Chatting with Dodgers Fans
During last night's exciting game against the Milwaukee Brewers, I had an opportunity to chat with some diehard baseball fans on MLB GameDay about the Los Angeles Dodgers. We discussed everything from Eric Gagne's steroid accusations to the upcoming "Freeway Series," this weekend. Here is our chat transcript:
Brian: Of course. The Dodgers are a great team that has not put it together yet. They have to put the pieces of their puzzle together.
Ducker: Absolutely. I believe that the Dodgers will solidify down the stretch. That's always been Joe Torre's style. In the last couple of months, we want to be in contention and not battling injuries or infighting.
Me: To the best of my knowledge, Los Angeles hasn't experienced any infighting yet. But according to ESPN.Com, the Dodgers have had thirteen injury reports in 2008 thus far.
Ducker: If the Dodgers want to contend, they'll need to be healthy.
Me: Indeed. The Dodgers have an upcoming series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim over the weekend. Do you think that this "Freeway Series," will be as intense as the "Subway Series" in New York?
Brian: Nope. But, It should be a great series. It's almost like two different worlds colliding. When discussing baseball, Orange County may as well be on a different planet than LA County.
Me: You're right about that. Brad Penny received his fourth loss of the 2008 Regular Season last night. He surrendering five runs in six innings on the mound. Is this the same Brad Penny that was on the Dodgers last season?
Ducker: I don't think so. Somebody must have replaced the Dodgers' Starting-Rotation because Penny, Lowe, and Billingsley haven't been anything to talk about so far this year. It's been quite disappointing.
Brian: Disappointing? The Dodgers have the 13th-lowest team Earned-Run Average in Major League Baseball. There are a handful of other teams with worse starting-rotations. Look at Detroit and San Francisco for example.
Me: San Francisco actually has Tim Lincecum in their starting-rotation. He has had a phenomenal season thus far, posting a 1.61 Earned-Run Average with a 5-1 record. But, what are you thoughts about Eric Gagne?
Ducker: Gagne is a dirty, greasy cheater.
Brian: Who's not in the Steroid/HGH Era? Even Clemens sounds like a cheater nowadays, both on his wife and on the game of baseball. Regarding Gagne, say what you want about Ned Yost - but he has guts throwing him out there despite his astronomical Earned-Run Average and unbelievable amount of Blown Saves.
Me: I can't argue with you there. Eric Gagne has blown eight saves in 2008, but the Brewers still rely on him to close their games. What are you thoughts about Nomar Garciaparra?
Ducker: Nomar Garciaparra is fine, but nobody expected Blake Dewitt to be this good. He's even better than Andy LaRoche! When Nomar is healthy, he's a great player to have around.
JP-Max: DeWitt has been such a surprise. He's one of the best batters I've seen to come through the Dodgers' organization in years. Now, I would have trouble choosing between DeWitt and LaRoche to start at third-base. We can forget about Nomar Garciaparra!
The Los Angeles Dodgers went on to defeat the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-4. Los Angeles scored three runs in the top of the ninth-inning to seize the victory. Dodgers' reliever, Jonathan Broxton, was credited with the win.
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