Edgy MD

More on the James Loney saga. Usually good for 161 games a year, Loney was sat down by Don Mattingly against Cub starter James Russell. Why? The guy is hitting a robust .125 against lefties this year, but Mattingly is denying a platoon is about to start. Don't be the guy he wakes up on, Jon Niese. Position-uncommmited hitting prospect Gerry Sands (who is not a Northern Irish dissident) is threatening to take his milkshake. He's sick of talking about hitting. There's this chapter in the story of Lou Gehrig, where he was congratulated by his teammates for making a play he knew in his heart was absolutely routine. It broke his heart that they were being so encouraging to him over an everyday play, because nobody was able to tell him in any more direct way that he was playing poorly and they were carrying him. He ended his consecutive games streak the next day. Here, fellow Dodger infielders heartily congratulate Loney for catching a ball thrown to him. Devastating. He gets a $1 fine from Don Mattingly for every fly he hits to left, and gets a $1 bonus for every liner he hits to left. It's hard enough for a loopy-swinging lefthanded firstbaseman not named Don Mattingly to go the other way at all, without getting obbsessive over the arc of the ball. Ease up, Donnie Baseball. (I'm wondering if Mattingly may be the problem, as he may be trying to remake his protege on the Mattingly model when he probably came out of the factory built to Carlos Delgado specs, or something.)

It looked like they were hitting gold with Ethier, Kemp, Loney, and Martin at the same time (and about the same age), but I guess it stands to reason that two of them would fall away. I thought of Blake DeWitt as part of that young core also, but the they dumped him last year (along with some prospects) for Lilly and Ryan Theriot (another early peaker).

Re: Gwynn... As time wears on, I'm more and more of the mindset that parents should probably stay away from the Jr. naming altogether. Isn't it tempting enough to overly-identify as a parent without your kid having the same name as you? He'd be better off going by "Anthony," and maybe playing up the Zorba connection. Can you imgagine how doomed to disappointment the likes of Jackie Robinson, Jr. and Martin Luther King, III were? Frank Sinatra, Jr.? Doomed. Alan Hale, Jr. did OK, though. No offense if anybody here is a Senior or a Junior, but I've always thought naming somebody exactly after the father and then slapping the Jr. on was the most egotistical thing in the world. Well, I hear you, and certainly it's an offense to Jewish tradition (I'm looking at you, Michael Landon), but my experience is that it's usually the mother's initiative.

Re: Gwynn... As time wears on, I'm more and more of the mindset that parents should probably stay away from the Jr. naming altogether. Isn't it tempting enough to overly-identify as a parent without your kid having the same name as you? He'd be better off going by "Anthony," and maybe playing up the Zorba connection. Can you imgagine how ddomed to disappointment the likes of Jackie Robinson, Jr. and Martin Luther King, III were? Frank Sinatra, Jr.? Doomed. Alan Hale, Jr. did OK, though.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Kuroda is a right-handed Korean control pitcher with a team-best 3.10 ERA. Japan, man. John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: ... and righty Chad Billingsley who will shoot your eye out. That's reaching back for something extra. Well-played.

Here's to him not leading the league in sacrifice bunts.

I like Hans --- how the name adds to the fairytaleness of it all.

Hans?

Giants ranked by how much they sound like they played in 1915. 10. Brian Wilson 9. Mike Fontenot 8. Dan Runzler 7. Pat Burrell 6. Darren Ford 5. Nate Schierholtz 4. Buster Posey 3. Madison Bumgarner 2. Emmanuel Burriss 1. Eli Whiteside

You're all worthless and weak.

Flurb.

He can dekk my den anytime.

Read, guys.

Busted cherries beat busted noses every time. Heal soon, Spitter.

Washington, where "the Nat's" Desmond & Espinsoa are the "Double Score Duo."

It took a while to realize it, but it would seemingly have a prescient point to make in post 9/11 America, in that everything is under surveillance, and nobody knows what's going on.

Vance Lingle Mungo.

How can he still be this hot?

I realize Luis Castillo didn't thrill them, but understanding Wilson Valdez's dim hint at offensive ability last season as something to bank on rather than the ephemeral gift it was seems like a mistake. I say that knowing he'll get about 11 hits off of us this weekend.

Sean Connery plays Duke Anderson, a master thief just out of jail and unrepentently right back in action, finding himself in a new world of electronic surveillance and the accompanying buzzes and beeps of new electronic technologies, which director Sidney Lumet and composer Qunicy Jones underscore for reasons that I suspect, but aren't exactly clear to me. This was tentatively recommended by Vic Sage in the Lumet thread, but I'm still chewing on it.

I predict he'll get called up before his bat is ready, in order to take advantage of his ballhawking abilitites.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: [youtube]EWbpyv638Bg[/youtube] Pele-esque.

I don't think that would be priority one. I get his thinking, but... proportion is needed.

Omir Santos back in the bigs with the Tiggs (where all our former backup catchers seem to end up). Can't claim I ever thought he'd get back.

We could sure use that defense. Excellent parenting here. A model.