The Trolley Dodger

The Lakers are hiring former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown to succeed Phil Jackson, according to multiple media reports.

Welcome to LA!

Dodgers.com: “Suspect in Stow beating reportedly in custody”

One of the two men suspected of attacking Giants fan Bryan Stow at Dodgers Stadium on Opening Day was taken into custody early Sunday, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The Los Angeles Police Department’s SWAT team descended on an East Hollywood apartment building with guns drawn and a warrant in hand around 7 a.m. PT.

Among those removed from the targeted apartment was a man with a bald head and tattoos on his neck and arms — matching the sketches released by police in the weeks after Stow’s beating.

Last July, I wrote a post here documenting the Midseason Malaise both the Dodgers and myself found ourselves in. An excerpt:

When an activity that is normally an escape from the depressing parts of existence becomes itself depressing…well, what is there to write about? Especially if you’re not one to tear down your favorite team for the sake of talking about something. There’s a surfeit of commenters online, not to mention talk show hosts and callers, who like nothing more than to kvetch 24/7 about the smallest Dodger problems, never mind the major issues — they don’t need any help from me.

Here we are, a mere few weeks into the 2011 season, and the malaise is already upon us. Except that this year, the depressing news applies to the Lakers as well. Things turned ugly last night. Real ugly. No amount of seeing writing on the wall the last month of the Laker season could forewarn us that the writing would end with a string of profanities.

(As mixed as the Dodger season has been so far, the Boys in Blue haven’t been acting like the Purple and Gold. The team, however, has had its own ugliness to deal with.)

Things are also not exactly like the (newly re-minted) Silver and Black, with a string of heartbreaking losses in their playoff series versus the Sharks. The season is still young.

No, we have ownership issues. Such issues. And now with no historical hitting streak to distract us from the latest bad news, I joked to friends of mine that I was thinking of giving up watching the local teams and switching to World News so I can cheer up a little.

As the Lakers and Kings were gearing up for their playoff runs earlier this year, I was pondering expanding the Trolley Dodger into more of an LA sports blog rather than just the Dodgers. Lakers and Kings, sure, not to mention the suddenly intriguing Clippers, the “5th-sport” teams Galaxy and Chivas USA, and the reportedly inevitable return of an NFL team to LA. Now, I’m not so sure. If all the bad news keeps up, I’m going to need intensive therapy to get over my sports depression.

I do have a summer to get over the 2010-11 Lakers and Kings, and hopefully the 2011 Dodgers will put it all together during that same period. And it’s not as if there is no good Dodger news. Ethier and Kemp are carrying the team, and despite the bullpen woes, our starters are doing pretty well. New manager Don Mattingly has been impressive enough for a rookie. There might even be a pot of gold at the end of the McCourt rainbow. As usual, patience is called for. Lots and lots of patience.

Besides, I’m not desperate enough for World News yet.

Oh, this is a tough one. Rest in Peace to Duke, and our condolences to his family. From the Dodgers Press Release:

Dodger Hall of Fame outfielder Duke Snider passed away this morning at the age of 84 at the Valle Vista Convalescent Hospital in Escondido, Calif.

Born Edwin Donald Snider in Los Angeles, CA on Sept. 19, 1926, Snider was among the game’s most feared hitters during his 16 seasons with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers (1947-1962), playing on a pair of World Championship teams (1955 and 1959) and in six World Series overall.

The seven-time All-Star center fielder ranks as the franchise’s all-time leader in home runs (389) and runs batted in (1,271) and during the 1950s, he topped all Major Leaguers with 326 homers and 1,031 RBI. He slugged four home runs in both the 1952 and 1955 World Series.

From a previous Trolley Dodger post, here’s Duke on the classic What’s My Line? show just after the Dodgers move to Los Angeles:

Kobe had this awesome quote after the Lakers’ 115-57 beat-down of the Cavaliers the other night, responding to a reporter asking if he had any sympathy for the Cleveland players:

“None. You forget who you’re talking to.”

That brings to mind another quote by a Los Angeles great, this one from Sandy Koufax after his 1962 no-hitter against the Mets:

“To win. Nothing else matters, and nothing else will do.”

We need that instinct at Dodger Stadium again.