Saturday, August 22, 2009

Game 124 Thread: August 22 vs. Cubbies, 1p

Charlie Haeger (0-1, 3.86) vs. Ted Lilly (9-7, 3.42).

COMMENTS: So what is the truth about Dodgers starter Charlie Haeger, the recently-promoted pitcher who pitched admirably in his first start this season, last week against the Cardinals? Well, he doesn't consult any statistics about the opposing batters. He throws an unpredictable knuckleball to which only Rick Ankiel and Albert Pujols caught up in his last game through 7IP (which unfortunately earned him the loss). And Thandie Newton is pretty cute. But I'm going to stop this charade of a Game Thread and leave it up to ol' Charlie to bring the Dodgers a third straight win this afternoon at the Ravine.

Again, two GT superstitions in play.

209 comments:

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Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

Let's put the hurt on Chi-Town.

That works, right? Chi-Town?

Kyle Baker said...

Headed to the Yard now. Section 42 FD Row U Seat 1. Bring dis shit on, Cubbies!

*rips shirt off*

*quickly realizes less-than-presentable physique and puts shirt back on*

Drop me a line at bakerkm45@gmail.com if you're in the area.

Kyle Baker said...

Chi-Town is that tea that hipsters drink, right?

Josh S. said...

Haeger slacks? Hopefully not.

Today's Russ, Loney, and Andre-free lineup:

Furcal, SS
Pierre, CF
Manny, LF
Blake, 3B
Kemp, RF
Hudson 2B
Loretta, 1B
Ausmus, C
Haeger, P

Kyle Baker said...

Josh, I canNOT believe you just went there with the Haeger slacks reference. I'm shaking my head saying no, no, no, why did you go there and then I'm nodding my head saying yes, yes, yes what a great reference.

Unknown said...

Do you suppose Charlie Haeger drinks Cabo Wabo tequila?

rbnlaw said...

It's games like these that make me wish the Dodgers had picked up V-Mart. Having that bat in the line-up on Loney's day off would actually give us more pop. Alas, he is a Red Sock and likely feeling blue right now.

Time for the rbn family to make it's annual pilgrimage to Woodland Hills. Family BBQ in the Valley in August. Always a sweat-fest. Luckily, they're also Dodger fans, so the game will be on in the well air-conditioned house.

rbnlaw said...

@Andrew:
Maybe not, but I hear he can't throw 55.

Really. That KB is a soap bubble.

Josh S. said...

Tony and Manny have a secret handshake!

NicJ said...

Nationally televised game today, so that means manny is going yard.

Josh S. said...

Charlie not looking as sharp today, but he said earlier that he likes it humid, so he may be OK.

Josh S. said...

I'm starting to dislike this Fuld guy.

I Alivandi said...

Love the knuckleball. BTW, why doesn't Torre go to a more ideal defense when he sits Ethier? Pierre in LF, Kemp in CF, Manny in RF. Pierre's arm isn't nearly as exposed then and Dodger Stadium is a similar defensive environment in LF and RF. You also have much better defense at the most important OF position.

I Alivandi said...

Raffy showing some pop there. Dead center is not where his power is, however.

Steve Sax said...

Nineteen pitches but Charlie escapes the first unscathed. Nothing over 77 mph, either!

Ken said...

well this is on not on the east coast and most of the midwest
so will manny still go yard?

I Alivandi said...

Pierre taking one for the team. Might as well get 3 more of those Juan.

Steve Sax said...

Josh s, HUGE golf clap for the "Haeger slacks" reference. Love it!!!

I Alivandi said...

Sax - He hit 80 once on the FOX gun. He actually has a harder fastball, so I wonder if we will see that.

Ken said...

wow mannywood is empty

should have sat there

PenosCabell said...

damnit Pierre.

NicJ said...

Jp has been a liability on the base paths lately.

I Alivandi said...

D-Lee showing his range, much to my chagrin.

Ken said...

didnt matter
manny would have had GIDP

chexxum said...

I don't understand how Pierre got fooled by that move. It looked like one of those lazy throws to first that runners usually scuttle back standing up.

I really hate Pierre :(.

I Alivandi said...

Ken - Not necessarily. Pitchers aren't in a vacuum. Lilly may well have thrown different pitches. Also, Lee wouldn't have gotten to the ball if he was holding Pierre.

PenosCabell said...

DP.

Nice

I Alivandi said...

I love it when a plan comes together.

PenosCabell said...

It's a beautiful thing

Ken said...

yea ur prolly right

with pierre still on
manny prolly wouldnt have gotten anything good to hit either

wats wrong with pierre?

Ken said...

dun bash pierre

he filled in for manny nicely

koufax said...

damn fox on the east coast, everything stops for the vaunted yankees v. bo sox matchup

PenosCabell said...

Bison!!!

I Alivandi said...

BISON MODE

NicJ said...

Kemp hit that one to the team store!!!

koufax said...

in play run(s)!!!!!!

Ken said...

he hit it to the left field level entrance

I Alivandi said...

Wow with what Karros just said. As far as any ball he has ever seen hit at Dodger Stadium. That includes the Piazza shot over the roof then.

It sounded like it was shot out of a cannon.

koufax said...

wow cant wait to see that later

I Alivandi said...

Karros is absolutely fawning over the Bison.

PenosCabell said...

Damn you Fuld.

Ken said...

damn it sam fuld

vin scully is gonna love that

I Alivandi said...

Wow. Loretta put a home run swing on that. It goes to show he just doesn't have it anymore.

I Alivandi said...

Seriously, if Chad Billingsley put a swing like that on a pitch that bad, it would be 5 rows up.

PenosCabell said...

Alireza - Karros should be fawning over him.

Lorretta is done.

koufax said...

anyone know how aaron miles is still in the league?

I Alivandi said...

Cabell - Loretta is ok if he hits those low line drives and takes walks. The problem is that pitchers seem to be wise and are grooving pitches to him that they know he can't hit out.

PenosCabell said...

Alireza - That's true. That's not good considering he's being used mostly as a pinch hitter.

I Alivandi said...

koufax - Scrappy McScrapperson. The problem with Miles is that he doesn't have the actual talent of other "scrappy" players like Theriot and Eckstein.

That ate Raffy up. I am really starting to dislike Sam Fuld too, though he and I share the same birthday.

PenosCabell said...

Fuld is a pest.

Ken said...

let this be a time
where i say again that we should have got victor martinez

I Alivandi said...

Cabell - i like Loretta as a lead-off the inning PH, with Pierre as the guy with runners on. Unfortunately, Torre seems to do just the opposite.

I Alivandi said...

Wow. I think Uncle Milty was almost hustling on that play.

koufax said...

is ausmus getting close at all on fuld's steals? or is he getting in easily?

Ken said...

@ ali

true that
i dont know why torre does some of the stuff he does

Ken said...

@ koufax

fuld is getting tremendous jumps off of haeger

he is pretty fast too

ausmus had no chance on either

koufax said...

FYI - the team from Chicago has gotten 1 hit in the past 12 innings of baseball.

I Alivandi said...

koufax - The first one he had no chance. Fuld got a jump, Charlie threw a knuckler and Bradley swung and missed. He made the second one pretty close, though I think Martin probably would have gotten him.

Ken said...

f*cking fuld

taking manny's homer last night

then extra bases twice today

PenosCabell said...

Now I hate this guy.

NicJ said...

I hate that guy.

I Alivandi said...

Holy shit. Ausmus murdered that ball, Fuld was over shifted and made an insane play.

koufax said...

tough to be a catcher with a knuckleball pitcher. tough to catch it and then you are at such a disadvantage against a base stealer

I Alivandi said...

Fuld has also been the only real threat offensively the Cubs have had.

Lilly is pitching terribly today and Fuld has saved his ass.

I Alivandi said...

That was almost the sweetest bunt ever.

I Alivandi said...

Well, except for that one that Pierre bunted over Larry's head for a double.

koufax said...

if i were lou, i would sit soriano for at least a week, fuld is a plus defender and has a pretty decent bat

I Alivandi said...

koufax - Fuld has zero power (watch him plant a knuckleball now). Given the way the Cubs are built, that can be a problem.

I Alivandi said...

The no-hitter is broken up.

That is a rare kind of hit to get off a knuckleball.

koufax said...

@alireza

with the way soriano looks at the plate i would say he has zero hitting ability

I Alivandi said...

I fully believe Haeger has the potential to be something really special. He really seems to be able to command the floater.

I Alivandi said...

koufax - He has hit for some HR power. Still, I agree that he has looked absolutely terrible.

Here is a question. Can Fuld throw? If so, he might make sense in RF for the Cubs.

koufax said...

i wonder if fukudome has ever seen a knuckler

PenosCabell said...

Alireza - Agreed on Haeger. I believe he scheduled to pitch on Friday.

PenosCabell said...

Haeger making Fukudome look stupid.

I Alivandi said...

Happy birthday to Wolf and Weaver, our two scrap heap pickups.

koufax - It is thrown in Japan. In fact, there is at least one woman who I believe is tooling around the Japanese minor leagues throwing one with some success. Many think it may be the key to a woman playing in MLB at some point.

koufax said...

very interesting ali

Ken said...

@ ali

i saw the woman who was pitching in japan

pretty wicked stuff from the clips i saw

PenosCabell said...

Haeger is on his game today.

koufax said...

i love watching haeger's ERA go down after every inning. small sample size, but 2.45 against two decent teams now.

I Alivandi said...

Wow. The knuckleball can make a batter look so awful sometimes.

Why did we sign Padilla again? With the off day, we might as well plug Haeger into Kuroda's spot.

Ken said...

they are prolly gonna have to take him out around 6 innings, or he might lose effectiveness 3rd time around

I Alivandi said...

Ken - I wouldn't doubt there are women out there who can touch 80 or so. If they can combine that with a knuckleball and maybe some other sort of breaking ball, they could easily have MLB success.

I Alivandi said...

Oh goodness. Signs of the 2007-2008 Juan Pierre right there.

I Alivandi said...

Ken - I don't see that. Not the least of which because he can actually throw reasonably hard if he needs to.

Ken said...

im pretty sure she had a shooto

its harder to hit something that slides and has a heavy break than a straight and fast pitch

koufax said...

we cant let lilly off the hook, need more runs. seems to be the offensive story of the dodgers the past month.

I Alivandi said...

That was close.

Ken said...

manny seems to be gettin very very good rips the last few games

PenosCabell said...

Fuld isn't catching that one.

Beard Mode.

I Alivandi said...

You can't touch the Beard Sam Fuld.

Ken said...

i kept thinkin fuld was gonna climb the wall ala taka style in major league 2

PenosCabell said...

Lily giving up too many flyballs.

PenosCabell said...

It would be nice if someone could get on base before a homerun is hit.

I Alivandi said...

Cabell - That is Lilly's MO. Fly balls and Ks.

I Alivandi said...

Penos - You are such a curmudgeon. :-P

Ken said...

@ cabell

he hasnt fooled any one

everyone has gotten a good rip

especially the power guys and even the contact guys

PenosCabell said...

Alireza - I know.

koufax said...

its amazing lilly does well playing in wrigley, you would think he would prefer a more spacious ball park like citifield or something.

PenosCabell said...

Kemp runs that down.

It's weird seeing him in RF.

I Alivandi said...

koufax - Lilly does well on days where the wind is blowing in at Wrigley. It is impossible to hit homers then.

Matt Kemp says "Sam Fuld, you are no Bison"

Ken said...

the defense will get a lot of work when padilla pitches

almost everything is in play

I Alivandi said...

Haeger is walking more guys today, but his stuff is arguably better.

I Alivandi said...

That trivia question is such a set up, because Karros is one of the answers. BTW, Piazza is not.

Ken said...

i know karros is one of the guys who hit went 30-100 for 5 seasons

koufax said...

@alireza

against the cards his knuckler didnt look all that amazing. it seemed that the cards had bad plate discipline and psyched themselves out. Is the ball moving better for Haeger today than against the cards?

Ken said...

piazza did it 4 seasons, i think is barely missed 5

I Alivandi said...

Karros benefited significantly from having Piazza in front of him for a lot of his homers.

Ken said...

2nd is the duke

whos the 3rd?

I Alivandi said...

Ken - Piazza only did it 3 seasons exclusively as a Dodger.

koufax - Haeger's ball is fluttering a bit more, but he seems to be hitting corners with it more. Also, he throws a lot harder than most KBers, so you won't see quite as much flutter.

I Alivandi said...

Ken - Incorrect. He didn't do it as a Los Angeles Dodger. Unless they are covering all Dodger seasons.

Ken said...

i could only think of gil hodges having power and played for them for a long time

so hodges, duke snider, and eric karros

Ken said...

is it only LA dodgers hist?

Ken said...

pat on the back~

I Alivandi said...

Ken - Hodges did it too, though in Brooklyn.

Ah, looks like they did cover Brooklyn.

karina said...

Epale all!

Yes, Fuld can throw (saw him on winter baseball)

I Alivandi said...

Yay Ken.

I Alivandi said...

Ausmus just swung at a really bad pitch.

koufax said...

lilly pretty efficient with his pitches so far, only 65.

I Alivandi said...

karina - You are right. I just looked up his MiLB stats and it looks like CF is his normal position, with RF following.

There you go. Put Fuld in RF in Wrigley.

I Alivandi said...

koufax - That is what happens when you groove all your pitches, get really lucky and have Sam Fuld playing LF.

koufax said...

or in center for that matter, im not convinced that fukudome is that great

Josh S. said...

Beast Mode with a Bison impression!

I Alivandi said...

Nice catch for Pierre. Kemp wouldn't have made it so interesting.

Josh S. said...

Oh, belated thanks for the golf clap, Sax.

I Alivandi said...

koufax - Fukudome is a superlative defender, though he is probably more suited to RF. That said, it is apparently harder to play RF at Wrigley than CF.

That last pitch was a strike damn it.

I Alivandi said...

One thing you can say about Frank. He is styling.

Ken said...

i think thats it for haeger

karina said...

Fuld also has a knack for being clutch.

By the way, my absence is due to the fact i was cooking and eating with my brother, not because King James is not playing today :)

koufax said...

haeger's era through 2 games - 2.08, i think torre pulls him here. standing applause.

Ken said...

King James and the Bison is gonna be at Melrose in a few hours

is anyone going?

I Alivandi said...

Man Fuld seriously ate fence on that Ausmus catch.

koufax said...

haeger sticking around for some more i see

I Alivandi said...

Why the hell would he pull Haeger? Anyway, he is leading off the inning.

koufax said...

he would pull haeger for 2 reasons:

(1) he doesnt trust rookies; and
(2) he always pulls pitchers too soon

I Alivandi said...

Baseball brutalized by Raffy.

Ken said...

young guy, torre loves to pull guys

i hope he will still be effective

I Alivandi said...

koufax - He was fawning over Haeger during the FOX interview, so that was a positive. Also, I don't know if he is that bad at pulling starters early, just overusing the 'pen once he gets there.

Ken said...

@ koufax

we think alike once again

Ken said...

he is pulling guys who are pitching well

i think wolf could have finished the game last night

koufax said...

indeed ken.

koufax said...

i think a big point too is that throwing 90 knucklers is not as bad on the arm as throwing 75 fastballs at 90mph

I Alivandi said...

Ken - I agree that Wolf should have been at least allowed to pitch the 8th.

Ken said...

but randy is not that old, 90-100 pitches is not taxing him

yea knuckleballers fcould prolly go like 130-150

I Alivandi said...

Ken - Randy has a major injury history. He has largely fixed his bad mechanics, but Torre probably doesn't know that.

Ken said...

i think the pen has already been used way too much

thank goodness for MAC and weaver for being good long relievers

koufax said...

bust out the whooping stick manny, give us some breathing room.

I Alivandi said...

Oh bollocks. That was not a strike.

I Alivandi said...

Wow. Lilly got nasty just when he needed to there.

koufax said...

oh manny

koufax said...

they appear to be squaring up the knuckle a little more now.

koufax said...

charles in charge!

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

KKKKKKKnuckler

koufax said...

ERA 1.93

karina said...

Is Haeger the starter we need?

Josh S. said...

Karina, I think Haeger should be the 5th starter, but I'm sure they're going to see how Padilla does first.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

You can see the bees swarming around the camera.

Josh S. said...

I've been in and out of the room. What's going on with the bees?

Josh S. said...

Damn, I almost thought he'd get out of that. How many guys did they use to get him?

Josh S. said...

2-6-3-4-6-1. Ha!

koufax said...

broxton?

NicJ said...

From Haeger to Broxton, that has really gotta eff with a batters timing.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

Dammit, Kemp.

karina said...

Why Broxton?

Isn't Fuld annoying? i never thought he was going to annoy as a MLB player.

koufax said...

MLSF what happened there couldnt tell on gameday

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

Kemp lost the ball in the sun.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

Broxton's in because this is the heart of the Cubbies' lineup. No point saving him for the ninth.

koufax said...

gameday had that as a strike.

koufax said...

yes!

NicJ said...

Give that man some applause.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

Got'em!

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

That's the only time you'll see Loretta get an infield-single.

Josh S. said...

So weird. I leave for a little bit and come back to see Broxton in a pressure situation...but it's only the 8th?

Huhwuzzuh?

koufax said...

here we go tony

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

Lou Pinella: Damn Weight Watchers. I still can't see my feet.

Ken said...

sherrill gonna close it?

Unknown said...

Wow! Joe using the bullpen ace strategy? Pretty good idea...it seems like the eighth was as high leverage of an inning as this game should see, with a runner on and the heart of the order coming up.

Ken said...

@ andrew

it is also building his confidence back up

looks like early season Broxton

Ken said...

omg loretta stole a base!

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

How pathetic. Loretta steals third.

Josh S. said...

Flash Loretta!

NicJ said...

Way to sacrifice raffy.

koufax said...

wasted opportunities

Josh S. said...

Fuuuuuuuuuuu...


...dge.

(Only I didn't say fudge.)

Ken said...

@ josh

i love that movie!

karina said...

Torre is thinking rather creatively.

koufax said...

ive noticed that sherrill is quite a battler, never gives up when he is behind in the count

NicJ said...

Tension building

koufax said...

F

chexxum said...

Holy shit, the home plate ump has been horrible this inning.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

That was exhausting.

koufax said...

3 in a row baby!

NicJ said...

Breezy almost gave me a heart attack.

karina said...

It's a win, gents. However, we need a little bit of offense

Josh S. said...

Karina, that almost sounded less than optimistic. How unlike you! :)

Josh S. said...

Now we can sit back and see which team drops back a game. What a great feeling!

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

Knowing my luck, the Dodgers will lose tomorrow. It's my first game against the Cubs, and my first game with Bills starting.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

I'm using Koufax's line for my post title. Just giving credit where credit is due.

karina said...

Mr LASF: they are not going to lose just because Erin is going tomorrow and she got very powerful magic the other day. Besides Sax is going to be there too and the Dodgers are undefeated when Sax graces the stadium. Plus, we'll have your rookie luck :)

karina said...

@Josh i'm just a little worried, not pessimistic!

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