LAT'd from the Last Thread (sort of)

A little Giants Playoff Baseball History for our neighbors up north:

57 years ago today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrI7dVj90zs

Yesterday: http://tinyurl.com/4u6fw2

Jon, what a week this has been. We didn't hear that "Go Cubs Go" song all week. But I'm hoping, with enough luck, we'll get to hear "I Love LA" during the weekend. I'm headed to Game 3 with my pop, and I can't wait!

I feel like I'm in The Matrix.

I think we should have saved Wade for a tighter spot... The 7th/8th inning last night would have been a good spot for McDonald to go, in my opinion.

LAT'd

Updated BP post-season odds

LDS- 86.2%
LCS- 45.1%
WS- 18.1%

We have the best odds off making the world series.

2
I feel like I'm in The Matrix

You think that's air you're breathing, hmmm?

no good thing ever dies

Everything dies baby, that's a fact
But baby everything that dies, someday comes back
Put your makeup on, fix your hair up pretty
And meet me tonight in Atlantic City (...to bet on the Dodgers)

hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies

The Shawshank Speech! My friends and I use this at the poker table or in Vegas, whenever someone has just gone busto. I guess the Cubbies need some Zihuatenejo right now.

7
I'd like to think the last thing that went through his head, other than that Manny Ramirez line drive, was realizing that the Dodgers got the best of him.

3 I would disagree. The playoffs aren't about getting guys work. You play no more than 2 days in a row, so if the starters are doing the job a team only needs a few relievers to pitch most, if not all of the innings. We were up big when Wade came in the game, but there's no need to save anyone or worry about overwork. You win the game, even if it means never using the back of the bullpen.
I would be fine if McDonald didn't pitch at all in the post-season. If Wade, Broxton, Saito and Beimel are getting all the use, that's a GOOD thing for the Dodgers.

2. You didn't hear that song all week? I've got it stuck in my head. I think today is the first day I haven't heard it at least 3 times before lunch.

I'm keeping my giddiness inside at work until the Dodgers win their 3rd game. I'm just telling them all that all I really wanted out of the post-season was two wins, and I got what I wanted.

LATed again!

The gist was just that the only players in last nights starting nine the D's paid over one million were Furcal and Blake. Amazing!

Not to familar with how the revune works, but the deeper we go in the playoffs how much of that ticket/concession/merchindise revenue does McCourt get to keep? My old man paid 5 grand total for all the post season tickets in Loge level.

I guess my basic question is, the more home games we play does that improve our chances to spend more money this off-season?

11
The Dodgers aren't paying Blake a dime. Even cheaper!

Manny?

12 The average playoff appearance is worth 25 million, so you can make adjustments from there.

Same as 14 . Sox are paying Manny, aren't they?

12
McCourt will make more money the longer the Dodgers last, and the longer the series' are played.

Here's how the players' postseason pool is determined (for playoff shares):

1) 60% of the gate for WS games 1-4
2) 60% of the gate for each LCS games 1-4
3) 60% of the gate for each LDS games 1-3

So McCourt keeps 40% of the gate tomorrow, but 100% of the gate Sunday. We'll all be keeping an eye out for Kim Basinger on Saturday. :)

Just to expand on Jon's point about the Dodgers being a better team than their record indicates - they could have easily had 10 additional wins this year.

I haven't looked it up but I believe Lowe lost about 8 games by 1 run while keeping the opponent to 3 or fewer runs. And, Kuroda had some of the same luck. Does anyone have the stats on losses while giving up 3 or fewer runs?

Also, they could have added two more wins the last week of the season if they neeeded to.

The Dodgers face much more consistent pitching on a regular basis in the NL West and they also play a tougher AL schedule than most other NL teams (Angels for 6 games every year).

The only thing the Dodgers are paying Manny is the $1 million relocation bonus he got for being traded.

1 - Today is one of the bleakest days in Dodgers history - Not only in 1951, but correct me if I'm wrong, we lost the playoff against the Giants here in 1962 as well, then Joe Morgan off Terry Forster in 1982 then got eliminated in SF again on 10/3 by Will Clark's Giants in 1991 that brought the Braves the first of their 14 consecutive division titles. Fortunately, we don't have to play this year on October 3.
We do play on October 4, the 53rd anniversary of the Dodgers first championship in Brooklyn in Yankee Stadium in 1955. It also happens to be my wedding anniversary day. We are both
Dodger fans and are celebrating 22 years of blissful marriage. I will be in Vegas this weekend by my spirit will still be with you the Dodgers! I also have tickets to the first home game of the LCS which according to the playoff schedule will be a week from Sunday if it is the Phillies. The guys are playing loose and great but let's not count our chickens before they hatch. We still have to win one more!! I will love them to complete the sweep on my anniversary.

Go Blue!!

Fukudome is probably pretty bummed he won't be able to redeem himself against his fellow countryman.

The Onion. Always good.
http://tinyurl.com/4owxk9

Rain for tomorrow's game?

Teams win games, but organizations win seasons.
I like it. Great response to all of the media and fans who are disrespecting the Dodgers right now.

Apologies last night Eric, I may have been guilty of slightly bending rule #11 (I have a feeling more than one of us on DT were). I watched the last 2 innings and postgame interviews again this morning and Tom V actually did do a pretty decent and unbiased job. It was the whole "Dodgers vs the world" mentality of last night that got me fired up :)

Boy wasn't it fun though?

23
The rain is supposed to be light and mostly in the afternoon.

Besides there's a UCLA football game Saturday and it's only rained on a UCLA football game once since the Bruins moved to the Rose Bowl.

That was last year. And it didn't rain very much either.

However, USC gets rain on its games a little more frequently. I attribute this to:
1) chance
2) USC always playing a home game every other year in the last week of November.

Per Eric's short sample on Lowe on 3 days rest, he also has a few playoff appearances on two day's rest I believe, and is 2-1 if my memory/a quick gamelog check serves right (loss to the Yankees in 03, Wins against Oakland in 03 and NYY in 04)

*As he grabbed his suitcase and headed for the clubhouse door following the Dodgers' 10-3 pasting of the Cubs on Thursday night, Los Angeles center fielder Matt Kemp had a few words for the Wrigley Field clubhouse attendant.

"See you next year," Kemp said.

The clubhouse guy, bending over to pick up a roll of tape, clearly heard Kemp but in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way asked, "Whaaaat?"

Kemp didn't hesitate hammering his point home. "Don't start that. You heard me. We'll see you next year."*

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2008/news/story?id=3623370

Like the confidence I guess.

17
Following up, the players from the WS winning team get 36% of the players' pool. Last year the Red Sox got $18,885,380.

Which means the entire players' pool was $52,459,390.

Since the players get 60% of the gate from the games listed above, those 24 games produced a total gate of $87,432,316, about $3.6m per game (there are escalations of course in each round).

That's just the gate revenue, which doesn't factor in parking, concessions, etc (but also doesn't factor in the costs), but it gives us an idea of how much each game is worth going forward.

23 No thanks.

As he grabbed his suitcase and headed for the clubhouse door following the Dodgers' 10-3 pasting of the Cubs on Thursday night, Los Angeles center fielder Matt Kemp had a few words for the Wrigley Field clubhouse attendant.

"See you next year," Kemp said.

The clubhouse guy, bending over to pick up a roll of tape, clearly heard Kemp but in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way asked, "Whaaaat?"

Kemp didn't hesitate hammering his point home. "Don't start that. You heard me. We'll see you next year."

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2008/news/story?id=3623370

Like the confidence I guess.

29. So there is no team split? Home team takes all?

Confidence is sexy.

32
As far as I know, there is no split. In each round, the non players pool games are set up such that the home field advantage team would get one more game in the last two rounds (game 5-7), which seems right, but in the first round the Dodgers for instance would make more money in a 4-game set despite having the same amount of home games because of a more lucrative game 4 (don't have to split with the players).

0 Hope is also the thing with feathers, but don't tell fans of The Big Unit that.

The rain it raineth every day.

17 By the way, those escalations you mention must be huge. A good Field Box seat for tomorrow's game is $90. The same seat for the WS is $250. So the real money definitely comes later. But I have to believe some of that goes to the League, no?

Following the lead of the TV network, there are two lead stories on ESPN.com about the Dodgers-Cub series and of course both of them are all about the failures of the Cubs and their poor play this series. They have played poor, no doubt, but the Dodgers have also played, pitched and executed quite well, thank you. Ah well, why bother, why care.

Focus on that one game, boys, just Saturday, take care of business.

So that wasn't Penny wearing the watermelon on his head last night? Fooled me.

Is it going to rain during the game tomorrow? Weather.com predicts a 30% chance of rain from 7-9 pm.

34 Here it is... just what you said but there is a team split...
"In the best-of-five divisional series, 60 percent of the ticket revenue from the first three games goes to the players from both teams, who decide how to divide it among themselves and some other team employees. Another 1.6 percent is collected for the umpires. That leaves 38.4 percent of the gate revenue to be split evenly between the teams."..."The commissioner's office also gets a 15 percent cut of ticket sales from the World Series."
http://tinyurl.com/3kh629
Apparently the team actually takes in very little. I think the bigger windfall is probably increased fan interest in the following year.

37
But I have to believe some of that goes to the League, no?

You're probably right. I'm just not sure what percentage. It can't be that big, since I doubt there is much overhead for running the league.

Accuweather says the rain should stop before 7.

It would take a lot of rain to postpone or delay the game.

The rain that is supposed to come Saturday is not of the gully-washer variety.

41
Thanks for that link!

But remember if the series go longer, the clubs split 98.4% of the cost rather than 38.4%, so it still could be quite a windfall for the clubs.

40 If anyone here can accurately predict that, I want you with me the next time I go to Vegas.

It was the coming out party ThunderThighz and I guess the VP debate was too riveting for anyone in the country to notice.

38 while I do agree most of the focus has been on the failures of the Cubs, Gwynn did say that while the Cubs are not playing well, the Dodgers are playing well and executing. I'd rather everyone keep on underestimating us. Nobody ever gave the 88 team a chance either. You know this team sure has a whole lot in common with that team.

Being there last night at Wrigley was amazing. Completely surreal. The angst/bitterness of Cub fans blew me away. Great performance by Bills. Worth every penny.

I probably saw 15 other Dodger fans, all night.

46 Almost anything on basic cable is going to have less viewers, they could put reruns of "Friends" on against it and the baseball playoffs would probably lose.

According to the article, in 2006 the Cardinals and TIgers made only about $6.8 Million from the entire Playoffs. Before expenses. Enough to pay for Juan Pierre's salary through about mid-August!

BTW, put a good thought in for Molly this AM, see her blog for more information. (look at the sidebar).

50 What is strange about this was reading Arte Moreno's comments about how it appears to me that he is relying on playoff revenue to help with possibly increasing his payroll.

7.

'Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.'

Thats what I may tell my Cub fan friends right now..

47 Other than one starting pitcher, I don't think that team had a single player that compares to this team.

47 I agree. I was just thinking of ESPN specifically, too. I defended TBS' commentators here last night. Both Gwynn and Darling gave the Dodgers their due quite a few times. Flying under the radar is fine by me right now.

54 And I agree with that, too. The 88 team was magic, but it rode Orel's arm, Kirk's legend and grit. and a few other key role players, but the line-up was generally amazingly weak compared to this year's model. But either way, it's okay if they have very little pressure on them.

52 It is strange. But if he can pull say $7M extra out of this year and increase sales and maybe even prices next year, he could probably justify spending another $15M or so which could be the difference in signing a Teixiera or K-Rod. Remember, the real economics of Baseball ownership is- try not to lose too much money while the value of your asset goes through the roof. That's the secret they never talk about.

What a fantastic couple of days. Some random thoughts:
- Why would Penny leave the team at all? Wouldn't he want to be a part of this? What the heck is he thinking?
- Every throw Casey Blake makes to first base is darn near perfect.
- The reason Broxton scares so many of us is because he falls behind hitters a lot, and throws a lot of pitches. We have been spoiled by watching Gagne and Saito get hitters out very quickly for several years.

I think you have to look at the national media's perspective on covering the Dodgers-Cubs series.

You had a lot of media members from all over the country coming to Chicago to cover the team with the best record in the NL start what was supposed to be a run at ending of stretch of incredible postseason futility.

And it hasn't gone well. That is a story.

From the perspective of a Dodgers fan, you would think your team has a record run of futility. But it pales in comparison to the Cubs. And the Cubs have the old park, the ivy, the weird fans, etc.

If the Dodgers win the series and move on, the Phillies or Brewers will feel slighted in the NLCS coverage. Because those two teams just don't have the same panache as the Dodgers have with Manny Ramirez and Joe Torre.

What was a bigger story in last year's Super Bowl? Was it that the Giants won or that the Patriots lost?

50 years ago today - Dodgers close to trading for Wally Moon:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymirror/2008/10/dodgers-trade-f.html

58 I'll make one also, Blake DeWitt is tearing the cover off the ball.

Meanwhile, the NLDS turned because of the Game 1 grand slam by James Loney, exactly the kind of hitter the Cubs need. Loney and Andre Ethier give balance to the Los Angeles lineup and are adept enough at hitting left-hander's that Torre doesn't bother hitting for them late in games.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/tom_verducci/10/03/fivecuts.LDS/index.html?eref=T1

The Dodgers have played nine games and thrown 79 1/3 innings against the Cubs this year, and have yet to use a left-hander to throw even a single pitch against them. What does that mean? The Cubs don't have a left-handed hitter good enough to merit the opposing manager even trying to gain the platoon advantage. - Tom Verducci.

Pitches Per Inning, 2006-2008
Broxton 16.61
Saito 16.33

The 1988 Dodgers had a team ERA of 2.96 and an ERA+ of 113. Three of the regular starting pitchers had ERAs below 3.00 (Hershiser, Belcher, and Leary). The top four relievers: Howell, Pena, Orosco, and Holton had ERAs of 2.08, 1.91, 2.72, and 1.70 respectively.

Only the Mets had a better ERA and it was 2.91 and an ERA+ of 112.

The 1988 Dodgers were more than just Hershiser and Gibson as the World Series showed.

54 I probably shouldn't have said team, but instead the circumstances. Although the OH role is played by Bills and the Gibson role is played by MR (big veteran bat)

64 Thanks, Eric. I was curious and just going by impression. What about Gagne? Also, it could be that when JB is "on" he throws very few, but when he is struggling he throws lots more. That's the impression I have - don't know how to quantify that statistically.

Anthony Stover to UCLA per Dohn.

Only trainwreck may know what this means.

65 Canned heat, baby.

66
Juan Pierre is Mickey Hatcher
Andruw Jones would be Mike Davis if he were still on the roster
James McDonald is Ramon Martinez
Greg Maddux is John Tudor

Jon, I'm positive I saw Beimel warming up. I can't recall who it was next to though, but he was there. It was Beimel and another guy until they were sat down for Big Jon to warm up.

Apparently some people are offended by Ron Darling's views on Manny.

http://awfulannouncing.blogspot.com/2008/10/on-ron-darlings-mockery-comment-about.html

18 - Actually, that's not really my point. Every team has close games they could have won if they had scored a bit more.

My point is more that even accepting losses as losses, the organization was stronger than it appeared. The team had more potential than it was accessing.

67
Gagne 2002-2004 was a relatively miniscule 14.92 pitches/inning.

Gary Radnich on KNBR here in SF is taking a lot of grief this morning from Giants fans after saying he's rooting for the Dodgers. You go, Gary!

Email him your thanks for his bravery to:
gary@knbr.com

72
I thought at the time that Darling was just saying that hitting was too easy for Manny Ramirez.

Ron Darling is not exactly an inflammatory announcer.

72

Talk about twisting words around. Darling's quip sounded innocuous to me. Certainly at the time he said it. Jim Rome says things like that all the time. He's just conveying Manny's ability to dominate.

um, Jim Rome wasn't the best example

64

74

Wouldn't it be better to compare pitches per batter faced, since I am fairly sure that way Broxton has a higher WHIP than either Saito or Gagne.

76 - It's hard to have any emotion at all with Dick Stockton and Ron Darling announcing. I didn't see anything wrong with his comments, though.

78
If Broxton faced more hitters than Saito, his pitches per batter would be lower than Saito's

Pitches Per Batter
Gagne 2002-04: 3.90
Broxton 2006-08: 4.02
Saito 2006-08: 4.22

I forget who I was listening to last night or this morning but it was if no one outside of Dodger Thoughts reads Baseball America or watched this team for the last 3 years.

Actually it was Tommy John who was at Dodger Stadium last week when the Dodgers honored the man, Dr. Frank Jobe for whom the surgery should be named. (at least for TJ, he is not in Lou Gehrig's situation).

Anyway, Tommy John said that he came to Dodger Stadium and had no clue who these guys (Dodgers) were and a friend of his texted him (I find it funny when guys like Torre and Tommy John say they text people) and said that the Dodgers have a lot of good young talent.

Tommy then asked the hosts about some 20 year old lefty.

68

Stupid!

Not getting ahead of myself, but jeez the Phillies are good;

Ruiz 61 OPS+
Howard 123 OPS+/ +1 on defense
Utley 133 OPS+/ +50 on defense
Rollins 101 OPS+/ +23 on defense
Feliz 80 OPS+/ +7 on defense
Werth 119 OPS+/ +2 on defense
Victorino 105 OPS+/ +10 on defense
Burrell 123 OPS+/ -20 on defense

Hamels 3.09 ERA, 145 ERA+, FIP 3.70
Moyer 3.71 ERA, 120 ERA+, FIP 4.33
Myers 4.55 ERA, 98 ERA+, FIP 4.50
Lidge 1.95 ERA, 229 ERA+, FIP 2.31
Romero 2.75 ERA, 163 ERA+, FIP 4.47
Madson 3.05 ERA, 147 ERA+, FIP 3.25
Durbin 2.87 ERA, 155 ERA+, FIP 3.60
Condrey 3.26 ERA, 137 ERA+, FIP 3.91

83 Oh, yeah, I forgot about the other teams.

84

I don't believe Howard is plus anything on defense...

80 81

That is what I expected

85

We need bigs in the worst way.

Gaddy, Hill and Moser makes up a pretty insane backcourt + wings, but bigs please!

81 Saito's WHIP for 2006-2007 is microscopic and probably close to .3 baserunner per inning lower than Broxton's.

But this year they are fairly compatible.

Like some have said, I think with Broxton, is closing efforts have not been as clean as his setup appearances and certainly not like vintage Gagne and Saito.

But as I and others have said, vintage Gagne and Saito are the extremes and we can't expect that all the time.

76 I thought Darling was saying admiringly that Manny makes the game look too easy, and it's not.

I just heard Lou on the radio say tomorrow is not a do or die game.

umm.....

Every major defensive metric has Howard as slightly above average this year.

Man the Phillies are pretty good. Almost as good as the Cubs!

2-0

The Dodgers are a very solid team now, apparantly better than the Cubs, now. They were not very good earlier in the year. In a way it's patently unfair that nowadays your performance during the first part of the season doesn't matter that much as long as you can stay in striking range of at least the wild card. But that's the way it goes. I'm very happy right now that the West was so mediocre through the bigger part of the season.

Anyone got a scouting report on Harden? I know he throws hard and strikes out his share of batters. I imagine the goal will be to make him throw a bunch of pitches so we can get him out of the game as early as possible.

0 This may have been addressed before (my computer and my television are in different rooms and I didn't choose to read 1,203 comments after last night's game), but Baseball Prospectus makes the argument that the Dodgers were surprisingly unlucky this year. By third-order wins, the Dodgers should have won 88.7 games, while the Cubs should have won 94.5, erasing about half of the actual win differential between the teams. Added to this are Jon's comments about the roster not coming into final form until the final months and weeks of the season and Torre finally using his resources in the most effective fashion. i.e., finally giving most of Pierre's playing time to Ethier. Everything considered, I made the argument before the series that the two teams were far closer than casual observation would have indicated. I'm not saying that the I predicted two road wins for the Dodgers, but I wasn't surprised.

89 - Thanks, BH, that's a better way of making my point. I'm not complaining about Broxton, but I certainly don't feel quite as secure with him out there as I did with Gagne and Saito, that's all. Seems to me that he gets behind hitters more often, Stats, anyone?

95
Noted scout Clubber Lang had this prediction for Harden on Saturday:

http://tinyurl.com/yu8uqj

97 I will say this, for whatever reason, I think he struck out more batters in his set up role, now I should check his game logs (and he did strike out 2 guys last night ).

95 I heard Olney say a couple days ago that Harden hasn't touched 90 in his last few starts and his fastball was mostly in the 84-87 range.

91 - I heard him say that yesterday before Game 2. Are you sure they weren't using his pre-Game 2 quote?

According to this, Harden is known for high pitch counts. Expect a patient Dodger approach.

http://tinyurl.com/yppv3t

94 The last two games do not prove that the Dodgers are better than the Cubs. Two games don't prove anything. I for one still think that the Cubs had a better team than the Dodgers this year, though Jon has a good point that perhaps the Dodgers had a better organization than the Cubs. I will have to think about that.

Also, I really disagree with your phrase "patently unfair." There's nothing unfair about it. Every team knows the rules going in, and every team knows its rivals and who it has to outplay as the season goes on if they want to compete in the postseason. You can say that it's not a good system -- you will find many who agree, based on yesterday's discussion -- but that doesn't make anything that happens from here on out illegitimate or unfair.

Like yesterday, this discussion is interesting because it gets at the idea of what what team deserves to be a champion.

For me... well, as William Munny once said to Little Bill, deserve's got nothing to do with it.

100 I find it hard to believe they'd throw Harden out there is he's that low. That's Jason Schmidt territory.

101 Maybe, on the radio they said Lou on tomorrow nights game.

It would make a lot more sense if it was before game 2 because than he talked about how good Harden and Lilly were.

97
Number of events on a given count:

Broxton Career
Behind: 313 of 1007 PA (31.1%) - includes 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 2-1, 3-2 & 3-2 counts.
Even: 315 (31.3%) - includes first pitch, 1-1 & 2-2 counts
Ahead: 379 (37.6%)

Saito Career
Behind: 214 of 734 PA (29.2%)
Even: 254 (34.6%)
Ahead: 266 (36.2%)

Tom Verducci can't spell Cory Wade's first name right, either, it seems. But I otherwise appreciate his sentiments as noted in the link referenced in 62 .

97 - Thanks! Surprising to me, but there it is.

105 If it's true, they could just be hoping it's a fluke and keep trotting him out there, that's what the Dodgers did for all or March and some of April with Jason.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/pirates/s_591353.html?source=rss&feed=14

Joe Starkey Wants the Pirates to non-tender Adam LaRoche despite him being one of their best players, and only one year left to FA.

Broxton Career

Save Situations
126 K in 411 PA (30.7%)
11.49 K/9

Non-Save
180 K in 596 PA (30.2%)
11.38 K/9

As a veteran watcher of many Laker playoff series, fair has nothing to do with what happens in the playoffs.

The most common misspellings here of Dodger players names:

Pablo Osuna
Eric Stultz
Corey Wade
Mike Sweeney
Geoff Khent

110 Hard to believe that we will be playing three games against the Cubs before facing their hottest pitcher [Lilly].

114
Greg Maddox

I always hoped someone would add an extra g as well.

114 Don't Guo there.

101 I believe he said it both, but it's a slightly miffed context and possibly improper tense usage. I believe the context was something along the lines of "Was this Do or Die/Mark DeRosa was quoted as saying this was Do-or-Die" etc etc, and his response was along the lines of "Hey, we're not out of this."

But the quote out of context (Which was used a few times last thread) does make it seem like he's saying this upcoming game is not do or die.

114 and Bob Timerrman

Saturday's game is not "do or die" for the Cubs. They won't be executed if they lose.

(Note to self, work on understanding metaphors better.)

I do wonder what it is about JBrox that makes a -lot- of people I know (my heart included) really race when he pitches, even on results that are perfectly normal for all relievers. Certainly it's a Dodger Fan's mo to worry about anything (anytime a reliever lets a man on, it seems to), but I can't quite figure out.

Last night, for instance. He probably was not warmed up, probably not expecting to get in the game, and he walks the first guy in a careful-approach situation (Less than two outs and a base open). Then he looked great. Is it because he throws Mungo-gas, we expect pitches to be strikes a lot more often than Sammy's in-and-out stuff? Is it really the youth? Is it bad-defense historic tinted glasses? I have no idea.

My Dad said Broxton reminds him of Niedenfuher. There could be lingering doubts about young guys with great stuff like Broxton because of that.

120 Are you sure? Those Cubs fans seemed pretty angry last night.

If Broxton were Niedenfuer, he'd be getting sent out for three innings on two consecutive days.

120 If someone was willing to take a bet, I would've put a large some of money a comment like that was coming from you.

114 Treaty enthusiasts misspell his name Jeff Ghent.

Channeling my inner fanerman:

Who cares if the Cubs see or don't see the next game as a do/die proposition?

The fact is, they're right. They're knocked down but not out of the series by any means. It could definitely come to pass that they will win three straight.

And wouldn't that be a story if it happened.

Look, don't bet on the Cubs, but they're not out until they are out.

Is there some sort of equivalent to LD% for pitchers? I want to say that after the sort of icky August Brox had, he's allowed a wonderful low amount of solid hits to be recorded against him, and he's only walked his average share. When you combine that with errors, bloopers and bleeders it may result in the historical taint.

I just hope that they look at Saito real good in warm ups and practice before they throw him out in a high leverage situation. If anything is at all physically wrong, save him for another low or middle leverage situation with a short leesh, and don't be afraid to put Mungro on in the 9th, public perception be darned.

127 Indeed. I'm knocking on wood constantly myself. They're a good road team, they have good pitchers we haven't seen yet, they're certainly not gonna go down without a fight. I have faith in our boys to take one at home, but am gonna be nervous 'til it happens.

113
Seems bizarre that the team with the 2nd most titles in the NBA could complain about bad luck in the playoffs. Don Nelson was bad luck, playing against Bill Russel was just what it was.

Whatever perceived bad breaks they got in those old Celtic/Knick series have been evened out by the lopsided trades sent their way by idiot owners/general managers.

122
Big head Tom threw one of the straightest fastballs you'll ever see for someone who could actually K someone once in a while.

128 Broxton since taking over the closer role:

14 LDs in 29.1 IP. 289 OBP, 1.13 WHIP

Don't know if anyone pointed this out but if you look on mlb.com and you see the advertisement for mlb blogs, of course the Dodger blog has a picture of James Loney and under it says Andre Ethier.

[ 88 ] Stover was a huge loss for Arizona. The back court is loaded, and the front court is super thin. Damn he would have looked good in a Wildcats jersey.

130 Umm, TC, the Dodgers lost the 1983 and 1985 NLCS.

From the previous post

Saturday, some Dodger fans will leave early, but it's actually possible they'll be doing it with a smile sweeping across their faces ...

There won't be many fans leaving early if we're ahead in the late innings. They'll be sticking around for the celebration. Because of work Wed. and a concert last night, I haven't seen a live pitch of the series so far. Should I stay away from the TV tomorrow night?

Luck only exists in Imaginationland. It is not real. There is my will, your will, and the universal will. There is my talent, preparation, and execution against your talent, preparation, and execution. There is no magical force that tilts the scales one way or the other - either you do it or the other guy does it.

134 Nice, fellow Arizona alumni.

The frontcourt has been super thin for quite a while now. But at least Lute is engaged again.

Most misspelled name on Dodger Thoughts: John Lindsay. Correct spelling: Lindsey.

135
I did say off the top of my head. I'll go scratch that out.

Lute keeps going for younger models in wives.

The frontcourt has been super thin for quite a while now. But at least Lute is engaged again.

We loss Greg Smith and now Stover...Andy Brown is still on the radar, he's kinda a big!

141 I am sure one reason women like John Wooden, he still writes a letter to his late wife once a month and put them on her side of the bed.

But as far as I know, Lute is good friends with Wooden.

I write a letter once a month to Walt Hazzard and put in a wood chipper.

Bill Plaschke:

"Theriot was able to stop the ball suddenly and knock it down with his hand, but it was too late, runners were already on first and third."

Boy, what a terrific radio announcer he would make.

138 slatkin, are you in the LA area?
142 Brown is going to Stanford if he is accepted.

145
Stop. As in letting the ball bounce into left field.

I DID IT!!!

I got two tix to see the Lakers Home Opener!!! YES!!

[got the two 10 dollar seats too]

127 Indeed.

Still, I'm excited we're in the position we're in.

149 Well, sure. So am I. Much rather be up 2-0 than down 2-0.

As Mrs. K said yesterday, "This guarantees there will be a game Sunday -- oh, wait, no, we're UP two-nothing! We could sweep!"

Sorry to digress with 148 everyone.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the Cubs play a lot better in LA. Just being away from all the hype and the voodoo will make them focus better at the ravine, or near the ravine.

I'm also weirded out by Harden. Since the trade he's pitched awfully well from what I've seen and yet, as noted, his velocity isn't very high. I can't figure him out.

127 - the Cubs are done. They're demoralized, they played -- by their own manager's admission! -- the two worst games of the year, in the postseason no less. They're coming to Los Angeles to roll over and die.

150 It's funny, I got tickets for Sunday's game in the hopes that there would be one. The thought never crossed my mind that rooting for the Dodgers to win on Saturday could also mean rooting for me to not have a game to attend on Sunday. I figured I would be rooting against a sweep on Saturday. Who knew?

152 Did someone hack into your account?????

142
Oh, yes! I better go check BRO.

152 ...And fanerman madly knocks on wood after that.

152 Yeah, but just to be safe, hide your wife's Cubbies cap.

154 - no, but I know a beat team when I see one.

One thing that really stuck out at me when I was looking at the Cubs lineup the other day is that Derrek Lee hasn't hit more than two home runs in a single month since May. Since May! The bullpen is positively pedestrian, and while the rotation has been good most of the year, nobody should have been surprised by Zambrano's meltdown last night. He had two consecutive months of 7.00+ ERAs in August and September, his CG shutout of Houston in September notwithstanding. Rich Harden is their last hope. If he doesn't pull it together -- and we are talking about a guy with a career 6.43 ERA in the postseason -- the Cubs are done.

In short, everything the Cubs needed to advance hasn't happened (offense clicking, the starting pitching going long, and the bullpen not sucking).

157 - we're still on speaking terms. Sort of. :-)

156 I'm completely in shock that I'm reading those words on my monitor.

Sad story:

http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2008/10/3/627650/in-memoriam

http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2007/9/17/91412/0857

I just ran into Cory Wade at Rubios in Pasadena! Great guy. Wished him luck tomorrow and of course congrats on yesterday's game.

As long as Harden's pitch count is worked. I'd be ok with 5 innings.

162 I too have run into him in Pasadena. He really is a cool guy.

I'd be worried. The last time he saw a beat team, it came back from 4.5 back to win the West. :)

158 Wow, Derrek Lee since May 1st, .275/.344/.415

165 - I'm still in the room, you know. But, yeah, the Dodgers are as capable as anybody of pulling a seven-game losing streak.

I would like to award Eric Stephen with the "bryanf's Favorite Commenter Award" for posting the most entertaining and clever comments this season.

I don't know what put it over the top for me, but reading today's comments really reminded me of how many great things you've had to say and how I always enjoy reading them. Thanks Eric!

Permission granted: A source close to the Seattle Mariners confirmed the club has requested and received permission to interview Dodgers assistant general manager Kim Ng for its vacant general manager's position.

Ng potentially would become the first female GM of a major-league club in baseball history. The interview won't take place until the Dodgers' season is over.

Good luck Kim Ng.

http://www.dailynews.com/dodgers/ci_10625118

167
Rob, I apologize for that. Poor editing on my part. I meant to put "Rob" instead of "he." Just applying the needle, that's all! :)

168
Holy crap, wow. Thanks! [watching highlight clip in my mind right now]

170
That used to be me, but now Eric is the king.

All hail the new King!

160 You weren't knocking on wood? I was!

I'm in the 'celebrate when we win the series' camp of nerves and jinxiness.

161

Oh Jon, that is such a touching story. Thanks for linking us to it.

There's a side of me that really empathizes with Cubs fans, and you know, it's something we ourselves experienced for about 20 years up to now. If there's a silver lining, it's this:

Every baseball team, even the best ones, has its share of heartbroken fans and moments. The greatest tribute to the game is the passion of its fans and today we lost a great one!

Thanks again, Jon and Al (from BCB).

Rays lineup for today's game:
Iwamura 2B
Upton CF
Pena 1B
Longoria 3B
Crawford LF
Baldelli RF
Navarro C
Aybar DH
Bartlett SS
Kazmir P

162 That's neat! He seems like a nice guy.

There was a guy on that Cubs' blog who said he went to school with him, said he was nice but also gave a scouting report on how to beat him. Apparently the Cubs didn't get the memo, or he was wrong.

Cory Wade is one of the best stories of the 2008 season. He came outta nowhere and has been a solid chip in the annual game of Bullpen Bingo.

169 - Permission granted. I hope Ng, if she becomes Seattle's GM, loves Pierre and Jones and hates Putz and Beltre.

146 Sorry for the late reply, got busy at work.

I am in San Francisco, in enemy territory.

The Cubs are just a 3-game winning streak away from eliminating the Dodgers. They will have Harden, Lilly and Dempster pitching in those 3 games.

This series is far from over.

So who will be the Dodgers Jeremy Giambi? Who will be the Cubs Derek Jeter?

180
I'm guessing Angel Berroa & Ronny Cedeno.

Dodgers underdogs at home in Game 3. Harden -135. Someone find Bob Costas.

182
What are the Dodgers, +115? That's awesome.

179 The series is 84% over. If Harden is throwing 85 tomorrow I'd say it's 89% over.

172 My jaw was in the "dropped" position for a few minutes. Then I started furiously knocking on wood to Steve Reich's "Drumming."

182
I haven't decided if the Dodgers this year are more like the 1990 Reds or the 1975 Warriors. In the process of each sweep, there was a strong feeling that it was just a matter of time before the sweepee would comeback.

Anyone seen this:

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/news/postseason/chases.jsp

Pretty interesting I thought.

156 comments like that also scare me to death! lol

187 - I liked that. Thanks.

179
Agreed.
I remember thinking after Game 1 win everyone dragging out the "23 of 26 NL teams advancing after game 1 win" stat and thinking it was a little extreme. Even Vinny quoted it last night. Bleed Cubbie Blue puts it in an entirely different perspective:

http://tinyurl.com/NLDSstat

I just noticed that one guy who made it to chicago in his manny wig and pearly white manny jersey has made the highlight real for almost every major tv station and internet source lol..

178 My friends and I are coming up to SF next weekend to visit some friends and catch Arizona football at Stanford. Any chance you will be at that game?

I have tickets for Sunday but definitely want the Dodgers to close it out on Saturday. Letting the Cubs back into this thing at all is playing with fire.

189 Yeah it was fun to go through. I didn't see Mickey Hatcher listed under Dodgers, though Alfredo Griffin was there. They even listed Ned Coletti as a former Cub. :)

Looking ahead a little, does anyone have opinions on who the Dodgers should pitch in the potential Game 4? Maddux or Kershaw? Or Lowe on short rest?

I don't like any of those options, honestly. I don't think Maddux will be all that effective against an offense that'll have their swagger back after a presumed Game 3 win. I'd rather the Dodgers not throw the lefty Kershaw out there. And going with Lowe on short rest is dangerous, but at least we could come back with Bills in Game 5.

Also, I looked at the start times for this weekend: 10:07 pm EDT on Saturday, 10:35 pm EDT on Sunday.

I hate MLB.

194 There's another member of the Angels' coaching staff that is remarkably omitted

195 I would say Lowe on short rest. He's done it before and been very effective. If he falters at all, then bring in The Minotaur to shut 'em down.

195 - Kershaw has been ruled out I believe. It really seems like Lowe would be it.

197 Ah yes. Can't believe I missed that one. :)

There are definitely things missing. Chan Ho, for example, isn't listed as a former Texas Ranger.

187 What's up with this?

Charley Steiner (TV, radio)
[Broadcast experience] NYY LAD (played for OAK CHC LAD)

196 - Yeah, that 735 start stinks enough for us West Coasters. For those of you away from here it's even worse. Well, all the more reason for the Dodgers to win on Saturday. ;-)

An interesting tidbit. Of the seven teams to come back from an 0-2 hole to win a five-game series?

The Kurt Bevacqua/Steve Garvey '84 Padres. Against the Cubs.

Wow. I have a weird triple feature of DVDs ahead of me tonight, all ones I am supposed to review. You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown, Slacker Uprising and Speed Racer. I'm going to trip out at some point, or get them weirdly mixed up.

201 Good question. I would definitely have liked to see that...

So, I have tickets for tomorrow night, but my wife's college reunion is going on in Santa Barbara at the same time. It looks like I will be going with the fam to SB, at my own decision...some things are more important than baseball.

I have tickets for game 4...but for the sake of the Dodgers, I don't want to use them.

201
Those are the teams Mr. Flag Saver played for

204 I would suggest intermittent doses of one of the Grindhouses...you know, to rinse your mind out.

206

Err, does that mean tix are available? ;-)

206
Your sacrifice will be richly rewarded!

207 When did Charley Steiner save the flag?

211
Sorry, I meant Mr. First Ever MLB Draft Pick. :)

208 - Actually, I am trying to get my hands on "Pieces," which is a Grindhouse presents... title coming out, but probably won't arrive soon. :-)

203
Wasn't that the infamous Leon Durham doing his best impersonation of a Billy Buckner moment for the Cubs?

209

Yes, two seats 7TD Row G, seats 9 and 10.

I was just about to post them for $80, but I would be willing to sell them at face to a Dodgerthoughts person (this includes the stupid fees).

So, $68.10

214
7th inning of Game 5. Throwing error to tie the game at 3. Flannery's ball through Durham's legs for error #2 and the eventual go ahead run.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SDN/SDN198410070.shtml

215

I just realized I should have been posting them for more than $80...but maybe I will be rewarded for this with a sweep

216
Actually, since Durham's predated Buckner by two years, it should be the other way around!

215,217 - I have a paypal account and would be happy to purchase those tickets from you. nka1983@yahoo.com

161
Very touching story.

171 - If it's any consolation, I giggled a lot at "Geoff Khent."

Will there be an Ed Brinkman obit on the Griddle?

http://tinyurl.com/4eenbn

222
There might be an obit for that link.

215,217 - if paypal is not an option, I would be able to meet up with you to complete the transaction in person, unless you are already in Santa Barbara.

202. Yeah, it's kind of depressing that my two sons are now really excited about the Dodgers playing the Cubs, but they're not going to see any games after the first one.

223 Weird, it worked before. Anyway, it's on Yahoo Sports.

207 - you make him sound like a piece of Tupperware.

Lawrence Phillips gets 10 years in prison.

What a waste and the saddest part is how predictable it is.

209 224

Dane did ask first, so if he wants them, they are his. Dane...

223 This is the kind of stuff I'm talking about. Too good. :)

My 2 cents for the day:

I think there's something to the idea that the Cubs will play looser and better once they get out of Chicago. They played like a nervous team last night. You can talk all you want about not letting history affect you, but it came into play through the vibe that the home crowd gave off, at the very least.

But OTOH, I'm not sure that Piniella is the best manager for a team that's wound too tightly. I just caught the tail end of the post-game presser, but when he was talking about Fukudome, I thought it an even bet that we'd see his head explode, despite his best efforts.

I'd rather have Torre managing a team in that situation — or even Lasorda, who had a gift for drawing fire away from his players.

221 That's how Chaucer spelled it.

222
https://griddle.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1147017.html

Critics are 50:50, which is as good as a random guess. I remember a group of critics who said Penny would not have a good year, based on inconsistent peripherals. Perhaps they were right. But for some reason, there were a couple of guys who insisted that Bilz was not durable, and an injury waiting to happen. Who are these people, and what was their problem?

222
https://griddle.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1147017.html

229

Sorry, It's still too hard to justify the expense to the rest of my family right now. I am hereby officially out of the running...

233 Ah, there it is, thanks!

235 Ah, there it is, thanks!

234 I believe Will Carroll was a main member of the Billingsley's Body Will Break Down (with this past year) Club and we're still waiting for a "Whoops, I was wrong."

224

Curtis, email me at kevblewis at gmail dot com

can you pick them up tonight in Pasadena?

237 - Will already said he was wrong on Billingsley.

239 Oh did he? That's great, then. I missed it. I know people were teasing him/prodding him recently on the Juice blog about it. Good to hear.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=8076

"And for those of you asking about Billingsley, I was certainly wrong about him this season, but I'm not quite as worried about him next year as you'd think. While he is showing a 30-plus inning increase year to year, those 2007 innings were not strictly as a starter. While I haven't done a full study that shows the exchange rate between relief innings and starter innings, there appears to be such a thing, skewing the results of players that did either one or the other, and in the case of someone like Billingsley or Joba Chamberlain, players who did both."

238 Does this reunion take place in Montecito? If so, I think I am supposed to be at the same reunion. You are a bigger man because I will be attending the Dodger game instead.

242

Yea, near Montecito. I don't feel like a bigger man, but I know it is the right thing to do in the grand scheme of things.

Wow, 37 pitches for Kazmir to get outta the first inning.

243 I am sure you will have a good time. You get to spend some time in Santa Barbara which is always nice.

I will cheer twice as hard to make up for your absence.

Curtis,

I have someone else in my office with money in hand, are you serious about wanting these, or should they go to someone else?

I don't know why I watch ESPN. First Chicago resident idiot Jay Mariotti bitterly complains that baseball should go to a 7 game NLDS like the NBA (b/c we all love how long the NBA playoffs are), and then the Kornheiser and Wilbon managed to talk about last night's game without mentioning the Dodgers at all. Kornheiser at one point said "How else can you explain how the Cubs played?" referring to a 'Bartman Curse.' I can explain it, Tony: the Dodgers are kinda good.

247

Definitely one thing I don't miss about cable/sat tv.

One thing I do wish I had was DirectTv for Friday Night Lights

246- Sounds like a bidding war!

246 ,249
There's a Scott Boras joke in there somewhere, but I'm not touching that one.

250

I know, I know...I feel like a punk

251
You're going to have Manny-type production at your wife's reunion.

249 "Mr. Hicks, I have Mr. Met in the room and he is offering $249.9M for A-Rod, you'll do $250M, okay great."

Is the NLCS 2-3-2? Also the series will open at the team with the best record, correct?

254 The division leader with the best record has home field, the wild card team can never have home field advantage until the World Series.

254 I think that, if the Dodgers play Milwaukee in the NLCS, the Dodgers will have home field, because Milwaukee as the wild card team cannot have home field at any point except in the WS. But I'm not sure.

The home team in the LCS is the higher seed, not the team with the best record.

Baseball uses 2-3-2 formats for all 7-game series now. None of those NHL 2-2-1-1-1 formats. The media HATES those set ups. It's a real pain to move everybody around.

Of course, to be a higher seed, you need a lower number.

Go figure.

So the NL seeding is 1) Cubs 2) Phils 3)Dodgers and then the Brewers which is based upon records excluding the wild card team?

3 Straight Quality Starts, Dodger Postseason History
1988 NLCS, Games 1-3 (Hershiser, Belcher, Hershiser -- there was a rain delay pushing gm 3 back a day)
1981, NLDS Gms 1-5 & NLCS Gms 1-2 (Fernando, Reuss, Hooton, Fernando, Reuss, Hooton, Fernando)
1977, NLCS Gm 4 & WS Gms 1-2 (John, Sutton, Hooton)
1966 WS, Games 2-4 (Koufax, Osteen, Drysdale, all losses)
1965 WS, Games 2-5 (Koufax, Osteen, Drysdale, Koufax)
1963 WS, Games 1-4 (Koufax, Podres, Drysdale, Koufax, sweep)
1920 WS, Games 1-3 (Marquard, Grimes, Smith)
1916 WS, Games 1-3 (Marquard, Smith, Coombs)

Lowe & Billingsley have won their back-to-back quality starts. Of the above, the only groups to win all 3 games were 1963 & 1981 (last 3 games of NLDS & 1st game of NLCS).

I remember the atmosphere at Dodger Stadium in game 3 of 2006. We were already down 2-0 and the place was still electric in a way that other ballparks can be but Dodger Stadium rarely is. Everybody wearing Dodger garb. I'm really thinking tomorrow could be fun. I hope everyone here is either going tomorrow or makes it out to the next home game.

Any news on viewing parties for tomorrow night? You know, for those of us NOT cool enough to be able to get tickets...?

That 1963 team gave up 4 runs total.

I'll be there with my Cubs fan friend. We'll be sitting next to Brock and his dad. Hope I can tell them apart.

264- If you don't bring back some Brock-as-a-surly-teenager stories, the game will be a failure, no matter which team wins.

I have a customer in Chicago, big Cubs fan, kinda big Whitesox fan who has season tickets for both. He also sold part of his company recently to a company that is a minority owner in the Brewers so he has access to incredible seats at Wrigley North as he calls it. He planned on attending as many games as possible at all three locations. He was very excited about the prospects before it all started. I'm afraid to call him now.

Aki!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The only Dodger with a homer in three straight playoff games was Bill Madlock, in the final three games of the 1985 NLCS.

262. Certainly didn't post that to separate the "cool" people with tix from the others. Just pointing out, as I have to friends over the past few days, that if you care at all about baseball and the Dodgers, it's worth making it a priority to see Postseason games. If it's impossible, so be it. But for most it's a choice and I'd just hope that good fans like those around here could have the opportunity to see something special if at all possible. Wouldn't be surprised if seats are released in the next 24 hours.

I would be up for a viewing party in San Fran if anyone is up here and hosting one. ;-) My place is too small and infested with cats. I don't know too many Dodger-friendly bars around here. But maybe everyone up here is afraid we'll jinx Game 3 if we watch it together.

If Dodgers make World Series, I am going to try to fly down to LA at some point.

270
I can't for this game, but I would be down to meet at some bar for another game.

If the Dodgers make the world series, they might be in my backyard. Getting tickets might be interesting, though.

272 Maybe IF they make the next round (knock on wood) then we all should organize a NorCal viewing fiesta, yeah.

Fun facts for tomorrow (according to CBS2.com)

Kuroda has allowed 1 earned run in 15 1/3 against Chigago this year.

Manny lifetime against Harden is 3 for 11...all three hits were dingers.

Er, Chicago.

I didn't go to a single game this year and I didn't really miss it. I think I may have seen enough baseball, in person. Maybe if I ever have kids, I'll end up roped into it, again. Or seeing games in other stadiums, that sounds like fun.

261 I was at that game. Best Dodger game ever for me. I have game 4 tickets. Let's sweep. As much as I want to go I am cool with doing nothing instead.

278 That's sorta my point. It was a loss to complete a sweep for the other team and it was the best game ever for you. Anyway... if DL is around... I tried to get than Punkin Ale last night at Whole Foods but they didn't have it! Had some house brand that was okay but now I have to find it!

278 I just bought 4 Loge tickets (aisle 131) for $150 apiece for Sunday's game, but I'll be quite happy with pretending the transaction never happened :)

Jeffrey Toobin is one of us.

http://tinyurl.com/4cjlo9

If there is a Game 4 Sunday, is the start time etched in stone?

I mean 7:20 pm on a Sunday? That's a little outrageous for a west coast start time. I figured if some series were closed out on Saturday, TBS would move the start time up.

Philly fans are already talking trash on other boards.

How I loathe them.

Wow, what a terrible call in the Rays game

I don't think we have ever lost to the Phillies in the playoffs. I should check B-Ref before making such statements but I'm out of here. Go Dodger Rays

Four down. Two to go.

No real news today other than Lou Piniella basically saying Carlos Zambrano would be his Game 5 starter if there is a Game 5 because Ryan Dempster, who walked seven guys in the opener, is in the bullpen for the rest of the series.

Piniella's on the war path. Really want to make all the guys wondering what the heck is going on? Change all of their roles.

http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/

Also, the Seattle Mariners should hand out free Nintendo DSi's to renewing season ticket holders.

Hello from Handan, China

Go Dodgers and Rays!!!
vr, Xei

Phillie fan:

"the dodgers pitching is better than most give it credit for, but not as good as the phillies. i'm still not convinced kuroda is the right guy to pitch 3rd for them, we'll see how it plays out."

Not as good as the Phillies...??? Hehe!

Welcome Xei!

I hope Frank McCourt never gets the idea to use those horrible Thundersticks the Angels employ.

282
I don't think TBS wants to change the start times around too much this close to the day of the game.

291 - We got two thunder blue bats at Game 3 of the 2006 NLDS to bang around during the game. I expect something like that tomorrow night. Perhaps a towel.

290. Welcome? Long time poster. :)
vr, Xei

287 - BTW, Lou did NOT say that. This is what he said.

"You know what I'm going to put Dempster in the bullpen tomorrow too. We'll have him in the bullpen available tomorrow and Sunday. And if he pitches we can always start Zambrano on Tuesday which would be his fifth day. We have to. We have to pull out all the stops that we can and do whatever we can to help ourselves win baseball games."

If Lou uses Dempster, Zambrano would start a potential Game 5. But he didn't name Zambrano the Game 5 starter and put Dempster in the bullpen for the rest of the series. Perhaps he's tired.

Lol I know. I should have said Welcome back. I appreciate your post and "simulators." Very interesting! :)

Ni-hao

The odds of a Freeway Series just decreased.

5-1 Sox.

"If [the Cubs] are down — and I stress if — mentally as a team, we sure as heck don't want to let them up," the Dodgers' Gary Bennett said. "I'm not saying they are down, but the first two games didn't go the way they wanted."

Why is the Tribune getting quotes from an inactive player?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-081003-nlds-dead-cubs-dodgers-playoffs,0,1251133.story

Gary Bennett is still on our team?

I'm very disappointed with the Angels crowd.

And Anderson doesn't help.

Those Thunder sticks are a crutch.

288
THe Mariners have not given out free DS's to keep us season ticket holders but they did loan out a couple hundred for people to use on fan appreciation day. I use it to follow the pitch FX and gameday like applications. Helps you forget how bad the team is. Sends us Kim Ng and in five years I can hope for an I-5 world series.

I agree... please PLEASE don't give out those dumb sticks tomorrow, Dodger Stadium. I saw plenty of fire and brimstone at last week's rally. We'll be plenty fired up!

285

It's close, but the 1983 Dodgers lost to the Phils in the NLCS, 3-1.

303 From what it sounds like, all the M's have to do is interview her, and hire her.

103 . I wrote 94 whilst thinking about MLB playoffs since they started using the wild card. The WC seems to win a lot, I guess, because at least one of the 2 WC's is often the hottest team playing at the time the playoffs begin. I had been thinking that the first half of the long baseball season tends to get devalued some when all that matters is that you stay within striking range of the WC and are able to turn it on come September. After I started to use the Dodgers as an example, I remembered that they had won the division farely and squarely. But some people came into my office and I posted what I had. After I thought about it for a moment I realized, "That one's going to get torn apart."

I'm still left wondering what is the value of the first half of the season with the wild card in play. There was a purity in HAVING to win your division. Is there a system like that in any major sport anymore?

Man, I really hope Kuroda has a better outting that Dice-K is having. Like not reaching 100 pitches by the top of the 5th.

Didn't realize that Ivan Dejesus Jr.'s dad is a coach with the Cubs.

Why is Okajima still in the game?

Excellent column by Gurnick:

"Dodgers serve notice they're for real"

"The Dodgers don't really care if the rest of the world obsesses over the Billy Goat Curse and 100 years of Cubs heartbreak, as if this National League Division Series is all about the Cubs losing the first two games and not the Dodgers winning them."

http://tinyurl.com/54f82n

re: 308 Every win counts the same in the win column, whether it comes in April or September. The Astros and Twins would have loved a few more wins in April and May.

Did I just see Manny in the Angel's bullpen?

Finally a great playoff game.

314
http://tinyurl.com/4528as

Oh they got him!

Old friend alert . . .

too bad Drew doesn't have passion.

K-Rod won't be dancing. Serves him right.

Talk about K-rod single handedly leaving that image in teams' minds as the last sample before his negotiations.

ouch

For the second year in a row, all series are 2-0.

322 - And they cannot be happy about that at all.

323 - TBS that is.

I for one am rooting for a Boston/LA world series, as I'm sure many of you are too.

I think that a freeway series wouldn't be as great as everyone thinks...especially if the Dodgers' futility against the Angels reappears. However I don't see one AL team in the playoffs that seems insurmountable. And does anyone else think the Phillies might possibly be overmatched against our pitching?

325 - Dodgers/Sox world series would mean that I could maybe possibly sell a kidney and go to a game (in Dodger gear, of course). I live about a mile from Fenway park, presently.

I think the Rays will take care of the Sox, though.

Huh. It's raining here in San Francisco. That almost never happens this time of year. And it will be raining down there in LA in a matter of hours. But should be clear by late afternoon, I'm told from a reliable source (not Mother Nature, but the NWS).

Great game tonight. Sorry Angel fans.

Night!

Seriously. Manny in the Bullpen. I'm going nuts here.

http://tinyurl.com/46son4

Idk what it is, but I love hearing Raffy talk!

320 Paps is probably worse.

328

You don't mean Manny Ramirez do you ?

Are you sure? How can this be if so?

Are you just a horrible person spreading horrible lies?

Pedro Gomez.

"Takashi SIGH-ITO"

Really?

Sorry his name isn't Barry Bonds.

AccuScore has the Dodgers winning 50% of game three. This after the Dodgers were a 45% underdog in game one, and a 39% underdog in game 2.

I really hope the good Kuroda shows up tomorrow.

This is crazy 13 years apart to the very day for O.J Simpson verdicts.

October 3, 1995 found not guilty

October 3, 2008 about to find out

I hope the good Kuroda shows up and the bad Harden shows up.

Or maybe the bad Kuroda shows up, give up three consecutive walks in the 1st, Kershaw comes in and strikes out the side, then goes on to throw a no-hitter.

Nah...let's just beat em w/ Kuroda.

Good Kuroda shows up, he seems to do good with rest, and he's on regular rest for game 3.

CNN made they're combed-over reporter stand outside in the wind to report on O.J. I bet he gets his producer a better present this Christmas.

I think we could see a potentially REALLY good Kuroda next year. He clearly had a problem with the shortened rest in between starts in MLB. I think the experience nullifies everyone in the league getting their second look at him and then some. Hopefully.

I really think Lowe is a gonner after this year. I will, however, sit back with popcorn, and see how the Dodgers are going to handle the Penny option. Wow, I wouldn't want to be Dodgers brass with that question or the elephant in the room that is Juan Pierre's playing time.

Ooh, wrong their, there. Irritating.

I can only go to Game 4 and I am all out rooting for a sweep. I don't want to go to the game. I"ll enjoy it if it do, but I don't. Bring on game 3 of the NLCS.

And I linked to a picture of the possible Manny-in-the-Pen sighting in 316

341

It's not Manny. His current dreads are Corn-rowed up to shorten them. He hasn't rocked the all-out rasta look since he got to LA.

Plus you can tell it's not him in the face. That man could however, be a body double

Question: What's wrong with the Cubs.

Answer: They're playing the Dodgers.

I may have just jinxed the team, but since my hat fell apart, I just bought my first authentic cap. It'll be here in time for (knock on wood) the LCS.

The last time the Dodgers won a postseason series at home was October 12th, 1988.

Game 7 NLCS against the Mets.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN198810120.shtml

Anybody here go to that game?

By the way this is sort of crazy. But, in that same game Wally Backman made the same error Mark DeRosa made on a bases loaded double play ball and flipped it exactly the same way pulling Elster (Theriot) off second base. To make it even more crazy Gibson slid to take out the shortstop and in doing so slid past the bag and had to retreat on his stomach back to the bag. Loney had to do the same exact thing.

Freaky freaky stuff.

Both plays happened in the second inning with one out. Both Dodger clubs scored five runs in that inning.

Al Michaels: "That's grounded to the right side. Backman shovels and it's a high throw and they don't get anybody."

Dick Stockton: "And a ground ball sharply hit. Bobbled by DeRosa and they don't get anyone.

Sorry for carrying on but it's kind of crazy. Especially before tonight's game.

345,346,347
Wow, cool stuff.
Do you have a link to that video(of the old play)?

Heh. In Rosenthal's latest piece, in which he pines for a Dodgers/Boston World Series, he gives us this clip-n-save sentence: "I can conjure up whatever the heck I want."

Can. And does. Frequently.

Me? I'm rooting for a Dodgers/Rays series.

Since winning the 1981 World Series, the Dodgers have gone 1-7 in the third game of a postseason series:

1983 NLCS: Lost 7-2 to PHI.
1985 NLCS: Lost 4-2 to STL.
1988 NLCS: Lost 8-4 to NYM.
1988 WS: Lost 2-1 to OAK.
1995 NLDS: Lost 10-1 to CIN.
1996 NLDS: Lost 5-2 to ATL.
2004 NLDS: Won 4-0 vs. STL.
2006 NLDS: Lost 9-5 to NYM.

Gotta get off the Game 3 schneid. We need some of that Lima Time mojo tonight.

Fortune hasn't smiled on the Dodgers much lately, but maybe the tide is turning. To me, it seems incredible that not only did Furcal get back for the playoffs, but he doesn't seem that far from mid-season shape.
This is huge for a team, getting back a main part it did without most of the season.

Let's not forget that the Dodgers infield is a little suspect as well. Let's hope the laws of probability don't swing the other way tonight.
I am looking for the Cubs' OUTFIELD to have some trouble. Twinkle toes in left field is always an adventure and Edmonds just doesn't cover the ground he once did. Who knows what Lou will put in right field. A shabby outfield defense means a lot more in Dodger Stadium than it does in Wrigley.
The key once again will getting on base. Errors, walks, bunts, any way to get on. If the Cubs give up a lot and the Dodgers don't, the Dodgers will win. Contrast the two leadoff batters and you see why the Dodgers should be favored. (knock on wood for Furcal's health)
Cheap flyball homeruns by the likes of DeRosa and Edmonds become much less likely in LA. Manny, on the other hand, doesn't need short fences.
The other key is having Ethier-type at bats, getting Harden to throw a lot of pitches.

312 From that article: But the Dodgers know that their 2-5 mark against the Cubs in May and June actually was that of another club, not this one.

This is certainly true. Everyone talks of Manny and Blake making the team different but I really think the key is Furcal. He wasn't with the club when they played the Cubs in May and June either. He is such a difference maker. Along with Manny of course.The two of them together make the Dodgers a legitimate contender for the championship. When we lost those 4 games in Philadelphia it was without Furcal. so, if we get to Philadelphia, the team will be a different tean than in August.

Haven't been around, so just wow. Wow. What a great feeling. Wore my DT shirt working a yard sale this morning. Got a lot of high fives.

I have an old Cubs coffee mug I use almost every day, but I put it away last week . . . so I'm claiming at least some responsibility for the last couple days.

October losses make me feel my age. October wins make me feel like a boy again.

What a perfect thought; so much captured so well in so few words.

My boss is a huge White Sox fan. I made the mistake of sending it to him (not now, when it first went up). He sent it back last night with the comment that the statement was true both ways.

Anhyow, Go Blue!

From the coverage I've seen, I haven't seen a lot of marvelling that the Dodgers are doing this with their $18 million center fielder playing somewhere in Bikini Bottom.

Also, Tom Boswell's take: What a Huge Opportunity for the Cubs! http://tinyurl.com/3tu8a9

Good to see Sam DC.

"The one thing Manny doesn't do is get in his own way," Mattingly said. "He's got confidence off the top. He can get out twice, and he's not bothered. He'll come back and say: 'I got myself out. It's O.K. He better not miss.' He's that confident. He does the same thing all the time, and he doesn't change."

http://tinyurl.com/3ofb5v

NPUT