So I’m not sure what happens to the Dodgers in SF, but the last two games I’ve been to up here have been full of Dodger errors. You’d never know it by the box score, but there should have been 4 Dodger errors that weren’t scored. Ethier bumped into Kemp in the 1st inning. Kemp misplayed a ball over his head. Belisario tried to be Omar Vizquel and flip the ball to Martin with his glove, and then also uncorked a wild pitch.

The batting was decent and Wolf did ok, but they didn’t look sharp tonight.  I’ve actually never been to a game with that few of people in the stands.  It wasn’t a surprise that they had discounts on the tickets. 

Barry Zito actually pitched a really good game tonight.  He definitely had the Dodgers guessing.  They started letting Pablo Sandoval catch him and ever since he can pitch again.  If you have a fantasy team – keep an eye on him.  He definitely looked like the Zito of old.

The funniest story of the night was who I ended up sitting next to.  There was a guy with a shirt that said “Osama Bin Laden is a Dodgerfan” with a picture of the LA logo on Bin Laden’s turbin.  It was pretty funny and it ends up the guy is setting up a blog for die hard Giants fans just like I set this one up for Dodger fans here in SF.  I had my cards with the logo on it, and he had his stickers with his website, www.dodgerhater.net .  Two like minded fans…just different teams.  Good luck to you Sean.

I don’t know what it is with these teams, but the rivalry is real and it plays out in the games.  They are always close.  One Giants fan behind me summed it up well, “Watching this game is emotionally exhausting.”  It was.  It was fun to be there tonight…just tough to swallow the ending.

Oh yeah – man I love Casey Blake.  The guy just hits jacks.

Tags: Andre Ethier, Casey Blake, Matt Kemp, Omar Vizquel, Randy Wolf, Ronald Belisario, Russell Martin

I was gone for a few days to go see the Dodgers in L.A., and when I got back a Giants fan I work with told me that he was hoping that I didn’t get back until Thursday.  With the beating the Giants took on Monday, he hoped I was gone at least until the second game of the series, hoping the Giants would win and level out the series.  He felt if the Giants won game two, that he could point out that Monday was just one game, and wasn’t all that significant.

Well – sorry Jon.  No luck.  I came back, AND the Dodgers won game two.  The Dodgers are still better.  He even told me yesterday that the Giants were better than the Dodgers because all time they still have a better winning percentage than the Dodgers.

Again – sorry Jon.  Maybe so, but this year so far is all Dodgers.

I’m not sure if Dodger fans are aware of this, but Matt Cain is still 0-6 lifetime against the Dodgers.  He always pitches them well, but continues to come away with a loss.  It really became obvious last year when he consistently held them to less than 3 runs, but then once he left the game, the Dodgers beat the bullpen and won the game.  Last night Casey Blake got the best of him, but he pitched well…the Dodgers just beat the bullpen.

Got to love Casey Blake and Clayton Kershaw.  Blake is the 8 hitter and has 3 homeruns.  He may hit 30 this year.  Kershaw strikes out 13 and looks brilliant.  Running tally – the Giants have struck out 24 times out of 54 at bats in 2 games.  That has to be rough for a pitching coach.  Between Stults, Wolf, Billingsley and Kershaw, Ned Colletti obviously knew something more about the pitching staff than we all did.  They could still use one more arm, but they look great right now.

You could have an interesting debate as to if Loney was trying for walks in two of his at bats last night, including the one to win the game.  He stared down multiple beautiful fastballs, and then took the walks.  You could say he was afraid to hit and wanted the walk, or you could say he just knew the pitchers would end up throwing balls, and therefore he just let them do it.

I don’t buy that he was afraid to hit as he has been hitting the ball like crazy the last few days.  I think he’s just a smart hitter who knew the power of a walk, and was going to let the pitchers do it if they couldn’t throw strikes. How bitterly sweet that the Giants walked in the winning run.

Brian Wilson is a good closer, so tough luck to him, but to the Dodgers gain.  Even if the Dodgers lose tonight, the series has been won.

Tags: Brian Wilson, Casey Blake, Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, Eric Stults, James Loney, Jonathan Broxton, Matt Cain, Ned Colletti, Randy Wolf

Dodger games on TV are a premium up here, so I was pretty excited about today’s exhibition game between the Dodgers and Giants.  It’s funny though, I forgot that it was the day before Opening Day, therefore most of the regulars are on the bench…including Manny.

It’s an interesting game though because you got to see the depth or lack of depth of the Dodgers lineup this year.  Juan Pierre, Mark Loretta, Brad Ausmus, Blake DeWitt – all decent players but all the bench guys for this coming year.

What caught my attention though were the starters who were in there – James McDonald, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and James Loney.  Obviously, there isn’t a back up for every spot, so you have to keep some regulars.

Here’s where my thoughts turned to concern.  Let’s think worst case scenario this year.  If Manny, Kemp or Eithier go down, Pierre is the everyday.  If two go down, it becomes a different question.

If Blake, Furcal, or Hudson go down, then you have Blake DeWitt or Mark Loretta.  Similarly, Martin goes down, then Ausmus.

Here’s the one that I couldn’t answer though.  What happens if Loney goes down?  I’m convinced the guy will win the batting title some day and he doesn’t seem prone to injury, but you never know what will happen.  I guess Casey Blake could go over there, but who else?  Mientkiewicz is an easy answer if he makes the team, but that hasn’t been decided yet.

I’m sure the Dodgers top brass have thought through this scenario, but it isn’t really obvious. 

Well, back to the game.  McDonald looks a little shaky.  Pierre is running like always.  Ethier doesn’t seem quite right yet, but Loney looks solid.  Bengie Molina and Randy Winn continue to be Dodger killers.

Let the Season begin!

Tags: Andre Ethier, Bengie Molina, Blake DeWitt, Brad Ausmus, Casey Blake, Doug Mientkiewicz, James Loney, James McDonald, Juan Pierre, Manny Ramirez, Mark Loretta, Matt Kemp, Orlando Hudson, Rafael Furcal, Randy Winn, Russell Martin

So it’s been a little while since a post since I was traveling.  I took my family down to So. Cal to see the family for Christmas.  We drove down the coast on the way down and then through the valley on the way up.  My kids Grandpa and Grandma had over 1′ of snow in Crestline, so it was great fun to play in the snow.  I knew I was getting close to L.A. when I saw a Dodgers license plate holder in Ventura at a gas station.  I just don’t see enough of those up here.

So since I last posted, the Dodgers signed Mark Loretta, Casey Blake and Rafael Furcal.

First – Loretta.  It’s a nice pick up.  Nothing against him – he’s been a good ball player for a while.  Hopefully off the bench he can hit in a pinch and help the team.  I still think Garciaparra off the bench could be better option, but I bet he still wants to play consistently, and not just off the bench.  Honestly Nomar, you should consider off the bench until you can get rid of the reputation that your legs give out too fast, then go for the full time contract again.

Second – Blake.  I love Casey Blake.  He got mixed reviews in L.A., but he’s a solid player.  2 years would have been better, but at least there is a solid 3rd baseman for 3 years.  He’s not going to be A-rod, but he did great for the Dodgers this last year at times, especially with clutch hits.  He is streaky…but he’s always been that way.  He will be solid.

Finally – Furcal.  There were lots of stories around, but the thing I love is that he wanted to be a Dodger.  It’s obvious he wanted to go to the Dodgers, but wanted a minimum price.  The Braves gave the prices, so he was considering them.   Then the Dodgers realized they would rather have him than anybody else, so they met the price.  Furcal got the team and price he wanted, and the deal was done.  Since he wants to be there, he should be fine.  I’m betting his work in the winter league really influenced this, since his body seems to be back intact…pun intended.

In all three cases – the Dodgers are really re-creating the team from last year.  Now if they can just get some pitching and then Manny – they will be good to go.  The focus has been on Manny, but the Dodgers really need a #1 horse.  Actually they need a #1 and #2 in case one of the other guys goes down.  I’m starting to wonder if they think Jason Schmidt will pitch this year as they didn’t go as hard after C.C. as I thought they would.  We’ll see.  At least they are working on the holes.

Tags: C.C. Sabathia, Casey Blake, Jason Schmidt, Manny Ramirez, Mark Loretta, Nomar Garciaparra, Rafael Furcal

So Arbitration to Manny, Lowe, and Blake, but no one else. Hmm. It is an easy assumption to think those are they guys they think they are going to lose, therefore they are protecting themselves…especially since two are type A. Having said that, why no Furcal? Hopefully negotiations are going good with him. We’ll see. If anything, Manny may be on the way out.

Tags: Casey Blake, Derek Lowe, Manny Ramirez, Rafael Furcal