The Trolley Dodger

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!

Thank you!

Sincerely,
A Dodger Fan

P.S. Go Cubbies!

An undignified last game of the season with the Giants, but at least the Dodgers won the final series and posted a winning record for the season. Bright spots in an otherwise gloomy fortnight, with mounting losses and the public airing of dirty laundry. To paraphrase TS Eliot, this is the way the season ends, not with a bang but a whimper.

I got a voicemail from my friend Alex the other day saying, “I for one am cheering for the Cubbies.” I’ll have to echo that sentiment, and I will feel even better if the Rockies manage to beat the Padres in tomorrow’s one-game playoff. With that and the Mets’ debacle, I’ll be able to reach some measure of acceptance about the season.

Looking forward to next year, there’s already a cord or two of firewood outside ready for the Hot Stove. I can think of at least one or two targets for signing or trades this winter. Why not dream big?

(Speaking of dead wood, how about that stellar defensive work at second base by Wilson Valdez the past few days?)

Anyhow, congratulations to the Dodgers on the season record, and let’s hope the hard lessons of 2007 turn into better results in 2008.

The blurry picture above was taken exactly one year ago today, at 11:07:55 PM on September 18th, 2006. My camera was on extreme zoom. Myself and thousands of my new closest friends were on extreme zoom, too. My wife Denyse, stepson Hans, and friend Alex were yelling and screaming next to me.

Nomar Garciaparra had just hit a walk-off homer in the 10th inning of the most amazing game any of us had ever seen. The picture-blur approximates what I was seeing right then rather well, as I was wiping away tears at the time.

This was before the days of the Trolley Dodger blog, when I was writing Dodger content for my Celsius1414.com website, so my reaction to the game appears there in an article simply titled “11-10″.

Inner Reserve, Section 20, Row U, Seats 1-4. Jumping up and down, hollering, high-fiving everyone around us. Music blaring, crowd roaring louder and louder, white uniforms clustered around homeplate…

As we come down to another NL West photo finish in 2007, I can’t help but think back to the heady emotions of that night.

It’s amazing to think of the actors involved:

• Of the four 9th-inning home-run hitters (Jeff Kent, JD Drew, Russell Martin, and Marlon Anderson), only two are still on the team.
• The Dodger pitcher who gave up a run in the top of the 10th, Aaron Sele, is no longer on the team.
• Kenny Lofton, who got on base in the bottom of the 9th and was subsequently brought home by Nomar’s blast, is no longer on the team.

Those flashbacks I talked about in “11-10″ still happen if I think back to that night. As I wrote then:

I remember screaming “NOMAR!” over and over. Some unintelligible hooting. Occasionally, I threw a “DODGERS!” in. I don’t remember much else except that the walk back to the car was more of a floating hover as fans yelled and honked at each other.

In the car, we would hear Nomar interviewed, spending more time talking about his teammates than himself, more time talking about the 9th inning heroics than his 10th inning miracle.

But the image that will perhaps stick with me the longest, a moment that happened simultaneous to the picture above, was of Vin Scully giving the boys a standing ovation from the press box.

That gives me chills even now.

“Tomko could give Padres options” says MLB.com.

I called it, too:

Want to lay odds on the Padres or Mets picking up Brett?

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.

Tuesday night, the Giants lost their 63rd game of the season to the Washington Nationals. Their Elimination Number[1] stands at 37.

On April 8, 1974, the Atlanta Braves beat the LA Dodgers.

[1] “…the combined number of wins (by the first place team) and losses (by the trailing team) that will eliminate the trailing team from winning the division.”