Andruw Jones on the Dodgers.
209 AB
3 HR
14 RBI
.158 AVG
Andruw Jones on the Yankees
50 AB
4 HR
7 RBI
.240
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Indy 505G: Race Day 1
Here's the official field, with score as of 11:30am PT:
- Josh S (35 pts)
- rbnlaw (0)
- Spank (30)
- Steve K (25)
- Paul (35)
- Dusto Magnifico (5)
- Lonely Fan (20)
- Jason (20)
- Dusty B (35)
- Karina (15)
- MLASC (5)
- Mr F (25)
Please verify above scores so far.
And here again are the rules. Start your engines!
PS While you're waiting for the next half-hour segment, you can work on the puzzle below ↓
Off-Day Puzzle #3: PCS Season 4 Bags A Sponsor
Running SoSG is a pretty lucrative gig, and since we've been at it for well over four years now, incremental opportunities for sponsors are pretty limited. Imagine my glee, then, to have been approached by the footwear and apparel brand And1, who has agreed to sponsor this puzzle, PCS Season 4 Puzzle 3, for a princely fee (as if we could afford any richer of a lifestyle, right?)!
We're excited to have And1 on board as a sponsor--and think that they will fit perfectly with this puzzle.
Plus, as an added bonus, those who have submitted correct answers will be entered into a contest for a 2011 Dodgers magnet schedule, shipped at our expense (to any US address), so you can mark off the mounting Dodgers losses on your own refrigerator!
And away we go:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Puzzle Rules: The solution to the puzzle is a Dodger player.
Comment freely in the thread, but if you have the solution, please don't give it away to everyone in the comments section. Instead, do the following:
- Email us the solution (first and last name), along with your reasoning. Submitted answers without the reasoning, or those submitted with the incorrect reasoning, will count for participation only, even if the answer itself is correct;
- Please include your screen name somewhere in the email; and,
- Post a comment simply saying you have emailed your solution attempt. We may not be able to reply to your original email promptly, so please be patient and check back on the comment thread for the latest news; we may confirm correct answers there.
You have until midnight PT tonight--and possibly midnight PT on Friday May 27 (pending appeal to the PCS Gods) to submit your answer. Answer will be posted a 7a on May 29. Depending on how generous I feel (and how busy today gets at work), we may post hints during the day. Good luck!
Not familiar with SoSG's off-day puzzle competition? Read up here. And join the mayhem!
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HINT #1 (10:43a): The second picture in collage #3 is WHACKERS (admittedly, this was one of the more difficult ones to ID, the others should be easier).
HINT #2 (1:20p): The fourth picture in collage #2 is PATIOS.
HINT #3 (1:45p): Okay, I'm realizing how people need a bit of boost on the words, the crux of the puzzle. Here are the word lengths:
- Collage #1: 5, 7, 6, 7, 5, 4, 5
- Collage #2: 6, 5, 8, 6, 7, 7
- Collage #3: 5, 8, 6, 5, 7, 6, 7, 5
You do NOT need to identify all the words to be able to solve the puzzle.
HINT #4 (4:59p): Those of you who are staring at your word lists should probably stare at Collage #3. There are a lot of Dodgers swimming around the lists, but no current Dodger in Collages #1, and only one current Dodger in Collage #2.
HINT #5 (6:45p): Current Dodgers (2011 players) in Collage #3 are represented by pictures 2, 3, 6, and 7. The current Dodger in Collage #2 is represented in picture 5. And the player represented by picture 2--whose word you already know from an earlier hint--is one of the six 2011 bobbleheads.
HINT #6 (10:10p): Wow, I had no idea this one was going to be this difficult. Complicating the effort is the fact that I screwed up hints #4 and #5 (now edited). I'm an idiot.
Tell you what, I'm going to delay publishing the answer for a day, and if the PCS gods are okay with me extending the deadline by 24 hours (to midnight Friday 5/28), I will keep this thread open. If the PCS gods are okay with the extension, answers after the original 5/26 midnight deadline will also count; if not, we'll just adjust to take the correct answers before the original deadline. Ruling pending.
Most of you have gotten word lists but are stuck from there, so here is one more push:
Every word identified represents a specific Dodger. In alphabetical order by last name (which does NOT match the order of the pictures on the three collages), those players' initials are: WA, BA, BB, HSC, JC, AC, OD, KG, SG, CK, DL, AM, RM, HN, WO, AP, TS, JS, SS, DS, MT. And there are five current Dodgers in that list.
My apologies for screwing this whole ball of wax up. Good luck--hopefully you have another 26 hours to solve. --Sax
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Former Dodger Infielder Wilson Valdez Wins A Game
According to mlb.com, thoroughly forgettable Dodger Wilson Valdez became the first position player to win a game since 2000 after Raul Ibanez's sacrifice fly won it for the Phillies in the bottom of the 19th inning. Phillies 5, Reds 4 (19).
Valdez pitched a scoreless top of the 19th, seeing only four batters and letting one reach first (but not advance from there) on a HBP. Valdez had 10 pitches, 5 for strikes. Valdez started the game at second base and went 3-for-6 with a double.
Indy 505G Rules
The rules are simple. There are four 'Race Days' (listed below). On each Race Day, the competition is active from 8am to 3pm. At 8am, a post will appear titled something like "Indy 505G: Race Day 1". The period between 8am and 3pm is divided into 14 half-hour segments. The first segment runs from 8:00am to 8:29am, the second from 8:30am to 8:59am, and the last from 2:30pm - 3:00pm (there's a bonus minute in the last segment).
The object is to comment in as many of the 14 segments as you can. It doesn't matter if you comment once or 100 times in a given segment, so long as you comment.
At the end of each Race Day, we'll simply count up how many of the 14 segments each competitor commented in, multiply by the multiplier factor listed below (depending on which day), and keep a running total for the 4 Race Days. Those 4 Race Days are:
- Tomorrow (multiplier factor: x5)
- Tuesday, May 31 (x6)
- Wednesday, June 1 (x7)
- Thursday, June 2 (x8)
So for example, if Player 1 comments in 12 of the 14 segments on the first Race Day tomorrow, he gets 12x5=60 points. Next Tuesday, if he comments in 8 of the 14 segments, he gets 8x6=48 points to add to his original 60 for a total of 108, and so on. The competitor with the largest cumulative point total at the end of the 4 days wins!
Any questions, ask them here...otherwise, watch out for the Race Day post tomorrow at 8am!
Here's the field (still accepting entries until 7pm PT tonight, comment here to register):
- Josh S
- rbnlaw
- Spank
- Steve K
- Paul
- Dusto Magnifico
- Lonely Fan
- Jason
- Dusty B
- Karina
- MLASC
- Mr F
Field is now closed!
What Can Brown Do For You?
I suppose we'll find out soon enough.
ESPN.com: Sources: Mike Brown new Lakers coach. Four years, $18.25M.
(Sorry, Brian Shaw!)
photo: Harry How / Getty Images
Post-Game 51 Thread: From Aneurysm to Exploding Head
Aneurysm? Well, Astros starting pitcher Aneury Rodriguez still didn't earn his first career win; if not for a Matt Kemp solo shot, he might have, as he shut the Dodgers down with four scattered hits over six innings. Helping Rodriguez' cause were Rafael Furcal and Jamey Carroll, both 0-for-4 in the top two lineup slots; Jerry Sands chipped in with an 0-for-4 of his own, and Jay Gibbons and James Loney threw in 0-for-3 performances for good measure. The Dodgers were 0-for-4 with RISP, which is pathetic on both ends of that ratio.
But this game all came down to Matt Guerrier in the ninth inning with the score tied. Guerrier couldn't get that final out after Brett Wallace hit a one-out double to Sands in right, and then, with two out, JR Towles knocked in Wallace with a walk-off single. 26 outs, not enough to beat the worst team in the NL. And my head is about to explode. I need an off-day.
PCS Puzzle Reminder
Don't forget, tomorrow comes Puzzle #3, an opportunity to move up (or down, or appear for the first time) the PCS Season IV Rankings, reviewed below:
(200 possible points)
Rank |
Rank |
Puzzler | Points |
| Loney Fan | |||
| UBragg | |||
| Dusto Magnifico | |||
| Steve K | |||
| Mr C | |||
| Jason | |||
| QuadSevens | |||
| Josh S | |||
| Greg Finley | |||
| Timothy |
Others receiving votes: mr lasc 20, erin 20, spank 20, rbnlaw 20, steve dittmore 20, dusty baker 10, mr doctor 10, the 10, matt 10, sharon 10, mr f 10, karina 10.
Tomorrow's puzzle comes courtesy of Sax. [Sax's note: And, there will be special bonus prize for the correct answerers!] So be there, 7am PT!
New SoSG Competition: The Indy 505G
It's time for another random SoSG reader competition! This one's in honor of this weekend's Indianapolis 500.
Sign up by commenting here to play - there will be a limited number of spots, though I'm not yet sure what that limit is. The rules of the competition will be revealed this afternoon at 4pm PT, and it starts Thursday at 8am! (it will be off during the Memorial Day weekend but continues next Tuesday).
The field so far:
- Josh S
- rbnlaw
- Spank
- Steve K
- Paul
- Dusto Magnifico
- Lonely Fan
- Jason
- Dusty B
- Karina
Game 51 Thread: May 25 @ Astros, 11a
Ted Lilly (3-4, 4.71) vs. Aneury Rodriguez (0-2, 5.72).
The table is set for the Dodgers to win their first clean series in over a month (against the Cubs April 22-24; I'm not counting the four-game series against the Pirates where game 4 was rained out). We're facing the worst team in the National League, the 18-31 Astros. We're rolling with momentum after yesterday's game, won by Jerry Sands' grand salami. And we're facing Rodriguez, winless in his entire career (admittedly, he only has four starts in this, his rookie year). So if we can't win today, I think I'm going to have an Aneurysm.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Post-Game 50 Thread: A Night of Firsts
photos: AP
Game 50 Thread: May 24 @ Astros, 5p
Chad Billingsley (2-4, 3.47) vs. J.A. Happ (3-5, 5.30).
In the last 15 years, I've had jobs which have required a lot of travel, domestic and international. I've never made it to Minute Maid Park in Houston...but I have drunk a lot of Minute Maid juice. It started when I was young, when we'd have Minute Maid frozen concentrated orange juice for breakfast. Schloop! went the orange sludge into the pitcher, mix with three cans of water and OJ's on. I then graduated to Minute Maid orange juice in a carton, and have sampled all the varieties (Original, Original + Calcium, Country Style, Extra Vitamin C and E plus Zinc, Kids+, Home Squeezed Style, Home Squeezed Style + Calcium, Pulp-Free, Low Acid, Light, Orange Tangerine + Calcium, Orange Passion + Calcium). I guess drinking Minute Maid lemonade was the natural next step. Like the orange juice, it comes in both frozen (canned) and non-frozen ("Premium") versions. I've also had Minute Maid frozen lemonade, which I believe they serve at Dodger Stadium. About the only Minute Maid juice product I didn't enjoy was their canned cranberry drink, which was once served to me on an airplane. I hesitate to call it a "juice" product because it had more sugar than cranberry juice. Yuck. Anyhoo, be sure to drink Minute Maid juices when you can — you gotta take advantage of opportunities when you've got 'em.
Stow Family Sues Dodgers, Repays Funds
From "Bryan Stow family suing Dodgers" by Ramona Shelburne at ESPNLosAngeles.com:
The family of San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow, who was brutally beaten in the parking lot at Dodger Stadium on Opening Day, filed a civil suit against the Dodgers in Los Angeles Superior Court Tuesday morning.The suit seeks unspecified damages to cover Stow's future medical care and as compensation for the economic damages to Stow and his two children.
"It's fairly simple," said Thomas Girardi, the attorney representing the family. "The Dodgers have shown a total disregard for public safety. They've gotten rid of security people. They've had all these incidents at their games, more than other teams. There's also a known gang presence. What did they think was going to happen?"
Girardi said that the family insisted on repaying much of the money that has been raised for the Bryan Stow Fund since the attack, except for a scholarship for Stow's children that was donated by Giants slugger Barry Bonds because it "means so much to them."
This lawsuit seemed inevitable, and although it's the family's right to do what they will with — or without — the money raised for Bryan Stow, I hope they repaid it for legal reasons only.
Lineup Mysteries, Explained
Gary Klein of the LA Times interviewed Mike Scioscia, Don Mattingly, and Tommy Lasorda to get their insights on how to construct a decent lineup card. Regarding Mattingly's case, I was definitely interested to understand his perspective since his lineups seem incredibly befuddling. But after reading the entirety of this article, I think Klein's piece can be summarized more cleanly (so I'll save you the time of reading):
There you have it! Now you can be a manager as well.
Discount Tickets - What a Bargain!
Goldstar - which anyone with a wallet should sign up for - is running a deal for the Wednesday June 1st game. And it's Don Mattingly Bobblehead night!!!
Though after last night's game, he should look more like this...
Comment Of The Moment: Emotional Abuse
This comment of the monent comes to us from Karina, in last night's game thread:
I feel emotionally abused by the Dodgers but I can't get out of this relationship.
5/23/2011 8:19 PM karina said...
Yeah, me too. Others have pointed out to me that sports teams can be like that totally corrosive relationship that not only returns nothing to you, but eats you away inside like a flesh-eating bacteria. And yet we keep coming back to the Dodgers. Any of you feeling this way yet?
(Just think, only 133 113 games left to go...)
And Now Here's Karina with Your Belisario Update
Thanks to loyal SoSG reader Karina for translating this article about everybody's favorite wayward middle reliever:
Belisario "I can't repeat the bad stuff"
-The reliever is faithful he'll pitch for the Dodgers this season-Valencia.- Ronald Belisario could have been living in California earning half a million dollars as a relief pitcher for Los Angeles Dodgers; instead, he decided to stay in Venezuela and yesterday he was looking for a job in the humble Independent Central League of Baseball (Licibeis is its acronym in Spanish).
Vices and indiscipline were the causes that made the US Embassy to reject his visa request, which disables him to join the Bums. The Bravos de Margarita closer wants to play at Licibeis to stay in shape for the upcoming Venezuelan Winter Baseball season, starting on October 12th.
"I'm very happy because this league is useful to make me stay in shape until the problems in the United States are solved and I get my visa to come back to the big leagues", said the Maracay-born from the José Bernardo Pérez stadium, in Valencia, where the tryout for this blossoming league was made.
Belisario, who stayed two months on the restricted list during the MLB regular season for "substance abuse" last year, as it was defined by the American press, is sure to not have any regrets from his own acts, even if he acknowledges to have received a learning lesson. "I don't have any regrets. One can learn from mistakes. I can't repeat the bad stuff. Things happen because they have to. Anyone can go through a bad moment", declared the Closer of the Year from last season's Venezuelan winter baseball.
He keeps his hopes high.
Even if his forecast looks dark, with no guarantees to come back to the MLB, he doesn't lose the faith and thinks he can play with the Dodgers this very same season. "If God allows it, my problems will be solved in a while, maybe in a month. I want to start pitching on this league (Licibeis) so the Dodgers realize I'm in shape and they speed up the paperwork", he stated. "Last year, the Embassy put me on a waiting list. So far, I hadn't heard anything".
He believes he doesn't need professional help
In spite of the numerous problems he's faced due to consumption of alcohol and "substances", Ronald Belisario doesn't consider he needs medical help to overcome his situation, because he believes his willpower is strong enough.
"I don't need medical help", the reliever declared. "My family has been very supportive. They advised me to stay focused and ahead, because things are going to solve. I'm strong-minded. I know many ballplayers that have been through similar experiences and they have recovered. Why shouldn't I?"
Belisario is still under contract with the Dodgers, which prevents him to play in Mexico or Japan.
And your two cents, Karina?
and this is my two cents: I've followed Belisario's career since the beginning because he played for Aguilas. I remember to be very pissed off when they traded him, because he wasn't ever given enough chance and he has real talent. It's a pity and a shame he's wasted a God-given talent on addiction. In spite he didn't have a proper spring training and lost two months of the MLB season, he started pitching in Venezuela around mid-November and he was just lights out: no small feat, because he was pitching to lots of big-leaguers and promising players (that's the time when said players start playing winter baseball). I just hope he gets his act together, he's still young and could have a nice career, with the Dodgers or another team in a high-profile league.
photo: Alejandro Van Schermbeek/Lider
Monday, May 23, 2011
Post-Game 49 Thread: NL's Worst Drops Bomb on Gassed Jansen
Clayton Kershaw was in line for the win, having allowed one run over six innings. The Dodgers were up 3-1 in the ninth and the Astros were down to their last out. But Kenley Jansen was strugging. (Take him out, Donnie!) Then a double steal put runners and second and third. (Take him out, Donnie!) Then the Astros tied the score on a Michael Bourn double. (Take him out, Donnie!) Too late. A HBP and a single later, and the Dodgers have lost to the NL's worst team.
Game 49 Thread: May 23 @ Astros, 5p
Clayton Kershaw (5-3, 3.09) vs. Bud Norris (2-3, 3.93).
In the last 15 years, I've had jobs which have required a lot of travel, domestic and international. And there was one time where I had to go on a business trip from Los Angeles to Austin, Texas, by myself. Since the time zones are against you, I remember flying out early that morning, the day before the meeting, and landing in Austin some time that afternoon. I remember shuttling to the rental car station and throwing my carry-on in the trunk of some mid-sized unremarkable car.
And then, instead of checking in at my hotel, I drove for three hours to catch a game at Minute Maid Park.
Mind you, the route between Austin and Houston, on US-290, is far from scenic. With small towns like Elgin, Carmine, Brenham, Hempstead, and Prairie View along the way, it's a pretty desolate slog. The radio couldn't really keep me company, since I wasn't much of a country music fan. So I armed myself with some Coke and fritos, and I forged onward, singularly focused on picking off another MLB stadium in my quest.
Minute Maid Park was a pretty cool stadium, I might add. On the night I was there, the retractable roof was closed (Texas is one humid state!), and the temperature inside was pleasant and comfortable.
Watching games on television, the most obvious oddity is that crazy hill in center field; some might also notice the train on the rails above left and center field (which activates on Astros home runs). However, besides that, there are some other quirks that make Minute Maid Park a neat reflection of the Houston community. For example, the price of a barrel of oil was signaled one of the ribbon scoreboards:
...and in center field, there's an old-style oil pump that tracks the Astros home runs hit at the ballpark:
Anyway, it was well worth the trip to see a game, even with the long drive through the pitch-black night back to Austin that evening. I was pretty tired for that business meeting the following day. But I did bag a pretty sweet adidas t-shirt (pictured at top). And, unlike the 2011 Dodgers with RISP, you gotta take advantage of opportunities when you've got 'em.
photos: oil commodities swiped from here; oil pump photo swiped from here. Someday, I'll scan in my own pictures, but for now this is what I've got.
McCourt: "I'll Have What Wilpon's Having"
What does one do when getting sued, facing another mediocre season, losing money hand over fist and... the difference from the Dodgers... paying out $30 million to Bobby Bust-illa? Lash out at the entire team.Enjoy the wit and wisdom of Fred Wilpon.
(On David Wright) "A really good kid," Wilpon said. "A very good player. Not a superstar."Somewhere (very hot) George Steinbrenner is smiling.Of Reyes, a shortstop who will be a free agent after the season, Wilpon was quoted saying, "He thinks he’s going to get Carl Crawford money. He’s had everything wrong with him. He won’t get it."
Beltran also is an impending free agent and a likely candidate to be shipped out by July's trade deadline. Wilpon criticized himself for agreeing to give the center fielder a seven-year, $119 million contract after he hit .435 with eight home runs in the 2004 postseason for the Astros, who lost in the NLCS to the Cardinals.
We had some schmuck in New York who paid him based on that one series," Wilpon said, referring to his idea to sign Beltran, who has been slowed by knee injuries but has played better as a right fielder than expected this season. "He’s 65 to 70 percent of what he was. Wilpon, whom the magazine interviewed when the team was 5-13 and had the worst record in the National League, also called the Mets "lousy."
Wilpon praised second year first baseman Ike Davis, but also took another shot at the team. “Good hitter,” Wilpon said. “Sh--- team.”
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