The Trolley Dodger

Today (11/12/11) marks the fifth anniversary of the Trolley Dodger — this is the date back in 2006 that I registered the domain and prepared to move the baseball/Dodgers portion of my blogging from my primary site, celsius1414.com, to its own home. Here’s the very first post that day.

Thanks to everybody who have been around the last five years, especially my fellow Dodger bloggers. A big thanks as well to the team and its PR department, who have been open-arms with online fans and writers.

This has been a trying year to be a Dodger fan and, at least in my case, a Dodger blogger. I’m looking very much forward to the changes (ownership and otherwise) to come in the next few months, not to mention the hopefully swift recovery of a legendary franchise.

Thanks for reading!

A hearty ¡Bienvenidos! to the new Dodgers blog en español, Frecuencia Dodgers, part of the ESPN Deportes Los Angeles website. This fits in perfectly with my plans to reclaim my college Spanish. :)

While you’re at it, don’t forget Losdodgers.com. ¡Es tiempo para Dodgers Béisbol!

Friend of Trolley Dodger, editor of the Daily Mirror blog at the LA Times, and all-around nice guy Larry Harnisch honored for heroism. Well done, Larry!

“D.A. honors three Good Samaritans for courageous acts”

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley honored two Good Samaritans on Wednesday for intervening during a 2007 assault on a woman in front of the Pasadena police station and a young boy for assisting authorities in a separate gang murder case.

Quoleshna Elbert, 31, and Larry Harnisch, 58, a Los Angeles Times copy editor, were given Courageous Citizen Awards during a ceremony at the Pasadena Hilton. The award honors those who act at “considerable personal risk to help a victim, capture a suspect or who have testified in court.” [...]

Elbert was on her way to church when she saw a woman being beaten by her ex-husband as her children looked on from the father’s car. She tried to stop the attack by hitting him with her purse and a Bible.

Harnisch was driving to church when he saw the attack, stopped his car and intervened, putting himself between the attacker and the victim, who had been beaten unconscious. The woman survived but suffered permanent injuries.

The actions of the pair — and their court testimony — helped prosecutors convict the man of attempted voluntary manslaughter, aggravated mayhem and torture. He was sentenced to six years to life in prison.

Well played, @FakeAPStylebook and @sosgsosg! ;)

On Twitter? Follow @trolleydodger today!

Oh, and I guess it’s probably a good thing I didn’t stay home to watch the Dodgers’ opening game today. Yikes. No high five.

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.