Ok, so I am a bit late with my blog, so what! What are you gonna do about it? Pitch to Chipper Jones or something??
Sometimes when I see Chipper Jones play I harken back to the days of Dale Murphy and the monster games he used to have against the Dodgers back in the day. It makes me want to do what I wanted to do back than, sneak up behind the guy in the parking lot and give him the old Tomohawk chop right in the back of his head!
Seriously though, this guy seems to just kill the Dodgers for whatever reason and it drives me nuts. Hitting two bombs from each side of the plate? What the hell is that? And to top it off we have to hear and see with the close up camera zoom angle, Vin tell us about how he uses two different colored bats, one for each side of the plate. Jones is one of the game's premier switch-hitters, and decided on this night that he would break old Dale's record becasue he was playing against the Dodggers. The Horror, the sheer horror. Hank Aaron breaks the Babe's record against the Dodgers and now Chipper Jones breaks Dale Murphy's record against the Dodgers. Once again, the horror, the sheer horror.
"When you think about people that are identified with the Atlanta Braves, you think of Hank Aaron and you think of Murph," Jones said. "Just to be in the same breath with those guys -- Hank, Murph, Eddie Mathews, it's a tremendous honor. I've been very blessed."
Screw you Chipper!! Next time you play the Dodgers Gagne is gonna put one right behind you're ear pal! Err, wait, I forgot Neddy let Gagne go, so it will have to be Broxton or Saito, or Stults, or Chi-Hsu Tsao or...ahh crap forget it!!
Injuries are starting to mount up on the starting rotation and the bull-pen, and having to rely on these kids that are called from Triple AAA LAs Vegas is like putting a grip down on black at the roulette wheel - stupid..
Penny had a rare bad outing and you could say it had to do with a blister on his hand, but that would be making excuses and guys from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma don't make excuses, they just git er' done!!
I am worried though about Penny, can he keep up the pace through the second half? We shall see, we shall see..
There were a few other things that were strange about this game, like the smoke that filled the stadium and field on or around the 3rd inning or so.. Vin said it was due to a local fire, but I grew up in H-Town in the 80's and know better, it was Cheech and Chong bobble head night at the Ravine and the faithfull were out in droves...
Doc
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Friday, July 6, 2007
July 5, 2007 - Dodgers v. Braves
What a long game that was! Let’s take a closer look at some of the events that shaped this incredibly long game, inning by inning, shall we?
1st inning - With 2 outs and a 2-1 count on the batter, Brad Penny mysteriously calls a time-out and receives a manicure on the mound. Seizing the opportunity, Nomar Garciaparra gets a Swedish massage. Not wanting to be outdone, Rafael Furcal gets a facial with a seaweed body wrap while James Loney and Russell Martin order mineral waters with lemon.
2nd – While describing the effects of a fire located somewhere outside the stadium, Vin Scully, Hall of Fame Broadcaster and an icon of the Dodgers franchise, utters the phrase “You can really smell it.” The comment makes the wife chuckle a bit.
3rd – The Dodgers make more bad throws than I care to count. The only thing missing from this inning was the circus music. In the bottom of the inning, as if his .200 batting average and one-handed showboat catches don’t already reflect his lackadaisical attitude, Andruw Jones completely misplays a ground ball in the outfield. Nice job Andy. He’ll probably only get $120 million over six years from the Yankees this off-season.
4th – This inning featured my favorite offensive play in baseball; the triple. The Dodgers celebrate Juan Pierre’s leadoff three-bagger by stranding him at third the entire inning.
5th – Bobby Cox makes his 1st appearance of the evening. Amazingly, he is not thrown out of the game. Somewhere back in Georgia his therapist breathes a heavy sigh, relieved at the incredible sign of ‘progress’ his patient just displayed.
6th – Larry Wayne Jones, Jr. (AKA Chipper) ties the Atlanta Braves record for career homeruns. Forget about that Aaron guy. We’re talking Atlanta here. Eric Karros holds the equivalent record for the Los Angeles Dodgers, while Duke Snider holds the all-time franchise record. Sort of makes you wonder who the respective HR record holders are for the Los Angeles Angels, California Angels, Anaheim Angels, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, doesn’t it?
7th – Vin Scully points out something that has been dreadfully obvious for a couple of hours now – neither side has had a 1-2-3 inning.
8th – Chipper, or as I like to refer to him, L.W.J.J. strikes again, passing Dale Murphy on the Atlanta HR list. Murphy was the best offensive player in the league when I became a baseball fan back in the early 80s. He played for the Braves when Joe Torre was manager. You know, before Torre miraculously became a so-called ‘great’ manager. I guess a $200 million payroll can buy a manager’s over-rated reputation as well as an underachieving baseball team.
9th – In a rather cruel twist of irony, in a first for either team, the Dodgers go down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 9th to end the game…..FINALLY!
As far as Dodger games go, this one really stunk. I believe Vin Scully said it best when he said, “You can really smell it.”
1st inning - With 2 outs and a 2-1 count on the batter, Brad Penny mysteriously calls a time-out and receives a manicure on the mound. Seizing the opportunity, Nomar Garciaparra gets a Swedish massage. Not wanting to be outdone, Rafael Furcal gets a facial with a seaweed body wrap while James Loney and Russell Martin order mineral waters with lemon.
2nd – While describing the effects of a fire located somewhere outside the stadium, Vin Scully, Hall of Fame Broadcaster and an icon of the Dodgers franchise, utters the phrase “You can really smell it.” The comment makes the wife chuckle a bit.
3rd – The Dodgers make more bad throws than I care to count. The only thing missing from this inning was the circus music. In the bottom of the inning, as if his .200 batting average and one-handed showboat catches don’t already reflect his lackadaisical attitude, Andruw Jones completely misplays a ground ball in the outfield. Nice job Andy. He’ll probably only get $120 million over six years from the Yankees this off-season.
4th – This inning featured my favorite offensive play in baseball; the triple. The Dodgers celebrate Juan Pierre’s leadoff three-bagger by stranding him at third the entire inning.
5th – Bobby Cox makes his 1st appearance of the evening. Amazingly, he is not thrown out of the game. Somewhere back in Georgia his therapist breathes a heavy sigh, relieved at the incredible sign of ‘progress’ his patient just displayed.
6th – Larry Wayne Jones, Jr. (AKA Chipper) ties the Atlanta Braves record for career homeruns. Forget about that Aaron guy. We’re talking Atlanta here. Eric Karros holds the equivalent record for the Los Angeles Dodgers, while Duke Snider holds the all-time franchise record. Sort of makes you wonder who the respective HR record holders are for the Los Angeles Angels, California Angels, Anaheim Angels, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, doesn’t it?
7th – Vin Scully points out something that has been dreadfully obvious for a couple of hours now – neither side has had a 1-2-3 inning.
8th – Chipper, or as I like to refer to him, L.W.J.J. strikes again, passing Dale Murphy on the Atlanta HR list. Murphy was the best offensive player in the league when I became a baseball fan back in the early 80s. He played for the Braves when Joe Torre was manager. You know, before Torre miraculously became a so-called ‘great’ manager. I guess a $200 million payroll can buy a manager’s over-rated reputation as well as an underachieving baseball team.
9th – In a rather cruel twist of irony, in a first for either team, the Dodgers go down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 9th to end the game…..FINALLY!
As far as Dodger games go, this one really stunk. I believe Vin Scully said it best when he said, “You can really smell it.”
July 5, 2007 - Dodgers v. Braves
I somehow haven't seen a Braves game in like 10 years, so when I remember Andruw Jones, he looked a lot more like this:
Now he's older, fatter, and acts like he makes millions of dollars. I know it's the last year in his contract, but has anyone told him he could get another one if he plays well? It's almost like he had a rough start, and now figures "I can't get a big payday, but I'm Andruw Jones, someone's going to pay me anyways... Screw it, I'm going to goof around and see just how much my name is worth!" At one point he swung on a strike so hard that his entire body twisted up, cartoon-style and he almost fell to the ground. Later, during a rally by the Dodgers, Andruw botched a play in the outfield. Juan Pierre was crossing the plate at the time and was probably thinking "I can't believe that's not me out there!".I did love the fight in Penny, he made a few mistakes early and was clearly pissed about it. Helping him fuel a couple of "hate pitches" and a 3 RBI(!!!). You know, a guy who can pitch better when he's angry is always a plus. Can someone key his car, or something before his next start? If we do make the playoffs, someone might have to sleep with his girlfriend...
Watching this game, I realized that one of my favorite parts about watching, is listening to the mellifluous flowing narration by Vin Scully. Players change numbers and teams, teams change owners, locations, jerseys, logos and colors, but when you have a treasure like Vin Scully it's soothing to know that he'll never change. We're lucky to have him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)