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Dog days of Summer

And then there was one LA team in the NBA playoff.... I had the Lakers winning 4 games over .500 this season but they finished the season with a flurry winning 8 out of 11 to finish 7 games over. So to say i was surprised is an understatement. I didn't expect them to do that well. The only problem is, even with a Championship-unbound squad, i knew i wasn't going to be satisfied with just making it to the playoffs... But wouldn't you know it, the Lakers went up 3 games to 1... Fate? Cinderella? No it was defense. I was saying it all along, even before the start of the series, hold the Suns 95 points or under and it's a guaranteed victory. But low and behold, games five six and the massacre of seven, that defense that was oh so clever suddenly all but dissipated. What the fuck happened? Speaking strictly basketball, failure to execute the defensive scheme led to their undoing. But i blame it all on Marco who said "no matter what happened i am satisfied, even if they go on to lose in game 7" such a vile thing to say... But the Lakers broke my heart man. Never, nothing, no one has ever taken me to such an emotional high and low since the Jersey girl. But having said that, at least there's always next season...

But the pain is over, it's baseball season!!! The dodgers haven't exploded out of the gates with an 11-2 start as they have in years past only to stumble midway through the season. They've had a 5 game losing streak then a five game winning streak to get back into .500. Rookie Japanese relief pitcher Saito went 8 innings before giving up a run. Local boy and long time Red Sox short stop Nomar Garciaparra is finally healthy and has hit two walkoff homeruns in first base, that bodes well with the fans. After shuffling more than 8 players at 3rd base last season, the squad secured Bill Mueller, the 2003 AL hitting champ. The gaping hole in the leadoff spot was filled with the speedy Rafael Furcal who has found his stride in the last couple of games. Starting pitcher Tomko, my least favorite offseason acquisition is pitching well, leading the team in wins and era (4-1, 2.98 era). The most apparent problem is the lack of production in the 7th and 8th spot and the inability to protect from the stolen base. However it's very promising to see the Dodgers stealing bases, a healthy starting rotation, a nice bullpen and surprisingly hitting for power, while we await the possible return of our closer Eric Gagne. So it seems they're going through the notions of a revamped lineup, not so bad actually. 35 games thus far and they're 1 game under .500, so hopefully by September, we chase em' down like Giacomo, the 50-1 long shot in the 2005 Kentucky Derby.

Speaking of the Kentucky Derby. Check out model Petra Nemcova sporting the traditional frilly Derby hat. I wonder if she sang along during the traditional singing of "My old Kentucky Home"??

Posted by: Marc Gabay
Thursday, May 11, 2006