Sep 15

Sorry for the comment confusion

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Yesterday I upgraded WordPress (the publishing system for the blog) to version 4.0. Then I tried to access the comments and got an alarm saying the comment database needed to be upgraded, with no alternative but to click OK. I did, and Disqus (the commenting system) went sideways.

With a little bit of angst and a lot of frustration, I got it to work first thing this morning. We seem to have lost one comment on the Pooh and Piglet image post from John_from_Aus, but since that was asking about the commenting system, I think we can get along without it.

Sep 14

Game 149, 2014

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Dodgers at Giants, 1:05PM PT, TV: SPNLA, CSN-BA

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Francis Scott Key’s most famous composition, there will be special events honoring the National Anthem before today’s games. In Baltimore (site of Ft. McHenry, class, had you forgotten?) there will be a special program, and in other ballparks the video montage PBS has been using to promote its production Star-Spangled Banner: The Bicentennial of our National Anthem will be shown.

One hopes the Dodgers didn’t wear out their bats in yesterday’s 17-run explosion.

Clayton Kershaw goes after win number 19 this afternoon at AT&T Park. There’s not much left to say about what he’s done this season, except that his hitting has fallen off. He’s hitting just .161 this year with 19 strikeouts in 56 at-bats after hitting .182 last year, .207 in 2012 and .225 in 2011. His ERA has, unbelievably, also dropped from last year. In 33 games and 236 innings last season Kershaw’s ERA was 1.83. This season over 24 games and 177 innings it’s 1.67.

His opponent will be Yusmeiro Petit, a 30-year-old right-hander who first came to the big leagues in 2006 with the Marlins. He’s bounced between the minors and majors with two more teams since then, going 19-24 overall. Earlier this season he set a major league record by retiring 46 consecutive batters before allowing one to reach base. In his last outing he threw 84 pitches in a complete game win over the D-Backs.

Lineup:

Sep 13

Game 148, 2014

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Dodgers at Giants, 6:05PM PT, TV: SPNLA, CSN-BA

Zack Greinke brings his 14-8, 2.73 ERA to the game. His opponent will be Tim Hudson, who’s 9-10 with a 3.12 ERA. Hudson is 214-121 with a 3.43 ERA in a long and distinguished career. He’s hungry for postseason, not having played there since 2010 with the Braves. Greinke is 120-90 in his career with a 3.56 ERA.

If the Giants win the two teams are tied for first in the NL West. If the Dodgers win they’ve got a 2-game lead.

Lineup when available.

Sep 12

Game 147, 2014

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Dodgers at Giants, 7:15PM PT, TV: SPNLA, NBC Bay Area

Hyun-Jin Ryu faces Madison Bumgarner. Ryu is 2-1 with a 5.40 ERA against the Giants this season; Bumgarner is 2-1 with a 2.41 ERA against the Dodgers this season. This year Ryu is 14-6 with a 3.16 ERA overall; Bumgarner is 17-9 with a 3.02 ERA overall.

It will be Greinke v. Hudson on Saturday night and Kershaw v. Petit Sunday afternoon.

Lineup when available.

Also from Twitter: “The Dodgers have selected the contract of LHP Scott Elbert from Triple-A Albuquerque, and designated RHP Red Patterson for assignment.”

Sep 10

Game 146, 2014

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Padres at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FSSD

The Dodgers send Dan Haren out to do battle with Ian Kennedy. Haren’s 12-10 with a 4.17 ERA and has had three consecutive good starts. Kennedy has already made five starts against the Dodgers this year, going 0-2 with a 3.90 ERA. He’s 10-12 with a 3.75 ERA overall this season.

The Padres have beaten the Dodgers three of their last five meetings, which is not what you’d expect in games between the first-place and third-place teams in the division.

The Diamondbacks play the Giants tonight at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Josh Collmenter goes for the D-Backs and Ryan Vogelsong goes for the Giants.

Lineup:

Huh. No Gordon. Just resting, I hope.

John_from_Aus linked to this article at Dodgers.com in the comments to the last post. It’s a discussion of Puig’s slumping bat. Is it just a slump or could he be injured?

Sep 09

Game 145, 2014

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Padres at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FSSD

Roberto Hernandez attempts to get his game back in order after struggling his last three starts, going 1-2 with a 6.46 ERA and .322 batting average against. He’ll face Andrew Cashner, who’s making his fourth start since hitting the disabled list with right shoulder soreness. In his previous three starts back, he is 0-1 with a 2.50 ERA.

Lineup:

Sep 08

Dodgers win, but oh you kids

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The Dodgers managed to throw the ball away three times on one play in the sixth inning, allowing two runs to score. Fortunately the Dodgers had already scored eight runs by that point. With the 9-4 win (Kershaw’s 18th) they have a 3 1/2 game edge on the Giants, who were idle tonight. The D-Backs open a three-game series in AT&T Park with the Giants tomorrow.

Sep 08

Game 144, 2014

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Padres at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FSSD

Clayton Kershaw is steaming toward another Cy Young Award with a 17-3 record and a 1.70 ERA. His opponent will be Odrisamer Despaigne, who’s 3-5 with a 3.06 ERA in his first 13 MLB starts. He pitched in LA on July 10 and gave up two runs in seven innings, losing to Kershaw 2-1.

If you thought Matt Kemp was finally getting back to full health and form, you’re right. In fact, this season’s OPS of .831 is only slightly below his career OPS of .842. For the second half of this season he’s got a slash line of .307/.376/.584 with 11 home runs. (That’s Batting Avg/On-Base Pctg/Slugging Pctg, for those of us who never remember).

Lineup:

Sep 07

Game 143, 2014

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Diamondbacks at Dodgers, 1:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA

Zack Greinke (13-8, 2.72 ERA) goes against Trevor Cahill (3-10, 5.06 ERA). Cahill has had a horrible year which has included a trip to Single A Visalia and Triple A Reno. His last time out he gave up five hits, walked six, and surrendered three earned runs in four innings.

Lineup: