Hazing shots not to be missed.
http://www.sonsofstevegarvey.com/search/label/rookie%20hazing

0
I feel about Dempster like Cub fans feel about Chad. I have no fear of him no matter how good he's been this year. He's going to be the game one starter for the Cubs. If we play the Cubs we don't play until Wednesday. Martin is going to be one well rested catcher by then.

How dare they generalize Facebook users.

Well at least they are not talking about me.

http://tinyurl.com/3lbmuz

I'm a little late to the party, too, but I just wanted to say YES!!!!!!WHOOPEE!!!!!!!!.

I was at Wednesday's game and had a great time. It was great seeing Nomar and Manny crush home runs.

If we can score runs in the playoffs, we're going to be dangerous. With Torre and Manny leading us in, we've got a chance, especially if the pitching continues to be strong. Go Dodgers!

With Torre and Manny leading us in, we've got a chance

Heck: when you got Torre, who needs Manny...

Wow, rain projected in NYC throughout the whole weekend. Maybe they can move the Mets series to Milwaukee!

I kid, I kid! Milwaukee is already hosting their own series anyway.

Who needs Torre when you got JIM TRACY.

BTW: Torre is 4-9 in "his" last 13 post-season games.

8

I think the mediocre Yankee pitching has a lot to do with that.

8 that was without manny though....

so we don't want to face the cubs correct with the thinking that philly/mets/mil will exhaust hamels/santana/cc just to get in? either way i'm feeling pretty confident we can put up a good fight against anybody with our hot offense lately. iirc we played the cubs pretty tough at wrigley this year.

I would settle for stealing Game 1 or 2 on the road. Coming home 0-2 is turning into a foul tradition.

9 10
Are you saying that a manager's performance depends upon his players' performances...?

It's funny though... This week, the Cubs were able to beat the Mets a couple of times with only half the team and some bench guys. I thought that was remarkable, or a further indictment of the Mets Bullpen.

Which is it?

Winning a game on the road is a must scenario if we expect to make some hay this October. D Lowe is the right choice for game one. I expect him to bring home a victory.

Rafy looked ready to me. He hit the ball on the head twice against Peavy and even standing still he had the same range as Berroa/Nomar.

If Kent could play I liked him batting 2nd. He can get to 3rd on Manny doubles and trot home on Manny home runs. Larry Bowa will not allow 2006 to happen again. He has to be worth at least that.

Quick Dream Lineup if they can play:
Furcal
Kent
Ethier
Manny
Kemp
Blake
Loney
Martin

Or
Furcal
Martin
Ethier
Manny
Kemp
Kent
Blake
Loney

That will beat the drums of the heart.

If we get Furcal back, that is one scary lineup. I'll take our 25# against anyone else's 25, AL or NL.

#That 25 does not include Mark Sweeney. If Mark Sweeney's on the team, that goes right out the window.

14
Met's bullpen is Arizona bad. Mets have four excellent players and chaf. One great starter and one at the end of his great career who may not be any better then Maddux at this point.

According to Plaschke, after the Diamondbacks lost, someone decided to play I Love LA over the Dodger Stadium sound system, in an empty stadium. That's kind of funny. Also, I've figured out the key to reading Plaschke (besides not reading him, I mean): forget everything that happened more than 28 hours ago. History started yesterday morning with him.

As far as what team the Bums play in the playoffs, I don't care all that much. The Dodger pitching staff is built for a short series, the offense has been clicking, I say bring 'em on.

18 - also, which one of you asked Ethier about the score at Phillipe's yesterday?

13 It goes hand in hand, there are not many times when coaching on its own is going to win anything. Certainly in a one game scenario, it can happen, probably more so in basketball and football because you can practice and execute a certain scheme to win that game.

Fucal would clearly be a huge upgrade at SS, that goes without saying. I'm cautiously but optimistically excited. Kent, I would be happy to have him back, on the bench. I still don't trust him playing defense out there, I think his liability on defense right now would be slightly worse than it was before even and could negate whatever offense he brings. But I sure wouldn't mind him as primary PH. If Furcal plays tonight I'll report back later on how he looked in person.

Another key to winning our playoff series is to not have two runners thrown out at home in game 1. Thats huge, man.

22 - particularly if its on the same play.

1 The last pic is hilarious. James McDonald with a rainbow wig dressed like a girl. Not sure what he's going as, but still hilarious, nonetheless.

God, I want to play the Mets so badly. Well, not me literally, I probably wouldn't fare that well. The Dodgers.

Reading some of the comments on Amazin' Avenue (Mets blog) there's that same "The Dodgers are just Manny and not good otherwise" kinda stuff I saw on the Cubs blog. There are other Mets fans who will then jump in and defend the Dodgers and know their players, too, in fairness. But, the attitude is generally that they are beatable and it would be an easy series, just pitch around Manny, blah blah. I don't want to get too cocky either, knowing what happened the last time we played them, but boy, oh boy, revenge would taste sweet.

1

Thanks TC. Kuroda's was really cool especially cause he was wearing running shoes. hehehe

who knows what will happen but I really feel we are better equipped to at least win a few games this post season.

It's not just the fans (including us ourselves) who underestimate the Dodgers. The national story will be Manny, Manny, Manny and Torre. To win the division it took more than just Manny and it will take more than Manny to win in October.

Remember we're the N.L 'worst'. We don't 'deserve' to be there. Stealing Game 1 (or 2) changes everything. Let them perceive us as weak. Nevermind the fact we're the hottest team in baseball.

However with that said, everything reverts back to zero on October 1st. The difference is one team has three games at home and the other has two. Winning Game 1 and/or Game 2 will not only change the mental scenery of the past 20+ years it will make us all true believers that we can do it. The hardcore fans, the national media and everyone in between. One game can change everything but Dodger fans know that already.

Some more Cano Thoughts:

rerun (su): will robinson cano be a yankee next year? is the trouble in the clubhouse between him and Girardi enough to trade him? what about Cano for Kemp?

SportsNation Jerry Crasnick: Rerun, As I mentioned recently, Cano is an offensive second baseman who hit about .260 this year with a .300 on base percentage. He doesn't steal bases, he's not very good defensivel, he just got benched for dogging it, and he's in the middle of a $30 million contract. He's a lot better player than he showed this year, but his value is so low right now, this isn't the time for the Yankees to trade him. They're not going to get much value in return.

http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=22644

As we await word of who our playoff opponent will be, I plan on spending this weekend rooting for:

1. Chaos [weather delays]
2. Turmoil [extra inning games]
3. Anarchy [brawls]
4. Confusion [three-way ties]
5. General Disorder

All while enjoying the sight of Hu, McDonald, Elbert, & others practicing for next year.

Yippee!

25 A buddy of mine who's a diehard Phillies fan is desperately hoping the Phils draw the Dodgers in the first round. His logic is the same: Just pitch around Manny, and a co-ed softball team ought to be able to beat us.

When the Dodgers are playing well, they're as good as any team in the NL. The trick, of course, is to get everyone playing well at the same time. I just hope that the week off from competitive action doesn't cool off Manny and kill the team's momentum. I'm convinced that the 8-day break between the NLCS and WS is what killed the Rockies last year. (Besides the fact that they weren't really that good.)

Teams with the most pressure on them on October 1
1. Cubs
2. Angels
3. Red Sox
4. Tie - Dodgers, AL Central, NL East, NL Wild Card (if not Brewers)
5. NL W/C (Brewers)
6. Rays

30 We may have some of those things separate even from baseball. Careful what you wish for. ;-)

Don't know why the Red Sox has any pressure on them. What, is the media going to create a 'Curse of Manny' if they don't win the WS?

32 Honestly, I think the Dodgers may even have less pressure on them externally than the Rays, or it's pretty close. Given what was noted above about how the rest of the baseball world perceives the Dodgers, even while they may be putting pressure on themselves to do better in the playoffs this time around, the rest of the baseball world doesn't seem to expect much from them. The Rays have done so well this season there's this "they've played over their heads" feel (which is nonsense if you ask me) and "prove it to me you're not a fluke," that I could see puts a bit of pressure on them. But I guess it's similar, baseball world doesn't expect them to do much this post-season. I'd be happy if both the Dodgers and Rays prove people wrong.

The other team fans seem to forget they will not score very many runs against us. They will not be facing the soft underbelly of the East/Central bullpens but ours. Of course without Kuo just how good our bullpen will be is up in the air.
Corey Wade would be my choice to go Marmol 2007 in the postseason after being unhittable in Sept.

I hate it when people go all Marmol on me.

36 Cubs fan: "Who's Cory Wade?"

Also popular:
"Chad Billingsley hasn't proven anything yet."

"Do they have any other hitters other than Manny?"

When I was backpacking in the Sierras this summer I saw a few marmols. They didn't look all that menacing to me. They were kinda cute actually.

36 Sadly, the Kuo factor is a big one. Seems like we had a similar issue in 2006 with losing a lefty reliever before the playoffs . . .

The other team fans seem to forget they will not score very many runs against us

At least not at Dodger Stadium. Dodger MLB ERA splits:

Home: 1st
Away: 15th

Make that "Away: 14th".

My eyes played a trick on me.

I'd rather our team is made fun of then feared. It makes winning so much more fun if it happens.

One great starter and one at the end of his great career who may not be any better then Maddux at this point

Pelphrey & Oliver Perez arent that bad of starters either.

42 Your eyes can deceive you. Don't trust them.

To win the division it took more than just Manny

Correct.
It took a collapse of Arizona too.

46 And a schedule full of cupcakes.

If Furcal comes back and Saito is sound, the Dodger playoff team will be like a best-of album, featuring the good early stuff (Furcal, Saito, a rested Martin, the good DeWitt) plus all the more recent hits (Manny, Ethier and Loney on fire, Lowe in second-half form, Blake, Kershaw, the more dominant Billingsley.)

I think the key for the Dodgers is Mr. Trash Can himself, Matt Kemp. If he can pick it back up offensively, this team is second-best to the Cubs on the NL side, with not a lot separating them.

Overall, I think the east coast media should compare their favorite teams with the Dodgers post-August 1. I don't have time to do the math, but my guess is we crush the Mets and Brewers and play about even with the Phils and Cubs.

44
Pelfrey has a nice 3.95 ERA in Sept but in 25 innings has walked 11 and K'd 10. If our guys had those numbers I think you'd be using the word luck or yuck.
Oliver Perez has the sparkling 6.26 ERA in Sept in his 27 inning with 18 walks and 28 k's. He's got a BABIP of .338 in Sept so he is having some bad luck at the moment.

These guys are nice middle of the rotation pitchers but when they hand the game over to the bullpen they must cover their eyes and ears.

The whole Pennny situation seems odd to me. Would it have been normal for Ned and Frank to "promise" anything to Penny about his option, or is Brad being unreasonable about expectations before his final year of the contract? I just get the impression he is really sensitive and has responded poorly.

48 If Furcal comes back and Saito is sound, the Dodger playoff team will be like a best-of album

Nice.

I'd caution against expecting anything much out of Furcal. The long layoff, and the fact that he's still not really 100% healthy, means it's doubtful he's going to be a big difference-maker in the playoffs. I guess we'll know more after the weekend series in SF.

48
NL Records Aug 1-Present
Hou 34-17
Chi 31-18
Phi 30-21
NY 30-21
LA 29-22
Mil 28-22
Col 25-24
SF 26-26
Fla 24-25
Cin 23-27
StL 22-26
Ari 23-28
Was 21-29
Atl 21-30
SD 20-30
Pit 15-36

46 But Arizona wasn't really any good, ever, except the first five weeks or so. Without that cushion, they were a last-place team.

No, this race was more about the Dodgers finding themselves, overcoming a bunch of disappointments, and probably the most decisive mid-season retooling ever.

Can't overlook Torre. He took his time about it, but he eventually came to where he needed to be on the outfield and the rotation. It seemed to me that the combination of his newness as manager, the insanely stupid diversion of the China trip and the implied requirement that he play the best-paid players regardless of talent meant that he really didn't have the kind of handle on the team he needed for the first 2-3 months. But his instincts were good from the beginning when he benched Pierre, which sent a signal to the rest of the team that he would not suffer expensive mediocrity that didn't perform just to protect Ned's reputation. Just letting the players know this would not be a Grady Little country club environment had to help inspire Ethier and Kemp to feel like if they did well, they'd be rewarded.

Another key guy: Mattingly.

48 - From August 1, the Dodgers have the second worst record in the NL among the playoff contenders, but it's pretty even. The eight game losing streak doesn't help.

HOU: 33-17
CHC: 31-17
PHI: 30-20
NYM: 30-20
LAD: 29-21
MIL: 27-22

Why do we have to "steal" a game on the road? That makes it sound like we don't deserve it. I'd like to see them thrash whomever they play. And I hope it's the Cubs.

48 - Loney's hitting .221 with a .530 OPS in September.

Shame about Penny. He was brought here because we would need a power arm like his for the playoffs but he never had a chance to help us in the playoffs during the 4 years he was on the team.
2004 - blows out nerve, never see's the playoffs.
2005 - decent season (105 ERA+) no playoffs
2006 - one of the worse starting pitchers in the 2nd half and gets hurt. Comes back to pitch out of the bullpen in late Sept. Pitches one inning in the infamous game one and is the loser.
2007 - great season (151 ERA+) no playoffs
2008 - hurt, no playoffs

He pretty much has been pointless since he never helped in the playoffs and the two years we made the playoffs he didn't exactly help us get there other then his 2006 1st half.

52 Whoops. Well there goes my "impression."

But at least it proves the point that the post August 1 Dodgers are on a par with the other playoff teams, and shouldn't be seen as the weak sister.

(With apologies to all weak sisters. I've always liked that expession since "Seven Days in May," when Burt Lancaster called the president a "criminally weak sister.")

46 Arizona will have one winning month since April, while you can look at that 3-11 record while the Dodgers went 12-2, going from 4.5 out to 4.5 ahead as the key period, Arizona had 4 months to put the NL West away and they didn't.

If you rip out any team's hottest stretch they tend to become a last place team.

53 As critical as I was about some of Torre's decisions early on, I have to give him partial credit for our turnaround. Similarly, I'm glad he's our leader going forward. I have to think that some of his famous "experience" can only help during a playoff run.

53
Unless you are giving Donnie Baseball credit for Manny or Ethier I don't see how he had any positive impact on this team at all. And if you are giving him credit for those two guys then who gets the credit for the downturn from last year for Kemp/Loney/Martin?
He sure didn't help A Jones or Mark Sweeney?

Just because Joe took a while to figure it out doesn't mean that is good either. Wouldn't a better manager have figured out by June that Jones had bigger problems then playing time was going to solve and that Pierre was not very useful. He played DeWitt way to long, and we could go on and on. The Dodgers won because they acquired Blake and Manny and I don't see many handprints of Torre on the success of this Division championship other then the fact he was smart enough to stick Manny in LF and Blake at 3rd base.

Maybe it was his decision to have Manny trim his dreadlocks that was so impressive.

62 A 18 million dollar contract forces managers to play players way beyond his actual ability, no matter who the manager is or who the player is. I blame Ned Coletti for Andruw Jones.

50 I'd caution against expecting anything much out of Furcal. The long layoff, and the fact that he's still not really 100% healthy, means it's doubtful he's going to be a big difference-maker in the playoffs. I guess we'll know more after the weekend series in SF.

I'd say a 50-75% Furcal is still light years ahead of a 100% Angel Berroa. We're talking about Angel Berroa here.

62 Mike Scioscia played this guy for 2/3 season in 2005, .222/.271/.374, he wasn't Jones or Pierre but Steve Finley certainly was playing in front of Riveria who could have performed a lot cheaper then Finley.

Managers will always give veterans time to work things out. Look what happened with Edmonds in Chicago, did San Diego pull the trigger too soon.

If it starts raining around the 4th inning at Shea or Philly tonight how hard does it have to rain for them to call if off (assume no lightning)?

Whoops, 64 is a reply to 51 .

I blame Ned Coletti for Andruw Jones

I blame cheesie poofs.

If you believe in momentum heading into the playoffs, the Dodogers have the best record in the NL from 9/1-Present.

Guess who's tied for first in the AL?

35 All the Dodgers need is for Bob Costas to do a screed against them.

69 Toronto? They were kicking butt for awhile.

64 I'd say a 50-75% Furcal is still light years ahead of a 100% Angel Berroa.

We're talking a 3-5 game series here, a seriously small sample size. Either Furcal gets some key hits in the few at-bats he's gonna recieve, or he doesn't. He's just as likely to get (or not get) those hits as Berroa. There's just not a lot of room for variance.

71. KC and LAA.

72 While that's true, let's remember how amazingly bad Angel Berroa is.

72
How about a 19 game sequence of 3 different series?

Given your comment should we just play D Young instead of Manny because of the small sample size since that is about the difference between Berroa and Furcal.

75 If Manny was at 50%, like Furcal presumably is, I might be in favor of that.

Forgive me if this subject has already been resolved but where was Jeff Kent last night during the celebration?

77 He was there. He was interviewed.

58 Do you remember the scene going down the moving walkway at LAX in Seven Days in May?
Me and a friend got kicked off the walkway so they could shoot the scene.

Kent was in the locker room, didn't come out on the field and was said to be smiling.

I thought that was a pretty touching scene when Kent brought his kids onto the field last night. What a big softee!

56 I noticed Loney lifting his right knee the way Manny does to start his swing yesterday. It seemed like it was a little change for him. Now if he will adjust his stance to be more what might be called up the middle instead of opposite field, he might start banging the ball again. I think M&M, Mattingly and Manny, are working with him.

81 - Apparently he plans to run for office once the season is over.

Sensitive Stomach Alert

*BP RADIO: With the regular season winding down, we pick the brain of one of the game's
finest reporters, as Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports recently joined BP's Brad
Wochomurka on XL 950 in Indianapolis to talk about the Cubs' chances in the
postseason, the most disappointing teams in '08, recent front office news
involving the Brewers and Mets, and what the Rays' success this year will
mean for the team's future. Don't miss all that and more with Ken Rosenthal,
so surf to:*

What has Baseball Prospectus fallen to?

For those still confused about the playoff possibilities, I found this summary (from a Mets perspective) in a NY paper pretty useful and succinct:

>>In the event of a two-way tie with the Phillies for the division, with the Brewers behind, the Mets get the NL East crown because they won the season series and play host to the Dodgers, while the Phillies would open at the Cubs.

In the event of a two-way tie with the Brewers for the wild card, the Mets would play host to Milwaukee on Monday at Shea. A Mets victory would have them opening the NLDS at Chicago on Wednesday.

In the event of a three-way tie with the Phillies and Brewers, the Mets and Phillies would play Monday for the division in Philly. The loser would play the Brewers on Tuesday for the wild card. Any Mets-Brewers extra game would be at Shea.<<

85
I've been rooting for the 3-team-for-2-spots-over-2-days scenario for quite some time. I always like to add chaos, especially when it may benefit the Dodgers. :)

85
Have to admit it doesn't seem fair that we get to rest because we had a weak division while these other teams have to flail against each other and ruin their rotations for the post season.

We best take advantage of the situation.

I wonder what kind of line-up I'll see at the game tonight. Only sure-things are Lowe and Furcal. Wonder if Martin will play a few innings? I would assume Kent will get a few innings as well. Delwyn or Repko and Pierre will probably all get time.

87 It didn't bother the Rockies last year.

The only contenders that know they have no weather issues this weekend are the Brewers and Twins. I think the White Sox are okay too.

87 {play world's smallest violin} ;-)

The day I feel sorry for the Mets and Phillies is the day I hang up my Dodger fan shingle.

Life isn't fair.

[1} Oh, and thanks, TC...it's gonna take awhile to get that picture of Kemp out of my head.

I just want Chad to pitch at least 1.2 IP Sunday so he can reach the 200 inning mark.

91 In my best Nelson, "Ha. Ha."

93 200 K's would also be nice.

92
Thank SOSG, they got the cool shots. It seems when you win, the hazing thing is fun and everyone enjoys it. Maybe you should only do the hazing when your headed for the playoffs?

95 Mark Reynolds laughs at Chad's quest. Been there, done that!

89
The White Sox were hit by Twin shots of hail during the past week. They deserve a respite from the weather.

I've seen no sympathy movement for getting Junior into the World Series. I find that odd given how the media loves stuff like that.

So have we ID'd the clown from those rookie hazing pics yet? Who are the few remaining rookies not ID's yet...? Scott Elbert?

98 I actually am sympathetic to Griffey Jr myself, and that'd be the only reason at all to root for the White Sox imho. It's true, surprising media isn't playing that up.

Hey,
Just dropping in to say 'congrats' to Dodgers and fans.
September has sure felt strange in Yankeeland. I was going to say 'depressing', but it's more like 'empty'. I'm getting excited again now that the playoffs are rolling up. Well, a little bit excited.

Underdog 90 , the day you hang up your Dodger fan shingle is the day you go into business or practice as a Dodger fan. Get your hanging metaphors straight.

101 Ah! Thanks, I had that backwards...

I actually have shingles. I'm off to the doctor. See you all later!

---
Thanks for the congrats. Will you be pulling for Yankees West? Sorry about your own squad. They'll be back next year, I'm sure.

Sorry, "Yankees West" probably gives my fellow Dodger fans the shingles. I was just thinking with Torre and Mattingly and Bowa behind the scenes... well, you know what I mean.

My dad had shingles once. It looked like the worlds biggest zit and sat dab smack in the middle of his forehead, and hurt like all get out.

Thanks for the visit, RIYank.

I'll be rooting for Manny, that's for sure. Nothing like vilification in the Boston press to make a player into a favorite of mine (actually, I already liked him, Washington Heights, flakiness, that kind of thing).

Did the pics of the Padre rookies in their Hooters outfits make the rounds here yet?

102

I had shingles about a month ago, from the back of my neck, down my shoulder blade, and stopped at my shoulder. Thankfully I caught it early, my doctor said if I hadn't saw him that day, it probably would've traveled down my left arm. Hope your case of shingles goes away as quickly as mine did.

Shingles suck, never had em myself but I've seen a few poor souls deal with them. I used to think it was a catch all term for doctors who couldn't explain a nasty rash but it does appear to really be something.

That term Yankee West might drive me over the cliff.

Besides Mattingly is the only real Yankee.

"Red Sox West" isn't any better.

I don't actually have shingles, it was just a poor segue. My mom, however, did have shingles, it recurred on her at least once, and it was such a pain, literally and figuratively, for her. Not fun, but yeah at least caught early!

108 Shingles is caused by the herpes zoster virus, a nasty little critter, and reportedly the inspiration for the movie Aliens. Just ask underdog of Greencine :0

Here's the Beimel thing I did:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3602798

109 Scott Proctor!

108 Hah hah, I was thinking of you after I posted that. Oops.

(My dad being a Yankee fan first, and Dodger fan - for my sake - second, makes me root for them more than most people here likely do, though I rarely feel sorry for them if they don't make the playoffs, given the number of championships they've won in recent years. But he understands.) I do like, and have always liked since he was a player, Don Mattingly however.

112 That's weird, I remember a doctor telling me it was the chicken pox virus popping up again many years after somebody had the disease.

My father-in-law had shingles, and it took him the better part of a year to lose it. Very painful stuff.

116

Varicella zoster is the virus that causes both chicken pox and shingles.

A friend of mine tells me not to take the Dodger playoff games too seriously, and just enjoy it. I know where she's coming from, but I just don't know if it's possible. It's like watching your son play in a tennis tournament. I don't know if parents can just sit-back-and-enjoy, any more than we can in the weeks ahead.

Shingles Thoughts. Oh my.

114 Poor Proctor's arm probably felt like it had shingles earlier this season after all the overuse.

112 Heh. Yikes, I'd never heard it was the inspiration for that. Seems a bit of a leap from shingles to alien ripping through your stomach... but, works for me!

Oh, and I love this from MedicineNet.com:

The term shingles has nothing to do with a shingle on a roof or the small signboard outside the office of a doctor but is derived from the Latin cingulum meaning girdle, the idea being that shingles often girdles part of the body.

Oh, okay.

Shingles talk? I think we need to "Change the Mental Scenery".

113 Whoa, that Beimel piece is great. Nice work. I kinda wondered if he knew about the 'Legend of Joe Beimel' youtube video.

NPUT