Hope you bought a lottery ticket yesterday because the Dodgers broke all the odds. To win game 2 against the Cardinals and take a 2-0 lead into St. Louis, no one would have believed you. Got to love it.
I was coming back from Vegas yesterday and could only catch part of the game on the radio. Nicely, the only part I caught was the bottom of the ninth. I can’t say it was a quiet listen, as my kids were screaming in the back of the car while I had the stereo cranked up. I should clarify screaming…they wanted to watch Thomas the Train Engine – which we allowed, just to the sounds of the Dodger game. My son kept saying “Sound on, sound on” and my younger daughter kept saying, “mama, mama, mama” with the hope that my wife would turn on the dvd sound since daddy obviously wasn’t going to budge on turning off the game. Let’s just say chaos is my family sometimes…
In the midst of all that, I heard Casey Blake take the walk. Then Belliard hit the single, then Loretta hit the single. Ironic as always that Juan Pierre scored the tying run. Who knew that the lower part of the lineup would just chip away at the lead. Dodger fans would…but not the rest of the country.
Great article in the LA times yesterday about how the team thought Casey Blake was the hero with the walk (click here). I fully agree and have been hyping him all year. He doesn’t hit like Manny, but he definitely does the other things to be just as valuable.
So in the midst of all the excitement, I was brought back to earth here in the Bay Area. I talked to Giants fan co-worker and asked him why he hadn’t congratulated me that the Dodgers won last night…he responded, “You’re not on the team, why should I congratulate you?” Such it is up here. At least the Dodgers are in and the Giants aren’t so I can just smile and know he knows the Dodgers are the better team.
I spent the week down in San Diego playing at Legoland with my kids. Very cool park for young kids. I think the sweet spot is about 3-10 years old, but cool place. I grew up down south so I know Disneyland, Magic Mountain, Knotts and SeaWorld, but I hadn’t been to Legoland. The Lego creations are incredible and you can’t walk around without wanting to get your hands on a set of legos and create something.
While down there I actually got to see the Dodgers on tv, but mainly saw a number of Padre vs Diamondbacks games. Let’s just say the Padres are just sad this year. Both of those teams are pretty bad right now, but there is a glimmer of hope for the Diamondbacks. The Padres on the other hand have nothing but Adrian Gonzalez. They traded away Scott Hairston while I was there, and they are just trying to get through the season.
The Dodgers on the other hand, just keep rolling. It seems like they are settling in again with Manny in the lineup. Manny seems to be fine after his time off. He’s hitting his homeruns as he should and the rest of the Dodgers are following up. Matt Kemps grandslam last night was fantastic. They really are the tale of two teams. With Manny, they seem to score 3-5 runs and win. Without Manny they only score 1-3 runs, but they still win. Either way, they are still going strong.
I have to give a shout out to Mark Loretta. He has been a fantastic pickup for the Dodgers. He is clutch and involved a lot in scoring runs. Quiet guy, but he does his job. I had to laugh this week. I saw him in a commercial while in San Diego. I called it earlier in the year when the Dodgers were on the Price is Right (see post here). He was the only one who seemed to have some “acting” capability. Someone else obviously saw that episode and liked what he saw. I don’t think he’s ready for the movies yet, but he did well enough to draw a laugh from me.
Coming up this weekend – another spy game. The Giants surprised the league with a no-hitter…
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.
Dodgers on The Price is Right - Amber Matsumoto/Dodgers
The Dodgers showed up on the Price Is Right this last week. My grandpa watches that show every single day, so I had to check out the action. It took me a little bit to find it, but I was finally successful. Here’s the story from the Dodgers website too.
Below is the video (my apologies for the commercial at the start), but first let me say that the guys shouldn’t quit their day jobs. They are good ballplayers…but definitely awkward on camera. Delwyn Young has the enthusiasm, but almost too much. Russell Martin cracked me up. The guy is a great catcher, but I don’t think he took his hands out of his pocket both times he was on camera. He has that look like…”I have to stay cool, but this is really embarassing…” I think James Loney had that same look…but he always has funny looks in his pictures anyway. Mark Loretta actually looked fairly comfortable. I wonder if he has a broadcast career ahead of him.
So when I first heard about them having the showcase showdown, I thought the price was $31,000. Ends up it was $38,000, so the other guy would have won anyway. It was a cool prize. I would have gladly taken the press box, the front row seats, the Camelback ranch experience and the car. They never say which Dodger legend will visit you in the press box, but I wonder if it’s like Vin Sculley, Tommy Lasorda or Fernando Valenzuela. Just to be down on the field for batting practice would be cool.
Either way – all for naught. Joel didn’t win the prize and the Dodgers don’t have to donate it. I wonder what that would go for if they put it on Ebay. I’d bid on it.
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.
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