I figure I'd start player profiles on position players, work around the field, and then hit up the pitchers. So I'll start at catcher.
Player: Russell Martin
2008 Stats: .280, 13 homeruns, 69 RBIs, 18 stolen bases, 90 walks, 83 strikeouts
2008 Analysis: Martin, despite having a solid year for a catcher, saw a regression in many of his stats. His power numbers, RBIs, and stolen bases were all down, though he did raise his OBP from .374 to .385. He had only a few less hits in 2008 than in 2007, but managed to draw 23 more walks. His .385 OBP was good for 10th in the National League, and he ranked second among all catchers in the majors, behing Joe Mauer.
He found his way into 155 games (149 at catcher) in 2008, which is arguably, far too many games for a catcher to be in. On his off-days, he found himself playing third base.
His defensive numbers were good, as far as errors go, raising his fielding percentage from 2007. However, he wasn't nearly as good as he has been at throwing out runners attempting to steal. He was still solid, though, in handling the pitching staff.
2009 Outlook: There have been some rumors that the Dodgers might be looking to trade Russell Martin. I'm unbelievably against that. When you got a good young catcher, arguably one of the top three catchers in the league, I don't care what you think about his work ethic, or whatever crazy reason people have suggested he be traded, you don't get better by subtracting a catcher like that.
There's also been some talk that the Dodgers move Russell Martin to third base permanently and sign a catcher. I'm also against this. For one, not only is Martin's defense behind the plate excellent, but frankly, his offensive numbers aren't as good as you'd like for a third baseman. Look at it this way, there is no catcher on the market right now who will hit as well as Martin does. However, there are some third basemen who will. Martin as a catcher is excellent, Martin as a third baseman is average.
For 2009, I hope and expect to see Martin starting at catcher for us. I hope to see Martin take a few more games off. I don't really like these days off at third base. I'd rather he just rest and take in the game from the bench.
I think with a little more real rest, he might be able to bring back some of his power numbers. He'll be a solid starter again for us in 2009.
Congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies for winning the 2008 World Series, beating the Tampa Bay Rays in five games.
I guess that puts the Dodgers in third place in the league?
Anyway, now on to important stuff: the offseason! It starts now!
The Phillies capitalize on Dodger errors to win Game 5 and the series.
Cole Hamels got the win, he goes 2-0 in the NLCS. Chad Billingsley took the loss, he goes 0-2 in the NLCS.
Chad Billingsley got into trouble early and was pulled quickly. He gave up three runs in 2.2 innings. Greg Maddux gave up two unearned runs in the 5th, due in part to three Rafael Furcal errors in the inning. James McDonald pitched two scoreless innings in relief. Joe Beimel and Cory Wade combined to pitch a perfect 8th, and Hong-Chih Kuo pitched a scoreless 9th to hold the Phillies to five runs.
The Dodgers failed to mount much offense against the Phillies pitching staff. 
Manny Ramírez went 2-3 with a walk and a solo homerun, accounting for the Dodgers' only run. James Loney went 2-4 and Matt Kemp went 2-3 with a walk. Other than that, there was not much to speak of.
With the win, the Phillies win the series 4-1 and move on to the World Series.
Opinion: It's hard to be upset. Don't get me wrong, I am. But I kinda figured coming in that we didn't have much chance to come back. Chad Billingsley, who hasn't really been lights out since September, obviously was tired. His fastballs didn't have the same umph they had earlier in the season. His breaking balls didn't have as much break. This is only his third season in the majors, and coming into the playoffs, he'd already pitched 50 more innings than in any previous season. He was just not ready yet. The offense meanwhile, didn't offer much in support. The Phillies for the most part, pitched around Manny, and the Dodgers couldn't make them pay for it. The players sandwiched around Manny went 0-12. The two in front of Manny couldn't get on for him, the one behind him couldn't bring him in. It does tell me one thing, and with Manny, we need another bat. That's all stuff to be decided in the offseason... 
which I guess is now? So with that, I say adieu to the Dodgers' 2008 Season. 2nd Place in the National League, 1st Place in the NL West, 1st Place in our Hearts... Seriously, thank you Dodgers. It was a fun ride. We'll see you in Spring.
As for the blog. I'm going to take a break now and prepare for the offseason. I plan to do player profiles, free agent and trade analysis, and other such things. I'll see you all after the World Series...
The Phillies have a late comeback to beat the Dodgers in Game 4 of this series.
Ryan Madson got the win, he's 1-0 in the NLCS. Cory Wade took the loss, he's 0-1 in the NLCS. Brad Lidge picked up his 3rd save in the NLCS.
Derek Lowe gave up two runs over five innings pitching on short rest. He did seem to be getting better as the game went on, but was pulled before the 6th. The Dodger bullpen, which has been spotless in the first three games this series, then proceeded to give up five runs in four innings of work. Cory Wade and Jonathan Broxton each surrender two-run homeruns in the 8th, Wade's to tie the game, Broxton to allow the Phillies the lead.
Offensively, the Dodgers weren't bad. They collected a total of 11 hits and eight walks in the game, but their hitting couldn't overcome the deficit the pitching allowed. Rafael Furcal went 1-2 with two walks and two runs. 
Manny Ramírez went 2-2 with three walks, and an RBI. James Loney went 2-5 with a walk, a double, and an RBI and Casey Blake went 2-5 with a solo homerun. Finally, Juan Pierre went 2-3 with a double and a run scored.
With the loss, the Dodgers fall to a 3-1 deficit. Game 5 is Wednesday at 5:22 L.A. time.
Opinion: Well, it was a hell of a run, huh? I know, it's not over yet, but it's a long road back. Might as well win on Wednesday and see where it goes, but even with the win Wednesday, we head back to Philadelphia, where we are 0-6... 
This kind of loss is painful. I literally was feeling a little sick during and after the 8th inning. It's gutwrenching. If they have the lead for the duration of the game, and we can't comeback, fine. But when the bullpen blows the lead, twice in the same inning, it's really like getting punched in the gut twice. It's awful. It's heartbreaking. I guess what I'm saying is, the Phillies just about ended our season tonight in worst way possible, Los Angeles is on fire, and I have a mid-term tomorrow that I'm not ready for. I am not doing good people...
The Dodgers strike for five runs in the first inning and never look back as they take the third game in this series.
Hiroki Kuroda got the win, he's 1-0 in the NLCS. Jamie Moyer took the loss, he's 0-1 in the NLCS.
Hiroki Kuroda made a quality start. He went six innings, holding the Phillies to two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out three. Cory Wade pitched two scoreless innings in relief and Jonathan Broxton pitched a scoreless 9th to close out the game.
Several Dodgers had good games at the plate. Rafael Furcal went 2-4 with a homerun, a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored. 
Manny Ramírez went 1-2 with two walks, an RBI, and two runs scored and Nomar Garciaparra went 2-3 with an RBI. Finally, Blake DeWitt went 1-3, the one hit coming in the 1st with the bases loaded. DeWitt collected three RBIs on the bases clearing triple to give the Dodgers a 5-0 lead early in the game.
With the win, the Phillies lead in the series is 2-1. Game 4 starts tomorrow at 5:22 L.A. time.
Opinion: Coming out strong in the 1st was a good statement. These three games are very important. We need to take care of our business at home, especially because of our troubles on the road... The other good news about today's game? Jamie Moyer looked particularly weak, and if the schedule for the Phillies remains the same, and if we push the series to a Game 7, Moyer will be the starter. That's pretty good news to me...
The Phillies have two big innings to score eight runs and beat the Dodgers for the second game in a row.
Brett Myers got the win, he's 1-0 in the NLCS. 
Chad Billingsley took the loss, he's 0-1 in the NLCS. Brad Lidge picked up his 2nd save in the NLCS.
Chad Billingsley got lit up. He made it only 2.1 innings, giving up eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits and three walks. The bullpen held the Phillies scoreless the rest of the game, but by then the damage was too much. High notes for James McDonald, who went 3.1 scoreless innings in relief, and Clayton Kershaw, who went 1.2 scoreless innings.
The Dodgers scored all their runs in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th innings, but were shut down by the Phillies bullpen for much of the rest of the game. Manny Ramírez went 1-4, but had a three run homerun in the 4th. James Loney went 2-4 with a walk and an RBI. 
Similar to yesterday, there were then some assorted hits and walks here and there, but the Dodgers couldn't capitalize enough to comeback.
With the loss, the Dodgers fall down to 0-2 in the NLCS. They now travel back to Los Angeles to play game three, starting at 5:22 L.A. time on Sunday.
Opinion: That was ugly. Chad Billingsley seemed like he couldn't get a pitch near the zone in the 2nd and 3rd innings without it getting whacked. He's going to definitely need to bounce back from this one if we can continue on in these playoffs... And another thing, how many hits were we going to give up to Brett Myers. He's the pitcher! He had three RBIs and two runs scored today. He was the difference in this game. There is a reason the pitcher bats ninth and is consider an automatic out. It's because he is!!! Geez... It's hard to feel good about these last two games, but I do have some good points. For one, we now have three games at home, where we swept the Phillies earlier in the season. We need to capitalize on this, and put the pressure back on Philly. Secondly, it's not like we are being beaten handily. We've caught some back breaks. 
Yesterday, in the first inning, when Manny hit that ball to the deepest part of the park and it bounced off the top part of the highest wall, he only got a double. If that had gone out, the Dodgers would've had the extra run they needed. Today, Casey Blake sent another ball to the deepest part of the park that was caught at the wall for an out in the 7th. He put enough on the ball that if he just pulled it some more, we could have tied the game. I feel like these games were both winnable, we're just hitting the balls in the wrong places. So... let's just hit them in the right places. Easy enough, right?
The Phillies come back to beat the Dodgers in the first game of this seven-game series.
Cole Hamels got the win, he's 1-0 in the NLCS. Derek Lowe took the loss, he's 0-1 in the NLCS. Brad Lidge picked up his 1st save in the NLCS.
Derek Lowe made two mistakes in the game. Two bad pitches that equaled three runs. He went 5.1 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits and a walk. Chan Ho Park got the final two outs in the inning. Greg Maddux and Hong-Chih Kuo each added a scoreless inning in relief.
The Dodgers weren't able to mount much offense against Phillies pitching. They scratched across two runs in the first four innings, but were shut down the rest of the way. Andre Ethier went 2-4 with a double and a run scored. 
Manny Ramírez went 2-4 with a double and an RBI. Other than that, there were a few other assorted hits and walks, but not much to speak of.
With the loss, the Dodgers fall to 0-1 in the series. They'll play game two tomorrow starting at 1:35 L.A. time.
Opinion: This was a tough loss, but foreseeable. Giving up the lead was tough, but if you had to look at the schedule for this series and pick a game that we would probably lose, this would be it. We've seen Cole Hamels three times (twice during the season, and now once in the playoffs). All three times, he's gone seven innings and given up just two runs. We definitely are going to need more than that to be the Phillies. Luckily, Hamels is easily the best starter for the Phillies. We should do better. Hopefully... One thing I did like though, is that in the 9th inning, against Brad Lidge, even though he retired the side, the Dodgers did hit the ball pretty hard. Even though Lidge was perfect in save opportunites during the season, that doesn't mean he can't be beat. We have to remember that, in case we end up in a situation like tonight again.
The Dodgers beat the Cubs to complete the sweep and move on to the NLCS.
Hiroki Kuroda got the win, he's 1-0 in the NLDS. Rich Harden took the loss, he goes 0-1 in the NLDS. Jonathan Broxton picked up his 1st save of the NLDS.
Hiroki Kuroda continued his good pitching against the Cubs. He went 6.1 scoreless innings, giving up six hits and two walks while striking out four over that span. Cory Wade pitching 1.1 innings in relief, allowing a run. Jonathan Broxton struck out three in his 1.1 innings of work to close out the game and pick up the save.
Offensively, James Loney drove in two important runs. Despite going 3-14 in the series, he collected six RBIs. He went 1-4 in the game, but the one hit was a two RBI double. Russell Martin had a similar series. Martin went 2-4 with two doubles, an RBI, and a run scored. He went 4-13 with a homerun, three doubles, and five RBIs in the series. Finally, Manny Ramírez went 1-2 with two walks and a run scored in the game. He had a good series as well. He went 5-10 with two homeruns, three RBIs, four walks, and five runs scored.
The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Milwaukee Brewers today to win their series 3-1. The Dodgers will face off against the Phillies now in the NLCS for a chance to go to the World Series. They split eight games (4-4) in the regular season.
Opinion: That's how you handle business. Bury the Cubs. Don't even give them a chance to come back. Now use this momentum. Carry it on to the NLCS against the Phillies. One down, two to go... I was at the game last night, and it was pretty amazing. You can feel the energy radiating through the stadium. Every strike, every out, every hit, was met with cheering and applause. There is a constant level of noise that grows to be ten times as loud as the game goes on. When Broxton was pitching the 9th, the stadium was as loud as I've ever heard it. There's camaraderie. You are high-fiving and yelling and celebrating with people you've never met before. It's pretty amazing... One more thing, I'm really tired of all the sports writers who say Dodger fans leave the game early. 
Dodger fans don't leave the game early. The people who leave the game early aren't Dodger fans. Dodger fans stay till the very end of the game. Dodger fans are the people who show up for a playoff game. Dodger Stadium was filled with 56,000 fans yesterday. And 56,000 fans stayed till the very last pitch, and most stayed even after that. Real Dodger fans don't leave the game early to beat traffic. They don't leave in the 7th inning. So stop refering to Dodger fans as people who leave the game before it's over. Call them "Game Attendees" or something like that, but don't insult real Dodger fans by calling them so. I, and all the other fans, are tired of it.
The Dodgers, thanks in part to some Cubs errors, beat the Cubs to take the second game of the series.
Chad Billingsley got the win, he's 1-0 in the NLDS. Carlos Zambrano took the loss, he's 0-1 in the NLDS.
Chad Billingsley gave up only one run over 6.2 innings. He gave up only five hits and a walk over that span, while striking out seven. Cory Wade followed with 1.1 scoreless innings. Takashi Saito came in to start the 9th and gave up two runs without recording an out. Jonathan Broxton had to come in to relieve Saito and retired the side, collecting two strikeouts.
Several Dodgers had good games at the plate. Seven of the nine Dodgers in the starting lineup reached base by hit or walk. Rafael Furcal went 3-6 with two RBIs and two runs scored. 
Manny Ramírez went 2-4 with a walk, a homerun, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Russel Martin went 1-5 with a double and three RBIs. Finally, Casey Blake went 2-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.
With the win, the Dodgers go up 2-0 in the series. They'll try for a sweep and a trip to the NLCS on Saturday, at Dodger Stadium. The game starts at 7:05 L.A. time.
Opinion: I was really only hoping for at least a win in this first two games. We got two. We've really flashed the offense: 17 runs in two games. We've also had some pretty good pitching, holding the potent Cubs offense to five runs. We've now won twice as many playoff games as our total since 1988. I say we go for triple. I'm heading to the game Saturday, my first playoff game ever. Hopefully, I'll get to see a clinch. Let's keep our fingers crossed...
The Dodgers use the long-ball to beat the Cubs and go up 1-0 in the series.
Derek Lowe got the win, he's 1-0 in the NLDS. Ryan Dempster took the loss, he's 0-1 in the NLDS.
Derek Lowe went six innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out six. He had an uncharacteristically high pitch count, but still got a quality start out of his outing. Cory Wade, Jonathan Broxton, and Greg Maddux each pitched a scoreless inning in relief to keep the Cubs to two runs.
The Dodger offense started slow, but heated up. After not scoring in the first four innings, including leaving the bases loaded at the end of the 3rd inning. A similar situation seemed to be rearing it's head in the 5th. 
The bases were loaded with two outs when James Loney stepped to the plate. He quickly fell in the hole with two strikes on him, before drawing a few more pitches, then stroking a grand slam homerun into the left-center bleachers to put the Dodgers up 4-2. They wouldn't look back from there. Manny Ramírez hit a solo homerun in the 7th (Manny went 2-4 with a walk, a homerun, an RBI, and two runs scored), Casey Blake singled in Blake DeWitt in the 8th (DeWitt went 2-4 with a double and a run scored), and Russell Martin added a solo homerun in the 9th. Every player in the starting lineup reached base at least once.
The Dodgers get the all important win in the first game of the series. Game 2 in the series starts tomorrow at 6:37 (?) L.A. time.
Opinion: Wow, seriously good win for the Dodgers. They really sent a message that they are a serious contender. 
They came into an opponent's stadium, filled with loud hungry fans, facing a pitcher who's been excellent at home all season, and they pulled out a strong victory. Also, most importantly, this was the win they needed. To win the series, they needed at least one win on the road, and now they've got it. Not that they should leave it all to winning the home games, but they got the road win. Now, just to be safe, let's get another one tomorrow...
Player: Russell Martin
There's also been some talk that the Dodgers move Russell Martin to third base permanently and sign a catcher. I'm also against this. For one, not only is Martin's defense behind the plate excellent, but frankly, his offensive numbers aren't as good as you'd like for a third baseman. Look at it this way, there is no catcher on the market right now who will hit as well as Martin does. However, there are some third basemen who will. Martin as a catcher is excellent, Martin as a third baseman is average.
