I feel more safe here than I would wearing blue or red in Los An...bunch of tear drop tatt-wearin crack monkeys. Overpaying for housing? Smoke some medicinal, or just join a gang and sling. Or turn bi and act. We too, can pigeonhole. My neighborhood is nice believe it or not. Everyone actually works and keep up on their lawns. hear that? We have lawns, who'da thunk it?
The thing with HOward is, when he is slumping, the other guys around him elevate their play to a point where it really doesnt matter what 6 does. Teams can't pitch around him too often, in fear of Ibanez or Werth batting behind him. Throw in Utley and Victorino being threats on the basepath in front of him, and you have yourself a costly decision. We (the mensa capital of the world) call this one of those GOOD PROBLEMS. One of these years, the Dodgers will acquire a few half decent arms, and you guys might get over the hump. Until then, outlook is not so good.
i agree the Cards-Phils matchup will be a good one. Eager to see the matchups in games 1-3 of the series, if there is one. Carp/Wain/Pineiro > Lee/Hamels/Happ imo, but the Phils lineup is SCARY good when they are in a groove. (have Carp/Wain/Lee/and Happ in fantasy baseball, killin it for me of late)...Don't discount how important it will be to get Myers back, possibly in a relief role or to fill in for Pedro if/when his arm goes south. Both teams are playing great ball (st lou 9-2 in last 11 and Phi 7-1 in last 8) and would love to see the 2 best teams in the NL collide in the post. I'm thinking the cream (these two teams) rises this year.
Bring on an away series, we play better ball away from home. It's all a mindset thing. Get up for away games and relax at home. Much like the run support that they gave Moyer as opposed to Hamels. With Moyer, they went out knowing that they needed at least 5 runs to win the game. No such urgency with Hamels, they know that a 3 run performance very well could win it, so they don't play with the same fire. Look no further than Moyers 10-9 record in 22 starts this year. (11-9 counting the relief win he picked up last nite over ARi)...They simply show up with a vengence on those nights, and usually play complacent ball when Hamels hills it up. (not saying that is the reason for Hamels' 'slump' this year. I attribute that more to last season's magical postseason then I do his pitch placement, although that can use some work too). He'll turn it around and have a fine career, esp with Moyer being his pitching coach next year.
