Dodgers Mob James Loney - Brian Vander Brug - LA Times.com

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.

To conclude the Top 7 Things Learned at Camelback Ranch, I thought I would have some fun and give a quiz. Part of the fun of going to Spring Training is seeing the players up close, and trying to recognize them outside of uniform. Here’s a little test to see if you can pick out the players. I’ll try to start easy and get harder. Answers at the bottom.

A)

B)

C)

D)

E) (Hard One)

So, how did you do?

Here’s the answers:

A) Jason Schmidt B) Randy Wolf C) Blake DeWitt  D) Ned Colletti  E) Andre Ethier (left) and Don Mattingly (Right)

Thanks for the memories Camelback Ranch.  Great First Season and we’ll see you next year.

Continuing my list of the Top 7 Things learned at Camelback Ranch, here is Item #5.

So if you ever want Ned Colletti to stop signing other people’s stuff and come over and talk to you, here’s a great way to do it.

First, go to Don & Charlies for food in Scottsdale.

Second, order the dish named after him, “Ned Colletti’s Chicken Schnitzel.”

Chicken Schnitzel Menu

Ned Colletti's Chicken Schnitzel

Third, when waiting for a Ned Autograph, tell him that you liked his Chicken Schnitzel.

My Buddy with Ned

My friends stumbled upon this process and Ned stopped giving autographs to other people and came over and talked to him about why it was named that.

Fun story, and I bet it will work a second time.

Next up on the List:

You Never Know Who You Are Going to See at Camelback Ranch

Manny Ramirez - ESPN.com - Gary A. Vasquez/US Presswire

Ahh, so happy days are here again. Manny is officially a Dodger, and there was collective deep breath taken by all Dodgerfans. He is legit. He’s here for at least a year, and according to interviews he wants to be here. The signing of Manny was kind of like the weather here today in the Bay Area. Stormy at first, but sunny this afternoon. The ride was rough, but everything is bright now.

Let me be the first to say I was wrong. I was wrong here on this blog stating that he would get 4 years and that he had the last leverage. It ends up both had the leverage. Manny wanted to play and saw that the money was good given the economical circumstances. Frank McCourt saw his beautiful new Spring Training home not sell out on the first game and heard everyone ask about Manny. He knew what he had to do.

I wanted to pass on to all Dodgerfans this link to Jayson Stark’s article on ESPN.com. This was by far the best article I read today regarding the Manny signing. I seriously wonder how many articles were written about Manny in the last two days (I saw at least 20-30 just on 4 websites). This truly was the news of the off-season. Everyone was interested, and everyone had their opinions. The best part of this article was the story of how Frank McCourt really wanted to make sure Manny was ready to be a leader both on the team, as well as in the community. That is very cool that he wanted Manny to give 1 Mil to the Dodgers charity. From a tax point of view it’s good for Manny and for a just good thing for the community, it’s a great thing. It sounds like Manny did want to be a Dodger and hopefully he’ll be one even longer than this year.

I do give Frank McCourt credit. He came out looking good in all this. He didn’t overpay, he held his respect with Boras, he held out for the fans, and he is looking out for the Dodgers. I really think he will be remembered kindly in the future. What other owner of late has done so much for the fans in terms of spending, a new spring training facility and fixing up Dodger stadium? He has invested wisely and I think the fans will continue to respect him for it.

Here’s the other reason I was wrong. I had no idea on the power of Manny. I did, but I didn’t, even in myself. I thought the Dodgers could live without him at one point, but he brings too much. He brings hope. He brings flavor. He brings a bat. Suddenly the Dodgers are favorites and they have one of the best players in all of baseball on their team. It’s been a long time since that was the case going into the new season. The pitching is soft, but with Manny, there is hope and confidence.  You watch, the tickets are already starting to come in for the McCourts.

The best part of the day? My conversation with a Giant’s fan this afternoon. We were talking about Manny and what a difference he will make, and he ended by saying, “We should have signed Manny.” That’s the sweet part of this living up here. The Giants lost Manny to the Dodgers. It wasn’t ever a real possibility for them, but to most Giant fans, there was the hope of a slugger. They lost that hope today and it went to the Dodgers. Once again, the fans up here know the Dodgers got the better player, and now have the better team. Happy days are here again.

Hey Ned and Frank, next time your up here, let me know.  I’ll buy you a beer.  Thanks for seeing this one through…and making sure I don’t have to change my banner image above!

Orlando Hudson - MLB.com

So Orlando Hudson is now a Dodger. There’s been a lot written on him and whether he should be a Dodger, but I don’t think it’s a bad move. He is a proven defender (which the Dodgers needed), and if he has a good year, he could be great on offense too.

My cousin lives in Arizona and wrote this to me on facebook:
“Nice pick of of O-Dog (Orlando Hudson). That’s a big sting to D-backs fans, he was a favorite.”

This actually says a lot to me. If he was a fan favorite, that means he hustles and gets the job done.  Adding people like that to the team only makes the team better. It does create a little potential log jam in the in-field, (I do like DeWitt) but that’s probably ok. Jon Weisman’s blog makes a good point that given Furcal’s injury history, a little redundancy is a good thing.

Given the money, this deal is a steal.  I think Ned Colletti’s new nickname should be “The Bargain Hunter.”  I don’t know that this is a compliment given his job, but man does he grab the deals.  It honestly makes you wonder if there is a special clause in his contract that if he cuts a certain amount off contracts that he gets a commission.  He didn’t seem to get that from Brian Sabean (Ahh the Zito contract will never die), but he does seem to have it.

The biggest knock against Hudson is that he makes the Dodgers give their #17 pick to the Diamondbacks.  Giving away minor league players doesn’t seem to be a problem to The Bargain Hunter.  Good, bad, or indifferent, he has always preferred the proven “bird in the hand, rather than two in the bush.”  Here’s a great article by Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness on how recent #17 pics have turned out.  There’s been a lot more that haven’t worked out…but the list does make you cringe a little bit…especially Cole Hamels.

Either way, the move continues to bolster the offense and defense, and pulls help from the Diamondbacks at least this year.  Now if only we could still find more pitching…

Let me know your thoughts – Do you like Hudson?