Andre is back!

And what a freaky finish to the month of May, in a game played on a gorgeous Memorial Day evening at Dodger Stadium. Playing the opening game of a long homestand on this holiday, the first of a three-game set against the Diamondbacks, the Dodgers fell behind early, 4-0, behind Chad Billingsley, but pecked away and were finally able to tie the game on a double-error misplayed ground ball in the eighth inning!  If that wasn’t wacky enough, they then won the game in the bottom of the ninth on a walk-off balk.  This, after Dodgers first baseman James Loney had been picked off between second and third in a huge baserunning blunder.  Shortly afterward, Dodgers third baseman Casey Blake, who had advanced to third, was able to distract Arizona reliever Esmerling Vasquez into committing a monumental error:  Blake danced down the line to the point where Vasquez flinched; Casey pointed and called out for the balk, with umpire Tim Timmons nodding in agreement.  Blake trotted home with the winning run, with Dodgers announcer Vin Scully noting (was it pleading?), “Look out, boys, for broken legs”, an obvious reference to the Angels’ Kendry Morales’ recent injury sustained while landing on home plate after a walk-off grand slam.

And the Dodgers notched a 5-4 victory. The Diamondbacks have had constant bullpen woes this season, but this was certainly an unusual way to end a game.

And how’s this for a crazy bit of trivia:  one of the oddest in baseball’s quirky stats department everyone was talking about, was something Vinnie mentioned early in the game on Monday:

Manny, who turned 38 on Sunday, has never hit a home run on his birthday in his career.  However, he has hit one on the day after his birthday eight times–including in the Memorial Day game, scoring the Dodgers’ first run of the evening, off Arizona starting pitcher Rodrigo Lopez.

 

SO…the first two months of the season are in…results, mixed, but definitely on the upswing.

The Dodgers seem to be back on track toward their goal of defending back-to-back NL West titles. They just posted an excellent 20-8 record in the month of May following a horrendous April.  It was their best month of May since 1962, the year Dodger Stadium opened, and given that their best performing offensive player was missing for half the month, that made it more impressive. These Dodgers know they can’t rest on their laurels after winning the division in 2008-09.  Their competition has improved; the Western Division is the deepest pitching division in the league.  But they’re a resilient team, too, refusing to let the first month’s problems bury them.

Let’s back up and review a bit:

Surprising trends in the early going:

–The failure of the bullpen in the first month of the season; given the ‘pen had been a strength of the Dodgers in recent seasons.  In all fairness, this was partially due to some missing pieces, such as Ronnie Belisario reporting so late to spring training from his native Venezuela (due to visa problems) that he missed the beginning of the season, and Hong-Chih Kuo, a valuable late-inning lefty, starting 2010 on the DL. Two pitchers named Ortiz–Russ and Ramon–who were on the Opening Day roster, are no longer with the team. Closer Jonathan Broxton recorded only one save in the month of April. That was due to a very limited number of save opportunities–the Dodgers were so often trailing late in the game, and played so many road games in April, that the dynamics of bullpen use were shuffled a bit.  I’ll admit I’ve been a bit concerned about overuse of Ramon Troncoso, who was used in 24 of the team’s first 41 games. But Jeff Weaver has also stepped up nicely, as he did last year in pitching so reliably.  Also, reliever Justin Miller has recently been called up from Triple A Albuquerque.   

–Starting pitching:  A concern during the offseason with the loss of “El Lobo”, the perception was that not much had been done to address this. That seemed to be borne out in April.  But a struggling Charlie Haeger was replaced by rookie call-up John Ely late in the month, and Ely has performed remarkably well.  And since the team turned the page to May, with the rotation shuffled a bit, the relief corps also found its way back. Early season jitters by Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw have more or less righted themselves, although Chad still struggles from time to time.  A solid fifth starter is still needed, and there is much speculation on what will be done, but that’s all it is at this point–mere speculation.

–Turning of the tables by Pittsburgh and Cincinnati: The Dodgers have had their way with these two Central Division teams for most of the last decade. Going into the season’s opening series at PNC Park, L.A. had enjoyed boasting the best winning percentage of a visiting team in Pittsburgh since the turn of the (21st) century. But the Pirates started out with a bang, taking that first series of 2010.  Just a few weeks later, they lost three of four in Dodger Stadium, but the Bucs haven’t rolled over for the Dodgers at home in over a year now, taking a key series from the Dodgers at the end of September, ’09, and carrying that over to the new year.

The Reds also took their first series over the Dodgers, played in Great American Ballpark in April. These one-time bitter rivals throughout the 1970s, when they both resided in the same division, haven’t been on a par competitively since the last millennium ended. Cincinnati has been thoroughly dominated in recent years by L.A.; this Reds team, though–managed by a former Dodger great, Dusty Baker–appears to be much improved and a force to be reckoned with as they lead the NL Central.

 

Trends that carried over from last year:

The Dodgers’ domination of the Rockies. They posted a 14-4 record against Colorado in 2009, and so far this year have beaten them in four of the first six meetings.

The Dodgers’ overall success against the rest of the division. They’ve only faced the Giants in one series, and took that one, back in mid-April. In three series against the Diamondbacks, they’re 7-1 (as of June 1; the current series continues with one more game).  Against the division-leading Padres, the Dodgers are 5-1. Their overall record within the National League West was a major contributing factor to their winning the division in 2009.

The Padres, Dodgers, Rockies and Giants are all within four games of each other, and I anticipate a close race all season long. The hapless Diamondbacks are the only team that won’t contend in this division. Even though I’m not a fan of the local major league team, I’ve got to commend the Padres on doing so well holding down first place, surprising most who predicted them to be somewhere in the middle of the pack. We’ve tied them a few times for the lead, but have never been able to move ahead…yet. 

As of this writing, the Dodgers have won their first game in June, in a more conventional walk-off manner, on Tuesday night–1-0 on a Matt Kemp HR in the tenth–and, combined with the Padres’ earlier loss to the Mets, have cut their deficit to one game back.  I’ll take that over where they were at this point last month–fighting it out for last place in the division.  Those 1-0 games are certainly tough losses, especially for the D-backs, who’ve lost nine straight on their road trip.  L.A. had just suffered a similar fate at the hands of the Cubs with one late-inning run breaking a scoreless tie.  On the road in Wrigley Field last week, in an interesting twist, Chicago native John Ely, pitching for the Dodgers, was outdueled by L.A. native Ted Lilly, on the mound for the Cubs.  Pitchers’ duels are great if you’re a hardcore fan of the game, which I am.  In Tuesday’s contest, it was yet another case of a visiting pitcher coming back to haunt his hometown team.  Diamondbacks starter Danny Haren, a local boy who attended Pepperdine University, threw an excellent game, going late into the night to give his team’s beleaguered bullpen some rest.  Ely matched his effort, but L.A.’s ‘pen is the mirror opposite of Arizona’s.  So, with the game going into extras and a scoreless tie, something had to give. And with a 1-0 win, the Dodgers are 1-0 in June.

Oh, and (drum roll), my beloved team has a 1.000 winning percentage with me in attendance, being victorioius in all five games I’ve been present for.  And I’m going to game #6 next week!

Rest in peace…

–Former pitcher Jose Lima died suddenly on Sunday, May 23 at the age of 37, of a heart attack.  Lima pitched for the Tigers, Astros, Dodgers, Royals and Mets over the course of an 11+ year career.  The shocking news of Lima’s death came down just as fans were arriving for the Dodgers-Tigers game at Dodger Stadium that day, and the flag was lowered to half-mast shortly afterward.  Jose and his family had been attending games at Dodger Stadium this season and had just been there that Friday evening.  Even though he was only with L.A. for one season, Lima really endeared himself to the city.  He was great with fans, and a wonderful teammate from all accounts I’ve heard.  I think there was a mutual sense of appreciation on the part of both Lima and the Dodger faithful.  I still remember him singing the National Anthem before a game there during the 2004 season!  He also performed at the Viva Los Dodgers Festival that year. In my mind, I can see him at the edge of the dugout steps during games he wasn’t even pitching in, shouting encouragement to the rest of the team as they were on the field, and at bat.  Whenever a Dodger scored, he was often the first to high-five him. Lima ignited Dodger fans’ passion in a way I hadn’t seen since Mike Piazza left.  He was certainly known as a great guy to have around, always having fun and entertaining, and very engaging–not only with teammates and fans, but the media as well.  Jose was an Angeleno, living in Los Angeles and it was reported he would be working for the Dodgers’ Community Relations Department.  What a great job for him that would have been!   

Lima pitched the Dodgers to their only victory of the 2004 NLDS over the Cardinals–a complete game five-hit shutout in Game 3 at Dodger Stadium.  What a lot of fans elsewhere may not realize is that game’s significance and how much of a boost and moral victory that win was for Dodger fans–up to that point, our team had not won a playoff game in 16 YEARS!  That drought dated back to Game 5 of the 1988 World Series when the Dodgers had last won it all.  The team that had enjoyed postseason success for several decades had fallen on hard times in the 1990s, and in October, 2004, many fans felt they were on their way back up. Since that night nearly six years ago, the Dodgers have had three more playoff appearances, with several more victories, although not yet reaching the pinnacle again. But before “Lima Time”, there were some quick playoff exits in the Clinton era, and then many more seasons of finishing behind the Giants. 

So the World of Dodgertown has now lost two fan favorites in the last few months, the first being “Three Dog”, Willie Davis, a popular player in the early Los Angeles Dodgers era, who passed away at age 69 in early March, just as spring training was getting underway.  

–Another loss of note that hasn’t seemed to generate much press is that of Morrie Martin, World War II hero and former Brooklyn Dodger, who passed away on May 25 at the age of 87 due to complications from cancer.  Martin, a left-handed pitcher, debuted with the Dodgers in 1949, the same year teammate Don Newcombe was Rookie of the Year.  (Newc, as everyone knows, is still a comforting presence at Dodger Stadium, fan-friendly and accessible, more than 60 years after breaking into Major League Baseball).  Like Lima, Morrie Martin was only a Dodger for a season.  But the pressures of Major League Baseball may have seemed trivial considering what preceded his arrival.

While in the U.S. Army, Martin was actually buried alive in Germany following a bombing, then suffered a bullet wound in his thigh during the Battle of the Bulge.  He was at Omaha Beach on D-Day, 66 years ago this week.  He nearly lost a leg, but was able to fight his way back and compete.  That he was able to make it to the Major Leagues for ten seasons is truly remarkable.  As noted above, he passed away just days before Memorial Day.

–And of course, long-time Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell, who called Dodger games when Martin pitched for them, in the late 1940s, passed away earlier in the month.  Harwell was replaced behind the mic by a young Vin Scully, hired by the Dodgers in 1950. What a link to the present!  Poor Vin must be feeling his own mortality these days.  He’s had to come on the air three times in the last month to call a game and comment on a death that was just announced before game time. Vinnie’s shared memories of his predecessor in the broadcast booth were touching and eloquent. Of Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts, who died the week after Harwell, Vin recalled the 1950 National League playoff game in Ebbets Field between the Dodgers and Phillies, which he worked as a “rookie” broadcaster. Roberts led Philly’s “Whiz Kids” to the World Series that year, where they lost to the Yankees–a fate the Dodgers of that era were quite familiar with..

Props:

Just wanted to give some nods to some great local San Diego guys who are doing a lot of exciting things on the mound and off.  Some people think it’s amusing that I follow the individuals who are local products and generally want them to have success, but at the same time, I don’t root for the major league team from San Diego. That’s because I was a Dodger fan first. But that’s another story.

This area is known for producing some great pitchers–from the two perfect game pitchers out of Pt. Loma High–Don Larsen and David Wells, who both accomplished the feat for the Yankees–to Cole Hamels, MVP of the 2008 World Series, and so many others in between. Over the last 35 years I’ve followed many of them through youth leagues, high school, college and into MLB.  I’ve volunteered and/or, have just been a spectator, at many tournaments over the years, and have been a fan of baseball around SoCal since I was a kid. 

Right now, I just want to give a nod to a few more of them, two coming up the ranks, and one an established veteran:

-The phenomenal Stephen Strasburg.  Everyone knows him, the former San Diego State Aztec who was the first overall draft pick in 2009, now the Washington Nationals’ property. This RHP breezed through spring training, but was still sent to minor league camp.  On April 11 he made his first MiLB start for the Harrisburg Senators, and handled the Altoona Curve pretty efficiently in front of a packed house on the road, with throngs of media credentials issued as the excitement built. Stephen did not disappoint.  That was just the beginning of the buzz.  He continued to dazzle, was then promoted to Triple A, and didn’t miss a beat. Stras has lived up to expectations every step of the way.  Now he’s poised for his major league debut next week, and the anticipation builds. He appears to be more than ready. We’ll soon see if he really is.

-The not-as-well-known Mike Leake, who cracked the Reds’ starting rotation this season. Leake got a bit of attention for skipping the minor leagues altogether after being selected by the Reds in the first round of the 2009 draft.  Making his first major league start on April 11 vs. the Cubs, the righty allowed only one run and Cincinnati eventually won, while Leake got a no-decision (he’s had several more of those since then).  As a starting pitcher at Arizona State in 2009, he put up great numbers but still lived in the shadow of Strasburg, who was superb in posting the best-ever season for a college pitcher, that same year.  And both Leake and Strasburg are graduates of San Diego County high schools in 2006–Leake at Fallbrook, and Strasburg at West Hills. I look forward to seeing how these two fare in their major league careers.  Just don’t excel against the Dodgers!  )  (Note:  Leake actually did beat the Dodgers in April–but he gave up five runs in that game).

–Barry Zito. Yes, he’s a Giant.  I still like the guy (again, except when pitching against the Dodgers, of course!).  I know I should hope he gets shelled every time out, because that would help our Dodgers’ cause. Yes, he has seriously underperformed a lot in the first three years of his mega-contract, but he seems to have figured something out this season.  At this writing, he’s 6-2 with a 2.78 ERA.  Beyond all that, though, I’ve admired this guy off the field for years for his “Strikeouts for Troops” program. What a class act this USD High/USC alum is. I only wish he didn’t wear orange and black. 

 

Brackets, brackets:  The NCAA regionals are about to get underway, and the stages are set. UCLA, completing a fine season at 43-13 (finishing at No. 8 in the nation), hosts perhaps the most difficult regional of them all, with three top 25 teams to play at Jackie Robinson Stadium beginning this weekend.  The Bruins began 2010 with an amazing 22 consecutive victories.

Cal State Fullerton (No. 7, 41-15), which hosts its own Regional; University of San Diego (No.15, 36-20); and UC Irvine (No. 21, 37-19) are the other ranked teams in the top 25 I’ll be following more closely.  Let the march to the College World Series begin!

 

Big week coming up:  Between this coming Saturday and the following weekend, there’ll be lots of baseball-related events and activities going on in my life.  Not only will I try to find time to attend one of these NCAA regional games, I’ve got tickets for the Dodgers-Cardinals game in L.A. on June 9. This weekend, I’ll be delivering my Dodgers memorabilia collection to be displayed at the County Fair in Del Mar. I’ve competed in the Home & Hobby Show there for several years of the last decade.  The memorabilia exhibit is a multiple blue ribbon award winner, but that doesn’t make it automatic. Different judges view the collections every year and give awards accordingly.  In 2009, my collection was a second-place winner. I’m determined to win my Dodger Blue ribbon back!  A friend of mine is entering his baseball memorabilia collection, too, but for the first time, not a repeat entrant like me.  His items are  Cubs-related; he’s got some great old stuff, too, so, there’s a good chance he could win instead.  Blue vs. blue?  No matter what happens, I always enjoy viewing the memorabilia that is the pride of other fans, and sharing my own for their enjoyment.

I’ll also be following closely the First-Year Player Draft, which gets underway next week..

And last, the weekend following this one, I’ll be attending a training session for All-Star FanFest volunteers.  As everyone knows, the All-Star Game and related festivities will take place in Anaheim, California, this year, and I can’t wait to be a part of it.  I’ll report more on this later.

Coming up in my next entry:  Some general baseball rants from the first two months of the season, unrelated to the play on the field.  

Is that enough?  Too much baseball?  Never–no such thing!  

And the ride gets a little smoother…

Since I last posted here two weeks ago, something sensational has happened in the National League West.

The Dodgers have moved into a tie for first place! Yep, the team that just 12 days ago was in last place has tied the Padres for the division lead, by virtue of winning 12 of their last 13 games.

It all began with a victory in the final game of their previous homestand, then moving on to sweep the Diamondbacks in Arizona and the Padres in San Diego (more on that in awhile), and finally coming back home to win five of their next six games at Chavez Ravine.

So, let me rewind this story a bit to before the season began.. Every year in the offseason, I begin making arrangements for a group road trip to Petco Park for a selected game in which the Padres play the Dodgers, to which Dodger fans travel from various points to cheer on our beloved boys in blue. Sure, we get a lot of locals grumbling about us “taking over” and making it “Dodger Stadium South”–but seriously, Padre fans, if your attendance was supportive enough of your team–which has performed very well over the first six weeks of the season–then there wouldn’t be so much room for us, would there?  (The Padres have held down first place for some time now–why not more fan support?)  In past seasons, this group trip has ranged from 40 to 75 people. This year, there were 62.  L.A. may be only 100 miles north of San Diego, but contrary to popular opinion, Dodger fans don’t only come from Los Angeles. The Dodgers have had an international following for decades, as their efforts to grow the game in other parts of the world are unmatched by any other MLB team; thus, the World of Dodgertown–much too big to be limited to a nation!  We had one fan fly in from Guam; several were serving in the U.S. Navy stationed in San Diego, and then there’s another fan whose love of the Dodgers dates back to the Brooklyn days, who regularly comes in from Delaware for this annual event. Still another couple drives across the border (from Rosarito, B.C.) for the game. Others arrive at Petco Park from the Bay Area in NorCal, and from Riverside and Orange Counties.

Last Saturday’s Padres-Dodgers contest, May 15, was “our” game.  Now, passion is one thing we Dodger fans aren’t short of.  Our block of seats at Petco Park is located on the field level, just past third base and beyond the Dodgers’ dugout, so we loudly make our presence known with enthusiastic cheering.  Usually, we bring along a boom box and play the Nancy Bea CD to rally the troops (Petco Park doesn’t have an organist; only uses recorded music). We even have specially modified lyrics for “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh inning stretch. Earlier in the afternoon on game day, we even have a pre-game “meet and greet” party at a pub whose owner is a season ticket holder for the Padres, yet knows Dodger fans bring in good business. They even have Dodger Dogs® on the grill ready for all of us!

And we always have an eclectic group–singles, couples, groups of friends, families with children, etc., ranging in age from five years old to one woman in her 90s (last year).

It requires quite a lot of work on my part coordinating all of this–but it’s always worth it in the end, no matter how hectic things are before the date of the game. On paper, it might seem pretty cut and dried, but a lot of legwork and headaches are involved:  making seating arrangements within the block of tickets distributed so those who want to sit with other specifically designated fans are accommodated; collecting money and submitting the payment to the Padres’ office before tickets go on sale to the general public, filling orders, mailing out the tickets to all the individuals involved, and working with the pub owner.

This year, we were rewarded with a Dodgers win, as young Clayton Kershaw bested Kevin Correia, 4-1.  And, several in our group were actually caught on TV, on the KCAL-LA broadcast, with two out in the ninth inning. A mutual friend of ours who wasn’t able to make it to the game texted us the photo.

 

 

Two memories stand out about this game aside from the baseball and the fellowship.  One was our 15 seconds of fame (above); the other was our creativity in turning an anti-Dodger promotion around on the Padres. It seems both Padres AND Giants fans are fixated on the whole “Beat LA” sentiment, but by pure coincidence the Padres have scheduled “Beat LA” giveaways in two consecutive seasons when our road trip group is attending the game.  Last year, it was a beach towel emblazoned with the words “BEAT LA” on a California license plate.  As the Dodgers had the best record in the major leagues at the time, my beach towel was doctored to read “BEST = LA.”

“BEAT LA” also became “BE LA” and “I LOVE LA” for other fans in our section.  Then there was the guy who simply cut the word “BEAT” out of the towel altogether, leaving a hole there.

This year, it was a Tshirt with “BEAT LA” that was handed out to fans attending the game. Thanks to Sharpies and markers, that became “BEAT BY LA”, along with other variations.

Let’s face it – BEAT LA is a lame chant unless you can back it up by winning more than a head-to-head game. The chant was started by Boston Celtics fans back in the 1980s during their classic NBA finals match-ups with the Lakers–which, interestingly, we could be seeing again, soon.  But, at least the Celtics could back that up by winning a few titles.  Neither the San Francisco Giants or San Diego Padres have done that.  Perhaps they should focus on supporting their own team and winning against all teams, rather than giving so much attention to only one.  Or maybe, if you must, chant “Beat the Rox” when the Rockies come to Petco Park.  After all, Padres, you play them the same amount of times every season as the Dodgers, and they have certainly been a thorn in your side.

Teams that are secure with their winning identity don’t need to do this.  When you go to games in Busch Stadium, for example, they don’t hand out “Beat the Cubs” Tshirts–their promotions are all pro-Cardinals.

Don’t read me wrong–I’m not saying individuals in all these ballparks don’t spew derogatory statements towards the opposition.  I think that happens everywhere; I’ve certainly encountered it in the NL West ballparks.  But the image portrayed by the organization, overall, is more positive in some cities than others. 

And, like it or not, the “BEAT LA” chant really is the ultimate compliment. Clearly that’s not their intent, but that’s the way it comes across, because it acknowledges that the most successful team in the National League West really is the Dodgers and has been since the division’s inception in 1969–which is not pointed out any chest-thumping on our part, but by theirs.  Doesn’t that give the Dodgers enough attention?  As a Dodger fan, I don’t feel the need to remind anyone of that fact, but the Padres and Giants do.  If the situation were reversed, I certainly wouldn’t want to give the Giants any extra attention.  To me, it is much like booing the visiting team’s best player–a sign of respect that he can truly hurt you badly.  You’re not likely to boo the opposition’s .230 hitter as much, are you?  Is it quite as sweet to see him strike out, or to see the All-Star go down swinging?

As for the Padres, they have played us tough over the years, but it’s hard for me to hate a team that has never won more games than our team in two consecutive seasons.  I can only respect them as a division rival–that’s about it.  After the Giants, the other three teams in the NL West are on equal footing in terms of my feelings towards them.

Now, that game last Saturday was only one of a three-game set. On Friday, with a different group of friends, I saw Ramon Ortiz beat Jon Garland, 4-3.  And on Sunday, in a great pitching match-up between the Padres’ Wade LeBlanc and Chad Billingsley, LeBlanc threw five innings of no-hit ball before Dodgers catcher Russell Martin came through with a single to drive in the only run of the game as the Dodgers won, 1-0.  It was wonderful to see the great turnout and sea of blue, as usual, packing the Petco yard.  The Padres and Dodgers played to three sellout crowds, largely thanks to the visiting team. 

What’s been impressive about this run are two factors.  One is the pitching, which has really anchored itself over the past two weeks.  Prior to that, it was very iffy and prone to implosion.  Everyone remembers our Dodgers endured a horrible month of April, but eventually it came time to move beyond that and turn the page to May. This month has been a wonderful one, in which L.A. has streaked to a 16-4 record as of this writing, looking more like the Dodgers of 2009.  Rookie call-up John Ely has performed admirably in five starts for the team after Vicente Padilla became injured.  Chad seemed to work out his problems; Kershaw and Hi-Ku are warriors, and only the fifth rotation spot has been unreliable.  Most important, we are also getting more innings out of our starting pitchers.

The other factor, of course, is that Dre has been placed on the DL due to a fractured finger he hurt in batting practice last weekend–which makes the run more impressive.  While he is much missed, just as Manny was during his absence following his suspension last year, his teammates have taken care of business without him, anyway–they’re 6-1 since.

The fight for the NL West title will most likely be a dogfight all summer long, among three and possibly four teams, with the winner emerging battle-tested and no doubt having earned it every step of the way. 

  

Notable events since the last time I posted to this space:  Padres Hall of Famer and current San Diego State head coach Tony Gwynn turned 50 on May 9 (which was also Mother’s Day).  As one who not only watched Gwynn come of age from high school and through the college ranks, to being a constant pain to Dodgers’ pitching during his career in San Diego, I have developed a great sense of respect for him–not to mention that he’s a Hall of Fame class human being.  Having just turned 50 myself, I can now welcome him into the Half-Century Club.  

And the road stays bumpy…

There’s been no smooth part of this wild ride whatsoever!  One month in, the Dodgers are still entrenched in last place of the National League West, even though they’re back-to-back defending division champions.  Whenever one sharp corner of the ride is turned, we’ve learned that even still, nothing is certain.  They just can’t seem to get into a groove.  And I’ll have to write more about that later.  Last night’s win at Dodger Stadium, with another thrilling walk-off by the Walk-Off King, Andre Ethier, merely prevented a three-game sweep by the Brewers.  It was a hard-fought victory, but a win nonetheless.  The Dodgers fell flat on Cinco de Mayo, a date in which they have traditionally been successful in recent years, and who knew they’d play the part of France, with Chad assuming the part of General de Lorencez, surrendering four runs in the first inning.

For now, I’m spending a Friday evening at Chavez Ravine.  I need this, and perhaps the Dodgers need me.  We’ll see.    The Colorado Rockies move into L.A. this weekend, where despite the Bums’ poor overall record, they are well over .500 at 8-5.

But why has May 7, in particular, been such a date of note on the Dodgers’ calendar over the years?  Whether for good or bad reasons, several historic moments and incidents have occurred on this month and day.  Consider these examples:

-On May 7, 1959, the Dodgers–who had only played in Los Angeles one full season at that point–hosted “Roy Campanella Night” at the Memorial Coliseum, to honor their beloved long-time catcher, who would eventually land in the Baseball Hall of Fame.  In attendance that evening were over 93,000 fans, paying tribute to the man whose career was cut short due to injuries sustained in a terrible car accident that took place just before the team’s move west from Brooklyn.  Campy never played a game in L.A.–but that mattered little as he was wheeled out onto the field by former teammate, Pee Wee Reese, to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.  The game that followed was an in-season exhibition between the Dodgers and Yankees, who had met in seven previous World Series.  As the house lights dimmed, fans were asked to light a match, and thus, 93,000 “points of light” flickered in honor of Campanella.  Later that year, the Dodgers went on to win their first World Series on the West Coast.  Inspiration taken from May 7?  Perhaps.

-On May 7, 1970, Dodgers first baseman Wes Parker hit for the cycle in Shea Stadium.  Until Orlando Hudson accomplished this feat in 2009, Parker remained for several years the last Dodger to do so.  So for a few decades, May 7 figured prominently into Dodgers trivia answers.

-Two years ago today–on May 7, 2008–two friends of mine who are Mets fans accompanied me to Dodger Stadium to take in a rare mid-week afternoon game, as the NL team from New York faced the Dodgers.  I reminded them that it was the 38th anniversary of Parker’s cycle–against their Mets, no less–but not much looked good for the Dodgers on this day all these years later.  Brad Penny started for L.A., and was shelled; the Mets won handily, 12-1. 

-So last year, on May 7, what should happen but the big news came down about Manny’s failed drug test and resulting suspension.  At the time, the Dodgers were on fire–they’d won 13 consecutive home games to start the season.  But on May 7, that changed.  The Washington Nationals were in town, and even though they were down early, 6-0, thanks in part to a Matt Kemp grand slam, they went on to rally and win, 11-9.  A record streak had come to an end.

Unfortunately, Manny dominated the news and the buzz around the stadium that night, on what should have been a special evening given that the pre-game ceremony honored the 50th anniversary of the 1959 World Champion Dodgers team…with the Campanella family in attendance.  And I was there at the Ravine for that one, too.

I don’t know why, but I feel compelled to be with the Dodgers tonight, even though their last two games played on May 7 have been disasters. 

Oh, and one more thing?  Today is Dodgers first baseman James Loney’s 26th birthday.  On that May 7 game in 2008, James’ mother was in attendance for the Mets’ rout, and the Dodger Stadium scoreboard displayed a nice birthday greeting to him, signed, “Love, Mom.”

In addition, I know several other baseball fans who were also born on May 7–a Cubs fan, the son of a Giants fan, and the late father of my good friend, Harpo.  Harpo, as a child, was there with his dad at the Memorial Coliseum 51 years ago today, holding one of the 93,000 flickering points of light.

On this May 7, Manny is again out of the lineup, but due to an injury, not a suspension.

What will take place on May 7, 2010 in Dodgers history?  

Last week I wrote about the Wild Ride of the 2009 Dodgers, who started out blazing hot, but stayed the course and won their second consecutive NL West title.  Well, so far, the 2010 Dodgers have been anything but consistent in their first eight games of the season.  And they certainly aren’t going to start the season by winning a record 13 straight at home–that was evident after their second game in Dodger Stadium on Wednesday night. 

I love and wholeheartedly support my team.  That will never change.  However, I understand many fans’ disappointment with the front office’s failure to shore up the pitching staff in 2010.   Last year’s patchwork rotation was impressive in that it usually got the job done, despite injuries, and 14 starting pitchers were used over the course of the season.  Amazingly, they were mostly effective.  The loss of El Lobo over the offseason caused some concern to the fans, because the hometown boy from Woodland Hills was actually the most consistent starter for the Dodgers last season–something nobody expected.  That they didn’t even offer arbitration was perplexing.  But then again, the last several months have been murky with news of divorce proceedings and personnel firings related to the McCourts’ discord, with the stories getting uglier as the offseason proceeded, and the question of who really owns the Dodgers–Frank or Jamie–to be determined in a courtroom later this year. 

And the season–much as we all love baseball and anxiously waited for the Dodgers’ return–has begun with that cloud hanging over it.  But, never mind that for now.

The Dodgers opened on the road but lost both series, in Pittsburgh and in Florida.  Chad got the only win in the series vs. the Pirates, and Hi-Ku was the sole victor for L.A. in Florida.    Kuroda-san pitched his heart out in the first game, and just when you thought the Bums might be finding a groove, they blew late leads in back-to-back games.  What’s with the bullpen?   One of the most solid in all of baseball last year?  I’m still sorting it all out.  Certainly, the Dodgers are missing Ronnie Belisario, a solid rookie reliever for them last year, whose arrival at spring training camp was delayed due to visa problems, which means he’s not quite ready to be activated yet.  But still, the bats are there. The team battled back from minor deficits over the weekend in Miami, only to see Jorge Cantu come up with key hits and turn two games around in the Marlins’ favor. 

In Pittsburgh, the Dodgers were able to avoid a sweep, which is of interest because the tide may be starting to turn there in head-to-head play.  Since PNC Park opened in 2000, the Dodgers had the highest winning percentage in that park of any visiting team.  And they’d played pretty well against the Bucs in L.A. for years, too.  But last September, in the heat of a close division race, L.A. looked pretty bad in losing three of four in Pittsburgh–something that was hard to swallow given how much the Dodgers had dominated the Pirates throughout the decade. 

Opening on the East Coast allowed the team to get two of those three-hour time difference series out of the way early.  In the Pirates series, two games started while breakfast was still being served here in California.  The middle game was halfway over by the time I got home from work.  In the Marlins series, the latter scenario was repeated as I arrived home in the fifth inning.  The rubber game was halfway over by the time I got home from church on Sunday.  At least I got to see the middle contest in its entirety, although I didn’t much like the ending.  Knuckleballer Charlie Haeger struck out 12 in his first start this season for L.A., on Sunday.  The Dodgers still lost.

Vicente Padilla, a late season acquisition in ’09, made starts in both road series, being  knocked around in Pittsburgh, then fared only slightly better in Florida.  Clayton Kershaw, still a kid at 22 and only in his second full season in the majors, got the nod for the Dodgers’ home opener on Tuesday.  Kershaw didn’t look especially sharp in his start in PNC Park, although he gave up only three runs in a game the Dodgers eventually lost, 4-3.  I hoped he would raise the bar while facing the Diamondbacks in Dodger Stadium, and although he wasn’t satisfied with his effort, he did.  For Arizona, newcomer Ian Kennedy took the mound.  This caused me slight concern that a trend from last year could possibly carry over to the ’10 season.  It was a trend that was all too prevalent in 2009–that of SoCal boys coming back to haunt their hometown team–and it happened more times than I care to remember.  Kennedy is a graduate of La Quinta High in Westminster, and he also played college ball just a couple of miles from Dodger Stadium, at USC.  I’m quite an enthusiastic supporter of our regional talent around the major leagues, except for when those players face my Dodgers!   Fortunately, Kennedy did not continue the trend.

And so, April 13–Martes Azul!– finally arrived–Opening Day at Dodger Stadium–2010 being the 120th anniversary of the inception of Dodger baseball.  This game was also the third home opener the Dodgers were a part of thus far, as both Florida and Pittsburgh hosted them in their first home series.  I had been listening to Dodger music all weekend long–Nancy Bea Hefley’s Songs from Dodger Stadium CD; “Music to Your Ears”, a compilation giveaway from a couple of seasons back that contains several Dodger-related songs, and Ozomatli’s tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Dodgers in L.A., a song originally written and performed by them in 2008.  Just like I was as a kid waiting for my family’s annual trip to Disneyland, I was up early and ready to go before dawn on Tuesday morning.  I take Amtrak’s Surfliner train from San Diego County to downtown L.A. every year on Opening Day–and yes, it does pass Disneyland and Angel Stadium.  Driving past the rolling flower fields of Carlsbad and the sunrise over Batiquitos Lagoon, I leave my car at the Oceanside transit center and board the train.  It passes over the ocean cliffs in San Clemente, through Orange County’s verdant hillsides, past the tree-lined southern suburbs of Los Angeles, and finally through the industrial yards of downtown L.A.–there are many changes of scenery on this commute. 

But the yard I am headed for is one of graceful palms, beautiful floral displays, bright blue, and baseball.  All along the 90-mile Surfliner route, men, women and children in blue Dodgers gear board the train at almost every stop.  We nod at each other with mutual optimism for our team.  Then we all disembark at Union Station, and it’s slightly more than a mile up Sunset Boulevard, the last leg of the journey, to our Shangri-La in Elysian Park.

So, here I was at Chavez Ravine, City of Angels.  I’d been to my home away from home twice over the last few months, the first time in mid-January, during an Open House for potential season ticket holders, and the second in late February for the great crosstown rivalry of USC-UCLA baseball, the Dodgertown Classic, played on a Sunday afternoon..

The weather on Opening Day was much  like the visit of three months ago–slightly crisp in the mid-morning with a few puffy clouds, giving way to bright sunshine by the afternoon, with the mountains glistening in the background.  Just as was the case in January, the previous day’s rain left the skies blue and Elysian Park, which embraces Dodger Stadium, green.  The peaks were not dusted wit
h powder as they’d been back in February, but they stood majestically as if on guard. It’s always breathtaking to take in the sight of our shining jewel in the hills again.  So upon arrival at the front gates, I said a blessing for the 2010 season, as I usually do.

“Happy Opening Day, Happy Blue Year” greetings were in abundance as I met up with others, some of them old, long-time friends, and some new acquaintances.  It was wonderful to hear long-time organist Nancy Bea Hefley on the Dodger Stadium organ again, reassuring to see the enthusiasm and support among the fans, and simply sublime to sink my teeth into the first Dodger Dog® of the season.  And yet, with all the tantalizing sensory delights of MLB’s return, none is sweeter than the sound of Vinnie’s voice.  Since he doesn’t accompany the team on East Coast road trips, we’ve only heard him call spring training games so far in 2010.  This was our first game to be savored with Vin.  It reminded me of Charley Steiner’s introduction of him to the fans on Opening Day, 2009, as he prepared to throw out the ceremonial first pitch:

“Over the Dodgers’ 51 years in Los Angeles, there has remained one
constant.  In a city of stars and superstars, no one shines brighter
than this man.  He is simply the heart and  soul of this city, and the
team for which he has called games for 60 years now…”

Hearing the response gave me goosebumps.

So, a lot of things were going through my mind.  But finally, there was the game at hand ready to be played.  Clayton Kershaw, beginning just his second full major league season, took the mound for the Dodgers and held the Diamondbacks to one run through five innings.  The Dodgers pecked away at Kennedy, working hard just to get a lone run on a bases-loaded sac fly.  Then they broke through:  Manny, Casey Blake and Matt Kemp all homered
off Kennedy in the middle innings.  Dre, in his return to the lineup after missing the Marlins series due to a sore ankle, added a three-run blast off
reliever Esmerling Vasquez in the sixth to give the Dodgers a comfortable lead.  Or so we thought.  By the time Kershaw exited and the game was turned over to his bullpen, it was encouraging that the Dodgers had that sizable lead, because the Diamondbacks tacked on three more runs before Jonathan Broxton was able to slam the door in the ninth.  Final score  – Dodgers 9, D’backs 5.

While watching, I remembered last year’s Opening Day thrashing of the Giants, when “O-Dawg” hit for the cycle, the first Dodger to do so in 39 years.  He played in L.A. but one season, yet left his imprint on Dodgers history.

I do have to say that for Opening Day, the ceremonies seemed rather insignificant compared to previous Opening Days.  Sure, it was great to see the 2009 Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards presented by former Dodger greats, but the festivities compared to the last couple of years were pretty low-key.  And aside from the divorce news, the Dodgers were pretty low-key over the offseason, so perhaps this is a sign of how things are going to be for awhile.  Still, for the entertainment capital of the world, you’d think they could bump the pre-game excitement up a notch.  They know how to do it right, as they have so often in previous Aprils.

The game began and ended with the first rendition of “I Love L.A.” of 2010.  At nearly four hours long (3:42), this was the longest Opening Day game in terms of regulation in Dodgres franchise history.  That’s saying a lot!

One more observation, I was happy to see the flags of the various countries represented in the WBC still flying atop Dodger Stadium.  They are a reminder of the World of Dodgertown and the Dodgers’ far-reaching impact on baseball around the world, the World Baseball Classic having been played here in 2009. 

So how did the Dodgers follow all this up?  With what looked like a great performance by Chad, holding the Diamondbacks in check for the first few innings on Wednesday night.    Unfortunately, he returned to his old ways and unraveled in the middle innings.  I’m noticing another disturbing trend in the early going now–that of the Dodgers relentlessly coming back from deficit after deficit, only to lose after a late inning uprising by the opposition.  It happened again in this one–a game the Diamondbacks eventually won, 9-7, in the 11th inning.  Sloppy relief pitching did them in, yet once more.  And this was a game that required nearly four hours in regulation before even going to extra innings. 

When the clock struck midnight, Vin was there to remind us that “it’s the bewitching hour.  How does that song go?  ‘Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered.’  Well, this game has a little bit of all that.”

And so it goes.  Now, here it is April 15–Jackie Robinson Day, a very special day around the Major Leagues, and a source of pride in particular for Dodger fans.  But looming on the horizon next is a big home series this weekend against the Giants, who’ve stormed out the gate with a 7-2 record while my Bums have struggled in the early going.  Clearly, this will really put our sluggish team to the test.  The rubber contest with Arizona is next, and then we’ll find out how the 2010 edition of this bitter rivalry plays out. 

Last October, the wild ride of the 2009 Dodgers
crashed on the tracks of Citizens’ Bank Park in Philadelphia in Game 5
of the NLCS. Their finish was eerily similar to that of the 2008
Dodgers, who also lost the pennant to the same Phillies in five games,
and once again left our Bums short of their goal to reach and win the
World Series.

But what a thrill that ride was, with more dips and swerves, peaks and drops than Magic Mountain’s Colossus.

So let me take a few minutes here to reflect on this as the 2010 season gets underway for the team from Dodgertown.

It started last February with a preseason ripe with change, and full of
question marks. The primary offseason focus had been on signing Manny
Ramirez, but this dragged on well into  spring training. That’s when the
brand new Camelback Ranch opened in Glendale,  Arizona–marking a
historic first for the Dodgers with their entrance into the Cactus
League.  For the first time in 60 years, they would not be training at
historic Dodgertown in Vero Beach,  Florida. And finally, when the deal
was announced that Manny was signed, many  breathed a sigh of relief,
despite the unsettled matters surrounding the Dodgers’ pitching staff.

There were signs early on in the season that this was a different
Dodger team, one that  perhaps had learned a bit from their late season
comeback in 2008 and their postseason  experience.

It all began on Opening Day in San Diego, as the Dodger faithful poured
in to Petco Park and watched the team do something they had done only
once in five years–beat Padres ace Jake Peavy.  In the first few weeks
of the season, the Dodgers set a record for consecutive home  wins to
start a season.  On Opening Day in Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers thrashed
their long-time bitter rivals, the Giants, and a newcomer, the “O-Dawg” (Orlando Hudson), did  something no L.A. Dodger had ever done at home–hit for the cycle.
Hudson’s feat was the  first for the Dodgers since 1970, and with that,
he immediately endeared himself to Dodger fans. Jackie Robinson Day,
commemorated that same week, was a very special one for the  O-Dawg too,
as he was the next in a long line of second basemen to play for the
Dodgers  beginning with Robinson himself.  And of course, hitting for the cycle was one of Jackie’s many accomplishments in his legendary career.

Five weeks into the season, the bomb dropped on the morning of May 7,
when it was announced that Manny had been suspended for two months for
use of a banned substance. This led to predictions by many around
baseball that it would be the Dodgers’ downfall. Unfazed, though, the
team had established the best record in the majors by early June. Juan  Pierre picked up in left field where Manny left off, and was an
immediate catalyst in the lineup.

Manny’s return to the Dodgers on the Fourth of July weekend took place
right where the season had begun for L.A.–in San Diego. There was
nothing short of a circus at Petco Park; the occasion had even been
marked by a “buzz”–a swarm of bees found in the left field corner of
Petco Park the day before that series started. 

The struggles of Chad Billingsley, who had emerged as the most likely
ace of the pitching staff, began shortly after the All-Star break. 
(Bills had already been named to the All Star  team along with closer
Jonathan Broxton.)  There had been question marks since spring training
about who the fifth starter would be, and manager Joe Torre elected to
play it by ear. Several pitchers took their turns in and out of that
role, bouncing in and out of the rotation to and from the DL, and
Triple A.  The long-missing Jason Schmidt, who hadn’t pitched for the  Dodgers since 2007, even had a few starts in late July, but again
wasn’t able to stay healthy  for long.  And so, a patchwork staff it was,
maintaining the Major Leagues’ lowest ERA from mid-summer on.  When all was said and done, 14 pitchers had seen action in the Dodgers’ rotation at some point throughout the season.  The
bullpen remained a strength.  Most surprising with their effectiveness were rookie relievers Ronnie Belisario and Ramon Troncoso. 

By the trade deadline, there was pressure on GM Ned Colletti to obtain
another starting  pitcher, but he opted instead to beef up the bullpen,
acquiring reliever George Sherrill from the Orioles. 

The 2009 Dodgers finished with a 95-67 record. Their biggest strength
was winning within their division, dominating their two closest
chasers, the Rockies in 14 out of 18 contests, and the Giants in
several key late summer series.

Matt Kemp, in his third full season as the team’s center fielder,
established himself as a more mature, disciplined player, winning a
Gold Glove in the process, and Andre Ethier led the  league in walk-off
hits.  Fans became accustomed to not Manny, but Dre in the ninth inning coming through with a clutch hit or homer. But Manny provided his share
of drama at times. There was the July 22 game vs. the Reds–the night
of Manny’s bobblehead giveaway– when, out of the lineup due to a minor
injury, he came off the bench in the sixth inning and hit a first-pitch
grand slam.

The team’s second half struggles intensified as the Rockies closed
in on them during  September. There was the late-September slide, as the
Dodgers lost three of four games in Pittsburgh–a city in which they
had played with much success during the decade–followed by a two-game
sweep by the Padres in San Diego.

But there were heroic tales of underdogs, too.  Late season pick-up
Vicente Padilla provided a needed lift to the rotation with some solid
starts.

By the final weekend of the season, the relentless Rox had closed the
gap to one game with  two to play.  But the Dodgers went on to win the
sixth consecutive series of the season from  Colorado, and secured their 11th division title in the process. 
The Rockies would claim the wild card slot for the National League.

By clinching the NL West, the Dodgers became back-to-back division
champions for the first time since 1977-78–when, ironically, they beat
the Phillies in two consecutive NLCS.

Then came the postseason. In the NLDS, none of the “experts” gave the
Dodgers a chance against the formidable pitching staff of the St. Louis
Cardinals, yet they somehow not only  won the series, but swept it.  The Dodgers’ bench, which had been solid all season long with players like Brad Ausmus and Mark Loretta, came up big against the Cardinals.  So, L.A.
advanced to the league championship series to face the defending world
champions, the Philadelphia Phillies, in a rematch of the ’08 LCS.

The wild ride of the 2009 Dodgers didn’t make it to the final bend. The
Phillies were there to  grind it to a screeching halt. The added shock
of the announcement, during the NLCS, of the Dodgers’ owners’
separation, with one firing the other, threw the team’s future into
disarray. We as Dodger fans went through this upheaval 12 years ago
when the team was sold,  endured the mediocrity of the Fox/Newscorp.
years, and were just beginning to get used to  the team competing
regularly again.  Under the McCourts, the Dodgers were in the postseason
in four out of six years. The ownership is still in question. Now, who
knows what lies ahead?

But we reaped immeasurable benefits in other ways. The 2009 season
was the 60th year with the team of two Dodger legends, Vin Scully and
Tommy Lasorda.

Once again, we enter a new season with question marks, and once again they are about the  depth of starting pitching. The Dodgers lost a few
key players over the winter, and didn’t gain  much with any significant
signings.

But the World of Dodgertown–too big to be limited to a nation–will survive.  It will thrive.

You can head north on Interstate 5 a few miles past Dodger Stadium, and you’ll  reach Valencia, CA, where Magic Mountain is located.  For coaster enthusiasts, there’s no better place to be.  But for heart-stopping entertainment, one need look no further than that magical place known as Dodger Stadium itself.

The Dodgers’ 120th anniversary season in the National League begins today.  What thrill ride lies ahead in the next seven months?  Fasten your seat belts, everyone.  It could be another wild one.

 

“In the presence of greatness.”

That best describes the event I attended the evening of Saturday, February 27, featuring Dodgers icon Sandy Koufax and current Dodgers manager Joe Torre, appearing on stage at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.  It was one for the ages.

As I had posted earlier:

“Koufax, the legendary Dodger who is almost as famous for his  reclusiveness as he is for his dominance on the mound, will appear at a special benefit for Dodger manager Joe Torre’s “Safe at Home” Foundation to fight domestic abuse.  It will be his first major appearance at such a public event in years.  And it won’t be just an “appearance.”  He’ll actually have to speak, in a Q&A format, responding to questions inquiring minds want to have answered.”

I was last in his presence in July, 2007 when throngs of baseball fans crowded into Cooperstown, New York for the largest Hall of Fame weekend ever.  Sandy Koufax could be seen welcoming Tony Gwynn into the fraternity of the greatest that day, shaking hands with him in a photo that appeared in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

He was the author of a miraculous four no-hitters, hurled in four consecutive seasons.  I was six years old when Koufax threw his final pitch for the Dodgers, in the 1966 World Series.  It’s safe to say I knew only his name and that he was a great pitcher, my dad’s favorite player, and that he was spoken of in terms of reverence and awe.  But it would be a few years before I was old enough to truly appreciate all that he was to the game. 

As time passed, I became more aware of him as a legend.  The dominating lefty continued to  be spoken of in terms of greatness.  But rarely did he speak, himself.  He was written about in glowing superlatives, but avoided interviews, kept to himself, and typically shunned official public appearances.  He was discussed as a man who was larger than life, not just the pitcher, but a man of class, a man of conviction.

So that–the aura, the mystique, the rarity–is part of what made this evening with Joe Torre, on stage in front of 7,000 adoring fans, so special.  Make no mistake–this was Joe Torre’s fundraiser, Joe Torre’s foundation, and Joe Torre was the man behind it all.  But Dodger fans see and hear Torre on a regular basis during the season.  Not so with the iconic left-handed pitcher.

On Saturday night, Sandy Koufax received a standing ovation as he walked across the stage at the Nokia Theatre.  He sat down under the lights with L.A. Times columnist T. J. Simers and a fellow Brooklynite, Dodgers manager Joe Torre.  Then, we the fans got to know him.

He talked, openly, quietly, with a deep but soft voice.  One you wouldn’t immediately recognize, because he has said so little on record in decades.  The seemingly withdrawn Hall  of Famer fielded questions from Simers about his four no-hitters, his teammates, his  longstanding friendship with Torre, and many other topics.

He was engaging.  He smiled–most of the evening.  He deadpanned on occasion.  If he was uncomfortable, it didn’t show.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Via audio played back against still frames of the evening of September 9, 1965, the audience was treated to highlights of the ninth inning of Sandy’s perfect game against the Cubs, thanks to Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully’s superb radio account of the final out.  Sandy recalled beyond the moment of accomplishing that rarest of feats, that his team was in a pennant race in September:  “With a 1-0 lead, you’ve got to win.”

Prior to the perfect game’s finale, Vin had called three other no-hitters by Sandy.  He shared that he had begun thinking about what he could do to make this one stand out, and so he added to the broadcast the very thing about baseball that is so insignificant:  the clock.  Thus, the final out was punctuated with:  “It is 9:46 p.m. …”

Scully’s memories were shared on the video screen:

    “For me, I was almost Sandy, and I think what he was feeling, I was feeling…

    “He had a way of lifting his teammates, inspiring the fans, and I think once in a blue         moon, even inspiring a broadcaster.”

Cutting away from the video, Koufax himself appeared visibly touched by Scully’s tribute. Of that night, he recalled:  “I don’t know if I’ve ever had better stuff or better control than I did the last two innings of that game.”

Vin spoke of the respect Sandy received from the fans, of applause before every game he started, even on the road:  “It was almost like the maestro was ascending the podium to conduct a symphony.”  Of course, metaphorically, that’s what happened.

Sandy talked, at times saying little:

On the Juan Marichal-John Roseboro incident, which resulted in a free-for-all during a heated Dodgers-Giants game late in the ’65 season:  “I have not set the record straight in 45 years and I’m not about to do it tonight.”

Sandy spoke, at other times saying so much more.

-About the changes in expectations between pitching back then, and today:

“When we were playing, if you didn’t win, you didn’t get a raise…
 A quality start is shaking hands with your catcher…
 I wasn’t about kicking the water cooler; that’s feeding your ego.”

-About how after the 1960 season, he almost walked away from baseball, throwing out his equipment, and then reconsidering over the offseason to give it another try.  The rest is history.  (He also noted that he wasn’t walking away from $12 million a year, but $14,000 a year:  “It wasn’t that hard a decision.”)

-Of his broadcasting career for NBC covering the Saturday game of the week:  “I prayed every Friday night for rain.”

-About Don Drysdale, Koufax’s Hall of Fame counterpart in the Dodgers’ rotation for three world championships between 1959 and 1965:  “We made each other better.”

He spoke often throughout the evening of his teammates and the bond they shared throughout the course of the season:  “No one game compares to what you share with them over 162 games.”

Several of those teammates were in attendance at the Nokia, notably “Sweet Lou” Johnson, often a presence at Dodger events around town, still popular for his home run in Game 7 of the 1965 World Series, and for scoring the only run in the perfect game that season.  Tommy Davis, batting champion of the Koufax-Drysdale era, sat nearby.  Chris Krug, who was the Cubs’ catcher that evening Koufax was perfect, was seated next to Johnson. 

Former Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley was also there.  So too was Ann Meyers Drysdale, Don’s widow.  Koufax and Torre both rose on the stage to join most of the audience in giving a standing ovation to O’Malley

And there were many other VIPs surrounding him.  The presence of Angels owner Arte Moreno was mentioned by Simers.  Aside from a smart crack about Frank McCourt, not much else was said about the Dodgers’ absent owner.  Dodgers coach Don Mattingly was also there.

One of the more entertaining moments of the evening came when “a kid from the audience” was selected to receive pitching tips onstage from Koufax.  That kid was none other than current Dodgers southpaw Clayton Kershaw, whose wicked curveball has on occasion been compared to Koufax’s.  Kershaw, not yet 22, took
it all in stride.

Of Koufax’s life and career, Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated once wrote:

Koufax was the kind of man boys idolized, men envied, women swooned over and rabbis  thanked, especially when he refused to pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur.  And when he was suddenly, tragically done with baseball, he slipped into a life nearly monastic in its privacy.

Sandy Koufax retired following the 1966 World Series, at age 30, rather than continue to pitch in constant pain.  At age 36, he became the youngest Hall of Fame inductee, elected in his first year of eligibility.

Not that the whole 90 minute discussion was only about Sandy.  Joe Torre shared plenty of anecdotes, as well.

But as teammate Johnson noted of Koufax:

“He has a presence about him that is like…the Pope.”

And I concur.

Before, during, and after the event, I saw old friends–some briefly–chatted with others, in-depth, and I even met new friends. 

The anticipation and build-up to the evening were great, and rather than be let down, I was  treated to a delightful experience beyond even my own expectations.  The man who was immortal on the mound, a legend for the ages, was condensed into a very down-to-earth human being.

For fans of old school baseball, it lived up to its billing and beyond. 

Torre concluded the evening with a simple, “Our foundation certainly thanks you for being here.”

So does a generation of Dodger fans who were born too late, and so do those who were blessed to have been there for Koufax the first time around.  I’ll bet my dad was smiling down from heaven on this evening.

Not many things could make me want to drive 100 miles in the rain on a dreary Saturday afternoon.  This did, and it was well worth it.

As has been noted, talking on the record is not something Sandy Koufax has been known for in years.  But February 27, 2010 was a night many people will be talking about for some time.

Well, here it is the end of January and I’m just now writing my first entry of the year!  I’ve been  busy!

Birthdays and baseball have kept me occupied.  Not football, not basketball.  I enjoy those sports too, but the court and gridiron pale in comparison to a baseball diamond.    

So let’s talk about birthdays first.  Today, January 31, is the DOB of one Jack Roosevelt Robinson–otherwise known as “Jackie”–who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball 63 years ago.  I’ve written tributes to Jackie before, including here (scroll down to last year’s entry on April 16–”Jackie Robinson–Always a Dodger, Never a Giant/Met.”)  Jackie would have turned 91 today.  Having grown up in Pasadena, CA, and starring as a four-sport athlete at UCLA, it would have certainly been fitting if he had he been able to play for the Dodgers in Los Angeles.  But he retired over a year before they made their groundbreaking cross-country move.  And the Dodgers did, of course, play their first four seasons in L.A. at the  Coliseum–the site of many of Robinson’s stunning feats.  Today, the baseball field at the University of California-Los Angeles bears his name, and he is honored with a plaque at the Coliseum itself.  Robinson was an exciting player to watch, an all-around athlete, but more so a man of great will and determination which was required in order for him to succeed against the ugly obstacle of racism which was such a barrier to players of color. 

A friend of mine recorded a special version of the song, “Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball”, a late ’40s classic which celebrated the amazing feats of #42.  He even penned an extra verse to the original lyrics.  You can check it out at  www.youtube.com/folkdad#p/a/u/1/mcahLxfaAIk

Now, let’s rewind back to mid-December, 2009.  My best personal milestone came with my  50th birthday, an awesome celebration of my first half-century of life.  So while other baseball  fans were making year-end “best” lists, or compiling decade-end lists of favorites, I was enjoying many wonderful memories as I reflected on the top baseball moments of my first 50 years of life.  

The scene was already set when I popped out of the womb, as the Dodgers had just been crowned 1959 world champions.  As I’ve mentioned before, it was no surprise I was born with blue eyes and blue blood as a result!   But sadly for me, as I celebrated my “golden” birthday, this same scenario was not the case.  It was once again the Yankees who were on top in the autumn of 2009.

Over my first 50 years of life, I was fortunate, and blessed, to have attended four All-Star  Games (and should make it to my fifth this summer), 17 World Series games, and multiple  National League playoff contests, along with countless thrilling regular season baseball games.  I’ve been there for the U.S. Olympics Games in 1984, when baseball was played at that very special showcase known as Dodger Stadium.  I’ve gone to several games of the first two World Baseball Classics, both in Los Angeles and San Diego, and was present for the  championship games in both 2006 and 2009.  And, one of my favorite baseball moments of all time was being there at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in March, 2008, when the  Dodgers hosted the defending world champion Red Sox in an exhibition game  commemorating the Dodgers’ 50th anniversary in L.A.  That match-up drew 115,000 fans and  as such, I was part of the largest attendance at a baseball game on record in history, certified by the Guinness Book of World Records.  I visited the nostalgia-drenched Dodgertown during spring training twice during the 2000s before the Dodgers finally said goodbye to that site in March, 2008.

I take none of the above for granted.  I’m a passionate sports fan–if you factor in all the NBA  Finals games, NFL playoff games, Rose Bowl games and Holiday Bowl games I’ve been to, I’ve been even more blessed!  

But as I mentioned earlier, above all, I’m a baseball fan.

And since we’re talking birthdays, this entry will serve as a tribute to not only the great Jackie Robinson, but also to my dearly departed father, who taught me about, and instilled in me a  love for, this great game.  I can’t believe he’s been gone nearly seven years now.  Dad would  have turned 80 years old on January 22, and it seems like just awhile ago we were celebrating his 70th birthday.  My nephew Justin, who instilled a love in me for watching him play going  back to T-ball days in the mid-1990s, turned 20 on the same day.  Notice the 30-year increments in our family? 

So there’ve been some special events to toast to, on a personal level, as well as the birth of one of my favorite players of all-time, the great #42.

Still, 2009 in baseball was a wonderful one at so many levels of baseball.  Many people I know tend to think of “baseball” as only professional baseball.  Baseball, the game of which I am a fan, is actually everything from Little League to MLB.  I witnessed many thrilling moments throughout the year, and not all of them involved major leaguers.  Last summer, one of our local teams, Park View, won the Little League World Series, over Taiwan, bringing the championship trophy home.  In the Majors, my favorite team, the Dodgers, just missed–again–making it to their first World Series since the magical October of 1988.  In college baseball, I was privileged to witness the amazing Stephen Strasburg post one of the best ever college pitching seasons in the history books, attending several SDSU home games–and to see him selected as the #1 draft pick by the Washington Nationals.  In August, I enjoyed very much being at Petco Park for the AFLAC All-American game in which the top high school players in the nation competed.  In November, after the World Series had been won, I drove across the desert to see some Arizona Fall League games, because I wasn’t willing to leave baseball behind.  And earlier in the year, I attended a Caribbean Series game in Baja California in February, and several World Baseball Classic games in San Diego and L.A. in March.  In between, I was at the first-ever game played at Camelback Ranch, the Dodgers’ new spring training facility, to which they moved after 60 years in Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida.  As anyone can tell, baseball is a year-round love for me! 

Now, we’ve turned over the calendar into a new year, and a new decade.

And while others are anxiously awaiting spring training games which will begin in about a month, and some sports fans are focused on the upcoming Super Bowl, “March Madness”, or the NBA season–those are fine diversions, but they aren’t quite good enough for me.  While some people think of this time of year as simply following Hot Stove action, I’m following baseball–on the field.  Some may spend all winter waiting to watch a game played live again, but not me.  I’m too impatient!  Although there are some I never get tired of, you can still watch only so many DVDs and re-broadcasts of old games.  So, I’ve been checking out the winter leagues around town. 

January has been a wonderful month, but February, which begins tomorrow, will be wonderful too.  And not just because pitchers and catchers report mid-month to spring training sites in Arizona and Florida.  (Yes–I have tickets to several games at Camelback Ranch and a few other spring training sites in the Cactus League!)  But it’s also special because college baseball gets underway, with several  preseason games taking place over the next couple of weeks.  The Caribbean Series willl begin next week. 

And just this past week, it was announced that Dodger Stadium will host a game between those perennial crosstown archrivals in the City of Angels, UCLA and USC, at the end of February.  Both schools have a reputation for turning out some of the best professional players of all time.  Over the years, USC has boasted the most successful college baseball program in NCAA history and has produced countless Hall of Famers.  Back in the day (I’m remembering the 1980s), the Dodgers played an exhibition against the Trojans’ baseball team every winter, but that’s a tradition that fell by the wayside.  I’m really looking forward to this game! 

What’s also great is that it will take place on the same weekend as a very special off-the-field  event featuring one of the most dynamic pitchers ever, the immortal Sandy Koufax.  Koufax, the legendary Dodger who is almost as famous for his reclusiveness as he is for his dominance on the mound, will appear at a special benefit for Dodger manager Joe Torre’s “Safe at Home” Foundation to fight domestic abuse.  It will be his first major appearance at such a public event in years.  And it won’t be just an “appearance.”  He’ll actually have to speak, in a Q&A format, responding to questions inquiring minds want to have answered. 
 
Another recent off-the-field event that was a worthwhile cause was the Spirit of the Game dinner, which  took place a couple of weeks ago at the Hyatt Regency in Los Angeles, with the World’s Greatest Sports Memorabilia Auction.  This event honors and benefits scouts, the “lifeblood” of baseball, and several Hall of Famers, as well as many other big names in baseball, were in attendance.  .

Happily, I can report that there were signs of life (by that, I mean forms of baseball actually being played–well, okay, only in practice form!) already having taken place this month at Dodger Stadium.  A mini-camp was held during the second week of January for several  Dodger prospects, and what fan wouldn’t have loved to be outdoors on a gorgeous day watching the hopeful future stars as they practiced on sacred ground?

Anyway–that was a lot packed into one entry, but this is where my mind is at!  The coming of spring training is something to look forward to, but I haven’t been sitting around staring out my window waiting for camps to open. I am a year-round fan, and there’s a lot more about baseball to celebrate! 

I hope everyone else is, too! 

Feliz cumpleaños to Jaime Jarrin!  Jaime was born in Quito, Ecuador on this day in 1935.

This year, the Hall of Fame broadcaster for the Dodgers marked his 50th anniversary with the team, having started calling games during the 1959 season, their second year in Los Angeles.
 
As I’ve mentioned on occasion, we Dodger fans have enjoyed 110 years of combined service from not one but two Hall of Fame broadcasters. As beloved as Vin is, Jaime is an icon in his own right, and what a nice man!  He exudes the same professionalism, and the same genuine friendliness, as Vin, so they complement each other well.

When the Dodgers first moved west to L.A. from Brooklyn, they realized they would broadcast in a region bordering Mexico, and hiring Spanish speaking broadcasters would allow them to market the product south of the border as well as to Mexican-Americans and other Latinos in the Southern California area.

Last year the Dodgers organization celebrated Jaime’s contributions to the franchise’s enduring legacy in Los Angeles.  He is multi-talented as a journalist, and as a versatile broadcaster, has been behind the mic for countless sporting events beyond just baseball–again, much like Vin.

Jaime was employed at Los Angeles radio station KWKW in 1958 when the station secured Spanish language broadcasting rights to the Dodgers.  In the early days, he translated Vinnie’s English language broadcasts over the air from inside a studio.  At that time, the number of Latino players in the major leagues was very small.  Obviously, much has changed over the years. 

But of the first half-century, perhaps Jaime’s most defining moment was “Fernandomania”, when he became the interpreter for lefty pitching sensation Fernando Valenzuela.  The 20-year old screwballer from Sonora, Mexico held the City of Angels in the palm of his hand during his rookie season in 1981, when he posted some unreal numbers that led to his winning the Cy Young and Rookie of the Year Awards, and helped the Dodgers win the World Series that year.  Today, Valenzuela works alongside Jaime in the Dodgers’ broadcast booth.

L.A. is big enough to boast two bright stars, the best of the best, calling Dodger games.  The city’s diversity is no longer limited to only English and Spanish broadcasts for this team, but Vin and Jaime have been the elite, ever-so-familiar voices of the Dodgers, and good friends, for 50 years now. 

Jaime was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998, joining Vinnie in Cooperstown. 

Señor Jarrin is a legend in his own right, another icon in azul. 

Salud!

As Thanksgiving weekend winds down, just a quick post here to make
mention of a few things I’m extremely grateful for in my life.  The
obvious would, of course, be family and friends, and the essentials
some take for granted (a roof over my head), as well as a job I love,
and on a personal level, having been blessed with extremely good health
throughout my life. 

Thanksgiving Day was an absolutely gorgeous, sunny, bright, Southern
California day, and it doesn’t get any better than that.  It was
wonderful traveling weather for my 75-mile drive to Orange County to
gather at my uncle’s home with other family members.  I continued to
count my blessings as I realized how fortunate I am to have been born
and raised here, and I give thanks to God for that.

And the blessings continue on a baseball level.  It’s no coincidence
that our beloved Vin Scully, voice of the Dodgers since 1950,
celebrates his birthday within a few days of Thanksgiving every year.  He was born on November 29, 1927. 
Happy birthday, Vinnie!  An amazing example of timeless excellence, Vin
will begin his seventh decade calling Dodger games next
season.  It has yet to be determined if this will be his last one
behind the mic.  The caption in the photo below perfectly describes
Vinnie’s bond with Dodger fans.

I’m extremely thankful for having been able to attend baseball games
the week before Thanksgiving.  The Arizona Fall League provides a
wonderful escape for those fans who “don’t want it to end” once the
last out of the World Series has been made.  For me, it was exciting to
see Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg, whom I saw grow up
in San Diego and emerge into a dominating pitcher while playing for his
hometown SDSU Aztecs, begin the transition into a professional
ballplayer.  It was wonderful to see the Peoria Javelinas, which
includes Dodgers prospects as well as players from other organizations,
win the AFL championship this year, dethroning the long-running champs,
the Phoenix Desert Dogs.  And, for the first time, with the Dodgers having moved to the Cactus League last spring, an AFL game was played in their new ST home, Camelback Ranch in Glendale, last month.

Stepping away from the diamond, though–as a Christian, this time of year is special for me because it is the Advent season. 

Once we’ve flipped the calendar over into 2010, baseball resumes after
a brief vacation (although some winter leagues do play throughout
November).  College baseball is on the horizon next, something I enjoy
watching while MLB’s pitchers and catchers are reporting to Arizona and
Florida.  There is no shortage of ranked teams in this region where so
many excellent college baseball programs abound.  

Then, spring training will get underway for the Dodgers and 29 other major league teams, and the cycle begins all over again.

In between all of the above, the Dodgers continue to stage their “Under
the Lights” events throughout the dead of winter, allowing fans to
enjoy Dodger Stadium as participants on the field, taking BP or
throwing sessions in the bullpen, and mingling with former and current players.  Who wouldn’t rather be at the ballpark on a January evening than stuck indoors waiting for the season to start! 

I’ll make my annual Christmas shopping trek to Chavez Ravine sometime
within the next few weeks–and see our beautiful ballpark in a
different light.  It may still be sparkling and radiant and splashed in
sunshine, but shadows will fall in the mid-afternoon rather than early
evening.   There will probably be snow on the peaks of the mountains beyond Los Angeles.   Elysian Park in December is a more peaceful place, and while
the stadium atop the hillside is still a jewel above the city, the contrast is striking relative to the the
energy of summertime  crowds and a pennant race.

But the view from the Top of the Park will make me long even more for Opening Day.

Happy Thanksgiving and a blessed holiday season to all.

Today would have been the 88th birthday of Hall of Famer and Dodgers great, catcher Roy  Campanella.

The man who became known as “Campy” was a three-time National League
MVP and a member of the “Boys of Summer” 1955 world championship team.

A Hall of Famer who made it to the big show in 1949, Campy was
known as an intensely  fierce competitor both at and behind the plate,
the first in a long line of solid backstops for the Dodgers in their
rich history.

Campanella played in the Mexican Leagues during the WWII era, before the
color barrier in MLB had been broken (which would be done by his future
teammate Jackie Robinson in  1947), and was inducted into the Mexican
League Hall of Fame in 1971.  Following several years in the Negro
Leagues, and closely following on Robinson’s heels as one of the first  blacks to play in the majors, he made eight consecutive All-Star Game
appearances for the NL from 1949-1956.

In 1957, the Dodgers announced that their move to Los Angeles would take place the next year. That offseason, tragedy struck.

In January, 1958, Campanella became paralyzed in a traffic accident
on an icy New York roadway which broke his neck. It would not only end
his career, but place him in a wheelchair  for the rest of his life.

On May 7, 1959, the Dodgers honored Campy with a special “Roy
Campanella Night” at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, coinciding with
a special in-season exhibition game  between the Dodgers and Yankees. 
Attendance at the game was 93,103, which set a record  for the largest
crowd to attend a Major League Baseball game–quite a tribute from L.A.
fans  for a man who never wore the Los Angeles Dodgers uniform.  On that
evening, he was wheeled out onto the field by his teammate, Pee Wee
Reese, to whom Campy threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

The
attendance record set that night was since broken 49 years later, when
115,000 fans saw the Dodgers-Red Sox exhibition game at the same venue, the venerable Coliseum, in March 2008.  That event celebrated the Dodgers’ 50th  anniversary in Los Angeles.

Campanella began work as a Dodgers scouting
supervisor and served as a special  coach at the team’s spring training
camp in Vero Beach, FL, acting as a mentor to young  catchers in the
Dodgers’ system. Twenty years later, he became the team’s director of  Community Relations in L.A. Throughout that time, he remained a
“constant source of inspiration” for the  organization, according to
Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully.

He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969, the second
black American player to be so honored after Robinson.  His uniform
number, 39, was retired by the Dodgers in 1972.

Whether on the field or off, Campanella, the”lifetime Dodger”, died of
a heart attack in 1993, at age 71, in Los Angeles. His leadership was
valuable beyond words, and his contributions immeasurable.

My personal interest in him began after reading his book, “It’s Good to
be Alive”, in ninth  grade–around the same time that the movie by the
same name was released.

In 2006, the Dodgers announced the creation of the Roy Campanella
Award, to be given to the Dodger who best exemplifies his spirit and
leadership.  Dodgers SS Rafael Furcal was the  inaugural winner of the
award.

Roy Campanella’s story of inspiration and courage beyond the
playing field is one of many great ones in Dodgers lore, and beyond
that, one of the finest examples of integrity in baseball history.

May he rest in peace.