Where's the Tylenol?

We at SLAE are not always big on numbers, but let me throw out some numbers.

14 W - 17L (the Dodgers' record since the All-Star Break).

6-9 (the Dodgers' record in August).

4 1/2 (the number of games back in the NL West of the Rockies.

3 (number of blown saves by Broxton out of his last 5 opportunities).

0-2, 4.76 ERA (tonight's starter's, Chad Billingsley, numbers lifetime against the Cardinals).

We at SLAE are also not ones to panic when things turn bad.

Wait....yes we are.....P A N I C!!!!!!

After last nights systematic dismantling by Chris Carpenter and the Cards (which should please the Lone Reader), the NL West suddenly looks imminently loseable by the Boys in Blue. The numbers tell part of the story, but what is most concerning is that they are just playing bad baseball.

Carpenter, with all due respect, did not look particularly dominant last night. Evidencing the SLAE jinx, Bison Kemp struck out twice on HORRIBLE pitches, even after working the count in his favor. Casey Blake is going through his predictable decline to slap-hitter status (which belies his size and Beard), Furcal and Hudson continue to fail to spark the top of the lineup, and Manny still does not look like the Manny of old (and certainly not the Manny of last year).

I'll give some credit to the Cards (mostly for Lone Reader's benefit). Pujols is a frigging God. The guy seriously should just relocate to Mount Olympus. Ankiel hit a mammoth home run, and Ludwick made a beautiful throw to nail Ethier at third on a sac fly. But more than anything, they impressed me by making just enough plays to hang around until they got to poor Charlie Haeger -- which you just knew was going to happen eventually.

The Dodgers are playing right now without that confidence and assurance. Watching them, they don't look like they are always thiiiiis close to pulling a game out (as the good teams do), they look like they have to put up 9 runs in order to have a chance to win. And no team is going to do that in the playoffs (if they, gulp, get there).

So now the questions start: did the team get complacent (I think so); is the bullpen dead tired (umm, yeah); is there enough starting pitching to survive a stretch run and the playoffs, especially with Kuroda out for at least a start and of questionable effectiveness when he returns (we'll see); what the hell happened to the offense that was getting key hits early in the year and always seemed to have guys on base (who the hell knows).

All I know, is I am thiiiiiiiiis close to full-fledged meltdown mode, and if Billingsley can't beat
Mitchell Boggs tonight, and the Rockies win, I could spend the night curled in the fetal position in the corner of my living room.

How long until Longhorns football starts again?!?

Attack of the Bison

Not enough has been said here on SLAE (in fact, not enough has been said here lately, period) about one of the great young players in baseball. Anyone who watches the game today knows about Matt Kemp's athletic gifts. He has speed and burst like a good running back, power, a penchants for great plays on defense, and a nice arm. He is now hitting .313/.372/.494 and has a nice OPS of .866. He has 16 homeruns, 76 RBI, and, oh by the way, is 24 years old. All those things would be enough to make me worship at the altar of the Bison.

What I really enjoy about Kemp, though, is the emotion he brings to the game. He, of all the younger Dodgers, really seems to have benefited from Manny's presence and, I think, it has most to do with the fun Manny has while playing. Watching Kemp, he is smiling, laughing, talking throughout the game. He makes a great catch, he yells over to Either. He gets a gork single, he is laughing with Mariano Duncan at first base. He hits a home run, and you can seem him enjoying the moment with his teammates in the dugout.

Not enough players these days enjoy sports that way -- the way that sports need to be enjoyed. There are certainly enough things in our day-to-day life to be serious about, and sports should not be one of them. Certainly we fans are going to take these games WAY too seriously (football season is less than a month away, after all), but losing ourselves to the emotion of the game is part of the fun. From the players, I want to see reminders that these games are entertainment. I want something to make me smile, something that inspires me to not take life so seriously (if only for a little while). More than anything, I think that is what we need from our sports these days.

That and a World Series championship!

Separated At Birth?

I think I have found a long-lost family connection. I suggest you tap into that contract...

Moving Weekend

Well, it appears this weekend may be moving weekend, and in more ways than one. The Penny family is finally uprooting in favor of its more permanent domicile, complete with all the joys of home ownership. And it appears another Matt (though one that is decidely more wealthy) will also be relocating.

I know 100% of our readers will be thrilled with the move (though losing Brett Wallace has got to hurt), but I'm here to throw a little water on the fire. First, let's see how Holliday does when he doesn't get to play half his games at Mile High Coors Field. Oh, wait a minute, we have seen what he does. He is slugging .454, nearly 90 points off his career of .541. He has a grand total of 11 home runs. And how is he going to like playing in LaRussa's constant tinkered-with lineup?

Oh who am I kidding!?! The prospect of a Pujols-Holliday lineup scares the bejeezus out of me, since it looks like the Dodgers' road to the World Series is going to have to pass through St. Louis. Damn it! Now the Boys in Blue had better get Doc, if only so we can screw the announcers and have a Halladay v. Holliday matchup.

Calling all buyers

If the Jays wanted to audition Doc for potential trade suitors (not that it's really necessary), today can only help.

Versus the Red Sox, Halladay went the distance. Stop me if you've heard this before. W, 9 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 105 pitches. Doc retired his final 11 batters and threw 78 of 105 pitches for strikes. Just another vintage Halladay performance.

It remains to be seen if this was Halladay's last start for the Blue Jays. When asked about Halladay after the game, Terry Francona had this gem:

“I stand by what I said the other day,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona joked. “They should have traded him the other day, and to a National League team.”

Again, let's not forget that Halladay does what he does versus the AL East. I would love to see what he would do in the National League. We may get to find out soon enough.

He is Still the King

Well, the NL's record of futility continues, and I, being an NL guy, am disappointed this morning. I thought the top 4 in the NL lineup would be revved up to prove themselves, and there are no four other guys that you want revved up besides Hanley, Utley, the King, and the Hebrew Hammer. Alas, there is one other guy you want apparently, Carl Crawford. That catch was ridiculous.

Still props need to be extended for the first half turned in by last night's man of the hour (and the only bright spot on my dismal fantasy team). For some perspective, let's note that Vernon Wells signed a 7 year, $126 million contract in 2006 after coming off a season where he went .303/32/106. Albert Pujols, AFTER 90 GAMES!!!, has this line: .332/32/87. That is inhuman (and frankly, inhumane to NL pitchers). What's more, the guy has absolutely no protection in his lineup, which makes his performance even more remarkable.

Still, as we at SLAE like to look at the big picture (and, as Longhorns fans, have a decidedly what-have-you-done-for-me-lately attitude), I have to ask where El Hombre ranks in the Pantheon of greatest baseball players ever. Is he one of the top 5 players ever, as his stats would suggest? He has made the playoffs 5 of his 9 years. He has won 7 out of 11 postseason series, and hit a collective .323/13/35 in those series. However, he has only 1 World Series title (compared to a guy like Jeter who has 4). His performance at such an early age puts him alongside guys like Foxx, Aaron, DiMaggio, Mantle, and Gehrig....and yet I feel like there is just something separating those guys from Albert. Am I wrong? Am I swayed by the "romance" of old-time baseball?

For that matter, is it fair to judge baseball players along the same lines (championships) as we would, say, quarterbacks or basketball stars? Baseball is the ultimate individual game (pitcher versus hitter), but at the same time it is the ultimate team game (a hitter generally has four chances total to really change a game). So how will Albert be remembered?

Say it Ain't So, J.P.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4311661

Although, the prospect of trading Kershaw is certainly intriguing....