Dodgers lose to Cardinals in possible NL Playoff Preview (8/09)
The division leading St. Louis Cardinals came to Chavez Ravine to play the First place Dodgers in what could be a preview in the National League for the World Series. With injuries to the pitching staff, LA called up Knuckleballer Charlie Haeger to make his first start of the season. He pitched well allowing only 5 hits but two of them were big ones (a Solo Homerun to Pujols and a tape measure shot to Ankiel in the 7th to put the Cards up for good. Chris Carpenter improved to 13-3 outdueling Haeger in this tough playoff type game. Ryan Franklin came in to save his 30th game of the season.
The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the first and 2-1 lead in the fifth before the big hit by Ankiel. The Cards have been very hot of late and are extremely dangerous with their pitching depth, fundamentals, and improved lineup after acquiring slugger Matt Holiday from the A’s to help protect Albert Pujols, the best hitter in baseball in my opinion. Holiday never got used to the American League after flourishing in Colorado but he is back in the National League and tearing it up since coming to St. Louis. The teams are back for 2 more games before the Cubbies return to Dodger Stadium for the first time since being swept in the playoffs last year.
The current Los Angeles Dodger team reminds us of another Los Angeles baseball team from yesteryear…the 1973 version of the Dodgers. After suffering through 6 rather dismal years after the championship Koufax-Drysdale era, the 1973 Dodgers returned to their winning ways early that season with a standout crop of young ballplayers brought up through the L.A. farm teams…players by the names of Garvey, Lopes, Cey, and Russell. This group of young standouts began to lead the Dodgers to an unexpected successful campaign, starting with winning early on that year, and of course culminating with World Series appearances in ’74, ’77, ’78, and ’81. Mixed in with these outstanding young but inexperienced players, the Dodgers also featured a few veterans to balance out the great teams of the 70’s and early 80’s-players such as Don Sutton, Tommy John, and later Pedro Guerrero, Dusty Baker and Reggie Smith.
The 2009 Dodgers have a similar core of young but very talented players- Matt Kemp, James Loney, Andre Ethier, Russell Martin, and Clayton Kershaw. Much like the 1973 squad, veterans Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake are sprinkled in to balance this youthful team. As of August, this Dodger version has one of the best records in baseball and is leading their division.
But as with any young team, one can expect some inconsistency. The team held a 9 1/2 game lead over the second place team in the West Division, only to now see it shrink to 3 1/2 games. For Dodger fans, what is somewhat worrisome is that this team does not have a true pitching ace; and in addition seems vulnerable to the aces of other teams they will most likely face in the playoffs, if indeed they get into the playoffs.
We spoke to Dodger on-air analyst Steve Lyons prior to the August 17th loss to the St. Louis Cardinals to get his take on this year’s Dodgers chances. Lyons told us that he felt the Dodgers needed to acquire more pitching to make any kind of deep run in the playoffs, and was disappointed that L.A. could not land one of the premier aces on the free agent market. We agree with Lyons on that point, and the Dodger only have until the end of August to make a move to add players to the playoff roster.
But the baseball season is a true marathon, and a lot could happen over the last 40 or so games left in the regular season. The Dodgers have a relatively easy September schedule, and if they can avoid going into panic mode and keep their ship upright, this relatively young team should follow in the footsteps of their 1973 counterparts and have success not only for this season, but for many years to come.
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