It's a Squeaker!

Guess Darin Erstad's little pep talk didn't quite do the trick. 

Things started out swimmingly for the Angels, who led 2-0 after the top half of the first thanks to a Vlad Guerrero bomb to center.  It would get uglier.  Substantially uglier.  Bride of Frankenstein uglier.  Of course, ugly for the Halos looked Charlize Theron gorgeous for the home team.  It all started innocently enough, as the Dodgers joined the leaguewide trend of kicking Jeff Weaver's (1-7) butt, battering the Angels starter for 11 hits and single runs in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th before Mike Scioscia yanked him in favor of Esteban Yan (Esteban Yan?  You think Grady Little has bullpen issues?  That guy is more flammable than your local Mobil station.).  Oddly enough, Weaver didn't get much love from his former home fans on the way out.  Go figure. 

But bad as things were for Weaver, comparatively speaking he got off easy, because in the sixth the Dodgers went absolutely goony bird on the Angels.  Nine runs on nine hits, a walk, and one of those funky deals where a guy strikes out but reaches first on a wild pitch.  Not a single homer, too, which is pretty impressive.  Basically, if it wasn't for Jose Cruz Jr., who popped up and struck out for two of the three Dodger outs in the inning, the Blue might still be batting.  The nine hit explosion was the highest single inning output for the Dodgers since May 20, 1990.   Damn.   Not content to rest on their laurels, the Dodgers kept pouring it on, notching a single tally in the 7th and two in the 8th, good enough for a 16-3 win.  The 25 hits were the most since the Dodgers packed up the U-Hauls and moved out from Brooklyn, and the team hadn't scored this much in a game since 2003. Aaron Sele (2-0) is officially forbidden to complain about run support until about 2017. 

The offensive honor roll Friday night was longer than the line outside The Standard on a Saturday night.  Furcal- 3 hits, 2 runs, 3 RBI.  Nomar- 3 hits, 2 runs.  Drew- 2 hits, 2 walks, 2 runs scored.  Kent- 2 hits, 2 runs, 2 RBI.  Martin- 3 hits, 3 RBI (and a nice peg of Chone Figgins waaaaaay back in the 1st inning).  But the winner of tonight's "I Want To Be The Most Picked Up Player In Fantasy Baseball" contest was Andre Ethier.  5-5, 4 runs, 3 RBI.  Dude was unstoppable.   

And considering the Angels may not score 16 runs during the rest of May, this was a game even Grady Little could feel comfortable going with the 'pen.   

So Game 1 of the Freeway Series goes emphatically to the Men in Blue.  Hopefully they didn't use up a weekend's worth of offense in one game.  More on tonight, tomorrow.

BK

Comments

[natepurcell]

show some love for broxton! 1inning no runs, 2ks hit 98 on the gun and his controland command was impeccable! the 24 and under Dodger team was damn good tonight.

[bluebleeder]

nice to see the kids (Russell & Ethier) having good days.

[phil]

andre ehier WHAAATTT???

[LoLo]

My daily “dos centavos” (two cents, for those of you that don’t habla):

As Dave Chappelle would say while imitating Lil’ Jon, “YIAYAHHHHHH!!!” Now that’s what I call a win; an old-fashioned butt-whooping. This game is very indicative of the different directions the two clubs are going. The Dodgers are only getting better. Their offense has been pouring in the runs, the starting pitching has been SOLID, and the relievers are actually starting to show SOME progress. It felt good to see Sele work through his early struggles and pitch a solid game. We have worked through injuries with solid rookie replacements and have not missed a beat. Meanwhile, the Anaheim Angels of Northern Orange County at Disneyland are heading south in the standings. Even after a “Gipper-like” speech from Erstad they couldn’t get their act together. They are hurting bad, and that’s definitely not the same team that everyone (the Times’ 3 Stooges) has been raving about over the last few years.

The Flake: I know it’s not good to put personal vendetta over team results, but darn it I’m a paying customer and the customer is always right! Haha!! Scioscia, my boy, what are you doing taking Weaver out with the bases loaded in the 4th? C’mon man, you’re a Dodger at heart. Leave him in there and let us see if we can have some fun at the greedy bastard’s expense. The Flake’s ERA actually DROPPED to 7.30. Booo!!!! Boooo!!!! (Just kidding Scioscia, you’re still my favorite all-time Dodger).

The Rooks: I have never doubted the hype that we have some solid players coming up courtesy of our farm system. The one thing I was worried about was the apparent plan to just let all of our veterans walk out after 06 or 07 and then field a team of rookies. I love the fact that we are letting 2-3 rookies get experience at a time so that they become the “veterans” that show the LaRoches, Kemps, and the Guzmans the ropes.

Martin: He might not have Piazza’s pop, but the boy can flat out hit. I love his composure behind the plate. We have found our catcher for many years to come, PERIOD.

Ethier: His average had dipped down to .222 and no one seemed worried about it. That goes to show the confidence they have in him. He composed himself and went 5-5. The guy flat out reminds me of Mark Grace, I don’t know why (yes, I know Grace was 1B, but I’m talking about his demeanor and composure).

Aybar: I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again; if we can’t find a position for him I’ll be more than happy to have him as our Saenz/Dave Hansen clone for the future. He is a hitting machine.

Gagne: PLEASE, I beg you PLEASE, if you have any amount of pain in your arm SAY SOMETHING. We know you are a big bad boy with a hockey player mentality. Nobody will question your manhood and you have nothing left to prove to anyone. We need you HEALTHY. Your arm can only take so many surgeries. Don’t disappoint me again because I am ecstatic that Little was walking around with a grin all day after watching you throw (something he never had after watching you in Spring Training).

Carter is Back: Forgive me if I don’t jump for joy at the news that Carter has replaced Osoria on the roster. It’s like saying that my diarrhea has been replaced with constipation. I just don’t see it as a winning situation.

[Michael Teniente]

I caught the big inning on TV. I was great to see. I'm really impressed with the Ethier kid. I think Aybar and Ethier should be played a lot of games, it brings a good mix of vets and rookies.

Man, the top of the order, with Fucal, Lofton/Cruz, Normar, Drew, and Kent...if they stay healthy...it could go a long way.

mike