Baseball Toaster: Bronx Banter : Stairway to Heaven

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P. Hughes BR BP BC E mi
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A. Aceves BR E mi

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J. Chamberlain BR BP BC E
D. Marte (L) BR BP BC E
J. Veras BR BP BC E mi
E. Ramirez BR BP BC E mi
B. Bruney BR BP BC E mi
D. Giese BR BP BC E mi
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S. Ponson BR BP BC E mi
D. Robertson BR BC E mi
H. Sanchez BC mi

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A. Brackman BC

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BR = Baseball-Reference
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Stairway to Heaven

2008-10-15 13:13

by Cliff Corcoran

Something tells me Matt Stairs' home run in Game 4 was the unofficial end of the Dodgers' season. We'll find out tonight. The Dodgers' last hope is that their 24-year-old ace, Chad Billingsley, can beat the Phillies' 24-year-old ace, Cole Hamels. I don't see it happening. My preview is up on Si.com.

Random Thought: how often did the Dodgers' 68-year-old manager accidentally call Billingsley "Clay Bellinger" this year?

Comments (60)

Show/Hide Comments 1-50

2008-10-15 13:54:24

1. rilkefan

0 "I don't see it happening."

This translates to me as, I'd expect the Phillies to win 90% of reruns of this game, or the odds are 11 to 1 that... Which seems really high for one baseball game.

2008-10-15 14:08:44

2. thelarmis

GO BASEBALL!!!

Cole vs. Clay ; )

i should be able to catch the 2nd half of the game. looking forward to it...

2008-10-15 14:41:19

3. standuptriple

I told my old college roommate (Dodger die-hard who attended Game one in '88) to "Be prepared for a 1st round exit". The Cubbies squashed that plan, but my next statement was. "Just hope he doesn't have to make very many decisions". New home. Same book.

2008-10-15 15:00:02

4. OldYanksFan

from Joel Sherman at the Post:
"In other words, Boras is not offering apologies or discounts related to the unprofessional way in which [Manny] Ramirez forced his way out of Boston. In true no-retreat, no-surrender Boras style, he is strongly hinting that he wants a six-year contract for Ramirez at top-of-the-market dollars. "

2008-10-15 15:00:47

5. OldYanksFan

2008-10-15 15:33:57

6. standuptriple

[4,5] Please Ca$h, just say "No".

2008-10-15 15:44:09

7. monkeypants

0 Clay Bellinger did have a very high BFOG average. If the Dodgers had a whole lot more Clay Bellinger, they wouldn't be looking up at this deficit.

2008-10-15 16:28:13

8. domvjr

During Torre's press conference today, he actually described Billingsley has having a BFOG! It's good to see that old Joe is still using our favorite term.

2008-10-15 17:53:11

9. Mr OK Jazz TOKYO

5 SIX year contract?? Boras has some cojones, I'll give him that...

2008-10-15 17:58:00

10. Shaun P

4 6 9 Standard negotiation tactics. Remember "Johnny Damon isn't going to settle for less than a 7 year contract"?

8 Hilarious! Is Miggy Cairo a free agent? I can't wait to see what he looks like in Dodger Blue! =)

2008-10-15 18:10:17

11. Shaun P

I don't wish to bother the Dodger Thoughts folks, so I'll ask here and hope someone might know: why is Matt Kemp (.571 SLG and .202 Isolated Power vs LHP) hitting seventh while Russell Martin (.403 SLG and .150 Isolated Power vs LHP) hits fourth and James Loney (.361 SLG and .112 Isolated Power vs LHP) hits fifth?

What am I missing here?

2008-10-15 18:25:38

12. Mr OK Jazz TOKYO

Phils looking good for the WS...

has McCain busted out "My Friends" yet in the debate?

2008-10-15 18:46:16

13. Shaun P

12 Don't know; I'm not watching it. But if I had to bet money, I'd say yes, probably at least 10 times by now.

2008-10-15 18:59:30

14. JL25and3

7 If you had some Glenallen Hill wine, you could store it in a Clay Bellinger. (Just be careful not to drop it on a Rocky Coppinger.)

2008-10-15 19:00:12

15. JL25and3

12 , 13 Not that I've heard. They're not addressing an audience.

2008-10-15 19:02:24

16. monkeypants

12 I don't know, but if i did, i wouldn't mention it (or any other political reference) here.

2008-10-15 19:03:12

17. monkeypants

11 Good questions. Is it like batting A-Rod 8th?

2008-10-15 19:07:30

18. Shaun P

17 That was the stupidest thing I've ever seen Joe Torre do.

But in this case, I just wondered if it was common for Kemp to hit 7th throughout the year, and Martin 4th/Loney 5th. I paid little attention to the Dodgers this year.

2008-10-15 19:19:20

19. thelarmis

just gettin' in. wow, 5-0. J-Roll leadoff homer. Phitin' Phils in the Serious. wow.

2008-10-15 19:27:17

20. Shaun P

19 As I think Mike Carminati pointed out, the Phillies have already lost the Serious to every other AL East team. =)

2008-10-15 19:27:29

21. thelarmis

cha-ching! i don't know how he does it. good lord, is manny unreal. strong like (baby) bull.

so is Cole Hamel's incredibly smokin' hot wife. WOW!!! : O

2008-10-15 19:29:24

22. thelarmis

phils are gonna have an entire week off. hopefully the Rays will have a solid 6 days. it's really gonna suck to go about a week without any baseball games. i don't even wanna think about after the Serious...

2008-10-15 19:30:49

23. thelarmis

21 oh, and i meant that Heidi Strobel (Hamels) is unreal, not strong like baby bull! ; ) just gorgeous... : ~

20 i'd be fine w/ the Phils winning it this year...

2008-10-15 19:33:31

24. Shaun P

22 All bow before the mighty FOX!

2008-10-15 19:34:08

25. Shaun P

23 I rather enjoyed Googling "Cole Hamels wife". ;)

2008-10-15 19:45:38

26. thelarmis

25 i know. it's special! whadjya find? i melted and had to stop after this:

http://tinyurl.com/4xxebo

...but i'm sure there's more and better... : ~

2008-10-15 19:51:05

27. Shaun P

26 I have to admit, that was a lot better than what I found. But I was distracted in my Googling; I went over to fivethirtyeight.com to read their liveblog of the debate.

Now I'm back to noticing that Matt Kemp, lefty killer, has been on base 3 times tonight (in 3 plate appearances) and wondering what would have happened if Torre had hit him, not behind Manny, but right in front of Manny. Especially given that Ethier can't hit lefties well either (.243/.325/.368 vs LHP in '08).

2008-10-15 19:52:44

28. Just fair

I think Phil Coke should hang with Cole Hamels this winter. It coudn't hurt. 26 He would probably adjust pretty well to the third wheel. : )

2008-10-15 19:53:36

29. Shaun P

27 To add on to that, imagine if Torre had played Jeff Kent (.288/.341/.441 vs LHP in '08), batted him second behind Furcal, then hit Kemp third and Manny fourth? Wouldn't that have made a lot more sense?

2008-10-15 19:55:45

30. thelarmis

that was a bad call against Kent. ditto for the K of Martin. both low and off the plate. probably doesn't make a difference in the long run, but bollocks nonetheless...

2008-10-15 19:57:32

31. thelarmis

27 mark kotsay's wife still wins. hands down and it's not even close.

i know nothing about politics. literally, zero. so i have no interest there. i'll stick w/ baseball, blondes and beats (drums)! : )

2008-10-15 20:00:13

32. thelarmis

the dodgers' dugout looks really big and spacious. it's probably one of the more comfy ones in the game, i would guess...

2008-10-15 20:02:44

33. Just fair

32 There's a joke in there that involves the word "hand" but just can't place it. Hope that's not breaking an effin' rule. Ha.

2008-10-15 20:05:55

34. thelarmis

33 breakin' rules - you been posting over at DT, or somethin'?! we need Sliced to chime in w/ a good joke!

over-under on Manny going yard again???

2008-10-15 20:06:39

35. Raf

31 I'm still partial to Mrs. Jose Lima

2008-10-15 20:08:35

36. thelarmis

christ, that bat went far! jeez

2008-10-15 20:11:47

37. Shaun P

31 She is quite, quite fine. I have to say, though, I will never forget Jose Lima's wife (another blonde) and the saga of her being cut out of the picture on MLB.com.

Fun fact: Corey Wade threw more innings in the NLCS than Chad Billingsley.

2008-10-15 20:13:11

38. thelarmis

35 i don't think anyone can argue with you on that! i just have a thing for skinny blondes...

not that great, but for you, Raf:
http://tinyurl.com/3lj5qb

2008-10-15 20:14:31

39. thelarmis

on. base. machine.

2008-10-15 20:15:41

40. thelarmis

manny doing it all. though it's called a D.I.

2008-10-15 20:16:47

41. thelarmis

aaron boone's night 5 years ago exactly, was topped off with this. talk about a trophy wife!

http://tinyurl.com/4k83uk

2008-10-15 20:21:23

42. thelarmis

man, i'm really gonna miss watching baseball this offseason. i don't follow or care about any other sport really. well, i guess i'll catch up on my music dvd's and start practicing again, so that's good...!

2008-10-15 20:22:04

43. thelarmis

from nomar's honker to loney digging for gold. that was some ill-timed camera work!

2008-10-15 20:24:29

44. Shaun P

41 This is Aaron Boone Night? Almost a shame that the Sox and Rays aren't playing tonight.

I remember that night well. My wife and I lived in an apartment near Boston College at the time, and had to listen to BC kids whooping it up most of the night. Then things got strangely quiet in the 8th inning . . . but picked up everytime the Sox got someone on base thereafter. I'm usually a quiet guy, but I had been hearing it all ALCS, so I was pretty frustrated with RSN. After Boone crossed the plate, I ran out to the balcony and shouted some choice words. First and only time I've ever taunted Sox fans like that.

But it felt great to let off that steam!

2008-10-15 20:35:49

45. thelarmis

44 i think it was either Oct 15th or 16th. ya know what? i think it was Thursday, Oct 16th. which is crazy, since tomorrow - Oct 16th - is also a Thursday.

i was on stage on a gig. we finished, but i didn't pack up. i stayed staring at the tv. the place was packed. lotsa shit sox fans around (for some bullshit reason. probably just loser Yankee haters). i'm a quiet sort too, and i was jumping up and down, freaking out. i called my g/f at the time, who's from Worcester, and i could barely talk. i was so excited, i gave $5 bills to my 2 bum friends outside (as opposed to a buck apiece). was a great nite!

2008-10-15 20:36:58

46. Shaun P

Now here's Matt Kemp up, with the Dodgers' season on the line. But Kemp doesn't hit righties very well (.260/.309/.416 in '08).

Meanwhile, Martin (.291/.392/.393 in '08) and Loney (.305/.353/.462 in '08, and on base right now), do.

2008-10-15 20:38:53

47. thelarmis

could joe buck be any less enthusiastic? i'm sure Fox is pissed!

congrats Phils. congrats Mike C!

condolences to underdog & trainwreck. sorry fellas. you done good though...

2008-10-15 20:38:59

48. Shaun P

45 Very good, then, that the Sox are playing tomorrow night? I wonder if FOX will show the clip?

2008-10-15 20:41:04

49. Shaun P

My condolences, Dodger fans.

But at least now we won't hear any "Torre took the Dodgers to the World Series - if only the Yanks had kept him!!@@!@1" nonsense.

2008-10-15 20:42:20

50. thelarmis

48 ah, good point. hope so! i actually have a dinner date tomorrow night. she's a baseball fan though, so maybe we'll dine somewhere w/ a tv showing the game...

man, burrell really looked like Moose there when he was hugging j-roll...

Show/Hide Comments 51-100

2008-10-15 20:45:20

51. thelarmis

i'm diggin' the Phils blue hats at home and the blue stars that dot the "i" on the chest...

2008-10-15 20:48:34

52. Raf

47 They played the Philly feed, Kalas didn't do much better

2008-10-15 20:52:15

53. Shaun P

50 I have to ask - was your Worcester g/f in 2003 a Yanks fan, or a Sox fan? There are (surprisingly) lots of Yanks fans around Worcester, mostly people of Italian descent whose parents/grandparents/great-grandparents worshipped DiMag, and thus the Yanks.

52 Saddest part of the Dodgers not advancing - not getting to hear Vin Scully anymore this postseason.

Dodger fans should be subjected to a week of John Sterling every year just to make sure they appreciate what they have (as I'm sure most do); and then we could get Scully for a week! =)

2008-10-15 20:56:00

54. thelarmis

the marlins? good job, myers!

2008-10-15 21:00:07

55. thelarmis

53 my longtime ex is irish/italian and has a huge family from worcester. she does have some (cool) cousins and relatives that are Yankee fans, but pretty much her entire huge immediate family are all diehard Sox fans.

they were all up in Mass and we were here in Atlanta. she would call her fam and say something to this effect: "my heart is with the Sox but my life will be MUCH better if the Yanks win, so i have to root for NY" !!! : )

she was right. i'm a miserable sonuva bitch when we lose. esp to boston...

2008-10-15 21:02:12

56. thelarmis

53 the girl i'm going out with tomorrow, i've dated on/off for a few years now. she's a diehard Braves fan. she's cool with me and the Yankees and doesn't like Boston, so that's good too...

2008-10-15 21:34:56

57. 3rd gen yankee fan

45 It's the 16th, and I declared it a holiday: Boonie Day. Thanks for remembering!

2008-10-16 09:39:19

58. underdog

53 That was definitely one of the saddest things for me, Shaun. :-( The good news is Vin said he's coming back next year! Hooray. Which is pretty amazing. Even a slightly senile Vin was 100X better than Tim McBuck drooling into a microphone.

And I'll look forward to hearing Vin again next year. (As an MLBTV and radio subscriber, I definitely appreciated him even more this year, hearing a lot of other really bad announcers, especially the homers in Arizona and for the CWS.)

Oh, William, I posted what I hope is a sincere follow up on Mike's Rants, if you're interested.

2008-10-16 09:41:11

59. williamnyy23

58 I replied, sincerely as well.

2008-10-16 12:32:18

60. underdog

59 As did I and as did Jon. And I really did appreciate your response. Cheers and best on what I hope is a productive off-season. :-)