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.

Let’s say you’re the GM of the non-existent MLB franchise Poughkeepsie Pachyderms. In this alternate universe, you have a 24-year-old Roy Halladay and a 21-year-old Cliff Lee at the top of your pitching rotation, with three serviceable pitchers in the other spots. The Pachyderms have these two aces under contract for five years at cheap prices. They are already good, and they will only improve. Virtually everyone who has scouted the pair raves about where they are at for their ages, not to mention their amazing potential.

Why in the name of all that is holy would you trade either of these young guns to get a 31-year-old pitcher who will cost you over $10 million a year? Oh, and he’s only yours for one full season and part of another, with no guarantees he’ll stick around after that.

The Dodgers are in that position right now with Chad Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw. Why would we trade either one of our aces, both of whom will otherwise be in Dodger Blue (and cheap) for years?

They are both good right now, whether you go by stats or by observation. They both will likely be great by next year.

Yes, Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee are awesome pitchers. It would be killer to have either one of them in Dodger Blue. But if getting one of them costs us Bills or Clayton, the price is too high. Why trade for one or two years’ worth of increased chances for the World Series when we could have five years’ (or more!) worth of increased chances?

Doesn’t make sense to me, and I’ll bet it doesn’t make sense to Dodger management either.

Now Roy or Cliff plus Bills and Kershaw as the 1-3?

Heh heh heh. [evil laugh]

So I made my way downstairs last night after the final out, taking the infamous elevator — nowhere near as slow as I was expecting based on Tony Jackson’s stories ;) — from level 5 where the press box and suites are to level 1, which is where the Dugout Club, clubhouse, and field access are. I was heading for Joe Torre’s office, where he always does a brief media post-game Q&A.

With all the fans leaving, the elevator headed up to the top before going down again. Russell Martin Sr. happened to get on the same time I did, but he was on the other side of the large car, so I didn’t have a chance to talk to him. He had a bemused expression on his face, listening to all the fans’ conversations.

Before the game, I had come down to the first level to head out on the field for batting practice. Now there was a roped-off line in front of the Dugout Club where fans were crowding, hoping for an autograph or just a glimpse of the Dodgers as they left. I walked past and through a pair of closed double doors, down a hallway to where a guard was stationed at a sort of lectern, double-checked with him that the clubhouse was open, then through another pair of double doors and another long hallway full of boxes, baseball equipment, and miscellaneous items. The actual door to the locker room was a little ways down, and I approached uncertainly.

The locker room was a lot smaller than I expected. Just beyond were the sinks and showers, and various Dodgers were here and there preparing to leave. To my right stood first-base coach Mariano Duncan, and I asked him where Joe’s office was — he pointed out a doorway nearby.

Just past it was the rack you might have seen before, with the five bats representing the five NL West teams, arranged in the order they are in the division, Dodgers currently on top. Then to the right of that I heard the familiar voices of Fox Sports West’s Michael Eaves and manager Joe Torre. Inside his office, I placed myself amidst the reporters and held out my voice recorder.

In the first audio file — joe01.mp3, 1:16 — you’ll hear Eaves asking his last question about Cole Hamels, then Joe’s answer, then one of the other media members asking about infield placement at a particular point in the game, and another answer. Torre had a cold, I believe, so you’ll hear them wish him well.

Suddenly everyone had left the office, and there I was alone with a recorder in my hand and Joe Torre sitting in front of me.

Luckily, I had prepared a pair of questions just in case I had the opportunity, so in the second file — joe02.mp3, 1:07 — you’ll hear me nervously asking him about Kershaw’s performance, then (knowing he’s a big horse racing fan and horse owner) asking for his prediction in the Belmont Stakes this weekend. Great answers, by the way. :)

I thanked him, told him I hoped he felt better, and left, heading back to the locker room in a daze.

More later.

More in depth after game, as ipod touchscreen makes lengthy writing hard. Lineup for tonight:

• Pierre
• Furcal
• Hudson
• Blake
• Loney
• Martin
• Ethier
• Kemp
• Kershaw

6:11p

Smell of cooking Dodger Dogs wafting in from below. Mustn’t cheer. ;)

Phillies taking BP. Was on field for Dodger BP earlier — a wonderfully surreal experience. Ken Levine of Dodger Talk radio show told me going on the field never gets old. I believe him.

6:17 pm

Phillies lineup:

• Rollins
• Utley
• Werth
• Howard
• Ibanez
• Feliz
• Bruntlett
• Ruiz
• Hamels

Next time I’m bringing a laptop. ;)

6:27 pm

Scuttlebutt saying Glavine not in Dodgers immediate plans. Anonymous sources!

6:35

When Fernando Valenzuela walks by in wraparound shades and snappy shirt, it’s hard not to start doing a happy dance.

6:42

During BP earlier James Loney hit a bomb off Don Mattingly into the back of the visitors bullpen. This drew appreciative hoots and hollers from the rest of the team.

He was in a group with Orlando Hudson and Mark Loretta.

6:47

Nancy Bea on the organ. They should have an occasional all-organ game, with nothing but Nancy. :)

7:00

The anthem never knew what hit it.

Vin Scully sighting by entrance to media dining room! I picked a good time to refill my diet coke. ;)

Big heartfelt cheer from crowd for Juan Pierre and his player of the month award.

First pitch 7:10. 67 degrees. They announce it in press box.

7:15

Kershaw a wee bit off but infield takes care of it.

7:21

Fair number of Phillie fans here based on cheers after that double play.

7:35

Graphic on board showing 7 Dodgers 25 and under.

And a nice hit for hustling Loney. Hamels couldn’t get over in time.

…for naught as Russ hits into double play.

7:44

Montage of Fernando highlights to the tune of ABBA’s “Fernando”. Then a huge cheer as they showed him in booth. Great moment.

7:49

No replay here, but I thought for sure Kershaw was safe. Close play. Shame, that was a nice solid hit.

Boy it’s hard not to react too much on big plays. Have to maintain decorum.

8:03

Huge cheer for Lakers score at end of 3rd quarter.

Chase Utley run on towering Sac Fly by towering Ryan Howard.

8:20

Phew! Escaped the top of the 5th with no damage done.

I keep thinking there’s cheering and clapping in the pressbox behind me, but it’s the fans in the seats right above us. :)

8:29

Nice run down of that fly ball by Pierre. Big cheer. Crowd loves Juan.

Furcal leaping just missed that liner.

8:33

Belisario up in bullpen.

8:39

Kershaw out. Time for a Dodger Dog. Or two.

8:49

Lakers final just announced. Another big cheer.

Dodgers threaten in 6th but nada.

Cory Wade into pitch.

8:57

A few fireworks went off prematurely over in direction of Think Blue sign. Happens to stadiums all the time, so don’t feel bad. ;)

The second base ump is missing a good game.

Phillies score again 3-0. Leach coming in to pitch, hopefully not belly itch.

9:03

Battery level warning just now but I’ll keep going as long as possible.

9:09

Hamels pitches thru 7th: 22 balls, 50 strikes, 72 total. Yikes.

After final out I’m headed to locker room.

9:15

G. Mota replacing Leach.

9:18

Don’t Stop Believing, sings Journey.

Crowd sings along, alternating with booing Phillie phans.

9:22

Man, thought that first Russ foul was out for sure.

Attendance 33,839.

9:26

One thing this season has taught us is to never give up, but Hamels has been pitching like a fiend. Has a CG shutout in hand if the bottom of the 9th goes as quietly as the rest of the game.

9:43

Oof. 97 pitches.

Thanks for following tonight. Back later.

It’s tough sometimes to describe to those who aren’t sports fans why grown men playing a game generates such passions. Aren’t there more important things in life?

As a baseball fan, though, the game becomes so ingrained with those important things that it becomes inseparable from them. Bluetopia, the new Dodgers DVD, puts a spotlight on that relationship by following a range of fans throughout the 2008 season.

The team was good enough to invite a few Dodger bloggers to the premiere in Hollywood last night, so I got the chance to rub elbows with a big crowd of folks either directly or indirectly related to the team. As Jon Weisman terms it, “While you’ll find all these people at different parts of Dodger Stadium at any given game, you’ll rarely find them assimilated as one cohesive group.”

Jon has a segment in the film as well, in which his embarrassment at getting lost on the way to stadium (you try answering questions on camera while driving — you’ll wind up in the LA River) is more than made up for by an unforgettable meeting with Vin Scully.

Players, executives, broadcasters, stadium employees, journalists, bloggers, and fans mingled before and after the film. It’s quite a surreal experience to be glancing around the crowded room and finding it full of people you recognize yet have never met. (See below for more photos.)

Bluetopia touts itself as a celebration of the 2008 season, and there was a lot to be covered in a highlights-packed year. Everything from the LA Coliseum game to the last pitch of the NLCS is at least touched on, but as director Timothy Marx said before the film started, this isn’t really about the Dodgers. The real stars of the film are the fans.

In one respect, the fan stories are what you might expect from a sports team documentary — a dying mother, a redeemed gang member, a father mourning his own father with the grand children, a boy seeing his first game. If the filmmakers hadn’t been careful, that sort of movie could easily have descended into the maudlin.

Thankfully, they did their job right, and the results are respectful portraits of the fans and their stories. That many of those featured were also in the theater for the premiere lent it a sort of family-movie feel, in a good way, as cheers went up in different part of the theater. Speaking of cheers and Vin Scully, the biggest were reserved for any time he showed up on screen. I might need to get the DVD just to hear what he said. ;)

The season and playoff highlights were cool as well, though the best parts were the behind-the-scenes stuff — players ambushing Joe Torre to douse him with champagne, Russell Martin welcoming Manny Ramirez with “Now we’ll be on SportsCenter. Boyyeee!” You can see the immediate effect Manny had on the locker room, literally as he walked into the room the first time.

Those looking for a hard-hitting investigative report a la 60 Minutes will be disappointed, but everything isn’t puppy dogs and rainbows. The 6-year-old’s first game is a loss, as is the redeemed gang member’s game. Twenty years since the 1988 win is mentioned multiple times, then the hopes and dreams of a World Series win are dashed again. Andruw Jones is shown, and a murmur of discontent ran through the audience at his first appearance.

You begin to feel almost sorry for the players having to carry the weight of all of these people: those who are dying and looking for relief, those fighting against the odds to stay on the straight and narrow, those little kids who live and die with every pitch. An entire city, millions of people, all with their own struggles and wishes, hoping against hope you will hit, throw, or catch a ball well. I know they make a lot of money to do those things, but if a guy has any empathy for his fellow humans, it must be hard to maintain your boundaries.

Yet in the end, the question of “Why Baseball is important?” is answered. Sure, it’s just a game. But it’s important because of the importance people invest in it. In other words, and as Yogi Berra might have said, it’s important because it’s important.

Thanks to Josh Rawitch and the rest of the Dodgers PR staff for the invitation. Also a tip of the cap to Son of Steve Garvey Alex Cora and the blogger from iSportsWeb whose name I missed (was it Ken Steinhorn?) — we formed a knot at the end of the blue carpet and managed to get some cool photograph opportunities. I got what might be my favorite autograph, Dodger organist Nancy Bea Hefley. :)

Sorry I missed Phil Gurnee of True Blue LA. His review is up, “BlueTopia – Were the best parts left on the cutting room floor?”

Matt Kemp

Vanessa Fayd, Matt Kemp, and Landon Heying of True Blue Tattoo

Clayton Kershaw

Andre Ethier