That's hilarious. I admit that of all former Dodgers, Mondesi would rank high on my list of least probable politicians. Although like you pointed out, if it's a "strong-armed" government you want, Mondesi would be your guy.

Words cannot express my astonishment at the thought of Raul Mondesi being in charge of anything.

I understand Mario Guerrero has an agreement with Mondesi that would entitle him to 1 percent of Mondesi's mayoral powers.

The loss last night might have been the nail in the coffin for 2005. Now looking at 2006, who are the aribtiration Dodgers and who are the Dodger free agents (Weaver)? Other free agents?

Random Dodger Game Callback

September 15, 1955

Alex Grammas hit a bad hop single to drive in the winning run in the 12th inning at Busch Stadium to give the St. Louis Cardinals a 3-2 win over the Brooklyn Dodgers before a crowd of 5,684. Although it was the Dodgers fifth straight loss, the team had already clinched the National League pennant and they were 93-52 and 12 ½ games ahead of the Milwaukee Braves.

With the pennant in hand, Brooklyn manager Walter Alston decided to start 19-year old rookie lefthander Sandy Koufax. St. Louis manager Harry Walker countered with another rookie, Ben Flowers.

The Dodgers gave Koufax a lead in the third when third baseman Don Hoak tripled and shortstop Pee Wee Reese singled him home. But the Cardinals took the lead in the bottom half of the inning on back-to-back homers by Stan Musial and Rip Repulski. The home runs brought the NL home run total to 1,197, breaking the league record that had been set two years previously.

Alston did not want to burn out his pitching staff in a meaningless game, so he shuttled in relievers. Koufax pitched four innings, Don Bessent pitched two, Clem Labine another two, Roger Craig pitched three, and Chuck Templeton and Ed Roebuck pitched the twelfth.

The Dodgers tied the game in the eighth when Flowers walked Reese to lead off the inning. Center fielder Duke Snider singled Reese to third and right fielder Carl Furillo singled home Reese to tie the game. Larry Jackson relieved and was able to get out of the inning by getting Rube Walker to hit into a double play.

In the twelfth, Templeton walked Musial to start off the inning. Roebuck came in to relieve. Repulski singled Musial to second. Right fielder Joe Frazier sacrificed the runners over. Alston pulled the infield in and got catcher Nelson Burbrink to hit a grounder to shortstop Don Zimmer, who had taken over for Reese in extra innings, and Musial was out at the plate. Alston opted then to walk first baseman Wally Moon. Then shortstop Grammas hit a grounder to short that took a bad hop over Zimmer's head to allow Repulski to score the winning run.

Very little went wrong for the Dodgers in 1955. This five-game losing streak was their longest of the season. The team would win the National League with a 98-55 record, 13 ½ games better than Milwaukee. The Dodgers clinched the pennant on September 8 with 16 games left in the season and rested up for the World Series.

The team was a mixture of old stars that had been through a lot in Brooklyn, such as Reese and Jackie Robinson and Snider and Furillo. Catcher Roy Campanella won his third NL MVP award, batting .318 with 32 home runs and 107 RBI. Snider hit 42 home runs and drove in 136.

Don Newcombe had a stellar year on the mound. He was 20-5 with a 3.20 ERA. Carl Erskine was 11-8 with a 3.79 ERA. Labine had a 13-5 record in relief with a 3.24 ERA and led the league in appearances with 60. While Koufax was too young to make much of an impact, fellow rookie Craig had a good debut going 5-3 with a 2.78 ERA. Lefty Tom Lasorda pitched in just four games and had a 13.50 ERA. Lasorda was sent down to the minors so the Dodgers could carry Koufax on the roster. Under contract rules of the day, players signed for large bonuses, like Koufax, had to spend a certain number of years on the major league roster. Lasorda pitched earlier in the year when rosters were at 30 players. Teams did not have to go down to 25 players until a few weeks into the season.

Of course for Brooklyn fans, the 1955 World Series was "Next year". After losing in their last five World Series appearances, all against the Yankees, the Dodgers finally prevailed in seven games. The Yankees, who from 1923 until 1955 had appeared in 18 World Series and had lost just twice, (to the Cardinals in 1926 and 1942), were a seemingly unstoppable force.

The Yankees won the first two games of the Series in the Bronx, 6-5 and 4-2. But the Dodgers came back to Brooklyn and won three straight, 8-3, 8-5 and 5-3, to take the lead in the Series.

In Game 6, Whitey Ford bested Karl Spooner of the Dodgers, 5-1, thanks in part to a 3-run home run from Bill Showroom. The stage was set for Game 7 and the borough of Brooklyn prepared for the inevitable.

Alston started third year lefty Johnny Podres, who had won Game 3 against 36-year old lefty Tommy Byrne. Gil Hodges singled in a run in the fourth and had a sacrifice fly in the sixth to put Brooklyn up 2-0.

In the bottom of the sixth, Podres walked Billy Martin and gave up a single to Gil McDougald. Yogi Berra came up and lined a ball to left field which Sandy Amoros made a running catch on to rob him of an extra base hit and then threw back to first to double off McDougald.

With that catch, the Yankees threat was over. The Dodgers won Game 7. Finally, the World Series champion was located in Brooklyn.

Watching the World Series that year was a group of government officials from the City and County of Los Angeles. They were looking for a team to move west to their city, although the Dodgers were not the team they were interested in at the time. Presumably, it would be the Washington Senators. But Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley couldn't help but wonder why his World Champion team drew barely over a million fans to Ebbets Field.

Thanks to the New York Times, Baseball-reference, and Retrosheet.

Rip Repulski. That sounds like a comic book name.

That's future Dodger Rip Repulski!

The sausage race story is wonderful.

Bob, I half-expect to see the name Dash Riprock in one of these RDGCs

The original Google ad on this page was for the Wall Street Journal.

It's changed a lot since then.

The Cardinals had an affinity for Polish players for a while.

11 Hmm. Off the top of my head, Musial, Whitey Kurowski, Repulski.

Kinda like the Pirates in the 60s and 70s, with pitchers named Lamb, Moose, Veale.

With Lowe on the mound, I take it Tracy will field an all-defense team? The last time Tracy said that, Choi played first. Of course, Antonio did not start.

What an epochal RDGC, Bob (but Sam worries, could it really have been R?). Thank you, again, for taking the time to research and write these.

10 We haven't had the Ayn Rand dating service in some time . . .

12 Also, Ray Jablonski (whom Dizzy Dean called Jabbaloski), Eddie Kazak (one of the earliest palindrome names).

10 - Hot Dog Express...mmm...

I see nothing funny about the likelihood that Raul Mondesi is likely to be mayor of this town. I feel very bad for the people San Cristobal as someone like Raul Mondesi is probably about the quality of government that they can expect from their leaders. I worked in a lot of towns like these in Central and South America, and there is nothing funny about the completely ineffectual leadership that is present there, particularly at the municipal level.

1 Well, wasn't Fidel Castro a prospect in the early 50s? With the Pirate system?

Most baseball players who move onto politics become Republicans, not Communists. Maybe Mondesi will bring the blessings of laissez-faire economics to Santo Domingo.

I didn't realize there was a "professional" way to cook a hot dog.

18 - Raul Mondesi there, Lynn Swann here. Is this politics or The Superstars (generation test)?

You're welcome. The only nonrandom one was 1994.
There aren't many left. The last one is on the 27th. For those who are still brave enough to hang around watching the Dodgers until then.

20 - That Olmedo Saenz is a professional hitter and professional hot-dog cooker ...

21 I remember the Superstars competition. Does that make me old?

22 - Pitchers and catchers report in five months!

J.C. Watts
Robin Roberts
Jack Kemp
Bill Bradley
Steve Largent

Who am I missing?
So far, only Bradley is a Democrat

24 - it's all relative.

Most baseball players who move onto politics become Republicans, not Communists.

Because baseball players aren't a bunch of commie, pinko, pablum-puking America-haters!

Wally! Wally! Wally!

26 - Didn't Saxy run for something once?

26 -- Jim Bunning

24 If you watched the Superstars and couldn't remember, THAT would make you old.

Steve Sax ran for a northern California Assembly seat as a Republican and got toasted in the primary.

30 I wrote Robin Roberts and meant Jim Bunning. I'm an idiot.

26 -- And if you count him, Jim Ryun, the track star

I'm waiting for Terry Bradshaw to run for something. He'd fit right in with Louisiana politics.

Tom Osborne of Nebraska is a US House Rep.

Someday I'm gonna write a monograph about pro athletes and their political affiliation with the Republican party. I maintain it's innate selfishness as an athlete which causes them to fit right in. ;)

My name is Sushirabbit, and I am a Dodgers Fan.

18. That actually added to the humor for me.

By the way, how do we htmlify our numeric comments references? I looked on the 'pole page and didn't see anything about it.

All I want for Christmas is another starting ace....

Since Dale Murphy came up yesterday, it has been rumored for years that he would run for something from Utah, but it hasn't happened yet.

These are the strangest of possible games:
"Aybar and Robles and Cruz."
Trio of jerseys without any names,
Filling our injured guys' shoes.
Suddenly sporting their Dodger attire,
Causing the fans in the stands to inquire,
"How many new guys are we gonna hire?
To help us along as we lose."

Vinegar Bend Mizell was a Republican. But Pius Schwert was a New Deal Democrat. They both served in the House and played in the big leagues.

38
Vin had a long paean to Dale Murphy last night. I think he was visiting L.A.

Vin did not mention that Eric Karros was in town.

Vinegar Bend Mizell and Pius Schwert. My head is going to explode.

14, 22 Man, I am thickheaded today. I, err, guess it was more the year -- as so well encapsulated in your panoramic RDGC -- that was epochal, not necessarily the September 15, 1955, running-out-the-regular-season game that formed the core of the piece.

Crikey, I need some sleep.

Our Toaster admin Ken seems to have manager issues of his own.

I saw Dave Roberts speak at a luncheon a few years ago and had a flash that he could get himself elected mayor of Los Angeles. He comes off as both highly intelligent and personable. Don't know his party affiliation.

Now I think his chances would be better in Boston.

36 - Is a entire monograph really needed to explain why rich jocks are mostly Republicans?

4 Last night's loss really nailed (for me) Jon's point from a week or so ago... despite all our quibbles about the offense and various weird lineups, the simple fact is right now we have only 3 reliable starters. It's a complete crap-shoot for #4 and #5.

I don't want to go into next season with only 3 "reliable" starters (loosely quoted because Perez, Penny, and Lowe have all had their occasional issues). I would be stunned if the Dodgers don't offer Weaver arbitration -- but I'd also be surprised if he stayed. So where do our #4 and #5 come from?

I'm not willing to give two spots to rookies with potential. Other than Burnett, who's a free agent, and/or who do you think Depo might try to bring in via a trade?

There are going to be mighty few RDGCs left this year that aren't ones where the season is just being played out. If you realize that the Dodgers have been playing in the majors since 1884 and have been out of contention in September more often than they've been in contention, it's hard to land on a really great game.

Regarding baseball players who have gone into polirics, I remember reading that Walter Johnson ran for political office. Not sure if he was elected. Walter was also a broadcaster for the Washington Senators during the Depression. Along with his play by play duties he was the P.A. announcer at the ballpark. It is odd to hear him cut away from the broadcast to make a P.A. announcement that can be heard on the broadcast. Vin should be glad he works for the Dodgers instead of the Depression era Washington Senators.

Stan from Tacoma

Sorry to go so off topic, and sorry if this has already been addressed, but does anybody know when Eric Neel's Vin piece is going to run?

Thanks.

46 No, probably not. But it would make another good blog post for those days when I'm outta material. ;)

Anyone see the Q & A with Choi
http://tinyurl.com/98ehm
Favorite Athletes To Watch?
"I like a lot of home runs, a lot of walks. Patient hitters with high on-base percentages. Hitters like Bobby Abreu, Brian Giles, Lance Berkman, J.D. Drew. Good Major League pitchers don't give too many walks. I like patient hitters."
Hee should become the new hitting coach.

Hopefully Depo can add one of those guys to the team (in addition to Drew) in the offseason.

Sorry, Telemachos, "rookies with potential" will soon be taking over the Dodgers like the Borgias taking over a respectable Italian town, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. (Cue evil laugh.)

48 - Do you duplicate years? I find the context of the respective year that you include just as interesting as the actual game description.

I think Phil Jackson is a Democrat. But he's also a friend of Bill Bradley's.

Jim Ryun is in the House now. He's a Republican.

Ronald Reagan played Grover Cleveland Alexander in a movie with Doris Day, and he was a Democrat. Later on he became a Republican.

The Suns site, West Tenn site, and MiLB'com's schedule page all say no game today (although the Suns site has a different time for Friday's game). I think that boxscore page for the 15th is just an error, so no Suns Thoughts today

4
Dodger free agents after this season..

Paul Bako
Elmer Dessens
Darren Dreifort
Jose Valentin
Jeff Weaver
Jose Cruz Jr

Others I'm missing?

52 - I wonder if the Phillies would consider trading Abreu. Seems they've got some financial issues to deal with, and I just don't think they'll be able to trade Thome.

59 - For some reason (continued non-gritty excellence?), Abreu seems to be pretty strongly disliked in Philly. Er, I'd take him.

The Brewers are hitting Estes pretty hard, 3-0 in the 3rd, 2 runs came on a Lee homer

56 Later on he played a president. But not very well. After all, he was a bad actor.

54
Nope, no years are duplicated. It will just seem that way with the last few the way they shook out.

Did anyone Steve Garvey on the best dang sports show last night. He was looking awfully daper in his white Dodger Sweater.

He said something like, what Kent really neede to do with Bradley is take him into the shower. (not sure if he was referencing him and sutton, him and ladies or valdez and karros)

I met Garvey at a book signing at May Company in Thousand Oaks when I was 10. He was so nice and cool. I had my red sox little leauge jersey on and he ripped me for it! I'm like, but I am number 6. He just laughed....

I know I am in the minority, but I sure wish my two favorite ballplayers from the 70's were in the HOF. Garvey and Jim Rice.

I wonder if any team will offer Dreifort a contract. Has he ever said he plans to retire?

64 I can think of a couple of reasons why Kent might not have wanted to follow Garvey's advice.

58 Saenz and Erickson are also FAs.

I'm guessing we pick up Dessens' option,, and at least offer arbitration to Saenz, Weaver, and possibly Bako. I'd also guess DePo tries to negotiate a new contract with Cruz, because he'll get more than he's worth in arbitration. Dreifort, Valentin, and Erickson are all gone

65
If anyone offers Dreifort a contract, he should sign it as fast as he can and make sure it's guaranteed.

I'm pretty sure Dreifort is done. The Dodgers didn't even set up a locker for him this year. The Angels have one for Salmon and he appears on the bench from time to time, but Dreifort is a nonperson I believe.

57 - I thought it was odd that there'd be a game today. Thanks.

50 - Still TBD, I believe.

65 If he's healthy (or close to it), he'll be invited to ST, assuming he doesn't retire. He won't be offered an actual contract (unless someone gets way too desperate)

I'm hoping Martin makes the team out of ST. He did very well in ST this year. I was impressed. That would let them cut Bako and Rose loose, and possibly Phillips.

I realize 71 is wishful thinking.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Dreifort try to go out on his own terms - sort of the way Alvarez wants to face his "one more batter." Dreifort could just go to Spring Training as an NRI and see what happened.

While Dreifort took the money, he didn't run - he kept trying to come back despite his ailments. A final comeback attempt without a guaranteed contract, even in vain, would cement that memory. I could easily see him trying.

Anyone know what happened with the Thurston trade? We'll have to get the PTBNL by the 29th of January (long time, I know), or go with a monetary amount. Has this been completed without my knowledge?

anyone else pulling for Alvarez to get back to the mound this year? I don't even care if he comes back and only throws one 75mph fastball - I like his attitude and his desire to come back and go out active and not on the DL. He seems like a genuinely good guy.

Don't they usually have an idea who the PTBNL will be in advance? Was there any scuttlebutt about that? Erick Almonte would have some poetic symmetry.

Since our Dodgers are toast can we switch and become Cleveland thoughts and root for them to overtake the CWS. That would be one awesome comeback and as of today they are only 4.5 back. If only we were the Indians, I like everyone on the team. Some great characters in Hafner who looks like a comic book drawn baseball player and Grady Sizemore who the Indians must be pleased that MB was not blocking his path. Then the great name of Coco Crisp. I can only hope that our Dodger team in the future is filled with players with the talent of the young Indians. The GM Shapiro has done a great job. Hafner/Sizemore/C Lee were all sweet deals and then he had the gall to let Omar go and install a rookie at SS who in his 1st year only trails Tejada in offensive ability.

Chad Moeller just had a bases clearing double, 8-0 Brewers, still in the 3rd inning

73 - you beat me to it Jon. Seeing Dreifort brought up made me think of Alvarez and his desire to go out pitching, not on DL.

I admire the way Dreifort kept trying. He was snake bitten with injury after injury and he could have packed it in, but kept trying to come back. Didn't work out well for the Dodgers, but I respect him.

I saw Dreifort's last game. Until then, he'd been a reasonably effective 7th inning set-up man, promoted to 8th inning after DePodesta traded Mota to Florida. But on this night, he was horrible, infuriating the crowd by bouncing pitches to the plate, and allowing the Marlins to go ahead in what had been a tight 2-2 game. It turned out his knee had gone out while he was pitching. Yeah, I can see him wanting to reverse that final major-league memory. It would be interesting to see if he can still pitch that heavy sinker.

#39, I liked that. What a great game. Poetry (Tinkers to Evers to Chance), music(Take Me Out to the Ballgame), epic novels (The Universal Baseball Association), epic poetry (Casey At the Bat), broadcasters whose words provide a perfect compliment to the extraordinary events they describe (Vin's call of Sandy's perfect game and Gibby's homerun). There is no other game even close to baseball in providing such a rich texture.

Stan from Tacoma

71I'd rather have Martin catching everyday in AAA until around July. He has only caught a few years as he was a 3rd baseman when he was drafted.
I like the way Navarro catches, he looks very polished.

77 The Indians still have 6 games left with the White Sox, and I personally am rooting for the Indians. I'd just be happy if the White Sox didn't make the playoffs, and I'd root for the Indians in the playoffs more than likely. For some reason, I like them a little more than the A's (who I'd also root for).

80
I was at the game. Not a good way to go out. Didn't he have multiple surgeries in the last year not just the knee. I understood that his whole body had broken down almost Humpty Dumpty like and they had to put him back together again.

74

You mean Brian Cashman didn't call you with the news? I have him on my speed dial.

Or else it's some guy who says he's Brian Cashman. Do you think Brian Cashman sometimes has his mother answer the phone?

Good thing the Nationals were so loaded with starting pitching that they could just dump two of them like Kim and Ohka:)

JJ Hardy is having a nice 2nd half and is starting to resemble a decent SS.

In the history of my past scorebook (August 1999-September 2005), the best pitched game I saw was a 2-hit shutout by Dreifort in St. Louis. Darrell Kile was the loser.

The Dodgers won 13-0. And you know what? When it's 13-0 and the weather is dodgy, Cardinals fans leave early.

With the bases loaded and a 3-1 count, Carlos Lee mercifully flew out to Gonzalez, 9-0 Brewers after 2.5

86 They also dumped Day. However, they picked up Stanton, Halama, and Drese, so all is forgiven

Yeah, as Dreifort's knee was healing from surgery, they found something wrong with his elbow.

83 I've never bought the idea of the White Sox as a great team. I figured their huge success earlier this year was a statistical quirk, kind of like how my MP3 player's random shuffle almost always puts "Shelter from the Storm" in the first 100 songs out of 1,400. Their demise would be an outcome I'd welcome.

Didn't Dreifort also have a hip injury? They had to stagger them because he would have been at too great a risk of developing a thrombosis.

Kinda like the White Sox in 2000, or the White Sox in '94, or...the stars kind of align over a previously fair-to-muddlin' Palehose team, and they make the playoffs, but never scare anyone.

My Dad was a White Sox fan, based on '59, when we lived outside Chicago. I don't think he followed a baseball team again until the 2002 Angels, but every so often he'd ask me how the White Sox were doing.

Sax was done in by his divorce.

http://tinyurl.com/8p38q

For all the credit that the Angels and White Sox get for their "small ball" ways, the real reason both teams are playing well is because the pitching has been pretty good.

The offenses are relatively mediocre (as far as runs scored).

The things you learn on Google. For instance, Wilt Chamberlain was a Nixon delegate in 68.

The '83 White Sox had a good run, I think they coined the term "winnin' ugly". Ron Kittle, Luzinski and Baines, I think, were the middle of the lineup.

And Jackie Robinson endorsed Nixon in 1960 and I believe Rockefeller in 1964.

98

IIRC, Robinson was a close friend of Rockefeller.

Chad Moeller has tripled, thus continuing his 6 straight seasons of exactly one triple (he's never had a year in the majors without one, and he's never had more than one). He's a homer and a single away from the cycle

The Brewers now lead 12-0 after 3.5 innings