Dre’s Post Season Bits

Now this is how one should spend time with his best friend

Now that’s what I call quality time with my best pal. Gonna be doing a lot of that in the following Saturday’s and Sunday’s to come between the 49ERS and UCLA. So who are your football teams ?

From The Twitter Feeds

Thank u 2 all my fans showing me mad love 2day. Surgery went well 2day and I'm ready 2 start this process of getting back! #GrindTime

— Matt Kemp (@TheRealMattKemp) October 22, 2013

Though we made it this far you’re presence was still missed out there in the NLCS. We can only hope that you can avoid any more serious injuries next year and that you’ll be patrolling the field deep into October 2014 !

It is with a heavy heart to say that I will not be returning to the LA Dodgers in order to pursue other opportunities within my career.

— Sue Falsone (@suefalsone) October 22, 2013

It was rumored earlier that Sue Falsone, the first female head athletic trainer in professional sports, would no longer be the trainer of the Dodgers and has been confirmed through her twitter account. So to Sue Falsone, best of luck to you pursuing other opportunities

Watching Puig tonight reminded me of Kobe's three air balls in Utah as a rookie. It's how he responds that will matter

— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) October 19, 2013

Funny she should bring this up because I brought this up to a friend of mine as well, in which his response was ” All future stars have to mature before they shine bright like a diamond….” @JBThirty2 . I’m confident that Puig, like Kobe, will have many more chances to shine in the spotlight.

Mattingly & Colletti press conference quickly got awkward. Hear some audio from it #Dodgers http://t.co/8DVsQ8qp9r pic.twitter.com/VxpnhNwLUE

— DodgersBeat (@DodgersBeat) October 22, 2013

As i’m sure all of you know by now, it is now out there that Don Mattingly’s status as manager for 2014 is up in limbo. Just one week after being assured of his job security, Mattingly and Colletti apparently are not on the same page as to whether Mattingly will be back beyond 2014, Don saying he does not want to be a ” lame duck ” manager. We can only wonder if some of Don’s questionable play calling in both the NLDS and especially the NLCS have a major role in this. When you think about it, this really is no different from a players final year of a contract. In other words, we can only wait and see based on how far the Dodgers go in 2014, that is, if Mattingly want’s to be around for the ride. ( From the look on his face Donny don’t seem to enthused about coming back )

The 109th World Series

Personally, I really don’t care to want to watch. Yes, this is the Dodger fan in me that’s talking, not the baseball fan. Yes, this Dodger fan is still hurt, as I have been 3 of the last 6 seasons now come October. But hey, life goes on, right ? And so does the World Series between the NL Champs , St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox. The Cardinals arrived to The Fall Classic after playing 5 tight games then knocking out Kershaw and our Boys in Blue in 6. The Red Sox arrived in all different phases, especially with the help of 2 huge grand-slams one by Big Papi in Game 2 of the ALCS that may have turned momentum of the series around, and the game winning grand slam in Game 6 by Shane Victorino ( Where was that clutch hitting in Dodger Blue last year Shane ? Yeah, i’m bitter !!!! ) The Red Sox boast a veteran roster particularly within their starting rotation while the Cardinals boasts some live young arms especially with the rookie Michael Wacha. Just like in their respective LCS’s, the series will come down to clutch hitting, something these two did very well in punching their tickets to this years Fall Classic. Dre’s Pick Cardinals in 6 MVP Matt Holliday

Getting Over My Post Season Hangover

Now that I have somewhat fully recovered from my post-season hangover, let’s now reflect….

Dre’s Take
“One of the key’s to the Dodgers beating the Braves was their clutch 2 out hitting. Both the Cards and Dodgers have outstanding pitching staff’s. The Dodgers, having disposed of the Braves in 4 games, should be well rested and confident with Greinke and Kershaw lined up to go in Games 1 and 2 in Missouri. The Cardinals bring a ton of post-season experience to the plate, having made it to the NLCS 3 years in a row….”
My words prior to this NLCS Showdown. The clutch hitting from the LDS ? Not much of it from either side during the first 5 games, which we’re close enough either team could have been ahead 3-3 or perhaps had the series knotted at 2. Or heck, that could have been the Dodgers up 3 games to 1 ? Well, in a series of what , again, many felt was a matchup between 2 evenly matched teams, it’s usually the team that get’s that one key hit that ends up winning….

Key Moments In the Series….

Game 1
Don Mattingly’s decision to pull Adrian Gonzalez out of the game for pinch runner Dee Gordon in the 8th inning of a tied game had critics coming out once again, and Gonzalez’s presence would be sorely missed in extra innings as twice, with a runner in scoring position, Hanley Ramierez would be walked intetionally to pitch instead to Michael Young, playing at 1st base for Gonzalez and occupying what would have normally been his spot. In both trips, Young fails to deliver, each time, his at bats ending in inning ending double plays,and Mattingly’s decision making would come into question once again…. In what would be a tight pitched ballgame from both sides into the home 13th, Carlos Beltran’s one out double would give the Red Birds the early lead in the series….
Beltran may have single-handedly beat us in Game 1, but Mattingly’s late game decision making sure didn’t help matters any…

Game 2
With runners on 2nd and 3rd and no out in the top of the 6th facing Cards rookie phenom Michael Wacha, the Dodgers best scoring opportunity goes all for naught as Mark Ellis would pop out, and after an intentional walk to Adrian Gonzalez , Yasiel Puig would go down swinging as well as NLDS Game 4 hero Juan Uribe, and Clayton Kershaw would be the tough luck loser despite allowing only 2 hits in a 1-0 decision, sending the Blue back to L.A. in a 2-0 hole….
Personally, I had no problem with this display of emotion even though certain Cardinals would have a problem with some of our players emotional outbursts later in the series. After all, it’s the playoffs !!!!! Everything’s big in October !!!!…..

Game 4
After taking Game 3 off Cards ace Adam Wainwright, the lumber would finally show up in the series. Unfortunately, it was the Cards who supplied the lumber, keyed by Matt Holliday’s 2 out 2 run blast to the Dodger bullpen. Cards pinch hitter Shane Robinson would hit a solo shot himself, and the Cards, with their clutch hitting, coupled with the Dodgers hitting into 3 DP’s, including a possible momentum breaking one by Yasiel Puig on a 2-0 count in the home 9th, it would be the Cardinals putting themselves in prime position for a return to the fall classic…. Holliday with the big 2 run homer in the 3rd… The Cards are one game away from The Fall Classic…

Game 5
Facing elimination, it would be the Dodgers who would bring the bats and the Cards who would fail to come up with the clutch hit as Zack Greinke, while not having his best stuff early one, would pitch a clutch 7 innings , pitching himself out of a early bases loaded jam in the first and also out of trouble in the 3rd as well, both times getting Yadier Molina to ground into inning ending double plays. This time, it would be the Dodgers who would bring the lumber, hitting a team post-season record 4 home runs, 2 by Adrian Gonzalez and one each by Carl Crawford and A.J. Ellis as they would stave off elimination and beat the Cards 6-4, sending the series back to St Louis trailing 3 games to 2…. Gonzalez rounding 3rd after belting the second of his two homers in Game 5 Not over yet indeed !!!! Back to Missouri we go !!!!

Greinke pitching out of trouble in the 1st….

Dodgers slug 4 solo shots, back to Missouri we go !!!! Gotta like our chances in Game 6 with Kershaw up next, right ?

Game 6
Well, is it really necessary ? I didn’t think so. But if it comes down to this again next year, I want Kershaw on the hill !!!! Unfortunately he and the boys just had one of those days, and, unfortunately, it was just a bad time to have it. It happens. So it’s the Cardinals who will be representing the National League in the World Series. Does this hurt, yes. Do the emotions run deep ? You bet they do, and if certain St. Louis beat writers don’t think otherwise, well, then they’re just full of it…But as I said in my last post, we win with class, we lose with class….

Other Thoughts
Aside from Game 6, this was really a close series. A hit here, a hit there, a healthy Hanley Ramirez and Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp in the lineup, who knows. But injuries are part of the game and to this point they did a valiant job of playing right through it. It just wasn’t enough….

Yasiel Puig brought a level of excitement that Dodger fans will be privledged to enjoy for years to come. Yes, he did look like a rookie at various times throughout the playoffs ( 4 k’s in Game 2 and his 9th inning double play in the 9th inning of Game 4), and yes, growing pains do come with them ( Yes, even the home run bat flip in Game 3 that went for a double and his stare down of the HP ump in Game 5), but let’s not forget, his presence from the day he went to the big show back in June gave the Dodgers and the fans a much needed boost in energy, some of which may have rubbed off to Adrian Gonzalez as well. And for the last time, for those who did not care for their so-called Mickey Mouse ways of enjoying their feats, oh well, that’s just the way we do it here in our Magic Kingdom we know as Dodger Stadium….

It was fun !!! Next year, we end this with a parade down Figueroa ….

AGon and The Blue…. ” See You Real Soon !!!….. Meet Me In St. Louie !!! “

But first, Game 5 of the 2013 NLCS in pictures….

PreGame

Long time local KNBC Sports reporter Fred Roggin….

My “pre-game interview” with Fred Roggin. We are going to pull this off right Fred ?

And from up in Reserve 51, Row A high up beyond the left field foul pole

My buddy Anthony. He may have passed on 12 years ago, but his presence was there yesterday. I know you’re watching up there in that Dodger Blue sky Anthony !!!!

Zack Greinke during pre-game warmups…

A.J. Ellis on the receiving end of a Zack Greinke fastball….

A couple more warmups from Zack….

Ready to Go !!!! Let’s Do This Zack !!!!

Nothing but Blue and White here !!!!

Cardinals outfield during a pitching change. Matt Holliday to Carlos Beltran and John Jay…” I’m not really looking forward to seeing Kershaw on Friday….”

The Bearded One !!!!

Time to GET HEEM !!!!

The bullpen anxiously looking on. We will send this back to St Louis boys !!!!

Jansen getting ready for the top of the 9th…

Jansen is warmed up now and ready to go….
Time to cue the entrance music…. Time to close this out and send this thing back to St Louis !!!! It was an interesting 9th as Jansen allowed 2 runs, but he would strike out the side and…. Back to St. Louis we go !!!!!

Scoreboards says it all…. Our annual end of the year pic with my favorite Dodger Stadium usher Daniel. I told you we’d get that pic deep into October !!!!

Bats Coming Alive

Up until Game 5 it was pitching, as well as missed opportunities that played into this being a low scoring series. The bats finally came alive in Game 4 as the Cards slugged 2 home runs and the Blue would hit into 3 double plays. Wednesday it was the Dodgers, on the brink of elimination, who brought the bats to the yard, cranking 4 home runs, a post season single game club record, 2 by Gonzalez, and 1 each by Crawford and A.J. Ellis, as the Dodgers staved off elimination en route to a 6-4 win, sending this NLCS back to St Louis for Game 6…. Yesterday, it was the Cardinals turn to miss some opportunities, blowing an early bases loaded no out opportunity to put a dagger into the hearts of Dodgers fans…. After tying the game at 2 in the top of the 3rd, Yadier Molina would again ground into an inning ending double play, and Zack Greinke would not allow another hit until his departure after the 7th…. I said before and throughout the series that one of the keys would be which team gets that clutch hit. St Louis had done just enough to position themselves to punch their ticket to the World Series, and Zack Greinke, while not on his best, grinded it out . So now, with Kershaw taking the hill in Game 6 in St. Louis against Cards rookie Michael Wacha, will it be the Dodgers turn, as they did, in Game 5, to do ” just enough ” to bring this to a decisive 7th game ?

The Power of L.A. Media ?

Four years ago, after Game 2 of the NLDS, the Matt Holliday game, I came across longtime KCBS sports reporter Jim Hill after the Dodgers stunningly beat the Cards to take a 2 games to none lead in that series…. The Dodgers would wrap it up in St. Louis, sweeping the Cards 3 straight. Wednesday before the game, I come across Fred Roggin, with the same except this time stained rally towel from Game 2 of the 2009 NLDS that Adam Wainwright gives us so much credit for…. Deja vu going into St Louis ? We shall see…

And Finally….

Mickey says to bring it home !!!! GO DODGERS !!!!