Kemp brings the topsy to Dodgers' turvy

 

First of all, Matt Kemp!  But before I talk about him, some preliminaries ...

It struck me that Clayton Kershaw's outing Tuesday was similar to his previous excursion last week against San Diego: his problems, such as they were, didn't start with strike one, but strike three. 

Kershaw faced five A's batters in the first inning. He had 0-2 counts on three of them and 1-2 counts on the other two. Yet he still ended up throwing 25 pitches in the inning. 

Recall that in the San Diego game, Kershaw threw 10 balls to his first six batters, yet still ended up with a 34-pitch inning. The difference between the two starts was that Tuesday's wasn't a Murphy's Law outing, and Kershaw was able to recover, completing five innings of shutout ball.

In the meantime, Kershaw's opponent, Dallas Braden, was perfect for 4 2/3 innings, before the Dodgers loaded the bases on a double, a walk and an error. That brought Los Angeles to Kershaw's spot in the batting order in a 0-0 game.

Kershaw by this point had thrown 92 pitches, which made it unlikely he would last more than another inning, even if it was a 1-2-3 inning. Nevertheless, Joe Torre let Kershaw bat. 

I hesitate to bring this up, because my posting Monday night about the Dodgers bullpen received a fairly negative response, but this is part of the danger of fixating on how many innings Dodgers starting pitchers are throwing. Torre was determined to get as much out of Kershaw as he could, even if it meant sacrificing the Dodgers' first scoring opportunity of the evening. I think if Torre accepted the fact that five good innings at this stage is satisfactory for Kershaw (who is still only 21, after all), even if it meant an extra inning at some point in the game from the Brent Leach/Travis Schlichting/Guillermo Mota combo, it would all work out just fine. 

In other words, an inning from a middle reliever, combined with a pinch-hitter, is probably a better option than a sixth inning from a tired Kershaw.

Instead, Kershaw batted and struck out on three pitches. He started the sixth with two strikeouts, then allowed a double to Jason Giambi. At this point, Torre made a decision that surprised me, walking Orlando Cabrera and his sub-.300 on-base percentage intentionally.  This brought on Nomar Garciaparra as a pinch-hitter, which brought on Ronald Belisario as a reliever, which brought Kershaw to the showers.

None of this was the end of the world, but first-guessing here, I would have handled things differently.

This was all prelude to what ended up a rousing victory for Los Angeles. A two-out, two-run rally in the bottom of the sixth, capped by RBI doubles from Casey Blake and James Loney, broke the scoreless tie. Ramon Troncoso then had his roughest outing since giving up three runs in the Suspension Day loss to Washington, allowing homers by Giambi (a three-run shot) and Bobby Crosby in the eighth inning to allow Oakland to take a 4-2 lead.

Did you panic?  Nah, you knew not to panic, right?  

Rafael Furcal doubled to open the bottom of the eighth, Orlando Hudson moved him to third on a grounder, and Blake singled him in to cut the Dodgers' deficit to one. James Loney coaxed a walk. Kemp singled to right, a hit that appeared capable of scoring Blake, but he held at third. Then Andre Ethier hit what might have been a rally-killing double-play grounder, but Kemp CPRed it with a big slide at second base that enabled Blake to score. With Loney at third, can't-catch-a-break Russell Martin hit a liner to left, but it was caught.

Torre then faced a third critical decision of the evening, and I think it was a tough one. He could leave in Cory Wade, who had thrown only three pitches to end the eighth inning in relief of Troncoso. He could bring in Jonathan Broxton in the No. 9 slot in the batting order, due up first in the bottom of the ninth. Or he could double-switch, bringing in Broxton in combination with Brad Ausmus. (Remember, the Dodgers have added A.J. Ellis and are now carrying three catchers.)

Torre decided to bring in Broxton in the No. 9 slot, ensuring he would only pitch one inning.  I see the argument for this as well as for leaving Wade in, but I think I would have done the double-switch with Broxton possibly going more than one inning. Nonetheless, I do think it was a tough call. 

The ninth inning went by quickly, and then Mota pitched a 1-2-3 top of the 10th. (In case you hadn't noticed, Mota has thrown 11 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings, though he has allowed four of nine inherited runners to score in that time.)

In the bottom of the 10th, the Dodgers and A's traded breaks, in a way. After a Hudson single, Blake reached first base on an error charged to a charging Cabrera -- it was a tough get, though considering Blake's speed, probably the right scoring decision. Then Loney was ruled safe at first on a force play, only to have that call turned (correctly) into a double-play after the A's argued with the umpires. (Dodgers fans who remember the last Kershaw game probably wish a similar discussion had taken place in the first inning of that contest).

Last of all, Matt Kemp!

The Bison completed a fine night by reaching base for the fourth time, going gloriously the opposite way to line a single to right field and launching yet another Dodger Stadium walkoff celebration. Los Angeles is 43-22, 8 1/2 games ahead of San Francisco, 5 1/2 games ahead of anyone else in the National League.

Enjoy your parade, Lakers fans, but it is also a fine, fine time to be a Dodgers fan.

Photos: Chris Carlson/AP

Comments

[bhsportsguy]

I wasn't able to watch the game but once I saw what happened in the 5th and 6th inning, I knew what Jon would have wanted Torre to do. :)

[bhsportsguy]

Scrounger -

Please forgive the off-topic question but it is important... I have Dish Network; If I switch to Direct, will I be able to see all the Dodger games? Dish shows a lot on Prime but the hated KCAL causes Prime to be blocked (when they have the game) even though I am 300 miles from LA.

Unforturnately, if the game is on KCAL, there is no Prime Ticket broadcast.

[Jon Weisman]

Forget it, Jake - it's Chinatoon.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118005054.html

[ishXdavid]

What a game! What a TEAM! My other favorite moment other than final indelible was the Mitch Jones at-bat and the standing O he received after striking out. Moments like this are what make baseball the special game that it is.

[Jon Weisman]

Oh, I left out the Jones ovation. That was a highlight.

[berkowit28]

Nearly LAT's:

If the Dodgers win tonight, they'll be 44-22, back to a 2-1, .667 average, which they had a week ago at 40-20. That makes for a nice round number, but even if they don't, what follows will be close enough.

To keep the same average until the end of the season would mean a 108-54 season result, which is so enormous that it feels pretty unlikely, right? Yet maintaining barely a .500 average from tomorrow on also seems quite unlikely, what with the health of the team, Manny coming back, and all. Even that - a .500 average after tonight, a 48-48 split, would result in a 92-70 game season, a result we would have been ecstatic over last year. It will do in the NL West, most likely, but it feels too pessimistic.

What "feels" about right would be somewhere half way between .500, 1-1, 48-48, and .667, 2-1, 64-32 split for the rest of the season, yes? That would be .583, 7-5, 56-40 for the rest of the season. That sounds like a good number to aim at, no? Less than that means we'd be losing quite a few series, have a couple bad losing streaks, and so on, to balance out the good stuff. It seems quite reasonable.

If attained, that would result in a 100-62 season, something not many teams attain. But it looks good to me. I'd even nudge it to 102-60. Wow.

First they've got to win tonight. But if they don't, there will still be another 96 games left. Go Dodgers.

[jujibee]

Does anyone know if the D's have signed any of their draftees yet?

[Xeifrank]

Chinatoon: Interesting, I hope to give it a watch if it's available. Did you know that in China, because they are inudated with creative cartoons from Japan, Taiwan, US and even Europe that are very popular, they instituted a policy designed to kick start their own cartoon industry which put a limit on the number of hours foriegn cartoons are allowed on the air. Of course all TV stations are government owned there. So it will be interesting to see what they have to export. There are some extremely talented Japanese animators, who have made some very entertaining movies for kids.
vr, Xei

[delias man]

There was a loud "Let's-go-Mitch" chant in inner reserved last night. Talk about being nervous. Poor guy. He never stood a chance in that at-bat just because of the emotion.

[delias man]

Not only was he announced as ML debut, but on the big screen they noted 31 y.o. and 9 1/2 yrs in the minors.

[dodger56]

I didn't see any of the game but to Jon's point of not hitting for Kershaw with the bases loaded and after he had thrown 92 pitches, I agree, especially if there were less than 2 outs. I can't recall the exact circumstacnes, but something similar happened a couple of weeks ago. Torre let a picther hit in a situation where it mattered and then took him out the next inning.

Torre also seems to forget that he can double switch. I can't say enough about his overall strategy with the club (hard to argue with 20+ games over .500), however, I sometimes question the game tactics.

[bhsportsguy]

I think Torre is trying to get his starters to pitch as long as possible. There were two out when Kershaw batted in the 5th.

Also, he had just struck out the two previous batters before Giambi doubled in the 6th.

[Craig88USC]

"...can't-catch-a-break Russell Martin...'

Ain't that the truth, Jon .

He's so primed to breakout and then watch out!

[Robby]

There were 2 outs, bases juiced. At the time, I was ok with it, but only because I have little faith in anyone off the bench doing much better than CK at that point.

And also, booing Nomar? Come ON, people...

[Jon Weisman]

Yeah, BH. Joe really is pretty consistent about this: He doesn't sweat having a pitcher bat and then taking him out the next inning. I disagree with him, but I respect that it's not random on his part.

[Jon Weisman]

Open the yogurt facing away from the white shirt. I've finally learned!

[Nauticus]

I agree. Booing Nomar was classless. I had two friends with me that didn't know much about the Dodgers and they asked why I was upset that everybody was booing him. It's not like he wanted to leave, he just didn't fit the team anymore. Not his fault. And it doesn't take away any of the great moments that he gave us as a Dodger.

[Robby]

How about the Loney sac bunt call in the 10th? Steiner and Monday were harping on how "kids these days don't learn how to bunt" while I was asking my brother how on earth you ASK a kid who hasn't learned how to bunt....to bunt.

Thank goodness for the Bison.

[Xeifrank]

The leverage index, which measures the importance of the game situation, for Kershaw's 5th inning at-bat was a whopping 3.91. There were only three other at-bats the whole game that had a higher leverage index.

The first was Matt Kemp's 8th inning at-bat (5.38) where he singled through the right side of the infield, loading the bases. The second was Andre Ethier's at-bat (7.02) in the same inning where he ended up driving home the game tying run on a fielders choice ground out. The other was Matt Kemp's at-bat (4.53) in the 10th inning where he drove in the winning run.

So, Joe Torre let the pitcher hit (lefty vs lefty) on what turned out to be the 4th highest leverage index of the game, knowing that he had thrown 92 pitches and at best would last one more full inning. Probably not too smart, but against teams like the A's you can probably get away with this, not so for some of the more higher scoring/better teams.

vr, Xei

[Craig88USC]

Watching the Isotopes on MiLBtv now with
Repko-DeWitt-Hoffmann creating havic in the 1st.

'Topes wearing black jerseys in the stifling Memphis heat.

Where's Costanza!?

[gagne55]

"If attained, that would result in a 100-62 season"

FWIW, the PECOTA-adjusted playoff odds have the Dodgers expected record at the end of the season to be exactly 100-62.

[Craig88USC]

... and Gonzalez doubles Pascucci to 3rd.
Relaxing laid back personality from the Redbird announcer.

[gagne55]

Or scrap that. The real time playoff odds (which are junk) have them at 100-62. The PECOTA-adjusted ones (way better) have them at 101-61.

[Old Dodger Fan]

100-62. Just like the Angels last year.

[dodger56]

Normally I would be fine with trying to milk another inning out of your starter, but I think the circumstances change when he is up in "high leverage" situation the inning before. If you don't have faith in someone on the bench, I'm not sure that the answer is let the pitcher hit. I think the answer is find someone who can come off the bench and do the job. Maybe that ws the place for Ausmus? He is hitting .500 against lefties ( 3 for 6). Someone of a mute point as we won the game anyhow.

[bhsportsguy]

Booing Nomar, that is pretty classless and almost unbelievable considering that he continued to be the most popular Dodger during his time in Blue.

[Craig88USC]

...and the organist cranking out some Dire Straits "Money For Nothing" between innings. : )

Nothing like minor league atmosphere.

[gagne55]

"Someone of a mute point as we won the game anyhow."

The point is not moot as there could very well be a future instance of this situation coming up and so the manager needs to be prepared to make a decision in that situation.

[Old Dodger Fan]

I love AAA baseball.

[GoBears]

Torre baffles me too. But I console myself with the reminder that the marginal importance of any in-game tactical decision is tiny. Replacing Kershaw with a .300 hitter, for example, increases the chance of a good outcome, but it only increases it from very low to low. Most of the time, hitters are going to fail no matter how good they are. The bad luck that Troncoso was off his game and the good luck that Kemp and Blake were hitting well were much more important than any tactical decision made by Torre last night.

And for this reason, I think Torre might be Exhibit A in the case that managers just aren't that important to the success or failure of a team, at least in terms of their in-game decisions or even lineups. I do believe that managers matter, but they matter between games. Having no evidence to the contrary, I am willing to believe that Joe Torre is better at the people-managing part of the job than the average manager is. Maybe for the same reasons as Phil Jackson, although a basketball coach has to worry much more about getting the players to work together than a baseball manager does. Nobody thinks that Phil Jackson has won 10 titles because of the triangle, do they? His talent is managing people, soothing egos, convincing individuals to put the team first. I think the same is true of Torre.

So that's why I'm not going to sweat it too much when Torre pinch hits or doesn't, or bats Kemp 9th, or calls for a hit and run with a slow runner and a strikeout-prone hitter. Ultimately, as long as the best players are in the game most of the time, that's all that matters.

[dodger56]

The point is not moot as there could very well be a future instance of this situation coming up and so the manager needs to be prepared to make a decision in that situation.

I don't think I've ever mixed up mute and moot - (slaps side of head).

I hear what you're saying, I meant it was moot in last night's game. As Jon said, Torre seems to do this often, maybe he knows something we don't, though I'm not sure what it could be.

[Eric Enders]

Was there really that much booing? The A's announcers noted that Nomar was getting a loud ovation and they didn't mention any booing, nor was anything but cheers audible on their broadcast.

[underdog]

For what it's worth, I also heard plenty of cheers for Nomar while watching the game on TV last night. Maybe they added those in a la a laugh track, though.

And the Mitch Jones at bat was definitely heartwarming. Wish it had had a happier ending, but oh well. Was great to see the hand he got. If only he could hit offspeed stuff.

[Eric Enders]

According to WARP, Kemp is the 16th-best player in MLB this year, tied with Roy Halladay. Broxton is 10th.

Edwin Jackson is 21st.

[underdog]

Or what Eric said.

[Kevin Lewis]

People actually booed Nomar? Man, it never ceases to amaze me.

I almost had two fights break out while umping softball last night. The first one was between two team mates.

[Robby]

I was in the inner reserved level, and there was definitely a noticeable amount of booing. I'm glad it was mostly lost on tv, though.

FWIW, Ken and (especially) Josh were really ticked about the booing as well. Josh put it at 15%, I think. That's using his infallible measurements, of course.

[bhsportsguy]

I don't know if the Dodgers would do it but it would be nice if they did a video tribute to Nomar, all they need to show is his walk-off in the 4+1 game.

It would be classy and remind Nomar that he will always have a home in LA.

[jpg]

"Then Andre Ethier hit what might have been a rally-killing double-play grounder, but Kemp CPRed it with a big slide at second base that enabled Blake to score."

Love that

I think the circumstances of the Nomar at bat has to be taken into account when looking at the tepid ovation. He was pinch hitting in a crucial spot in the game and it is a tough sell to tell a Dodger fan to give a standing O to a guy who is trying to beat you in the moment. If Nomar had started the game and came up for his first at bat with the bases empty I'm fairly certain he'd have gotten a bigger ovation.

From my spot, I didn't really hear many boo's, just a lackluster cheer and in my mind the boo's were not directed at Nomar per say but the fact this guy was coming up and trying to ruin the fun.

I did hear some boo's for Troncoso when he left the mound which is kind of unacceptable considering what he's done for the team. That home run was the first one he'd allowed in over 40 innings of work.

Cahill, who starts tonight for the A's has allowed 10 in just 73 innings.

[regfairfield]

15 sounds right. Classless but we did pay the guy for three seasons and he was healthy and productive for about one of them, I can see people booing.

[Craig88USC]

Valentino doubles in the hustling Repko

5 run 3rd so far.. and now Charlie Knuckleball sac bunts the runners over...

The 10th man to bat this inning - Jason up again.

Doubles in 2 more!

Go 'Topes...

[Bob Hendley]

The double-switch actually seemed like an easy call not made (would have kept some options open at the very least).

[GoBears]

I don't think I've ever mixed up mute and moot - (slaps side of head).

Even funnier is the fact that the first definition of "moot" is "debatable," although the more widely used meaning is "irrelevant." I have no problem with the evolution of language, but this particular morphing seems particularly odd to me. You meant "irrelevant," whereas gagne55 argued that it's relevant (and therefore worth debating).

He could have said, "it's not a moot point, it's a moot point." English is a crazy language sometimes.

"Sanction" is my other favorite. It also can mean the opposite of itself.

[Kevin Lewis]

Yea, I just watched his at bat, and the booing was really sprinkled in, but you could hear more cheering.

[Kevin Lewis]

I love AAA ball too. I think we will be going to a Rivercats game some time in July. If/When we move to the Sacramento area (my wife's family is up there), I will probably go to a lot of games there.

[Eric Stephen]

I'm also on board on the video tribute for Nomar.

It did sound like a lot of cheering on TV, but Nomar has to get in line behind bigger and better ex-Dodgers who were inexplicably booed, if that was the case.

Disappointing, yes, but not surprising.

[Craig88USC]

Memphis stadium playing "Afternoon Delight" acapella old school style during the pitching changes...

[Eric Enders]

I was just going to make the same point as Eric Stephen. Guys who were better Dodgers than Nomar, and for longer, have been booed also. Shawn Green and Eric Gagne come immediately to mind.

[HI Dodger Fan]

reviewing torre's moves is all right by me. i just want to say that finally releasing kemp from the dreaded 8-spot in the order was pure genius on his part.

[bhsportsguy]

That's true Eric(s).

[Craig88USC]

Albuquerque up 8-1 after 3 in the land of Elvis.

I may have spotted him on that foul ball by DeWitt

..who just doubled again to lead off the 4th

Hoff up now...

[GoBears]

I dunno. I don't boo players myself, but I don't really mind if people do. I suppose, as jpg suggests, that it depends on the nature of the booing. Is it really anger or vitriol, or just a good-natured soundtrack to the game? I don't mind if players who perform badly (as Troncoso did) are booed. They get paid a ton of money to perform well, and they get extra cheers when they perform especially well, so what's wrong with the cost of failure including acknowledgment of that failure from the paying customers?

I think sometimes we treat professional athletes like children. They're not that fragile. We don't have to insist on only positive reinforcement. And in a funny way, booing an opponent, even an "old friend," is a sign of respect. Do Dodger fans boo Matt Herges or some other equally non-descript journeyman? If I were Nomar, I would take booing at DS not as anger, but in the spirit jpg suggested: "oh, now you're on the other team, so we're rooting against you!"

Sometimes when I'm driving, I'll honk at someone after they cut me off or do something else dangerous and/or selfish. My wife asks me what the point of honking is - the deed is done and honking won't make it better. I don't have a great answer, but it seems to me that there is some chance, no matter how small, that a little public acknowledgment of the misdeed might reduce the possibility of a repeat. It's unlikely, I know, but I think it's also that decentralized reinforcement of norms that makes society work. Of course, seeing a cop swoop in and give the miscreant (or incompetent) a ticket is even more satisfying and potentially effective, but that doesn't happen very often.

[Robby]

Yeah Eric, they were probably better players, but I don't really care about booing Green, nice as he was. The guy's middle name is Tepid. And Gagne flipped us the bird and signed with Texas for more money, so that has to factor in, despite the wonderful days that were Game Over.

Nomar lives in Whittier. 4+1. Epic grand slam to beat AZ 5-1.

So, as much as one can quantify an ex-Dodger's boo-bility, That's enough for me. Give the guy a hug.

[SaMo]

Dodger fans also booed Mike Piazza and Paul LoDuca, two guys who loved being here and did not want to leave. LoDuca cried for pete's sake when they traded him away.

At the last Dodger game I went to, against the Angels, a guy in the hot dog line said he hoped Torii Hunter was hurt on the play when he crashed into the fence. I reproached him, saying younever root for a guy to get hurt. His response: "what do I care, he's only an Angel."

I know this is just one classless stupid fan, but I think it's more typical than we'd like to admit. There are a lot of classless, stupid Dodger fans at the Ravine night after night.

[Craig88USC]

I only boo umpires.

And Boog Powell.

[evenatriple]

For what it is worth, in the loge level behind home plate it sounded like 80% cheers for Nomar, but I was a bit surprised by the number of people booing. Of course, there was a lot of money normally spent on parking that went to beer last night, and many people at least around me were really out of control. In fact, the crowd behavior in my section led me to wonder if the Dodgers would repeat this promo next year, or not. On a happier note, while there was some booing of Nomar, the Jones tribute was really heart-lifting, and when Kershaw came out of the game he got a huge ovation from the first base side of the stadium.

[Phenomenal Smith]

To be accurate, Nomar LIVED in Whitter. He lives in Manhattan Beach now.

[delias man]

I mostly boo the D List celebs throwing the first pitch. Have you seen some of these people the last 2 years? But I can see why some would want to boo Nomar. He was indeed killing the Dodgers for a while.

[Old Dodger Fan]

I'd boo Andruw Jones.

[Phenomenal Smith]

So people come to a Dodger game with a set amount of money and if they don't spend $15 on parking, they spend it on beer?

Bhsportsguy and I will just have to worry about Statler and Waldorf behind us.

[dalegribel]

The walking of Cabrera is one of those tactical moves that escapes most of us. Thanks to Charlie Steiner for providing some insight.

Torre knew that Geren would likely hit for Hannahan in this situation and that Nomar was not yet capable of playing defense. Thus, he got Oakland to use up to bench players in one move with the pitchers spot only to hitters beyond.

[SaMo]

Torre's handling of Kershaw perplexed me too. I didn't have a problem letting him hit in the fifth, but if you're trying to save your pen, then save your pen. Don't change your mind two outs later.

Walking Cabrera to get to the lefty seemed almost a deliberate attempt to bring a pinch-hitter off the Oakland bench. Why not just let Kershaw pitch to Cabrera who was in a terrible slump? How's the kid going to learn to pitch out of jams unless you leave him in games where he hasn't surrendered a run against punchless offenses?

Victories cover up mistakes. Like the one Adrian Johnson made. What a horrendous call. And yet umpires never reverse calls unless they claim to have been blocked from viewing the play and must defer to another ump who had a better view. Was that what happened last night?

[fanerman]

I'm with Old Dodger Fan. I'd boo the fat man.

Though jpg brings up a good point. I'd like to think that the Dodger crowd, if the game weren't on the line, would not boo Nomar. He had some good moments with us.

[Craig88USC]

I have to admit that it is very cool to see a basketball court setup with chearleaders dancing in the middle of our football field now

...with 100,000 fans in the seats.

Congrats to the Dr. Buss family.

Dodgers next ???

[Who Signed Orlando Hudson/Cabrera?]

Worst winning percentages in baseball.

1. Washington - .258
2. Arizona - .415
3. Baltimore - .422
4. Oakland - .429
5. Cleveland - .433
6. San Diego - .444
.
.
.
.
30. LA Dodgers - .662

Is it too early to give Ned the GM of the Year of the trophy?

He deserves it. The man has been a blessing to all Dodger fans, young and old.

[SaMo]

Andruw Jones showed up fat and whined about how he was treated while making $18 mil per year. Fans booed him while he was a Dodger.

Nomar showed up in shape, played third, first, wherever they asked him, and didn't complain. Fans loved him while he was a Dodger.

No reason to boo him now. Frankly, he's helping the Dodgers in 2009 by not taking up the roster spot that Mark Loretta has filled even more ably than Nomar ever did. Cheer the man.

[Eric Stephen]

Manny Pacquaio is throwing out the first pitch tonight.

[Craig88USC]

Everyone cheers Magic Johnson.

Everyone.

[Craig88USC]

I bet Matt Kemp is at the

LA Coliseum about now...

They're playin' our song.

"WE LOVE LA"

[jpg]

Posted by: jujibee | June 17, 2009 at 10:54 AM
Josh Rawitch said they will be announcing a flurry of signings soon. Seems like the clubs wait until they get a bunch done before announcing them or one big one and then throw in all the little fish with it.

[Eric Enders]

Lo Duca actually got a tremendous ovation the first time he returned to Dodger Stadium. He may have been booed after that, though. Once he came out with his "[Rule 1] the Dodgers" comment there was no reason to cheer him anymore.

[jpg]

The only advantage to being old is having seen Magic Johnson play in his prime in person. Probably why I fail to be impressed with Kobe who many probably consider the better player but they would be wrong on so many levels. I won't debate this, this is the only comment I'll make on the subject.

Curmudgeon Phil

[jpg]

Eric - it was a huge ovation, as I recall I think he said he was crying in the batters box. I know I was standing, I think it was against the Mets because I was with my Met friend who was telling me Finley wouldn't make a difference. I won that bet.

[delias man]

In one episode of 24/7 Pacman tossed a first pitch at phone park in Giants jersey earlier this year. I will not stand for this.

[Xeifrank]

I only boo on October 31st.
vr, Xei

[Phenomenal Smith]

To be safe, I will just boo everyone I see in all walks of life at all times

"Hi, is this the library?"
"Boooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!'

[GoBears]

I feel you, jpg. Kobe is clearly more talented, but Magic was much more fun to root for, both for his game and his personality.

[Eric Enders]

Memories are funny things, but I recall Lo Duca's first game back being with the Marlins, and I think he got some sort of big hit off Gagne late in the game.

[Craig88USC]

Runs Scored: 325 & 1 (thanks to Matty's walk off liner)
Runs Against: 244

[fanerman]

Magic was better, but that doesn't mean Kobe isn't impressive.

[Phenomenal Smith]

In Lo Duca's first game back in L.A., playing as a Marlin, the losing pitcher was Darren Dreifort.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN200408160.shtml

The game Eric E was referring to was two days later.

[Eric Enders]

See, it turns out I totally made that up.

[Xeifrank]

PJ has his X hat again.
vr, Xei

[Terry A.]

Craig88USC,

I'll be watching the 'Topes play Memphis in a few weeks. AutoZone Park is a great place to catch a ballgame. Even better when one is a guest of one's commercial printing vendor and gets free Rendezvous barbeque and whatnot.

I'll bet I'm the only one there who knows his Repko from his Hoffmann. There'll be a few DeWitt fans, though.

[delias man]

I remember that game like it was yesterday. We were laughing about how Harris had no change against Gagne, and we were wondering how he was even in the league anymore. He crushed that pitch into the gap.

[tjdub]

I'm looking forward to the signing announcements. I have tickets for the Raptors next week and have been waiting impatiently for the roster to come out.

[Phenomenal Smith]

I was quite sad to see Harris hit that double. It was Lenny Harris! It was like a violation of the laws of nature.

[El Lay Dave]

From my spot in the Infield Reserved section:

- The Nomar reception began with some noticeable but far from unanimous booing, but was eventually overcome by the cheers to the point where I could not hear booing.

- There was a vast difference in speed between Kemp's game winning laser into RF and Martin's liner to end the 8th. When Martin hit his, I thought initially that he made better contact and was surprised how long the ball took to get to Holliday.

- We were also surprised there was no 2-1 when Broxton came in, especially with three relievers already used. At this point, Martin/Ausmus is a 2-1 that doesn't hurt you much, if at all, offensively as well. To compound that, Broxton threw only nine or ten pitches in the ninth.

- The Mitch Jones reception was nice, sweet even.

- I did not see this mentioned in the comments, but Torre had both Wade AND Leach warming up behind Troncoso. Leach was ready, so I was a little surprised Tron was left in for Giambi. If not first and second and one out, what situation exactly was Leach warmed up for?

- Did not like the call for Loney to bunt. I wanted the lefty to hit against the sidearming righty. If the sac worked, it's second and third with one out and Kemp up. Yes, Ziegler would have to get Kemp with an "unproductive" out, but then he could IBB the next lefty and go after Martin. As it was, they got the worst case scenario with Loney anyway, and Kemp got the job done anyway.

- jpg dropped by for a nice conversation, taking a break from the press box (lucky dog). Good man, he is. Must have been extra hard not to cheer after the walk off hit.

[Eric Stephen]

My main regret as a sports fan was never seeing Magic play in person. Magic > Kobe, without question.

Stu Lantz apparently took his crazy pills this morning.

[fanerman]

Aren't Stu Lantz's crazy pills a daily thing?

[jpg]

Lincecum facing a depleted Angels lineup during the daytime could put up a historic game. As much as I like Chad, no one should be starting the All-Star game except for Lincecum.

[Phenomenal Smith]

I saw Magic Johnson play in person once. He had the stomach flu. It was a game against the Clippers. He had a bunch of turnovers in the first half and then sat much of the second half.

The Clippers won by a sizeable amount.

And I enjoyed it all from the lovely confines of the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

[El Lay Dave]

Terry A. - bet there will be some A.J. Ellis fans too. He should be back down then and he is from Cape Girardeau, I believe.

[Phenomenal Smith]

As well as Lincecum pitches today, the Angels have their good luck charm of Matt Palmer pitching.

Palmer's success has been astonishing. And likely very lucky.

[slap1328]

I agree with Leaving Kershaw into bat for the simple fact that the more releivers you use in one game, the increased odds that one of them is not going to be sharp. Further, i disagree with the ascersion that Kershaw was tired after throwing 105 pitches. The few times when he has been allowed to throw into the 110-115 range, he maintains his 93-96mph fastball and his curve is still sharp. One thing I do wonder is why in his early starts he actaully threw something of a changeup at least 10 times a game. I don't think he has thrown it 10 times in his last 5 starts combined.

[LogikReader]

Magic vs Kobe is too subjective for me to address.

To me, it's apples and oranges. There are a lot of things about Kobe that are overrated. For instance, his career shooting percentage isn't as good as that of Michael Jordan or several guys.

His ability as a leader was overstated up until two years ago.

But Magic's game wasn't at all predicated on shooting. He could score but he wasn't THE scorer. That would have been a tie between him, Kareem, and Worthy.

So basically we're talking about an unbelievable passer vs an unbelievable scorer. Even having to choose one is a conflagration I hope never takes place.

[jpg]

ElLayDave - my hardest part of not cheering last night was when Mitch Jones came to the plate. I wanted to be part of the crowd. I met him earlier in the day and he's a soft spoken nice guy. Big arms but not an overly big guy. AJ Ellis talked about how happy the Isotope club was when they heard he got the call. I found that funny considering that AJ Ellis had a tough road to the majors as well.
The A's beat writers were a little more into the game then the Mets beat writers. You could tell from the body language and comments they like the team they cover.

[El Lay Dave]

jpg - Magic? You and I remember watching West, Baylor and Chamberlain playing in the Championship finals!

I saw the Lakers blow out the Pistons the season before the Bad Boys reached the Finals from a 4th row seat at the Forum that I lucked into. The level of play is astounding when you watch from the same distance as you observe playground ball, and amazing even compared to watching UCLA basketball from the student section.

[bhsportsguy]

As a longtime Laker fan who did see in person Jerry, Baylor and Wilt play and then followed the Showtime team up to Shaq and Kobe to now Kobe, Pau and the rest, I will add my thoughts to this little discussion.

Magic will always be the number one Laker because not only did he provide the catalyst to a dynasty, he and Larry Bird did put the NBA on the forefront of American sport.

But I also keep this is mind, Kobe never played on a team like those 80's teams. As good as the 2000-2004 Lakers were, they could not match the talent of those Showtime Lakers.

Probably both players would have fit well on those teams.

[LogikReader]

Here's a better debate

Staples Center vs the Forum

Which is/was a better experience? I only saw one game at the Forum, when I was 5, but just from the pictures, it looks like Staples has much better sight lines.

And nicer facilities?

And much easier access from the Freeway/Subway?