dodgerfan.net

OK, so this was one of the strangest games I’ve seen in a LONG time…

1. The Home Plate Umpire loses consciousness after being hit by a pitch.
Dodger pitcher Brad Penny inadvertantly hit home plate umpire Kerwin Danley in the jaw with an errant pitch and Danley slumped down on the ground, losing consciousness for a time. The game was stopped for 18 minutes while Danley was driven off the field in an ambulance to a local hospital. Upon arrival, he was said to be conscious and coherent. The entire staff of Dodgerfan.net hopes the 10-year umpire is OK.

2. Mark Redman gives up 10 runs in the first inning!
Redman earned the honor of being only the 6th pitcher since 1969 to give up 10 runs in an inning. Here’s the breakdown:

Batters: 13
Runs: 10
Hits: 6
Pitches: 45
Runs with 2 outs: 9

Even more surprising,

(apparently the Rockies figured they had nothing to lose) and the guy throws 5 more complete innings without giving up another run! He also only faced another 17 batters after facing 13 in the first inning.

3. Matt Kemp hit a Grand Slam Home Run on his way to delivering 5 (yes FIVE) RBIs for the Blue in the first inning alone!

Nice work Dodgers - not sure if Redman is our good luck charm or not but it seems my 18-month old could have lit him up tonight if he’d been put in the batters box.

Yup, it’s a poll looking for the worst GM in baseball from the folks at bucsdugout.com. Our boy Ned is the #3 seed battling #6 seed J.P. Ricciardi of the Toronto Blue Jays. As of 11:10 p.m. on Monday evening, Ned is “winning” 2-1 with 30 votes compared to J.P.’s 15 votes. Supporting arguments for Ned are supported by the following quote: “Juan’s ability to hit combined with his speed make him a perfect catalyst for our lineup,” general manager Ned Colletti said. “I’ve long admired how he plays the game.” Only time will tell how this plays out, so get out there and vote!

Maybe, just maybe, the reason for the slow start for the Dodger bats rests with Joe Torre.  Think about it: the biggest problem the Dodgers have faced this year is their ever-shifting lineup.  Even Eric Karros called it out on the national game against the Braves this weekend: the root cause of the problem stems from the fact that Torre is still getting to know his players.  Now here’s the rub: remember back to all the interviews Joe did leading up to Spring Training?  He said repeatedly that he didn’t know his players, that he’d have to get to know them when they got to Vero Beach, etc.  Hell, I remember hearing an interview with James Loney on Jim Rome’s or The Herd’s show saying he hadn’t even SPOKEN to Torre at that point!   Maybe if Joe had spent the time after he was first hired to get to know his guys, he might have a better sense of how the pieces fit together.  Maybe he didn’t realize the complexities of this team, but that seems pretty hard to believe given his pedigree with the Mets, Braves, Cardinals and Yankees.  Still, it made this Dodger fan wonder then and it certainly makes me wonder now…

Joe is left to ponder the Dodgers lack of hitting

Photo Courtesy of content.clearchannel.com

OK - a point of clarification before I get started here. I grew up in the 1970s. I loved cartoons. My absolute favorite cartoon was the Superfriends. Every Saturday morning, I got to see all of my favorite superheroes battle it out against their arch-nemeses and learn a valuable lesson about sharing, not speaking to strangers, or some other kid-friendly advice (cue the music from “The More You Know” PSAs on NBC here).

Superman’s arch nemesis on the show was Bizzaro, a convoluted version of Superman for whom everything was reversed. He originally appeared in a Superman comic in 1958, but for our pursposes he surfaced on TV in the mid to late 1970s. “Good” meant “bad”, up was down, etc. You get the idea. I could never wrap my mind around Bizarro - I only know I didn’t like him very much and was waiting for Batman and Robin’s PSA to tell me not to accept a ride from strangers whenever Bizarro graced my TV.

Fast-forward to Andruw Jones’ recent appearance in Atlanta. The prodigal son returns to Atlanta and receives…a standing ovation. Huh? OK, this happens sometimes, but this guy up and left for a fat paycheck. Jones even described the situation while in Atlanta as follows:

It’s just different. You wish you could keep with the team you came up with. Everybody wants to be with one team for his whole career. But this is a business, and it happened. And sometimes you have to move on and start something new

Wow - an ovation. That’s southern hospitality for ya.

Now, let’s return to Jones’ recent predicament in L.A.. He’s a good 30 pounds heavier than when he was in Atlanta, his hitting productivity is in the toilet (he was hitting a whopping .157 as of last weekend) and had steadily moved from 4th in the lineup all the way down to 7th. Jones was even getting booed in Dodger Stadium. You heard me right, booed. I know we have some die-hard fans that make the pilgramage to Chavez ravine, but we have a lot of “arrive by the 3rd, leave by the 7th” bandwagoners as well. What gives?

My guess - this isn’t a Bizarro superhero clash at all. Atlanta fans aren’t showing any southern hospitality either. They’re cheering the Dodgers for taking Jones off their hands and saddling themselves with a fat paycheck to boot. Only time will tell who gets the last laugh (and playoff spot) out of this one.

Then again, he did get one hit and one run in both Friday and Saturday night’s games. Maybe the applause is working…

 

 

The good folks at the Sons of Steve Garvey blog reminded me of an interesting question that came up last week at Blogger Night (I think Saxie from SoSG and Erin from Beantown West were the instigators on this one): what about having a “Throwback Night” at Dodger Stadium?

I seriously think this is a fantastic idea, and am thinking about trying to rally the Dodger fans online to make it a reality.  I know the Club worries about the marketability of such an idea to the youth of today, but come on, how cool would this be?  Make it a mid-week game in the middle of summer.  If we can come up with enough details, it could be really marketable.

Think about it:

- All organ music, all the time (Go Nancy Bea Hedley!).  No recorded music allowed.

 - All Vin, all the time (sorry, Charlie and Rick, it’s Throwback Night for God sakes). 

- All digital signs would be turned off.  Sponsors would be acknowledged by the PA announcer or other means to fulfill advertising commitments.

-  No credit cards at the concessions stands (just kidding on this one!).

- Retro uniforms to be worn by the players and coaches.

- Fans would be encouraged to dress up, like in the old days (suits, etc.)

- Some cool old school giveaway for fans, like a felt Dodgers cap or a branded transistor radio.

- A classic Dodgers nemesis, like The Hated Ones.

What else could we do?  Let’s hear your ideas people and start to make this a reality!  Who’s with me???