A Freeway Series May Be a Long Way Away

Los Angeles had a rough weekend for baseball. Not only did the Dodgers get absolutely creamed last night in Philadelphia, but the Angels lose a heartbreaker in New York the night before (or early that morning, if you prefer) on a Maicer Izturis throwing error in the bottom of the unlucky 13th inning (right). Neither team is out of it yet, but it does appear that the LA thirst for a freeway series may not be quenched in 2009.

Phillies absolutely roll over the Dodgers 11-0. Trouble happened early and often for the Blue, starting with Hiroki Kuroda (below left) in the first inning. Kuroda pitched 1 2/3 innings with 6 earned runs. He was replaced by Elbert in the bottom of the second, but really it wasn’t early enough. It’s tough to watch a starting pitcher get pulled in the 1st, but Kuroda could not find the strike zone. On multiple occasions in the first inning, the count quickly rang to 3-0 or 3-1, and the Phillies made him pay. Like any great major league pitcher, once your team is up, you can really turn on the heat, and Cliff Lee pitched a lights out game.

Many are blaming Joe Torre on the loss once again, and it’s pretty easy to see why. Kuroda had been out for weeks with a herniated cervical vertebra (neck) and had only pitched a few side games against wimpy-batted Arizona. Not to make excuses, but this was a throw away game anyway. Besides the surprising performance from Pedro Martinez in game two, the Phillies don’t really have any great starters besides Cliff Lee. From a long way off, this seemed like the game that Philly would win, regardless of who started for the Dodgers. So why waste a game with someone like Padilla or Wolf when you can try and see if you can get anything from the only pitcher who did anything in last year’s NLCS, Kuroda? It was a gamble yes, but one that had a relatively similar balance on win vs loss.

Unfortunately for LA fans, this isn’t really looking like the year. But after today we’ll really get a chance to see where LA stands in the Championship Series. Both games are must wins for each team. The term “must win” is greatly over used, but a win by the Phillies or Yankees puts each team away from the World Series by one win. Dodgers would be down 3-1, and Angels would be down 3-0. With how Philadelphia and NY are playing right now, that would be an absolutely insurmountable distance to make up.