Sunday, June 22, 2008

Game 75 Thread: June 22 vs. Indians, 1p

Chad Billingsley (5-7, 3.54) vs. Paul Byrd (3-7, 5.21).

COMMENTS: "Is there a Son of Steve Garvey in the house?" "Why yes, I'm a Son of Steve Garvey." And so it came to be that our very own jet-setting Alex Cora is watching the Dodgers play for the sixth time this season...and only for the second time at home. AC has compiled a 2-3 record in those five games, so both he and the Dodgers are looking to reach .500.

Billingsley is looking to continue his defiance of all things Ohio after striking out nine Reds in his last start. Cleveland starts the soft-tossing but durable Byrd, who is 0-3 with a 3.79 ERA lifetime at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers need a win today to avoid the sweep, so let's hope they squawk! do the Byrd!

120 comments:

Orel said...

Pierre, LF
Kemp, CF
Loney, 1B
Martin, C
DeWitt, 3B
Ethier, RF
Berroa, SS
Maza, 2B
Billingsley, P

Eric Karros said...

If we win today I expect a Morris Day reference in every Game Thread until we lose.

I like the comment someone posted on the YouTube video: "I never truly realised how funky the Time are up until now!"

Steve Sax said...

I remember the Time.

Orel said...

Vin just sounded like a genius there. He was talking about how Cleveland leads the league in HBP. Then "wouldn't you know it," Bills beans Choo.

Steve Sax said...

Hey! Dodgers up 4-0!

Orel said...

Pierre: single
Kemp: ground-rule double
Loney: double
Martin: HR

4-0 Dodgers. Thank you, Morris Day.

Orel said...

Diamondbacks play the Red Sox next. Guess we know who Erin will be rooting for.

Eric Karros said...

Even Berroa gets a hit.

Orel said...

Twins beat Webb and the D'backs.

Orel said...

Vin: "Grady's dad, an African-American, is an insurance adjuster." I know Vin is trying to point out Sizemore is bi-racial, but it's still kind of weird. Come to think of it, that factoid is probably from the Cleveland press notes because Vin's said it before. Still, weird.

Eric Karros said...

uh oh, Indians trying to put together a big inning, 2 on no out

Orel said...

Bills is struggling. 4-2 Dodgers, Cleveland still threatening.

Eric Karros said...

According to Gameday Bills just threw 6 consecutive fastballs.

Eric Karros said...

Crapola, tribe within 1 run

Eric Karros said...

Meanwhile Italy vs Spain still scoreless through extra time. Going to penalty kicks...

Dodgers Digest said...

It's surprising that the Dodgers blew their early 4-0 lead. Chad Billingsley started off the game strong retiring the side in the first-inning without giving up a hit. This is going to be an exciting game.

karina said...

Epale, guys! i'll be with you, after penalty kicks, forza azurra!

Eric Karros said...

¡fuerza española!

Eric Karros said...

Spain saves Italy's 2nd shot!

Eric Karros said...

Spain wins shootout in more time it takes for Dodgers to go down in the 3rd.

Eric Karros said...

Sorry your Azzurri lost Karina. Who is your favorite of the teams left?

Dodgers Digest said...

In the fourth inning, Billingsley has already thrown 78 pitches. It would be simple to hand the ball over to the bullpen. But, unfortunately, our bullpen is depleted.

Also, whoever is the favorite son of Steve Garvey, please check the blog's email. Thanks!

karina said...

great Maza catch!

Orel said...

At least it's Luis Maza's birthday today!

karina said...

Germany, hands down. They should have reached farther in the World Cup. They're a very offensive team and very entertaining to watch.

Eric Karros said...

It is also Meryl Streep's birthday.

Eric Karros said...

Germany will feast on Turkey

Eric Karros said...

But in the finals they'll feel the Spain

Orel said...

Bills at 91 pitches.

Eric Karros said...

How did your 4D meeting go yesterday?

Eric Karros said...

Yeah Dodgers Digest guy is right, Bills'll get pulled soon for pitch count reasons

karina said...

hahahahahahahaha Eric. I'd love Germany won over Spain, although Spain in international soccer match are a sort of Chicago Cubs. They never win anything.
It's ironic, because the professional spanish soccer league is overcrowded with most important players in the world.

Orel said...

Vin just announced the Dodgers are giving away free cups of water at the refreshment stands. May not sound like much, but remember this is Frank McCourt we're talking about.

Orel said...

Karina with the in-game avatar switch! Daring!

Eric Karros said...

Great way to put it: 'Spain is the Cubs of international soccer'. Maybe both teams will end their curse this year!

Eric Karros said...

Is it hot in LA or something?

Eric Karros said...

That avatar-switch is like changing pitchers in the middle of an at-bat. Hope there was no injury involved.

Steve Sax said...

4-3 eh? I toally disagree with the Dodgers Digest guy and assert that this is will be an unexciting game.

karina said...

Awesome. Funny. No one recognized me, because when i arrived there was not anyone i'm in touch with.
Made peace, made some plans, everyone will do something. Got home, my friends picked me up and went to have some drinks. Made them promise they'll go to the reunion.

Steve Sax said...

Actually, Frank McCourt just held a gun to Vin's head to make him reference the free cups of water.

Meanwhile, Vin's throat remains parched.

Eric Karros said...

I disagree that this won't be an unexciting game.

karina said...

Orel, Italy lost in penalty kicks. Dodgers scored 4 in the first inning, Indians made 3 in the third inning.
there's enough bad karma and i'll have to be daring about it.

Steve Sax said...

Hey karina, I bet you could get Orel to come to your reunion.

Orel said...

vodkatinis = happy ending to story

EK, it is in the nineties here. On-field temperature might be in the hundreds.

Eric Karros said...

Sounds like it went well Karina. 4D eases all differences. They should hold political summits there.

On another note, I think I lost my iPod.

Orel said...

Hey Karina, I bet you could get Sax to organize your reunion.

Steve Sax said...

SoSG Cora must be melting. I hear he had great seats.

Eric Karros said...

Yeah Orel, I think you should go to Karina's reunion.

Eric Karros said...

I hope AC is hoarding as many free cups of water as he can.

Orel said...

Careful with the "dead Indian" reference, Vinny.

Steve Sax said...

Weather here in Chicago keeps raining intermittently with otherwise great weather.

And Soldier Field looks funky now with that ufo coming out of the facade. I hadn't seen that new part before today.

Eric Karros said...

Dodgers lead Indians 4-3. Spain beat Italy 4-3 in penalty kicks. Hmm....

Eric Karros said...

It rained here like crazy earlier this afternoon for about 20 minutes. Streets were flooded.

Steve Sax said...

EK, so AC has shared with you his free cup collection? It's pretty amazing.

Steve Sax said...

the Dodgers looked like they were rolling early. It's too bad the music stopped...have they mustered a threat in any other inning?

Eric Karros said...

Yeah I've never seen one guy with so many athletic supporters.

karina said...

Eric, i hope you haven't lost your ipod.

I think i could make Orel to attend your reunion and my reunion. These friends i've been telling about they are all boys.

Update: my school friend, who is a spanish-german descent and lives in Spain, just called to remind me that Spain won. I bet he tried to call first to the one of us, who's italian descent and lives in Italy, but his phone number should be busy, because another one of us, who's spanish descent and lives here, must be giving him a hard time.

We called the italian one around 2 am here, to talk about today's match. Our friendship rocks big time!

Eric Karros said...

Karina, in next Sunday's finals your Spanish-German friend will be like Erin will be during the Dodgers-Red Sox World Series!

karina said...

Fashionista King James has different shades today, so you know.

I'm getting Vin! (maybe if the Dodgers win, they could mend my broken heart due to Italy loss)

Orel said...

In announcing the "Loney's Lounge" program, Vin just called Activision "Activism" and the Xbox 360 "the XM three thirtieth console."

Eric Karros said...

Vinny is more of an Atari 2600 guy

karina said...

I told him that and asked about his parents and that match. His father is spanish-french and his mom is german. He laughed and said he won't be calling home in a week.

Eric Karros said...

Hey do any of you have an iPod Touch?

Orel said...

Karina's an international kind of girl!

karina said...

Who isn't an atari 2600 kinda of person?

Eric Karros said...

I was an Atari 2600 guy but Orel was an Intellivision person back in the day.

Orel said...

EK, my iPod mini died a few months ago. I never replaced it because (1) they don't make audio-only iPods anymore and (2) I can live without one.

Orel said...

Intellivision rules!

karina said...

nah!, my friend is. When we're growing up and we went to his house, it was the madness: his parents speak in different languages all the time, because they wanted their children to speak the languages, so they spoke: Spanish, German, French, Catalan. When we all started learning English, it was added to the repertoire. We spent a lot of time in that house, because his parents owned a restaurant downstairs and we loved the desserts.

Eric Karros said...

Orel, so did you just bust out the old Walkman again?

I guess I can live without an iPod but it won't be an ideal existence.

karina said...

Intellivision? you guys have been friends for a long time.

Eric Karros said...

What's wrong with a non-audio-only iPod? Do you mean you don't want to pay for features you aren't going to use? I sort of feel the same way as I only use the audio, but maybe that's because that's all my iPod had.

Orel said...

Sax, Dodgers threatened in the fifth but didn't score.

Steve Sax said...

EK, sorry about your ipod. I wouldn't buy a new one right now, since I am about to buy a new one, which means a price drop/new model announcement is coming shortly thereafter.

Eric Karros said...

Karina, a friend of mine just got this cartooned framed and put on his wall:

http://tinyurl.com/3reha5

As you might guess he is a big FC Barcelona fan.

karina said...

I have an Atari joystick with 8 games. I still play with it.

Orel said...

Go ahead and say it, Karina. We're old!

EK, that's right. I wouldn't watch video on an iPod.

Eric Karros said...

Thanks for the heads up Sax. Please let me know when you buy one so I can wait the requisite 7 days for the price drop.

Eric Karros said...

Sax, what kind are you gonna buy?

Eric Karros said...

this is the 2nd iPod I've lost in the past 5 years. Not good but not nearly as high as my sunglasses or umbrella-losing rate.

Steve Sax said...

Sax rocked the intellivision too. I'm behind now, all I have is a ps2 and a wii now.

karina said...

that cartoon rocks! emailing the link to my friend!

Eric Karros said...

Last game system I had was the Sega

Eric Karros said...

Which is the bigger weapon - the Peralta bat or the Jhon Glove?

Morris Day puns are not easy.

karina said...

Orel, you're not old!

karina said...

Orel, what is "Loney's lounge"?

Eric Karros said...

Orel graduated high school two decades ago, like the rest of us. But the difference was he was 45 at the time.

karina said...

The last one we had was a XBox 360. We're not buying another until: a) we finish some stuff we need to b) we decide what we will get next.

karina said...

Beimel with 9 scoreless appearances.

karina said...

MLB ExtraInnings announcers are talking about "The Legend of Joe Beimel"

Eric Karros said...

Dodgers have 6 scoreless appearances.

karina said...

Sax, i bet your kids worship you, between the baseball and the video games, you are like the coolest dad!

Eric Karros said...

Wow innings 4 through 7 just flew by. It's already the 8th!

karina said...

Broxton back to his old self!

Orel said...

EK, that was terrible.

Karina, James Loney is starting a program where he hangs out and gives tickets to disadvantaged children.

Orel said...

I am old! But I also have an Xbox 360, so I guess they cancel out.

Eric Karros said...

I sure hope he is.

Orel said...

Finally we get a crack at the Cleveland bullpen!

karina said...

awwwwwwwwwwww, King James!

i think that Dodgers star is the coolest thing i've seen this week (besides Loney's fly shades....just kidding!)

Eric Karros said...

I assume you are referring to my Morris Day reference...it was the best I could come up with.

karina said...

Pierre has 3 hits today.

Eric Karros said...

In fact he does. "Three"-for-four Pierre doesn't sound right.

karina said...

The day he has three singles, he's caught stealing

karina said...

No, he wasn't. I though he had...

Eric Karros said...

Ok Loney, let's get an insurance run...

Eric Karros said...

I will be nervous if we go into the ninth with only a 1-run lead.

karina said...

Saw that? Indians have a crappy bullpen and they/ve managed to win the Dodgers in very close games.

karina said...

I was reading some article at FoxSports and one of the commenters said he'd rather to change one of the youngsters for C.C. Sabathia.

Eric Karros said...

If we got Sabathia, we could bat him clean-up

Eric Karros said...

Have they really won all the close games? That makes me more nervous.

But good start, he gets the leadoff man.

karina said...

He could use some spare uniforms from Jones (bet they have the same size)

Orel said...

Finally! Dodgers win, D'backs lose! Only 3.5 games back! Nice to see Saito regain his confidence.

Orel said...

Now do we start Dessert Talk?

Eric Karros said...

Ha ha. Might as well get some use out of those uniforms.

Eric Karros said...

Now you have to think of another Time/Morris Day reference for tomorrow's GT. You are welcome to re-use my gem.

Eric Karros said...

good night everyone!

karina said...

The avatar switch worked.

karina said...

night everyone!

Orel said...

Good afternoon, all!

Dodgers Digest said...

The game has finally ended and the Dodgers walk out with the win.

For your information, the temperature in Los Angeles at the start of the game was around 94 F. I believe it was around 110 F during yesterday's game.

Also, I saw that someone disagreed with my statement that this game would be exciting. The Dodgers squeezed past the Indians in a nail-biting victory. If you don't find these types of games exciting, then I'm afraid that you'll be a bored Dodgers' fans. The Dodgers usually slip past their opponents by a couple of runs or they are massacred by scores that have a difference of four to five runs.
[Note: That last statement was a generalization and there is no statistical analysis to support that all games fit either of those categories.]

Anyways, I was writing a Live Blog about today's game. If you're interested in reading my Game Notes, then head on over to: http://dodgersdigest.blogspot.com/2008/06/game-notes-dodgers-vs-indians-finale.html

It probably provides more analysis on the "exciting game," than a boring old post-game recap.