some starts

but if he puts up 10 starts in that ERA range, it’ll be serviceable

All depends who he is filling in for. If it is for Clayton not even the locusts will save us.

i think there will be 20-25 starts to be had between Billingsley, Capuano and Harang.

Eovaldi sure hopes so

yeah but he won’t be able to take all of them.

Top 5 to start the season: Kid K, Billz, Lilly, Ang, Cap.

Top 5 to finish the season: Kid K, Lilly, Webster, Capt. EO and Rubby.

Maybe “finish” if you literally mean the last day. Rubby is out until he isn’t.

i think rubby will sit out this whole year

dont see the incentive for the dodgers of bringing him back early

getting MLB innings in August and September is going to be important for him.

He is on schedule for Aug./Sept. That will not be early. If he can get to the point of seeing game action late this season, MLB or MiLB, that will help determine what his readiness for 2013 will be.

it’ll help him mentally more than any advantage the front office will get out of it

Can’t agree. With both Ang and Cap under contract for next year, if both can answer the bell, both will be taking the mound. I think.

I don’t see them answering the bell………………….

(clic,clack)

Fair enough, then.

I think Joey Joe is right here. If Antonini makes that many starts, then how he does in those starts is completely irrelevant because it is an indicator that the team will have fallen apart.

if antonini is picked ahead of Webster for starts..

i’m going to break things

Start with your modem, work up to your liver.

VegasBlues suggests stopping short of that.

As long as he holds off until after I get my liver then more power to him…

/joking

You’re suggesting that Antonini is the #7 starter then?

Could be, I suppose. I don’t know one way or the other.

Antonini is on the 40-man right now, Ely is not. Doesn’t mean room couldn’t be made if/when the time comes, but the odds may be more in Antonini’s favor at the moment.

Right

Did the Dodgers have to put Antonini on the 40-man or risk losing him in the Rule 5?

If so, that explains that: if somebody takes Ely, oh well, good luck; gotta keep Antonini in the system over him. But if it comes down to oh-shit-we-need-a-starter in real ballgames in May…….

i also think he’s more likely to make 20 appearances as a lefty reliever than a single start, so there’s that.

Yeah I think it's both things, I think he was a Rule 5 loss risk

and they think he can be a LHRP for now. I don’t expect more than an emergency start or two, but could be in the pen more often…

25

Number of big league homers for our projected starting infield last year (catcher included).

Shoot, Loney and Uribe will hit that many all by themselves

/probablynotbutifithappensdon’tshowthehashtagwhencuttingandpastingthisawesomeprediction

Loney 12
MEllis 7
Uribe 4
AJEliis 2
Dee 0

loney is hitting at least 36

All I want is Dee to hit one.

We need to surgically remove that part of Loney’s brain that is in charge of “thinking” while in the batter’s box.

so, trade his driving brain with his hitting brain

“All right James clear your mind”

“Done”

Clear Your Mind

Reminds me of “Forget everything you know about slipcovers.”

47

Number of big league homers for our projected starting seven last year (Kemp’s 39 not included).

Ethier 11
Rivera 11

Starting Depth Chart

1) Kershaw
2) Billingsley
3) Lilly
4) Harang
5) Capuano
6) Eovaldi
7) Webster*
8) Withrow
9) Antonini
10) Fife

*Not on 40-man

I might be overrating Webster’s chances here but if someone gets DL’ed for a considerable amount of time, he’s one of the favorites IMO. If it’s for a spot start or something, then we’ll probably see one of the lower ceiling guys.

That depth chart only means something based on how they do this spring. If Webby is pitching well he should be right there, but if he’s pitching like he did in August he’s not coming close to pitching in a major league game.

On AA performance

Antonini gets the nod right now.

if any of the 5 go down for any reason, and he’s available, Eovaldi gets the call.

if after that, one of the starting 5 go down with a 60 day DL thing, I’d expect Webster, assuming he’s performing and available.

if after Eovaldi is in the rotation one of the starters goes down for a 15 day DL something or other, I’d expect Anonini to get the start.

Based on AA stats and service time

I think Withrow gets the nod before Webster. Better FIP, better ERA, better K rate, and an extra year of experience in AA.

If they need one of those guys in, say , mid-June, and one’s been great in AA so far in 2012 and the other sucked so far, which one do you think they call up?

Obviously the one that's been great.

But Webster isn’t that guy yet, so it’s in the air as to what 2012 will bring.

Webster went face first into an innings count wall last year. He’ll be fine, he’ll see time, we’ll all be pissed about something else.

Right.

The most entertaining scenario for me would be Harang and one of Lilly/Capuano getting injured for a while and giving both Webster and Withrow time to shine and hopefully prove themselves to be MLB starters.

the most entertaining would be the total collapse of the Angels and subsequent merger of the Angels assets into Dodger property.

Giving Withrow MLB innings when he has trouble throwing strikes to AA hitters while in the middle of a mechanics overhaul would be a huge disservice to his progress. That said, the timing of his career path suggests this year is the year it clicks and I could totally see him being #6 rather than #10.

don’t use actual logic, it ruins the fun

No I think the Dodgers are gonna call up guys that haven’t been successful in AA /holds breath

there'll probably be a veteran ex major leaguer

at AAA signed at some point to take one of those 7-9 spots…like an Eric Milton or dos Ortiz

I’d actually be surprised if that happened based on the state of our 40 man roster

and spring training starting, well, tomorrow. though it could happen, I don’t think it makes sense. The context of having Estes, Milton, Ortizii in camp was "we don’t know if James McDonald is ready (he wasn’t), we don’t know if Scott Elbert is ready (he wasn’t), we don’t really know for sure if Clayton is for real (he was), we don’t know if 2009 was a Billingsley fluke wasted season or if that’s what we should expect (we still don’t know).

And there’s no one of that ilk in the NRI list really either.

Right

if we were going to do that, we could have certainly done it by now.

All right, I’ll buy Antonini as #7 — it makes sense both based on his solid performance last year and also to give the younger guys more seasoning.

Webster and Withrow is a toss-up; maybe the latter has a slight edge since he’s already on the roster. But Webby’s control is so much better. Who knows.

Fife is the longest of long shots to start for us since he pretty much sucks.

the most important thing is to remember decisions are made based on context, and the context of a baseball team changes damn near daily during the season.

Agree. Would like to think Eo is #6, but in reality it could be a AAA-stashed NRI for all we know.

depends on who gets hurt, for how long, and how he’s pitching in AAA

MLBN top 25 team killers

No. 14: Koufax vs. the Mets

No. 11: JR Richards vs. the Dodgers

JR was just brutal against us.

No. 3: Stan the Man vs the Dodgers

Stan Musial vs anyone

yeah

but Brooklyn fans gave him his nickname

for giggles

No. 1: George Brett vs the Yankees

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.cgi?id=musiast01&year=Career&t=b#site::none

Strange

Stan Musial’s career splits page on baseball-reference shows he played in 15 stadiums, 3 of which were Dodgers home stadiums.

Humma should be along soon with his Musial trivieum.

Ebbets Field, Coliseum, and Dodger Stadium?

right

Also shows that he destroyed the Giants at an almost identical clip.

Man did I hate it when he pitched against us. Seemed like he was on a different level and the Dodger hitters were shitting bricks the whole time they were in the box.

Mike Scott was that way when he had his A game for them as well; seemed like the Dodgers couldn’t hit him.

Someday

Kershaw v. Giants

~~Someday~~ Now

Kershaw v. Giants

Someday he'll be mentioned on a list like this.

I know he completely destroys them already.

Clayton’s tOPS+ against the Tigers (after 2 starts) is -8.

Most of the teams he has struggled against are in the central time zone.

tOPS+ vs NL West: SFG: 59, AZ: 91, COL 128, SDP 84.

128 is a really high number, compared to -8. That’s like an absolute value of 136.

I don’t believe in mathonomics.

Knicks are majoring in Linglish Linerature right now.

JR Richards?

not Brett Myers?

no

If they did not have Larry Jaster against the Dodgers someone did not do their homework

they only did 25

slackers

this is either a joke or your memory is wrong.

http://www.truebluela.com/2010/8/31/1658896/larry-jaster-dodger-killer

5 shutouts against the Dodgers in 1966

B-R showed his career split against the Dodgers was an .899 OPS against or something.

The third option of course is “I did this wrong”

I think the link above yours can stand on it’s own.

yep. I can’t for the life of me figure out what i was looking at. My apologies.

Career OPS against vs. the Dodgers was .593, a tOPS+ of 68.

From that thread:

Kemp for Rasmus who blinks first

by meercatjohn on Aug 31, 2010 11:50 AM PDT actions /blockquote>

LOL

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Well, at least we know you can trade Edwin Jackson for Rasmus.

who can stop linsanity?

Carmelo Anthony

be funny if he got traded.

lin and melo have played the same amount of minutes tonight..

Melo = -10
Lin = +1

Lin is 5 for 15 shooting. That might have something to do with the teams poor play. That and Deron Williams is torching him.

Carmelo is turning the ball over way too much but it is his first game back.

Lin

21/9/7

only 3 turnovers and 4 steals…

Melo was horrible.
This performance is going to ramp up the trade Carmelo talk.

I usually hate NY teams

but I would love to see the Knicks beat the Heat in the playoffs. I don’t think they will, but if healthy they have a really talented roster.

Pure Azure - February 20, 2012 reply

Watching the first episode of Luck on HBO.

I think I just saw Bill Plaschke.

yep

cameo

Pure Azure - February 20, 2012 reply

Why would you ruin a good show with Plaschke?

Did Stu Nahan ruin Rocky?

I’m sure he’s a better actor then a writer

He’s in another one too. I’m not abandoning it because of him though. That’s Keanu Reeves territory.

If you haven't seen The Third Man

it’s just starting on TCM. Watch it

YES

I am watching it, too. Seen it before, but g/f never has, and since I don’t have a soccer game tonight and she doesn’t have her writer’s group, we are watching it. (Screw the Lakers game.)

One of the greats.

with a vid with Colletti saying he wants to sign Ethier long term.

Really great. The way Harry Lime (Orson Welles) is revealed by a light switch – there’s never been a greater appearance ever. The chase in the sewers – it’s been copied several hundred times – but never done better. And it’s faithful not just to the detail but to the character of the Graham Greene original – not so surprising in that Greene also wrote the screenplay. The perfect movie.

berkowit28 - February 21, 2012 reply

LAT Dilbeck blog

define long term

his words

Longer term than Colletti will be around, at least?

Will Ned be fired before late July?

That's probably the over/under month

New ownership may take longer to transition “in” than we’d like, so who knows… but before season’s end I’d say is likely.

don't take this too seriously but

He makes about $11m this year. Give him another two years at $15m per? Tear up up the 2012 contract and call it a three-year $42m deal?

Lakers up 29-7 at end of 1st Q vs Blazers

Portland should have worn their “Brick City” jerseys in the first quarter. 3-17 from the field (17.6%)

Where was this Lakers team last night?

Fisher still playing horribly though.

Bynum in 1st Quarter

8 pts
9 reb

They were on the road last night, where they

absolutely suck

lol

thought you were asking….

No, just a quick post. Having trouble w/my touch pad.

yes

they were in Phoenix last night

35-7

4 touchdowns and they're tied, not over yet

Seriously, Blazers, this is U -G-L-Y, they ain’t got no alibi.

WIth this schedule some teams are simply going to have nights like this. We hit them last week on a back to back to back, they were clearly the better team for three quarters, then simply lost their legs. Looks like they have yet to recover them. Wait until after the all-star game and things get real ugly in April.

blazers didnt even play last night

they have no excuses

This is their 33rd game in under 60 days.

you can’t quantify fatigue, so it’s not recognized by the court of Joey Joe.

They do have a lower payroll than the Lakers.

cumulative fatigue is going to be a problem, you can count on it. Not one NBA player has ever had to deal with a schedule like this.

Clippers picked the wrong year to have two all-stars.

Looks like the Blazer's D-League affiliate took the floor for them tonight in Portland

Julio Nievas - February 20, 2012 via mobile reply

“Can’t Lin ’Em All” —Actual headline on nypost.com

They’ll never top (or, I guess, fall lower than) “AMASIAN!”

ESPN totally proved that wrong.

I'm waiting for

Rinsanity

With a Head & Shoulders tie-in?

A well known musician from Minneapolis admits to loving Jeremy Lin:

Princesanity.

New bicycle model released in his honor: Schwinnsanity

Wallace Shawn thinks his story is Linconcievable.

ha ha

Can’t top that one.

“TIME TO MAKE ANOTHER RACIST LIN JOKE.” – ESPN

Is Jamey Wright this year’s Lance Cormier?

Find out tomorrow at 06:00AM

Heh

You moved in?

Just about. Need to pick up a wireless card tomorrow (no internet at the place I am staying) but other than that I am all set.

so exciting!

G and I should be there from the 10th to the 17th or so, and I would like to buy you a beer or three.

I am not opposed to this practice.

United States has a plethora of good amateur singers who have tough back stories.

Its the new market inefficiency.

From MSTI

* Ownership update: the list of 11 current bidders is expected to be sliced to five on Thursday, Feb 23. Those five finalists will go through a more rigorous MLB approval process, and then the winner will be selected by Frank McCourt, who has a maximum of 40 days from now to announce who he has selected. Can’t come soon enough.

MACCIELLOOOOOOO!

Time is coming quick.

yeah

TIME FOR DODGER BASEBALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!

:)

At a sports bar called MVP. Was going to settle for Starbucks but they closed at 10pm…a half hour ago. Stupid time difference.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ti-brown_albert_pujols_angels_spring_training_022012

What is Tim Brown talking about?

TEMPE, Ariz. – New to the job, new to the division, new to the left coast, Albert Pujols has a lot to catch up on.

The sun sets pink and orange over the sea.

Designated freeway lanes are little more than suggestions.

If you turn your cap backward while ignoring the designated freeway lanes in your Beamer, that’s known as "keeping it real."

Unlike in St. Louis, where things are just a little simpler.

Sometimes writers just aren’t witty they are witless

You should ask GScott if designated freeway lanes are but mere suggestions.

oh, did he get a diamond lane ticket?

onramp carpool lane riding solo.

Six weeks between now and opening day. A lot of space to fill and only so much to write about.

Yeah, but at least include the cliches that are actually true. I have never heard of the freeway lanes being ‘suggestions’.

Making a joke about how everyone drives super fast in L.A. would have been more apt.

how can we drive super fast in the super heavy traffic?!

That feeling when you drive 85 and suddenly have to screech to a halt due to rush hour traffic.

is “that feeling” the new “that moment”?

That or ‘My Face When’

To Portland credit they are only down 12 14 now

yeah they came back at least to their credit

in NBA even when down 30, if it’s early you can still make a game of it.

Joey Crawford also making his presence felt, haha.

(not saying calls all favoring Portland, just generally that they've been slowing game down now

calling a lot more stuff, ticky tack on both sides for most part)

The NBA.

Where refball happens.

http://ocvarsity.freedomblogging.com/2012/02/18/boys-basketball-welcome-to-gabe-york-city/254401/

Crazy high school dunk

Watching the replay, he looks like he is literally flying vertically.

I’m not sure why I’m still up, good night.

K3vo was excited to let everyone know this kid has committed to UA

Chris Paul’s cape showing some wear and tear.

Hell of a night for Mo though.

Trying to fit 66 games in a 4 month schedule is apparently killer on the body.

I’m trying to think of an appropriate, non-bitchy response and utterly failing

“Yes, it is”

Plaschke said

he was the mvp

at least that was the headline of his article that i didn’t read

Plaschke also wrote a column claiming the starting center for UCLA is a fatass.

That

Was true

bhsportsguy - February 20, 2012 via mobile reply

Only the second time all season Clippers have lost two straight (also December 28-30)

Greetings from Mumbai

where I am sure I could be a kick ass Cricket Bowler if I only had someway to fuse my elbow straight

hey Joe, whatdya know

that the life of a vampire is not all it is cracked up to be
that a Balinese massage is a good choice at the Mumbai Trident
that when an Indian guy says it’s spicy, it’s really hot
that the bar on the roof of the four seasons is like drinking scotch on the wing of a plane
that the rich and lovely in Mumbai are truly rich and lovely
that when in doubt, order Chivas rocks. Hard for the bartender to screw that up and will be less than the 50 bucks they will nail you for if you order a single malt
that few things are better than traveling with your wife when mostly you don’t

Now, what in the hell is going on in Baseball?

it’s time for Dodgers Baseball

Pitchers and catchers report in 9 and a half hours.

where do I get cannoli in LA?

Porto’s

Cuban style bakery, are you on mushrooms?

it’s pretty good though

hmmm….maybe

Westchester Bakery is a little closer to you and is pretty good also

though a review on yelp says “its not the traditional sweet ricotta filling, but rather vanilla custard with whip cream on the ends”

fucking gross

the bakery is good, i can’t speak for the cannoli

their cakes are pretty cool looking

mostly, i like Porto’s

vanilla custard with whip cream on the ends

that is like ordering a Belgian ale and instead someone pours you a Zima

tough question

the best cannoli’s in LA used to be at a bakery in Encino that recently closed, Nicolosi. It had been there all my life and a mainstay of many a visit from relatives. it was a devastating closure

Most other italian bakeries do a decent version, but all a little “meh” compared to Nicolosi which was a world class one

Heard decent things about an Italian Bakery in eagle rock, there is one in Culver city too, Sorento.

Important thing with all of these is to make sure they are fresh. If filled too long the shells get mushed

there’s this little bakery off the beaten path in SF’s north beach, where the grandma’s faded picture is up above the register and all that. Got hooked there. Get cravings now and again

sounds right – sounds so right. Cannoli are not simply Italian, they are Sicilian. So you know where I stand on them. Hardly an holiday or family event happens without Cannoli

if you can buy shells, I can hook you up with how to make the filling and you will never want for cannoli again

frying shells, deep frying anything, is not something I like to do much of

sounds fantastic

that when an Indian guy says it’s spicy, it’s really hot

Always listen to the locals.

mostly, but yeah

another thing, traditional Indian formal wear, is a lot like wearing the pajamas Scrooge slept in without the cool beanie

The key to save face while eating the too spicy food is to never let them see you profusely sweat.

i cry

No shame in that

group hug

yeah – I can handle it

years ago, I was at lunch with some Korean execs that I was politely fighting with over business deal and I ordered the hottest thing ever. It was a trial to eat it all, but I did, with nary a word other than how tasty it was and that it really wasn’t that hot

There’s one Indian bowler who has got a dispesnation for his arm only being able to open to within 15º of straight,

berkowit28 - February 21, 2012 reply

Pitchers and catchers report tomorrow AM people. This is getting real.

We’re at Defcon Blue

sounds like a military porn channel

When we eventually have the annual True Blue LA Conference, I want to call is Defcon Blue

its already tomorrow here and still no sighting of either

what about ethier?

I think I saw him getting a “Balinese”

Can’t wait for the season to start

LAL32 - February 20, 2012 reply

ABC7’s sports report lead with Pujols taking BP. Lakers and Clippers be damned : )

There was an outside chance I could have been at Pujols’ presser on Monday but that would have required me to use last week to get the “pack shit up and move to storage” plan rolling rather than…not doing that.

on the way to softball, we saw a Pujols billboard that read “El Hombre”. I get going after the hispanic population of la and orange county, but wasn’t that a st. louis specific nickname?

It’s what makes it a truly brilliant troll.

nothing matters anymore Josie, if you can brand it, you can sell it

I'm going to stick to calling him Pujols

or maybe “guy who is really good at baseball” but thats a bit long winded

how much shit did you actually "move"

Everything in my apartment

If you are asking what I moved to Arizona…just some clothes, my desktop computer and my laptop and a few books and DVDs. Spartan lifestyle.

condo made of stone-ah?

Renting a room for six weeks. Only downside is the key I got has the U of A logo on it. Bunch of bullshit.

I think Spartan’s were required to marry by your age, you got a wife in tow?

That’s my real motive for going to spring training.

Eric Stephen = landing spot for jilted annies

Are you moving back after Spring Training?

Moving to Pasadena

Yeaaaaaaah.

Pasadena’s where it’s at.

Fuck the parking enforcement in the city though

I’d rather they raise taxes and let us park in peace

damn revenue generation scam

Oh, the parking in the street thing?

I grew up here so that seemed normal to me. Me and my mom were shocked when my girlfriend told me that i wouldn’t get a ticket for parking overnight outside her house.

What? And leave the beautiful High Desert?
(Good move.)

a poo holes presser

does not sound like my kind of party

/sorry, you might get a lot of that from me

Booked my hotel and got tickets for the games on the 16th and 18th. Playing it by ear to figure out what I’m going to do on the 17th.

drink hard enough on the 16th and you won’t need to figure it out

I know this kind of thinking is frowned upon here, but I really am not much of a drinker.

dry is ok too

golf is always a nice fall back

catch another game somewhere else

or Pizzeria Bianco, which is worth the hassle and then some. Might be the best Pizza in the ENTIRE US of A

Maybe you can play bingo.

On the 17th, go watch the Dodgers play the Rockies at Salt River at Talking Stick!

this sounds like a winner

with some Pizzeria Bianco mixed in

Yeah, I really should check that place out while in town. I ditched BH two years ago when he met some friends at Pizzeria Blanco so I could go watch the Dodgers’ second game of the day, a night game at Camelback Ranch.

The resulting karma: one pair of shoes out of the rotation, and a barefoot morning saunter through Target to purchase the very flip flops I am wearing right now.

Yes

But that night forever tarnished the new car appeal of my vehicle.

But you got a ride back with Josh Suchon.

bhsportsguy - February 20, 2012 via mobile reply

Yeah.

We will either go to Salty Walking Stick or the night game at Camelback, but probably not both. It depends on A) which tickets drop in price first and B) our other plans (do we want to go out during the day or night). St. Patty’s Day is always a weird one to call.