I read a post the other day about some Yasiel Puig comments regarding the Cardinals. They made for interesting off-season reading. Yesterday, Dylan Hernandez had an article in the LA Times based on the same set of quotes. Here’s the link.

I find a few things interesting.

First, Puig is going to be a little bigger this year. He’s 255 or 260 right now according to him, and that’s a red flag. I’m sure he’ll lose some of it, but once you get huge, it’s really hard to come back. Miguel Cabrera is proof of that. Of course, if Puig hits like Cabrera, nobody will be complaining… .

Puig’s comments about the Cardinals make sense. All he knows in his short career is making the playoffs and losing to the Cardinals. His thought that they are the Dodgers’ main stumbling block is one I actually share. Had the Dodgers faced the Giants in the playoffs last season, I would have been way more confident than I was with them going against the Cardinals. Something about the matchup, the fact that both teams have beat each other in recent postseason history, and the way the playoffs are now structured make the Dodgers and Cardinals a kind of rivalry that the Dodgers and Giants just hasn’t been of late.

Here’s my favorite quote from Hernandez’ article:

“Puig had a particularly hard time against the Cardinals in the National League division series. Limited to three hits in 12 at-bats over the first three games, Puig started Game 4 on the bench. The Dodgers lost that game to end their season.”

The decision to sit Yasiel last season when he was “limited” to three hits in three games was a sneaky big one by manager Don Mattingly. I thought at the time, and I still believe, that it was insane to sit your best player in the biggest game. Puig took it like a champ — he hasn’t complained publicly or made waves — but that has to be the last time something like that can happen.

Perhaps the Cardinals were in Puig’s head, and Mattingly knew it. Perhaps they still are in his head. The only way to get them out of his head, though, is to let him play his way through it. Sitting him was the wrong move. But I digress.

I’m telling myself that this will be a really great year for Puig. He’s a year older, he’s actually saying all the right things right now (talking about playing disciplined defense even!), and his comfort level with being in the United States and in Los Angeles have to be at an all-time high.

Dodger fans should be optimistic that Yasiel Puig will continue his splendid play this year and they should cautious of others, including the team’s manager, trying to play-out the same old narratives about a player who can be expected to be right in the middle of his prime.

Over a year after the Dodgers’ last World Series appearance, their glorious 1988 championship, the Berlin Wall fell.

The Dodgers have not been in a World Series since the Berlin Wall fell.

— Parker Evans (@parker_d_evans) October 8, 2014

The last time the Dodgers won the World Series, the Berlin Wall still stood.

So, I thought about who hasn’t been in the Series since the Dodgers last made it. When the Dodgers won the 1988 series, Pete Rose was the manager of the Cincinnati Reds.

When Gibson hit his famous home run, Masahiro Tanaka was weeks away from being born and Mike Trout wasn’t even a sparkle in his father’s eye. Trout, in fact, was three years away from being born.

Here is a list of the teams that have not been to the World Series since 1988

* Los Angeles Dodgers

* Seattle Mariners

* Milwaukee Brewers

* Pittsburgh Pirates

* Chicago Cubs

* Baltimore Orioles

* Kansas City Royals

* Washington Nationals

Eight teams, in case you didn’t count. This season, the number is guaranteed to go down by at least one, and maybe two.

There have been four expansion teams since 1988. All have made the World Series and two have won. Everyone in the National League West EXCEPT for the Dodgers have made the Series this century.

I’m not asking anyone to take pity, just trying to contextualize tonight. If I didn’t, I think I might fall into an endless cascade of sorry and self-pity.

I will likely stay off Facebook for the next 24 hours or so to avoid the trollsmanship that’s sure to occur. If you have something to say, go ahead and comment. Pile on, whatever.

Like Chad Moriyama, I’m pretty numb right now. Instead of having a meltdown myself, I’ll just link you to him there.

I’m furious at something. Just not sure where to direct all my fury.

I really hate the Cardinals. They are the devil — the baseball antichrist. They need more street justice enacted upon them than the apparently non-existent baseball Gods will allow.

I also don’t care much for the Giants. Actually, I hate the Cardinals more; have since last year. The Cardinals have been a bigger road block to Dodgers success.

Mike Matheny doesn’t make me happy. His move to stall in the middle of a Juan Uribe at-bat was lauded by some baseball people I respect, but I thought it was clown shoes. I would wish bad karma on him, but he leads the devil magic Cards, so I can’t really wish on him something he’s in charge of…

I hate the bar I went to to watch the Dodgers game last night. It’s near Laguna Lake in SLO and, while there were other Dodger fans there to help drown my sorrows, there were also Giants fans, clapping and cheering. First off, the Giants would MUCH rather play the Dodgers than a hot Cards team, should they make it to the next round. Also, I would love to see a Dodgers-Giants head-to-head NLCS. How much fun would that be?!

Instead, the Giants fan, who works at the bar (but I guess was off-duty throughout the game?) was rooting against the Dodgers. His blind hatred of the Dodgers in this case also had him rooting against baseball. And America.

“Are you a Cardinals fan?” I asked him and his lady-friend, both of them sitting there with their Giants hats on.

After a muttered reply and some banter with another Dodgers fan, he asked “where have you been all year?,” as if to imply that real Dodger fans should have been there all season.

But what would we have been watching Laguna guy? The Dodgers weren’t available on television this year. Not at my house. Not at your restaurant. Not anywhere in SLO County. (That reminds me, I hate Time Warner and pretty much every cable company. I didn’t get to watch the Dodgers this year, and it’s everyone’s fault.)

Your overpriced food is notorious for making its eaters poop like a goose and your staff feigns interest in providing any service. You’re a local place and I like that, but when the new wing place comes in, it’ll be hard for you and your place to stay in business if you continue to have employees heckle customers in their off time. I’m going to try to avoid that place from now on. Bad ju-ju.

Now, just minutes before the Dodgers start their game, I also hate that Yasiel Puig is sitting. Donnie, what are you doing? Puig was responsible for the only run the Dodgers scored last night. Puig was probably the offensive MVP for the Dodgers this year, and we’re benching him after two and a half bad games.

With one game to go, my fury is at an all-time high. It can all be calmed with a victory tonight, though.

People have been posting their stress levels on Twitter lately. I recommend you search it or click here to check it out. Should be a fun time following that throughout the game. Should the Cards score first, I’ll quickly be at Stress Level Trojan:

For what it’s worth, I’ve muttered about how I can’t handle this crap all series long. I have too much stress in my life. As Mike Petriello put it in his post at Dodgers Digest today:

“Thanks, baseball. You suck.”

Happy Game 4 everyone!

It was an exciting time, six years ago this week. Before Frank McCourt was fully-outed as villainous swine and before the Dodgers fell and rose back into contention, there was the Manny Ramirez trade. As a fan who could watch all the games on television at the time, the Ramirez trade was a lightning bolt. I did not get anything done at work for the rest of that July 31 day.

Immediately, I started trash talking both Giants fans named Dave at my work. Immediately, I began to DVR every Dodgers game, not wanting to miss a moment. Immediately, I was hooked.

The storyline worked pretty nicely. Manny led the Dodgers to division titles in both 2008 and 2009 before the bubble burst, the smoke and mirrors were cleared, and the rank stench of the McCourt era put a cloud over Dodger Stadium that continues to need clearing.

The August, September, and October of 2008 were electric though, and it was all because of a single move at the trade deadline.

Now, the Dodgers have shown that their ownership can and will spend with the Big Boys. This year, the Dodgers chose not to make any moves by the July 31 trade deadline. Their decision-making might have been sound. It’s entirely possible that the combination of Joc Pederson, Corey Seager, and Julio Urias could be worth more to the club than David Price would have been this year. You can definitely make a baseball argument for that.

I wanted to wait a few days to let the dust settle on the deadline. To see if it still left me feeling a little empty – like I’m missing something (and yes, I’m talking about missing something ASIDE FROM the ability to watch any games on television, which I’ve been missing all year).

The verdict, on this second day of August is that there is something missing. It’s a kind of panache I think you really only find the necessity for in Los Angeles. If the “Cardinal way,” or “St. Louis way” is a head-down kind of baseball that follows all the unwritten rules and demands that the game is respected at all costs, then the Los Angeles way is about winning a certain way as well. This city demands gumption, energy, vibrance, and a narrative to tie it all together.

The Cardinals, Tigers, and A’s all made moves to significantly improve their teams before and at the trade deadline. Perhaps the Dodgers’ biggest rival for the National League, the Cardinals did what they seem to always do — ridding themselves of a player (Allen Craig) who was underperforming his contract for a player who has, potentially, a ridiculous amount of value. They gave up Joe Kelly too, but this isn’t a team that’s willing to sit around and see what kind of slightly above average pitcher Kelly can be. They want to get to the World Series again this year and were able to fill a need while not mortgaging their entire future.

The Dodgers organization has done a ton of work in the past few years to build and maintain some consistency throughout their system, but standing pat puts a lot of eyes squarely back on the players they’ve had all season.

But I’m going to keep asking the questions. Can we trust Josh Beckett, Paul Maholm, and Dan Haren at the back of the rotation? What depth does the team really have or need at infield positions? Why do the Dodgers (still) have five outfielders, none of whom can play center field with a high rate of efficiency?

These are questions that were asked months ago, and they weren’t answered at the trade deadline. If they are some of the reasons the Dodgers lose in the playoffs or fail to make the postseason at all, then fans will start asking other questions about personnel. The highest payroll in baseball and raised expectations do not easily breed the patience this team is both displaying and asking from its fans.

I suppose patience, in itself, is a gamble that just isn’t realized for a long period of time.

For as great of a thing as it is, a bubble machine isn’t going to heal what ails Hanley Ramirez. It’s not going to give Matt Kemp excellent outfield instincts and it certainly isn’t going to make Dan Haren or Josh Beckett any younger.

My ears are still recovering from Monday night’s Juan Uribe home run. For those of you who have been in a cave or on the moon, here it was.

I have never heard Dodger Stadium so loud. The crowd reaction was an exultation of all the nervous energy that was built-up at the beginning of the year. Hopefully the mood will be just as loud and not as nervous when the team returns home for Game 3.

Whether Andre Ethier comes back will be a big story over the next few days. By Owen Main

Grienke/Kershaw

The Dodgers’ pitching is once again lined-up for this series. Zack Grienke and Clayton Kershaw will start games one and two on the road. This is a best-case scenario for Dodger fans. It’s the reason they signed Grienke. Pitching is a huge deal in the playoffs and the Dodgers have two of the best.

Mark Lemke or Joe Carter?

I am 32 and grew up in the 80’s and 90’s, so “Mark Lemke or Joe Carter” seems like a prescient question to me. When all is said and done, will players like A.J. Ellis, Mark Ellis, John Jay, Daniel Descalso, and Juan Uribe be the heroes? Will any of the bigger stars like Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez, Yasiel Puig, Matt Holliday, Matt Carpenter, or Yadier Molina be the names we’re talking about?

We are ’bout to find out.

Will Ethier be back?

Andre Ethier’s bat vs. Skip Schumaker’s bat could make a huge difference in a close series.

How important is Game 1?

REALLY important — Especially for the Dodgers. A scenario where the Cardinals win Game One puts huge pressure on Kershaw and the Dodgers for Game Two. Can you imagine a worst-case scenario where the Cardinals win both games and the weight of the world is on Ryu for Game 3? I don’t want to think about it. Instead, Dodger fans would prefer to put the pressure on the Cardinals by forcing them to have to beat Kershaw in order to avoid losing both games in St. Louis.

However you cut it, Game One of a series shapes all the rest of the games. It’s huge.

Much has been made of pitching in baseball over the past few seasons. The game has seen a shift from more dominant power-hitters to more shutdown pitchers since the “steroid era” “ended.”

While there are still many bona fide power hitters in the majors (Miguel Cabrera, Jose Bautista, Matt Kemp, Ryan Braun, Robinson Cano, etc.), building a strong pitching rotation has become more of a prominent priority for successful teams. Just last season (2011), baseball had a pitcher, Justin Verlander, win both the MVP award and the CY Young award in the American League. Pitching has always been important to America’s pastime but now it’s more crucial than ever.

Here is my fifth installment and this time I’m taking my talents to the National League, breaking down each team’s potential starting rotation for the 2013 season with the average Earned Run Average (we know averaging an average isn’t scientifically sound, but we’re doing it anyway…): This time, the spotlight is on the NL Central…

Cincinnati Reds:

1. Johnny Cueto (19-9, 2.78 ERA, 170 Strikeouts)
2. Mat Latos (14-4, 3.48 ERA, 185 Strikeouts)
3. Bronson Arroyo (12-10, 3.74 ERA, 129 Strikeouts)
4. Homer Bailey (13-10, 3.68 ERA, 168 Strikeouts)
5. Mike Leake (8-9, 4.58 ERA, 116 Strikeouts)

Average Combined 2012 ERA: 3.65

St. Louis Cardinals:

1. Adam Wainwright (14-13, 3.94 ERA, 184 Strikeouts)
2. Chris Carpenter (0-2, 3.71 ERA, 12 Strikeouts)
3. Jake Westbrook (13-11 3.97 ERA, 106 Strikeouts)
4. Lance Lynn (18-7, 3.78 ERA, 180 Strikeouts)
5. Jamie Garcia (7-7, 3.92 ERA, 98 Strikeouts)

Average Combined 2012 ERA: 3.86

Milwaukee Brewers:

1. Yovani Gallardo (16-9, 3.66 ERA, 204 Strikeouts)
2. Marco Estrada (5-7, 3.64 ERA, 143 Strikeouts)
3. Mike Fiers (9-10, 3.74 ERA, 135 Strikeouts)
4. Mark Rodgers (3-1, 3.92 ERA, 41 Strikeouts)
5. Wily Peralta (2-1, 2.48 ERA, 23 Strikeouts)

Average Combined ERA: 3.49

Pittsburgh Pirates:

1. A.J. Burnett (16-10, 3.51 ERA, 180 Strikeouts)
2. Wandy Rodriguez (12-13, 3.76 ERA, 139 Strikeouts)
3. James McDonald (12-8, 4.21 ERA, 151 Strikeouts)
4. Francisco Liriano (6-12, 5.34 ERA, 167 Strikeouts)
5. Kyle McPherson (0-2, 2.73 ERA, 21 Strikeouts)

Average Combined ERA: 3.91

Chicago Cubs:

1.  Matt Garza (5-7, 3.91 ERA, 96 Strikeouts)
2.  Jeff Samardzija (9-13, 3.81 ERA, 180 Strikeouts)
3.  Edwin Jackson (10-11, 4.03 ERA, 168 Strikeouts)
4.  Travis Wood (6-13, 4.27 ERA, 119 Strikeouts)
5.  Scott Baker, 2011 season (8-6, 3.14 ERA, 123 Strikeouts)

Average Combined ERA: 3.83

Aroldis Chapman is a freak. He’s just one reason the Reds will take the division in 2013. By SD Dirk on Flickr (Originally posted to Flickr as “Aroldis Chapman”) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Last season the Pirates showed the baseball world glimpses of what they are capable of before faltering late in the season, but this year they will be back again and ready to contend. They really have nowhere else to go but up, especially in this division. I expect Francisco Liriano to be better than he has been and help the Bucs already-decent rotation out. There is no doubt that this is a good division, with two of the four National League playoff teams coming from here, and I expect it to be more competitive than ever this coming season. The Pirates rotation will be better, but I don’t think they will win this division in 2013 (though I’d love to be proven wrong).

2013 will be a three-team race between the Reds, Cardinals and Pirates. I think that the Brewers’ sub-par pitching staff will hurt them throughout the season so they fall out of my contending teams in this division. But ultimately I think that the Reds will win this division and also the NL’s best record next year. Last year, Cincinnati overcame major injuries throughout the season and still managed to win 97 games. Without a playoff collapse against the eventual champions, the Reds were one game from winning a playoff series. I believe next year will be different and the Reds get their first playoff series win since 1995.