We won. And League didn't blow it. Do NOT pinch me. This may be the best dream in a long time.
Warning: This post is full of Opinions. Consider yourself warned. I do think we got lucky on a couple of counts: first, Mattingly went to the bullpen too early. Does he not know what our bullpen is like?? So Lilly walked a guy! Big deal! But sure enough, the bullpen blows a perfectly good game pitched by Ted Lilly - who pitched well enough to earn a win. Had Mattingly allowed Ted Lily to pitch to one or two more batters, he may have gotten the win. Maybe we could have avoided the Cardinals tying the game if.... But we'll never know. Alas, I may have to take back what I said in my post yesterday. Maybe Mattingly doesn't have what it takes. Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't. I don't know anymore. Ugh. I have no idea what he was thinking. Brief Girl Talk: Sigh... "Men." They have no idea how we think, and we have no idea how they think. I guess we can call it even. (I was always an Aiden fan myself)
I still think some major upheavals need to be considered. As it turned out, Rodriguez followed Bellesario (at least we avoided Give-it-Away-Guerrier- ugh). And in the end, after the Dodger bats showed a little extra life,... Paco got the win. So ridiculous how that works out, I know. I have never wholly agreed with that whole last pitcher of record stuff... ugh. I also left the game as soon as League came trotting out of the bullpen. I refuse to watch him pitch. He makes me nervous. Yes, yes, he got the save. Look, even a blind man can find a black sock in a dark room every once in a while. (Remember those opinions I warned you about?? There have already bee a few in case you hadn't noticed...). Was tonight's Brandon League the Brandon League we need to see more often? Of course. Was tonight's Brandon League the reborn Brandon League we will see from now on? We'll see. Let's discuss Kemp for a minute. He seemed agitated at being benched mid-game after Adrian Gonzalez was pitched around to get to Kemp... and then Kemp struck out. Look, I adore Kemp. He's a nice guy. He's amazing to say the least. But he's in a major slump. AND WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME A PITCHER PITCHED AROUND SOMEONE TO GET TO MATT KEMP?! He should be more insulted at THE FACT THEY PITCHED AROUND SOMEONE TO GET TO HIM... AND IT WORKED! Kemp and Ethier really heard it from the crowd in the stands tonight. I never "BOO" my own team. It's just not right. I will turn my back or look away if someone comes onto the field I don't care for. I will leave the game even. But I will not "BOO" them. Apparently, however, there are plenty of other fans who do not share my sentiments. Funny, I was just telling a nearby fellow Dodger fan at the start of the game that I was surprised that the fans had not turned on Kemp and Ethier yet. Well, tonight they certainly got an earful. But Gonzalez had a great night. Bummer that the ever elusive triple didn't come to complete the cycle for him, but he had a great night. And what a great compliment to be pitched around. New Girls: Pitch around means the Pitcher intentionally walks a batter because they feel they have a better chance at getting the next guy out. Pitchers will do this if they think the situation calls for it and the current batter is a true threat. That all said, tomorrow it's Kershaw on the mound. Pitching art at its finest. I expect to be mesmerized. (I couldn't decide which I preferred, so I included both Ava Gardner and Hedy Lamar here, respectively, left to right. Either one will probably resemble my expression at tomorrow's game, although I am the first to admit they both out glam me hands down.)
But before I sign off for the evening, Girl Talk: Today was a good game, plenty of action, and the Dodgers fought back. It was refreshing to see. It's like those last 5 pounds you've been fighting to lose, and you are so tired of stepping on the scale and seeing the stupid number never change. Then all of a sudden, you check again, and wham! You've lost 2 pounds. It's not the ultimate goal, but it's still a good feeling. You were trying to lose the few extras in the right, healthy way for the right, healthy reasons, and it finally worked. Look, no one is perfect. But we can only do our best to try and be better each day. And that's what the game can be about, if we just let it be.
Kershaw on the mound tomorrow... 1:10 p.m. game... Sweet!
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