DODGERS APPEAR DONE FALL 13 UNDER .500 AS ROCKIES ROMP IN ANOTHER BLOWOUT COLORADO 11, DODGERS 1.Byline: Tony Jackson
Anthony (Antonio) Jackson, best known as Tony Jackson Staff Writer DENVER - For months, the Dodgers have tried gallantly to convince the world they are still in a pennant race, that their joke of a division is winnable, that the rest of the woeful woe·ful also wo·ful adj. 1. Affected by or full of woe; mournful. 2. Causing or involving woe. 3. Deplorably bad or wretched: National League West is sitting and waiting for them to get on a roll and take the darn thing. By Saturday night, it was themselves they were trying to convince. On the heels of their latest embarrassment, an 11-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies For the National Hockey League team (1976 – 1982), now known as the New Jersey Devils, see . The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. They are in the West Division of the National League. in front of 23,398 at Coors Field • • [ , the looks on the faces of those in the Dodgers clubhouse bore a striking resemblance to resignation. The room was mostly silent, as usually is the case following a defeat. But it wasn't without pockets of quiet laughter, as usually is the case when a non-contending club is 27 games from a five-month vacation. And given what transpired over the past two evenings, who can really blame this bunch for playing out the string? The Dodgers' pitching staff has given up 11 runs in two consecutive games, which normally isn't all that catastrophic in the high-altitude craziness of Colorado. What is catastrophic is that the Dodgers, who don't score many runs no matter where they are playing, are scoring even fewer here than they normally do. In the first two games of this series, they have scored four, two of them coming in ninth-inning garbage time Garbage time, also known as "junk time", is a term used in American sports (most commonly, basketball and football) parlance to refer to the period of time at the end of a timed sporting event when the outcome of the game has already been decided, and the coaches of one or both Friday night. They have gone 3 for 19 with runners in scoring position In the sport of baseball, a baserunner is said to be in scoring position when he is on second or third base. The distinction between being on first base and second or third base is that a runner on first can usually only score if the batter hits an extra base hit, while a runner on . So, with their search for a clutch hit having been put on hold until this afternoon's finale, the Dodgers were left searching for a graveyard to whistle past. ``I don't think it's really that outrageous,'' Dodgers outfielder Jayson Werth said, when asked if his club is still in the race. ``That's because of all the games we have left in the division and the games (six) against (first-place) San Diego. Until we're 3 1/2 games out going into San Diego (for a three-game series) that last weekend, as far as I'm concerned, we're right there.'' Sure, if by ``right there,'' he means seven games off the National League West lead, with once-forgotten San Francisco on the verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of leapfrogging the Dodgers into second place. Sure, if by ``right there,'' he means a season-worst 13 games under .500, a mark at which the Dodgers (61-74) now find themselves for just the second time. ``You keep playing,'' manager Jim Tracy said. ``That's all we have done all year.'' Of course, the Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are a professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium. , Pittsburgh Pirates and Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are a professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida, Florida. The Devil Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Devil Rays have played in Tropicana Field. , all occupying the cellars of their divisions, will keep playing, too, for the same reason the Dodgers will: The schedule says they have to do it. Oh, and the last-place Rockies will keep playing, too. And playing pretty well, judging by four wins in five games against the Dodgers the past two weeks. Rookie D.J. Houlton (5-8), making his first career appearance at the Rockies' perilous park, allowed just one run on four hits through the first four innings. He gave up five runs on six hits in the fifth, an inning he didn't survive. It included back-to-back homers by Brad Hawpe, a three-run shot that gave the Rockies a 5-1 lead, and former UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX All-American Garrett Atkins, making it 6-1. ``I'm just disappointed in myself right now,'' said Houlton, who if he were so inclined, could have looked around the clubhouse and found no shortage of others to be disappointed in. ``I just tried to battle as much as I could, but I left some balls up. It's disappointing to pitch like that this late in the year, when we need every game we can get.'' They also need every game they can't get. And that is why it probably is too late for the Dodgers in 2005. Tony Jackson,(818) 713-3675 tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 4 boxes Box: (1) DODGERS at COLORADO - Tony Jackson (2) DODGERS ALMANAC almanac, originally, a calendar with notations of astronomical and other data. Almanacs have been known in simple form almost since the invention of writing, for they served to record religious feasts, seasonal changes, and the like. (3) GAME RECAP (4) HOW THE RUNS SCORED |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion