Hello,
This will be my last baseball blog for the 2013 season, unless something happens that is quite dramatic. I know we still have the MVP and Cy Young and other awards to be announced.
On Wednesday, October 30, 2013 the Red Sox were able to close out the Cardinals and win their third World Series in 10 years.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals they were stuck for 7 hours on the runway before they were able to fly to Boston Wednesday night. They arrived in Boston about 11:00 pm on Wednesday night. From what I've read the Cardinals players and others on the plane took the delay in stride. They had an incredibly good attitude about their circumstances. And I agree with David Ortiz who hoped the Cardinals were able to get to Boston safe. They did, which is the most important thing, and the World Series is able to go on.
The scheduled pitching match up was the Cardinals sending the excellent rookie pitcher Michael Wacha vs. the Red Sox crafty veteran John Lackey. This was a rematch of Game 2, the Cardinals and Wacha won the Game 2 battle.
This is from my blog a couple of days ago: As what happened in the Red Sox-Tigers ALCS happened in the World Series. In both series the Tigers and Cardinals won one of the first two games in Boston. The Red Sox went to both Detroit and St. Louis and returned the favor, stealing two of three games. In both series the Red Sox came back to Boston with a 3-2 lead. Will the similarities continue in the World Series? Game 6 of the ALCS Shane Victorino hit a grand slam that gave the Red Sox the AL pennant. Would Boston be able to end the World Series in Game 6 Wednesday night? Would Victorino be able to play again after missing the last couple of games due to his balky back?
Yes, Shane Victorino was able to play again. And as in Game 6 of the ALCS he ended up being the hero. Victorino had a bases loaded double in the 3rd inning, a double that drove in Jacoby Ellsbury, David Ortiz and Jonny Gomes. (Please don't say it's true Boston and Jacoby that you both are considering a split.)
In the 4th inning Stephen Drew hit a solo homer and Mike Napoli singled to drive in Ellsbury again and Victorino came up again with the bases loaded. This time he singled and drove in Ortiz. However after that the Red Sox were able to do any further damage and wouldn't score any more than the 6 runs they had scored at that time. Later the Cardinals scored a meaningless run as Boston won 6-1.
Boston won the World Series 4-2 in games, they are also the first team this postseason to figure out the sensational rookie Michael Wacha. I had been waiting for a game the Red Sox offense would explode and this was the game. They did it against Wacha, who had been so good this postseason. Wacha lasted 3.2 innings, allowing 5 hits, 6 runs and 4 walks. Because of this game his World Series ERA increased from 3.00 to 7.45. Wacha finished 4-1 in the post season, but only 1-1 in the World Series. Although to be fair he was bound to have a bad game. He will have many great seasons going forward, I predict this isn't his last World Series.
John Lackey capped off a season of resurgence by going 1-1 this World Series. He didn't pitch particualary well, but did hold the Cardinals to only one run. Lackey pitched 6.2 innings and gave up 9 hits. His World Series ERA ends up 2.57.
Koji Uehara finished his dream season with a World Series title, two saves and a 0.00 ERA. He also closed out the Cardinals in Game 6.
World Series MVP David Ortiz was 0 for 1 in Game 6, although he was walked 4 times in this game. He finished the World Series with a .688 batting average, finishing an incredible 11 for 16. In this World Series Ortiz hit two homers, had 6 RBIs and was walked 8 times. Even more importantly I do believe he got in the heads of the Cardinals. He finished with a .760 on base percentage, which is the second best OBP in World Series history.
I suggest this World Series proves that he's the number one clutch hitter of his generation and earns him a place in the Hall of Fame.
themusicaddict
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
World Series Game 5: Red Sox Win, On Verge Of World Series Title
Hello,
Game 5 of the World Series was another low scoring ground it out affair featuring two teams with excellent pitching staffs. However Jon Lester and the Red Sox were able to win this particular battle and it looks like they are about to win the war.
As what has happened in the Red Sox-Tigers ALCS is happening in the World Series. In both series the Tigers and Cardinals won one of the first two games in Boston. The Red Sox went to both Detroit and St. Louis and returned the favor, stealing two of three games. In both series the Red Sox came back to Boston with a 3-2 lead. Will the similarities continue in the World Series? In Game 6 of the ALCS Shane Victorino hit a grand slam that gave the Red Sox the AL pennant. Will Boston be able to end the World Series in Game 6 Wednesday night? Will Victorino be able to play again after missing the last couple of games due to his balky back?
According to ESPN.com tickets for Game 6 are breaking records. The Red Sox won the World Series in both 2004 and 2007, but both of those titles were won on the road. Bleacher tickets going for $300 last week are going for $1100 each Tuesday morning. The last time the Red Sox won the World Series at home was on September 11th, 1918. I would love to be there, but I'll be just fine watching the game on my big screen TV. (Thanks to espn.com.)
On Monday Jon Lester threw his hat in the ring for World Series MVP, that is if anyone can knock David Ortiz off that perch. Lester pitched 7.2 innings, allowing 4 hits but only 1 run. He also added 7 strikeouts. He pitched 16 1/3rd scoreless innings before Matt Holliday's 4th inning homer. Lester is 2-0 with a 0.59 ERA in this World Series.
Red Sox pitching was so good Monday that they only used two pitchers in Game 5. Koji Uehara ripped through the final 4 Cardinals hitters to earn his second save of this World Series. In addition he has an 0.00 ERA. I believe that's Uehara's 7th save of this postseason. He's been an amazing closer, even though he was the Red Sox third choice for a closer. With Tuesday an off day, pretty much all Red Sox pitchers should be able Wednesday.
The person that had the big hit on Monday was David Ross, his 7th inning ground rule double drove in Xander Bogaerts. That gave the Red Sox a 2-1 lead. Bogaerts has played very well in the Series, he's hitting .294. On the same play Stephen Drew moved to third base. The next batter, Jacoby Ellsbury, hit a long single to centerfield. He drove in Drew, which gave the Red Sox a 3-1 lead. Ross was thrown out, by a wide margin, by trying to score on Ellsbury's hit.
On Wednesday the Cardinals are going to have to figure out a way to stop the absolutely on fire Ortiz. Has anyone ever hit better in the World Series? I know he doesn't own the record for most hits in one World Series, but he's got to have the best batting average through 5 games ever. Ortiz has always been solid in the postseason but he's taking that to the next level in this series.
Ortiz was 3 for 4 on Monday and is hitting 11 of 15 in this series. He's hitting an otherworldly .733 and his on base percentage is .750.
The pitcher the Cardinals will be putting their hopes on to delay a Red Sox celebration at least one game is a rookie. Although I don't think anyone considers Michael Wacha a rookie still, he's 4-0 and has a 1.00 ERA in this Cardinals postseason. He had a lights out performance in Game 2. His only mistake was a pitch to Ortiz, who else? Wacha had gone 18 2/3rd scoreless innings before Ortiz's 2 run homer in Game 2. Yes, that was a rookie record for a single postseason (as always thanks to espn.com).
In a rematch of Game 2 John Lackey will be pitching for the Red Sox. In Game 2 he pitched 6.1 innings and gave up 5 hits and 3 runs. Lackey isn't the worst choice to go for the Red Sox in Game 6. The crafty veteran doesn't have the stuff he did a few years ago. However he's pitched this season a lot better than the last couple of seasons.
I don't really expect the Red Sox to break out in Game 6 with a lot of runs against Wacha, although I'm surprised the Red Sox haven't scored more runs. The Cardinals are a very, very good team and I wouldn't be surprised if the World Series gets pushed to a Game 7. What kind of a game would a Game 7 on Halloween be like, it's possible we'll find out in a couple of days.
Go Red Sox!
themusicaddict
Game 5 of the World Series was another low scoring ground it out affair featuring two teams with excellent pitching staffs. However Jon Lester and the Red Sox were able to win this particular battle and it looks like they are about to win the war.
As what has happened in the Red Sox-Tigers ALCS is happening in the World Series. In both series the Tigers and Cardinals won one of the first two games in Boston. The Red Sox went to both Detroit and St. Louis and returned the favor, stealing two of three games. In both series the Red Sox came back to Boston with a 3-2 lead. Will the similarities continue in the World Series? In Game 6 of the ALCS Shane Victorino hit a grand slam that gave the Red Sox the AL pennant. Will Boston be able to end the World Series in Game 6 Wednesday night? Will Victorino be able to play again after missing the last couple of games due to his balky back?
According to ESPN.com tickets for Game 6 are breaking records. The Red Sox won the World Series in both 2004 and 2007, but both of those titles were won on the road. Bleacher tickets going for $300 last week are going for $1100 each Tuesday morning. The last time the Red Sox won the World Series at home was on September 11th, 1918. I would love to be there, but I'll be just fine watching the game on my big screen TV. (Thanks to espn.com.)
On Monday Jon Lester threw his hat in the ring for World Series MVP, that is if anyone can knock David Ortiz off that perch. Lester pitched 7.2 innings, allowing 4 hits but only 1 run. He also added 7 strikeouts. He pitched 16 1/3rd scoreless innings before Matt Holliday's 4th inning homer. Lester is 2-0 with a 0.59 ERA in this World Series.
Red Sox pitching was so good Monday that they only used two pitchers in Game 5. Koji Uehara ripped through the final 4 Cardinals hitters to earn his second save of this World Series. In addition he has an 0.00 ERA. I believe that's Uehara's 7th save of this postseason. He's been an amazing closer, even though he was the Red Sox third choice for a closer. With Tuesday an off day, pretty much all Red Sox pitchers should be able Wednesday.
The person that had the big hit on Monday was David Ross, his 7th inning ground rule double drove in Xander Bogaerts. That gave the Red Sox a 2-1 lead. Bogaerts has played very well in the Series, he's hitting .294. On the same play Stephen Drew moved to third base. The next batter, Jacoby Ellsbury, hit a long single to centerfield. He drove in Drew, which gave the Red Sox a 3-1 lead. Ross was thrown out, by a wide margin, by trying to score on Ellsbury's hit.
On Wednesday the Cardinals are going to have to figure out a way to stop the absolutely on fire Ortiz. Has anyone ever hit better in the World Series? I know he doesn't own the record for most hits in one World Series, but he's got to have the best batting average through 5 games ever. Ortiz has always been solid in the postseason but he's taking that to the next level in this series.
Ortiz was 3 for 4 on Monday and is hitting 11 of 15 in this series. He's hitting an otherworldly .733 and his on base percentage is .750.
The pitcher the Cardinals will be putting their hopes on to delay a Red Sox celebration at least one game is a rookie. Although I don't think anyone considers Michael Wacha a rookie still, he's 4-0 and has a 1.00 ERA in this Cardinals postseason. He had a lights out performance in Game 2. His only mistake was a pitch to Ortiz, who else? Wacha had gone 18 2/3rd scoreless innings before Ortiz's 2 run homer in Game 2. Yes, that was a rookie record for a single postseason (as always thanks to espn.com).
In a rematch of Game 2 John Lackey will be pitching for the Red Sox. In Game 2 he pitched 6.1 innings and gave up 5 hits and 3 runs. Lackey isn't the worst choice to go for the Red Sox in Game 6. The crafty veteran doesn't have the stuff he did a few years ago. However he's pitched this season a lot better than the last couple of seasons.
I don't really expect the Red Sox to break out in Game 6 with a lot of runs against Wacha, although I'm surprised the Red Sox haven't scored more runs. The Cardinals are a very, very good team and I wouldn't be surprised if the World Series gets pushed to a Game 7. What kind of a game would a Game 7 on Halloween be like, it's possible we'll find out in a couple of days.
Go Red Sox!
themusicaddict
Monday, October 28, 2013
Beating A Dead Horse: The Jones Family Must Stop Destroying the Cowboys
Hello,
All praise and glory goes to Jerry Jones for another memorable Cowboys season. Jones is desperate to prove that his way is the right way. Season 17 in showing that his way in any way but the right way, all glory and praise must go to Jerry for another train wreck season. Yes, it feels like I've written this blog several times already.
There are many bad things about Jonesruined ran Cowboys, I'd like to highlight just two here. The first is his miserable handling of the salary cap, including his love of overpaying players. Many of those players he tends to stick with too long. When he's finally forced to release them there's usually money and years left on their contract. That comes ends up being dead money. As of now Dallas has about $14 million in dead money in this years cap, most of that is due to his horrible signing of Jay Ratliff. Also right now the Cowboys are projected to be over $31 million in salary cap for 2014. This seems to be an annual issue for Jones. How does Jones resolve this issue? He pushes the money into the next year's cap. Instead of solving that problem, that just delays the the problem. Many times the salary cap issue is worse the next season.
I understand that the NFL will probably never step in and take away ownership of the Cowboys from the Jones family. The Cowboys and Jones simply make so much money and bring too much attention to the NFL. That's sad news for Cowboys fans who have to live with this once great franchise. I do wonder when more Cowboys fans will tire of this mediocrity and stop financially supporting Jones. (Fellow Cowboys fans please stop supporting Jones idiocy by purchasing Cowboys tickets and merchandise. Stop allowing the Jones family from the constant erosion of the Cowboys.)
The second bad thing about Jones management style is his love of injury prone players. Players that missed yesterday's game include Ratliff who was released after battling an injury since last season and refusing to get help from Cowboys trainers. (Yeah Jerry decided to keep him around for another year.) Anthony Spencer and Tyrone Crawford are both out for the season. DeMarcus Ware, DeMarco Murray and and the incredibly soft Miles Austin also missed the game. All 3 may be back next week, the tough Ware is missing the first games in his career. Both Austin and Murray have missed games over the last few seasons, but Jerry continues to stick with them. Also both will miss more games in the future.
However Jerry did have a plan for if (when) Murray got injured again. Dallas drafted Joseph Randle to fill in as needed. Randle exploded for 26 yards on 14 carries on Sunday. Hell of a plan Jerry. Jones is so good at making bad decisions now that it's become a habit.
Dez Bryant has missed a few games due to injury, but his main weakness is the fact that he's a head case. A list of his many bad decisions made off the field can be found elsewhere, so I'm not going to go into them here. But his childish behavior yesterday was more bad form, he had at least two sideline meltdowns. He's matured the last couple of years, but I still think he's got a ways to go. I expect him to have a couple more off the field incidents.
In fact with so much bad karma surrounding the Cowboys I'm waiting for them to implode any day now. Hopefully when that day happens someone will say that to Jones and some common sense will finally hit him.
In the Cowboys latest debacle they lost to the Lions 31-30 and fall to 4-4 on the season. With a 70 year old owner that knows very little about football, although he played football in college, what else did you expect? One of his many bad moves was hiring 73 year old Monte Kiffin, although his USC teams gave up tons of yards and points. Sure Kiffin would be able to bring his Tampa 2 defense that failed at USC and then dominate the NFL. That makes sense right? Such is the horrible decision making of Jerruh Jones, the man who single handedly is destroying his own franchise.
How good was Kiffin's defense on Sunday? Here's a few stats to show why this will be Kiffin's first and last season in Dallas. (Thanks to ESPN Dallas for all the following stats.) His Cowboys gave up a franchise record 623 yards, this with there being some really bad teams in Cowboys history. We can't forget the Cowboys giving up 329 receiving yards to Calvin Johnson. The man assigned to cover Johnson was $50 million dollar man Brandon Carr. He's been a decent player but Jones overpaid him. Dallas is the first team in NFL history to allow four 400 yard passers in one season and there are still 8 games to play. Both Drew Brees and Eli Manning are licking their lips looking to exploit the Cowboys ineffective pass defense.
Dallas is now 4-4 and on their way to their third consecutive 8-8 season. Fortunately for them they play in the worst division in the NFL, the NFC East. Finishing with a .500 record could possibly get the Cowboys into the playoffs. Likely they'd lose at Jerryworld and get destroyed by whoever they play in the first round of the playoffs. As always I hope the Cowboys don't make the playoffs, Jones might count winning the worst division in the NFL as "progress".
The funny thing is although the Giants lost their first 6 games of the season, they have won 2 in a row and are only 2 games out of first place. Yes, that's how bad the NFC East is. Here's the standings as of October 26th, 2013. Dallas 4-4, Philadelphia is 3-5, Washington is 2-5 and the Giants are 2-6. The Eagles are a very bad team, when a NFL team has to call on Matt Barkley that indicates how bad of a team they are. The Eagles are so bad they could only manage 3 points against the terrible Cowboys in Philadelphia.
The Cowboys continue to prove they can only beat bad teams, Detroit is a mediocre team and the Lions beat Dallas. But good news for the Cowboys next week they play the terrible Vikings in Dallas. Although the Cowboys defense is porous, Christian Ponder is probably not going to be able to exploit that defense. I watched the Vikings play last night on Sunday Night Football and boy are they bad.
Dallas will beat Vikings, in fact they'll probably destroy the Vikings. But the next week the Cowboys go on the road to play New Orleans and old defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Ryan was the sacrificial lamb as Jones couldn't admit he's the problem. Will Brees throw for 500 yards in this game? That loss will drop the Cowboys back to 5-5, which be followed by the Cowboys having a bye. The Cowboys can't lose a bye, can they? The Cowboys will finish the season 7-9 and 8-8, but that's only because they are in the worst division in the NFL. If they were in any other division they would struggle to win 6 games.
themusicaddict
All praise and glory goes to Jerry Jones for another memorable Cowboys season. Jones is desperate to prove that his way is the right way. Season 17 in showing that his way in any way but the right way, all glory and praise must go to Jerry for another train wreck season. Yes, it feels like I've written this blog several times already.
There are many bad things about Jones
I understand that the NFL will probably never step in and take away ownership of the Cowboys from the Jones family. The Cowboys and Jones simply make so much money and bring too much attention to the NFL. That's sad news for Cowboys fans who have to live with this once great franchise. I do wonder when more Cowboys fans will tire of this mediocrity and stop financially supporting Jones. (Fellow Cowboys fans please stop supporting Jones idiocy by purchasing Cowboys tickets and merchandise. Stop allowing the Jones family from the constant erosion of the Cowboys.)
The second bad thing about Jones management style is his love of injury prone players. Players that missed yesterday's game include Ratliff who was released after battling an injury since last season and refusing to get help from Cowboys trainers. (Yeah Jerry decided to keep him around for another year.) Anthony Spencer and Tyrone Crawford are both out for the season. DeMarcus Ware, DeMarco Murray and and the incredibly soft Miles Austin also missed the game. All 3 may be back next week, the tough Ware is missing the first games in his career. Both Austin and Murray have missed games over the last few seasons, but Jerry continues to stick with them. Also both will miss more games in the future.
However Jerry did have a plan for if (when) Murray got injured again. Dallas drafted Joseph Randle to fill in as needed. Randle exploded for 26 yards on 14 carries on Sunday. Hell of a plan Jerry. Jones is so good at making bad decisions now that it's become a habit.
Dez Bryant has missed a few games due to injury, but his main weakness is the fact that he's a head case. A list of his many bad decisions made off the field can be found elsewhere, so I'm not going to go into them here. But his childish behavior yesterday was more bad form, he had at least two sideline meltdowns. He's matured the last couple of years, but I still think he's got a ways to go. I expect him to have a couple more off the field incidents.
In fact with so much bad karma surrounding the Cowboys I'm waiting for them to implode any day now. Hopefully when that day happens someone will say that to Jones and some common sense will finally hit him.
In the Cowboys latest debacle they lost to the Lions 31-30 and fall to 4-4 on the season. With a 70 year old owner that knows very little about football, although he played football in college, what else did you expect? One of his many bad moves was hiring 73 year old Monte Kiffin, although his USC teams gave up tons of yards and points. Sure Kiffin would be able to bring his Tampa 2 defense that failed at USC and then dominate the NFL. That makes sense right? Such is the horrible decision making of Jerruh Jones, the man who single handedly is destroying his own franchise.
How good was Kiffin's defense on Sunday? Here's a few stats to show why this will be Kiffin's first and last season in Dallas. (Thanks to ESPN Dallas for all the following stats.) His Cowboys gave up a franchise record 623 yards, this with there being some really bad teams in Cowboys history. We can't forget the Cowboys giving up 329 receiving yards to Calvin Johnson. The man assigned to cover Johnson was $50 million dollar man Brandon Carr. He's been a decent player but Jones overpaid him. Dallas is the first team in NFL history to allow four 400 yard passers in one season and there are still 8 games to play. Both Drew Brees and Eli Manning are licking their lips looking to exploit the Cowboys ineffective pass defense.
Dallas is now 4-4 and on their way to their third consecutive 8-8 season. Fortunately for them they play in the worst division in the NFL, the NFC East. Finishing with a .500 record could possibly get the Cowboys into the playoffs. Likely they'd lose at Jerryworld and get destroyed by whoever they play in the first round of the playoffs. As always I hope the Cowboys don't make the playoffs, Jones might count winning the worst division in the NFL as "progress".
The funny thing is although the Giants lost their first 6 games of the season, they have won 2 in a row and are only 2 games out of first place. Yes, that's how bad the NFC East is. Here's the standings as of October 26th, 2013. Dallas 4-4, Philadelphia is 3-5, Washington is 2-5 and the Giants are 2-6. The Eagles are a very bad team, when a NFL team has to call on Matt Barkley that indicates how bad of a team they are. The Eagles are so bad they could only manage 3 points against the terrible Cowboys in Philadelphia.
The Cowboys continue to prove they can only beat bad teams, Detroit is a mediocre team and the Lions beat Dallas. But good news for the Cowboys next week they play the terrible Vikings in Dallas. Although the Cowboys defense is porous, Christian Ponder is probably not going to be able to exploit that defense. I watched the Vikings play last night on Sunday Night Football and boy are they bad.
Dallas will beat Vikings, in fact they'll probably destroy the Vikings. But the next week the Cowboys go on the road to play New Orleans and old defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Ryan was the sacrificial lamb as Jones couldn't admit he's the problem. Will Brees throw for 500 yards in this game? That loss will drop the Cowboys back to 5-5, which be followed by the Cowboys having a bye. The Cowboys can't lose a bye, can they? The Cowboys will finish the season 7-9 and 8-8, but that's only because they are in the worst division in the NFL. If they were in any other division they would struggle to win 6 games.
themusicaddict
2013 World Series Game 4: Red Sox Win On Uehara's Pickoff, Series Now Tied
Hello,
The Red Sox beat the Cardinals 4-2 on Sunday night to tie the series at 2-2.
This is the second night in a row that a World Series game had an unusual ending. Following Game 3 ending on a bizarre obstruction call, Game 4 ended when Red Sox closer Koji Uehara picked off Cardinals pinch runner Kolten Wong in the bottom of the 9th inning.
Clearly this is a series with two very evenly matched teams. The Series is tied after 4 games and there's every indication that it will go to a Game 7. If there's a Game 7 it will be on Halloween, I'm not sure if that's some kind of omen or not. Either team can win at home or on the road, neither team seems to get a big advantage playing at home. I'm so glad the Red Sox won this game, I didn't want the Red Sox down 3-1 with Game 5 in St. Louis.
The hero of this game was obviously Jonny Gomes. Gomes, playing in the place of the injured Shane Victorino, was 0 for 9 at the plate leading to the 6th inning of Game 4. However Gomes hit a three run homer in the 6th inning in his 10th at bat this World Series. That homer gave the Red Sox a 4-1 lead which they wouldn't relinquish. The Cardinals later scored a run in the 7th inning to cut Boston's lead to 4-2.
Most of us Red Sox fans were worried about how Clay Buchholz would perform for the Red Sox Sunday night. He looked pretty good in his short 4 inning stint. He allowed 3 hits and 3 walks but only 1 run. He gave the Red Sox all he could give and that's all anyone can ask of him. Now I hope he rests up and does whatever is needed so that he can come back and play as well in 2014 as he did the first half of this season.
Felix Doubront, John Lackey and Junichi Tazawa all had effective relief outings for the Red Sox. But I hope the Red Sox don't call on Craig Breslow again, it seems when he comes in the game bad things happen for the Sox. In Game 2 he overthrew the third baseman which lead to the Cards scoring the go ahead run and allowed another Cardinal to end up on third base. On Sunday he continued his string of bad play. He only faced two batters, allowing a single to Matt Carpenter and gave up a walk to Carlos Beltran. (Although I have to say walking Beltran isn't the worst thing in the world from this Red Sox fan's perspective.) Breslow got no outs and his World Series ERA is a ghastly 54.00.
In the 9th inning the Cardinals were making one last bid at winning the game. Allen Craig got a pinch hit single and Kolten Wong came on to pinch run for him. There were two outs and the very dangerous Carlos Beltran was at the plate. There that name is again, I'm so tired of Beltran beating my teams. On this night, thank goodness he didn't have the chance. Koji Uehara threw a perfect strike to 1st base and Wong was picked off. Just like that the game was over.
Uehara continues to have a postseason for the ages. He did allow Allen Craig's single, but then he picked off the pinch hitter that replaced him. Uehara earned his first save this series and has a 0.00 ERA in the World Series. He was pitching for the Red Sox during that bizarre Game 3 obstruction call.
The Series is now tied 2-2 with Game 5 Monday night, it's the Series final night in St. Louis. The scheduled pitching matchup is Jon Lester vs. Adam Wainwright. I expect another great performance from Lester and expect a much better effort from Wainwright than his nervous start in Game 1.
It's obvious both teams won't score over 70 runs in this series, although I still expect to see at least one explosive Red Sox performance. Also my second prediction of the Red Sox winning in 6 games is still in play, although there is every indication that this series will go the full 7 games.th
One thing I do worry about is the Red Sox shaky defense, is that something they can fix by Monday night's game?
Last but not least again David Ortiz is showing that he's the most clutch MLB player in my lifetime. I loved his hustle on the infield single he had. He didn't take it for granted that he was going to be out and was safe. On Sunday night he was 3 for 3 and is hitting an amazing .727 in this series. He got on base all 4 times he was up, his on base percentage is .750. If the Red Sox win the World Series, Ortiz has to win the MVP.
Go Red Sox!
themusicaddict
The Red Sox beat the Cardinals 4-2 on Sunday night to tie the series at 2-2.
This is the second night in a row that a World Series game had an unusual ending. Following Game 3 ending on a bizarre obstruction call, Game 4 ended when Red Sox closer Koji Uehara picked off Cardinals pinch runner Kolten Wong in the bottom of the 9th inning.
Clearly this is a series with two very evenly matched teams. The Series is tied after 4 games and there's every indication that it will go to a Game 7. If there's a Game 7 it will be on Halloween, I'm not sure if that's some kind of omen or not. Either team can win at home or on the road, neither team seems to get a big advantage playing at home. I'm so glad the Red Sox won this game, I didn't want the Red Sox down 3-1 with Game 5 in St. Louis.
The hero of this game was obviously Jonny Gomes. Gomes, playing in the place of the injured Shane Victorino, was 0 for 9 at the plate leading to the 6th inning of Game 4. However Gomes hit a three run homer in the 6th inning in his 10th at bat this World Series. That homer gave the Red Sox a 4-1 lead which they wouldn't relinquish. The Cardinals later scored a run in the 7th inning to cut Boston's lead to 4-2.
Most of us Red Sox fans were worried about how Clay Buchholz would perform for the Red Sox Sunday night. He looked pretty good in his short 4 inning stint. He allowed 3 hits and 3 walks but only 1 run. He gave the Red Sox all he could give and that's all anyone can ask of him. Now I hope he rests up and does whatever is needed so that he can come back and play as well in 2014 as he did the first half of this season.
Felix Doubront, John Lackey and Junichi Tazawa all had effective relief outings for the Red Sox. But I hope the Red Sox don't call on Craig Breslow again, it seems when he comes in the game bad things happen for the Sox. In Game 2 he overthrew the third baseman which lead to the Cards scoring the go ahead run and allowed another Cardinal to end up on third base. On Sunday he continued his string of bad play. He only faced two batters, allowing a single to Matt Carpenter and gave up a walk to Carlos Beltran. (Although I have to say walking Beltran isn't the worst thing in the world from this Red Sox fan's perspective.) Breslow got no outs and his World Series ERA is a ghastly 54.00.
In the 9th inning the Cardinals were making one last bid at winning the game. Allen Craig got a pinch hit single and Kolten Wong came on to pinch run for him. There were two outs and the very dangerous Carlos Beltran was at the plate. There that name is again, I'm so tired of Beltran beating my teams. On this night, thank goodness he didn't have the chance. Koji Uehara threw a perfect strike to 1st base and Wong was picked off. Just like that the game was over.
Uehara continues to have a postseason for the ages. He did allow Allen Craig's single, but then he picked off the pinch hitter that replaced him. Uehara earned his first save this series and has a 0.00 ERA in the World Series. He was pitching for the Red Sox during that bizarre Game 3 obstruction call.
The Series is now tied 2-2 with Game 5 Monday night, it's the Series final night in St. Louis. The scheduled pitching matchup is Jon Lester vs. Adam Wainwright. I expect another great performance from Lester and expect a much better effort from Wainwright than his nervous start in Game 1.
It's obvious both teams won't score over 70 runs in this series, although I still expect to see at least one explosive Red Sox performance. Also my second prediction of the Red Sox winning in 6 games is still in play, although there is every indication that this series will go the full 7 games.th
One thing I do worry about is the Red Sox shaky defense, is that something they can fix by Monday night's game?
Last but not least again David Ortiz is showing that he's the most clutch MLB player in my lifetime. I loved his hustle on the infield single he had. He didn't take it for granted that he was going to be out and was safe. On Sunday night he was 3 for 3 and is hitting an amazing .727 in this series. He got on base all 4 times he was up, his on base percentage is .750. If the Red Sox win the World Series, Ortiz has to win the MVP.
Go Red Sox!
themusicaddict
Sunday, October 27, 2013
2013 World Series: Cards Grab 2-1 Lead On Bizarre Obstructed Call
Hello,
On Saturday night the Cardinals won Game 3 in the World Series, they won 5-4 due to the bizarre obstruction call below. St. Louis takes a 2-1 lead in the series. Game 4 is Sunday night as the series remains in St. Louis. Sunday's scheduled pitching matchup is Clay Buchholz vs. Lance Lynn. The Red Sox have no idea how long or how much they'll get out of the not 100% Buchholz. I'm hoping he'll produce a Curt Schilling like performance. I also hope David Ortiz will produce a David Ortiz like performance.
I don't ever remember a game where a team won a game due to an obstruction call, let alone in the World Series. How many obstruction calls are made in a season?
Watching the ump ruling interference, which led to the obstruction call, makes me very irritated. What exactly was Will Middlebrooks supposed to do? Unless something is egregious, a game shouldn't end on an umpire's call. Yes, I see how someone could argue that Middlebrooks intentionally put up his legs to trip the runner. On the other hand I see how someone could make an equally compelling case arguing the opposite side of that argument.
I find it ridiculous that someone is penalized for an inadvertent reflex. Although I see the opposite side of that argument: because a person is accidentally tripped he shouldn't be penalized either. Isn't there a fair middle ground?
In my opinion Middlebrooks play wasn't egregious, it was just gravity and reflexes working on his body. It seems when a player falls down during an active play, they just need to lay still until their part of the play is over. But how is a professional athlete supposed to do that? He's trained all his or her life to make plays and to act on instinct. How do you turn that off after a lifetime of training especially with virtually no notice?
I hope this fires up the Red Sox and their offense gets on track Sunday night. Go Red Sox!
themusicaddict
On Saturday night the Cardinals won Game 3 in the World Series, they won 5-4 due to the bizarre obstruction call below. St. Louis takes a 2-1 lead in the series. Game 4 is Sunday night as the series remains in St. Louis. Sunday's scheduled pitching matchup is Clay Buchholz vs. Lance Lynn. The Red Sox have no idea how long or how much they'll get out of the not 100% Buchholz. I'm hoping he'll produce a Curt Schilling like performance. I also hope David Ortiz will produce a David Ortiz like performance.
I don't ever remember a game where a team won a game due to an obstruction call, let alone in the World Series. How many obstruction calls are made in a season?
Watching the ump ruling interference, which led to the obstruction call, makes me very irritated. What exactly was Will Middlebrooks supposed to do? Unless something is egregious, a game shouldn't end on an umpire's call. Yes, I see how someone could argue that Middlebrooks intentionally put up his legs to trip the runner. On the other hand I see how someone could make an equally compelling case arguing the opposite side of that argument.
I find it ridiculous that someone is penalized for an inadvertent reflex. Although I see the opposite side of that argument: because a person is accidentally tripped he shouldn't be penalized either. Isn't there a fair middle ground?
In my opinion Middlebrooks play wasn't egregious, it was just gravity and reflexes working on his body. It seems when a player falls down during an active play, they just need to lay still until their part of the play is over. But how is a professional athlete supposed to do that? He's trained all his or her life to make plays and to act on instinct. How do you turn that off after a lifetime of training especially with virtually no notice?
I hope this fires up the Red Sox and their offense gets on track Sunday night. Go Red Sox!
themusicaddict
Friday, October 25, 2013
Red Sox-Cardinals Tied After First 2 World Series Games
Hello,
Before this series started I made two predictions. First I predicted both teams would score more than 70 runs total and also that the Red Sox would win the Series in 6 games. Both predictions are in play although the runs prediction looks a bit far fetched now.
My prediction for a high scoring series is still in play, although it looks highly unlikely now. 15 runs have been scored through two games, which is an average of 7.5 runs per game. Extrapolated over 7 games that's only 52.5 runs, obviously that's well under the over 70 I predicted. I still expect to see at least one wild 10-9 sort of game though. While the pitching for both teams is very good, both offenses are also too explosive to be shut out the whole series.
Boston won the first game led by David Ortiz's almost grand slam and then later added a two shot homer. That was a hell of a play by Carlos Beltran catching Ortiz's fly ball that had cleared the home run fence. Mike Napoli had the biggest blow with his 3 run double in the first inning.
Jon Lester had a great first game for the Red Sox, he pitched 7.2 innings allowing only 5 hits and 0 runs. He also had 8 strikeouts.
The thing that opened the door for the Red Sox in Game 1 was both the Cardinals mental and physical errors. St. Louis was clearly very nervous and looked dramatically better in Game 2. Their defense was better and Michael Wacha continued his amazing assassin like shutting down of the opponents hitters. Through his 4 postseason starts this season Wacha is 4-0 and has a 1.00 ERA.
Thursdays loss by the Red Sox broke Boston's 9 game World Series win streak, it was the 4th longest World Series win streak ever. I love ESPN's amazing little nuggets like that, although I do realize they probably get some of those nuggets from somewhere else.
I predict the winner of this World Series is going to come down to which unit wins the most battles. Will it be the high scoring Red Sox offense or the Cardinals solid young pitching staff? The Red Sox offense won the first game with the Cardinals pitching winning the second game. One thing I didn't consider was errors, I didn't realize how much errors would play part in this series. The errors have played a crucial part in both games.
In the second game Ortiz had his second homer of this World Series. He quite simply is the most clutch hitter I've seen in my life. Ortiz is chasing the World Series MVP, assuming the Red Sox win, with his .667 batting average.
The World Series moves to St. Louis for Games 3, 4 and 5. We know that this World Series won't be a sweep like the last Red Sox-Cardinals World Series. St. Louis probably doesn't have to worry about Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore celebrating the Red Sox World Series victory on their home field.
themusicaddict
Before this series started I made two predictions. First I predicted both teams would score more than 70 runs total and also that the Red Sox would win the Series in 6 games. Both predictions are in play although the runs prediction looks a bit far fetched now.
My prediction for a high scoring series is still in play, although it looks highly unlikely now. 15 runs have been scored through two games, which is an average of 7.5 runs per game. Extrapolated over 7 games that's only 52.5 runs, obviously that's well under the over 70 I predicted. I still expect to see at least one wild 10-9 sort of game though. While the pitching for both teams is very good, both offenses are also too explosive to be shut out the whole series.
Boston won the first game led by David Ortiz's almost grand slam and then later added a two shot homer. That was a hell of a play by Carlos Beltran catching Ortiz's fly ball that had cleared the home run fence. Mike Napoli had the biggest blow with his 3 run double in the first inning.
Jon Lester had a great first game for the Red Sox, he pitched 7.2 innings allowing only 5 hits and 0 runs. He also had 8 strikeouts.
The thing that opened the door for the Red Sox in Game 1 was both the Cardinals mental and physical errors. St. Louis was clearly very nervous and looked dramatically better in Game 2. Their defense was better and Michael Wacha continued his amazing assassin like shutting down of the opponents hitters. Through his 4 postseason starts this season Wacha is 4-0 and has a 1.00 ERA.
Thursdays loss by the Red Sox broke Boston's 9 game World Series win streak, it was the 4th longest World Series win streak ever. I love ESPN's amazing little nuggets like that, although I do realize they probably get some of those nuggets from somewhere else.
I predict the winner of this World Series is going to come down to which unit wins the most battles. Will it be the high scoring Red Sox offense or the Cardinals solid young pitching staff? The Red Sox offense won the first game with the Cardinals pitching winning the second game. One thing I didn't consider was errors, I didn't realize how much errors would play part in this series. The errors have played a crucial part in both games.
In the second game Ortiz had his second homer of this World Series. He quite simply is the most clutch hitter I've seen in my life. Ortiz is chasing the World Series MVP, assuming the Red Sox win, with his .667 batting average.
The World Series moves to St. Louis for Games 3, 4 and 5. We know that this World Series won't be a sweep like the last Red Sox-Cardinals World Series. St. Louis probably doesn't have to worry about Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore celebrating the Red Sox World Series victory on their home field.
themusicaddict
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
themusicaddict's World Series Preview: A Lot Of Runs, Red Sox Win In 6 Games
Hello,
Following spring training, an always grueling regular season and the playoffs it's come down to this. On Wednesday the World Series starts, the match up will be the Red Sox vs. the Cardinals. It seems the two teams are very evenly matched and I expect a fairly good series. The only two predictions I'll make are that I predict that it will be a high scoring series. If I was given over/under on 70 total runs I'd take the over cautiously. I'm so glad I don't have to put money where my mouth is. I believe St. Louis has a better pitching staff- they shut down my Dodgers in the NLCS. However I predict their great pitching staff will be challenged by the powerful Red Sox offense. I don't expect either Cardinals pitching or the Red Sox offense to completely dominate. However both units will get victories. St. Louis can score a lot of runs as well, especially since they'll be getting Allen Craig back in limited form.
My second prediction is that the Red Sox will win this Series in 6 games, I just think the Red Sox are too good. After going so long without winning the World Series the Red Sox will win 3 World Series in 9 years.
Other baseball notes: the Giants paid how much to Tim Lincecum? He's accomplished so much in his career but a 2 year- $35 million dollar contract for a pitcher with an over 4.00 ERA last season? That's crazy, I'm guessing this is some kind of appreciation for all of his great performances over the years. He has won 2 Cy Young awards and 2 World Series, is there any other active pitcher that has done that?Either it's appreciation or with Barry Zito's terrible contract finally coming off the books maybe they just felt an incredible need to overpay another pitcher on the down side of his career.
I'm not sure what the Dodgers are doing with Don Mattingly. They fired bench coach Trey Hillman on Tuesday, which obviously seems to be a shot across Mattingly's bow. Mattingly was with the Dodgers before the Guggenheim ownership group took over and it seems they aren't convinced he's the best manager they can get. On the other hand I think Mattingly has done more than enough to hold on to his job. What I'd do if I was the Dodgers is offer Mattingly a one year contract in the $5-6 million range. That way it will be a compliment to Mattingly but also a relatively inexpensive opt out for the Dodgers if things don't turn out like the Guggenheim ownership group desires. They can include incentives into Mattingly's contract that if he meets certain conditions then an automatic multiyear contract extension will kick in. The Dodgers would then set high, but reachable, incentives for Mattingly to meet.
But hand in hand I think the heat needs to be put on Dodgers GM, Ned Colleti , as well. He needs to do a better job at signing players. No more Brandon League or Ted Lilly type contracts. Mattingly can only manage with the players he's given.
themusicaddict
Following spring training, an always grueling regular season and the playoffs it's come down to this. On Wednesday the World Series starts, the match up will be the Red Sox vs. the Cardinals. It seems the two teams are very evenly matched and I expect a fairly good series. The only two predictions I'll make are that I predict that it will be a high scoring series. If I was given over/under on 70 total runs I'd take the over cautiously. I'm so glad I don't have to put money where my mouth is. I believe St. Louis has a better pitching staff- they shut down my Dodgers in the NLCS. However I predict their great pitching staff will be challenged by the powerful Red Sox offense. I don't expect either Cardinals pitching or the Red Sox offense to completely dominate. However both units will get victories. St. Louis can score a lot of runs as well, especially since they'll be getting Allen Craig back in limited form.
My second prediction is that the Red Sox will win this Series in 6 games, I just think the Red Sox are too good. After going so long without winning the World Series the Red Sox will win 3 World Series in 9 years.
Other baseball notes: the Giants paid how much to Tim Lincecum? He's accomplished so much in his career but a 2 year- $35 million dollar contract for a pitcher with an over 4.00 ERA last season? That's crazy, I'm guessing this is some kind of appreciation for all of his great performances over the years. He has won 2 Cy Young awards and 2 World Series, is there any other active pitcher that has done that?Either it's appreciation or with Barry Zito's terrible contract finally coming off the books maybe they just felt an incredible need to overpay another pitcher on the down side of his career.
I'm not sure what the Dodgers are doing with Don Mattingly. They fired bench coach Trey Hillman on Tuesday, which obviously seems to be a shot across Mattingly's bow. Mattingly was with the Dodgers before the Guggenheim ownership group took over and it seems they aren't convinced he's the best manager they can get. On the other hand I think Mattingly has done more than enough to hold on to his job. What I'd do if I was the Dodgers is offer Mattingly a one year contract in the $5-6 million range. That way it will be a compliment to Mattingly but also a relatively inexpensive opt out for the Dodgers if things don't turn out like the Guggenheim ownership group desires. They can include incentives into Mattingly's contract that if he meets certain conditions then an automatic multiyear contract extension will kick in. The Dodgers would then set high, but reachable, incentives for Mattingly to meet.
But hand in hand I think the heat needs to be put on Dodgers GM, Ned Colleti , as well. He needs to do a better job at signing players. No more Brandon League or Ted Lilly type contracts. Mattingly can only manage with the players he's given.
themusicaddict
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Songs Rocking themusicaddict's iPod: October, 2013
Hello,
These are songs that are rocking my iPod, the device which is perfect for exercising.
A song that's probably not usually associated with exercise, but the second half builds making it a decent exercise song. Also for some reason this song brings back a lot of memories. Red Hot Chili Peppers "Under The Bridge":
Nickelback is easily one of the worst big name bands ever, so much of their music sounds exactly alike. It's lame to be derivative of other music, but your own music? That's made even worse when they only sing about two things: sex and partying. Not the smartest band in the world. Is there a less charismatic front man than Chad Kroeger? However even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then. This is what Nickleback found: "How You Remind Me":
A great 9/11 anthem as well as a great song for exercise. Bruce Springsteen out did himself with "The Rising". This is "Lonesome Day":
One of the best country bands currently working is The Band Perry. Thus far their first two CDs have both been excellent, but this is the song that first caused the public to notice them. "If I Die Young":
I love the lyric "the sharp knife of a short life."
This is more of what most people would consider an exercise song, it's also extremely fun to sing along with. Van Halen's "Feels So Good":
One of the best and catchiest songs of the last few years, a song perfect to exercise too and dance too. Maroon 5 "Moves Like Jagger":
One of the best Guns N' Roses songs is "Nightrain". From the opening whistle you know you are about to get your butt kicked:
themusicaddict
themusicaddict
Monday, October 21, 2013
themusicaddict's Greatest CDs Of All-Time: Guns N' Roses "Appetite For Destruction"
Hello,
Coming straight off the rock scene of Sunset Strip was a snarling band of rockers looking to kick the ass of whoever they could. Guns N' Roses left behind the ashes of Hollywood Rose and emerged as the preeminent rock band of the late 80's and early 90's. They were the It band for a few years. Sadly as with most things that start out strongly, G N'R soon burned out on it's own explosiveness, drug abuse, ego of band members and Axl Rose's tyrannical perfectionism. However for a time G N' R dominated the music industry like no one had for a long time. I can't think of a rock band that has dominated the music industry equally since. The original lineup only lasted for a few years but they produced one of the greatest CDs of all-time. Welcome to the jungle indeed!
For those of you that would like to hear what some of the musicians that later formed Guns N' Roses sounded like while they were working on their sound, check out the 2004 CD "The Roots of Guns N' Roses". This CD has an early version of "Anything Goes". What did those future members of Guns N' Roses sound like when they were finding their sound. They sound very young, raw and "The Roots" CD doesn't have the same production values as "Appetite For Destruction". It's a very interesting look into the band that would one day soon evolve into Guns N' Roses.
"Appetite For Destruction" has 12 songs on it and not one of them is a weak link, each song is it's own piece of great rock. Thanks to Duff McKagen, Steven Adler, Izzy Stradlin, Slash and yes even W. Axl Rose for this great collection of rock music. Enjoy.
This is the full album:
I wondered why there's a recorded version of a Guns N' Roses concert from 1988. It's because this was recorded for MTV. This is allegedly their full concert in 1988 set at the Ritz on Sunset Strip, later in the blog I have individual songs from this show:
1) From the opening notes of "Welcome To The Jungle" it's clear this CD was here to stay:
2) "It's So Easy" (first up 1988 at the Ritz on Sunset Strip):
I believe this was filmed in 1992 when Guns N' Roses was at about their peak:
3) "Nightrain"/ introduction of band (Live at the Ritz):
Studio version of "Nightrain":
4) "Out Ta Get Me": The very combative W. Axl Rose at his most combative, 1988 in Philadelphia:
Studio version of the same song with a lot better sound:
5) Easily my favorite Guns N' Roses song and it's not even close. "Mr. Brownstone":
Studio version:
Studio version with lyrics:
6) This song is the very definition of timeless, also not the easiest song to sing. "Paradise City":
It sounded great in the late 80s and it still sounded good in 2012. Slash with Myles Kennedy doing the singing "Paradise City" in 2012:
The post Slash, Duff et al. Guns N Roses, or pretty much an Axl Rose solo project with a seeming constant changing of band members. This is from 2006:
7) "My Michelle":
8) "Think About You":
9) "Sweet Child O' Mine":
u
Slash and Myles Kennedy live acoustic "Sweet Child O' Mine":
10) "You're Crazy":
Live in 1988 at something called the Fox Late Night Show. A show I have no memory of and the host, who is that?
11) "Anything Goes":
12) "Rocket Queen" (featuring Axl Rose sort of rapping):
I really like this live version of "Rocket Queen" performed in Tokyo in 1992:
Every great musical work deserves an encore, one of my all-time favorite covers. This is G N' R performing the Wings classic "Live And Let Die":
themusicaddict
Coming straight off the rock scene of Sunset Strip was a snarling band of rockers looking to kick the ass of whoever they could. Guns N' Roses left behind the ashes of Hollywood Rose and emerged as the preeminent rock band of the late 80's and early 90's. They were the It band for a few years. Sadly as with most things that start out strongly, G N'R soon burned out on it's own explosiveness, drug abuse, ego of band members and Axl Rose's tyrannical perfectionism. However for a time G N' R dominated the music industry like no one had for a long time. I can't think of a rock band that has dominated the music industry equally since. The original lineup only lasted for a few years but they produced one of the greatest CDs of all-time. Welcome to the jungle indeed!
For those of you that would like to hear what some of the musicians that later formed Guns N' Roses sounded like while they were working on their sound, check out the 2004 CD "The Roots of Guns N' Roses". This CD has an early version of "Anything Goes". What did those future members of Guns N' Roses sound like when they were finding their sound. They sound very young, raw and "The Roots" CD doesn't have the same production values as "Appetite For Destruction". It's a very interesting look into the band that would one day soon evolve into Guns N' Roses.
"Appetite For Destruction" has 12 songs on it and not one of them is a weak link, each song is it's own piece of great rock. Thanks to Duff McKagen, Steven Adler, Izzy Stradlin, Slash and yes even W. Axl Rose for this great collection of rock music. Enjoy.
This is the full album:
I wondered why there's a recorded version of a Guns N' Roses concert from 1988. It's because this was recorded for MTV. This is allegedly their full concert in 1988 set at the Ritz on Sunset Strip, later in the blog I have individual songs from this show:
1) From the opening notes of "Welcome To The Jungle" it's clear this CD was here to stay:
2) "It's So Easy" (first up 1988 at the Ritz on Sunset Strip):
I believe this was filmed in 1992 when Guns N' Roses was at about their peak:
3) "Nightrain"/ introduction of band (Live at the Ritz):
Studio version of "Nightrain":
4) "Out Ta Get Me": The very combative W. Axl Rose at his most combative, 1988 in Philadelphia:
Studio version of the same song with a lot better sound:
5) Easily my favorite Guns N' Roses song and it's not even close. "Mr. Brownstone":
Studio version:
Studio version with lyrics:
6) This song is the very definition of timeless, also not the easiest song to sing. "Paradise City":
It sounded great in the late 80s and it still sounded good in 2012. Slash with Myles Kennedy doing the singing "Paradise City" in 2012:
The post Slash, Duff et al. Guns N Roses, or pretty much an Axl Rose solo project with a seeming constant changing of band members. This is from 2006:
7) "My Michelle":
8) "Think About You":
9) "Sweet Child O' Mine":
u
Slash and Myles Kennedy live acoustic "Sweet Child O' Mine":
10) "You're Crazy":
Live in 1988 at something called the Fox Late Night Show. A show I have no memory of and the host, who is that?
11) "Anything Goes":
12) "Rocket Queen" (featuring Axl Rose sort of rapping):
I really like this live version of "Rocket Queen" performed in Tokyo in 1992:
Every great musical work deserves an encore, one of my all-time favorite covers. This is G N' R performing the Wings classic "Live And Let Die":
themusicaddict
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Kershaw Is Great, But $300 Million Is Too Much, The Red Sox Are Going To The World Series!
Hello,
Rumors came out yesterday that the Dodgers had offered Clayton Kershaw a contract for $300 million dollars to virtually lock him down to being a lifetime Dodger. Do the Dodgers know how to negotiate? If it was me, I would start him out with a 8 year- $200 million dollar contract. That shows Kershaw the respect he deserves and also gives room for both sides to negotiate. I love Kershaw as much as the next Dodgers fan, but $300 million for one player? Are you kidding me, that's crazy? It's nice to have deep pockets, but that doesn't mean you need to overpay players. Look how well that's worked out for Jerry Jones- who's Cowboys are projected to be $31 million over the 2014 salary cap.
I liked that ESPN called the Kershaw offer an Arod type contract, yeah how well is that working out for the Yankees? At this point it's not working at all for the Yankees. Despite the lies of Brian Cashman, the Yankees are desperately hoping that Rodriguez gets suspended for at least one season. That would be a savings of $25 million for this season alone. Where else could you find a .244 hitting drama queen for that much money? Nearly anywhere. They could probably find 2 or 3 very good players for that kind of money and get those players without the drama.
I'm a little bit sad today that my Dodgers are no longer in the playoffs. They put up a valiant effort but ultimately lost to a team that frankly was better than them. The St. Louis Cardinals advanced to the World Series which starts Wednesday.
They'll be playing the Boston Red Sox, who dispatched of the Tigers last night. Boston eliminated the Tigers in 6 games last night, they were powered by Shane Victorino's clutch grand slam in the 7th inning. Koji Uehara came in and closed out the Tigers, getting his third save of the season. He has turned out to be a pretty good third choice reliever. With both Joel Hanrahan and Andrew Miller having season ending injuries, the Red Sox were quite lucky to have found Uehara. He's also the ALCS MVP.
I'll be cheering for Boston all the way, go Red Sox! With there not being another game until Wednesday I plan on writing a music blog tomorrow. I could write about the ineptness of the Cowboys and Jerry Jones. However I've become tired of writing that blog for so many years now.
themusicaddict
Rumors came out yesterday that the Dodgers had offered Clayton Kershaw a contract for $300 million dollars to virtually lock him down to being a lifetime Dodger. Do the Dodgers know how to negotiate? If it was me, I would start him out with a 8 year- $200 million dollar contract. That shows Kershaw the respect he deserves and also gives room for both sides to negotiate. I love Kershaw as much as the next Dodgers fan, but $300 million for one player? Are you kidding me, that's crazy? It's nice to have deep pockets, but that doesn't mean you need to overpay players. Look how well that's worked out for Jerry Jones- who's Cowboys are projected to be $31 million over the 2014 salary cap.
I liked that ESPN called the Kershaw offer an Arod type contract, yeah how well is that working out for the Yankees? At this point it's not working at all for the Yankees. Despite the lies of Brian Cashman, the Yankees are desperately hoping that Rodriguez gets suspended for at least one season. That would be a savings of $25 million for this season alone. Where else could you find a .244 hitting drama queen for that much money? Nearly anywhere. They could probably find 2 or 3 very good players for that kind of money and get those players without the drama.
I'm a little bit sad today that my Dodgers are no longer in the playoffs. They put up a valiant effort but ultimately lost to a team that frankly was better than them. The St. Louis Cardinals advanced to the World Series which starts Wednesday.
They'll be playing the Boston Red Sox, who dispatched of the Tigers last night. Boston eliminated the Tigers in 6 games last night, they were powered by Shane Victorino's clutch grand slam in the 7th inning. Koji Uehara came in and closed out the Tigers, getting his third save of the season. He has turned out to be a pretty good third choice reliever. With both Joel Hanrahan and Andrew Miller having season ending injuries, the Red Sox were quite lucky to have found Uehara. He's also the ALCS MVP.
I'll be cheering for Boston all the way, go Red Sox! With there not being another game until Wednesday I plan on writing a music blog tomorrow. I could write about the ineptness of the Cowboys and Jerry Jones. However I've become tired of writing that blog for so many years now.
themusicaddict
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Dodgers Daily, October 18th, 2013: NLCS Game 6: Dodgers Forget To Show Up, 2014 Dodgers Early Preview
Hello,
All season long I followed the Dodgers through all their ups and downs, I wrote a Dodgers Daily for nearly every Dodgers game this season. It has been a great season to follow the Dodgers, but ultimately following one team and blogging about them was just too much work, especially when the Dodgers played 28 days in a row at one point. I won't be writing a Dodgers Daily next season, although I'll still blog about the Dodgers occasionally.
On a cold Friday night in St. Louis, the Dodgers great season came to an end. LA ended their season by falling into the bad habits that plagued them throughout the season. The Dodgers couldn't score many runs as has been their trend when the amazing Clayton Kershaw pitches for them.
Kershaw is proving to be a great regular season pitcher, but so far has struggled in the postseason. I hope he and the Dodgers get that figured out. That's because Dodgers ownership seems like they are almost desperate to win a title. They also seem to have nearly unlimited resources and should be able to surround Kershaw with many outstanding pieces in the upcoming seasons. LA will probably be in the playoffs many times in the next several years.
On Friday Kershaw really struggled. He only made it through 4 innings and gave up 10 hits and 7 runs. All the runs were earned and he also allowed 2 walks. Kershaw finishes the NLCS with an 0-2 record and 6.30 ERA.
But as off he was on this night he was a bit better than the offense that was supposed to be scoring runs for him. LA only had two meaningless hits and helped make Mike Wacha look like the second coming of Cy Young himself. On Friday Wacha pitched 7 innings, allowed 2 hits, 1 walk and no runs. Wacha finished the NLCS with a 2-0 record and a 0.00 ERA.
The Dodgers two meaningless hits were A.J. Ellis's double and Carl Crawford's single. Yes, that was the entirety of the Dodgers offense in a must win game.
Although it doesn't seem like Don Mattingly is the best manager the Dodgers can get, that's not enough of a reason to get rid of him. Sources are already saying he'll be back next year. I'm sure he'll be evaluated very soon and be given some things to work on in the offseason. I expect that he'll be a better manager next season. I do certainly have to question his decision to pick Carlos "Blown Save" Marmol over Paco Rodriguez for the NLCS.
Of course having Matt Kemp at full health for a whole season will make anyone look like a much better manager. I wonder what kind of impact a fully healthy Kemp would have had on the NLCS. I hope LA gives Kemp all the resources and time that he needs to fully recover this offseason. If he has to miss the early part of the season that's fine. I'd rather him miss the early part of the season than the much more crucial end of the season.
Hopefully the Dodgers will have a fully healthy Kemp and Chad Billingsley at some point next season.
Thankfully the Dodgers will no longer have to pay Ted Lilly another cent. Lilly was paid over $13 million and returned virtually nothing in 2013.
Sadly though the Dodgers owe Josh Beckett $17 million for next season. He missed most of this season and was ineffective when he played- 0-5 and an astronomically high ERA. But that will be his last year with the Dodgers, his departure will be a nice chunk of change coming back to the Dodgers. Of course the surly Beckett is the poison pill of the Dodgers-Red Sox 2012 trade.
I'm more worried about the job that Dodgers GM Ned Colleti is doing than Mattingly. Contracts like Lilly and Brandon League scare me quite a bit. The Dodgers wildly overpaid for League and still have to pay him for two more years. Another bad contract is Andre Ethier, I wish the Dodgers could dump him off on another team. They might do that this offseason, but they're probably still going to have to pay part of his salary. But the Ethier signing is probably Coletti's worst signing.
Again I want to beg the Dodgers not to sign the 30 year old Robinson Cano to a long-term contract, unless they can reduce the years of a contract and pay him much less than he wants. I wouldn't offer Cano more than a 5 year-$125 million contract. (That's the same kind of contract that Josh Hamilton signed with the Angels, although he was clearly on the downside of his career when he signed that contract.)
Of course Coletti has made good decisions on some contracts. I'm sure fairly soon we'll be hearing about the Dodgers signing Kershaw to about a 8 year-$200 million contract. I'm not a big fan of long term contracts, it always seems like the player benefits. (See Josh Hamilton, Ryan Howard, Ted Lilly, Josh Beckett etc.) But with Kershaw still in his mid 20's, LA signing the very tough and high quality Kershaw to a long term contract is something that needs to be done.
Of course both Yasiel Puig and Hyun-Jin Ryu seem to be very team friendly contracts, at least after one season. Although LA took a bit of a chance on Hanley Ramirez he seems to be fitting well in with the Dodgers. Not only that but he was the Dodgers most explosive bat this season.
With LA being eliminated I'll be cheering on the Red Sox throughout the rest of their season. Once they finish off the pesky Tigers Saturday night, I look forward to the World Series starting at Fenway Park on Wednesday.
themusicaddict
All season long I followed the Dodgers through all their ups and downs, I wrote a Dodgers Daily for nearly every Dodgers game this season. It has been a great season to follow the Dodgers, but ultimately following one team and blogging about them was just too much work, especially when the Dodgers played 28 days in a row at one point. I won't be writing a Dodgers Daily next season, although I'll still blog about the Dodgers occasionally.
On a cold Friday night in St. Louis, the Dodgers great season came to an end. LA ended their season by falling into the bad habits that plagued them throughout the season. The Dodgers couldn't score many runs as has been their trend when the amazing Clayton Kershaw pitches for them.
Kershaw is proving to be a great regular season pitcher, but so far has struggled in the postseason. I hope he and the Dodgers get that figured out. That's because Dodgers ownership seems like they are almost desperate to win a title. They also seem to have nearly unlimited resources and should be able to surround Kershaw with many outstanding pieces in the upcoming seasons. LA will probably be in the playoffs many times in the next several years.
On Friday Kershaw really struggled. He only made it through 4 innings and gave up 10 hits and 7 runs. All the runs were earned and he also allowed 2 walks. Kershaw finishes the NLCS with an 0-2 record and 6.30 ERA.
But as off he was on this night he was a bit better than the offense that was supposed to be scoring runs for him. LA only had two meaningless hits and helped make Mike Wacha look like the second coming of Cy Young himself. On Friday Wacha pitched 7 innings, allowed 2 hits, 1 walk and no runs. Wacha finished the NLCS with a 2-0 record and a 0.00 ERA.
The Dodgers two meaningless hits were A.J. Ellis's double and Carl Crawford's single. Yes, that was the entirety of the Dodgers offense in a must win game.
Although it doesn't seem like Don Mattingly is the best manager the Dodgers can get, that's not enough of a reason to get rid of him. Sources are already saying he'll be back next year. I'm sure he'll be evaluated very soon and be given some things to work on in the offseason. I expect that he'll be a better manager next season. I do certainly have to question his decision to pick Carlos "Blown Save" Marmol over Paco Rodriguez for the NLCS.
Of course having Matt Kemp at full health for a whole season will make anyone look like a much better manager. I wonder what kind of impact a fully healthy Kemp would have had on the NLCS. I hope LA gives Kemp all the resources and time that he needs to fully recover this offseason. If he has to miss the early part of the season that's fine. I'd rather him miss the early part of the season than the much more crucial end of the season.
Hopefully the Dodgers will have a fully healthy Kemp and Chad Billingsley at some point next season.
Thankfully the Dodgers will no longer have to pay Ted Lilly another cent. Lilly was paid over $13 million and returned virtually nothing in 2013.
Sadly though the Dodgers owe Josh Beckett $17 million for next season. He missed most of this season and was ineffective when he played- 0-5 and an astronomically high ERA. But that will be his last year with the Dodgers, his departure will be a nice chunk of change coming back to the Dodgers. Of course the surly Beckett is the poison pill of the Dodgers-Red Sox 2012 trade.
I'm more worried about the job that Dodgers GM Ned Colleti is doing than Mattingly. Contracts like Lilly and Brandon League scare me quite a bit. The Dodgers wildly overpaid for League and still have to pay him for two more years. Another bad contract is Andre Ethier, I wish the Dodgers could dump him off on another team. They might do that this offseason, but they're probably still going to have to pay part of his salary. But the Ethier signing is probably Coletti's worst signing.
Again I want to beg the Dodgers not to sign the 30 year old Robinson Cano to a long-term contract, unless they can reduce the years of a contract and pay him much less than he wants. I wouldn't offer Cano more than a 5 year-$125 million contract. (That's the same kind of contract that Josh Hamilton signed with the Angels, although he was clearly on the downside of his career when he signed that contract.)
Of course Coletti has made good decisions on some contracts. I'm sure fairly soon we'll be hearing about the Dodgers signing Kershaw to about a 8 year-$200 million contract. I'm not a big fan of long term contracts, it always seems like the player benefits. (See Josh Hamilton, Ryan Howard, Ted Lilly, Josh Beckett etc.) But with Kershaw still in his mid 20's, LA signing the very tough and high quality Kershaw to a long term contract is something that needs to be done.
Of course both Yasiel Puig and Hyun-Jin Ryu seem to be very team friendly contracts, at least after one season. Although LA took a bit of a chance on Hanley Ramirez he seems to be fitting well in with the Dodgers. Not only that but he was the Dodgers most explosive bat this season.
With LA being eliminated I'll be cheering on the Red Sox throughout the rest of their season. Once they finish off the pesky Tigers Saturday night, I look forward to the World Series starting at Fenway Park on Wednesday.
themusicaddict
Friday, October 18, 2013
Dodgers Daily, October 17th, 2013 NLCS Travel Day, Red Sox One Victory Away From World Series
Hello,
Thursday was travel day in the NLCS with both teams flying back to St. Louis, a flight LA is very glad they have to make. Game 6 is obviously a pivotal game, especially for the Dodgers. If LA loses on Friday their season is over, it will be an anti-climactic ending to a roller coaster season. However there would be no complaints from this Dodgers fan. I'm so glad to have the Dodgers back with brighter things on their way, no matter what ends up happening this season.
If you want to extend your season to a Game 7 there's perhaps no one else you'd rather have than who is pitching for LA tonight. That's Mr. Clayton Kershaw, the presumptive NL Cy Young award winner. That's exactly who the Dodgers have pitching for them tonight. Although Kershaw is 0-1 in this series he hasn't given up an earned run. He'll be facing Michael Wacha, who's 1-0 in this series and also hasn't given up an earned run.
I'm fairly certain that Kershaw will hold the Cardinals to 3 runs or less, the question is will the Dodgers be able to score at least 4 runs Friday night?
While the NLCS had their travel day Thursday, it's the ALCS' travel day on Friday. The Red Sox flight back to Boston I expect was a very happy trip. Boston went to Detroit tied in the series 1-1 and had lost the ALCS homefield advantage. However the Red Sox won 2 of the 3 games in Detroit and it's now the Tigers that are on the ropes. All Boston has to do is win one of the two weekend games at Fenway and they'll be going to the World Series once again. They'd be shooting for their third World Series title in 9 years.
On Thursday the Red Sox beat the Tigers 4-3, which is what pushed Detroit to the brink of elimination. The Tigers are in the exact same situation as the Dodgers, needing to win 2 games on the road against a very tough opponent to advance to the World Series. Even the two pitching match ups are similar, both teams with their backs against the wall will be sending a presumptive Cy Young award winner to save their seasons. For Detroit it will be Max Sherzer, no decisions in the series but a 1.29 ERA. He'll be matched up against Clay Buchholz. He also had no decisions, but has a too high 7.94 ERA.
The story of ALCS Game 5 was Mike Napoli's 3 for 4 night. Napoli is hitting .375 in the ALCS and hit his second homer of the series in the second inning. That home run started Boston's scoring, they went on to score two more runs in that inning. Napoli scored what ended up being the deciding run in the 3rd inning on Anibal Sanchez's wild pitch. Boston didn't score for the rest of the night, thankfully they had scored enough runs by the third inning.
The Tigers scored one run in the 5th, 6th and 7th innings, cutting Boston's lead to 4-3. Jon Lester gave up 2 of those 3 runs as he struggled in his 5.1 innings. He allowed 7 hits, 3 walks and 2 runs. After Lester was pulled, Junichi Tarzawa and Craig Breslow earned their second holds of the series. Then Boston's amazing closer, Koji Uehara, came in and got the final 5 Tigers out. He earned his second save of the series. However after the 7th inning neither team would score again and the Red Sox held on for a 4-3 win.
Boston, the town, the players and the fans continue to get the bad taste of the season of Valentine out of their memories. Thanks to John Farrell for all the good things he's done for the Red Sox this season. Also thanks to the Boston ownership group for realizing their mistake with Valentine and letting him go after only one season. They didn't let their egos get in the way of making a hard, but extremely crucial, decision. (Jerry Jones this is the right way for an owner to run a team. While the chances are good that the Red Sox will go to the World Series, I'd be very surprised if the Cowboys even get to the playoffs.)
themusicaddict
Thursday was travel day in the NLCS with both teams flying back to St. Louis, a flight LA is very glad they have to make. Game 6 is obviously a pivotal game, especially for the Dodgers. If LA loses on Friday their season is over, it will be an anti-climactic ending to a roller coaster season. However there would be no complaints from this Dodgers fan. I'm so glad to have the Dodgers back with brighter things on their way, no matter what ends up happening this season.
If you want to extend your season to a Game 7 there's perhaps no one else you'd rather have than who is pitching for LA tonight. That's Mr. Clayton Kershaw, the presumptive NL Cy Young award winner. That's exactly who the Dodgers have pitching for them tonight. Although Kershaw is 0-1 in this series he hasn't given up an earned run. He'll be facing Michael Wacha, who's 1-0 in this series and also hasn't given up an earned run.
I'm fairly certain that Kershaw will hold the Cardinals to 3 runs or less, the question is will the Dodgers be able to score at least 4 runs Friday night?
While the NLCS had their travel day Thursday, it's the ALCS' travel day on Friday. The Red Sox flight back to Boston I expect was a very happy trip. Boston went to Detroit tied in the series 1-1 and had lost the ALCS homefield advantage. However the Red Sox won 2 of the 3 games in Detroit and it's now the Tigers that are on the ropes. All Boston has to do is win one of the two weekend games at Fenway and they'll be going to the World Series once again. They'd be shooting for their third World Series title in 9 years.
On Thursday the Red Sox beat the Tigers 4-3, which is what pushed Detroit to the brink of elimination. The Tigers are in the exact same situation as the Dodgers, needing to win 2 games on the road against a very tough opponent to advance to the World Series. Even the two pitching match ups are similar, both teams with their backs against the wall will be sending a presumptive Cy Young award winner to save their seasons. For Detroit it will be Max Sherzer, no decisions in the series but a 1.29 ERA. He'll be matched up against Clay Buchholz. He also had no decisions, but has a too high 7.94 ERA.
The story of ALCS Game 5 was Mike Napoli's 3 for 4 night. Napoli is hitting .375 in the ALCS and hit his second homer of the series in the second inning. That home run started Boston's scoring, they went on to score two more runs in that inning. Napoli scored what ended up being the deciding run in the 3rd inning on Anibal Sanchez's wild pitch. Boston didn't score for the rest of the night, thankfully they had scored enough runs by the third inning.
The Tigers scored one run in the 5th, 6th and 7th innings, cutting Boston's lead to 4-3. Jon Lester gave up 2 of those 3 runs as he struggled in his 5.1 innings. He allowed 7 hits, 3 walks and 2 runs. After Lester was pulled, Junichi Tarzawa and Craig Breslow earned their second holds of the series. Then Boston's amazing closer, Koji Uehara, came in and got the final 5 Tigers out. He earned his second save of the series. However after the 7th inning neither team would score again and the Red Sox held on for a 4-3 win.
Boston, the town, the players and the fans continue to get the bad taste of the season of Valentine out of their memories. Thanks to John Farrell for all the good things he's done for the Red Sox this season. Also thanks to the Boston ownership group for realizing their mistake with Valentine and letting him go after only one season. They didn't let their egos get in the way of making a hard, but extremely crucial, decision. (Jerry Jones this is the right way for an owner to run a team. While the chances are good that the Red Sox will go to the World Series, I'd be very surprised if the Cowboys even get to the playoffs.)
themusicaddict
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Dodgers Daily, October 16th, 2013: Game 5 of NLCS:Dodgers Score 6 Runs, Extend Season
Hello,
In a win or go home game for the Dodgers, they rose up with 4 homers and 6 total runs. LA won and was able to extend the NLCS for at least one more game.
After only scoring 8 runs in the previous 4 games the Dodgers scored 6 runs on Wednesday. Bizarrely enough LA's offense was powered by the long ball. Sticking with their usual home run trend though all the homers were solo shots. Adrian Gonzalez had two homers while Carl Crawford and A.J. Ellis each added a home run. The Dodgers ended up needing nearly all those hits.
Zack Greinke had his second effective outing in the NLCS. He pitched 7 innings, gave up 6 hits and a walk. However he was able to hold the Cardinals to only 2 runs in his 7 innings. If a pitcher can hold an opponent to 2 runs or less, his team should win that game at least 80% of the time. Thankfully the offensively anemic Dodgers offense was able to provide enough runs for LA to win the game.
While Greinke was playing solidly and Brian Wilson had his second hold of the series, Kenley Jansen was another story. In the 9th inning he gave up 4 hits and 2 runs but he did eventually shut down the Cardinals. He struck out 3 Cardinals, but not without some tension. Thank goodness for the insurance runs the Dodgers scored.
The Cardinals lead the series 3-2 with the NLCS returning to St. Louis. Game 6 is Friday night, the scheduled pitching matchup is Clayton Kershaw vs. Michael Wacha. LA usually doesn't score a lot of runs, but for some reason they score even fewer runs when Kershaw is pitching. In order for LA to somehow win the NLCS they need to probably score at least 5 runs each game. Max Scherzer showed why he deserves the Cy Young award in his last start, will Kershaw do the same Friday night?
I'm glad the Dodgers extended the series, but they still face an uphill challenge to get to the World Series.
Meanwhile in Wednesday's ALCS game the Tigers won 7-3, the ALCS is now tied 2-2. The story of this game was that the Tigers jumped all over Jake Peavy. In the worst start of either League Championship Series Peavy only lasted 3 innings. He allowed 5 hits and 3 walks for a total of 7 runs. Other than that Red Sox pitchers didn't give up any more runs. Highlighted by Brandon Workman's 2 solid innings, Boston relief pitchers didn't allow any runs.
Game 5 of the ALCS is Thursday night. The scheduled pitching matchup is Jon Lester vs. Anibal Sanchez. In Sanchez's last start he was one of several Tigers pitchers that almost no hit the Red Sox, Boston didn't get a hit until the 9th inning. In that outing Sanchez pitched 6 innings, gave up no hits and no runs. He did give up an incredible 6 walks, however he was effective enough to keep the Sox from scoring.
For some reason it feels like the two highest scoring teams are going to break out in this game, I'm expecting a lot of runs by both teams. I hope that the Red Sox score the majority of the runs though.
themusicaddict
In a win or go home game for the Dodgers, they rose up with 4 homers and 6 total runs. LA won and was able to extend the NLCS for at least one more game.
After only scoring 8 runs in the previous 4 games the Dodgers scored 6 runs on Wednesday. Bizarrely enough LA's offense was powered by the long ball. Sticking with their usual home run trend though all the homers were solo shots. Adrian Gonzalez had two homers while Carl Crawford and A.J. Ellis each added a home run. The Dodgers ended up needing nearly all those hits.
Zack Greinke had his second effective outing in the NLCS. He pitched 7 innings, gave up 6 hits and a walk. However he was able to hold the Cardinals to only 2 runs in his 7 innings. If a pitcher can hold an opponent to 2 runs or less, his team should win that game at least 80% of the time. Thankfully the offensively anemic Dodgers offense was able to provide enough runs for LA to win the game.
While Greinke was playing solidly and Brian Wilson had his second hold of the series, Kenley Jansen was another story. In the 9th inning he gave up 4 hits and 2 runs but he did eventually shut down the Cardinals. He struck out 3 Cardinals, but not without some tension. Thank goodness for the insurance runs the Dodgers scored.
The Cardinals lead the series 3-2 with the NLCS returning to St. Louis. Game 6 is Friday night, the scheduled pitching matchup is Clayton Kershaw vs. Michael Wacha. LA usually doesn't score a lot of runs, but for some reason they score even fewer runs when Kershaw is pitching. In order for LA to somehow win the NLCS they need to probably score at least 5 runs each game. Max Scherzer showed why he deserves the Cy Young award in his last start, will Kershaw do the same Friday night?
I'm glad the Dodgers extended the series, but they still face an uphill challenge to get to the World Series.
Meanwhile in Wednesday's ALCS game the Tigers won 7-3, the ALCS is now tied 2-2. The story of this game was that the Tigers jumped all over Jake Peavy. In the worst start of either League Championship Series Peavy only lasted 3 innings. He allowed 5 hits and 3 walks for a total of 7 runs. Other than that Red Sox pitchers didn't give up any more runs. Highlighted by Brandon Workman's 2 solid innings, Boston relief pitchers didn't allow any runs.
Game 5 of the ALCS is Thursday night. The scheduled pitching matchup is Jon Lester vs. Anibal Sanchez. In Sanchez's last start he was one of several Tigers pitchers that almost no hit the Red Sox, Boston didn't get a hit until the 9th inning. In that outing Sanchez pitched 6 innings, gave up no hits and no runs. He did give up an incredible 6 walks, however he was effective enough to keep the Sox from scoring.
For some reason it feels like the two highest scoring teams are going to break out in this game, I'm expecting a lot of runs by both teams. I hope that the Red Sox score the majority of the runs though.
themusicaddict
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Dodgers Daily, October 15th, 2013: Dodgers On Brink Of Elimination, Red Sox Take 2-1 Lead
Hello,
The Dodgers are down to what could be their final playoff game after losing to the Cardinals 4-2 on Tuesday. St. Louis leads the series 3-1 with Game 5 Wednesday afternoon. Things seem to be about as bleak as they can be for LA right now. Here's hoping the famous saying continues and that true that it's always darkest before dawn.
The theme of Game 4 has been the theme of the whole series, a combination of great pitching and poor hitting. Both teams have only scored 8 runs each, yesterdays 4-2 score was the highest scoring game in the whole series.
In Game 4 the Dodgers only had 8 hits and it feels lucky they got even 2 runs.
St. Louis now leads 3-1, obviously they used their 8 runs more judiciously. Game 5 of the NLCS is in LA Wednesday afternoon. Game 5's pitching matchup will be Zack Greinke vs. Joe Kelly, the two who started Game 1 on Friday.
It's hard to believe this could be my second to last Dodgers Daily blog, if LA loses on Wednesday I'll be going back to writing about music and other sports related things. I hadn't realized how demanding time wise the Dodgers Daily was going to be.
Also on Tuesday the Red Sox went into Detroit and beat the Tigers 1-0. Mike Napoli had the big hit in the game with a solo homer. The Red Sox pitching staff combined for the shut out. Boston leads this series 2-1 and has stolen back home field advantage. The scheduled pitching matchup Wednesday is Jake Peavy vs. Doug Fister.
Come on Dodgers and Sox!
themusicaddict
The Dodgers are down to what could be their final playoff game after losing to the Cardinals 4-2 on Tuesday. St. Louis leads the series 3-1 with Game 5 Wednesday afternoon. Things seem to be about as bleak as they can be for LA right now. Here's hoping the famous saying continues and that true that it's always darkest before dawn.
The theme of Game 4 has been the theme of the whole series, a combination of great pitching and poor hitting. Both teams have only scored 8 runs each, yesterdays 4-2 score was the highest scoring game in the whole series.
In Game 4 the Dodgers only had 8 hits and it feels lucky they got even 2 runs.
St. Louis now leads 3-1, obviously they used their 8 runs more judiciously. Game 5 of the NLCS is in LA Wednesday afternoon. Game 5's pitching matchup will be Zack Greinke vs. Joe Kelly, the two who started Game 1 on Friday.
It's hard to believe this could be my second to last Dodgers Daily blog, if LA loses on Wednesday I'll be going back to writing about music and other sports related things. I hadn't realized how demanding time wise the Dodgers Daily was going to be.
Also on Tuesday the Red Sox went into Detroit and beat the Tigers 1-0. Mike Napoli had the big hit in the game with a solo homer. The Red Sox pitching staff combined for the shut out. Boston leads this series 2-1 and has stolen back home field advantage. The scheduled pitching matchup Wednesday is Jake Peavy vs. Doug Fister.
Come on Dodgers and Sox!
themusicaddict
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Dodgers Daily, October 14th, 2013: Ryu Comes Up Big, Ortiz's Grand Slam, Red Sox Historic Game 2 Win
Hello,
On Monday the Dodgers earned a much needed victory, giving them hope to advance to the World Series. If LA had gone down 3-0 to the very solid Cardinals that almost for sure would have been LA's death sentence. The Dodgers are still down 2-1 and have an uphill battle going forward. After the excellent Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke couldn't secure wins, there seemed to be a lot of dismal talk about whether Hyun-Jin Ryu would pitch well enough to get the Dodgers a win.
Things certainly were looking bleak for LA and their fans before Game 3. The pitching matchup was Adam Wainwright vs. Ryu. Let's look closer at each pitchers previous postseason game. Wainwright was 19-9 with a 2.94 ERA in the regular season. In his previous post season appearance he pitched the deciding game for the Cards against the Pirates. He did give up 8 hits, but only 1 run in closing out the Pirates. Ryu was 14-8 with a 3.00 ERA in the regular season. Ryu in his previous, and first ever, playoff game really struggled. He only lasted 3 innings, giving up 6 hits and 4 runs. His ERA for this one game was 12.00.
Well the answer to the question in the first paragrah is yes, Ryu stepped up and had a humongous game for the Dodgers. Ryu was the very definition of solid Monday night. He pitched 7 clutch innings, only allowing 3 hits and no runs. Ryu, Brian Wilson and Kenley Jansen combined to shut out the Cardinals. Dodgers pitching has been outstanding this series, they've only given up 4 runs through 3 games.
It's not like Wainwright had a poor game either. I wasn't able to see much of the game but it sounds like his fielders let him down. Wainwright also pitched 7 innings, but gave up 6 hits and 2 runs.
The Dodgers continue to struggle to score runs in this series though. Through the first 3 games of the NLCS the Dodgers have only scored 6 runs. It's hard to believe only 10 total runs have been scored in this series. Still LA's run production must increase if they want to win the NLCS. And then certainly if they play either the high scoring Red Sox or Tigers in the World Series.
The Dodgers did have 9 hits in Monday's game, but it could be that if things had been a tad bit different maybe none of those 3 runs would have scored. Two of the runs were results of poor play in the field and the the third run was disputed. Hanley Ramirez very gamely played through a broken rib. He continued being the Dodgers best hitter in the playoffs. He had two hits, joining Ramirez in the two hit club were Mark Ellis and Yasiel Puig. Also credit has to go to Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis who had a hustle triple. That's the type of hustle that I like to see when a team is battling for their playoff lives.
The scheduled pitching matchup in the critical Game 4 of the NLCS is Ricky Nolasco pitching for the Dodgers. He hasn't even pitched in the playoffs yet. Although many seem to think that Don Mattingly will call on Zack Greinke to pitch on 3 days rest. Whoever pitches for L.A. will likely be going against Lance Lynn, who won earlier in this series. Lynn won Game 1 in relief.
Meanwhile on Sunday things were looking very bleak for the Red Sox. They were no hit until the 9th inning in Game 1 and then no hit through the 5th inning in Game 2. The Red Sox hadn't scored in 14 innings and only had 3 hits through 16 innings. Max Scherzer was cruising through Game 2 and things were looking extremely bleak for the Red Sox.
Detroit then scored 4 runs in the top of the 6th and lead the Red Sox 5-0 going into the bottom of that inning. The Red Sox were able to piece together a run in the 6th when Dustin Pedroia drove in Shane Victorino. Pedroia probably had also saved at least one run with a diving grab of a ball that looked like it was going to make it into the outfield for sure.
Neither team scored in the 7th and the Tigers didn't score in the top of the 8th. The Red Sox were 6 outs away from being down 2-0 in games and going to Detroit for 3 games. Max Scherzer came out after his very effective outing, he'd looked sharp all night and only gave up 2 hits and 1 run. Again the Red Sox only had 3 hits through the first 16 innings of the series.
In the 8th inning the Red Sox finally got something going. Following Stephen Drew grounding out, the struggling Will Middlebrooks came up. However he came through with a double and Jacoby Ellsbury walked. Victorino struck out so there are two on and two outs in the 8th inning, things still look a bit bleak. Next up is Pedroia, who gets a single to load the bases.
The Tigers brought in Joaquin Benoit and he would face one of the most clutch hitters in MLB history. I can't remember how many big hits Ortiz had in the 2004 World Series. It seemed like every time the Sox needed a big hit, he provided it.
That trend would continue on Sunday night. With the game and seemingly the Sox season on the line and the bases loaded this is what happened:
David Ortiz jacked the first pitch he saw over the right field fence and a diving Torii Hunter. Ortiz had hit a game tying grand slam and suddenly the Red Sox had momentum. In the top of the 9th Koji Uehara shut down the Tigers. In the bottom of that inning Jarrod Salalamachia single home Jonny Gomes and just like the Red Sox grabbed a victory out of the jaws of defeat.
Game 3 is Tuesday afternoon Jon Lackey goes against the very tough Justin Verlander.
themusicaddict
On Monday the Dodgers earned a much needed victory, giving them hope to advance to the World Series. If LA had gone down 3-0 to the very solid Cardinals that almost for sure would have been LA's death sentence. The Dodgers are still down 2-1 and have an uphill battle going forward. After the excellent Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke couldn't secure wins, there seemed to be a lot of dismal talk about whether Hyun-Jin Ryu would pitch well enough to get the Dodgers a win.
Things certainly were looking bleak for LA and their fans before Game 3. The pitching matchup was Adam Wainwright vs. Ryu. Let's look closer at each pitchers previous postseason game. Wainwright was 19-9 with a 2.94 ERA in the regular season. In his previous post season appearance he pitched the deciding game for the Cards against the Pirates. He did give up 8 hits, but only 1 run in closing out the Pirates. Ryu was 14-8 with a 3.00 ERA in the regular season. Ryu in his previous, and first ever, playoff game really struggled. He only lasted 3 innings, giving up 6 hits and 4 runs. His ERA for this one game was 12.00.
Well the answer to the question in the first paragrah is yes, Ryu stepped up and had a humongous game for the Dodgers. Ryu was the very definition of solid Monday night. He pitched 7 clutch innings, only allowing 3 hits and no runs. Ryu, Brian Wilson and Kenley Jansen combined to shut out the Cardinals. Dodgers pitching has been outstanding this series, they've only given up 4 runs through 3 games.
It's not like Wainwright had a poor game either. I wasn't able to see much of the game but it sounds like his fielders let him down. Wainwright also pitched 7 innings, but gave up 6 hits and 2 runs.
The Dodgers continue to struggle to score runs in this series though. Through the first 3 games of the NLCS the Dodgers have only scored 6 runs. It's hard to believe only 10 total runs have been scored in this series. Still LA's run production must increase if they want to win the NLCS. And then certainly if they play either the high scoring Red Sox or Tigers in the World Series.
The Dodgers did have 9 hits in Monday's game, but it could be that if things had been a tad bit different maybe none of those 3 runs would have scored. Two of the runs were results of poor play in the field and the the third run was disputed. Hanley Ramirez very gamely played through a broken rib. He continued being the Dodgers best hitter in the playoffs. He had two hits, joining Ramirez in the two hit club were Mark Ellis and Yasiel Puig. Also credit has to go to Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis who had a hustle triple. That's the type of hustle that I like to see when a team is battling for their playoff lives.
The scheduled pitching matchup in the critical Game 4 of the NLCS is Ricky Nolasco pitching for the Dodgers. He hasn't even pitched in the playoffs yet. Although many seem to think that Don Mattingly will call on Zack Greinke to pitch on 3 days rest. Whoever pitches for L.A. will likely be going against Lance Lynn, who won earlier in this series. Lynn won Game 1 in relief.
Meanwhile on Sunday things were looking very bleak for the Red Sox. They were no hit until the 9th inning in Game 1 and then no hit through the 5th inning in Game 2. The Red Sox hadn't scored in 14 innings and only had 3 hits through 16 innings. Max Scherzer was cruising through Game 2 and things were looking extremely bleak for the Red Sox.
Detroit then scored 4 runs in the top of the 6th and lead the Red Sox 5-0 going into the bottom of that inning. The Red Sox were able to piece together a run in the 6th when Dustin Pedroia drove in Shane Victorino. Pedroia probably had also saved at least one run with a diving grab of a ball that looked like it was going to make it into the outfield for sure.
Neither team scored in the 7th and the Tigers didn't score in the top of the 8th. The Red Sox were 6 outs away from being down 2-0 in games and going to Detroit for 3 games. Max Scherzer came out after his very effective outing, he'd looked sharp all night and only gave up 2 hits and 1 run. Again the Red Sox only had 3 hits through the first 16 innings of the series.
In the 8th inning the Red Sox finally got something going. Following Stephen Drew grounding out, the struggling Will Middlebrooks came up. However he came through with a double and Jacoby Ellsbury walked. Victorino struck out so there are two on and two outs in the 8th inning, things still look a bit bleak. Next up is Pedroia, who gets a single to load the bases.
The Tigers brought in Joaquin Benoit and he would face one of the most clutch hitters in MLB history. I can't remember how many big hits Ortiz had in the 2004 World Series. It seemed like every time the Sox needed a big hit, he provided it.
That trend would continue on Sunday night. With the game and seemingly the Sox season on the line and the bases loaded this is what happened:
David Ortiz jacked the first pitch he saw over the right field fence and a diving Torii Hunter. Ortiz had hit a game tying grand slam and suddenly the Red Sox had momentum. In the top of the 9th Koji Uehara shut down the Tigers. In the bottom of that inning Jarrod Salalamachia single home Jonny Gomes and just like the Red Sox grabbed a victory out of the jaws of defeat.
Game 3 is Tuesday afternoon Jon Lackey goes against the very tough Justin Verlander.
themusicaddict
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Dodgers Daily, October 12th, 2013: Dodgers In NLCS: 3 runs, 2 games, No wins, Tigers Almost No Hit Red Sox
Hello,
The Dodgers are a team that had a hard time scoring in the regular season, finishing in only middle of the pack in runs scored. I was afraid scoring runs could end up being a problem for LA in the playoffs. The Dodgers scored a fair amount of runs against the Braves and won that series in 4 games. If it wasn't for some errant pitching and one very timely hit by Juan Uribe, it's likely the Dodgers wouldn't have scored any runs in this series so far.
Again the Dodgers failed to support their ace with runs. With Clayton Kershaw pitching for some reason the Dodgers offense seems to think they can go into a funk. Tonight the Dodgers only had 5 hits and one of those hits was by Kershaw himself. That means that Kershaw has one more hit than does Yasiel Puig in this series. Also the Dodgers were 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position. Obviously Dodgers and their fans have to tip their hat to fantastic Cardinals pitching, but shouldn't the Dodgers be averaging more than 1 run per game? A team that wants to make it to the World Series would.
Game 3 is Monday night, the NLCS moves to LA. It will be Hyun-Jin Ryu vs. Adam Wainwright. In Ryu's previous start he only lasted 3 innings, meanwhile Wainwright shut down the Pirates in a very dominating performance. The Dodgers offense is going to have to step up when the NLCS moves to LA.
I started the season following and cheering for 7 different teams, 5 of those teams made it to the playoffs and 2 of those teams remain alive. My other team remaining is the Red Sox. Like the Dodgers the Red Sox lost 1-0. One difference the Red Sox were playing at home, the Red Sox need to win their next game. They don't want to go to Detroit down 2-0. The scheduled pitching matchup for Game 2 of the ALCS is Clay Buchholz vs. Max Scherzer. While Buchholz had a great season, it's quite likely that Scherzer will win the AL Cy Young for his even better season.
The Dodgers only had 5 hits, but that was 4 more hits than the Red Sox totaled. In fact the Red Sox were being no hit for the first 8 1/3rds innings before Daniel Nava got a hit off of Joaquin Benoit. However that was the only hit any of the 5 Tigers pitchers allowed.
I expect much better offensive production from the Red Sox today. Their game is about the same time as the Cowboys-Redskins game. Also Season 4 of "The Walking Dead" premieres tonight. What do I watch?
themusicaddict
The Dodgers are a team that had a hard time scoring in the regular season, finishing in only middle of the pack in runs scored. I was afraid scoring runs could end up being a problem for LA in the playoffs. The Dodgers scored a fair amount of runs against the Braves and won that series in 4 games. If it wasn't for some errant pitching and one very timely hit by Juan Uribe, it's likely the Dodgers wouldn't have scored any runs in this series so far.
Again the Dodgers failed to support their ace with runs. With Clayton Kershaw pitching for some reason the Dodgers offense seems to think they can go into a funk. Tonight the Dodgers only had 5 hits and one of those hits was by Kershaw himself. That means that Kershaw has one more hit than does Yasiel Puig in this series. Also the Dodgers were 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position. Obviously Dodgers and their fans have to tip their hat to fantastic Cardinals pitching, but shouldn't the Dodgers be averaging more than 1 run per game? A team that wants to make it to the World Series would.
Game 3 is Monday night, the NLCS moves to LA. It will be Hyun-Jin Ryu vs. Adam Wainwright. In Ryu's previous start he only lasted 3 innings, meanwhile Wainwright shut down the Pirates in a very dominating performance. The Dodgers offense is going to have to step up when the NLCS moves to LA.
I started the season following and cheering for 7 different teams, 5 of those teams made it to the playoffs and 2 of those teams remain alive. My other team remaining is the Red Sox. Like the Dodgers the Red Sox lost 1-0. One difference the Red Sox were playing at home, the Red Sox need to win their next game. They don't want to go to Detroit down 2-0. The scheduled pitching matchup for Game 2 of the ALCS is Clay Buchholz vs. Max Scherzer. While Buchholz had a great season, it's quite likely that Scherzer will win the AL Cy Young for his even better season.
The Dodgers only had 5 hits, but that was 4 more hits than the Red Sox totaled. In fact the Red Sox were being no hit for the first 8 1/3rds innings before Daniel Nava got a hit off of Joaquin Benoit. However that was the only hit any of the 5 Tigers pitchers allowed.
I expect much better offensive production from the Red Sox today. Their game is about the same time as the Cowboys-Redskins game. Also Season 4 of "The Walking Dead" premieres tonight. What do I watch?
themusicaddict
Dodgers Daily, October 11th, 2013 Part 2: Cardinals Grab Game 1 of NLCS
Hello,
As a Dodgers fan, Game 1 of the NLCS was very disappointing. This game was notable for being the longest NLCS game 1. The Dodgers had plenty of chances to score runs, they squandered all of them but one. Just like in Game 4 of the Dodgers NLDS, it was Juan Uribe that got the big hit. His single in the third inning drove in what would be the only two runs for the Dodgers in Game 1.
Yasiel Puig had multiple chances to get the big hit, but ended up with no hits. He struck out twice and Cardinals pitchers made him look foolish at times. Of course he wasn't the only Dodger batter that struggled, LA only had 9 hits in 13 innings. The Dodgers failed many times when they could have had more runs.
This loss definitely can't be pinned on Zack Greinke, he pitched a very effective 8 innings. He only allowed 4 hits and 2 runs. Greinke kept Cardinals batters off balance all night and ended with 10 strikeouts. Like the TBS commentators noted, Greinke was sharp Friday night. Also the big hit that he gave up, Carlos Beltran's double in the third inning, would of a healthy Matt Kemp caught that ball?
Game 2 of the NLCS is Saturday afternoon. The scheduled pitching matchup will be Clayton Kershaw (regular season stats: 16-9, 1.83 ERA) vs. Michael Wacha (regular season stats: 4-1, 2.78 ERA). The presumptive NL Cy Young award winner has to have a great game today. If the Cardinals go up 2-0, I don't like the chances of the Dodgers winning 4 of 5 games.
themusicaddict
As a Dodgers fan, Game 1 of the NLCS was very disappointing. This game was notable for being the longest NLCS game 1. The Dodgers had plenty of chances to score runs, they squandered all of them but one. Just like in Game 4 of the Dodgers NLDS, it was Juan Uribe that got the big hit. His single in the third inning drove in what would be the only two runs for the Dodgers in Game 1.
Yasiel Puig had multiple chances to get the big hit, but ended up with no hits. He struck out twice and Cardinals pitchers made him look foolish at times. Of course he wasn't the only Dodger batter that struggled, LA only had 9 hits in 13 innings. The Dodgers failed many times when they could have had more runs.
This loss definitely can't be pinned on Zack Greinke, he pitched a very effective 8 innings. He only allowed 4 hits and 2 runs. Greinke kept Cardinals batters off balance all night and ended with 10 strikeouts. Like the TBS commentators noted, Greinke was sharp Friday night. Also the big hit that he gave up, Carlos Beltran's double in the third inning, would of a healthy Matt Kemp caught that ball?
Game 2 of the NLCS is Saturday afternoon. The scheduled pitching matchup will be Clayton Kershaw (regular season stats: 16-9, 1.83 ERA) vs. Michael Wacha (regular season stats: 4-1, 2.78 ERA). The presumptive NL Cy Young award winner has to have a great game today. If the Cardinals go up 2-0, I don't like the chances of the Dodgers winning 4 of 5 games.
themusicaddict
Friday, October 11, 2013
Dodgers Daily, October 11th, 2013: NLCS Starts, Cardinals, Tigers Win & Who Is Joe Kelly?
Hello,
Friday night will be Game 1 of the NLCS, the first time the Dodgers have played in the NLCS since 2009. That year they swept the Cardinals in the NLDS but lost to the Phillies in the NLCS. Sometimes it's easy to forget that the Dodgers were a good team under the hellish reign of the McCourt family. Despite the McCourt's many flaws those Dodgers teams usually still had good seasons. No one knew how ugly the McCourt's ownership was until Frank and Jamie got divorced. As with many divorces a lot of seedy details then came out. Thankfully McCourt was eventually forced to sale.
Friday night's NLCS scheduled pitching match up is wily veteran vs. youngster, continuing a trend established over the last two nights. (More on that below.) Scheduled to pitch for the Dodgers is Zack Greinke (15-4, 2.63), the former Cy Young award winner. Despite Greinke's regular season brilliance he has been less than impressive in the playoffs, in his career he's 1-2 with a 5.56 ERA. I'm hoping Greinke plays up to his contract tonight instead of his playoff history.
Greinke is scheduled to pitch against Cardinals second year player Joe Kelly. I'm sure many of you are like me, just who is Joe Kelly? No he didn't used to play quarterback for the Bills, that was Jim Kelly. Joe Kelly is a 25 year old kid that has pitched for the Cardinals for two years. He's been both a reliever and a starter. In 2013 Kelly was 10-5 with a 2.69 ERA. Over his two years with the Cardinals Kelly is 15-12 and has a 3.08 ERA. (Thanks to baseball-reference.com.)
Clearly Mike Matheny is taking a chance here, giving the ball to the second year player. Tonight's match up will be an interesting pitching duel. The Cardinals are playing at home, I expect that will lessen the effect of Greinke's experience over Kelly.
themusicaddict's prediction: I'm not going to lie to you, this is truly a homer pick. I pick the Dodgers to win in 7 games, but do expect a great series.
We found out who the Dodgers were going to be playing in the NLCS when the Cardinals beat the Pirates 6-1 on Wednesday night. It was the first of two battles of the wily veteran vs. the rookie in Game 5 of the two remaining league division series. Not too shocking but the wily veteran was the better pitcher in both games.
Again on Wednesday St. Louis beat Pittsburgh 6-1. The wily veteran then was Adam Wainwright, he pitched all 9 innings allowing 8 hits, but only 1 run. Wainwright improves to 2-0 and has a 1.13 ERA this post season. David Freese's two run homer was the big blow in this game and the only two runs that Pittsburgh rookie Gerrit Cole allowed. Also the only two runs that the Cardinals would need.
Cole pitched 5 innings, giving up 3 hits and 2 runs. Cole was 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA in the playoffs. He received some playoff experience and will hopefully be even that much better in next season's playoffs.
The Cardinals have had tremendous success over the last few years. Thanks to ESPN, here are some of their more impressive stats. The Cardinals advanced to their third straight NLCS and also are 8-1 when facing postseason elimination the last 3 years. They also recently won a World Series.
St. Louis has homefield advantage over the Dodgers because they had a better overall regular season record. Although in the head to head match up the Dodgers actually won 4 of 7 games. Of course if LA wins 4 of their next 7 games they'll be going to the World Series!
While the Cardinals advanced, no one can take away how great of a regular season Pittsburgh had. The Pirates won 94 regular season games, beat the Reds in the Wild Card game and gave the very tough Cardinals all that they could handle. If the Pirates improve as much as they did since last season to next season they very well could be in the World Series. The Pirates have established a culture of winning and winning is what they expect. Congrats to the Pirates Pedro Alvarez, he's the first player to have at least 1 RBI in each of his first 6 playoff games. Very impressive especially after such and up and down season.
On Thursday night the pitching match up was between the Tigers wily Justin Verlander and the A's Sonny Gray. Justin Verlander was nearly unhittable last night, throwing a no-hitter into the 7th inning. He threw over 20 swing and miss pitches, I believe the exact count was 24 swing and miss pitches. He also threw 10 strikeouts. Verlander didn't pitch all 9 innings like Wainwright, but he was even more dominant. In his 8 innings he only allowed two hits and no runs at all. Overall it was just a complete and dominant performance.
Speaking of complete and dominating performances, what Verlander has done to Oakland recently is exactly that. Verlander has pitched 30 consecutive scoreless innings against the A's.
The big hit for the Tigers was Miguel Cabrera's two run homer in the 4th inning. Meanwhile like the Pirates Gerrit Cole, the A's Sonny Gray pitched 5 innings as well. Gray gave up 6 hits, including Cabrera's homer. But he also gave up 3 runs and 4 walks.
Like the Cardinals the Tigers will be playing in their 3rd straight NLCS. They'll travel to Boston to play the Red Sox, who've been resting since eliminating the Rays. Game 1 of the ALCS will be Saturday night. The scheduled pitching match is Jon Lester (15-8, 3.75 ERA) vs. Anibal Sanchez (14-8, 2.57 ERA).
themusicaddict
Friday night will be Game 1 of the NLCS, the first time the Dodgers have played in the NLCS since 2009. That year they swept the Cardinals in the NLDS but lost to the Phillies in the NLCS. Sometimes it's easy to forget that the Dodgers were a good team under the hellish reign of the McCourt family. Despite the McCourt's many flaws those Dodgers teams usually still had good seasons. No one knew how ugly the McCourt's ownership was until Frank and Jamie got divorced. As with many divorces a lot of seedy details then came out. Thankfully McCourt was eventually forced to sale.
Friday night's NLCS scheduled pitching match up is wily veteran vs. youngster, continuing a trend established over the last two nights. (More on that below.) Scheduled to pitch for the Dodgers is Zack Greinke (15-4, 2.63), the former Cy Young award winner. Despite Greinke's regular season brilliance he has been less than impressive in the playoffs, in his career he's 1-2 with a 5.56 ERA. I'm hoping Greinke plays up to his contract tonight instead of his playoff history.
Greinke is scheduled to pitch against Cardinals second year player Joe Kelly. I'm sure many of you are like me, just who is Joe Kelly? No he didn't used to play quarterback for the Bills, that was Jim Kelly. Joe Kelly is a 25 year old kid that has pitched for the Cardinals for two years. He's been both a reliever and a starter. In 2013 Kelly was 10-5 with a 2.69 ERA. Over his two years with the Cardinals Kelly is 15-12 and has a 3.08 ERA. (Thanks to baseball-reference.com.)
Clearly Mike Matheny is taking a chance here, giving the ball to the second year player. Tonight's match up will be an interesting pitching duel. The Cardinals are playing at home, I expect that will lessen the effect of Greinke's experience over Kelly.
themusicaddict's prediction: I'm not going to lie to you, this is truly a homer pick. I pick the Dodgers to win in 7 games, but do expect a great series.
We found out who the Dodgers were going to be playing in the NLCS when the Cardinals beat the Pirates 6-1 on Wednesday night. It was the first of two battles of the wily veteran vs. the rookie in Game 5 of the two remaining league division series. Not too shocking but the wily veteran was the better pitcher in both games.
Again on Wednesday St. Louis beat Pittsburgh 6-1. The wily veteran then was Adam Wainwright, he pitched all 9 innings allowing 8 hits, but only 1 run. Wainwright improves to 2-0 and has a 1.13 ERA this post season. David Freese's two run homer was the big blow in this game and the only two runs that Pittsburgh rookie Gerrit Cole allowed. Also the only two runs that the Cardinals would need.
Cole pitched 5 innings, giving up 3 hits and 2 runs. Cole was 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA in the playoffs. He received some playoff experience and will hopefully be even that much better in next season's playoffs.
The Cardinals have had tremendous success over the last few years. Thanks to ESPN, here are some of their more impressive stats. The Cardinals advanced to their third straight NLCS and also are 8-1 when facing postseason elimination the last 3 years. They also recently won a World Series.
St. Louis has homefield advantage over the Dodgers because they had a better overall regular season record. Although in the head to head match up the Dodgers actually won 4 of 7 games. Of course if LA wins 4 of their next 7 games they'll be going to the World Series!
While the Cardinals advanced, no one can take away how great of a regular season Pittsburgh had. The Pirates won 94 regular season games, beat the Reds in the Wild Card game and gave the very tough Cardinals all that they could handle. If the Pirates improve as much as they did since last season to next season they very well could be in the World Series. The Pirates have established a culture of winning and winning is what they expect. Congrats to the Pirates Pedro Alvarez, he's the first player to have at least 1 RBI in each of his first 6 playoff games. Very impressive especially after such and up and down season.
On Thursday night the pitching match up was between the Tigers wily Justin Verlander and the A's Sonny Gray. Justin Verlander was nearly unhittable last night, throwing a no-hitter into the 7th inning. He threw over 20 swing and miss pitches, I believe the exact count was 24 swing and miss pitches. He also threw 10 strikeouts. Verlander didn't pitch all 9 innings like Wainwright, but he was even more dominant. In his 8 innings he only allowed two hits and no runs at all. Overall it was just a complete and dominant performance.
Speaking of complete and dominating performances, what Verlander has done to Oakland recently is exactly that. Verlander has pitched 30 consecutive scoreless innings against the A's.
The big hit for the Tigers was Miguel Cabrera's two run homer in the 4th inning. Meanwhile like the Pirates Gerrit Cole, the A's Sonny Gray pitched 5 innings as well. Gray gave up 6 hits, including Cabrera's homer. But he also gave up 3 runs and 4 walks.
Like the Cardinals the Tigers will be playing in their 3rd straight NLCS. They'll travel to Boston to play the Red Sox, who've been resting since eliminating the Rays. Game 1 of the ALCS will be Saturday night. The scheduled pitching match is Jon Lester (15-8, 3.75 ERA) vs. Anibal Sanchez (14-8, 2.57 ERA).
themusicaddict
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
The Fail TV Season (Thankfully "Castle" and "Blue Bloods" are still around.) (Updated October 10th, 2013)
Hello,
This Fall season continues to be terrible in terms of quality television. Perhaps we should call it the Fail Season, not Fall season, in regards to all the terrible new shows premiering.
Ironically the show that I liked the most, "Lucky 7" is the first show to be cancelled. I knew it wasn't going to win any Emmys and it was a bit sappy. However I still liked the twists on what can be a tired winning a jackpot fantasy.
Just off the top of my head, here's some of the crap we are being served this Fail: "Betrayal", "We Are Men", "Ironside", "Hostages", "Once Upon A Time In Wonderland", "Dads", "The Goldbergs", "The Crazy Ones", "The Millers" and "Super Fun Night".
Of the new Fail shows above the only ones I've watched are "Ironside" and "We Are Men". I like Blair Underwood and he oozes charisma, however this show is terrible. How many cop shows do we need where the cop will break any law to get justice? This show having low ratings is no surprise to me.
Here are some shows and why I'm not even going to watch an episode.
"Betrayal": Have you seen the previews for this stupid looking show? I'm surprised anyone is watching it, they must not have seen the previews. Either that or they like shows about adultery. I read about TV shows that get made, but the network decides not to air them. How bad are those shows if they don't get on the air, but this dreck does?
"Hostages": One of the dumbest concepts to ever come to network TV. This show has received low ratings and probably will be cancelled soon.
"Once Upon A Time In Wonderland", thanks but I'm "Shreked" out. And did you see how bad the graphics were in this show?
"Dads": If they would have presented this concept to me before filming I would have been glad to tell them what a dumb idea it was.
"The Millers", did you laugh watching any of the previews? Neither did I. Sample dialogue: "What kind of coffee maker is it?" "White". Do not cue the laugh track.
"The Goldbergs": Love the 80's, hate shows that aren't funny. Sample dialogue: "What do you want for your birthday?" as Mom talks to her teenage son, who is in the shower. In a high pitched response "Privacy".
"Super Fun Night": trying to maximize Rebel Wilson's popularity , before her star loses it's shine. Based on the previews, chances of this show being good: 0%. Chances of this show lasting long: 0.1%.
I haven't watched "The Crazy Ones" either. I might watch an episode once, but don't think I'll make that a regular occurrence. Robin Williams can be funny, but watching him every week? Also I've read that Williams was financially forced to return to TV, so that adds another level of sadness to this show.
Other shows that I've actually seen:
I wrote about "Lucky 7" and "Ironside" at the top of this article.
"We Are Men": A show that also could be called "Why Women Hate Men". I actually saw the first episode of this show and to say it didn't break any new ground would be a major understatement. Last night I watched the second episode of this show. More of the same stupid jokes, mostly about sex, and predictable plots. When I got back to my computer I read on ew.com that "We Are Men" had been cancelled. Of course I'm surprised it was ever allowed to air in the first place.
"Sleepy Hollow" this show I was looking forward to and the first episode was decent. However the second episode was very mediocre, slipping into that supernatural nonsense again. Then I read the blurb for episode 3, from that blurb I had no desire to see the show. I want to watch a show I haven't seen 10 times before, only with a different name.
I watched the first episode of "Trophy Wife", it was an ok show. Although it was trying much too hard. If nothing else it features the very attractive Malin Ackerman. I want to watch at least one more episode before I make my final verdict.
"The Blacklist": I've seen the first 3 episodes and it has been ok, that's the most praise I can give to a new Fall show this season. Again the stories don't break any new ground. However any show that has James Spader has at least that one thing going for it. And Megan Boone has the best cheekbones on television. If nothing else this show gives us Spader and Boone.
"The Michael J Fox" show has had it's moments in it's first three episodes. Although it has too many sex jokes, I was under the impression the show was targeting a younger age group. The cast is likable and I have at least one genuine laugh each episode. But this show reminds me a lot of last season's "Go On", another show with a star returning to TV that had it's moments. As with "Go On" I don't think "The Michael J Fox Show" is going to have a second season.
Season 4 of "The Walking Dead" starts Sunday. It's been one of my favorite shows the last 3 seasons. However the Season 3 finale was dreadfully boring, a lot lot of nothing occurred. Why did they keep the Governor on the show? For someone that's suppose to be such a great villain, he sure is boring. Last season took too long to get to the big confrontation and when it finally came it was anti-climactic. The Governor killed a bunch of his own people and then he and his two remaining henchmen left. The least the producers could have done at the end of Season 3 is to get rid of The Governor. Now this season we'll have the threat of this lame character coming back at any time. This might be my last season watching this show, assuming I survive the whole season.
Somehow despite a very soap operaish season "Nashville" was renewed. It had one of the worst finales of any show ever and it still came back? After that terrible finale I lost any desire to watch the show any more. However the show does have a lot of great music and Connie Britton, even with those two things "Nashville" is still not good enough to watch. I predict it won't make it through it's second season.
"Castle" remains good although the Washington DC angle just didn't work. Keeping Beckett away from the crew of cops she had such great chemistry with didn't work. In the third episode "Need To Know" Beckett was fired at the end of the episode. Hopefully this means the show can go back to how it was the first five seasons. I've missed the group chemistry of Beckett, Castle, Esposito and Ryan.
Also no one will say "Blue Bloods" is the best show ever, but it's a pleasant enough diversion. Tom Selleck has one of the greatest mustaches ever and is an extremely believable police commissioner. Also Bridget Moynihan is looking better than ever this new season.
themusicaddict
This Fall season continues to be terrible in terms of quality television. Perhaps we should call it the Fail Season, not Fall season, in regards to all the terrible new shows premiering.
Ironically the show that I liked the most, "Lucky 7" is the first show to be cancelled. I knew it wasn't going to win any Emmys and it was a bit sappy. However I still liked the twists on what can be a tired winning a jackpot fantasy.
Just off the top of my head, here's some of the crap we are being served this Fail: "Betrayal", "We Are Men", "Ironside", "Hostages", "Once Upon A Time In Wonderland", "Dads", "The Goldbergs", "The Crazy Ones", "The Millers" and "Super Fun Night".
Of the new Fail shows above the only ones I've watched are "Ironside" and "We Are Men". I like Blair Underwood and he oozes charisma, however this show is terrible. How many cop shows do we need where the cop will break any law to get justice? This show having low ratings is no surprise to me.
Here are some shows and why I'm not even going to watch an episode.
"Betrayal": Have you seen the previews for this stupid looking show? I'm surprised anyone is watching it, they must not have seen the previews. Either that or they like shows about adultery. I read about TV shows that get made, but the network decides not to air them. How bad are those shows if they don't get on the air, but this dreck does?
"Hostages": One of the dumbest concepts to ever come to network TV. This show has received low ratings and probably will be cancelled soon.
"Once Upon A Time In Wonderland", thanks but I'm "Shreked" out. And did you see how bad the graphics were in this show?
"Dads": If they would have presented this concept to me before filming I would have been glad to tell them what a dumb idea it was.
"The Millers", did you laugh watching any of the previews? Neither did I. Sample dialogue: "What kind of coffee maker is it?" "White". Do not cue the laugh track.
"The Goldbergs": Love the 80's, hate shows that aren't funny. Sample dialogue: "What do you want for your birthday?" as Mom talks to her teenage son, who is in the shower. In a high pitched response "Privacy".
"Super Fun Night": trying to maximize Rebel Wilson's popularity , before her star loses it's shine. Based on the previews, chances of this show being good: 0%. Chances of this show lasting long: 0.1%.
I haven't watched "The Crazy Ones" either. I might watch an episode once, but don't think I'll make that a regular occurrence. Robin Williams can be funny, but watching him every week? Also I've read that Williams was financially forced to return to TV, so that adds another level of sadness to this show.
Other shows that I've actually seen:
I wrote about "Lucky 7" and "Ironside" at the top of this article.
"We Are Men": A show that also could be called "Why Women Hate Men". I actually saw the first episode of this show and to say it didn't break any new ground would be a major understatement. Last night I watched the second episode of this show. More of the same stupid jokes, mostly about sex, and predictable plots. When I got back to my computer I read on ew.com that "We Are Men" had been cancelled. Of course I'm surprised it was ever allowed to air in the first place.
"Sleepy Hollow" this show I was looking forward to and the first episode was decent. However the second episode was very mediocre, slipping into that supernatural nonsense again. Then I read the blurb for episode 3, from that blurb I had no desire to see the show. I want to watch a show I haven't seen 10 times before, only with a different name.
I watched the first episode of "Trophy Wife", it was an ok show. Although it was trying much too hard. If nothing else it features the very attractive Malin Ackerman. I want to watch at least one more episode before I make my final verdict.
"The Blacklist": I've seen the first 3 episodes and it has been ok, that's the most praise I can give to a new Fall show this season. Again the stories don't break any new ground. However any show that has James Spader has at least that one thing going for it. And Megan Boone has the best cheekbones on television. If nothing else this show gives us Spader and Boone.
"The Michael J Fox" show has had it's moments in it's first three episodes. Although it has too many sex jokes, I was under the impression the show was targeting a younger age group. The cast is likable and I have at least one genuine laugh each episode. But this show reminds me a lot of last season's "Go On", another show with a star returning to TV that had it's moments. As with "Go On" I don't think "The Michael J Fox Show" is going to have a second season.
Season 4 of "The Walking Dead" starts Sunday. It's been one of my favorite shows the last 3 seasons. However the Season 3 finale was dreadfully boring, a lot lot of nothing occurred. Why did they keep the Governor on the show? For someone that's suppose to be such a great villain, he sure is boring. Last season took too long to get to the big confrontation and when it finally came it was anti-climactic. The Governor killed a bunch of his own people and then he and his two remaining henchmen left. The least the producers could have done at the end of Season 3 is to get rid of The Governor. Now this season we'll have the threat of this lame character coming back at any time. This might be my last season watching this show, assuming I survive the whole season.
Somehow despite a very soap operaish season "Nashville" was renewed. It had one of the worst finales of any show ever and it still came back? After that terrible finale I lost any desire to watch the show any more. However the show does have a lot of great music and Connie Britton, even with those two things "Nashville" is still not good enough to watch. I predict it won't make it through it's second season.
"Castle" remains good although the Washington DC angle just didn't work. Keeping Beckett away from the crew of cops she had such great chemistry with didn't work. In the third episode "Need To Know" Beckett was fired at the end of the episode. Hopefully this means the show can go back to how it was the first five seasons. I've missed the group chemistry of Beckett, Castle, Esposito and Ryan.
Also no one will say "Blue Bloods" is the best show ever, but it's a pleasant enough diversion. Tom Selleck has one of the greatest mustaches ever and is an extremely believable police commissioner. Also Bridget Moynihan is looking better than ever this new season.
themusicaddict
Baseball Update For MLB Playoff Games on October 8th, 2013
Hello,
After dispatching of the Braves 3 games to 1, the Dodgers currently are resting. They still don't know if they'll play Pittsburgh or St. Louis on Friday, that's something they'll find out today.
As for the two playoff games played on Tuesday, both were ALDS games. In the earlier game the Tigers beat the A's 8-6 and tied that series at 2 games each. Detroit only had 9 hits to get their 8 runs, in addition they walked 3 times. Meanwhile the A's weren't as efficient in their hits to runs quotient, it took 12 hits to get their 6 runs. Coco Crisp had a fantastic game, he was 4 for 5. Crisp is hitting .500 in this ALDS. Their Game 5 is going Thursday.
Meanwhile the Red Sox won on Tuesday, they defeated the Rays 3-1. The Red Sox won their series also by the count of 3-1. Shane Victorino continued his great playoffs, he's hitting .429 in 4 games. He was only 1 for 3 on Tuesday, but that one hit was big. His 7th inning single drove in Jacoby Ellsbury and gave Boston a 2-1 lead. That was a lead that the Red Sox wouldn't relinquish.
One night after Koji Uehara gave up a walk off homer to Jose Lobatan, Uehara was back pitching on Tuesday night. He got the final four outs to close out the Rays and earned his second save of this postseason.
Boston scored 19 runs in the first two ALDS games, but only 7 runs in the last two games. If they play the Tigers in the ALCS, Boston will probably need every run they can get. Boston vs. Detroit could be a very high scoring series. Detroit has scored 14 runs in 4 games so far, 8 of those runs came in Game 4. The A's actually have scored more runs than Detroit, they've scored 15 times. All 3 teams have excellent pitching staffs, but the pitchers won't win all the battles.
Boston advanced to the first ALCS in 5 years, they'll open at home against the winner of Tigers-A's series on Saturday.
There were 4 games on Monday, 2 games on Tuesday but there's only 1 game on Wednesday. The Dodgers will find out who they'll play in the NLCS. Wednesday evening is Game 5 of the Pirates-Cardinals NLDS series. The scheduled pitching matchup is Gerrit Cole (1-0, 1.50) vs. Adam Wainwright (1-0, 1.29 ERA). Go Pirates!
themusicaddict
After dispatching of the Braves 3 games to 1, the Dodgers currently are resting. They still don't know if they'll play Pittsburgh or St. Louis on Friday, that's something they'll find out today.
As for the two playoff games played on Tuesday, both were ALDS games. In the earlier game the Tigers beat the A's 8-6 and tied that series at 2 games each. Detroit only had 9 hits to get their 8 runs, in addition they walked 3 times. Meanwhile the A's weren't as efficient in their hits to runs quotient, it took 12 hits to get their 6 runs. Coco Crisp had a fantastic game, he was 4 for 5. Crisp is hitting .500 in this ALDS. Their Game 5 is going Thursday.
Meanwhile the Red Sox won on Tuesday, they defeated the Rays 3-1. The Red Sox won their series also by the count of 3-1. Shane Victorino continued his great playoffs, he's hitting .429 in 4 games. He was only 1 for 3 on Tuesday, but that one hit was big. His 7th inning single drove in Jacoby Ellsbury and gave Boston a 2-1 lead. That was a lead that the Red Sox wouldn't relinquish.
One night after Koji Uehara gave up a walk off homer to Jose Lobatan, Uehara was back pitching on Tuesday night. He got the final four outs to close out the Rays and earned his second save of this postseason.
Boston scored 19 runs in the first two ALDS games, but only 7 runs in the last two games. If they play the Tigers in the ALCS, Boston will probably need every run they can get. Boston vs. Detroit could be a very high scoring series. Detroit has scored 14 runs in 4 games so far, 8 of those runs came in Game 4. The A's actually have scored more runs than Detroit, they've scored 15 times. All 3 teams have excellent pitching staffs, but the pitchers won't win all the battles.
Boston advanced to the first ALCS in 5 years, they'll open at home against the winner of Tigers-A's series on Saturday.
There were 4 games on Monday, 2 games on Tuesday but there's only 1 game on Wednesday. The Dodgers will find out who they'll play in the NLCS. Wednesday evening is Game 5 of the Pirates-Cardinals NLDS series. The scheduled pitching matchup is Gerrit Cole (1-0, 1.50) vs. Adam Wainwright (1-0, 1.29 ERA). Go Pirates!
themusicaddict
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Dodgers Daily, October 7th, 2013: Dodgers Roll To 2013 NLCS
Hello,
On Monday LA defeated Atlanta 4-3, winning their NLDS. LA advances to the NLCS, which starts Friday. The Dodgers won the series 3-1 as the Braves had another complete playoffs. meltdown. The Dodgers will play the winner of Pittsburgh-St. Louis in the best-of-7 NLCS in a soon to be decided city. This is a very exciting time to be a Dodgers fan!
2013 continues to be a season of redemption for Juan Uribe. He's in his third and last year of a 3 year contract with the Dodgers. To be charitable Uribe's first two seasons with the Dodgers were terrible. In both seasons he performed wildly under his expected production for the contract he signed. However this season has been a bounce back season, Uribe hit .278 this season. I'm sure that's what the Dodgers expected his production to be in the first two years of his contract. Finally his contract is paying off for the Dodgers. He had many clutch moments and many big hits, none bigger than last night. With the Dodgers down 3-2 and Yasiel Puig on base, this is what happened. (Sorry this is the best video I could find- the guy in the background provides some unintentional comedy.)
The Dodgers were able to hold on for a 4-3 lead and are headed to the NLCS.
Earlier this season Uribe hit both 3 home runs in one game, but also fell for the old hidden ball trick when the Rays played it on him. But Uribe and his off-kilter batting style kept on plugging away. It's game winning homers like last night that can fully redeem Uribe's 3 year contract with the Dodgers. Just what do the Dodgers do with Uribe once the season is over?
The Dodgers Don Mattingly received some criticism, and would have received a lot more criticism, if his decision to pitch Kershaw on 3 days rest didn't work out. In Kershaw's first ever game pitched on 3 days rest Kershaw certainly had some moments when he didn't seem sharp. But overall he played well last night, he has the misfortune of being compared to himself. It's extremely tough to play up to that high standard every game. Kershaw only gave up 1 earned run in the 13 postseason innings he has pitched this playoffs. His ERA was the best in MLB in the regular season, but it's at a minuscule .69 in the playoffs.
Not only does it seem that Mattingly's decision paid off, but Game 1 of the NLCS isn't until Friday. That would be 4 days since Monday's game. Obviously Kershaw could pitch Friday, but that doesn't look like it's going to happen. It looks like it will be Zack Greinke pitching on Friday. Back to Monday Kershaw didn't finish with the win, that was Brian Wilson. Kenley Jansen came into the game and had his first postseason save. This wasn't the first game he finished, but this is his first official playoff save.
Uribe isn't the only Dodger who was hitting the long ball yesterday. Carl Crawford was 2 for 3 and both of his hits were solo homers. That means he's had 3 home runs in his 4 playoff games this season. Crawford only had 6 home runs in his 116 regular season games.
LA will play the winner of the Game 5 of the other NLDS, the game between the Pirates and Cardinals will be played Wednesday in St. Louis. I'm so proud of the Pirates season so far. Not only did they get that finishing below .500 monkey off their back, but they also made the playoffs. Not only did they make the playoffs, but they won the Wild Card game. Then not only did they advance to the NLDS, but they are giving the battle tested Cardinals everything they can.
St. Louis is 7-1 in games from the last 3 seasons when their season is on the line. Game 5 is Wednesday night about 8:07 EST. As of right now it looks like the pitching matchup will be Gerrit Cole vs. Adam Wainwright. Likely this will be the only playoff game on Wednesday. Go Pirates!
Also the A's went to Detroit and beat the Tigers 6-3, Oakland was powered by 3 homers. With that win the A's have stolen back homefield advantage. The A's look to close out the series Tuesday early evening.
Also the Red Sox-Rays played Game 3 of their ALDS last night, Boston led the series 2-0 going into Monday night's game. I was hoping that the Red Sox could get the sweep. However that goal was thwarted by the Rays and Jose Lobatan. Lobatan hit a walk off homer with 2 outs in the 9th inning that gave the Rays a 5-4 victory. This was the Rays first ever walk off playoff victory.
Lobatan hit his homer off of the nearly untouchable Boston closer Koji Uehara. He had only allowed one earned run since June 30th, which combined was a total of 40 1/3rd innings. Uehara had pitched a perfect inning in Game 2 of this series. (Thanks to ESPN.com.)
Jacoby Ellsbury continued his hot series with a 3 for 5 outing. He's hitting .571 through the first 3 games in this series. David Ortiz was only one for one, but was walked 3 times. He's hitting .444 but has an amazing .615 on base percentage. Shane Victorino was 1 for 3, he's hitting .455 in this playoffs.
Red Sox- Rays game 4 is Tuesday night in Tampa Bay as the scheduled starting pitch up is Jake Peavy vs. Jeremy Hellickson. Go Red Sox, end the Rays' season.
themusicaddict
On Monday LA defeated Atlanta 4-3, winning their NLDS. LA advances to the NLCS, which starts Friday. The Dodgers won the series 3-1 as the Braves had another complete playoffs. meltdown. The Dodgers will play the winner of Pittsburgh-St. Louis in the best-of-7 NLCS in a soon to be decided city. This is a very exciting time to be a Dodgers fan!
2013 continues to be a season of redemption for Juan Uribe. He's in his third and last year of a 3 year contract with the Dodgers. To be charitable Uribe's first two seasons with the Dodgers were terrible. In both seasons he performed wildly under his expected production for the contract he signed. However this season has been a bounce back season, Uribe hit .278 this season. I'm sure that's what the Dodgers expected his production to be in the first two years of his contract. Finally his contract is paying off for the Dodgers. He had many clutch moments and many big hits, none bigger than last night. With the Dodgers down 3-2 and Yasiel Puig on base, this is what happened. (Sorry this is the best video I could find- the guy in the background provides some unintentional comedy.)
The Dodgers were able to hold on for a 4-3 lead and are headed to the NLCS.
Earlier this season Uribe hit both 3 home runs in one game, but also fell for the old hidden ball trick when the Rays played it on him. But Uribe and his off-kilter batting style kept on plugging away. It's game winning homers like last night that can fully redeem Uribe's 3 year contract with the Dodgers. Just what do the Dodgers do with Uribe once the season is over?
The Dodgers Don Mattingly received some criticism, and would have received a lot more criticism, if his decision to pitch Kershaw on 3 days rest didn't work out. In Kershaw's first ever game pitched on 3 days rest Kershaw certainly had some moments when he didn't seem sharp. But overall he played well last night, he has the misfortune of being compared to himself. It's extremely tough to play up to that high standard every game. Kershaw only gave up 1 earned run in the 13 postseason innings he has pitched this playoffs. His ERA was the best in MLB in the regular season, but it's at a minuscule .69 in the playoffs.
Not only does it seem that Mattingly's decision paid off, but Game 1 of the NLCS isn't until Friday. That would be 4 days since Monday's game. Obviously Kershaw could pitch Friday, but that doesn't look like it's going to happen. It looks like it will be Zack Greinke pitching on Friday. Back to Monday Kershaw didn't finish with the win, that was Brian Wilson. Kenley Jansen came into the game and had his first postseason save. This wasn't the first game he finished, but this is his first official playoff save.
Uribe isn't the only Dodger who was hitting the long ball yesterday. Carl Crawford was 2 for 3 and both of his hits were solo homers. That means he's had 3 home runs in his 4 playoff games this season. Crawford only had 6 home runs in his 116 regular season games.
LA will play the winner of the Game 5 of the other NLDS, the game between the Pirates and Cardinals will be played Wednesday in St. Louis. I'm so proud of the Pirates season so far. Not only did they get that finishing below .500 monkey off their back, but they also made the playoffs. Not only did they make the playoffs, but they won the Wild Card game. Then not only did they advance to the NLDS, but they are giving the battle tested Cardinals everything they can.
St. Louis is 7-1 in games from the last 3 seasons when their season is on the line. Game 5 is Wednesday night about 8:07 EST. As of right now it looks like the pitching matchup will be Gerrit Cole vs. Adam Wainwright. Likely this will be the only playoff game on Wednesday. Go Pirates!
Also the A's went to Detroit and beat the Tigers 6-3, Oakland was powered by 3 homers. With that win the A's have stolen back homefield advantage. The A's look to close out the series Tuesday early evening.
Also the Red Sox-Rays played Game 3 of their ALDS last night, Boston led the series 2-0 going into Monday night's game. I was hoping that the Red Sox could get the sweep. However that goal was thwarted by the Rays and Jose Lobatan. Lobatan hit a walk off homer with 2 outs in the 9th inning that gave the Rays a 5-4 victory. This was the Rays first ever walk off playoff victory.
Lobatan hit his homer off of the nearly untouchable Boston closer Koji Uehara. He had only allowed one earned run since June 30th, which combined was a total of 40 1/3rd innings. Uehara had pitched a perfect inning in Game 2 of this series. (Thanks to ESPN.com.)
Jacoby Ellsbury continued his hot series with a 3 for 5 outing. He's hitting .571 through the first 3 games in this series. David Ortiz was only one for one, but was walked 3 times. He's hitting .444 but has an amazing .615 on base percentage. Shane Victorino was 1 for 3, he's hitting .455 in this playoffs.
Red Sox- Rays game 4 is Tuesday night in Tampa Bay as the scheduled starting pitch up is Jake Peavy vs. Jeremy Hellickson. Go Red Sox, end the Rays' season.
themusicaddict
Monday, October 7, 2013
Dodgers Daily, October 6th, 2013: Dodgers. Pirates Win, Lead 2-1, Are They On Crash Course For NLCS?
Hello,
In Game 3 of one of the NLDS, the Dodgers beat the Braves 13-6. LA's offense that I was so worried about coming into the playoffs has been explosive. Through 3 playoff games, the Dodgers have scored 22 runs. That's an average of over 7 runs per game and a very good reason they lead the series 2-1. (Of course no one can stay close to the high scoring Red Sox, through two playoff games they've scored 19 runs. That's an average of 9.5 runs per game, there are no signs this Red Sox offense will slow down any time soon.)
In his first MLB playoff game Hyun-Jin Ryu really struggled. In only 3 innings he allowed 6 hits, 4 runs and has a 12.00 ERA after his playoff debut. All season Ryu has allowed a lot of hits, but usually has been able to limit the number of runs. Ultimately with the Dodgers offense exploding for so many runs, Ryu wasn't stuck with a loss. It seems Ryu didn't have his A game on Sunday. He also struggled in the field. The official scorer must have felt sorry for him as they didn't charge Ryu with any errors. On the positive side Ryu had a sacrifice fly, a play that Yasiel Puig scored on. That was LA's first run of the game. Ryu attributes his poor play to nerves. Let's hope that's the case and he'll play a lot better in this next start. Fortunately he had his bad game on a day when the Dodgers could afford it.
The oft maligned Chris Capuano pitched the 4th, 5th and 6th innings for LA. After his 3 inning stint his ERA is still a perfect 0.00. The pitcher who had an up and down regular season was stellar Sunday. In his 3 innings he gave up 3 walks, but he also had 3 strikeouts. Capuano earned the win in relief.
J.P. Howell and Ronald Belisario also had effective outings, both have 0.00 ERAs in this playoffs. However Paco Rodriguez struggled again, he was mainly lights out in the regular season. However in the postseason he has been much less than lights out. Rodriguez has a 27.00 ERA in his two playoffs appearances. In Game 3 he started the 9th inning but only lasted 2/3rds of an inning and wasn't able to close out the Braves. Kenley Jansen came in and got the final out in the Dodgers victory.
In a game where the Dodgers scored 13 runs, there obviously was a lot of offensive highlights. LA had 14 hits in this game. Carl Crawford was 2 for 5, he hit a homer and drove in 3 runs. He's hitting .286 in this playoffs. He also made a nice catch falling over a railing of the stands. As a Dodger fan I'm not sure I want the fragile Crawford to be making that play. Obviously getting the out is huge, but I'm more concerned about his long term health. The Dodgers already have too many key players out for the season and I certainly don't want to see any more.
Juan Uribe, and his unconventional batting stance, was 2 for 5 with a homer and drove in 2 runs. He's hitting .333 this playoffs. Puig isn't having any struggles either, he's started out the playoffs like he did the regular season- incredibly hot. On Sunday he was 3 for 5 with 2 RBIs and he's hitting .462. Last but certainly not least is Mr. Consistent, Adrian Gonzalez, he was 2 for 5 in Game 3. Gonzalez is hitting .357 this playoffs so far.
The Dodgers now lead this NLDS series 2-1. Game 4 is Monday and will be played in LA, the Dodgers are considering sending ace Clayton Kershaw to the mound today. Originally it was Ricky Nolasco that was scheduled to start and he could still start.
Meanwhile in the other NLDS the hard charging Pirates won Game 3 of their series with the Cardinals 5-3. With a home victory the Pirates can win their NLDS as well. Russell Martin continues his timely hitting for the Pirates this postseason. Although he's only hitting .222, he drove in 2 runs on Sunday. He has a total of 4 RBIs in the series first 3 games. Mark Melancon blew the save, but earned the win. Jason Grilli then came in and got his first save this postseason.
Pirates-Cardinals Game 4 will be about 3:07 EST on Monday.
The bad thing about having multiple teams is they might meet in the playoffs. When you like both teams, who do you cheer for? I'll always cheer for the Dodgers over anyone, but I also like my other 4 teams that have made the playoffs. As of Monday afternoon it looks like the Dodgers could play the Pirates in the NLCS. Then the explosive Red Sox looks like they are well on their way to the ALCS and the A's could join them. If that happens 4 of my teams will be in the LCS, which doesn't give me a great rooting chance.
Having multiple teams in the playoffs you'd think would be something to celebrate, but it actually takes away enjoyment from the playoffs. If the LCS is Boston-Detroit then I'd have an easy to choose rooting interest, I'd be cheering for the Red Sox all the way. I could completely get behind the Red Sox and not have any divided loyalties throughout that series.
I guess I won't complain as it looks like there's a great chance that one of my teams will win the World Series this year, that would be the first time that would happen since 2007.
themusicaddict
In Game 3 of one of the NLDS, the Dodgers beat the Braves 13-6. LA's offense that I was so worried about coming into the playoffs has been explosive. Through 3 playoff games, the Dodgers have scored 22 runs. That's an average of over 7 runs per game and a very good reason they lead the series 2-1. (Of course no one can stay close to the high scoring Red Sox, through two playoff games they've scored 19 runs. That's an average of 9.5 runs per game, there are no signs this Red Sox offense will slow down any time soon.)
In his first MLB playoff game Hyun-Jin Ryu really struggled. In only 3 innings he allowed 6 hits, 4 runs and has a 12.00 ERA after his playoff debut. All season Ryu has allowed a lot of hits, but usually has been able to limit the number of runs. Ultimately with the Dodgers offense exploding for so many runs, Ryu wasn't stuck with a loss. It seems Ryu didn't have his A game on Sunday. He also struggled in the field. The official scorer must have felt sorry for him as they didn't charge Ryu with any errors. On the positive side Ryu had a sacrifice fly, a play that Yasiel Puig scored on. That was LA's first run of the game. Ryu attributes his poor play to nerves. Let's hope that's the case and he'll play a lot better in this next start. Fortunately he had his bad game on a day when the Dodgers could afford it.
The oft maligned Chris Capuano pitched the 4th, 5th and 6th innings for LA. After his 3 inning stint his ERA is still a perfect 0.00. The pitcher who had an up and down regular season was stellar Sunday. In his 3 innings he gave up 3 walks, but he also had 3 strikeouts. Capuano earned the win in relief.
J.P. Howell and Ronald Belisario also had effective outings, both have 0.00 ERAs in this playoffs. However Paco Rodriguez struggled again, he was mainly lights out in the regular season. However in the postseason he has been much less than lights out. Rodriguez has a 27.00 ERA in his two playoffs appearances. In Game 3 he started the 9th inning but only lasted 2/3rds of an inning and wasn't able to close out the Braves. Kenley Jansen came in and got the final out in the Dodgers victory.
In a game where the Dodgers scored 13 runs, there obviously was a lot of offensive highlights. LA had 14 hits in this game. Carl Crawford was 2 for 5, he hit a homer and drove in 3 runs. He's hitting .286 in this playoffs. He also made a nice catch falling over a railing of the stands. As a Dodger fan I'm not sure I want the fragile Crawford to be making that play. Obviously getting the out is huge, but I'm more concerned about his long term health. The Dodgers already have too many key players out for the season and I certainly don't want to see any more.
Juan Uribe, and his unconventional batting stance, was 2 for 5 with a homer and drove in 2 runs. He's hitting .333 this playoffs. Puig isn't having any struggles either, he's started out the playoffs like he did the regular season- incredibly hot. On Sunday he was 3 for 5 with 2 RBIs and he's hitting .462. Last but certainly not least is Mr. Consistent, Adrian Gonzalez, he was 2 for 5 in Game 3. Gonzalez is hitting .357 this playoffs so far.
The Dodgers now lead this NLDS series 2-1. Game 4 is Monday and will be played in LA, the Dodgers are considering sending ace Clayton Kershaw to the mound today. Originally it was Ricky Nolasco that was scheduled to start and he could still start.
Meanwhile in the other NLDS the hard charging Pirates won Game 3 of their series with the Cardinals 5-3. With a home victory the Pirates can win their NLDS as well. Russell Martin continues his timely hitting for the Pirates this postseason. Although he's only hitting .222, he drove in 2 runs on Sunday. He has a total of 4 RBIs in the series first 3 games. Mark Melancon blew the save, but earned the win. Jason Grilli then came in and got his first save this postseason.
Pirates-Cardinals Game 4 will be about 3:07 EST on Monday.
The bad thing about having multiple teams is they might meet in the playoffs. When you like both teams, who do you cheer for? I'll always cheer for the Dodgers over anyone, but I also like my other 4 teams that have made the playoffs. As of Monday afternoon it looks like the Dodgers could play the Pirates in the NLCS. Then the explosive Red Sox looks like they are well on their way to the ALCS and the A's could join them. If that happens 4 of my teams will be in the LCS, which doesn't give me a great rooting chance.
Having multiple teams in the playoffs you'd think would be something to celebrate, but it actually takes away enjoyment from the playoffs. If the LCS is Boston-Detroit then I'd have an easy to choose rooting interest, I'd be cheering for the Red Sox all the way. I could completely get behind the Red Sox and not have any divided loyalties throughout that series.
I guess I won't complain as it looks like there's a great chance that one of my teams will win the World Series this year, that would be the first time that would happen since 2007.
themusicaddict
Sunday, October 6, 2013
themusicaddict's Greatest CDs of All-time: The Counting Crows "August and Everything After"
Hello,
One of themusicaddict's greatest CDs of all-time is The Counting Crows "August and Everything After".
When the Counting Crows first began their career I wasn't a big fan. It's likely I wouldn't have ever become a big fan if I hadn't seen them "close" for the Wallflowers. I loved the Wallflowers, especially their amazing CD "Bringing Down The Horse". I fell completely in love with the Wallflowers and that amazing CD. When I got the chance to see them I did, even though they weren't the headlining band.
By seeing the Wallflowers in concert of course I stuck around to see the Counting Crows. Seeing the Counting Crows live in concert gave me a greater appreciation for their music. I'm fairly sure I bought one of their CDs within a few days after seeing them in concert. I went on to see both the Wallflowers and Counting Crows later in concert separately.
This is a great CD to listen to for the broken hearted, this CD is very much about that. I strongly recommend you listen to this CD. You don't even have to buy it, most music you can listen to for free on Spotify. This is truly one of the greatest CDs of all-time!
1) "Round Here":
2) "Omaha":
3) "Mr. Jones":
4) "Perfect Blue Buildings":
5) "Anna Begins":
6) "Time and Time Again":
7) "Rain King": (This is my favorite song on the CD.)
8) "Sullivan Street":
9) "Ghost Train":
10) "Raining In Baltimore":
11) "A Murder of One":
themusicaddict
One of themusicaddict's greatest CDs of all-time is The Counting Crows "August and Everything After".
When the Counting Crows first began their career I wasn't a big fan. It's likely I wouldn't have ever become a big fan if I hadn't seen them "close" for the Wallflowers. I loved the Wallflowers, especially their amazing CD "Bringing Down The Horse". I fell completely in love with the Wallflowers and that amazing CD. When I got the chance to see them I did, even though they weren't the headlining band.
By seeing the Wallflowers in concert of course I stuck around to see the Counting Crows. Seeing the Counting Crows live in concert gave me a greater appreciation for their music. I'm fairly sure I bought one of their CDs within a few days after seeing them in concert. I went on to see both the Wallflowers and Counting Crows later in concert separately.
This is a great CD to listen to for the broken hearted, this CD is very much about that. I strongly recommend you listen to this CD. You don't even have to buy it, most music you can listen to for free on Spotify. This is truly one of the greatest CDs of all-time!
1) "Round Here":
2) "Omaha":
3) "Mr. Jones":
4) "Perfect Blue Buildings":
5) "Anna Begins":
6) "Time and Time Again":
7) "Rain King": (This is my favorite song on the CD.)
8) "Sullivan Street":
9) "Ghost Train":
10) "Raining In Baltimore":
11) "A Murder of One":
themusicaddict
MLB Playoff Update, October 6th, 2013
Hello,
On Saturday the Red Sox jumped to a 2-0 lead in the ALDS with the Red Sox winning 7-4. The Red Sox scored two runs in the first inning and never looked back. Boston has scored 19 runs in their two ALDS games so far. If the Red Sox keep on scoring runs at this rate, it's hard to see who would be able to beat them in the playoffs. Boston led MLB in runs scored in the regular season.
David Ortiz had two home runs, his first career multiple homer playoff game. Jacoby Ellsbury was 3 for 4 and is hitting .556 through the first two games of the ALDS. John Lackey struggled in his 5 1/3rd innings, giving up 7 hits, 4 runs and 3 walks. Although he had a 6.75 ERA in this game he was still good enough to earn the win. Also Koji Uehara earned his first save this postseason and then received a playful lift from Ortiz after the game.
Game 3 of this series will be in Tampa Bay at 6:07ish EST Monday.
In the other ALDS the A's beat the Tigers 1-0 to tie that series at 1 game each. This game was truly a pitcher's duel. Sonny Gray and Justin Verlander gave up 8 hits and 0 runs in their combined 15 innings pitched. Stephen Vogt drove in Yoenis Cespedes in the bottom of the 9th inning in a walk off victory. The A's won in very dramatic fashion, something they have a flair for.
Game 3 is in Detroit Monday early afternoon at about 1:07pm EST.
Sunday's games are St. Louis vs. Pittsburgh at 2:07pm EST and Atlanta at LA at about 6:07pm EST.
In a side note I'm going to take particular joy in watching the Cowboys get thumped today. Who is Jerry Jones going to blame following the Cowboys latest debacle? Surely the man who signs all the players isn't to blame?
Fellow Cowboys fans it's time to stand up and take our team back, until then we'll get the team we deserve.
themusicaddict
On Saturday the Red Sox jumped to a 2-0 lead in the ALDS with the Red Sox winning 7-4. The Red Sox scored two runs in the first inning and never looked back. Boston has scored 19 runs in their two ALDS games so far. If the Red Sox keep on scoring runs at this rate, it's hard to see who would be able to beat them in the playoffs. Boston led MLB in runs scored in the regular season.
David Ortiz had two home runs, his first career multiple homer playoff game. Jacoby Ellsbury was 3 for 4 and is hitting .556 through the first two games of the ALDS. John Lackey struggled in his 5 1/3rd innings, giving up 7 hits, 4 runs and 3 walks. Although he had a 6.75 ERA in this game he was still good enough to earn the win. Also Koji Uehara earned his first save this postseason and then received a playful lift from Ortiz after the game.
Game 3 of this series will be in Tampa Bay at 6:07ish EST Monday.
In the other ALDS the A's beat the Tigers 1-0 to tie that series at 1 game each. This game was truly a pitcher's duel. Sonny Gray and Justin Verlander gave up 8 hits and 0 runs in their combined 15 innings pitched. Stephen Vogt drove in Yoenis Cespedes in the bottom of the 9th inning in a walk off victory. The A's won in very dramatic fashion, something they have a flair for.
Game 3 is in Detroit Monday early afternoon at about 1:07pm EST.
Sunday's games are St. Louis vs. Pittsburgh at 2:07pm EST and Atlanta at LA at about 6:07pm EST.
In a side note I'm going to take particular joy in watching the Cowboys get thumped today. Who is Jerry Jones going to blame following the Cowboys latest debacle? Surely the man who signs all the players isn't to blame?
Fellow Cowboys fans it's time to stand up and take our team back, until then we'll get the team we deserve.
themusicaddict
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Dodgers Daily, October 4th, 2013: Braves Win, Tie Series as Series Shifts Back To LA
Hello,
On Friday night the Braves beat the Dodgers 4-3 which ties the best of 5 series at 1 game each.
The Braves didn't have one big hit, but were able to piece hits together to score enough runs to get the win. The Braves scored 1 run in the 2nd inning and another run in the 4th inning. The biggest hit by the Braves was Jason Heyward's single up the middle which drove in BJ Upton and Chris Johnson. That gave the Braves a 4-1 lead and I thought the game was in the bag for the Braves. I didn't think either team would score again. Heyward's 7th inning single took on a much greater significance only a half inning later.
I was watching the BYU-USU game at the time and flipping back to the Dodgers game during breaks in the action. I turned back just in time to see Hanley Ramirez's 8th inning winding, corkscrew 2 run homer. That cut the Braves lead to 4-3 and was to be the last runs scored in the game. Craig Kimbrel came into the game and pitched a 4 out save, although there were some moments of excitement. From the previews it was clear Dee Gordon was safe on his steal attempt. Although seeing the play live I thought that Gordon was out too. Apparently that's a play that video review can't be used on.
Hanley Ramirez had a great game and should be considered the Dodgers most valuable player this season. I don't even know if that competition is that close. Yasiel Puig had a hot start, but has been returning less and less dividends of late, although he's still an extremely valuable player for LA. Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier were injury prone and had less offensive success than one would expect from either. Kemp isn't even playing in the playoffs and Ethier is limping around. Scott Van Slyke had to serve as a pinch runner for Ethier Friday night.
I predict the Dodgers will make the NLCS, but all their injuries will probably keep them from winning the World Series.
Anyway Ramirez was 3 for 4, he had 3 RBIs, a home run and a double. Without him it seems likely that the Dodgers would have been shut out.
Zack Greinke had a decent game for the Dodgers, although maybe not quite up to his contract. He continued his trend of short outings, only pitching 6 innings. He gave up 4 hits and 2 runs, which isn't terrible. However it wasn't enough on this night, someone with the skill set of Greinke should probably win most games when his team scores at least 3 runs.
With the series tied at 1 game each, the series moves to LA for games 3 and 4. Game 3 will be Sunday evening in LA.
Yesterday was a very extremely busy day with all 4 NLDS series having games, the Red Sox thumped the Rays 12-2 to take a 1-0 lead in their ALDS. Game 2 will be in Boston Saturday afternoon. In the other ALDS Detroit beat the A's 3-2 in their series first game. Game 2 of that series is Saturday night. At the very least the A's need to win Game 2, they don't want to go to Detroit down 2-0, especially in such a short series.
Meanwhile in the other NLDS the Pirates erupted for 7 runs in their victory over the Cardinals. That series is now tied at 1, with the next two games in Pittsburgh. Gerrit Cole pitched a clutch 6 innings for the Pirates and was instrumental in getting this series back to Pittsburgh tied. If Pittsburgh wants to win this series, they need to win both games at home. Those games are scheduled for Sunday and Monday afternoon. It would be very difficult for Pittsburgh to beat the playoff hardened Cardinals in St. Louis in a game 5.
Since I have limited time I will focus more on other teams as teams start to be eliminated. Although I'm not focusing on you as much Pirates, Red Sox and A's I'm still cheering for and watching you as much as I can. I also love the Braves but am cheering for the Dodgers in their series. The Dodgers will always be my favorite MLB team. I hate when my teams play each other, especially in the playoffs.
themusicaddict
On Friday night the Braves beat the Dodgers 4-3 which ties the best of 5 series at 1 game each.
The Braves didn't have one big hit, but were able to piece hits together to score enough runs to get the win. The Braves scored 1 run in the 2nd inning and another run in the 4th inning. The biggest hit by the Braves was Jason Heyward's single up the middle which drove in BJ Upton and Chris Johnson. That gave the Braves a 4-1 lead and I thought the game was in the bag for the Braves. I didn't think either team would score again. Heyward's 7th inning single took on a much greater significance only a half inning later.
I was watching the BYU-USU game at the time and flipping back to the Dodgers game during breaks in the action. I turned back just in time to see Hanley Ramirez's 8th inning winding, corkscrew 2 run homer. That cut the Braves lead to 4-3 and was to be the last runs scored in the game. Craig Kimbrel came into the game and pitched a 4 out save, although there were some moments of excitement. From the previews it was clear Dee Gordon was safe on his steal attempt. Although seeing the play live I thought that Gordon was out too. Apparently that's a play that video review can't be used on.
Hanley Ramirez had a great game and should be considered the Dodgers most valuable player this season. I don't even know if that competition is that close. Yasiel Puig had a hot start, but has been returning less and less dividends of late, although he's still an extremely valuable player for LA. Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier were injury prone and had less offensive success than one would expect from either. Kemp isn't even playing in the playoffs and Ethier is limping around. Scott Van Slyke had to serve as a pinch runner for Ethier Friday night.
I predict the Dodgers will make the NLCS, but all their injuries will probably keep them from winning the World Series.
Anyway Ramirez was 3 for 4, he had 3 RBIs, a home run and a double. Without him it seems likely that the Dodgers would have been shut out.
Zack Greinke had a decent game for the Dodgers, although maybe not quite up to his contract. He continued his trend of short outings, only pitching 6 innings. He gave up 4 hits and 2 runs, which isn't terrible. However it wasn't enough on this night, someone with the skill set of Greinke should probably win most games when his team scores at least 3 runs.
With the series tied at 1 game each, the series moves to LA for games 3 and 4. Game 3 will be Sunday evening in LA.
Yesterday was a very extremely busy day with all 4 NLDS series having games, the Red Sox thumped the Rays 12-2 to take a 1-0 lead in their ALDS. Game 2 will be in Boston Saturday afternoon. In the other ALDS Detroit beat the A's 3-2 in their series first game. Game 2 of that series is Saturday night. At the very least the A's need to win Game 2, they don't want to go to Detroit down 2-0, especially in such a short series.
Meanwhile in the other NLDS the Pirates erupted for 7 runs in their victory over the Cardinals. That series is now tied at 1, with the next two games in Pittsburgh. Gerrit Cole pitched a clutch 6 innings for the Pirates and was instrumental in getting this series back to Pittsburgh tied. If Pittsburgh wants to win this series, they need to win both games at home. Those games are scheduled for Sunday and Monday afternoon. It would be very difficult for Pittsburgh to beat the playoff hardened Cardinals in St. Louis in a game 5.
Since I have limited time I will focus more on other teams as teams start to be eliminated. Although I'm not focusing on you as much Pirates, Red Sox and A's I'm still cheering for and watching you as much as I can. I also love the Braves but am cheering for the Dodgers in their series. The Dodgers will always be my favorite MLB team. I hate when my teams play each other, especially in the playoffs.
themusicaddict
Friday, October 4, 2013
Dodgers Daily, October 3rd, 2013: Dodgers Jump To 1-0 NLDS Lead, Arod Sued Who?
Hello,
Since I had to work Thursday night I didn't get home until the Dodgers-Braves game had been going for a few inning. By the time I turned on the game the Dodgers already lead 4-0. A lead the Dodgers didn't lose and in fact they were well on their way a 6-1 victory. With the Dodgers victory, they lead the Braves 1-0 in the best-of-five NLDS.
The star of this game was Clayton Kershaw, although he struggled. Of course that's compared to his normal standards of excellence. Kershaw battled with everything he had, he was able to prevail and he notched his first postseason victory. In 7 innings he only gave up 3 hits and 1 run but struggled with his command all night. Kershaw threw 124 pitches, 77 of which were strikes. He was able to string enough strikes together to finish with 12 strikeouts.
Brian Wilson and Kenley Jansen pitched the 8th and 9th innings respectively, both had effective one inning outings. Jansen struck out 3 more Braves, which meant that the Braves struck out 15 times in this game. I love Wilson and his eccentricity, I love people that aren't afraid to be who they are. But that being said I have to wonder about his latest look. It sure is..... interesting. I agree with Don Mattingly's decision to play Jansen last night, that gave him his first playoff experience. That experience could be crucial when the Dodgers truly do need him.
The Dodger that had the biggest hit was Adrian Gonzalez. He hit his first career postseason home run in the 3rd inning. He drove himself and Carl Crawford in, that gave the Dodgers a 4-0 lead. I'm sure no one was more appreciative of the Dodgers finally providing Kershaw with run support than Kershaw himself. In this game LA finished with 11 hits. They were led by A.J. Ellis, Mark Ellis, Yasiel Puig and Gonzalez, each had 2 hits each.
Things don't get any easier for the Braves in Game 2 of the NLDS, it takes place early Friday evening. LA already has stolen home field advantage in the series they already lead 1-0. The Dodgers #2 starter is Zack Greinke, the former Cy Young award winner and he of the gaudy 15-4 regular season record. He finished his amazing regular season with a 2.63 ERA. Scheduled to pitch for the Braves is Mike Minor, who was good this season. He finished with a 13-9 record and a 3.21 ERA.
More good news for the Dodgers, on Thursday Dodgers part owner Magic Johnson says they aren't in the Robinson Cano chase. Although Cano is certainly a great player and would be a tremendous asset to any team he joins, his asking price is just too much. Also if he's really asking for a 10 year contract, which for a 30 year old player that's just crazy. Of course he thinks he has the leverage because of how great of a player he is, but he only has the leverage if teams get into a bidding war for him. If I was a team I'd offer a 5 year- $120 million contract which he could take or leave. No matter what other teams do I wouldn't raise the offer one bit.
In that same interview with USA Today, Johnson says that the Dodgers priority is signing Kershaw. I completely agree with that, sign the player that some people are predicting will be the unanimous NL Cy Young award winner. Sign the 25 year old who might be the best pitcher in MLB to a long term extension.
The Cardinals thumped the Pirates on Thursday 9-1. Game 2 of that NLDS is early afternoon Friday. As I'm writing this blog the Pirates are returning the favor of a thumping. Pittsburgh won that game 7-1 and tied the NLDS at 1 game. Games 3 and 4 will be back in Pittsburgh. Go Pirates
Very few people can stake a claim to tarnishing an image as much as Jerry Jones has done to the used to be great Cowboys. However one person that can is the idiot Alex Rodriguez. It boggles my mind with how many stupid moves he continues to make, his latest move is about his 10th stupid decision in a row. Now the idiot has filed a suit against MLB and Bud Selig, in part:
"to improperly marshal evidence that they hope to use to destroy the reputation and career of Alex Rodriguez." (Thanks to espn.com.)
This whole sentence shows how stupidly Rodriguez is approaching this situation. No one has done more to ruin Rodriguez's reputation than Rodriguez himself. He can only blame himself for being caught twice, that we know of, for using illegal substances.
Rodriguez is obviously a desperate man and is doing any desperate thing he can so that he can continue to play. Not that playing is his priority, but getting all the money that the foolish Yankees still owe him. (Arod's egregiously stupid contract is an example of why I wouldn't sign Cano to a high paying, long term contract. Although Cano is obviously much more intelligent than Rodriguez.)
I don't even want to think of the consequences of what happens if Rodriguez wins any of these legal proceedings. Worse case scenarios send a shudder through me. What message would a Rodriguez legal victory send throughout all of MLB and possibly even other sports leagues? Would people consider using any substance they think will help their performance. Would there even be a point to having rules at that point? I can see how any ruling in favor of Arod would infer that MLB's policies are virtually toothless. It already irritates me that players can negotiate how long their suspensions are. Rulings in favor of Arod could take even this punishment away from MLB.
themusicaddict
Since I had to work Thursday night I didn't get home until the Dodgers-Braves game had been going for a few inning. By the time I turned on the game the Dodgers already lead 4-0. A lead the Dodgers didn't lose and in fact they were well on their way a 6-1 victory. With the Dodgers victory, they lead the Braves 1-0 in the best-of-five NLDS.
The star of this game was Clayton Kershaw, although he struggled. Of course that's compared to his normal standards of excellence. Kershaw battled with everything he had, he was able to prevail and he notched his first postseason victory. In 7 innings he only gave up 3 hits and 1 run but struggled with his command all night. Kershaw threw 124 pitches, 77 of which were strikes. He was able to string enough strikes together to finish with 12 strikeouts.
Brian Wilson and Kenley Jansen pitched the 8th and 9th innings respectively, both had effective one inning outings. Jansen struck out 3 more Braves, which meant that the Braves struck out 15 times in this game. I love Wilson and his eccentricity, I love people that aren't afraid to be who they are. But that being said I have to wonder about his latest look. It sure is..... interesting. I agree with Don Mattingly's decision to play Jansen last night, that gave him his first playoff experience. That experience could be crucial when the Dodgers truly do need him.
The Dodger that had the biggest hit was Adrian Gonzalez. He hit his first career postseason home run in the 3rd inning. He drove himself and Carl Crawford in, that gave the Dodgers a 4-0 lead. I'm sure no one was more appreciative of the Dodgers finally providing Kershaw with run support than Kershaw himself. In this game LA finished with 11 hits. They were led by A.J. Ellis, Mark Ellis, Yasiel Puig and Gonzalez, each had 2 hits each.
Things don't get any easier for the Braves in Game 2 of the NLDS, it takes place early Friday evening. LA already has stolen home field advantage in the series they already lead 1-0. The Dodgers #2 starter is Zack Greinke, the former Cy Young award winner and he of the gaudy 15-4 regular season record. He finished his amazing regular season with a 2.63 ERA. Scheduled to pitch for the Braves is Mike Minor, who was good this season. He finished with a 13-9 record and a 3.21 ERA.
More good news for the Dodgers, on Thursday Dodgers part owner Magic Johnson says they aren't in the Robinson Cano chase. Although Cano is certainly a great player and would be a tremendous asset to any team he joins, his asking price is just too much. Also if he's really asking for a 10 year contract, which for a 30 year old player that's just crazy. Of course he thinks he has the leverage because of how great of a player he is, but he only has the leverage if teams get into a bidding war for him. If I was a team I'd offer a 5 year- $120 million contract which he could take or leave. No matter what other teams do I wouldn't raise the offer one bit.
In that same interview with USA Today, Johnson says that the Dodgers priority is signing Kershaw. I completely agree with that, sign the player that some people are predicting will be the unanimous NL Cy Young award winner. Sign the 25 year old who might be the best pitcher in MLB to a long term extension.
The Cardinals thumped the Pirates on Thursday 9-1. Game 2 of that NLDS is early afternoon Friday. As I'm writing this blog the Pirates are returning the favor of a thumping. Pittsburgh won that game 7-1 and tied the NLDS at 1 game. Games 3 and 4 will be back in Pittsburgh. Go Pirates
Very few people can stake a claim to tarnishing an image as much as Jerry Jones has done to the used to be great Cowboys. However one person that can is the idiot Alex Rodriguez. It boggles my mind with how many stupid moves he continues to make, his latest move is about his 10th stupid decision in a row. Now the idiot has filed a suit against MLB and Bud Selig, in part:
"to improperly marshal evidence that they hope to use to destroy the reputation and career of Alex Rodriguez." (Thanks to espn.com.)
This whole sentence shows how stupidly Rodriguez is approaching this situation. No one has done more to ruin Rodriguez's reputation than Rodriguez himself. He can only blame himself for being caught twice, that we know of, for using illegal substances.
Rodriguez is obviously a desperate man and is doing any desperate thing he can so that he can continue to play. Not that playing is his priority, but getting all the money that the foolish Yankees still owe him. (Arod's egregiously stupid contract is an example of why I wouldn't sign Cano to a high paying, long term contract. Although Cano is obviously much more intelligent than Rodriguez.)
I don't even want to think of the consequences of what happens if Rodriguez wins any of these legal proceedings. Worse case scenarios send a shudder through me. What message would a Rodriguez legal victory send throughout all of MLB and possibly even other sports leagues? Would people consider using any substance they think will help their performance. Would there even be a point to having rules at that point? I can see how any ruling in favor of Arod would infer that MLB's policies are virtually toothless. It already irritates me that players can negotiate how long their suspensions are. Rulings in favor of Arod could take even this punishment away from MLB.
themusicaddict
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