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
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