Hochevar's Going to School, All Right - If You Know What I Mean (Nudge Nudge, Wink Wink, Say No More)

Negotiation fatigue set in for Dodger first-round draft pick Luke Hochevar last week, leading to some topsy-turvy gyrations in the process, according to Tony Jackson of the Daily News:

Hochevar fired Los Angeles-based agent Scott Boras as his advisor. At the behest of his roommate, best friend and Tennessee teammate Eli Iorg - an outfielder drafted by Houston with the 38th overall pick - Hochevar agreed to allow Iorg's San Francisco-based agents, Paul Cobbe and Matt Sosnick, to represent him.

Hochevar, while being advised by Cobbe and Sosnick, agreed to terms on a $2.98 million signing bonus, which would have been the highest ever paid by any club to a non-first-round pick. Before actually signing the deal, Hochevar reneged and went back to Boras. This took place after what Cobbe described as a "heated exchange" over the telephone between Hochevar and someone presumed to be Boras. At the time, Hochevar was at the Tennessee home of Iorg's father, former major-league outfielder Garth Iorg, and Cobbe said he and Sosnick overheard Hochevar in the background while they talked by telephone to one of the Iorges. …

"Luke told Eli he was tired and was going to sign their original offer of $2.3 million," Cobbe said. "Eli told him, 'Wait and talk to my guys first,' and Luke was willing to do that. We believed Luke could do better than the $2.3 million, because he probably would have gone seventh in the draft if not for extenuating circumstances regarding his representation."

But since reaching the agreement for the $2.98 million bonus (in "about 45 minutes," Jackson quotes Cobbe as saying), neither Cobbe, Sosnick nor Dodger scout Marty Lamb, sent to Tennessee by Dodger scouting director Logan White, has been able to contact Hochevar. Boras told Jackson that there had been "no change" in his status as Hochevar's attorney, and in a round-the-horn way, he might be right.

Hochevar, for now, remains in Tennessee without attending classes. He could sign at any moment with the Dodgers or return for the next semester in 2006.

Some will certainly question at this point whether Boras is truly representing his client's wishes, and the question of what caused Hochevar to return to or remain with Boras hangs in the air. The counterpoint is that Hochevar's right to sign any contract trumps whatever Boras' desires would be.

Still, one can imagine how confused Hochevar, who turns 22 a week from today, might be. But if Hochevar's true desire is to begin his professional career, the money is there.

* * *

Orel Hershiser fans will probably enjoy this item from Evan Grant in the Dallas Morning News, captured by David Pinto at Baseball Musings. If you're a pitcher, it's nice to have a Hershiser looking out for you.

Texas Rangers rookie starting pitcher Chris Young, 26, left Wednesday's game after one inning, in part because Hershiser had issued a warning that Young's fastball lacked life in pregame warmups.

"It just wasn't worth the risk," (Texas manager Buck) Showalter said. "I didn't like some of the things I was seeing."

What he saw in a scoreless first inning was a fastball that registered only 84-86 mph. Young had been regularly hitting 88-91 and touching as high as 94 on occasion.

* * *

This was an interesting e-mail to get:

From: "dodgers.com"
Date: 2005/09/07 Wed PM 06:02:43 PDT
Subject: Watch the Dodgers Race to the Postseason - LIVE online

"Get Every Dodgers Postseason Game LIVE on MLB.com"

Good to know we're covered ...

Comments

[Sushirabbit]

1.  Nothing would please me more than to see Boras in a lawsuit with Hooch and the Dodgers.

I think I actually am starting to hate the guy.

[Jon Weisman]

2.  I don't know how this would end up in a lawsuit.

[Eric Enders]

3.  I suppose theoretically it could end up in some sort of lawsuit over whether an oral agreement is contractually binding.... but I very much doubt it will go that direction.

[Sushirabbit]

4.  My take was that Boras implied he would sue if Hochevar utilized Sosnick and Cobbe. That sounds like the norm for Boras.

[Eric Enders]

5.  BTW, the best line in the article:

"In a voicemail message left in response to a message from the Daily News, Boras said nothing had changed in his relationship with Hochevar (pronounced HOATCH-ay-vur), whose surname Boras badly mispronounced in the message."

[blue22]

6.  So am I reading this correctly, that the Dodgers best offer with Boras representing was $2.3M?

It then took the new agents 45 minutes to get that up to $2.98M?

[Eric Enders]

7.  The article basically implies that the Dodgers were always willing to go that high, but Boras was refusing to even enter into negotiations (which was the reason for his short-lived firing).

[Jon Weisman]

8.  Seems to me, that the threat of such a lawsuit would imply that Hochevar and Boras have a relationship beyond the NCAA-tolerated "advisor" role. Not that I really have any idea of the NCAA's definition of the role.

[blue22]

9.  "the Iorges"

Is this funny to anyone else? Imagine this on a welcome mat.

[Eric Enders]

10.  Boras says in the article that he's Hochevar's "attorney," as opposed to "adviser." FWIW.

Whatever the NCAA's definition is, it's all screwed up. Boras is acting as an agent in everything but name. This whole system of "advisers" is pretty much a sham.

[Bob Timmermann]

11.  But the attorney/advisor sham is something that everyone agrees to and it makes them feel better despite it not being correct.

Such inconsistencies are the foundation of college athletics in the United States.

[Sushirabbit]

12.  Yeah, Eric, it is a sham. If Miles McAffe can cause problems I am sure Boras can. I never heard the end of that Cory Dunlap stuff. Maybe they just pay McAffe off? I'm sure Boras won't go for that.

[Penarol1916]

13.  You know, I've always at least respected Boras for looking out for his clients' best interest, or at least what his clients wanted.
I'm really trying to understand this from the client perspective. Is Hochevar just really flakey? Is he being intimidated by Boras? Is he just one of those guys, who the last thing he hears sounds good to him and is thus easily persuaded?

[Yakface]

14.  Hochevar called Boras to ask him why he couldnt get him 2.98 million like the other guys boras replied because I can get you more thus the fact that Luke has no clue whats going on.

[molokai]

15.  Crazy story but the bottom line is that it looks like Hochevar will sign with us.

[Yakface]

16.  Maybe Depo can sign Hochever for 2.5mil then throw in Odalis Peanut as a Bonus.

[Bob Timmermann]

17.  13 persuaded me, until I read 14 and then I thought about it again after I read 15

[Yakface]

18.  13 got me thinking 14 was my thought 15 was my conclussion and 17 was the process.

[Penarol1916]

19.  17 just made me dizzy.

[Yakface]

20.  I read some posts from last night this morning at work and that has me wondering what are you doing awake bob? Your last post was at like 2 or 3.

[Bob Timmermann]

21.  I went to bed a little before 2 I believe. Unless I posted while asleep.

I'm off work for four days and will spend much of today sleeping at various times.

[Kayaker7]

22.  I got that e-mail from mlb.com too. I deleted it, after seeing the subject line.

[Bob Timmermann]

23.  Don't discount the Dodgers' playoff hopes! They've moved ahead of the Giants in likelihood of winning the division by a few fractional percentage points. I assume that is based on the Dodgers playing the Pirates while the Giants still have to play Chicago and Washington.

[Yakface]

24.  Anyone notice that for the last month the only movie ad they've had a Dodger stadium is for the corpse bride? And the slogan is rising to the occasion this september? Does this mean anything? Its been on the digital banner at least every game at home, Rising to the occasion this september? Could this be JD Drew coming off the DL? or Jose Cruz dominating opposing pitching? How about line ups that make sense? Only time will tell...

[Eric Enders]

25.  "And the slogan is rising to the occasion this september?"
==========

They could save themselves some trouble by just leaving this slogan up whenever the Viagra ad rotates in.

[Yakface]

26.  25-lol my Fiancee said the same thing, about the ad. not me.

[Bob Timmermann]

27.  Even Sarah Morris is mad now:

http://tinyurl.com/9z5u8

Well maybe not angry, but she's certainly pretty disappointed.

I think she must have filed this before last night's game was over because she says that Weaver had a good start against the Giants.

[Jon Weisman]

28.  Quite frankly, Sarah's piece is nonsensical, particularly the last paragraph.

[Kayaker7]

29.  27 A fan asked me, "Why has Derek Lowe given up the most home runs in a year during his career this season?" "Why has Jeff Weaver allowed the most home runs this year during his career?" I don't know. I know their sinkers are not sinking. This is something that I don't have an answer for.

Sarah, bless her heart. But this statement is not true. Lowe's groundball/flyball ratio is still 3.01, which is better than 2004 when it was 2.87 and he gave up only 15 dingers.

[regfairfield]

30.  I would conclude that Lowe's sinker is now a strike out pitch, rather than one that goes out of the strike zone and he hopes they tap at feebly. His massively improved strike out and walk rates support this theory.

[Eric Enders]

31.  28 --

I feel like a nasty, horrible person for saying this, but how does that make this piece different from the rest of her articles?

[Kayaker7]

32.  Sarah gets a pass because of her disability. Otherwise, I'd probably be much harsher.

I was thinking last night, could it be that our beloved Vin Scully is responsible for much of the nonsense that baseball fans believe in? With his smooth, velvet-like voice, his rattles off stats that are, frankly, irrelevant. Do we care that such and such hitter is 3-6 against some batter, for a .500 BA? He commented that Jose Jr. rode the elevator down when he struck out after his homerun, making it seem like striking out is a particularly bad way of making an out. I love Vin, but I have to say, he spouts off the most small sample stats of anyone on TV, and his credibility seduces fans into believing them.

[Yakface]

33.  32- Blasphemy.

[Kayaker7]

34.  33 Crucify me. :)

[dzzrtRatt]

35.  My brother, who's a Giants fan, asked me yesterday why the Dodgers persist in this folly that they're in the pennant race. Just pack it in and play "the kids" to find out what they can do, he suggested. I told him that's what they've been doing since May.

It was enjoyable to send an email last night saying the Giants getting beat by Jeff Kent is one thing; he's a future Hall of Famer. But to get beat by Oscar Robles and Mike Edwards? Without injuries, Edwards would never have played for the Dodgers, and Robles, at best, would have been a utility player.

When Bob Timmermann summarizes the 2005 season in a future RDGC, the first thing he'll cite is the plague of injuries. Gagne, Drew, Bradley, Valentin, and it's pretty clear now that Izturis' offensive decline was due to his physical condition. Entirely healthy, the '05 Dodgers were only marginal contenders to begin with. Tracy didn't do too badly under these circumstances; even though I don't like him, I can't say another manager would've done any better. DePo was smart not to try too hard to engineer a July deadline deal. The future continues to look very bright. Let the folly continue a few more days!

[Steve]

36.  This Tony Clark nonsense has got to end.

[Yakface]

37.  What would you rather he talk about? He already mentioned their favorite color, a funny story they might have told him or he heard about, their wifes favorite flavor of ice cream and so then he mentions some stats comparing how well a certain batter does against a certain pitcher I dont see how that could be discussed negatively, would you rather he say junk about the umps bad calls or yelling at the ball to leave the park?

[Kayaker7]

38.  Just read a Baseball Prospectus article that shows that, based on Adjusted Runs Prevented (ARP), Brazoban is the worst reliever in baseball. I have to ask, how does Depodesta allow this? Does he even show stats to Tracy, or does Tracy rummage through find stats to support his own decision? i.e., BA with RISP for Phillips? It is truly mind boggling how many times the Dodgers have made decisions that are in contrast to statistics.

[Eric Enders]

39.  32 - Re Vinny -- just because a stat has no predictive value doesn't mean it's irrelevant. It can still be, you know, interesting.

And I don't think Vinny is trying to sell anyone on the virtuosity of batter vs pitcher stats -- he's simply throwing them out there, for people to attach as much or as little importance as they wish.

And striking out IS an embarrassing way to make an out. Again, sabermetrics aside, it is a fact that batters hate to strike out, and that fans hate for their batters to strike out. He's simply acknowledging that reality.

Lastly, all these announcers, Vinny and everyone else, are simply reading the info that's available on the stat report provided by the team. If a change is to be made in the types of stats that get read over the air, it's the Dodgers' PR folks who would have to initiate/enable that change.

[ryu]

40.  32, re: Scully. I've heard him acknowledge it when the sample is small.

[Jon Weisman]

41.  30 - Only by degrees.

Sarah's been on Dodgers.com long enough, and her backstory is far enough in the past, that many of her readers may not know about her condition. Which might well be how she prefers it. In any event, I don't think one has to be apologetic in criticzing her material when warranted - it's not personal.

[Steve]

42.  What is an "Adjusted Run Prevented?"

[Kayaker7]

43.  37 You're missing my point. Like I said, I love Vinny, like every Dodger fan does. The point is that his comments have a strong influence on fans. I'm just pointing out what I see, not that I'd have it any other way. It would just too weird to have Vin say, "Phillips is hitting very well with men in scoring position, but as we all know from recent statistical analyses, this is all poppycock based on small samples and random variations." He's much better than Rex Hudler. ;-)

[Eric Enders]

44.  Anyone else notice that two consecutive dramatic walkoff victories has caused Dodger Blues to crash? They can't handle the truth!

[Steve]

45.  it's the Dodgers' PR folks who would have to initiate/enable that change.

Appropos of nothing, last night the Spin Board, when Elmer Dessens came into the game, said "Elmer has also pitched in Mexico and Japan."

Nothing against those fine, fine nation-states, but that's not necessarily a good thing.

[Yakface]

46.  41- I've heard she was disabled and what not for the last 2 seasons but what I dont know is how, what does she suffer from?

[Kayaker7]

47.  42 Without getting into the equation: the number of runs a reliever prevented over a replacement level reliever, adjusted for other factors such as inherited and bequeathed runners.

[Yakface]

48.  43- I guess you want your apples to taste like oranges too dont you?

[Kayaker7]

49.  46 Plashke wrote a piece on her, years ago. She has MS, I believe. She writes her articles using an optical device that points to letters on a screen, controlled by the movement of her head. It takes 3 hours to type something that takes us 10 minutes.

[Eric Enders]

50.  "The point is that his comments have a strong influence on fans."

Of course. But he doesn't MAKE any comments about the worthiness of the stat -- he just puts it out there.

Just like he religiously tells us all the details of a player's tattoos. I don't think he does that in order to encourage everyone to go out and get tattoos. He does it because the information is interesting. Same deal.

[dzzrtRatt]

51.  Vin's a dramatist by nature. Until Ross Porter came along, I don't remember Vinny doing much more with stats than what you could get off the back of a Topps baseball card. Deep down, I think he knows his stats are just time-fillers.

Do baseball cards nowadays include OBP, OPS, WHIP, etc? Bill James should brand a line of baseball cards with meaningful numbers and honest assessments.

[Yakface]

52.  49- Thanks for the info.

[Bob Timmermann]

53.  Last night there was also this for Jason Phillips

"Has 19 RBI in his last 41 games."

Umm.... OK.......

However, I would hope that Elmer Dessens has pitched in Mexico. Being Mexican and all that.

I will no longer be seing the delightful note about how Cesar Izturis surpassed Bill Rusell's L.A. record for doubles by a shortstop.

[Eric Enders]

54.  Plaschke's original Sarah Morris article.

http://www.thestlcardinals.homestead.com/SarahMorris.html

Best thing he ever did, although I realize that's not saying much.

[Jon Weisman]

55.  38 - I think the point in this case is unfair. Brazoban was not the Dodgers' worst reliever in the season's first half - in fact, in terms of VORP, he was their second-best after 54 games.

One could also argue that the closer role, frankly, isn't the role for the most important reliever (although Tracy might not make that argument, DePodesta might).

In any case, we can split hairs over when the move was made, but if anything, Tracy used Brazoban too little early in the season, and certainly, when things blew up later, he moved him out of the spotlight. I really don't think Tracy demoted Brazoban too soon or too late.

I will note that Sanchez had the highest VORP among Dodger relievers even after 54 games.

http://dodgerthoughts.baseballtoaster.com/archives/189497.html

[Steve]

56.  47 -- thanks

[Eric Enders]

57.  "Has 19 RBI in his last 41 games."
---

See, this is exactly the kind of inane stuff that gets put into the game notes -- for every team, not just the Dodgers. So broadcasters have a choice of either reading that or nothing at all. Any change would need to be made at the source, which is the team's PR department.

[Bob Timmermann]

58.  So if Arizona wins, the Dodgers will slip to fourth by .0007.

This is the first sign of the fulfillment of the Naccarato Prophecy.

[Eric Enders]

59.  58 - There's gotta be a Bond joke in there somewhere.

[Steve]

60.  Dustin Nippert?

[Kayaker7]

61.  48 Nah, I became a Dodger fan, listening to Vinny. So, I came to believe all those stats as valid. Sure, he acknowledges that 3 at bats is a small sample, but he does not tell you that 10 at bats is pretty darned small too. I almost gave up on baseball, because traditional stats create unrealistic expectations and result in disappointment.

It pissed me off when a batter hit little bloopers that win the ballgame, and he is treated like a hero. I was pretty disgusted and came to the conclusion that baseball was a game of pure luck. I didn't want to watch this silly game anymore.

Then I discovered Baseball Prospectus. Sabermetrics gave me new insight, and it made me feel better, in that it did acknowledge that much of baseball is luck, that I'm not crazy to think so. And that the blathering of sports announcers eager to crown new heroes is crap, like I always suspected. Sabermetrics allowed me to cope psychologically when my heroes failed or my team did not win. It is much easier to accept that Dodgers are losing, when you see that the OPS of the lineup is low, and it is not due to the players lacking passion.

Of course, this new-found knowledge creates new problems of its own. It is difficult to talk to friends who still believe in traditional counting stats. It is difficult to listen to Joe Morgan. It is difficult to watch Jim Tracy's decisions.

[Kayaker7]

62.  54 Honestly, when I read that article, I cried. Sarah, the person, is an inspiration to us all.

[Bob Timmermann]

63.  61

Anyone know what the Dodgers DIPS ERA is? If you can see how that compares to other teams, then you might know that the Dodgers record this year isn't bad luck.

[Kayaker7]

64.  63 Didn't Vinny mention this last night? ;-)

I tried searching for it. So, what is it?

[Xeifrank]

65.  According to ESPN stats:

Dodgers rank 11th in the NL in DIPS

Padres #3
Dodgers #11
Giants #12
Rockies #13
DBacks #14
out of 16 teams. vr, Xei

[Kayaker7]

66.  I don't mean a definition. How are the Dodgers doing, DIPS-wise?

[Kayaker7]

67.  65 Thanks. You're much faster than me.

[Kayaker7]

68.  I'm surprised to see that the Marlins top the Astros, in DIPS.

[dzzrtRatt]

69.  61 articulate something I've been thinking about lately. Sabermetrics is more than just a way to understand baseball and guide management decisions. It is also what allows intelligent adults to continue to pay attention to this "silly game" that we love. The degree of added certainty, the knowledge that every player and team eventually regresses to the mean, the realization that most mysteries can be solved by going deeper into the vast data base of measurable baseball events, makes the diverting frivolity of following a baseball season seem like a worthy pursuit for someone who's more than 12 years old. Whatever keeps people engaged with this great game is fine with me, but without sabermetrics, I think of lot of smart people would have drifted away from the game long ago.

[Icaros]

70.  61 Nice post. I, too, have been changed for the better by baseball's statistical renaissance, or at least by my discovery of it.

But now, the only people I can really talk about baseball with come in the form of screen names.

[Steve]

71.  Moneyball saved me.

[dzzrtRatt]

72.  61 articulate something I've been thinking about lately. Sabermetrics is more than just a way to understand baseball and guide management decisions. It is also what allows intelligent adults to continue to pay attention to this "silly game" that we love. The degree of added certainty, the knowledge that every player and team eventually regresses to the mean, the realization that most mysteries can be solved by going deeper into the vast data base of measurable baseball events, makes the diverting frivolity of following a baseball season seem like a worthy pursuit for someone who's more than 12 years old. Whatever keeps people engaged with this great game is fine with me, but without sabermetrics, I think of lot of smart people would have drifted away from the game long ago.

[Bob Timmermann]

73.  69

It's little secret to those here that I consider myself pretty smart and I pretty much just deign to take to people with such small intellects as you folks. :-) (Remember, I've also seen every episode of "Gilligan's Island" at least three times.)

But ...

I still enjoy watching baseball despite reading about sabermetrics. It makes me understand the game more, but I still enjoy watching a game last night just because it was exciting and unexpected. I enjoy the game a lot more for its unpredictability and its ability to make me care about something else that is not particularly important in the grand scheme of things. Or else I would spend my entire day worrying about nuclear war or a rupture along the San Andreas Fault. Or maybe that mole I have is looking a little funny...

[molokai]

74.  61 Great post. I've loved baseball since I was 5 and never stopped but what I've learned about the game in the last 10 years makes me cringe at how ignorant I was for 30 years.

In my heart I feel that Andru Jones is the MVP this year since he literally carried that team while everyone fell down around him but Joe Sheehan of BP did an article yesterday saying that anyone who thinks Jones is the MVP is an idiot. So even though I think I've become more sabermetric in my thinking I'm evidently still an idiot. Some things never change.

[Icaros]

75.  Or maybe that mole I have is looking a little funny...

I thought you had a cat.

[Kayaker7]

76.  The sort of stuff that drives me crazy, now that I've been "enlightened": Joe Morgan commented, in the Red Sox-Angels game last night, when Adam Kennedy came up to bat, with men on the corners and two out, that the Angels have scored all their runs with two outs. They showed a stat showing that the Angels were batting something like 7-16, with two outs last night.

I felt like screaming at the TV, that it only shows the Angels are likely to revert to the mean, and do more poorly with 2 outs. I felt a smug sense of satisfaction when Kennedy weakly grounded to the thirdbaseman for the third out.

[Bob Timmermann]

77.  I have a naked mole rat now because I wanted to impress my nephew who is a big fan of "Kim Possible."

[Steve]

78.  74 -- I think somebody on Hardball Times wrote about Jones yesterday, saying that Pujols had 12 more win shares than Jones because (wait for it)...

Jones has hit badly with RISP.

[Kayaker7]

79.  73 I agree that sport is interesting due to the uncertainty. If things were certain, why even play the game? But, I do draw the line when a game is PURELY luck, where no skill can distinguish the good from bad. I am happy to find that baseball is indeed dependent on skill, with a heavy dose of luck. Also, the higher skill level is not manifested in a handful of games nor even a whole month of games. But, as sure as eggs is eggs, things revert to the mean; the sun rises in the east, and the good players and good teams do tend to come out ahead in the long run. The Washington Nationals of the world can rely on timely hitting only for a short period of time, before anemic hitting and poor OBP catches up with them.

[Steve]

80.  I don't think eggs are eggs.

[Bob Timmermann]

81.  And the Pirates have gone ahead of the DBacks 3-2.

Yea! (think crowd in "Tom Slick")

[Jon Weisman]

82.  The launchpoint of the sunrise has certainly been a topic of pointed discussion this week :)

[Jon Weisman]

83.  Which player drives the Thunderbolt Greaseslapper, Bob?

[Kayaker7]

84.  80 That's "eggs is eggs." LOL. I picked up that saying from an English gentleman that I've worked with for five years. He had a plethora of other unusual phrases and words like, "kerfuffle," or "The proof of the pudding is in the eating." That is why I got annoyed everytime I heard Antonio Villaraigosa say, "The proof is in the pudding," over and over during his mayoral campaign.

[Icaros]

85.  80 Doubt it.

[Bob Timmermann]

86.  83
Jason Repko

[JeffinTokyo]

87.  61. et al. I too am hopeful that the next Dodger manager uses sabermetrics to make the moves that give the Dodgers the best chance to win.

But, let's not forget, it is a Spectator sport. (This applies to radio too, since we can all visualize the games in our head, and of course watch the highlights later.)

For me, as a fan, I get my thrills from watching incredible athletes doing amazing things. I also enjoy watching marginal athletes (read Mike Edwards) defying the odds.

Baseball is enjoyable to me because of unpredicability, not in spite of it. If everything was predetermined, then what's the point of watching.

I marvel watching Cesar go deep into the hole to take a sure hit away, and his sub .302 obp never enters my mind.

I love it when Jason Repko jumps out of his shoes to hit an occasional homerum, even if logic (not to mention stats) tells me he's really a AAAer.

I love watching a soft tossing Maryland graduate pull the string on guys making 10 times his salary, even though he should probably be interning at Johns Hopkins Medical Center.

I love high heat, Beltre charing bunts and slinging ropes to first, Werth giving up his body to steal a homerun, Alex Cora getting to Clement on the 18th pitch.

I love the Dodgers because Pedro Guerrero cried before every road trip when he said goodbye to 'nicie and then wiggled his pinkie to her after every homerun.

I love the Dodgers because of scappy and/or nice guys like Chad Fonville, Lenny Harris, Dave Hansen, LenMike Harperson, Dave Sax, Rudy Law, Franklin Stubbs, Flamingo Brennen, and T-Bone Shelby. If we crunched the numbers, most of these guys probably shouldn't have been playing, but I got pleasure from watching and cheering for them.

Now, I am not burying my head in the sand and longing for old time baseball. As I said above, I want the Dodgers to field the best team possible. But, whether they do or not, I can stil find great satisfaction just from watching this beautiful game and enjoying all of the characters, malingerers, clubhouse lawyers, preachers, good guys, bad guys, and everyone in between who do things that I can only dream of.

[Bob Timmermann]

88.  The DBacks are back ahead for 4-3.

boo.

[Bob Timmermann]

89.  I'm prepositionally challenged this morning.

[Adam M]

90.  "Injuries to the rotation, specifically to closer Eric Gagne, has contributed to the Dodgers' struggles this year." --caption to Morris article.

Anyone else notice the Dodgers are nominating Bradley for the Clemente Award? Any thoughts, comments, projected odds? Strangely, his recent "behavior" really is irrelevant to the criteria for the award, but bad pub is bad pub, and I'd be stunned if he won it.

[Eric Enders]

91.  I don't think sabermetrics has particularly advanced my enjoyment of the game as a fan. My knowledge, yes. My enjoyment, probably not.

I've been reading Bill James since I was nine years old, but I think I would care about the game just as much if the sabermetric stuff didn't exist. I like watching people swing bats and hit balls and field them and pitch them. I like triples and diving catches and Fernando and Vin Scully and hating the Jints. I don't think any of that would be different had Bill James kept his full-time job in the Van de Kamp pork and beans plant.

If I can compare baseball to religion for a moment, I'm the sort of sabermetric person who, while I strongly believe in the righteousness of the movement, doesn't necessarily think all the nonbelievers are going to burn in hell. And who thinks the members of my own religion take it much too seriously sometimes.

[ryu]

92.  87 ... and, of course Vin. Every time my brother and I hear Vin say "It's time for Dodger baseball" at the top of a broadcast, we get goosebumps. Last night he ran out from the kitchen just to catch Vin say that.

[Eric Enders]

93.  I guess could have saved myself a couple of minutes of typing by hitting refresh and typing "Ditto # 87."

[Bob Timmermann]

94.  91

Eric Enders, baseball's answer to Unitarianism.

[jasonungar05]

95.  Tom Slick.
Tom Slick.
Let me tell you why,
He's the best of all the guys.

Tom Slick
Tom Slick
In the thunder boat grease slapper once he's on your tail.
He won't quit because you know there's no such word as fail to
Tom Slick
Tom Slick!

Lets not forget the SUPERCHICKEN either.

[Icaros]

96.  I always liked LenMike Harperson.

[JeffinTokyo]

97.  By the way, I would like to nominate Lt. General Russel Honore as the next manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Or the next President of the United States.

[Eric Enders]

98.  "Flamingo Brennen"
---

I have to admit, I didn't remember this guy.

Looking up his record, I can see why.

[Eric Enders]

99.  I do remember Bill Brennan, though.

[Bob Timmermann]

100.  Russell Honore couldn't become president because we wouldn't know how to pronounce his name.