That Balls Outta Here » west coast

Series 6-Pack: “It turned out to be just another disaster.”

Justin Klugh — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 01:33:14 +0000

Kenny Shulsen of Lasorda’s Lair is so classy, he answered these questions before game time even though he just started a new job. That is slick. You’d think that in the face of such class I would have avoided including the undertone of sarcasm and bitchiness that so often filters into these questions.

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Anyways here they are.

1. Tommy LaSorda recently said that he saw great things in Clayton Kershaw’s delivery and talent, “…but let’s see how many of those W’s come up. That will tell you how good he really is.” When will Clayton win enough to earn Tommy’s love?

If he hasn’t earned it by now, then Tommy needs to be banned from speaking publicly. Considering Kershaw has only two legitimate MLB batters on his team in Kemp and Ethier, and an old and overpaid/young and inexperienced bullpen, its remarkable he has the record he does. Again, aside from Kemp and Ethier, the Dodgers are a glorified Triple-A team. (more…)

Series 6-Pack: I HATE SNAKES, JOCK. I HATE ‘UM.

Justin Klugh — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 13:00:15 +0000

Did you know that there is a young player in the Diamondbacks’ farm system named “Adam Eaton”? Apparently he’s not an overpaid fourth starter whose “Ruining Everything per nine innings” numbers break records with every appearance.

Cursed names aside, the Phillies storm into Chase Field after eviscerating the Padres just to the left. Have the Snakes spent the last few days quivering in horrified anticipation of the contest? Our sources say yes. But remember, our sources are me. A better source would probably be Scott Allen of Venom Strikes, who fills in the gaps of knowledge left in the wake of my extreme bias.

1. Miguel Montero said recently, “The Phillies have the best rotation in the game, definitely. But you really don’t care because they’re human beings, too.” Why doesn’t Miguel Montero care about human beings? Is he just a monster?

Well, I’m sure Miguel Montero cares about human beings. His English is still somewhat broken, so you’ll have to excuse him. I just care that he stops playing like he did a couple of years ago when the jury was still out on him. He started out great but has really seen his production drop off the past several days. (more…)

Series 6-Pack: Wild Wild West

Justin Klugh — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 20:31:25 +0000

With their first series loss finally out of the way, the Phillies hope to bring their corpse of an offense back to life by traveling three time zones to the left. Nothing solves a problem like “We’re frustratingly sucky at baseball right now” or “No, I have no intention of paying these student loans” like a road trip to America’s trendier half, the west coast.

Hopefully, the equally offensively barren Padres will be easy pickin’s for the Phils. Ernie Padaon of Padres blog Chicken Friars is here to tell us whether or not that sentiment is correct. This introduction may not be indicative of what he actually says, however, because I’m writing it prior to actually getting his responses.

1. After a brief glimpse of Major League Baseball, Cedric Hunter seems to be salivating for a return. Like a bear trying human flesh for the first time, its seems mere Triple-A ball will no longer satisfy his terrible hunger. The question is, are the Padres just as interested in his return? Or is his childlike sense of wonder destined to be crushed under the big club’s boot?

With the big league club failing to even make contact with the ball and both Will Venable and Ryan Ludwick leading the team in futility, the club is keeping a close eye down on the farm to see how they are performing. He currently is getting overshadowed by 1B Anthony Rizzo though who is just tearing the cover off the ball. (more…)