Dodgers Blue Blog

Wait till next year!

A classic line from Dodger history.  Just like then we Dodger fans are waiting for next season, waiting for the chance to see the Dodger's get to the promised land.  A chance to see Torre get his first World Championship with the Dodgers.

How are all you Dodger fans feeling today?  Disappointed, yeah me too, but not too disappointed.  Afterall, we made it to the NLCS for the second year in a row.  How many teams wish they had made it and how many of their fans would gladly switch places with us as their teams were out of the post-season, some by the time July rolled around.

I believe there is nothing for the Dodgers to hang their heads about. They proved they are the second best club in the NL.  Thats not to shabby if ya ask me. They are NL Western Division Champions.  They made it to the post-season and battled hard and made this Dodger fan proud they had made it so far.  Yeah, winning it all would have been better, but it wasn't to be and no use in sitting around feeling bad for ourselves.  Our Dodgers went a long ways.  They had a great season and gave us, their fans, a lot to cheer about. 

This team is young, full of talent and has a great future ahead of it. Now is the time for the Dodgers to fine tune this club so next season they win the NLCS and the World Series.  Some changes will be made this winter and if the powers that be make the right moves, this time next year we will be waiting for the World Series.  A World Series that will have our Dodgers in it.  So, relish this season.  Remember all the thrilling walk off wins, the great comebacks and all the great plays the Dodgers achieved during this season.  Relish it and keep an eye on what the Dodgers do during the offseason.  Most of all, WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR!!!!! 

GO DODGERS!!!!!

I would still rather be down 3-1 than.....

I will be rooting on the Dodgers tonight to begin a comeback and recapture the magic they had all season.  I believe they can do it and hope they do. But, reality is staring us in the face.  It is highly unlikely and most likely after tonight we will be turning our attention to other off-season pursuits. I'm not being negative, or a naysayer. I believe this team can comeback and win this series as I wrote above. However, I am also something of a realist.  The odds are long, the chances slim and it is highly unlikely.

If the worst happens tonight I am not going to pout, cry or feel bad.  It has been one heck of a ride this season and one I will never forget.  Its been magical, fun and inspiring to watch this team rack up the wins this season.  The pitching has been phenomenal, the bullpen great and the hitting unbelievable with its timely connections. 

Some will call for Torre's head. others will be angry. Some may not want to watch another game again.. till the season begins and they will be back.  Not me, I will relish this season.  I would much rather be down 3-1 in the NLCS than be in the shoes of a Nationals fan, a Pirates fan or any of the other teams who were in last place or did not make it to the post-season.  I also would rather be in this position than a Tigers fan who had to watch their lead disappear and have their hearts broken in the 163rd game.  We are blessed to be in this position.  In the final 2 NL teams playing and one of the final 4 teams playing in October. Think about it, we could be amongst those millions of fans whose team did not make it to the post-season.  No thanks, I would rather be here than where they are at.  I've spent too many seasons there. Instead I will relish baseball in October and if the Dodgers lose I will feel bad, but not that bad. After, they made it for the second season in a row to the NLCS.  If the long shot happens what a thrill it will be for we could then be watching baseball into November!!! Either way, I would rather be where we are now than where millions of others are......

GO DODGERS!!!!!

11-0

Last night was one of those nights for the Dodgers.  They lost 11-0.  Nothing went right and it was a blowout.  Some want to make a big deal about it, but its still only one loss and those who have Torre through the years know the Yankees used to have these games when he managed them also. Many times they bounced back with a vengeance.  So, we'll see what happens tonight.

Speaking of tonight, at 8:07 pm ET Wolf 11-7 3.23 takes the mound against Blanton 12-8 4.05.  This is a important game to watch for the Dodgers win or else they are down 3-1 in this series.  So this game is important, but with Wolf on the mound it should be a very competitive, hard-fought and close game game. 

Tidbit-
In their history the Dodgers have trailed in the NLCS 2 games to 1.  Twice they have come back to win the NLCS and both those times they won the World Series!

GO DODGERS!!!

The Pitching shows up and Dodgers even the Series!

This series is living up to my expectations so far.  After yesterday's higher scoring hard fought close game today we were treated to the pitching duels we expected to see.  Martinez looked great and held the Dodgers scoreless but was let down when the Phillies suspect bullpen walked Ethier with the bases loaded in the eighth bringing in what proved to be the winning run.  On the Dodger's side the pitching was excellent with Padilla allowing only one run with Ryan Howard's homer in the 4th.  Other than that it was all pitching as these two teams once again had a battle royale in LA with the Dodgers winning 2-1.

With the series now tied up at a game each the action will once again pick up on Sunday at Philadelphia.  Game time will be at 5:07 pm PT.  The Starters will be Kuroda 8-7 3.76 vs. Lee 14-13 3.22.   Kuroda has had a rough year injury wise but seems to be healthy now and this match-up should prove be a lot of fun in another war on Sunday Night. 

This game in my opinion will be very pivotal.  If the Dodgers take this game they will have the Phillies on the defense at home. If they lose they will have another must win the next game.   So, the team that takes this next game will have the advantage which will make it harder for the other team to comeback, especially in a series with two such closely matched teams as these.  Look for a Dodgers win on Sunday as they continue to go against the odds and live to the hilt the underdog role.  Its gonna be fun so strap yourself in and get ready for a wild ride on Sunday. :)

GO DODGERS!!!!!

Pitching! What pitching?

We went into the first game with two pitchers who had excellent ERAs in the last month of the season. However, you couldn't tell that by last night's game.  Power and piling up runs was the name of the game and unfortunately the Dodger came out on the short end of the stick with a 8-6 loss.  While it was good to see the Dodgers give Kershaw run support, something they had failed to do in the last month, it is too bad Kershaw couldn't keep guys off base and couldn't stop serving up 3 run shots. 

The game did however prove to be a hard fought war as we expected and this series is far from over right now.  On the mound tonight for the Dodgers is Padilla 4-0 3.20 as a Dodger against Martinez 5-1 3.63.  Can Padilla repeat his last performance tonight?  Can Pedro show some of his former greatness and show he is not over the hill tonight?  We'll find out at 4:07 pm ET.

Back to last night's game.  I was thrilled to see the bats of the Dodgers pound on the Phillies pitching last night.  That is exactly what they need to win this series.  However, the pitching left something to be desired.  Lets hope that was a one night anomoly and that tonight Padilla continues to shut down the opposition and show Pedro who is his daddy! :)

The highlights last night consisted of Loney's early homer that put the Dodgers up 1-0.  Manny came through with a 2 run shot in the 5th.  But, coupled with the collapse of the best pitching in MLB and a ton of runners left in scoring position left the Dodgers down 0-1 in this best of 7 games series.  I don't believe we will see a repeat of this tonight.  Torre will address these issues and the Dodgers will respond.  However, since the NLCS has moved to the best of 7 games the team that wins the first game has won the series 16 times while losing 7.  So, its going to be tough but the Dodgers have the talent, the depth, the attitude and the hunger to take this series.   So, strap on the helmet and dig that foxhole deep this war isn't over yet.  Below is last night's box score.  GO DODGERS!!!!!

Philadelphia	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	3	0		8	8	1
LA Dodgers	0	1	0	0	3	0	0	2	0		6	14	0

The war begins......

The game is just starting between the Dodgers and the Phillies.  On the mound for the Dodgers is Kershaw 8-8 2.79 who becomes the youngest ever pitcher to start a League Championship Series and the third youngest pitcher to pitch game one of any post-season series.

The name of the game tonight is pitching. Kershaw and Hamels have both had very good ERAs for the past month so it should (should, but you know how it goes) be a low scoring affair.  The Dodgers took the season series 4 games to 3 and outscored the Phillies 26 to 25.  So, it should prove to be a hard fought and tough played series between these two great teams.

Joe Torre goes for his 84th post-season victory tonight.  His 83 wins in the post-season are the most for any manager in baseball history. The 5th winningest  manager of all-time will give the Dodgers a lot in their corner for this series. 

Since moving to LA the Dodgers have made the post-season 19 times.  This is the 26th post-season the Dodgers have played in during their long history in Brooklyn and LA. 

Tomorrow Padilla starts against the Phillies.  Lets hope the Dodgers are looking for their second straight win in the NLCS.  GO DODGERS!!!!!

GO Dodgers!!!

Let me start this post by apologizing to you, our readers, for the lack of posting here recently.  Please know I became very ill during the summer and during a series of illnesses I was plagued by a employer who only compounded these problems.  But, I am back for the rest of the post-season. 

Since I last posted the Dodgers cooled off a bit, but still took the NL West Championship.  It was a very impressive season by a very impressive team that is led by one of the great managers, Joe Torre.  The Dodgers then took on the Cardinals, a team that really looked good the second half of the season. What they proceeded to do surprised most ppl and left me with my jaw hanging in disbelief. 

However, this team now has the daunting task of taking on the defending world champions, the Phillies.  I don;t care what happened between these two team during the season, this is a whole new season now.  The Phillies are defending champions, have experience and are one good ball club.  The Dodgers are young, very talented and made it to the NLCS last year, so they are not inexperienced either.

So, what do I think will happen?  I think this is going to be a war.  Its going to be a hard fought series that will be a nailbighter for fans of both sides each game.  It will go the full slate.  I think only one thing separates these two teams.  That being hunger.  This Dodger team had most of their players show up early this spring, a week before the starting date.  Hunger is what the Dodgers have and this group of young players has through the season showed they can play with the best of them.  I believe they will take the NLCS, but only after they and the Phillies give their fans ulcers, heart attacks and wreck their nerves.  Both are great teams and will give it their all.  However, the Dodgers will, in my opinion, face the Yankees in the Series for a good old-fashioned Dodgers/Yankees Series.  Won't that be interesting seeing Joe Torre leading the Dodgers against his former team? 

So, buckle yourself in for the wildest ride of the season is about to begin. Hang on and steel your nerves for your gonna need it!  GO DODGERS!!!!

50! MANNY!!!!!!

Great pitching carried the day yesterday as the First place 50-29 .633 +7 Dodgers won 1-0 behind a great outing by Kershaw who let up 1 hit in 5 innings.  3 hits is all the miserly Dodgers pitching would allow to the Rox as they chalked up their 50th win of the year!  Troncoso 2-0 1.94 got the win while Broxton picked up his 19th save.  Furcal drove in the game winning run in the 8th driving home Martin.  A thrilling hard fought win for the Dodgers!!!

However, it is all moot for there is only one big news item in LA today and that is the return tomorrow of this guy... no need to mention his name just look at his picture;

-from flickr, creative commons license, shgmom56

Thats right tomorrow he returns.  In SF the Giants responded in pure panic:

 

Wow, its only baseball after all!

But thats not the only response to Manny and the Dodgers we are seeing, this is what they are doing in Mad Monkland in response.....

SEAN M. HAFFEY / Union-Tribune

Meanwhile, in Arizona this is the result of Manny's return!

This is the reaction in Colorado!

-from the Onion

Wow, must be that thin air!!!!

But, those aren't the only fans having reactions to manny's return!  My Red Sox neighbor's kid got in on the action too! They get started young in Red Sox land don't they?  Guess they will never forgive him!

Wow, they even are responding in Chicago!  Oh wait, she is still responding to last year..

Well, those are the responses from around the League to the return of Manny!  But, in LA this is the symbol that represents the Dodgers right now!

Tomorrow is the big day, witht he return of Manny the Dodgers will only get stronger and so it should be a fun second half!!!  GO DODGERS!!! 

9-1, 50, 13th, Tidbits

The magic continued last night for the First Place 49-28 .636 +7 Dodgers who moved their record against the Rockies to 9-1 on the season with a magic moment in the bottom of the 13th when Ethier hit a two run shot to right field to bring home the 4-2 win for the Dodgers!!!

In the wild game with the Rox the highlights of the game included not only Ethier's game winning shot, but also Pierre going 3 for 5 with 3 stolen bases!  Wolf going 1 for 2 with 2RBIs was a high moment also. A huge cheer to the pen for throwing 7 scoreless innings last night, 6 of them with no hits either!   Way to go Dodgers!!!

In other news Manny went 1 for 3 last night, his last in the minors.  He will next play with the Dodgers on the 3rd of July when the Dodgers will play the Padres.  Manny finished his rehab in the minors with 5 games going 3 for 10 with one mannyshot!

The Dodgers play the Rockies tonight at 10:10 pm ET with the starters being Billingsley 9-3 3.10 vs. Marquis 9-5 4.22.  Billingsley is 2-2 5.18 against the Rox lifetime.  Last night's win kept the Dodgers from having their first 3 game losing streak of the season. Way to go Dodgers!!!!

TIDBITS

On this date in 1962 Sandy Koufax no-hit the Mets 5-0.

This is the best start for the Dodgers sine 1977 when they were 51-26.

The Dodgers are now 7-2 in extra-innings.

GO DODGERS!!!!!

13-11, Manny and Rox

The first place 48-28 .632 +7 Dodgers lost their second straight game last night by the score of 4-2 to the Mariners.  Highlights included Kemp hitting a homer in the 5th. That was pretty much it in the highlight department.

The Dodgers finished Interleague play at 9-9 and have went 5-5 in their last 10 games.  This team has definitely cooled off but is not playing bad baseball. Whether they pick the pace up or not we shall see ibn the future,a future that will soon include Manny again.  Whether that is a blessing or not we shall see.  The Dodgers are 13-11 this month. 

Speaking of Manny, he went 0 for 2 on Sunday with the Inland Empire 66ers.

Meanwhile Belisario who was picked up on suspicion of drunk driving had a meeting with Torre. He was told such stuff will not be tolerated.   Good for Joe Torre!  One manny is enough thank you!

The Dodgers tonight play the Rox at 10:10 pm ET with the starters being Wolf 3-3 3.64 vs. Jiminez 6-7 3.83.  Wolf is 4-2 4.50 lifetime against the Rockies.  The Dodgers are 8-1 against them so far this season.

So, tune in and root on those Dodgers!  GO DODGERS!!!