Extra! Extra! (9.25)
All tied up, bases loaded, two out, must-win game. Technically, a broken-bat single will do the trick, but this is L.A. Where's the sense of drama in that? You know what makes for better Hollywood-style highlights? Walk off grand slams, like the one Nomar Garciaparra crushed to left center, giving the Blue a 5-1 win Sunday afternoon.
With San Diego and Philadelphia both winning, L.A. couldn't afford to slip back any more in the NL West or wild card. With only six games left, including three in Colorado and three more in San Francisco (where the games will matter, even if they don't), the math puts a beat down on teams that fall behind.
Of course, Nomar, being a local boy, knew conventional, run-of-the-mill big moments aren't nearly as effective as they can be when fighting injuries that would likely land him on the DL if this were July 1, so kudos to him on that end too. The guy can barely walk, but his second dramatic homer in a week shows why Grady Little wants him in the lineup, and why a curtain call was required.
And this notebook shows why everyone in the Dodger Nation owes Kim Ng a steak.
But of Nomar wins the hypothetical Oscar for best Sunday moment, at the very least he'll need to allow Hong-Chih Kuo over to his house to visit the hardware. Without Kuo's seven dominating innings — and a box score that shows four hits, eight Ks, and nary an earned run for the rook can be called dominating for sure — it's doubtful the Dodgers would have been in a position to make Nomar's hit important. With a bullpen taxed like a Scandinavian, the Dodgers needed a starter not named Derek Lowe to step up. Kuo did all that — diggin' the slider, baby! — and more. Can you say first big league hit? How about a run scored? Roll that ball to the dugout!
The show also made Kuo a likely starter Friday in San Francisco in a week that will feature more vets than an American Legion convention.
The Dodgers are off today, but San Diego and the surging Phillies both play, so there's plenty of reason to peep at your local scoreboard. It's the first day of what will be a busy week around baseball.
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After almost leaving the game prematurely Monday night, I told my friends that it didn't matter if the game went 20+ innings. We were going to stay until the very end. We could be down by 10 runs in that 21st inning, I didn't care.
Anyhow when the Kenny Lofton walked in the bottom of the 9th, my friends and I just looked at each other with a gleam. I said that Nomar would go yard on a 3-1 pitch. 3-1 comes up and we all know what Nomar did.
It's been quite magical to come to Dodger games this year especially since they've won everyone I've been to. My friends and I just got our playoff tickets so hopefully we keep winning and bring the World Series back to the correct LA team.
Posted by: James | September 25, 2006 at 10:26 AM
Dodgers will not win the division. Wild card is the only hope. The Phillies must lose a few. That's possible. But the Dodgers will probably have to win 5 of the last six which is an extremely tall order.
Six nails. Which ones will be pounded into the coffin? It's up to them now...
Posted by: Andy B | September 25, 2006 at 11:00 AM