For the life of me I can't figure out why teams throw fastballs over the plate to Jason Bay. Remember how bad he looked striking out his first two at-bats on breaking balls low and away? He does that every time they're thrown to him.

On the plus side, contrary to Fozzie, I don't think Lester/Lackey was a mismatch in your favor. Lester has been our ace since the beginning of May. Gaudy W/L and ERA aside, tonight's Dice-K/Santana matchup is more in your favor.

Q for Cubs fans - Why is Fukudome still hitting in the 2-hole? He's .205/.299/.306 since June 28.

Second Q for baseball fans - why don't middle infielders hold the tag a second longer on sliding players? It seems quite often the player either pops off the bag for a split second while standing up or overslides a little on close plays, but the fielder always seems so eager to show the umpire he has the ball? The ump isn't going to call safe if he's unsure you have it in your glove.

Fukudome in 2 hole - because he *should* be good in that spot, with a good batting eye and ability/willingness to move runners along.

He hit the ball hard a couple of times last night, but all in all he has not made any adjustments once the league got a "book" on him. Well, not any adjustments that have changed his downward slide.

Lou said he wanted to play Fukudome this entire series because of emphasis on speed/defense, plus DeRosa having a tweaked hamstring. But I agree that #2 spot is not where you put him until '09 season at earliest.

I know this is half an inning late (took a bit to get online). What the hell was the deal between those two players? I don't get the dirt kicking thing but I find it very amusing that he ends up getting struck out following that.

Was there a history between them or was he just trying to be a dick to get into the pitcher's head. If it was the latter, it didn't work.

Rays win it!!

Longoria really showing some greatness in his first postseason game.

Let's Go Rays!

Grand Slam for the Flyin Hawaiian off of CC. 5-1 Phils!

GREAT at bat by Myers to lead to that.

CC who? ;)

The fact that Sabathia has been going on 3 days rest the last few weeks doesn't help either.. his arm must be like spaghetti at this point.

CC's arm is fine, he's still hitting 95-96 MPH, it's been a location issue.

Also credit the very, very strong lineup of the Phillies that is very patient. Phillies looking damn tough as much as it disheartens me to say it.

Awesome game!!! Longo hit that second bomb over the second ring. I have only seen 1 other ball hit there.


It was a sellout they have a tarp over the high seats in the upper deck that have obstructed views due to the catwalks.

The crowd was great it felt like a football game loud and all Rays fans.

Nice show by the Rays

SI

...not so much...

oh my dear god. Two errors in a row as Derosa bobbles an easy double play ball with runners on 1st and 3rd, allowing a run to score instead of ending the inning. Lee fucks up the next play to allow the bases loaded. Zambrano strikes out one to make it two outs, please get out of this without any more damage. This is so painful to watch.

a bunt for a single by furcal makes it 2-0 LA. I am feeling physically ill at this point.

well, it was a good regular season at least.

This last inning was just a horror show. Z never deals well with screw-ups behind him, and they had 2 errors and another pretty iffy play ... I would hate to be a water cooler in that dugout right about now.

Oh man... :(

SI

Wooo

Manny is no. joke.

Damn Cubs :(

SI

7-0 Dodgers now.

So usually on Dodger radio broadcasts, Vin will call the first three innings, and from the 4th to the end is Charlie Steiner and Rick Monday.

Today? Turned over to Vin again in the 7th inning to call the rest of the game. Can't imagine a better way to spend my final evening as a resident of California. :)

you guys still having fun?

In all seriousness I feel bad for Cubs fans, this really looked like their year in a weak National League.

Cubs making a comeback

wow -every infielder managed to commit an error tonight for the cubs

Well, you can always count on Sweet Lou for a soundbite.

Dodgers 2 and 0. Looking forward to being there for the sweep on Saturday!

Go Phillies!

in bad taste, yet hilarious (and sad :( )

Wow...the Cubs have really played terribly all around these first two games. Maybe going to the west coast and playing in front of the blase Dodgers crowd will be just what they needed. Of course, I'm disregarding the fact that they've never won a playoff game west of Chicago, but that doesn't really mean anything now.

I think the Cubs will win game 3 against Kuroda......one game at a time.

I know as a bitter Giant fan you gotta get your digs in. That's okay.

But if you think a Dodgers postseason crowd - let alone one sniffing a trip to the NLCS for the first time in 20 years - is going to be "blasé," you might want to actually attend a Dodger postseason game.

If you're counting on that to get the Cubs back into the series, you might want to find another motivator.

Has anyone figured out what that White Sox player's problem was (when he started kicking dirt towards the pitcher)? I only had it on in the background so that caught my attention but I never really saw who it was.

Ha! Oh, Dodger fan. So out of touch! Bitter? Yeah, maybe my span of title-free years coupled with Bonds related scapegoating has jaded me. It's true. However, no Dodger crowd has ever struck me as anything but blase (sorry...I don't know how to apply accents. Score one for you.). I was 4 when the Kirk Gibson madness happened, thank god.

What I do know is you've got a team much like the Cardinals from '06. It's a team that underperformed in the regular season, getting into the postseason through division sucktitude and late season revelations. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find the celebrities out for a World Series involving the Dodgers.

Take pride in it. Take pride in what you are bearing witness to this season. A core of talented young players...Billingsley, Martin, Kemp, and Eithier. Take pride in a sober version of Harry Caray. Take pride in luminaries such as Paris Hilton showing up to game 6 of the NLCS wearing a Dodgers hat. Take pride in your water-stealing, soulless fan base. Take pride in Eric Karros being the all-time Dodgers home run leader.

Enjoy it, because the Giants will be back within a season or two. Kershaw is no Lincecum, and Billingsley is no Cain.

Oh, and Barry Bonds may be an asshole, but at least he never pushed a 60 year old man to the ground over tickets.

GO CUBS

Still a longways to go for the Phils. I believe that the Brewers will take Game 3 based on momentum for playing at home and desperation from the players. So, it will all come down to Hamels in Game 4.

I still think the Phils will win (especially now, considering I have tickets to Game 6 of the NLCS assuming the Dodgers win, Game 5 if the Cubs pull it out), but I'm not conceding slam dunk just yet.

lol. Only a Bay Area fan could come off so sanctimonious and condescending toward a fan of a team that actually made the postseason, while the teams up there are just mired in complete suckitude.

As a Brewer fan, I will never feel bad for a Cubs fan. Hopefully they join us in getting swept.

Our offensive is offensive. The only way Hall and Weeks should see Miller park next year is if it is on another team. Tired of .230 hitters.

That would be so awesome, have fun!

At least Weeks has an OBP above .300

Weeks is frustrating in that if he could simply hit .260 he'd be a very very good offensive player. Never mind the defense.

But yeah, mind the defense. Given everything, it wouldn't hurt me to see somebody else at second base next year. I also will not be at all surprised when Weeks goes all Brandon Phillips on us for whoever he plays next.

.230 hitters aren't necessarily so bad:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/d/dunnad01.shtml

But I understand your point.

It was Orlando Cabrera, though I didn't find out what the deal was until just now.

War of words: Balfour, Cabrera go at it | whitesox.com: News

Exactly you got your shit backwards. Billingsley is better then Lincecum and Kershaw is better then Cain. Get your facts straight.

Really? I find it nigh impossible to legitimately argue that any of the aforementioned pitchers is better than Lincecum. If I had to rank them right now, it'd be Lincecum, Billingsley, Cain, Kershaw. In 2-3 years (barring injury)? Lincecum, Kershaw, Billingsley, Cain. And if Cain can get a little better control, watch out. Dude's a horse.

Hey now, we finished one game better than last year, so clearly we're on an upward trend.

11 stranded runners through 7 innings. *shakes head* I'm so disgusted right now.

These playoffs need more Bon Jovi.

Nothing would be sweeter than seeing both Chicago teams eliminated.

Everything needs more Bon Jovi.

Someone is drifting dangerously close to "ignore" status :mad: :mad: :mad:

Only saving grace is that you are saying that while the Sox are being pistol-whipped in 8th inning.

Man the ump really blew that call and bailed out Dye who wasnt hussling out of the box.

Doesn't matter. We're fucking sucking dick this game anyway.

Is it possible for another ump to overrule that call if he clearly saw that it was blown?

not sure but I doubt they would show each other up regardless

I don't know why it would be considered showing another ump up. It is a common occurrence in other sports.

JASON BAY!!!!

Someone check Chief Rum's house please? I think this could cause a shooting rampage :(

Red Sox/Rays ALCS would be pretty sweet. Those teams have always seemed to have a history, even though the Rays always sucked.

I'm a completely neutral observer in all this and I just can't see how anyone can see Billingsley better than Lincecum unless we're taking into account injury possibilities. They're close with Billingsley having a half year more in the majors but is about 2 months younger than Lincecum. However, Lincecum has better career numbers and better numbers this year.

SI

Thanks for the worry, Foz, but the trees around here are safe.

It's sad, really. Because it's resignation I am feeling right now. I don't feel any passion anymore. Just acceptance that this is the lot I have been given. And I and the Angels are simply powerless to do anything about it.

I love my Red Sox, but I'm seriously starting to feel bad for the Angels.

Can Toriiiiii get an rbiiii?

SI

No, but he might have just Milton Bradley'd himself.

edit: They're saying that Hunter is trying to still get loose.. and wondering if he'll continue

If you want to feel bad about anyone, feel bad for us fans. But don't feel bad for the Angels, at least not the players who refuse to show up. Don't feel bad for the players because they don't deserve it with how they cave instantly when they play the Red Sox in the postseason.

Congrats to Figgy for finally breaking out of it (at least for one at bat).

GA, at least isn't a quailing bird. He got the key hit in Game 7 of the 2002 series.

Dice didn't like the fact that Santana had used up more pitches then he had. God.. can he go deep in a game.. please?

I am hoping someone will go deep. Not Dice, though.

Alright Rays!

Up 2-0 now. Would be nice to get a sweep.

Nice! Absolutely beautiful slide!

SI

Teixeira is really...really...good.

You know, a home run would help those two "sore legged runners" score easier ;)

SI

lol...you know it. Rivera has a bad track record against Dice, though, IIRC. But 0 outs is 0 outs.

Great pitch. Rivera was completely fooled.

Absolutely wicked pitch

SI

Man, Dice-K is getting some generous strike calls here and it almost always seems to be on strike 1

SI

Yeah, those high inside curves are bunk. Still, it's not like he's getting all the calls. We have to make his mistakes hurt.

Wow, that's a bit desperate, pinch hitting for your catcher in the fifth inning?

Don't worry, we have another one.

Yeah, but with four innings to go, and your only remaining catcher in there... yeesh.

Think Hunter's knee is still bothering him?

Yes. Which is why it was absolutely huge that he got that hit. I'm surprised he's in there.

Mathis is not a very strong hitter, and only in because Santana and Mathis work together, like what's his face you guys used to have who caught Wakefield only. So essentially we're getting our starter and a much more dangerous hitter in Napoli.

Yeah, it's risky, but come on, you know we can't afford to go back to Boston down two.

That was huge.

weak AB by ellsbury

Well, it's about time someone with the Sox had a weak AB.

As a Cubs fan, I have zero sympathy for Angels fans. Zip. Zero. Nada.

And that is with no animosity at all towards the Angels, their fans, or Chief Rum. Far from it. But there are clearly more tortured fan bases out there than the Angels, with only six years since winning the title and strong teams just about the entire decade.

Have to admit, Napoli saved you guys at least one run with all the bouncers he saved from going to the backstop

no argument here

Long suffering Royals fans? ;)

SI

You know, Dice and Okajima look a lot alike. Or am I just racist?

Understood.

If it makes you feel any better, I am also a Clippers fan.

He has a big butt.

oyyy - the ball is just not carrying tonight. Pedroia had a shot earlier, Youks had one, and now that one that was damn close

Honestly, I think that guys like sterlingice have a bigger beef than Cubs fans who are under the age of 40. Or anyone who wants to admit they are a Pirate fan.

When the Cubs lost in NLCS in '84 I was too young to appreciate the significance in terms of the franchise. I knew it sucked to lose a 2-0 lead in a five game series, but had no understanding of "75 years since last Wolrd Series". I was 12 - what did I know about 75 years of anything, really? By '03, I was old enough to have a context for what had happend and how brutal it was for the long-time fans. And realize that I've now invested 25 years in Cubs baseball without a World Series appearance, let alone a title.

Anyway, I'm sure it sucks for Angels fans to feel now about Boston like Boston did towards New York for a bunch of years prior to '04. But if they keep rolling out good teams year in and year out I would expect that one of these years they will show up strong in a short series.

Clippers fans. Yeesh. That is a tough pill.

Three chances left. Two runs to go get. Come on, let's make these guys freakin' earn it for once (against us, I mean, they earn it everywhere else, but they just show up for us).

Heh, I even cited you by name in my follow-up post :p

I'll just keep quoting this.

You know, the depressing thing about the middle of the order getting hits? Eventually, the middle of the order ends.

Come on, guys, don't let these hits continue to go to waste.

Geeeeeeezzzzz.. it's like being in Jaws, and hearing the music, and just waiting for the shark to strike.

Here's the Rally Monkey. FWIW.

The Sox announcers hate the Monkey.. I can see why.. the Monkey started in what, 2002?

lol...good way of putting it. Hopefully the shark has some teeth this time.

2000.

Just no one cared until 2002.

Odd umpire. Tight up top and down low (like that last one). But giving the corners on the side. Pitchers are pitching to a broomstick strike zone.