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Hacksaw’s Thursday Podcast
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“A RIVALRY RIGHT NOW”
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It has seldom been like this ever, but it is something right now.
Dodgers-Padres…the fight for 1st place, starting Friday night thru Sunday at Petco Park.
Granted a weekend ago, the Dodgers won all 3-games against the Friars, knocking them out of first place.
The Padres have been playing catchup all summer long, trailing at one point by 9-games in the NL-West standings. At breakfast this morning, the Dodgers have a 1-game lead.
It has been only in the last five years that we have seen the Padres became a thorn in the side of the Dodgers, little brother antagonizing big brother in what has not been a real rivalry since it all started in 1969.
The Dodgers none-the-less have beaten the Padres 60-of-the 95-games they have played since 2020, when the Friars started acting like a big market team, spending, signing, trading for big name-big money players.
But at the end of the day, the feeling is still that the Dodgers are inside the head of the Padres with that (60-35) modern day record.
They are (8-2) this year against the Friars. They have won the last 5-series they have met including the gut wrenching playoff lost last October, when a 2-1 series Padres lead turned into 24-straight shutout innings into a horrid series loss
Here we are 5-weeks left in the season and though they are battling for top spots, both teams have issues.
How trustworthy is the Padres rotation once you get beyond 13-game winner Nick Pivetta?
Has Shohei Ohtani hit a wall after back to back struggles in starts?
Can you trust anybody in that LA bullpen on a night to night basis?
With little bench help and without the injured Max Muncy and Tom Edman, how much depth does LA have in its lineup.
Can the Padres holdup against the LA front line starters who seem to be about to rally?
Will the streaky Padres bats come together against a first place LA pitching staff?
Will there be beanballs this series like the last time? Doubtful, too much at stake. Will the managers erupt? Probably not till the next controversy.
The Padres think they filled all their flaws-holes with the 5-trading deadline deals. The Dodgers are still waiting to put a full healthy lineup on the field and on the mound.
We know about Dodger Dollars (Evil Empire) buying the best team money can buy. We also know about Peter Seidler’s ‘Slay the Dragon’ legacy too.
And we know the passion play the fans at Petco Park have created with sellout after sellout.
Oh the fans are going crazy on Social media with things like ‘Dodgers want to win World Series games, the Padres try to win against the Dodgers’.
It never ends does it, ‘Beat LA-Beat LA’ ringing in your ears.
Is it Friday night yet? Enjoy the weekend.
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