Instead of the News Hour, we watched the last inning. That's quite a sacrifice around here.

What a game.

Another decent start from Guo. I am very happy with his control since he became a starter. Way to Guo!!! :)
vr, Xei

Kuo is a Godsend. And we wouldn't be here without him and we'd be in huge trouble going into the posteason without him.

2 Three runs in five innings is not a quality start.

We're almost in the same boat as 2004. Beat the Giants Saturday or face death-by-Schmidt Sunday. Lose Sunday and we could be on the road in a Monday playoff. But this time we can get some help from the out-of-town scoreboard.

But nice to see the boys in Blue win. The western title is in sight.

[4] note the use of the word "decent" instead of "quality".

4 Did you see Penny yesterday? I don't care about the stat, tonight was a quality start.

4. Quality start? haha, good one. Thanks for the laugh. vr, Xei

Vishal: Go eat some jaozi.
vr, Xei

Kuo again pitched well (2 runs were due to Lofton's misplay again). I think Kuo proved that he deserves a start in the playoffs. Kuo has kept us in the game in every game he's started and gave us a chance to win.

[10] hah! i had some last night. i probably will again tonight :)

I'm wondering what everyone's opinions are of Little giving up on the division title if a WC berth is assured.

I'm against it, and I think the players would be as well. An NL West ring/banner/flag is a symbol of an accomplishment won over 162 games.

I just cant believe any competitive player would want to give that up, just to get 1 days rest and be slightly more rested for the playoffs (which are a crapshoot to begin with).

I dont really like it.
I think you play sports to win championships. A division title is a championship, albeit not the biggest prize, but a prize nonetheless.

Kuo gives us a power left handed starter that we haven't had for long time and he really is changing speeds very well. Also, his control is getting better and better. I only hope he doesn't have any more arm problems.

12. Vishal, I think every day I was in Beijing or any other city in China for that matter I ate jaozi or hot pot (huo guo?). The Beijing duck was splendid too. I miss it. Where else can you eat the greatest meal on earth for about $4. Practically all you can eat, plus a couple of Yanjing beers.
vr, Xei

Yes, Kuo is good. His three true outcome stats were spectaucular today even if his era wasn't too good.

13. I don't think you give up the NL West title. I think you just rest your best players (especially pitchers) and let the others try their best to win. I think given who our opponent is, any 9 Dodgers would have a good chance of winning. vr, Xei

14 Kuo looks like he could be the next Sandy Koufax. Billingsley- Don Drysdale.

13 I agree with it. The goal is always the World Series. The lesser goal is the postseason. The difference between the division and the wild card is minor. The most important thing is giving the team the best possible chance for success in the post season.

Guo's DIPS were nearly perfect tonight.
vr, Xei

13 Amen.

18. Rule 6 violation.

20 His BABIP wasn't as good though. Bad luck? I didn't see the game. How did the hits look?

I don't agree with Little's stance, because if the Dodgers win the division, there's a very strong chance the Dodgers could have home field advantage the first two rounds.

I know they were 0-7 against the Cardinals, but that was during the miserable 1-13 stretch after the break. They're a totally different team.

Also, if they are to get so lucky and make it to the NLCS, good chance it's the Padres. Knowing how they've lost 13/18 against them, it's going to take every advantage possible (home field) to have a shot.

I for one hope the Dodgers go for and get the division. I'm guessing Ned would want it as a feather in his first year cap and Frank would want the extra revenue created by home field advantage. I want it so there are more games at DS. ANd for a change I get to use my playoff tickets. That doesn't mean Lowe can't rest but put Kent and Drew out there.

Resting a few players and starting a different pitcher isn't really forsaking all claim to the title. It's just resting a few players and taking some of the pressure off others. And you know what? He still has a pretty good chance to win; the other team will let up and relax too and I'll take our bench over theirs anytime.

13. You never sacrifice the ultimate goal for a lesser one.

23. Lofton badly misplayed the hit that hurt him the most. He turned around twice going for a fly ball to deep center field. He looked like he was playing dizzy dingbat out there. If he had directly to where the ball was going to land without all the spinning he would have caught it without too much trouble. vr, Xei

huo guo is good stuff too. mostly i eat at the dining halls on campus though. a meal there generally runs about $0.75, and the jaozi literally cost me pennies. they also have a whole large bottle of yanjing for like a quarter, but it's too sweet a beer for my tastes. beijing duck is okay, but it's not something you want to have on a daily basis.

Wait a second here, I just saw a hopeful post from xeiFrank on the Ducksnorts blog! Who's he rooting for anyway? :)

29. Can't beat those prices. Yanjing was the best beer I had there. There didn't seem like there were many options for beer... atleast from what I saw in the grocery stores and restaraunts. Either Yanjing or the 10 different varieties of Qingdao. Actually, I prefer Taiwan pijiu. You're University is near the Summer Palace, have you been there yet? Lots of walking... that place is huge.
vr, Xei

although i'd like to win the division, i definitely don't think it matters as much as doing well in the playoffs. there are lots of calculations that are made though, i'm sure. things like having home games in the playoffs and maximizing your chances of advancing to the LCS even if you end up losing there are worth big money to the franchise.

The difference between winning the division and not winning the division, is potentially HFA for BOTH rounds. Considering the differences of how they play home or away, thats another reason why it makes no sense to slack off in pursuit of a division title.

30. haha. I had to bite my tongue (or fingers) and post something nice. I will wait til we beat them for the division or knock them out in the playoffs to give them my good stuff. :)
vr, Xei

personally though, i don't worry too much about which team we face. no matter if it's the mets or the cards or the pads, if we want to get to the world series we should be able to beat whomever.

Nice recap of the game, Jon. I was happy to be home in time to be able to watch the last half. Drew's blast gave me hope, and then Alou leaving the lefty in vs. Saenz gave me confidence even before it was over. Saito made me nervous in the 9th but it all worked out, partially thanks to Martinez's terrific catch.

As for resting some starters on Sunday if they've clinched playoffs, vs. not - I understand why many of you would be against it, but I think it's a) not a sign of giving up on the division as much as resting a few key players who need it for the division series and b) putting some faith in some of your other players in the meanwhile - many of whom have contributed all season anyway. At any rate, best not to even think of Sunday until they take care of business tomorrow - which I hope they do, no matter what Philly does.

And I especially hope they sit Nomar for the next two days no matter what (looks like they won't have much choice in that matter anyway.)

In fairness, Lofton did make a nice play to snag that long drive from Bonds later...

(though it didn't completely make up for the earlier one.)

Both the Tigers and Twins are resting a good chunk of their starters and they have just as much at stake.

I would think that Schmidt wouldn't start Sunday if Lowe didn't start.

34
Just checking.

In my heart, I don't agree with Grits, but in my head, I do.

38 Looks like Det and Min played everyone today.

Webb should be making a Cy Young push on Sunday so that should give us an edge on the final day. Maybe Ethier and Loney can go out and win us a division.

Yeah, I wouldn't mind seeing Ethier get some playing time, maybe Sunday depending. heck, even Toby Hall should get a little playing time to give Martin at least a little rest.

38 Why would you think that? Do you think the Giants would pass up an opportunity to stick it to the Dodgers, even in a relatively minor way?

I don't think he is giving up the division, but he rather go with a rested Lowe for the start of the postseason and to give some players like Kent a much needed break. The ultimate goal is to get to the Series and as much as a division title is an accomplishment, Little's job is to get the team ready for postseason play. These guys have been busting it all summer and the whole team has contributed to this point. Go for the win but not to the extent that you'll wear the team out in a long 16 inning game on the last day. If they take care of business tomorrow, I agree not to start Lowe on Sunday!

Whew! What a game tonight. I actually was calling for that wild pitch when Ramon first stepped to the plate, I was using mental telepathy to tell Mike Stanton to bounce a curve ball or hit the dirt with a pitch. Power of positive thinking!:)

Embolden by the last two days, I am holding out for the Dodgers to win the division; St Louis play make-up Giants game which results in a playoff game with Huston which they win and drag thier exhausted carcasses to LA. Hey why not be greedy?

42
Mainly because Schmidt has been dealing with a sore back.

I think the argument about resting your starters is a little silly given the makeup of this particular team, where there really isn't all that much difference between the regulars and the second-line guys. Loney, Kemp, Lugo, Ethier and co. would still give us a fine chance of beating the Giants on Sunday. And I don't see why you'd want to start your opening playoff round with a dog-tired lineup.

I don't understand San Francisco saving good pitchers. What are they saving them for, Spring Training?

Earlier, when Grady pinch hit Betemit in the 7th, I was thinking did they already use Saenz? Why is Betemit hitting when he barely hits .100 against lefties. Grits was waiting and used his ace in the hole in the 9th. Tough clutch hit by the Killer Tomato!! Good win to shut up all those battery chuckers and that annoying Beat LA chant! Your season is over, you old decrepit no-cal battery chuckers!! 2-3 more days and you can go to your old folks home.

44 Street is a great pitcher, but I like our chances of beating him with 9 guys against one.

It seems that most people here feel that with the exception of J.D. Drew and Rafael Furcal pretty much everybody should be replaced in the starting lineup for one reason or another.

I remember when people missed having Jose Cruz on the team.

50 I'm not so sure Drew is an exception either.

47
Matt Cain is 21 (he'll turn 22 Sunday) and he's been ridden hard and put away wet and then taken back out and ridden through a car wash.

Schmidt missed a start when the Giants were still in it.

50. You forgot Russell Martin, the standard by which all players are judged. No Martin, No Dodgers as far as I am concerned. :)

For anyone who wants to listen to the Giant radio broadcasters, at midnight on KNBR (680) the Giants will replay the broadcast of the game tonight. Same deal tomorrow and Sunday.

Stan from Tacoma

If the Phillies Dodgers lose tomorrow, would the Dodgers still bust out the champagne and celebrate after a loss?

Man, that was a fun game to be present for!

Nothing beat the sight of Martin sprinting home on that wild pitch. My angle to see that play had him coming home with no one even close to making a play on him, and his quick-for-a-catcher feet made it seem like it was natural and easy.

Saito made the bottom half interesting, but I practically called both of his strikeouts. Last time I saw him in San Francisco, he ended the game against Alfonzo with a three pitch strikeout, and it looked like Alfonzo was just one pitch wiser this time as he didn't bite at the 0-2 slider that would have had him looking foolish... until the next slider that had him waving as badly as he did the last time I saw it.

Then, with the razor thin margin of the winning run on second base, Saito keeps at Sweeney instead of shying away just because first was empty. The crowd was rocking right up to that last called strike, and I shouted gutteral and loud cries of victory, and yelled "FIRST PLACE" to anyone who would hear. Fortunately, there were a smattering of other Dodger fans around to celebrate with.

Only three games for me this year, and the Dodgers won all three! Yay!

55. I seem to recall that is what transpired with one of the NY teams.

54

i know its a longshot given the horrible stuff that is bay area radio but are the giants radio broadcasters any better than kuiper and krukow? if so i may have finally found my solution to avoiding their utterly horrible commentary while watching giants vs. dodgers games while i'm up here at cal.

55. The Yankees lost to Toronto but clinched thanks to a Red Sox loss.

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=2471263

58Kuiper is on the radio tonight. Usually Jon Miller and Dave Flemming do the radio broadcast for SF. Those two are in my opinion the best radio broadcasters in baseball right now. I wish the Dodgers had those two guys on the radio. Steiner/Monday are in my opinion among the worst in baseball.

Stan from Tacoma

Bob, if you are still up am I correct that if the Dodgers win tomorrow and if Philly wins and the Dodgers clinch it would be the first time on the West Coast that the Dodgers have clinced a playoff spot on Giants turff?

1959 Milwaukee

1963?

1965-in LA

1966- Philadelphia

1970's in LA not against Giant Teams

1980's and 90's-I believe once in SD and once in Arizona

61. It was done in '77

https://dodgerthoughts.baseballtoaster.com/archives/523689.html#42

Comment #42

The Dodgers clinched the NL West on 9/20/1977 at San Francisco with a 3-1 win over the Giants at Candlestick Park.

http://retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B09200SFN1977.htm

7359 fans were in attendance.

60
Stan
You need to listen to the Padres announcers some time.

They are pathetic.

In all ways.

I wonder if John Denver has ever been referenced on Dodger Thoughts before tonights headline.

So what is the theory behind the fact that if the Dodgers, Padres, and Phils all finish at 86-76 the loser of the West playoff still gets a chance at the Wild Card?

Shouldn't they just be eliminated at that point by virtue of more losses than the Phils?

Please?

65 Quite a few times, IIRC.

Yesterday would have been appropriate too... Colorado Rocky mountain high, etc

66 I've wondered that myself. The playoff definitely counts as a regular season game, so it doesn't seem to make sense.

62, 63 thanks for the correction...as far as those criticizing Little for not going with Drew on Sunday if the WC is clinched to me makes sense, because Lowe has been the workhorse of the staff and having him rested and able to start twice is huge. In light of the Penny situation one most protect a major asset. Also while the Giants will do what they can to spoil something for the Dodgers, Eric Stultz might be the starter.

"In light of the Penny situation one most protect a major asset."

Looks like we need Winston Wolf to help us deal with The Penny Situation.

Everyone should click on the Blue Heaven link in the side bar and watch the "Male Bathroom Etiquette" video.

64 Bob, I agree the Padres are awful. That is why I said Steiner/Monday are among the worst. The Cardinal broadcasters on radio are bad too. In a way I am more annoyed by Shannon/Rooney and Steiner/Monday than the Padre broadcasters because the Dodgers and Cardinals have a history of great radio broadcasters while the Padres do not. There are lots of uninspiring radio broadcasters (the Rockies, Pirates, and many more) but with the uninspiring broadcasters I can at least follow what is happening. With Steiner/Monday there are long stretches when I have no idea what they are talking about or what is happening on the field. Bring back Ross Porter. Better yet bring in a young broadcaster with some talent who will be around for the next 20 years.

Stan from Tacoma

68
The rule was changed a few years ago when someone realized it was unfair to give a team that didn't win its division a pass into the playoffs while two teams that did finish first in their division had to play an extra game.

Watching the replay of the ninth inning again on FSN, that 2-1 pitch to Martin that was called ball 3 was really a pretty good pitch... that was a huge call.

It seems like every day something the Dodgers do relates to some historical event, today in ESPN.com, their daily Elias blurb states this in their lead item:

The Dodgers trailed the Giants 3-0 on Friday night in San Francisco but scored two runs in the seventh inning and two more in the ninth to win 4-3. It was the third straight game in which the Dodgers overcame a deficit of at least three runs to win. They won the last two games of their series in Denver despite trailing by three runs in each game. It's the first time in 81 years that the Dodgers have won three consecutive games in such fashion. The franchise, then representing Brooklyn, last strung together three straight wins in that manner in June 1925, all against the Cubs in Chicago.

While Bob will probably note in the near future just how much that Colorado series helped this team in its quest to set several LA Dodger single season records, there is one franchise record that they are near.

Currently, they have 302 doubles, which did break the LA record of 286 set in 2002, the franchise record is 303, set in 1930.

In no particular order, this team could or has set LA season records in the following:

Batting Average
Hits
Doubles
Extra base hits
Total bases
On Base Percentage
Slugging Percentage
Most RBI

Their 812 runs is the most since 1962 and the second most in LA history.

Great article in the Saturday Daily News on the rivalry. While the Dodgers did clinch in 1977 at Candelstick, Mondesi points out in his article that the Dodgers having to play for a playoff spot aginst the Giants have never clinched on thier turff. It would be great to do it tomorrow..Living in the Bay Area one of the most enjoyable things to do is to listen to a Giant replay of a loss, especially against the Dodgers. They have been saying from the 2nd inning on, what happens if the Dodgers lose, almost hoping that they can will it to happen. Russell Martin is up in the 9th, and they think they know what is going to happen...They don't

grady said that it would take 87 wins to make the playoffs. sure enough, one more win will clinch. that's foresight right there.

Hey LAT -- long time no see. Was at RFK with your buds (and so missed 1,000 DT comments I'll probably never catch up on).

Well, I hope we've all learned you never give up in this team by now!

Xeifrank in 17 said what I planned to say on the Division Title or no thing.

Is there a playoff if the Dodgers and Padres are tied or do the Padres win because of the better head-to-head record?

Sep 30 - Maddux
Oct 1 - Stults?
Oct 2 - playoff with Padres? Hendrickson?
Oct 4 - Lowe
Oct 5 - Maddux
Oct 7 - Kuo
Oct 8 - Penny?
Oct 9 - Lowe

or

Sep 30 - Maddux
Oct 1 - Stults?
Oct 3 - Lowe
Oct 4 - Kuo
Oct 6 - Maddux
Oct 7 - Penny?
Oct 8 - Lowe

81 Okay, if the Phillies lose either of their last two games, no matter what the Dodgers or Padres do, there will be no playoff between the Dodgers and Padres.

If the Dodgers and Padres each win today, they both clinch a playoff spot and if the standings do not change tomorrow, the Padres will be the division winner because of the better head to head record.

There only way there would be a playoff game on Monday is if the Phillies win both of their games and either the Padres and/or Dodgers lose both of their games, if the both teams lose each of their games and there is a 3-way tie, the Dodgers would host a playoff game against the Padres for the division and the loser would go to Philadelphia for the wild card. And if only one of the teams lose each of their games and the Phillies win their last two, they would play on Monday in Philadelphia for the wild card.

nice victory yesterday

In other sort of news, from nationals.com:

"It was revealed by two sources this summer that Soriano would like to make more money than Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal, who signed for three years and $39 million last December. Soriano is looking for something in the range of five years for $80 million."

And the Angels will probably pay him something close to that.

Does anyone know if this game today is going to be on National TV. It doesn't look like MLB Extra Innings will air it.

It looks like Fox is carrying the Cardinals nationally.

Nothing like opting to show a slumping team playing an opponent not considered its biggest rival from the worst division in baseball.

According to ESPN, http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/schedules
the Fox games today are:
MIL @ STL
PHI @ FLA
LAD @ SF
SD @ ARI

hmm, it must be regional coverage.

No Blue Crew in Dallas today I guess.

Darn, I thought we were through with these Dogerless Saturdays in much of the country.

My last TV rant. I promise.

I hate News Corp. Rupert Murdoch, Tim McCarver, Joe Buck, Bob Daily, MLB extra innings blackouts due to Fox, and Fox's geographic breakdown they use for airing regional coverage.

West coast gets Dodgers v. Giants. I get Cops from 1:30-2:00PT, Stargate Atlantis 2-3, and Stargate SG-1 from 3-4.

Argggh!

84 Hey Sam, your new Nationals manager...Joe Girardi?

Game thread is open up top.