This week we’re psyched to have the witty Orel from the always irreverent Dodgers blog Sons of Steve Garvey and @sosgsosg participating.  The Sons keep it lighthearted and fun throughout the season, always looking for pop culture tie-ins and intelligent, humorous banter at every turn.  Their site is one of our favorites to check in at during a game, and theirs was the site that we first looked to when trying to figure out our place in the Dodgers blogging landscape.

Note: Keep in mind that Orel kept to the spirit of the project by answering his questions via Twitter, so he had to make do with the 140 character limit for each answer. 

Five Tweets with… Dodgers Blogger Orel from SonsOfSteveGarvey.com

1. What excites you the most about this season?

Kemp-Ethier-Manny 2-3-4. Healthy Furcal. Kershaw nominated for sainthood.

2. What is your biggest concern about this season?

Stagnation or injuries, or in Martin’s case, both. That the rotation falls apart. That the team becomes a sideshow.

3. What is your earliest baseball memory?

John Candelaria no-hitting the Dodgers http://bit.ly/9OFGiJ. He has been on my ON NOTICE list ever since.

4. What is your favorite baseball memory?

Gibson, of course. I was screaming and running around an empty dorm like an inmate freed from the asylum.

5. Why do you love the game?

Stadiums, hot dogs and the seventh-inning stretch. Robinson, Clemente and Ichiro. And yes, even Candelaria.

This week we’re thrilled to have Eric Stephen from the influential Dodgers blog True Blue LA and @trueblueLA with us.  I love True Blue LA for many reasons, but a big one is how Eric and the team break down the numbers behind the Dodgers wins or losses, and then tell us all what they think it means for the team and for us as fans.  Their analytical look at what makes the Dodgers tick is fantastic, and their coverage only deepens our love and understanding of the game.

Note: Keep in mind that Eric kept to the spirit of the project by answering his questions via Twitter, so he had to make do with the 140 character limit for each answer. 

Five Tweets with… Dodgers Blogger Eric Stephen of TrueBlueLA.com

1. What excites you the most about this season?

Excited for Billingsley & Kershaw to lead rotation, Broxton to lead best bullpen in MLB, & the 90-HR outfield to win 3rd straight NL West.

2. What is your biggest concern about this season?

Biggest concern is health & potential regression of the 35+ crew (Manny, Blake, Kuroda), & that Vicente Padilla turns back to a pumpkin.

3. What is your earliest baseball memory?

Earliest game was 1982 with my cousin. I was 6. We were busy making jokes rather than watching the game. 1985 was first full year as fan.

4. What is your favorite baseball memory?

Kirk Gibson home run won’t be topped. Also loved Franklin Stubbs grand slam to beat Cardinals 7/6/88 (at game with my older brother).

5. Why do you love the game?

I love the pace of the game; no clock, no need to rush, anything is possible. Crack of the bat is one of the sweetest sounds in the world.

- Los Angeles Times Dodgers Blog: Steve Dilbeck writes about interviewing the great Sandy Koufax as a young reporter

- Memories of Kevin Malone: GREAT interview with Dodger minor leaguer (and fellow blogger) Brian Akin

- Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness: A thought-provoking look at how the casual fan’s view of Manny Ramirez and Juan Pierre differ than that of the Dodger blogger that follows the team on a much closer level.

- Dodger Thoughts: Jon Weisman evaluates the importance of OBP in the recent success of the Dodgers.

- MLB.com: Respected former Dodger executive Fred Claire weighs in on how former Dodger infielder Mark Loretta is settling into his new role on the Padres’ front office.

- MLB.com: Ken Gurnick looks ahead to Clayton Kershaw’s upcoming season

I think the answer is fairly obvious, but if you would like to read more, read on!

Four days ago, the gates of Camelback Ranch swung open for the first time this year, and the Dodgers started their final preparations for the 2010 season.  We’re also finishing our annal tweaks for the dodgerfan.net site, and part of that involves a commitment to social media.  Many of you already follow us on Twitter (@dodgerfan_net), but we’re taking that one step further this year with a new (hopefully weekly) feature that will run through the upcoming season.  It’s called “Five Tweets with…”  Let me explain:

“Five Tweets With…” is designed to be an entertaining way to learn a little more about the people that play, cover, work with, tweet about and cheer on professional baseball teams, with an emphasis on the Dodgers.

“Five Tweets With…” was inspired by reading the Proust Questionnaire (originally developed by the French writer Marcel Proust), along with subsequent versions that appear regularly in Vanity Fair and on the “Inside the Actor’s Studio” television program.

Our “interview” features five short questions.  The questions will not change.  Each week, we’ll select one person from the world of Major League Baseball and then beg, bribe, cajole and/or twist their arm until they participate.  They will then tweet their responses back to us and we’ll post ‘em here.  Of course, if they want to email us longer responses, we’ll take that too!

We’ve got a few exciting people already on board for later in the year, but we couldn’t imagine starting this program off with anyone other than Jon Weisman of the esteemed Dodger Thoughts blog.  Jon began blogging about the Dodgers way back in 2002, and his knowledge, wisdom, insight and opinions are respected not only by us, but by many of you as well.  Ok, enough with the set-up.  Alex and I hope you enjoy the series and let us know what you think!

Five Tweets with…Jon Weisman of ESPN Los Angeles’ Dodger Thoughts

1. What excites you the most about this season?

Just seeing the gang on the field again. Kershaw, Kemp, Billingsley, Broxton, Ethier, Loney, Martin (yes, even Martin), and so on. I’ve been having so much fun watching their careers develop, and can’t wait to see the next steps.

2. What is your biggest concern about this season?

On the field, I am concerned about the older guys in the rotation: Kuroda and Padilla. Off the field, I’m concerned that many fans and media are out for blood – ready to take out their frustration about the McCourts and about the twin NLCS disappointments out at a moment’s notice. It’s going to be a long year if we have to spend each day talking about how cheap the McCourts are. No one likes losing – I certainly don’t – but my hope is that the talent base of this team reminds people that baseball is meant to be fun.

3. What is your earliest baseball memory?

Watching Hank Aaron’s 715th home run on TV while on vacation with my family in Arizona.

4. What is your favorite baseball memory?

That’s just so hard to choose. You know, I was in college during the ‘88 season, so I wasn’t at the Kirk Gibson game. I wasn’t at the R.J. Reynolds “Squeeze!” game. I wasn’t at the 4+1 game. I saw them all on TV, but I don’t think I can pick as my favorite memory something I didn’t see in person. I might go with the time when I was a kid that I yelled out in the bottom of the ninth inning to a struggling Rick Monday, “Monday – a homer or your life!” and he hit a game-winning blast. Also, being at Fernando’s no-hitter was something special.

5. Why do you love the game?

I really don’t know. I just got invested in the characters at a young age and I haven’t been able to shake it. I’m not sure why. I do know I enjoy sharing baseball with my dad, and that I want to enjoy that as long as I can.

Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball
by George Will

This was the book that transformed me from a casual baseball fan into someone who truly loved all of the small nuances of the game.  Will’s look inside at what makes a great manager (Tony La Russa), hitter (Tony Gwinn), pitcher (Orel Hershiser) and defensive player (Cal Ripken, Jr.) is fascinating for any baseball fan (even from a political commentator).  I actually find myself thinking back to many moments in the book throughout every season.  In my mind, it’s a classic.

Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir
by Dorris Kearns Goodwin

While Goodwin is perhaps best known as a Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential historian, her touching memoir describes growing up in New York in the 1950’s and the special relationship she had with her father through their shared love of the Brooklyn Dodgers.  Plus, anyone that masters keeping score at age six is ok with me.  A fantastic look at the Dodger teams of Jackie Robinson, Gil Hodges, Duke Snider, Roy Camanella and Pee Wee Reese through the eyes of a fan.  One of my favorites of all time.

Nine Innings
by Daniel Okrent

You might ask why I have book about a June 1982 game between the Brewers and the Orioles on this list.  What makes this book special is that the author actually disects one game, pitch by pitch, and gives the fan a great insight into the psychology of the game.  Not as great as Men at Work in my opinion, but it’s another writer’s take on the myriad of subtle moments that occur throughout the course of a game.

The Last of the Best
by Jim Murray

Growing up in Los Angeles, I became hooked on both sports and writing through the words and style of the great Jim Murray, the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Los Angeles Times.  One of only four sportswriters to win the Pulitzer, Murray was a master wordsmith that focused on the people behind the moments, rather than what happened during the games themselves.  The Last of the Bestis a collection of Murray’s last 90 columns in the 1990’s and there are a few great ones about Walter O’Malley that are worth the read (to say nothing of the rest of the book).  If you’re a fan of the story behind the action on the field, then this is a great book for you.

Birth of a Fan
edited by Ron Fimrite

This is a neat little collection of essays where writers such as Roger Angell, Roy Blount, Jr., William Kennedy, George Plimpton, Robert Whiting and Jonathan Yardley (among others) recall their early days when they first fell in love with the game of baseball.  It always seems like an appropriate read as Spring Training approaches.

100 Things Dodgers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die
by Jon Weisman

And what list of baseball books would be complete without the latest and greatest by fellow Dodger blogger and author Jon Weisman of the esteemed Dodger Thoughts.  The book is a treasure trove of stories, anecdotes, history and more going back the team’s days in Brooklyn.  It’s hard to describe this book in just a few lines, but it’s safe to say that this is definitely a book that all Dodger fans need to read.

I thought the following quote from Phil Gurnee at True Blue LA summed it up better than I ever could: “I’ve finished the book but chapter five [about the Kirk Gibson home run] alone is worth the book. The title suggests a fluff book but it is anything but a fluff book. In someone else’s hands this book might have been much less then what it is. In Jon’s capable hands he will enlighten and entertain you about the team you love. Anybody who calls themselves a Dodger fan should be ordering this book not only for themselves but for any and all of their Dodger friends and family. The paperback is the perfect companion to read between innings while watching the game on TV or even at the ballpark.”

Now let’s hear from you on your favorite baseball books!

This is Tony’s first season with ESPN Los Angeles.  He previously covered the Dodgers for five years with the Los Angeles Daily News for more than five seasons.  While this online chat is great, I’d love to hear a podcast of Tony and Jon Weisman discussing the 2010 Dodgers and hear their in-depth thoughts on the upcoming season.  How cool would that be?

The move has been rumored for some time, and we’re thrilled to see Jon take his column to the next level.  No news yet on who is taking over to the LA Times’ blogger slot for the Dodgers.

So far, Roberto over at Vin Scully is My Homeboy has cast his vote for Sax, and now we need to weigh in.  But here’s the challenge: I consider myself friends with two of the Sons…Orel and Sax.  Sax and I even know each other outside of the world of the Dodgers, and I’ve taken an oath to keep his identity a secret (which I have done).  Orel, on the other hand, I know from a myriad of blogger events we’ve been to together over the past few years.

This is almost like picking between two of your kids (well, if I had kids, this is what I imagine it would be like).  When we first launched our site, Orel and Sax from SOSG were the first to reach out to us and show their support, and for that, we’ve always been grateful.

But, as The Highlander says, “There can be only one.”  And that one, is Orel.  The guy is a constant at Dodger events at Chavez Ravine and his willingness to share his thoughts and experiences with other Dodger bloggers to grow the community as a whole is admirable.  Plus, I challenge you to ever see the guy without a smile on his face…maybe it’s those photos of fellow Dodger fans that keep him so happy.

Good luck Orel (and Sax)…we’re pulling for you both, but if push comes to shove, we’re going with Orel!

In terms of numbers, dodgerfan.net grew at an extremely rapid pace and we more than quadrupled our readership over the past 12 months, with readers from every state and an additional 94 countries.  While that’s a fantastic accomplishment for the two of us that run this site, we really owe our success to those that have read our work, supported us and challenged us with their own great content and perspective.  As a result, we feel more like veterans of the Dodger blogger community every day.

We definitely owe a huge amount of thanks to Josh Rawitch, VP of Communications for the Dodgers and his team of professionals.  Josh’s forward-thinking approach to social media over the past several years has exponentially enriched our coverage and joy for what we put into this site.  That approach seems to also spread throughout the organization, so our appreciation also extends to Ned Colletti, Joe Torre, Dennis Mannion and the rest of the Dodgers organization who put up with us throughout the year.

We also want to thank our fellow Dodger bloggers and members of the media we’ve either met in the press box at Chavez Ravine, or just had a chance to get to know better this past year.  There simply are too many folks to name here, but some of the people that supported us, given us poitners on proper locker room etiquette, or have just influenced how we cover the team in 2009 include Dylan Hernandez, Diamond Leung, Ken Levine, Tony Jackson, Eric Stephen, Orel and Sax, Josh Suchon and Jon Weisman.   There’s a great sense of community among Dodger bloggers, writers and readers, and you all make that possible.

Finally, there were a number of great moments for us this past year (most notably the organization credentialing bloggers for the press box), s0 if you’re up for a trip down memory lane, check out the following:

- The Opening of Camelback Ranch

- Blogger Night, Part II

- Bloggers in the Press Box

- dodgerfan.net on TV (scary stuff!)

Finally, thanks again to all of you that read and comment on our content.  We started this site out as lifelong Dodger fans wanting to experiment in social media, and while it’s been far more time consuming than we could have ever expected, we’ve gained far more than that as we provide our take on the team, both on and off the field.  We look forward to continuing that dialogue with you in 2010 beyond, and can’t wait to discover what the future holds for dodgerfan.net, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Dodger fans everywhere. 

Thanks again!

Chris and Alex