Hello,
See if you recognize a pattern here. In their last 9 games the Dodgers have scored 0, 3, 2, 5, 4, 3, 3, 2, 3 runs. They are averaging less than 3 runs in those 9 games. And they have scored exactly 3 runs in 4 of those 9 games, including 3 of the last 4 games. So I'm going to go out on a limb today and predict the Dodgers will score 3 runs today. I purposely left out their 10-8 August 29th victory over the Rockies, as the Dodgers scoring 10 runs in one game is now such an anomaly. The Dodgers have only scored 11 runs total in their last 4 games.
The third (there's that number again) game in the Dodgers-Giants series is Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. The expected pitching matchup is Clayton Kershaw vs. Barry Zito. With Kershaw pitching for the Dodgers, the Dodgers could actually win if they score three runs. With Chad Billingsley out for the season, the Dodgers starting rotation looks like it's in serious trouble. It's Kershaw and four other pitchers that are either below .500 or only one game above .500. It's doubtful that other than Kershaw, no starting Dodgers pitcher is going to scare anyone.
The Washington Nationals have decided to shut down Stephen Strasburg, 15-6, 3.16 ERA, for the rest of the season. I understand why the Nationals would limit Strasburg's innings. But if you are going to do that, but wouldn't you want to limit his innings at the start of the season? I understand that probably at the start of the season that Washington didn't think they were going to be as good as they are. They probably thought let's get Strasburg some work. He can pitch about 160 innings and by then we'll be out of the playoff race. Then we will shut him down for the rest of the season and he can come back in 2013 strong.
And I agree a player's health should always be the number one concern, even if the player doesn't like it. That's why I cringed when Jason Witten played for the Cowboys in their season opener, in spite of him wanting to play. But it's too bad for the Nationals that they won't go into the playoffs with all their bullets. If the Nationals don't win the World Series, which is probably a long shot anyway, there will always be a what if wondering how the Nationals would have done with Strasburg.
I like what the Braves have done with Kris Medlen. Like Strasburg, Medlen was coming off of Tommy John surgery, and the Braves claimed they had wanted to limit his innings as well. Braves Manager Fredi Gonzalez said this when comparing Medlen and Strasburg's situations: "Where do we want that 160 to 170 to end? Do we want it to end in October or do we want it to end in August?"
Who knows how insightful they really were about Medlen's status, but he certainly has made an major impact on the Braves starting rotation. Medlen pitched for the Braves in their 11-3 victory over the Mets yesterday. So far this season Medlen has pitched 110 innings. Typically he'd have 4 or 5 more starts in the regular season, that would put him about 140 innings. Or with the Braves having a 98.6% chance of making the playoffs, maybe they will extend the time between his starts. The results have been amazing for the Braves the last several times Medlen has pitched for them. Atlanta has won the last 19 games he has started. Medlen is 13-0 in his last 24 starts. (Thanks as always for the excellent stats to espn.com.)
Usually the Braves make the playoffs and the collapse, hopefully in honor of Chipper Jones last season, they will actually make a deep run in the playoffs. And I'm glad they will have Kris Medlen during this crucial time of the season. The Braves are pulling away from the rest of the National League in the Wild Card playoffs. They lead the next team in the NL Wild Card, the Cardinals, by 5.5 games. In fact, the Braves have a better record than the NL West leading Giants. At this rate Atlanta will be well ahead of St. Louis at the end of the season. Is the one game Wild Card playoff really a good idea?
The Braves, winners of 4 in a row, are going for the sweep of the Mets today. Atlanta has a relatively easy schedule down the stretch run and SHOULD coast into the playoffs. They even have a very long shot of catching the Nationals. Even though they play the Nationals 3 more times, I just don't see them catching Washington.
I plan on writing about "Revolution" and Madonna in upcoming blogs.
themusicaddict
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