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”.

The AP is reporting that Mike Piazza has decided to retire.

“After discussing my options with my wife, family and agent, I felt it is time to start a new chapter in my life,” he said in a statement released by his agent, Dan Lozano. “It has been an amazing journey.”

Except, he’s usually in right field and isn’t named Jones or Pierre.

Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers named Bank of America Presents the National League Player of the Week:

Kemp led the National League with 11 RBI and six stolen bases and tied for the league-lead with 11 hits. The 23-year-old right fielder hit .407 (11-27) with four doubles, seven runs scored, a slugging percentage of .556 and an on-base percentage of .433. On May 2nd at Colorado, Kemp hit two 2-RBI doubles leading the Dodgers to an 11-6 victory and their seventh consecutive win. He recorded four multi-hit games and three multi-RBI games and hit safely in all six games played. This marks the first time that Matt has won weekly honors, and it is the first time that a Dodger has captured this recognition since Andre Ethier won in July 2006.

Interestingly, this award itself was the recipient of the “Double Meat Whataburger-with-Cheese Most Awkwardly Named Award Award.”

Nothing like some good months-early rumor mongering covering both coasts. MLB Trade Rumors points to a Boston Herald article on the subject, “Free to decide: Players on the open market”…

Now in the final season of a four-year, $36 million contract he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers after the 2004 season, Lowe will be a free agent again in the fall. While there are already indications that the New York Yankees will be among Lowe’s suitors during the offseason, the pitcher will have a most obvious strength when it comes time to sit at the bargaining table: Durability.

And since he wouldn’t have to pitch in Coors Field, he’d be just fine, I’m sure. ;)

AB R H  2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO  AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS
45 5 10 3  0  0   6  0  0  3  8  .222 .308 .289 .597
40 3 7  1  0  1   2  0  0  6  11 .175 .283 .275 .558
41 4 6  2  0  0   4  1  0  7  11 .146 .271 .195 .466
43 6 3  0  0  1   3  0  0  9  10 .070 .231 .140 .370
40 3 4  1  0  0   1  0  0  6  14 .100 .217 .125 .342

(See below.)

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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