Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Post-Game 126 Thread: Rockies Have A Flair For The Dramatic

ROCKIES 5, DODGERS 4 (10)

One night after a five-run bottom of the 14th inning that caused pundits everywhere to extol the virtues of the red-hot Rockies (under the leadership of the cucumber-cool Jim Tracy, former Dodger manager), the Rockies go out and pull off another walk-off victory against the Dodgers. After dispatching of the Dodgers quickly in the tenth without a ball leaving the infield (thank you, Orlando Hudson, for that well-placed leadoff bunt attempt that went nowhere), James Loney caps an 0-for-5 evening with a throwing error, which was one extra out more than poor James MacDonald could handle tonight. Troy Tulowitzki, with his fear-inspiring .276 average, singles home the winning run with one out and the bases juiced.

In the ninth, Manny Ramirez's clutch single to plate Rafael Furcal, on an 0-2 count, was simply a stay of execution, a feint to have the Dodgers think we were in this game and could take the lead. We weren't, and we didn't. The two-run frame for the Dodgers, led by PH extraordinaire Juan Pierre with a single, followed by a surprise double from formerly 0-for-4 Rafael Furcal, and then a Matt Kemp sacrifice to bring the game within one, was huge. Ramirez's single, followed by James Loney's two-base error popup, made it interesting. But Tracy gave Casey Blake (who had homered earlier) a free pass to load the bases, and Russell Martin flied weakly to center to end the threat and strand three.

The fact that Tracy, aided by former Dodger reliever and hand-slashing late-night drinker Joe Beimel, as well as former Dodger reliever Matt Herges, all combined efforts like the Super Friends to defeat the Dodgers tonight, made the loss sting even more. It was really like getting beaten by Zan, Jayna, and Aquaman.

Sure, we're still a scant two games ahead of the Rockies and on the verge of ending up Thursday tied for the division lead. But if the Rockies are the Super Friends, then I'm feeling like Gleek the goddamn blue powerless monkey right now. And I just want to vomit.

39 comments:

NicJ said...

on the bright side, we still have a pretty good playoff pad. All we gotta do is get to the playoffs and anything could happen.

Giants just won.

Steve Sax said...

I do agree with you there NicJ. This game was annoying, but I still think we'll be playing the Cards or Phils come October.

Kyle Baker said...

JAYSUS. I got home from work later than intended, so had to watch via Tivo. Hence since I wasn't in sync w real time, I couldn't join you guys for the GT.

Unfortunately, now I'm in real time and an just FUCKING PISSED THE FUCK OFF.

We are sucking hind tit, no two ways about it. This is a game we should have had in hand, but instead slunk around and gave it away like Brad Hawpe's mom on a Saturday night.

Son of a freaking witch. We're backing into September like a bunch of French soldiers. Blech.

NicJ said...

The phils really dont scare me. The cards yeah im scared to death of them.

Im still pretty confident that we are going to take the next two.

Isn't it a little ironic that Martin and Loney are slumping big time and those are the two players that would of been gone if that trade with SD went through. Do we have anyone that is close to major league ready at SS in the minors? furcal is killing us.

Kyle Baker said...

Furcal, Loney, and Martin are all killing us.

Is it just me, or is there no fire in the belly in these guys lately? They just look dazed.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

It's one thing if the Dodgers are being beaten. But it's getting to be where the Dodgers are just beating themselves. They are tripping over their own two feet and it is inexcusable. They have absolutely no drive to get out of this funk, and it seems like they are all resigned to just "waiting it out". Joe Torre is not a shouter, but at least when he was with the Yankees he had Derek Jeter to light a flame under the team. There's no one like that with the Dodgers. The team leader is either the guy who's best friends with a tatoo-parlor owner or the guy nicknamed for the kids' toy store mascot. There is no determination, there is no drive, there is no sense of urgency. They are just wandering along, waiting for something to happen. Someone needs to realize that nothing will happen unless someone decides to do something. Somebody needs to get up and scream at them, call them sissies, fly Ditka in to shout at them. Do whatever it takes to get these guys angry and pissed. Because right now, if they don't do anything, I'm the only telling them to move their asses, and that isn't right.

Kyle Baker said...

Josh-

Just read through the last parts of the MFGT and saw your 9:23PM comment about fires in bellies (not Belly). I said the same thing in the MFPGT a minute ago, too.

Hopefully Torre will get back to his hotel room, pay way too much for WiFi access, read this MFPGT, and note that the players need a true and savage ass whuppin' to light a fire in they asses.

Blue4Life said...

Where is the heart of this team??? They are good but right now they are playing with a lack of confidence.

Kyle Baker said...

@MLASF-

In the time it took me to type my last post, you posted exactly what I was saying to Josh. That's a 3 for 3 on Torre needing to light a fire.

3-3 would look good tomorrow night in the Loney/Furcal/Martin box scores.

Steve Sax said...

Let me just say that if Torre is wasting his time reading this blog when he should be preparing for tomorrow's game, I'd be concerned. Flattered, but concerned.

Kyle Baker said...

@ Sax

Then how else do we get a message to him? Stalk him? Kidnap his grandkids? Skywriting?

*hurriedly looks up airline schedule for Denver*

Kyle Baker said...

Yikes...Senator Kennedy just died. Get ready for a crazy news cycle.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

Whoah, that is big. Very sad news.

Kyle Baker said...

He's been barely hanging on for the last couple of months. I work with his staff regularly and they were pretty clear that he didn't have long.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

I know Obama was in Martha's Vinyard, but according to ABC News, he wasn't there to see Ted. Maybe he visited, I don't know.

You sound like you're in an interesting line of work, Dusty.

Kyle Baker said...

Obama is vacationing on Martha's Vineyard. There was talk of his visiting with the Senator during his vacation, but that was shot down the last few days. The reason was that Ted was so far downhill that he couldn't take visitors.

I guess I am in a pretty interesting line of work...do advocacy/lobbying on Capitol Hill pretty regularly on behalf of an LA County.

NicJ said...

I'm not sure if Joe torre is the person to light a fire under their asses right now.

What about Tommy Ladorda? I'm sure he still has enough strength in those old bones to flip over a spread.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

This sort of sums up how things are going.

JuanLove said...

we're looking way too similar to the 08 DBacks.

cmon Blue, snap out of it

Paul said...

All I have to say are the two most painful regular season baseball weeks in the past year have been the last week of august.

I think we have let Joe do his thing this far so let us hope they all believe when he says let us step it up in that monotone voice that the dodgers see the rings and respect the man and in Sept we bring hell with us!

Kyle Baker said...

@ JL

Yeah, I was thinking about the Dbacks parallels, too. Scary to do but increasingly similar.

rbnlaw said...

Sorry I'm late. Fell asleep on the couch.
1. RIP Teddy. I would have voted for you back in 1980 and 84.

2. MLASF=CORRECT. My thoughts right after that game were along these lines; maybe we shouldn't sign a guy like Giambi (and not just because his name is so close to the genie in Pee Wee's Playhouse), but we should have signed a bat. I keep harping on Victor Martinez for good reason.
Two gaping holes in the line-up currently? Loney and Martin. V.Mart plays. . .?
Catcher and first. Best way to get something out of a slumping position player? Competition.
Right now, there is no reason for either player (aside from the obvious) to ignite and that sucks

Kyle Baker said...

Agree on #1 and #2, RB. And it's not just hindsight; the VMart deal, though emotionally painful given our years-long investment in JMart and JLo, would have been a strong move - a move that showed we were one of the big boys, not just the kids looking in through the knothole in the outfield.

Fred's Brim said...

all this negativity makes me feel like I am glass-half-full kinda guy, instead of the pessimistic (ie Dodger fan) that I usually am

either way, I think we'll be fine

Steve Sax said...

@Fred's Brim: I actually think we'll be fine, too. We're going to make the playoffs, and hopefully in the divisional lead.

But we're still allowed to vent like the dickens when you see epic fails like last night.

Kyle Baker said...

I feel like, game to game, boiled down to a fan's basic essence:

Yay!
Boo!
Yay!
Boo!
Yay!
Boo!

We need some yay! yay! yay! in a row.

Paul said...

I hate typing a post game rant on my iphone. It ends up with incomplete thoughts and run on sentences and sometimes a word that was never meant to be.

I really think the Dodgers offensive success comes down to if Manny can get hot again. I agree with other people who have given up on Furcal and Martin. The only one I still have hope to finish off the year strong is Loney. I don't know why, I just think he is still fundamentally sound.

I still have a feeling Loney will leave the Dodgers one day and become a star if for simply the fact that he seems to hate to hit at Dodger Stadium.

Back to Manny, if he gets hot the top of the lineup will benefit. Please Joe bump Furcal out of the top spot. It hasn't worked. It might be time for Joe to be more dedicated in getting JP in the lineup every few games. I know that addition means a subtraction of Kemp or Andre but something has to give. This team has really been dependent on the homerun to score runs the last couple weeks and they simply don't have the power to score off the long ball consisitently.

blah, still can take 2 out of 3 but it looks very difficult now. At least Brox and Breezy are rested for sheezy. (sorry couldn't help myself.)

karina said...

When Carlos Gonzalez singled, i just turned off the computer. You know me, i have hope 'till the game actually ends.

Carlos Gonzalez is injured, lame injury on his throwing hand, while cleaning, he dropped and grabbed a steak knife, which required one stitch, but he had to be sidelined for Sunday's game (and hopefully for the rest of the series).

Basically, the offensive play that lead to the walkoff, was made by a player with a hurting hand.

That's why i decided i should turn off the computer, brush my teeth and go to bed.

Fred's Brim said...

yeah venting is fine, i want to do it too, but I refrain a lot of times

I am not sure why I am not as upset by last night's loss. Maybe I am Karina-ing in my old age. I think a close loss (near win!) to a team that has been playing .700 baseball for the past 3 months is fine. If this was the Nats or Bucs, I would kick a few things around the apartment (and I know we have to play them soon - this is not a dare, Dodgers!)

What did upset me was giving up the two out run in the 8th (and we almost gave up two there if not for the good throw). And then James' walk to start the last inning. Those are the kinds of things losing teams do. Everybody does that stuff sometimes, that's just baseball. But we're just doing it too often these days for my liking.

I think we'll hit better and I hope the pitching continues to be good, so I think we'll win enough to make the playoffs and win the division, but I will still worry about our execution in close games. This hasnt been good for quite some time

hmm did I just vent?

karina said...

Besides, that dude, Gonzalez, is one of my favorite players nowadays and i'd wish his name and number will be retired at the Luis Aparicio someday.

The disappointment is beyond boundaries today.

This early morning, i saw a "not top 10" dedicated to the Mets tragedy and even i thought the Dodgers could be that bad, it couldn't even cheer me up the thought this team still has a legitimate chance to play in the postseason. One thing is being optimistic and another thing is finally realizing they're underachievers.

karina said...

@Fred's Brim: your comment makes me feel slightly better. Thank you very much.

karina said...

We need to give credit to Kershaw. He had a quality start and he didn't deserve the ND.

Paul said...

Karina

Kershaw was awesome. You can not ask for more from a young kid in a big game like that.

I am still not sure what J Mac was doing out there. Joe must be really confident that the Dodgers are going to have slim leads in the next two games and was holding out Brox and Breezy.

rbnlaw said...

The fact is Dodger pitching is keeping them alive for now. Hitting comes in cycles, as we all know. The fact that the Dodgers' down cycle has lasted almost a month and a half is concerning. Colletti spent late July worrying about pitching when his line-up was struggling. Last year he added Manny and the Beard in July, and we all remember the result.

I look at the Angels, not because I want to, but because I can't avoid them on the front page of the Register, and I see the mirror image of our beloved Blue. They are currently the most dangerous line-up in baseball 1-9 (some might say the Yanks, but for argument's sake, bear with me). In 3 of their past 5 starts, starting pitching hasn't made it out of the 5th, and that includes Jerrod Weaver.

Point? Hitting will get you so far, pitching will get you to the postseason. The Angels can't shake the Rangers (!) even though they've played .629 ball since June. Their rotation is now Lackey, then everyone else. They don't even have a reliable 4th starter, let alone a 5th. We have the luxury of worrying about Haeger, Stults, Padilla, Weaver, J Mac, et al, while the Lost Angels are sending down their most highly touted rookie.

This, and this alone, gives me hope. See, I can be optimistic when I want to be. Bring on September!

rbnlaw said...

Oh, and karina, you're right about Kershaw. It was good to hear Vin refer to the 12-6 curveball as, "Uncle Charley."
Now, if he'd say, "Looking local, got the express" just one more time.

Greg Zakwin said...

Paul- Adding Pierre does not make us better, regardless of which OF you sit. Never did,never will.

Getting Loney and Furcal to produce, and Martin to drive the ball more, is what will make us better.

Unless Pierre can hit for power and draw walks and play first or short. Oh wait, two of those things are impossible, and he can barely play the OF.

Fred's Brim said...

rbnlaw, that is such a good line

rbnlaw said...

@FB:
In know that line is a throwback to his days as a New Yorker, so i understand your appreciation.

Paul said...

KempKershaw,

I am obviously pushing the panic button We would be a better team if J Mac could be a solid starter as well but that happening is a little less likely than getting Furcal to produce and Martin to drive the ball this year. I hope I am wrong( even Mickey Hatcher picked up his power swing as late as Oct.).

However point well taken, JP's positive impact (whatever that would be)would be less than the negative impact of the players he would have to replace.

So the plan is to get to the World Series and DH JP and we won't have to worry about this. Yeah sounds like a plan.