It was Loney's slam but Ramirez's inning

James Loney hit the ball that carried over the wall for the grand slam that gave the Dodgers their 4-2 lead over the Cubs.

But you can credit the four-run inning to Manny Ramirez.

Two outs, one on, an 0-2 count to Ramirez ... who battles his way through the rest of the at-bat, works a walk, and ignites the rally.

Fans talk about his home runs and runs batted in. Baseball people marvel about the little things he brings to the Dodgers. Things like not giving in and working a walk when the inning was just about over.

A buddy of mine who helps coach a Yankees scout team called me right after the ball cleared the fence. He says, "That's what the Red Sox are going to miss this postseason... and they don't even know it yet."

-- Mike Hiserman

Photo: James Loney is congratulated by his teammates at the plate after hitting a grandslam in the fifth inning against the Chicago Cubs on Oct. 1, 2008 in the first NLDS game in Chicago. Credit: Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times

Comments

[JDD]

FP Santangelo said this morning that he expects the Cubs to check Manny's bat tonight to see if it's corked. I'd like to see the entire Dodger team bring out the their bats at the same time. Turn it into an advantage for the Dodgers.

[ceeman]

If I remember correctly, Dempster was all over the place with his pitches. Manny's two home runs in the Cubs series were of the icing-on-the-cake variety. In more crucial at-bats, he struck out. Meanwhile, his "replacement" in Boston, Jason Bay, hit two home runs that positively turned the tide for the Red Sox - true game-changing blasts. The Red Sox played their best ball of the year AFTER Manny left and took his quitters attitude to the West Coast where he has apparently morphed into a beatific and fun-loving God, beloved by the meek and shallow of the aptly named La La Land. Your writing talents would be put to better use sending memos to all elderly staff in the Dodgers organization warning them not to run afoul of Manny's ticket requests lest they suffer the same fate as 64 year-old Jack McCormack. He is the Sox Traveling Secretary that the ManChild threw to the floor because he couldn't find last-minute tickets for the $20 million dollar star.