Fire That Fox Prime Ticket Director!

I told you so… but I was wrong. The Braves scored a run and the Dodgers and Derek Lowe still won the game, 2-1. A rare homer by Matt Kemp and a rare RBI (his 9th!!!) from Andruw Jones and the Blue are back in a flat-footed tie with Arizona for first place.

Do I need to say it again? This team needs a bat. Their starting pitching has been phenomenal. Best in the league. During this last series alone, all 3 pitchers had perfect games or no hitters through the first 4 innings. Kuroda had a perfecto through 7 and Lowe had one through 6, I believe. In spite of the loss, I actually think Billingsley pitched quite well before giving up the 3 run double to Escobar. BUT…

… THEY WILL NOT WIN ANYTHING unless they acquire a bat and a leadoff hitter. (Maybe that leadoff hitter will be Juan Pierre’s return in a month – if he returns.) Their pitching is good, but not good enough to win a playoff game against a fortified Cubs, Brewers, Mets or Phillies lineup. Frankly, they’ll have a difficult time even winning the West with the team they have.

Everyone’s favorite cliché this time of year is, “sometimes the best deal is no deal at all.” I fervently disagree. Matt Kemp and Andruw Jones will have to become big home run hitters in a big hurry for me to change my mind. I really don’t see that happening. They need someone in the 4 hole who’s better than Jeff Kent, pure and simple. They need someone in the 3 hole who’s got more pop than James Loney or Russell Martin. Otherwise, they just won’t score enough runs. Ned, you have 21 days.

Let’s talk a little about one of my favorite nuances about baseball: the superstition. Chalk lines are not stepped on by most players. Filthy hats are worn day in and day out if the player has been successful when wearing it. Most players would continue wearing urine stained pants if they were wearing them when a losing streak or hitting slump was broken. When someone is throwing a no hitter, no one is supposed to mention it on the field or talk to the pitcher about it. Announcers really aren’t supposed to mention it until after the 5th inning. During a no hitter, you don’t change anything about the way the game is approached until at such time that the first hit is allowed. The other night Hiroki Kuroda was pitching a perfect game. Vin Scully was delivering on-the-fly poetry as he announced this gem. It was the top of the 8th inning. Every single pitch Kuroda had thrown had been shown to viewers from the centerfield camera. Those who have watched baseball over the years have all grown used to and extremely comfortable with that straight on, centerfield camera shot. So, it’s 2 and 2 to Mark Teixiera, Scully describes the Braves outfield defense and the idiot director decides to switch to the overhead camera for the next pitch. What happens? Teixiera promptly lines a slider down the right field line for a double, ending the perfect game, the no hitter and almost the shutout. No doubt people who are reading this might say, “Steve, do you really think that it was the director’s decision to show that pitch from a different camera that caused the perfect game to be ruined?” In a word, yes. You don’t change ANYTHING in the middle of a perfect game.