While the Dodgers didn't get the hardware they wanted in a World Series trophy their players got some props anyway in the way of Gold Gloves and Silver Slugger awards. Congratulations to Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier for winning the Silver Slugger as well as Matt Kemp and Orlando Hudson for their Gold Gloves.

This means the Dodgers top the NL in these two categories barely beating out the Phillies and Cardinals who won 3 of these awards. The Dodgers were very good defensibly and offensively this season and the 4 awards reflect that.

Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier had breakout seasons but they're so young you just don't know what to expect next year when they have the potential to be even better.

The Dodgers have released their tentative spring schedule. They open up as the Away team against the White Sox at Camelback Ranch on Friday, March 5th at 1:05 PM Arizona time. They play the same team, same time, same place, the following day but as the Home team. Spring Training is about 112 days away.

Congratuations to the Yankees and their fans. They had a very, very good team this year that played strong in a tough division and they won it all. The lame-duck session ends for the rest of the loser teams and we can all start the healing process waiting for Spring to start.

It seems like only bad news for the Dodgers lately: The McCourts divorce battle, Padilla has been shot in the leg, etc.

But, there will be plenty more good things in the days to come I'm sure. The 1st of March is about 115 days away. Funny how the break seems so much shorter when your team plays deep into October instead of crapping out in September. If only they'd played until November. Oh well. Wait 'til next year.

As if reading from the same script the Phillies struck early and often in Game 5 and the Dodgers were clueless to defuse it. The Dodgers season wrapped up after 162 regular season games and 8 playoff games and they ended up no closer to the World Series than they were this time last year. Oh well, I guess.

Congratulations to the Phillies team and all their fans that have been supporting them so far this year. If it's all the same to you I'd rather we not see each other in the playoffs next year.

Since I care very little for baseball outside of the Dodgers and probably will see almost nothing of the remaining playoffs, let's just skip right to talking about the 2010 season.

Unlike this time last year the the Dodgers core are locked in for 2010. The infield of Blake, Furcal, and Loney are set. Kemp and Ethier are in the outfield. Martin is almost surely staying behind the plate. The starting rotation will have Kershaw and Billingsley. In the bullpen the Dodgers will have Broxton, Kuo, Belliard and Troncoso.

One set of questions deal with what will happen at 2nd base. Who will stay and go between Orlando Hudson and Ronnie Belliard, or will Blake DeWitt get his chance? We'll see.

What about Manny in the outfield? Will he stay or will he go? It's up to him. He's got a lot to prove to himself and the LA fans after a series of career low points in 2009 and I hope he stays for another year.

There's also the question of Juan Pierre. I'd love to see him stay. He's a huge asset to the team as a 4th outfielder starting and off the bench. If he still wants to play every day though it may be time to let him go in a trade and see what the team can get in return. What Manny does is still going to affect Pierre.

The rest of the questions are all pitching related. The Dodgers have got to get serious about starting pitching. They patched together a rotation this year that obviously didn't help one bit in the playoffs. It's hard for a bullpen to protect you in games when they are coming in in the 4th inning.

What about Randy Wolf? I'd love to see him come back. He had the best year he's had in a long time and as a veteran he's important for the young pitchers to be around.

What about Jon Garland? He did pretty well for LA. He may be a good fit.

What about Padilla? He was really good in 2 of his 3 playoff appearances. Is it worth the drama keeping a guy like that around?

There's also Eric Stults who has pitched off and on for LA and will be trying to earn a spot come Spring.

The bullpen is pretty set but still has some blank spots.

What about George Sherrill? Sherrill was an asset to the team and an important part of the stretch run. Sign him again, please. He can close if Broxton's out and he's tough in the 8th if not.

What about Jeff Weaver? If he came back I'd be OK with that but I doubt he will. I'm not pulling one way or another.

There are other players I'm not mentioning that don't matter so much right now. Still, it's hard to keep most of the same team year to year but it looks like the Dodgers will manage that. We'll just have to see how some of the pieces come together starting next year. I'm super excited about 2010. Bring on Spring Training. That's the only thing that truly relieves the pain of a season that went by way too fast and playoffs that ended way too soon.

Can the Dodgers make a comeback? Sure. Will they? Probably not. So what do we do? Cheer either way and hope for the best.

It's Do or Die part 1 of 3 hopefully but this Dodgers team knows they need to just take it 1 game at a time. The Phillies are much too strong for the Dodgers team to be caught thinking 1 or 2 games ahead.

Since the 2009 NLCS is following so closely with the 2008 NLCS, we should probably examine Game 5 of last year's series to see what to expect tonight. Last year the Dodgers were feeling all the pressure. They had fallen down 1 to 3 games and were on the brink. They came into Game 5 just like tonight's Game 5 needing to win or pack it up and go home.

In the pitching department it wasn't pretty. The Phillies struck early. Chad Billingsley didn't have his best stuff at all. He went 2.2 innings and allowed 3 runs. Chan Ho Park finished the 3rd and and Greg Maddux went 2 innings. By the time the 5th inning ended the Dodgers were behind 5-0.

The Dodgers hitting barely showed up. Cole Hamels was dominating them again for the 2nd time in the series. Manny hit a home run in the 6th and that was the last run the Dodgers scored last year. A fitting cap I guess to a stretch where Manny Ramirez played his best ball ever.

Tonight it's Vicente Padilla vs. Cole Hamels. Hamels is back, but he's not quite the same as last year. He got the job done in Game 1 this year but really was boosted by the Phillies' potent offense. On the other hand Vicente Padilla has been the Dodgers best pitcher in the playoffs. He took a 5-0 record with the Dodgers into Game 3 of the NLDS and was lights out. He brought that energy into Game 2 matching Pedro Martinez almost pitch for pitch giving up only a few hits and a solo home run. The Dodgers came from behind in that game and won, the only win so far in this series.

The Dodgers know they have the chance to score some runs off Hamels if they do it right. The Dodgers need to score early and quiet the crowd like Game 4 but this time without a bullpen meltdown if at all possible. They need to work the count and force Hamels to make a mistake instead of letting Hamels set the pace. Every game where the Dodgers have done this in the playoffs it was to their advantage.

The irony of Game 4 being decided by a perfect Phillies bullpen and a broke down Dodgers bullpen is not lost on anybody. We still know who has the better bullpen and it's up to the Dodgers 'pen to make up for Game 4 if they have the chance.

I don't know if the Dodgers can come back. I think they probably can't. Still, there's no reason to give up until one of these teams is popping champagne. The Dodgers need to focus on winning Game 5 and getting this back to LA where they have the advantage. The Phillies want to end it right then and there so they don't have to hit the road. We'll see if the Dodgers can change the course of history and keep the Phillies from winning in 5.

OK, You can panic now.

Dodgers were just 1 out away from a 2-2 tie in the series but now head into an off day down 1-3 after losing probably the most important game of the season to a Phillies walkoff. This will most likely prove to be the crushing blow in the series just like Game 4 of last year with a late game meltdown. It's unbelievable.

The Dodgers have a pretty good chance of winning Game 5 Wednesday of course but the likelihood of winning 3 in a row against this surging Phillies team when the LA starting pitching is so soft, the hitting so sparse, and their bullpen crumbling in front of everybody? It makes me sick at my stomach just thinking about it.

Now after 162 regular season games, 3 NLDS games, and 4 NLCS games, the whole mess hangs in the balance with the Phillies just 1 win from a repeat performance against the Dodgers. I'd give anything for the Dodgers to play tomorrow instead of having to drag this out further into a waiting game.

The Dodgers are at another crucial junction in the NLCS. In Game 2 they were faced with either splitting or falling behind 0-2. Now in Game 4 they are faced with splitting 2-2 or falling behind 1-3. They know what they need to do so it's just a matter of if they can do it or if the Phillies momentum after a huge 11-0 win will be too much for the Dodgers to stop.

The Dodgers will throw out essentially their #1 and most consistent pitcher this year to face the Phillies true #4 guy. The Dodgers have to feel like they have some sort of advantage. Randy Wolf faltered in the NLDS Game 1 but there's no big reason to expect similar results in Game 4 today though it is of course always a possibility. Wolf pitched well in Philly this year going 6 innings and allowing just 1 run. Let's hope that's the game Wolf brings tonight.

The Dodgers stifled Phillies hitting in Game 2 so they know they can do it in Game 4. It's a question of Dodgers bats though now and whether they still have what it takes against a pitcher not quite as dominate as Cliff Lee or as seasoned as Pedro Martinez.

Hitters with records against Blanton to keep an eye on in the game:

• James Loney: 7 for 10 (.700 AVG, 1.550 OPS)
• Manny Ramirez: 15 for 26 (.577 AVG, 1.367 OPS)
• Andre Ethier: 6 for 14 (.429 AVG, 1.324 OPS)
• Ronnie Belliard: 3-8 (.375 AVG, 0.944 OPS)

Hitters with records against Wolf to keep and eye on in the game:

• Carlos Ruiz: 4 for 6 (.667 AVG, 2.250 OPS)
• Jimmy Rollins: 3 for 6 (.500 AVG, 1.500 OPS)
• Shane Victorino: 3 for 9 (.333 AVG, 1.178 OPS)
• Pedro Feliz: 5 for 17 (.294 AVG, 1.140 OPS)

The Dodgers can win this one and wrestle some momentum back in the process. I don't know if they will though. The Phillies are a good team that has outplayed the Dodgers in a lot of ways in the series so far including the most important category: the win loss column. Still, the Dodgers didn't make it this far this year by folding every time under pressure. Let's hope the Dodgers come out swinging today and guarantee this series has to finish in LA.

In Game 1 the Phils scored a ton of runs but gave up a bunch as well and just narrowly got the win. In Game 2 the Phils had great pitching but no hitting and lost a close one. Tonight in Game 3 they pounded pretty much every pitcher the Dodgers put out there while Cliff Lee held the Dodgers to 3 hits and no runs in 8 innings. This was the combination they were looking for to try and regain the series momentum at home.

This was a game I hoped the Dodgers could win but really didn't have a remarkable amount of faith in that going in. If it wasn't a playoff game it would have been a thoroughly forgettable game for LA. It's one of precious few left though instead so the Dodgers will just have to try their best to put it behind them and go out tomorrow and even the series.

The Phils put things back on track for a repeat of last year with this win. The Dodgers will for the 2nd time in 2 years go out in Game 4 trying to make it a 2-2 series split instead of a dangerous 1-3 Phillies lead. It will be Randy Wolf versus Joe Blanton and a much easier game for the Dodgers to win than today hopefully. We'll just have to wait and see.

While the Dodgers win over Philly in Game 2 to even the NLCS at a game a piece gave Dodgers fans everywhere hope, the Angels tour bus to the World Series has hit a serious bump in the road. The Angels head back to Anaheim today down 2 games to none against a very good Yankees team.

I have to admit though I was never that excited about a freeway series. I'm a life long Dodger fan but maybe it's the fact that I've never lived in LA and I've barely even passed through the city. I want the Dodgers to win when they play the Angels because I understand the rivalry but I still can't get excited about the prospect of the Dodgers and Angels meeting in a World Series.

On the other hand I've lived in San Francisco as a Dodger fan. The Dodgers dominated the Giants in that time span and this was one of the greatest times of my life as a fan. Despite that, being around Giants fans still made me even more bitter about the rivalry.

With obvious exceptions in cases where a Giants win helps the Dodgers, I want the Giants to suffer every game even when the Dodgers aren't playing. I want to see them miserable and disappointed every year. I want to see half filled stadiums full of quieted disappointed fans while the empty seats are for fans too ashamed to go to the game. The idea of a Dodgers and Giants NLCS with the Dodgers finishing on top? That's heaven to me and something I'd pay a lot of money to see. Maybe next year?

Overall though I guess the biggest part of my lack of excitement for a Dodgers and Angels freeway series is just that the Dodgers are so far from winning the NLCS. If they win today somehow it might start to look good but they still face an uphill battle and the Phillies probably won't go easy if at all. We can give our opinion about who we would rather see the Dodgers face in the World Series if the Dodgers play great baseball and manage to be popping champagne as National League Champions.

A huge event for the Dodgers in Game 2 of the NLCS was the botched double play by Chase Utley in the 8th inning that opened the door to an LA rally. Belliard was called out at 2nd on the force but the ball was air mailed into and out of the visitors dugout allowing Martin to reach 1st safely and Pierre to come around and score.

I was watching footage on MLB.com tonight and I noticed that something strange about Utley's feet. He doesn't touch 2nd base to get Belliard out before he throws to 1st. See it for yourself in the animation below.

I know sometimes Umps call outs when runners are sliding if the tag is close enough just to protect the players involved but we can clearly see the foot never touched 2nd until after the ball leaves Utley's hand.

Had the Dodgers not taken the lead later in the inning that call might have been huge for Philly. I guess it's also possible that if Belliard is on 2nd and Martin on 1st then things might not lead up in the same way to Ethier's bases loaded walk. It's interesting to think about either way. I'm just grateful the Dodgers caught a break and won the game so we didn't have to grumble about this play.

UPDATE: Anybody notice the argument over Izturis not getting the "neighborhood" call tonight in Game 2 of the ALCS? I was really not that aware of the debate surrounding these kinds of calls until I posted this animation and mentioned it on TrueBlueLA. I just assumed if you want to get the guy out at 2nd you tag the base, not just get close enough and get a pass by the umps. Maybe that's just me, though. Anybody got an opinion?