Breaking News! Dodgers announce rotation
Joe Torre just announced his rotation and this is the first place to learn who it will be.
Game 1 – Derek Lowe
Game 2 – Chad Billingsley
Game 3 – Hiroki Kuroda (at Dodger Stadium)
Game 4 – We’ll see where we are…Derek is an option, so is Maddux. Kershaw, too, but he could pitch out of the bullpen.
Joe also said that we’ll likely carry 11 pitchers on the roster, with Kuo a possibility (he’s going to throw an inning tonight).
Jeff and Raffy are both looking pretty good for the roster, too. Joe said that right now he’s comfortable with Jeff and he didn’t rule out either one of them starting, but said it’s unlikely they’d both start in the same game.
For tonight, Maddux is looking to surpass Clemens on the all-time wins list and Joe said he’d like to get him the win, if possible. Here’s the lineup:
Furcal, SS
DeWitt, 2B
Manny, LF
Kent, 1B
Ethier, RF
Martin, C
Kemp, CF
Blake, 3B
Maddux, P (and then Billingsley and Kuo)
Finally, apparently when Joe was in NY, he used to have players manage and coach the final game of the year if it didn’t matter for the standings. So, he’s going to likely do that again tomorrow. We’re not sure who will manage yet – Jeff Kent turned down the offer – but Sweeney is a possibility and so is Manny. Plus a pitching coach, etc.
Be sure to tune in on KCAL tomorrow, as that could be quite a sight watching Manny going out to the mound to pull Kuroda from the game. Or Saito going to “talk to Hiro” to get him through an inning.
Still not sure where we’re going Monday…
Inside the Dodgers 
Thanks for the inormation, Josh. We guessed the rotation right. Come on dodgers, beat the Giants tonight!!
Should be information*. sorry for the typo
Should be intersting to see who the rest of the bench players will be.
I’d say, let Sweeney manage the last game and then tell him goodbye!
letting the players manage a game.. that should be fun 🙂
Lowe, Billingsley and Kuroda, no suprise to me.
It’s exactly what I expected, or knew.
In case anyone doesn’t know there are 103 home runs in tonight’s line-up. With 6 in double digits.
I’m glad the Mets are still alive and I’m rooting for them so the Dodgers have a possibility to play one more time at Shea Stadium.
Last night’s game although just an exibition and a try out for the post season was quite an exciting game.
It only come to show, you wanna win, no matter what the stakes are.
I also would like to know, How come Burriss’ name doesn’t appear in the box score?
GO DODGERS!!!
Sara ~ I’m with you. I’d give anything to play the Mets. I want to return the favor and eliminate them!!!
Sorry JoePierre, I should have said I’m with YOU!! lol
hello all! I’m back from a LONG day of searching every store where I live for an Andre Ethier jersey and had NO luck AT ALL!! i guess when i go to the rally tomorrow i’ll just buy one there…
No big surprise on the rotation. Who you pitch in Game 4 depends on where you are in the series. If you’re facing elimination, you go with DLowe and whole staff in reserve. If you’re up 2-1, I go with Kershaw and hold Lowe back for Game 5, if necessary. Given his preference for vets, Torre probably picks Maddux over Kershaw in the above scenario but I’d take the better arm over the experience…..In light of last night’s game, I’m concerned about the closer situation going into the playoffs. Lately,Broxton has been just plain scary. If Sammy is physically up to it, he should close. If not, Wade…..I still prefer Dewitt at 2nd over Kent, period. What possible slight gain in power you gain with Kent is nothing compared to the huge gain in defense you get with Dewitt. Kent has even less range now than he did before…..I don’t particularly care who we play as long as we eliminate them. However, I must admit a slight preference to eliminating the Cubs just to hear their fans whine. GO BLUE!!!!!
Well, c’mon Big Blue! Let’s jump on this crummy Giant team and go into the playoffs with a nice little 2-game winning streak!
Nice to see that hit by Furcal. That he even attempted the SB was also nice to see. He looked quick, it was close and that Molina is one of the best.
Hope Maddux pitches well tonight. I really want them to win the final 2.
Damn I get to watch that game on KCAL. I really hope Kent change his mind
Damn White Sox choking big time.
Now D e W I T T , just needs 1 to join the double digit club. It will be tough as he runs out of time.
Unless the post season counts, I forget.
Great play by Dewitt.
That was a nice play by Dewitt on Aurillia’s grounder.
Looks like last nights game all over again.
I’m so sick of Schierholtz robbing us of hits. He’s got a great glove, but it’s getting annoying, lol.
It would be good to see the Dodgers take the lead while Maddux is still the pitcher of record to give him his big win to pass Clemens.
That would be nice. He pitched really well tonight.
Unlike Berroa, Maddux could’ve gotten the bunt down.
W I T T Y does it again.
Hi everyone! Just got off of work, grabbed a couple of blue Bud Light Tallboys at the store, and turned on the TV to see Blake DeWitt line in the go ahead run!
In case anyone didn’t catch it last thread, I posted a new Dodgers drawing on my blog at http://northstateblues.mlblogs.com (and thanks Tru for the comment 🙂 ). I thought it’d be fun to take a crack at the festivities after they clinched. Winning does a body good!
It’s good to see the Dodgers score, it looked like they were slipping back into their old habit.
Another great drawing, Northstate. I know Torre doesn’t want starters getting injured, but at the same time I want to see them go into the playoffs on a winning note. He doesn’t seem to care at all if they lose these last games. It’s a moot point since Nomar got out, but why was he going to bat DY for Ethier who is hitting over .600 against Cain? He could have pulled Andre for a pitch runner if he got a hit. I hope Manny gets to manage tomorrow. That would be fun.
Thanks bluecrewgirl!
Kemp made a hell of a play against Velez! Velez had to go for it in that case, he just didn’t know who he was dealing with. Let that be a lesson, Giants.
Let’s enjoy Matty’s assist these days, because I don’t think opposing runners are going to take too many chances on his arm.
Yahoo Sports has already done a eulogy on the DBags chances within the next few years.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/rumors/post/After-crash-D-Backs-are-no-longer-a-team-on-the?urn=mlb,110789
Notable excerpt:
At second base, Orlando Hudson is expected to move on. His heir apparent, Emilio Bonifacio, was shipped to Washington for Jon Rauch, the human torch, who is owed $2 million next year. David Eckstein did nothing to make you think he’ll be back. Adam Dunn won’t be back. What do you do with Chad Tracy?
What do you do with Mark Reynolds, who produces offensively but has struck out 201 times and committed 34 errors? Can you continue to put up with the bad for the good?
Let’s hope Kuo isn’t hurt again.
Anyone who thinks they’re going to get Kemp or Ethier from up anymore is nuts.
Let’s hope that no one does anything stupid in this game that would warrant a suspension.
What was that dustup all about????
Giants pitcher said something to Blake, Blake said something back. Kemp yelled at Giants pitcher, Righetti came out yelling, benches cleared in 2 seconds. Words were had, order was restored, no one’s suspended.
Eric, if something must be done against the Giants, please let it be Proctor and Sweeney!
Proctor and Sweeney *dishing out the punishment!
I guess Billy Sadler hasn’t learned yet that you don’t show up your opponent by celebrating after a strikeout. I remember that he did the same thing in an earlier series.
The pitcher didn’t say anything, he was just doing the ol’ fist-pumping-yelling deal when he struck out Blake. Blake didn’t like it, so he might have been yelling something like, “Throw that cheese to me again, idiot and I’ll send it right back.” Kemp added a little something, “We’re going to the playoffs, fool, where are you going?” Righetti was out of line. He’s the one who got the dugouts to empty. In a hockey game, he’d be in the clubhouse.
LOL north!!! They’d be doing us a big favor!! LOL!!!
Juan for Juan! WTG PIERRE!
Players have a long memory, seesky. Let’s try and remember this for next year. Unfortunately, and I’m assuming Sadler is a short-relief guy, he won’t have a bat in his hands too many times.
Righetti was a Yankee and a Gnat. 2 strikes against him.
Thinking the one-pitch walk, Eric? heheheh
eric–When we light him up in a game next year, somebody on our side might make a few gestures of our own.
Maybe something like this?
http://www.penmachine.com/musicpages/greatestphoto.html
LET’S GO SAITO
What are the odds of a 1-2-3 inning?
That works for me, eric. LMAO!!!
How about a nice, old-fashioned 1-2-3 inning, Sammy??
classic pic, Eric! I don’t listen to much country, but when I do, it’s either Johnny, Hank or Marty Robbins (okay, maybe the last one doesn’t have as tough a reputation).
SAITO-SAN! GANBARRE! (good luck!)
What does Sammy say?
good evening family.
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Eric- I loved your recap of what happend when they boys had ‘words’. You are a better lip reader than Vinny 🙂 haha
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I would NEVER mess with the Bison. Did you see that angry look on his face. Players better know by now that he doesn’t play around!
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NSB- great post and pic. You are awesome as always.
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I really hate these Giants. They always find a way to ruin things
YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JIGOKU NI OCHIRO, JYAINTSU!!!!!!!!!!!
What does Sammy say?
What does Sammy say?
Fu-Q!!!!
http://www.penmachine.com/musicpages/greatestphoto.html
Always a pleasure to beat the Giants, especially their fans.
NICE INNING BY SAITO.
Hiya amy, just in time for the one-in-a-row victory dance!!!
Boy Pierre, wouldn’t the bullpen picture change big-time if Sammy is right?
Eric, a picture’s worth 1,000 words!
Thanks Amy!
JoePierre, sometimes I think beating their fans is the best part!
yea. any victory dance is good for me:) I really really want them to win!!!
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Let’s go 44!
If Sammy is right, our pen is as good as anybody’s, and better than most, going into the playoffs. Lately, I’ve lost confidence in Broxton.
north, back in ’74 I drove up to the bay to visit my mom, who was living in San Leandro for a few years. She’s the penultimate Dodger fan. We took in a Dodger/Giant game in Candlestick and I was shocked at the behavior of the fans. We had our Dodger hats on, and we took nothing but crap from those idiots. At the end of the game, some really brave sole hit my mom in the back with a melted malt.
Now that Bonds is gone, I KNOW beating their fans is the best part.
seesky. I lost confidence in Brox ever since mother’s day..and that was back in May. He enjoys giving up runs!
what i learned tonight.. kuo will not make the playoff roster. saito will be the closer.
Anyone going tomorrow?
Eric- I really want to go. I feel that I should be there as a way to continue my super support for these guys all year! but I still can’t find anyone who is interested in it, or has the time to go.
I dunno- Sara thinks that it may be too crowded and rowdy and possibly dangerous. I’m torn.
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Are you going?
Hi sara! Yeah, that didn’t look good tonight for poor Kuo.
Extremely Important 2 to1 Victory By Our Beloved West Division Champion Los Angeles Dodgers over the San Francisco Giants! All Our Dodgers Were Super Heroes Tonight! All of Us Dodger Fans, join in Unision and Deep Faith Now, as we make the Final Push to destroy kryptonite forever and See, as Our Super Great Almighty Friend, The Geat Dodger in the Sky Has Decreed Before The Beginning Of Time, that these Humble, Selfless Super Hero Baseball Players known as Our Beloved Los Angeles Dodgers will be Crowned World Series Champions in this Astonishing, Supernatural 50th Year Jubilee Anniversary Of Our Beloved Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, This Majestic Year Of 2008 A.D!
hi eric! no it didn’t.. i think kuo has just been incredible all year and it’s sad to go to the playoffs without him.. but i also don’t think he should jeopardize the team or his career by pitching hurt. so i think they’ll just take the decision out of his hands. i like our bullpen even without him, but subbing proctor for kuo on the playoff roster is definitely a step down in my opinion..
My wife and I are talking about it. It’s one of those things that might be decided at the last second.
Sara might have a good point, but that won’t deter me any. After you’ve been to a few Raider games, nothing scares you much!
ndeschenes! you’re back! 🙂
NDESCHENES!!!!!!!!!!! WHERE YOU BEEN MAN?????
That last out was a relief. Amy, I really wanted this game too. That would have totally sucked to lose to the Giants in the bottom of the 9th again. Hope they take the rubber game tomorrow. Eric, love the Johnny Cash picture. I’m not going tomorrow, but it sounds like fun.
All is well with the ITD world. The Dodgers beat the Giants, ndeschenes made an appearance and Eric had another letter published in the L.A. Times this morning.
I would like to go tomorrow night but something else has come up so we won’t be going. It should be fun.
amy and eric.. i just think that when you offer something for “free” in LA, you really can’t be prepared for the turnout.. and i think that there is a chance this could be a memorable experience.. but i also think there’s the chance that it could get out of control and that could outweigh the possible good..
joe just said that they’re sending kuo for some tests tonight so they can see what they’re dealing with and make the necessary decisions.. doesn’t sound good at all..
ndeschenes, I tried to do one of your posts about a week ago, but I just don’t have your imagination! LOL! I’m glad you’re OK, dnelly will be overjoyed that you’ve posted again!
Torre is saying on the post game show that they’re sending Kuo out for tests tomorrow.
He says Nomar is tomorrow’s manager. Sweeney didn’t want to do it.
joe also said that nomar will be the manager tomorrow, and sweeney is going to be his bench coach.. he said nomar won’t play, and manny’s not playing, but nomar might decide to pinch hit himself in the later innings.. should be quite a sight to see.. haha
haha eric, you and i just recaped the same things 🙂
classic pic, Eric! I don’t listen to much country, but when I do, it’s either Johnny, Hank or Marty Robbins (okay, maybe the last one doesn’t have as tough a reputation).
SAITO-SAN! GANBARRE! (good luck!)
nsb, you had a duplicate! 🙂
Wow, that’s weird, sorry about that… the post was supposed to be this:
ndeschenes, great to see you again!
Eric, wow, I remember my uncle (who lives in San Jose) talk about if you root against the home team, stay away from Oakland in fall and winter, and the Stick in spring and summer. Shocking to think how crazy it was, compared to today (where even $2 pavillion night might not have been as bad). Seems like it’s a different story at PacBell/SBC/AT&T/Verizon/MetroPCS Park. But when Giants fans see Blue, you’re guaranteed a reaction of some sort, they can’t just ignore it.
sara, I guess 2 beers is enough for me tonight!
haha.. sure, sure.. blame the beers 🙂
lbirken, you saw it? Cool that they printed it, even though it was edited. They still printed more than I thought they would.
btw, delayed congrats to greg maddux.. career win #355, 8th all-time.. amazing..
I saw this little boy today probably 7 years old. I was drawn to him instantly because he was wearing a Los Angeles Dodgers Tee Shirt. It made me smile, but then I looked up and he was wearing a San Francisco ball cap on his little head. Poor kid, he’s growing up confused!
eric is your letter published oline, is there a link ?
amy, it sounds like his parents are conflicted.. haha
ndeschenes, good to see you. Sara, I agree it might get pretty wild tomorrow night.
Sara- I know…i felt bad for the little dude!
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Casey didn’t want to do that interview! Again- No one should mess with the Bison.
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Also, poor Kuo 😦
Sara- I wish I had more Dodger friends. But then again, it makes you my number one Dodger friend and that in itself if SPECIAL 🙂
hahaha.
hey bluecrewgirl!
watching these highlights from thursdays celebration will make me smile, always.. haha
amy, here’s the whole sordid story:
Link to what started it:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/dodgers/la-sp-dodgers23-2008sep23,0,4580777.story
Here’s where my letter is, after all the tears for USC and UCLA football:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/custom/letters/la-sp-letters27-2008sep27,0,1307549,full.story
Here’s what they left out:
“His in-game gaffes are too numerous to mention here. The Proctor/McCouth example cited by Hernandez was interesting. Sure, McCouth has a lot more HRs against righties. Three-quarters of his at-bats are against righties, too. The bases were empty and Proctor was effective for once, having retired all 5 batters he faced. He did the Pirates a big favor. The removal of Ramirez as extra innings loomed was horrible. Nomar bailed him out.
I’m not second-guessing him. I’m screaming at the TV as he makes these decisions.
They are 81 – 75 as of this writing (9/23). Last year they were 80 – 76 after 156 games. One game better, with Manny Ramirez for the last 48 games. Wow! Manager of the Year!”
yay for me being your #1 dodger friend, amy 🙂
don’t stress too much if you can’t go tomorrow, we’ll make up for it in the playoffs..
Amy, my first baseball team was the t-ball Giants, complete with the 80’s stylized G on the hat. Then the next year, I was on the Angels, who were orange (and the Dodgers in the league were yellow.) Talk about growing up confused!
Eric- ok, now I remember when you sent the letter in. I have read. I think it’s great that you can express yourself in such a wonderful manner and look…you get published.
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Sara- those post game celebrations were awesome. If only you were there to celebrate with us!!! but you were there via text..so it wasn’t tooo bad! Yea, for you #1 status. I love that you are able to match my crazy passion for this team.
I cannot wait for Saturday. I hope your time conflics work out smoothly and we get there before 1st pitch( hint hint 🙂 )
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Also- yea for half naked Dodgers in the club house covered in Alcohol!!! haha.
I’m just now watching the today’s (last) episode of TWIB. IT’s so bittersweet looking back on all these great baseball moments. I love this game.
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NSB-haha. ok, then little boys go for all types of teams. Thanks for a little perspective 🙂
eric, very well written.. i’m glad they published as much of it as they did, but the parts they didn’t publish was dead-on as well..
amy, i love the boys running around with their shirts off! haha.. when we have an opponent and game times, we can map it all out.. but don’t worry.. i won’t be late to a playoff game.. i would never do that.. i hate being late to regular season games, so trust that playoff games would feel 10,000 times worse..
I was placed on the teams, Amy… I’dve been on the Dodgers every year, heh. And I was happy I was never the Padres, I REALLY hated them growing up, especially Benito Santiago.
amy, my wife says I missed my calling. LOL! Truth is though, I’d hate to have to produce stuff like that on an everyday basis. The occasional letter to the Times fired by the right imagination is plenty for me.
Someone is bound to send one in next week in righteous indignation. I can’t wait! LOL!!
LMAO!! Sara and Amy, you guys are too much!!
oh eric, you know the boys look good too.. lol
I was on Imperial Truck Lines, the Indians and (ugh) the Giants. Luckily, my dad was the manager of the Giants and he got us some generic “G” hats so we didn’t have to wear the SF ones! LOL!!
Sara, you’re correct! I wish I still looked like that!
Eric, I knew it was you before I saw your name. I thought it was a good letter even if edited.
i was on a bunch of teams i never really cared about growing up.. the rangers, the cardinals, the marlins.. so i didn’t care that i had to sport their uniforms..
That’s funny lbirken, I’ll get calls from friends of mine when they read them and they’ll usually say the same thing. Thanks.
I never played as a kid. I was competing in gymnastics and that took up allll by free time. As a kid I’d have to dedicate 20 hours to practice. My brothers were in little league and all my best friends in High School were on the softball team. Oh well, I had other athletic aspirations.
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Good Sara- we can’t miss is single second.
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Eric- lol. Those are som fine looking Dodger men. Did you see the size of Matty Guns?!?! Goodness gracious!
At least you take the initiative to send in a letter. I enjoy reading the letter columns in the newspaper and magazines but honestly, most of the letters just complain. At least yours had a point
I almost drew this pic of Kemp, but decided that I didn’t want to spend the time drawing 20 arms and hands (and 100 fingers):
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/teams/lad/photos;_ylt=AvrMag4pq2i7hW6W8Nynh.od0bYF#photoViewer=urn%3Anewsml%3Asports.yahoo%2Cap%3A20050301%3Amlb%2Cphoto%2Cb27f1c3a77364c298c90139e93408fdb.padres_dodgers_baseball_lad203%3A1
Great letter, Eric. How many times have you been published this season? Quite a few it seems. Amy and Sara, agree, our young guys are loaded with talent and that’s the most important thing, but nice to look at too):
Anyway, I am calling it an evening. I have to go tomorrow and pick playoff tickets. I am in a group that shares season tickets and we have a process to pick tickets. Funny because when the guy who owns the tickets sent out the notice back on August 31 about sending the money he was quite pessimistic about having a ticket selection meeting. We have had meetings before to pick tickets for games that were never played. At least this time there seems to be more confidence that the Dodgers can make a run.
Well, I guess there’s another money-making idea for someone. A Dodger calendar a-la that fireman calendar back a few years. Shirts off, all kinds of cute poses, probably sell like hot cakes if they’d be willing to do it.
ok nsb- you have a point. Great pic 🙂
Matty is Happy!
Hope you get good tickets, lbirken. I really feel like they are going to make a run.
Eric– heck yes!!! I would have it pre-ordered and shipped early to my house!
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Thanks for reminding me that they never gave away the team Calendar on Thursday night~~ arg!
That was a great letter Eric, one can only wonder how many games we might’ve won if Dre was starting from the beginning.
Good night, lbirken. Good luck on your draw!
bluecrewGIRL, I don’t remember. Three or four I guess. They seem to print about half of what I send in.
buenos noches ITD friends. Great game tonight. GO Team.
Tomorrow we welcome our Champions home 🙂
Take Care Everyone 🙂
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Go Dodgers Go!!!
Goodnight, Amy. If you and Sara end up going to the rally tomorrow, have fun.
amy, I read on the earlier thread that they DID give them away, they just ran out.
north, I figure 5 to 8 at a minimum.
It’s funny, I’ve left on Comcast SportsNet, and they’re debating the team they’d make of the greatest Giants of the last 50 years. I bet the honored players will cherish that much more than those World Champions rings they never got.
Goodnight amy! Hasta lumbego!
g’night Amy
eric- I don’t want to believe that. I was there over an hour early… the stadium was FAR from full. unless they didn’t make 50,000 like they said. But then again, I didn’t see anyone else with one. AND on every single level- everyone had the same stupid tee shirt.
If you know someone who got one, I feel ripped off!
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Good night bluecrew!
That’s so pathetic, north! How do you pick a “greatest team of the last 50 years” when none of them won a World Series?
amy, from our last thread:
good morning ITD!! ok so I have to tell you all about my experience at the game thursday!!!
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first off, it started off REALLY BAD!!! we ran into some problems before we left & ended up not leaving till an hour before the game starts.. then we hit SO much traffic that we didn’t get to the stadium till the bottom of the 5th! & we didn’t get to our seats till the top of the 6th! since we got there so late they had already taken Manny out (he’s my friends favorite player) BUT i DID get to see my boy ‘Dre for half an inning!! which is good enough for me!! then when it got to about the bottom of the 8th some people had left so me & my friend moved up to the front. After the game was over we stayed for all the celebration!!! when Russy, Matty, DY, Manny, & Nomar came out & started spraying the crowd we tried to get down there but EVERY staircase had someone watching it! so we finally saw one that didn’t have anyone standing by it & we decided to go down it… which led us to a huge, long, dark, hallway with a bunch of doors…. right away i said “ummm… i don’t think we should be down here…” HAHA!! so we didn’t get to see all of them up close or get sprayed with beer… BUT it was SO AWSOME to see our boys having SSOOOO much fun and with the BIGGEST smiles on there faces!!! so after all that was over, me and my friend went on a hunt to find a calendar! we went to EVERY exit we could think of & EVERY ONE WAS OUT!!! finally at our last exit (which was the VERY top of the stadium) we decided to give up & start heading for our car. As we were walking down some stairs, they had mesh on the fence so it was hard to see through we noticed people sitting on the stairs like they were waiting for something, so we asked “are the players around or something?” a lady responded “this is where they come out of the stadium & go to their cars” so OF COURSE me & my friend waited!!! haha! ALSO the same lady had like 5 calendars & was kind enough to give me one so i did get my calendar!!! after about half an hour standing there we saw Manny and JP walk out!!! we didn’t get any signatures cause later we realized we were standing in the wrong spot… but anyways we also saw Cory Wade come out dressed like a girl!! haha! & by then a security guard saw all of us standing there & asked us to leave. So we were headed for our car & by then it was passed midnight! there were ONLY 3 CARS IN THE PARKING LOT!!! including ours!! we get to the car &…. my friends key isn’t working… it needs a triple A battery… so i start getting a little worried but right then we saw a parking lot security driving around so we wave him down & ask him for a AAA battery, he says “wait let me radio someone” AS he’s “radioing” someone my friends key works!! i was like THANK GOD!!! & we thanked the security guard & were on our way… so yeah that was a lot of awesome, funny, scary, memmories that i will never forget!!! WE DID IT!!! OUR BOYS DESERVE THIS!!! NL WEST CHAMPIONS… LOS ANGELES DODGERS!!! it was so great to be there & watch all that happened!!! good times good times!!
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I’m going sunday to the rally! i can’t wait!!!
By acardona16 on September 27, 2008 10:41 AM
The Pitching rotation is the funniest! Marichal was hands down #1, but after that, it was a crapshoot. They want to consider Gaylord Perry “a Giant” since he played for half the league, but gritted their teeth ’cause he’s in the hall. Then they were talking about Mike Krukow.
Priceless!!
Did you see OUR rotation? Sutton’s on it, but not Drysdale. That’s not right.
Amy Guiterrez, whom I call “evil Amy” (since all Amys I know are Dodgers fans, including my sister, representing in Santa Cruz), on the fans’ decision for the spots on the Greatest Giants of the Past 50 Years roster, “Wow, that’s a great lineup, and with a roster like that, it’s no wonder Giants fans are the greatest around!”
cue the citizens of Rock Ridge…
“BULL$#*T”
Northstate, I can see why you didn’t want to attempt to draw that pictiure with Matt. I can’t even draw a stick figure, but I can imagine all those arms and fingers would have been really tedious to draw.
Yeah Eric, I saw that! I’m really shocked! I wonder how close the vote was, but I put Drysdale in the same class with Fernando and the Bulldog when struggling over how to fill out the roster. Not to knock Don Sutton, but Don Drysdale is one of the greatest, and now I guess he’s underrated even amongst Dodgers fans.
Well, off the top of my head, they’d have an impressive lineup with Bobby Bonds, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Barry Bonds and Orlando Cepeda. I know that’s too many OFs, but I’d find a spot for every bat.
Hello ITD friends!
Just lost my post. . what was I saying. Oh yeah, came back today from the Dodger Booster club picnic. We had two Dodger pinatas, one for kids and one for adults. lots of food, games, giveaways. I won a t-shirt when I participated in the musical chair contest. The pinatas resembled a Dodger baseball with like horns around it that resemble party hats. Not sure if you could picture that but once one pinata was broken I took one of those horns to use tomorrow at the rally. It is Dodger Blue. Some of my other friends that are season ticket holders will also be there. hopefully you can make Amy and Sara.
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Amy, the calendars were given out as you exit. I forget what other giveaway they did it that way. Love the drawing on the cover of Andre. maybe I can get you one. the booster club was passing them out. maybe they will have extras at the Monthly meeting on Monday.
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I was watching the postgame celebration again from Thursday and saw Josh there passing to the left as Patrick is interviewing Torre while the guys are celebrating. At the conclusion of the interview, Josh is standing to the left smiling while watching and hearing the interview.
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ndeschenes, So good to read you again!!
bluecrewgirl, that was the only reason I didn’t attempt that one. It would look silly having Matt pour champagne into empty space 🙂
crzblue2, have fun at the rally tomorrow. I think it’s cool that the players will be there when they get back from SF to show their appreciation to the fans.
Emma, sounds like fun! I’m too far to make the celbration… maybe I would’ve had a chance at the game if I thought about it at the beginning of the season.
Have fun tomorrow!
Alright, guess I’ll call it a night for now… might be back later
GREAT TO BEAT THOSE GIANTS!
GO DODGERS
Yeah, I think I’ll say goodnight too.
One more practice game, with Nomar managing! Should be interesting, I have to give props to Torre. Great idea.
Me too. Catch you guys later. Tomorrow should be fun, though I was kind of hoping Manny would be named manager for the game. Nomar’s a good choice too.
Damn I missed ndeschenes posted go figure. I wanted Manny to do it.
I’m glad Sweeney is not doing it and probably put himself in for Loney or PH lol. How in the hell did Maddux get that low pitch count? Was the Giants even trying after a hard cheating win the other night.
Eric, I agree with a lot of your posts, but can we not give Torre some credit. Yes he was way too stubborn about playing Pierre and batting him leadoff, but he did finally realize the Ethier was the best option in left field and the rest is history. Managing at home is alot easier than in the heat of the moment and I have also been critical of him, but bottom line is they won the division. Did all of his moves work out, no, but the majority did and no manager over 162 games will make all the right moves.
True that the record is 1 game or so better than last year but the team never seemed to panic or turn against one another. Yes, he had Manny for 50 plus games, but I am not sure when they lost 8 games in a row if Grady would have been able to weather that storm. Is he the greatest manager ever, money bought his team in NY, but there are alot of high payrolls that do not win their divisions or the WS. Maybe he is not the greatest game manager, but he seems to have a way of getting the players to play together. Yes he took some shots at the young kids, but we were not with him in the locker room or the dugout to fully understand his motivation for this. All I know is that they seemed to kick it into another gear for the last 40 or so games.
I am sure this is an unpopular opinion with most of the ITD readers, but Torre and Ned (I really hate admitting this) did a good job to get the team the opportunity to win the WS….
Morning ITDland. And ain’t it a LOVELY mornin’?
Morning Rams! I’m going to disagree with you on Torre. Forget playing Pierre over Ethier and Kemp. Forget all the ABs Andruw got when it was apparent he was beyond pathetic. Forget publicly raking the kids over the coals, while praising the vets for doing the same things. Forget that he’s now doing to Loney what he did to Ethier earlier in the year. Forget that he’s now WAY overmanaging the bullpen. And forget the 84-77 record that won the weakest division in baseball. I’ll sum up in one word why JoJo STILL doesn’t get it:
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SWEENEY.
Enchanted ~ I totally agree with you! Like we’ve said many times, if Joe would have played the right players from the beginning, we would have won the division by quite a few games, instead of having to sweat it out the last week of the season. I’ll bet you, he keeps our favorite player, Sweeney, on the post-season roster. That means, someone deserving the spot will be eliminated. Manny and his influence on the young players is what won the championship for us, despite Joe’s managerial mayhem.
Maintaining Sweeney on the roster has been stubborn ineptitude. Seeing that we got to the playoffs only proves the point that one player among 25 doesn’t always matter a hell of a lot. I regret to project that Sweeney will still be on Torre’s playoff roster, because Torre will be Torre. May Sweeney at least be a token of luck for the team, even though he can’t do diddly to win a game.
Sad thing is Bear, JoJo’s still going to use him as the #1 PH in the playoffs, and that WILL cost us a winable game.
I put together a 25 player all time LA team in my head sometimes, and most of the players just shown here on the web site would be on there one way or another, but leaving Drysdale off is beyond me. How could that be possible?
I want no part of the Cubs in the first round. I have tickets to game 4. It’s just that realistically (while playing well) we can be down 2-0 coming home in a must win vs a guy throwing 1.71 era in his last 71 innings pitched. (Harden) And we throw freaking Kuroda. Not an easy feeling in advance. So normally I say I don’t care who we play with bravado, but in this case, yep, Phillies please. So let’s all root for the Mets and the cubs today. And then I’ll have to hold my breath for the “good maddux” at game 4.
In 1962 Drysdale Pitched 314 innings and then pitched 315 in 1963, 321 in 1964, 308 in 1965. The dodger leader this year is Lowe at 211. That’s just crazy
but leaving Drysdale off is beyond me. How could that be possible?
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U have a dodger owner who talks as if he cares about dodger history and tradition but has no clue really. just an act. otherwise he would not allow that to happen.
Enchanted this is a beautiful thing…agree to disagree…it is all opinions and sometimes we will not always agree..Sweeney was horrible, but (i know make him a coach) he was a great influence in the clubhouse. Out of all the ballplayers I met in ST he was the most personable. Again not to defend Joe for constantly PH him but other than DY who did he have on his bench. He also seems to be very well liked by the other players.
As far as Andruw, right or wrong when you pay a guy 36 mil and with the track record that he had (I was one that did not like the signing and when I saw him in ST I knew we had issues), you are going to give him extra ABs…Just hoping that he would turn it around. Unfortunately the only thing he hit all season aparrently was the nearest buffet.
Again the public flailing of some of the younger guys, we do not know his motivation and we do not know what happened in the locker room. I have defended the young guys as have the others on here, but sometimes as a manager in any walk of life you have to try different things.
Personally, not giving Joe any credit and giving Manny all the credit, seems to be a little short sighted. Manny was the biggest reason for the turnaround, but this team the way the offense performed and the injuries they had could have tanked in June and July. I am not saying Joe is the best manager I have ever seen but he
As far as Loney I do not think he is trying to platoon him as much as to give him a break against some lefties and trying to figure out his postseason roster. And Nomar did havea couple of big hits…Loney is a potential batting champ in the making but he is still learning…
Again just my opinion and I am sure there will be plenty to disagree…At least he finally got the Ethier situation correct…As far as the bullpen how is he over managing? We had one of if not the best bullpens in the NL and our closer went down. Not every move he makes will be correct but he made more right moves than wrong moves.
Ramslover ~ i was the one who thought Manny had more of an influence on the team than Joe did…..only because the players said he (Manny) has made them better hitters…….shows them how to see what pitches are coming and has made them more comfortable and at ease……..and therefore a better team.
Nomar is taking even longer to post the lineup than Grady did. We may not have agreed with a lot of Torre’s lineups until later in the season, but one thing I have liked is he always has the lineup available pretty far ahead of game time.
The lineup is this:
Pierre LF
Ethier RF
Kemp CF
Blake 3b
Loney 1B
DeWitt 2b
Berroa SS
Ellis C
Kuroda P
Furcal was in the lineup and was just taken out.
Good to see Nomar managing lol
Good afternoon friends.
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It’s almost time for Dodger Baseball!!!
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I really hope these games don’t force a playoff on Monday–but it looks like it just might happen.
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Can I also add that I really really want the Dodgers to play the Phillies!!!!!
They just showed a shot of Nomar on KCAL. He looked very serious about his being manager for a day, like he wants to win the game and take the season series from the Giants. Good to see.
Hey all, game’s about to start. Glad the Mets tied, but the Cubs are letting the Selig Squad slowly creep into the playoffs, which means if you see an ump named Jim Monaghey, all bets are off.
C’mon, let’s send this out with a bang!
GO DODGERS
This certainly has the makings of a LONG day with the sticks. Let’s hope it isn’t a long day for the pitching too.
The only way I can reason Drysdale being left off the All-time team is that he is somewhat older than Sutton and Valenzuela – hence more people who’re voting today are familiar with Sutton and Fernando but don’t have personal memories of Drysdale. Similarly with Garvey being on the team but not Hodges. I had the pleasure of seeing Drysdale many times while I was in college in Philadelphia, and those matchups with Robin Roberts were always a treat. Drysdale and Hodges will always be on my All-time team.
Mets down 4-2 in 8th
Brewers up 3-1 in 9th
Looks like we are heading to Chicago. Sweet, I will hopefully get to talk trash to the locals here in Chitown lol