Come on, Blue!!!!! Blue being that first base umpire.

How many games have started this way so far? Furcal gets on, O-Dog gets on and Manny brings in an RBI....I looked and it seems the don't keep stats online for something like this. I'll hit Vin on his T-Mobile and see what he says...

Psh. Said he couldn't help me cuz he's with his 50 grand kids. Whatever, Vin. I know you know the answer...

3-0, Chad Billingsley is off to a great start this season with a 2.84 ERA. These are the sort of stats you want your starters to ALL have and I am realy excited to watch this kid. Additionally, he just k'd Lance Berkman, a fellow who has struck out 14 times this season. No make that 15. hehehe

How emberrassing would it have been had that pop up landed in front of Bills and Martin?
...
Phew
...
Just wanna take a second to link my reader to the new Eric Collins/Steve Lyons Dodger blog, although today's game seems to only be on MLB.tv. This is their blog.

LOL, the announcer just repeated something I said in a previous blog and that is that Billingsley has a giant ass. He called it a fanny! LOL

WOoooooooow, what a play by Hudson. He just snagged that thing and turned a gorgeous double play.

Yea. I said gorgeous like it was a super model...

Real quick, I really need Russell Martin to be the Russell Martin of 2007. He must be hanging out with Andrew Bynum or something.

OH! Matt Kemp makes another stellar play and it makes me think of something. When he first broke out he was FAST on the base paths. He would hit grounders and almost beat them out but had trouble getting to fly balls. I think it is better for him to not run AFAP (as fast as possible) on grounders that will no doubt end in an out and save his legs for getting to difficult fly balls. What is more important? A single or getting outs? I think in this case, getting outs and that is exactly what he has been doing. Saving his legs on grounders for those plays in the out field. Great play.

Who the F is Lauren Conrad?

Anywaaaayyy....
If you were curious, the hill in Minute Maid park was added on a whim by owner Tal Smith and acts as a warning track. Some warning. Nothing like "Look out for the wall" being expressed as a twisted ankle. Brilliant.

WOW, its about time Russel hosed someone at second. Over the head of the batter no less. One word for that....

HOSED.

See my last blog. The defense from tonight is the defense I wanted last night. So perhapds they took their heads out of their asses? I like to think so. Good job.


BOOOOOO AWFUL CALL. Manny had that beat!!!!! That was the worst call I have seen yet this season. Awful call. Awful. If I was there I would be standing up yelling, "COME ON, BLUE!!!"

Thank Lasorda they didn't bring in Kuo. Dude hasn't had a decent start all season. Bills pitched a hell of a game so it is vital that we keep this game alive and keep the Astros down. No sweeps, all season. That's what I want. No sweeps and you can win the title.

Manny being Manny. Bets on what he went into the outfield wall to do? Probably needs to take a piss but maybe they have brownies back there.

Strategy. Let Blake make the third out. I would rather Broxton come in now without having had to swing the bat and run the bases. Now he will have the energy to smoke some fools.

Bot 9. Where legends are made.

Mine and my dad's reaction to Berkman coming to bat..."Oh great." Dude is a hitter and I dislike him very much. Broxton. You are awesome.

Who the hell are the jackasses dressed like dogs in the outfield? To use foreign language..."Wankers."

Shut your mouth and sit down, Lee. Douche.

What the hell is that? Someone give Jeff Blum an Oscar. Dude's got the slowest reactions ever. Someone check his reflexes he might have neurological problems.

These umpires are really awful today. Suckers.

Here we go....

I am proud of the defense in this game. Great plays for the most part and they kept the ball in playable positions. The offense did some decent hitting which is always good but we HAVE to produce more runs per game. We are fortunate Billingsley pitched so well because other wise this would definately be a different game. Got a little tight toward the end but Broxton settled down and managed to finish it off. Good for them, now we move on to Colorado for a friggin sweep.

42

I love when they do this.


I am sick of these sissy pitchers throwing Manny nothing. If you're gonna walk him, walk him but don't pretend like you didn't mean to walk him because it is obvious you did. I'm talking to you Matt Cain!

Save Now

How do you load the bases and get ONE RUN? Come on, guys.

Hudson is a hero, yo. THIS is how it should go, everytime with those two. On base, on base, Manny. That is how you win games. Well, when Manny gets hits, I should say, which is a lot of the time, just not this game. Hmph.

Oh here we go. The ice skating story again. Once a year is right, Vin. Still love ya. See the moral of story? No? Well then I guess you'll have to try again next year...

Is it just me or do a number of Giants players just look like jerks? I dunno, they just have that look.

I have to give it to Aurilia. When a catch is made like that the umpire needs to make an obvious call and Aurilia was even looking to the umps for a call. Oh well. Sucks for him. I'll do the same thing if it happens to a Dodger but with more harsh language and a little more obsession.


Here's your topic of discussion regarding the Dodgers on ESPN tonight and tomorrow...Kershaw's 13 Ks. Heck this might make sportscenter highlights. A 21 year old kid Ks 13, right after a 25 year old kid Ks 11 AND a hitter goes for the cycle....Dodgers are relevant and they will be all season and I just love it.

Seriously? Aaron "Poop Stance" Rowand hits a 3 run bomb just like that? WTF?


I really thought Loney pissed all over that one. I thought it was long gone but I guess I was wrong., Still. It had that 2004 NL west championship vibe to it, the high heat gets turned on by a lefty. It wasn't Garvey though and it wasn't the 9th and there isn't a penant on the line. Anyway. I thought it looked good.


I hope this Mienkewitz guy comes through as a pinch-hitter. I was starting to feel like we had another Mark Sweeney on our hands. Don't get me wrong, the guy helped clubhouse morale immensly but he didn't do us many favors as a pinch-hitter. I am glad this dude came through. Gives me some trust in our bench.

Is it just me or does Howry look like Robert Patrick in Terminator 2?

A hell of a game. Going a strong 7 and 13ks from Kershaw, losing our lead, coming back, shutting down their offense, then coming back with good hits. I am a big fan of hits. I don't care about homeruns. Homeruns are bonus features. Hits win ball games. You put 10 singles out there you've won a ball game. Add kids who strike out ten plus and you've got a championship team. Ok, folks. No outs, bases loaded, bot 9. The game must end now. Russell....go...
Damn.

Ok, let's give Loney a shot. If anyone can finish this game, it's James. He's a helluva a hitter...LOL
He walks in the winning run. Thanks, Brian.

Night.

Orlando Hudson wins the Tour de Chavez Ravine.

Too bad I was working. Still, with radio at my side I was right there with ya. Lovely anthem, cool idea having the team come out of the stands and announcing Manny was just the right thing to do. Vin throwing the first pitch was a nice touch too. 60 years of that dude's badass suits, can you believe it? He must have started broadcasting when he was an infant.

Now we see the Dodgers, performing as they should. Kemp hitting in 8 straight, manny being manny and getting walked left and right, Ethier going deep, what more could you ask for? How about another solid 5 innings from Bills? I think it can be done.

Randy Johnson looked good today.....



I think you know where I am goin with this...
Anyway

I think today is the perfect day for Manny to hit his first bomb. I mean, when your second baseman is your power hitter, you've got problems. Just look how we did with Kent and without Manny, Kent was our supposed power hitter. So, it would be nice, but it isn't critical when we are hitting the ball like we are today.

Billingsley looks sharp. This kid sure has a future and I hope most of it is with Los Angeles. I mostly jusyt don't want to have to face him in the future. Ex Dodgers are notorious for fucking up the Dodgers. I can't have that with Chad.



I named my dog Dodger. I wonder how many other Dodger fans did the same. Probably a shit load...

This is a blow out and an amazing one. This is the team I want to root for and watch this season. Orlando Hudson came out BIG today for the home crowd. Dodger fans are going to LOVE Orlando Hudson and he really did it the right way today. Show off big. Make a statement. Own the crowd. I love it. Ethier going deep two times is what should happen all the time. This guy has been playing ball for his entire life, there is no way he can't become one of the best baseball players of our generation. Here we go, Dodgers.

Here we go.

Blowouts always lower my blood pressure

Stults decent stuff. When no runs score I suppose its safe to call it decent stuff.

Orlando Hudson, solo homerun top 4. Walks are good. I like when little guys hit bombs. It gives them some trash to talk to the guys who are supposed to hit bombs. I like to think the trash talk is motivating.

Here is why I love baseball. Loney got walked, two on. I left the room, came back, man on second two runs in. I can deduce that the no. 5 hitter, R.J. Martin, hit a double and scored two runs. Maybe later I'll check the box score to make sure but I am pretty sure that's what happened. Man, I love baseball.

LOL, Kemp strikes out on the same pitches every time. Down and away. Just like last season. Down and away. You'd think they would mention it to him, "hey kid, lay off the down and away..."

(Insert 2 hours for dinner at Buca di Beppo)

My goodness I feel massive. Like John Kruk on a bender.

Well I would write more but this game was what we should expect from this team. Lots of runs and great pitching. On paper, this is what we should be doing, the real world however throws bigger breaking balls than Clayton Kershaw. Let's just hope they can all play to their best potential and correct mistakes quickly. If they can do that we can get to 95 wins, easily. If not, better hope for 85. But what do I know? I'm just a fan...

Dodgers wake up late, can't avenge pitchers.

I am willing to sacrifice a loss to get McDonald some much needed experience on the mound. Let him give up ten runs and see if it doesn't fix some things. Now, he just sees failure as being solved by relief. No. Get better. You only get better by screwing up. Mistakes breed improvements the shitty part is that these things are happening during the season. Oh well, better game 5 of the season than in a few months.

Good thing Hudson has a pair, else this would be a 1-6 game. Oh wait, it is a 1-6 game.

Casey Blake. 2 hits all season both homeruns. Is that a good stat or a bad stat? I can't tell. Also, the plays that separate the gold gloves and all stars and champions from average ball players are the plays that Blake totally failed. Sharp hit, quick grab, throw from knees plays are the perfect test for whether a player is average or not. Same with diving catches, 1st base stretches and bunts. Blake, while being impressive twice, needs to produce more or I might have Joe Torre (we are very tight) send Russ to third.

Ok this is bad. Pitchers are getting lit up like a zippo. I can only stand to see the bases loaded a couple times a game. This shit is ridiculous.

Ok, last chance, LA. 9th inning, down by 5. I know it isn't really your thing but let's make a come back, shall we?

Kemp strikes out. Not surprised but he has been hitting the ball pretty well. I think the whole VISION thing helps a little. Blake watches a nasty cutter for strike three. Ouch. Ausmus earning his backup spot. Atta boy. I am just doing play by play until the end of the game, then I will go get in n out so really I am just killing time here. Loretta takes Nomar's number. Did he retire? Does he have a job right now? Hmmm. Yes. Oakland. Oakland ended up with some serious ball players this season. Watch out Anaheim. Loretta grounds out. AZ wins. Farts...


Overall it was a pretty weak performance. All the pitchers got worked, defense was not as sharp as one would hope. I don't really blame the hitters cuz we put up 4 runs. That is enough when you have strong pitching and defense. Just like last season it seems starting pitching is a little bit of an issue for the kids. It's early but issues have to be addressed and corrected right away for the season to be anywhere near successful.

Kuroda off tomorrow. Great. What better way to start the season than with what could easily turn into a long term injury. Remember last season when Furcal first started feeling back pain? At first it was expected he would play the next day, then it was three days, then a week, then two weeks, then the whole damn season. So when they say its no big deal I take it with a grain of salt. That dude will be out for awhile and I am not a huge fan or Stultz but what do I know? I'm just a fan.

Well i'll be honest...

I didn't watch the game today. I have company visiting so I am behaving like a good host who pays attention to his guests and takes them places. Although, so far, all we've done was eat in n out, sleep, eat delicious breakfast and sleep some more. Anyway, missing games is acceptable with this fancy new tv system we got. FIOS, has baseball on demand, so if I miss a game, no biggie.

Currently watching the replay, unimpressed by Clayton's stuff. This kid still can't seem to get consistent control of his curve ball and needs a stronger changeup. You can't survive in the majors these days with two pitches.

I think its good for the relief to get a little lit up in a game. This gives them an opportunity to watch some video on what they did wrong against a crappy team. This way, when they come up against a stronger hitting team they will have had a chance to correct mistakes so they don't get Hiroshima'd by the offense.

New game tomorrow, heading to AZ. I guess they will miss Brandon Webb....well, I can't say they'll miss him....


Til then, cheers, folks.

Set rivalries aside, folks

Its a sad day in baseball, and a sad day in general for not only fans of MLB but the family of Nick Adenhart as well as the entire staff at the Anaheim Angels.

Full story.

In short it was a hit n run in Fullerton and two others will killed along with Adenhart.

Days like today, we, baseball fans, should set aside the rivalries and just enjoy the game, for the sake of every kid who dreamt of being a ball player and especially for this kid.

A sad day, but let's enjoy the day, for Nick's memory.

Cheers, folks.

Who needs Monet when you have Mann-et?

Yes, Charlie said that. Embarrassing, to hear them say shit like that but i'll live.

Missed a good part of the game due to traveling to the airport but was tuned in the whole way there. Unfortunately the only station I could get clear reception on was the San Diego broadcast, so no Charlie and Rick. Oh well.

VICTORY!!

I was particularly excited, driving down PCH listening to the call when Manny nearly went yard with rabbits on base. Must have been really exciting to watch.

Anyway, 2-1 record, go blue, more to come. Now, I am gonna spend some time with my special lady friend, visiting from outta town. Yay.

Idea

I think at the beginning of each game we will discuss Vin's fancy wool suits. I can only imagine the closet those things come out of.