784 replies to this topic

[leor_77]

Cardinals are down one run to the Cubs going into the ninth inning. Would be huge if they lost and we won today against the Reds.

[leor_77]

WOW - So pissed. Beltran with a solo homerun in the ninth...I thought the game was over. Let's hope the Cubs find a way to pull it out.

[leor_77]

Yep, Cards win. Cubs really had them beat with one out in the ninth, but they got off a HR. Unfortunate.

0 runs through the 9th inning? I'm shocked.

[MDI]

http://espn.go.com/b...eds-6-dodgers-0

The Good:

Spot duty. It's like a broken record. Good: pitching. Bad: hitting. Stephen Fife has been thrust into some pretty important games by a hip injury to ace Clayton Kershaw and he has done better than the Dodgers could have expected. Fife, 25, might not be an elite prospect, but the Dodgers would be foolish not to consider him in their plans next season. They know he can handle the pressure of pitching in big-time games. Now, if they could only get him a little run support.

The Bad:

Power outage. Adrian Gonzalez said last week that his swing has been "a wreck" all season. This is an inopportune time for a player to start talking about mechanical flaws. The Dodgers need production from the man who protects Matt Kemp, and they're really not getting any. Gonzalez has gotten some hits to fall here and there, sprayed some line drives around, but he hasn't driven the ball in weeks. He homered in his first Dodgers at-bat and hasn't hit one out since then (Aug. 25).

Bench rot.
The Dodgers have an increasingly dysfunctional roster. The bench was bad to begin with and it appears to be getting worse with disuse. A prime example is Juan Rivera, who -- at times -- has had a prominent role on this team. After acquiring Shane Victorino, the Dodgers just kind of shuffled Rivera off to the bench. Before Friday, he had gotten one at-bat in the previous nine games. The result, of course, is that Rivera's swing isn't there when they need it. An injury to Victorino has thrust Rivera into the lineup and he's gone 0-for-5 the past two games.

Not scoring. The Dodgers have scored three runs or fewer in 16 of their past 21 games. They have been shut out in four of those games and scored one run three times. As slumps go, this one is ugly. Really ugly. What makes it so baffling is that the Dodgers added hitters with All-Star pedigrees around the trade deadlines. It looks as if they're caught without an identity. They went from a scrappy team without a lot of power to a team trying to hit for power without a lot of success.

The Slump. It's only one small piece of the puzzle, but it hasn't helped matters that the one catcher on the Dodgers' roster who can hit isn't. After grounding out a couple of times, A.J. Ellis is 0 for his past 28. This guy desperately needs a bloop hit or a ball to glance off somebody's glove, because this is the kind of oh-fer that can get in your head. Some of the blame for Ellis' slump probably resides with manager Don Mattingly for playing him so often earlier this month.

^ Yikes. I almost forget any positive was mentioned in that whole thing.

[leor_77]

Nice win - Since Cards still have 3 each against the Reds and Nats, I think we're still very much alive. I just really hope the GIants decide to rest their players, and that the Cards/Nats don't.

Gonz., first HR since his debut game and he goes for not one, but two! Hopefully he can regain his power again. Great running the bases by Gordon, but still needs to work defensively.

[leor_77]

Crazy how they lost to the Padres...I actually thought they still had a chance before that, simply because they already went through the Reds/ Nationals, and because the Cardinals didn't yet, and still had to. Definitely out of it now.

[Michaelyumm]

Nick Punto doin work!

I hope we resign him and have him replace Adam Kennedy as a backup utility player

[leor_77]

Doesn't matter. Dodgers lose 0-1 or 1-2 and are basically inept at offense, and then score 10 runs the next game. Doesn't mean anything to me when you blow a team out, but then struggle to score anything the next 4 games.

[leor_77]

Looks like Dodgers will win tonight...Up 6-0 in the sixth inning. Cardinals would then be up 3 in the wild card race. Cards have to play the Nats and Reds 3 times each, so we'll have to see if those teams have anything to play for, because those are both very tough teams.

[MDI]

Dodgers have to go 6-0 and Cardinals have to go 2-4 vs Nationals and Reds (2 playoff teams). Gonna be tough

Mattingly is batting Cruz 2nd and Victorino 7th tonight. WHAT TOOK SO FREAKING LONG TO MAKE THIS CHANGE DAMNIT

And if Kershaw wins tonight and one more start, he'll be 14-9, leading the league in ERA, 2nd in strikeouts. Might have a good chance at winning Cy Young again. Win/Loss record super misleading but he's been great again

[leor_77]

Dodgers have to go 6-0 and Cardinals have to go 2-4 vs Nationals and Reds (2 playoff teams). Gonna be tough

Mattingly is batting Cruz 2nd and Victorino 7th tonight. WHAT TOOK SO FREAKING LONG TO MAKE THIS CHANGE DAMNIT

And if Kershaw wins tonight and one more start, he'll be 14-9, leading the league in ERA, 2nd in strikeouts. Might have a good chance at winning Cy Young again. Win/Loss record super misleading but he's been great again

No, they would have to be 3-3 to tie...but yeah, we're really talking about a long shot here, especially since we have to play the Giants 3 times. Only hope is that they decide that they want to rest all of their best pitchers.

[MDI]

No, they would have to be 3-3 to tie...but yeah, we're really talking about a long shot here, especially since we have to play the Giants 3 times. Only hope is that they decide that they want to rest all of their best pitchers.

nah its 2-4, i think we have a 1 game playoff after that to qualify for that 1 game wild card? Not sure

[MDI]

Cardinals Magic number 3. They face Washington's 2nd best pitcher tonight, hope they lose and we win

[NasWutangKB24]

Kurt Suzuki just saved our season!!

[leor_77]

Kurt Suzuki just saved our season!!

Is he the guy who hit the double?

Anyway, the offense is looking really good. Not sure if it's because we're facing SD and Colorado, but it's nice to see for now. Really wish it came together a week or two earlier, though.

[leor_77]

Now two games back of the Cards. Nationals have one game left to clinch, so hopefully they play hard and get that win tomorrow. After that, we have to hope that the Reds win some games against them. The only monkey-wrench here is our 3-game series against San Francisco. Even though they have nothing to play for, they would love to knock us out. Just have to flat out hope we sweep them if we have a chance.

[leor_77]

Kershaw is putting up sick numbers - leading in ERA, WHIP and is 2nd in strikeouts (basically tied for first). Still seems like they'll give it to RA Dickey because he has more wins, which is meaningless.