Dodgers Try To Recover Momentum In Rubber Game Against Padres

Dodgers Lineup vs. San Diego

Clayton Richard-12-12 vs. Aaron Harang-9-8

Man, the Padres are really annoying. They just won’t go away! The more I think about last night’s 11 inning 6-3 loss to San Diego, the more pissed off I get. These types of losses really stick in my crawl. I mean, we just basically gave that game to the Padres. We had so many chances to win it. Everything about that game last night was annoying.

The hundreds upon hundreds of missed scoring chances. The terrible hitting with runners in scoring position, and the nine men left on base. All of them went to the island of stranded base runners. The two, Tootblans at third base. One was in the first inning. Another first inning run served up to the opposition on Chris Denorfia’s home run. A costly throwing error from Luis Cruz in the top of the eleventh.

The turning point in the game though, was when Don Mattingly brought in that overpriced bum Matt “Give it away” Guerrier. I can’t believe we paid 12 million dollars for this loser. That’s two leads he’s blown, in two separate games. Last night, he came in and allowed a single, fly out, two-run home run, walk, ground-out, before he was finally hooked.

Could we possibly have the worst in-game strategic manager in Baseball? The Dodger bullpen has been decimated by injuries, and now we have to use bums like Guerrier in the eighth innings, because everyone is hurt. Of course this just points back to Mattingly’s atrocious bullpen management. Remember in the beginning of the season, I said he would blow out guys arms by September because of his non-efficient usage? Well, it’s already starting to happen.

The Dodgers found out, that Kenley Jansen will be available to pitch on September 17because the doctors want him to remain on blood thinners for a little while longer. Jansen has been suffering from an irregular heartbeat, and plans to have surgery in the winter to correct it. While Jansen is coming back in a couple of weeks, Scott Elbert is not. His Elbow is screwed, and it looks like he may need surgery. We also learned before the game, that Javy Guerra suffered a strained oblique, and was placed on the DL. Rookie Josh Wall was called up in his place. Not to mention Randy Choate’s bruised finger, although he pitched in last night’s game. The recent injuries are like a buzz saw, that randomly cuts through the roster. I’m like on pins and needles waiting for the next wave of injuries to screw us over again.

San Diego keeps throwing lefties at us. We’ve seen nothing but left handers the entire series. What is it with them? Do they have some kind of factory that produces young lefty noobs? They just kept coming at us, one after another. How can one team have so many dam lefties on their roster?

Then there is the Chase Headley problem. The guy is literally on fire right now. He has a .331 career batting average, and 441 OBP in 37 games at Dodger Stadium. He’s been the NL’s hottest hitter over the last month, and the best course of action is to just STOP PITCHING TO HIM! I mean seriously stop. There is no reason to pitch to him at all if there is a base open. You can’t tell me anyone else in the San Diego lineup scares you? I mean are you really that scared of Yonder Alonso? Carlos Quentin? The mammoth bat of Logan Forsythe, and his sub.250 average! Just stop screwing around, and stop pitching to him already. Then of course there was old friend Eric Stults. Who are the Padres going to throw at us next? Odalis Perez? Ismeal Valdez? No, none of those guys, it’s just old familiar foe, Clayton Richard, another lefty.

Richard is 6-2 lifetime against the Dodgers, with a 2.60 ERA. In his last start, Richard gave up three runs in 6.1 innings at Coors Field, but still got the win. The current Dodgers have actually hit him fairly well. They’ve batted .275 (42 for 153) off of Richard, with five home runs, and 20 RBI. Hanley Ramirez is 5 for 6 against him. Adrian Gonzalez is 3 for 3. Matt Kemp has done very well, hitting .385 (10 for 26), with two home runs. You know how else has hit Richard? Yes, Juan Uribe if you can believe it. Uribe is also hitting .385 (10 for 26), with two home runs, a double, and a triple. I better not see that Bums name in the lineup.  Andre Ethier has not fared well however, he is only batting .120, (3 for 25). Mark Ellis has also gone deep against Richard. The 28-year old lefty, is 12-12 against the league, with a 3.74 ERA. Remember, Richard doesn’t strike anyone out. (only 93, 4.4 whiff/9) He doesn’t walk anyone either. Only 39 walks, in 190 innings pitched. He is a ground ball pitcher, and recorded 13 ground outs in his last outing.

With the Bullpen totally burned out, Aaron Harang better be on his A-game tonight.  Harang is 4-5 with a 3.99 ERA against his former team. In his last start, Harang gave up three runs through five frames, but came away with a no-decision, since one of the runs he allowed, was because Andre Ethier lost a ball in the lights. San Diego is hitting .259 (28 for 108), off of Harang, with a .781 OPS, and five home runs. Chase Headley, the thorn our sides, has hit Harang well. Headley is .333( 4 for 12), with a home run. John Baker has also hit him well, for whatever reason. Baker is hitting .400 (6 for 15), with four doubles. Cameron Maybin, Will Venable, Andy Parrino, and Carlos Quentin, have all hit home runs, off of Harang. The Big Show is 9-8, with a 3.76 ERA, and 119 whiffs against the rest of the league. With the two teams playing back to back eleven inning affairs, the Dodgers need Harang to go deep in the game.

The only thing that salvaged the night last night, was that the Giants also lost in extra innings, and the Dodgers didn’t lose any ground in the division. The big series in San Francisco looms on Friday night. Can the Dodgers recover their momentum? The Dodgers MUST win this game tonight. No more excuses. No more screwing around. Join us after the game for more of our detailed game coverage. First pitch is at 7PM, and televised on Prime Ticket. No matter what the outcome, we’ll be here. Go Blue.