October is that magical month for baseball fans from sea to shining sea, the time reverently referred to as the post-season. It is the dream of all players from Little League to the MLB to play as many games in October as possible, hopefully ending up winning the World Series. Reggie Jackson even got his nickname “Mr. October” because of his performances in the tenth month.
I was born on October 1 and ever since I was in Little League, I thought I shared a birthday with another of my Dodger favorites, Maury Wills. Alas, while researching other Oct. 1 birthdays, I found out that he was actually born on October 2. What a let down! For almost 50 years I thought Maury and I shared a cosmic connection.
On the other hand, I just found out that a couple of other baseball greats also have a birthday today: Mark McGuire and Rod Carew. Of course our peanut farmer president Jimmy Carter was also born on 10-1. And I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than being in a sandwich with Stella Stevens and Julie Andrews on either side. We October 1sters have to hang together. 🙂
Actually my best birthday gift would have been the Dodgers getting ready to start the NLDS against the Brewers today instead of writing another nonsense post. Since that was not to be, I will be rooting for Kirk Gibson to continue his terrific leadership all the way to the WS. His intensity got the Dodgers to October in 1988 and he is doing the same for the D’backs this year.
So sit back, crank up the Rocktober FM station, kick back with an Octoberfest brew, and enjoy the wild ride that only the month of October can provide.
32and53fan
colliethec
crash24now
dodgereric
The Beav
GiveUsBackOurTeam
JhallWally
yunghitters89
trublu4ever
Outside the Dodgers 
Happy Birthday, 32 & 53…..have a great day and, once again, thank-you for this forum to express our love & sometimes displeasure for our Dodgers.
Happy Birthday 32and53fan!!! I hope you have a fabulous day!!!
Happy Birthday to everyone who has a birthday today or in October. Got that out of the way. One of my all time favorite Dodgers is Maury Wills as well. He was not necessarily the most talented player or even the fasted baserunner but he exemplifies hard work, determination and perseverance both on and off the baseball diamond. He was a game changer with the way teams had to prepare for him. He may never make the HOF in Cooperstown but he is a Hall of Famer to me.
By the way, I found this article interesting…
http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/story/_/id/7036784/los-angeles-dodgers-let-field-issues-define-them
Yay…Dbacks lost!
Gallardo pitched a gem of a game.
He sure did!
Watching the Cardinals and Phillies play in this series is really hoping for the lesser of the two evils to prevail because both teams are in my bottom 5.
Did the lesser of the two evils just smack 2 changeups over the fence to take the lead?
I don’t care for both teams either, but Howard just raised my dislike level toward the Phillies more with that admiring pose at the plate after that dinger he hit.
I agree, vl. I hope whichever of these two evil teams wins,I hope they get knocked off by the Brewers or Dbacks.
I guess the Cardinals are the lesser of the two evils because I wasn’t happy with the end result of that game. Blah to both!!!
Hi OTB
Yes many big things have happen in baseball in the month of October. But if your team’s not in the postseason, the best thing to do is relax and enjoy it.
I always found this tough to do when the Dodgers just missed out. You know come close but this year is not that kind of a year. They never came too close, so there’s really no regrets but some years like this year and last year, two teams that I don’t want their postseason records to improve got in. Last year the Giants, to my dismay, went all the way. The Cardinals are another team with a good postseason record so I’m hoping they’re not going to be too successful this year. You see I look at the all time records not the current upstarts, like the Phillies.
The only team that I don’t care what they do is the Yankees because they’re so far out of reach with their postseason record they can win or lose and it doesn’t even matter anymore.
Just stopping by to say I’m glad the Tigers are doing it to the Yankees & I hope they close it out……also glad to see the Dbacks with their asses against the wall. As for the Rangers & Rays, they are both okay & I don’t really care which one wins.
Hi’Ya Tru!! What’s happening girl? I’m with you on the Tigers. I hope they take out the Yankoffs. It is fun to listen to the talk about their fans complaining about AFraud, Jeter, and Teixeira not hitting in the playoffs.
And screw the D’Backs and Parra. Sure hope the Rays can come back. I also have to root for the Phillies against the Cards. Just can’t root for the Cards and LaRussa. My dislike for the Cards is way up there. Just below the G’Aints, Red Sux, and Yankoffs.
Anyway, hope all is going well on your end.
Lot’s to discuss around the Hot Stove!! I’m sure Ned will throw in his usual 2 or 3 ridiculously absurd contracts for us to choke on.
Catch Ya Later
Good to see you Jhall. The Hot Stove will be intersting this year, I’m sure. Just wondering how long it will take Ned to take care of business with Matty & Kersh?!
Good Morning OTD Readers and Writers!!!
I hope the Yankees are going home tonight. I am happy for Russell for being part of it, but as for the team, it’s time for them to go home. I am on the wall with the Rangers/Rays series. However, in my classroom, I picked the Rays to win that series, and it’s pretty much split down the middle with the class as well. I also picked the Brewers. Just couldn’t bring myself to pick the Dbacks after what Parra did, and perhaps being part of our division isn’t helping my thoughts on them right now, eventhough Gibby is the manager. As for the Cardinals/Phillies series, I could care less who wins it, but I found myself less upset when the Cardinals won. I just want whoever wins between the Dbacks and the Brewers to send either of those teams packing.
Bye bye Casey, Jon Garland and the perfection that Velez was. Don’t think we’ll really miss any of them. The team declined the options for Casey and Garland and assigned Velez to Triple A.
What an inspiration for the fans and teammates at ABQ to be looking forward to Velez for next season. Why assign this turd anywhere? Heaven forbid, when next season rolls around and if Ned is still around, we’re bound to see Velez up again and trying for 0 for 56 or so.
Why assign his ass? We should just let him go. These are the things that really piss me off about Ned & Co. Watch, we will keep Velez but, let Matt, Dre & Kersh go!
Shhhhh! Loose lips sink ships! Big Brother may be reading/and or listening. Let’s not give them any ideas. LOL
( 😉 )
Afternoon all!
After what Beltre did today, I would welcome him back to the Dodgers with arms wide open. What a game!
Beltre would have been a good pick up for the Dodgers this year. I recall his last season with the Dodgers. Although I am usually the optomist, with the way free agent signings have gone for the Dodgers the past few seasons, Beltre would pull a hammy within minutes of inking a contract.
Happy 56th Anniversary of the undisputed greatest highlight in Yankee Stadium history.
10-4, over and out.
By the way, it did bother me a bit to see Russell Martin in the playoffs. I have nothing against him; he gave it everything he had when he was with the Dodgers. Still, it just seems so ironic that the Dodgers were not willing to take a chance on him (for good reason) and ends up a key player for the Yankees. Oh well, good for him.
I agree with you lbirken. It’s hard watching him in pinstripes. …..and not necessarily a key player, but it’s kind of disturbing that Andruw Jones is part of this playoff team too.
They did but Martin decline and wanted more money to played for the Yankees. It would’ve been nice to have Santana backing up Martin.
Good thing is that when the Wankees get kickd out after Game 5, Russell is a free agent. Maybe Ned will offer him a contract to come back and either start or back up Federowicz or Ellis. Anything is better than Barajas @ $5 mil..That’s what I’m figuring. The Andrew thing is pathetic. Last year with the Rangers, this year with the Yanks, and we’re still paying him..Pathetic.
Creative financing in baseball?! That’s another fine thing Ned’s gotten us into . . . .
Bored.
(I imagine “Rebel Girl” by Bikini Kill as the background music, btw)
Was trying to post this pic above..:
I give up, here’s the link: http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n156/MercurySolo/budfrankcattycats.jpg
I fixed it for you.
Did you try to put
in your comment?
Interesting thoughts about Martin, A. Jones. Any team signing Martin was taking a gamble and who knows how many offers he had and at what price. The fact that someone like Andruw Jones can still get a spot speaks a lot about how desperate some GM’s are to find players. Realistically there are not enough quality players for the number of teams so a lot of marginal players, guys who are not all that good but not all that bad, getting playing time. Tommy Lasorda tells stories about his days at Dodger spring training with over 700 players competing for jubs just within the Dodger organization. There were 16 teams with 25 spots. Now there are 30 teams. All you have to do is listen to Vinny tell about all the teams this or that player has played with over the years and it becomes clear: baseball players (and other pro atheletes in the other major sports) are always in flux. Teams are always looking for that diamond in the rough only to more often come up with a zircon. I still say to be a GM one has to overlook just about anything negative and overly focus on just about anything positive.
I am immersed in the college aspect of all this right now, and it is pretty amazing when you think about how many athletes these major league scouts are looking at on a weekly basis. I haven’t been to one of Michael’s games yet where there haven’t been at least 2 pro scouts and a handful of Division 1 college scouts, and this is just fall ball. And then for them to have to go back and make decisions for a team’s future has got to be difficult. It will be interesting how these next couple of years play out on the college end of things. These pro scouts are certainly looking for that diamond in the rough and hoping it becomes a big pay day for them some day.
It must be both exciting and a bit nerve wracking for parents of elite atheletes. We all read stories of players leaving home to go play pro ball or even college ball and take it for granted that everything is all wonderful. It is a business, sometimes even at the high school level. No wonder that so few make it.
Exactly, on all counts. The exciting part is the new team and the opportunities he has been given, including a fresh start with a new coaching staff. The nerve wracking part comes when he pitches – lol!!! And you are right, it’s business even in high school, and now with travel teams, it’s even younger.
Good grief, Randy Wolf sucks!
Hey, ya’ll….Anyone notice this?
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/fan_forum/haa/y2011/index.jsp
You can help vote for the 13th annual Hank Aaron Award (top offensive player in each league). This site will let you vote 10 times a day. Each team has a nominee. Kemp is, of course, ours. The fan vote will be added to votes from several MLB HOFers.
Looking more and more that Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross (still find it ironic that this guy’s name is an ex-Dodger) has seen through the muck and mire that the owner and his bastard lawyers spew. I particularly like this line, referring to what the baseball commish was hired to do:
“They wanted to put in a man to rule MLB like a dictator.”
OK, the owners didn’t necessarily want a dictator. But that’s the only way Landis would take the job and that’s the way it’s worked for almost 100 years now.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-1006-dodgers-bankruptcy-20111006,0,4230009.story
I have a feeling that it’ll be REALLY interesting to hear what Jamie has to say at the scheduled hearing.
I’m looking forward to the day when we NEVER have to hear, or use, the names, Frank, Jamie Ned!
Amen!
I think that Vladimir Shpunt could probably do a better job than Ned. But, then again, so could a blind monkey!
If judges were allowed some plain earthy language, judge Gross might as well say: “Fuck you, Frank!”.
Wow!! This is getting good!!….but sad in the fact we (the Dodgers) shouldn’t have to be going through this at all.
I wanted to change my Gravatar, but apparently I was not able to do it.
On second thought I stay with this one.
Is it Spring time yet?
Spring could come early (and Christmas too!) if Judge Gross throws McCourt out of baseball in November.
The court doings might be interesting but my concern is that if things do not go Frank’s way he will tie things up in endless appeals thereby draining more Dodger resources. Jamie remains quiet playing a waiting game, selling off properties to help pay her expenses. I am sure with every property she sells, Frank high fives his legal team members as he celebrates another “victory”. What a piece of work!
Go, Fister, Go…keep up the good work & send the Yanks home!
Clap…Clap 🙂
It’s good to see Martin hit the way he did when he was with us 😉
LMAO!!! Yeah, it is!!!
Tough crowd!!
LOL…it sure is!
Just read this little tid-bit. Dodgers also had a serious drop in TV viewership. Not surprising as they were absolutely unwatchable till August.
http://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5449:phillies-top-of-television-heap-for-2011-season&catid=57:television&Itemid=122
Wow…a 30% drop. It was Prime Ticket, though, not the local station. Do you think that matters? I had to use my Directv to get PT. In the L.A. area, I wonder what their cable arrangements are? I think I remember Shad saying that he didn’t have cable so he couldn’t get the game.
It must count for something or they wouldn’t keep track of it. I think it does reflect more on the play on the field and not being competitive. Alot of people boycotting the stadium to avoid giving their money to Frank, would still watch on TV if they were worth a shit.
True…except for me! I had to watch every painful moment 😉
I didn’t buy MLBTV this year because of Frank, Ned, and our roster.
I bought the Extra Innings. I watched loads of games. It was fun to hear all the lousy announcers ot there.
Yeah, that’s the bad part. After 3 innings I had to listen to Steiner and Monday. They’re not terrible compared to some of the clowns out there.
Let’s go Tigers, Let’s go!!!!
Clap….Clap 🙂
I see you are spreading the clap around tonight 🙂
Yep!! 🙂
Damn…the Yankees might pull this one out. I just hope the Tigers’ bullpen in not like ours. Well, shit, maybe they are!
Whew…they dodged a big bullet there!
Whew!! Hang on Tigers!!!
SAAAA-WEET!!! Yankoffs are done.
YAY…WAY TO GO TIGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have to admit, I had my doubts about Valverde with just a one run lead. He sure got it done at crunch time though.
.
.
ADIOS WANKEES!!!
Hey guys!
So who is picking whom in tomorrows elimination games?
I’m going with the Cards & Brewers.
Hi’Ya VL. I’m rooting for the Phillies because I detest the Cards and LaRussa. And the Brewers. I’m still not over the Parra crap.
Very happy the Wankees are toast. I like your Wankees (like little Wankers) reference and it made me think of Wanker. A derogatory British remark. LOL!!!
You gotta love it when your so called big boppers(Texeira & A-Rod) with a combined yearly payroll exceeding 40 mil go for a combined BA of .137 for the series.
What’s that word again? Schadenfruede? LOL
Kind of does the heart good. LOL!!
I’m taking the Brewers & Phillies.
:))
Have to sign off & say G’night all! I’m tuned into the George Harrison thing on HBO. Later.
The Yankees are going home!
The Yankees are going home!
The Yankees are going home!
Yeah!!! The Yankees are going home!
.
I’m pulling for Ryan Braun and Brewers, but I will pull for the Dbacks if they happen to win. I can’t being myself to give well wishes for the Cards or Phillies. I rather see Parra in the WS than the Cryin’ Hawaiian.
I just read on FB a quote from Ned Colletti saying he isn’t in any hurry to extend Matt’s contract.
.
You know his agent isn’t going to put up with this crap too long.
Knowing the way Ned operates, we are going to lose Matty.
There’s always urgency to re-sign crap like Lilly and Padilla, but not a bonafide star. That’s why this team is never going to amount to shit.
Ned probably figures we have Rivera, Sands and Gwynn so, who needs Matty & Dre!
Given Ned’s track record, I am not optimistic about a good outcome.
I think it’s time for you or Enchanted to start a new thread 😉
Oh Timmy Timmy Timmy…
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2011/10/tim-lincecum-lawsuit.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LAT_Sports_Blog+%28The+Fabulous+Forum%29
The word “entitlement” comes to mind.
Just goes to prove what we’ve known all along…he is Timmy Lincescum!
Here’s a fantastic satire on Broxton that I hadn’t seen until just now.
Jonathon Broxton Outraged to Learn That He’s Fat
http://sportsfluff.blogspot.com/2011/08/jonathon-broxton-outraged-to-learn-that.html
My family is originally from El Segundo and we were Dodger fans. Then all of us wound up in Az. They all decided to be turn coats and switched to the D-backs, so I’ve been hoping they do not win. The D-backs are a team I really do not think about much at all, but with these fair weather fans and traitors in my family, I’ve not been hoping for them. Who are those guys, anyway?
*
Then I saw Gibson in their dugout. So I guess it would be sort of OK. If they won. Just the divisional series.
Welcome to the world of bandwagon fans. They jumped off the bandwagon here in Nor-cal as soon as the gnats were eliminated from play-off contention. I wish you the best if the Dbacks pull this off tonight.
I guess you don’t have to worry about it now 🙂
You do have to consider the interest there would be in Detroit if the D’backs and Tigers meet in the World Series. The TV ratings probably would suffer but how do you think Tiger fans will react to seeing Gibbie in that Snakes uniform figuring out any which way he can to beat his former team?
According to the L.A. Times, we may have seen the last of Barajas. Apparently, Neddie want to go with youth….A.J. & Fed-ex.
…and three home runs.
So much for the Brewers’ great closer!
If he pitches the 9th like he did the 10th, it would have been game over. Nail biting time in Milwaukee. I wonder how much cheese is under those nails? LOL
Yay, Brewers!
Clap…Clap :))
That little bastard punk Parra had one hit in the series. Just happened to be the lead off double in the top of the ninth. Sure glad that didn’t come back to haunt the Brewers.
Me too! At least he is sitting home with the rest of us to watch the WS.
Yeah Brewers!!!!
Exciting game! Congrats to the Brewers! Putz lived up to his name.
🙂
Imagine what fun we would have had with him 😉 I can just hear Enchanted, Jhall & the rest!
Great win for the Brewers! Now let’s see what shakes for St. Louis and Phillie.
Nelly, no I do not!!! Can’t wait to talk to my Mom. heh,heh.
Halladay pitched a helluva game, but Carpenter was downright surgical tonight going the distance. Raffy came up huge tonight also with some sparkling play!
Phuck the Phillies! Once again, it proves having a HUGE payroll doesn’t mean squat! I’m just so pleased there’s no Yanks or Phills moving on in the playoffs! Now things get interesting. . .
It is very refreshing having the “pay-as-much-as-you-can-to-win” teams out of the picture.