Subscribe to RSSDodgers Prove to be Giant Failure in the End
If there are any team I hate more than the Angels, its the damn Giants. Call them what you will, (the gnats, etc.), they and their dumbass fans are among the worst on the west coast. Nevertheless, they still beat some blue ass this last weekend.
I really hate when we lose to them. Mostly because when I think of the Giants, I think of King Roids (Barry Bonds), who happened to be on hand at Giants Fans Appreciation Day this last weekend. How nice that the Giants franchise recognizes chronic needle users. Anyways, to the games.
Friday was awesome solely on the fact that we won and if I would’ve known we were going to suck the remaninder of the weekend, I wouldn’t have gotten so excited. The Dodgers used some good old fashioned hitting the ball and it worked like a charm. Jeff Kent hit a great double that did the job to get the Dodgers moving in the right direction.
While Brad Penny’s pitching wasn’t quite up to par as before, the win helped him gain some momentum that was much needed after a looong seven-weeks. The Dodgers took this game 6-2. It was his first win in three months and the Dodger look on top of their game and ready to tackle the gnats on saturday.
Too bad they weren’t. In fact, both Saturday and Sunday were just pathetic. The Dodgers had men on base in both games with opportunities to score. Did they? Of course not. This is Dodger baseball.
On Saturday with a loss of 3-2 and on Sunday with a loss of 5-4, the Dodgers played like they were confused little boys. They looked lost during perfect pitches and didn’t play the strong defense that has occassionally shined through the cracks this season.
Either they are getting tired or they’re getting cocky. All I know is that it is too late in the season to start effing up. They did enough of that back in April.
Let’s hope they don’t screw up too bad tomorrow night on Joe Beimel bobblehead night. That would just be a shame.
Trade Deadline Approaches, Dodger Fans Sit and Wait Impatiently
Well, it is going to be a grueling couple of hours. For those of us who keep up on the crazy world of baseball in general, we know that the trade deadline is coming up fast and that can never be good news for the Dodgers. Why you ask?
Because of two words and a nasty moustache-NED COLLETTI.
This guy holds the remainder of our precious boys in blue in his greasy hands. And with our luck and his stupidity, we could end up with a lion trainer and a midget for some of our best players.
Supposedly, there are talks of the Dodgers going for Manny Ramirez. The Red Sox have gotten fed up with him due to his publicity issues. So, why do we want him here? Especially since it is being said that we would be giving up Matt Kemp. Kemp is a pretty decent player and has a lot of potential. I’d rather keep Kemp than get a big baby like Ramirez for two months.
Oh well. I guess it’s out of our hands. Sit and wait, people.
Billingsley Comes Through as Dodgers Overtake Giants
Tonight was quite a game! I decided to head over to the ravine myself and check out the action (or possible lack there of ) on a Wednesday night.
I was shocked to my delight as Chad Billingsley pitched one hell of a game tonight. The Giants were no match for Bills as he worked their lineup like gangbusters. He was striking out Giants faster than the grown rate of Barry Bonds giant head. He struck out eight guys and only allowed five hits. The nail bitting for me really came in the ninth when we were standing up to prepare for the final out (and also to prepare to haul ass out of the packed stadium) and a hit bounced off the right field pavillion wall ALMOST making it a home run. Thankfully, it was only a double.
It didn’t matter anyways as Bills made his final out for the evening and every cholo around me began to dance. It reeked of beer and axe body spray, but who cares. The game was fantastic.
It was so nice to see a game with such a lack of errors on the Dodgers’ part. Even Fatty McFatFat Andruw Jones was on some what less dumb behavior. The Dodgers used their bat once again as they rallied off Giants pitcher Jonathan Sanchez. Because of the strong hitting in the first and third innings by Russell Martin and Jeff Kent, the Dodgers were able to hold back the Giants and have a cushion to prepare for those famous Dodger eff-ups.
The Dodgers were seriously at their best tonight which is something we diehard fans can’t say too often. But with the actual hitting, Bills pitching some heat and the drunk cholo next to me singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”, I think it just felt that good.
Can’t they all be like this?
See you next game!
-Val
The Dodgers Hit a Rocky Patch in Colorado, Drop in the Standings
The Dodgers up until the series with the Rockies had been making me as happy as a damn clam. They had that first place tie, they were actually using that wonderful technique called “hitting the ball” that we hadn’t seen for much of the season so far and they were using their defensive capabilities more.
Well that changed with their series against the Rockies. I could make puns all day like “Things Get Rocky for Dodgers” or some other bullshit like that. But none of it eases the pain that after that nice little series in Colorado, the Dodgers dropped to second place.
The series which lasted from Monday to Wednesday started out like a bad porn. It gets you all excited and then just totally gets lost in the plot and turns into something you can watch on Skinemax. What I mean is, the Dodgers did phenomenal in their first game. During this game, the Dodgers brought in 16 runs over the Rockies 10 runs. Now while even a blind hobo can hit out of Coors Field because the field sucks, the Dodgers did do their fair share of great hitting. They made Rockies starter Brandon Lyon look like a little sissy-la-la as he gave up five runs in the ninth.
As easy as it is at Coors Field to lose a lead and have the opposing assclowns catch up, the Dodgers thankfully were able to hold back the Rockies even as the tried for a late game rally. The Dodgers were indeed victorious.
Too bad Tuesday and Wednesday didn’t fair so well. On Tuesday, Clayton Kershaw was just disappointing as all hell. He had three weeks in Double-A to learn how to not screw up so much. Apparently it did no good. Kershaw gave up five runs out of ten hits which is better than I could ever do, but bad considering he is supposedly a professional baseball player. The Dodgers ended up losing 10-1 which is on the other side of the spectrum compared to the previous night. They couldn’t hit anywhere near a fraction of the way they did on Monday. Too bad their runs couldn’t be used like rollover minutes. At least Matt Kemp tried. Nice try, buddy.
Wednesday, just twisted the dagger a little deeper. It was a little closer than the night before, but still no cigar. The Dodgers got their asses kicked this time because they couldn’t hit crap. Literally, if i slow-pitched underhand an actual piece of crap, they would not have been able to hit it. The three innings that they scored for the entire game were scored in the first four innings and then decided to just sit on their thumbs and spin for the rest of the game. There were plenty of those famous blown chances. Such as when the Dodgers went 0-7 with runners in scoring position. Andy LaRoche left four runners hanging when they could have been potential runs on the board.
All I can say is I hate Rockies fans and all their purple shit, I hate Coors Field and its high effing altitude and I hate when the Dodgers lose. You think I would be used to that last one by now. Oh freakin ‘well.
See you next game!
-Val
The Weekend Works and the Dodgers Tie It Up for First
For once, I am coming out of a Dodger weekend pretty impressed. Going in on Friday, I was pretty nervous and was expecting that the Dodgers would get their asses beat by the Diamondbacks. Mostly because the Dodgers have a habit lately of screwing up their first place status and because the Diamondbacks have just been notoriously difficult to beat this season.
However, the Dodgers came out on top this weekend by securing their first place tie with the D-Backs. It totally blew my mind the way it blew my mind that A-rod would actually have intercourse with Madonna-I thought she was just a corpse by now being kept alive by like solar panels or something. Let’s review the weekend.
Friday was scary for me and other Dodger fans because we were just dreading a loss. And from the looks of it in the beginning of the game, it looked very bad. The Diamondbacks played some mean ball. Especially against the usually impressive Hiroki Kuroda. Kuroda just didn’t have the usual gusto in his pitching as he usually does. He spent two innings trying unsuccessfully to defend the 3-0 lead the Dodgers had, but he just couldn’t do it. Eventually, the Dodgers ended up falling behind 6-3. At this point I wanted to kick the tv. Luckily, Nomar Garciaparra came through. He brought the Dodgers back into the game and Matt Kemp tied the game at 7-7. The rest is history as James Loney’s hit in the 11th got the Dodgers the win they needed. With the bullpen being used to capacity and a tiring night of hitting, the Dodgers started the weekend off right as they won 8-7.
Too bad that didn’t happen on Saturday. The Dodgers lost 3-2 to the D-Backs mostly because they couldn’t hit off pitcher Dan Haren as he pitched seven scoreless innings against the do-nothing Dodgers. It was one of those Dodger games that just makes you say, “well, shit”. I say this because we saw one of the famous Dodgers “FALSE HOPE RALLIES” in the ninth. This is when the Dodgers attempt to make up for their lack of actually playing decent ball for the WHOLE game and so they try and make a pathetic comeback in the last inning of the game. In the ninth, they tried really hard with even some hitting from Jeff Kent, but fell short.
Then on Sunday, it happened. The Dodgers won this one 6-5 securing their tie for first place with the D-Backs. It was nice to see the Dodgers try the age old technique of winning a game which is hitting. It worked as the Dodgers offense made a comeback in the ninth that won the game. One of the best highlights of the game came in the ninth when Nomar Garciaparra hit a double that started a hit parade that led to the win for the boys in blue. THANK GOD.
It would have just sucked if they had blown Sunday’s game. Now with a secure first place tie, the Dodgers can work towards keeping it that way. As they head off to Colorado for their series with the Rockies at crappy-ass Coors Field, they are going to need to play the best ball they can if they want to make it this year.
But like I say every year …Let’s not get our hopes up.
See you next game!
Love,
Val
Weekend Re-Cap
This last weekend for the Dodgers was in a word…lucky. I say that because they ended up winning on Sunday to save themselves the embarrassment of a sweep from the Florida Marlins. If they hadn’t won, this entry would be a lot more of me pissed off, but i guess I am somewhat satisfied that they managed one win. These days, we Dodger fans learn to take what we can get some times. Let’s check out the recap…
Friday was just damn sad, as the Dodgers lost their chance to be in a first place tie with the Diamondbacks by losing 1-3 to the Florida Marlins. The Dodgers were in bad form as they couldn’t lay a smack down against Marlins Pitcher Chris Volstad. It was a little sad watching some of the Dodger players look like they were pouting as they took that walk of shame after striking out.
Lowe Gets Down to Business on Wednesday and the Boys Stay in First
For the last few weeks, I’ve listened to my dad complain and complain about Derek Lowe. He has called him all sorts of things and said, “Valerie, that guy just isn’t worth a darn these days”.
Well, I think Derek Lowe may have proved my dad wrong on Wednesday. He did do a few things actually that contributed to a 2-1 win by the Dodgers over the Atlanta “redneck” Braves (more wisdom from my dad).
Even with all the rumors and all the shit talking about him, Derek Lowe held his head high and started off the game string as he pitched a scoreless four innings. This may sound lame, but when I watched him pitch those four innings at Wednesday’s game, he looked like an angry train. Just hurling these angry, flawless pitches. He beat Braves pitcher Tim Hudson’s ass. Boo to you Hudson.
It was not only a game of dueling pitchers, but also of second chances. Matt Kemp looked a little sad the night before. Probably because he struck out almost every at bat. On Wednesday he redeemed himself as he hit a nice homer in the sixth that put the Dodgers in winning position. Maybe this time he won’t run like a little girl into the locker room like he did after Tuesday’s game.
Wednesday made me feel really good about Derek Lowe. The guy hasn’t been perfect this season, but what Dodger ever is? I mean we just watch Juan Pierre and expect him to do something gaytarded. You never expect perfection from him.
I guess after Wednesday’s game, I could see why other teams would want Lowe. He’ll probably leave at some point after the season anyways. Knowing Ned Colletti , I am SO positive we will get someone super in return. Like a one armed chimp or a blind leprechaun. Gotta love the infamous Dodger deals.
See you next game!
-Val
Way to Mess Up a Good Thing-Dodgers Lose Tuesday in the Lamest Way-duh
While the title of this blog may be a bit long, Tuesday’s game made me forget all about the previous dreamscape I was living in the night before (first place, hello!).
The Dodgers just reached the top. For this game, I actually went to the ravine thinking “wow, they did it and i know they’ll play hard to hold onto it”. Yeah, way to jinx it, Valerie.
So with my overpriced coke in hand I watched with eager eyes as Chad Billingsley pitched aggressive and excellent. He was striking out Chipper Jones and I was like “hell yea, in the bag”. The first and second innings pass and good old Chad was just throwing some real heat. The third inning comes and he’s on fire. No hits. Then the fourth inning comes. Our boy Chad started looking a little shaky. Then in the fifth it happened. He gave up pitches like crazy after that. Out of the 11 batters he faced after the fourth inning, six ended up scoring. I was so pissed. Also because a fan in back of me kept talking to himself and I couldn’t focus.
After that, everything just started turning to crap. The Dodgers just couldn’t hit off Braves pitcher Jair Jurrjens. He was kicking their blue and white asses. Not only that, but there were so horrible errors. At one point a ball was hit just a little bit above second basemen Jeff Kent’s head, but he didn’t even jump for it. Like he didn’t even try and it was so in his direction. It was sloppy ball played once again.
The “late game false hope rally” took place in the eighth and ninth as the Dodgers tried to salvage whatever they could. There was even a two run rally. But at that time the Braves already had nine runs on the board and they were trailing by eight. It just wasn’t worth it.
I left the game feeling grumpy and sick. Sick only because I decided to try that pre-made Panda Express food in lieu of a dependable Dodger Dog. Mistake. The only highlight for me came in the eight when some renegade decided to run on the field and started break dancing next to Andruw Jones. The man was then hauled away as people kept leaving. Speaking of Jones, he threw his bat and helmet and pouted every time he struck out yesterday. Damn baby. He also made Matt Kemp bring him his glove as he would walk dramatically to his position as Kemp ran to him. Gosh, Jones. Well only two years of him.
The experience for me can be summed up in these words/phrases:
-Sloppy ball
-Bloating (Panda, again)
-Whiny Babies
-disappointment
-there goes first place
Have a good one and may the next game be better than this.
-Val
Monday Makes Season History-A Win and First Place
That is correct my friends. FIRST F*****G PLACE!
This game seriously made me feel so good. So good that I thought I might want to have kids someday after I get married. Then I snapped out of it and remembered I can’t stand kids at all and I’d rather buy a pet iguana. Anyways, that’s how happy this game made me feel. Let’s look at why…
In two words for starters-Hiroki Kuroda. He has come back stronger than ever the last few games. Kuroda pitched seven perfect innings on Monday bringing flashes of a young Koufax to mind as many wonder if he may be the next generation of great Dodger pitching. He only gave up one hit in the eight when Mark Texeira hit one off him in the eighth. Other than that, Kuroda pitched a hell of game that was able to get the Dodgers a 3-0 win over the Atlanta Braves.
While he held the Braves off, the Dodger offense was able to come through with some good work of the bat by veteran Dodgers Nomar Garciaparra and Matt Kemp. Nomar came through in the bottom of the fifth inning when he hit a 1-2 pitch off Braves pitcher Jorge Campillo. This made the game much more intense and gave the Dodgers the boost they needed to win the game. It’s nice to see Nomar play well without his whole damn body not giving out as usual.
The game may not have been perfect as we remember how in the top of the seventh when Gregor Blacno charged a bunt down the third base line, but luckily the boys came through as Blake DeWitt threw hard enough to James Loney to ensure that Blanco did not get on base by barely making the throw in time. There were some moments where we were like “oh shit, we’re not going to get this one”. Yet, thanks to a little Dodger magic that we’ve seen in the past, we got it.
The game put the Dodgers in that first place position that they had been struggling to reach all season. The Dodgers finally get to the first place spot is like when Dawson’s Creek went off the air-it makes you say “FINALLY!”. No offense to your DC fans, but that show also made me want to punch things. It feels good as we can say that after all the false hope rallies late in the games and all the moments Andruw Jones threw his bat like an overweight baby, it has paid off as the Dodgers might have the best chance they’re had in awhile.
Now, I may be just a little floaty, but I have every reason to be. It feels a little like it could happen and with that I can write this blog for you folks and know that the season got just a little more interesting. Better not jinx it.
See you next game and hopefully no one effs up.
-Val
A Weekend Wrap Up of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Dodgers had an interesting couple of days since winning Thursday against the Astros. The holiday weekend was full of all the regular Dodger fixings as we saw both excellent hitting (Ethier on Friday) to some decent pitching only to be done in vain (Sorry Chan Ho on Saturday).
Either way, the Dodgers are a sweet 1/2 game behind the Diamondbacks which is gives me such an incredible feeling that i might paint my face at the next game. That’s how excited I am. Let’s go to the games…
So, Friday was a 10-7 win for the boys in blue against the piece of crap Giants who I hate more than most things. The Dodgers played like Tommy Lasorda eats-sloppy. Errors were plentiful as we saw in the eighth as Russell Martin threw to take out a stealing Randy Winn and the only person covering first base was the invisible man. Not only did that cost the Dodgers a run, but it made them look like amateurs.
Aside from the sloppier than thou defense, the hitting was top notch and the pitching didn’t fall far behind. Hong-Chih Kuo saved the day from a “Lowe point” (ha), by striking out six consecutive batters that contributed to the great success of the Dodgers. Good game, good time, good stories on the car ride back from the ravine.
Saturday’s next game against the Giants made me want to punch a kangaroo or any other marsupial that hops around on the planet. I was disappointed to say the least as the game totally started out in the Dodger’s favor. In the first inning, Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp scored two runs off Barry Zito. It was at that point that I became extremely excited and got my pathetic hopes up of writing about another weekend win for the Dodgers.
I was so freakin’ wrong. The Dodgers became tired, pathetic morsels of major league players as they managed to screw up a chance to score with runners on second and third. They wasted it like I waste money buying those silly Dodger hats that look like blue and white wigs. Barry Zito pitched effortless strikes as no Dodger was able to really hit anything off him late in the game. In the eight there was even potential with runners on first and second, but Andruw “Are you gonna eat that” Jones screwed that it with a pathetic groundout. The boys lost with their 2 runs to the Giants 5.
Boohoo for you Dodgers and boohoo for me buying that dumb hat.
Sunday was a relief as the Dodgers won this one with a score of 5-3. Thank God.
Joe Torre was working his ass off on Sunday moving his players around and giving some much needed rest to the regulars by utilizing a few rookies. Somehow it all worked out just perfect.
The Dodgers played without Jeff Kent, Nomar Garciaparra and Andruw Jones. While this was thought to possibly hurt the chances of winning on Sunday, let’s not forget that even when Andruw Hones plays, it is like he isn’t there because HE DOESN’T DO ANYTHING.
The bat and the bullpen were what did it. There was the great RBI single by Matt Kemp and the RBI Double by Matt Kemp. James Loney was the big man of the game as he delivered three runs making the hitting consistent throughout the nine innings. He was the true guardian of the game making sure the Dodgers stayed ahead.
The bullpen was utilized to the max, but in a good way. Torre utilized three relievers on Sunday as he used Brian Falkenborg, Hong-Chih Kuo and Jonathan Broxton. Between the three there were three scoreless innings which isn’t too shabby by Dodger standards.
Sunday’s game was perhaps the best to watch because it was a showcase of new talent and capability by the Dodger organization that they can still produce some great games even when there is only so much to work with. It was good to see the Dodgers playing like they should all the time-as a cohesive freakin’ team.
So, there we have it for now. 2 of 3 for the holiday weekend and a whole lot of fireworks to come as July is upon us. And so close to that sweet, first place spot…
I can dream can’t I ?
See you next game!
-Val