It's been a long while since I've blogged, and I thought now would be as a good a time as any, being that it's Saturday and I finally have some free time.
Since I last blogged about the Blue, a lot has transpired. They went on a disastrous 8-game losing skid that saw them go from tied atop the division to 4½ games back of Arizona. Then they did the unthinkable: they won 8 straight, including back-to-back wins against Arizona's Brandon Webb and Dan Haren... twice! Suddenly Arizona's lead was gone, the Dodgers had leap-frogged them into sole possession of first place and the Dodgers were off and running to the division title and a post-season berth. And Manny just kept on being Manny. In 53 regular season with the Dodgers, Manny hit .396 with 17 homeruns and 53 runs batted in. And he didn't let up in the postseason either.
In the postseason, the Dodgers were pitted against the team with the best record in the National League, the Chicago Cubs. Problem was, the Cubs forgot to show up, and after holding a brief 2-0 lead in Game 1, the Dodgers took the lead from them and were off and running. So much so, they completely dominated the Cubs and swept them right out of the playoffs, winning 7-2, 10-3 and 3-1, earning them a chance a to play for a trip to the World Series. But that's as far as they would get, and this is where I become very displeased.
In the League Championship Series against the Phillies, the Dodgers just didn't have it. They ran into a team that was playing just as well as they were, and were just about as hot a team as they were, as well. And in all actuality, they ran into a better team.
They held a 2-0 lead mid-way through Game 1, and they let it get away. A big error from shortstop Rafael Furcal, and two "frustrated" pitches thrown by starter Derek Lowe, all in the same inning, turned out to be costly. Phils win 3-2, up 1-0 in the series.
Ace Chad Billingsley, who was phenomenal against the Cubs in Chicago in Game 2 of that series, was given the ball for Game 2 here, and he couldn't get out of the third inning. His line? 2.1 innings pitched, 7 earned runs, 8 hits and 3 walks. Before they knew it, the Dodgers were down 8-2 after three innings. They made a game of it when Manny hit a three-run homerun in the 4th inning to make it 8-5, but thats as close as they would get. Phils win 8-5, lead the series 2-0. On to L.A.
In Game 3, the Phillies gave the ball to 45 year old Jamie Moyer, and the Dodgers tagged him for five 1st inning runs. After Rafael Furcal lead off the 2nd inning with a homerun off Moyer, he was pulled and the Dodgers led 6-1 and cruised to a 7-2 win. Phils lead series 2-1.
Game 4 was a see-saw battle all night. Veteran Derek Lowe was summoned to start on just three days rest, and after a shaky first inning, he more or less cruised through 5 innings, at which point the Dodgers led 3-2 and appeared well on their way to evening the series up two games apiece. Then the bizarre and unthinkable occured. Having thrown just 74 pitches through five innings, Joe Torre felt it was the right time to pull Lowe from the game. Then the wheels fell off the Dodger wagon. Twenty year old rookie Clayton Kershaw came into the game and the 3-2 lead evaporated and the Phils tied it at three. The Dodgers got the lead back on a solo homerun from Casey Blake, and would add another run for a 5-3 lead. The score would remain that way through a plethora of Dodger relievers until the 8th inning, when all hell broke loose. Hong-Chih Kuo, who pitched a perfect 7th inning, gave up a leadoff single to Ryan Howard and was promptly yanked from the game for reliable rookie Cory Wade. Wade, who had pitched the previous night in Game 3 and made 33 pitches, was making his first appearance all season in back-to-back games. Wade got his first man out, Pat Burrell, on a popup to second base, but Dodger nemsis Shane Victorino tehn came up and hit a straight liner into deep right field that looked like it was going to hit the wall. Instead, the ball screamed over the bullpen gate for a line drive homerun. Suddenly the game was tied at 5 and the Dodgers and their fans were in stunned silence and shock. And it only got worse. Wade would get the next hitter to line out to left field but then gave up a hit to catcher Carlos Ruiz. Torre came out and pulled Wade for his closer, Jonathan Broxton. Phils manager Charlie Manuel countered with pinch-hitter Matt Stairs, who is known for going up to the plate trying to hit homeruns. And that's exactly what he did. On a 3-1 count, Broxton gave him a fastball right down the middle and Stairs tattooed it half way up the right field pavilion for a 7-5 lead. The game would end that way, 7-5, after two Dodger rallies fell short in each the 8th and 9th innings, and suddenly the Dodgers were facing elimination after an off day. Phils lead series 3-1.
Now I'm usually not one to put the blame on the manager because all I hear and read about from managers and people around them is how hard it is to manage in the Major Leagues, especially in the playoffs. And while it is entirely up to the players to get the job done, such as Cory Wade and Jonathan Broxton, the manager has to take some of the heat for some the in-game decisions, win or lose. And Game 4 was no exception.
Derek Lowe started this game for a reason. He was their most reliable and most effective starter. He was the starter with a history of success in the playoffs. He was the one who had put up some insane numbers in his previous 12 starts, including the Game 1 loss. And the Dodgers had purposely set up their rotation so that Lowe would start Games 1, 4, and if necessary, 7. But for whatever reason, after having made just 74 pitches through 5 innings, Joe Torre felt it was time to remove him from the game, nevermind that Lowe was cruising up to that point. Now, we'll never know if Torre had left Lowe in to pitch just one more inning, and still went with Wade and Broxton in the 8th and 9th innings, what would have transpired. But the fact was they had purposely set up their rotation for Lowe to pitch this game on short rest, knowing full well that if the series got to a Game 7, Lowe would have been pitching on regular rest.
After the game, if I am not mistaken, I believe I heard Torre say they pulled Lowe because they didn't want to tire him out since he was on short rest, or something to that affect. Well, my question is, if you were concerned about tiring him out, why set up your rotation to start him, and why start him at all? The logic didn't really make sense, and five days later, I'm still having a hard time trying to understand it.
Now, as I said before, I'm usually not one who likes to blame the manager or even try to second guess him. Torre hadn't really given us any reason during the regular season to blame him for losses after handling the pitching staff in any sort of way. Game 4 was only one game, but it was more obvious, and more magnified because of the situation and because it was the playoffs. But again, pulling Lowe when he did, and using Wade on back-to-back nights when they hadn't all season, didn't make a whole lot of sense, considering too, that Kuo was doing just fine even after giving up that leadoff single in the 8th inning.
So now onto Game 5. After a much needed day off to get Game 4 out of their minds, they gave the ball once more to Chad Billingsley. Now keep in mind, Billingsley won 16 games during the regular season, had a very good 3.25 ERA, was second in the league in strikeouts and is considered one of the up-and-coming young pitchers in the league with the potential to be an ace. He pitched lights out in Game 2 in the previous series against the Cubs. But he looked awful in his last start in Game 2 of this series, and now was as good a time as ever to redeem himself. But you knew it was gonna be another long night when Phillies leadoff hitter, Jimmy Rollins, who had struggled throughout the series, led the game off with a homerun. The Dodgers were never in this game. After giving up two more runs in the third inning, Billingsley was pulled early again, this time having given up just three runs in less than three innings. But this was do-or-die now. Dodgers had to win this or else their season ends. The wheels really came off when Rafael Furcal started a comedy of errors (he had three total in one inning) and the Phils tacked on two more for a 5-0 lead. Phils starter Cole Hamels cruised through 7 innings, even after battling through several rallies in which Dodger rookie second baseman Blake DeWitt ended them by hitting into two double plays, and even after Manny lit him up for a solo homerun for the Dodgers lone run of the game. Final score: Phillies 5, Dodgers 1. Phils win series 4-1 and earn a trip to the World Series.
What irked me most about this game was the listless effort put forth by the Dodgers. They played Game 5, facing elimination, like it was just another mid-season game in July. They showed no heart at all. Billingsley couldn't get out of the third inning again. The defense was atrocious (they could have had two additional errors but got lucky). The offense couldn't get anything going, and when they tried, either the Phillies pitching and defense put a quick stop to it, or the Dodgers hitters simply couldn't get it done. The hitters were impatient all night, swinging at pitches down and away, swinging at the first or second pitch, or simply just trying to do too much and trying to swing for the fences. And it wasn't just the young kids, obviously still learning as they went along, who struggled on this night, but even some of the veterans struggled. Nomar, Kent, Blake, Furcal. Manny was probably the lone expception.
And speaking of Manny, just how good was Manny in the postseason? How about a single postseason record .520 avg (minimum of 25 plate appearances) in just 8 games, 4 homeruns, 10 RBI, a disgustingly sick OBP over .700, and a SLG % near 1.200 (the OBP and SLG % were also single postseason records, as well).
There was no question how important Manny was, not just to the team and organization, but to the city and the fans. He single-handedly and willingly carried the team on his shoulders. He created a buzz in the city and with the team that hasn't been seen in L.A. since Fernando-mania swept through L.A. in the early 80s. He made the Dodgers important again, and the talk of the town, even while the other L.A. baseball team, the Angels, were quietly going about their business with the league's best record. For two and a half months, during which time people in L.A. tend to start getting ready for USC football and/or Lakers basketball, no one even bothered to think about the Lakers yet. L.A. and Hollywood had become Mannywood!
We can only hope that Mannywood will be back for another two, three or four more years beginning in 2009. Now it's up to the Dodgers to go all out to bring him back (or face public scrutiny and a PR nightmare, or worse), and of course, it's now up to Manny, who said he loved L.A., to want to be back in L.A. All we can do now is sit back and wait and see.
