Coming into Game 3 of the NLDS, young king Walker Buehler stood atop the wall. To everyone’s surprise, the young king had a great fall. All of Dave Roberts‘ bullpen horses and all of his men with bats could not put Game 3 together again. Which brought us to Game 4, and today’s hopeful southpaw savior, Rich Hill.
This time Roberts’ men came out swinging and scoring in the first inning. Max Muncy was driven in for the first run of the game on a Manny Machado double. Yesterday I griped Machado had no business batting fourth, but I saw the rationale to have him there today, as he’s batted .665 against the Atlanta starter, Foltynewicz.
Rich Hill did well enough for the first couple of innings, but the home plate umpire began squeezing Hill’s strike zone. Legitimate strikes were called balls. Letter high strikes weren’t strikes, and then Hill’s lower RH corner stopped being a strike. Braves batters were given “no swings” on half-swings. Hill was having his head twisted and his home plate taken away from him.
Hill escaped a threat in the third, but the floating strike zone took its toll, and he walked two in the fourth. They advanced to 2nd and 3rd on a sacrifice bunt. PH Suzuki got hold of a high and straight one, and he singled in two. The Braves went ahead 2-1.
Hill got squeezed again, not on every pitch – but enough – in the fifth. He was also betrayed by a double play ball that Machado muffed for an error to load the bases. That was the end of Hill. Ryan Madson replaced him, and got out of the jam safely.
Then it was the Dodgers’ turn. In the top of the sixth, with two out and runners on 2nd and 3rd, right after Joe Davis reminded us the man at the plate had the highest postseason BA of any active player, David Freese poked a single just out of the reach of Charlie Culberson and into CF, plating both runners and giving the Dodgers a 3-2 lead. Important note: Yasiel Puig stole second base (uncontested) right before Freese’s hit, which set up that go-ahead run.
Pedro Baez took care of things 1,2,3 in the bottom of the sixth.
In the top of the seventh, with two on and two out, Machado paid off the faith his manager had in him when he crushed a two-strike pitch all the way out for a monster three run HR that gave the Dodgers a 6-2 lead. Just to give a little something for his haters to hate, Machado admired his home run long enough to slowly blow a gum bubble, and then he began his trot.
Maeda kept the Braves quiet in the eighth, despite some high drama with a 2 out, 2 on, deep fly ball that eventually went foul.
Then the Dodgers placed the game atop Kenley Jansen’s shoulders.
Acuña – Grounder. 1 out
Albes: K. 2 out
Freeman: Full count. High fastball – swing and a miss!
STRIKE THREE!!
The tomahawk chant fell silent, and the Braves hung on the dugout rail, watching the Dave Roberts’ men celebrate their advancement to the NLCS.
8 more wins to go! Bring on the Brewers!
Oscar Martinez
I was born in the shadow of Dodger Stadium and immediately drenched in Dodger Blue. Chavez Ravine is my baseball cathedral, Vin Scully was the golden voice of summer all my life, and Tommy Lasorda remains the greatest Dodgers manager ever. My favorite things are coffee, beer, and the Dodgers beating the Giants. I also blog about my baseball card hobby at All Trade Bait, All the Time.
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This was a nice recap Oscar, with plenty of flavor!
Machado may rub some fans the wrong way, but he is no Reddickerson. Or dare I say Dozreddickerson (?!?).
Baez (dare I (gasp!) hope), looks good coming into fresh innings. I think Roberts and Honeycutt are back in top form running our leaking bullpen. Let’s get the Brewers!!!
Just when I think “The Smirk” has reached the end of his rope with me, he comes through and surprises me. I wish he was a bit more consistant.
Hill has been inconsistant, as well. Either he is really good, or horribly bad. Tonight he lasts ony 4.1 innings. Pressure mounted on the bullpen…. again.
Offense has double digit strikeouts. This has been a regular occurance. The RISP was OK, but the stat means nothing when you don’t get anybody on in scoring position. Dodgers still managed to leave 8 on the table. With 8 hits and 7 walks, you have to score more runs. David Freese is doing what we picked him up for. A boost off the bench.
These late inning rallies and nail biting 8th and 9th are killing me.
Teams from now on will be tougher, and the Dodgers will be the underdogs. What this amounts to is they have to play clean error-free baseball, and score runs early. Have plenty of insurance runs on hand for the bullpen.
One game at a time.
Milwaukee is another thing all together. The Brewers can mash and are good at driving in runners in scoring position. They have a great bullpen, but their starters are weak. Dodgers are going to have to be more efficient to beat those guys.
One thing I have noticed, from year to year to this year, is that we are steadily stealing more bases. To beat the Brewers, a favored team, I think we need not only to steal bases but to put some real plays on, like hit and run, run and hit, etc. We get enough walks, but are awful at RISP, so I would try to get the runner to third with one out if we can.
Your best work in a while, Oscar. A lot of people don’t like the straight recaps and beer videos. Especially heavily medicated mark Timmons. After his last surgery when the painkillers ran out and the haze slightly cleared, he remembered he was only a dodger fan because they paid him to be. By his own admission. Back to Oscars article, I applaud your reconnection with the long form article blog post. I think you will win over a lot more people with this format. The only reason you don’t get many comments is that you aren’t doing shockjock journalism like the other site. He will pick someone who is embattled (player manager executive) and give them his fake support to spur commenting. Its like the fake news of dodger blogs. The lowest form. I’ll read it for a dirty pleasure but come here for a real honest attempt at dodger bloggery.
Nothing like ad hominem attacks to create a stir.
Please no more.
That is an interesting take Mexivin , on blogging. I hadn’t thought of it that way but you’re right. Sports blogs are all about opinions, and one can debate and rant ad nauseum, but there are some that are honest and there are some that are not.
Anyways, looking at traffic and posts, you’ve got a few blogs out there with hundreds of posts every article, like TrueBlue. Those are blogs with permanent staff and paid organization. And I have no interest trying to win a battle of posts at the bottom of the totem pole. I just like the company here.
Back to the Dodgers – there is an interest article today on Sports Illustrated about the Dodgers approach. (Get walks and homers). It is an interesting read. Bluto I think you will like it. One interest stat – out of every inning that the Braves and the Dodgers played in this series, only in one half inning did either team manage to string together 3 hits. I don’t think that proves small ball sucks, far from it, but it’s an interesting stat nonetheless.
This article is better than the straight recap. I has a little pizazz and flair. That is what readers like me want.
I will try to post here more often to support the cause, unless Scott needs to make an example out of me to gain favor or appear to be policing his posters more. I do like to stir the pot, with a very big spoon. I hope you will take that into account because some of my posts can seem like attacks, when they are merely observation. (debate points can look identical to attacks, if you choose to make take them personally) A lot of people do not like the mirror pointed at them.
Hi Mexivin, hope you don’t mind me replying to your thoughts.
I’ve been here at LADR since the outset, and read here at least once, but often multiple times in a day.
I’ve read the self analysis by Scott and consequently by some of the Posters here over the last few days, and it got me wondering why I read here, but infrequently now Post, and why I read LADT with the same frequency but post there regularly?
I really like Scott, Oscar and James, they are obviously obsessed with the Dodgers, and seem like Stand Up Guys, and I often wish they got more traffic and conversations from their very well written articles. They deserve a bigger audience and response for their hard work.
So the question is why? The site is good, the hosts are likeable, and content is excellent.
I know Scott has some plans going forward, but I read about different writers offering different Dodger perspectives etc but personally I don’t think that is the problem.
There are a hardy bunch of excellent posters over here (I’m looking at you Michael). Your long post a week or so back, about growing up in various homes and your love affair with the Dodgers was the best thing I’ve read this year. I regret not acknowledging it at the time. It was humbling to read.
Yeuh always has a balanced take.
It was your post above Mex, that made me realise why I don’t post so much.
You make reference to your like of “stirring the pot”, and that your posts can seem like “attacks, and I think here is where the real problems lie, because you are not the only one.
I realise that people use Blogs for different reasons. Some people, Michael & Badger for example, have forgotten more about the Dodgers than I will ever know, and enjoy the discourse with fellow fans, and reminiscing about past battles, and players.
Others, like me, know a bit, not a lot, but love the Dodgers just the same, and just want to get involved.
I think it’s the thought of being undermined or embarrassed, or simply not wanting to get into some kind of on going spat with a fellow poster that turns me off.
I’m a big boy, have played years of team sports, and enjoy a bit of banter, but this is meant to be a bit of fun. I think sometimes it gets a bit personal over here. I read some of the stuff, and it turns me off. It’s like there’s a lot of point scoring and on going bickering.
Essentially, Mark & Scott are competing for the same audience, and although Mark likes to put things out there, nobody takes it too seriously, and just move on with it. So why is it Mark gets more traffic?
I think it’s a softer place, less abrasive perhaps. People have different takes, but no one gets too polarised by it.
Always Compete (AC) has been a breath of fresh air over there, and is the perfect antidote to Mark’s outbursts.
Over here less so,, things are certainly more abrasive, and possibly as the regular posters like MJ, Bobby, Artie and others have posted less, the atmosphere has become more terse, due to the lower numbers to engage with.
I get that people like to use a Blog for different ends, but it’s a shame to see this very good site with little traffic.
I think the fact that Badger is taking a break tells you a lot.
To me, if I were running a blog, he is your perfect participant. Knowledgeable, funny & fair, without being overbearing.
It says a lot when he is not involved in the conversation at this time of year.
I’m not sure I’ve articulated my point very well, and this isn’t meant as an attack on you personally Mex, but I think Scott wouldn’t mind my observations.
Scott, you are a good guy. I don’t think it’s the content here, it’s maybe the fact that your kind nature, and hands off approach has allowed things to get a bit unruly.
Maybe you, Oscar & James need to post and engage with the posters more, to kinda personalise things a bit?
There is no reason why both sites can’t work, although it’s a shame they have to
Be separate as there is much to like about both, and the posters, but I realise that there is a lot of history. (That doesn’t bother or concern me).
Finally, I will always remember that it was you that gave us a place to come when Mark packed it in a few years back, and thank you for it Scott.
Hope you don’t mind 2 cents worth.
Go Blue.
To Bluto: I will continue to post as I please. Scott is the gatekeeper, not you. Thanks for the advice, though. Next time the village is under attack, I’ll be sure not to bother you.
To Watford: No offense taken. I mentioned stirring the pot because having your opinion challenged is the only way to grow. We can’t do that maintaining the status quo. In my future baseball related posts, if you care to read, you will realize that I have a solid baseball take that I can back up.
Is self defense an “attack”? Honest question.
The “attacks” on Timmons are simply his own words. He is the one who posted that he contacted all MLB teams and asked them to woo him. He is the one who hurls insults this direction. He is the one who regularly blasts Scott in his articles. (name-calling etc…) He is the one who will talk endlessly about his surgeries and every other detail of his life. All I did was package it for maximum effect. (this list is not a new and separate “attack”, it is simply a summary of my previous “attacks.”)
He is the one who lists this website so far down his list of blog links (second to last) that it might as well not be there. While Scott has him listed second on his list of links. (this one is a new “attack”)
If what I said was untrue, Mr. Timmons will come on here and threaten legal action. (Like he has done before.) But that won’t happen, because I can dig up the exact posts I am referring to. No libel here.
I want to support Oscar’s new direction and fight off some of his haters, who post despicable things against him and this site. They deserve to have that behavior highlighted and Oscar and Scott deserve our support. Mr. Timmons is more than capable of defending himself, especially when he is the one who starts it.
In the future I will post about baseball related topics, but I do expect some more scathing observations to filter in. That is why I posted what I did. As a disclaimer so we all know what everyone is all about. I want to join in the conversation and post on this site. So if you are not ok with that, you are free to ignore my posts.
Mex,
You are just making shit up as have a few others. I have had one surgery in my life and took painkillers for a week. None since. 10 years ago. I don’t even take Advil.
So, that’s a lie.
“He is the one who posted that he contacted all MLB teams and asked them to woo him”.
Yes, when I was 9 years old, I wrote a letter to all 24 teams and asked for free stuff. That was 56 years ago. What does that have to do with anything? What is wrong with you?
I’ve called Bill Plaschke an idiot. Why don’t you tell him that? Here’s your opportunity!
“He is the one who lists this website so far down his list of blog links (second to last) that it might as well not be there.”
Scott’s Blog is closer to the top than the bottom of my mandatory reading list.
Another lie by you.
Your ignorant or stuipd remarks (I don’t know if you are one or the other… or both) do not rise to the level of slander, but you are capable… keep it up and I’ll take your trailer.
Finally, when Michael Norris first posted here, he called me out for something and I just gave it back to him. Michael started it and I responded. It was over for me at that point. Maybe he hasn’t forgotten, but I have. At least he does not hide behind a fake name! I respect that.
This was started by me? Another lie! I said that a video was a waste of bandwidth, but you come back and make it personal and lie about it to boot. You are a small little man who loves to hide behind his keyboard!
Finally, when an agrument is lost, the loser often resorts to slander. Mex is good at it! OD, TruBlue? I know who you are….
Mark. I have called Platsdkde out as well. I’ve called him a carpetbagger hack. In his defense he responded to my e-mail and was a good sport about it.
If you need to serve me for “slander”, my e-mail is listed. I am not anonymous. No one is. But it wouldn’t go anywhere. Especially since you confirmed every one of my points. And double especially since it would be not be slander, it would be libel or defamation. But since the posts were made on what you referred to a “ghost town” website, it would be hard to prove that your reputation was damaged since you yourself believe that not many would even read it.
I really am not trying to go after you on a personal level. Just draw you out and explain what you are doing to both of these websites is out of line. I used Bluto as a pawn to check you. I am willing to admit my insults were only means to an end. All is fair in love and war…and the internet….
You divided the community of both blogs through your actions. You seem to have won all the posters to your side already, so why bother putting this one down any further. Why devote entire posts to refuting this website’s posts. Why go after this site and its writers in the comments? Why the name-calling? Why the years long feuding with posters like Badger and others? What kind of community leader does this? You could have taken the other road and supported this site. But you made your decision. It MIGHT not be too late to change course.
Honestly, thanks Mex, everything you have said here is almost spot on accurate and I appreciate your support. The timeline and events you described have happened almost exactly as you described. I have a lot of respect for Mark considering he allowed me to write for him before LADR, and obviously his brand has been more established, 15 years compared to 3 years over here. Although I’ve been a writer since 2010. He also was instrumental in helping me get started over here. But I’m sad about the way things went down. I still hope that we can possibly join the two communities together somehow, but I don’t know if that is still possible. Anyways I have some big changes coming for this site that I think will be a positive step towards growth. BTW Check your email please.
BTW, take it easy with Bluto. He’s a great poster and very knowledgeable.
Hey Watford! Good to see a post from you. I talk to Badger by email quite a bit. And I totally understand why he took time off. And you are totally right. Sometimes it gets a but chippy and the attacks get a little too personal. I have been guilty of that and I do try to tone it down. Sometimes it is hard to do, but I understand one thing more than anything else. Nothing posted here is personal. It is the posters OPINION. Everyone has a right to that. Just like I have the right to disagree with that opinion. Some love saber metrics. I think all the stats generated by saber metric geeks just muddy the way players are evaluated. I am definitely old school, and just because someone, hello Bluto, might think I am not making valid points, that’s ok. But it does not mean I am wrong either. In my eyes, the points are valid. To someone who buys into the way baseball is being run today, they do not. That’s their choice, just as it is my choice to like baseball the way it was better than the way it is. Nope, I do not make the decisions on who plays and who does not, I get that too. But just because someone does not agree with my way of thinking does not mean it does not make sense. Maybe it doesn’t to them, but a lot of us older fans think the way I do. Badger, to his credit, is more receptive to the new form of evaluation and sees value where I see none. Never be worried about being embarrassed. When I am wrong, I openly admit it. But I will never think this kind of baseball is better than what I watched when I was young. Fans today will never know what it was like to see Koufax and Marichal pitch 9 innings against each other because first off, there are very few pitchers of that caliber in the majors now, and nobody goes 9 anymore. 6 is the new 9. I love the team because they have been my hometown team since I was a kid. I have lived many places and never changed my allegiance. Living here in Colorado now, I always have people telling me, well you live here, you should be a Rockies fan. Nope. My heroes wore blue. As for the site, yeah, maybe Scott should jump in there now and then, and he actually has a couple of times. As for the summary’s, I like a little pizazz now and then. I am usually watching the games so I know what happened. I like writers who can temper praise with criticism. Vin Scully was for most of my life, the voice of the Dodgers. I never heard Vin openly criticize a player. He would say that the guy was slumping, or having mechanical issues. Never, not once in all those years did he personally attack someone. Just not in Vin’s DNA. In that aspect, I think Scott is a lot like that toward his posters. He might really want to say something, but it is just not in his makeup. Me, I am a lot more blunt, but that has to do with life experiences, and my personality. Which is exactly why Timmons and I went off on each other so much when he was here. Total personality differences and a clash of the way we think things should be done. I let guys who like saber metrics and the front office do and say what they want. I probably will go to my grave not agreeing with them. You just cannot take an ol Bear and make him see things your way. And until they actually win a title, why should I? 30 years is a long time to wait for the team to fly one of those World Championship banners. And I have seen them do it 6 times in my lifetime. I am grateful for that because just think of poor Cub fans my age who have seen them in just 1 World Series period. You are a true fan, and so is everyone who posts here. I do not agree with all of them all the time, that would be world shattering, but sometimes I do. They all make valid points, and maybe I should consider some of the saber metric geek talk, but, sorry, that’s just not in my DNA. The game today is about MONEY. For me the game was about love of the game. It is the reason I do not watch football, nor basketball, or hockey. I do not love those games. I like them, but not enough to get totally involved. I loved playing baseball and putting that jersey on and I always, no matter what kind of league I played in, played to win. Anything less went against my character. I think one reason it might get so chippy is because, none of us really knows the person on the other side of the post. I have never met any of these people. As a matter of fact, of all the places I have posted, I have only met one of those people in person. A guy named Tom who used to post on DodgerBlue. He used to live close to where my sister lives in LA and we got together for coffee one day when I was out there. Nice guy, and a real fan. I don’t know Bluto, MJ or anyone else on here. Wish I did. But that’s cool. Most are pretty passionate fans. The knowledge I have of team history is because I really enjoy knowing those things. It is like when I was an avid collector of baseball cards. I knew the stats on the back because I read every card over and over. I know American History because I loved studying it. So, that’s where that knowledge comes from. I am not a huge fan of the all or nothing swings these guys take today. When I played, my main goal when I hit a ball was hitting it on a line. Line drives meant hits to me, and striking out was not something I ever wanted to do. Todays players do not feel the stigma attached to that I did. Well I have been long winded enough. Good to see you back…….Thanks for the compliment about my post from last week.
Thanks Watford,
Love hearing from you, and wish you would come by here more often. I do have to disagree with you on one part. This place is rarely if ever terse. To be honest ever since Mark stole all of the other posters back to his site, There’s maybe about 7 or 8 regular posters left over here and all of them are pretty reasonable people. The problem is that some of the posters on the other site have spread exaggerations about these boards that this is a place where people are personally attacked, or mocked, or something. Which couldn’t be further from the truth. There’s also other exaggerations that this is a negative place, or a place where people complain and or whine. Again this is false. Honestly, this place is neutral. It’s neither positive or negative. There’s complaining over at the other site too. For some reason when they complain over there it’s supposedly “justified”, but god forbid anyone over here complains, or writes a post saying they don’t like some of the decisions that Roberts has made, or a move the front office did then we’re instantly labled as “complainers”, or being too “negative”. This isn’t 100% Mark’s fault mind you, but it’s not like he’s done anything to defend this place or me. He’s gone along with it, because it’s helped him get all of his posters back over there and increases his page views.
I agree with you that I’ve been far too nice. There was a time when there were a couple of troublemakers over here, but those guys are long gone. We know who they were. There’s no politics discussed here anymore and most days it’s pretty peaceful over here. Are there some arguments occasionally? Sure, there’s going to be disagreements on any board, or web site. I don’t think it’s gotten out of hand since those aforementioned troublemakers left about a year ago.
The real question we should ask is why Mark re-launched his blog in the first place? After announcing he was retiring and then being inactive for a year. I can only speculate it was purely out of spite. Spite for the 2 or 3 posters that he’s had long standing fueds with. Unfortunately this site has gotten caught in the crossfire as those fueds spilled over here. That’s really been the only “drama” that’s happened over here. I agree also that I don’t understand why both sites can’t work and we all can’t join the two communities together and support each other. We’re all Dodger fans here. If certain people would put egos aside, I think this could be accomplished.
Anyways, changes are coming in November. You’re going to see a brand new LADR once all the details are worked out. Hopefully it will be after the parade when the Dodgers win the World Series.
Cheers for the reply Scott, and you Micheal.
Keep up the good work guys.
Let’s hope this is the year
Um, that’s total bull.
What point of this line was an observation and not an attack:
“Especially heavily medicated mark Timmons. After his last surgery when the painkillers ran out and the haze slightly cleared, ”
Stop with the stupid insults and you’ll be welcome here.
Once again you are not the gatekeeper. That comment was not directed to you. It was to the one who refers to the writers here as “maorons””idiozz” etc…. Did Mark Timmons not post about all his surgeries and issues with painkillers? He recently mentioned that he was into CBD’s (totally legal and OK) as an alternative to painkillers. See. Observation. Of what he posted himself. He is the one attacking this site. He has directly made fun of Oscar’s beer videos and Scott’s game recaps. I was postulating a theory about why Mark Timmons might not like this type of article.
I’m sorry that my comment was so effective in calling out your daddy.
You comment was best effective as showing you have no clue between the difference in postulating a theory and slinging accusations.
Moronic, I’d say.
We name calling now? You are just like your daddy. How about bluto the put… Oh, it’s Your move. Go and get your walker if you need to…I’ll wait. ?
Try reading. I’m not calling you names, just your post.
As to the rest of the post, it’s gibberish to me…
Daddy? Walker? Move?
I think I’m done with you. You don’t even get my jokes. Please forget I’m even here. I’ve already written you off completely. Like Pluto is no longer a planet, bluto is just his daddy’s son. Is that too cryptic for you?
Mark. Your defense is to admit all of it is true and call me a liar? Good stuff.
There is only one blog listed under Scott’s. The rest are MLBtraderumors, Cots etc… It seems pretty low to me. Kind of disrespectful considering your relationship. Especially since he lists yours second on his.
I would be more accepting of your insults if they were contained to the comment section instead of part of your articles. (sometimes the first line of some of your posts) That is a fair point, is it not.
I really am not that interested in you. I just find it strange how you went about things. Announced you were done blogging. Got Scott set up to replace you. Then came back and swiped all the posters you gave to him. Then insult and marginalize him after. Seems to be a bit much. Scott is a nice guy and it seems you have kind of bullied him into this position and then you mock him and call his site a “ghost town”. It is that way because you took all his posters. Please think about this point.
In the spirit of fairness, I will try to remain constructive and refrain from pot shots. I hope you do the same.
The depth and discipline one? If so, it was a good read. I like Verducci.
I don’t find this type of baseball much fun to work, but I do understand why it’s being played and why it’s statistically beneficial.
Can you imagine what an average fan thinks when they watch this team. Must be a shock to the system to see this philosophy played out. I support this team warts and all. It is not changing soon. NBA and NFL have made pushes for more offense. I see this home-run happy style as mirroring the NBA style of shooting a bunch of three-pointers to generate more offense. Also to the NFL protecting the QB with heavy penalties for roughing the passer.
Could not agree more. Far more fans do not care about all the stats one can dig up. What they care about, and what we all should care about is performance on the field. That’s why I understand Package being so upset about Kemp getting fewer and fewer opportunity’s as the season dragged on. Although I do not think it was because of disrespect on Roberts part, I believe more that it was because of Roberts and the FO’s total reliance on saber metrics and adhering to that. And oh yeah. Timmons is an insufferable ass.
Bear
You definitely got it right. I pay no mind to sabermetrics as I, like you learned to old school way. Avg. RBIs, slugging ect ect. are how I measure a player. Matt Kemp is being held down from really having a chance to excel and it is wrong in my view. I hope you never quit with your opinions and viewpoints. Although we do not always agree totally, we always have parts we can agree on. Also please do not stop with your long posts about the old days as it makes me happy to hear of those memories of seasons gone by. I remember almost all that you speak of. I don’t give a crap what those other guys say. Actually, I am most upset because most of them do not know what we witnessed and the way baseball was played. It was much more fun, interesting and enjoyable than it is today. Yes the dodgers are winning and and it is great but it is ugly. It is like they think their way is better but have no proof but they choose not to even consider your viewpoint. Sad.
Thank you for the kind words Pack, I really appreciate it. Yeah, I will always believe the game I grew up watching was a lot better than it is now. Most of these guys never saw Willie Mays or Stan Musial, Hank Aaron or Eddie Mathews. I remember Bob Gibson pitching against the Dodgers and just watching him warm up was awesome. Sitting in the LF pavilion at Dodger Stadium before the game started and listening to the sound of the ball hitting the mitt as Sandy warmed up. I have sat there lots of times and no ones warm-up’s sounded quite like Sandy’s. The saber guys like to think that the stats they use are the defining way to evaluate how good a player is. Okay, I get it that they want to make themselves feel like the last word, but, Bluto said that Joc has a higher WAR than Matt Kemp. How can a player hitting close to 30 points lower in batting average, have less RBI’s and only be ahead in HR’s have a higher WAR? To me, that makes no sense at all. Matt had a slump after the all star game, but Joc has for most of the season hovered around .250 while Matt flirted with .300 for the longest time. To me the way they figure that out just makes no sense. It is not like Joc’s defense is that much better than Matt has been this year either. Kemp hit .290….Pederson .248, Kemp had 21 HR’s, Pederson 25. Kemp had 85 RBI’s a OBP of .338 and a .818 OPS. Pederson had 56 RBI’s, OBP of .321 and a OPS of .843. Pederson did have 55 extra base hits to Matt’s 46, but Kemp had 36 more hits than Joc. Their fielding stats are nearly identical. Matt made 2 errors and Joc 1. Pederson had 6 outfield assists and Matt 5. Pederson had 125 total chances and Matt had 170. There is just no reason that Pederson’s WAR should be higher. Well career WAR, it is no contest. Matt at 22.2…….Pederson 7.5
Your jokes are as inane as your comprehension of theories.
Of course I’m my father’s son.
What kind of idiotic post was that???!?!?
Your daddy = mark Timmons. Can we stop now? Let’s just agree that your daddy can defend himself and we can both move on. We don’t want this ghost town to be short a few shades.
My relationship with Timmons equates to posting on a board he also posts on. Does that imply a familial one?
Oh. Wait, is this another of your theories? About as ill formed as the heavily medicated one.
You are off to a hot start on this board. Making stuff up about two people and claiming your posts are all on the level.
Can’t wait to see what comes next.
Are you really this thick, or are your pulling my leg? Move on. Your daddy can dish it out. So he can take it. He doesn’t need you to white knight for him.
Mark attacks this place without any provocation. When you do that you open yourself up to retaliation. People being attacked have the right to fight back in self defense. It is a fundamental right. The aggressor is your daddy, plain and simple. No one provoked him into attacking this site. Your support of him only makes you an accessory to his behavior.
Are you willing to condemn his statements? That this website is “a waste of bandwith” and Scott and Oscar are marones and idiones? Doesn’t he say himself to disagree without being disagreeable? Is it wrong to hold him to that declaration? If you are so classy, are you willing to eloquently and respectfully call out his behavior. To be better than I, who is willing to go low so that the more gentle souls who inhabit this “ghost town” are not bullied and victimized, called names and mocked.
I didn’t think so.
I dunno Mexivin,
I come to this board for intelligent comments and discourse. I hope you do the same, but I don’t think so. You seem more interested in ad hominem attacks and literal non-truths.
What Timmons says about it is totally irrelevant and not worth discussing, but you don’t share that sentiment.
That you have gone furthert and made it your calling card, is er, um, telling.
I still don’t know why you imply he’s related to me. It’s so ridiculous it’s incredible and to the greater question of what you are doing on this blog even more telling.
One thing I will say for you Bluto. You are consistent. You believe a certain way and you stick to your guns……no matter how many times you are totally wrong….LOL……..
Correct, I am wrong a lot!
Keeps me humble.
Same here. Mark was wrong about one thing, I did not call him out per se. I went off about Grandal and the pitch framing thing and that’s what got it all started, and it lasted a while, there was name calling and stuff like that. But I just let it go and so did he. It got way to personal and it was both our faults. I do not know the man, and in reality I do not want to. But that’s just me.
Puig predicts a Dodger sweep and a world series victory…he is more convinced than I am. Freese rips the Pirates. I do not blame him, he thought he would be spinning his wheels and riding out the season with the Bucs.
Puig predicts big wins before every game and series. He’s got so much of himself and his emotions invested into his game. It’s very refreshing and harmless when people just know that he’s having fun and realize he’s just way way too invested into the game emotionally. It’s when people take it the wrong way and too seriously.
He reminds me of a tamer version of Dennis Rodman. All world talent that was as goofy and good nature’s as they come, but just wild and then after he retired he just went off the rails because he didn’t know where to put all that passion after basketball.
They also reported that alcohol was probably involved. I like Puig. He is a breath of fresh air and wears his emotions on his sleeve. I am usually that way too.
I am officially declaring victory over Mark Timmons in this debate. He has proven that he cannot / will not respond to any of my claims. He is currently hiding from me and is too scared to bring any attention to the points I raised, or even say my name. Since he has slinked away to his website and shut himself off from everything, this battlefield is mine alone. Here is my flag firmly planted and waving victoriously in the wind. Thank you for proving everything I said about you. I’d also like to thank all the people who helped me in this lopsided rout. Luckily not many resources were necessary for this easy lay up of a victory.
I am awaiting “slander” charges to be filed in the Indiana backwoods. After the judge stops laughing that someone actually thinks blog posts are slander, he will throw it out. Next I will purchase a Brita water filter and toast to my victory.
LOLZ!
Hey Mex, the question is should I let him defend himself? Or ban him as he did to me over at his site? Looks like he won’t be chasing waterfalls anytime soon.
Boy, you sure showed me, didn’t you?
You are just amazing!
Tell me, are you always so stupid or is today a special occasion?
Have at it. I obviously CONTROL you because you can’t stop talking about me.
Mark,
Your bullying and petty intimidation tactics will not work over here. Perhaps I should ban you as you did to me over at your site? Too bad some of the newer posters are unaware of the truth and history of your legal threats and insults.
Don’t be a hypocrite though. I’m allowing you to post over here for now, giving you the basic right to defend yourself, something you denied to me.
Perhaps you should take a look at the way you interact with people and try to act like an adult instead of these childish tirades you go on anytime someone chides your behavior.
I applaud Mex for speaking the truth and standing up to you. It’s not too late for you to start a new leaf and stop acting like an out of control egomaniac.
I would be happy if you just left this website’s articles out of your posts. Please just enjoy your thousands of daily views without gutter sniping at this website. Enjoy your display of superiority with your poster call-out, as a not so subtle dig a Scott’s lack of posters… you know the ones you took from him. Next time you should just tell all of them how tall you are for the ten thousandth time, it would save you a lot of time in your ego-stroking exercise. I would never talk about you if you didn’t continue to kick this site when it was down. Keep that in mind going forward, it would serve you much more.
You may call me stupid, but you are unwilling to address the valid claims I have laid out for you. All it takes is some schoolyard insults to get you to come here and attempt to throw your weight around. It really amuses me that you are so easy to manipulate. I would feel bad for taking advantage of such simplicity, but I feel like you are the true aggressor here. Both Scott and I, using much different methods, have asked you for you to cease your continued attacks on this site, its writers and posters. Yet you persist.
If you have not noticed I am starting with the petty throwaway insults, then hit you with my real thoughts. It is a simple strategy that you do not seem able to grasp. You are really out of your league with me, and I would suggest you order a full retreat. You seem to be stuck in my trap like quicksand. The more you insult me and snipe from the safety of you website, the more obvious it becomes that you cannot address my real points about your actions towards Scott over the years.
Ending you campaign is my real aim, since you need it spelled out for you. Play nice with Scott. Or the yard monitor is gonna grab you by ear and drag you to the principal’s office. Is this clear enough for you? I know you have no intention of addressing your actions or apologizing to Scott. So I am warning you that when you attack this website or the people here, I WILL be here to help you make yourself look foolish. I will barely even break a sweat doing so.
Now go and enjoy you poster shout-out/raw display of ego, with the knowledge that someone with light years more guile (MExivin) and someone with much more class (Scott) see right through you.
Good day. Go Dodgers. (Your Dodgers loyalty gift basket to you is shipping Fedex ground. The tracking number is: 12345GETBENT)
Thank you again Mex. Once again you have shown your keen intellect and courageous nature in these dealings. You have laid out everything and all events exactly as they have transpired. Unfortunately Mark will never apologize or realize The consequences of his behavior. He’ll simply puff out his chest and keep trying to inflate his huge ego, all while trying to make others look bad. Asking him to do anything else would be like asking a cow to give you eggs, or a cat to bark. It would involve some kind of regarding Henry moment from him with his interactions with other people on the internet.
I could have easily banned him from this place much like the way he did to me on his site, robbing me of the opportunity to defend myself, despite the fact that I defended myself in a courteous manner. For the time being I will allow him to continue defending himself over here, largely so that Mex and myself can quickly and efficiently put him in his place.
I agree that you were banned for a very polite and courteous post on his website. (by editing out all the pot-shots from my comments to deliver them in a more respectful tone) You even took the high road when his minions attacked you.
He could have apologized, shook your hand and moved on. Instead he took the other road. It’s funny how we teach young children to have basic conflict resolution skills, but he just can’t get there.
That’s correct Mex. He just can’t do it. it’s not in his nature to be respectful, or act in an adult manner. That’s because his personality is akin to a 12-year old, and his ego is as big as Dodger Stadium. His strategy has been pretty clever. Subtly dig and insult this site while some of his posters help spread that false information. quotes like “This is a site where things are civil here! We don’t stand or put up with personal attacks!”. Some of his posters will then chime in and agree with him saying things like “Yeah, that other site was so negaitve!, I couldn’t handle all of the complaining over there”. Then Mark would replay by agreeing and saying something like “That’s why I left!, I just couldn’t take it anymore. Thank god we don’t allow that stuff over here. This is a place where people are happy to be Dodger fans, and all that drama is not allowed over here!”… His posters respond with something like…”YAYYYY Mark! “, or “You tell em Mark!, thank you so much for this”. When that happens Mark’s ego inflates larger than a 747, flying high into the sky and filling his heart with pride.
Of course little do those people know that it was Mark himself who chased more than half the people off this board with his insults, intimidation tactics, and threats of litigation. Then re-launched his site via spite, following the above mentioned tactics to get all of his posters back, thereby making this site essentially a “ghosttown”. Then he continues to insult me and my writers.
I’m happy for Mark, actually. Because if everyone knew the truth about how immature and shady he is, they would cease posting over there and he would lose all of his posters, and his site would become the ghostown. If that happened he might have a nervous breakdown as his enormous ego simply can’t handle that. I hope everyone here and over there enjoy the first game of the NLCS.
Scott,
You have laid with the pigs so long, you smell like one. You don’t have to ban me, but you can. I am actually incredulous that you are devoid of understanding. I know Mexivan has none, but then I know who he is. I thought you were better than that. Guess not!
The only stench Mark, comes from your megalomania and inflated ego. I challenge you to admit the truth (unban me from your site, so all the posters can make their own judgements), apologize and try and redeem yourself. I would accept and think better of you. Can you do that? Or will you continue to insult, hold grudges for your own transgressions and act like a child? Only time will tell.
Stupid / ignorant / devoid of understanding / liar / slanderer / pig / little man (this is only from 3-4 posts)
Stupid little man-pig liar.
That is what your argument boils down to. I wish that moved the needle on hurting my feelings, because your effort is downright embarrassing. There is nothing else there, content wise. Especially nothing to justify the timeline of events of your actions towards Scott.
Please try harder. Or just knock off your attacks on Scott. Your choice.