The Trolley Dodger

The Daily Mirror blog has yet another cool historical Dodgers moment, today from June 1st, 1968 (a mere 40 years ago). Don Drysdale was going for an NL record five shutouts in a row, and to add to the fun it was against the Giants:

The Giants loaded the bases with no outs. Drysdale hit Dick Dietz with a 2-2 fastball, seemingly the end of the shutout streak. But umpire Harry Wendlestedt said Dietz didn’t try to get out of the way and called the pitch a ball. After Manager Herman Franks was thrown out in the ensuing and inevitable argument, Dietz hit a shot fly to left and the runners held….

As usual, Keith Thursby included a shot of the original Times sports page with the whole story. I love that headline at the top: “Franks Disputes Record, Calls Umpire Gutless”.

After last night’s game, I realize my Dodgers to-do list needs some amending, viz.,

1. Avoid spotting the other team any runs in the 1st inning, particularly when playing against their ace, but really any time would be bad. (Giving up five runs in the 7th and 8th is bad too, but first things first.)
2. Figure out what the hitting part of the lineup is doing right and make the other half do it too. If that means sitting the slumping Andruw Jones for three games so he goes 3-5 with a triple like Matt Kemp did last night, so be it.

Doing our thought experiment, here’s the line as played:

LAD 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 1   5  11 1
AZ  3 0 2 0 0 0 4 1 X   10 12 0

And if the first inning hadn’t happened:

LAD 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 1
AZ  0 0 2 0 0 0 4 1 X

LAD 5 AZ 7

A brief Dodgers to-do list.

1. Avoid spotting the other team four runs in the 1st inning, particularly when playing against their ace. See: Peavy, J. and Haren, D.
2. Figure out what the hitting part of the lineup is doing right and make the other half do it too.

Do those two things, and we’re golden.

Update

To illustrate my point, check out the line for the two examples mentioned:

LAD 000 100 000   1 2  0
SD  400 000 00X   4 10 0

LAD 000 102 000   3 8  1
AZ  400 001 31X   9 12 1

Now imagine those 1st innings hadn’t happened.

LAD 000 100 000
SD  000 000 000

LAD 1 SD 0

LAD 000 102 000
AZ  000 001 31X

LAD 3 AZ 5

Point being, we still would have been in the game despite going up against Peavy and Haren.

I can’t remember who it was last season who said this, but it makes a lot of sense: “You’re trying to win series.” Impossible to win every game, but if you can take two of three more often than not…

Yes, it’s early in the year, but the fact that we just took two out of three from the division-rival Padres against their crazy-good top starters is important for the Dodgers. Winning close games like this make a big difference at the end of the year. It’s only the second series, but it’s huge. And this with several of our best hitters slumping. Imagine when they get it together!

As a side note, yesterday’s loss against Peavy didn’t bother me too much:

1. It’s freaking Peavy. He’s Satan.
2. If Penny hadn’t broken down in the first, it would have been a close game all the way. Who knows what could have happened?

As thinkblue0 pointed out over on Dodger Thoughts,

we have to be pretty excited about a 4-2 start when four of the six we faced Cain, Lincecum, Peavy, and Young.

Yes, yes we do.

The Marlins have put infielder Jose Castillo on waivers. He’s got stellar defense and is cheap, having signed a $650,000 contract with the Marlins to compete with Jorge Cantu for Miguel Cabrera’s old 3B position. He wouldn’t need to step in and drive the entire offense, just keep things together until Andy LaRoche gets healthy. Plus he could spell Jeff Kent at 2B.

Ignoring last year when the Pirates futzed with him, his stats seem decent enough for the price.

Do the Dodgers wait out the 72-hour waiver to see if the Marlins drop him, or do they work out a trade to make sure they get him? Do they even want him?

Update: So much for that: “Giants Claim Jose Castillo”

Dodger Stadium, sometime in the 2008 season. Barry Zito on the mound. Rafael Furcal is on first base. Andruw Jones at the plate. The tension mounts. Everybody knows what’s about to happen. It’s just a matter of when…

…and while they don’t show it, I think the sound the crowd makes afterward tells the story. :)

MLB 08 The Show for PS3 is looking kinda spiffy. More videos here

I happened to come across Flickr user oldballparks today thanks to a photo of Ebbets Field in the 1950s (above). At the moment, there are not quite 50 photos posted of various teams and ballparks, including a few others from Dodger history: Washington Park (home of the Superbas), the LA Coliseum, and the 1912 Brooklyn Dodgers team photo.

But of especial coolness are a series showing Ebbets Field under construction and brand-spanking new:

• Ebbets field under construction, 1913
• Ebbets Field, March 20, 1913
• Ebbets Field just after opening, 1913
• First game at Ebbets Field, April 5, 1913

Meanwhile, up here in the 21st Century, Flickr user eleveline has a set of pics from yesterday’s historical game versus the Padres in Beijing, China.

The Dodgers sure have come a long way.

It’s been a weird few days in Dodger land. First off, of course, Joe Torre is still our manager — I keep forgetting, then I remember and utter a Keanu-like “Whoa.” But even stranger were the MLB headlines the past couple of days, where you could see simultaneously:

• Eric Gagne signs with Brewers.
• Milton Bradley signs with Rangers.
• Paul Lo Duca signs with Nationals.
• Randy Wolf signs with Padres.
• Andruw Jones signs with Dodgers.

Surreal.

The latest news is Jeff Kent finally got around to telling the Dodgers he was coming back. Oh, and we might have won the Hiroki Kuroda sweepstakes, according to various media reports. My favorite is Tony Jackson’s “Kuroda update: He’s leaving on a jet plane”,

A non-stop flight from Tokyo to Los Angeles, to be exact, and due to land at LAX at 9:30 tomorrow morning, from what I understand. That could mean one of two things. One, that he changed his mind yet again and decided to go ahead with his recruiting trip to Seattle and Los Angeles. Or, more likely, that he has decided to sign with the Dodgers. Sounds like this is really close to happening.

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 Colorado Rockies, winners of the 2007 National League Pennant!