Baseball, The Greatest Game!

After the Braves and Dodgers traded grand slams in last night’s eighth inning, Vin Scully could barely contain his excitement. And why not. Grand slams by opposing teams in the same inning has only happened four times in the National Leagues since 1900, and you can bet none of those times was as thrilling or as high and low for both teams as last night’s histrionics.

It’s a reminder why baseball is the greatest of all sports. I’ve been a baseball fan for more than 30 years, and I’m sure I’ve never seen two grand slams in the same inning, or if I did, it was in an early inning of a 13-12 slugfest. And if I think I’ve seen a lot of games, think how many Vin Scully has seen. He’s been calling games since the Babe played.

And yet last night Scully and I both saw something we’d never seen before. It’s practically a cliché to say you see something you’ve never seen before every time you watch a baseball game. But it’s a cliché because it’s so often true. And it’s something you certainly can’t say about football, basketball, hockey, or any other sport. Can you imagine how boring basketball or football would be if there were 162 games in their seasons?

Watch the highlights of a basketball game on SportsCenter and you’ll see the exact same scenes repeated ten times. A guy cuts through the lane and lays one up, a guy slams down a dunk, or a guy hits a three. The narration need be little more than “he scores. He scores. He scores.”

Contrast that with a baseball game, where the highlights might be a key single, a diving catch, or a big strikeout in a tough spot. Or a play at the plate where the winning run scores. Or an outfielder turning a home run into an out.

Increasingly, and disturbingly, what we see on SportsCenter are recaps of homeruns. If you want to know where the demand for players on steroids lies, look no further. But home runs are not responsible for every outcome. Last night’s Dodger game was unique because of the opposing grand slams. But it will also be remembered for LaRoche’s inability to make an out on J.D. Drew’s grounder, which extended the inning and allowed Bradley to come to the plate.

The game typified the Dodger season so far. Dodgers scratch out a lead with single runs, then the starter comes unraveled and blows it all in one big inning. But the bullpen shuts it down, and the cardiac kids mount a furious late-inning comeback. The Dodgers may not be the best team in the National League, but oh are they a fun team to watch.

Unraveling

The Dodgers come home with their tails between their legs after getting smoked by the St. Louis Cardinals in three out of four games at Busch Stadium. The 2005 Dodger team bears little resemblance to the one that captured the NL West for the first time in a decade—Cesar Izturis and Milton Bradley are the only remaining everyday players; Odalis Perez and Jeff Weaver are the only holdover starting pitchers.

But this team does have one thing in common with the 2004 team: It can’t beat the Cardinals. In four straight games, St. Louis toyed with the Dodgers, resting a key player in each game, yet still pounding the Dodger pitching staff for 32 runs. From the Dodgers’ perspective, the most disturbing part of the trip was how everything started to unravel all at once. In the opener, Los Angeles hung with St. Louis up until the fifth, when Albert Pujols blew open the game with his second homer of the night.

In game two, the Dodger frittered away a 3-0 lead, then allowed a four-run fifth to put the Cardinals ahead 7-4. They showed resolve by coming back and winning the game, with a six-run inning of their own, but you never had the feeling they were confident about it. In game three, Brad Penny had two outs in the fifth inning of another 3-3 tie, but came unraveled after the opposing pitcher singled to start a six-run outburst.

And in yesterday’s debacle, a bad call by the second base umpire allowed the tying run to score, causing Derek Lowe to come unglued and give up three more runs after that. It was reminiscent of Lowe’s previous start against Cincinnati, in which he held the Reds to one hit over the first five, then self-destructed in the sixth, allowing six runs before being relieved.

I’ve given the Dodgers offense credit for never quitting no matter how far behind they get. But the pitching staff hasn’t shown that kind of grit so far. The minute adversity strikes, the starters seem to implode, turning one- and two-run innings into full-fledged rallies. It’s also becoming apparent that the Dodgers’ comeback-ability may have a lot to do with the fact that they keep falling behind.

The bullpen has shown a great talent in shutting down the opposition after they build a big lead, allowing the Dodgers to mount comebacks. In fact, this is the only part of the team that remains largely intact from last year’s championship club, returning Giovanni Carrara, Duaner Sanchez, Yhency Brazoban, Wilson Alvarez, and Eric Gagne to their accustomed roles. It’s time for the starters to start following their example.

Not-So-Hot Corner

The Dodgers started Olmedo Saenz at third base yesterday, making him the fifth different player to start at the hot corner, and the third in three days (journeyman Mike Edwards and utilityman Oscar Robles handled the job the previous two days). Edwards gets the start today.

When you have that many guys at one position, you really have none. Even Jose Valentin, who won the job out of spring training, is more of a shortstop by trade. Now that he’s injured, the Dodgers again have to address a situation that they never really dealt with over the off-season when they let Adrian Beltre go.

Beltre has been something of a disappointment in Seattle, where he has been hitting more like the Beltre of 1998-2003 than the MVP candidate he was in 2004. Paul DePodesta has to happy that he didn’t commit $65 million on the basis of one season.

But the Dodger rotation is full of sinkerball specialists who benefit from a tight infield, something the Dodgers had in Beltre, Izturis, Alex Cora, and Shawn Green. Only Izturis remains from that foursome. Jeff Kent has been better than expected, but the collection of players who patrol first and third have been iffy.

Placido Polanco of the Phillies is being talked about as a possible replacement until Valentin returns. Polanco has a decent glove, though he’s more of a second baseman than a third baseman. He’s a career .293 hitter, with not a whole lot of pop (51 career HR). To get him, the Dodgers will have to give up prospects, even though Polanco is a man without a job in Philadelphia at the moment.

I don’t see giving up future value for a player who isn’t a significant upgrade over Antonio Perez, who is getting a crash course in third base . Perez is reportedly reluctant to move from his preferred position of second base. That’s foolish. Jeff Kent isn’t going anywhere for the next two years. But third is a revolving door. Perez has an opportunity to crack the big league roster at third; if he performs well, he could become a fixture there.

SECOND-GUESSING AT THIRD
You have to wonder why the Dodgers fell in love with Jose Valentin. He’s never really been a third baseman over his career, and he’s averaged over 100 striekouts over his 11 full years in the big leagues. His lifetime batting average is .243. The Dodgers signed him to a one year $3.5 million deal.

For less money (one year, $2.15 million), DePodesta could have inked Joe Randa, a lifetime .286 hitter with a higher on base percentage than Valentin’s (.342 to .322) who has averaged fewer than 65 strikeouts a year. Cincinnati signed Randa, and he hs played a solid third base for them.

Randa also has a great nickname, Joker, for the way the sides of his mouth naturally curl up at the edges. The only interesting thing about Valentin’s face is his pornstar mustache. He and Jeff Kent could make a movie together. What should the title be?

a) Midnight Dodger Blue
b) Getttin’ to Third Base
c) Goin’ Deep
d) __________________(write in)

Show Me

The Dodgers showed me something yesterday. They showed me that they may be able to hang with the elite teams in baseball. The Cardinals, who humbled them in the playoffs last year, have the same record as the Dodgers, but going into this series, they seemed the stronger team.

Their front four of Mark Mulder, Matt Morris, Jason Marquis, and Chris Carpenter appeared superior to the Dodgers’ rotation of Penny, Lowe, Weaver, and Perez. And the middle of their lineup--Walker, Pujols, Rolen, and Edmonds—inspires much more fear than any four hitters the Dodgers can send to the plate.

What these off the cuff comparisons fail to account for is the bullpen. Even without Eric Gagne, the Dodgers’ bullpen has been practically flawless, never giving up a lead after the eighth, and picking up the slack when the starters (especially Scott Erickson, who again failed to get out of the fifth yesterday) don’t have it. The Cardinal bullpen, on the other hand, seems to be reeling from the loss of Jason Isringhausen. And luckily for the Dodgers, it was journeyman Kevin Jarvis’s turn to pitch.

I’m not sure why you’d sign a guy with a 5.97 career ERA; I’m even less sure why you’d bring him in to relieve Morris, who admittedly was struggling, but probably could have held on to a 7-4 lead for one more inning.

But Tony LaRussa loves to make pitching changes, especially those in the middle of an inning, necessitating a boring conference on the mound and a lengthy commercial break. You’d think the guy had stock in AFLAC. LaRussa used five pitchers yesterday, and has called on the bullpen 91 times in 32 games.

Hee Seop Choi also showed me something. He showed me he’s been working on his defense—he made several sparkling plays at first base yesterday to cut down big innings. He reminded me that he’s a huge physical specimen, getting the best of a collision with the equally Bunyanesque Scott Rolen. Rolen had to leave the game, while Choi hit the three-run homer that capped the Dodgers’ six-run sixth (there are those sixes again when Scott Erickson starts).

The Dodgers also showed once again why they are a fun team to root for. They are never out of it. Jim Tracy has them truly believing that no deficit is insurmountable. After blowing a three-run lead and then falling behind 7-3 in a hurry, most teams would have quit. But the Dodgers came back immediately. Jeff Kent banged a homer to lead things off, and the scoring was just getting started.

And Yhency Brazoban showed me that he is the goods. He made Jim Edmonds look silly in the ninth inning, and whiffed Reggie Sanders, who had hit two homers off Erickson. With Brazoban closing games, the Dodgers have hardly missed Gagne. It’s hard to think of this bullpen getting even better, but moving Brazoban to the eighth and Gagne to the ninth will give the Dodgers a 1-2 punch reminiscent of the 1996 Yankees (Rivera to Wetteland) or the 2002 Angels (Rodriguez to Percival).


NOTES
In talking about J.D. Drew’s fine catch in right field, Steve Lyons, commentating for Fox Sports, showed that his Psycho nickname (now there’s a nickname!) is not that literal. Lyons said something I have believed for a long time: the only time an outfielder should slide to make a catch is to avoid a collision. These days, you see centerfielders routinely make sliding catches with nobody else around.

That’s the wrong approach. Sliding slows you down. That’s why you should never slide into first base; you can run faster. Same for the outfield. If you run, you make that catch easily. But if you slide, you get on SportsCenter. . . if you make the catch. If you miss, there’s a good chance the ball bounces over your head, since you are so much lower to the ground. Sliding makes sense to slow down when you’re about to hit a wall, like Drew was yesterday. But not in center.

Eight Out of Nine Ain't Bad

The Dodgers continued their winning ways yesterday with an impressive shutout of eight of the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mike Edwards and Jason Phillips both hustled out of the box to beat the relays on double play grounders and keep innings alive; the Dodgers capitalized by getting timely hits to drive in single runs in the fifth and eighth innings.

Odalis Perez was masterful, scattering six hits over his six innings of work. He danced around trouble in the second, third, and sixth innings, putting runners on base, but bore down and prevented them from scoring. The bullpen did its usual scoreless outing.

Unfortunately, Albert Pujols was the ninth St. Louis player in the lineup, and he single-handedly sent Los Angeles to a depressing defeat. He homered twice off Perez, driving in all four Cardinal runs. His first-inning solo shot put St. Louis up 1-0, before the Dodgers scraped together a run in the fifth to tie the game. But with runners on first and third in the Cardinal half of the inning, Pujols fouled off several tough pitches before crushing a 3-2 pitch into the centerfield stands.

It’s official: Odalis Perez can’t get this guy out. Pujols was 2-2 with a walk and four RBIs against the Dodger lefty; in his career, he’s 8-for-12 when Perez pitches. Those aren’t Ruthian stats; they’re cause for a March of Dimes event. It’s a mystery why Perez would ever give him anything to hit. He should show Pujols more balls than a New Orleans cotillion season.

It sounds like a classic second-guess, but I would have walked Pujols in the fifth inning last night. The go-ahead run was already on third, and while first base wasn’t open, second base was. Scott Rolen, who hits behind Pujols, has struggled all season, and is 5-for-24 in May. The slump is even affecting his gold glove defense: he made two errors last night. He had already fouled out twice against Perez, and after the Pujols homer, Rolen grounded weakly to short.

Oh, by the way, Mark Mulder struck out 12. He was great. I’ll bet Billy Beane wishes he had gotten more for this ace lefty.

NOTES
After designating Norihiro Nakamura for assignment, the Dodgers purchased the contract of Oscar Robles, who is playing in a Mexican league. But because Robles couldn’t get to St. Louis in time for the game, the Dodgers were a player short on the bench last night (Which was already shortened by J.D. Drew’s illness). As result, Jim Tracy had no right handed bats on the bench to pinch hit, and had to use the lefties Jason Grabowski and Hee Seop Choi in key pinch-hitting situations that called for a right-handed bat. Both whiffed.

Nakamura did not impress in his short stint with Los Angeles, and he probably would have struck out too had he been called on to pinch hit. But the Dodgers got caught with their pants down. They knew they were facing the lefty Mulder last night; they could have waited one more day before making the roster move. Or they could have told Robles to get to St. Louis a day earlier before releasing Nakamura.

Alternatively, Tracy could have called on pitcher Jeff Weaver, who has pinch-run in the past. Weaver, who is hitting .278, and had a key double in Sunday’s win over Cincinnati, has as many hits against lefties (1) as Choi and Grabowski combined. Jayson Werth can’t get back soon enough.

Good Start for a Hard Trip

The Dodgers had a pretty much perfect day yesterday. No, Jeff Weaver did not hold the woeful Cincinnati Reds hitless, or even scoreless. He didn’t go nine innings, and he wasn’t ever dominating. At times, you felt like the whole game could implode on him the way it did to Derek Lowe on Saturday.

But the Dodgers did what they had to do. Weaver allowed home runs with the bases empty, and bore down when runners were on. Luckily, he was facing a team that leads the major leagues in strikeouts. And he contributed to his own cause, driving in the first run with a gap double.

Jason Phillips, who scored that run, provided all the necessary offense with a grand slam that turned the game (and the series) around. Take away Phillips’ hit and the Dodgers maybe go on to lose two out of three after bashing the brains out of the Reds on Friday night. Then we’re talking about how the team has lost its focus, going 6-10 since opening 12-2.

But all is right in Dodgerland because they beat a team they were supposed to beat, opening their most difficult road trip of the year by taking two out of three. Weaver pitched into the seventh, and the bullpen did its job. Even Sunday Night Baseball announcers Joe Morgan and Jon Miller, who usually find some inanity to beat to death, did little to upset an extremely pleasant evening.

Now if they can just get rid of that annoying 7th-inning stretch “Sound Check.” I assume it’s intended to win a crossover audience of music fans, but honestly I can’t fathom why somebody who likes music would sit around for six and a half innings of baseball waiting to see an interview with a musician. I certainly wouldn’t watch two and a half hours of MTV to see a two-minute feature on Cesar Izturis.

Notes
Hee Seop Choi’s failure to field a hot grounder to first on Saturday opened the floodgates of Cincinnati’s six-run sixth inning. The official scorer called it a hit, but a good first baseman has to come up with that play. Choi is finally hitting, but he’s a liability in the field. Compare that with Olmedo Saenz’s performance at first last night, stabbing a line drive and turning a nifty 3-6-3 double play in the third.

What's in a Name

Remember the good old days, when players had nicknames that meant something? Ron Cey was known as the Penguin for the way he walked. Graig Nettles was Puff because his sparkling defensive play had him disappearing in a puff of smoke. Dick Tidrow was known as “Dirt” for his habit of diving in the dirt for balls during pre-game warm-ups.

Today, there’s hardly a Babe, a Lefty, or a Sparky in the bunch. These days, what passes for a nickname is a shortening or lengthening of a first or last name (e.g. Sheff for Gary Sheffield, Eck for Dennis Eckersley, Ersty for Darin Erstad) that could have been made up by someone who has never met the player (and perhaps was). Even Randy Johnson’s moniker, The Big Unit, could have been invented by anybody who read the 6’10” on his bubblegum card.

Even worse are the initials that announcers use to persuade the audience of their bosom-buddy closeness with players. The commentators for the Los Angeles Angels of the 91 freeway are the most heinous practitioners of this travesty. They use initials in combinations never used before: G.A. for Garret Anderson, A.K. for Adam Kennedy, and just plain Q for Robb Quinlan. It’s a wonder they don’t refer to catcher Bengie Molina as B.M.

When Troy Glaus was with the team, they had the annoying habit of referring to him, Anderson, and Vladimir Guerrero as The G-Force because all three had Gs in their name. What insight! Thankfully, Glaus has taken the Superfriends name with him to Arizona, where Luis Gonzalez and Shawn Green fill out the other two spots. At least all three LAST names start with G.

But the most moronic trend in sports (not just baseball) has to be the first initial of first name, first syllable of last name nickname. Now that Jennifer Lopez has pleaded with the media to call her Jenny from the block and to forget about J-Lo, can we please stop with A-Rod, I-Rod, H-Rod (remember Henry Rodriguez?) D-Lowe, T-Long, D-Fish, et al.? (I’ll make an exception for K-Rod (Francisco Rodriguez, since that at least invokes his ability to strike out opposing batters).

These nicknames are maddening because they show even less imagination than initials. Everywhere outside Anaheim and wherever R.A. Dickey and U.L Washington were from, use of initials rather than a name usually indicates a double-entendre of some sort, a reference to some other common usage of those initials. JR for junior, JP for justice of the peace, DA for District attorney, JD for juvenile delinquent, OJ for orange juice, AC for air conditioning.

For similar reasons, players with the last name Waters are usually nicknamed Muddy, while those surnamed Rhodes are often known as Dusty. It hardly qualifies for a seat at the Algonquin Round Table, but at least it shows a glimmer of thought.

The A-Rod type nickname, on the other hand, demonstrates no imagination, no sports knowledge, merely an ability to do the Anna Anna Bobanna Banana Nanna Fofanna song with a player’s name. With the exception of K-Mart, the only discerning it requires is an ear to prevent you from actually uttering even stupider possible nicknames like D-Jet, M-Teja, J-Gia, B-Bon, A-Puj, or V-Guer.

If we can’t come up with a better nickname for a player than T-Helt, maybe we should just refer to him by his name.