Day 4 Wrap-Up

 SEE YOU, SAINT LOU.

Earlier this year, I was so into Manny Ramirez.  I even took him super high in our Fantasy draft, despite his having not yet re-signed with the Dodgers.  Then, after he did re-sign, I got super excited and bought Dodgers-Mets tickets even though it was MARCH.  Even though I HATED THE METS.  Then, after he got busted for taking banned substances, I counted forward fifty games forward and bought MORE METS TICKETS because I knew his suspension would be over and that he'd be newly back on the field and ready to crush 8,000 home runs, like, per game.

Except he didn't do that.  Not only did he scorch a fifty-day burn mark deep into my Fantasy bench before returning to post worse numbers than Casey Blake, but he also made the real-life Dodgers go into a Juan Pierre-less slump.  The combination of those two things made me pretty sick of Manny... until two minutes ago, when the Dodgers swept the Cards and ESPN.com posted the above picture.  That photograph has given my love for ManRam new life.  MANNY, I STILL THINK YOU MIGHT KIND OF SUCK AS A HUMAN BEING, BUT HOW CAN I HATE YOU WHEN YOU'RE SO ADORABLY RUDE?  See you, St. Lou!  I hope you guys have fun hanging out with Nelly this winter, 'coz Casey Blake and I are gonna be having a blast wearing our NLCS t-shirts at the Valley West Mall.

A screenshot of Casey's somewhat baffling Bon Jovi commercial cameo

I bought a $10 subscription to TBS Hotcorner, which was FREE last year, but whatever.  This is what the games look like on my computer:

 

 

The cameras that are the most consistently in-focus are the two dugout cams.  You can see the Dodgers' cam in the top right quadrant of these screen shots.  (It was the bottom of the ninth and the Dodgers were on the field, so not a lot was happening there.)  Dugout cam is my favorite angle because 1) the other camera angles never follow the ball and are therefore annoying and 2) when the Yankees are playing, there's always good, close-up footage of things like Derek Jeter's elbow.  I guess you're supposed to use Hotcorner as a supplement to the TBS TV broadcast, but I can't find TBS on our television.  If someone in New York knows how to do this, be a friend and let me know.

Anyway, I had to go to Teddy's to watch the Yankees game last night.  Because they give you a free Brooklyn Lager for every Yankee home run, I got pretty drunk after both A-Rod and Teixeira went deep late in the game.  As a result, my Day 3 Recap post was understandably lacking.  Here is what happened:

ALDS GAME 2: YANKEES EXTRA INNING WALK OFF WINNERS!

Yankees 4, Twins 3

Yankees lead series 2-0
W: Robertson (1-0)

L: Mijares (0-1)

HR: NYY Rodruigez (1), Teixiera (1)

ALDS GAME 2: SOX SCORE A RUN, BUT STILL LOSE!

Angels 4, Red Sox 1

Angels lead series 2-0

W: Weaver (1-0)

L: Beckett (0-10

S: Fuentes (1)

Today's Phillies-Rockies game got postponed, meaning that the most boring playoff series of the year still isn't over.  Here's what happened with the Dodgers:

NLDS GAME 3: I already told you about this.

Dodgers 5, Cardinals 1

W: Padilla (1-0)

L: Pineiro (0-1)

HR: LAD Ethier (2)

Let's see that Casey Blake photo one more time...

It's pretty sweet that the last team to clinch their division is the first to advance to the Championship Series.  That said, this is the inevitable twilight of my Dodger fandom for the year, because if they make it to the World Series and face the Yankees, I'm with my team 100%.* 

THIS TEAM:

Hahahahahahaha...Jeeeeeter!

*Not sure if this will reduce my chances of hanging out with Casey Blake in Iowa over Christmas break, but that's a risk I'm willing to take, I guess.