Or should I be gracious in defeat?

No. I don't recognize it.

I'm curious to see who the umpire was on that call.

But oh well, what's done is done and the Bums get to break hearts in New York again. 1958, 1988, and now 2006.

Whatever the case, it's been an amazing season. The Dodgers really caught on fire just finish this strong. It's been very exciting, and I'm plain not intimidated by the Mets.

Let's go get those Metropolitans.

Time to break hearts in Queens!

I should know this, but... have the Bums and Mets played in the post season any time that was not 1988?

2004 - St. Louis
1996 - Atlanta
1995 - Cincy
1988 - New York
1985 - St. Louis
1983 - Philadelphia
1981 - Houston/Montreal
1978 - Philadelphia
1977 - Philadelphia
1974 - Pitssburgh

D Jeter (34, 2nd base off D McGowan/J Phillips), J Posada (3, 2nd base off D McGowan/J Phillips), R Cano (5, 2nd base off D McGowan/J Phillips), M Cairo (13, 2nd base off J Accardo/J Phillips), K Thompson (2, 3rd base off J Towers/J Phillips).

Hoping for a Dodger/Padre NL title bout.

We'll see. I have no idea how it shakes out.

I grew up in LA and moved to France 21 years ago but thanks to the internet I'm with you every day. Fortunately i work afternoons and evenings so it's not a problem staying up sometimes until 6am ! ! ! to watch games .
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In Switzerland, they have a business that sells DVDs of MLB games - I'm waiting for my DVD of the Sept 18th game 4HR game to arrive in the mail (but they're forbidden to sell to North American addresses - question of legal rights…)
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I was back in LA in Oct 1988…
Maybe i should come home again now !
This team has the charisma to do it - unlike any team since 1988

Well, finishing 2nd in the NL West isn't exactly like climbing Everest...

It starts at the top, with guys like Drew and Kent

If so, how fitting that you are a Dodger fan.

I sure didn't. Not with this bunch of players.

I'm guessing it would be the lowest total ever for a winner.

More research is needed.

J WEISMAN
--------
Considering the fact that neither Trevor H nor Brandon W pitched "halfway decently today" and the fact that CCarpenter lost his last 2 (very important) starts, maybe they should just cancel the Cy Young this year…
------
OR - - -
Offer Derek Lowe as a candidate. If he's considered in the same way that one picks an MVP (value to team's acheivement - and performance when it counts i.e. September) his only competition would be from ROswalt.

Yes, the insane asylum is just down the road a short walk. Sometimes I go down there with my girlfriend to see the gardens.
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You sure are on top of things !
Better than the original Greg Brock
(poor guy - maybe he's living in the insane asylum ! I'll look him up next time I'm there…)

"I don't think we've been this good all year," said Little. "When we won 17 of 18, we weren't as good a team as we are now."

Let's hope he's right.

It's kind of like Bill Medley's Friday Night Football intro from The Last Boy Scout, only twice as hokey, and three times as bad.

When I go to France, I want to gain a lot of weight and grow a beard, Jim Morrison style. There will not, however, be as many Indians scattered on highway bleeding.

No, but I also didn't expect 88 wins to be good enough for second best.

1. Was Bob the only Toaster Expert to pick San Diego as division champion...?

2. Colletti's team finished with the same record as Depo's...

That's it. Let's take this outside, buddy.

No, I think it's safe to say they exceeded expectations. Among other things, Drew and Nomar played a lot more than I expected.

I remember them assuring us:

"Yes, he had 44 HRs his last year in Albuquerque"

I don't know how I remember that statistic - but it was the main justification for trading Steve Garvey…

(and of course that was before the Colorado experiment made us all aware of the relationship between rocky mountain air and HRs)

Then, I remember several years later (probably in 1988 when I came back to the US - it wasn't easy following MLB in Europe back in those days…) finding him with Milwaukee…dying a slow death…

Was he booed out of LA?

I think Greg Brock looks better in retrospect when you realize that Steve Garvey wasn't as good as we like to think. Steve Garvey was Mark Grace with poor financial planning.

I have 49 combined points sitting on the bench between santana moss and the ATL defense. Ridiculous, i cant believe im going to lose because im an idiot.

The reason I chose the name was that Greg Brock was one of the first real memories I have of Dodger Baseball, trading Steve Garvey and putting this phenomenal young prospect at first to take his place. Hey, I was seven years old...What did I know.

I also remember Brock turning up with the Brewers, and thinking "How can he be on the Brewers now? He's a Dodger." I was not familiar with Marvin Miller, Lou Brock, or free agency at ten years old.

That being said, it's unclear to me what we could do about this issue. If Lowe pitches today, he ends up pitching on two days rest if he pitches game 1. If he pitches game 2, it's still on overly short rest. So I guess we just hope for the best.

I'm very happy Grady's being a bit creative and considering having Kuo go 2nd, and Penny for the pen.

WWSH

Too risque? After Jon's admonisment yesterday, I'm all eggshells over here.

You do the math

I'm happy to say that the memory of Baez has been virtually wiped away by the postseason berth.

I just hope that Chuck Tiffany and Edwin Jackson don't one day make me remember Baez in a profoundly unpleasant way.

WWSH

Nobody else!

I was fascinated that their doing so really affected my son, who at dinner tonight kept saying how cool it was that the players would congratulate someone from the other team. The whole thing gave me a lot of space to talk to him about being a good sport, and being competitive but respecting the other players and team, and was just overall nice. So kudos to the Mets for a gesture that had a bit of impact.

Obviously called to mind a bit the Dodgers sending the Cards off into the NLCS in 2004.

* "Pop" album excepted

Of course, it could mean no baseball on ESPN.

435. Benaiah - Wednesday 7/26/2006
Let's say that both the Padres and the Reds keep up their current paces and end up at around 86-87 wins. In order for the Dodgers to get to 86 wins they would have to go 39-20 for the rest of the season, a .661 winning percentage versus their current .461. It's possible that after going 8 games under .500 over the first 102 games they will go 19 games over in their final 59, but its not likely. If we make any more trades for this season it is like selling your car and then putting the money on green in roulette in the hopes that you can finally buy a house if you should happen to win. Trade the vets and let the kids play, Loney, Guzman, Young and Laroche in the show!

499. Uncle Miltie - Wednesday July 26. 2006
Ned wants to put lipstick on a pig.

*Come Monday
Hello Jose Mesa, Roberto Hernandez, and/or Greg Maddux*

Good bye Delwyn Young, Greg Miller, Tony Abreu

The Padres game turned out to be very close...one run difference.

You would think that someone whose seen as much baseball as Scully would be a little more cautious about calling games 5 innings before they're over. It was 7 to 1, yes, but with half a game to play.

I was hoping he would have to eat his big fat overconfident words. Vin or no VIN!

Not unlike the general manager who preceded him, Colletti is taking risks - different kinds of risks, but risks just the same. When Paul DePodesta made the deal that defined him two years ago, the trade of Paul LoDuca and Guillermo Mota for Brad Penny, Hee Seop Choi and Bill Murphy, I considered it a valid risk that I wouldn't have had the courage to take. If the Dodgers rally to win a playoff berth in 2006 and bring enough prospects back for bigger prizes in 2007 and beyond, Colletti may walk on water. But if there is no postseason play in the next 18 months, Colletti might learn a little bit about what it was like to wear DePodesta's cement shoes.

Sam, you talk as if you worked in the news biz at one time.

Ravech says the same on Baseball Tonight.

I'd rather go with Kuo, but it is Maddux, so I can live with the decision..

WWSH

But I won't deface Jon's site by commenting on "the lede".

Either way, I guess it's fine.

No surprise to see him set up his rotation so that he can use Maddux twice if he needs him.

Maddux is not pitching against the Giants this time. I don't like this decision.

Game 4 NLDS - 7ip, 2h, 2er and 2-3 at the plate!

Greg S: last week, I disagreed about funkiness, but agreed they still were very much alive. Even with that qualifier, I still woulda chosen the Phils, given the quality/luck involved in their second-half march. But when the Blind failed to see Chase's homer, what a sea-change! Imagine how D-fans woulda felt -
maybe that uncalled third strike by Tomko vs.
the Mets would give some idea, but even that was nowhere near the arrow in the Phils' backs.

Dry-Range Rodent: Rarely disagree with you, but until they show me the mere sight of Cardinal unis doesn't turn the local spines to jelly, I'm glad first round is highly- vulnerable-with-much-weight-of-expectation Mets. As for second possible round (and,
unlike 2004, I agree with the Man from France that this bunch, like 88's, has a puncher's chance) pick your poison!

KG16: also share that sentiment (though my preseason range woulda been more like 80-90);
just so hard to know what achievements in NL West of recent vintage mean on wider/longer baseball stage.

Xei: Let's agree to replace all posts more than five lines and anything about movies with the compellin' kind of back-and-forth you and Vishal shared on this BASEBALL site
about ducks and beer in China! :)....

A note about the series in NY. If start times are as stated, some pitchers (Good
Penny comes to mind) benefit from difficult light conditions, which could be crucial
(is it important against El Duque, e.g., to be able to pick up spin early? Will all Dodger hitters, but particularly young ones who haven't seen him much/at all, be disadvantaged?) How does that work for Lowe, possible Guo?

And a last wish for Ned (who, if nothing else, has helped punch the ticket for this ride Greg Brock and I agree is so much unanticipated fun): take this year's overwhelming lesson to next year and beyond:
always tread with great caution when dealing for players coming from losing organizations.
In ways sometimes obvious. sometimes not so, they are part of the mix, and likely, somehow, part of the cause....

but he'll look like a girl throwing left handed, but seriously not a bad idea.

Meanwhile, Kruk picks... Hoffman for Cy Young. And gets kind of defensive about it.

Meanwhile x2, the Newark reporter they had on earlier to talk about the Mets pretty much dismissed the other playoff teams in the NL - saying the Mets would have been more worried if the Phils or Astros had made it.

I still think you're going to win. Seattle has to score some more. I mean, 6 points is pathetic for seattle. Our game shouldnt have even came down to this though. my bench has basically outscored my starting lineup.

Looks like the only thing Hoffman had over Saito (Cy-to?) this year was 21 more saves. Sammy leads in all the meaningful stats.

yess!

I pulled off that LJ trade just in time. he carried me this week with his breakout game finally. I still would like another rb. Julius jones available yet? :)

If he was the closer all season and has racked up 40+ saves then i would say he is a shoe-in for ROY. But he doesnt have the counting stats (saves) to be recognized over Zimmerman.

I'm not convinced that the AP has better information than Ken Gurnick re: Maddux.

it went through at midnight last night. when it was pending, it said it would reflect on the week 4 lineup. I wish you remembered cause if had plugged jackson in, you would probably have knocked off Bills Thrills from 1st place!

I'm just happy Kruk didn't choose us to win the WS--that would guarantee our loss. Maybe this will instead mean we'll beat the Yanks. =) Same for Ravech. I still remember Ravech interviewing Theo during the BoSox championship year, and after botching a reference to Theo's age, he then proceeded to ask him about Billy Beane's Moneyball book. When Theo tersely corrected him, Ravech seemed genuinely surprised.

WWSH

I saw the part Ken Macha correct the baseball tonight people on the Twins, it was classic.

Boy, if they aren't concerned about us, they're in for a surprise. It's generally not a good idea for a team to take opponenets lightly.

So since Kuo is only going to start one game, Grady put him in for Game 3 and bumped Maddux up to Game 2, since he obviously has shown that he can handle both the pressure of a Game 5 and pitching on short rest. So it makes sense to me to go with Lowe, Maddux, Kuo, Lowe, and Maddux with Penny coming in out of the bullpen.

The Red Sox-Orioles game had been halted before that game ended. But in that game, the last pitcher was Russ Ortiz and the last batter was Alex Cora.

http://tinyurl.com/n2fbs

I probably will be at game 1 with a buddy of mine. We're going to drive up from Annapolis.

WWSH

I was wondering if what someone on KFWB said is true...that the Dodgers can claim to beCo-Champs of the National League West. Granted they are the wild card for the playoffs...but does the team get to hoist a division pennant at the Stadium? It strikes me as fair if they do...now I know that the Pads did win the season series...but the Blue Crew did have a better record i n the West... 43-31 to 39-36.

1.once your playoff roster is set at the start of a series, what happens in the event of injury?

2.how does that tinyurl thingy work?

There's a way to drag the tinyurl function to the Firefox browser; dunno if you can do that to IE or Mac OS.

1) Too bad. Play with 24 until the series is over (at least my memory tells me that's how it works).

Haha, Smoltz. Don't you wish you escaped Atlanta?

:-(

In a bit of a surprise, Little said rookie left-hander Hong-Chih Kuo would start Game 2 on Thursday over Greg Maddux, who will start Game 3 on Saturday in Dodger Stadium.

Though I'm tempted to vote "pro-Mets" where applicable just because I don't like jinxing things, I voted as fair as I possibly could on each q.

http://tinyurl.com/kknyf

go about halfway down

http://tinyurl.com/kknyf

d'oh 28-ish seconds too late haha

(and early reports on the Dodgers playoff roster, not set yet but getting closer...)

MLB.com said that they will be showing the playoffs via MLB International so just look around for it, my experience is that they won't have the teams so just figure that if there is a game on during the time the Dodgers are scheduled to play, that's the game they are showing.

Have a good trip and if you never have been Florence, don't forget to go to this one gelatto place that I can never remember the name of except for the fact that it is near the marketplace and its down this street and when you think you are lost, you will see a bunch of people standing outside, then you will find it. (Strange has it seems, these instructions work all the time.) Get the Rizzo (Rice) gelatto, its really good.

I was 10 when Greg Brock hit his 44 home runs for Albequerque. If I had the means at the time, I was going to get a Dodgers jersey with BROCK #9 on the back. As it was, I had to settle for making an iron-on with fabrick crayons. Unfortunately my artistic skills were lacking, and the design just didn't pan out. Alas.

3. The Dodgers had one 6 game winning streak, three 7 game winning streaks and one 11 game winning streak.

4. The Dodgers had 6 different players lead the team in home runs by month:
Drew, Kent, Kemp, Ethier, Betemit and Marlon Anderson.

5. Just a fun fact for me, with Raffy's leadoff home run the next day against the Pirates, the Dodgers had 6 consectutive hits that were all home runs and all hit by different players.

6. While, I did not research this, I have to believe that Nomar's two 9th inning grand slam home runs had to be a first for the Dodgers in one season.

In Florence, check out the Lion's Den. It's a UK style pub. When I was in Florence during the spring, they had all the NFL Games, so I imagine they would show MLB. There's also the Red Garter which is a similar situation. It also might be a long shot, but there's a place called Il Fauno, but I think they only show soccer.

Also, don't miss wandering through the Mercato Centrale. Conti Foods in the back right corner is a great place to sample all the oils and vinegars you'd like. Also Da Nerbone, a lunch counter inside the market, open only at lunch, is another place to make a point of trying to get to.

http://www.truebluela.com/story/2006/9/30/15759/3906

Dodger record when I'm able to watch the game start to finish: 40-21

Dodger record when I'm able to catch part of a game, usually the end because of traffic/evening meetings: 19-18

Dodger record when I miss the game entirely: 29-35

So, they looked like a great team to me pretty much all year. Only bad news is that with a 1 p.m. west coast start, I will pretty much miss Game 1 unless there is a rain delay or it goes deep into extra innings because of work. I should be able to catch all of Game 2, though.

John Smoltz closed the game for the Braves.

Cue to horror music...

They're probably waiting until that's removed before committing to a time.

Both AL series' Game 2's are on Wednesday. We may know as early as then???

The Game 3's of those series aren't until Friday. You'd think they'd set a time prior to Friday night though.

Things were bleak, the team had lost 13 out of 14 but I was nice to see that the players on the field were loose and in good spirits.

Although, the Nationals scored first, the Dodgers proceeded to score 13 unanswered runs, highlighted by 3 home runs, the biggest, a grand slam by Drew. Chad coasted to a win and the Dodgers for one day came out on top.

Just prior to the game, the Dodgers announced that they had traded Baez and Aybar for Wilson Betemit, a player that I knew of but I had heard had been rumoured to go to the Padres for Scott Linebrink.

So we won one game, no one thought much about it, I was just happy that we had a good time, I was going back on Sunday, hoping that maybe we could win the series against the Nationals.

Cory Dunlap is not fat -- he's FAT. He's listed at 240, but if he's 240, I'm the King of England. Think Cecil Fielder, add about 40 pounds, and you've about got him. I've always liked Dunlap, but he was extremely unimpressive, making the last out of three different innings and also misplaying four balls at first base before being removed from the game.

Blak DeWitt looked good. He didn't get a hit although he got on base three times, twice by walk and once by HBP. He works counts well and runs a lot better than I expected (he also stole a base). Defensively he was good although he didn't have any real challenging plays. He reached base twice in two trips against Joba Chamberlain, the Yankees' top draft choice in this year's draft who was makig his pro debut.

I'm not sure if Xavier Paul is a prospect anymore.... he had a good year this year, but it's a little late for that. He's a fast guy but a stocky one, with those Raul Mondesi thighs. He hit a rather impressive home run over the distant (~390ft) right-center field fence.

None of the Dodger pitchers pitched.

Lastly, in a spectacular bout of bad scheduling luck, it looks like I will be unable to watch ALL FIVE games of the Division Series, depending on what time Saturday's game starts.

Phillips: "LA had a crushing blow when Gagne went down with his 3rd Tommy John surgery earlier this year. Yhency Brazoban will have to step up for LA to have a chance."

Morgan: "I haven't seen them play this year, so I can't really comment"

Thorne: "Ok, game 1 of the formality known as "The Mets Go to the World Series"...er, the National League Playoffs, right after this."

Also, on the subject of co-championships, I believe the Cardinals hoisted such a flag or banner or somesuch when they tied with the Astros a few seasons back.

"Yes, and it was a bone of contention with the Astros... I think you'll find that someone at MLB headquarters gave the Cardinals their blessing.

"What I can tell you is that the NL Green Book, the league's source for official information, lists the teams as tying for first in the '01 Central."

For what it's worth.

Meanwhile, it always amuses me to read how poorly schooled on the opposition many journalists are. Whoever wrote this piece for the Newark paper, for example, on the Mets Dodgers series:

" Why it's good for the Mets: The Dodgers had to battle until the final weekend just to reach the postseason, running the very necessary risk of wearing out their regulars. The Mets clinched with two weeks left and are well-rested heading into the playoffs.

Three things you need to know about the Dodgers:

They don't have Eric Gagne, but rookie Takashi Saito has 24 saves in 26 tries.

The Dodgers have golden oldies such as Nomar Garciaparra, Jeff Kent and Kenny Lofton, but don't discount the contributions of up-and-comers like Andre Ethier, Wilson Betemit, Matt Kemp and Russell Martin."

Matt Kemp?

that's why i want the KFWB feed with no delay i really hope KFWB isn't dumb enough to have a delay

"back in the day" they didn't have delays if i remember correctly, my Dad use to hear the games in spanish & muted the t.v.

I can almost understand Morgan hating us as he battled us for so many years in the uniforms of the Astros, Reds and Giants, but Phillips is just a suit that never played the game so I can care less what he says, he shows his ignorance every time he opens his mouth.

I bet the Cubs make a big pitch for Joe Girardi, if Loria is indeed a complete idiot and lets him go.

The latest rumor is Buck Showater in Texas.

Thus far, Frank Robinson, Joe Giradi, and Dusty Baker all have moving boxes in their offices, Felipe Alou appears to be leaving too. In the American League, its been pretty quiet but there is a rumor out there that Buck Showater could be out in Texas, still nothing from KC, sweep of the Tigers notwithstanding.

As far as GMs go, with the President of Cubs going and Dusty out the door, I wonder if Jim Hendry is leaving too. Golden boy, Jim Bowden still gets to pick up a check but we shall see what happens there.

One other development here at home is the story that Terry Collins may be leaving to manage in Japan. Collins current position is the Director of Player Development, I am not sure if that is a higher postion than Director of Scouting but if it is, I wonder if they would look towards promoting Logan White to that position.

So does this mean Texas wins the World Series next year?

i think Loria's ego is blinding him.

But if he wants to do something else, I agree. Do what it takes to keep this guy in the organization.

vin made the trip to fenway in june of 2004

198 - Yes You are right. Vin has not made any road trips east of the Rockies last year or this year, his one concession to his age, I guess. Also, his wish to be closer to home and spend more time with his wife and grandchildren.

http://tinyurl.com/etjrm

As far as Bonds goes, I wonder how much of a distraction he presents. He's not a self-promoter like TO. It's mostly just the media circus around him. But he does still produce on the field, especially in the 2nd half this year.

I think if Black wants the job (and he does have Giant in his blood) he'd be willing to put up with the Barry situation, for what should be a long tenure as manager with SF.

"...he'd be willing to put up with the Barry situation for one year, for what should be a long tenure as manager with SF."

I think we are a little deeper, with the only real hole in our lineup being 3B (can't we get Anderson to play 3rd and Ethier or Loney to play LF? or even Saenz) while both LF and RF are bad for them. That said, the peaks are definitely higher on their end.