In light of Phil Jackson's comments regarding AZ SB 1070, who will get the biggest pop in Phoenix?

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Not too many surprises.  Yadier Molina is way up at the top with Gerald Laird at the tippy top and Mike Napoli is at the very bottom.  Who could be lower than Russell Martin?  Some notable names, Jorge Posada, Bengie Molina, Jason Varitek, Jason Kendall and AJ Pierzynski.

http://www.drivelinemechanics.com/2009/10/13/1082419/2009-catcher-defense-filling-in

Pitch blocking: As for the actual "catching" part of catching, the best in baseball this season was the Phillies' Carlos Ruiz, at +5.6 runs. Jason Varitek gains some of his cred back here at +5.1 runs (I wonder what it would be if he had to catch Wakefield). The Man, the Myth, the Legend, Matt Wieters may not have quite cemented his Hall of Fame credentials, but he can block a pitch decently at +3.9 runs. The players are grouped by their performance for separate teams, so I just noticed that one of my favorites, Gregg Zaun, was +2.9 for the Orioles, and +1.4 for the Rays, which puts him at +4.3, or the real number 3. Maybe Baltimore let him go to soon -- he definite brings his Z-Game when he's blocking pitches. At the bottom of the rankings, Jorge Posada, Josh Bard, and and Rob Johnson (why did he get so much playing time?) are all tied at -3.8, Russell Martin (?!) is at -5.1 (although he saw more PA than just about any other catcher on the list). And bringing up the rear... this is going to be a shock, prepare yourself... Miguel Olivo, at -7.8. Think about that -- it's only -0.28 runs per WP/PB. Sure, he's "only" -2.7 runs worse thatn Martin, but Martin saw almost 1400 more PA than Olivo this season. This shows we're on the right track, as Brian Cartwright's WOWY studydone previous to this season showed Olivo to be historically terrible at blocking the plate. Another great job of scouting by Dayton Moore and the Process Servers.

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When I'm looking at someone's range factor (like Pablo Sandoval this year) and I see his RF/g is higher than the league average for third basemen, BUT his RF/9 innings is LOWER than the league average ... what accounts for that?  What does that mean?  Does that mean because one metric says he's above average and the other below he's exactly average?

Where besides Baseball Prospectus can I find a listing of league leaders in EQA?  I love that stat, and I think it's the greatest baseball stat ever, but I don't feel like paying BP for the privilege of looking up something.

How can I listen to the dodgers on the radio if I'm in Ventura County?  790AM only works about as far west as Simi Valley and Westlake Village.  Thousand Oaks is bad and anything past the Conejo Grade is abysmal.

I have scoured the official Dodgers website, no luck.  I remember they used to put the info on the little schedules they'd hand out at 76 - no dice anymore.  And before any of you wiseguys tell me I can get it on XM, I'd rather not pay any money if I already have Sirius.

So is there a database somewhere?  Some hidden part of the official website?  I even googled "dodger radio broadcast ventura 805" - nothing.

The LA Times:

"He made a point to really go to bat for Sanchez," a scout said. "You could tell he meant it."

Carroll told the group that his public frosting of Sanchez -- including the comment the player made a "bad choice" -- was meant to test his resolve, to see if he truly had his heart set on turning pro right away or if he would waffle. Sanchez didn't waver.

"He told us, 'I challenged him. I wanted him to make the right decision,' " the scout said. "He said, 'I love the kid. I support him. I think he'll make a good pro.' "

I cannot claim originality on this.  I didn't know about this until ESPN's Pardon the Interruption caught this.  He said his little cold shoulder at Sanchez's press conference was "a test".  I didn't buy that for a minute and neither did Wilbon.  Those of you on ESPN insider go check out today's PTI show and scroll to the segment on Pete Carroll.

Here's what happened:  Pete woke up, used some common sense and realized, "Oh damn, I need kids to come to South LA and play QB ... if they roll this tape ... and if any other coach in the country rolls tape of Sanchez's press conference to a QB prospect I'm done!  They'll see I'm a petty, scared man who won't help them reach their dream of getting to the NFL, all I care about is USC!  DAMAGE CONTROL!!"  Pete, you're a mile wide and an inch deep.

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

Coach Rick Neuheisel is on facebook.

He's at 170, he's looking to go to 200.  I think we can help.  He's not too active on it, but I'm hoping the more people show up, the more action he gets the more he'll be all over it:

Photo Credit: Telemachus

This is a pretty fine development of Web 2.0.  Can you imagine this back in the 60's when Coach Wooden was running the show?  This is a wonderful opportunity to get some access to a young, sharp coach.

And also do not forget to facebook UCLA football:

Photo Credit: Telemachus

Again here are the links:

Facebook Rick Neuheisel.

Facebook UCLA Football.

Go Bruins.

A few things.  BP was, is and in my estimation always will be a muckraker.  That being said, there's plenty of truth to this story.  The biggest bit of truth is that Neuheisel's predecessor completely shit the bed when he let Ken Norton, Jr. get away.  Several of us have made reference to this story, I finally tracked it down and it's now here for everyone to read for themselves.

The last part of the article:

But in Norton, they let one of the biggest ones get away.

“It would have been best, in hindsight, if Karl had hired Ken,” said Sherrard, who is not alone.

Norton said he has talked with many former teammates about the switch.

“When I explain it to them, they all understand,” he said. “But it’s eating them up on the inside.”

USC couldn’t be happier.

With Norton running around the practice field and raising one of the few voices louder than the whistle, the Trojans have ranked second in the nation in rushing defense while UCLA ranks last in the Pac-10.

“It’s awesome having him here,” said senior linebacker Matt Grootegoed, who rarely sounds this excited about anything. “His knowledge and energy are immense.”

He has brought the players to his house, where he has shown them his Super Bowl rings. He has run them around the field, showing them his old moves.

He has done everything one might think a famous old Bruin would do in teaching young Bruins.

Except the ones being taught are Trojans.

The ones getting sick are Bruins.

The Digg link (PLEASE DIGG!!) and the archived link from here (go ahead and recommend!). My brother is now at an AFB in South Dakota, has made it home from Iraq safely (for the second time) and should be getting his Honorable Discharge from the Air Force in late August/ early September.

Thank you again, BN for your good wishes and words of support.

Now think back all those months, BN.  At one point it looked as though we'd never be rid of CTS and "coaching harder" and "answering the bell"!  Now the future is brighter than ever, we have a brand new HC and OC and we dare to dream of regularly competing for the Pac-10 and *gasp* National Championships!