Billingsley Looks to Continue Wrigley Trend
by Eric Stephen on May 26, 2010 2:08 PM PDT
in Dodgers Game Previews
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PrintBring up the words "Chad Billingsley" and "playoffs," and you will likely hear countless mentions of the 2008 NLCS against the Phillies, where his two poor starts contributed to the Dodgers' series loss and apparently invalidated everything he had accomplished prior to that. However, Billingsley's first playoff start was his best, and that came against the Cubs in Game 2 of the NLDS. Billingsley won that night, and has pitched very well in three career starts in Wrigley Field:
| Chad Billingsley Career Starts at Wrigley Field | |||||||
| Date | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | Dec |
| 10/2/08 | 6.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | W |
| 5/26/08 | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | L |
| 5/29/09 | 7.0 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | L |
| Totals (2.29 ERA) |
19.2 | 17 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 21 | 1-2 |
Unfortunately, the Dodgers lost each of those last two games, scoring one run in each game. That sounds an awful lot like last night, when the Dodgers didn't score at all. In fact, the Dodgers have scored 14 total runs in their last eight games at Wrigley Field, and that includes an eight-run game last season. They have scored zero or one run in six of those eight games, losing all six.
Tom Gorzelanny gets the start for Chicago, after getting hit on the hand last week, and in what might be his final start before getting bumped by Carlos Zambrano. Gorzelanny has a 1-0 record and a 4.08 ERA in three career starts against the Dodgers.
Closing Time
Both Carlos Marmol, who got the save last night, and Jonathan Broxton have racked up saves in May after few opportunities in April.
| MLB Save Leaders in May | ||||||||||
| Closer | Team | IP | BB | K | W | Sv | Bsv | ERA | WHIP | FIP |
| Broxton | LA | 10.0 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 2.70 | 1.30 | 0.23 |
| Feliz | Tex | 12.2 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0.71 | 0.55 | 1.93 |
| Soriano | TB | 10.1 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.58 | 2.24 |
| Marmol | ChC | 12.0 | 9 | 24 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 2.25 | 1.25 | 2.41 |
| Dotel | Pit | 10.0 | 6 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0.90 | 0.90 | 1.30 |
| Wilson | SF | 9.1 | 3 | 18 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2.89 | 1.50 | 2.94 |
| Thanks to ESPN & Fangraphs | ||||||||||
Road Woes
This is skewed since Eric Collins and Steve Lyons don't announce home games, where the Dodgers have played much better than on the road, but here is the Dodgers' record this year, broken down by announcers:
| 2010 Dodgers, By Announcer | |
| Announcer | W-L |
| Vin Scully | 20-7 |
| Collins, Lyons | 4-12 |
| Fox | 1-1 |
| Total | 25-20 |
Notes
- Reed Johnson has reached base safely in his last five (and six of his last seven) plate appearances against left-handed pitching, with three singles, a double, and a walk
- The Dodgers will have three inductees – Hall of Fame Spanish-language broadcaster Jaime Jarrín, scout Camilo Pascual and former team President Peter O’Malley – at the inaugural induction ceremony of the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame to be held in La Romana, Dominican Republic at Casa de Campo on Saturday
- Manny Ramirez is hitting .244/.385/.293 in May, with two extra-base hits (both doubles) in 14 games.
- Maury Wills picked up his 2,000th career hit on this date in 1971
Lineups
| Dodgers | Cubs | |||
| SS | Furcal |
RF | Fukudome | |
| C | Martin | 2B | Theriot | |
| CF | Kemp | 1B | Lee |
|
| LF | Manny | LF | Soriano | |
| 3B | Blake | CF | Colvin | |
| 1B | Loney |
3B | Fontenot | |
| RF | Johnson |
SS | Castro | |
| 2B | DeWitt | C | Hill | |
| P | Billingsley |
P | Gorzelanny | |
Xeifrank's simulation of today's game is here.
Game Time: 5:05pm
TV: Prime Ticket, WGN
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Comments
I think I heard Collins say during last night’s broadcast that Wrigley is Billingsley’s favorite ballpark in the league. Presumably after DS that is.
I listen to ESPN Radio online, and during the commercials there is a spot for Lacrosse on ESPN and Collins can be heard announcing some of the highlights that are played.
by Eric Stephen on May 26, 2010 2:22 PM PDT up reply actions
So this is the third straight year the Dodgers visit Wrigley in the May 20s ?
Let’s hope Billingsley pitching success on those dates holds up, but the trend of lack of offensive support is broken.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
Yep
In aught seven, the Cubs visited Dodger Stadium from May 25-27.
The Dodgers didn’t go to Wrigley until Labor Day, starting a 4-game series with Esteban Loaiza’s Dodger debut.
by Eric Stephen on May 26, 2010 2:28 PM PDT up reply actions
The FIP
I think in my pre-season projection I had him as a mid 3 ERA pitcher this year.
by Michael White on May 26, 2010 2:41 PM PDT up reply actions
You expect the two will be close given a large enough sample size.
by Michael White on May 26, 2010 2:49 PM PDT up reply actions
Right now?
The ERA is, but since the season so far has been a tale of two CKs, really need more time to know what Kershaw will show up primarily this season.
I don’t like Xfip, it seems to punish you if you don’t give up a lot of homeruns, but some pitchers are just that way anyway. I think he’s been lucky in terms of his ERA, but his FIP seems perfect with how well he has pitched this year.
It punishes you if you give up a lot of fly ball, not if you don’t give up a lot of homeruns. If you are Derek Lowe and don’t give up a ton of homeruns its not going to normalize you to a league average HR/PA ratio. It normalizes to a league average HR/FB ratio.
by Michael White on May 26, 2010 2:48 PM PDT up reply actions
i like x-FIP in that over time roughly the same percentage of fly balls will end up being home runs.
The one caveat: I am not sure if it normalizes all fly balls, or just outfield flies, because infield popups obviously won’t go out of the park, and Kershaw seems particularly good at inducing infield flies.
by Eric Stephen on May 26, 2010 2:48 PM PDT up reply actions
2.35 which is where his ERA is going to end up:)
Liked his stuff last night, liked how he didn’t give in, even as pitch after was fouled off. That was a game he could have easily walked six but he kept coming at em.
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
In other words
He was put on the DL with the same thing Sherrill and Haeger have.
I remember when you could not move someone off your fantasy team
unless he went on the DL (no drops). Tough fantasy baseball times.
My brother used to input the stats from the Sporting News once a week for his league in the mid 1980s.
by Eric Stephen on May 26, 2010 2:50 PM PDT up reply actions
USA Today Baseball Weekly
was a god send for me when I did all of our stats. Hard to believe I entered everything, mailed it. Nothing was bigger for roto sports then the internet.
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
Now that I think of it
I think it was USA Today, not Sporting News.
Just a decade ago, I manually kept stats for my league because we had monthly transactions and awards, and we didn’t want to pay for a stat service since the free leagues never provided that info.
by Eric Stephen on May 26, 2010 2:53 PM PDT up reply actions
It was 1988, and it was USA Today. I actually took a 3×5 note card and carefully cut out slots that matched the specific offensive numbers I needed so it was easier to manually input it. Loaded everything into a Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet and then hit the calc key to see where we stood.
Yeah, I was using a PC but just typing that makes me feel like I was in the dark ages using a stone tablet!
by KellyStephen on May 26, 2010 3:14 PM PDT up reply actions
Only pussy leagues have benches
the original leagues were killers, and the draft was ever so important.
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
did you use to walk to school through three feet of snow with packs of hungry wolves attacking you along the way?
by Xeifrank on May 26, 2010 2:52 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I recall
When having cable tv and being able to listen to sports talk at work was a huge advantage. Moves had to be made on answering machine.
Uphill, both ways.
Gosh.
They say to never hit a man with a closed fist. But it is, on occasion, hilarious.
I would cut off bits of my fingers to keep them at bay until I made it to school
it is why my nickname is nubs.
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
by Phil Gurnee on May 26, 2010 2:54 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
His mom would hide a few raw steaks in his backpack
by Eric Stephen on May 26, 2010 2:58 PM PDT up reply actions
True that
she had four sons she didn’t need a fifth.
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
The Barbershop Quartet was already complete.
by Eric Stephen on May 26, 2010 3:00 PM PDT up reply actions
my kids still do
even here in late May.
by MammothDodger on May 26, 2010 3:23 PM PDT up reply actions
My dad did a league for a long time and talked about having to input the stats himself and stuff like that. He told me he made software to make it easier for himself actually. I did a few drafts with him when i was a bit younger, and they were great: Auction drafts with 233 points to fill 23 spots. It was great :)
yeah
as a programmer I created a complete database around my league. Written in an old Pick system called Revelation. Good times
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
I remember
writing software for tracking our softball team’s stats in the 1980s, on an IBM mini-computer, probably in their scripting language. (For you young’uns, this was before PC and spreadsheet software like Excel – or VisiCalc – was ubiquitous.)
Some intrepid co-workers wrote a program to database their strat-o-matic cards, spit out stat sheets for any match up you wanted, and eventually a program to play out actual games using those players, Xeifrank’s cultural ancestors.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
Mr. Young, I’d like to talk to you about this improper use of company resources when you have a moment…
by KellyStephen on May 26, 2010 3:16 PM PDT up reply actions
I've lost track
of the number of bosses I’ve outlasted here. Software guys are the cockroaches in the dark garages of this industry.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
I remember when I did Fantasy Baseball by mail. Had to mail or fax in rosters by Monday. I had to wait for the mail to come every week to see results. And trades had to be done by phone.
You don't seem old enough to have done roto leagues by mail
were you playing before you were legal?
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
I was doing that in junior high. Was so much fun beating adults. Company was Fairway Fantasy Sports. My mom grudgingly wrote a $5 check to them every week.
My mom didn’t think paying $120 up front was a better idea. I probably needed new baseball cleats or something like that instead when that money was due.
I bought a few of those MLB videos from the late 1980s and early 1990s via the Bank of Mom. She would pay the $20 or so via credit card, and I would pay her via a $10 weekly reduction in my allowance.
by Eric Stephen on May 26, 2010 3:07 PM PDT up reply actions
Your mom funded your baseball habit? Man, you must come from rich parents.
by KellyStephen on May 26, 2010 3:16 PM PDT up reply actions
Hacksaw was the first sports radio personality I listed to daily
I remember my dad driving me to baseball practice and listening to Hacksaw.
It took awhile before I started to find him homerism and berating of callers a bit annoying.
by Michael White on May 26, 2010 2:56 PM PDT up reply actions
Back then, only 11 of the 20 minutes was old news! :)
by Eric Stephen on May 26, 2010 2:59 PM PDT up reply actions
My favorite was his Saturday show
when he would “talk” to coaches. He never said this recorded earlier.
I was introduced in college to a guy only known as “The Legend,” who claimed to have a tape of him calling various radio shows, including Hacksaw, and messing with them in some way (like asking Hacksaw about a completely made up prospect or something, and having Hacksaw proceed to talk him up). I asked to hear the tape, but he said he couldn’t “because of a statute of limitations!”
I knew then he was full of shit, but I so wanted that tape to be real.
by Eric Stephen on May 26, 2010 3:03 PM PDT up reply actions
Mason and Ireland pulled that prank on Hacksaw
Mason asked him about a player, the name he used was his teen age nephew, Hacksaw went on to say what a good football prospect he was and where he might go to school.
Back in 1993, I asked Porter what was up with Todd Williams (one of our top pitching prospects at the time, I guess). Fun memories.
Man
though it makes sense, guy’s fathers doing this stuff that I did back in the day. (well I didn’t drive anyone to practice.)
Some needs toduct tape
Chris Fiegler (Latham,NY) ’s arms to his chair.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
A little bit of truth to the DL
I will say this: I don’t think Sherrill’s injury is that serious, but he really does have some discomfort in his back, so that one was at least semi-legit. As for Haeger, well, that plantar fasciitis sure cleared up in a hurry, didn’t it?
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
Nit pick
if the Cubs beat the Dodgers tonight, the all-time series between the two franchises, both of which go back to the founding of the National League, will be dead even at 1,017-1,017.
NL formed in 1876
Cubs began in 1876, in NL
Dodgers began in 1884, joined NL in 1890
by Eric Stephen on May 26, 2010 3:29 PM PDT up reply actions
that is an astounding statistic
though weirdly, 1017-1017 has the most possible combinations over any other. Nevertheless, the fact that they’d be dead even after 110/116 years is amazing!
BTW, Where the hell are these TJackson chats announced?
They don’t show up on his columnist page.
I find the ESPNLA pages less than friendly in terms of actually finding things.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
Those chats appear on the main ESPN.com Sportsnation page
They tend to have one LA site chat a day (mostly Lakers).
Thanks. But not on their ESPN LA page?
That seems lame.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
Took me a few minutes (literally)
to figure out exactly where you meant. I’ve never paid attention to that window. That main page is so cluttered I find it hard to find anything there.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
That window is my livelihood.
It is, after all, the most prominent feature on the page.
Do you get a lot of hits from a link on that window (you don't have one currently)?
You do have a box of your own just below there. When I visit the ESPN LA home page, I tend to ignore the pictures and scan the “Los Angeles News” headlines to the right.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
I don’t know where my hits come from – for that matter, I don’t know anymore how many hits I get. All I’m saying is that that window has the biggest type and the biggest (and most arresting) pictures, so having nothing to do with DT, it wouldn’t occur to me that most people would ignore it.
Anyway, to the point of this conversation, if you’re looking for something new/recent on ESPNLA like a link to Tony’s chat, I would look there first.
They are announced via scroll in a small office in Latham, New York
by Eric Stephen on May 26, 2010 3:41 PM PDT up reply actions
You should suggest to Tony next time you are both in the press box
That he’d get more participation if he sent out a twitter announcement for them. ;)
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
Perhaps
but when the alternative is a steady diet of inanity from Chris Fiegler (Latham,NY) ….
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
Agreed
Also, depending on the link, Jackson’s “archive” is usually just a search result of the name “Tony Jackson,” which includes much more than just his articles.
That site is tedious.
by Eric Stephen on May 26, 2010 3:45 PM PDT up reply actions
I'd noticed that too
And it’s pretty funny because athletes named “Tony Jackson” show up in those searches. Really, no pride in their work is being exhibited there.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
Love the picture of Jackie Chan
back in his home country of China, he is actually as well known for his singing as his action movies.
Miracle Ms
- best organization in baseball fights back from 4-1 8th inning deficit to take a 5-4 lead heading into the 9th inning. Let’s see if they can manage to blow it. If they hold on, I believe their magic number drops below 300.
oh, sure- noooowww they wake up!
Too cool to do it against the Padres, who seem to have everyone’s numbers- except ours, of course.
Um…that’s Loney and Beard now, isn’t it?
by KellyStephen on May 26, 2010 3:23 PM PDT up reply actions
I bet Mattingly was responsible for filling out the original lineup card, and pulled a Mattingly.
by Eric Stephen on May 26, 2010 3:24 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
that's unbelievable
I’d understand if they were 10 games out of 1st, but they’re right in the hunt now! I’m guessing there will be hell to pay if they miss the playoffs by 2 or 3 games.
Amazingly
all five teams in the NL East are at .500 or higher. Get your cameras out or take a screen capture at mlb.com
That's because
in April four of them hosted series against the Dodgers.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
Did you take the temperature before or after you heard the Strasburg news?
by Eric Stephen on May 26, 2010 3:36 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Offices should be kept on the cool side
People who are cold can where more layers of clothing. I don’t want to see my co-workers who think it is too hot wearing less clothing.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
Dude
My office is at like, 55 – 60 degrees at all time. I do not like it. Especially when it is 95+ outside and I have to show up to work in pants, closed toe shoes, and a hoodie to keep from freezing my ass off during work.
They say to never hit a man with a closed fist. But it is, on occasion, hilarious.
Do you work in a wine cellar?
Cool is 68-70 in my book. 55 – 60 is simply abusive unless you are bottled, fermented beverage.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
I wish.
Then my job would be infinitely more entertaining. For some reason the AC in here is linked to some place that is much warmer. So it’s freezing.
They say to never hit a man with a closed fist. But it is, on occasion, hilarious.
ours is set
on 70. But I am the boss, so that is the only reason. If it were 78 in here, I would take a 1/2 day of vacation. Way too fat for that shit!
Wow.
Today’s Gnats/Rockies game is going to be RIDICULOUS.
They say to never hit a man with a closed fist. But it is, on occasion, hilarious.
MLB.COM LIED TO ME
It had this cool split picture of Lincey and Ubaldo, and I was like OMG PITCHER DUEL.
But then I remembered to read. And read that they are not, in fact, playing each other. Fail. :(
They say to never hit a man with a closed fist. But it is, on occasion, hilarious.
Royals baserunner Scott Podsednik fell for the old fake throw to third, toss it to first pick off move today. You rarely see that work, even when teenagers are playing. Can’t wait to see the highlights of that play later this evening. Let’s hope Matt Kemp never falls for that.
I don't think I've ever seen that work
I find it hilarious that every single time a pitcher tries that, the fans scream “balk!”
by Michael White on May 26, 2010 3:40 PM PDT up reply actions
I saw it live today, and it was the first try.
by robotmadeofnails on May 26, 2010 4:26 PM PDT up reply actions
I think you should call a balk in the next game you umpire :)
by Eric Stephen on May 26, 2010 4:28 PM PDT up reply actions
Slow pitch softball…that would be awesome. The equivalent of a balk call in that league would be the idiot runner that leaves too early and gets called out. I have ended championship games that way
by robotmadeofnails on May 26, 2010 4:29 PM PDT up reply actions
Wow
I forget…when can you start running? Is it when the ball crosses the plate, or once the ball leaves the pitcher’s hand?
by Eric Stephen on May 26, 2010 4:33 PM PDT up reply actions
Once it is released from the pitcher’s hand. The funny thing is that the people that leave early don’t really get a better lead than if you just wait. I mean the pitch takes awhile to get there. We had our fastest guy called out for leading off at 2B to end a comeback in a game…I was annoyed with him.
by robotmadeofnails on May 26, 2010 4:48 PM PDT up reply actions
Ever call a batter out for bunting?
Some asshole ump did that to me once, on an 0-2 moonball (unlimited arc league) despite my grounder being hard enough to get between the 3B and the SS, who hadn’t let up. Hell, I did hear the call either. I didn’t take a full swing exactly, but I didn’t shorten up either. (I no longer harbor any resentment about that, however.)
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
If you laid down a bunt like a normal bunt, then yes, I would call you out since it is illegal. If it was a weird half swing, probably not.
by robotmadeofnails on May 26, 2010 4:47 PM PDT up reply actions
The second I find a better paying job I will stop. I miss being at home with the fam
by robotmadeofnails on May 26, 2010 4:49 PM PDT up reply actions
LOL
My mom totally just offered me $50 to clean the bathroom. Really? I would do it for free. I think I should tell her that…
They say to never hit a man with a closed fist. But it is, on occasion, hilarious.
Wow
I pay the woman that cleans my entire house $55 every 2 weeks. You are getting away with murder.
Coincidentally, both getting away with murder and cleaning the bathroom are tasks that require rubber gloves and a whole lot of bleach.
by Eric Stephen on May 26, 2010 3:55 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Upon reading my own comment, this seems a little too dark.
by Eric Stephen on May 26, 2010 3:55 PM PDT up reply actions
I tried to work in a reference to Snatch and feeding people to hungry pigs, but I gave up and went back to work.
by Michael White on May 26, 2010 3:59 PM PDT up reply actions
Dexterrrrr
After watching that show, nothing is too dark.
They say to never hit a man with a closed fist. But it is, on occasion, hilarious.
It's ok, joke's on me.
I don’t know what fully cleaning the bathroom entails to my mother, so I asked, and she explained. There was a 5 minute pause and then I got the following text: “Or you could google ‘how to clean a bathroom’”.
They say to never hit a man with a closed fist. But it is, on occasion, hilarious.
by Maddz on May 26, 2010 3:55 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
And you’re sure there wasn’t some cat related incident in there earlier today?
by regfairfield on May 26, 2010 3:56 PM PDT up reply actions
Not that I know of
but I have been force feeding antibiotic pills to Bodhi for the past few days. And the other two cats hate flea medication and they just got there’s last night.
They say to never hit a man with a closed fist. But it is, on occasion, hilarious.
Force feeding and bathroom cleanups don’t mix.
by regfairfield on May 26, 2010 3:59 PM PDT up reply actions
Unfortunately he's the most clumsy cat ever.
But I couldn’t bring myself to amputate another one of his toes.
They say to never hit a man with a closed fist. But it is, on occasion, hilarious.
Better to increase that walk-up during the week than a weekend.
by Eric Stephen on May 26, 2010 4:01 PM PDT up reply actions
Someone bestole my announcer win-loss record off hand comment
but it’s okay. there is a special circle of hell for plagiarists and people who hotlink photos.
Look at that, he hit the f*cking bull! Guy gets a free steak!
Didn't notice this commented on here earlier
From a Tony Jackson article.
Sherrill said he injured his back trying to climb into bed gingerly so as not to awaken his wife, who was already sleeping.
“I tried to fall into bed like a leaf,” he said. “But I’m a little too heavy for a leaf. As soon as I was in bed, my back stiffened up. When I woke up [Sunday] morning, it felt pretty stiff, but it felt fine to pitch.”… [Sherrill] threw with Conte again Tuesday at Wrigley Field. He said he felt something whenever he extended his back.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
An article that
isn’t listed on his archive page:
http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/columns/archive?name=tony-jackson
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
Ethier took BP
Prime Ticket showed some of it on the pregame. Reports were he looked good.
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