Results tagged ‘ Manny ’
No One Offended By Manny Comments Except Manny’s Detractors
You know it’s still early in Spring when the only thing the baseball media folks are talking about is Manny’s comments about this being his last year in LA. Yet, the only people offended by the comments were people who hate Manny already.
Dodger pitchers don’t care. The early reporting position players don’t care. Ned Colletti doesn’t care. Joe Torre sure doesn’t care. How do we know this? Well, the media has had articles every day confirming such news. Thanks for the hard work, media.
From the way some in the LA media have reacted you’d think Manny had disparaged the LA fans or the Dodger organization in his comments. From the way Boston fans and media have stepped up to continue trashing Manny you’d think he said something like, “I’m leaving LA after this year because Red Sox fans suck.”
No, Manny just said something almost everyone in the world knows is the most likely outcome after 2010. The fake outrage from this non-story is almost impressive. There’s a few more days before spring training games begin so let’s hope the media hurries up and lets us know how President Obama and the Pope feel about the super duper mighty offensive things Manny said…
Like Groundhog Day, Dodgers Lose Again, And Again
The Dodgers hadn’t lost more than 4 in a row all year, until tonight. It’s almost unbelievable at this point to say it…but the Dodgers lost again. I feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. It just keeps repeating over and over. Dodgers lose. Dodgers lose. Dodgers lose.
I said a few days back that the Dodgers would have to go 0-7 and the Rockies 7-0 to win. Well, the Dodgers are 0-5, and the Rockies are 5-0. The Dodgers are well on their way to a record setting failure to clinch with a magic number of 1.
Manny Ramirez played the biggest role in the failure tonight, I must say. He came up every at bat with runners on base and struck out 4 times. The Dodgers lost by 1 run. Come on, Manny, the team needs you bad, man. And can the Dodgers please stop using Jim Thome? Yes, he could slug one out any at bat now and be a hero, but the stats show he’s most likely going to make an easy out and be done for the night. Why take the risk?
But, there are still a few positives tonight worth noting despite this being just one step closer to epic failure.
One, Randy Wolf was shaky off and on but he pitched 5 decent innings allowing just 2 runs. Randy Wolf has consistently kept the Dodgers in ballgames he’s started. He’s got the no decisions to prove it. He got the loss tonight though unfortunately.
Two, the Dodgers offense woke up a little, though not quite enough to help out poor Randy Wolf. Furcal and Ethier both had good nights with 2 hits a piece. This only compounds Manny’s failure though, but let’s stay positive.
Three, the Phillies and Cardinals both lost. This means if the Dodgers somehow manage to win 1 of the final 2 games then they will not only clinch the NL West but they will clinch the NL best record at the same time. If the Phillies go 2-0 they’ll reach 94 wins. The Dodgers need just to tie the Phillies to win the tie breaker. The Cardinals could only reach 93 wins, just short of a tie.
So you know what you have to do, LA. Win a game. This isn’t funny anymore.
Dodgers Take 2 Of 3 From Reds While Giants Sweep Colorado
The Reds series for the Dodgers had lots of different facets. It had a heart breaker loss in Game 1 where the Dodgers left the bases loaded down just 2 runs in the 9th. It had a laugher, 1 sided Dodgers victory in Game 2 to even the series. Finally today it had a close pitchers duel in Game 3 that the Dodgers came out on top of after 12 innings to finish the series 2-1.
Meanwhile in San Francisco the Giants were busy paying back the Rockies for that 1-3 series the Rockies treated them to in Colorado last week. The Giants crushed the Rockies late in today’s game to get the sweep.
The Dodgers won 4 of the last 5 games while the Rockies were losing 5 straight and all of the sudden the Dodgers are right back in the comfort zone, 6 games ahead in the NL West.
The story for the Dodgers has been for the most part fantastic pitching. The Dodgers are averaging just 2.3 runs allowed per game over the last 10 and they won 7 of those 10. The bullpen hasn’t allowed a run in 21.1 innings stretching back 5 games. The last run allowed was the walkoff single the Rockies hit in the 10th inning 6 games ago.
The Dodgers hitting is starting to wake up a little too, though. Manny seems to have more good games now than bad while James Loney and Furcal have started to make things happen in a big way as well. Combine that with Kemp and Loney who never seem to slump lately and the Dodgers may just run away with the division after all.
Today’s game ended one of the more successful road trips in a while for the Dodgers having won 4 of 6. They head home to face the D-backs for 4 games and will try to get some revenge for the D-backs taking 2 of 3 last time they the two met.
The once hard charging Rockies have now lost 5 in a row and find themselves back in a tie for the Wildcard instead of looking at taking over the division lead from the Dodgers who they once trailed by only 2 games. The Dodgers will try to get a win tomorrow and finish the month of August with a 15-14 record.
Dodgers Earning Some RISPect In Cinci
Balls were jumping out of the park in Cincinnati today. It got the Dodgers on the board early with a 2 run shot by Manny but it burned Haeger in the 3rd who had to leave after a solo and a 2 run jack got the ball rolling for the Reds to help them tie the game up 4-4 . Furcal got the Dodgers back on top with a solo homer in the 5th and then they got 4 more runs as part of a 6 run 7th on a huge 3 run shot by Kemp and a solo shot by Hudson.
Jeff Weaver did a great job of holding the Reds after Haeger left, even though he often pitched in a jam in his 3.1 innings. The Dodgers bullpen hasn’t allowed a run in days now and has kept the Dodgers very much in the games they have played to the relief of Joe Torre who has had to sit and watch his Dodgers team often fail to score runs in a lot of situations.
That brings us to the story of the day. The big relief was the Dodgers getting hits with RISP, or as I like to call it, RISPect. The Dodgers earned a lot of RISPect in Cinci today going 5 for 7 with RISP and only stranding 4 men in their 11-4 route of the Reds.
The Dodgers did what they needed to do in the end. They evened up the series 1-1 setting the stage for a rubber match early tomorrow and they also halted a hot Reds team who had won 5 in a row. They also protected their 4 game lead with a chance to make it 5 if the Giants can take care of the Rockies for a 2nd day in a row.
The Dodgers have now won 6 out of the last 9 games and are trying very hard to right the ship and to finish August with a winning record. They’ll need to win the next 2 to do that though.
Dodgers Drop Game 1 To Red Hot Reds
Chad Billingsley didn’t have his best stuff tonight giving up 4 runs in 5 innings. You have to wonder about that leg considering it looked so much like Bills was having velocity issues tonight. Homer Bailey on the other hand kept the Dodgers well in check for 8 shutout innings. The Dodgers scored 2 runs though in the 9th but ended it with the bases loaded when Manny was caught looking at strike 3.
You have to love seeing Furcal heat up a little. He had a 3 for 5 night. He’s been known to heat up in the 2nd half sometimes so this one would be better late than never. Loney hit another road homer, further teasing the LA locals who haven’t seen James hit a home run at Dodger Stadium in about 10 years. Manny got a single earlier in the game but the Dodgers would have loved to see him single again in the 9th.
The bullpen cleaned up well for Billingsley going 4 innings and not allowing the Reds to score again. That’s three straight outings for them with their last run allowed being the Rockies walkoff hit last Tuesday night.
If the Dodgers had one major failure tonight it was not being patient at the plate. You can’t help it when you face strong pitching that isn’t giving up lots of hits or runs but you can shorten that outing a bit if you work it right. Had the Dodgers gotten Bailey out just 1 inning earlier then this might have been a completely different game given the amount of drama in the 9th and how shaky the Reds bullpen looked.
Oh well, I guess. The Reds are playing good ball but hopefully the Dodgers can bounce back tomorrow and not run into a buzz saw. Now Dodgers fans are looking for Tim Lincecum to shut down the Rockies so the Dodgers can protect the 4 game lead they worked so hard to get yesterday afternoon.
The Dodgers have a day game tomorrow with knuckleballer Charlie Haeger going head to head with lefty Matt Maloney.
Incidentally, this loss tonight means the Dodgers will have to win the next 3 in a row to avoid finishing August with a losing record, something they’ve avoided each month of this season so far.
Rockies Walkoff for 2nd Straight Night, Continue to Roll
So after battling back in the 9th against the Rockies the Dodgers instead just fell in 10 and ceded not only a game in the standings but the series momentum and the confidence that has propelled them to a 10-2 record against Colorado this year.
In the end it’s hard to decide who to blame more for this loss.
Is it James Loney who, with everybody else hitting decent tonight, was 0 for 5 and came to the plate his first 3 times of the night with runners in scoring position but yet made the 3rd out each time? Loney only reached base in the 9th because of an error by the Rockies but the Dodgers stranded him at 2nd the way he’d stranded them all night.
Or is it more the fault of the Dodgers bush league looking bullpen that gave up runs in the 7th and 8th and eventually lost it in the 10th after McDonald walked the leadoff man, threw a ball away, and eventually loaded the bases with just 1 out? With the day off on Monday I expected a little more from a bullpen that has carried the Dodgers more often than not this year.
So really I can think of hardly anything positive to say about this game except that at least the Rockies further weakened their bullpen having used 5 more relievers. I guess maybe more good news was the clutch hitting by Manny who seems to only show up to play every few games right now. It would be nice to see Manny heat up in a big way. LA needs a show stopper tomorrow or the Rockies may just get the crazy idea that the Dodgers no longer dominate them this year.
So the Dodgers are now just an uncomfortable 2 games in 1st place. In reality they need just 1 win in the series to prevent major damage by the Rockies but it’s hard to see them lose game 1 and not go to bed feeling blue.
Dodgers Sweep The Reds On Manny’s Grand Slam
Reds 2 – Dodgers 6 | Box Score | MLB | LA Times | ESPN
Manny was out of the lineup on his bobble head night. Disappointing? Yes, but at least he wasn’t still suspended. None of that mattered in the end though. With the bases loaded Manny hammered the first pitch of his pinch hit at bat straight into Mannywood to make it 6-2. The sellout crowd could not believe it and Manny was forced to do two different curtain calls because of all the excitement.
Chad Billingsley kept the Dodgers in the game through 6 despite giving up the tie runner on a wild pitch in the end before Manny’s big at bat. He finally got to the 10 win mark after reaching 9 pretty quickly and then stalling out over the last handful of starts.
Andre Ethier tied his season high in homers with his 20th shot tonight in the 1st inning. Ethier has plenty of time left to add to a new personal best.
The Dodgers have now won 12 straight in LA against the Reds and extended their current winning streak to 5 games in a row. They are 27 games above .500 with their majors leading 61-34 record. They have swept 7 series now so far this year and this wrapped up their 19th series victory of the season.
Colorado won today but San Francisco lost again. That keeps the 2nd place Rockies at 9 games back while the Giants fell back to 10.5 games. The Dodgers get tomorrow off while the Giants finish up the ATL series. The Rockies are off too before they play the Giants starting on Friday.
Dodgers Blast Reds, Set Table For A Possible Sweep
Reds 3 – Dodgers 12 | Box Score | MLB | LA Times | ESPN
It looked like it was going to be one of those nights early on. Furcal and Hudson got on base leading off in the 1st and a rare Manny Ramirez triple scored them both with nobody out. The Dodgers next 3 batters failed to pick Manny up though. The Reds cut the early lead in half the next inning but the Dodgers quickly made up for not scoring Manny from 3rd.
The Dodgers made it 9-1 by the 4th inning. By the end of the 5th it was 12-1. Furcal had a big night with a home run and 4 RBI going 3 for 5. Hudson was back and had 1 hit and a run scored. The Dodgers have now outscored the Reds in the series 19-8 with 1 more game to go.
Randy Wolf pitched 7.1 innings allowing just 4 hits and 2 runs and gave the bullpen a little rest as they used Claudio Vargas the rest of the way. The Dodgers have now won 11 in a row against the Reds at Dodger Stadium and they extend their overall winning streak to 4 in a row. Randy Wolf finally won another game decision but it only took 12 runs to secure it.
For the first time since the Dodgers beat the Angels in Game 2 weeks ago the Dodgers won Game 2 of another series, this time setting the table for a possible sweep. The Dodgers once lead the majors in series sweeps but it’s been 15 series since the last sweep so they’ve fallen behind some of the other teams lately.
The Dodgers will have to get past the Reds ace though to get the sweep so they’ll send their own ace, Billingsley, to counter. It will be Manny Ramirez bobble head night but Manny may not play. He left tonight’s game early after being hit by a pitch and is listed day-to-day with no major damage done.
Tonight was the Dodgers 60th win of the season and their 60-34 record puts them 26 games above .500. The Rockies and Giants both lost so the Dodgers gained a game on each and now lead by 9 and 9.5 games. The Giants are now 1 game under .500 on the month and the Rockies are just 3 over compared to the Dodgers who are 6 games over in July and starting to increase their lead for the first time in a long time.
Dodgers Leave A Dozen, Lose 1 Run Game
Dodgers 4 – Mets 5 | Box Score | MLB | LA Times | ESPN
It’s become all too common lately to see the Dodgers strand a bunch and lose a close game. The Dodgers struck first and last but an unearned run on a Dodgers error ended up being the difference in the game.
The bullpen was good again though so there’s that at least. Practically all the hits and runs came against starter Kuroda who has been knocked around by the Mets in the past as well. The Mets starter Perez didn’t have his best stuff and the Dodgers did a good job working the count and getting him out in the 5th but they couldn’t catch up to the 1-5 deficit Kuroda left them in.
Several Dodgers struggled all night including Hudson, Manny, and Ethier. That killed the offense each time one of these guys came up. Manny finally hit a home run in the 9th leading off and it looked like the Dodgers were going to rally. It’s frustrating watching the Dodgers get 9 hits, 9 walks, leave 12 men on base, but go 2-11 with RISP lose by 1 run with the tie run on 2nd in the 9th because of a double play. Oh well, I guess.
The Dodgers send out Wolf to face the Mets’ Hernandez. Wolf should be the favorite to win the rubber match but if the Dodgers can’t cash in run opportunities then it gets hard to win. The Dodgers have lost the last 5 middle games but they’ve been pretty good in rubber match situations, winning 5 of the last 7 series because of that.
Dodgers Extend Mets Scoreless Streak 9 More Innings
Dodgers 8 – Mets 0 | Box Score | MLB | LA Times | ESPN
When the Dodgers came to town the Mets had already been blanked the game before and hadn’t scored a run in the last 13 innings. The Dodgers were happy to help the Mets extend that 9 more with a good 6 innings from Kershaw and then 3 more scoreless innings from the bullpen.
The Dodgers worked the pitch counts well in the first few innings getting lots of men on base and in scoring position. Manny Ramirez drove in 3 before getting tossed for arguing about what appeared to be the 2nd bogus out call of his night. Pelfrey exited early as well, going just 3 innings having given up 5 runs, 2 coming after being pulled in the 4th in a jam. The Mets bullpen gave up 3 more as the game went on.
So as is the trend lately the Dodgers won game 1 of the series and look to somehow break the streak in game 2. It will be Hiroki Kuroda vs. Oliver Perez and the Dodgers will look to keep the Mets scoreless innings coming.
So the Dodgers extended their winning streak against the Mets to 4 straight on the season. This game clinched a season series victory and made their NL East record 11-5. The Dodgers already beat the Phillies 4-3 in their season series. The Dodgers have won 2 in a row and are back to 23 games over .500 at 53-30.
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