So Mark Hendrickson is our situational lefty??? oh boy............

Poor Elmer Dessens, couldn't make the cut. Saenz will be the only repeater from 2004.

I hope Hendrickson has learned the Nomo forkball.

Mark Hendrickson, oh noes!

Buster Olney just reported and www.metsblog.com is confirming that El Duque isn't even on the roster and that Maine is starting today for the Mets.

Game 5 of the NLCS:

Aaron Sele faces Darren Oliver

Gooooood Playoff Morning to you all!
It's better than Christmas; I just hope we don't get a lump of coal.
Nice to wake up to the news that El Duque has been left off the roster! Not to take joy in somebody's pain but injuries are a huge part of the game and we have our as well.
Let's take advantage of the fates and score a LOT of runs.

5 - Thanks - I updated above.

I would normally assume an immediate win for a pitcher going in unexpectedly against the Dodgers (history has not been kind to us when this situation presents itself) but the club really did batter Maine in September at Shea. On the other hand, El Duque pretty much kept the Dodgers in check. Just something to consider.

I'm wondering whether the Dodgers would be better off with Stults instead of Sele. Stults obviously is a tenderfoot. However, we're going against a team that feasts on right-handers but struggles mightily against left-handers. Yet the only two lefties we'll have are Kuo and (shudder) Hendrickson. Stults had a stellar performance against the Mets last month. Adding him to the postseason roster would have been a risk but one worth taking.

By the way Jon, that was a great Deadspin post. I'm glad you concluded with the Dodgers fan paragraph, instead of whining about how the Dodgers deserve it more because it's been so long, like the other seven writers.

I would hope that the Dodgers are patient today and work counts against a pitcher who did not know he would pitching until probably last night.

I would guess the rotation will break down like this,

Derek Lowe vs. John Maine
Hong-Chih Kuo vs. Tom Glavine
Greg Maddux vs. Steve Trachsel
Brad Penny vs. Oliver Perez (if necessary)
Derek Lowe vs. John Maine (if necessary)

8 no problem. all i'm doing today at work is listening to sports radio, scanning websites and walking back and forth between my cubicle and my ex-boss's office who is a pretty big Mets fan. it's just great that the Dodgers are in this and I have something to be anxious about.

13

I'm glad to see someone else is 1) doing nothing at work and 2) has a previous boss who is a diehard Mets fan.

Oliver Perez has been mostly awful but has thrown some brilliant innings just not enough of them in a row for the Mets since returning from AAA.

To bad about the pitching matchups. It would have been great to see Glavine go against Maddux and Maine against Kuo. Our old Brave Cy Young HOF pitcher against yours and our Rookie against yours.

Sele should not be on the playoff roster against the Mets. I'd use Hamulack or Stultz before I'd use him.

Dodgers in 4
Division MVP = Kent
Winners - Lowe, Maddux, Broxton

In the LA Times today (excuse me if it's been posted already as I'm dropping in and out this week), but Little announced that if Game 4 is necessary, Penny will start, even if the Dodgers face elimination. Lowe would not pitch again until Game 5, the NLCS, or next spring, depending upon your level of optimism.

I've never seen Stults pitch (been out of town whenever he does) so I can't compare them directly but I'm okay with Sele on the roster. I like his smarts.

Sele over Hamulack is a no brainer, IMHO.

Sort of off topic, but wearing my Dodger stuff today and a contractor I work closely with just told me that he was at Ken Holtzman's No hitter : http://tinyurl.com/pa5j4

He was 12, still has the jersey he wore to the game. I love stuff like that.

Which Ken Holtzman no-hitter? He threw two of them. In one of them, he threw a no-hitter with no strikeouts.

20 there was a thread a week or so back on the Holtzman no-K no-no.

gotta use a triple-negative whenever you can.

21 and what i mean by, "there was a thread" is that you authored much of it and I enjoyed reading it.

I'm not sure I'd trust Hamulack just because he's a lefty or for that matter Stults, who seemed pretty hittable after that first game vs. the Mets, over Sele, who at least pitched effectively through a good part of the season (and not as effectively through a bad part). Obviously, we'd all rather have Beimel.

If the Dodgers push this series to a 4th and 5th game, they'd be in better shape than the Mets.

Now with El Duque out along with Pedro, if the Dodgers do win the series (which is still going to be hard), Mets fans will certainly give LA very little credit for it. It won't be as satisfying as it would have been, if they win. But, personally, I'd happily take it.

anyway... one game at a time.

Could be a high scoring series. ;-)

Hey Steve (and everyone else) .. I do not know if you are listening to WHTK, but Ditullio is playing "Goodbye To You" (Patty Smyth) whenever a Mets fan calls in.

24 that's pretty funny.

I'm not listening to WHTK though, I'm listening to The Herd from ESPN.com

24

that's just scandalous!

And how am I suppossed to get ANY work done today??? Go Blue. Go Lowe. Set the tone.

KTLA Channel 5 here in LA just asked a caller a trivia question: How many World Series has the L.A. Dodgers won?

The station had the right answer, 5. But the years they listed were 1955, 1959, 1965, 1981 and 1988, forgetting that the team moved to L.A. in 1958 and won in 1963.

This was not long after they were discussing some famous boxer named Dempsey, whose first name they couldn't remember, but were pretty sure he was fighting in the 1950s.

And this is a station from the same company I work for. Sigh...

i don't know, i am trying not to get too excited about el duque's injury. i remember literally dancing in the street when vince colemnan went down in '85 (thanks, tarp!), and we all know how that turned out...

I'm having trouble getting excited about the Mets losing a guy with a 4.66 ERA.

I'm sure if they hand the ball to Oliver Perez, I'll be a lot happier.

30

Tangent alert:
Any decent players in ML history with first names of Oliver?

The only decent last name Oliver I can think of is Al Oliver.

23 - To anyone who thinks the absence of Pedro Martinez cheapens any victory, just offer these two words: Eric Gagne.

32 agreed.

30 Ollie Brown (late 1960s outfielder)?

20-21 My answer is Yes. :-)

OK, that would be the August 19, 1969 3-walk no-strike alou-popped-out-milan-grounded-out-aaron-grounded-out-in-the-ninth Holtzman no-hitter.

32 and why not Jason Repko? :-) In some ways the injuries this year were just like last year-- only this year there were rookies ready to step up.

35 yeah, this year we had Andre Ethier instead of Jason Grabowski.

So, the grad student I do research with wants me to come in this afternoon, during the game!

I've been incredibly busy this semester and I was hoping to at least take the afternoon off to go home and watch. Research or Dodgers?

Well... I guess I can just take tomorrow afternoon off.

Big day, big game. Good luck to the Dodgers and kudos to everyone at DT for what has so far been an informative and intensely enjoyable season. I will feel much more optimistic if we can win this one and push the series to (at least) 4 games. Let's hope those monster Mets bats stay quiet.

I have a bet with a Dodger fan - we have to get a burger for the 1st game of the NLCS here in Manhattan and whoever loses has to wear the winner's team paraphenalia for that evening. And pay for dinner.

We're inviting a Yankee fan along to ridicule the loser AND winner as well.

I guess I missed the news the last day or so. When did Beimel hurt himself? What is his injury? I was counting on him to get a couple of lefties out in the 6th or 7th innings. That is a big blow to our bullpen. I was confident with the back end being Beimel, Broxton and Saito. Key now is to get to the 8th with a lead and not the 7th. Somebody fill me in on Beimel, is he done for the year or is it minor and he could pitch if we do advance to the LCS?

Looking back at Jon's five questions article from Hardball Times (see sidebar at right), a lot of things went right for the Dodgers this year:

1. Can they stay healthy?

Yes, everyone except Bill Meuller

2. Can the prospects help? (This year, that is.)

Yes, far more than expected. Jon listed Martin, Guzman, Billingsley, Either, Kuo, Broxton, and Osoria. All but Guzman and Osoria contributed significantly, with Kemp in there as well.

3. What about the new management?

A qualified success. Overall a strong positive for the team.

4. So overall, what are the Dodgers' strengths and weaknesses?

The pitching has been a mixed bag, and the lineup much better than expected. But the team sure has changed an awful lot since Jon's early assessment.

5. Can they win?

Benefiting from the overall weakness of the NL West, the Dodgers should contend for a division title in 2006. By 2007, they should be considered serious contenders for a league title, and by 2008, they might even be World Series favorites.

Spot on. I think Coletti's moves gave them just enough to contend, down to the last day, while still leaving enough promise to be on track for Jon's 2007 and 2008 predictions.

This was an exceptional year for the Dodgers.

40 - Just look at the post below this one.

41 - 1) Eric Gagne?

40 gibby, your guess is probably about as good as anyone else's on how Beimel got hurt.

43 Oh, well, yes, but in your article you only considered the lineup, not the pitchers. Of those you listed, only Mueller has been out.

OK I clicked on Beimel's name up top in Jon's post. Of all the freaky lame ways to take yourself out of the most important series of your life, this has to be right up there with the most bizarre. Joe, you should of held the glass in your right hand. It's like in the movie Bull Durham, when Crash Davis after proving Nuke to punch him near the end of the movie, then asked him what hand did he punch with and said, "Don't use your pitching hand when you get into a fight with a drunk".

43 I agree you have to consider Gagne's absence in the "We had injuries too." argument, but did any of us in our hearts truly believe Eric would be back to himself this year?

I can definitively answer for myself with no, and it's painful to admit that.

40 he was washing his motorcycle.

41-43, Jason Repko? Seriously, though, I wonder what a full season of Repko healthy would have played out like. For instance, would we have seen as much of Lofton, or more likely less of Ethier? I was really interested in seeing what Repko could have done because he looked so much better than the previous season (to me).

Anyone know if today's game will be shown only on ESPN, or also on a broadcast channel in LA, as I think they did in 04?

49 It's on UPN-13 locally as well.

Good luck everybody!

I was without internet for most of two days and it is shocking how addicted I am. Without going into the strange details, I think my net connection is fixed and secure,and I have also managed to add network TV above my DTV so I can get Fox.

All suspense, all worries, all pontificating, all predicting can stop!

My wife, a New Jersey native, who thinks all baseball games that aren't part of a series with a title including the word "subway" are boring, and who has a fantastic ability to predict when the Dodgers will lose, has predicted a sweep by the Dodgers of the Mets.

We don't even have to watch.

32 Great point. I'm jotting that down on a post-it note to remind me (you think I wouldn't need it but it's been so long since we've had Gagne...) - in case any wayward, grumpy Mets fans walk by.

52 Of course, I have to give a presentation on Mann's "History of Power" book in a seminar today, so I won't get to watch game 1 anyway. Why? Why couldn't game 1 be played yesterday??

Going through the matchups it's really startling how soft the Mets bench is- Woodward, Franco, Endy Chavez, Tucker. Since they can't expect to get 7-8 innings out of their starters this should be a factor.

That is right up there with Kent's washing the truck and Clint Barmes injured while carrying deer meat up the stairs. My memory is hazy about whom it was that injured himself cutting up veggies in the kitchen. Was that a pitcher for somebody?

Also, I shall be avoiding this space this afternoon because I'm Tivo-ing the game (stuck at work and prefer not to listen to it on the radio)*. Will watch tonight and then celebrate or commiserate with all of ya.

*Unless I give in to temptation and listen to it on the radio anyway.

Some pitcher (Ojeda?) nearly severed a finger with a set of electic hedge trimmers or somesuch many years back.

Mike Matheny accidentally carved nice, thin slices of his hand with a hunting knife.

And if I recall correctly, both of these injuries happened at playoff time.

55 bigcpa, I think we have our own worries after 6 or 7 (not to mention 5). And Beimel out against lefties with Hendrickson replacing? Yikes! I fear it's going to be a wild ride.

57 I say listen. Vin's going to call it. It should be great. You'll still get to watch it later.

I realize I am very lucky in that I make my own schedule. But I get a big kick out of watching games like the ones in SD or Minnesota yesterday where you see a park that is packed with 50,000 fans, almost all of whom you know are ditching work or school to be there. Baseball wins out over responsibility this time of year!

56 Bob Ojeda cut off a finger tip on his pitching hand with a hedge clipper. Ojeda was a terribly unlucky man.

I can't get on Beimel too much. It's totally reflex. I've did something similar years ago, except instead of a glass, it was a beaker full of salt samples my students had weighed out. So I not only cut up my hand, I literally got salt in the wounds as well.

Hey, what does happen if someone injurs themselves so bad in the act of hitting a home run that they can't make it around the bases?

63 - They're allowed a pinch-runner.

Ouch, yeah, going in to my sons daycare I tried to tip up a small traffic sign with my foot, noticed it was going to flip all the way over and tried to grab it with my hand- BAD idea, the sign flipped right up between my index finger and middle finger. Probably should have gotten stitches, but at least there was no salt. Of course if that'd been a grounder in the Metrodome I'd be missing teeth.

Hello all, I am de-lurkering (sp?) myself today because its playoff time and I'm stuck at work. Although there is a fantastic bbq place across the street with a tv, which means I'm taking my lunch at 1:09 today.

64 - Cool. Thanks.

I don't know why I am even at work today. I can't think about anything but the game.

I need some advice. I am starting to feel a little lightheaded, my vision is getting blurry and I think I have some sniffles. Do you think I should tough it out and stay at work or tell my boss that I'm feeling ill and need to go to a bar and recuperate?

68 Definitely sounds contagious. I recommend staying home to be safe, or warming yourself up over an Irish coffee in a nice, cozy bar. Just to be safe. Can you tell my boss I have the same ailment?

58,62 - Thanks for filling me in on those lost memories. Hedge trimmers, hunting knives and drinking glasses; Warning to all players (entering the playoffs) to stay away from anything sharp or breakable glass.:)

Now we have lost our best lefty out of the pen, I think you are right Sushirabbit, going to be a wild ride!! Maybe a few 8-7 type games. Hopefully Lowe will quiet the Mets bats for a day and we can get the first win in our belts today.

Anyone notice how much the national and New York media are focused on the Red Sox angle when covering this series?

I liked how Derek Lowe said during his press conference is that he is a Dodger now.

It also appears that Shawn Green still carries a grudge against the Dodgers based on his interview on XM last night.

I slashed my wrist deeply trying to break into my own apartment many years ago (long story). The emergency room wanted to know if I was trying to kill myself.

I also cut my hand right at the base between my fourth and fifth finger while washing a glass I hadn't noticed was broken. Those stitches were not fun.

60 I should, except the problem is I sit next to my boss, who seems to need to talk to me about work a lot (damn him!) so it'll be hard to listen to it consistently without being distracted. But maybe I can be heavily involved in a project for which I need to listen to "music."*

*Vin Scully

Shawn Green is the Met I'm most worried about.

70 - I feel the same way. What a coincidence! I should tell that to my grad student and maybe he won't make me go to research this afternoon.

71 - I can understand if Shawn Green still carries a grudge.

One other thing, I went over to the Rally night at Universal and I must say, the rap that baseball is a dying sport is something that I believe is not true but I do think that MLB has to do a better job at marketing the game, especially when it comes to how its broadcasts the playoffs, etc.

75 I have never understood how some were always willing to cut Shawn Green a break with his salary and immediately get on J.D. Drew before he over swung at bat in a Dodger uniform.

69 Tell him it's Blue Flu.

No score through 2 in Minnesota.

The Twins are leaving their season up to a Boof.

It seemed like Fox showed individual closeups of every single fan over the course of the Yankee game last night. Distracting and uninteresting, and I hope it doesn't become a trend.

This Maine thing is almost a made for ESPN story. I don't like it.

I don't understand why baseball analysts will claim that one team has no chance, or that one team 'will win' in a series. The most blatant example of that has been the Minn./Oak series. Sure, Santana is awesome, but he does, on ocassion, give up runs. When he does, his team has to score runs, and with Oakland's pitching, that's tough. I just don't get it.

81 Along those same lines, do I have to listen to Ronan Tynan sing "God Bless America" every single time I watch a Yankees home playoff game?

84 - Use the break to go get a beer.

Two beers, actually.

Milton Bradley alert...

84 Brings upa godd question: If you were the Dodgers and you had a pivotal playoff game at home(say, Game 7 World Series), Who would you want singing the National Anthem? (to mark the importance and try to conjure up some positive mojo)

2 hours to go. Sorry for all of you at work. I'll be joining you in a few weeks but luckily by then all the day games will be over and we will either be in the World Series or talking about why Sele was used against Delgado with the game on the line.

62 - Wasn't Ojeda the only survivor in that boat accident that killed Tim Crews and the young Indians pitcher? In a way, he was very lucky (but obviously unlucky to have that happen).

If any MLB Radio subscribers are wondering, for some reason MLB Radio did not black out the Padre game over the internet for me yesterday (I live in SD) like they did for every regular season game so if you live in LA and get terrible reception in your office and you subscribe to MLB Radio you might be able to listen to the game on the internet. Perhaps an oversight or else there are different rules for postseason?

Roseanne Barr?

Just read a Met's blogger who says PENNY is the pitcher he's most worried about.

88
Jose Lima of course:)

88 Answering my own question, I'd suggest Randy Newman so he could be around to sing "I Love LA" live when we won.

88 Jose Lima

I need to hit refresh more often.

90 I always can listen to local broadcasters in LA on Gameday audio.

83 Absolutely. The A's have been pitching great. I'm also crazy enough to think Detroit has a chance against the Yankees.

88 - I'm not gonna pretend I had the idea first, but I'd vote for Jose Lima too.

93 beat me to it

and

94 AWESOME

88 Marvin Gaye.

Oh, wait. Sorry.

Sheryl Crowe

97 - Hmm. I wonder why I thought that. Maybe I tried once and failed for some other reason and assumed it was some sort of blackout policy. Never mind then.

I nominate Jeffrey Osborne since he is the Lakers' lucky charm.

90 Ojeda was lucky to have survived, but he was seriously injured in the accident.

103 On a separate topic, I believe there is a feeling that because MLB has licnensed out the radio feeds to both MLB.com and XM, the rights fees for local radio broadcasts will go down.

88

Kate Smith (or her Mexican non-union equivalent ... still living that is)

88 Unfortunately for us this year, Dodger Stadium will not be able to host a Game 7.

Thanks to Trevor Hoffman.

Evidently Jeffry Osborne's luck ran out when Shaq left town.

Did anyone else notice that it looked like Peavy was blaming Piazza for "allowing" Pujols' homerun because he didn't get to a foul popup a pitch earlier?

He must have something against Piazza since he was also yelling at him just before Duncan rattled his cage in the 4 homer game.

110 the more time goes by, the more Jake Peavy looks like Kevin Brown, dominating stuff, tough competitor, and oh so prickly with teammates. I'm not sure that KB would have let Mariano Duncan get inside his dome so easily though.

I've had Gameday going for the A's-Twins game, and I just took a quick look at enhanced mode. They've added a diamond to keep track of base runners. That's fast work by the programmers.

KB was prickly with the media, not sure he was disliked by his teammates. Big difference between disliking the bloodsucking media and your teammates.

109 Oh come now, Jeffrey has been singing since Magic so he has had his share of good times and bad.

Why do Clipper fans get so testy? :)

Has there been any discussion on the board about not taking a flier on Guillermo Mota when he was cut by the Indians? I'm very worried about the 6th and 7th inning.

113 true. good point.

114
Not testy just seems Mr. Osborne was good luck when Magic was there and when Shaq was there. I'm sure it was just a coincidence but if he had sung a championship when Threat was the best ballplayer I'd be impressed. No one was a bigger Laker fan from 1969 - 2004 then me.

Covering the Basis on KFWB really isn't a very good pre-game show. Is it true that the Dodgers aren't going to be on KFWB next season???

I like KFWB when they talk Dodger baseball, there is just so much news and traffic pushed in, it leaves not much time for the Dodgers. Am I the only one who feels this way?

113 - Didn't he take a bat to a toilet after someone flushed it, causing his shower water to get hot?

A naked Kevin Brown mashing a toilet with a Louisville Slugger... good god.

117 Okay, we can talk about basketball after the Dodger season, its time for all the good karma to head towards Shea.

118 I believe that there is one more year on the KFWB deal, I know that the Angels deal with 710 is over after next year too, not to many options, maybe 1540, we'll probably start hearing stuff after the playoffs.

115 Mota could have been one of those guys who pitched well with the Dodgers and not as well anywhere else, so maybe he would have been worth a flier. But from what I've seen of him this year, I don't feel worried...

119 - There goes my appetite.

now THERE is a lasorda-ism i can totally get on board with:

"october is a time to root against the yankees!"

120
Agreed, sorry I'm being so argumentive. Sending all the good karma I can muster eastward as I write this.

124 Its all in good fun. If you are the Stadium in the reserve section over the weekend, we should toast to the Dodgers on their way to victory.

DodgerSims which predicted all three winners yesterday and perhaps 4 for 4 if the A's hold on in Minnesota is predicting a 58% chance that the Mets take game one vs the Dodgers. In the 25 game sim, the Mets lefthanded bats, especially Reyes and Delgado were too much for Lowe and the Dodger offense to overcome. The Dodgers weren't able to score many runs off of Maine and the Mets bullpen. In a sim of game #2 the Dodgers did much better. The sim gives them a 51.8% (toss-up) chance of taking game #2. It has game #2 being a much higher scoring game than game #1. Garciappara and Kent need to play big roles in game #2 vs Glavine and Guo needs to limit the production from Reyes and DelGado.
Go Dodgers!!!
http://DodgerSims.Blogspot.com/
vr, Xei

125 I will be in the reserve on Saturday. Greg Maddux hopefully sustaining Lima-like excitement throughout the stadium.

Speaking of the A's holding on. Back to back for the Twins to tie things up.
vr, Xei

128 I sure hope this doesn't delay the start at Shea.

107 Might Salma Hayek do? It would make Simers happy.

I'd rather see Lima's ex-wife sing the anthem.

The A's are really playing well.

I wouldn't dare suggest the A's and the Dodgers meeting in the WS, but...

130 - She's his ex-wife now? When was this?

Eric Karros just used the increasingly popular phrase "tad bit" - as in, "That pitch was a 'tad bit' high." Forgive me for nitpicking, but isn't it either "tad" or "bit" but not both?

That literally makes steam come out of my ears.

134 - Just testing y'all there.

Colletti's post-playoff priorities should be: Third Base- CenterField-Pitching.
Betemit can't cut it there, LaRoche may-someday, but he's not going to be ready next spring, after this operation. We know who the desireable replacements are. Likewise, apparently Kemp is not going to be ready to take over in Center next spring. So we rent Lofton for another year or sign somebody, Byrnes, Pierre, etc. IF Gagne and Brazoban come back, about all we would need do is look for a good started. There is a possibility Kent may retire if they make it to the World Series, according to what he said the other day. Bad news we'd need a good replacement for him; good news is we'd have an extra $11M to buy one...

Game chat is open.

Awesome USCB was named number 2 fittest school in the country. Second to BYU.