Mets at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA
This is the only visit to Dodger Stadium the Mets will make this year. The Dodgers won two of three against the Orange and Blue at Citi Field earlier this summer.
The Dodgers’ Dan Haren (10-10, 4.59 ERA) tries again to recover the form he had earlier in the season. His last outing was awful, but the previous two had been pretty good. He’ll face LHP Jon Niese, who’s 7-8 with a 3.50 ERA. He went on the DL with a strained left shoulder and since coming off has gone 2-4 with a 4.97 ERA. His last time out he spaced seven hits over six innings, gave up three runs and beat the Cubs.
Lineup when available.
Tonight's #Dodgers lineup:
Gordon 2B
Puig CF
Gonzalez 1B
Kemp RF
Van Slyke LF
Turner 3B
Ellis C
Arruebarrena SS
Haren P
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 22, 2014
NPUT
As much as I think the Dodger playoff roster should be composed of players that got the team to the playoffs, an August call up of Pederson and even Seager would qualify them for the playoffs and frankly make the playoffs more intriguing.
If Seager and Pederson get to play in September and do well and Ramirez, Uribe, etc. are injured and can’t play in the playoffs…..
Pederson will be up, but highly unlikely to make the post-season roster. Seager is not close to ready and not even on the 40-man roster. It would be foolish to call him up – in a best-case scenario, he might be looking at a September call-up in 2015.
Great to be a Cuban baseball player free agent these days.
Have you all noticed the Orioles have an 8 game lead in the AL East?
Hard not to notice here in DC, where talk has turned to Nats-O’s WS.
Something I’m sure Fox wants to avoid as much as Dodgers-Angels/A”s
It just occurred to me that if the Nationals got in we’d see tons of camera shots of front-running politicians in Nats’ caps, all of them in corporate boxes.
Three cheers for Haren…
Three of his last four starts have been good; the exception was really putrid, though.
Hence only three cheers.
From Jon’s blog:
“With his third strong start in his past four, Haren lowered his ERA over his past 23 1/3 innings to 2.70, with 20 strikeouts and only four walks.”
If he can deliver that kind of performance–AND near that consistency–great.
I’ve been all over him but will be happy to munch on a few crow feathers with plenty of ketchup and mustard. IF he can maintain.
Could even make you think his option vesting might not be such a bad thing.
Given the injuries, it’ll be very hard to keep him from vesting, but it’s hard to think he’ll be better next year.
A bit closer look at last night from Dodger Digest:
“Even though Haren pitched well, the warning signs were still there. Four
of Haren’s strikeouts were looking and he only induced four swinging
strikes. He also came within about a foot of giving up a two run home
run to Wilmer Flores in the fifth inning, but Scott Van Slyke
mercifully caught it with his back to the left field fence. Too many
balls were hit in the air, and he wasn’t missing bats either.”
I can’t disagree with that analysis, but what are alternatives:?1) pitch him and hope that he can beat the bad teams that remain on the schedule, contributing to a division championship but vesting his contract; 2) pass on him and hope that Fausto and/or Correia can do better, by no means a given. The latter would also not be seen well by the players’ union and, probably, other players on the team.
Old friend Eveland gave us some nice starts back in the day.
We’ll take it!
C’mon Howell. Throw strikes. You can do it.
Woot!
One more, Dan.
The curse of the loaded bases. Never fails.
Amazing, ain’t it?
Yes! After that missed squeeze Haren finally helps himself.
Haren’s been good since the HR, though.
Fingers crossed.
HR Haren.
“HRs R Us”
HaRen
Just got the audio and heard Haranitis is once again infecting Chavez Ravine . . . sheez — keep the ball in the park, Dan!
Nats walkoff tonight might require a five-run homerun.
Been so long since we played the giants, I didn’t realize they had a new 2nd baseman named Joe Panik, who has 3 rbis tonight and an August OPS+ of 159.
And apparently his first-ever HR.
Nats just give up 3-run HR in the 5th . . . SF, 3-1.
We can make a deal, if they beat the giants for us, we will beat the Mets for them. Hope they fall for it.
It occurs to me I could have called the Mets “The Amazin’s” but they haven’t been that since 1969.
In DC tonight, it’s Gnats v. Nats.
ten game streak for the Nats, 5 of the walkoff variety. Braves playing .700 ball, otherwise they would be walking away with the division. Lead now at 7.
Gordon 2B Puig CF Gonzalez 1B Kemp RF Van Slyke LF Turner 3B Ellis C Arruebarrena SS Haren P
Thanks. Added to post above.