Scoreboard Watching: ALCS Game 6, Angels @ Yankees, 5p

Your Sunday Pie Chart

Dodgers Retain Ng

Padres hire Hoyer as general manager (AP/Yahoo! Sports)

Scoreboard Watching: ALCS Game 6, Angels @ Yankees, 5p

UPDATE: Postponed!

Alex "Palpatine" Rodriguez.

Is it still scoreboard watching if the result doesn't affect your team?

When you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn?

What happens if you yell "Movie!" in a crowded firehouse?

Did Adam and Eve have belly buttons?

What was the best thing before sliced bread?

photo by Julie Jacobson/AP

Caption Contest: The Firing Squad?

And now we're selling caps with no backs? What the hell kind of cost-cutting move is this, Frank?

If this photo was taken as originally credited ("following Game 2 of Major League Baseball's NLCS playoff series against the Philadelphia Phillies in Los Angeles, October 16, 2009."), one can only guess what the conversation was. But rather than speculate, I'll leave the humor up to the SoSG readers.

Fire away (get it?)....

photo: REUTERS/Danny Moloshok

The Day That Should Have Been NLCS Game 6

I swung by the Top of the Park Store at Dodger Stadium yesterday, just to take a look at the playoff gear for sale (unfortunately there wasn't much) and consider the game that could have been that day, but wasn't. And in its relatively empty state, it was very sad, almost somber.

Aside from minimal press coverage traffic from a Joe Torre / Ned Colletti end-of-season conference, the Stadium was empty. Desolate. Yet it was a beautiful sunny day that would have been perfect for California baseball, especially with the intensity of the playoffs. One could only imagine how rockin' the crowd might have been had we been able to extend the series to a sixth game; the Stadium certainly would have looked a lot different than it did Friday.

Driving up, I noticed that they were already taking down some of the temporary tents (note: this is not one of the Team Store tents, but a different tent that would be outside the right field foul line):

And then of course, I couldn't help but take a look at the field from high atop the Top Deck. Workers were spraying off the seats in the Top Deck as if to give them one last cleaning before they would sit idle for five months. Note that on the field, the NLCS logos near each dugout had already started to be erased.

The press conference had just broken up from the dugout, and reporters and bloggers were perusing the goods left in the store, almost as if to say "goodbye" and "thank you" to the 2009 season. I had the great fortune to bump into Roberto of Vin Scully Is My Homeboy; I rather embarrassingly called "Ronaldo" at first. Roberto had his notebook in hand and was clearly eager to get somewhere (I assumed to get to a computer to post his findings, and only found out later he was gunning to feed the beast).

Roberto is a real credit to the Dodger fan bloggers; he's young and clearly passionate about the Dodgers, and anyone who reads VSIMH knows he doesn't pass up many opportunities to meet the players or participate in a fan experience. This kid is indefatigable! He's done a great job this summer in his rookie year of blogging, and though his recap of our chance encounter focused more on the secrecy of our conversation, what he was too humble to mention was that I definitely told him (and believe) that he does a great job with his Dodger fan blog. It was nice meeting you, Roberto; hopefully when we meet again I'll get your name right--and thanks for keeping my identity secret!

I also bumped into Chris of dodgerfan.net, whom I'd met before, and who was also there for the press conference. In his recaps of the press conference, Chris poses the question "Do the Sons EVER leave the Stadium?" And I do hope that information also stays secret, as I don't want to have to start paying rent (plus, the Stadium's wifi network is pretty good, and definitely helpful when AT&T service is crapping out).

Anyway, I don't have notes from the press conference--after all, I was just there to get a t-shirt--but I highly suggest going to either site to pick up the highlights of conversations with Joe Torre, Ned Colletti, Andre Ethier, and Jon Garland. As for the Top of the Park Store, I'll be back in a week or so; maybe I'll see another blogger (or player) there again.

That's a Wrap

Joe Torre, Ned Colletti and a few Dodger players were at Dodger Stadium yesterday...as were Chris from dodgerfan.net, Roberto from Vin Scully Is My Homeboy and one of the Sons....

• Post-Season Thoughts From Andre Ethier and Jon Garland (dodgerfan.net)
• Andre Ethier and his Dom Perignon (VSIMH)
• World Series? For Dodgers, it's still only a dream (LA Times)
• Dodgers outline offseason needs (Dodgers.com)

photo by Reed Saxon/AP

A Special Message from the Dodgers

Got this in my email box last night at 8:30pm.

Hello, this is Ticketmaster Customer Service with an important alert for your upcoming event. Dodgers League Championship Series Home Game 3, scheduled at Dodger Stadium on Friday, October 23, 2009, at 5:07 pm, has been cancelled.

Your credit card will automatically be credited the ticket price and convenience charges, and should post to your account within 7 to 10 business days. Please note, the $4.35 per order processing fee, any ticketFast, or UPS delivery charges and in-store pick up charges are non-refundable.

Thanks for the last-second news. I waited at Dodger Stadium for three hours, just assuming everyone was late.

Recommended Reading

The "I still can't believe it's over" edition:

• Let’s Talk About “Aces” (Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness): MSTI breaks down the mythology of the ace.
• PnP Conversations: Of Men and Robots (Pitchers & Poets): A calm, rational discussion about an exciting, emotional time.
• Pain... (Steve Lyons, Psychollingy): A surprisingly tactile take on unexpected outcomes.
• Squandering everything, just to end up the same as in '08 (T.J. Simers, LA Times): Don't miss Simers' completely sane and rational explanation of why sportswriters treat Manny the way they do.

painting: "Shit Ball" by Luke Chueh

Behind The Scenes: Conversations from the SoSG Staff Room (The Day After, 10/22/09)

SoSG Sax: Orel, did you see last night's Post-Game Thread? Wasn't it hilarious, how it amassed 300+ comments (a new record) and how it lasted into the wee hours of the morning and then picked up again at 6am without a hitch? And it involved the wit of all of our awesome commenters and "regulars at the SoSG bar"?

You see, THAT'S what we have to do next, to take SoSG to the next level!

SoSG Orel: And what's that, Sax?

SoSG Sax: OPEN UP A SoSG BAR NEXT YEAR! Just think about it--this will be legen...wait for it...dary!

SoSG Orel: Uh, yeah, Sax. I'll get right on that.

Scoreboard Watching: ALCS Game 5, Yankees @ Angels, 5p

Damn, have you ever seen anybody stretch like that before? Why haven't we heard anything about this Jee-ter fella?

There's more baseball, folks! Pull up a chair if you want to see who's going to beat the Phillies in the World Series. Smart money says the Yankees, but the Angels remain the sole remaining hope for West Coast Baseball (not to be confused with East Coast Baseball™). (No, I'm not letting that go.)

photo by Jae C. Hong/AP

What's the Opposite of Nepotism?

The McCourts in less litigious times.

That didn't take long. From "Dodgers' Frank McCourt considering firing wife as CEO" by Jon Heyman at SI.com:

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt is seriously considering firing his wife Jamie as CEO, SI.com has learned. [...]

There is expected to be a battle over control of the team. Both McCourts have expressed an interest in owning the Dodgers separately.

Let the finger-pointing begin!

(Thanks to SoSG reader JuanLove for the tip.)

UPDATE 3.30p PT from Sax: It's done. Jamie McCourt was fired in the last two days, ..."But this is not likely to be the last she's heard from," according to SI.com. Who needs Hot Stove when you've got new episodes of Wife Swap?

UPDATE, 7:16 p.m.: A tidbit from Tim Brown at Yahoo! Sports:

Frank and Jamie (and their lawyers) shared the owner’s box at Dodger Stadium during NLCS games late last week, Frank in the third row and Jamie in the first. At one point engaging before a near-full ballpark, Frank playfully grabbed Jamie’s head, causing her to recoil in apparent anger.

Frank, you smoothie!

photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez

They Feel Bad Too

It's going to take all offseason to get over this. It hurts the most when you turn on the TV and see the World Series and the team you thought you could beat is playing there.

—from Matt Kemp's playoff blog

photos by Jon SooHoo/Dodgers

Daddy, When Will the Dodgers Come Back?

Not sure how to tell them what happened. A conversation for tomorrow, I suppose. Luckily one has a vocab of four words, and the other is a baby.

Phillies Fans, Congratulations. Now Go Climb A Lightpole.

Thanks to SoSG reader Keven C for pointing out this article from this morning's Philadelphia Inquirer, indicating that Phildelphia has another creative use for all that petroleum jelly the city stockpiles:

City workers have greased poles along South Broad Street in an effort to deter revellers from climbing them during any wild celebrations that might follow a possible Phillies victory tonight.

Street lights, signs, bus shelters and even trees have been coated by a yellowish goo that bears a resemblance to petroleum jelly. [...]

Hoping to prevent the damage and looting that followed last year's World Series victory, police are expected to be out in force tonight if the Phillies clinch the National League title.

Philadelphia Lt. Frank Vanore said the police department will take a number of precautions to guard against overzealous fans.

"We're trying to prevent people from getting too crazy and climbing up there," said Vanore. "We're trying our best to prevent some of what happened during the celebrations last year [link my edit]."

Let's just hope the Philadelphia Fire Department doesn't get involved, too. Have a great time out there tonight!

photo: April Saul, Philadelphia Inquirer

Post-NLCS Game 5 Thread: Okay, You Can Stop Believin' Now

PHILLIES 10, DODGERS 4

So it turns out good pitching and hitting beats bad pitching and hitting. Who knew? Congratulations to the Phillies. I'd say good luck in the World Series but, you know, go screw yourselves.

In the end, it wasn't about the crappy umpiring, or the weather, or the seemingly endless parade of former Dodgers spitting on our grave, or the East Coast fans — who are, it must be noted even in our grief, the Derek Jeter of fanbases. Or even Jonathan Broxton (mostly). The Dodgers had the better regular-season record, but the Phillies were better in this series. Much better.

It was a great season for the Dodgers: the record-setting start at home, Orlando Hudson's cycle, the amazing first-half record, Manny's BobbleSlam, Andre "Mr. Miracle" Ethier, Matt Kemp's development, the amazing NLDS.

But there'll be plenty of time to reminisce — we're baseball fans, after all, and there's still the ALCS and World Series to follow before we get to the McCourt divorce proceedings, which will make the Manny negotiations look like a lovefest.

Right now, though, it's time to get pissed, stew in your juices, kick the furniture. Because it feels like 2009 = 2008. But eventually we'll see 2009 for what it really was: a fun, wild ride — and we're glad you took it with us. Stick around!

Exclusive Interview: The Don't Stop Believin' Guy

(Bumped and stickied until game time. Enjoy this SoSG exclusive!)

As we sift through the wreckage of Monday night's travesty, allow the D-Line to remind you all of Andy Dufresne's wise words from The Shawshank Redemption:

Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.

And to quote another wizened soul - "Don't Stop Believin'." Over the past month, one man has stepped up time and again to rally the troops, when all hope seemed to be gone. That man is Jameson Moss, aka The Don't Stop Believin' Guy aka DSBG (not to confused with NKOTB).

I tracked the man, the myth, and the legend, all three of whom were gracious enough to answer some burning questions. Enjoy.

Delino: For the sake of our hordes of SoSG-maniacs, mind telling us a little bit about yourself?

Jameson: I am Jameson Moss, 18 years old, live in Santa Monica, and have been a Dodger fan for three years (after moving from Atlanta for acting and music).

Delino: How did this all begin?

Jameson: I did the DSB interpretive dance for an audition in Atlanta with Disney. It was a major casting call, and the dance actually got me a callback [and a signing]. [The Dodgers version] started during the Cubs series. I did the DSB Dance on the Thursday night, and the next night the camera crew asked if they could shoot me again. And the rest is history. I've been on just about the whole month of September through the final series with Colorado. Plus postseason. And I wanna say something to the haters out there - we have only lost three times when I do the dance. I'm not very superstitious, but that's a pretty good stat if you ask me.

Delino: Is Frank hooking you up with tickets yet?

Jameson: I am a season ticket holder... But the Dodgers have been kind enough to offer postseason tickets.

Delino: Jon or Kate?

Jameson: The kids. I'm more worried about them.

Delino: What's your favorite Journey song (besides DSB)?

Jameson: "Faithfully"...I'm kinda a sucker for rock ballads.

Delino: Are you cool with comparisons to the Angels' Rally Monkey (though for the record, I also compared you to Kate Smith, the very soul of the 1976 Philly Flyers) ?

Jameson: Being compared to the Angels' Rally Monkey and Kate Smith is an honor...more on Kate Smith and a lot less on the Rally Monkey...though people say I do a good monkey impersonation.

Delino: During Game Two, they held off on cutting to your performance until late in the song... and the crowd literally erupted. That must have been pretty killer.

Jameson: Yeah it was. And to be able to say I was on Diamond Vision with Kobe, that's just awesome.

Delino: What will next season hold for the DSBG?

Jameson: Only God knows what holds for me next season. I'm in a movie coming out next year around the start of the season called Easy A, I just released my first album called "City of Broken Lights." The sky's the limit, and I'll be a season ticket holder again 'cause I sure as hell won't stop believin' in our Boys in Blue.

-----------

D-Line here, just hoping we get to see DSBG rock out on Friday night... and beyond (though for the record, I'm more partial to "Lights" and "Open Arms").

And check out Jameson Moss' band right here. Thanks, DSBG!

NLCS Game 5 Thread @ Quakers, 5p

A big tip o' the fitted cap to Erin at Robots Took My Medicine for those kickass buttons pictured above, as well as her piece, "A Home Away from Home", which could also be called "Your Guide to SoSG Game Threads."

Vicente Padilla (0-0, 1.23) vs. Cole Hamels (1-0, 6.75).

What? Another Game Thread? That's right, the season didn't end Monday night — it just felt like it. There's at least nine more innings of baseball left in the Dodgers' season, and so SoSG presents:

NINE REASONS DODGER FANS SHOULDN'T STOP BELIEVIN'

1. The "Don't Stop Believin' " Guy hasn't stopped believing. Hence his name.

2. This could be the last time. It's Splitsville for Mom & Dad. Kim Ng could be hitting the 5 South. Donnie Baseball could be headed to Cleveland or D.C. O-Dog and the Wolfman will probably be signing long-term deals elsewhere. If you like this year's edition of the Dodgers, you'll want to watch every moment they have left together.

3. If you don't watch, then the Phillie Phanatic will have won. And then Tommy would be sad.

4. We still have to hold up our end of the Freeway Series. Screw the TV ratings. Another East Coast World Series? Yawn.

5. Who has Game 6 tickets? 'Nuff said.

6. It's another chance to listen to Vin. Keep delaying that radio feed, KABC!

7. Everybody hurts. Especially Jonathan Broxton. Whatever you feel about him — and there's a lot of feelings about him out there — he needs the support of Dodger fans as long as there's still baseball to play (see Holliday, Matt).

8. What else are you going to do? Work? Spend time with the family? You're not going to check TBS just once? You're going to stay away from Gameday altogether? Yeah right.

9. Sí, se puede! Remember 1988? Get in on the ground floor. Remember the 4+1 game? Don't be the guy in his car way in the background whose taillights light up after the rally starts. Don't be that guy.

GO DODGERS!

DSBG: Orel/SoSG; Broxton: David J. Phillip/AP

It's Official: We're All a Bunch of Pansies

From Tom Verducci at SI.com:

Red Sox president Larry Lucchino has a term for playing in the intense conditions of the Northeast: East Coast Baseball. He is on to something. In Philadelphia, Boston and New York, almost every home game carries an intensity (from fans and media) that is a close facsimile to playoff baseball. And when you do get to October, the frequently cold, wet, blustery weather provides something else to battle, too.

I started thinking about East Coast Baseball as I watched the Dodgers and Angels go 0-4 in Philadelphia and New York in the LCS, all the while looking like they were not up to the challenges of the crowd and the weather. And then I thought, is there something to West Coast teams not measuring up to East Coast Baseball in October? [...]

It turns out there have been 22 playoff matchups when a West Coast team ventured into East Coast Baseball. The result: the West Coast teams are 10-36 in East Coast Baseball venues, a .217 winning percentage. In other words, get them out of their laid-back, warm environment and into the nasty conditions in the East, and they're not even the 1962 Mets.

And it is not getting any easier. Since 2003 the West Coast teams are 3-17 in East Coast Baseball playoff environments. That's the kind of history the Dodgers are up against tonight when they play NLCS Game 5 in Philadelphia. Bundle up, Dodgers.

Interesting how cold weather = intense fans. You mean it has nothing to do with the combined $320 million the Yankees and Phillies are spending (versus $227 million for the Dodgers and Angels)? Or the propensity of East Coast-based writers to perpetuate the mythos of the East Coast Sports Fan? Oh, and where do the Red Sox — swept out of the ALDS by those softy-soft Angels — fit in?

What's your take, SoSG readers? (As if you needed something else to get you fired up for tonight's game!)

Open Up The Manny Ramirez Criticism Floodgates and Shower Curtains

The Dodgers' losing Game 4 of the 2009 NLCS finally gave sportswriters across the country the opportunity to write that article they've had written for months, if not years: The Dodgers' downfall is due to Manny Ramirez. Bring out the lynch mobs, and let press room typewriters lead the way!

At least Gene Wojciechowski positioned his ESPN.com column as one of encouragement, even praising Manny for his defensive play in the seventh inning that kept us in Game 4 in the first place by silencing a Phillie threat:

OK, give Ramirez credit -- his grass-blade-high catch of Raul Ibanez's sinking line drive later in that sixth inning ended a Phillies rally, prevented the tying run to score and caused NLCS viewers everywhere to say, "Did Manny do that?"

Yes, he did. How, I don't know.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard, watching from the dugout steps, was so sure that Ramirez couldn't possibly make the catch that he raised his arms in celebration as Ibanez's liner curled toward the ground and supposed safety. But then Ramirez's glove appeared and the ball disappeared. L.A. still had its one-run lead. [...]

Ramirez isn't the only reason why the Dodgers are in this NLCS sinkhole. But he's one of them. Now, more than ever, it's time for him to do what he's done in playoffs past.

Be Manny.

But it only goes downhill from there. The LATimes' Bill Plaschke is obsessed with images of Ramirez in the shower, which is frankly a little creepy:

Manny Ramirez?

He was bathing.

While the Dodgers were taking on the brunt of postseason pressure in the ninth inning here Monday night, their star was taking a shower.

While his teammates were wilting under the spotlight, their leader was relaxing under the spray.

By the time the Dodgers had finished staining themselves with a ninth-inning collapse in a 5-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, Ramirez was just scrubbing clean.

I know that repeating oneself three different times using similar sentence structure and a plethora of synonyms is fundamental to Plaschke's column-inch wasting formulaic drivel. But really, enough with the visual images, Bill.

Plaschke goes on to indicate how Ramirez' four RBI and .276 batting average this batting average is pathetic. But really, how bad is this? No other Dodger has more than two RBI in the NLCS, for a grand total of 11 (yes, the same amount of runs scored by the Phillies in one game).

Ramirez is batting .250 with an OPS of .688. But even if we can get over the small-sample-size leap in logic, there are plenty of other Dodgers at which we can point the finger. Casey Blake is batting .133 with two hits in the NLCS. Andre Ethier has three hits and is batting a whopping .200. Rafael Furcal is .125 with two hits. Matt Kemp is tied with Ramirez with four hits and a .250 average, but only Russell Martin (.333), Ronnie Belliard (.333), and James Loney (.357) are showing any sort of consistent offensive punch.

Yes, Ramirez is the Dodgers' cleanup hitter, he is paid the big money to hit like a beast, and it looks even worse when Ramirez is juxtaposed against Ryan Howard, who is off to another crazy series (batting .385 with 8 RBI). Again, the small sample size is not worthy of quantitative analysis. Let the man shower in peace, will you? If his manager isn't rankled by Ramirez' behavior (Ramirez allegedly hit the showers in the bottom of the ninth inning, replaced by Juan Pierre in the field, while Jonathan Broxton worked the one-run lead to disastrous results), as Joe Torre said in the piece, then why are you making such a big deal of it?

Perhaps he assumed Broxton's ninth would be automatic. Maybe Ramirez is demure. Maybe he had a party to attend after the game. Whatever the reason, it's (soap and) water under the bridge for the players and managers and most of us Dodger fans, save a handful of journalists (that means you too, Jeff Passan), who are watching every last move of Ramirez in the locker room, waiting to pounce on Manny at any point they deem he is vulnerable.

Matter of fact, it's no wonder why Manny showers early and alone.