Giants Fans are Getting Just What They Wanted

Well this is what the Giant fans were hoping for.  The division is clinched, the Dodgers are on the verge of elimination AND the Giants have about a 95% chance of witnessing the Dodgers eliminated from the post season during one of the final three games of the season.

"It couldn't have been set up more perfectly," says Nick, a lifetime Dodger hater and Giants fan who works with me.  I put it in that order purposely because it's the truth.  The fans up north actually get more joy out of watching the Dodgers lose than their Giants winning.  I believe it's that way because for the longest time, that's what Giant fans really had to root for.

While driving across the Bay Bridge last Thursday,  I had to snap this picture.  This SUV passed me, all decked out in Giants stickers and flags.  I couldn't help but notice the vanity plate.  Fans up here really take more pride in the Dodgers losing than the Giants winning, as shown on this license plate.  

Los Angeles owned San Francisco for the most part the first two and a half decades of the California rivalry.  Sure there was the '62 playoff that the Giants won and the '71 division that the Giants took by one game, but between 1958 and 1988, the Dodgers accumulated 5 World Series Championships and 9 pennants to the Giants 0 World Series championships and 1 pennant.

Take the next 22 years though and the Giants have dominated the rivalry with one World Series victory and 3 pennants, while the Dodgers have goose eggs in each category.

A lot of us felt that a changing of the guard was in order with the recent acquisitions by the new Dodger ownership group.  Unfortunately for us the 2012 team fell flat on its face immediately after the Boston deal on August 24th when the Dodgers completed a 30% roster turnover with 78% of the season already over.  The Giants gelled about that time and the Dodgers swooned.  On the day of the trade, the Dodgers were 2 games behind the Giants.  Today, they find themselves 9 back.

"You can't buy chemistry, and the Dodgers don't have it," adds Nick.  When reminded of the recent Dodgers surge he says, "too little, too late.  The pressure got to them and now they're going down for the last time."

Man, I really hate the Giants.  I think I'm starting to develop the "hate them first, love my team second" mentality.  Twenty four years without a championship does that I guess.

The Wins Are Great, the Timing of Them is Torturous

It’s going to be a real shame that we probably won’t see this Dodger team in post season play.  The way they are playing now leads me to believe that they could actually do some damage in the playoffs.  The guys are hitting, the defense is sharp and the pitching (both starting and relief) is putting out great performances day in and day out.  

Winners of six of seven and five consecutive, the Dodgers are within a win of matching their longest winning streak of the season, and right when it was vital to do so.  Today’s 7-1 win over Colorado completed their first sweep of the Rockies since 2007.   The Rockies are definitely putting out a bunch of scrubs with much of their starting lineup out with injury, but how many times in past seasons had the Dodgers lost to similar teams in the pennant stretch?  Teams out of contention often play out of their minds, taking risks and playing aggressive baseball.  The Dodgers simply stopped that from happening by putting crooked numbers up on the scoreboard this past week, taking a lot of pressure off of the pitching staff.

Luis Cruz is greeted by Don Mattingly after hitting a two run homer to lead the Dodgers in their 7-1 win over the Rockies.  (photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

As the Dodgers start the season closing three game series against the Giants that many of us a few weeks ago thought would be a series for the ages, I can’t help but look back and think of the “what ifs” that would have changes the Dodgers fortunes.

There are the injuries:  Chad Billingsley, Scott Elbert and Ted Lilly who are gone for the season.  There are the injuries that set the Dodgers back for much of the year to Matt Kemp, Kenley Jansen, Andre Ethier and Mark Ellis.  I saw a graphic put up on one of the Dodger telecasts this week that showed the number of games Dodger players lost on the disabled list this year.  The number was second most in the majors.  I’m not making an excuse, because everyone has injuries, but they certainly had their unfair share of bad luck this season.

There were the inexplicable slumps.  What happened to this team in late August and early September when the mashers of the lineup were unable to score runs?   So many great pitching performances were wasted by that anemic offense that couldn’t score more than a run or two each game.  

There were the games that got away and some of the managerial decisions made by Mattingly that showed his reluctance to mix things up when his set lineup was failing day in and day out.

Josh Beckett went 6 innings, yielding only one run in the Dodger victory today.  (photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

This Dodger team has now won as many as the 2009 NL West Champion team did.  Eighty-four wins isn’t fantastic, but it’s a winning season, and considering how bad this team was playing in June, a team finishing with 86 or 87 wins is really quite respectable.

Ownership went out and spent the money and made a true effort to buy the club a championship.  Barring a miracle in the next three days which would include a colossal failure by St. Louis, it’s not going to happen.  Perhaps this ownership group might have learned a lesson.  That lesson is that championships aren’t won on paper, but on the field.  That massive roster turnovers 3/4 of the way through the season might be a bad idea.  

Don’t get me wrong.  When the trades went down, I was all for them.  We, the fans, were thrilled.  After years of thriftiness from the McCourt regime, we were so accustomed to ownership making deals that shed salary or produced long term contracts that were paid off over a large span of years.  The current ownership taking on big money contracts was a welcome sight.  We are the Los Angeles Dodgers for heaven’s sake.  We’re the second largest market in the majors and we should be spending big bucks. Perhaps though, they’ll be a bit more prudent in their 2/3 and 3/4 season acquisitions in the future.

So with three games to go, the Dodgers play out the season hoping that St. Louis loses at least two of the next three while the Dodgers sweep the Giants.  Not an impossible scenario, but certainly an unlikely one.  I have a lot more faith the the Dodgers accomplishing their end of the bargain before I do of the Cardinals losing a couple.  So break out the rabbit’s feet, hang a horse shoe over your Dodger pennant laden door, cross your fingers and toes, and break out every good luck charm that you have at your disposal.  The Dodgers are really going to need every one of them to continue playing beyond October 3rd.

"Beast Mode" Moves the Dodgers Within Two

The Dodgers winning ways continued for another night as they closed within two games of St. Louis for the final playoff spot.  They closed out the week at 5-1 and have picked the most ideal time of the year to get a respectable winning streak going.  My son put things in perspective though.

"You know what this means don't you?" he asked.  "We're getting set up to have our hearts broken by the Giants in a few days."

Matt Kemp admires his towering 4th inning homer. (Photo by J. Terrell/AP)

He might have a point but even facing that potential scenario beats being out of contention right now.  I'll take my chances against the hated ones in the final three games.

With the Cardinals still in control of their own destiny, help is still needed from afar from Washington and Cincinnati, but this Dodger team is coming together and Matt Kemp is heating up just in time.  If this team does reach the playoffs, I predict a monster series or two from our center fielder.

Kemp hit two solo blasts, the first traveling 461 feet deep into the Left Field Pavilion.  Hanley Ramirez is putting things together, banging out three knocks and stealing two bags.  Adrian Gonzalez added two hits as well and the pitching of Joe Blanton and the threesome in the bullpen (Belisario, Jansen and League) tossed a shutout.

Yes, the Dodgers are finally gelling.  Whether it's too late or not is tough to say, but it is great to see the team continue to scrap and battle in meaningful games up until the end.  These guys can't overlook the finale against Colorado tomorrow though.  Josh Beckett faces Jorge De La Rosa who has struggled this year.  We're happy tonight though, and that's a great feeling to have as a fan so late in the season.

They're Playing Great Now, Probably Too Late

The Dodger offense has emerged.  With 5 games left in this 162 game marathon they are putting runs up on the scoreboard at the rate all hoped for when the August trade with Boston went down.  Unfortunately, barring a miracle collapse by St. Louis, it looks like this surge is too late.

Sahne Victorino is congratulated by his manager Don Mattingly after homering in the second inning of last night's action )photo by Howard How/Getty Images)

For the third game in a row, the Dodgers scored 8 runs.  This time it was Shane Victorino that sparked a four run second inning rally with a 3-run shot into the Left Field Pavilion.  Victorino is playing his last five games as a Dodger now.  Look for him to attempt to latch on with a club that is willing to pay him for 3-4 years and is in search of a speedy leadoff man.  Shane wants a final contract in his career to make him comfortable for the rest of his life.

Clayton Kershaw showed the National League last night that he should be in the Cy Young Award race.  Leading the league in E.R.A., WHIP, and one strikeout behind in the strikeouts race, Kershaw, with some decent run support would be on the verge of a 20 win season.  His grit and determination have him pitching through hip pain and well at that.  Yes, the Rockies had a depleted lineup, but good pitchers take advantage of situation like that.   I contend that we might have seen Kershaw’s last start of the season.  By the time his turn comes around again, the Cardinals probably will have clinched the last playoff spot.

Clayton Kersahw hustles down the line showing no ill effects of his sore hip. (photo by Howard How/Getty Images)

You would think that the final 5 games that the Cardinals have against post season 

qualifiers (Washington and Cincinnati) would be competitive.  Those teams have home field advantage in play.  Unfortunately, MLB botched the playoff schedule and has the lower seed playing the first two playoff games at home.  Many believe that actually to be a disadvantage in a 3 out of 5 series.  As a result, the Nats and Reds, both in a flat-footed tie for the N.L. best record, really don’t have an urgency to gain the top spot.  Evidence of that thinking was seen yesterday when the Nationals pulled their regulars early in yesterdays blow out loss to the Cards.

So due to those factors, as great as the Dodgers have been playing, (winning four of their last five), it looks like they’ll be spectators come October 3rd.  Too bad, because the ball club is coming around.  Too little, too late.  They only have themselves to blame for being in this nearly impossible situation.  Joe Blanton goes to the mound tonight.

Dodgers Head Home With Heads Held High

The Dodgers continued their winning ways in San Diego tonight, and runs were scored a-plenty as Chris Capuano was on the winning end of a decision for the first time in what seems like a long time.  The Dodger won their 81st game of the year, ensuring them of at worst, a .500 season.

Chris Capuano's 5 2/3 innings of work were good enough for the win. (photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)

The offense got in gear again with an 8 run onslaught and 14 hit attack led by multi-hit efforts by Kemp, Gonzaelz, Cruz, Punto and A.J. Ellis.  But oddly, it wasn't the Dodgers ability to hit that broke the game open, it was consecutive batters that showed their ability to get hit that sparked the Dodgers 4-run 5th inning that put the game out of reach.    With two outs and two on, Padre starter  Casey Kelly hit Hanley Ramirez on the arm to load the bases.  He then plunked Shane Victorino on the back foot to force in the first run of the inning.  After that, the flood gates opened.  Luis Cruz lined a single up the middle to punch in two runs and A.J. Ellis grounded a roller up the middle to drive in the fourth run of the inning. 

Luis Cruz's 5th inning liner up the middle broke the game open as he drove in two runs with one swing.  (photo by Lenny Igneizi/AP)

Luis Cruz went 6 for 13 in this three game set in San Diego.  He continues his storybook run with his average now up to a season high .308.

Chris Capuano went an effective 5 2/3 innings for his 12th victory on the year, and the bullpen held the lead as the Dodgers gained a 1/2 game on idle St. Louis to move within three with six to play.  It was a 5-4 road trip, but the Dodgers won three of the last four which is quite the turnaround when considering that the offense a few days ago looked dead in the water as they watch Cincinnati celebrate their division title on Saturday night.

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On Sunday, September 23rd, I said the Dodgers had put themselves in such a difficult position that they would need to run the table to win the final wild card spot.  I still contend that statement to be true.  Since then, the Dodgers are 3-1, but they are stuck at three games back with 6 to play.

So let’s say that the Dodgers continue their winning ways and win their final 6 games at Dodger Stadium.  That would mean they would win nine of their final ten contests on the season.  Something that many of us would say would be enough to get them into the post season.  Unfortunately, they had dug themselves in such a hole that playing .900 ball in the final week and a half of the season will not be enough.  The Cardinals have a challenge to face with two playoff teams to face at home, but the urgency that the Nationals and Reds will be playing with is not nearly what it was earlier when they were battling for a playoff spot.

Standings following today’s action for the final Wild Card spot:

St. Louis     84-72

Los Angeles 81-75 3.0

Milwaukee 80-76 4.0

Remaining games:

Cardinals : (home) Washington (3), Cincinnati (3)

Dodgers : (home) Colorado (3), San Francisco (3)

Brewers : (home) Houston (3), San Diego (3)

All you can do is win out and hope for the best.  

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I can’t help thinking about this July 14th game though.  A picture paints a thousand words.  The Dodgers were up two games on the division at the time.  Sure would like this one back now.

This one hurt.  Kenley Jansen turned his back on home plate and didn't call time out.  Everth Cabrera stole home and Will Venable followed behind.  It was the "W" that got away. (photo capture: Fox Sports L.A./Prime Ticket)

For September,Meat of Order is 7, 8 and Pinch Hitter

The body language tells it all.  Yes, they know it's over (photo by Dennis Poroy/Getty Images)

When the Dodgers entered the 9th inning with Luis Cruz leading things off, I had a pretty good feeling that a rally would ensue.  When that rally extended to the number 2 and 3 hitters, I also felt that it might fizzle and be over.  That's exactly what happened as Luis Cruz, and A.J. Ellis led off the ninth with hits and when the top tier hitters came up, failure was the result.  

There was a time when we all lived for Ethier and Kemp to come up with the game on the line.  Ethier was "Captain Walk-Off" and Kemp thrived in the late inning at bats.  But neither is hitting up to par in clutch situations and it certainly didn't help that home plate umpire Marty Foster was extending the strike zone horizontally several inches beyond the plate on each side.

There was also a time when Matt Kemp would drive that pitch that he flied out on over the right field wall, but Kemp, whose average dipped below .300 for the first time this season, is not right physically.  There are images of him whincing in pain and that shoulder is effecting his power game.  I'll say this much about Matt.  He makes no excuses.  He isn't telling the world that the injury is the cause of his subpar play.  He goes in day in and day out.  He's that threat in the middle of the lineup and frankly, a 60% Kemp is better than the options that there are on the bench.  Unfortunately for the Dodgers, a 50-60% Matt Kemp isn't enough to lead this team to post-season play.

Being 4 1/2 games out with 7 to play, the season is essentially over.   Last night's contest was very winnable.  Dee Gordon was standing on second base as the tying run with none out.   There's no excuse to leave him stranded.  Mattingly wasted an out by having Nick Punto bunt when as a left handed hitter chances are he would drive the ball to the right side and at the least advance the runner to third.  But that is Donnie's M.O., an American League player that manages like a National League "little ball" manager.

It was another night of frustrating Dodger baseball.  Stellar pitching, untimely hitting.  But this time, it's over.  The season is really over.

One Down, Nine to Go

The Dodgers broke even in Washington and Cincinnati.  An acceptable road trip by most standards, but not when you're running out of season and 3 games back from a playoff spot.

Adrian Gonzalez is congratulated by teammate Hanley Ramirez following his solo homer in the second inning of tonight's action. (photo by Jamie Sebau/Getty Images)

Adrian Gonzalez did what so many of us hoped he would do when he was acquired, carry the team offensively.  Hitting his first round tripper since his initial at bat as a Dodger in the second inning, Gonzalez repeated the feat in the top of the seventh inning to put the blue crew ahead for good.  

It was a 4 run seventh inning as the Dodgers had a string of two out hits to plate an additional three runs.  Clutch hitting by Luis Cruz, Mark Ellis and Andre Ethier was just what the doctor ordered and it was a good thing as the Reds came back with two in the bottom of the eighth off of Ronald Belisario, thanks to a throwing error by Dee Gordon.

Brandon League slammed the door in the ninth and the Dodgers left town on a high note.

They take on the Padres at Petco Park for their final two road games of the year before closing out the season with six against the Rockies and Giants.  I said that they need to be within 2 games of the lead when they return home and I still hold to that belief.  The Dodgers are going to need some help from the likes of the Houston Astros, who take on the Cardinals at MinuteMaid Park the next three days.  The Milwaukee Brewers can't be forgotten from the mix either.  the standings for the final position are as follows:

St. Louis        82     71     --

Milwaukee    79     73    2.5

Los Angeles  79     74    3.0

Games remaining: 

St. Louis  (away): Houston (3)

                (home): Washington (3), Cincinnati (3)

Milwaukee (away): Washington (1), Cincinnati (3)

                   (home): Houston (3), San Diego (3)

Los Angeles (away): San Diego (2)

                     (home): Colorado (3), San Francisco (3)

I really want the final three games against the Giants to mean something.  Run the table boys.  A ten  game string is NOT impossible.  One down, nine to go.