Thursday, April 24, 2008

Game 22 Thread: April 24 vs. Snakes, 7p

Chad Billingsley (0-3) vs. Edgar Gonzalez (0-1).

COMMENTS: A win tonight would give the Dodgers their first series sweep of the season. What? It's only a two-game series? And winless Billingsley is on the mound, meaning that somewhere in his first five innings, he's bound to lose control (Bills was coasting during his last start in Atlanta until a rough 35-pitch fifth inning)? Well, now that we're the second-place Dodgers (and only four games out of the wild card with a mere 140 to play), let's see if our luck will turn against Gonzalez and his 4.50 ERA (in line with his stats from 2006 and 2007).

183 comments:

Steve Sax said...

Kent is supposed to return to the lineup tonight, but no word on where just yet.

Damon said...

Ill be home for the start of this one!

Orel said...

Furcal, SS
Jones, CF
Nomar, 3B
Kent, 2B
Loney, 1B
Martin, C
Ethier, LF
Kemp, RF
Billingsley, P

Orel said...

DeWitt sent down to Vegas, per T-Jax.

Steve Sax said...

DeWitt to Vegas makes no sense with Nomar batting as poorly as he is. What the heck?

Steve Sax said...

I get it, it allows them to bring up Cory Wade from double-A ball to have another pitcher on the roster.

Steve Sax said...

Josh Suchon is serving up softballs for Cory Wade on the pre-game interview, but Wade sounds like a genuine, nice guy. Welcome to the bigs, Cory! Congratulations!

Steve Sax said...

Sit and Sleep is coming soon to Redlands!

You're killing me, Larry!

Erin said...

Alas, I will not be joining you boys (and Karina), as I have dinner plans. I had tickets for the game, but an $11 pavilion seat is easy to give up when you only have one chance to say goodbye to a good friend.

I'll be at tomorrow night's game, so you'll miss me around here again. I don't know how you'll survive.

Steve Sax said...

Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports says he doesn't see a race in the NL West, but thinks that AZ's bullpen is vulnerable.

Steve Sax said...

We may miss you, Erin, but you'll miss our updates on Larry and Irwin of Sit and Sleep.

Erin said...

Before I leave (I'm such a tease), did you guys see that Blake DeWitt was sent back down?

Erin said...

Oops, I should really read all the myriad comments before I post. Silly me.

Steve Sax said...

Rick Monday thinks a key to the game for the Dodgers is getting runners on base.

Ah, what about scoring said runners, Rick? We've got plenty of LOBs.

He's also defending Andruw Jones by saying his swing is improving. Oooo-kay.

Damon said...

Bills being Bills

karina said...

Hello, everybody!
Erin, have a great time with your friend today and please enjoy the game tomorrow night!

Damon said...

karina how do you watch the games?

Orel said...

I see Erin is busy having a life. Epale, everybody else!

"Bills being Bills" is right. He won't make it past the 4th at this rate.

Damon said...

Ok im going to go make dinner bills is pissing me off

Orel said...

Bills suffers from Kuo-itis. Or is it the other way around?

karina said...

I just came back home from a conference titled: "5.000 years of baseball" and the journalist who gave it asked:

If you were the manager of a team playing the 7th game of the World Series and your starting rotation were:
Sandy Koufax (it was the first name he gave and suddenly i felt this warm feeling)
Juan Marichal
Nolan Ryan
Cy Young
Johan Santana

Everyone of them at the peak of their careers, who would you choose to start said game?

Orel said...

Bills: 24 pitches in the 1st inning, if my calcs are correct. Got out of it cheaply enough.

Orel said...

Karina, I narrowed it down to Koufax and Santana because they're lefties. That makes the decision pretty easy: Koufax.

Orel said...

Was the conference really called five thousand years of baseball?

karina said...

Gameday. Directv Extra Innings is very different in South America. I get a couple (sometimes three) games a day and the Strike Zone Channel, so i kinda get the updates there (and this is the most expensive package).

Last year, i had MLB.tv but since i live in a country with foreign currency control exchange and the limit of dollars that i could spend online was dramatically lowered (it went from a maximum of 3000 to a maximum of 400), i couldn't buy this year's package, since those dollars would be used (hopefully) this year to pay some stuff for spring training next year.

karina said...

Yep. That's the name and he wrote a book of the same name. His name is Juan Vene and he's a legend of baseball journalism. I took notes, do you want me to share?

Orel said...

Wow! Nomar singles, Kent doubles him in (close play at the plate) and Kent takes third! Let's hear it for the old fogeys!

karina said...

and of course, you guys help me a lot with my dodger "game watching"

Orel said...

Of course, Karina! It wouldn't be a Game Thread if I didn't learn anything from you.

Orel said...

I didn't know you were stuck with Gameday, Karina. We'll try to be more descriptive.

Kent was on third but Loney bounces to the pitcher for the third out.

Orel said...

Oh shit, Matt Kemp just misplayed Miguel Montero's line drive. He came in and it went over his head.

Orel said...

Of course, Chad promptly gives up a home run. 3-1 Snakes.

Orel said...

Hard to believe they didn't give Kemp an error.

Orel said...

Chad then strikes out the next two.

karina said...

because i'm such a geek:

There are some Egyptian hieroglyphs that show pharaohs hitting, running and fielding to pay homage to Osiris (side note: egyptian deity of fertility), so Osiris gave them lots of fertile fields and women.

that's why it's called 5000 years of baseball, more?

(i took 5 college courses about art and design history and i had to memorize lots of information, why didn't my teachers say info like this?)

Orel said...

Jeff Kent makes a pretty slick play to his right for out #3.

karina said...

baby blue at bat, let's see...

Orel said...

More please!

Orel said...

Russell gave it a ride but Upton caught it before the warning track.

Orel said...

1-2-3 inning. Still 3-1 Snakes.

Orel said...

6 K's for Bills!

Orel said...

7 K's!

karina said...

I forgot to mention this hitting, running and fielding religious rites ("i believe in the church of baseball", it's actually accurate) was done in spring.

These activities were lost, since the barbaric tribes that formed most of European countries today after the fall of Roman Empire didn't have notions of organized sports that didn't include violence (gladiators, anyone?).
Greece, though they conceived sports pretty much as we conceived them today, they were more into naked young muscled men running and jumping.

So, cricket appeared in England, being the grandfather of baseball.

karina said...

Some cricket player whose name i couldn't hear, invented a safer form of cricket, so children didn't hurt so bad. It was called "Rounders", actual father of baseball.

It consisted of a bat,several bases (cricket only has home and first base), and a softer ball made out of rags and cloth (cricket's ball is very hard)

Juan Vene said Tom Sawyer played Rounders and it's explained in the book, you tell me since i only have read The Prince and the Beggar.

Orel said...

Oh boy, Frank's in the booth with Vinny again.

karina said...

Dodgers are gonna kill me...139 games to go...

karina said...

if you are getting bored, you tell me...

Orel said...

I was just going to ask about rounders!

Orel said...

When Mark Twain published his next novel in 1889, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, he included in Chapter 40 a segment on the game of baseball which once again addressed the dangers inherent in the position of umpire:

Orel said...

Karina, the Dodger organization announced big plans for Dodger Stadium today, so that is in the headlines.

Orel said...

Not bored, Karina. It's much more interesting than the game, in fact.

Orel said...

Chad's 9 K's ties a career high.

Orel said...

Nomar leads off the inning with a single to left....

Orel said...

Aflac trivia question:

The Cubs earned their 10,000th win last night.

Can you name the only other franchise with more wins?

Orel said...

Nomar stole second!?!?!

Orel said...

Wild pitch ball 4 to Kent! Men on 1st & 3rd, no out.

karina said...

The very first thing pilgrims did when emigrating to the United States, was choosing certain lifestyle and government, which included sports (this part is better known for you than me).

Many of them choose several forms of Rounders, up to thirty-four kinds.

It seems Abner Doubleday never saw a ball in his entire life. It was a marketing strategy.

Orel said...

Loney RBI single! 3-2 Snakes, men on 1st & 3rd w/no out for the Dodgers.

Orel said...

There is some question as to whether Doubleday really invented baseball.

Karina, have you seen Ken Burns' "Baseball" documentary?

Orel said...

They didn't talk about the pilgrims' sports choices in history class.

Orel said...

D'backs trying the old fake-to-third-fake-to-first play several times, much to the ire of the Dodger Stadium crowd.

karina said...

YAY! i have always been afraid not to be at Dodger Stadium so i guess i'll be there sometime. I thought about switching Arizona for LA and being there for the World Baseball Classic, but if Venezuela doesn't make to the semifinals, i'm gonna be pretty heart-broken.

I guess it's better watching batting practice and practice games, dreaming about a new season full of hope.

karina said...

King James RBI!

Orel said...

Weak popup by Russell. One out.

Orel said...

Trivia answer: Giants (!), 10,193 wins.

karina said...

no, i haven't.

Orel said...

Ethier sac fly scores Kent, Loney barely makes it to second! 3-3 tie!

Vin said Loney kind of cheated by leaving the bag early.

Damon said...

Upton still not catching the ball correctly

karina said...

But Juan Vene said no one invented baseball. Alexander Cartwright was the one to come up with the very first set of rules, only 14!

Orel said...

There is a statue of a deer in the Dodgers' bullpen.

karina said...

He did talk about some study made in the US. It consisted to take some small boys to a sort of a closed court, with sand, some rocks and sticks. Most of them would throw the rocks and hitting them with sticks.

It might be in our collective conscious!

Orel said...

Karina, highly recommended. It's on DVD (but only as a box set).

I believe Juan Vene about Cartwright. That sounds right.

Damon: Vin's not letting us forget about it either.

karina said...

what happened to gnomes?

Orel said...

You mean the boys didn't beat each other up with the rocks and sticks?

Orel said...

KKKKKKKKKK

Orel said...

Gnomes, deer—by season's end the dugout will be like a sculpture garden.

Orel said...

Chris Young broken bat dunker single to right.

karina said...

he beat his own record! Congrats Bills! (he's pitching fantasy, too!)

karina said...

that's what he said...

Orel said...

Shoot, Drew doubles. 2nd & 3rd w/1 out.

Orel said...

Let's hope Bills gets a W for your fantasy team too.

Orel said...

That's not going to help. Wild pitch lets a run in. 4-3 Snakes.

Orel said...

Bills: 86 pitches, 10 K's. No one in the bullpen.

karina said...

Another piece of interesting trivia: there are some statues in the Arqueological Museum of Mexico, depicting a man holding a stick, standing at his right side, they call it "the hitter", there's other one of a man sitting at his knees, called "the catcher".
There are more statues like that at the mexican olympical committee.
However, no one can scientifically prove they played something like baseball or rounders.
but, how cool is that?

Damon said...

Bills was pitching better when I wasn't watching the game

Orel said...

Dodgers unable to turn the DP in time, 5-3 AZ.

Orel said...

I mean, he beat the throw by a hair.

Damon said...

Nomar takes forever to throw the ball to 2nd fucks up the DP

karina said...

a very late coaching visit...

Orel said...

And the hammer for strike three! KKKKKKKKKKK

Orel said...

I don't know Damon, do you think DeWitt would have made a difference on that DP?

Damon said...

way to get out of a jam bills. Now we need to score some more runs

Damon said...

If Dewitt was playing 3rd I would be bitching at Kent

karina said...

btw, Orel thanks for that awesome link about Mark Twain and baseball, it also led me to a beautiful link with vintage baseball illustrations, food for my soul!

Orel said...

Chad threw 25 pitches last inning for a total of 96. Don't think we'll be seeing him in the 6th.

Orel said...

Damon—ha!

karina said...

a matar culebras!

Damon said...

I with Vin would quit calling Hudson O dawg

Orel said...

Oh man Karina if you dig the vintage romanticism of baseball then that "Baseball" documentary is totally up your alley.

Orel said...

Andruw with a 340-ft single. Salazar played the carom perfectly.

Damon said...

Did Vin just do a Yoda?

Damon said...

Jones got screwed on that hit

Orel said...

I was just about to say. I cringe every time Vin says "O-Dog."

Orel said...

And Drew turns the acrobatic 6-4-3 DP. Maybe we're not fated to win this game.

Orel said...

So...baseball was invented in Mexico?

karina said...

love vintage! (i'm actually wearing a shirt with a rhett miller picture at "Gone with the wind"). I'll look for that documentary (baseball and films, i can't really ask for more!)

Orel said...

"Hit it to the O-Dog, he did."

karina said...

nope, it can't be proven.

Orel said...

a matar culebras = to kill snakes. Nice one, Karina!

Orel said...

Karina, have you seen "Casablanca"?

Orel said...

And Bills is starting the 6th. Guess I was wrong.

karina said...

Some aborigins who lived in Puerto Rico, Cuba and Dominican Republic called "Tainos", had a game called "batos", but they also can't prove it was an antecedent for baseball, but lots of awesome players have been born between those 3 islands.

Orel said...

KKKKKKKKKKKK

Damon said...

Is this Chads last inning?

Orel said...

Vin is telling a story about Montero trying a Venezuelan remedy called "Indian dust" for a fractured finger. Apparently it worked.

karina said...

I've seen Casablanca as twice as Bills K's tonight. Always cry 'till my tears run out. Have you?

Orel said...

Karina: Something in the water, as we like to say.

Damon: I would be shocked if he started the 7th. Expect Loaiza or Proctor.

karina said...

I don't know about "Indian Dust". There is a "Snake Rum" which seems to cure all kind of fractures. It's very popular in certain circles.

Orel said...

Casablanca is a perfect movie.

Orel said...

Kind of surprised Gonzalez is still out there for the snakes. They must not trust their bullpen either.

Orel said...

Loney gets on base on a squirter to short.

Orel said...

Dodgers could use some snake rum right about now.

Damon said...

Ok Russ time to deliver

Orel said...

Martin singles Loney to 3rd? Man, Loney is a slooooow runner.

Damon said...

There we go

Orel said...

It's a start, anyway.

karina said...

Yes, it is. If filmmaking had dissapeared as an art form after Casablanca, it wouldn't have really mattered (even Fellini, Wenders, French New Wave, et al).
Perfect script, cinematography, sound, editing, wardrobe, art direction, performances and direction, even with the technological advances of nowadays. It's like Koufax: classic and timeless!

karina said...

Snake Rum is widely used in the santeria community. They could use a spell or two.

Orel said...

It goes to prove that all you need for a really good movie is (1) a good script and (2) good acting. Everything else is just gravy.

Orel said...

Cruz plunks Ethier on the knee! (Last night Andre got hit on the back.) Bases loaded!

Damon said...

Way to take one for the team Ethier

Damon said...

Scrappy

karina said...

and a good pre-production, specially if the film's on a budget.

karina said...

what would Andre's Madres do? (whatever they are)

a matar culebras!

Orel said...

You sound like you belong in Hollywood, Karina!

Orel said...

Matt Kemp is making me nervous.

Orel said...

Oh man Kemp went fishing on a big fat slider. 2 out. PH Sweeney up.

Orel said...

I just scared my dog.

karina said...

In spite Hollywood is the Major Leagues, i'm not interested.

I'd rather be indie and be part of films that make people think and/or feel, even if they hate them.

Orel said...

How hard is it to be a pinch hitter? You stewing on the bench all game and all of a sudden the bases are loaded and you're up.

karina said...

what breed is your dog?

karina said...

The part where you have nerves of steel.

Orel said...

Karina, keeping it real.

Orel said...

Sweeney pops out. That was...disappointing.

Orel said...

I'm not sure. I got him from the pet shelter and they said part Shepherd, part pit. Maybe some Chow in there as well.

Orel said...

Micah "Silver Slugger" Owings grounds out.

Damon said...

Time to watch the office/Lost

karina said...

awww, you got him from a shelter! you gotta have a big heart...

and yep, keeping it real. Bills are paid through other ways of visual communication :)

Orel said...

TiVo, Damon, TiVo!

Orel said...

Yeah, shelter's the only way to go. I would never go to a breeder.

karina said...

Breeders are cruel, like those canine shows.

Orel said...

Spay and neuter, people! (Crucial comma there.)

Orel said...

The Angels beat the Red Sox again today. I wonder how Erin took it.

Furcal walks!

Orel said...

Andruw's been slumping lately but you don't see him taking desperate hacks. At least not this AB.

Orel said...

2 runs feels like an insurmountable lead here.

karina said...

don't lose any hope, 2 runs down and we still have 7 outs left.

Orel said...

Okay, Gameday won't do this play justice:

Nomar grounds to the pitcher and they have Furcal hung up between 2nd & 3rd. But the throw BOUNCES OFF OF FURCAL'S HELMET and goes into the outfield. Men on 2nd & 3rd w/1 out for the Dodgers!

Orel said...

Kent golfs it to center; Young traps it and Furcal scores. Men on 1st & 3rd, still one out! You could be right, Karina!

Orel said...

Ohhhhh, Loney hits into the DP. 5-4 Snakes.

Orel said...

Damon, this is all your fault!

karina said...

why is damon's fault?

Orel said...

Routine 5-4 play where the 2nd baseman gives a token leg sweep across the bag...except the ump rules Kent wasn't near enough. Torre's out and Kent is about to get ejected.

Orel said...

I was just testing to see if Damon's still around. Guess he's watching Lost.

karina said...

is Kent out?

Orel said...

Kent held his tongue but now it's 1st & 2nd w/1 out.

Damon said...

The Office was good

Orel said...

Curveball swung on and missed but is also a wild pitch. Runners advance. Helllppppp us....

Orel said...

That's what she said!

karina said...

double play, dpuble play...if we call it, will it come?

Orel said...

Sac fly. 6-4 Snakes. A matar culebras!

Orel said...

Didn't Beimel pitch yesterday?

karina said...

Orel, do you want to hear the answer Juan Vene gave to his own question, regarding the 7th game World Series starting pitcher?

Orel said...

IBB to Snyder.

Orel said...

I'm sorry, yes I do! I assumed it was Koufax.

karina said...

I hate IBB. Benito Santiago and Jim Tracy have the fault.

karina said...

he said only the worst manager could reach the 7th game of any series with such starting rotation.

Got us?

Orel said...

Nice curve to K Salazar.

karina said...

I think Beimel pitched a couple of thirds yesterday.

Orel said...

Did Kent get ejected?

Orel said...

The pitch squirted away from Martin and the runner tried to steal and Martin threw him out.

Orel said...

Okay, what if the opposing manager had this rotation:

Don Drysdale
Bob Gibson
Roger Clemens
Randy Johnson
Walter Johnson

Orel said...

Help us, Andruw Jones, you're our final hope.

Orel said...

Well that was disappointing. Dodgers split another series. Billingsley gets a career-high 12 K's but suffers another loss.

Thanks for dropping by, everyone! See you next time!