The Legend of Joe Beimel as Told by TroyfromWestVirginia

Genius. Pure Genius.

Thanks to the L.A. Daily News and Los Angeles Times’ Dodger blogs for bringing this to our attention. Here is a guy, pacing around in his basement with a 7 foot ceiling wearing baseball pants that are 4 inches too long, reciting the Gospel of Joe Beimel according to TroyfromWestVirginia. Just when you think he’s run out of steam, he is back for more commentary that makes you spit out your drink. The best seven and a half minutes of YouTube out there right now.

Never just Joe. Never just Beimel. ALWAYS Joe Beimel.

Enjoy.

Tommy’s Back in the Saddle, Baby!

So I’m not sure if Spring Training games count in the record books, but with Tommy returning to the dugout to take the reins of the stateside Dodgers for eight games while Joe takes a small traveling team to China next month, it technically makes 80 year-old Tommy the second oldest manager ever in the majors to Connie Mack.

Personally, I can’t wait to see how Ethier, Kemp, LaRoche, Loney and Martin react the first time the fire in Lasorda’s belly kicks in and he charges the umpires arguing a call.  Hopefully he won’t have any flashbacks to his first group of kids (Lopes, Garvey, Cey and Russell) who stayed together as starters for a record eight seasons.

You just know Tommy’s going to be treating these eight games like it’s an extended version of the World Series.  He’s going to be busting out all of his great motivational speeches, and getting the team to play harder than they ever would under normal Spring Training circumstances.  I can’t wait.

Sandy Koufax and Chan Ho Park: An Unlikely Pair

Not only was Sandy Koufax a legend on the field, but he’s quietly been an ongoing inspiration to the team’s younger pitchers for more years than I can remember, and this year is no exception (well, Sandy did take a few years off during the FOX ownership era, but all is now well with his relationship with the Club). Today, Josh Rawitch’s blog, Inside the Dodgers, notes his work with Scott Proctor and Chan Ho Park.

A really interesting note about Sandy’s continued influence with the Club and Park in particular comes from Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, which makes Josh’s blog entry all the more interesting (note that this was written the day before Josh’s comments). Here’s an excerpt from Gurnick’s post:

“One player disappointed to hear he missed Koufax was Chan Ho Park. Koufax was a surrogate mentor to Park through his friendship with then-pitching coach Dave Wallace when Park blazed the modern trail for Asian players to the Major Leagues.”

That’s a fascinating insight into both Sandy and Chan Ho. Park’s got a long way to go to make the team this year, but I wish him all the luck in the world. I remember seeing him years ago when, after getting sent down by the Dodgers, he was pitching for the Albuquerque Dukes and the team was in the Northwest to play the Tacoma Rainiers (the Mariners’ AAA Club). I remember that the guy had blazing speed, but with a real control problem. Still, I remember being very impressed and was shocked to see Park’s name when I looked him up in the program. He’s obviously a fighter, so I’m glad to see him back for another drink of water at Spring Training.

But I digress; back to Sandy. I am curious to see what happens next year at this time. According to Gurnick, the noted recluse splits time between Vero Beach and somewhere in the Caribbean. Will he still spend quality time with the Club in Glendale? I certainly hope so. The guy’s a living legend and I’m glad to see the younger (and older) pitchers giving him the respect he obviously deserves.

Lastly, for those of you interested in learning more about Koufax, I highly recommend Sandy Koufax, A Lefty’s Legacy by Jane Lear. The book was written back in 2002, but it’s a great story of the writer searching Sandy out and the friendship and trust that developed between the two, while also giving you a unique insight into one of the most interesting players of all time (both from a baseball perspective, but also from a human perspective). It’s a beautiful read, and a great way to get psyched about not only the current season, but about the Dodgers’ 50th Anniversary celebrations to come.

Dodgertown Vero Beach: A Look Back

With Spring Training officially underway, I think it’s appropriate to take a look back at the incredible history of Dodgertown in Vero Beach. I wish I had a chance to go there myself, but there have been some interesting articles written about this slice of history over the past few weeks. For example, did you know that 1,500 seats were brought to Holman Stadium from Ebbett’s Field in Brooklyn? Pretty cool stuff…I hope the Dodgers take those seats to Glendale, rather than just leave them to the Orioles, or whatever team is the next tenant over there.

Here are a few stories that are worth checking out. Most interesting is this angry tone that seems to be coming out about racism within the Vero Beach community from decades ago. I’ve never heard any of this before, and I think it’s a shame that the community that has been a true partner to the Dodgers for 61 years is being disrespected so long after these offenses were committed. Sure, Arizona will be shiny and new, but the real history (both good and bad) of a faded Dodgertown in Vero Beach in need of a good polish will never be replicated.

The New York Times’ “This Land: Dodgertown” photo retrospective and article

Ross Newhan at the LA Times shares the colorful, and mixed, history of the venue

Bill Plashke’s opinion from the LA Times (which seems a little harsh to me)

The Vero Beach response from the TC Palm

All of this leaves me thinking about what the new stadium complex in Glendale, Arizona will look like. I hope the Dodgers don’t completely cut the cord with their past, and bring back the spirit of the original Dodgertown in some sort of meaningful and significant manner.

Joe Torre’s Laid Back Style

I find it interesting that every time Joe Torre was interviewed in the months leading up to Spring Training and a reporter asked him what he thought about the team, he responded that he hadn’t spoken to most of his players, so really hadn’t formed many opinions yet.  Andre Either confirmed this in an interview I heard on Dan Patrick’s radio show the other week.  I do recall reading reports that Torre called Andruw Jones after he signed, welcoming him to the team, which is a promising sign. 

The funniest story making the rounds is about how Joe Torre was eating at an IHOP restaurant in Vero Beach, and Russell Martin stopped by his table to introduce himself.  Ok, you’d think Joe would have at least called Russell, one of his team MVPs!  My other big question is what the hell was Russell doing in an IHOP in the days leading up to Spring Training?  I guess the man loves his pancakes!

Maybe it’s just me, but this behavior seems a bit odd for a new manager of a team.  But hey, it’s Joe Torre, right?  The guy knows how to win.

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