Boy, I was pulling for Clayton Kershaw to go all the way … again! Mainly because I was afraid someone like Brandon League would come in and screw up such a beautifully pitched game. But Kershaw missed by one batter, and Kenley Jansen got the job done. Nice!

Oh, if they could all be like Clayton! This post on Facebook by Dodgers Nation (which I believe is a Dodgers-run fan page) says it all, but it also kind of disses the other pitchers in the rotation. I’d be pretty low if I were them.

But then, I’m guilty of some pretty bad pitcher-bashing too of late. I feel kind of bad about what I said in regard to Josh Beckett’s finito-ness. He stood up and took it like a man, and I admire that. He admitted there was no good reason for why he sucks, he just does. He offered no excuses, and accepted responsibility for his failure. That’s very courageous.

When I read this back, it sounds a little hypocritical: I’m saying I shouldn’t be hating the pitchers that I hate, all the while telling you all why I hate them. Now I hate myself for that. It’s a circle of hating, and it stops now.

I’m healthy enough to pitch.”
— Josh Beckett

Dodger pitcher Josh Beckett

If that were true, why haven’t you been doing it?

Beckett turned in another meager performance last night, lasting only three innings and giving up four runs before being yanked for a “tweaked” groin muscle.

I for one am sick of this guy taking the mound. He is done. Finito. Beendet. Terminado. Lopussa. Berakhir. Doesn’t matter what language, it all means finished. Every time he pitches, the Dodgers are guaranteed to lose. (Well, to be fair, the Dodgers can lose just fine without him, too.)

Go take care of your groin, Josh! A nice, long vakay will do you good.

Moms throw the first pitch to their Dodger sons before a 5-3 victory over the Marlins.

The Dodgers made all their moms proud yesterday, with a 5-3 win over the Marlins. That’s nice. Let’s keep it up. And let’s not let Brandon League onto the field unless we’re up by more than 7 runs. OK?

That makes two wins in a row after an eight-game slide, so that’s a good thing. But tonight we again face a real team, the Washington Nationals. It won’t be as easy as the last two games have seemed.

I’m going to stop there, because I don’t want to jinx anything. Go Dodgers!

PS: My “Woo-Hoo Let the Dogs Out” post of yesterday got deleted from WordPress somehow, so that link no longer works. Sorry about that.