tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54022002011-04-28T12:19:26.953-07:00Since 1965John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.comBlogger1021100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-77430858192282957042009-03-24T10:56:00.001-07:002009-03-24T10:56:21.294-07:00

I don’t usually go in for loudness for the sake of loudness, but I found last night’s Japan Korea thunder stick fest exhilarating. I can’t imagine keeping up that kind of energy for 162 games, but it was an awesome sight.All in all, it was an unforgettable night. Great baseball played by two evenly matched teams that required more than 9 innings to get it all in. Ichiro went 4-for-6 and yet

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-79097011130177689372009-03-20T12:02:00.001-07:002009-03-20T12:02:59.125-07:00

I’m the last guy to defend Ned Colletti, given his horrendous record of free agent signings. But before we start dumping all over him for destroying the farm system, let’s have a closer look. Here are Baseball Prospectus’s top dodger prospects from 2006Excellent Prospects1. Clayton Kershaw, LHP2. Andy LaRoche, 3B3. Scott Elbert, LHPVery Good Prospects4. James Loney, 1BGood Prospects5. Jonathan

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-91230836624584480772009-03-09T21:38:00.000-07:002009-03-09T21:39:00.411-07:00

I had my first glimpse of Camelback Ranch over the weekend, and I have to report that I’m whelmed. Not overwhelmed, not underwhelmed, just whelmed. It’s not the finest spring training facility, nor is it the worst. It’s perfectly adequate. Good sightlines, fairly comfortable seating, and inviting grass berms where you can sack out for $8. There’s no scoreboard behind home plate, however, so

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-54873842952200884082009-02-11T08:46:00.000-08:002009-02-11T08:47:41.185-08:00

If I'm Andre Ethier, I'd be pissed about the recent signings of scrap heap pitchers. He and the Dodgers are squabbling over a difference of $1.1 million in arbitration for 2009. He wants to be paid slightly less than Russell Martin, who he outhit in 2008.The Dodgers continue to be super-cheap with their young players (remember the bickering about whether Abreu was on the major or minor league DL

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-11907333364003430272008-10-28T07:37:00.001-07:002008-10-28T07:37:46.977-07:00

I think the umps should have called the game in the 4th inning. That would have meant starting all over tomorrow (today), and it would have killed Hamels for the game. They didn't want to do that, but they also didn't want the game to end after 5 innings. As soon as the Rays tied the score, the decision was clear, however.Baseball made the right call here. The summer game should not be

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-18746799802729374442008-10-13T09:36:00.000-07:002008-10-13T09:37:01.265-07:00

I don't usually toot my own horn, but I went out on a limb a few days ago with this one, so I was glad to see it come true:"Kuroda owns the Phils. Jamie Moyer will be lit up like West Hollywood by the third inning.Posted by: SaMo | October 10, 2008 at 09:48 PM"In the same vein, I'm going to make an even bolder prediction: The Dodgers will hand Brad Lidge his first blown save of the year. Could

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-3987749297248884792008-10-02T08:21:00.001-07:002008-10-02T08:21:30.345-07:00

Boy oh boy did things break right for the Dodgers yesterday.Manny Ramirez kept coming up with men on base. Ryan Dempster forgot his google map of the strike zone. Derek Lowe’s sinke was sinking. And James Loney scrapes a millimeter off of strike three to stay alive for another pitch. Then he breaks out the rye bread and the mustard (for the salami, that is).But beyond that, the heart of

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-13723626637791288612008-09-11T10:14:00.000-07:002008-09-11T10:15:24.178-07:00

Welcome back Cory Wade. The kid just looks confident out there now, as though there's nothing he can't handle. Shuts down six in a row without ginv up so much as a walk. Fs Brad Penny's ERA by giving up a sac fly, but that's the price you pay for loading up the bases and not getting anyone out.Is it just me, or does it look like Penny ate Andrew Jones while he was on the DL? He was never

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-71850284520294842072008-08-28T10:48:00.001-07:002008-08-28T10:48:46.970-07:00

It has long been speculated that Jeff Kent is a sure Hall of Famer, the latest example being last week when he, Maddux, and Manny all appeared in the same game, bringing the total number of Cooperstown-bound men to three.The primary reason cited for Kent’s enshrinement is that his career numbers are so good for a second baseman. His 560 doubles, 376 homers, and career .290 average place among

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-71039219488634225792008-08-27T09:56:00.000-07:002008-08-27T09:57:09.532-07:00

I think another no-hitter is the key to solving the Dodgers' problems. They seem to do better when they don't get any hits at all. As for a curse, why go looking to the supernatural when there are plenty of rational explanations for why this team stinks. 1) three gms in five years.2) three managers in five years3) three owners in ten years4) unwillingness to go through a rebuilding year by

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-7780290776996691862008-08-18T11:57:00.000-07:002008-08-18T11:58:19.677-07:00

Boy did Andre Ethier save Joe Torre’s bacon yesterday. I was at the game—beautiful day in the shade, by the way. Torre made several huge mistakes in managing that game and it almost cost them.First, removing Kershaw and hitting Weeney. Kershaw wasn’t blowing them away, but he was getting them out. Even the hits were piddling infield grounders. But I understand if you want to take the kid out

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-64582777235959176742007-10-10T12:14:00.000-07:002007-10-10T12:15:56.975-07:00

After looking at career stats for the center fielders available this off-season, it’s clear that the Dodgers should be pursuing Aaron Rowand, rather than Torii Hunter. Start with age: Rowand is two years younger than Hunter, and hasn’t played half his career on the terrible turf at the Homer Dome. Rowand is often injured from playing all-out Darin Erstad-type baseball, but I anticipate that

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-16189258100374213612007-09-20T09:36:00.001-07:002007-09-20T09:36:39.335-07:00

Way to go Slingblade. The season’s over, even Saito has been breached, and you continue to trot out Broxton in a no-win situation? Are you trying to ruin the kid? It’s his first full season in the majors, and everybody from Washington to West Adams knows he’s lost something on his fastball. He’s thrown a record number of innings. But no amount of failure persuades Forrest to abandon any of

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-19181748718977683562007-09-19T12:32:00.001-07:002007-09-19T12:32:57.526-07:00

I bought a ticket package for the first time this year, thinking I'd be in line for playoff seats. Of course, the Dodgers then went about losing 11 of the 14 games I purchased. Forget playoffs. I'd settle for .500 at this point. Did anybody else notice how Vin had already thrown in the towel on this team even before the second game ended? In the promo for Dodger playoff tickets, he could

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-91320980935924594322007-09-04T09:10:00.000-07:002007-09-04T09:28:53.231-07:00

What is the big fucking deal with consecutive game streaks? For 100 years, there were only a few guys so narrow minded as to pursue them, and outside of Lou Gehrig and Everett Scott’s family, nobody much gave a crap. Then comes Cal Ripken and decides that this is an important accomplishment and gives rise to this kind of idiocy all over again.Is playing in 2600 straight games difficult? Of

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-410150779240853522007-08-29T09:57:00.000-07:002007-08-29T09:58:28.073-07:00

When Frank McCourt took over the Dodgers, he said the three greatest concerns were the quality of the seats, the parking congestion, and long lines at the concession stands. After “fixing”—and by fixing I mean jacking up the price of parking and tickets—the first two items on the list, he’s turned his attention to the third. But his solution, like the two previous efforts, only promise to raise

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-48324837674078288382007-08-27T09:00:00.000-07:002007-08-27T09:02:13.573-07:00

As I predicted, David Wells rose to the occasion of a big game with his career and the Dodgers’ season on the line. His wheels hit in the fifth could literally be the thing that turns this team around. I don’t know that Wells will be much more than a .500 pitcher for the Dodgers the rest of the way through, but the novelty of him will work for a little while. Besides, .500 is a whole lot

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-64233127091323723312007-08-23T20:27:00.001-07:002007-08-23T20:27:37.507-07:00

There's only one positive way you could spin this: anybody is better than Brett Tomko (we've all been saying that for weeks now). Even David Wells, at 44 gives you a better chance to win. Not much better, but a tiny bit better.Nobody will remember this if it fails, but if Wells gets juiced by appearing in New York on national television, Colletti looks like the master showman. In his dreams,

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-60550052632850956402007-08-23T11:32:00.000-07:002007-08-23T11:33:30.103-07:00

Here is the Dodgers’ top hitter against lefthanders: AVG OBP SLG OPSJames Loney .382 .435 .509 .945Here are the Dodgers’ three worst hitters against lefties: AVG OBP SLG OPSLuis González .299 .365 .448 .813Juan Pierre .261 .299 .290 .589Ramón Martínez .227 .294 .273 .567So who’s playing today against a ROOKIE lefthander? All three of these

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-81473058845083148832007-08-21T09:49:00.001-07:002007-08-21T09:49:50.452-07:00

The Dodgers make a lot of money. Every home game, after they announce the attendance, they proclaim that they are the most successful franchise in the history of baseball (perhaps all sports, but I forget). They routinely draw 3 million fans a year, who pay top dollar for everything from parking ($15!) to hot dogs to $12 beers. Too bad they spend it so poorly. Their payroll is $108.4, including

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-50721726393584356792007-08-20T09:17:00.001-07:002007-08-20T09:17:25.582-07:00

Good win. Must win. Clutch win. Come from behind win. Gutty win by Penny. Now, can somebody smack Grady Little for letting Russell Martin catch all nine innings after catching 14 innings just 12 hours earlier? I don’t care if Martin volunteered to catch. I don’t care if Mike Lieberthal is hitting .098. You can’t let your young stud catcher play every inning of every game. Grady has no

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-43624925880406808442007-08-19T11:05:00.000-07:002007-08-19T11:06:14.538-07:00

I know you don’t want to wear out your closer, but honestly, where was Takashi Saito in last night’s encouraging then deflating loss?Saito pitched 2/3 of an inning in Friday night’s win, throwing all of seven pitches. Same for Thursday, 2/3 of an inning, seven pitches. That’s fewer pitches than he would throw just warming up to take the mound. Yet he was nowhere to be seen in the Dodgers

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-29911352397070685792007-08-17T08:38:00.000-07:002007-08-17T08:39:26.921-07:00

Credit for the current Dodger youth movement does not belong to Ned Colletti, though at least he has seen the wisdom of not trading it all away.It does not belong to Paul DePodesta, though at least he has seen the wisdom of not trading it all away.It belongs to Dan Evans, much maligned GM under Fox, who acquired the following players:OF Jason Repko (1999)OF Matt Kemp (2003)1B James Loney (2002)2B

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-50151232822988448612007-08-15T09:02:00.000-07:002007-08-15T09:03:25.825-07:00

For a brief moment there, I actually had a glimmer of hope that the Dodgers might win a game. It’s been so long, I can’t remember what that feels like. You’d think you could get more than 2 wins against the Reds, Cardinals, and Astros.Forrest finally played the kids, but had the good sense to stick Jeff Kent in the middle of the Loney, Kemp, Ethier trio. Result: Kemp gets on, Ethier gets on,

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-68275580761345998112007-08-14T08:33:00.000-07:002007-08-14T08:35:09.017-07:00

Can you bear to watch this team any longer? Billz wasn’t great last night, but who could excel under conditions where the minute you give up a run, the game is over? He pitched like a guy afraid to give up a singleton.That’s the way this team is playing these days.Part of the reason they can’t come back is because there’s no pop in the lineup. There’s not a serious 30-homer threat anywhere,

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-74299112587259890612007-08-13T11:04:00.001-07:002007-08-13T11:04:55.659-07:00

"Maybe [I'll] tinker with what I do preparation-wise in the bullpen. . . just to find a little bit better rhythm when I get out there in the first inning," said yesterday’s (and every fifth-day’s) loser, Mark Hendrickson.Tinker?! Tinker is what you do when you have a genome that cures cancer but can’t be shelf-stabilized. When .240 hitters are launching bombs off you, it’s no longer time to

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-5591770324266632912007-08-12T10:24:00.000-07:002007-08-12T10:25:44.178-07:00

I was sunned to hear Joe Girardi falling all over himself about LaGenius’s move to hit the pitcher eighth instead of ninth. If it’s so important to have runners on base in front of Pujols, then put your two best hitters in the 1-2 hole. Then, when the Cardinals did load the bases in the third inning, he acted like LaGenius was somehow responsible for Furcal making the error that allowed the

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-89184105948543918242007-08-11T10:48:00.000-07:002007-08-11T10:49:07.443-07:00

Yesterday’s game points out the stupidity of the rules about pitching wins. Brad Penny pitches seven innings of scoreless baseball, while Joe Beimel pitches one inning, and who gets the victory? Beimel, since he was in the game when the team took the lead for good. What’s worse, let’s say Beimel had given up the go-ahead run, or say Penny had left a 1-0 lead and Beimel let the Cardinals tie

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-72680044420058328752007-08-10T10:24:00.000-07:002007-08-10T10:25:46.136-07:00

Juan Pierre dropped to seventh, FINALLY. Too bad it took four months of sucking for anybody in the organization to realize he was killing rallies. And what does Pierre do in response? One for five with no walks.Now if only we could do the same for Furcal. He lost the game for the Dodgers several times before he won it. The season isn't a total loss yet, but unless they reel off another 15-game

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-81516305694836486152007-08-06T08:35:00.000-07:002007-08-06T08:37:40.598-07:00

Are the Dodgers prepared to go to their graves with the failed experiments of Juan Pierre and Rafael Furcal atop the lineup? It sure seems that way. At the beginning of the season, there was a question about which man was the better leadoff hitter. After all, both players seemed to be the prototypical top-of-the-order guys: rabbits without a lot of pop who could steal bases and create runs.

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-49482298591255491242007-08-03T13:20:00.001-07:002007-08-03T13:20:52.826-07:00

August 3, 2007You can’t blame last night’s loss on Grady. He’s not the one who left the bases loaded three times. He’s not the one who made the errors. He’s not the one who walked the leadoff hitter who eventually scored. And he’s not the one who gave up three runs in the first on 43 pitches. The players did that.Grady just puts the players he has on the field. The problem is what he has to

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-20461194228783092582007-07-10T09:15:00.000-07:002007-07-10T09:43:23.291-07:00

If I told you at the beginning of the season that the Dodgers would be in the playoffs despite getting nothing out of Jason Schmidt, mild production from Nomar, Kent, Furcal, and Pierre, and average seasons from Gonzalez and Ethier, and a rotating cast of characters at third base, you'd take it, right? Well, if the season ended today, the Dodgers would be in the playoffs. So I choose to look at

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1152724144710713972006-07-12T10:08:00.000-07:002006-07-12T10:09:04.726-07:00

From Yahoo sports:The World Series will begin the first Tuesday after the completion of the League Championship Series starting in 2007, possibly pushing the championship into the first week of November and setting up a schedule that sets games on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and, if necessary, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday.Great idea moving the World Series to Friday and Saturday nights,

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1148577062096715092006-05-25T10:09:00.000-07:002006-05-25T10:11:02.110-07:00

When the Yankees host Kansas City Friday, Derek Jeter will in all likelihood nail down his 2,000th hit. I don’t feel like figuring out how many guys have gotten to 2,00 faster, and doubtelss some geek on the Yes Netwok already has done the reserch, but suffice to say it’s amazingly fast. Here’s a look at the active leaders in total hits. Look how many fewer games Jeter has played than the rest

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1147458198944313332006-05-12T11:22:00.000-07:002006-05-12T11:29:18.440-07:00

Who says baseball is doing nothing about the fact that Barry Bonds is thumbing his nose at its most hallowed record. The conspiracy theorist sees an organization hard at work. Unwilling to punish, censure, or even reprimand Bonds for what everyone except die-hard Giants fans knows, baseball is working feverishly to ensure that Bonds’ place in the record books will soon be overshadowed. Witness

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1145385875508158022006-04-18T11:43:00.000-07:002006-05-12T12:47:39.020-07:00

Who in the organization has J.D. Drew been blackmailing to retain his spot in the middle of the order? Since his arrival in Los Angeles, Drew has consistently batted third or fourth, even though he’s never shown any aptitude at driving in runs. In seven full seasons (well, the closest thing to full seasons, since the injury-prone Drew never has played more than 145 games in one year), Drew has

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1130208815809974722005-10-24T19:52:00.000-07:002005-10-24T19:53:35.813-07:00

I swear this is the same thing I would have written even if I hadn't seen the results of game one and two.I want the White Sox to win. But I want Andy Pettitte to perform well and I want to see Roger Clemens let his teammates down again with a poor performance, cementing his reputation as overrated, despite the Cy Youngs (he so often comes up short in playoff games!) I was hoping the Astros

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1129235292862103402005-10-13T13:27:00.000-07:002005-10-13T13:28:12.866-07:00

Forget whether the ball touched the ground before Josh Paul caught it (it didn’t). Forget whether Paul should have tagged A.J. Pierzynski even though he caught he cleanly (he should have). Forget whether Doug Eddings blew the call and then was too proud to admit he made a mistake (yup on both counts).What’s all this crap about his “strike call mechanism?” Since when are umpires allowed to make

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1128537342585554632005-10-05T11:35:00.000-07:002005-10-05T11:35:42.590-07:00

Who is it that the left expects Bush to nominate for the Supreme Court? Lawrence Tribe? William Brennan? Bush won the right to appoint whoever he wants when he was re-elected in 2004. We're just seeing that chicken coming home to roost now. Even if the Democrats got their act together and stood united, filibustering down every nomination until Bush appointed a moderate—I know, wake up from

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1128463332767757812005-10-04T15:01:00.000-07:002005-10-04T15:02:12.773-07:00

Do I have to say it? The Dodgers fired the wrong guy. Paul DePodesta rolled into town, took a good nucleus of a team and fucked it up and they went to the playoffs anyway. Then he rid that team of all its charm, fun, and likeability and brought in a bunch of losers and malcontents, most of whom then got injured.Jim Tracy did what he could with this ragtag lineup, but in the end, the Dodgers

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1128376400626833212005-10-03T14:53:00.000-07:002005-10-03T14:53:20.633-07:00

Baseball doesn’t deserve the fantastic season that just ended. The owners have done just about everything they could think of to screw up the national pastime, and yet this amazing game has been not only resilient, but undaunted in its ability to provide thrilling moments at every turn. With one game left to play, four teams were still battling for two playoff spots—yes the wild card, I realize

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1127777800023669572005-09-26T16:36:00.000-07:002005-09-26T16:36:40.026-07:00

In the newspaper business, it is often joked that two occurrences makes a coincidence. For a trend story, you need three examples. That’s apparently the number of people the L.A. Times found for its article on hybrid car owners griping about the size of the stickers they must post on their cars in order to drive solo in car pool lanes. The Times then felt compelled to slam hybrid owners a

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1127426181329444102005-09-22T14:56:00.000-07:002005-09-22T14:56:21.336-07:00

Earlier this week, the L.A. Times had an article extolling the blessings of the wild card, citing the exciting pennant races in this year’s hunt for October. But is the wild card really responsible for the excitement? Hardly. Here’s the way things look in the current three-division format as of 3pm PDT on Sept. 22.The Yanks lead the Red Sox by half a game in the AL east, Chicago’s up by 2.5

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1127147899748400962005-09-19T09:37:00.000-07:002005-09-19T09:38:19.756-07:00

The votes aren’t all in, but the early polls are muddled. Fully half of the 10 people who’ve responded so far have vigorously supported the rule of law. The remaining half are divided among support for the junta and undecided. In a bizarre way, this probably reflects the American electorate in 2000 and 2004: half the country supported W and the other half was divided between those who held

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1126911853191815152005-09-16T16:02:00.000-07:002005-09-16T16:04:13.196-07:00

I’m asking this question not because I want to start an argument, but because I honestly don’t know how I feel about it. I’m hoping to start a sane conversation about a serious subject.Let’s say a group of high-ranking military officers loyal to Gen. Eric Shinseki (or some other brass hat who opposed the war in Iraq) decided they had seen just about enough of their troops dying in Iraq for no

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1126715062231255662005-09-14T09:21:00.000-07:002005-09-14T09:24:22.243-07:00

Now that the baseball season is largely over (and let’s face it, for the Dodgers it has been over for a long time, though they remain mathematically in contention), it’s soon enough to evaluate some of the moves the bonehead general manager Paul DePodesta made with this team over last year’s offseason.Let’s start with Adrian Beltre. Here’s a guy who played on a bum ankle all season last year and

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1126287986401397432005-09-09T10:46:00.000-07:002005-09-09T10:46:26.410-07:00

The Post Office is far too maligned for the job they do. The great majority of the time, they take packages across the country in a matter of days for a fraction of what it would cost to send it some other way. They’re reliable, convenient, and bring the mail right to your door, leaving it in your mailbox without a signature whether you’re home or not.But since TWA Flight 800 crashed into Long

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1126208322369415592005-09-08T12:38:00.000-07:002005-09-08T12:39:28.330-07:00

Whenever a team with talent fails to produce the expected amount of victories, the pundits usually blame that scapegoat chemistry. Something about the mix of players supposedly caused the whole to be less than the sum of its parts. When the New York Mets of the early 1990s finished last instead of first despite the addition of high-priced free agents like Bobby Bonilla, chemistry was cited as

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1126042921147109902005-09-06T14:40:00.000-07:002005-09-06T14:42:01.153-07:00

I had a terrific holiday weekend, in large part because of the things I was able to do for others. Saturday was the day the families moved into their houses at Habitat. The homeowner, Martin, had a barbecue for all the people who helped build his home. Friends, neighbors, cousins, etc. were all there. The house still has power tools all over the place; mismatched chairs and folding tables

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1125685782207342132005-09-02T11:29:00.000-07:002005-09-02T11:29:42.216-07:00

After a week of incompetence that sets a new low for the Bush administration, I’ve come to the conclusion that we must throw these guys out on the street, and we must do it now. I don’t mean in 2008. I don’t mean in 2006. I don’t mean in November of this year. I mean now. Today, tomorrow, Labor Day. We need to march on Washington and demand wholesale resignations. These guys said they

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1124901689118820462005-08-24T09:41:00.000-07:002005-08-24T09:59:59.820-07:00

The current issue of National Geographic is the first since 1959 to feature a cover with no picture. New editor in chief Chris Johns, a former photographer no less, decided that no single image could tell the entire story of Africa. So he punted. The cover features the word Africa in two-inch high letters, and the somewhat less-than-1000-word headline: Whatever you thought, think again.” “

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1123526216899435852005-08-08T11:36:00.000-07:002005-08-08T11:36:56.906-07:00

Today’s LA Times suggests that statistics devotees and other rotisserie players are disappointed that Hee Seop Choi hasn’t been in the lineup much of late. If you’ve been reading this page at all, you’ll know I’m far from upset. I’m all the way with Jim Tracy, who was said to be unhappy with the Seoul Man’s mediocre defense, ugly swing, and inability to drive in runners. Yes, Choi had two hits

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1122324208243302662005-07-25T13:43:00.000-07:002005-07-25T13:43:28.250-07:00

Here’s what the three-division plus wild card format is about to produce: a division champion with a sub-.500 record. The NL-West-leading Padres are 50-49, a game above .500, and the way they’ve been playing (losing their last seven), look to make it a 50-50 proposition on Tuesday, when they next play. They could even lose their next three games without relinquishing first place in the

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1122049512532426062005-07-22T09:25:00.000-07:002005-07-22T09:25:12.540-07:00

No, not because the Dodgers won two in a row (they only scored one run in yesterday’s game, so let’s not get too excited). No, woohoo, because somebody wants Jeff Weaver! The Orioles have indicated interest in the inconsistent towhead. I don’t know how well Spicoli will fare in Baltimore, but this is a golden opportunity for Los Angeles to get rid of a big contract. Perhaps the Orioles will

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1121709157942309042005-07-18T10:52:00.000-07:002005-07-18T10:52:37.946-07:00

It’s the dog days of summer, which means that relief umpires are covering major league games while the regular umps are on vacation.Vacation!? How do these guys get vacation? They work six months a year and they’ve been able to negotiate a vacation? They work three hours a day and they get vacation? I can just hear their arguments at the bargaining table.Waahh! We have to work six days a week

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1121378825318670222005-07-14T15:05:00.000-07:002005-07-14T15:09:57.086-07:00

Major League Baseball announced today that the Yankees and Red Sox would square off 162 times in the 2006 season, up from the 19 games the teams will play against each other this year. The league hopes to capitalize on the success of the 2005 matchups, in which the two teams faced each other on opening day and in the first series after the All-Star Break.“The TV ratings for Yankees-Red Sox games

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1121186378410737612005-07-12T09:39:00.000-07:002005-07-12T09:39:38.416-07:00

The Supreme Court’s puzzlingly odious decision on eminent domain allows governments to condemn private property in the name of the public good, and then turn that property over to private developers who can use the land to generate more tax revenue. While it’s not likely, on its face, the decision means that the government can seize your home and put a Starbucks on it.The concept of eminent

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1121094684968124412005-07-11T08:11:00.000-07:002005-07-11T08:11:24.973-07:00

As long as we’re letting the players choose the reserves for the All-Star games, why not remove even one more of the manager’s jobs: choosing the starting pitcher. The fans get to choose all other eight (or nine) starters, why not the starting pitcher?I know, I know—because you can’t ever tell which pitchers will be available up until game time. So what. A pitcher who goes to the game has to

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1121044922251087872005-07-10T18:21:00.000-07:002005-07-10T18:22:02.256-07:00

Johnny Damon and the usual gang of self-described idiots in the Boston Red Sox clubhouse are concerned that Curt Schilling doesn’t deserve to be the team’s closer, a role management has chosen for him in the wake of Keith Foulke’s knee injury. Damon worries that Schilling, who takes forever to warm up, will be an ineffective closer.Schilling, meanwhile, can’t return to the starting rotation at

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1120849704304224172005-07-08T12:07:00.000-07:002005-07-08T12:08:24.310-07:00

The All-Star Game is looking to be another borefest this year, with the National League coming up far short in its attempts to win its first game since 1996. To be sure, the senior circuit has better pitching, with Roger Clemens sporting an ERA under 2, and Dontrelle Willis at 2.04. But rest assured that if Clemens starts, Mike Piazza will again be telling the AL hitters what to expect, as

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1120493826307877672005-07-04T09:15:00.000-07:002005-07-04T09:17:06.313-07:00

There’s a reason for celebrating: The Dodgers have gained their independence (at least temporarily) from J.D. Drew. The light-hitting man taking up space in the Dodgers’ three-hole is fulfilling everyone’s expectations by landing himself on the disabled list again. The guy has never played more than 145 games in a season, and isn’t going to break that streak this year. Here again are two sets

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1120016177015391522005-06-28T20:35:00.000-07:002005-06-28T20:36:17.020-07:00

It’s being said that the Dodgers, if they have any hopes of staying in the race, need to get another bat.That’s easy to say from a computer terminal or behind a microphone, but let’s look a little closer. Exactly where will this “bat” play? The Dodgers have a solid middle infield in Kent and Izturis, and Antonio Perez has shown that he can handle the duties at third base. He’s also hitting

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1119921094748103692005-06-27T18:11:00.000-07:002005-06-27T18:12:11.173-07:00

When he’s not annoying us by beating a point into the ground, no matter how wrong he may be, Joe Morgan is boring the Sunday Night Baseball audience with some moronic banter. He’s truly execrable. Jon Miller is little better. He brings out the worst in Morgan, who was somewhat bearable a week ago with Gary Thorne when Miller was on vacation. The fault lies not with these two mediocre

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1119634669685953552005-06-24T10:37:00.000-07:002005-06-24T10:37:49.690-07:00

Trevor Hoffman is 38. What does that mean to Dodger fans? Aside from the fact that he won’t be closing them out in the ninth inning (yesterday’s game notwithstanding), it means that the Padres’ need to win a championship is even more urgent than the Dodgers’. Who knows how much longer Hoffman will be around to finish up for their starters. For the Padres, the future is now. And that means if

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1119571141489679342005-06-23T16:58:00.000-07:002005-06-23T16:59:01.493-07:00

Dodger fans, welcome to Milwaukee. With the loss of Eric Gagne for the season (And the first half of next year), it would seem as if the Dodgers’ playoff hopes have been vaporized. Yes, Yhency Brazoban can step into the closer’s shoes, but who can fill the role Brazoban was expected to perform, that of eighth-inning setup guy? The auditions so far have been unimpressive.The Dodger’s formula for

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1119297062257655572005-06-20T12:48:00.000-07:002005-06-20T12:51:02.266-07:00

As the Dodgers stumble back to the west coast, there are starting to be rumblings about whether they should give up on 2005 and start auctioning off parts and play for 2006. I’m of two minds.The first says why bother dismantling a team that plays in such a crappy division that a slightly better than .500 record might win it? Why not go get a frontline pitcher who could make the difference

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1118968521309937492005-06-16T17:34:00.000-07:002005-06-16T19:28:45.776-07:00

Two in a row to the Royals! Who does this Dodger team think they are, the Yankees? The Dodgers aren’t good enough to be as bad as the Yankees. But please, the Royals? They score three runs in two nights against Kansas City? My softball team could score more than three runs in 18 innings against the Royals.Anybody could see that Jose Lima had circled this date on his calendar a month ago.

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1118778445124800972005-06-14T12:47:00.000-07:002005-06-14T12:47:25.130-07:00

Here are some strange statistics from last weekend’s series against the Twins:The Dodgers last eight home runs have all been solo shots. The last dodger to hit a home run with men on base was Hee Seop Choi, whose first-inning homer came with one on. But those eight homers have also accounted for the Dodgers last eight runs. The last Dodger to drive in a run was Antonio Perez, who singled home

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1118160420872195362005-06-07T09:05:00.000-07:002005-06-07T09:07:00.876-07:00

Did anybody besides me think Darin Erstad’s open field tackle of Johnny Estrada was stupid? We can argue all day whether the hit was excessive. Estrada was blocking the front half of the plate, leaving Erstad plenty of room to slide across the back half of the plate without being tagged. But we’re all told that contact is part of the game, and it’s appropriate to bowl over the catcher if he’s

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1117815536968037342005-06-03T09:18:00.000-07:002005-06-03T09:18:56.973-07:00

Forget the fact that they were playing the lowly Brewers, a 4.72 team that is performing above expectations this year. Forget the fact that they again fell behind 3-0. Forget the fact that the pitching staff gave up two hits to Chad Moeller, who prior to last night’s game was 6-for-60. Forget the fact that the Brewers starter was not the same old Sheets. Big Ben has lost his last five starts,

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1117647339819588482005-06-01T10:35:00.000-07:002005-06-01T10:35:39.826-07:00

In yesterday’s L.A. Times, Bill Shaikin criticized Wilson Alvarez for only going five innings in his latest poor outing. A few paragraphs later, he lauded Greg Maddux for a strong performance in which he pitched all of six innings. That’s a difference of just one inning, yet one pitcher was excellent and the other was supposedly atrocious? The difference is that Alvarez gives up homer after

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1117558168792082182005-05-31T09:48:00.000-07:002005-05-31T09:49:28.796-07:00

I ventured into enemy territory over the weekend. . . and I was delighted. Not by the San Francisco Giants, who fumbled away a winnable game to the division-leading Padres. But by the stadium in which they play. Formerly called PacBell Park, it’s now known as SBC Park, as a result of a corporate merger of phone companies. But bby any name, the park is spectacular. It may be the best in

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1117231324901872522005-05-27T13:01:00.000-07:002005-05-27T15:02:04.906-07:00

If you need more evidence of why the rules for which pitcher gets the victory, look no further than last night’s Dodger game. Starter Brad Penny pitched a gem, holding San Francisco scoreless for seven innings before allowing a run in the eighth and giving way to the usually reliable Yhency Brazoban. The bullpen was due to blow a lead at some point, and last night was the first time in a long

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1117123828427350252005-05-26T09:09:00.000-07:002005-05-26T09:10:28.433-07:00

Yesterday’s Dodger game was too disgusting to write about. How do you give up 10 runs to the Giants, a little league team? And how do you not score more than two runs against Bret Tomko?Since I have nothing nice to say about the Dodgers, let’s talk about Derek Jeter instead. The catch he made in last night’s game against Detroit was simply amazing, not only reeling in a ball with his back 180

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1117041618015048412005-05-25T10:18:00.000-07:002005-05-26T12:04:08.230-07:00

Is there anything more tiresome in baseball than a pitching change? The team at bat gets into a flow, the game gets into a flow, and all of a sudden, some sexagenarian starts a slow walk from the dugout to “have a chat” with his pitcher. If I wanted to see an old man “have a chat” with a struggling youngster, I’d watch the Pax Network. This is baseball, not a Quaker Oats commercial.In the past

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1116949931749725172005-05-24T08:51:00.000-07:002005-05-24T20:53:00.770-07:00

The Dodgers had an off day yesterday. The team is 23-20, in third place. They begin a road trip against division opponents San Francisco and Arizona.Much has been written about how L.A. is such a tough place to drive. The traffic is truly horrendous. Some friends recently came out from New York, and though they had been warned, they were still amazed. “Every road is as bad as the Long Island

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1116863414577794612005-05-23T08:30:00.000-07:002005-05-23T08:50:14.583-07:00

Imagine if a wide receiver were permitted to wear a big pillowy jacket around his torso so he wouldn’t be afraid to get hit going across the middle. Imagine if basketball players were allowed to stop play any time they were too tired to run allthe way down the court on each play..There would be an outrage. You can’t change the game just because certain players aren’t ready to accept the risks

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1116595569936658092005-05-20T06:07:00.000-07:002005-05-23T08:29:55.310-07:00

INTERLEAGUE BASEBALL BRINGS A DIFFERENT STYLE OF PLAY TO AN AUDIENCE UNACCUSTOMED TO SEEING ITHoowwee Becky Jane. I sure do love me that newfangled brand o baseball they play over thar in the Merican league. They got this thing called the Dedicate Hitter. Why he don't even go out and play ball half the game. He just sits on a bench and chews his tobacco between innings."Why that sounds like

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1116516527020536582005-05-19T08:21:00.000-07:002005-05-20T06:27:45.020-07:00

Did I say the Dodgers were going to beat Dontrelle Willis? I confess I did.Does it mean they're out of their funk? Hardly. They were simpy due to win a game and he was due to lose one. The law of averages caught up with everybody Tuesday night.But by Wednesday, the world was set right on its axis. Jeff Weave pitched five good innings and Cesar Ituris got his customary two hits, but it al

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1116344444676605872005-05-17T08:39:00.000-07:002005-05-23T08:51:23.783-07:00

What happens when a good team playing badly runs into a better team playing worse? In the case of the Dodgers and Marlins, the answer is the better team wins. Florida used good pitching and timely hitting to ease to a 6-2 victory at Dodger Stadium last night.Despite going up against fifth starter Brian Moehler, Los Angeles was never in the game, falling behind 2-0 before they even came to the

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1116288186516521612005-05-16T17:02:00.000-07:002005-05-16T17:03:06.520-07:00

Now what? Scott Erickson, the Dodgers woeful fifth starter, pitched well enough to merit another audition for the role with his two-run, six-inning outing against the Braves yesterday. Uncharacteristically, it was the bullpen that blew the game. Then again, if the Dodgers had scored a run in the bottom half of the sixth, when they loaded the bases, Erickson might have gotten a win. By the way

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1116206868467206202005-05-15T18:27:00.000-07:002005-05-15T18:27:48.473-07:00

When Paul DePodesta traded away Paul LoDuca, the heart and soul of last year’s team, the GM said he knew that the Dodgers were a playoff team, but he worried that they wouldn’t be able to go very deep into the playoffs. Two months later, despite DePodesta’s best intentions, the Dodgers lost meekly to the St. Louis Cardinals, winning one of the four games only because Jose Lima threw the game of

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1116050196249329382005-05-14T10:56:00.000-07:002005-05-13T22:57:38.206-07:00

After the Braves and Dodgers traded grand slams in last night’s eighth inning, Vin Scully could barely contain his excitement. And why not. Grand slams by opposing teams in the same inning has only happened four times in the National Leagues since 1900, and you can bet none of those times was as thrilling or as high and low for both teams as last night’s histrionics. It’s a reminder why

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1116001512613597152005-05-13T09:24:00.000-07:002005-05-13T09:25:12.616-07:00

The Dodgers come home with their tails between their legs after getting smoked by the St. Louis Cardinals in three out of four games at Busch Stadium. The 2005 Dodger team bears little resemblance to the one that captured the NL West for the first time in a decade—Cesar Izturis and Milton Bradley are the only remaining everyday players; Odalis Perez and Jeff Weaver are the only holdover starting

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1115922278166469242005-05-12T11:23:00.000-07:002005-05-12T11:24:38.183-07:00

The Dodgers started Olmedo Saenz at third base yesterday, making him the fifth different player to start at the hot corner, and the third in three days (journeyman Mike Edwards and utilityman Oscar Robles handled the job the previous two days). Edwards gets the start today.When you have that many guys at one position, you really have none. Even Jose Valentin, who won the job out of spring

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1115827542029621222005-05-11T09:04:00.000-07:002005-05-11T09:05:42.033-07:00

The Dodgers showed me something yesterday. They showed me that they may be able to hang with the elite teams in baseball. The Cardinals, who humbled them in the playoffs last year, have the same record as the Dodgers, but going into this series, they seemed the stronger team. Their front four of Mark Mulder, Matt Morris, Jason Marquis, and Chris Carpenter appeared superior to the Dodgers’

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1115744281327612662005-05-10T09:55:00.000-07:002005-05-10T09:58:01.336-07:00

The Dodgers continued their winning ways yesterday with an impressive shutout of eight of the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mike Edwards and Jason Phillips both hustled out of the box to beat the relays on double play grounders and keep innings alive; the Dodgers capitalized by getting timely hits to drive in single runs in the fifth and eighth innings. Odalis Perez was masterful,

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1115654615484609152005-05-09T09:02:00.000-07:002005-05-09T09:03:35.500-07:00

The Dodgers had a pretty much perfect day yesterday. No, Jeff Weaver did not hold the woeful Cincinnati Reds hitless, or even scoreless. He didn’t go nine innings, and he wasn’t ever dominating. At times, you felt like the whole game could implode on him the way it did to Derek Lowe on Saturday.But the Dodgers did what they had to do. Weaver allowed home runs with the bases empty, and bore

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1115573406052657632005-05-08T10:29:00.000-07:002005-05-08T10:30:06.070-07:00

Remember the good old days, when players had nicknames that meant something? Ron Cey was known as the Penguin for the way he walked. Graig Nettles was Puff because his sparkling defensive play had him disappearing in a puff of smoke. Dick Tidrow was known as “Dirt” for his habit of diving in the dirt for balls during pre-game warm-ups. Today, there’s hardly a Babe, a Lefty, or a Sparky in the

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1115399535475640002005-05-06T10:11:00.000-07:002005-05-06T10:12:15.500-07:00

Shh! If you listen intently, you can hear the sound of thousands of frontrunners slinking off the Yankee bandwagon. Fans who couldn’t tell the difference between Charlie Hayes and Von Hayes, or who think Paul O’Neill was Secretary of the Treasury, are looking around for something else to do this summer beside take up the good seats at Yankee Stadium.And if you have really good ears, you can

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1115313664074043322005-05-05T10:20:00.000-07:002005-05-05T17:43:37.096-07:00

Get out your tinfoil hats, boys and girls. It’s time for Conspiracy Theory Hour.In today’s episode, a skinny boy named Barry becomes rich and famous by hitting singles and doubles and tracking down long fly balls hit to left field (not center, left). But Barry wants badly to hit those big homers his dad hit. Then one day, he meets a leprechaun who gives Barry a magic potion, called the cream,

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1115225647784199022005-05-04T09:49:00.000-07:002005-05-04T09:54:07.800-07:00

Dear spectator:I regret to inform you that you are not a member of _____________ (insert team name here). While we appreciate the fact that you bleed ___________(insert team nickname and color here, e.g. Dodger blue) and that you’ve named your two daughters ______________(insert first name of Hall of Fame player, e.g. Carlton) and __________(insert last name of aforementioned Hall of Famer, e.g.

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1115140643734285972005-05-03T10:16:00.000-07:002005-05-03T10:17:23.736-07:00

Scott Erickson is a 37 –year-old pitcher with a ERA over 6 who has not gone more than 6 in any of his starts all year. Last night, against a Montreal Expo team disguised as the Washington Nationals, he threw 6 scoreless innings of 6-hit ball. Lost in the shutout performance, however, was that Erickson pitched in and out of trouble all night, loading the bases once (before retiring the pitcher

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1115049202754414312005-05-02T08:52:00.000-07:002005-05-03T10:28:13.496-07:00

When Jayson Werth returns from the disabled list in the next few weeks, the Dodgers will have an interesting problem in Jason Repko. The kid who wasn’t supposed to make the club snagged the last flight out of Vero Beach and has played himself into the everyday lineup (well, given Jim Tracy’s penchant for working every player into the lineup at least once a week, it’s hard to call anything the

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1114811534207987422005-04-29T14:46:00.000-07:002005-04-29T14:52:14.206-07:00

It’s bordering on sacrilege to criticize the commentating by Dodgers announcer Vin Scully, but I can’t help cringing every time he mangles a foreign surname. Thank goodness Juan EnCARnacion has been traded away, so that Scully doesn’t have to put the emPHASis on the wrong sylLABle four times a game. On the Dodgers’ recent road trip through Colorado, we were introduced to pitchers Ryan Fuentes

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1114729075645209042005-04-28T15:57:00.000-07:002005-04-28T15:57:55.646-07:00

Which are the real Dodgers? The team that opened the season 12-2, that won games in dramatic fashion with late-inning comebacks and timely two-out hitting? Or the team that has lost six of the last seven, letting second-tier teams score early and often and then failing to mount the very same kind of late-inning comeback that made them everybody’s (including Sports Illustrated’s) early season

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1114636805323307482005-04-27T14:18:00.000-07:002005-04-27T14:20:05.326-07:00

It’s beyond me why the Dodgers persist in the Hee Seop Choi experiment. General Manager Paul De Podesta, who has made clear his love for on-base percentage statistics, saw Choi’s .350 OBP with the Cubs in 2003 and .388 OBP in the first half of 2004 with the Marlins and was blinded to the fact that the guy is still a .236 hitter (As of April 27). DePodesta couldn’t resist giving up team leader

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1114556368453416892005-04-26T15:58:00.000-07:002005-04-27T15:26:53.116-07:00

Before I even get started, let me say that I hold Jackie Robinson in the highest regard. Not just baseball players, not just athletes, but all Americans of all races and colors owe him a great debt. It is unfathomable to think that a modern day ballplayer would tolerate the outrageous slings and arrows that Robinson endured. Baseball recently fell all over itself to praise Gary Sheffield for

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1114454765254900722005-04-25T11:45:00.000-07:002005-04-27T15:28:09.210-07:00

In May, 2003, after saying he would “like to smack” Joumana Kidd, wife of New Jersey Nets guard Jason Kidd, Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan was suspended without pay for 30 days. "It was, of course, atrocious judgment on my part," Ryan said at the time.The month off rehabilitated Ryan’s image and his standing with his colleagues on ESPN’s The Sports Reporters, where he is once again a regular.

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5402200.post-1114117210751363842005-04-21T13:59:00.000-07:002005-05-02T09:04:57.226-07:00

There is a perverse joy in watching sports on Tivo.It’s not so much the ability to pause the live action on the screen when the phone rings, a virtue extolled by the product’s own advertising. Nor is it the ability to rewind, to hear something a commentator mumbled unintelligibly, or to see for the third or fourth time some amazing feat of athleticism—or even a wardrobe malfunction.No, the great

John Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10146022685763606409noreply@blogger.com0