Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Game 129 Thread: August 24 @ Cardinals, 11.15a

Hiroki Kuroda (9-14, 2.88) vs. Jaime Garcia (10-6, 3.45).

Oh, these redbirds are ANGRY. Before the woeful Dodgers rolled into town, they were still contending for the NL Central title, facing a large-but-not-impossible 8.5 GB gap with the red-hot Brewers. But having lost Monday's game in the ninth inning after some questionable pitching decisions from the itchy-finger triggering Tony La Russa, and then having been pounded to a pulp by the Dodgers 13-2 yesterday, the Cardinals try to come back today to salvage a victory and potentially sneak back under double digits in the GB column. I can feel the anger!

The Dodgers, meanwhile, may not exactly be snickering pigs, but are indeed fattening up on Cardinals in this series, including breaking out for four HR yesterday. Kuroda is actually on a roll himself, having won three of his last four starts since informing the Dodgers that he wanted to stay in Los Angeles (and with the Dodgers, at that). So I'm guessing there will be no mighty eagle that will save St. Louis today (and certainly not one with a moth in his ear and a fly ball bouncing off his groin).

SoSG Sax would like to thank his mother for the idea for this GT. Thanks, Mom!

102 comments:

rbnlaw said...

Breakfast baseball, anyone?

Hey, Ned was making an announcement on KABC regarding Chicago this morning. Unfortunately, I believe the words, "taking," "job," "in," and "Chicago" were not being used without the adverb, "not."

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

Sellers 6
Gwynn 7
Kemp 8
Rivera 9
Blake 5
Loney 3
Carroll 4
Ellis 2
Kuroda 1

Nostradamus said...

That is a banjo-hitting lineup + Matt Kemp if I've ever seen one.

Nostradamus said...

Sellers might be the next biggest power threat, for fuck's sake.

Steve Sax said...

non-furcal
non-manny
kemp
non-ethier
non-beltre
non-prince fielder
non-uribe (thankfully)
non-piazza
kuroda

Nostradamus said...

To be fair, Furcal is not really Furcal anymore either.

Jason said...

I hear LaRussa's itchy-finger condition is closely related to stinkpalm.

Josh S. said...

SGKRBLECK!

Josh S. said...

^ Also the name of my IKEA bookcase.

Nostradamus said...

Hmmm, gameday is being a li'l bitch.

...and here I was hoping for a less productive workday.

Jason said...

There's always booze, Mr. C.

Nostradamus said...

Thank God for booze.

Steve Sax said...

@Josh S 10:29a: Love it. Great comment.

Steve Sax said...

Gameday's working for me!

In fact I've already bagged a Felix Hernandez badge from the SEA@CLE game.

Nostradamus said...

It's up for me now, too. Crisis averted!

Josh S. said...

Gameday is a go, but badge collection still blocked.

(Part of a conspiracy between Sax and my employer to keep me from catching him.)

Steve Sax said...

I don't think I have Tony Gwynn's badge. He really should steal a base today.

Josh S. said...

I'm a buyer on Sellers!

Hur hur hur.

Josh S. said...

Batter interference: When someone gets between Juan Uribe and his corn dogs.

Josh S. said...

Well, not quite yesterday's hot start.

Josh S. said...

Gotcha, Pooholes.

Steve Sax said...

FJL is en fuego of late

Josh S. said...

Playing for a job NOW, when he should have been all season.

Steve Sax said...

Josh S, what's with the badgelessness? How can they stop you?

Steve Sax said...

well, that sucked.

Steve Sax said...

0-0 through 1.5 innings

Josh S. said...

It's weird. My work firewall blocks game sites between 8am-3pm. Before the Gameday revamp this season, almost all of its functionality was disabled during those hours. Now, Gameday works, but for some reason the firewall considers the My Badges screen a game. I get the little badge window in Gameday. I even get the check marks when one unlocks. But collected badges won't load and anything that gets unlocked during those hours doesn't move into my case.

And I leave the house too early to set badge traps at home.

MR.F said...

Damnit. Mothballs scored.

Nostradamus said...

For some reason, it seems worse being burned by a dude named "Skip".

Steve Sax said...

Well, this isn't good.

I'd like tell Skip he can't pitch worth a lick.

Steve Sax said...

Brewers are down 2-0 so the Cards probably smell blood

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

BOOOOOOOOO

Josh S. said...

Mothballs is quite possibly the greatest derogatory nickname for a player EVER.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

The Brewers lead the Cardinals by ten games.

Are you sure it's blood, and not sangria?

Josh S. said...

Kemp is so Kemp.

Josh S. said...

Ah, much better.

Josh S. said...

The Cards are collapsing like a house of, uh, well, cards.

Josh S. said...

NO MERCY!

Nostradamus said...

Après Kemp, le deluge.

Josh S. said...

The "We're sorry, Hiro!" tour rolls on!

Steve Sax said...

who ARE these guys? I just flipped back and we've scored five runs without an out recorded in the third????

Josh S. said...

Leave Jaime in!!

rbnlaw said...

Arsenal/Udinese, nil-nil, 25 min.


In case you wondered.

rbnlaw said...

8 straight batters reach on Garcia? Cardinal pitching has hit hard times.

Steve Sax said...

HIT PARADE

Eight batters, no recorded outs

Steve Sax said...

Hiro breaks the streak

Josh S. said...

Dammit Hiro!

Nostradamus said...

The world's least English English team was looking pretty shaky there for a bit.

Josh S. said...

How was Carroll out at 3rd on a FC if he was already on 3rd?

Josh S. said...

Three straight days of "the best fans in baseball" booing their own team.

MR.F said...

Wow I'm gone for an inning and we're up 6-1!

Also, it feels good to contribute to SoSG with a clever nickname =).

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

BOOOOOOOOO?

rbnlaw said...

@Mr. C: Walcott, Jenkinson, Song (sort of), more then they've had in years. Add Ramsey if you want "British."

Frimpong might play for Engerland as well if Ghana don't want him.

Steve Sax said...

@MR F: WHat's the nickname?

rbnlaw said...

Arsenal sinks lower.
Udinese 1
Arsenal shaky

Josh S. said...

Interesting pitch sequence, Hiro.

Nostradamus said...

@rbn

That comment had the desired effect. As a Welshman, I'm not going to let England have any claim to Ramsey, though.

As for the match...well, that happened.

MR.F said...

@Sax:

Mothballs!

Josh S. said...

I need to hip Joe Block to my sense of humor.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

@Josh - He's a bit of a square.

Nostradamus said...

ujtd!

Steve Sax said...

Gerald Laird GIDP baby! And Hiro escapes the jam.

6-1 Dodgers through four innings.

Steve Sax said...

@Mr. F: Oh yeah, Mothballs, for Nutshot!

Steve Sax said...

AJ Ellis HR

Yet another missed call by Charley Steiner on that. Charley, if it went over the bullpens, why couldn't you tell it wasn't just a fly ball?

Steve Sax said...

7-1 LA, mid-5

Steve Sax said...

AJ, please make us erase the memories of Dioner. Please.\

This first HR is a good start!

Nostradamus said...

Ellis HR?

An embarrassment of riches!

Steve Sax said...

You guys gotta see the AJ Ellis first HR highlight. Everyone in the Dodgers dugout is sitting on the bench, so Ellis goes runnign straight into the clubhouse tunnel.

Nice!

Nostradamus said...

1-1 now, and PKs are out the window.

cc:rbnlaw

Josh S. said...

Indiana Jones and The Road Trip of Improbable Homers.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

That moth should become the Dodgers' new mascot.

Nostradamus said...

Back to back beat-downs. A guy could get used to this.

Nostradamus said...

Plus, it returns some small portion of the misery that the Cardinals have sent our way over the years.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

Gerald Laird looks a little spooked in his Gameday pic.

Fred's Brim said...

Is it Red Seats Get In Free day there in St Louis?

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

FUCK YOU, GERALD LAIRD.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

Kuroda would be a better option than Velez.

MR.F said...

At 27 now?

Fred's Brim said...

Eugenio, you do not disappoint, do you?

Orlando Zepeda said...

Kuroda at least has a batting avg

Josh S. said...

@FB: It's Invisibility Cloak giveaway day.

Nostradamus said...

I'm totally rooting for him to go 0-for-LA now. At least he'll be remarkable in some way.

Fred's Brim said...

@Mr C - he's two away from 0-for-his age

Fred's Brim said...

Goddamn Padres, you better pull back Taco Bell

Fred's Brim said...

Dotel may have been my least favorite temporary Dodger

Fred's Brim said...

I am going to miss Casey Blake

Nostradamus said...

He was effing terrible, but he's no Lance Carter.

Nostradamus said...

...and I'd take Carter twice before either of the Fightin' Ortizes.

Fred's Brim said...

I don't recall Lance Carter. Was he a Backstreet Boy?

Steve Sax said...

344 badges baby

Wandy Rodriguez and Jordan Schafer are the newest admittees to the Sax Badge Case

Steve Sax said...

Thanks a lot T Gwynn for not stealing a base

Fred's Brim said...

Can Matt hold them to less than six runs?

Steve Sax said...

Four singles for the shitty Cardinals pitcher!

Fred's Brim said...

goddamn Matt - you have to be better next year. Are we sure he isn't just Brett Tomko who stole Orel's number?

Fred's Brim said...

Sweep those goody-goody d-bags!

Fred's Brim said...

And Hiro up to 10 wins - amazing

MR.F said...

We make party!

Jason said...

Making party for Dodger win.

Partaking in extra party alcohol in honor of badge #200.

Steve Sax said...

post-game thread up!

Nostradamus said...

100!

Nostradamus said...

DAMMIT!

spank said...

Backsteet4Life