The Trolley Dodger

We had the opportunity to see Jason Schmidt pitch his rehab start tonight at San Bernardino. It was also Armed Forces Night, so there was a Dodger Camo Hat giveaway and several flybys from a Blackhawk helicopter. It also hovered over the outfield during “God Bless America” and the National Anthem, sending the warning track up in great boiling dust clouds and rendering the music, well, moot with the noise.

Still, a cool moment. As was seeing Jason Schmidt walking out to the mound, wearing #7 on his 66ers uniform. He got a nice round of applause as he was announced.

It was hot in San Berdoo, with a high over 100, which I imagine didn’t make the job any easier. Schmidt looked like he was doing pretty darn well, apart from a brief moment in the 2nd when either Schmidt was having trouble finding the strike zone, or the ump was.

He went 2.1 innings, giving up only one single and one walk, with no runs, three Ks, three flyouts, and one groundout on a difficult comebacker that hit him pretty hard in the 1st inning.

He had to spin around for a moment to find the ball, but still managed to throw the man out at first. Schmidt didn’t seem to be any worse for wear after the ball hit him, or at least he wasn’t letting on if it was. As he walked off, Eduardo Perez looked like he was asking him how he was, and Schmidt nodded and waved his glove as if to say “No problem.”

We left after the Lake Elsinore Storm put up six runs in the 4th, but according to the box score, the 66ers managed to pull out an 8-7 victory in the bottom of the 9th.

Appropriately on Mother’s Day, today’s lineup is mostly a bunch of kids. :)

1. Pierre, LF (Age 30)
2. Ethier, RF (Age 26)
3. Kemp, CF (Age 23)
4. Loney, 1B (Age 24)
5. Martin, C (Age 25)
6. DeWitt, 3B (Age 22)
7. Young, 2B (Age 25)
8. Hu, SS (Age 24)
9. Kuroda, P (Age 33)

And speaking of kids, how about the 66ers destroying the JetHawks last night to the tune of 25-1, 10 of which were in the 9th inning? Yikes!

In the midst of an article on MiLB.com on prospects who have made the leap to the bigs, is this tidbit on Cory Wade:

Cory Wade, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers

CALLED UP: Recalled from Double-A Jacksonville on April 24 when infielder Blake DeWitt was sent down.

DEBUT: April 24 in a 6-4 loss to Arizona. The last of four pitchers, he tossed one hitless inning, striking out one and hitting shortstop Stephen Drew with a pitch.

NOTES: Originally a 10th-round pick in 2004 out of Kentucky Wesleyan, Wade put himself on the Dodgers’ map in 2007 when he posted a 2.45 ERA at Class A Advanced Inland Empire and a 1.36 ERA at Jacksonville, striking out 100 in 99 innings while walking just 28 and limiting hitters to below a .200 average. His strong Arizona Fall League showing earned him a spot on the 40-man roster and made it easier to call him up from the Suns bullpen when an extra reliever was needed.

Hey, if you missed out on the 50th Anniversary Dodger Blanket Giveaway last night at Dodger Stadium, fret not. With a little driving and luck, you can grab one at the Inland Empire 66ers game this Saturday:

The Dodgers and 66ers have teamed up to allow the fans of the Inland Empire to show that they really are true blue fans. The first 2,000 people through the gates on Saturday, April 19th at Arrowhead Credit Union Park in San Bernardino will receive a free Dodgers blanket!

Last season the 66ers also gave away a Los Angeles Dodgers blanket and fans came out in flocks! A line of fans snaked around the the stadium with the truest of blue fans lining up as early as 3:30 that afternoon.

They’re playing the High Desert Mavericks, who have replaced the 66ers as the Seattle Mariners’ High A affiliate.

Update: Looks like they should do Blanket Night more often!

The starting pitcher for Inland Empire, Tim Sexton dominated the Mavericks offense for six perfect innings. In a somewhat controversial decision to strictly follow the pitch count, 66ers manager Henry Cruz decided to take Sexton (2-2) out of the game before the seventh inning. Paul Koss pitched the next two innings, and while he did allow three Mavericks to reach base, he kept the no hitter in tact. The three runners that reached base got there on an error and two walks. The ninth inning, and the no-hit bit, was put in the hands of Francisco Felix who started off the inning strong with a strikeout. The chance for a no-hitter ended however when the Mavericks shortstop and highly touted prospect Carlos Triunfel knocked a sharp ground ball to the right side that was too hot for the first baseman Eduardo Perez to handle. Felix would end up striking out the side in the inning, which was little consolation for losing the bid at the no-hitter.

The 66ers have announced the opening day (Thursday) roster for the team.

66ers fans should remember the names and familiar faces of Ryan Rogowski, Gabriel Gutierrez, Drew Locke, Jordan Pratt, Javy Guerra, Alberto Bastardo and Brent Leach. Those seven players spent the 2007 season strictly with Inland Empire.

Other players that spent some time with the Dodgers advanced “A” affiliate last year include Josh Bell, Cody White, Jesus Rodriguez, Francisco Felix, David Pfeiffer, Garrett White, Bridger Hunt and Jaime Pedroza.

There are 12 players getting their first taste of being a 66ers.

View complete roster.

The Press-Enterprise has an article on Inland SoCal preparations for the eminent California League baseball season: “Workers scramble to ready Inland area’s minor league ballparks for play”, including various tidbits from the 66ers staff.

“It’s like a beehive here,” said Loren Foxx, general manager of the San Bernardino-based Inland Empire 66ers.

Opening night is Thursday, when his team will take the field against the Visalia Oaks.

“In order to get the field ready, our groundskeeper has been seeding it and treating it,” Foxx said. “We had some high school games out here the other night. During one of the games, we had hail.

“We’re standing on the pitcher’s mound, my assistant general manager and I, putting down sandbags to hold the tarp down. … If you play in the rain, you get brown footprints on the grass from the mud,” he said.

Gah! Looks like our potential starting 3rd baseman is down for the count. According to Tony Jackson:

[Andy LaRoche] has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb and will need surgery, which Ned said will take place in the next couple of days, probably in Los Angeles.

8-10 weeks is the word at the moment. Nomar’s been playing well, so thank goodness for that. Just have to figure out who the backup is.

On a nicer note, catcher Lucas May is getting some positive attention thanks to his performance this spring. We used to watch him catch 66ers games, so it’s awesome to see him get recognition.

Check out “Minor League Report: Lucas May” on MLB.com:

This is Lucas May’s first Major League camp and second Spring Training as a catcher, but he’s already starting to draw comparisons to Russell Martin.

Like Martin, May is a former infielder. Drafted as a shortstop, he was sent to the outfield before being moved behind the plate last year. He’s quickly become one of the best catching prospects in the organization, in part because of the power he showed while slugging 25 homers for Class A Inland Empire.

Another former 66er doing well is Ivan DeJesus Jr.:

Ivan DeJesus Jr. was plucked out of early Minor League camp to play in two Major League exhibition games, and he even started a split-squad game at shortstop when Rafael Furcal was nursing a strained hamstring. DeJesus went 2-for-3 with a double. He was a second-round Draft pick and is the son of former Dodger Ivan DeJesus.

We have a rule: never ignore players with Russian first names and Latino surnames.

Bummer! Looks like the Padres have picked up Randy Wolf on a one-year, incentive-packed deal. I can understand why the Dodgers didn’t want to risk depending on Wolf’s health for another season, but it’s still a bummer — seemed like a nice guy. And from the Padres perspective, probably worth the risk; helps to have Jake Peavy and Chris Young at the top of your rotation, of course, when it comes to risk-taking.

Previously on Trolley Dodger:

• Randy Wolf rehab at Inland Empire
• Randy Wolf rehab photos

Congratulations to the Inland Empire 66ers, who last night clinched a California League playoff birth:

The Inland Empire 66ers took an important step toward their sixth California League title, clinching a spot in next week’s playoffs with a 2-1 win over the Stockton Ports. The Sixers, who entered the night with a magic number of two, also benefitted from the High Desert Mavericks’ 2-1 win over the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, a loss that officially eliminated the Quakes from playoff contention. Inland Empire currently sits one game behind the Lake Elsinore Storm in the battle for the #2 seed in the South Division playoffs.

According to the Inland Empire 66ers radio broadcast earlier this evening, 2B Travis Denker has been sent to the San Francisco Giants organization as the Player To Be Named Later in the Mark Sweeney deal.