Hello,
I have to admit I love having a hard time coming up with headlines for these blogs. There's only so many ways I can come up with Dodgers win again titles. Also I keep on pinching myself and haven't yet woke up, maybe the Dodgers are really this good.
LA defeated Tampa 5-0 on Saturday afternoon. The Dodgers winning is the highlight of the game for me, but the big story about this game is LA fell for the old hidden ball trick. Although that has received the most attention, it's one of the least important things about this game. The last team I remember the hidden ball trick working is in the movie "The Rookie".
The hidden ball trick isn't tried much and it works even less.
Back to the truly important aspect of this game, LA continues coasting with a 5-0 win over the Rays. Zack Greinke combined with two other Dodgers pitchers for a shutout. Greinke overall had a good game, but he gave up 6 hits. He also had 7 strikeouts, improved to 10-3 and lowered his ERA to 3.21. If it wasn't for the stupid fight he was involved in, Greinke would probably be mentioned more prominently in the Cy Young talk. I'd much rather him win the World Series than the Cy Young though.
Chris Withrow pitched the final two innings, giving up no hits and no walks. Since the Dodgers were ahead by more than 3 runs when Withrow entered the game, he doesn't get a save. However he had an incredibly effective outing and lowers his ERA to 2.45.
ESPN LA's Mark Saxon makes a compelling case for why Adrian Gonzalez should get a couple of mentions in the MVP race, I expect that Gonzalez won't even come close to winning that award. While his team is in first place, only a monumental meltdown away from making the playoffs, Gonzalez's individual numbers aren't gaudy enough for the MVP. I've called Gonzalez Mr. Consistent for most of the season, without him I'd hate to see where this Dodgers team would be. Yasiel Puig and Hanley Ramirez have been flashier, but Gonzalez is that steady veteran presence this Dodgers team has so desperately needed this season. Also as Saxon points out Gonzalez has played 112 of 116 games this season. This Dodgers team has so many injury prone players on it, knowing Gonzalez should be able to play everyday has been a big boost.
Upcoming: LA won the first two games of this series. The third and final game is this week's Sunday Night Baseball game. The Dodgers have scored 12 runs in their last 2 games, hopefully they can stay close to that average tonight. I have my doubts about that as hard luck Clayton Kershaw is pitching for the Dodgers. Kershaw leads the MLB with a 1.91 ERA, but only has a 10-7 record. That's not due to his performance, LA batters usually don't give him much run support. Pitching for the Rays is Jeremy Hellickson, who is 10-5, with a 4.77 ERA.
Starting tomorrow the Dodgers play 3 more games at home, they'll welcome the Mets. It looks like Mets wunderkind Matt Harvey has been moved from pitching Monday to pitching Tuesday. Following the third Mets game, the Dodgers get a much needed day off. LA then plays 7 games on the road, they will be playing two of the worst teams in MLB. They should win at least 5 of 7 games against the awful Phillies and even worse Marlins.
The Braves lost 1-0 to the Marlins on Saturday, that ended their 14 game winning streak. Atlanta still has a 99.9% chance of reaching the playoffs and should coast into them. Atlanta leads the second place team in the NL East, the Nationals, by 14.5 games.
From the hard to believe file: The Yankees could suspend Alex Rodriguez for one game, although a formal punishment hasn't been announced yet. If Rodriguez isn't paid for one game, the penalty would cost Rodriguez about $153,000. Arod received a letter from the Yankees letting him know about this possible suspension. However when asked about it by the press, he denied receiving the letter. In the letter his name is listed as 1 of 7 names who received the letter. Why would Arod lie about receiving the letter, what benefit does he get from that? I think that Arod has got so used to lying that he doesn't know any other way now. Sarcasm alert: Who can blame Arod for lying, look how well it has worked out for him. I'm so glad I'm not a Yankees fan right now. As a 100% Yankees hater, I'm enjoying the Yanks paying a .200 hitter $153,000 a game, whether he plays or not. (Thanks to Wallace Matthew's article on ESPN New York.)
themusicaddict
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