Cardinals 3, Dodgers 2
by Eric Stephen on Aug 19, 2009 11:00 PM PDT
in Game Recaps
53 comments
I used to think of Rocky IV when I thought of the Cardinals. Now I think of Rocky V. This game never happened. Do you hear me? Never. Happened. Albert Pujols beat the Dodgers tonight, but with his legs, not with his bat.
Clayton Kershaw couldn't get though the fourth inning, mixing occasional wildness with the inability to put hitters away without throwing a lot of pitches. Still, he only gave up two runs, and James McDonald and Ronald Belisario stemmed the tide until the Dodgers were able to tie it up with two home runs in the seventh inning.
Kershaw has thrown 97 pitches in each of his last two starts, but has pitched a total of only eight innings, while giving six runs.
In the ninth inning, Jonathan Broxton was brought in, for his third consecutive game, to face the heart of the Cardinal lineup. Broxton walked Pujols, setting up the key play of the night, in which there was a lot of blame to spread around:
- Broxton didn't do a good job holding Pujols -- who had 11 stolen bases entering tonight -- on first base, and Pujols got a great jump toward second base
- Russell Martin rushed a throw that had no chance of getting Pujols, and it bounced in front of Orlando Hudson
- As the ball got by Hudson, Rafael Furcal wasn't backing up the play, nor were Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier close enough to keep Pujols from going to third base
Now on third base with nobody out, Pujols scored easily on Matt Holliday's sacrifice fly.
Tonight was Broxton's first loss of the season. The Dodgers have lost five straight series to the Cardinals. The Dodgers won't have to play the Cardinals again this regular season, but could very well matchup in October.
Jeff Weaver fills out his portion of the Dodgers' patchwork starting rotation tomorrow against the Cubs and Tom Gorzelanny.
WP -Kyle McClellan (4-2): 1 IP, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
LP - Jonathan Broxton (7-1): 1 IP, 1 unearned run, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
Sv - Ryan Franklin (31): 1 IP, 3 up, 3 down
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The Cubs aren’t gonna know what hit ’em!
by Eric Stephen on Aug 19, 2009 11:11 PM PDT up reply actions
I don't see how the OFs were going to be able to prevent Pujols from going to third
Matt Holliday was up. They have to play pretty damn deep.
I also don’t see how Furcal can help – didn’t the ball bounce toward RCF? Furcal can’t break until after he sees Holliday doesn’t swing, so he must get there later and then the ball is going away from him.
In hindsight, Martin should have eaten the ball.
i'm with you here
i remember thinking before the ASG how good Martin had been at throwing guys out.
so much for that
by bucknellbruin on Aug 20, 2009 7:52 AM PDT up reply actions
I overshot on the OF point…I was swayed by a Tweet by Rob Neyer earlier. I do think they were late in breaking in, but you are right, they wouldn’t have prevented him going to 3B.
Furcal, though, he seemed to be just late in general. If he is behind the bag when the throw arrives, I think he can at least make a play at 3B or at least perhaps keep Pujols from attempting to go to 3B.
by Eric Stephen on Aug 19, 2009 11:45 PM PDT up reply actions
How far in the hole is Furcal positioned with Holliday up, albeit in a DP situation? (I didn’t notice, just wondering)
by David Young on Aug 20, 2009 12:02 AM PDT up reply actions
I thought the ball skipped to the right field side
which is why Pujols was able to go to 3rd. Hudson should had done a better job of just blocking the ball considering the situation. All in all a terrible play from Broxton to Martin to Hudson. That ball cannot be allowed to skip into the outfield.
by meercatjohn on Aug 20, 2009 10:35 AM PDT up reply actions
WTF
elbert pitched 2 innings today!!!!!!!!
whose the long man for tomorrow?!?!?! after weaver????
sweating at all Eric :)
Jeff weaver goes for LA wile the Rox face some fellow named Garrett mock. Colorado could be two back in the loss column tonight.
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on Aug 20, 2009 9:20 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
A little bit, but it is hot out here today. :)
by Eric Stephen on Aug 20, 2009 9:39 AM PDT up reply actions
We want you to close the gap
so when we sweep at home on the final weekend it will make all of this a moot point.
by meercatjohn on Aug 20, 2009 10:36 AM PDT up reply actions
Frank needs the big crowds
in Sept from a close race.
by meercatjohn on Aug 20, 2009 10:38 AM PDT up reply actions
Soon
you will be done playing the easy part of the schedule. Looks like we are giving you a gimme next week with Padilla.
by meercatjohn on Aug 20, 2009 10:37 AM PDT up reply actions
Basically an elimination series for the Cubs
They need to win 3 to have a prayer in the playoff hunt. Of course, it may already be too late, the Braves and Giants are just better teams this year and there’s no way they catch up with the 3-4-5 order that hit us well enough this week.
Utilying the BENcH
why is Tony Abreu being called up to bat in clutch situations? Where was Mark Loretta and/or Juan Pierre with a runner in scoring position in the 8th Inning…….
1) Pierre pinch hit in the bottom of the 6th
2) This is the first time in a while I have seen anyone comment in favor of having Mark Loretta bat.
by Eric Stephen on Aug 20, 2009 11:02 AM PDT up reply actions
sorry i missed the game
picked up on the 8th. In Loretta’s case….I’m refering to experience, not the bat
You mean
the experience of flailing against RHP?
by meercatjohn on Aug 20, 2009 11:08 AM PDT up reply actions
No I mean..
the ability to at least hit it passed the infield
yeah I thought JP was in the game at this point
But it is a good question. TB hasn’t hit it out of the infield yet. Maybe the D’s just don’t have the luxury of starting him, because we need Blake, and until he gets starts, he won’t relax and hit.
by stillnotah8er on Aug 20, 2009 11:06 AM PDT up reply actions
Should they have put Ausmus up there?
by stillnotah8er on Aug 20, 2009 11:08 AM PDT up reply actions
What have you got against Abreu
to many letters in his name? The man was raking when we brought him up, he can hit, give him a chance. Loretta can’t and has had numerous chances to prove he can’t.
by meercatjohn on Aug 20, 2009 11:14 AM PDT up reply actions
Juan Castro is a horrible hitter, who has never put up an OBP over .290 in his 15-year career (outside of a 5-PA year).
That he hit way over his head early in the season doesn’t change that fact. Give him enough PA, and he will post an OBP under .300. Since the Coors series over Memorial Day, Castro is hitting .245/.259/.264.
I feel completely confident in saying of all the bench options outside of maybe Pierre, Abreu is easily the best option against RHP (better than Castro, Loretta, or Ausmus)
by Eric Stephen on Aug 20, 2009 11:17 AM PDT up reply actions
The competition
is dicey. Not exactly a collection of thumpers. Did you see that Matt Stairs has not had a hit since July 11th in over 22 plate appearances. Going Mark Sweeney on the Phillies.
by meercatjohn on Aug 20, 2009 11:20 AM PDT up reply actions
he'll need to a bit more
to get to mark sweeney status
No
Abreu was brought up to be the LHB off the bench. He failed last night, the best hitter on the team failed the whole game.
by meercatjohn on Aug 20, 2009 11:12 AM PDT up reply actions
Yeah, Manny's non-catch hurt a bit
But at least he’s trying
by stillnotah8er on Aug 20, 2009 11:25 AM PDT up reply actions
Loretta was sitting on the bench where
he belongs against a RHP. His numbers are about as bad as they can be against RHP.
209 .283 .243 .527
The only time that Loretta should have a bat in his hands is if a LHP is on the mound.
290 .410 .355 .765
by meercatjohn on Aug 20, 2009 11:05 AM PDT up reply actions
definitely not Lorreta but..
That is a bunting situation, tie game bottom of the 8th, man on 1st no outs. We needed to get the bunt down and move odog to 2nd. trouble is with exception of Furcal bunting for a base hit, no Dodgers especially our Pinch Hitters seem to be able to pull off this basic baseball task. going on memory here but isn’t Schmidt a good bunter maybe when rosters expand we can have him as our designated Pinch Bunter. Obviously not sure if Odog scores if moved over properly but would have been nice to have the chance.
by MammothDodger on Aug 20, 2009 11:33 AM PDT up reply actions
No No No
I hate bunting. Giving up an out in that situation is not the right call. Torre played it right. Put in the best hitter he had available, and let him swing.
by Michael White on Aug 20, 2009 11:52 AM PDT up reply actions
Not that I love bunting
especially as bad at as we are, but that is one of the very few situations where bunting is the right call (home team, late in a tie game, man on 1st, no out, rolling to the top of the order). Of course you have to have some one that can execute it properly or it is a wasted at bat
by MammothDodger on Aug 20, 2009 12:07 PM PDT up reply actions
Found this online. Thought it was appropriate here.
So I was messing around with WPA and looked up something that John might appreciate: Does it ever make sense to sacrifice bunt, according to WPA? Well, yes, one time. In the bottom of the ninth with a tied score, runner on second and no outs. Bunting him over to third increases the home team’s chance of winning from 83 percent to 84 percent. In every other instance I examined, the bunt didn’t increase the team’s chances of winning.
However, he also noted that others have found it appropriate to bunt in exactly the situation last night.
Late in a close game, in a low run-scoring environment, it is correct to often sacrifice bunt with a runner on first and no outs. In an average run-scoring environment, you should sometimes sacrifice to keep the defense honest.
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/ten-things-i-didnt-know-a-while-ago/
Anyway, those are just a few blurbs. I clearly agree with the former in that I would prefer the hitters just swing away. But as you can see there is some disagreement even within the “new school” analysts.
by Michael White on Aug 20, 2009 12:35 PM PDT up reply actions
thanks for the research
i agree that a sac bunt is rarely the right course and it is all contingent on having a player that can execute it.
I would also add that if bunted over last night that we would have had Furcal then Bison to knock that run in
by MammothDodger on Aug 20, 2009 12:49 PM PDT up reply actions
Good find
From the same:
This is a gross measure, however. It doesn’t take into account the specific skills of the batter, or the batter on deck or the baserunner or the pitcher or the third baseman.
The pitcher is pretty important. In a lot of cases, I want to take my shot at that one, go-ahead run NOW in the 8th, against the setup guy, instead of in the ninth against the closer. My win probability against Mariano Rivera (or even, inexplicably, Ryan Franklin this year) isn’t very good.
Next Subject.....HITTING!
Regardless of who comes up to the plate in clutch or lead off situations……is Don Mattingly to blame? Should he have a diffrent approach? What should he and hitters be working on this late in the season?….
Dodgers are still #3 in OBP
so “blame” isn’t the first word that comes to mind.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/batting/sort/onBasePct/order/true
by stillnotah8er on Aug 20, 2009 11:26 AM PDT up reply actions
But
how many men do they leave on base? and whats their BP with RISP?
They are slightly below average in the NL (rank 10th in OPS). Higher average, but less power.
NL w/RISP: .259/.352/.407
LAD RISP: .266/.362/.393
by Eric Stephen on Aug 20, 2009 11:30 AM PDT up reply actions
if he has any hand in his son's hitting development
i blame him entirely
by whorge on Aug 20, 2009 11:26 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Pitching Rotation
With a healthy Kuroda….what do you guys think of this rotaion? Can we go deep in to the playoffs…..?
Billingsley
Kershaw
Wolf
Kuroda
Padilla
It would be a stretch for Padilla to make the postseason roster, especially if Kuroda is healthy.
by Eric Stephen on Aug 20, 2009 12:22 PM PDT up reply actions
A stretch?
A stretch of these proportions:
by David Young on Aug 20, 2009 12:39 PM PDT up reply actions
You wouldn't need Padilla
a 4 man rotation would work fine.
by Michael White on Aug 20, 2009 12:25 PM PDT up reply actions
Right
And that four-man rotation can go deep into the playoffs.
by David Young on Aug 20, 2009 12:40 PM PDT up reply actions
You’ll need Padilla only if we face the Phillies. We need to send someone in to hit their first three batters in game 1 and “he’s just crazy enough to do it”.
by KellyStephen on Aug 20, 2009 1:25 PM PDT up reply actions
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NL West Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
San Diego
|
79 | 59 | .572 | 0 | Won 3 |
|
San Francisco
|
78 | 62 | .557 | 2 | Lost 1 |
|
Colorado
|
75 | 64 | .539 | 4.5 | Won 6 |
|
Los Angeles
|
69 | 71 | .492 | 11 | Lost 5 |
|
Arizona
|
57 | 83 | .407 | 23 | Won 1 |
(updated 9.8.2010 at 10:10 PM PDT)
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