And why am I a Sports Fan Again?

Today was brutal. I can't think of a better word to describe it. The Lakers looked like they would have rather been anywhere in the world than on the basketball court and the Dodgers lost in thirteen innings. All in all, I spent about 5 1/2 hours of my time in exchange for a whole lot of frustration. It's days like these that I question my sanity: Why would any rational person be a sports fan? I wish I was a fan of musical theatre or something. Anyways, here are some notes from both the Dodgers and Lakers games:

First the Dodgers:

• I really have a tough time with Joe Torre's managing of the bullpen. It seems as if he has no plan at all. First off, the man lets Jeff Weaver bat for himself in the 5th inning, but after he allows one baserunner in the top of the 6th, he yanks him even though Weave had made only 76 pitches at the time. Then to top that off, he brings in Troncoso (which is good, I like Tron Tron), and he proceeds to get a strike out and then allows a 17 hopper through the hole for a single. So what does Torre do? He brings the hook and replaces Troncoso with Will Ohman... He brought the Dodgers lefty specialist into the game in the 6th inning!! And to face who you might ask? The vaunted Travis Ishikawa who is hitting a robust .188 on the year. So basically he wasted a guy who can go multiple innings (Troncoso) to bring in a lefty to face a horrible hitter. And what does Bruce Bochy do? Of course he pinch hits for Ishikawa. Bochy brought in the righty Rich Aurilia. While Ohman got out of the inning, the frustrating part is that Troncoso was wasted for only six pitches. I hated this move at the time and after watching the game play out I hate it even more. Since Torre removed Troncoso so early, he was forced to use Belisario and Wade to handle the 8th and 9th innings. Now fast forward to the top of the 11th. Torre has a choice between James McDonald, Guillermo "God Forbid" Mota, and Brent Leach. With the pitcher due up second in the next inning, Torre has two real options. Use either Mota or Leach and pinch hit for them in the bottom of the inning, or throw McDonald and let him hit for himself and give your team a few innings. So what does Torre do? Naturally, he chooses McDonald AND, after making only 20 pitches, decides to pinch hit for the young righty in the bottom of the inning. This leaves the Dodgers with only two pitchers left, both of which are not very good options. Joe decides to bring in Mota. Of course, Mota gives up a run in the 12th, only to be saved by Casey Blake's home run, and then gives up two more in the next inning for good measure. Just overall terrible bullpen management by a guy known to be quite a dunce in this area. How a manager with an 8 pitcher bullpen could manage to screw the situation up is beyond me. Inexcusable.
• My other thought during the game, besides "Why does our first baseman have less power than Juan Pierre?", was setting the over/under on Guillermo Mota's DFA. I said July 1st, and one of my friends (Brian) said that it must come before July. I know Mota is guaranteed something like 2 million for the remainder of the year, but let's be honest, is he going to help the team at all? When he was brought into the game today there was no doubt what the result was going to be. It is basically a concession when he pitches. Mota now has a 7.43 ERA in 13.1 innings, and has allowed well over 2 baserunners an inning. As mad as I get at him, I blame Ned Colletti waaaaaaaay more for signing him in the first place. Mota has not been good for quite some time, yet Ned gave him a guaranteed major league contract. Luckily, he probably won't pitch too many high-leverage innings the rest of the year.
• The Dodgers now go on the road for six games against the Phillies and the Marlins. I am hoping the team does well, but I think 3-3 is a very reasonable expectation. The Dodgers need Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Russell Martin, and Orlando Hudson to carry the load. Rafael Furcal and James Loney have had absolutely zero value this season (according to FanGraphs), and they must play better for the Dodgers to be successful. Maybe a trip to the band box that is Citizens Bank Park will do the trick..

The Lakers are even more disappointing than the Dodgers. Today's game annoyed me more than Adam Lambert singing "Whole Lotta Love" on American Idol. Up 2-1 in the series with the Rockets best player now out for the season, the Lakers had a shot to choke the Rockets out. Yet, they didn't even show up in this one, as they were outhustled and outplayed from the opening possession. It was really a pathetic display of basketball and it makes me think the Lakers will not win the championship. The Cleveland Cavaliers are destroying their opponents night in and night out, yet the Lakers believe they can flip the switch whenever they want. It's just pathetic. You would think the Lakers would learn from their mistakes, but they never do. Now moving on, I think there are a few things the Lakers must do to control the series...

1. Kobe MUST be used in the pinch post area about fifteen feet from the basket. By doing so, you take advantage of Kobe's passing ability as Houston is more than likely to double him in that spot. I believe Kobe is best in this spot on the floor and it also spares him from having to shoot 20 footers with Shane Battier in his face all night long. It is an easy way to help conserve energy for Kobe.
2. When Kobe isn't in the post, the Lakers need to run more pick-and-rolls with him and Pau Gasol. Even with Yao out for the series, the pick-and-roll can help Kobe create space and give him an advantage going to the basket. Kobe is a great passer when he wants to be and this will help him get into a spot where they can take advantage of his decision making.
3. Derek Fisher needs to play about 18-20 minutes only. Aaron Brooks just lights him up. D-Fish can't keep up with anyone anymore. Personally I would divide the minutes like this: Fisher 18 minutes; Brown 15 minutes; Farmar 15 minutes. This creates a good mix of speed, athleticism, shot-making, and leadership at the point. But if Fisher plays more than this amount, I think he hurts the Lakers way more than he helps.
4. Finally, the Lakers just need to show some heart. They showed it in games 2 and 3, but then today they looked like they were happy to split the games in Houston. This attitude has to change for the Lakers to win a championship. I have tried to give the team the benefit of the doubt all season, but the bottom line is they must show a killer instinct. I hope we see it in Game 5, but these are the Lakers and you just never know. To me this attitude comes from the top on down. Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher must set the tone. If they do, I think the Lakers cruise in the next two games. If not, this series could continue to get interesting.

Overall, I think the Lakers are fine. However, I saw some signs today that made me question their ability to win a championship. It hurts me to say that but it's the truth at this point in time. Hopefully they can correct it, because if they can't they will get run off the court by the Cavs in the Finals...