Rain delay
It is REALLY raining here, coming down in torrents. They just put on the tarp. The worst possible scenario is this game getting rained out because the Dodgers don't come back, and the fact the Tigers are starting to look like a contender and the Dodgers aren't raises the very real possibility that the Dodgers might have to come back here in September for a game that would mean nothing to them but might mean a lot to the Tigers. ... Once, when I was a young scribe, I asked a grizzled older scribe during a rain delay if the rain was supposed to stop. ``It always does,'' he said. ``The record is 40 days and 40 nights.'' ... Game is scoreless after four innings. Kershaw has walked a couple, but is otherwise pitching really well. ... By the way, this city gets a bad rap, and some of it is deserved. But I should point out that the hospitality I have encountered here this weekend has been amazing, both at my hotel, the Westin Southfield in Southfield, Mich., and among the employees here at the ballpark. Everyone goes the extra mile to make you comfortable here, and it's very much appreciated. ... As I sit here waiting out this rain delay, I can't help but admire some of the great old buildings that can be seen beyond right field. This is an old city, and the early-20th century architecture -- some of it may go back farther than that, actually -- is really something to behold. The modern-looking Renaissance Center, probably the most recongnizable landmark in the Detroit skyline (you've seen it, it's a really tall cylinder surrounded by four shorter cylinders), actually looks kind of out of place among all the much older buildings. ... The sun just came out, but it's still raining hard.
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About Inside the Dodgers
Tony Jackson has covered the Dodgers for
the Daily News since 2004 and has covered Major League Baseball on a
regular basis since 1995. He previously covered the Colorado Rockies
and Cincinnati Reds. He is a native of Springdale, Ark., and a graduate
of the University of Arkansas.
Why do I feel like Ned Colletti is insulting my intelligence everytime I look at the box score? Tony, help me here... ..Name one veteran player on this team that isn't either perennially injured or COMPLETELY under-performing. Frankly Joe Beimel is the only vet having even an average season.
This franchise is in utter disarray at the top and there's no accountability, apparently.
Another loss but at least some credit where it's due, they showed some life at the end and almost came back. Wish Pierre hadn't hit one up in the air, should've taken another pitch frankly. But easy to say from the armchair. Anyway, it's good to see the offense come to life a bit. Now if they could only get their pitching and offense on the same page on the same day for once, maybe they'll win some games.
Tony, LaRoche played some 2nd today and looked pretty good. Good to see. Do you think he'll start playing more now?
Not at 2B. Joe says he's only a late-inning replacement there and that all his starts will come at 1B and 3B
If Pierre didn't hit so many harmless fly balls, I would give him a pass on the one he hit in the ninth. But quite frankly, he knows what kind of hitter he is, and should have made every effort to hit down on the ball, either producing a ground ball or a line drive. Maybe that's what he was trying to do, but it sure didn't look like it.
Actually, probably the most critical at bat belonged to Ethier. With count 2-0, and two runners on, it seems to me that he should have been looking for a particular pitch in a particular spot that he could drive, and laid off anything else. The fact that he was even checking his swing on an inside 2-0 pitch seems like poor situational hitting to me. If my memory serves me correct, I believe the out he made occurred on a 3-1 pitch that appeared out of the strike zone. Maybe that's just an inexperienced hitter being over anxious, but whatever the case, the approach needs to change.
And yes, I know that if Ethier had walked and loaded the bases with no outs, the subsequent at bats may have turned out differently. But one thing is for sure, the result couldn't have been any worse.