Tuesday, July 26, 2005 |
A Visit From St. Stooge: Dodgers 7, Reds 3
During a routine media session in the manager's office, a local TV reporter asked Bochy a question that seemed oddly out of sync with the mood in the clubhouse.One more loss, and the NL West could become the Stooge Division if the Padres continue their skid -- altogether possible considering they will see, besides the pathetic Pirates, the reeling Reds, and two more doses of the Cards, every one of the teams of the NL East, by far the most competitive division in the National League if not baseball."Are you afraid the bottom is going to fall out?" she asked.
On the baseball etiquette scale, this is equivalent to sidling up to David Wells in the dugout in the eighth inning and asking, "Do you really think you can pitch a perfect game?'' Even Bochy, one of baseball's most unflappable managers, was prompted to arch an eyebrow and stroke his mustache before responding.
"Did you ask what I think you just asked?" he said.
Maybe the reporter just knew more than everybody else. As the past eight weeks have shown, 22-6 joyrides eventually end, mediocre teams seek their level and bottoms do, indeed, fall out.
And did I mention that every one of those eastern teams has a winning record?
Update: And did I mention that Will Carroll says Padres starter and noted Dodger killer Adam Eaton will be throwing from the bullpen from here on out because he cannot throw breaking pitches?
So now, the Dodgers are in third place and only four games out of first.
But back to tonight's game. OP wasn't brilliant, but he contained an explosive hitting lineup pretty effectively, giving up three runs in seven with only three strikeouts. Both Kent -- a solo shot -- and Saenz homered (a two-run shot), with Saenz providing useful insurance that fortunately was unnecessary.
For the Reds: It wouldn't be an Eric Milton Game™ without at least one home run. As dodgers.com noted recently, Dodger Stadium has somehow become a home run park over this season. Now, this could be because they signed a bunch of marginally competent and/or injured pitchers in the offseason. However, the problem with this theory is that the Dodgers have given up 57 home runs (prior to today's game) on the road versus 51 at home.
Griffey can still hit, but his play in center seems to have degraded some. On the one hand, he made a nice play on a Mike Edwards flyball he misjudged early. Okay, fair enough -- he corrects a mistake. On the other hand, he looked badly confused on a play in Kent's flyball single in the seventh that he lost in the lights. But beyond missing the ball in the lights, he seemed confused pulling the ball out of his glove. Maybe he's fine, but I dunno. In the postgame interview, he sounded okay. But...
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