The Trolley Dodger

That bright light outdoors must mean that Spring has officially sprung and the sounds of baseball are in the air.

Yes, this is not news to most online fans, those who have been religiously following and commenting on every last organizational wiggle since the end of the 2009 season. Having been one of those bloggers and one of those fans in off-seasons past, I had to take a step back this time around. A sort of palate cleansing, if you will.

After the McCourts’ implosion news threatened to turn the 2010 baseball season into a year-long episode of Divorce Court, I took a mental step back from MLB and turned my attention to the Lakers’ title defense, the Kings’ rebuilding plan coming to fruition, World Cup 2010 preparations, and Landon Donovan’s successful run with Everton FC.

Which is not to say I haven’t been keeping up on Dodger developments.

Storylines I’m especially curious about at the moment:

• The Eric Gagné Experiment, now moved to the minor league camp.
• Just how awesomely lethal the Kemp-Ethier combo could be this year.
• Just how awesomely lethal the Kershaw-Billingsley combo could be this year.
• Whether Furcal is as revitalized as he thinks he is.
• Where James McDonald winds up pitching, and whether he’s starting or relieving.
• Is Ramon Ortiz for real?
• What’s the severity of Kuo’s current elbow injury?
• Whither Belisario?
• What’s up with Russell Martin?
• Will the revised Union Station -> Dodger Stadium shuttle stick this time around?
• What does Garrett Anderson have in the tank?

So, with my baseball batteries recharged, I can finally relax a bit, look forward to the Spring’s first hot dog at the first ball game, and feel excited about the Dodgers again. :)

Congrats!

Belated congratulations to Jon Weisman and Tony Jackson for their respective moves to ESPN Los Angeles. Not to mention blogger Bob Timmermann joining LA Observed. Much success to them all!

Finally, an especial congratulations and thanks to Trolley-favorite Nomar Garciaparra, who recently announced his retirement. Thanks for the classiness, the carne asada, and the memories.

Somehow I missed the announcement, but there’s a new official Dodgers blog, Inside Dodgertown.

Dodger webisodes provide an inside look at your beloved Dodgers from anywhere in the world – the world of Dodgertown.

This is awesome, as I’ve been wishing for an easier way to keep track of new videos on the site.

We have a scary, scary lineup.

• Furcal SS – S
• Hudson 2B – S
• Manny LF – R
• Ethier RF – L
• Kemp CF – R
• Martin C – R
• Loney 1B – L
• Blake 3B – R

Jon over at Dodger Thoughts posted a handy guide to the Dodgers’ pitching situation 2004-2009, showing that the current staff is not as iffy as it might seem.

Still, you can never have too much pitching depth. With that in mind, I’d like to echo others’ suggestion for one more Dodger pre-season move* — let us undo the great wrong perpetrated upon us and sign Pedro Martinez.

And with our long national nightmare at last at an end, just think of the Pedro/Manny reunion!

Unfortunately, it looks like Nomar won’t be in on the fun. More on this later.

* What’s up with re-signing Joe Beimel?

Anybody notice this?

“Roaming Center with Andruw”

Excerpt from the last entry:

Fun is over, time for work

Andruw_1 It was fun, but it’s over now. Time to really get ready for the season. We got in our two games, got the chance to see a country I never thought I would ever see. We didn’t have a lot of time, but it’s something I’ll never forget. I didn’t do as much as a lot of other guys. Last night, I didn’t leave the hotel. I went to the lobby and bought a drink for everybody and shut it down. I don’t miss on getting my sleep. I was out of the hotel at 7:30 this morning, got to the clubhouse early and started stretching.