Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Humiliating 9th burns the Dodgers

Dodger fans, it may be time to start focusing on football.

Up 5-1 and with Clayton Kershaw on the mound, the Dodgers did a whole bunch of things wrong that lead to a loss to the Giants, 7-5. The defeat leaves the Dodgers six games back in the NL West.

It's not an overreaction to say that for a variety of reasons, this was one of the most embarrassing losses they've suffered in recent memory.

First, the good. A Buster Posey double play ball ended the first for the Giants. The Dodgers then put up a three spot in the bottom of the frame. Rafael Furcal led off with a walk and a steal of second, his 16th of the year. Xavier Paul then laced an RBI double for a 1-0 lead.

Andre Ethier stepped in next and took a breaking ball from Tim Lincecum into the right field stands for his 16th shot of the season. Against the great Lincecum, it was already 3-0.

The Giants got one back in the second. With one out, Pablo Sandoval drew a walk, and Juan Uribe doubled for runners in scoring position. Edgar Renteria grounded one to short, but Raffy's only play was to first, as the Giants now were down 3-1.

The next inning, the Dodgers tacked on two more. Paul singled and Ethier walked to start the inning. Following a couple of outs, Blake DeWitt hit an RBI single for a 4-1 lead. Casey Blake then hit an RBI double, and the Dodgers were in full control at 5-1.

Lincecum would soon be lifted in the fifth after allowing a couple of baserunners. You would think the Dodgers would cruise to an easy win considering they (a) Had a decent lead. (b) Had their ace on the mound. (c) Knocked the opposing ace out of the game.

Unfortunately, the Dodgers have found creative ways to lose lately, and tonight's final few innings would make for a good tutorial video to show Little Leaguers how to screw up.

It actually started in the fifth. Matt Kemp was knocked to the ground on a pitch high and inside. I guess Lincecum didn't think it was that close, because Kemp was then plunked. For reasons only known to Major League Baseball, that meant both teams were warned. Nevermind the fact Lincecum should have logically been tossed, now both teams were penalized.

Kemp got picked off of first last night, and tonight got thrown out trying to go first to third on a single. Speaking of tutorial videos, please DO NOT show young kids how to run the bases like Matt Kemp! It may cause permanent damage.

Then in the sixth, young Paul must have forgotten how to squeeze the ball when it hits the glove while falling in the air. With Freddy Sanchez and Posey on via singles, Pat Burrell lifted a long one to left. In a scene that actually made Manny Ramirez look good, Paul flat out dropped it, bringing home a run.

A two-run double by Sandoval came next, and the Dodgers were only up 5-4.

Leading off the seventh, Kershaw plunked Aaron Rowand, and was therefore ejected. Ditto for Joe Torre. Lincecum, the instigator, was only warned. This rule is so screwed up, I don't even know where to start.

Hong-Chih Kuo came on and did a fantastic job, retiring all six batters he faced. His ERA now stands at a mere 0.89.

With some crazy things going on, it only got worse in the ninth. Enter Jonathan "Blown Save" Broxton, who yet again wilted when the pressure was on. An infield single by Uribe, a walk to Renteria, and an intentional walk to Aubrey Huff loaded the bases with none down.

The newest screwup came from acting manager Don Mattingly. He visited Broxton to no doubt tell him to throw a damn strike. Mattingly started to leave, then took a step back to say something else. It was probably along the lines of, "Oh ya, it's OK to develop another pitch at some point." Bruce Bochy immediately pointed out that Mattingly technically visited the mound twice. That meant Broxton had to be replaced.

It was a petty, ticky-tack call... and the right one. For some insane reason, George Sherrill got he call. What happened next? Why of course, a two-run double by Andres Torres! Why in the world Sherrill continues to pitch is something I completely do not understand.

The rest of the game didn't matter much. Posey added another run on a single. Ronnie Belliard and Andre Ethier both represented the tying run in the ninth, but struck out. It was pathetic.

This was no doubt one of the craziest games I can remember. But at the end of the night, only one thing mattered: the Dodgers were their own worst enemies and choked this one away. And that's all there is to it.

It's gut-check time for them now. They can either continue to mess up in big situations and roll over the rest of the year, or they can actually play professional baseball for the first time in over a week. Any hope at making the playoffs is slowly fading away. It's not completely gone, but it's vanishing.

Chad Billingsley will get the next crack at ending the losing streak. He was horrendous his last start against the Cardinals. Barry Zito will go for the Giants.

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