Taking half measures

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The Dodgers are off today as they will be the two Mondays after that. So, for a few days, the half-games that appear in the “GB” column in the standings will disappear.

Or at least for some teams, the Dodgers and Cardinals will have the same number of games to play until September 24, when the Dodgers will be off and the Cardinals will be playing in Houston. All the teams in the majors won’t be on equal footing (barring rainouts that can’t be made up) until September 28 when all 30 teams play the final six days of the year.

The Dodgers have an off day on the road as they head off to Phoenix to play a two-game series at Chase Field against the Diamondbacks. They will both start at the traditional screwball Arizona time of 6:40 pm. (Although Arizona is in the Mountain Time Zone, that state, with a few exceptions, doesn’t use Daylight Saving Time, so it’s effectively the same time zone as the Pacific Time Zone during baseball season.) The last time the Dodgers ventured to Arizona was in early July when they lost 3 of 4.

If the Dodgers can survive those two games, and there’s no guarantee they will, they will have their last best chance to get into a playoff spot with four games at home against the Cardinals.

Today, while the Dodgers are off, the Cardinals will be starting their West Coast road trip with a game in San Diego. The Giants will be travelling to Denver to take on the Rockies, who will be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs with a combination of losses or Cardinals wins that add up to three.

 

  • Anonymous

    Not pitching Kershaw was the right move, and to suggest Mattingly had anything to do with the decision is idiotic. Mattingly is not a doctor and he doesn’t have any say wether or not a player is medically cleared to play. And, as it turns out, Kershaw would have lost another game if he did pitch, as the Dodgers offense was once again a no-show.

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=713935344 Jason Ungar

       I agree. And if he did pitch and got lit up because he wasn’t ready to pitch yet then even more hope for the season would be lost.

    • Anonymous

      Agreed. It’s especially risky to let someone pitch with a lower body problem that might affect the delivery, and result in an arm injury. I think all of us here want Kershaw to have a long career, not one truncated by unnecessary risks.

      • Anonymous

        What difference would Kershaw have made?  The Dodgers didn’t score any runs.  Kershaw could have lost 1-0 just as easily as Joe Blah lost 4-0

        • Anonymous

          Maybe Kershaw would have driven in a run. If he is hurt then why risk him? But if he is hurt how is he available a mere two days later?

        • Anonymous

          i think the comment was probably based more out of frustration more than anything. 

    • Anonymous

      The right move to not waste him when the Dodgers couldn’t score.

  • Anonymous

    LAT’d: Over at MSTI, Mike Petriello has an excellent analysis of the futility of hitting A.J. in the No. 8 spot.

    • http://twitter.com/plaza234 plaza23

      One of the primary reasons that Donnie should and hopefully will be fired.  

      • foul tip

         Did you come here from dodgers.com comment section?

    • Anonymous

      I couldn’t figure out why he would hit behind Loney.

      • Anonymous

        Who’s Loney?
        :)

    • http://profile.yahoo.com/I3ZZ2QUOYTIRJPGJBDE4N3QN3A Michael

      It is good work; I just hated this sentence typical of his writing “The first thing you’ll probably notice is that there’s been no season like this in 50 years; the second, that you’ve never heard of any of these guys” I had heard of 2 aside from Dixie Walker whom he in the next sentence refers to as “best known for being a vehement opponent to welcoming Jackie Robinson into the Brooklyn clubhouse in 1947″ thus adding in a small way to the claim. See Dixie Walker’s Wikipedia article for a start toward more information. 

      • Anonymous

        I can’t believe I agree with this post 100%; it’s as if we are one person. Oh, we are. What an effort to get my name back.

  • Anonymous

    No more homages to former pinch hitters?

    • Anonymous

      I forget sometimes. This is hard work!

  • Anonymous

    from what i heard, i think they gave him a shot, cortisone?. 

  • Anonymous

    David Schoenfield of ESPN.com shows how the AL can finish in a 7-way tie for the 5 playoff spots with a 90-72 record.
    http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/28722/yes-we-could-get-a-seven-way-tie-in-al

    • Anonymous

      The contrarian in me thinks that would be delightful.

      • Anonymous

        I’d love it.  Of course, it’s extremely unlikely, to the point of absurdity.

        Just like anyone would have once said about the chances of pitching a perfect game in the World Series, or hitting in 56 consecutive games, or a bunch of other stuff in baseball.  :)

        • Anonymous

           Or getting a hit in 56 straight World Series games.

  • Anonymous

    Artieboy – the reason Kershaw is available two days later is because it takes the medicine (the cortisone shot) 48 hrs to do it’s job : relieve the inflamation.

    • Anonymous

      Would it have been medically unethical to have given him the injection on Friday even if he didn’t show any symptoms?

  • http://www.linkmeister.com/wordpress/ Linkmeister

    “Koufax used them all.
    After pitching, he soaked the elbow in ice water for 30-45 minutes.
    He received cortisone shots every other day.     He took Empirin before bed
    and even during games. He ate several meals a day so Butazolidin
    wouldn’t shred his stomach.”
    Read more at Suite101: Sandy Koufax’s 1965 and 1966 Seasons: Pitching through pain, Koufax was superb in his final seasons | Suite101.com http://suite101.com/article/sandy-koufaxs-1965-and-1966-seasons-a96709#ixzz266Ogog9e

    I really don’t want that to happen to Kershaw, and I suspect nobody here or in the Dodgers’ organization does.

    • Anonymous

      With today’s surgical techniques and other therapies, Sandy would probably have pitched longer, with less pain, than he did. I look forward to Kershaw’s start tomorrow, but if there was any doubt whatsoever, holding him out yesterday made sense.

      • http://www.linkmeister.com/wordpress/ Linkmeister

        Oh, sure. I imagine Koufax has occasionally wondered how his career would have gone if he’d pitched during an era when we knew more about sports medicine.

        It was the cortisone shot that Kershaw (and Kemp) got which reminded me of what Koufax did to keep pitching.

        • Anonymous

           Overuse of cortisone can be permanently debilitating.

    • Anonymous

      I find it slightly amazing that cortisone was the first line treatment then and remains so now.

  • Anonymous

    Since it was my comment that everyone in their infinite wisdom declare that “Oh yea, no way he could play”, then why did Kershaw say he could play.  I would think he would know better than anyone if he could play or not.  Also, how would any of you know that the Dodgers still would have lost?  Maybe, he would have been the one to get to Zito.  Plus, just having him on the mound would make a difference IMHO.  I bet it was Donnie’s decision.  And by the way, I lived and breathed Koufax in his heyday.  Believe me, KOUFAX WOULD HAVE PITCHED!

    • foul tip

       Koufax would NOT have pitched if his manager pulled him on advice of the training staff.

      “He (Don) also said Kershaw would have started if it was the seventh game of
      the World Series, “no question.” As big as Sunday’s game was, Mattingly
      said, improving chances that Kershaw would remain healthy outweighed the
      one game.”

      And “Falsone said the medical department wasn’t comfortable letting Kershaw pitch, even though he lobbied to. We’re the bad guys,” she said. “We didn’t feel comfortable for 60 or 70
      pitches. He got the cortisone injection, we’ll let the medicine work.”

      What would you and others who think like you say if Kershaw pitched, tore up his arm due to different mechanics of some sort, and was never the same again?  You’d never forgive Mattingly.  You’d say Don was warned not to to use him but did, and look what happened.

      I understand some people need a scapegoat to blame when important things don’t go well.

      But sometimes you have to just tip your hat to the team that played better (I did NOT say to the better team).

      Some days you get the bear.  Some days–or several days, like the last while–the bear gets you.

      Story those quotes are from:

      http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120909&content_id=38171362&vkey=news_la&c_id=la

      • Anonymous

        Say what you will but that decision cost the Dodgers a trip to the playoffs. By the way is Sue Falsone running the direction of the club now??

        • http://twitter.com/plaza234 plaza23

          How does not pitching Kershaw last night cost the team a trip to the playoffs?  The Giants are going to win the division by 5+ games.  1 game isnt going to matter.  Plus, Kershaw is going to make the same amount of starts anyway up until the end of the season – so it should have no effect on the wild card.

        • Anonymous

          “The decision cost the Dodgers a trip to the playoffs” ?
          That is inaccurate in several different ways.
          So Kershaw was going to account for 5 runs the Dodgers couldn’t score without him starting?
          Amazing.
          So the Dodgers will now go on to lose more games, keeping them from winning a WC spot all because Kershaw was held out for medical reasons for two days?
          Incredible.

          • Anonymous

            OK, let me make it simple for you.  If Kershaw had pitched, maybe the Giants would not have scored 4 runs.  If Kershaw had pitched maybe the Dodgers get a little higher since their ace is pitching a little nicked up.  That game mean’t the difference between 5 1/2 GB and a possible 3 1/2GB  game difference.  That difference puts more heat on the Giants.  I am sure the Giants are quite comfortable right now. The Dodgers needed to put the best possible team out there as this game was very very important. Mr. Donnie Baseball failed to do this. You just fail to see the forest thru the trees.  I hope you find this incredible too.

        • foul tip

           The decision was Don’s.  He made that clear by saying Kershaw would have pitched if it were a game 7.

          But in this day and age a manager ignores a recommendation from a trainer at extreme peril, given how good today’s trainers are and how highly she is regarded.

          This wasn’t just a quick opinion; she certainly knew the importance of the game.  Yet she gave her frank and best best medical opinion, which is what she’s paid to do.

          No doubt Don didn’t want to hear it, same as Kershaw didn’t.  But she won the day.

    • Anonymous

      If there is any question at all of his future health, I’m glad he didn’t pitch. it’s only one game, we’re going to lose 70 or 80 others, what’s one more…

    • Anonymous

      I’ll agree that Koufax would have wanted to pitch. And I have to add, after watching the Dodger hitters approach, Kershaw–who can be an intelligent hitter, might have been the guy to get to Zito

  • Anonymous

    What happened to Dee Gordon?  I thought he’d be back by now.

    • Anonymous

      I think they are trying to avoid a decision on playing him as long as they can because they are Ditdditd( Damned if they do Damned if they don’t). He has problems on both sides of the ball, but he is young and at an age where he very well may be an impact player soon!!

  • Anonymous

    I was at Petco Park yesterday — nice to see a team CAN bring in runners from scoring position . . . but I’m hoping the Padres saved some of that for the Cards!

  • Anonymous

    To me Dodger Stadium is a baffling place. But the only plan that could fit is to develop 2 or three good young starters to go with those we have. This is the place to start. I’m sorry I realized this so late because the Gnats had figured out what to do a while ago.

    • Anonymous

      Young starters like Lee and Reed?  :) Or like De La Rosa and Webster?  :(

      • Anonymous

        Did Ethan Martin also get traded? I think that was his name.

        • Anonymous

           On July 31st, 2012 Martin was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies along with Josh Lindblom for Shane Victorino.

          • Anonymous

            Martin, Lindblom, Eovaldi, Webster, RDR. It’s a staggering amount of arms we have sent away. I can’t recall a time we unloaded that many in such a short amount of time. Maybe we have I just don’t remember.

  • Anonymous

    One can argue about whether or not Kershaw should have pitched Sunday for quite a while. But
    1. The training staff did not think Kershaw could last as long as he normally would be able to.
    2. Pro athletes are conditioned to say they are always healthy even if they aren’t. See case of Matt Kemp v Coors Field Fence.
    3. There is a disturbing undercurrent in this discussion that a … GULP … woman made the decision.
    4. In the end, Kershaw should start the same number of games this season.
    5. A win over the Giants at this point is more of a psychological boost for Dodgers fans than the players. Even after winning Saturday, Adrian Gonzalez acknowledged that winning the decision was unlikely.

    • Anonymous

      6. The Dodgers have been losing games lately because the offense can’t score runs, not because the pitching has been deficient.
      7. With Kershaw pitching tomorrow, he is lined up to start the first game of the final series against SF. If he had pitched yesterday, he would have missed that series.

      • Anonymous

        Why is the hitting with A. gonzo Han Ram and Matt Kemp. so bad?
        I go with just (1) bad luck and (2) something about Dodger Stadium! Trying to buy bats to the point of 1/4 Bil. doesn’t help!.Its obvious the only things to try are pitching, defense, or more time. It is/could be a small sample size problem–lets hope so.

        • foul tip

           I vote for more time, which there may not be enough left of this season.

          And for players to stay within themselves.  As recently as yesterday’s dodgers.com game story,  Don said hitters need to follow the plan, which is to say they aren’t.

          He was referring to the team’s struggles against soft-tossing lefties.  But the same thing, follow the plan,  would apply against any pitcher.

          “Whatever it is, we’re not getting it done with this style of guy and we
          have to make adjustments, each guy. We have a game plan, but at some
          point they go up there to hit. They’ve got to go up there and execute.

          “Nonetheless, Mattingly said he still believes his club is only one day away from breaking out.”

          http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2012_09_09_lanmlb_sfnmlb_1&mode=recap&c_id=la

          • Anonymous

            I know what you mean and agree.. I see so many great dodger fans as beffudled as I am and I don’t blame them at all.

    • foul tip

      In #5  I think you mean winning the division but typed “decision.”  Feel free to delete this.

      • Anonymous

        Autocorrect is a cruel mistress

        • Anonymous

           Autocorrect uses whips and chains?

  • Anonymous

    Was Dodger Thoughts down for a few hours today?  I couldn’t bring up the website for a while until just now…

    • Anonymous

      I don’t know if the site was down. I was at the movies. Robot and Frank gets a thumbs up. Best robot librarian movie ever.

  • Anonymous

    Gordon is on the 60-day DL so a roster move would be needed to bring him back. With Kennedy out for the year and Uribe in internal exile, the Dodgers could use some IF help.

    • Anonymous

      That’s what I was thinking with my question above. A little speed at PR wouldn’t hurt either.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/I3ZZ2QUOYTIRJPGJBDE4N3QN3A Michael

    commented yesterday no trouble, how do I get mike_tink back?

    • foul tip

      Hover over Disqus logo at top of comments, drop down to edit profile, fix, save changes.  Should work

  • Anonymous

    The idea of what someone would have done in 1965 is not particularly relevant to today. If that were the case, all sorts of badly injured players would be out on the field.

    • Anonymous

      There is also a lot more babies out there now than there was in 1965

      • http://farinella.com/ David Farinella

        I wasn’t a baby until 1967, so I won’t take the above personally. 

        Ha.

  • Anonymous

    Is it known how Kershaw hurt his hip? Didn’t he dive for a bunted ball during his last outing? Who knows if that caused it.

  • Anonymous

    Onelki Garcia was the Dodgers’ third round draft choice this year. He is a Cuban who, iirc, missed a deadline that Puig made. It would have allowed him to get more money than via the draft. He played winter ball in Puerto Rico but, I assume, nothing after that until under Dodger control. They had him in instruction at Arizona until September when he joined RC for 1 game striking out 4 in 2 innings then was sent to AA where he relieved Chris Reed in a playoff game striking out 7 in 3 innings giving only a walk while the score remained 0-0. Here is a story from June about his defection:http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_20863265/dodgers-draft-choice-onelki-garcia-chasing-dream

    • Anonymous

      Thanks.

  • Anonymous

    Every half game will help, thanks Rockies

    • http://farinella.com/ David Farinella

      and San Diego.

  • Anonymous

    San Diego up 8-3 over St. Louis in the 8th.

  • http://farinella.com/ David Farinella

    Any word on Kemp’s shoulder?

  • Anonymous

    NPUT, and no I don’t know anything about Matt Kemp’s shoulder.

  • Anonymous

    Package206 : regarding your reply to me “3 hours ago” above – I’ll make it simple for you as well – the word *maybe* that you correctly used twice in your post proves my point beautifully :
    Pitching Kershaw would not gaurantee anything – it’s hard for me to understand you don’t grasp this – it wasn’t the pitching that lost that last game against the Giants – it was the ineptitude of the Dodgers offense – you seem to be saying that if Kershaw started the game, then all of a sudden that would have made the Dodgers hitters be able to pull thier heads out and actually make adjustments against a junk-ball lefty – the same type of pitcher that they’ve been losing to for the past month.
    What would he do for an encore? Walk on water? 
    Sorry, Package, hate to break it to ya - Kershaw is not a miracle worker.