{"id":2368,"date":"2009-10-16T23:00:38","date_gmt":"2009-10-17T03:00:38","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2009-10-20T12:10:51","modified_gmt":"2009-10-20T12:10:51","slug":"2009-nlcs-rate-a-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/2009-nlcs-rate-a-record\/","title":{"rendered":"2009 NLCS Rate-a-Record: Dodgers vs Phillies"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><big><strong>Or <em>The Pitcher Has Two Songs!<\/em><\/strong><\/big><br \/><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DIgVMX4It-M?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><br \/>\nBecause this year&#8217;s <strong>National League Championship Series<\/strong> is a repeat of the 2008 contenders, the <strong>Los Angeles Dodgers<\/strong> and the <strong>Philadelphia Phillies<\/strong>, and because the core of each team returns relatively intact, we won&#8217;t rehash every detail of the <strong>walk-up music<\/strong> for each team&#8217;s returning participants. Key match-ups will be revisited, when necessary, but for background reading I suggest you click <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php\/2008\/10\/09\/2008-nlcs-rate-a-record-determine-the-wi\">here<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php\/2008\/10\/10\/2008-nlcs-rate-a-record-going-around-the-3\">here<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php\/2008\/10\/13\/2008-nlcs-rate-a-record-going-around-the-4\">here<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php\/2008\/10\/14\/title-7\">here<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php\/2008\/10\/15\/2008-nlcs-rate-a-record-torre-seeks\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Not all returning Dodgers and Phillies have stuck with their 2008 walk-up tunes, but let&#8217;s start with the turnover on each roster. Most significant for the Dodgers may be what tunes they&#8217;ve <em>deleted<\/em> from their playlist, both for the better and the worse. Dodgers fans may be a little queasy with the thought of 21-year-old <strong>Clayton Kershaw<\/strong> starting Game 1 in LA, but at least he packs a better theme song than last year&#8217;s Game 1 starter, now enjoying tee time with his Braves teammates, <strong>Derek Lowe<\/strong> and the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php\/2008\/10\/09\/2008-nlcs-rate-a-record-determine-the-wi\">lamest intro song in the history of the game, &#8220;Everytime We Touch,&#8221; by <strong>Cascada<\/strong><\/a>. Instead, Kershaw brings the sing-songy <strong>Red Hot Chili Peppers<\/strong> single &#8220;Snow.&#8221;<br \/><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IiCFDt3weLY?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><br \/>\n<em>Upgrade over Lowe&#8217;s candy-ass dance tune?<\/em> Sure, but that&#8217;s not saying much.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile Phillies&#8217; Game 1 starter, &#8220;Hollywood&#8221; Hamels will crank up his trusty mp3 of <strong>AC\/DC<\/strong>&#8216;s &#8220;Thunderstruck.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p><strong>Advantage:<\/strong> Phillies.<br \/>\n<!--nextpage--><br \/>\nOne of the perceived strengths of the 2008 Dodgers was the team&#8217;s bench and bullpen playlists. This year, Nomar and his &#8220;Low Rider&#8221; 45 are gone, Jeff Kent and his battered copy of Santana&#8217;s &#8220;Oye Como Va&#8221; are gone, and Joe Beimel&#8217;s cool mix of &#8217;60s stoner rock and White Stripes are hitting the golf links in Colorado. The 2009 team&#8217;s 84-year-old backup catcher, <strong>Brad Ausmus<\/strong>, brings it, however, with <strong>Jimi Hendrix<\/strong>&#8216;s &#8220;Fire,&#8221; but <strong>Mark Loretta<\/strong>&#8216;s use of a Creed song, &#8220;My Sacrifice,&#8221; won&#8217;t advance the runner. The bench player who&#8217;s always given the Phillies the most fits over the course of his career, <strong>Juan Pierre<\/strong>, uses the following song of praise.<br \/><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TO4zguOa_ek?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><br \/>\n<em>Yeesh!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The only new additions to the Phillies&#8217; bench are <strong>Ben Francisco<\/strong>, who accompanies his trips to the plate with some <strong>Kanye West<\/strong> song; <strong>Miguel Cairo<\/strong>, whose tuneage I cannot determine; and <strong>Paul Bako<\/strong>, whose steady defense, heady play, and weak bat are well-represented by this journeyman song:<\/p><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jA_sd76DP00?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><p><strong>Advantage:<\/strong> Dodgers, solely on the strength of Ausmus&#8217; walk-up song.<\/p>\n<p>Among the new starters for each team, Phils fans have fallen in love with the determined, focused professionalism of <strong>Raul Ibanez<\/strong>. His choice of <strong>Pearl Jam<\/strong>&#8216;s &#8220;Save You&#8221; will play a key role in this series, as it has done throughout the veteran&#8217;s season of walking on water.<\/p><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/G1wB5Ut9Xo8?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><p>Whether the Dodgers start <strong>Orlando Hudson<\/strong> or <strong>Ronnie Belliard<\/strong> at second base, the former&#8217;s &#8220;Mr. President&#8221; by <strong>Young Jeezy<\/strong> or the latter&#8217;s &#8211; possibly &#8220;Groove With Me Tonight,&#8221; by <strong>MDO<\/strong>, which I could verify he used from 2004-2007, add nothing. In fact, if Belliard is still using this outdated boy band song it might counteract the benefits gained by Derek Lowe leaving the team.<br \/><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-OQrjK3BAYk?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>For more on the Dodgers&#8217; at-bat song, click <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vinscullyismyhomeboy.com\/2009\/06\/at-bat-songs-dodgers.html\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com\/la\/fan_forum\/songs.jsp\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The 2009 Phillies still come at you with a combination of hardcore hip-hop, reggae, classic rock, and half-decent modern rock. For a while, in fact, Jayson Werth put aside his standard <strong>Sammy Hagar<\/strong> tune, &#8220;Heavy Metal,&#8221; and broke out <strong>Kings of Leon<\/strong>&#8216;s &#8220;Sex on Fire.&#8221; Werth reclaimed Hagar for the stretch run, however, and the results have been as plain as day. No one in the Dodgers&#8217; starting 8 brings anything half as cool as <strong>Shane Victorino<\/strong>&#8216;s &#8220;Buffalo Soldier&#8221; to the plate. Shane&#8217;s sending this one out to you, <strong>sammymaudlin<\/strong>!<\/p>\n<p>With another year of experience under their belt and Jeff Weaver&#8217;s use of &#8220;Crazy Train&#8221; in the &#8216;pen, the Dodgers should be a formidable foe. There is, however, one major flaw in the Dodgers&#8217; attack, which we&#8217;ll examine in more depth following Game 4, in Philadelphia. Pitcher Randy Wolf, a phormer Phils player and once phan phavorite who is scheduled to start Game 4 back in Philly, is identified with two songs: 1) Tool&#8217;s &#8220;Jambi&#8221; (which kicks off this thread), to get him psyched up for pitching, and 2)&#8230;well, I&#8217;ll let you judge his at-bat song for yourself:<br \/>\n<!--nextpage--><br \/><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Y1a_ikfUico?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Prediction:<\/strong> Phils in 6, including a resounding win in Game 4.<\/p>\n<nav class=\"page-links\"><strong>Pages:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/2009-nlcs-rate-a-record\/\" class=\"post-page-numbers\"><span class=\"page-num\">1<\/span><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/2009-nlcs-rate-a-record\/2\/\" class=\"post-page-numbers\"><span class=\"page-num\">2<\/span><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/2009-nlcs-rate-a-record\/3\/\" class=\"post-page-numbers\"><span class=\"page-num\">3<\/span><\/a><\/nav>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Or The Pitcher Has Two Songs! Because this year&#8217;s National League Championship Series is a repeat of the 2008 contenders, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies, and because the core of each team returns relatively intact, we won&#8217;t rehash every detail of the walk-up music for each team&#8217;s returning participants. Key match-ups will <a href='https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/2009-nlcs-rate-a-record\/' class='excerpt-more'>[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[342],"tags":[57],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2368"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2368\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}