Mannywood vs. Nem Hoagies, NLCS 2009: Dodgers vs Phillies

chip caray option maybe wishful thinking on my part :/

philsss in sixxxx

Angelenos in 6

LADs in 5

dodgers in 7

Bullpens (and specifically, closers) have been blowing games in every playoff series this year, and the Phillies' bullpen seems like a total wildcard.

So, Dodgers in 5.

fuck both of these teams imo

Dodgers in 6

The key player in this series imo is Hamels. If the good Hamels shows up the Dodgers are in trouble. If mediocre nlds Hamels shows up Phillies are doomed.

Dodgers in whatever, PLEASE.

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k296/HUNGHORSE77/cead_11.jpg

in six

ILX flip flop! Dodgers in 7

dodgers in 6

I have tickets for game 7 but would rather not use them. Dodgers in 6.

that's very selfless of you!

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

i don't know if this is good or bad.

Clap hard and Tinkerbell will live.

Dodgers in whatever, PLEASE.

― Andy K, Tuesday, October 13, 2009 2:03 PM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

obv 13 of us have met Philadelphians

yeah, y'all haters were just as accurate on the PHI-COL prediction as well...

phils in 5 imo. will be bummed if its them and gayrod incorporated in WS

Didn't vote, but Phillies. Obv.

Dear Joe Torre,

Ryan Howard v. lefties this year: .207/.298/.356.

Phillies splits against LHP are pretty backwards. They did the best against LHP all year w/l wise. Itll be interesting to see how it all plays out.

any roster changes since LDS?

Will Carroll:

"The Dodgers shuffled their roster due to the availability of Hiroki Kuroda. His neck has healed up enough for him to take the spot of Chad Billingsley, who moves to the pen.... As with the Phillies, none of the position players of the Dodgers have any significant injuries. There is some flu going through the clubhouse, so that could create some havoc if there’s unavailable players."

"The Dodgers shuffled their roster due to the availability of Hiroki Kuroda. His neck has healed up enough for him to take the spot of Chad Billingsley, who moves to the pen."

i would like to quote l.a.'s greatest sportswriter once again:

Unbeaten Chad Billingsley may be the best starting pitcher in baseball.

phils added chan ho park, dropped brett myers

The worst thing about Billingsley going to the bullpen is giving Plashke the opportunity to refloat his fucking retarded 'the Dodgers lost the 2008 nlcs because Chad Billingsley refused to pitch inside to the mighty Phils.'

Just noticed Carlos Ruiz had a .714 OBP against the doyers this season. Awesome.

Weaver dropped because of the flu, Scott Elbert (LHP RP) replaces him

I need to work..

maybe he just ate too many tacos

Weaver will return to swing man dominance in the WS.

riding in on a taco truck

wow, David Wells, just when you thought TBS couldn't get any more insightful.

OK, I'm muting Chip the Dip, will try ESPN Radio for awhile, also bounce btwn here & BP game chat.

clutch baserunning by Shane V

Jonathan (New York): Matt Kemp, star or superstar?

Steven Goldman (5:20:26 PM PT): Star now, superstar if he takes another little hop forward, which is possible given that this was just his age-24 season. It would help if he had a manager that wouldn't let him waste half his season batting in the 6/7/8 spots. I have a lot of respect for Joe Torre in many ways, but in others he reminds me of Richard Mulligan playing Custer in "Little Big Man," making oracular and nonsensical pronouncements about people's jobs ("You are a muleskinner!") that have no basis in reality.

Dodger fans carrying their eats up the stairs almost clocked with Loney HR ball.

Cali folks not home yet and East Coasters not watching?

I'm watching... this ump does not like Hamels.

i just looked at kershaw's 2009 numbers for the first time and whoa

join the club! xp

Hamels looks like the sniveling aristocratic son in a 1950s melodrama whose Daddy's favorite

john kruk reported last night that cole hamels was going to impose his will on this series

Is he willing to give up a few more dingers to RF?

It appears the ump DOES like Ryan Howard, Shasta.

Steven Goldman (6:13:33 PM PT): Is there any way to standardize check swing calls? They're totally random.

Joe Sheehan (6:14:08 PM PT): I've got the count as 2-5.

maybe that was payback? Hamels had to get 6 strikes in the 3rd.

twice.

you and Sheehan wd be a great booth team

oh boy

SUCK IT DODGERS FANS

on radio, Campbell just compared Kershaw to Rick Ankiel; what a diff an inning makes.

87 pitches, I think that's all

the Hall of Fame genius of Joe Torre, ladies & gents

Wicki-wicki wa.

lol all torre was doing was taking advantage of howard's splits, right? right????

$5, cad. A guy who's just thrown 3 wild pitches is not any ol' LHP

I hope Manny bitchslaps Hole Camels this inning

Utley's Mark DeRosa impression

lol joking morbs!

although i think the LAST thing that was expected was kershaw throwing a meatball. more likely was probably an out or at worst a walk.

I hope Manny bitchslaps Hole Camels this inning

― Your Favorite Saturday Night Thing (Dr Morbius), Thursday, October 15, 2009 10:00 PM

that stung a little

how does mannys ass taste, boston metro area

It'll sting less after we win this game.

Joe Sheehan (7:05:55 PM PT): Baseball fans hate, just hate, steroid users.

dang mordy u postin from the dugout or

i've got some mannywood

Jeez Morbs, you are more dismal than usual...

dismal? I'm peppy and lighthearted.

btw why did Obama do promos for George Lopez? is it presidential affirmative action for the unfunny?

I wonder when Cole is going to start "imposing his will"

(is Kruk an objectivist?)

wtf is with the resurgence of ronnie belliard

YES I THINK THAT THROW TO "SECOND" WAS A BIT OFF TARGET, CHIP

btw why did Obama do promos for George Lopez? is it presidential affirmative action for the unfunny?

I knew I couldn't be the only person who was wondering about this.

Neither manager with a short hook for their starters in this game ... have they forgotten that this is a playoff game? Do they figure that it's only game 1 and they don't want to completely burn the bullpen on the first day?

at last, a real pitcher after Dorothy Hamels and Deanna Durbin

had em all the way.

furcLOL

such a pointless use of happ

to wit:

Steven Goldman (7:30:51 PM PT): What is the rationale behind J.A. Happ having become "Everyday" J.A. Happ or "Double-Duty" J.A. Happ or "Iron Man" J.A. Happ in the postseason? Too many off-days allow us to revert to 1915 usage patterns?

That's correct. I am in the dugout.

has Torre used up his entire bench already?!

who's comin in?

hahah why does he have a beard now

he's the mirror-universe Chan Ho

chan hobo park

he's looked like this all season yall!! when his hair was shorter you could barely tell him and pedro feliz apart

damn i hate it when i realize i'm not up on what chan ho park is doing. figured he was still on the dodgers tbh.

Chip said that the pitch to Manny was "in on his hands". I dunno, it looked "fisted" to me.

Steven Goldman (8:01:53 PM PT): Little known MLB rule: relievers who seek to grow a full beard must receive permission from Bruce Sutter.

Squee!

eat raul, manny!

It'll sting less after we win this game.

― Mordy, Thursday, October 15, 2009 10:07 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

LOL Ruiz

Torre doesn't react very quickly, does he?

Jay Jaffe (8:19:18 PM PT): Grr. I don't know why you don't just leave Kuo in there. He threw all of 17 pitches.

Switch the channel back a couple minutes late and there are of course 2 runners on...

Ballsy move to wave Loney home in that situation.

Joe Sheehan (8:24:18 PM PT): re: Kuo. After I wrote that he could be a multi-inning weapon (in a chat session), a blogger turned that into some long rant about how national writers don't know anything about local teams.

As it turns out, the Dodgers are under orders to not have Kuo get up and down. So whatever inning he pitches in, that's his only one. It's apparently the only way to keep his arm intact.

i want some lidge action so badly

yeah, Sheehan just was informed.

Worst swing ever by Pierre?

xp only reason i'm staying awake

take the walk, dammit

are they really gonna let him pitch

Lidge vs Manny???

Make it so!

what does manuel even do as manager

he leaves madson in, that's what

Lidge will pitch the 9th for sure though.

starting vs Kemp? well, he can't tie it.

so Torre took Manny out in double-switch. Watch em get 2 and the game goes 12.

lol where was that pitch

arrrrgh why do relief pitchers work so slow

you are going to throw a fastball away or a terrible slider

no thought is required

haha :-)

and the crowd goes silent.....

seeya in 16 hours!

i hope pedro fucks some shit up tomorrow. i should be home to watch too!

get ready for pedro v. manny tomorrow night!

Steven Goldman (9:15:05 PM PT): Joe Torre wears the goat horns; George Sherrill wears the bicycle horns.

Steve Shasta (9:22:82 PM PT): Dr. Morbius, how did you fare on your DS predictions?

Looking forward to being totally drunk at noon tomorrow.

Good job, Joe Torre.

Rollins should throw his hands up and pout the next time Hamels walks someone, gives up an 0-2 hit, or does anything else that is less than perfect.

I didn't make any "predictions," SS; as your good friend Joe Sheehan says, short series are "inscrutable."

(as you know from your "Twins in 4")

btw, Phila dropped Kyle Kendrick from the roster and added -- Eric Bruntlett??? Are they counting on Lidge to throw an unassisted TP ball?

Resurrection of Pedro continues....

That Padilla 55mph slurve is hilarious.

Pedro!! He just keeps adding to his legend.

disagree w/ that bunt. Pinch-hit for Padilla, keep the hits coming.

how do i watch this on interweb? i'm at the office working late. but wait, does pedro still have the ball?

dunno, he's pitching well xp

xp yeah he does.

btw collardio did i make it up that you're in boston? can u come out tonight?

http://atdhe.net/5711/watch-phillies-vs-dodgers

I don't get TBS, so I'm watching it on my laptop.

yeah i'm in the bean. come out tonight? where? i'm working super late.

xpost ooh thx!

Jay Jaffe (2:54:27 PM PT): Tweet from MLB.com's Matthew Leach: "According to Gameday, Pedro has now hit 23 different speed readings, including every number from 75 through 92."

dunno, he's pitching well

Yeah, he's pitching well enough to lose 1-0. Why else the fuck is Thome on the roster? As Earl Weaver said, you don't bunt except if one run WINS you the game.

info here: hold on, hold on it's an ILX BOSTON FAP - Friday, 10/16/09

roadhouse in brookline starting around 8:30--work sucks! come drink with the internet!

and the Dodgers are sposed to have the GOOD pen, right? xp myself

i would support pulling padilla more if there was any evidence that the phillies were going to start hitting pedro

dodgers i mean

thanks CA destroyer i'll do my best. would be very cool to meet some of you chaps. but i need to make sure i finish deadline else weekend is shot ...and ze kids will be :-(

one longball from Thome is worth the shot. and no he didn't hit Pedro well, but that's when he was Pedro.

xp cool man--good luck!

Posted by Mark Simon, espn.com

6:16 p.m. ET

There have been 40 games in postseason history with a final score of 1-0. The last was Game 4 of the 2005 World Series: White Sox 1, Astros 0.

SCORE RUNS

thome up next i'm guessing?

could TBS fiddle w/ the contrast so WE CAN SEE THE PLATE?

yes

Joe Sheehan (3:36:08 PM PT): Why are you bunting 2-0? Let him miss.

park tuff 2 bunt off, martin sux @ bunting - nice combo here

ChaseE

Looking like Darnell Coles

Utley's had at least 2 high throws that Howard caught in the series besides the 2 errors, what's goin on?

White towels

Steven Goldman (3:40:00 PM PT): Last night it was somewhat justified by the bad feed from Rollins. This time it didn't seem like he was under any real pressure.

Joe Sheehan (3:40:36 PM PT): You can see the ball tail right off of Utley's fingertips, and his arm never really come down through the throw. He's really been in the middle of a ton of plays the last two postseasons, good and bad.

dats what im talkin about

shoulda let pedro stick it out for one more inning

what an epic squander by the phils

man, Thome has plantar fasciitis, that must make him slower than Don Zimmer.

Phillie pitchers can't see the plate any more than we can

srsly - game of shadows

FISTED

A fisting in the shadows

I think that's a Magnetic Fields song

http://www.goldpanners.com/Scrapbook/k/k/kemp-s2.jpg

sorry swing

Charlie Manuel IS Tony LaRussa

everyday j.a.

Non-walkoff situation for Ethier. We'll see how he responds.

AND NOW THE MERRY-GO-ROUND

hallelujah, c'mon, get happ(y)

happ has no idea where it's going

one might say happ-less

lol

5 pitchers, you have got to be fucking kidding me

Jay Jaffe (3:43:54 PM PT): Finally Thome gets a hit to justify the airfare from Chicago.

I AM IRON MAN

what u get for pulling pedro at 85 pitches for a bunch of crap dudes

"The Dodgers have won the game and even the series" confused me for about half a second.

not the most picturesque last out ever, but it counts

craig sager! for the love of christ... >:(

I don't even wanna think about who he's blowing.

man he asks way too many questions

The past two games have taken several weeks off my life, but I would love to see one of these go into extra innings, just to see how the Phillies would cope with going through one of those three- or four- or five-pitcher innings if it ended up going like 15 innings. The guy who you'd think would be the long reliever (Happ) has gone 1/3 of an inning both times.

speaking of craig sager:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMG34n9sZNM

The guy who you'd think would be the long reliever

I think you're thinking more old-school. Manuel is using Happ in high-leverage spots.

I get why they're using him (and I wholeheartedly applaud Charlie Manuel's decision to do so today), I'm just curious to see who they would be left with if they burned half their bullpen in one inning again, and then had to play like six more. It's so unlikely that it's not worth planning for, but it's always fascinating when it does happen. I just like watching endless games where teams start getting forced into having position players pitch, mostly, and it seems like the Phillies are almost daring for that to happen.

I am loving Chan Ho Park's bearded look.

so Kuroda vs Hired Gun Cliff tonight

The National Weather Service is calling for a game-time temperature of 38 degrees at Citizens Bank Park, with winds as high as 16 mph.

TOO BAD THEY CAN'T PLAY AT 1 PM, HUH

yikes.

The Dodgers are playing like the Tennessee Titans of baseball right now.

or the Los Angeles Dodgers of Anaheim

To me, it looked like Loney missed the tag on Howard on that play!

Never fear Dodger fans, the best pitcher in baseball is coming in as the mop-up man in a 6-0 game (/plaschke)

Chad Billingsley was great for 5 innings just about every start he made in September. And then the sixth inning happened and he gave up a million hits but honestly, five good innings is about the best thing that could happen in this game right now, short of a seven-run rally.

Phillies are making good for that Iggles abortion.

Yeah, this is probably negating the celebrations of about half of Raider Nation. (I do not know what team the NorCal Raider fans support.)

the raiders, i think

Nah, the Raider fans do not just support the Raiders. They BLEED a commitment to excellence.

OK, after this half-inning I'll be watching a movie, continue the NFL talk

hmmm Alive is on...

Like every time the Dodgers give the Phillies an inopportune walk they just get hammered.

ok, this shit is just cruel now ... and i'm a phillies fan!

Wolf v. Blanton

take yr bets....

Make that place your bets. Goddamn I was drunk last night.

I think Phillies win tonight.

LA down meekly in 1st

horrible ball call on Howard!

then he fuckin hits it out

hey, it's a ballgame, guys.

No one on TV ever mentions Howard's stinky numbers vs lefties.

how bout that Manny shoetop catch?

The managers in this series are both eligible to collect Social Security benefits (Joe Torre is 69, Charlie Manuel is 65). It's the first time that both managers in a League Championship Series or World Series were at least 65 years old.

is that from your daily AARP email update?

no, I play cribbage with them in the winter.

TBS pitch tracker exposing the umps baffling strike zone

daaaamn

that seemed like an iffy lookback move imo

wow

omg

completely ripped that ball

where in the hell were the outfielders playing, how do you let a ball get between you in that situation??

dude, he hit that ball 150 mph

OMFG

I LOVE U PHiLLIES

damn this was fun ...

closers not be closin'

I HATE YOU PHILLIES

overlooked ... shane sons manny on that triple down the 3d base line.

walking Stairs is inexcusable

Broxton apparently got pimp slapped by Stairs 450' hr during game 4 last year and didnt want to relive the horror. He just found another way to make it happen.

I grabbed these splits from the BTF thread. Broxtons home/road numbers are brutal:

Career:
Home: 2.16 ERA, 4.03 K/BB, 1.006 WHIP, .499 OPS (179.0 IP)
Away: 3.91 ERA, 2.63 K/BB, 1.335 WHIP, .704 OPS (138.0 IP)

2009:
Home: 0.40 ERA, 8.11 K/BB, 0.511 WHIP, .247 OPS (45.0 IP)
Away: 5.81 ERA, 2.05 K/BB, 1.613 WHIP, .754 OPS (31.0 IP)

Yikes.

i wanted the dodgers to win but it's hilarious that the mere presence of stairs threw broxton so wildly off his game

if broxton comes in again in this series, all the phillies should recede to the bench of the dugout and just have stairs pace the top step alone

Those splits launch 1000 ships of slobbering blog posts on 'closer mentality' and 'clutchitude'

http://www.rototimes.com/mlb/player/353/notes#149537

Player Notes
October 20, 2009
Manny Ramirez was not in the Dodgers dugout during Jonathon Broxton's ninth inning meltdown in game three of the NLCS on Monday night, according to Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post. He said he was showering after he was pulled in the ninth inning for defensive purposes.

Our View:Just once maybe, Manny should try not being Manny. Way to go, Manny.

just4u, morbz:

lol @ whiny mets fans

laff away, at least we don't scrape our knuckles as we "walk"

i've sort of done a 180 with this team. somewhere between Mannys suspension, getting Sherrill and Thome and replacing Hudson with Belliard - i just stopped rooting for them to make it to the WS.

that is a gutsy 180 at this point, bro.

no longer rooting for them to make it to the WS? i think you may fish your wish!

The Thome thing seems kinda ridiculous in hindsight since apparently the dude cant even run the bases because of his foot. Even if the Dodgers did make it to the WS he couldnt even DH.

The Belliard thing made sense down the stretch. He might be cooling off now. My one beef was how they marginalized Billingsley. I guess they didnt have the time to have him sort out whatever shit he was dealing with but I would imagine he wouldnt have gotten as lit up as Kuroda did.

yes, the 180 came in the regular season, my friend.

the Belliard/Hudson thing just hardened my resolve - being totally gay for O-dog and all.

The Thome thing seems kinda ridiculous in hindsight since apparently the dude cant even run the bases because of his foot. Even if the Dodgers did make it to the WS he couldnt even DH.

is this right? link?

Not the best source, but ppl on the Dodger board have been talking about it:

Dodgers | Thome re-injures heel
Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:08:53 -0700

Ken Gurnick, of MLB.com, reports Los Angeles Dodgers 1B Jim Thome (heel) re-injured his heel Sunday, Sept. 6, and is unavailable for pinch-hitting duties. Manager Joe Torre said Thome "felt a pop" in his heel that has a history of plantar fasciitis.

Not the best source meaning I was too lazy to link the article..

i remember them saying something like that during a broadcast recently.

The unwashed masses on message boards and post game call in shows BEGGING for a Juan Pierre start would get their wish in the WS.

kevin blackistone has just outed himself as "one of the last human beings on this planet earth who actually enjoys watching [manny] play and [be] an rbi machine"

yes, i'm watching ATH fuck you

Live MLBN look-in at Dodgers playing catch and Weaver appears ready to contribute healthy innings for the WS.

Padilla having some location problems.

see ya in the world series

well... location is now the least of his problems.

hahahahaha! PHILADELPHIA

How far did the Yanks get last year? I forget.

really? there are websites you could look that up on

bandbox

haha, this should end well.

pedro feliz ...

This game.

where did the Feliz HR go?

deep right center

If Camels pitches like this, the Yankees will slaughter him.

he's been pitching like this all year

you see? YOU SEE? if Hudson had been starting the Dodgers would have had this thing wrapped up by now!

maybe the long inning affected Hole, or maybe he just sucks

maybe the long phillies affected dodgers omg idk more runs yes

oh i so heart shane victorino

http://www.topnews.in/files/images/ShaneVictorino.jpg

http://rlv.zcache.com/flyin_hawaiian_hats-p148888192333275598qz14_400.jpg

i hope this pic really infuriates morbz:

http://nimg.sulekha.com/Sports/original700/barack-obama-shane-victorino-charlie-manuel-2009-5-15-13-20-10.jpg

awesome.

no Eisbaer, just bores me, like this series

every phils-yanquis game is going to be 15-14 and take 7 hrs

cummon - look at that expression!

look, morbz, i know you HATE HATE HATE the phillies and all that shit ... but really, you didn't think game 4 was pretty exciting (won at the last moment) or even the dodgers beating the phils after pedro left?!? c'mon now, stop hating.

It's SO BORING

also, am i the only wondering about why the "great genius" joe torre decided to go w/ vicente padilla -- a guy who the phillies shucked off to texas b/c he would give up about 5-6 runs a game at citizens' park?!? i mean, the phillies kept ADAM FUCKING EATON for as long as they did and they let padilla walk.

jesus @ worth

Man, this boring game full of homeruns.

ok, this is obscene right now ...

I am continuing to listen to this game because I am a masochist, but Vin Scully did just drop a hilarious live ad on the radio broadcast. Something along the lines of "If you want to say the Dodgers are at sea in this game, you could. And speaking of being at sea, the 1st Annual Dodgers Fantasy Cruise sets sail this November..."

xp the assumption with Padilla is that he would pitch like the dude who gave up 1 run to the Phillies in Game 2 and 0 runs to the Cardinals in Game 3 of the LDS. He didn't, but they were too scared to use Kershaw or Billingsley.

Yeah, it's hard to blame this game on Padilla. Phillies have been hitting off everyone.

also, behold jayson werth's past corny indie fuXorness:

http://baltimoresun.image2.trb.com/balnews/media/photo/2008-05/39385185.jpg

c-l: important thing about those earlier games -- none of them were played @ citizens park.

OK, that is awesome that your ballpark is made of kryptonite or whatever, but Chad Billingsley has not made it through the third go-round of a lineup without suddenly giving up a million hits since like, August, and Clayton Kershaw threw three wild pitches in one inning in Game 1, and Hiroki Kuroda was the starting pitcher in Game 3, and Randy Wolf pitched two days ago. I do not know what you were expecting Joe Torre to do, except go with his most recently reliable starting pitcher who had not pitched two days ago.

it's not as boring as Mordy, I'll give you that

u mad, morbz?

yay

my mom says the streets are super noisy already

phils in 5 imo. will be bummed if its them and gayrod incorporated in WS

― bnw, Tuesday, October 13, 2009 9:19 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark

^^^

fuck both of these teams imo

― velko

a little late, but better than never

C-L: i understand your logic (and torre's) in starting Padilla. it's just that i remember (TOO well) how bad padilla was when he was still a phillie and how he got the shit smacked outta him @ Citizens Park. he may have been the least bad choice, though, given the rest of the dodgers' rotation plus the phillies hot bats.

BILL PLASCHKE
In the end, Dodgers 'just didn't have what it takes'

Nowhere, fast.

So describes the journey of the 2009 Dodgers, which ended Wednesday in a recognizably battered heap in the darkest part of a familiar dead end.

Again, it was the Philadelphia Phillies dancing on the grass.

Again, it was the Dodgers staring from the dugout.

Again, it was three wins and three light years short of a World Series.

"We thought we were better this year, we thought we had what it takes," said Matt Kemp afterward with a strange softness in his voice. "But we just didn't have what it takes."

Out on the Citizens Bank Park field, the Phillies were bubbly wet and giddily swaggering after a 10-4 pounding of the Dodgers to give them a four-games-to-one victory in the National League Championship Series.

"The playoffs are a whole different animal," said Ryan Howard, the series MVP. "You've got to step your game up."

In the whispering Dodgers clubhouse, ashen owner Frank McCourt was clearly upset that his team did not.

"A horrible, horrible feeling," McCourt said. "It just rips a hole in your stomach."

In an inner hallway, a different sort of rip was perhaps being mended, uniformed Manager Joe Torre stopping Jonathan Broxton as the embattled reliever was leaving in street clothes.

Broxton stuck out his hand. Torre grabbed it and pulled Broxton close in a full, prolonged hug.

"A learning process," Torre whispered to him.

Given this lineup and payroll, two years of learning should have been enough.

Despite having the best record in the National League, the Dodgers must now consider this season a failure.

"I did feel this year we were better equipped to play them," claimed McCourt. "We are making progress, and we will get it done."

For the Dodgers to fulfill that promise, the first bit of education must occur in the front office, which needs to realize something that everyone from here to Nicaragua now understands.

They need an ace, or they will continue to be NLCS jokers.

The fact that they had to start castoff Vicente Padilla in Wednesday's critical game makes one sort of statement.

The fact that Padilla was a complete wreck, giving up six runs in three innings, just confirms that statement.

In this championship series, the Dodger starters were 0-3 with a 12.59 ERA, and even the best bullpen in baseball couldn't save that.

At this moment, it appears the front office will pursue a No. 2 starter while believing that Clayton Kershaw will become their ace.

Isn't this a risk too large for a group of young players so good?

Kershaw folded as badly as anyone here, with a 9.45 ERA in two NLCS appearances. He is still only 21. He may not be ready for this.

The established Dodgers stars such as Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp will not shine without better pitching, and they know it. They were dominated this series by the midseason acquisitions Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez, and now they want some of that.

"On the pitching front, the Phillies definitely did things that made them better," Ethier said. "We've decided we have guys who can do that over here, we just have to give them time to reach that level. It's all about faith."

Faith and hope are fine. A shut-down righty would be better.

When asked whether off-field issues would effect the club's ability to spend money, McCourt, who is enduring marital issues with wife and team president Jamie, was emphatic.

"Nothing has changed," he said. "Nothing has changed."

On the field, little really has to change.

The infield seems set, from Russell Martin to James Loney to Rafael Furcal to Casey Blake, with a possible platoon of Ronnie Belliard and Blake DeWitt playing second base.

The young bullpen is also set, with the hope that Broxton will indeed take Torre's advice and build on his Game 4 failure.

The only other issue is in the outfield. Particularly, left field. Yeah, Manny Ramirez.

His awful second half of the season ended in an array of wild swings and jeers Wednesday, beginning in the fifth inning with the Dodgers still trailing just 6-3.

With runners on first and second and facing new pitcher Chad Durbin, Ramirez bounced a ball in front of home plate, and he did not seem to run particularly hard, as he was easily thrown out to end the inning.

And here came the Philly chants . . .

"You take steroids," they screamed.

"Take a shower," they howled.

Ramirez hit .263 in this series with one extra-base hit and countless blown opportunities, and talk about faith.

The Dodgers must spend the winter praying that Ramirez relearns to hit with an untainted body.

Ramirez could opt out of his $20-million contract, but he won't, because nobody will give him anything close to that sort of money, so both parties are stuck with each other.

Yeah, it could get even uglier. And Wednesday night was truly ugly.

Standing in front of his locker, Kemp sniffed something sour and wrinkled his nose.

"Man, you are really starting to annoy me with that smell," he said to a cameraman.

The guy was, you guessed it, drenched in Phillies champagne.

Kemp said he was joking. But it's no longer funny.

Again, it was the Philadelphia Phillies dancing on the grass.

Again, it was the Dodgers staring from the dugout.

Again, it was three wins and three light years short of a World Series.

this is honestly the worst style of writing known to man

When asked whether off-field issues would effect the club's ability to spend money, McCourt, who is enduring marital issues with wife and team president Jamie, was emphatic.

"Nothing has changed," he said. "Nothing has changed."

write a real sentence you mouth breathing piece of shit

When asked whether off-field issues would effect the club's ability to spend money, McCourt, who is enduring marital issues with wife and team president Jamie, was emphatic.

where's that awesome plaschke gif

there's this one

http://www.tiricosuave.com/images/plaschke.gif

http://i44.tinypic.com/fbxsvs.jpg

wow that stubbly beard really camouflages his meat scarf imho.

i like how he ends the beard well before his chin-line, which helps with the illusion

meat scarf!

Ok, this whiny Mets "omg our City rivals versus our division rivals what to do what to do" thing is really getting old.

i sent that werth picture to a pal of mine who is gay, and he had very profane things to say about it.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51fVzlj94qL.jpg

haha I missed that Plaschke gem

They need an ace, or they will continue to be NLCS jokers.

Chad "arguably the best pitcher in baseball" Billingsley RIP.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOQJN8FrxtI&feature=player_embedded

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1uqOZGBois

Craig (Bethesda, MD)
Really...How bad of a tactical manager is Torre? I knew he was terrible, and was against his hiring from the beginning- but Game 1 was an absolute disaster, and his decisions on Starting Pitchers was a farce. One thing I will never understand is why when Kuo blows hitters away in the 7th, he has to switch to Sherrill in the 8th. Is Kuo's fragility the basis on that switch or is he a manager who just follows a pattern?

Klaw (2:04 PM)
I didn't get that either. It's October. If you blow Kuo out and win the World Series ... I love Kuo, but he's probably going to blow out anyway, whether it's pitching or signing an autograph. The one thing for which Torre has been criticized unfairly, in my opinion, was starting Kershaw in game one. He has the best stuff of anyone on their staff and his command has been improving for a year now. Who was the alternative? Padilla?