Extra Innings

It seems like the ALCS has completely disappeared, as the Dodger Phillies series has been much more exciting and the fact that the BoSox-Rays have been stuck on TBS. So how has that series gone? Well except for great outings from Dice-K and Garza, it has been an slug fest. Kudos goes to the young Rays for being able to rebound from being dominated by Dice-K in Game 1. The turning point in the series definitely came in Game 2, where it seemed like the Rays were going to blow their 8-5 lead. But they managed to come through in the 11th and all the momentum have been with them since. Longoria has been outstanding and he is a future MVP in the making. I’m sorry but I’m on the Rays bandwagon. Go underdogs!

Wow what a complete collapse by the Blue today. Just when they get your hopes up with the potential of tying the series at 2 a piece, they break your heart and fall to a 1-3 deficit. Sigh, how could things go wrong so fast? I guess the collapse began when Torre went and took the ball from stable veteran Lowe and handed it to erratic youngster Kershaw. And from there on, the youth of the Dodgers began to show again. This was highlighted by the number of walks the inability to get ahead of hitters in the count. So I have to put this one on Torre, who should have stuck to his veteran bias. Blah, I’m too depressed to write anymore. C’mon Dodgers, we need at least 3 more games!

Well that’s much better. It was a great game all around for the Dodgers today. And of course, it all starts with the pitching. Kuroda was magnificent, shutting down the Philly bats. We absolutely needed a good outing from him, and he came through for us. In a way, Game 3 was the almost similar to Game 2, but in flip flopped fashion. Instead, the good starting pitching went to the Dodgers while the Phil’s starter got lit up early. The Dodgers were able to jump out and build a big lead, giving their pitching staff a chance to waste some pitches, especially those that are high and tight. It was good to see some the Dodgers show some toughness. This is not a knock on Billingsley though, as it seemed that the lack of retaliation was blamed on him from Game 2. Billingsley had to try his best to get the Philly hitters out, and he couldn’t waste a pitch during his short outing. If anything, Kuroda was in the perfect position to do it with being up by 6. But this animosity, especially the fire shown by Manny, really sets the tone for this Dodger team. It should carry over until tomorrow. Lowe goes on short rest tomorrow against Blanton. Go Blue!

I guess you get one of these games every series. It’s just too bad the Blue came out on the losing end. This game was crazy on so many levels. The Dodger pitchers shut down Rollins and Howard and decided to pass on Utley all game long. What they didn’t expect was the bottom of the Philly lineup led by Brett “Micah Owings” Myers. Myer’s 3 RBIs were the difference in the game. I had a bad feeling about Billingsley against the Phils, but I didn’t expect this type of outing for him. He was done in by the Phils 4 run 2nd inning and they tacked on 4 more in the 3rd to chase him. The biggest play of the game probably came in the 2nd. Matt Kemp’s fielding error that opened the flood gates. Rollins single should have resulted in the Phils having runners at 1st and 2nd only. But they were both able to advance on the error. This allowed Victorino’s single to clear them both in. Without the error, Myers probably would have advanced to 3rd only to load the bases. Of course, we are talking about hypotheticals here as Utley might have done something with the bases loaded, but the play was still key in sparking the Phillies’ momentum. In the playoffs, you just can’t give another team 2 extra bases, and I believe this play cost the Blue any chance for Billingsley to salvage his outing and the game.

But be as it may, the Phils took care of business at home and it is up to the Dodgers to do the same. The Dodgers almost have to take all 3 games at home with the way Citizens is rocking. Let’s see if the Dodger fans can give us a lift.

It wasn’t the high scoring affair that I hoped for and that did not bode well for the Blue today. Hammels was very solid and shut down the Dodger bats except for Manny and Lowe uncharacteristically gave up 2 homers in 1 inning. In fact, Lowe did a solid job himself and if not for the homers by Utley and Burrell, we would have been good as gold. But the Phils did their job as they got the start they needed, and were able to capitalize on their bandbox of a home park. The Dodgers weren’t able to do what I expected of them. Lowe did a good job, but wasn’t able to keep his excellent sinker from yielding home runs, the Phillies main source of scoring. The Dodger bats were silenced and except for Andre and Manny, didn’t really show. Tomorrow is a must win for the Dodgers and I hope Billingsley can live up to the number 1 starter that we forsee him of being.

I know I’m a Dodger fan so I have to say that the Blue will win. But this series will not be the cakewalk that the Cubs were. I expect an offensive series with runs plentiful. Of course, with any playoff series, it comes down to pitching and defense to limit the amount of offense the other team can muster. I think the Dodgers have the better arms here, especially with Lowe’s big game experience and him getting to go in Games 1, 4 (on short rest), and 7. Billingsley is also a capable ace and Kuroda at Dodger stadium is solid. I think that Hamels will be tough but Myers isn’t quite there yet and Blanton and Moyer are over the hill. But as I’ve said so far, the deciding game may be game 4. If Lowe can go instead of Kershaw or Madd Dogg we are good to go. Dodgers in 6.

This is going to be how the Dodgers are going to be competitive in this series. They most definitely need to hit and hit a lot. The Phil pitchers are going to be Hamels, Myers, Moyer, and Blanton. Hamels is going to be a tough lefty matchup, especially for the young lefties in Ethier, Loney, and Dewitt. Even though he is a righty, Kemp is going to struggle also. It’s going to be up to Martin, Manny, and Blake to try to muster something against Hamels. But the player that might be useful may actually be Jeff Kent. He provides a vet bat and a righty against the ace in Hamels. Myers is a hard-throwing talented righty, but I believe Ethier and Loney will matchup up well against him. Game 2 is going to be a key game here, and which young pitcher, Myers or Billingsley, comes through will eventually dictate the series. The backend of each rotation shapes out very nicely for the Dodgers. I’m not sold on Moyer or Blanton at all. They are vets all right, but they don’t have dominating stuff and are certainly hittable. If the Blue can beat up on Myers, Blanton, and Moyer, we may be in good shape this series.

So the Dodger rotation shapes out with Lowe, Billingsley, and Kuroda, and a 4th starter to be determined. I think Torre goes against conventional wisdom here and goes with Clayton Kershaw instead of Greg Maddux. Madd Dogg has been lit up by Phillie hitters this year as they just mash soft throwing righties. Kershaw would be the only left hander in the Dodger rotation and one that could matchup up against the likes of Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jim Rollins. Of course the flip side is the Kershaw is 20 and a rook, while Maddux is Maddux. The first 3 games will definitely dictate the pitcher for game 4 but right now I am going to go with Kershaw. How does Lowe look against those Philly hitters? As long as Lowe can get his sinker going and keep the ball in Citizens, I think he’s going to be fine. As for Billingsley, I am wary that he can make it out of Citizens with a strong start. Kuroda against the Phillies is also going to be a question mark, even if its in Dodger stadium. The pitching in this series is not going to dominate like it did against the Cubs. The key is to just do a good enough job, even if several runs are given up. It going to be up to those young Dodger hitters and Manny.

The first League Championship matchup is in and its the Blue v the Phils. The regular season series was a total split, with the Dodgers taking all 4 games at Chavez Ravine, and the Phils taking all 4 at Citizens. So based on that, the Phils do seem like they have a bit of an advantage in terms of home field. But that 4 game sweep came in the midst of the Dodgers 8 games losing streak that preceded this current amazing run. So the team that the Phils faced back then was nothing like the one they will see now. Of course the same goes for the Dodgers, as we didn’t see a Phils team with Ryan Howard supercharged yet. So if you really think about it, you can throw out the regular season.

So how have both teams performed in the playoffs so far? Well we know what the Dodgers did with great starting pitching, a solid bullpen, and clutch hitting. As for the Phils, they beat up on a battered Brewers team whose rotation was just a complete mess. None of the Brewers starting pitching could get through 4 innings, and that includes CC. So does that Phillies homer happy dominance over the Brew show anything? Probably not.

So it looks like its going to come down to the matchups. We’ll look at those in the coming days.

Wow I can’t believe it was that simple and quick. I guess with the Cursed Cubs you just never know. But the matchup with the Cubs was just perfect for the Dodgers. We had the power right-handed pitching to take on their right-handed bats and they couldn’t do a thing about it. We caught the Cub pitching at a perfect time as they were a complete unknown as to how they would perform. And finally, we had the superstars in Manny and Torre to lead us, whereas the Cubs didn’t have a “guy” to take them to another level. All three games in the series were almost complete copies of another, and all were based on tenants of playoff baseball. Solid starting pitching? Check. Good defense? Check. Clutch hitting? Check. Bullpen? Check. And amazingly, the Cubs weren’t able to do any of these. And so the Dodgers advance to the NLCS, awaiting the Phillies and Brewers. But for one day, lets just sit back and enjoy the Dodgers for the first time in 20 years.