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.
So I had the honor of attending Opening Day at Dodger Stadium on Monday. I maybe get to one game at Dodger Stadium a year, so the fact that it was Opening Day was cool. Then the fact that history was made that day is a memory I’ll never forget. Oh yeah, and the fact that it was against the Giants…doesn’t get much better than that.
I went to a game years ago with a Giant fan at Dodger Stadium against the Giants and watched the Dodgers destroy them. This was as good, if not better.
Reason #1 why Giants fans should switch over to being Dodger fans…The Dodgers are just better!
Major Highlights
Orlando Hudson hits for the cycle. Ironically, I happened to be in the restroom for his final triple, but how cool to say I was at a game where the cycle was hit.
Andre Ethier hits two homeruns. I wrote earlier that I wondered if he would be on this year. No doubt now.
Chad Billingsley looked like the Ace. 11ks. The Giants just didn’t have anything against him. He looked great.
Being part of the largest crowd at Dodger stadium – over 57,000. I was there when they set the record at the playoff game in 2004, and now here again. I guess I know the good games to go to!
Major Highlights (That weren’t always shown on TV)
Every Dodger had a hit, including Chad Billingsley. The offense was primed and they will do a lot of damage this year.
Will Ohman and the Pen looked sharp. With a lead that big, you have room to give, but they held strong.
Russell Martin finally hit a little. He has started slow, but had two key hits and now has 50 RBI in his life with the bases loaded.
I saw a couple get engaged right in front of me! They brought the cameras up to my section (about 7 rows in front of me) for their “Kiss Cam” between innings. The guy poked her on the cheek, then got down on one knee and proposed to the surprise of everyone in the stadium. She said yes and was playing with the ring around her finger for the rest of the game. I’ve never been that close to the camera at the stadium, let alone to someone’s proposal. Way cool.
Randy Johnson is a Hall of Famer…but needs some work. He was good for 3 innings, but then he got lit up. Getting 300 wins may take a long time this season.
The traffic in L.A. is as bad as you hear…especially with 57,000 people going to and way from the same spot.
Overall, what a day and what a memory. Special thanks to Lance for securing the tickets and to the guy in Pasadena from Craig’s list who sold the tickets.
Just for fun, here’s two articles from the local papers on the perspective of how the Giants did during the game. Keep in the mind that their loss was the fourth straight, and they were just swept by the Padres.
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 the Dodgers played the Giants today in Arizona. It was the first Dodgers/Giants “Regular Spring Training” game as part of the cactus league. In the spirit of David Letterman, here are the top 10 things I learned:
10. Man it’s good to have baseball again. It’s been too long thinking about Manny (even though he came up again and again in the game) and not listening to the crack of the bat.
9. Who’s playing center field now? I listened to Jon MIller (Giant’s radio station) and even he had trouble naming all the new players switching in and out of the game. Got to love spring training where most of the names are new and you never know who just subbed in.
8. Jon Miller interviewed Henry Schulman (Writer for the San Francisco Chronicle) during the broadcast and I liked what he had to say. He was talking about the rivalry and that even though this was a nothing game that the fans still get into it. He was saying that he could really see it in the players too that there was a greater energy going into the game. There is something deeper to this rivalry, and I hope it never leaves. I really like that the players get into it too.
7. The Dodgers can finally hit Sergio Romo. (See previous post) They lit him up today.
6. Delwyn Young needs to take more fly balls.
5. Jonathan Broxton still has me worried as a closer…unless they just sit him when he plays the Giants. They just continue to light him up. He got out of the inning, but not without a run, and not without striking fear as to how bad the Giants may beat him later this year.
4. Randy Wolf may be well worth his asking price. Who knew he could become the ace!?
3. Russell Martin is still a stud. Here’s hoping he can hit the second half, but he is definitely still my current favorite.
2. Never heard of Valentino Pascucci before today, but I hope we keep hearing about him. He launched a homerun, and he has the coolest name of any Dodger in years.
1. The Dodgers are still better than the Giants and proved it by the final score. Ahh, I love living in this area when the Dodgers are obviously better and every Giants fan knows it.
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