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

Hoping for a win tomorrow.

 

With that said....if Baez doesn't serve up that fastball to Holliday no argument needed. Tomorrow is the test. We show up defeated then it's another wasted season. They show fight and dominate then the series gets interesting.

 

i watched the game like you did...i watched Mattingly go to the mound after watching Kersh's fastballs get slapped around one after the other..just because you're letting him stay in, doesn't mean you don't go out there with a plan.

 

I see your point...but if they did all you say, granted...so we score 10 instead of 9 or something. No matter what he was, the offense was killer...Dee not contributing or whatever. And he did have an RBI.
What does it matter when your ace gives up 8 runs?
Like , what does it matter if your ERA is .001, and you're a pushover in the post....really?

 

So what you're saying is you think they talked pitch selection? If DBB was embarrassed like you said he was and probably knew they were stealing signs wouldn't you think that would be the discussion? I'd hate to think DBB is that dumb. My guess is he asked him how he was feeling and if he could get out of the inning.

 

Still waiting for a jumping off a bridge smiley.

 

I'm sure one of us already has tonight.

 

I'm more bummed over this loss because of the fact that it's only a best of 5. Best of 5 series are a joke and shouldn't exist.

 

he just looked embarrassed to me, but it also could've been the " i can't believe i'm walkin out here for this shit right now " type of thing. he may not have known that signs were being picked off ( which would be another indictment in itself). but the point is this..what is a manager for if he can't manage a situation? regardless of who's pitching..the manager should be able to lay out a plan when the sky is falling and we need a couple outs. help a struggling pitcher out, no matter who he is..the W is all that matters right now. egos are pushed aside. that's the way it's supposed to be anyway.

i truly believe signs were being stolen and i blame Kershaw, Ellis and Mattingly for not adjusting. one of them has to recognize it, get guys together, work it out and get a couple outs. this is still a team sport. all this " Kershaw is a choker " bullshit is just denying problems that have been there all year and buying into the Kershaw narrative. again, Kershaw was struggling and had a meltdown, but we've had a suckass manager and catcher all year and they didn't help. i appreciate Ellis' bat today, but we know he sucks and it's a factor..it just hasn't shown up to this level until now because Kershaw's rarely in that much trouble. we've been replacing Ellis with Russell Martin all week because he can block balls consistently, talk his pitchers down and hit. just sayin. and we know Mattingly's a dummy and we know the Cards specialize in stealing signs.

there's a bigger picture here, but if people wanna hang it all on Kershaw..fine. he gets all the credit when he wins, so i guess it's the " quarterback " thing in baseball form. however, the Cards get the big picture and that's why they always edge us. they'll make up for that extra 75-80M that they didn't spend by out-gaming you in the game. this is what they do and the fuckers do it to the best. they did this to Verlander when was at the top of his game and Verlander's been the Tigers' go-to man in big spots for years. i'm not so stuck on the Dodgers that i'll deny credit to the Cards. hate them all you like..as will i, but you will respect them. nobody else does this to Kershaw and i hope we add a catcher like Martin at the very least that can help him in tough situations like these. asking for a manager who manages is asking for too much. i know that.

 

and to be quite frank..if it wasn't the Cards stealing signs and it was just Kersh shaking off Ellis..i'm thinking it's an Ellis problem. because again, Kersh has been in these kinds of jams once, maybe twice this season. and Kersh knows Ellis' shortcomings as a catcher just like we do. we all know he's not dependable when it comes to stopping balls in the dirt, so it wouldn't surprise me if that were the issue with going to breaking stuff with the bases juiced either.

in that scenario..everybody knows what's coming on Kersh's 1st pitch..it's a fastball. jump on them, get the bases packed and just let it play it out where Kersh isn't confident in Ellis' ability to block his breaking stuff. i gotta believe that Kersh has more confidence in his ability to snap a slider or curve than Ellis' ability to block them in a tight situation with everything on the line in the playoffs. it's a game of chess and the Cards play it well. wouldn't shock me. again, God bless Ellis for bat today, but we all know his shortcomings defensively. the problem with that..if it's true..it might show up when any of our pitchers are in a jam. hell, instead of thinking of replacing Kershaw in that 1st mound visit, Mattingly might have been served well if he replaced Ellis with Butera.

 

So I was at the stadium..and my son is crushed...Real tears coming down this kids face when we lost the lead and they put up an 8 spot...I tried to tell him baseball is crazy...we can come back.. He told me alright dad, its time for rally caps...Rally caps were on..we started to come back..the stadium was alive again. We came up short, but we fought hard and ended up with the loss.

Now for my take on the Kershaw / Mattingly debacle..

There were 3 more lefties in a row due up.. who do you want..THE best pitcher in the universe who happens to be a lefty and crushes lefty hitters? Who just got done retiring like 16 straight with 10 k's or some shyt?Or JP fucking Howell who has sucked azz the last 15 games..? My vote was to leave Kersh in to get the left handed hitters...Bad call, maybe..But if He actually got those fuckers out and came out ahead..everyone would be praising Mattingly for sticking with his ace..The best left handed pitcher in the game.

Baseball is a fucking crazy game..one bad move can cost you a season..lets just hope this isn't the one that cost us a ship..BTW stadium was fucking nuts...

Go Dodgers..

OH and Grainke needs to drill the Holliday in the ribs 1st fucking pitch...no fucking question!

 

Marlon Anderson ✔@MarlonAnderson8Follow
I promise you the #Cardinals has @ClaytonKersh22 pitches out of the stretch!!! Same as last years championship series.
8:15 PM - 3 Oct 2014



also a possibility

 

hopefully this was a tipping pitches/sign stealing issue that the staff can correct..because if the issue was Kersh's confidence in Ellis, that'd be worse. but Mattingly, Ellis, Honeycutt and just everydamnbody needs to watch the tape and find out wtf it was. talk to Kersh and get his take and true feelings on the matter. Game 2 will be here in a blink.

 

I get what you're saying but I agree with blazer. Kershaw is your ace, your stud, your leader and if he tells you he's going to get out of an inning you believe it because he's never made you look like you've made the wrong decision. I would have done the same. If it's Ryu out there or haren you take that ball out of his hand, no doubt. I don't like to admit it or say it but Kershaw choked today and it isn't the first time. In no way am I defending ellis whatsoever but I just can't bring myself to put this on him.

I don't doubt the cards were stealing signs either. IMO they are a bush team and will do anything to win. we just have to beat them at their own game.

 

So what was Kershaw's reasoning as to why he choked?

Kershaw is essentially Peyton Manning right now until he can prove that doesn't find a way to come up small in the biggest games.