Dodgers 1, Giants 0 (10 innings)
A world-class mound duel between Greg Maddux and Jason Schmidt, neither of whom figured in the decision, was nearly marred by an outbreak of Gradyism. Russell Martin’s leadoff HR in the bottom of the 10th off Vinnie Chulk-it-down-the-middle put an end to the proceedings…but what was up with the Sultan of Surly drawing an intentional pass in the top of the inning? One out, nobody on…and Little chose to put the lead run on first. If a simple glimpse at a calender or a daily newspaper wasn’t enough to remind Grady that it’s 2006, what’s with the crazy respect shown to a .245 hitter that has a mere 15 home runs in mid-August? Seriously, this is like ducking Phil Neven — though I’d like his chances a bit better.
Barry’s OBP remains high…and shall stay that way as long as he continues to draw free passes in situations that don’t warrant it. When pitchers are allowed to challenge Bonds, he is retired better than 75 times out of a hundred. If you’re the Dodgers, what’s not to like about those odds?
In ’96, I witnessed Maddux — pitching for the Tomahawkies at the time — end the NLDS against the Dodgers —- and if you don’t believe that was another era, Mark Wohlers not only threw strikes, but earned the save — a game that lasted 2:08. By contrast, it took me over 3 hours to get out of the parking lot. On Sunday, Maddux threw a mere 68 pitches over 8 innings.
It was an evening of non-stop Where Are They Now Mania at the Dell Diamond tonight, as Oklahoma City’s 4-3 dispatch of Round Rock featured such grizzled vets as Eric Young, Randall Simon, former Red Sox prospect Adam Hyzdu and recent Austin Chronicle cover boy Alan Zinter. I cannot confirm whether or not Simon had a chance to sample the excellent sausage-on-a-stick from Nolan Ryan’s Aged Beef stand, but Hyzdu and Zinter each hit solo HR’s. Zinter’s blast was the only bit of damage allowed by the Redhawks’ Robinson Tejeda (above), who struck out 10 in 5 innings of work.
R.A. Dickey will start for Oklahoma tomorrow night, and if you’re driving to the game, I would strongly advise parking somewhere other than the lot just beyond the outfield berm.
I was more distracted by Little taking out Greg Maddux after the 8th inning after throwing just 68 pitches in a 0-0 game and that imbecile Joe Morgan trying to justifying it with a bizarre rant about Maddux not being the #1 guy on the staff. I still don’t know what the hell he was trying to say.
Apparently Schmidt is a workhorse, while Maddux is not, and thus cannot be “ridden” more than eight innings. It is true that neither of them is a workhorse quite like Joe Wolf.