Blue's Liveblog: NLDS Game One

The horrific economy yields its' first good news as I get sent home early from work because it's dead - just in time to watch the game. I paused it as soon as I walked through the door so I may be a little bit behind for the first few notes:

3:42 PM - Returned from the DL leadoff man Rafael Furcal is o-2 to start the game. That's a bad sign as I click pause once more to return to live action.

3:45 - Strike Three swinging. I'm not a believer in omens but - well, that one kind of speaks for itself if you believe in that kind of thing, no? Martin works a 3-2 count on a very close Ball 3.

3:47 - 1st Manny appearance draws boos from the Cubs fans. If he goes long with a runner on, he'll draw a lot more.

3:48 - Fuck. Cursed him. DP ball. I'll go shut up now.

3:53 - Jesus Christ, I love Tony Gwynn but he is shit on the mic. I'm sure he has tremendous insight to offer but his delivery is about as enthralling as listening to paint dry. It seems like Lowe is making a lot of pitches early but typical of modern sports announcers, they haven't mentioned it yet. He can't afford to make a lot of pitches while recovering from the flu. Just as I write that, he goes to 3-2 on the second straight hitter. That's not good.

3:58 - Walked the three hitter. Aramis Ramirez looking to make Lowe pay by drawing a 2-0 count early but Lowe induces the ground ball to get out of it safely. Still too many pitches for my liking but so far so good.

4:03 - Ethier draws a leadoff walk on another close call. Looks like the ump is calling a tight zone so far today. Loney up with a chance to get something going.

4:04 - Apparently Loney was 3rd in the league in GIDP this year. What a shitty stat. Between that and Kemp being close to [or setting?] the Dodger record for Ks, the young 'uns had some trying times this year. Loney pops up for the first out to bring up the aforementioned Kemp.

4:06 - Wow. The announcers just said it's "World Championship Or Bust" for the Cubs and their fans. Talk about getting looked over. I hope the Dodgers show a little more fire in their bellies for that kind of talk than the Lakers did in the Finals. Kemp flies out, Ethier still stuck at first. I talked last night about how the series might come down to taking advantage of situations when you had them. As Dewitt flies out, not budging someone who led off the inning with a walk is a perfect example of that.

4:11 - So, the NLDS is sponsored by Blackberry. With the tremendous MLB At Bat app for the iPhone, you would think they would've tried to get Apple to drop some coin. It'd make MLB look a little younger and hipper than the stodgy boring Blackberry does. It's one of those little things that keeps MLB behind the NFL and the NBA as the "cool" sports. Of course, the NBA had Hall And Oates perform at the All-Star Game in recent years so what the hell do I know? Linedrive single for Jim Edmonds with one out in the second for the first hit of the game. Fucking former Angels.

4:15 - Fuck me. Two-run shot by Mark DeRosa. Just barely fair but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades as Jesse "The Body" Ventura used to say. Cubs up 2-0 in the second is not the way the Dodgers wanted to get this thing going early. Lowe needs to bear down and not get rattled.

4:17 - Grrr. Don't let the opposing pitcher get a hit!

4:19 - Good lord. Fukodome with a fluke catch on Casey Blake's foul ball. Talk about curses. He almost tweaked his knee though doing it on one of those stupid baseline bullpens. Hey! Lou Pinella manages the Cubs! Who knew?

4:21 - Lowe battles to a 2-2 count. At least someone's working the count. Check swing gets to a full count for D-Lowe. Ball four! D-Lowe draws the walk - Dempster's third walk of the game.
Raffy threatens a running bunt for Strike One. Might not be a bad idea with no outs but with one, I'm not sure I'd sacrifice an out at this point.

4:23 - Wooo! Up and in on Raffy. Another full count. Beautiful camera shot of Martin on deck with an amazing sky in the background. Ball four puts Raffy on to put two one with one out with Martin and Manny up next.

4:25 - LOOK OUT! Martin almost gets popped on a bunt attempt - and then misses a pitch outside. Manny gets the benefit of the awesome camera shot this time. It's one of those shots that probably wouldn't look all that great in standard def but is absolutely gorgeous in HD. Count draws even on a pitch that almost snuck past Soto. Dempster hits the 50 pitch mark which makes me wonder how the Cubs 'pen is.

4:28 - Martin takes him deep but just misses it. Soriano tracks it down on the warning track which prompts an obscenity from me. Manny gets another chance to make an offensive impact with runners on first and second with two outs.

4:29 - Two up and in pitches on Manny. Dempster's a bit wild this inning. Infield single for Manny loads 'em up for Ethier. Come on, Andre!

4:32 - Ethier works the count to 2-2. The announcers are talking about the big difference for Andre since Manny showed up. Of course, most of that was with Andre hitting in front of Manny, not behind him. Full count. Payoff pitch on the way.

4:33 - Strike 3 swinging. Missed opportunity #2. Hey! An iPhone commercial! This one is telling you how great the iPhone is as a gaming platform - whoops! It's actually an iPod Touch commercial. First time I've seen that one.

4:35 - Caught up with the live feed so this should be "right" the rest of the way. A hard ground ball by Fukudome is gobbled up by Dewitt for the first out. The Cubs sure aren't a soft hitting team. Almost every ball has been hit hard - even the outs. Now it's D-Lowe with some wildness, drawing a full count on Lee. Too many pitches.

4:38 - Lowe needs a quick groundball here to get out of the inning. He can't keep throwing this many pitches. Send Greg Maddux out there to talk to him!

4:39 - And there's my double play groundball. Nice job, D-Lowe.

4:40 - Blackberry commercial advertising how awesome it is. Trust me, it's not. I just like the physical keyboard. Everything else falls way short of the iPhone in my oh-so-humble opinion. Viagra commercial advertising how awesome it is. Trust me, it's- errr, I mean... uhhh... not that I... it's this guy that I know who... hey! Captain Morgan commercial!

4:42 - Time for a beer. Be right back.

4:43 - Thanks for waiting! With a Red Stripe in hand, I feel much more "off work." Loney flies out to Soriano for the first out. Soriano did some kind of a little hop when he caught the ball. Has he always done that? Kemp grounds out weakly on an 0-2 count. MLB Record: 3,852 Reg. Season Wins between Torre and Pinella for the biggest combined total ever for two opposing postseason managers. How 'bout that?

4:45 - Dewitt with a blooper for the Dodgers' second hit of the game. Casey Blake up with two outs to try and get something going. Dempster seems a little more on target in this inning. The announcers points out the Dodgers have 4 LOB already in the game. Thanks - I wasn't aware. Shit. Blake lines out to end the inning. I guess we'll call that a missed opportunity but with two outs, they probably weren't likely to do much.

4:48 - Kutcher commercial for the Nikon D60. I've been thinking about buying a digital SLR in the near future but I'd hate to tell people that I researched the camera because the guy from Punk'd used it to hit on bridesmaids.

4:49 - Another snazzy HD shot or two as they come back from commercial. I just can't tell people enough how much I love sports in HD. I talked to someone recently though who said that the over-the-air HD is even better. I find that hard to believe. At what point does the signal just get so good that our eyes can't tell the difference anymore? The announcers chat about the Angels/Sox series. Personally, I'll believe the Angels can beat the Sox in the postseason when I see it. Nothing has proven they can yet. Speaking of Angels, Edmonds goes down on strikes on a check swing third strike.

4:53 - Oh joy. Replay of the homerun. Awesome. They haven't mentioned how many pitches Lowe has made yet. I hate sports announcers not named Vin Scully anymore. DeRosa singles up the middle to give the Cubs a runner with two outs. Base hit to right by Theriot puts two on with two outs with Dempster at the plate.

4:55 - Dempster chases two out of the zone to get the Dodgers out of the inning. Thank god.

5:01 - 3-0 count to Raffy with one out. He takes a high strike - a very high strike. So much for squeezing the zone. Ball four on a pitch I thought was closer than the high strike. Oh well. It all evens out, I suppose. Raffy with a walk to give Martin and Manny a shot to get things going for the Blue Crew.

5:04: 3-0 count to Martin. They need to be careful here. This could be a very key at-bat. Another high strike to put the count at 3-1. Martin flies out. Sigh. Not deep enough to advance a runner again. That brings up Manny with two outs and a runner on again. I can't figure out why Manny wears a mouthpiece. I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone in baseball wear one before. Two strikes brings the crowd to their feet. High fastball - Manny doesn't go for it. Foul ball to keep the count 1-2.

5:07 - A lot of pressure on Manny. He's got to know that Dodger fans have a lot of their hopes riding on his shoulders. Another high fastball that he ignores. 2-2. Another high fastball to take the count full. Pinella apparently has told a "sideline reporter" that this is the worst control Dempster's had all year. Great. I hate hearing stats like that when the Dodgers aren't taking advantage of it. Ball four inside to put Manny on and put Ethier in the pressure spot again. Manny with a great at-bat to draw the walk.

5:09 - And if there's a lot of pressure on Manny, Ethier must be feeling it too. Two at-bats in a row, he's found himself in a tight spot. Dempster has thrown 99 pitches so far. The 100th pitch is inside for a ball. 2-1 count for Ethier. He carried the team through the late part of the year and they could use a little magic from him now. 3-1 count with Loney on deck. The announcers speculate that Dempster's pitching around Ethier to get to Loney. Ball four on three walks. That makes seven walks for the game for Dempster. Seven walks and the Dodgers don't have a run yet.

5:12 - Being at Wrigley Field always brings Harry Caray memories to mind and as Harry would say, "The sacks are bulging" as Loney steps up and misses the first pitch badly. Loney needs to do something badly here. 0-2 count. Just barely got a piece of a third pitch to stay alive. If Loney strikes out on three pitches, I bet Nomar gets the start in game 2.

5:14 - Very high fastball almost gets away. 1-2 count. DEEEEEEEEEEEEP! GRAND SLAM!!!
Holy shit! That's the beauty of the liveblog. One moment you're sending someone to the bench and the next you want to be there to hug the shit out of them. Thank god for the windy Wrigley sky! It's the 3rd grand slam in Dodgers postseason history. Kemp slaps one into the alley for a stand-up double. And here comes the hook. Dempster's night is over in the top of the fifth inning.

5:19 - Announcers talking about walks "tempting the baseball Gods." Sounds good to me. By the way, the salami was to center field too. It seemed to hang in the air forever. 2-2 count to Dewitt with two outs. He strikes out to end the inning but as Mr. Scully would say, "The damage has been done." A two run lead in the middle of the fifth. Now the pressure on the pitching staff becomes even greater. Oh, and I guess we'll find out how the Cubs' pen is.

5:24 - Torre being interviewed. Nothing really of note. He likes Lowe being out there with his experience, big at-bat for Manny, yadda. Casey Blake takes a liner off the body for an error. Bad scoring, IMO. Fukudome on first with one out and Lee at the plate. Lowe goes over the first a couple times to keep him close. This is a dangerous situation with Lee and Ramirez coming up. Pitchout but no activity.

5:26 - Lowe goes to first again. The announcers talk about the number of GIDPs for Lee. We could use another groundball here to get out of this inning and leave Aramis stranded on deck. 1-2 count to Lee as he takes a big cut. Another throw to first. Lowe's really worried about the runner apparently. Low and outside to take the count to two and two. Like I said, a dangerous situation.

5:28 - YES! DP hopper to short! Good job, D-Lowe! Earn that big contract coming your way in the winter, baby! Dodgers holding on to the 4-2 lead moving in to the Top of the Sixth.

5:30 - I was just checking my Google Reader during the commercial and saw some Laker news from training camp. I totally had forgotten that training camp was opening. It's interesting as a fan of both teams to see where your loyalties shift when the seasons collide. Obviously, my focus won't be on the Lakers as long as the Dodgers are in the postseason just as my focus is never really solely on the Dodgers until after May or June most seasons. But it is night to have the ability to say things like, "I can't wait for (insert team here) season to begin" as opposed to "Wait til next year."

5:33 - 3-0 count to Lowe draws some boos from the Cubbie faithful. Ball four puts Lowe on for the eighth walk by the Cubs' pitching staff of the night. Split-screen shot of Zambrano and Chad Billingsley. It's gonna be a big night for Chad tomorrow and I have every confidence he's going to show the talent that has made me root so hard for him every since his initial call up. Raffy almost gets plunked as the count moves to 2-0. Jason Marquis up in the 'pen. It's always interesting to see how a starter will do when coming out of the bullpen.

5:35 - Sarcastic cheer from the fans on Strike One. I wonder how long of a leash Raffy will have in this series. He hasn't played badly tonight but Angel Berroa was fantastic during the last month or so of the season. Also, with Nomar on the bench, Raffy has to feel the pressure a bit. He strikes out for the second out of the inning to bring up Martin with a runner on first.

5:38 - Martin hits the ball hard but right to Soriano for the third out. Bottom of the sixth coming up.

5:42 - A leadoff double by Aramis Ramirez off the ivy in center just shows how important that DP ball was in the last inning. But a man in scoring position with no outs puts Lowe in another dangerous situation. He'll need to work carefully. Cory Wade gets up to throw in the Dodgers' pen as Lowe falls to 2-0 to Soto. Martin and Honeycutt to the mound to try and settle Lowe - and probably to buy some time for Wade to get heated up in case they need him. Beautiful blimp shot during the mound conference of the stadium.

5:44 - Lowe looks a little tired as they show him settling back in on the mound. The flu might have sapped some stamina from him. Strike one to Soto with Edmonds on deck. Strike two with a low fastball. Strike three! Very big at-bat there for Lowe. He's still got to be on his game with the tying run at the plate with every hitter in this inning though. Jim Edmonds steps in 1 for 2 on the night looking to get the Cubs even in a hurry.

5:46 - Lowe calls Martin to the mound. That was interesting. The announcers are talking about Saito being the planned closer if they get to that point tonight with Broxton as the setup man. 2-0 count to Edmonds with DeRosa on deck. I don't like this at all. I'm very nervous right now. Lowe steps off the mound again. He and Martin are having trouble working together at the moment. Strike One to Edmonds on the outside corner. Grounder to second for the first out as Ramirez moves over to third on the play.

5:47 - DeRosa up as the tying run. 92 pitches for Lowe is finally shown as an on-screen graphic that the announcers ignore. Not horrible for the second. Whew. Ethier catches a fly ball to end the inning. Again, great pitching by D-Lowe to cling to that 4-2 lead and strand a runner a third.

5:49 - Wow. Commercial for Appaloosa with the quote "It's a classic in the vein of Unforgiven." That's damn high praise. Anyone seen it yet? I'm eager to check it out ASAP after that soundbite.

5:51 - With Manny, Ethier, and Loney coming up, I'd feel a lot better with some more runs on the board. Still a lot of baseball left to play in this game. Manny fouls one off his foot and walks it off. He's still not back in the box yet. Now, he settles in with an 0-2 count. Closeup of Manny's helmet which looks even more disgusting in HD. GONNNNNNE! MANNY SOLO SHOT! I was just about to comment on how there was an article in the Times that credited Manny with earning the Dodgers about 7.5 million dollars in revenue in his short stay. His negotiations are going to be very interesting. Hey, Manny - don't forget that guy who wanted his picture with you on his wedding day. Remember when he showed you the cufflinks made of Dodger Stadium seats? Yeah. We know that's why you want to stay. Give us the hometown discount for it!

5:55 - Ethier goes down quietly. Loney up with one out and an 0-2 count. And my beer is finally gone. Be right back!

5:56 - Red Stripe #2 is ready! Loney out as well. Kemp up with a 1-1 count and two outs. The announcers are still talking about Manny. It's hard not to. The guy is just amazing. From his performance on the field to the effect he's had off the field on the team's chemistry. Just amazing. Kemp Ks to end the inning. Well, I'll take the one run extra, I suppose!

6:01 - Cory Wade in to pitch to replace Lowe. Now I'm really nervous. There was a great story about Wade I saw in the past couple of days where he talked about how he never would have dreamed he'd be pitching in October this year. He was scheduled to start the season at Double A, I believe. You've gotta love a story like that. Kid, you're there now and it's VERY VERY important that you don't stink today! Have at it.

6:03 - Another replay of the Manny homer. How the fuck did he do that? He bent over and golfed that one. Amazing. Hard single to center for... some guy... he was pinch-hitting for the pitcher. That brings up Soriano with a runner on and one out. Wade would do well to channel some D-Lowe magic and get a groundball here. 0-2 count on Soriano. Broxton's throwing in the 'pen to presumably get ready for the eighth inning to follow the Torre plan of Broxton to Saito. Popup by Soriano for the second out.

6:06 - Fukudome up. Wade's making me nervous because a lot of his pitches are ending up in the zone. You make a mistake high with some guys in the Cubs lineup and you'll be searching the streets outside Wrigley for the ball. Wade nips the corner to get to a 2-2 count. Much better pitches there and he strikes him out with a low pitch. Heading into the eighth with a 5-2 lead.

6:08 - I fucking hate "Frank TV." I've never seen it - I don't want to ever see it. But I fucking hate it. I hated it when they showed tons of commercials for it during the NBA playoffs and I'm going to hate it even more if they're going to show them during the MLB playoffs too. Lots of financial broker ads right now. Have they missed the news that no one has any money to invest at the moment?

6:12 - Jeff Samardzija in for the Cubs - a great baseball Scrablle name by the way. He was throwing some heat until Dewitt bashed one off the ivy for a leadoff triple. Beautiful. More runs, guys. Add some more. Jeff "Mr. Personality" Kent on deck to bat for Cory Wade as Casey Blake looks to get the run home. Almost thrown away in a wild pitch. Soto's been awesome to keep the ball in front of him all night on some very tough pitches to handle. Closeup right there of the Wrigley lights - remember when they played all their games during the day? Good times. Another ball in the dirt that Soto has to save.

6:14 - Casey Blake grounds one up the middle to bring home Dewitt and make it 6-2 for the Boys In Blue. Nice piece of hitting. Kent comes up with the chance to add on to that. Kent grounds into a weird double play. Figures. Wasn't he involved in that stupid two guys tagged out at home against the Mets too? Raffy comes up 0 for 2. He needs a hit here to get himself on track. 2-2 count. Soriano catches a sailing fly ball on the warning track for the third out. Welp, here comes Johnny B. Goode.

6:22 - Johnny's in to bring the heat. Berroa in at second as a defensive replacement. Broxton hits 96 on the gun with his second pitch to take the count to 1-1. He tries to nibble and misses the black. 97 inside makes Lee swing through it. Berroa gobbles up a ground ball for the first out. The crowd is silent. Camera shot of the announcers. Ron Darling looks just like he always did. Tony Gwynn looks fat. Which means he looks just like he always did too.

6:25 - Johnny goes inside with a 99 mph fastball. That's enough to leave a puddle in the batters box. Rising fastball gets chased by Aramis. Flyball out for the second out. Broxton looks sharp so far as Soto comes up to the plate. Announcers are discussing how Saito is not an automatic lock to pitch the ninth since Torre doesn't know if he can use him in back-to-back games yet. Would Broxton get a chance to go two innings? That's a little scary since that makes him tough to use tomorrow if you need him too. No one else is warming or I would think maybe Kershaw or Maddux was a possibility to close. Broxton walks Soto. Raffy gets the signal to go in to talk to Broxton to buy Saito time to warm up. So much for that discussion.

6:28 - Edmonds at the plate with a runner on first and two outs. Wheeew. Very close foul ball in left field. Just barely missed the chalk. That would have scored one because Manny is... well, Manny. Probably would've left Edmonds at third too. 0-2 count annnnnnnnd... Edmonds sends one deeeeeeeep - CAUGHT! Kemp catches it on the track for the third out. That was too close. Broxton's been making me nervous for several weeks now. I wonder if the closing duties [and his fat ass] have worn him down a little bit late in the season. It could become a factor at some point.

6:34 - Marquis finally comes in to face Martin, Manny, and Ethier. Saito is heating up. Is it wrong that I still have butterflies? HOME RUN FOR MARTIN! Solo shot to lead off the inning and that's good to see as he's been struggling a bit.

6:35 - Second beer is gone! Be right back!

6:36 - Red Stripe #3 says hello! The announcers claim they've never heard Wrigley Field this quiet. Maddux joins Saito in the 'pen. Torre's reading my blog! Heeeeeey Joe! Where you goin' with that gun in yo' hand? Strike three to Manny gets some cheers from the Chicago crowd. Ethier steps in with no pressure on him. That's gotta be nice. This ump takes a long time to call the ball/strike. I wonder if it's the same guy Vinny was bitching about last week. Ethier unloads... but Edmonds pulls it in on the warning track for the second out.

6:39 - Loney up to the plate 1 for 4 - and of course, we know the 1. They showed a shot of the dugout during a grand slam replay and Martin did some crazy overjoyed leap that made me giggle just now. Loney grounds out for the third out and - here comes Maddux! This should be... interesting. Hang tight, Dodger fans!

6:41 - I just realized they didn't even mention who sang during the Seventh Inning Stretch. Ridiculous. That's one of those classic Wrigley moments that deserves to be seen and a commercial or two could (and should) be sacrificed for it.

6:43 - So, if Maddux does well in relief, he might be able to pitch until he's 60. Quick 0-2 count to DeRosa. Ron Darling sounds like he's watching his hero and makes the comment that when he pitched against the Professor, "I was playing checkers while he was playing chess." Awesome. Even as bad as Maddux has pitched with the Dodgers, you have to like your chances when Greg Maddux takes the mound for your squad. DeRosa is fighting off a few pitches though to stay alive. Maddux isn't going to overpower anyone. Close one called a ball to make it a full count. Grounder to Furcal for out #1.

6:46 - Maddux just looks so effortless out there. Loney leaps to knock down a line drive and they almost beat Theriot to first. Maddux missed the bag [according to the replay] and Theriot is safe at first with one out.

6:47 - Darryle Ward is hitting? DARRYLE WARD?! Where the hell did they find him? He grounds out to first. Theriot advances to third after stealing second. Saito back up to throw again - just in case. Soriano comes up with a runner on third and two outs. The Sox and Angels are up next. I'll probably watch some/most of that until the premiere of Pushing Daisies comes on.

6:49 - Loney catches a looper from Soriano - and the Cub fans boo. Ungrateful fucks. But the important thing is the Dodgers take Game One of the NLDS.

Did you catch that?

The Dodgers take Game One of the NLDS! WOOOOOOO!