The Trolley Dodger

Congratulations to the New York Yankees on their 27th world championship. Nice job inaugurating the new stadium.

And while I can’t say I was too sad by the looks of disappointment on the Phillies’ faces ;) congrats to them as well for a hard-fought battle and a great year.

Now the off season can commence. Not that there’s anything going on in LA this time around. Should be real quiet in the Dodger world. Yep. Real quiet.

Until 1955, the Brooklyn Dodgers had gone through a long series of near-misses at World Series glory, coming close but not close enough. It became a running theme and spawned a team slogan: “Wait ’til next year!” Next year finally did show up, but it was a long wait.

The Yankees were the Dodgers’ perennial opponents when they made it to the series back then, so the Bombers losing it in 1955 to the Bums made it even sweeter. Putting it in video-game terms for the younger set, they were the final boss that it took forever to beat. This was one of the reasons I was hoping for a Yankee-Dodger World Series this year.

Apart from the wrenching disappointment the past week, and a few issues here and there, the 2009 season has been more of a joy to follow than not. On a personal level, having the opportunity to attend the Bluetopia premiere, the annual Dodger Blogger Night (the night before the Manny revelation), and particularly getting to cover the game as a member of the press are memories I’ll never lose.

Thanks to the Dodgers organization and team for a great year and for continuing to reach out to the online fan community. Thanks to my fellow Dodger bloggers for lots of entertaining and thoughtful commentary this season — especial thanks and kudos to Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts, the sundry Sons of Steve Garvey, the intrepid lads of True Blue LA, the aptly named Blue Heaven, Ken Steinhorn of isportsweb, and Larry and Keith over at the always-fascinating Daily Mirror.

Congratulations to the Phillies on the NL Pennant, and while I don’t see myself exactly cheering you on the next few weeks, please destroy the Yankees if you get the opportunity. Pretty please? ;)

Finally, thanks to everybody for reading Trolley Dodger in 2009. The site’s third anniversary is coming up next week. Can’t believe it’s been three years!

I expect to be posting here during the off season, as there will be the inevitable melodrama, speculation, and other craziness, but I’m guessing a short break will do a body good. So we won’t have to wait ’til next year to solve the myriad problems of the baseball universe, thanks to 24-hour sports news and the Internet, but we will have to wait ’til then for more Dodger baseball.

See ya!

No offense to the Phillies, but they didn’t beat us. We beat ourselves.

I’m sure I’ll be able to manage some sort of reasoned, well-thought-out response tomorrow. But right now, one word pretty much covers it:

Heartbreak.

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.