Russell Martin - LA Times.com

Wow.  So it wasn’t quite supposed to be this way.  I’m glad for it, but wow.  I honestly do feel for the Giants and their fans because they were trying to make the playoffs for the first time in a long time.  They weren’t really a threat to the Dodgers, so these games didn’t matter as much against them. 

The Dodgers are essentially torpedoing all chances the Giants have of even making the playoffs.  At this point we should cut them some slack so there is the chance to see them in the playoffs rather than the Rockies.  We seem to have the Giants number. 

Ok – now back to the other side of my brain.  Yee Ha!  Go Blue!  That’s the way it should be!  Blow them out!  Show them who is number one in the league!  Show them the offense they have wanted all year!  Yes there is pitching, but you need both pitching and offense!  Ok – that’s better.

Credit Padilla tonight and Russell Martin.  Padilla really may be the missing pitching piece the Dodgers needed.  I was just reading an article about how well American League pitchers do in the National League because it is an easier league.  Whatever the case, he may very well be the dark horse #1 pitcher going into the  playoffs.

I have to tip my hat to Russell Martin tonight.  No matter what can be said against him this year, he really does hit well against the Giants.  Even more, I do have to give him some credit for the pitching staff.  No one expected the Dodgers pitching to be top notch, but here they are with the lowest ERA in the National League.  The pitchers are pitching, but credit the same catcher all year who really is guiding them well.

The amazing stat I heard recently is that the Dodgers have scored well over 100 more runs at this point in the year than the Giants.  There is the difference in the teams.  100 runs is a lot of runs.  The Dodgers seem to have found their offense again and hopefully they can ride this through.  I was glad to see the Rockies lose tonight.  Them Padres seem to be playing good ball these days and we need some more breathing room..

And to end tonight – the Manny Belly Flop.  No matter what is said about him – he hustled and gave one heck of a visual head first diving into 3rd.  Superman Manny in more ways that one.

So I’ll be at the game tomorrow.  For you all you fans in blue, I’ll meet you at the McCovey statue out front hopefully between 12:30 and 1.  I’ll have this hat on (click here) and my blue Dodgers batting practice jersey.  Hopefully they won’t lose tomorrow as the last game in the series, but at least the Dodgers already took 2 of 3.  (I have to have something to say back to Giants fans who taunt me….)

Go Blue.

Casey Blake - LA Times

Yee Ha!  What a way to start.  Big wins are always fun…especially when you live up here.  Sadly I won’t be at work the next few days for the weekend, because it would have been really fun to talk about this game.

I’m making it official.  Casey Blake is my favorite player on the Dodgers right now.  If you’ve read this blog, you know I’ve been partial for a long time.  I like Manny and Loney and Pierre, but Blake just gets the job done.  He is a good guy and a great player.  Sometimes up, sometimes down, but he is clutch when they need it.  I’m glad to see his body seems to be ok after resting for a bit. 

My prediction rang true that the Dodgers would have the advantage, but it definitely wasn’t what I expected.  Matt Cain is a good pitcher and the Dodgers ate him up.  It’s interesting how Manny is just playing smart these days.  He’s hit a few homeruns of late, but he’s trying to hit to the right side and he was involved in driving in runs tonight.  I agree with people that something seems a little off, but he’s a good enough player that he’s still contributing.

It was great to see Loney playing well too.  He has a sweet swing.  I still think he’ll win the batting title some day, but he when he connects, man does he drive it.

We saw history tonight too.  Buster Posey is the Giants true catching prospect, and he made is major league debut.  They’ve been talking about this guy for weeks as he just tore up the minors this year.  What was interesting was that they’ve had him in the majors for almost a week and he hasn’t been in a game.  Bruce Bochy said he was waiting for the right time, but it was weird that they waited so long.  I guess that being down 7-1 was long enough.  Based on his stats we’ll be seeing a lot of him, and he seems to be the heir apparent for Bengie Molina.

It was real interesting reading the local papers today to see what they said about the series this weekend.  What was interesting was that there wasn’t a lot to read.  The Giants are on the cusp of not making the playoffs and everyone knows the Dodgers are better, they just hope they can stay close to still catch the Rockies.  The Giants are playing the Dodgers this weekend, but the focus is the next series with the Rockies.  As a Dodgerfan, I wanted the big story on how important this series is…but none of that was there.  The focus was Tim Lincecum’s back, Buster Posey being in the bigs, and the hope to catch the Rockies.

Bring on tomorrow and Sunday.  If anyone is going to the game on Sunday, let me know and we can meet up.  The Willie McCovey statue might be a good place before the game.  E-mail me at scott@sfdodgerfan.com.

Go Dodgers.

Here’s the pitching match ups for the 3 games:

Friday
Hiroki Kuroda, RHP (5-6, 4.15)
Matt Cain, RHP (13-4, 2.51)

Saturday
Vicente Padilla, RHP (10-6, 4.63)
Jonathan Sanchez, LHP (6-11, 4.03)

Sunday
Chad Billingsley, RHP (12-9, 3.93)
Brad Penny, RHP (9-8, 5.15)

Learned something new tonight – The Dodgers have a great probable pitchers write up that gives a great comparison of each of these pitchers.  (Click Here)  It’s a good write up on their recent performance, but it stays nuetral on who will win….

I won’t stay neutral.  Here’s my picks.

Friday – Advantage Dodgers.  Matt Cain will out pitch Kuroda, but as always, the Dodgers will break it open against the bullpen.

Saturday – Advantage Dodgers.  I think Padilla can beat out Sanchez.  Sanchez is pitching well of late though.

Sunday – I hate to say it since I’ll be there, but Advantage Giants.  Billingsley just doesn’t seem to have it right now, and Penny is a man on a mission to stick it to the Dodgers.

Bottom line – they will be close…especially if Broxton does the closing.  The Dodgers again need to take 2 of 3 to stay on top and show who should take the division.  The Dodgers were fortunate not to face Lincecum this series.  That is the big concern up here is whether his back will be ok.  He is their Ace and they want him back.  There were even conspiracy theories up here that he was kept out a game to set him up against the Rockies on Monday.  It doesn’t ring true though because they need him to win every game he can…not sit on the bench.

I was hoping for a Padilla/Penny matchup to see if my brawl prediction comes through, but it could still happen.  If Padilla brushes someone back, Penny may try to finish it off the next day.  I should have plenty to write about if their is a brawl when I’m there on Sunday.

Keep coming back – more to come each day of the series.

Manny Ramirez - MLB.com

Can you feel it? It’s September and finally the Dodgers and Giants play each other again. It’s amazing what a season can bring, and suddenly this long awaited series is already taking on a different look than a week ago.

First things first, if you haven’t been here in a while, you’ll see that I’ve tried to spruce up the place a bit. Some of it has been in the works for a while, but hopefully it will give you a little more of what you want at your fingertips. I’ve also added SF Dodgerfan t-shirts and sweatshirts for all of you up here who want to show your pride of being a Dodgerfan in the Bay Area. (Use the link to the side, or Click Here)

I just watched the Dodgers walk in the winning run against the D’backs tonight…they just aren’t as sharp right now.  Having said that, the Giants keep slipping while the Rockies keep gaining, so this weekend is really to keep the Dodgers on top and keep the Giants in it.  The Giants could fall out of this quickly if the Dodgers play well this weekend.

I think the real key this weekend will be Manny.  He seems to be hitting better and he rakes against the Giants, so hopefully he can lead the way.  Lots of people are pointing out his age and that he isn’t hitting well of late, so I’m sure he wants to quiet that as soon as possible.

I will be at the game on Sunday.  I already got one e-mail, so if you want to say hello at the park, send me an e-mail at scott@sfdodgerfan.com.  Go Blue.

Brad Penny - Sports Illustrated

It’s amazing what can happen in a week. I thought all the trading was done…but apparently not for the Dodgers and Giants.

The Dodgers get Thome and Garland (who I have wanted all year) and the Giants got Brad Penny.

This whole Brad Penny thing is really interesting. I’m calling it now, Brad Penny will cause a brawl with the Dodgers.

Between Vincente Padilla and Brad Penny, it should be an exciting series between the Dodgers and Giants here in September.

Brad Penny was mad at the Dodgers for not signing him long term last year. The Dodgers weren’t thrilled on his attitude and work ethic and were concerned on the health of his arm.

They seem to have gotten his health strong as he pitched without problems with the Red Sox. Pitched healthily…but not well as they released him. (Score a point for the Dodgers)

Now the Giants have him and he’s a man on a mission to get back to at the Dodgers. He proved he can still pitch last night, so it should be quite the battle down the stretch. I still think the Giants needed more offense than pitching, but he helped them win another game, so the gamble paid off.

So I’m calling it here first. There’s going to be a rumble this year, and now the Dodgers and Giants both have guys who can do it.