(3) St. Louis Cardinals vs. (2) Los Angeles Dodgers

This Dodgers offense against Lynn (at home) Lackey and Miller(on the road) with Greinke, Ryu, and Haren going (possibly Kershaw) there is a very good chance of them winning 3 in a row with how well they play on the road. This isn't the same team as last year and those 9 runs tonight show that. Game 2 is huge and a must-win!! Hoping for a big game my Greinke and the bats coming alive again early and often!!! :thumbsup:

 

They steal signs because our manager is a fucking idiot.

 

They didn't need to steal signs because all Kershaw was doing was piping fastballs down the middle of the plate.

 

I hope you are right.

 

I'm pretty sure that o for a million included right handed hitters too.

 

Look, no one knows for sure why there was a meltdown. We may never know. But this one is not on Mattingly. You don't take Kershaw out in this situation, not after the season he's had. He earned the right to stay there.

My opinion is that it can't be Ellis either. A whole season of Cy Young pitching, and now it's Ellis' problem? He did hit a homer to get us way ahead of Wainwright. Give him that. To me Kersh just got his testosterone up too much this game. He was amped up, he wanted to prove something against the Cards, and he didn't pitch for a pretty long time before this start. So he came there wanting to pitch gas and challenge the Cards, rather than pitching smart, and no one was going to go against his wishes. Live and learn now....I hope.

As for stealing signs? Cmon. You switch signs in that situation the minute you think that's a problem. Better yet, switch signs randomly during the game just in case. But you don't have to switch signs if the pitcher is throwing fastball after fastball.

I think Greinke might be in a better position this nest game. I would if I knew our hitters could put up a 9 spot against arguably the 2nd best pitcher in the league.

 

Obviously crushed by the loss. Seriously questioning Kershaw's mental toughness against the Cards- his comment was something like "why would the want me to go out there against the Cards again?". Just, I don't know. Win tomorrow or just get fucking swept so I can go on with my life.

Funny story though, i guess. I recently became a Lyft driver... for those who are older and don't know what computers are (Irish) im basically a taxi using my own car and iPhone to find people. Well I decided to drive off the loss so I went to DS to pick up some drunk, sad dodgers fans. First people I pick up we start talking about the game. I mention my internship with baseball prospectus. Dude in the front seat goes, "hey do you ever post on DSP?" Pretty crazy... He said he was a long time reader but I invited him to post more. Forgot his username... Show yourself!

 

haha What's up, Chris? Thanks for the ride. You seem like a cool guy.
It was some pretty crazy stuff. First that it was you that pulled up, then that it even registered to me who you were and all on the night of maybe the most torturous Dodger game we will ever see. At least it was cool to be able to commiserate with a fellow DSP guy after that Twilight Zone episode of a game.

Holy crap, it's almost 6...I must go hibernate now. Oh also, after the sting from the game wore off and my mind cleared a bit I realized that we still have a decent shot at winning this series as long as Ryu can resemble his usual self. Our offense is just so hot right now I think we still have reason to be hopeful or maybe even cautiously optimistic. Your point about Kershaw and his mental state is a bit disconcerting though. I can't really imagine what poor Kersh is going through right now. He is going to have to get it together after that one, man. It's a good thing his intangibles are usually off the charts.

 

This is all pretty amazing to me...we lost because of signs being stolen, Dee was 0-5, Baez sucked (which he surely did), don't flash the choke sign...etc., etc. Are you kidding?
What does it matter if they steal signs? That's part of BB and always has been....if we can do it, we will. It's just that our staff is not as savvy or skilled as theirs, that's all. The Giants did it in 1954 with Bobby Thompson's HR, it is said. So what?
So Dee sucked , even though he got an RBI...how does hat compare with your ace who fucking CHOKED for the whole world to see? I mean what else do you call it? The manager, whether he''s dealing with the CY winner or ERA leader gets paid to recognize a guy when he's had it...and take him out. Yeah, lets' leave him in like Gump did with Pedro....same fucking heartbreaking result. Does anybody remember that famous (or infamous) "good guy" loser move????There's a history of this shit in BB, and a pro skipper should be aware of it; there's also a history of Kershaw in the post, and it's not so good. At all.
Coulda woulda shoulda and we'd be talking about how good Kershaw was... well, none of it happened, something else did, and he didn't melt down- he fucking disintegrated.
It's over, stolen signs or not (not the reason we lost by a long shot), and now we have to win 3 out of 4. that's fucking it.
The offense showed up, scored runs and got a lot of hits. No one made bad defensive moves or committed errors...a huge weak spot at catcher, which I pointed out months ago and was told "it didn't matter and they can be hidden within the lineup" almost universally here, wasn't a problem, and he was very nearly a hero.
BTW, nice game AJ.
We know what we have to do.
Oh and another thing...because you like a guy isn't a reason why he should make the roster.
And a guy who has been great all year, and then historically fucks up and is so bad it's the stuff of future BB lore, doesn't mean it's somebody else's fault.

 

In a way, Chris, I kind of agree with your first sentence...I mean, I think I would rather not have made it at all, than see this happen to the team and Kershaw.
I know it's not over, so there is still hope. And you've gotta be in it to win it. But "win it" doesn't apply to us in the post, nor to Kershaw, sadly.
BTW, that guy in the stands may have been DFNC I'm thinking....
I hope that CK gets a shot at redemption...I really do.

 

yes. because the plan that was being executed to that point wasn't working, so in essence.." what's the NEW plan because the old one is shit. "

and that's if Dum Dum wasn't aware that signs were being stolen/Kersh was tipping pitches

stealing bases when you're down big is hardly an issue at all.

 

i know you don't really believe that.

 

i actually agree with that. whoever it is that's using that sort of logic, they're off base.

 

He wasn't tipping pitches they were just elevated and flat. He was shell shocked. This isn't the regular season. He needed to be pulled. Yes he the greatest but he lost it. It was more than evident. Who to put in? Maybe one of our 10M a year relievers? WTF?!? This shit falls on Gump x2. Fucking loser Donnie dumb dumb will always be a skank to me.

That being said. Today is a new day and our hitters are white hot. Carpenter needs to take a heater in the ribs today and i know grienke has the balls to do it. Only way this does not happen is if Gump x2 doesn't let him.

Fuck the birds!
Go Dodgers!
Think Blue!!

 

I'd love to see Carpenter take a No.1 in his ribs, like Ramirez did last year...and have " With best Regards, Hanley" written on it, like a WWII bomb...but getting Greinke tossed early, puts us in possibly the worst spot we could be in. Even worse than CK in the 7th.
Can you see Jamie Wright in there? Whoa...
But in some ways, it couldn't be worse than our best...incredibly frustrating. Hard to deal with...

 

I kinda just wish it was over instead of having to sit around for three days waiting to inevitably be crushed

 

not a chance that the Dodgers take it upon themselves to use Greinke like that and limit his effectiveness. right now the Cards are the ones being watched closely by the umps. that's good enough. no need to have umps eyeballing Greinke. let him work.

everybody's worried about Kershaw..they obviously either have something on him when he's in the stretch or were just doing their elite-level sign scouting @ 2B. it was all good until he went into the stretch and they got men to 2B. the staff has to find out what is it, fix it and put him back out there. we rode Kershaw here and we're basically a .500 team without him. there's no choice but to have confidence in him..otherwise, you might as well you pack it in because it's not gettin done with him. he doesn't struggle with anyone else like this, so give credit where credit is due. just like they scout and draft well, Cards obviously do their in-game homework at a high-level too. however, Kershaw did the following in Game 2 against the Cards last year..

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/los-angeles-dodgers-st-louis-cardinals-331012124/

so he can get it done. however, our bullpen is shitty this year, so 6 innings won't be enough. and that's a lot of pressure..i don't give a shit who you're talkin about..to tell a man he's gotta go 8 innings is tough. we've just watched Lester get KO'd in the 7th, Scherzer get KO'd in the 7th, Verlander and Wainwright both get KO'd in the 5th..and these horses got KO'd by teams WITHOUT championship pedigree. and yes, i count the Dodgers as a team without championship pedigree until they get it done.

 

Don't think he gets yanked if he's the 1st to throw. Birds will flip out for sure but it's 2014 and no one really fights in baseball anymore. I think throwing at him is automatic. They were trying to live inside yesterday. That can't happen if we want to win this series.

 

If they have something on CK, don't you think the rest of baseball would have known by now? It's not as if it's the same roster and players talk. The baseball world would know. As far as stealing a sign, that could be it. But if it was is that on CK or Donnie for not seeing it? How many off speed pitches did they hit in play? I had to leave mid way through the inning and could only listen to vin in the radio but when he was giving up the singles I saw nothing but flat heaters. If it was anyone else who was giving up ass like that they would have been pulled. Again, we have very high paid players in the pen. Use them. Use all of the pen. It's not as if there are 100 games left and they need to be rested. I mean the guy even went heavy on arms for the series roster. Why have them if they are just going to collect dust?