Game 77 Thread: June 22 @ Padres, 1p

Who knew we'd stoop so low as to combine
 an old bad pun with a new meme?

Hyun-Jin Ryu (8-3, 3.18) vs. Eric Stults (2-9, 5.76)

I hate to bag on an Old Friend, but my god does Stults suck. I asked our summer intern to do some research on Stults' stint with the Dodgers. First thing she came up with was a list of other pitchers on the 2009 team, which was Stults' last season with us. It's not pretty, folks (the list, I mean, not the intern; she's cute). Here's a sample:

Sherrill, Vargas, Belisario, Broxton, Troncoso, Haeger, Schlichting, Mota, Milton, McDonald, Elbert, Wade, Schmidt, Leach, and Ohman

Oh man is right. Times was hard. Hey, speaking of Scott Elbert, word is that after about 14 Tommy John surgeries, a hip replacement, and a sex change operation, Elbert may be ready to re-join the team and contribute from the pen. The more the merrier if it keeps Paul Maholm from ever touching a baseball again.

We close this homestand (a Petco homestand, if you will) with today's matinee and then fly to Kansas City to take on a surprisingly hot Royals team that figures to be a good test. Sending the team off with a series win would go a long ways to keeping up the mostly positive momentum/foam party. And, no hard feelings, Eric Stults. You made a great memory for me when I was at the Yard and you beat the Gnats 8-0 on a complete game, four-hit shutout.

photo swiped from this odd website: http://stiltwalkers.com.au/qld/brisbane-bubble-man/

Post-Game 76 Thread: Kenley, Take 2

DODGERS 4, PADRES 2

A lot of similarities between last night's game and tonight's. Strong starting pitching (Beckett: seven shutout innings, eight K's), Dee getting his hands dirty (1 for 3, 1 RBI, 2 R), a two-run lead going into the ninth (Hanley had two RBIs, AGon one; Malholm and League combined to allow two runs in the eighth).

But Kenley ate his Wheaties this morning (and perhaps some friendly pitching advice helped). He allowed a single but got FCQ to fly out and struck out Denorfia to end the game. Order is...restored?

Best of all, those lame "Beat L.A." giveaway shirts have been rendered useless. Toss 'em.

Game 76 Thread: June 21 @ Padres, 7p

Josh Beckett (4-4, 2.49) vs. Tyson Ross (6-6, 3.27).

The Padres are so excited to have the Dodgers in town today, the Padres' stadium giveaway this evening is a t-shirt focusing on the Dodgers (whose city of Los Angeles has a bigger font size than the Padres' logo). Look, I know the Padres' camouflage uniforms are pretty ugly, but envious green doesn't seem to be a very good color on the Padres, either.

But enough about the Mission Federal Credit Union sponsored promotions! We've got two starters with completely mediocre W-L records dueling tonight. But only one of those pitchers has a no-hitter this year, and that guy (Beckett) is 5-2 with a 2.41 ERA lifetime vs. the Padres. Meanwhile, Tyson, who is coming off walking seven batters in his last start against the Mariners, is a chicken. So will it be "Beat LA"? Or "Eat Tyson"?

Post-Game 75 Thread: Smith, Jansen Defeat Dodgers

PADRES 6, DODGERS 5

Kenley straight up blew this one, folks. Handed a 5-3 lead in the ninth inning, he gave up a single, two doubles and a game-losing sac fly to blow it in frustrating fashion. With the exception of one 84-mph slider, he threw all cutters between 90-96 mph.

What exactly does this mean? I'm no Chad Moriyama, but Kenley was eminently hittable tonight. And when they weren't hitting him, they were fouling him off.

Sure, you could point to Haren giving up two home runs to Seth Smith, or him not being able to last six innings, or the five runners the Dodgers left on base. But this was a winnable game.

In other not-great news, Puig left the game in the eighth with what the Dodgers are calling "a mild left hip muscle strain." Keep in mind this is the team Dylan Hernandez just called "notoriously unreliable in providing accurate medical information."

At least the Giants lost again, so the Dodgers remain four back. Four wins in a row? The dream remains deferred.

Game 75 Thread: June 20 @ Padres, 7p

Dan Haren (7-4, 3.54) vs. Ian Kennedy (5-8, 3.72).

Boy, it's been an emotional couple of weeks in the Southern California sports scene, hasn't it? The Kings and their heart-attack inducing ways, the passing of Tony Gwynn, Clayton Kershaw's no-hitter. It's a great reminder that pro sports sometimes becomes more than just a bunch of millionaires chasing a ball or puck around. These milestones give Southern California legitimacy and legacy on the national stage.

The fourth-place Padres (31-42) are on a two-game winning streak, having split a series against the Mariners. The Dodgers are currently four games back of the Giants, who are taking on the woeful, vengeful Diamondbacks. Yes, we have to root for those shitheels (to appropriate an SoSG Dusty term) for the next three days, so prepare your nosegays.

Lost in the Kershaw kerfuffle is the Dodgers' improved play at home. They're 5-1 on their current homestand and averaged six runs a game against the Rockies. Perhaps not coincidentally, offensive production from the outfield positions has stabilized since Crawford went on the DL, with Kemp and Puig corner outfield fixtures and Ethier and Van Slyke sharing centerfield duties. Is a trade in the offing?

Clayton Kershaw is a Ghostbuster, or Pac-Man

The above GIF is from Deadspin:

The stats are one thing, but overlaying video of all 15 of his strikeout pitches from the no-hitter offers something else. Pay close attention to Kershaw's delivery. We didn't align the video layers to his position; we used fixed positions. Despite that, from the first inning to the ninth, his delivery is perfectly consistent. Look at how little ghosting there is of the images up until the release point; that's amazing discipline.

(Bolding ours.) Who you gonna call? Clayton Kershaw!

Sammy Sosa Does a Solid

From "Father of Isla Vista victim knows he has to keep speaking out" at the LA Times:

[Richard Martinez, father of UCSB shooting victim Christopher Michaels-Martinez] talked about guns in some of the interviews. Other times he talked about Christopher — the little boy who hit so many home runs in Little League that he earned the nickname "Mini Sammy Sosa." A few days later, wedged between interviews, Martinez received a phone call from an unfamiliar number.

It was Sammy Sosa.

The former major league slugger said he heard about Christopher's nickname on the news. When he watched Martinez cry, he couldn't help but think of losing one of his six kids. At the end of their 25-minute conversation, Sosa told Martinez that he planned to donate $5,000 to a memorial fund.

"I was touched," Sosa said. "I hope Mr. Martinez and the effort he's doing doesn't go away for a long time. He's a fighter."

Sosa hasn't had an easy go of it lately, so it's nice to see him in a positive light. God job, Sammy.

Must-See: Rare Color Dodgertown Footage Discovered

It's not embeddable, so click here to check it out.

This is incredible. From a Historic Dodgertown press release:

EXCLUSIVE COLOR FOOTAGE OF HALL OF FAME DODGERS JACKIE ROBINSON, PEE WEE REESE, OTHERS DURING SPRING TRAINING ADDED TO HISTORIC DODGERTOWN WEBSITE

Unique color footage of the 1951 Dodger Spring Training activities and personalities at Dodgertown, Vero Beach, Florida, has been added to historicdodgertown.com, it was announced today by Brady Ballard, Historic Dodgertown vice president.

Highlights of the never-before-seen silent film show the training regimen of the Dodgers at Dodgertown, their Spring Training home from 1948-2008. Hall of Fame Dodgers included in the footage are Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella and Duke Snider. Aerial footage showcases the baseball fields, while the barracks used to house nearly 600 Dodger major and minor league players on campus are also shown. [...]

In the extraordinary footage, viewers will see first-hand and up close the Brooklyn Dodgers training on the same site that still exists today for multiple sports activities.

Second baseman Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier playing for the Dodgers in 1947, takes swings at Field No. 2, slides in the sawdust-filled sliding pit and practices double plays with partner Reese at shortstop. Robinson wears his Dodger jersey with familiar No. 42, which was retired by Major League Baseball in 1997, with large blue letters. Campanella is shown during batting practice at Field No. 2. The Dodgers, including 1949 Rookie of the Year pitcher Don Newcombe, are shown doing calisthenics at Field No. 2.

“We are pleased to share this rare footage in tribute to longtime New York sportswriter Gus Steiger, who had this original film and passed it along to his son, Joel,” said Peter O’Malley, Historic Dodgertown chairman. “I knew Gus and he had the respect of everyone in the Dodger organization.”

Joel Steiger, featured in the film as a boy exploring Dodgertown, said, “The original film is edited to four and a half minutes. Our family is happy that it is available for Dodger fans everywhere. I was fortunate to travel to Dodgertown as a boy on several occasions and visit this historic place. I have many great memories of it and the people there.”

Gus Steiger covered the Brooklyn Dodgers for the Brooklyn Times, the New York Morning World, the New York Journal-American, and for more than 30 years the New York Daily Mirror. He served as president of the New York chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

To access the footage, visit the link on the home page of the website or link directly to the History section at: http://historicdodgertown.com/history/historic-videos

And this isn't just some amateurish, shaky-cam footage. It's well-shot, in color and a lot of it is in slow-motion, allowing us to really appreciate the movements of Jackie, Pee Wee, Duke and Campy. Awesome stuff.

Schoenfield: Kershaw's No-Hitter "Most Dominant Ever"

I feel so lucky to have watched the last two innings of Clayton Kershaw's no-hitter last night. David Schoenfield over at ESPN.com is calling it one of the best ever:

"It was just so much fun, I can't explain it," Kershaw said in his postgame interview.

"As far as individual games go, I'll remember this the rest of my life," he added as teammates dumped Gatorade him, blew soap bubbles and did a little Irish jig.

It's a game we can all remember. It was one of the greatest games ever pitched.

His final line: 9 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 15 SO, 107 pitches.

His final Game Score: 102. Here's the list of Game Scores of 100 or higher in a nine-inning game:

Kerry Wood, Cubs, 1998: 105 (1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 20 SO)
Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers, 2014: 102
Matt Cain, Giants: 2012: 101 (0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 14 SO)
Nolan Ryan, Rangers, 1991: 101 (0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 16 SO)
Sandy Koufax, Dodgers, 1965: 101 (0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 14 SO)
Brandon Morrow, Blue Jays, 2010: 100 (1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 17 SO)
Randy Johnson, D-backs, 2004: 100 (0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 13 SO)
Curt Schilling, D-backs, 2002: 100 (1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 17 SO)
Nolan Ryan, Angels, 1973: 100 (0 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 17 SO)
Nolan Ryan, Angels, 1972: 100 (1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 16 SO)
Warren Spahn, Braves, 1960: 100 (0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 15 SO)

Cain, Koufax and Johnson threw perfect games. The Game Score method doesn't subtract points for the error, only for walks, hits and runs allowed. By this measure, you can argue that Kershaw just threw the second-most dominant game in baseball history. You can debate, factor in the opponent, the prevalence of strikeouts in today's game. Still. No hits, no walks, 15 K's, only 107 pitches. Koufax threw 113 pitches in his perfect game. Cain threw 125. Johnson threw 117.

There have been others to lose perfect games due to a single error. Jonathan Sanchez of the Giants lost his in 2009 when Juan Uribe made an error in the eighth inning. Terry Mulholland of the Phillies lost his in 1990 on a seventh-inning error by Charlie Hayes, although he then induced a double play to still end up facing the minimum 27 batters. Jerry Reuss, Dick Bosman, Bill McCahan and Walter Johnson also lost perfect games due to an error.

So maybe the record books won't list this game as one of the 23 perfect games in major league history.

We'll have to settle for simply maybe the best ever.

The Emotions of a No-Hitter

Excellent work from Jon SooHoo:

Post-Game 74 Thread: Kershaw Throws Dodgers' First No-Hitter in 24 Days

DODGERS 8, ROCKIES 0

In what is already being called "The Most Perfect Non-Perfect Game," "The Best Game You Will Ever See," and "The most dominant pitching performance in Dodger history?", Clayton Kershaw threw the Dodger franchise's 22nd no-hitter, using 107 pitches to strike out 15 Rockies batters.

It was the first no-hitter in Kershaw's career and would have been a perfect game if not for Hanley Ramirez's throwing error in the seventh inning. Kershaw had all his weapons firing tonight, breaking off nasty curveball after nasty curveball while still touching 95 mph in the ninth inning.

Matt Kemp and Adrian Gonzalez propelled the offense to an early lead, which helped take some pressure off Kershaw. With his adorable wife Ellen watching nervously from the stands, Kershaw thrust his hands skyward after striking out Corey Dickerson to end the game.

In a season plagued by offensive inconsistency and indifferent defense (why was Hanley still in the game with an 8-0 lead?), Josh Beckett and Kershaw have electrified this team some two and a half months into the season. And the Giants lost again, putting the Dodgers a mere four games out of first place.

So bring on the bubbles...

...because there ain't no party like a #DanceParty!

1: @Dodgers; 2: Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sport; 3&4: @MLB; 5: @Dodgers; 6: Chad Moriyama

Game 74 Thread: June 18 vs. Rockies, 7p

Inside the latest Dodgers strategy meeting.
Clayton Kershaw (6-2, 2.93) vs. Jorge De La Rosa (6-5, 4.12)

Bubbles, bubbles, and more bubbles! Suddenly, the Dodgers are having fun again, and a 9.5 game division deficit has become only 5. (Thanks for sucking, Giants!)

But does fun breed winning, or does winning breed fun? Aw, who cares? BUBBLES! AND DANCING!


Clayton Kerhsaw looks to complete the sweep and keep the Dance Party rolling. We know he can get down with his proverbial bad self, if need be.


Uh, on the other hand, maybe stick to pitching.

Uribe gif by @akaTheConman, naturally. Kershaw gif by Chad Moriyama.

USMNT Group G Scenarios And Odds

I'm a data guy, so I love Nate Silver. And over at FiveThirtyEight, Silver has a awesome breakdown of the US team's chances to advance past Group G, now that we've beaten Ghana 2-1 in our opening World Cup game:

The United States may or may not have played the better football in Monday’s match against Ghana. But it came away with three huge points. That, coupled with Germany’s 4-0 thrashing of Portugal, makes the U.S. slight favorites to advance to the knockout stage. FiveThirtyEight’s World Cup predictions now give the United States a 63 percent chance of advancing, up from 33 percent on Monday morning.

This forecast is based on simulating the rest of the group stage 10,000 times, using estimates of team strength from ESPN’s Soccer Power Index (see here for a lot more methodological detail). It helps to have a computer to do this work when there are so many permutations to consider.

There are nine remaining scenarios involving the Americans’ results, among them possibly beating, losing to or drawing with Portugal, and then the same possibilities against Germany. Some of these are relatively easy to resolve, but others are more complex and depend on the outcomes of the other remaining matches in Group G — Germany against Ghana and Portugal against Ghana — and possibly FIFA’s tie-breaking procedures.

FIFA’s first tiebreaker is based on goal differential. That greatly advantages Germany, with its +4 so far, and greatly harms Portugal, with its -4. The next tiebreaker is based on goals scored (for that reason, it was slightly better for the U.S. to beat Ghana 2-1 than by the 1-0 scoreline that held for most of the game). Finally, head-to-head results are considered — so if it comes down to the U.S. and Ghana and they’re tied on both goals scored and allowed, the U.S. would go in ahead.

Here’s the Americans’ outlook, in brief:

• Win twice, advance to the knockout stage.
• Win once and draw once, advance.
• Draw twice, advance.
• Win once and lose once, almost certainly advance (there’s one highly unlikely mathematical exception).
• Lose twice, and almost certainly go out (there’s one highly unlikely mathematical exception).
• Draw once and lose once, and it gets complicated. It’s considerably better for the U.S. to draw against Portugal and lose to Germany than the other way around.

Click on through the above link, for the long version. The US next plays vs Portugal on June 22 (5a PT). Can't wait to see how these odds materialize!

Deadspin Tony Gwynn Tribute Contains Wonderful Will Clark Nugget

Did I say wonderful? Sorry, I meant awful.

If you didn't already love Tony Gwynn, you will after reading "I Was Tony Gwynn's Bat Boy" by David Johnson at Deadspin. And if you didn't already hate Will Clark, well....

One day, one of the bat boys showed up wearing an earring. Bright gold and massive. The Giants were in town. During batting practice, Will Clark walked by and sneered, "Nice earring, faggot." The words were stunning, but we knew we had to react like it was no big thing. Word must've gotten around, though, because before the next game, Tony walked back to the locker room area with Bip Roberts and performed an entire routine for us. They had evidently practiced it during batting practice. They stood lecturing us, using every "how to talk like an older white guy" cliché in the book. "Now listen, son," Tony started, stopping periodically to catch his breath, as he was laughing too hard. "You're bringing down the team here, with that earring." "Very, very unprofessional," Bip added, haughtily. They walked away, howling with laughter, the point made: Will Clark was a dick.

Now, I don't want to make a snap judgment based on one piece of anecdotal evidence. So I found some others!

• Will Clark Is A Cackling Douche (Jeff Pearlman, Deadspin) (with SoSG follow-up)
  
• Giant Feud Gets Nastier Responding To Criticism, Ex-teammate Leonard Calls Clark Racist (Paul Hagen, Philadelphia Inquirer)
  

Clark, Bonds, Kent...man, the Giants sure know chemistry! I wonder what this guy has to say about it.

Vin Scully Meets Stanley Cup: ''Cause I go way back in hockey'

Post-Game 73 Thread: Big Bats, Tiny Bubbles

DODGERS 4, ROCKIES 2

The Kings brought the Stanley Cup to Dodger Stadium tonight. It worked.

Somebody (Kemp? AGon?) brought a bubble machine into the Dodger dugout. It also worked.

Hanley cranks a two-run home run in the third inning? Dancing and bubbles. Matty goes solo in the fourth? Dancing and bubbles. New guy Carlos Triunfel whips his first major-league homer for some Geico (okay, Progressive)? Dancing and bubbles.

Puig didn't homer and went 1 for 4, but he did this. We can't confirm if there was dancing and bubbles afterward.

Greinke got that elusive ninth win, burning through 117 pitches over six innings. The bullpen was kind of shaky: Howell and League loaded the bases in the seventh, along with an error by Dee, but only one run scored. Wilson sandwiched a DP between a walk and a single, and Kenley allowed back-to-back singles before getting the save.

Okay, what's the bad news? A one-hopper went off of Ramirez's finger in the seventh. How's it going, Hanley?

Finger OK, thank God. Thanks for the worry and support. Love you, fans. #AttitudeisEverything #Dodgers #LetsKeepWinning #iSeeYou #WeRolling

— Hanley Ramirez (@HanleyRamirez) June 18, 2014

Great! Even better, the Giants lost again, putting the Dodgers five games back (it was 9.5 games last week). Bubble on!

Game 73 Thread: June 17 vs. Rockies, 7p

Zack Greinke (8-3, 2.65) vs. Jhoulys Chacin (1-4, 4.53).

I've made up my mind. Don't need to think it over, we either lapse or we fight. Don't need to look no further, it ain't lost, I know, this, is June.

But,

if we don't start winning, and playing like last night. 'cause we will still need to scrap, and that's exactly what we need to do,

if we, want to make six games up, oh,

Should we give up? Or should we just let Chacin K us?

Even if it leads nowhere?

Yeah, I know this is a little bit of a stretch. I was going to talk about Greinke's quest for his ninth win of the year, but I'm too busy celebrating the USMNT's victory over Ghana. So, Adeleted my first pass at this GT.

'But more than that, he was a sweetheart of a guy'

The great Tony Gwynn has died, and I've always been a fan of his for his hitting. Turns out it was easy to root for him as a person as well, based on the outpouring of unconditional respect and admiration of baseball writers everywhere.

From "Gwynn's career provides lasting legacy" by Joe Posnanski at NBC Sports:

When I was very young, we went to the Cleveland Museum of Art. There, I saw a woman standing in front of a painting, and she was actually crying. I don’t recall it being a sad painting. My mother leaned down to me and whispered, “See, the painting is so beautiful, it breaks her heart and makes her cry.”

This made absolutely no sense to me whatsoever.

But then, I had not yet seen Tony Gwynn hit a baseball. [...]

Gwynn was also a wonderful man, full of generosity and spirit. Before the 2012 All-Star Game, I did an event with him called “The Art of Hitting.” He already knew by then that he had cancer of the salivary gland – he believed it was due to the years he spent dipping tobacco. He suffered privately, but he refused to stop living. In the years after he stopped playing, he coached at San Diego State, and he talked baseball on television, and he talked hitting with anyone who was interested. I remember Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp showed up for “The Art of Hitting” talk. Kemp said he never thought twice about it.

“Man,” he said, “if Tony Gwynn is talking hitting, I’m there.”

Here are some more great tributes from across the web:

• Thank you, Tony Gwynn, for being a true professional and an even better person (Tim Brown, Yahoo! Sports)
  
• It's hard not to smile when remembering Gwynn (Ken Rosenthal, FoxSports)
  
• A superhero in the batter's box (Buster Olney, ESPN)
  
• Tony Gwynn was a joy to watch at the plate, and in life (Tom Verducci, SI)
  
• Memorable encounter with Mr. Padre (Jerry Crasnick, ESPN)
  
• The great Tony Gwynn will be remembered for two amazing talents (Jon Heyman, CBS Sports)
  
• Tony Gwynn used fear as motivation (Tom Friend, ESPN)
  
• In a .338 Lifetime Average, Every Day Counted (Tyler Kepner, NY times)
  
• The Ambassador of San Diego (Jorge Arangure Jr., Sports on Earth)
  

this is so perfect RT @SherwoodStrauss: Sad about Tony Gwynn's passing. Greg Maddux had my favorite quote on TG pic.twitter.com/UyO6S6cl0N

— Lana Berry (@Lana) June 16, 2014

Post-Game 72 Thread: Dee Flies in Game, Puig Flies on Twitter

DODGERS 6, ROCKIES 1

This is how they drew it up. Ryu goes six strong, allowing only one run while striking out six. Dee goes 4 for 4 and hits an inside-the-park home run (actually a triple plus an error) (above) in the third to get things started, and Kemp follows it with an RBI single. A.J., Hanley, Kemp (again) and Puig chip in with insurance RBIs, League, Howell, Wilson and Wright give up one hit between the four of them and the Dodgers gain ground on the idle Giants. Six back now. To quote SoSG Sax: FOOTSTEPS!

Oh, and this happened:

I accept your challenge, @sosgsosg "When Puigs Fly" http://t.co/3smAbpBXq8

— TheConman (@akaTheConman) June 17, 2014

Game 72 Thread: June 16 vs. Rockies, 7p

Not to be confused with tonight's Rockies starter.

Hyun-Jin Ryu (7-3, 3.33) vs. Tyler Matzek (1-0, 2.57).

The Rockies, previously our benefactors, are now the enemy. Colorado completed their first three-game sweep of the Giants at AT&T Park for the first time since 2008, and helped the Dodgers climb from 9.5 to 6.5 games out.

But now the Rockies are a mere two games behind the Dodgers themselves, and they've got a rookie phenom on the mound in their 12th-highest ranked prospect, the lefty Matzek.

Meanwhile, the Dodger,s are looking to rebound from yesterday's mistake-plagued loss and start a new winning streak that will likely end at two or three games. At least they haven't gone on a losing streak lately. Ha ha, knock on wood!