Tuesday, September 26, 2006 |
Pickoff Moves
Today's Birthdays
Of no import —Bernie Neis BRO b. 1895, played 1920-1924, d. 1972-11-29
Brian Traxler LAN b. 1967, played 1990, d. 2004-11-19
Vlad Gets Two Jacks, But No "Unprecedented Collapse": Angels 8, Rangers 3
Vlad Guerrero homered twice in this game, driving in three, and Joe Saunders pitched another great game. Really, what bugs me about this team going forward is the idea recently pitched in the Times and elsewhere that the Angels are going to do "something major" to the lineup; if that means getting rid of Saunders for some rent-a-vet, no thanks.Up in Seattle, the Mariners somehow edged Oakland 10-9 in what turned into an interesting contest late as Huston Street imploded for three runs, and so the Angels' tragic number remains stuck on two.
Keeping Up With The Playoffs
- Houston beat Philadelphia 5-4 with a dramatic late-inning comeback at Citizens' Bank Park, and so the Astros find themselves at .500 and within hailing distance (four games) of the Wild Card, whose current leaders are the Dodgers and Phils.
- The Padres put together a five-run second and one in the seventh to squeak past the slumping Cards, 6-5. With men on first and second and two out, Scott Rolen struck out to finish the game. The Padres are two games ahead of the idle Dodgers in the division race.
- The Twins clinched a playoff berth, and now get to duke it out with the Tigers for the division. The Tigers have a one-game lead in the AL Central, with a magic number of six; Detroit finishes their season with a six-game homestand, three with the Blue Jays and three with the Royals, while the Twins finish at home against the Royals and White Sox.
Bullets
- A couple Ned Colletti items, one from Tony Jackson:
Although it is clear Colletti has transformed the franchise from laughingstock to serious contender, there is a very real chance the Dodgers could end up without a playoff appearance.
... and another, a thumbnail bio that hit the AP (originally appearing in the Times):Thus exists the emotional tug-of-war in which Colletti now finds himself.
"I have had a lifetime of amazing years and a lifetime of amazing experiences, and this year has been all of that," Colletti said. "It has absolutely been the fastest year of my life. I don't know where the offseason went. I don't where the season went."
Colletti is restless and anxious, even after tearing down and rebuilding the Dodgers from the manager's office to the clubhouse in a whirlwind that began last winter. He wants to please everyone on his side, from owner Frank McCourt to Dodgers fans, and he wants to show everyone who isn't, from those in baseball who doubted him to that counselor, wherever he might be. "I just don't want to let anyone down," Colletti said.
So the wheels never stop turning. The Bensenville Freight Yard has nothing on stately Dodger Stadium when it comes to interstate commerce. Colletti brought in productive free agents such as Rafael Furcal, Kenny Lofton and Nomar Garciaparra. He shipped out perceived bad apples such as Milton Bradley and Odalis Perez.
- Takashi Saito may not be back after this season.
- David Wells was a late scratch Monday due to gout in his right foot. Gout!
- Former Dodger Sandy Alomar thinks he has enough gas left in the tank for a season or three behind the dish — at 40!
- A Tale of 2 Cities, a play about the effects of the Dodgers' move from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, will appear at UCLA's Freud Playhouse, opening Saturday through October 8. Tickets are available at http://www.uclalive.org/.
: 9/26/2006 09:44:00 AM : 9/26/2006 11:18:00 AM
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