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Chad Billingsley (12-10, 4.07) vs. Cesar Ramos (0-1, 1.69).
COMMENTS: The Dodgers need one win in their last five games, or one Colorado loss in its last six games, to clinch the NL West. 11 opportunities, and only one has to go the Dodgers' way. And this one won't be it.
No, not with Chad Billingsley on the mound, after his last performance which had a promising start (no ball left the infield until the fourth inning) turned into a disaster on one pitch (a game-tying Ryan Zimmerman three-run HR, leaving Bills with an ND). Not with Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake nursing sore hamstrings. Not with a closer who couldn't take advantage of a three-run lead gift-wrapped to him in the ninth inning on Sunday afternoon. Not with a team who lost three of four in PNC Park, putting them 3-4 on this roadtrip against the majors' worst. Not with a Padre pitcher making the first big-league start of his career.
Nope, it's not going to happen today. Might as well wait until tomorrow.
illustration: My Medicated Cartoon Life
311 comments:
1 – 200 of 311 Newer› Newest»Nothing gets me going like sunny optimism.
In all seriousness the opposing first time starter is the only thing that scares me.
But, I've got a good feeling about tonight. Everyone root for the Rox tonight because I don't want to win by default.
Man, I'm bummed now. I'm gonna go hang out somewhere more optimistic...
...like Dodger Blues.
Furcal SS
Hudson 2B
Ethier RF
Ramirez LF
Kemp CF
Loney 1B
Martin C
Castro 3B
Billingsley P
FurCastro for the win!
If Castro plays well, I may be smoking a Cuban!
For anyone who has not read it yet, there is a great article at MSTI today. I was lucky enough to enjoy Paul Oberjurge as my local sports writer and as the father of a high school acquaintance. He is an ass who only writes about how bad Southern California sports teams are. I feel vindicated that someone has publicly called him out.
Lowering expectations for tonight's game so that we can all be super excited with a Dodgers win? I love it!
I'm still waiting for my five bucks from Paul.
Not SoSG Paul, but stick-up-his-ass Paul Oberjurge
Not much to scoreboard watch at the moment, but the Jays are currently crapping on the Red Sox' clinching plans, scoring 4 in the 1st. But the Rangers will probably lose later and hand it to the Sox anyway.
Is it selfish to want this to happen on Friday? Cause then, I'm selfish.
I'm still waiting for the 10 or so hours of my life back that were spent at his house.
i see what you've done there...
Mr. Cust - Why does he owe you $5?
Ah, the reverse psychology angle.
I kinda like that set up for tonight.
Delino, I'm at that game too, so yeah, I'm with you on kinda wanting them to clinch Friday.
BUT!
I don't think I could take it if it came down to a close game. Just lock this up already.
*just had a vision of DB's Blackberry* ewwwwwwwwwwwww.
Oh, peeps; The Sox have been getting their asses handed to them the past couple of days, so things aren't so bad.
I'll be checking in from time to time just to keep the sunny optimism flowing!
Looks like we get to clinch at home. Well, our southern home.
Tweets from peeps @ Padres game say that it is packed w Dodger fans. I'm feelin' it.
Neeebs-
It was my work-issued BlackBerry, not my personal one. So I have a clean backup if needed.
Paulie said he bets me five bucks that Kemp has made more outs on the basepaths than any other player. I disproved his assumption, and because of that, I am entitled to my five dollars. He has my e-mail, he can reach me. There is no excuse.
I want to see the return of July 5th Chad tonight.
MLASF-
Do we need to call in some enforcers to go all Jeff Gillooly on him?
DB: Good to know if we are ever at a game together and I need to make a phone call, when my battery is dead.
@Dusty - Just call me Tanya Harding
Neeebs, in that situation, ask for the silver crackberry, not the black one.
Bayside up 3-0 on DeVito and Schwarzenegger in the 2nd game of the doubleheader.
so lets pretend we finally clinch
KCAL sucks. Will they televise the celebration?
ugh, i hate KCAL if they dont
I'll be able to watch them not cover it in HD!
Sax- This is either the best mocking of flaky, wishy-washy, idiotic Dodger fans I've ever seen, or a complete distortion of the last week of Dodger baseball.
I pray it's the former.
@KempKershaw
Funny, I'm getting the irony loud and clear, must be your cable;)
Mr.Customer- Considering it's the INTERNET, one can never be sure of anything.
Plus, I clearly state I give him the benefit of the doubt and assume it's an ironic post.
And considering how many people would have written that and been serious (most at LA Dodger Talk), it was worth asking.
I'd add an emoticon, but that's not how I roll.
here's hoping Steiner talks about the Dodgers' coming collapse and missing the playoffs
@KempKershaw
It's funny that you busted me a bit for using the emoticon, because I only added it because of the aforementioned internet irony problem. I typed it out and it made me sound like I was dressing you down, not being an idiot.
@JL - They'll show it. It would be a ratings boon. The only way they could get more viewers is if Jackie Johnson was covering the champagne shower.
Good to hear this is probably the case, MLASF. I have the Cubans and Scotch at the ready.
Rox down 2-1 early on w Old Milwaukee threatening to score some more (rancho ardiendo).
It's all conjecture of course. I'm making an assumption that could be wrong.
I'm hanging on your every prediction, MLASF.
Cards lost.
@KempKershaw, yeah, it's deliberately overly negative. But thank you anyway both for asking, as well as refraining from emoticon usage (which is a personal decision, but not how I roll, either).
By that HD comment im guessing you have charter cable service?
Poor St Louis.
Yeah, Charter cable.
Are you playing reverse psychology?
@ Karina-
He is. Or IS he?
@karina: yes, that was ironic too
This doesn't do any good for this season but prime ticket will be coming back with an HD channel around
January.
I too have suffered since the prime ticket / FSW compilation HD channel turned into a full FSW HD channel.
Detroit ekes out a win in the night game to keep their lead at two games over the Twins...
Rox still down 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth but have a man on first
Phillies are up three on the 'Stros in the top of the ninth; Astros have a man at first as well
Fish are ahead of the Braves, 5-4 top 8
And there you have it, the out of town scoreboard
Has the time come to bury Cesar yet?
@NicJ: I get Prime Ticket HD. Don't you have DirecTV?
@Mr Customer, in keeping with the irony theme, I come not to bury Cesar but to praise him.
Rub it in, Sax.
Charter.
Charter. Ouch. Sorry!
@NicJ, if you can afford a segway, why not DirecTV?
and we're off!
A basehit! Now don't get picked off.
Raffy should have this AB in the bag. My GameDay says Ramos' out pitch is a premium, and that's exactly the type of pitch Raffy loves to face
Single to left!
"if you can afford a segway, why not DirecTV?"
Heh.
What a coincidence! Orlando Hudson likes to face Premium pitches as well
To be fair, it's only NicJ's avatar which can afford a segway.
I, on the other hand, have to work shifts at the banana stand.
Already with the shit baserunning.
@Steve Sax re @Dusty Baker i know it was ironic but for a second, it took out all my optimism.
what the hell happened there? All I can tell is that Andre was not so clutch there (probably because it wasn't a walk-off opportunity)
King James is not the only prone to GIDP.
I'm a little sad that Ethier is going to be rendered useless if we go against Philly and all their lefthanded starting pitching.
Charlie Manuel's team meeting apparently works: Phils win 7-4
@ Karina
How can all the optimism be taken out of the Patron Saint of Pessimistic Dodgers Fans?
Well I'm already pissed at the team.
Phils only two games behind us as of this second
Yay, let's put two men on with none out and then proceed to botch it against a kid making his first start!
There is no way we win tonight in Petco.
It's gonna be that kind of game, isn't it?
Forget it. I'll check back in later if we can grow some nads.
Chad starts with a strike!
Gwynn ran away like Martin had H1N1
Bills stroke out Gwynn Jr.
Nads? what does it mean?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonads
Martin didn't implode! There is hope!
If Bills makes it through 5 do you pull him?
Hmm, Chad hasn't crumbled under the pressure yet? It's just a matter of time.
After Manny's K, I was curious as to how many times he's done that this year.
What I learned is an interesting comparison...
2008 (w/BOS only) .299/20/68 with .927 OPS in 100 games (365 AB)
2009 .299/19/62 with .977 OPS in 10 games (338 AB)
Essentially, this year's Manny is identical to the Manny that wore out his welcome in Boston last year. Oh, yeah, he's actually K'd 73 times this year as opposed to 86 w/BOS last year.
Kemp grounds out, saving him from the humiliation of making any embarrassing baserunning mistakes.
Colorado has tied it at 2 and has the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth
Nice stats work, Steve.
And, there it is at Coors Field. Yorvit gets a bases-loaded sac fly for the 3-2 lead and only the first out.
We're doomed.
Thanks Professor.
Eight-pitch inning for Ramos, who bids the Dodgers vamos.
@Dusty Baker i have my moments...
Remember that week when Martin was good. I miss that.
@NicJ, yeah, 2008 was a great year
In other news, Beltre just hit a double
Well, Chad isn't floundering. That's worth something.
Right?
@Nic j @Steve Sax 2007 was awesome, but we could settle with the 2008 first half season of my then son Martin.
Chad decides to delay his inevitable meltdown until after the second inning. 0-0 after two.
Wait, Kemp just caught that ball? I thought he was a moron incapable of making a routine play! Paul Oberjuerge knows nothing!
(I am interrupting this string of depression to say a pleasant hello to karina, patron saint of pessimistic Dodger fans.)
Now, back to my sulking. We suck.
Rox up 4-2 now
Rox up 4-2 now.
Kemp only caught that ball because he was trying to make a baserunning error and failed at that
What kind of performance does Bills need here to get a playoff start?
JAYSUS, Sax! Weird.
Yes Castro, bunt! Bunt!
@Dusty, yeah, but you used punctuation where I did not. Well done.
Juan Castro can't get a hit either
That period cost him vital seconds...
Chad's working the count better than Eckstein.
It's like the Dr. Geek Assassins' Circle gag.
The only one who can get a hit is Furcal.
God help us all.
I was happy with chads performance last week. I like how he actually got out of the inning quickly after the homerun. He was able to stop the bleeding that time.
@Steve Sax i say a pleasant "Epa" to you. I also want to say they don't suck, they're just baseball fundamentals challenged, as in hitting a ball properly against mediocre pitchers.
I also want to thank you and LLCoolL to have expanded my knowledge of the English language. One more question: is Nads a proper word for a lady that doesn't try to say bad words?
I hope Furcal is sharing whatever he's been smoking lately.
Now steal third, Raffy! And home!
Karina-
I think you should say "nads" at every chance you get.
@karina - I'll let Sax field that one.
You get some pretty weird stuff when you google "redemption".
I have to reformulate the question, it was an exuberant display of bad grammar:
is Nads a proper word for a lady that doesn't say bad words?
However, i suspect my question was answered.
Ethier is making him work.
I think it would only be proper when used in the medical sense.
Damn, more LOB.
That was quite a battle.
Too bad we lost it.
I did not like how that ended, even if it raises his pitch count.
Rox have men at the corners. No way we get any help from the Brewers.
13-pitch AB with two on? It doesn't matter, Andre still chokes a grounder to MSB. 0-0.
We're doomed.
I hate Everth Cabrera.
@LLCoolL: "@karina - I'll let Sax field that one."
Sorry, I'm not fielding any 'nads.
Rox up 5-2 now
Owch that was close
Cabrera almost gets as many pitches in on Chad as Ethier did on Cesar. Chad wins this battle, but it's just a matter of time.
The last two ABs on Gameday looked like machine gun fire.
SERIOUSLY!? TONY FUCKING GWYNN JR.?!
There we go, just a matter of time. HR Gwynn. We're behind.
Chad only gives up HR's now.
Just get out of the inning.
That's it. I'm going to bed.
what? a Gwynn Jr HR? seriously? i guess is a bug on Gameday, it just can't be.
It's the third inning and they've already started chanting Beat LA.
At least it wasn't MSB.
That does it. Chad's out. You don't give up a homer to a guy who's only hit one all season and expect to get a spot in the postseason roster.
End of the third and we're already losing. How many more innings can we be shut out? We'll find out.
Rotation, not roster. Though the latter is very tempting.
Manny swings on a ball not even close to the strike-zone. First pitch out.
Remember Kemp, it's just a single. Don't go thinking you can race home now. You'd have to be a complete dolt to do that.
It's not like it was a monster shot, it wrapped around the pole. Let's see what else he does.
This is just jim-freaking-dandy.
The only thing I worry about Chad is the offense refuses to score runs for him.
Loney GIDPs. Five-pitch inning for Ramos. We suck.
Hey, this Cy Young guy is just plain unhittable. Anyone would be having trouble scoring against him.
#Dodgers also could clinch NL West if #Rockies blow their present 4-2 lead in 7th and lose to #Brewers
- MLB Twitter
Maybe this is the inning that Chad crumbles. Leadoff walk to A-Gon.
Future looks brighter: they can't hit to under the radar pitchers, but they do better with good pitchers,not too bad for the playoffs right?
Chad can't get either Chase Headley or Will Venable to hit into a double play, so Gonzalez is still on first. Nice job, Chad.
The future looks grim! We're all DOOMED!
Got him!
Sax is crushed that Billingsley was not crushed.
Brewers in their last licks.
Our clubhouse looks tighter than a Baptist summer camp.
4-pitch walk to Russ.
Brew Crew has the tying run at the plate
Rox 5 - 5 Brewers
I LOVE YOU, JASON KENDALL!
rox 5, brewers 5
Damn rox! I don't wanna clinch by default.
Vargas is with us in spirit.
This can't be happening.
Raffy 2-2, until someone is on base.
Russell Martin of all people coaxes a four-pitch, leadoff walk, and we can't score him. No Dodgers runs through five. We suck.
I'm really needing some payoff here. We have suck-diddly-ucked for days now. It's time to shit or get off the pot.
Nads!
The brewers may have tied, but they're just preparing for a bottom of the ninth inning fail
Ramos is staying in the game? Jeeze.
That's five effective innings from Chad. Let's see how things unfold in the sixth.
We will win this game! I am sitting in the (closed) sports book at Whiskey Pete's in Primm NV. I am watching the game on the MLB game mix on a giant projector hearing the San Diego feed. If they don't win, what the hell am I doing? We will win!
Is everybody waiting to the sixth to say something nice about Bills?
@Karina - Exactly
I like our chances here.
Yeah - Is Hudson getting back to CYCLE form?
One-out, leadoff triple by O-Dog will just make his failure to score even more bitter.
We go to the 10th. Milwaukee and Rox tied at 5.
I'll take it! 1-1 tie!
Sweet sweet free runs!!!
Holy crap, we scored!!!
Holy crap, Alex Cora makes an appearance!
Sax was wrong on two parts: It was a no-out triple, and Hudson did score!
Dude, Sax, Take some fricken' Zoloft.
Hola all!
I am ready for a freakin celebration. Can we have one tonight so I won't be in crappy mood and hung over tomorrow? I want to be in a good mood and hung over.
Dammit to hell
Yo, Paul!
Well that takes away any insurance for Chad's danger inning.
Chad's gonna blow it now!
We can only score one, through an error no less, and Manny goes ahead and GIDPs right after for good meaasure. 1-1, because we suck.
Oh yeah, and the Rockies are in the bottom of the 10th with it still 5-5, just to make it more dramatic when they win.
I believe in Chad because he has an angel with him on the mound.
(stands up and flaps arms)
oh wait that was Tony Danza in Angels in the outfield.
Chad's a couple more outs away from getting his ERA into the 3's.
@Mr LA SF: you're right. I have no idea why I wrote "one-out, leadoff triple", since that can't possibly happen.
Clearly, I have started sucking as bad as the Dodgers. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery I suppose.
I gotta get to a new page, as fanerman's avatar is making me smile.
I need something more depressing.
There we go.
Uh Oh.
Just turned on the TV. Does Bills' delivery look a little different?
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