Dodgers begin NL Championship Series today.
It goes without saying that when baseball season is happening I fall off the edge of the blogging world. I generally try to keep up reading other folks entries, but I get scarce when posting my own. For that I apologize, but I honestly don't wish to babble infinitely about baseball for 6 months out of the year, lol! Well maybe I do, but to spare you numerous posts whether they applaud or rant about the games I watch or attend I just blog about them from time-to-time. ;)
That said, I'd like to say that I had a wonderful NLDS! Watching them play the Cardinals hard and sweeping them in three games was exciting and joyous! I attended both home games here in Dodger Stadium and watched the 3rd from St. Louis on television. What was unimaginable by the so-called "baseball expert" analyst pundits occured. The Dodgers beat the Cardinals. Not just by simply winning the series but by sweeping them. Beating both NL contenders for the Cy Young Award. Something that will further go down as the upset of the season. So very much like October of 2008 the Dodgers sweep their second consecutive NLDS against a highly lauded team with stats off the charts.
Being at the first two NLDS games in person was a thrill for me. I went to Game 1 with my parents and son and for Game 2 I went with my good friend
genevieve_l.
I must add that Game 2 was incredible! The bottom of the 9th inning finish and winning in walk-off fashion never gets old and I was both on the edge of my seat and loudly groaning a bad call and every strike against us, breathing a heavy sigh with each called ball and foul that landed in the stands and out of play while booing the opposing defenders, but most of all cheering loudly with every opportunity that our team came up with to capitalize on a botched fly ball to Matt Holliday that he dropped, (it hit him in the nuts no matter what anyone says about it being the stomach) with 2 outs.
TWO OUTS! Holliday cannot come up with that with closer Brad Lidge on the mound. What looked like the end of a losing Game 2 for the Dodgers turned into a second chance and infused the fan-filled stadium with new life. It just got louder and louder and more frenzied with each pitch thereafter. Loney reached 2nd on an error to Left Field by Holliday. What ensued from there can only be described as an incredible come-back of the season.
After Loney reached 2nd they inserted the speedy pinch runner Juan Pierre. Next up to bat was Casey Blake who worked a 9 pitch walk after being down in the count with 2 strikes on him after a badly checked swing according to the first base umpire. The way Blake hung in there to walk was beautiful. Ronnie Belliard comes up to single on the first pitch to bring Pierre home to tie the game up at 2. With Casey Blake now at 2nd and Belliard at 1st Russell Martin walks on four consecutive pitches to load the bases up for pinch hitter Mark Loretta. Lorretta who was 0 for 15 against Lidge hits a looper on an no ball, one strike count that falls in shallow left center and the Dodgers come back to win 3-2!
I won't comment about the 3rd game and sweep. I think it stands alone to say that Vicente Padilla pitched a fine 7 inning game in a 5-1 victory for the Boys in Blue.
Today is a new day, a new series and the one that will determine the 2009 National League Champion. I'm going to be there with my family again in the hopes of seeing yet another victory for Los Angels to propel them forward on a trip to the World Series. First thing is to win 4 out of 7 against the Phillies. Man I love this time of the year!
That said, I'd like to say that I had a wonderful NLDS! Watching them play the Cardinals hard and sweeping them in three games was exciting and joyous! I attended both home games here in Dodger Stadium and watched the 3rd from St. Louis on television. What was unimaginable by the so-called "baseball expert" analyst pundits occured. The Dodgers beat the Cardinals. Not just by simply winning the series but by sweeping them. Beating both NL contenders for the Cy Young Award. Something that will further go down as the upset of the season. So very much like October of 2008 the Dodgers sweep their second consecutive NLDS against a highly lauded team with stats off the charts.
Being at the first two NLDS games in person was a thrill for me. I went to Game 1 with my parents and son and for Game 2 I went with my good friend
genevieve_l.
I must add that Game 2 was incredible! The bottom of the 9th inning finish and winning in walk-off fashion never gets old and I was both on the edge of my seat and loudly groaning a bad call and every strike against us, breathing a heavy sigh with each called ball and foul that landed in the stands and out of play while booing the opposing defenders, but most of all cheering loudly with every opportunity that our team came up with to capitalize on a botched fly ball to Matt Holliday that he dropped, (it hit him in the nuts no matter what anyone says about it being the stomach) with 2 outs.
TWO OUTS! Holliday cannot come up with that with closer Brad Lidge on the mound. What looked like the end of a losing Game 2 for the Dodgers turned into a second chance and infused the fan-filled stadium with new life. It just got louder and louder and more frenzied with each pitch thereafter. Loney reached 2nd on an error to Left Field by Holliday. What ensued from there can only be described as an incredible come-back of the season.
After Loney reached 2nd they inserted the speedy pinch runner Juan Pierre. Next up to bat was Casey Blake who worked a 9 pitch walk after being down in the count with 2 strikes on him after a badly checked swing according to the first base umpire. The way Blake hung in there to walk was beautiful. Ronnie Belliard comes up to single on the first pitch to bring Pierre home to tie the game up at 2. With Casey Blake now at 2nd and Belliard at 1st Russell Martin walks on four consecutive pitches to load the bases up for pinch hitter Mark Loretta. Lorretta who was 0 for 15 against Lidge hits a looper on an no ball, one strike count that falls in shallow left center and the Dodgers come back to win 3-2!
I won't comment about the 3rd game and sweep. I think it stands alone to say that Vicente Padilla pitched a fine 7 inning game in a 5-1 victory for the Boys in Blue.
Today is a new day, a new series and the one that will determine the 2009 National League Champion. I'm going to be there with my family again in the hopes of seeing yet another victory for Los Angels to propel them forward on a trip to the World Series. First thing is to win 4 out of 7 against the Phillies. Man I love this time of the year!