So THAT'S what the other end of a shutout feels like

THE GOOD

• Chan Ho-Park: In a game where nearly everyone brought something to the table, Park was the Man of the Hour.  Six innings of shut out ball featuring just four hits, a whopping seven strikeouts and exceptional control.  Park basically kept the game on a string, yet another chapter in what's become one of the league's best reclamation stories.  "I don't know where we'd have been without him.  When you look out on the mound and see him, it's the savvy," marveled Torre.  "It's all about the savvy.  Being able to change speeds and do whatever he wants with his breaking ball.  It's been a huge difference."
  
  Or as Russell Martin put it, "He's the old Chan-Ho right now."
  
  The line of the night?  When asked how long it's been since he's thrown this well (the inference being "for so many games on a season"), Park responded with a deadpan "five days."  But when asked what the difference has been this season as opposed to the past several where he's struggled, Park offered a laundry list of suggestions.  Better mechanics, mentality, family support, city, teammates.   Basically, you name it, it would be better at the moment.
  
• Russell Martin: Sporting some new Elvis style sideburns, Canada's Favorite Son wasted no time putting the Dodgers on the board, thanks to an absolute crusher solo shot to left field.  Estimated at 427 feet, that poor ball landed in the pen and looked for a bit like it would leave the park.  That self-ribbie was one of the three times Martin crossed the plate on the evening.  He was also part of a cool double steal with Juan Pierre in the fifth.  Those are always fun. 
  
• Juan Pierre: Two base hits, including an eighth inning single notched through pure hustle.  He also swiped two bags in the fifth, just beating the Jeff Mathis' throw to second and quite possibly not beating it at third on the above mentioned dual swipe.  The replay revealed a skin tight sequence where Robb Quinlan's glove may have actually touched Pierre before he touched the bag.  Oh, well.  One of those nights for his team, and himself. 
  
• James Loney: There was a fifth inning ribbie, plus a nice grab of a sharp Casey Kotchmann grounder to end the 7th inning.
• Andre Ethier: Talk about your entrances.  Ethier didn't enter the until the seventh inning as a replacement for Delwyn Young, but wasted no time making his presence known, cranking a pitch from Justin Speier into the All you can eat section of the Ravine.  Three more runs score for the Dodgers. 
  
• Strikeouts:  Fourteen in all, with every Blue pitcher notching at least one.  Broxton and Saito each struck out the side in 1-2-3 fashion during the 8th and 9th frames.

THE BAD

• Andy LaRoche:  A tough night for a guy who wasn't the best around.  0-4 with six men left on base.  Two of them never made it home after he killed a fifth inning rally by grounding into a double play.  But the worst stranding sequence came on an absolute brain cramp.  With two outs and the bases loaded in the third, ALR opted for whatever reason to put down a bunt.  A poor decision was then magnified when the ball bounced up and hit him while out of the batter's box, creating the third out.  The situation was more than a little strange and LaRoche's manager had no answers when I asked about it.
  
  "Go ask him," said the Skip with a shake of the head when I wondered what prompted that decision.  "It wasn't something that we designed.  It's not something he ever did in the minor leagues and it's a hell of a time to pull it out of your bag."   But, as I noted, you can guarantee the Angels weren't expecting it.  "Neither were we," countered Torre.
  
• Mark Sweeney: Another pinch hit attempt.  Another strike out.  His average now sits at .100 and  appears rather vulnerable to double digit status.

AUDIO

• Joe Torre: Download joe_torre_postgame_angels_1.mp3
• Russell Martin: Download russell_martin_postgame_angels_1.mp3
  
• Andre Ethier:  Download andre_ethier_postgame_angels_1.mp3
• Chan-Ho Park: Download chanho_park_postgame_angels_1.mp3

AK