Notes from the Ravine
Kuroda and Duke Offer Interesting Matchup for Dodgers and Pirates
OK, so I for one am itching to see Kuroda and Duke face off tonight for a few reasons:
1. Their stats are nearly identical – Both have pitched about 12 innings, both have a 2.13 ERA, both have given up three earned runs so far this season. Kuroda’s 1-1 record is partly based on some unearned runs, so I’ll let that difference slide for now.
2. Current Dodger players have struggled against Duke in the past - Jeff Kent is 1-11, Rafael Furcal is 2-10, Andruw Jones is 1-8, and poor Juan Pierre is 3-17 (glad to see he is nowhere in tonight’s lineup).
3. The Matt Kemp factor - OK, so he’s FINALLY in the lineup and not being brought up off the bench…very pleasing (especially given Pierre’s stats against Duke). Batting third should give him a chance to stretch his legs a bit here – but his historical performance against Duke has been spotty as well (although not nearly as bad as those already mentioned)
4. Kuroda isn’t facing the D-backs this time – The “all of nothing” approach to batting that the D-backs are using definitely hurt the Dodgers (and Kuroda). Pittsburgh, however, has only registered two games where they scored over four runs (the Florida game was the only impressive victory) and aren’t putting up impressive numbers from the batters box consistently. Kuroda has a decent shot to preserve any early lead that the Dodgers can muster here (remember Russel Martin and Kuroda vs. the Padres). Did I mention that Martin is hitting better against Duke than just about any Dodger player?
Chaos in the Outfield
Here’s my solution:
1.) START KEMP!
2.) Bench Jones for 2-3 games for some serious work on his swing.
3.) Get Jones some help with his blase attitude.
4.) Start Pierre for Jones (for now).
5.) Let the fans know what the plan is!
5.) Get Jones back into the lineup on a permanent basis with Kemp and Ethier and use Pierre as a spot starter and a pinch-hit specialist.
I really think the problem is that the fans (and players) don’t really know what’s going on, so every day that goes by with another questionable roster move makes fans feel even more like pulling their hair out.
The First Lady of the Dodgers
It’s nice to see that Dodger fans didn’t let the previous ownership (Fox) follow the lead of other teams and use strictly digital music in the 1990′s. Nancy’s organ brings a nice retro touch to the stadium and it’s one of the little things that makes the ballpark experience special. Plus, with all the face time she gets on Diamond Vision, she’s got to be one of the most recognized faces in the organization.
Photo Credit: www.baseballreliquary.org
Dodgers Go All Out for Local Bloggers
As many of you know, the Dodgers hosted a group of local bloggers in a suite at Dodger Stadium last night in an effort to start a dialogue with the local blogging community. Hats off to Josh Rawitch (the Dodgers’ VP of Public Relations and Broadcasting) for putting together a stellar event, and for caring about new media outlets and their role in the greater landscape of the team.
Josh and his team put together an incredible event, and I wanted to touch on a few of the highlights:
As soon as we had settled into our seats with a tasty Dodger Dog in hand, in walks Ned Colletti. “Let’s talk,” he said, and thus began a fascinating 30-minute conversation where Ned offered his honest, blunt and straightforward views on the team as it stands now, the players and the future of the team from a personnel perspective. A truly fascinating conversation. Ned was very open, and a great communicator (his background as a former PR guy paid off). Ned also showed off his own personal style by sporting a great pair of cowboy boots (check out the photo below).
A few minutes later, in walks owner Frank McCourt. Equally honest and to the point, Frank thoroughly answered every question asked of him during his nearly hour-long visit. The result was a unique insight into how decisions are made within the organization, both from a baseball perspective, as well as when it comes to the business and community relations side of things.
Finally the last of Josh’s special guests for the evening arrived: Tommy Lasorda (who else?!?). Tommy did not disappoint entering the rooms with a shout of “Where are the bloggers?!?” Tommy captivated the room with stories from his decades managing the team, the characters he had on his clubs and his thoughts on the poignant tribute the current Dodger players gave him at the end of Spring Training. Tommy left the room with a shout of “Keep blogging!” (don’t think that’s a problem with this crowd).
Special guests aside, it was fantastic to meet some of the other bloggers that cover the team. Each person was intelligent, insightful, opinionated and well-spoken. I think we all are excited about staying in touch and building a better network of Dodger bloggers while also having increased access to the Club itself.
Other bloggers in attendance included:
Sax and
Ernest from Dodgers Blue Heaven
Robert from The Trolley Dodger
Robert from Dodger Dugout
Josh Rawitch from Inside the Dodgers
Finally, a huge thank you to Josh and his team for putting together a fantastic evening and really starting a productive and honest dialogue. As Josh said several times throughout the evening, “This is just the beginning.” I, for one, look forward to see what’s coming next.
One memorable line was from Ned Colletti. As he stood up to leave the suite he said, “Let’s do it again soon.” I know every blogger there agreed wholeheartedly.
