What Happened Here?

Soul-crushing. Gut wrenching. Mind blowing. These are phrases that leap to mind as I try to put into words last night's Dodgers loss.

Quickly following these phrases are questions: How does Broxton walk Matt freaking Stairs on four pitches with 1 out and nobody on in the bottom of the ninth? How does he hit Carlos Ruiz with a pitch? Do the Dodgers just lack the killer instinct necessary to put a team away in the playoffs? Is this series over and, if so, will this Dodgers core ever win or do they lack some necessary element that needs to be obtained before the core is broken up by free agency? Will my head explode as I continue to hear Chip Carey fellate the Phillies throughout Game 5?

Baseball is, at its core, a game of failure. In that respect, as a baseball fan I should be insulated from these types of losses. But this feels like the failure of a Dodgers era -- call it the post-Gibson era. With so many hopes pinned on the young Dodgers stars, watching them crater in such a magnificent fashion (lead by, arguably, the best of them) undercuts not just this season but the whole theory behind this team. Some teams have that "winner" element that allows them to succeed in the most pressure packed, intense situations. It goes beyond the ability to relax (which Torre stresses so much) and treads into a combination of urgency and serenity that is typically referred to as confidence (though I don't think that captures it). I am starting to wonder if this iteration of the Dodgers has it. The inability to put away the division when it mattered. The epic failures of last year and this year against the Phillies. The season-long tendency to play down to their opponent. All these facts suggest this team embraces failure a bit too much and lacks "It."

There are lots of "X's and O's" issues that could be discussed about this game. Ted Barrett's umpiring giving Ryan Howard 4 strikes before his 1st inning home run. The Dodgers leaving the bases loaded after tying the game with 2 outs. The inability to get to the horrible Phillies bullpen for an insurance run or two. Sherrill's struggles in the 8th that lead Torre to call to Broxton an inning early (and for him to sit for 18 minutes while the Dodgers batted in the top of the 9th). Baseball turns on these things. But such discussions seem hollow when the soul of this Dodgers team seems crushed.

Some day, I hope, my baby girl will become a sports fan. I will sit with her watching our favorite teams and try to teach her what there is to love about grown men playing meaningless games for our entertainment, and will attempt to give her the passion that makes sports great without the fanaticism that makes losing so hard. And she and I will, at some point, have to face a game like last night. Then, as today, I will not know what to say.

Thank god the 'Horns won.

Penny's Prognostication

First off, and let me get this out of the way, I apologize for the horrible title of this post. That is really, really awful. I just can't resist a good alliteration (or even a bad one).

Baseball is an especially hard sport to handicap. Unlike football or even basketball, so much of the outcome in baseball is dependent on circumstance, fate, chance, or plain luck. In football, plays are highly coordinated, and control of the ball is prized almost beyond all else. The team's ability to execute the plan effectively is the most important element of victory. In basketball, athletic ability reigns above all else. If you can run faster, jump higher, or shoot better, you're likely to win. Baseball is the only sport in which, once it leaves the pitchers hand, the ball is largely out of human control for much of the dispositive duration of the play. When you are attempting to hit a round ball with a round bat squarely, you're happy enough to make solid contact without worrying about where the ball travels after you hit it.

The difference between winning and losing can come down to whether the ball travels 100 feet or 150 feet, is four inches to the left or right, or if an idiot fan reaches over the fence and catches a sure out. With that much luck involved, picking which team is going to prevail -- especially over a short series -- is nearly impossible. Yet we at SLAE are never ones to back down from a challenge, so I am going to make some predictions and comments.

AL Series
Yanks over Twins in 4
No commentary needed.

Angels over Red Sox in 5
I think this pick is as much because the Red Sox aren't themselves as that I like the Angels. Papi is not the same as he has been in prior postseasons, and, frankly, neither are the Sox since Manny left. Plus, I don't think you can count on the Sox pitching to dominate the small ball lineup of the Angels. I think the Sox lose to the Angels at their own game.

NL Series

Rockies over Phillies in 5
I will follow this paragraph with a totally contradictory and hypocritical discussion of how momentum doesn't matter, but I think the Rockies are playing too well to lose to the Phils. Lee and Hamels have limped down the stretch, the lineup is not performing as impressively as last year's championship lineup, and the Rockies have more ways to win games than the Phils. That said, I think these teams are very evenly matched. Losing De La Rosa could actually swing this series in the Phils favor.

Dodgers v. Cardinals
I don't buy the standard argument that the Dodgers are dead in the water because of their last week. All year, this team has played to the level of its competition, and losing to Washington, Pitts and S.D. in the last week is not that surprising in light of that fact. Further, the Cardinals have actually had a worse September and October than the Dodgers, so that argument cuts both ways.

I do, however, buy the argument that this is not the same Dodgers team as showed up in the first half and ran up such a gaudy record. The Dodgers were at their best when O-Dog was getting on base, Blake was hitting homeruns, and there were no "easy" outs in the lineup 1-8. Since just before the All-Star break, Hudson and Martin (who looks exactly like Turtle from Entourage) have basically been guaranteed outs, and Furcal's improvement has not been enough to offset Hudson's decline. Now we are starting Belliard in Hudson's place, and I think its safe to say he is a total mystery on whom we cannot count for performance. Blake has reverted to his decidedly average form, and Loney's improvement is not enough to offset that lost performance. All in all, there are outs to be had in this lineup, and the Cardinals are the type of team that knows how to get those outs and make the most out of them.

Now, anything can happen if Kemp/Ethier/Manny get hot, but they have only been tepid for the past month, which leaves this team exactly where it has been for the past month, about a .500 team.

The Cards, on the other hand, do lots of little things well. I swear Brendan Ryan's defense won at least 2 games against the Dodgers this year. Their pitchers pitch to contact and still get outs. They don't rely too heavily on their bullpen. While their offense can still disappear at times, I don't feel like the Dodgers pitchers know how to make the most of the outs in the Cardinals lineup. The loss of the first-half version of Billingsley really hurts this team, since he was a guy that was able to dominate a game on any given day.

In short, to win any game the Dodgers need either (1) a dominant performance from their starter or (2) a dominant offensive performance. I think the Cardinals are exactly the type of team that does not give up dominant offensive performances or permit dominant performances by opposing starters. That does not bode well for the Penny household

Cards in 4.

Seasons

There are moments in the cycle of life that encourage one to stop, reflect, and enjoy their implicit wonder. Perhaps it is the turning of the seasons from Summer to Fall (can't you tell, its only 90 with 90% humidity out), perhaps it is the pending arrival of a child that makes one feel very mortal, or perhaps it is the end of the daily grind of baseball's regular season and the "beginning" of conference play in college football.

This year presents a confluence of all these occurrences for me, and that has made me somewhat introspective. How lucky are we to have arrived at this time of the year? A week of fall rain has saved me mucho energy and $$ spent on watering my lawn. We are closer to the arrival of my (as yet unnamed) baby girl than we are to the date of her conception. The crucial stretch begins for the Horns this week (though hopefully Colorado does not prove to be a worthy opponent). The Dodgers have (finally, exhaustingly) clinched the West and move on to the glorious playoffs (there is nothing better than playoff baseball). To top it off, they will face the Cardinals first, renewing one of the great MLB rivalries of all-time and stoking the flames of hatred between yours truly and the Lone Reader.

And, if I may, Summer and Fall are acting very Spring-like for my co-author, bringing a renewal and rejuvenation of sorts.

There will be opportunity for preview and predictions before Wednesday's first game. Certainly, my sanguine mood will be replaced by a surly, pessimistic gloom as the prospect of Carpenter/Wainwright/Piniero v. Wolf/Kershaw/??? grows closer. But for now, let's just enjoy a day of calm, reflection, and happiness for all.

Except for OU. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!

"Carnack" Stockel

First, sorry for the mistaken post earlier. What kind of site are we running here?: I hit one wrong button and whoops! there goes everything.

More importantly, we are now 3 games into the college football season. SLAE was founded, in part, to allow us to make bold, visionary predictions that would be cherised for all posterity -- and subject to endless ridicule when inevitably wrong. In that misanthropic spirit, I went back and reviewed David's pre-summer prediction thread regarding the Horns.

My god, David, what is in the water over there at Legge Farrow!! Let's review:

Game Pick Score

UL-Mon Tex 55-6 Tex 59-20

Wyoming Tex 45-14 Tex 41-10

Tech Tex 49-24 Tex 34-24

So, after three games, including 2 against garbage opponents where picking the score is compromised by meaningless end-of-game points, you are: within 4 points of our score against ULM, within 4 points of our score and Wyo's score, and dead on with Tech's total (a huge surprise given we haven't held them to 24 points since 2005.

What's more, you said we would beat ULM by 39, and we did. You had us beating Wyoming by 31, and we did. That's just sick accuracy!! I seriously hope you laid some money in Vegas because... well... SLAE has its eye on a hot Cisco server and wants to show her the bling-bling. If your trend continues, things definitely bode well for the Horns (and you should quit this law thing and start up a Phil Steele-esque phone line).

Predictions asside, what we saw from the Horns left a lot to be desired. The D was excellent. Say what you want about the second half passing yards, but Tech is going to get those yards no matter what, and holding them to 24 is an accomplishment. The O....not so much. I've been to CLE's with more action than our offense showed in the first half. I don't know if the flu really got to Colt, if this season is going to be 2007 redux, if he broke up with that hottie of a girlfriend or what, but he is just not the same QB as last year. That might be fine if our offense utilized any other weapons besides him, but ... as they say ... live by the spread offense, die by the spread offense.

Something tells me this team starts to gel in the next few weeks, and that game with OU becomes a monster. I know that if the OL doesn't get its act together, I'm going to get an ulcer watching OU's D-line.

Showdown at the OK Corral

Its getting near time. The weekend is fast approaching. One of the participants is a brash upstart, talking a little trash and hoping its swagger will help it win the day; the other is an old powerhouse, the establishment, the tried and true that is confident...nee cocky?...in its prospects. Who will win out? We will see this weekend.

Wait... what?? You thought I was talking about Texas vs. Wyoming. Hell no!! I meant Comcast (parent company of Versus) against DirecTV!! Unfortunately, this ridiculous business brouhaha is likely to prevent me from watching our Horns go off against Wyoming and its long football tradition of ... well, even my in-depth internet research can't turn up any players I've heard of, so it must not be much of a tradition.

How in this day and age is it possible that we can't watch this game!?! Come on people. It is frigging Versus network! I have more leverage with my pregnant wife than they do with DirecTV. How many people really sign up for DTV with the hope of catching the Versus channel nightly? Now that the NHL is back from the hinterlands, what is even on Versus? Mountain biking? Custom hot rod design shows? Extensive late night infomercials?

I can't believe an agreement hasn't been reached between Comcast and DTV on this, but I guess it just goes to show that the anger and bickering we see on TV every night is actually governing the businesss of TV also. I am jealous of those (brilliant) among us who will be dining on Cowboy Saturday evening in Laramie. Wait, that didn't come out sounding right....

Oy Vey!!

If this keeps up, I may just start using SLAE to talk about health care reform...

It is bad enough for the Dodgers to lose a baseball game, especially in the midst of what is shaping up to be an historic collapse in the NL West, and especially on a night when the Rockies magic appears to be fully taking hold. But to lose a game when your ninth-inning reliever commits a throwing error on a simple grounder, then walks in the winning run, that is just stupendously infuriating.

The faith that I once had in this team is nearly entirely gone. I feel like each goal I set for the team is being systematically broken, one by one. I am reduced to satisfying myself with the reality that (in all likelihood) we will still make the playoffs; then I want to puke at the thought of settling for the Wild Card. Each day feels like one tiny failure after another, which is horrible because we are still in first place. Imagine what happens if (when?) the Rockies pass us. I can't imagine how the team can have any confidence left.

Remind me, why do I follow sports?

And So it Begins....

I hate to think, but am starting to believe, we have this to look forward to all season:

1. Fozzy Whittaker will be a game time decision on Saturday.