NLCS Game Three Recap: Russell Martin Agonistes

by dajafi on Oct 12, 2008 11:33 PM EDT Comment 8 comments

Cheered on by a briefly full stadium and the Fox broadcast crew, the Dodgers clawed their way back into the National League Championship Series with a 7-2 win over Jamie Moyer and the Phillies. LA got to Moyer early, scoring five times in the first inning--three on a two-out, two-strike bases-loaded double by #8 hitter Blake DeWitt--and again in the second on a Rafael Furcal home run before Charlie Manuel pulled the plug. Phillies relievers were again effective in limiting the Dodgers to one run over the last 6 2/3 innings, but the lineup could not generate much offense against Hiroki Kuroda, who allowed just two runs and five hits in six-plus innings.

The good news was pretty much limited to Ryan Howard notching his first two hits of the series, and the solid relief work from Clay Condrey, J.A. Happ, Scott Eyre, Chad Durbin and J.C. Romero. Otherwise, the game was of interest only for the near-beanball war that erupted after Dodgers catcher Russell Martin was hit by a pitch in the first inning (on a 1-2 count, by Moyer, to load the bases--so intent likely was not an issue), and brushed back by Condrey in the second before hitting into a double play and throwing a hissy fit better suited for one of MTV's semi-reality shows about teenagers than a playoff ballgame. Kuroda responded by throwing over Shane Victorino's head in the third, and both benches emptied. The humorous coda came in the seventh, when Durbin hit Martin on an offspeed pitch.

While this loss wasn't much fun, one could argue that this never looked like a good matchup. Moyer has gotten hit hard by the Dodgers a time or two in recent years and wasn't sharp in his NLDS start, and Kuroda absolutely owned the Phillies in two August starts against them. Tomorrow's game takes on more urgency now, of course, and the Phils will send Joe Blanton to the hill against Derek Lowe, taking the ball on short rest for Los Angeles.

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how does this affect moyer's game 7 status?

WS – hamels, myers, HAPP!?!

by char6587 on Oct 13, 2008 12:28 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

“Suck it, Russell Martin.”

The Denker bus is now bound for San Diego. Those who were passengers on it are now angrily stranded at a gas station in Modesto, CA. Not much about baseball here .

by oldjacket on Oct 13, 2008 12:58 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I really hope all this “retaliation” crap is done with and we can just concentrate on baseball right now. And, so Buck and McCarver will STOP OBSESSING OVER THE DAMN STUFF. Jeezy creezy.

FWIW, I think Victorino handled it like a grownup, Kuroda did what he had to do, probably to shut up his idiotic teammates, and Martin acted like a gigantic baby.

by WholeCamels on Oct 13, 2008 10:03 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

you mean martin’s helmet slamming and tantrum in the dugout ISN’T how a professional baseball player is supposed to act?

and if martin had a problem, i’m sure getting drilled by grampa moyer’s “fastball” really hut, and condrey’s pitch was just an up and in pitch… nothing out of the ordinary

Foos for OC in '09!
Send... it... in!

by foos05 on Oct 13, 2008 12:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Old school

There was a day in baseball history when a player getting buzzed like Victorino wouldn’t have started whining and gesticulating about being thrown at. He’d have dug in his heels, dragged a bunt down the first base line and run right through the pitcher. Or if he was Frank Robinson, he’d have dug in his heels and ripped a line drive right back through the box. Now given the candy ass nature of baseball today, Victorino was smart not to try the bunt thing. He’d have gotten an ejection and maybe a suspension. But I think he’d have been better off acrting like he couldn’t care less, and then bearing down to hit the ball hard. Instead it seemed to throw him, and maybe the whole team off its game. Hopefully we can just concentrate on working the count tonight, trying to force Lowe to bring a pitch or two up a notch and then hitting him hard. Pitching on three days rest at the end of a long season, hopefully his command will be a little off, and we’ll have the patience to press him (he got flustered very quickly when we started getting to him in game one. Rollins needs to set the tone in the first at bat.

by MJW on Oct 13, 2008 2:04 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

FWIW

Back in the old school days, guys got hit by pitches a lot less than they do today. I think while guys like Gibson would throw inside and stuff, they didn’t hit guys all that much (Drysdale hit a lot of guys but he threw kinda side arm and his pitches tailed in a lot — causing a high HBP number).

I remember reading a lot about how guys were supposed to drag bunts down the 1B line and spike the pitcher and stuff like that but I don’t remember it acutally happening,

I also remember Campy Campaneris throwing his bat at a pitcher and getting suspended for the post season and I remember Juan Marichal clonging Johnny Roseboro over the head with his bat (and getting suspended and pretty much costing the Giants a pennant) so I’m not so sure the old school days were so much more groovy.

In a lot of ways, baseball is much harder than in the old school days. More pitchers throw the ball hard and they put a lot of “stuff” on every pitch and they play baseball in the damn winter time now (Late October is COLD man).

Although I’m older than most guys who post on these here boards, I view most talk of the “good old days” with a lot of skepticism.

by smitty99 on Oct 13, 2008 7:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs