the nl east and the nl west will be a RACE down to the wire.

[formerlurker]

Now that I ponder it, I would like to see a Red Sox/Dodgers WS only to have Beckett knock Manny on his arse at his first at plate.   

Manny it is remarkable how quickly you recovered from your injury.   

[Wretched Excess]

This just in: the Mets have canceled the winter break to get advanced training in the heimlich maneuver. 







 

 

The worst part is that the Mets will not make any real changes.  Sure, Ollie Perez will jump ship to the highest bidder, and Pedro Martinez will retire, and Moises Alou will as well, and Orlando Hernandez, and Billy Wagner will be gone, but the new guys they bring in won't make a heluva lotta difference.  They really should package Aaron Heilman (who's had a bad knee, supposedly, all year) and Luis Castillo up and move them, putting Argenis Reyes/Ramon Martinez at 2B for next year, and Danny Murphy/Nick Evans in LF.  Bobby Parnell should be in the bullpen.  Eddie Kunz needs to get some time in the pen, as well.

I'm thinking third place in the NL East next year.  I really should have jumped to the Royals like I wanted to do last year.

my condolences, BSS.  the mets were one of my adopted teams this season.  baseball is so heartless.  i'm thinking that if billy wagner doesn't go down, it's a completely different result for the mets.

i wonder if cc sabathia can pitch every day . . . 

[formerlurker]

"Baseball in Boston is like a Sunday football game, but played every day," Ramirez said. "We lose in LA, I go to breakfast and people say, 'Well, you'll get them tomorrow.' In Boston, it's 'Hey, what's going on, the Yankees are coming.' It's just a different atmosphere. The fans in Boston got your back no matter what, but I'm talking about the people who write all this bull because it means so much to them. If your happiness depends on Boston winning or losing, you have to get a life."

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2008/09/manny_bashing_b.html


Ok Manny, so what you are saying is that Boston fans love baseball and the Dodger fans could care less either way.    Gotcha!

Manny, who is a free agent at the end of the season, on his future with the Dodgers: "I think I can play four or five more years. And the way the division is, the Dodgers can win it the next four or five years, but they have big decisions to make. It just depends on how badly they want to win."

I am so glad he speaks to the media in LA.

[jendf]

This just in: the Mets have canceled the winter break to get advanced training in the heimlich maneuver. 







 

 

The worst part is that the Mets will not make any real changes.  Sure, Ollie Perez will jump ship to the highest bidder, and Pedro Martinez will retire, and Moises Alou will as well, and Orlando Hernandez, and Billy Wagner will be gone, but the new guys they bring in won't make a heluva lotta difference.  They really should package Aaron Heilman (who's had a bad knee, supposedly, all year) and Luis Castillo up and move them, putting Argenis Reyes/Ramon Martinez at 2B for next year, and Danny Murphy/Nick Evans in LF.  Bobby Parnell should be in the bullpen.  Eddie Kunz needs to get some time in the pen, as well.

I'm thinking third place in the NL East next year.  I really should have jumped to the Royals like I wanted to do last year.

Hey, BSS. If you want to form a support group for disgruntled baseball fans, I'll help. 

[BlueStateSaint]

This just in: the Mets have canceled the winter break to get advanced training in the heimlich maneuver. 







 

 

The worst part is that the Mets will not make any real changes.  Sure, Ollie Perez will jump ship to the highest bidder, and Pedro Martinez will retire, and Moises Alou will as well, and Orlando Hernandez, and Billy Wagner will be gone, but the new guys they bring in won't make a heluva lotta difference.  They really should package Aaron Heilman (who's had a bad knee, supposedly, all year) and Luis Castillo up and move them, putting Argenis Reyes/Ramon Martinez at 2B for next year, and Danny Murphy/Nick Evans in LF.  Bobby Parnell should be in the bullpen.  Eddie Kunz needs to get some time in the pen, as well.

I'm thinking third place in the NL East next year.  I really should have jumped to the Royals like I wanted to do last year.

my condolences, BSS.  the mets were one of my adopted teams this season.  baseball is so heartless.  i'm thinking that if billy wagner doesn't go down, it's a completely different result for the mets.

i wonder if cc sabathia can pitch every day . . . 

Here's a stat for you--if baseball games were 8 innings instead of 9, the Mets win the NL East by 8 games.

Damn straight that Wagner going down killed the Mets.  K-Rod's agent's cell # is on Omar's speed dial.

[Wretched Excess]

I certainly didn't see this one coming. or dempster having control problems, or three home runs by a team that couldn't seem to hit one in a week during the regular season, or 7 runs,  or greg maddux pitching the ninth.  manny ramizrez was all but falling over when he hit his HR in the 7th. srlsy

it's only one game, and the cubs are still the best team in the NL by far.  and it doesn't get any easier tomorrow with zambrano on the mound.  but winning one in chicago was crucial.  winning game one was was pretty big.

[jendf]

I certainly didn't see this one coming. or dempster having control problems, or three home runs by a team that couldn't seem to hit one in a week during the regular season, or 7 runs,  or greg maddux pitching the ninth.  manny ramizrez was all but falling over when he hit his HR in the 7th. srlsy

it's only one game, and the cubs are still the best team in the NL by far.  and it doesn't get any easier tomorrow with zambrano on the mound.  but winning one in chicago was crucial.  winning the game was was pretty big.

I predicted this at TOS. I said the Dodgers would surprise everyone and the Cubs would choke as expected. It's the postseason, baby!

[Chris_]

I certainly didn't see this one coming. or dempster having control problems, or three home runs by a team that couldn't seem to hit one in a week during the regular season, or 7 runs,  or greg maddux pitching the ninth.  manny ramizrez was all but falling over when he hit his HR in the 7th. srlsy :-)

it's only one game, and the cubs are still the best team in the NL by far.  and it doesn't get any easier tomorrow with zambrano on the mound.  but winning one in chicago was crucial.  winning the game was was pretty big.

I predicted this at TOS. I said the Dodgers would surprise everyone and the Cubs would choke as expected. It's the postseason, baby!

One more win and the Dodgers will double their post-season output in the last 20 years.

[jendf]

I certainly didn't see this one coming. or dempster having control problems, or three home runs by a team that couldn't seem to hit one in a week during the regular season, or 7 runs,  or greg maddux pitching the ninth.  manny ramizrez was all but falling over when he hit his HR in the 7th. srlsy

it's only one game, and the cubs are still the best team in the NL by far.  and it doesn't get any easier tomorrow with zambrano on the mound.  but winning one in chicago was crucial.  winning the game was was pretty big.

I predicted this at TOS. I said the Dodgers would surprise everyone and the Cubs would choke as expected. It's the postseason, baby!

One more win and the Dodgers will double their post-season output in the last 20 years.

 

[morningAngel]

 
wait..
doesn't POST season mean this crap is over yet?

[Wretched Excess]

I certainly didn't see this one coming. or dempster having control problems, or three home runs by a team that couldn't seem to hit one in a week during the regular season, or 7 runs,  or greg maddux pitching the ninth.  manny ramizrez was all but falling over when he hit his HR in the 7th. srlsy

it's only one game, and the cubs are still the best team in the NL by far.  and it doesn't get any easier tomorrow with zambrano on the mound.  but winning one in chicago was crucial.  winning the game was was pretty big.

I predicted this at TOS. I said the Dodgers would surprise everyone and the Cubs would choke as expected. It's the postseason, baby!

anything can happen in the playoffs, but I'm more realistic;  this is a pretty flawed baseball team.  their starting pitching is a big question mark after #3 in the  rotation, their closer is probably still injured, their setup man can be a head case, and they are very young everywhere they aren't very old.  I hope torre leaves the ethier and kemp in the outfield from here on out, but I am sure we will see juan pierre starting before the series is over.

I'll have to check the splits, but I seem to recall that LA had a tougher time with dempster than zambrano during the regular season. 

[Wretched Excess]

I certainly didn't see this one coming. or dempster having control problems, or three home runs by a team that couldn't seem to hit one in a week during the regular season, or 7 runs,  or greg maddux pitching the ninth.  manny ramizrez was all but falling over when he hit his HR in the 7th. srlsy

it's only one game, and the cubs are still the best team in the NL by far.  and it doesn't get any easier tomorrow with zambrano on the mound.  but winning one in chicago was crucial.  winning the game was was pretty big.

I predicted this at TOS. I said the Dodgers would surprise everyone and the Cubs would choke as expected. It's the postseason, baby!

One more win and the Dodgers will double their post-season output in the last 20 years.

you realize, of course, that the predictive value of that threadbare little factoid of yours is nil, don't you?

[morningAngel]

 

[youtube=425,350]nx8uqMU9q7Y[/youtube]

[Wretched Excess]

wait..
doesn't POST season mean this crap is over yet?

no, OFFseason means it's over.  POSTseason means the regular season is over.  this "crap", as you put it, could conceivably last until the end of october.  aren't you excited?

I knew you would be.

[BlueStateSaint]

Supposedly, there's been internal discussions at Shea/Citi about going after Manny in the offseason.  The prevailing attitude is that it would take a four- to five-year deal to get it done.

[Odin's Hand]

Supposedly, there's been internal discussions at Shea/Citi about going after Manny in the offseason.  The prevailing attitude is that it would take a four- to five-year deal to get it done.

I would think that finding pitchers whom can locate the strike zone would be their main concern after giving up 590 walks this season.

[jendf]

I certainly didn't see this one coming. or dempster having control problems, or three home runs by a team that couldn't seem to hit one in a week during the regular season, or 7 runs,  or greg maddux pitching the ninth.  manny ramizrez was all but falling over when he hit his HR in the 7th. srlsy

it's only one game, and the cubs are still the best team in the NL by far.  and it doesn't get any easier tomorrow with zambrano on the mound.  but winning one in chicago was crucial.  winning the game was was pretty big.

I predicted this at TOS. I said the Dodgers would surprise everyone and the Cubs would choke as expected. It's the postseason, baby!

anything can happen in the playoffs, but I'm more realistic;  this is a pretty flawed baseball team.  their starting pitching is a big question mark after #3 in the  rotation, their closer is probably still injured, their setup man can be a head case, and they are very young everywhere they aren't very old.  I hope torre leaves the ethier and kemp in the outfield from here on out, but I am sure we will see juan pierre starting before the series is over.

I'll have to check the splits, but I seem to recall that LA had a tougher time with dempster than zambrano during the regular season. 

I heard an interesting statistic this morning on sports radio. In the National League, only 4 teams have come back to win the division series after losing the first game. The record is like 24 teams to 4.

In the AL, it's a little more dicey. 14 and 14 was the number I think I heard. So those match-ups are still legitimate toss-ups.

So don't sell you're team short. They are playing the Cubs. The Cubs are great until it matters most. Then they look for something (goat) or someone (Steve Bartman) to blame.

[Wretched Excess]

Supposedly, there's been internal discussions at Shea/Citi about going after Manny in the offseason.  The prevailing attitude is that it would take a four- to five-year deal to get it done.

I would assume that the mets are a player for manny, especially with colletti and mccourt being so coy when asked about resigning him in LA.  the club option years that were dropped from his contract when he was traded were for $20M a year, so the bidding starts there.  4 years sounds about right, with a club option for a 5th, perhaps.  but when you throw in the scott boras factor, and the deal could get very obscene, very quickly.

he'll turn 37 next may, so you would expect his production to drop off in the next two years.  the dodgers already have $25M per season invested in outfielders that sit on the bench in pierre and jones, so there is a great deal of self inflicted salary cap pressure on the dodgers' roster already.  but if the dodgers manage to advance at all in the playoffs, there will be almost irresistible pressure to resign him.

[Wretched Excess]

I certainly didn't see this one coming. or dempster having control problems, or three home runs by a team that couldn't seem to hit one in a week during the regular season, or 7 runs,  or greg maddux pitching the ninth.  manny ramizrez was all but falling over when he hit his HR in the 7th. srlsy

it's only one game, and the cubs are still the best team in the NL by far.  and it doesn't get any easier tomorrow with zambrano on the mound.  but winning one in chicago was crucial.  winning the game was was pretty big.

I predicted this at TOS. I said the Dodgers would surprise everyone and the Cubs would choke as expected. It's the postseason, baby!

anything can happen in the playoffs, but I'm more realistic;  this is a pretty flawed baseball team.  their starting pitching is a big question mark after #3 in the  rotation, their closer is probably still injured, their setup man can be a head case, and they are very young everywhere they aren't very old.  I hope torre leaves the ethier and kemp in the outfield from here on out, but I am sure we will see juan pierre starting before the series is over.

I'll have to check the splits, but I seem to recall that LA had a tougher time with dempster than zambrano during the regular season. 

I heard an interesting statistic this morning on sports radio. In the National League, only 4 teams have come back to win the division series after losing the first game. The record is like 24 teams to 4.

In the AL, it's a little more dicey. 14 and 14 was the number I think I heard. So those match-ups are still legitimate toss-ups.

So don't sell you're team short. They are playing the Cubs. The Cubs are great until it matters most. Then they look for something (goat) or someone (Steve Bartman) to blame.

yeah, I heard that being tossed around last night, but I'm not buying it.  that's most likely because the higher seeded playoff team has home field advantage, so the opening game is played at the higher seeded team's ballpark.  home field advantage is pretty huge in baseball, of course.  so, it just logically follows that the higher seeded team will win the series.  the fact that the team that wins the opening game also wins the series is more of a result of something else than an cause of success.  I'm not sure why the AL is so rampantly illogical.

I'm not sellin' them short, jen.  I probably watched 140 of the 162 dodgers games this season;  I just know where the bodies are buried.  

and I just want it stipulated for the record, and in deference to the baseball gods, that it wasn't me that just used the-word-that-starts-with-a-"c"-and-rhymes-with-"poke" in reference to the cubs.

[BlueStateSaint]

Supposedly, there's been internal discussions at Shea/Citi about going after Manny in the offseason.  The prevailing attitude is that it would take a four- to five-year deal to get it done.

I would think that finding pitchers whom can locate the strike zone would be their main concern after giving up 590 walks this season.

The story I heard was that they're going to look in-house for bullpen help (Bobby Parnell, Eddie Kunz used properly) and maybe go after someone like A.J. Burnett.  Hell, I would absolutely love to see them sign CC, but it ain't happening.  They're nuts.  I've also heard Brian Fuentes' name being discussed.  They absolutely need a closer, and I'm hoping K-Rod fills the bill.

[Wretched Excess]

the dodgers have a closer problem.  I suspected that saito wasn't 100% after being on the DL for a month with a partially torn ligament in his pitching elbow*.   his september ERA is 4.76 and his WHIP is 1.8, which are about twice his career numbers.  I suppose it could be rust, but he has struggled mightily since his return to the lineup.  last night's game should have ended 10-1, but saito couldn't get an out in the ninth, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits, all very hard hit balls.  broxton came in with a man on second and was saved from giving up a run and allowing the thing to get a little complicated when berroa speared a screaming line drive that was headed for the gap in right center.  the moral of this story is that the 8th and 9th innings are going to be very stressful in a close game.

on the upside, having furcal back in the lineup and hitting in the leadoff spot has transformed the dodgers batting order almost as dramatically as having ramirez hitting 3rd. okay, that is an exaggeration, but the alternative, angel berroa, is 3 semi-automatic outs per game. 

I'm not sure what to expect saturday night.  the dodgers haven't faced harden this season, although kuroda has been effective against the cubs in the two games that he started against them.  and the dodgers are running out of freakish ways (7 walks wednesday night, 4 errors and 5 unearned runs last night) of beating chicago.


*initial reports were that he may require tommy john surgery, in which case he would have been done for this season and next season.  but he underwent some sort of new cutting edge procedure that involved injecting concentrated platelets into his elbow, and made a miraculous recovery. 

[jendf]

I'm not sure what to expect saturday night.

Expect a win, my pessimist friend. Believe!

[Wretched Excess]

I'm not sure what to expect saturday night.

Expect a win, my pessimist friend. Believe!

I am indeed pessimistic, but philosophically prepared to be pleasantly surprised.

[jendf]

I'm not sure what to expect saturday night.

Expect a win, my pessimist friend. Believe!

I am indeed pessimistic, but philosophically prepared to be pleasantly surprised.

Off-topic: I was going to use that picture but then decided on the heels instead. I'm glad I did. That would have been awkward. 

[Wretched Excess]

I'm not sure what to expect saturday night.

Expect a win, my pessimist friend. Believe!

I am indeed pessimistic, but philosophically prepared to be pleasantly surprised.

Off-topic: I was going to use that picture but then decided on the heels instead. I'm glad I did. That would have been awkward. 

LOL!  yeah, it woulda been. 

I looked to see if anyone had beaten me to it before I made it my AV.