Dodgers Look To Beat Cardinals, End Cold War
by Eric Stephen on Aug 19, 2009 2:00 PM PDT
in Dodgers Game Previews
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PrintWhen I think of the Cardinals this season, I can't help but think of Rocky IV.
- The first three games in St. Louis were the exhibition match between Apollo Creed and Ivan Drago. The Dodgers came in atop the baseball world, perhaps overly cocky, and the next thing they knew Apollo was dead, and Brendan Ryan's mustache said coldly, "If they die, they die."
- The two-plus weeks in between series were the Dodgers training in harsh conditions, growing an inordinate amount of facial hair (think Chad Billingsley's goatee) while facing ace after ace after ace.
- Monday night's game featured a few overwhelming displays of power -- homers by Albert Pujols and Rick Ankiel that may not have landed yet -- that briefly knocked the Dodgers down
- Tuesday night's game was the cut over Drago's eye, the glimmer of hope that this Goliath was somehow beatable
- Somewhere during tonight's game, I expect a disheveled Larry Bowa to be smiling as Bob Schaefer asks, "What the hell are they doing out there?" Bowa will simply reply, "They're winning."
Remember, if I's can change, yous can change.
**********
The last time Clayton Kershaw faced the Cardinals, he shut them out for eight innings.
The last time Adam Wainwright faced the Dodgers, he shut them out for eight innings.
Tonight has the makings of quite a pitcher's duel at Dodger Stadium tonight. Assuming of course Kershaw has recovered from the flu bug that sent him home early Tuesday night, and also wiped out Matt Kemp from the starting lineup.
Scott Elbert was scratched from his Tuesday night start with Albuquerque, per Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times, just in case he was needed on Thursday. Jeff Weaver is scheduled to start Thursday against the Cubs, but would presumably start tonight if Kershaw is still sick.
Andre Ethier has been en fuego for nearly a month now, hitting .390/.474/.695 with 14 doubles, six home runs, 24 runs and 25 RBI over his last 29 games. He had a double and a triple last night, and has an MLB-best 15 games with two or more extra-base hits this season.
Get your guesses in for "Just A Bit Outside" here.
Game Time: 7:10pm
TV: Prime Ticket
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I think he meant get your guesses in
here—————> http://www.truebluela.com/2009/8/18/994546/just-a-bit-outside-august-19
William Doolittle at your service, a.k.a. will do.
Brilliant
I saw Kemp with Pierre drapped over his shoulders going up and down a hill. Now I understand why.
One of the few movies I’ve ever been to where the theater stood and applauded when the movie was over. Take that, USSR!
by Eric Stephen on Aug 19, 2009 2:56 PM PDT up reply actions
I can’t remember for sure. It was either Orange County, Hemet, or Palm Springs.
by Eric Stephen on Aug 19, 2009 3:13 PM PDT up reply actions
I gotta guess Hemet
The others are conservative enough, but Hemet, I’m thinking, is the only one sufficiently sunburned above the shoulders.
by David Young on Aug 19, 2009 3:17 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
From the Dodger notes
In the current issue of Baseball America, the publication surveyed each Major League Manager and came up with the best of the best in a variety of categories, of which several Dodgers appeared prominently. In the National League, Juan Pierre was named best bunter and tied with Nyjer Morgan for the best baserunner. Dodger closer Jonathan Broxton was voted as having the best fastball and being the best reliever. Russell Martin was voted the second best defensive catcher behind Yadier Molina and Orlando Hudson was named the best defensive second baseman. Rounding the survey out, NL Mangers thought Rafael Furcal had the best infield arm and Matt Kemp was the second best defensive outfielder. Finally, Dodger skipper Joe Torre was voted the third-best manager, behind Tony La Russa and Bobby Cox.
lemme guess who was the best defensive outfielder
Shane victorino!
Juan Pierre was named best bunter
I have to imagine that since it was managers that were polled, they are thinking about sacrifices (as usual) and not bunting for hits, otherwise this makes no sense. When he is intentionally trying to sacrifice, Pierre is a pretty good bunter, but, as those of who see a lot of games know, his bunting when trying for a hit isn’t very good. Is anyone these days good at it?
Two weeks ago
He fouled one of those over the press box and into infield reserve section 5 or 7. It’s really hard to stick a foul ball up there!
lower ERA after today
Kershaw and his 2.91 or wainwright and his 2.65
after today kershaw 2.80 wainwright 2.801
idk
but if he doesnt then we will have to beat up wainright to get his era to 2.92
I like it
Wainwright: 5 ER in 6 IP = 2.781 ERA on the year
Kershaw: 0 ER in 7 IP = 2.769 ERA
by Eric Stephen on Aug 19, 2009 3:10 PM PDT up reply actions
Brilliant Post
Laughed the whole way through it.
This post goes on your TBLA writer hall of fame plaque.
“Who am I? I’m the unsilent majority, bigmouth. "
Abreu Arrives Again
Moves seem to be coming with the Dodgers, who not only are pursuing soon-to-be free agent pitcher Vicente Padilla, but apparently are calling up infielder Tony Abreu from Triple-A Albuquerque. Abreu has been on fire for the Isotopes, batting .360 in 45 games there. He spent two days earlier this month with the Dodgers. The likely move would be placing Hiroki Kuroda on the disabled list with a concussion from the line drive he took off his head Saturday night in Arizona. — Ken Gurnick
http://kengurnick.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/08/abreu_arrives_again.html
There's a bunch of moves the Dodgers can do before that.
Namely, optioning McDonald, or Troncoso first.
you cant option troncoso
hes joe torres abuse toy
oh no
dylan hernandez is reporting the dodgers are VERY close to adding padilla
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2009/08/dodgers-and-vicente-padilla-near-deal.html
Define "rehab..."
Because when you’re talking about “rehab” and Vicente Padilla, I’m not sure if the meaning is physical therapy or a trip out to Betty Ford…
2009-10 LA Kings Hockey: Where Smyt Happens!!
by DodgerBlueBalls on Aug 19, 2009 3:38 PM PDT up reply actions
I agree with that response. To the letter :)
by Eric Stephen on Aug 19, 2009 3:38 PM PDT up reply actions
Good question…I’m not sure. It would depend on whether Padilla needs one or two rehab starts I guess.
by Eric Stephen on Aug 19, 2009 3:37 PM PDT up reply actions
There's only 12 days left before Sept. 1st.
Anyone who gets sent down today or tomorrow will just have to caddy at the local AQB. club for two weeks.
Tuesday home success
The Dodgers are 9-1 at home this season on Tuesdays, including the 5-run 8th inning to erase a 5-1 Arizona lead, Matt Kemp’s walk-off single against the A’s, the 12-run outburst against the Reds, and the uproarious 17-run game against the Brewers. The only loss was the ridiculous shutout by Jason Marquis. I attribute this success to my presence in the ballpark, as we decided to buy the Tuesday night package this year. There can be no other explanation. BTW, there was only one Tuesday game in the 13-game home winning streak that started the season, game 12, which was in May.
We’ve attended only one other game (so far) this season, and that was Ethier’s three-HR game against Seattle. All and all, I’m very pleased with the Dodgers 10-1 record in my attendance.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&page=starting9/090819
lol top 9 baseball injury cover Ups.
someone mentioned number 1 today
Don’t put it in the title of the post. Put it in the body.
And if you use the chain link icon above in the toolbar you can use text, like this:
by Eric Stephen on Aug 19, 2009 3:39 PM PDT up reply actions
True, but it should be in the body because the titles are used to create links to comments within our site.
by Eric Stephen on Aug 19, 2009 4:19 PM PDT up reply actions
Bret Barberie’s rubbing habanero chili juice in his eyes while inserting contact lenses
Boy, he must have really pissed off Jillian that morning.
Maybe she was getting appropriate revenge on Bret for something
Stinging her eyes with something or other.
After last night's efforts.
Andre Ethier is finally posting better numbers than his career numbers last year.
.305/.375/.510 in 2008 in 596 PAs
.285/.373/.528 in 2009 in 5`8 PAs
Who is this Andre you speak of
I only know Endre
Endre Athier?
2009-10 LA Kings Hockey: Where Smyt Happens!!
by DodgerBlueBalls on Aug 19, 2009 3:52 PM PDT up reply actions
Do you realize it has been 13 days since Endre’s last game-ender? I’m getting the shakes going through Endre withdrawal!
by Eric Stephen on Aug 19, 2009 3:53 PM PDT up reply actions
If he is due up 3rd or sooner in an appropriate late-inning situation
We should all chant, “The Endre is near! The Endre is near!”
helps to bat in front of manny
where can you find the stats for batting in front of manny and not in front of manny… i bet theres a big difference
Repeat after me:
There is no correlation between batting in front of and behind big threat hitters. Andre this year may be an exception, but it’s not casual or it’s in his head.
It matters
But too many other things also play in his head.
I took the post to mean “Man i bet it helps to get all those smooth groove fastballs,” which has been disproven too many times to count. I’ve like Dre in the 3 hole the whole way, but I’m not going to get my ideal lineup.
I know what you meant, and I took the original comment the same way, just thought it was interesting that you included the “in his head” part. The studies that disprove the protection theory, disprove it overall, but don’t they allow that some players can be exceptions?
The studies were for all players
I mean it in sheer terms of “This year, he mentally is happier on days when he thinks he can get a RS with manny behind” him or what not. I much more likely think it’s non casual, as Andre has always been a streak hitter, and I think this year just happened to streak poorly in one of the months manny was off.
Which is a long version of saying
I added “in his head” at the last second and probably should have stuck to my guns :).
are you kidding
batting in front of manny will help anyone
I swear to god
Eric or Jon collected a long list of research on this last year when this came up to totally disprove it and I can’t find it for the life of me.
Eric?
I’ll find them tonight…Jon did a study, and there are at least two articles on the subject that I can think of.
by Eric Stephen on Aug 19, 2009 4:19 PM PDT up reply actions
Off the top of my head, one study showed that pitchers actually concentrated more on the hitter in front of the superstar/great hitter, and had better success. But I don’t remember the exact results.
by Eric Stephen on Aug 19, 2009 4:21 PM PDT up reply actions
I'd imagine they'd have better success against the hitter
in front of the superstar hitter, or else HE WOULD be the superstar hitter lol..
William Doolittle at your service, a.k.a. will do.
Jonah Keri’s book “Baseball Between the Numbers” dealt with the topic of lineup protection too.
by Michael White on Aug 19, 2009 4:21 PM PDT up reply actions
look at felipe lopez last year when he batted in front of albert pujols
david ortiz and manny
ethier and manny
hudson in the beginnging of the year when he batted in front of manny
IT helps!!!
lol not look
be when all those players batted in front of the superstar… their number magically spiked crazily
David Ortiz's "spike"
may be due more to the spike he was taking in the rear, rather than because he was hitting in front of Manny.
Paul (Albany, OR)
Recent rough stretch for the Dodgers. Hard to watch close games go by the wayside. Is this a normal dip during a long season or is it something to be concerned with? Still a playoff team or should I creep closer to the ledge? Thanks.
Steve Phillips
(1:14 PM)
They’re still a playoff team, but you have to have some concern about starting pitching, with Billingsley coming back and Kuroda going on the DL, but I don’t think the Giants or Rockies can overtake them. I love the Dodgers’ bullpen depth, which should cover them until their rotation comes around.
That's actually
a fairly (emphasis on fairly) rational (or rationally fair) response from Phillips for once. Guess I should appreciate it.
yeaaa
your right.. he might be right for once
Last night
Maybe a swifter CF might have flagged them – they would have been fine plays – but make no doubt about it, Martin’s double and Ethier’s triple were smoked. Particularly Martin’s – off the bat, I did not think it was going to carry as far as it did, but it ended up with a trajectory like a well-struck two-iron, a 390-foot line drive. Add to that Martin’s smashed double, a hot grounder between Greene and the line, and I’m feeling a little optimistic that Russell can get hot, even as the season wears on.
Loney needs one
this guy has a toe tap…?!!?
no wonder he has no power.. you have to be quick and strong to have a toe tap and have power, loney isnt..
Also, doesn’t Loney move in the box quite a bit when he swings? Its almost Ichiro esque, minus 50 points of batting average of course.
by Eric Stephen on Aug 19, 2009 4:08 PM PDT up reply actions
I've often wondered
why young players coming up haven’t modeled themselves more on Ichiro – especially the resolution of his swing.
by stillnotah8er on Aug 19, 2009 4:10 PM PDT up reply actions
Key leg action additions this season:
1) Ethier’s stepping in the bucket
2) Kuo’s after K hop
3) Mota’s modified Ausmus/Honeycutt ball-hiding leg action
:)
by Eric Stephen on Aug 19, 2009 4:07 PM PDT up reply actions
4. Emmauelle Chriqui for luck photos.
by David Young on Aug 19, 2009 4:21 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
don't forget Haegermeister
that flourish he does with his left leg right before he releases the ball
by bucknellbruin on Aug 19, 2009 5:31 PM PDT up reply actions
Cards lineup, per Fox Sports Midwest:
Ryan ss
Lugo 2b
Pujols 1b
Holliday lf
Ludwick rf
DeRosa 3b
Molina c
Rasmus cf
Wainwright p
absolutly no way a rookie who doesnt play full time
gets a gold glove over kemp… but yes molina gold glove for sure
Kemp batting 2nd!
Furcal SS
Kemp CF
Ethier RF
Ramirez LF
Blake 3B
Loney 1B
Martin C
Hudson 2B
Kershaw P
best 3 hitters bunched together
YESSSS!!!
i would only like now for furcal and his .330 OBP to get switched with Hudson and his .365 OBP
Agreed
about Hudson (especially since he has been on a tear recently.) But Joe is getting better. Woo ho!
by Michael White on Aug 19, 2009 4:18 PM PDT up reply actions
5th time this year Kemp, Ethier, and Manny have batted consecutively (in any order)
by Eric Stephen on Aug 19, 2009 4:16 PM PDT up reply actions
furcal at the top of the lineup
you are having a bad dream
Well
to be fair, this was me pre-season. It’s still my dream lineup in a “Furcal magically returns to furcal” sense of the term, and he’s hot enough right now that I’ll stick with it.
in furcals hot streaks
his OBP is .350
thats not better then hudson over a full season
It's only in your head
that this is a dream lineup.
by meercatjohn on Aug 19, 2009 4:21 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Potential date change in the works…possible final weekend.
by Eric Stephen on Aug 19, 2009 4:22 PM PDT up reply actions
True Blue LA outing at Mecca. Tentatively Saturday, Sept 19. Might be Sat, Oct 3 instead
by Eric Stephen on Aug 19, 2009 4:33 PM PDT up reply actions
-1
2009-10 LA Kings Hockey: Where Smyt Happens!!
by DodgerBlueBalls on Aug 19, 2009 4:39 PM PDT up reply actions
i knew i could count on you for that pull.
by KellyStephen on Aug 19, 2009 5:36 PM PDT up reply actions
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