it's definitely too recent to be obscure, but give it five years...

Alex Cora's home run after 16 or so foul tips. That was classic.

but that's what came to mind immediately.

I definitely vote for Scioscia, and also Mike Davis and Mickey Hatcher, home runs in the 1988 World Series, game 5.

I'd pick Mike Davis' HR in Game 5 of the 1988 WS, to widen the lead from 2-1 to 4-1 in the 4th inning.

http://tinyurl.com/37a4zh

1 - Actually, that definitely belongs in contention. I wonder if the winner has to come from a regular season game, to give it the requisite obscurity.

Kevin Elster
Kevin Elster
Kevin Elster

Maybe Raul Mondesi's second homer, coming in extra innings on that Opening Day comeback victory over Randy Johnson and Arizona?

I was at that game. Best. Opening Day. Ever.

Mike Davis's homer in 1988 World Series.

More obscure. Bob Welch's HR to beat the Reds 1-0.

3 I did not see your response, honest.

Okay here's one and let's just say its a good thing there was no DT back then.
1977 NLCS - Bottom of the 4th inning, Russell leading off.

B Russell Single to LF
R Smith Single to CF; Russell to 2B
R Cey Bunt Groundout: P 1B/Sacrifice; Russell to 3B; Smith to 2B
S Garvey Intentional Walk
D Baker Home Run (LF); Russell Scores; Smith Scores; Garvey Scores

Jeff Reboulet hit a 3-run HR to blow a Trevor Hoffman save in 2001. The HR tied the game, but the Dodgers ended up losing the game.

http://tinyurl.com/2rbya8

5 - Now, that still doesn't feel obscure to me at all.

And Mike Davis' HR gets disqualified for being mentioned three times in the first seven comments.

8 - That's good. That was some game.

OT- But I am just wondering, is there anything Roger Clemens can do tomorrow to save his image and legacy.

I don't know if its fair for him to have to prove his innocence but if he did something and admitted it tommorrow, would that help him and his baseball legacy?

Breaking Bad fans need to check out my Season Pass post on it.

http://weblogs.variety.com/season_pass/2008/02/breaking-bad-sh.html

IMO, neither Scioscia, Mondesi, nor Davis are anywhere near obscure enough. Though certainly memorable.

13 - I have hardly been following the story at all, but I can't imagine he's come this far in protesting his innocence to cave tomorrow. I would imagine that, for the people following it closely, his legacy depends on taking the Mitchell Report down.

10 - deserves consideration.

Adrian Beltre's walk off homerun against the Braves on 8/20/04 (after he tied the game with a homerun in the bottom of the ninth).

Good call on Kevin Elster. I was living in SF that year, and went to the second game ever at PacBell Park, the day after Elster hit his three, and being a Dodger fan there was brutal, especially when I'd cheer every time Elster came up. Talk about christening that ballpark in a wonderfully horrible way.

My most memorable "obscure" home run would be on this day, which I saw in person:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN199306280.shtml

And speaking of obscure and unmemorable, apparently I also saw Pedro Martinez pitch that day, but I have no recollection of that whatsoever, mainly because he wasn't "Pedro" yet and what 12 year old would remember the 21-year-old rookie reliever who got the win?

Oh Yeah, this is not the shot you are looking for, but you reminded me of something I meant to say. In the northeast, arguabley the most listened to sports-talk is Mike and the Mad-dog on the Fan-660 AM out of New York. Returning home this afternoon M+M were playing some memorable announcing moments that I didn't catch the theme on. But first and best, I heard the Steve Finley grand-slam that must have knocked the Giants out of the play-offs in this century. Mad-dog( Chris Rousseau) is a fanatical Giants fan, and I must give them credit, for they both marvelled about the call from Vin, and praised him to the heavens. From every angle and nation, Vin looks good!

3 , 7 I called that homerun on a 3-0 count, while sitting behind Orlando Cepeda in Oakland. That's one of the reasons it is so memorable to me.

13
I think Clemens would have to come in tomorrow with the head of Osama Bin Laden, plus a fully brokered Iraq peace treaty, and a crystal clear video that proves that Babe Ruth did in fact call his shot in the 1932 World Series.

Maybe someone can help me with the details as I'm posting from my phone on the way back from San Diego, but Dave Ross hit a walk of very late in the season. I think it was in 2004, it just made it over the right left field wall. season0 I can still picture his excitement rounding the bases.

14 Breaking Bad is turning into my personal replacement for the Sopranos. Awesome.

You have to be old to remember this one. Game 7 of the '65 WS. Koufax vs Kaat. Top of the 4th; no score. Lou Johnson leads off with a HR. That's all Koufax needs as the Dodgers win 2-0. My favorite game of all time.

23 -Are you driving? Be careful.

I was at the game when Piazza hit it over the roof...I had this feeling like I had seen something special, and yet it is rarely talked about.

How 'bout the home run that wasn't?....Marquis Grissom's amazing game saving catch...almost never mentioned.

23
Plus, that was in a stretch where Dave Ross was sealing his (and DePo's) Dodger fate by going 13 for 80 -- including that HR -- after The Trade™

19 - The Hansen slam is a good one.

Steve Sax's home run in the Dodgers' first at-bat (maybe first pitch?) of the 1988 season.

Franklin Stubbs' game-winning grand slam against the Cardinals in 1988.

Jeff Hamilton's walk-off job against Cincinnati in 1988.

(Heck, should 1988 have its own category?)

Bonds' homer into the bay off Eric Gagne's 101 mph fastball.

Darren Dreifort's second homer in that game at Coors Field is particularly memorable for me, mostly because of how far it went. That ball was crushed.

Jose Offerman and Garey Ingram homering in their first MLB at-bats.

Does Chuck Essegian count as obscure?

21
Sounds like the beginning to a great novel: "So I'm sitting behind Orlando Cepeda..."

For me, the most obscure but memorable Dave Ross home run was his first MLB homer, hit off Mark Grace in Phoenix.

29
I was at the Stubbs game. The excitement at the stadium during the 7th inning 8-run rally rivaled the Lima Game and Game 2 of the 88 WS.

I was also at Coors Field in a game during which Alex Cora hit two HR, and narrowly missed a 3rd, hitting a double off the wall.

http://tinyurl.com/27522x

Alfredo Griffin once hit a home run to win a ballgame. Now that's obscure.

31
If I remember correctly, Grace did the Fetters Face on the mound. That was great!

Didn't Odalis hit one while pitching a shutout wiingthe game 1-0?

Pedro Guerrero hitting his 15th home run in the month of June, 1985.

http://tinyurl.com/2xma3m

36 Ooh, I remember that. That might actually be the first Dodger home run I actually remember.

Offerman's homer in his first AB. Don't get me started on him.

General Soreness' home run in Frisco when he taunted the team as he was rounding the bases.

Actually, I am actually really fond of the word actually.

Eric Enders...you did it again. Thanks for recomending `A Sunburned Country'. My cousin ( the one who rode his bike most of the way across Australia says it one of the best books he ever read.

He also heard that, get this: Robert Redford is planning on making a movie out of `A Walk in the Woods'...with himself playing Bryson!

35
Close. Odalis pitched 8 innings.

http://tinyurl.com/2c3qc4

And although they're not obscure now, I do think Cora, Kuo, and both of Russell Martin's walk-off homers (the grand slam against Pittsburgh and the Sunday Night Special against the Giants) will eventually settle into the dustbin of proper obscurity.

40 )

I was 10 years old and went to the game with my Dad and best friend. I remember getting sunscreen in my eyes. It was painful but worth it.

"Eric Enders...you did it again."

Well, thanks. Usually when people say that, it's... not in a good way.

What about the homerun Robin Ventura hit in the 13th inning down in San Diego a couple of days after The Trade.

36 - Who had the Pedro Hits 15 in June poster on their wall besides me?

First one that comes to mind is Alex Cora's. Apparently Guillermo Mota had a HR every 9 ABs in 2003.

Grace doing the Mike Fetters was classic....

How bout Matt Luke hitting two home runs against St. Louis only to be benched for a righty by interim Manager Glenn Hoffman....

"Smithers, that's called playing the percentages"...

Loney to deep right field in Coors?

2nd most obscure HR would be Grissom beating the Mets in 2002. I worked with a Mets fan and the next day was great.

http://tinyurl.com/2gtwwc

Everyone remembers Cey's HR off of Frank LaCorte in the 8th inning on the last day of the 1980 season to force the one game playoff.

However a couple of other big HRs occured in that series. Joe Ferguson homered in the bottom of the 10th to beat the Astros 3-2 in the first game of the series and then Garvey hit the go ahead HR off of Nolan Ryan as Jerry Reuss outdueled Ryan 2-1 in the penultimate game.

Another forgotten fact is that Russell was hurt at the end of the season and Derrel Thomas played the last month at SS.

Eric, Marty: Offerman homering in his first at bat, seemingly confirming that he was going to be a combo of Maury Wills and Tommy Davis and confirm the prospect predictions of most of the baseball Media.
Thank god the broad spectrum of analysts has pretty much negated the ability of some orgs. to hype their prospects out of the park.

36 Good homer; Good screen name.

you all are so young...

Dick Nen against the Cardinals

I know Jon remembers this one (I've read some of his old-old stuff) how about Darren Dreiforts 2 blasts, for a pitcher that has to be up there no?

Must be all the mentions of pitchers in the opening because all I can think of is Omar Daal in '02.

55 Unfortunately Jon (who is too young to remember it anyway) has already issued a pre-emptive strike against Dick Nen.

58 and why is that?

Not obscure enough.

55 1963. Nen had just been called up. His HR won the game. O'Malley gave him a $1,000 bonus for hitting it which was amazing in itself.

actually it is too obscure...his only home run as a Dodger in his only season, crucial to the pennant race...his season lasting 11 at bats

actually I recall that season getting the autograph of a can't miss rookie, Dick Calmus

19 28

I watched that (really late & maybe a re-peat) when I was leaving in Mexico at the time, I still remember Lasorda bear hugging Hansen.

Not sure if I have a nominee, but its amazing how many of these I've seen in person, considering how relatively few games I've been to. I was in the park for Baker's 30th in 77, Cora's 18 pitch at bat, Odalis' solo shot in a 1-0 win, and Offerman's debut.

Can we nominate in advance any home runs that Juan Pierre might happen to hit while wearing the blue?

Milton Bradley's 10th inning gamewinner in April 2005 against Milwaukee, making us 11-2 and leading me to think it would be the year to end the World Series drought?

Possibly the last optimistic feeling I had about Milton Bradley.

Too obscure?

Is there a more famous Dodger homer from the 1960s than Nen's?

Dick Nen's homer in 1963 was:
1) not in his first at bat
2) did not win the game (it tied the game in the ninth and the Dodgers won in the 13th in St. Louis)
3) did not come in a game that clinched a pennant for the Dodgers (the win put the Dodgers four up with nine to play.)

Trust me, it was a big home run, but it has a lot of mythology surrounding it.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1963/B09180SLN1963.htm

67 Yes. Frank Howard's into the second deck in the 63 Series. Lou Johnson in the 65 series. Those come to mind.

69 - I know about those, but I feel Nen's gets mentioned much more. It's certainly anything but obscure.

66 Milton Bradley in Milwaukee always brings to mind my choice for Most Obscure But Memorable Dodger Quote of all time:

"In my initial approach to the ball, I underestimated the velocity on the Milwaukee terrain. Therefore, I was rendered defenseless to field the aforementioned ball."

Hideo Nomo off a young Jake Peavy.

This sounds crazy, but 30 years from now the winner of this contest might be Marlon Anderson. Nobody who saw it will ever, ever forget it, but even now, nobody really talks about it anymore and the dominant footage from that game has always been Nomar's walk-off.

How about Garey Ingram's HR to start his career?

71 - I think that was quote of the week at Futility Infielder for three years or more.

Juan Pierre's home run against, no wait...

yeah, yeah I know it wasn't a good one but I just couldn't resist. :o)

the reason for the Dick Nen phenomenon is that we were young, we were a light hitting team, we appeared to be letting it slip away, and out of nowhere comes this shot to save the day...and of course, there was Vin Scully calling it...

77 we were young, meaning me

73 So was that in the 4+1 game. Sounds like it. And years from now I hope that game is not forgotten. Of course it is needed to offset the 2 out at the plate on one play game.

I'd say one that stuck out for me was Dave Ross' extra-innings walkoff homerun against the Rockies down the stretch in 2004. It was totally overshadowed by Finley, but I remember Ross had been brutal the entire season. I was at the game and said to a friend, "yeah, David Ross is bad at the baseball" and he proceeded to make me look pretty silly.
For ref: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN200409300.shtml

memories will be obscured about the 4 + 1 game years from now...

just like the Mazeroski homer is the stuff of legend, as is the Fisk homer...yet it was the 8th inning homers in each game that even made those opportunities possible...

You all took the good ones but how about Werth's game winning shot when he took Pedro deep and ruined his shutout. He had a no hitter going into the bottom of the 8th when old friend Antonio Perez tripled and then Werth hit his shot.

81
So Howard is really Hal Smith!

82
God bless Gerald Williams for playing in center when Perez tripled.

I remember being at the Stadium when Greg Brock hit his first major league home run. It was memorable because I thought I was seeing the first blow in a great Dodger career, and obscure because it wasn't.

I now fully expect someone to point out that Brock hit his first home run on the road. Just because I remember something doesn't mean it actually happened. If I'm remembering it correctly Valenzuela was on the mound for the Dodgers that game.

22 My feeling is that if Clemens is lying he has come too far to back out now. So he has little choice but to continue with his bluff. But here is the problem he is faced with:

From 'Shadows' to the screen

>> Why would McNamee tell the truth about injecting Pettitte, which Pettitte has confirmed, and lie about Clemens, which Clemens insists he is doing, and why would McNamee lie at all when he faces imprisonment if it is proven that he is lying? <<

http://tinyurl.com/2cy5sb

Greg Brock's first homer:
http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1983/B04100LAN1983.htm

86 because its Roger Clemens, don't you know? why would HE lie, he was too great to have to cheat, would you like his autograph?

Speaking of Greg Brock, I didn't think he would be gone so long. Wonder if he lurks?

I feel like Tripp Cromer should answer in here somewhere. I can't be 100% sure but my gut tells me he should.

(Of course, my gut also told me to eat those spicy Chile Verde enchiladas for dinner last night.)

I think the steroid show tomorrow is disgusting and ridiculous. It is not a legal matter in any sense. On the east coast the afore mentioned Mike and the Mad-dog have pointed out that if Clemens had taken Petittes posture, the whole thing would have left the news months ago, and I think they may be right( for once).

Not sure if anyone posted this one already, but I think Sheff hit one out on opening day in 2001 after he had spent all spring complaining about the team. 1-0 if I remember correctly. Yeah, I just checked and that did happen.

82 Yeah I believe old friend AP broke up the no hitter with that triple. I was at that game. Wanted to see the no no, but was also glad to see the Dodgers win during that atrocious season.

Holy lord, this is a down year for Kentucky. They trail Vanderbilt 41-11 at halftime!

Former Laker Adrian Branch is doing commentary for ESPN now.

94
Buster Olney must be busting his buttons!

My best memory of Brock is when he hit two home runs in Montreal sometime early in his rookie season and I think one was a grand slam. Vinny promptly proclaimed that he had arrived. He had arrived but we didn't get what we had hoped for. Man I thought he was going to be good. Then I thought Franklin Stubbs was going to be good. Then I thought something Bryant was going to be good. Not even sure if it happened in that order.

92
Sheffield and the Dodgers set some sort of record that year because they had three 1-0 wins in which the run was a Sheffield HR. I was at one of those games, a walkoff vs. Atlanta.

94 Gillispie will win a title within three years, though. Just you watch.

I hate freaking Kentucky, but that man can coach.

99
Yeah, he is a great coach and he has already done well on the recruiting front.

97 The dissapointments of Brock and Stubbs were personal low points, and together with the later Offerman taught me to temper prospect optimism.

98 That was strange to look back and realize that Sheff played for the Dodgers for 3 1/2 seasons and hit a lot of homeruns. What a jerk though. I am glad every time that guy strikes out. I guess I ought not be so negative towards those I don't know though.

Mike Piazza hitting two HR on the last day of his rookie season to simultaneously set the LA Dodger record and knock the Giants out of the playoffs.

I'm late to the game, but I always think of the first Dodger home runs in my memory. On May 30, 1962, despite only one home run in his entire career to date Maury Wills hit two against the Mets in a single game. As a nine-year-old, I was so impressed by the feat that I reduced my hand-kept scorecard into a box score for my parents and other adults to peruse that evening. They were less enthralled than me.

This might not qualify but proberbly since I'm an out of towner and people where I go do not make the Dodgers a popular gossip item. But when I listen to old Dodgers reminisce I hardly ever here about Rick Monday's 1981 Pennant Winning HR. I think it's somewhat memorable since it is very important and because of it's importants it makes it obscure.(to me anyway)

too busy to read through the comments this evening, but that karros homerun was a fantastic baseball memory for me. i must've been 12ish. i used to get tickets to the field seats from people leaving in the later innings. i watched the pitch from the slinking arm of stan belinda and the swing... i can picture it perfectly. one of those weird moments where life seems vivid and good. a diving bell moment. i also remember getting barry bonds' autograph after the game... though it may have been earlier...

Rick Monday's home run in the 1981 NLCS should forever be known as The Full Employment Act for Radio Announcers Who Never Tell You the Score.

Kentucky now taking its lumps 55-14 at Vandy's place, which tends to happen to lots of teams...just not that badly. And this is Kentucky. Good grief, Charlie Brown.

The 11 first-half points are the lowest for Kentucky in years.

Yes, Gillespie can coach. Kentucky's win over Tennessee at Rupp was a coaching masterpiece, and Bruce Pearl and/or the UT players didn't seem to have answers that night.

And to wrap up my basketball roundup, someone here the other day thought Tennessee had lost to Memphis. They don't play until Feb.23, I think, at Memphis. Memphis, UT, and Vandy continue to represent TN well.

So I wanted to add my most memorable obscure home run by an opponent against the Dodgers. Fred McGriff in 2002 with the Cubs at Dodger Stadium. He hit 2 home runs that night, both almost identical line drive shots to center field. I thought, "my god, that guy has a sweet swing."

I wonder if McGriff will be regarded in a more favorable light for the HOF when comparing his career with his contemporaries? He has never been implicated for steroids and his build always seemed all natural to me. I was bummed that he bombed with the Dodgers. Always liked that guy.

I was at this game, but couldn't quite remember the details until I looked it up:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN199506260.shtml

June 26, 1995. Back and forth game is tied at 5 with two on in the bottom of the 9th. A very young Trevor Hoffman is brought in to face Mike Piazza, who promptly deposits the first pitch deep into the right-field pavilion. I remember the crowd roaring for an eternity for Mike to take a curtain call after the walk-off, but he only gave us a head nod while on the dugout phone.

Piazza was hitting .397 and OPSing 1.187 after that game. God, what a hitter.

110
3 days later Piazza was hitting .402/.451/.750!

With the Lakers doing so well, Kobe might have a shot at winning the MVP this season. Up to now, it's surprising that he hasn't won one.

What is more surprising -- that Mike Piazza never won an MVP, or that Kobe hasn't?

Russell Martin may be the best talent to come along in years, but it will take years for yours truly to forget Mike Piazza.

The beagle wins!

112
I do not find either surprising. Dodgers were considered underachievers and Lakers up until this year, were never an upper echelon team with just Kobe.

Piazza. Because he was flat out robbed in 97. Kobe hasn't been robbed yet even though e has been the best player in basketball for years now. Kobe will be MVP if Lakers win the Pacific. He might be anyways if they are in the top 4 seeds in the west.

104 Not too late. That's a wonderful memory.

I remember Davey Lopes who had always been a light hitter speed guy growing power over a few years--I think it must have been about 1980 he hit about 30 dingers. There must have been a few important-obscure ones.
Of course the team was probably sub-.500 then.

Shawn Green's four home run game is too prominent I guess, but it feels oddly obscure to me.

Hee-Seop Choi's three-in-a-game plus seven-in-four-games is certainly obscure, but probably lacks the "oh yeah".

I lived in Portland during the 2000 NBA season.

That was fun.

Pedro was obscured the same day when he had to share the MVP with Cey and Yeagar but his Home Run in the game six 81 victory climaxed the beat down of Yankee's. His triple and HR in back to back at bats were the back breakers.

The Red Shoes is playing on TCM. What a fascinating movie.

The Dave Roberts "HR" wasn't actually an inside-the-park HR, it was more of a double and a two-base error on Matsui...

...however, I do remember Dave Roberts hitting one against the Cubs in 2003. How is it that I remember? Because I was there. I was sitting up on the loge with my aunt and her boyfriend as part of my high school graduation present. As usual during a Cubs-Dodgers series, there were a bunch of Cubs fans, and as usual for being Cubs fans, they stood up and gave a standing ovation for even the slightest routine-play or hit going in their favor, though they weren't as unruly as most.

So I was sitting up in the loge with bunch of Cubs fans sitting around me, the Cubs had gotten out in the top of the first and it was the Dodgers' turn up. Matt Clement was on the mound and Roberts was leading off. The Cubs fans around me were already gloating to each other about how good their team was that year (remember, 2003), and as Roberts swung wildly at the third pitch to bring the count to 1 and 2, the Cub fans started to make fun of how feeble a hitter Roberts was.

Roberts however worked the count to 3 and 2 and on the 7th pitch, laced a fast groundball down the third-base line. The ball rolled into foul territory and carromed like a pinball sharply off the wall at a right angle, before Moises Alou could get to it. Roberts, who was already at second when the ball carromed, ran like he was trying to qualify for the 400m in the olympics. I will never forget Roberts rounding third and sprinting home without he, or the third-base coach, even having a second-thought about it, and scoring without a throw.

As the crowd stood up and went wild, I remember the
Cubs fans around us just sat there silently, looking at a each other with a quiet sense of disbelief, but also with emptiness as if they been there before. They also did not say much for the rest of the game.

Its strange, but I actually remember that Eric Karros pinch hit 3 run homer.

IIRC, it was the same night as Johnny Carson's last Tonight Show episode...?

One obscure Dodger game might be Penny's 2-hit shut out against the Pirates after he came over in the trade. Then he gets hurt very next game.

Kevin Gross's no hitter...
Fernando's no hitter vs the Cardinals..

How about Pedro Astacio's Dodger debut? It was a mid-afternoon game, 1st of a DH'er vs the Phillies..Complete game shutout?

Karros HR off Belinda was magic that night.

I will always remember Karros 2HR game in the playoffs, and it is obscure because the Dodgers were swept, leaving everyone feeling the Dodgers offense was anemic.

David Ross off Mark Grace was classic and had me laughing for days.

Alex Cora's shot off Matt Clement after all of those foul balls was priceless. Mostly because of Clement's look of exasperation as the ball left the yard.

All season long my son made me save the Dodgers win over the Pirates last season on DVR. I wasn't allowed to erase it. It was the game that R. Martin hit his GW GS. I remember talking about how Martin had officially arrived.

Kuo's bat flip is so memorable and perhaps my favorite regular season Dodger HR. Act like you know how and you do it all the time, you know?

121
Don't remember that movie but the "red violin" was a cool movie.

Obscure homers...

How about Brian Jordan's grand slam vs the Giants in 2003?

Dodgers were on life support in the WC race, but that game gave the team some hope.

Or Milton Bradley's grand slam in the bottom of the 8th, after Adam LaRoche had hit a Grand Slame in the top of the 8th in 2005. That one is probably not that obscure, since there's a game thread still on this site probably and no doubt contains some Jim Tracy bashing.

114
I was thinking of putting up a thread on the Griddle for Westminster discussion, but it would have just ended up with a bunch of "Best in Show" lines being repeated.

And then there's the whole time zone spoiler thing.

But it's the night for hounds! Let's all go out and flush out some game for our masters!

123
I was at Penny's 1st game as a Dodger. He allowed 2 hits in 8 IP, but was booed after he struck out because of The Trade™.

The Karros HR was 5/23/92, one night after Carson's final episode.

18 I was at that game! The chants of M-V-P were quite loud that night.

Just as Beltre's efforts proved fruitless in the MVP race, so did my advances toward the girl I brought that night.

I was at the doubleheader that marked the Dodgers return to New York in 1962. The Polo Grounds were jammed, not a vacant seat in the house, and Maury Wills hit two homeruns on Memorial Day in the first game of a doubleheader won by Sandy. You would think I would remember that game like it was yesterday because as a kid my two favorite Dodgers were Maury and Sandy. Well in truth I don't remember it at all. The only reason I know Maury hit two homeruns in that game is because I have the broadcast of the game on tape in my collection. Those two homeruns should be memorable to me, but in truth they are obscure.

Oddly enough, I was at the Polo Grounds a year later for another Dodger/Met doubleheader that I remember quite vividly. I remember that a pitcher who I am sure is obscure to most Dodger fans, Dick Calmus, pitched game two. He was terrific and I was sure the Dodgers had another great arm to add to the duo of Sandy and Don. It didn't work out that way, but to this day I can remember him mowing down the Mets in game two of that 1963 doubleheader. I am glad he did that because it is great to have in my head a mental picture of a place that is such a shrine in baseball history.

Stan from Tacoma

126
I remember Milton hitting a monster home run in San Diego in 04 and catching a home run that seemed important at the time but I don't know when it happened. Eric has been hot, how many minutes before he has the answer?

He really gave San Diego a shot in the arm last year. I'm so glad he's moved back out of the West. I still think he has a 1999/2000 Carl Everett type season in him but maybe his stint for the Padres will be his pinnacle.

When you think that the Padres lost their best hitter and did nothing to replace him while Giles and Edmunds get a year older in a post testing world, I continue to be unimpressed with the Padres as competition this year.

Okay, I know it has to be a Dodger home run but one of the most memorable and obscure for me was when Gary Thomason hit a home run on first pitch of the season. I was just so damn excited for the season to start and then that? At ten years old, it was hard to wrap my head around it.

131
What I remember about Milton catching the HR was that running into the dugout he had his finger to his lips telling the crowd to be quiet.

It might have been this game: http://tinyurl.com/yo5u2t, which was one day before The Trade™

121 I bought my mom Criterion's Red Shoes DVD the previous XMas, remembering that she'd once told me it was her favorite movie of all time. Then forgetting she'd ever revealed that until she opened the gift. Score points for me on that one. We watched it together that night, I hadn't seen it since I was an unappreciative kid and was bored silly then, but as an adult I found it profoundly moving and beautiful. Michael Powell is one of my favorite filmmakers so even his ballet movie won me over.

---

Back on topic, I have vague memories of Joe Ferguson home runs, including 1980 playoffs. Don't know how often those get talked about...

Is there any reason that a Ken McMullen grand slam in 1975 should be memorable? I ask as it was the only obscure HR from that decade that popped into my head instantly.
I have a feeling that it might have been a listening under the covers transistor radio moment which lead to some synapses being dedicated to long term memory.

132
Hey, I was at the game. It turned out okay since we won. At least I think we did, but for 5 minutes it was very depressing. Not nearly as depressing as watching Dave Goltz ruin 12 hours of uncontainable excitement.

134
No playoffs but the season ending series against the Astro's. Simply the most exciting regular season series in my Dodger memory.

132 I was there too. I was sitting in the Lodge section behind first base. Amazing that I can remember that but have no idea what I had for lunch yesterday.

137 And I was there too! All four games. I don't believe anything will ever be that exciting again. Or perhaps it will be but I will fail to appreciate it through 13 year old eyes.

137 Ah! Yes, that's what it was. I was only 10 so I was trying to picture it from memory. But they forced a divisional playoff game with that series, no? Ron Cey hit a two-run homer to win that third straight game to force the playoff.

And I found this, which reminded me of another reason I always liked Joe Ferguson:
http://www.trolleydodger.com/2008/02/10/video-dodgers-vs-astros-1980/

135 Okay, I know I'm going for the trifecta here but you guys are bringing up more hidden memories that a drunken trip to the psychoanalysts office.
McMullen's grand slam is one of my earliest real Dodger memories. I never forgot it and it probably meant nothing.
Gotta be a contender for the early 40s crowd!

139
No, it will never be beat. Down 3 games with 3 games against the team a head of you. Each game a nail biter with heroics from the icons of the 70's, as Cey, Fergy, Garvey, Ruess, and Sutton combined forces with a 19 year old to force a sudden death game only to have Dave Goltz collapse upon his sword.

127 I almost won a beagle in a bet with a librarian. But that was a long time ago.

Also, I was not really close to winning said bet.

This has been a great thread. So many great memories. For some reason, I often think about Vinny's call of Pete Richert's first mlb appearance. I woke up thinking about it again this morning. I have no idea why, just eager for the games to start I guess. I used to sit in the kitchen and listen to the games on the radio and try to keep score. The Baseball Reference is great. I looked up the box score. April 12, 1962 vs. Cin. 3.3 IP, 0 H, 7 SO, 0 BB, 0 ER, W. Being able to read the play by play of the game and Richert's entry to it is a great enhancement to the experience. I can still hear Vinny describing how Pete was warming up in the bullpen. The way that Scully called that action, I can still hear it. I was nine years old, soon to be ten. A diving bell moment indeed.

140
That was awesome. Youtube is great for the memory cells. I never appreciated Fergy when he was here the 1st time. Sure liked him the 2nd time around. Strangely I liked him even more after Bill James told me how good he was.

145 Was that Al Michaels on the play-by-play in that game or was I just mis-hearing the voice there?

Dave Hansen's Sayonara slam on June 28th, 1993 against Mike "Thriller" Jackson is my personal favorite. It helps that I was at the game, and that he is one of my favorite all-time Dodgers. It was a scenario we have all pretended to be in, and he delivered. Two outs, bottom of the 9th, bases loaded, no score. (I believe it was a 3-0 count, but I am not sure.)

Probably, this hasn't been mentioned because it's not obscure enough, but I wanted to throw it out for consideration anyway.

Franklin Stubbs hit a home run in the first baseball game I attended with my father at Dodger Stadium. The ball landed about ten feet away. One of many great Franklin Stubbs memories.

Offerman's homer in his first at-bat was another great one. So much hope...Followed by so much Jose Offerman.

143 That's ok, you still have a beer coming.

140
What a cool clip. That was indeed Al Michaels and Bob Uecker doing the play by play and color for that game.

I forgot that Joe Morgan was on that 1980 Astros team. He seemed quick to come out of the dugout in that clip.

Even better on the clip in 140 was the Canseco steroid comments from Game 1 of the WS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-y1g5mtQGU

Greg Brock-- I saw Franklin hit the longest homerun I have ever seen at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma. Too bad you have probably never been to that ballpark because you would be impressed with what I am about to type--- the ball landed about 3/4 of the way up the hill over the rightfield wall. A few years ago the city flattened the hill and put tennis courts in that area. Bob Timmermann has been to Cheney and if he remembers the place I bet he will be impressed--- I am certain that the ball Franklin hit would have landed in the tennis courts.

Stan from Tacoma

While going to Chico State (Bay Area) nothing beats 12-1 versus the Giants on the last day of the season to knock a 100 win team out of the playoffs. Piazza with 2 bombs...

I was once 12 rows up between home and on deck circle after sneaking down once the crowd bailed. Mondy was 0-3 and left like 7 on; Dodgers were down 8-2... 9th inning. 1 out no one on...Mondy comes up and as I yell come on Mondy feel free to do something as loud as I could he hits a first pitch sheffield like laser that was still rising as it went over the fence down the left field foul line area for a monster bomb. He points in our general direction while making his way to the dugout.

Dodgers loose 8-3

The Baseball Reference sponsor for Franklin Stubbs says he was "The underrated key to the Dodgers '88 run." That's certainly generous.

It hasn't been the same without you this winter.

154
Hey, there have been only 6 seasons by a LA Dodger 1B in history to achieve the coveted 13 double, 8 HR, 11 SB club that Franklin Stubbs did in 1988!

But I thought Tommy just said the other day that the underrated key to the Dodgers' '88 run was Tracy Woodson.

Hmm. Can there be more than one underrated key? Danny Heep wants in.

155 I've missed you all terribly. On the bright side, I have a job. Which is nice. For money and stuff.

156 Coveted. I do not think it means what you think it means.

157
I forget...was Stubbs a member of The Stuntmen? Did he play too regularly? Clearly, Rick Dempsey, Heep, and Dave Anderson were members, and Tracy Woodson was probably a member too.

Question for folks at least 5 years older than me...I remember Jose Offerman coming up to the Dodgers, and homering in his first at-bat, but I don't remember anything about him before that....Which player today would you compare his prospect hype to?

Jose Offerman was sui generis.

The '88 Dodgers had a team ERA of 2.96. Sweet fancy Moses. That's not very high at all.

I knew Pedro Guerrero started the year with the 1988 team, but I never remember that he played 3B that year. He started 45 of the team's first 50 games at 3B before getting hurt.

After he came back from injury, he played 1B until he was traded, since the unstoppable force that was Jeff Hamilton had no doubt entrenched himself at 3B by then.

160 Take Dewlyn Young, keep his current infield ability, then hit both his hands with a tack hammer.

160
Just a guess...offensively: Ivan DeJesus Jr; defensively: Joel Guzman.

159 The core of the Stuntmen was definitely Hatcher and Dempsey. Heep was sort of the silent member, maybe the stuntman for Harpo. Anderson was one. I don't think Woodson was really a member. You needed a certain amount of PVL-ness to be a member. Jeff Hamilton and Franklin Stubbs weren't members because they played too much. Actually, now that I think of it, Anderson started half the year at shortstop because Griffin got hurt, so maybe he played too much also.

166
I can't believe I forgot to include Hatcher! Mike Davis was probably a silent member too, even though he made 63 starts.

164 , 165 -- He's asking who is comparable in hype, not necessarily comparable as a player.

Still, the answer is probably Joel Guzman. Except with more hype. Actually, the only recent player who's been hyped up as much as Offerman was is probably Clayton Kershaw.

I will go to my grave insisting, no matter what anyone else says, that Offerman was a better defensive player than people give him credit for. He was a nice hitter, too, actually.

It's pretty tough to play 15 years in the majors, make a couple of all-star teams, and still be considered a complete bust. But Jose Offerman managed to do it, and so did Gregg Jefferies.

167 Mike Davis was like the heartthrob leading man who got in an accident and got his face all scarred up, reducing him to stuntman status.

Offerman wasn't too bad of a hitter of a hitter though, he may not have hit too well his first couple of years here, but he was also 21 when he was first called-up. He was 2nd in OBP on the 1995 team and had some good years in Boston as well.

Defensively, however, he's definently the worst I've ever seen. Considering that Jose was the first SS I've ever followed, him and Greg Gagne gave me a bad impression of how a SS is supposed to play.

Well, looks like no one is going to have to worry about Indiana basketball for awhile.

http://tinyurl.com/2qsfe6

168 It will be interesting to see where JD Drew's career ends up.

Jefferies was supposed to be Pete Rose. Drew was supposed to be Mickey Mantle.

168
I think the hype surrounding a disfigured-hand-wielding Delwyn Young would be pretty big. Josh Rawitch would have to put in a lot of hours promoting that amazing comeback story!

The thing I remember most about Gregg Jeffries was his underwater swinging practice.

Kirk Gibson was supposed to be Mickey Mantle also. Instead, he ended up being a more ornery version of J.D. Drew.

I think if the Dodgers hadn't been so stubborn about him being a SS and made him a 2nd baseman early on or a CF, he would have left a much more lasting impression. He could really run as a kid and had solid plate discipline.

It is a kick that he is still playing. He got in a fight during the recent series because he felt Belliard was dogging it.

172
Alot of people were supposed to be Mickey Mantle. Ain't easy trying to be one of the best ever. Wish I had seen him when he was 20, before the knees destroyed his athleticism.

I was searching for Dodgers and "stuntmen" and came across this article in the NY Times the day after the Dodgers won it all.

http://tinyurl.com/28f6gc

George Vescey presents a fictional conversation between Lasorda and Darryl Strawberry, and includes this amazingly foretelling passage:

''But what about our dream of playing for the Dodgers some day?''

''Darryl, I've got bad news for you. You and Eric Davis are great ballplayers, but there's no room for you on this team.''

Wow....I didn't realize "Awfulman" was that highly touted....

170- Greg Gagne just felt like an illegitimate ballplayer to me. Ballplayers are supposed to have a certain level of cool, and if they aren't cool, then they are quirky. Gagne threw like a guy making fun of the way a girl throws.

174 Yes!....I remember wishing so bad that I'd have a pool, because it seemed like the magic element missing in my path to all-stardom!....

BTW, am I alone in thinking that Gredd Jeffries looked like a masculine Gilbert Gottfried?

*Gregg...

dammit.

(160) I saw Offerman play in triple A. He was as bad in Alburquerque as he was in LA. Actually I should change that because I saw him play in Tacoma when he played as a visitor for the Dukes.

Greg Miller might be comparable to Offerman. Miller though throws pretty hard, so maybe if he could put it together he could salvage a major league career.

Stan from Tacoma

Does anyone here remember Byron White?

More disappointing former Red on the early 1990s Dodgers: Eric Davis or Kalvoski Daniels?

Discuss.

I just found out that Ned's son, Lou, is a Giants' area scout.

179
I practiced the underwater swing for roughly 10 minutes total, and I'd like to think it contributed in some small way to my .333 BA on the Palm Springs HS freshmen team.

Of course, perhaps the massive academic scandal and subsequent removal of 7 or 8 players might have had more to do with me being activated, but still, .333!

OK, I was 1 for 3.

And it was a 43-hopper up the middle that I believe died on the grass just behind second base.

Hard to believe Darryl Strawberry did not hit a memorable home run. I'm going to do some research but I remember an article in the LA Times during the 1st year of Strawberry's reign in 91 when he got crazy hot in Aug and was leading our team and the column said that with Strawberry leading the charge the Dodgers would win the division. We fell a game short and the hot August Strawberry had just a tepid Sept. That August in 91 would be the highlight of his Dodger career. No one remembers him doing anything memorable?

181
The Supreme Court justice?

185 Is it true that he hit one at Dodger Stadium while a star at Crenshaw H.S?

The outfield of Kal/Eric/Darryl was the things dreams are made of. To bad it turned into a nightmare. Kal Daniels had the prettiest swing in baseball, Eric was the most dynamic player during his era, and Darryl had the prodigious power. How did it go wrong?

186--- Nope... 1978 Dodgers. One of the more obscure Dodgers, but he had his day in the sun as described by Vin at the time.

Stan from Tacoma

185
I remember him being ridiculously hot in the 2nd half, and he had a 2 HR, 7 RBI game to beat the Padres -- http://tinyurl.com/yomnsp.

Strawberry hit .302/.395/.604 with 9 HR and 28 RBI in August 1991. But the Dodgers went 13-16 in the month, turning a 4.5 game lead to a 1 game deficit.

185 Not showing up to the stadium was pretty memorable.

187
I don't know but Matt Dominguez did it twice, once as a Sophomore and once as a Junior so it would not be that impressive if he did.

I do remember him getting headlines in the LA Times sports section which never happened for HS players. I don't think Crenshaw even has a baseball program anymore. Do they?

Kal was done at 28, but I don't specifically remember an injury that did him in. Man that OF should have been great.

181
That would be Myron White

193
His knees were shot at 25. He could actually run when he young, by 25 he was a statue in LF.

188 Davis/Butler/Strawberry was the "dynamic" outfield of that year with Daniels fighting for the first baseman's job with Karros.

The 1992 opening day lineup featured Kal Daniels at 1B, and OF of Davis/Butler/Strawberry, and yet that team finished 63-99.

Rookie Eric Karros hit 20 HR to lead the team. Mitch Webster and Dave Hansen were next on the club in HR, with 6!!

Even though the club finished with the worst record in MLB, the draft back then alternated leagues with each pick. So the 1st pick in the 1993 draft went to Seattle, who finished 1 game ahead of LA, but had the worst record in the AL.

Seattle got some scrawny SS out of Miami, while the Dodgers got super pitcher/hitter Darren Dreifort out of Wichita St.

Dodgers who have been ranked among the top ten prospects in the game by Baseball America:

2006
7. Chad Billingsley, rhp

2005
5. Joel Guzman, ss

2004
4. Edwin Jackson rhp
8. Greg Miller lhp

1998
2. Paul Konerko, 1b/3b
3. Adrian Beltre, 3b

1996
7. Karim Garcia, of

1992
10. Pedro Martinez, rhp

1991
4. Jose Offerman, ss

1990
6. Kiki Jones, rhp
10. Jose Oferman, ss

181
What did he do? He only had 4 ab's and the season was decided when he got two hits in the last game and they lost anyway.

Davis. landslide. right?

200
I'd say Davis, since it seems we missed out on a HOF talent. But it's not a landslide because we had Kal Daniels when he was younger, and he was done so young.

Roger Clemens is screwed.

http://tinyurl.com/yufkvq

198
Eric, do they have a consolidated list online? In their Prospect Handbook, they have the personal lists of a few writers, but not a single list.

I should probably subscribe to BA.

I have never heard of this Kiki Jones. I wish the Dodgers had a star named Kiki.

192
I don't believe any L.A. City Section school has disbanded its baseball program. The City Section even added a third division last year to create space for all the new schools and the magnet schools.

Crenshaw is still one of the big athletic powers in the L.A. City Section, but it's a football school now. Its basketball program, which used to be the best in the state, has been supplanted by Fairfax and Westchester.

According to my research, Strawberry only hit one home run at Dodger Stadium as a high school player. His team played there twice. Crenshaw lost to Granada Hills (and John Elway) in the 1979 championship game, 10-4. Crenshaw played in a consolation game in 1980 and that's when Strawberry homered, a 7-5 win over Venice.

I believe only high schooler homered twice at Dodger Stadium and that was John Dolack of Palisades in 1985.

The only current major leaguer to have homered at Dodger Stadium as a high schooler is, I believe, Ryan Braun, who did so for Granada Hills High in 2002.

More info on the 1993 draft:

http://tinyurl.com/37djqn

How great would it have been if the Mariners drafted Dreifort?

203 They haven't posted the "official" list yet. Last year they did so on February 27. But from the book, it's apparent that Kershaw will be #6 or so.

104--- you are correct. A most obscure Dodger. I wonder if Vin remembers him. I doubt it, but you never know. It would be interesting to figure out how many players have played for the Dodgers since Vin came on board in 1950.

Stan from Tacoma

202
I don't know about that but this quote:
""If he ever messes with Roger, Roger will eat his lunch," Hardin was quoted as saying."
has to be one of the stupidest things a lawyer has ever said before his client was to testify before congress.

my mistake again--- that should be 194

Stan from Tacoma

205
http://www.latimes.com/sports/highschool/la-sp-sondcol1jun01,0,2745918.story
I stand by my statment that Matt Dominquez has hit two home runs as a high school player at Dodger Stadium.

204 Oh, man. Kiki Jones was this short, scrawny right-handed pitcher with serious heat, sort of along the lines of Pedro Martinez. He even had the Pedro jheri curl. He was from Hillsborough High in Tampa, the same school that Gooden and (I believe) Sheffield came from. He was supposed to be The Savior. Then he blew out his arm.

He was one of three first-round picks the Dodgers had that year. The other two made it to the majors -- Tom Goodwin and Jamie McAndrew.

205
I left out that Dolack hit two in one game. I knew about Dominguez.

But it's getting late.

Does anyone know which former major leaguer was the first pitcher to give up a home run to a high schooler at Dodger Stadium?

The batter's name was Bob Grant.

212
The Dodgers also got Eric Young in that draft, in the 43rd round. They drafted Phil Nevin too out of HS, but he didn't sign and went to Fullerton instead. Incidentally, it was also the 2nd year in a row they drafted Garey Ingram.

Getting Young that low is great though. Piazza in the 62nd round in 1988, followed by EY in the 43rd round in 1989 is some nice late round work!

212
How high did Opperman rank before he blew out his arm?

214
Dave Schmidt, but I have never heard of him before looking that up.

Here's a historical curiosity for you: A letter from Hollywood legend King Vidor to Jim Murray at the L.A. Times protesting the bathroom facilities at Dodger Stadium circa 1974 (it's at the end of the post):

http://thesilentmovieblog.blog.com/2576797/

215 "The Dodgers also got Eric Young in that draft, in the 43rd round."

The Dodgers never really believed in EY. Actually, he was sort of the earlier version of Delwyn Young, although they had different skill sets. Both were second basemen who put up extremely impressive hitting numbers all the way through the minors, but were considered non-prospects because it wasn't believed they could stick at second base.

Hiram Bocachica into the LF Loge.

Rookie Joe Ferguson homering in the ninth to ruin the Pirate's Luke Walker's no-hitter.

Fernando's first, hit in 1982, a deep shot to right in St. Louis, then a tough hitter's park.

Wes Parker homers as part of a cycle in 1970. (The triple was more memorable as it came in the top of the 10th and drove in the go-ahead runs.)

Was Davey Lopes 3-homer day in Chicago 1974 mentioned?

When facing the Big Red Machine, Vin used to like the tell the 1970 story of then-Dodger Fred Norman coming in to relieve Bill Singer with a couple on and after walking a guy to load 'em up, he popped up Perez, popped up Bench, got a couple of strikes on Lee May ... but May took him deep for a slam. Almost, but not quite, the great escape.

Billingsley - 3.50/1.46
Lowe - 4.00/1.29
Penny - 3.90/1.32
Kuroda - 4.00/1.30
Loaiza - 4.64/1.41
Saito - 3.82/1.32
Broxton - 2.98/1.24
Beimel - 4.58/1.51
Proctor - 3.80/1.50
Seanez - 4.15/1.41
Kuo - 5.38/1.53
Meloan - 5.40/1.70

219
Oh great, Delwyn as a Rockie will have 6 SB in a game against us sometime in 2012 that we will lose 16-15!

218 So the guy who famously directed a paranoiac film called "The Crowd" was given to complaining about long lines at Dodger Stadium? Shocking!

I like that blog, by the way. The Bill Pickett poster is pretty stunning.

Vidor's letter even contains some potential sidebar material.

"Forget the impeachment of President Nixon. Instead, let's try to gain some sense of humanity for the suffering customers at Dodger Stadium."
-- King Vidor

(who, according to my preferred metric, is the third-greatest human with the first name "King," after King Kelly and King Kaufman.)

The most memorable but definitely obscure homerun for me was way back in 1970 when I was a kid and went to Dodger Stadium with neighbors, whose father worked as an usher at Dodger Stadium-we always had to get there early, since he was an usher.

Game was against the still young Montreal Expos and the Dodgers were down 10-4 going into the 7th inning, the Dodgers had scored a few runs earlier, but the game looked hopeless. Our friend's father came to get us and when we got to the car the Dodgers had scored 4 and had the bases loaded, but there were 2 outs. Haller pinch hit for Torborg and hit the grandslam-the Dodgers won 12-10 and Jim Brewer got the save!...However, we were already in the car and I vowed to never leave a game early again.

In case anyone is interested the game was played on July 22, 1970

Most Obscure but Memorable (Spring Training) Home Run:
Henry Rodriguez hits four against the Mets - Oh, Henry!
http://tinyurl.com/2zt6t7

Brian Jordan's grand slam off of Jason Schmidt on 9/16/02 is a good obscure home run.

I remember some years back watching an NBC game of the week on Saturday afternoon, Tommy Lasorda was coaching at 3rd base and was wired for sound during the game.

Ron Cey comes to the plate and Tommy tells the TV audience that he is going to hit a 3 run homer right there, like on the 3rd pitch or something...and he does. That to me was pretty impressive.

229 I remember that too although I don't remember the 3-run part or the 3rd pitch, just the confident way Lasorda predicted the HR. I guess that was before the Saturday game became the AL East Game of the Week.

Sandy Koufax hit his first home run at County Stadium on June 13, 1962 against the mighty Warren Spahn.

Obscure but memorable - Cody Ross going 3 for 5 with a grand slam and a 3 run home run vs. the Pirates in 2006, then getting DFA'd a week later.

On a personal note, I remember being at Candlestick in 1996 watching Nomo beat the Giants in a blowout... the immortal Mike Busch hit a grand slam.

228 That was a great homerun.

If ever a World Series homer could be both obscure and memorable it would be the one Dodger postseason home run I've ever seen in person. 1981. Game 4. Sixth inning. Jay Johnstone off the bench. 2 run shot to give the Dodgrs the lead in a wild, sloppy game that they won 8-7.

Not nearly my favorite Dodger homer in the series. I give equal consideration to Guerrero and Yeager going back to back the next day, but I'll go with Johnstone for obscure but memorable.

Jon has a tough job a head of him in trying to pick one home run from this group. Everyone's wifes are saying "you can remember who hit a home run 25 years ago but you can't remember to put down the toilet seat".

235
I would suggest that you go back and check the toilet seat.

I haven't plowed through all the posts so this could be redundant:

Dick Nen

Chuck Esigian--twice

237
Along that vein, Charlie Neal hit two home runs in Game 2 of the 59 series with the 2nd one putting the Dodgers a head with a two run shot in the 7th.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHA/CHA195910020.shtml

I just recently saw that when I watched the 59 series for the 1st time.

Sep 19 2004 in the heat of the race, Bradley hit an 8th inning upper deck shot and Green hit a 2 run bomb in Coors in top 9 to go up 7-6.
I was sitting second row behind the LA on-deck circle, and I have never seen a ball hit as hard as those 2 in my life.

237 - Couldn't you at least read my post?

You mentioned that we couldn't use the 88 Scoscia home run but how about the Gibson home run that actually won the same game? Everyone remembers the game 1 world series shot but that home run got us closer to the world series. Could Gibby have both, the most memorable post season home run ever, and the most obscure?

I still often wonder about how Dodger history would be different if 1) we never made the Pedro-Delino trade, and 2) we had been able to select A-Rod in the 1993 draft. A team with three future Hall-of-Famers in their primes (counting Piazza) would have challenged the Yankees as the towering baseball dynasty of the late 90s-early 00s.

242 How about if we had put Clemente on the 40 man roster?

Obscure to everyone but me because I was in the left field bleachers at Wrigley for a rare doubleheader August 25, 2000. In the first game Adrian Beltre launched one over my head and onto the intersection behind the stadium. I have the game on video and you can clearly see me stand & raise both arms as the ball left the stadium.

Gack. now Mark Cuban joins Gregg Popovich in complaining about the Lakers trade for Pau Gasol. They would both have vetoed it were they on a trade review committee. Which is exactly why there isn't a trade review committee, so competing teams can't just veto everything because it hurts their feelings and their chances.

I would have vetoed the Spurs tanking the year David Robinson was hurt thus enabling them to nab Duncan. You know they are dismayed when they start whining. Kupchak has pulled off the trade of the decade.

in '06 at home against the reds after like 15 innings ramon martinez walk off solo HR, i was able to snake up to the fron row of loge right behind home plate as our loyal LA fans all left after about the 12th, d lowe pitched a couple great innings of relief and got the win

I'm always dismayed when a team appears to be tanking, yah. The Lakers just pulled off a smart trade. It may favor them, but it's not like the Grizzlies got nothing in return - two first rounders and a great young player (plus, hey, the other Gasol!) One sided, yes, but not a total fire sale.

Plus a few minutes of Aaron McKie!

Man, giving insulin shots to a cat is a pain, for both me and the cat.

and leaving off where i left off yesterday,

jon i hope you're right, but after all the cover-ups last year with schmidt it felt like we were constantly being lied to beggining in ST when the just ignored the fact that he lost 10 MPH off his fastball and just hope it went away by opening day, than ignoring the problem his first few starts and i know that what was wrong with him could only be discovered by surgury, but i believe managment and conte knew there was something seriously wrong and lied to us. i have no reason to trust them on the issue now, and the fact that i don't trust them has me worried when i'm reading between the lines in lots of managements and conte's comments. Personally, i'm hoping for late may for him to be back on the mound

244 I missed catching a Willie Mays HR in Dodger Stadium (last touched by Don Drysdale) by 2 feet. I even had my glove! I think it was 7/29/62. Dodgers won 11-1 (complete game for Drysdale) or some such score. Except for me and the guy that caught it, it will live in obscurity forever.

249 - It's not about me being right or wrong, since the only stand I've taken is that Schmidt might be in uniform Opening Day, regardless of whether he should be in uniform Opening Day. The only stand I've taken is that no one here can claim to know for sure what will happen.

I'm not sure anyone has chronicled the pattern of Dodger players and staff giving the media and fans false impressions about the health of their players more than I have, so it's not as if I'm disagreeing with you there.

245 - That stuff just cries out to be ignored.

251 i got such mixed answers when i asked my buddies last night, what do you feel is more important to this year dodgers club, a healthy jason schmidt opening day, or ethier starting in LF and getting 550 AB's?

ironically the dodgers posted the same poll question on dodgers.com i brought up yesterday afternoon.

Gonzo, as quoted on mlb.com (flamarlins.com) today:
"It's a good opportunity for me to come into a young team, an exciting team," the 40-year-old outfielder said.

254 Never confuse coincidence for irony.

Or "that's not irony, that's what happened".

Clemens and McNamee are getting abused on Capitol Hill right now. This is pretty dramatic stuff, although it's aggravating that it's happening at all. Congress should have bigger fish to fry than these two morons.

Blackadder : Baldrick, have you no idea what irony is?
Baldrick : Yeah! It's like goldy and bronzy, only it's made of iron.

Most memorable, but obscure homerun - Ramon Martinez, 2006, vs. the Reds.

I was at the game and stayed till the end, meanwhile three quarters of the stadium had progressively wilted away. Ramon was announced to lead off the bottom 16th and I think most of us were half-asleep by that point. Any Dodger fan watching the game was probably sick of watching the likes of Toby Hall, Jason Repko, and Wilson Valdez get at-bats. By that point, Derek Lowe had already pitched a couple of innings in relief, and it was a mini-miracle we were still in a game in which The Giving Tree started and been relieved by Aaron Sele. But, Ramon came through, he hit it out, I think on the first pitch, and we could all finally go home.

The game will always be memorable for me for two reasons. One, to me, it is a microcosm of the 2006 Dodger season, a deeply flawed, basically bad team, that won through a combination of luck, persistence, and playing a lot of even worse teams.

Also, it was funny because the game had dragged on so long that Pscyho Steve Lyons had come down to watch the game in the stands. He had been there a couple of innings, gotten comfortable, was suprised by the homerun, and had to hustle up to do the post game show. Everyone's trying to get to the exits and he's running through them trying to get to his job.

258
The Griddle is opting for cute dogs and weird basketball games instead of Congess.

Mainly because that's being talked about in a million other places.

256 sorry, won't happen again.

A day late I actually realize what the most obscure but memorable home run in LA Dodger history is for me. I was at a game at Candlestick in what must have been 1999, sitting high in the right field stands near the foul pole. Todd Hundley hit a monster pop fly that the Giants second baseman camped out under. But then the wind caught it, and he started moving back before finally the right fielder started charging in. Then he, too, stopped, turned around, and sprinted towards the fence before giving up and watching the ball land in the SECOND DECK. Definitely the only home run I've ever seen that the 2B thought he was going to catch but completely obscure aside from that.

Gotta love the 'Stick.

262
Dodger Thoughts has a volunteer Irony Police force.

We were going to pay the Irony Police, but we accidentally gave the money to the Society to Prevent the Spread of Sarcasm.

240 - Couldn't you at least read my post? I skimmed the post, got the gist, and failed to read closly enough so my answer to your question is yes. I watched Nen hit the homer on TV and have always agreed with everybody that has written about it, that it was a turning point in that season.

242 - Wasn't the DeShields/ Martinez trade part of the fallout from not signing Steve Sax and the eventual Jody Reed self imposed fiasco?

265
I sense that we're going to hear about Buttercup soon.

Let's flash back to a game between the Dodgers and Astros during last month of the miraculous 1988 season. Does anyone remember John Shelby's 3-run homer off of Mike Scott with two outs in the 8th inning of that game? I believe the jack broke a 1-1 tie and squelched any chance the Astros might have had at making a late-season run against the Dodgers. I remember listening to the game in my bedroom and hearing Vin's call of the homer break through the static of the broadcast. I about hit the ceiling as I jumped up to celebrate.

263 - I was playing second base in a very windy softball game when a foul pop was hit and headed behind the bleachers between home and third base. I started to move toward the ball but the third baseman was already headed to the fence and as the wind began to blow the ball toward the pitchers mound the shortstop was there calling for the ball so I stayed at my position where I was between first and second and eventually caught the ball where I was standing all the time. It looked like I knew what I was doing but without the other two fielders already running where I would have run....

266
Why do you build me up (build me up) Buttercup, baby
Just to let me down (let me down) and mess me around
And then worst of all (worst of all) you never call, baby
When you say you will (say you will) but I love you still
I need you (I need you) more than anyone, darlin'
You know that I have from the start
So build me up (build me up) Buttercup, don't break my heart
"I'll be over at ten", you told me time and again
But you're late, I wait around and then
I went to the door, I can't take any more
It's not you, you let me down again
(Hey, hey, hey!) Baby, baby, try to find
(Hey, hey, hey!) A little time and I'll make you mine
(Hey, hey, hey!) I'll be home
I'll be beside the phone waiting for you
Ooo-oo-ooo, ooo-oo-ooo
Why do you build me up (build me up) Buttercup, baby
Just to let me down (let me down) and mess me around
And then worst of all (worst of all) you never call, baby
When you say you will (say you will) but I love you still
I need you (I need you) more than anyone, darlin'
You know that I have from the start
So build me up (build me up) Buttercup, don't break my heart
You were my toy but I could be the boy you adore
If you'd just let me know
Although you're untrue, I'm attracted to you all the more
Why do I need you so
(Hey, hey, hey!) Baby, baby, try to find
(Hey, hey, hey!) A little time and I'll make you mine
(Hey, hey, hey!) I'll be home
I'll be beside the phone waiting for you
Ooo-oo-ooo, ooo-oo-ooo
Why do you build me up (build me up) Buttercup, baby
Just to let me down (let me down) and mess me around
And then worst of all (worst of all) you never call, baby
When you say you will (say you will) but I love you still
I need you (I need you) more than anyone, darlin'
You know that I have from the start
So build me up (build me up) Buttercup, don't break my heart
I need you, more than anyone, baby
You know that I have from the start
So build me up (build me up) Buttercup, don't break my heart

That grand slam Milton hit right after LaRoche was pretty amazing. Milton Bradley's confidant scrappiness was one of a kind, it seemed like he was our Big Papi that year. Clutchness at it's highest level. I hate Jeff Kent.

Some quick notes from Vero Beach per JR on his blog.

We have a media conference scheduled for 1 p.m. ET with Joe Torre. Not surprisingly, there are tons of New York and national media members who have been checking in with me almost daily to see when Joe will first speak here at Dodgertown so they can document it all for the papers in Manhattan.

For those of you who don't want to wait to read the written reports, ESPN should be carrying it live on one of their multiple channels (maybe "The Ocho"), so be on the lookout for that. I'll try to post any highlights later this afternoon.

Otherwise, it should be a relatively quiet, albeit exciting, day at Dodgertown.

UPDATE: It's pouring at Dodgertown, but we have a tid bit of news. Takashi Saito signed a one-year deal today, which was really never in question but nonetheless, is nice to get done.

Then you might enjoy my post tomorrow. My dislike of Kent has grown since the Milton baiting to such proportions I'm not sure I can root for him.

Cargill is looking into starting the Committee Against Condescending Bloggers as we speak.

273 > 264

Heh.

--

I'd love to see this Torre press conference but have a feeling it'll be delayed on ESPN by their multi-faceted, hard-hitting coverage of the steroids scandal.

272 I am sure I will enjoy it thoroughly Toy, as usual. My hatred for everything Jeff Kent is very strong.

275 Or by dodgeball.

I like Jeff Kent. Maybe I just like second baseman but I like him.

Okay, back to Kent bashing.

271 thanks for the update, looking forward to hearing more as the day goes on.

Viz a viz tank jobs, and "what-might-have-beens" in Dodgers history, I will never forgive the Reds and Astros for the lay-down job they did against the Braves down the stretch in 91. You know who you are.

Not sure if this one was mentioned, or if it qualifies:

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2001/B09220LAN2001.htm

LoDuca capped off his stunning '01 season by hitting a two-run homerun off Big Unit in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game, after a long at-bat to get it to a full count. Also, it was in the handful of games right after 9/11 and in the middle of a tight pennant race.

DBacks scored two in the 11th, but LA came back with 3 in the bottom to win.

That brought the Blue to within 3 games of AZ, but they went onto lose 5 of the next 6.

On the flip side, there was this game:

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1997/B08252PIT1997.htm

Worrell threw about 6 pitches, a walk followed by back-to-back HRs to lose that game in the blink of an eye. Randa and his stupid Joker-esque smile after the dinger are burned into my brain.

LA was a 1/2 game up on SF after that, but lost the West that year by 2 games to the Giants.

280
Robinson Checo says hi!

Saito signed his new deal. 1-year, up to $2.2 million with $200k in incentives added in.

http://mlbfleecefactor.com/2008/02/13/dodgers-sign-takashi-saito/

I was right about Mark Sweeney -- he IS on the 40-man roster. Check Dodgers.com

278 The price I would pay to see Jeff Kent thrown into a trashcan by Matt Kemp.....

284
One of the best deals in MLB!

October 5, 1980
Game #162
Astros at Dodgers
Astros lead the Dodgers by 1 game
Bottom of the 8th
Astros lead 3-2
Garvey leads off and reaches on an error
Cey homers to give us a 4-3 lead
Howe and Sutton pitch the 9th to close it out and force a 1 game playoff.
You know the rest of the story.

Nannygate (ver.2008).

278 I like Jeff Kent for the most part. Certainly like him more than Bradley. By the time Bradley was traded I couldn't wait to get rid of him. As a Dodger fan I thought he was an embarrasment. I'd rather have Ethier than Bradley then, now and everyday between.

My official position on Jeff Kent is that I don't really like him personally, but I'm happy he's on the team. I'd put him in the Sheffield category.

284 I'm sure part of that salary is a finder's fee for helping recruit Kuroda to L.A.

291 yeah, I'd fall into that category as well.

284/287 And yet one of the highest paid third year players in the game.

Any home run hit by Tripp Cromer is on my list, especially ones hit in 1999. (There were actually 2; 5 days apart in 1999 - both in the 9th inning, off Graves and Wagner.)

281 This is the homer I was going to mention as well.

Most memorable for me is David Ross hitting a home run off of Mark Grace increasing the Dodgers lead to 19-0 (Diamondbacks scored in the bottom of the ninth to make it 19-1). I sat in the forth row behind home plate for the game.

278 Ethier can't hold a healthy Milton Bradley's (insert baseball related item here). Bradley is a switch hitter with power that plays CF. Ethier is a LF that is relatively unproven.

Doh! meant for 290

298 But dont forget that he can 'play CF' when hes not on the DL, which is constantly.

I used to like Bradley more than anyone, and Im thoroughly off his bandwagon now. He has flashes of brilliance but something always seems to come up and derail him. Whether its drama or an injury. Or both, as we saw with the Padres last year.

I still can't believe he injured himself that way. What a small picture of how his career has been

is milton a free agent?

Milton Bradley will take the title of my favorite non Dodger if Mike retires this year.

302 He's on Texas.

There are relatively few players in baseball who can carry a healthy Milton Bradley's (insert baseball-related item here). Thing is, a healthy Milton Bradley is an animal that very likely doesn't exist.

A game in 1965 when pinch hitter Al Ferrara hits a home run off of Dick Ellsworth of the Cubs to win a game as the Dodgers get that only one hit.

It should be noted for the naysayers that Bradley is now on his third consecutive team where he hasn't caused any trouble. He was quiet as a church mouse in Oakland, and was completely vindicated in the only hint of an incident he had in San Diego.

For the first time ever the Dodgers beat Juan Marichal of the Giants at Candlestick park in June 27, 1968 thanks to a home run by Zoilo Versailles who only hit 2 as a Dodger that season (LA hit a total of 67 that year), the other was off of another great pitcher - Ken Holtzman of the Cubs. Don Sutton was the winner that day against Marichal who I think won 26 games that season.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN196806270.shtml

Milton Bradley is a cancer and Jeff Kent is a heart attack. LA is better off without Bradley (and we got Ethier in return!) and would be beter off without Kent.

307 But there is no doubt that there were incidents he had even before the whole Jeff Kent thing came up.

I realize that Jeff Kent is not as liked as many (though lets remember he was brought in under the previous GM, though Ned signed him to his extension with auto-performance-guaranteed option).

This is not about choosing sides, I think you can like them both. But to blame Milton's dismissal from the team solely on Kent is not fair to Kent.

Mentioned before?

In his only post season at-bat, catcher Tom Wilson of the Los Angeles Dodgers hit a ninth inning home run off closer Jason Insringhausen on October 5, 2004.

Tom was a Dodger for a month or so, we carried three catchers on our playoff roster in 2004.

310 I haven't said one word about Jeff Kent in this thread.

I'd really like a Kemp/Jones/Bradley outfield.

307
I like Milton Bradley a lot but to say he was vindicated for the SD incident is misleading.

Yes, the umpire was wrong for his actions, and Milton had a right to be upset. But, Milton carried his anger too far, and had to be physically restrained -- which led to one of the most bizarre injuries in MLB history.

At some point, Milton needs to just walk away -- which, admittedly for the most part he has done for 2 years.

In 1974 LA had two guys who hit 3 home runs in a game - Jimmy Wynn against San Diego and Dave Lopes against Chicago (Wrigley Field).

I think Mike Piazza hit a walk off home run at Dodger stadium in the last game Lasorda managed before his heart problem put him on the sidelines. Don't remember date. It was a Sunday afternoon game.

315 I had forgotten about Wynn's! That jogs another memory - Wynn hitting an 11th walkoff against the Giants in September while LA was still in a hot pennant race with the Reds for the West. I believe he hit it off Billie Jean King's brother.

is there anywhere online to get a hold of the 4+1 game? I looked at mlb.com but could only find last year's games.

October 1, 2004. David Ross hit an 11th inning homerun to guarantee the Dodgers at least a tie for the division title.

I was three rows behind the Dodgers dugout with my six week old daughter at her first game.

312 I only mentioned Kent because this part of thread started with the statement re Kent egging Bradley on that predicated the whole mess late in the 2005 season.

319 The highlights are below:

http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/multimedia/tp_archive.jsp?c_id=la&ym=200609

272 Then you might enjoy my post tomorrow. My dislike of Kent has grown since the Milton baiting to such proportions I'm not sure I can root for him.

Milton Bradley has issues that I've always felt a grown man should have gotten over years earlier. However, I'm with you on the baiting part. The thing that always bothered me about the incident was when Kent was questioned by someone the next day about the impact it would have on the Dodgers his reply was, "I know what I'm doing." As a result there has never been any doubt in my mind that Kent deliberately provoked Bradley knowing exactly what Milton's reaction would be to being criticized in front of the rest of the team from supposedly not hustling. Kent disliked Bradley and wanted him off the team. And his plan worked.

308 there was supposed to be an unspecified incident that led him to be cut by Oakland.

make that 307

Bradley was too combustible to play more then a couple of seasons in LA. He was another version of Gary Sheffield without the power. Hopefully next year the LA team will have Martin, Loney, Abreu, Hu, LaRoche, Ethier, Janes, Kemp as every day players.

Like him or not he is a ridiculously good baseball player without question. His HR swing from the left side is as sweet as Griffey's imo. Im glad he's moved on to play for Ron Washington, that should be a good situation for him again. Why did Ned have to give us Pierre after all that awesomeness? At least Lofton had a little pop. Sigh.

(Sorry had to bring up Pierre.)

326 Without the power? Bradley had nice power.

El Lay Dave
I recall Wynn hitting a big September 1974 home run against the Reds to back Don Sutton. Wynn was in 1974 what Kirk Gibson was in 1988 without the confrontational attitude.

328. MC Safety
Yes Bradley has power but not Sheffield type of power is what I meant.

313 Id buy season tickets for that.

327. MC Safety
I 100% agree with you. I thought they should have kept Lofton for another season and not signed Gonzo and girlie arm Pierre. Trade Pierre to another team for someone else's bad contract.

330 Sheffield is not a Cf.

I'll bet that Oakland regretted trading Andre Ethier for Milton Bradley.

326 if furcal doesn't get outragous with his demands you don't think he is worth re-signing?

Here's a more direct link to the 4 consecutive homers clip:

http://tinyurl.com/lzpad

How can anyone seriously consider Milton Bradley to be someone who has gained control of his anger issues and is a good team player since we traded him?

He is a five-tool player with amazing talent and a huge upside for anyone who wants to take a chance that what he produces on the field will outweigh what destruction he'll leave in his path.

He needs at least a year on an island with Dr. Phil before I believe he's turned a corner. And he'd have to tell me where he buried Phil before I believed it for sure.

Gurnick in a current article on the bench:

"Young is an intriguing component. He's hit everywhere, and he's out of options, so management believes he must make the club or be lost to another team. As a switch-hitter, he can be particularly valuable pinch-hitting if he can handle a role best suited to a veteran."

Is this one of those baseball myths? I suspect that the veteran status of alot of pinch-hitters is more effect than cause: someone who is a good enough hitter to hang around that long has value mostly as a PH. A young fellow did a pretty good job at it last year before he was traded: 38 PA (33 with LA) .276/.447/.655/1.103, 3 HR.

333. MC Safety
I understand that. However Sheffield is a much more dangerous hitter and RBI man then Bradley. Bradley was playing RF for LA when they got Steve Finley. Bradley is a disaster waiting to happen. Sheffield was a malcontent who at least put up humongous numbers in LA particularly in 200 and 2001.

Jason Kidd's been traded to Mavs.

Mavs get: Jason Kidd, Antoine Wright
Nets get: Diop, Stackhouse, Devin Harris

The Western Conference is absolutely loading up this year. This is the biggest talent discrepancy I've ever seen between the two conferences.

334 i agree

335. cargill06
Furcal is too injury prone and probably would make outrageous contract demands - but who knows?

340 Jerry Buss and Mitch Kupchak vote to veto that trade.

317 edited

2008-02-13 12:23:16
317. Ripper
As a Dodger fan since 1965, I never got over the trauma of the Piazza trade (the 10 year anniversary is coming up in May) and every time I saw him come to the plate for the Mets(I live in NY) I had to cringe. I always wanted Piazza to return to LA even if it was as a back up late in his career. I will hate the Fox sports ... who made that trade and the LA sports writers who cheered it on for the rest of my life. If we traded Kemp I fully expect it to be as bad as the Piazza trade. Yeah Bonilla, Sheffield really added to the clubhouse didn't they Plaschke and Charles Johnson really filled Piazza's shoes?

342 Furcal has played 150 or more games at SS four of the last six years, and last year he was hurt only because Repko ran into him. I don't see that as "injury-prone".

340
I think that is a bad move for the Mavs. Devon Harris might already be better then Kidd. Good move for the Lakers however.
Ron Artest should be the next one to move as the West teams get desperate to keep up.

337 I am a firm believer Milton was a differant man after the Cleveland trade. He was getting traded to the team he grew up rooting for. He wanted more than anything to succeed with the Dodgers. Jeff Kent for the most part prevented that from happening. The comment in 323 confirms Jeff Kent is a complete dou$$hbag.

Wasn't the Fox executive who made the trade the same Peter Chernin who is so loved by the WGA?

Furcal is too injury prone

he's played in at least 150 games 4 of the last 6 years and the other 2 years were 138, and 143. He's a decent OBP buy with some pop and speed, assuming he has his typical season this year i see him as another target for a short term deal.

329 Yes, Wynn's was a slam to break open a tight game, wasn't it? Wynn was just huge for the 1974 Dodgers - that was a CF whose weak arm (elbow injury) could be tolerated.

340 Now if only Garnett had remained in Minnesota.

348

As I remembered it, Chase Carey was the man who pulled the trigger.

Bradley was suspended in 2004 for a melt down in RF. As for Furcal's injury thanks to Repko, I cannot understand why Jason Repko is even in a Dodger uniform taking up valuable roster space. Bradley also had issues I believe off the field with his wife. The guy has serious anger management problems.

337 "How can anyone seriously consider Milton Bradley to be someone who has gained control of his anger issues and is a good team player since we traded him?"

Uh, because he hasn't caused any incidents since we traded him?

Also, I never said he's gained control of anything. I just said he's been a model citizen. That doesn't mean he couldn't blow up tomorrow. But so far, he hasn't.

And even when he was at his most volatile, he was famous for being a universally well-liked teammate and a fabulous team player. Throughout his career his teammates (with the exception of Mr. Kent) have had nothing but glowing comments about him. The "bad team player" nonsense is a wholesale invention by people outside the clubhouse who don't like his other antics.

347 i wonder how that first meeting during spring training went between Milt and LoDuca

348 But wasn't most of the blame laid at the feet of - and I carely barely type the name - Chase Carey?

345
He was hurt in both seasons as a Dodger. Just because he played a lot of games doesn't mean he wasn't hurt. Still he's hardly injury prone.

How the Furcal situation plays out will be an interesting subplot to 2008. If he has a great year he will help the team and Ned will want to extend him. If he gets hurt again and has a subpar year it will be easy to let him walk and let Hu take the reigns in 2009 but the team will suffer in 2008 because they need 2006 2nd half Furcal to win the West. Plus Ned just might want to use Hu as a trading chip if holes open up on the team during the season. I'm sure he'll see a middle relief pitcher somewhere that he just has to have.

352. LogikReader
Chase Carey and Peter Chernin. Why did Lasorda not quit right anger that?

Plaschke applauded the trade. He has a man crush on Charles Johnson.

348-"Whatchoo earnin, Peter Chernin??!!"

Oh, right...strike's over.

I am not too worried about the Mavericks trade. They gave up a big chunk of their depth and will have to really owrry about their guards in the future.

Tony Jackson covers the Torre press conference:

http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/

352 while pointing directly at his own foot.

Carey is still president and CEO of DirecTV, headquartered just down the street from me. I raspberry in his general direction (my window faces that way.)

346--Devin Harris is no where close to Jason Kidd IMO.

I think the Mavs may have trouble replacing Stackhouse's 4th quarter offense, and Diop interior defense. Harris wasnt really a difference maker IMO.

I still like this trade bc the more talent in the West the better.

346 You think Ron Artest is going to get traded? He just signed a one year contract to play CF for the Texas Rangers.

340 Talk about coming full circle. Next thing you know, Jason Kidd will be traded to Phoenix again for Steve Nash. Then traded for Marbury. Just repeat once every 10 years.

Jimmy Wynn hit a memorable home run! Unbelievable, someone should give that guy a nickname.

355 "i wonder how that first meeting during spring training went between Milt and LoDuca"

Lo Duca [with syringe in hand]: "Hey, Milton. Pull down your pants. I've got a little something for you. Just to show you there's no hard feelings."

Henry Waxman isn't what I would call a towering figure.

I'm a Milton fan but why does everyone keep talking about him like he's a centerfielder? Hamilton will be playing CF for the Rangers, Kotsay and other flotsam were playing CF for the A's and Cameron was playing CF for the Padres.
With his injuries Milton is now a corner just like Everett became a corner due to injuries.

Bradley has 'roid rage with needing the 'roids.

I'd like to put him and Kent into a locked storage box like Vic Mackey did to two hoods who couldn't make nice, just to see who would come out alive.

370 make that 'roid rage without needing the 'roids.

at least Milton believes in dinosaurs. Thanks for the 4+1 links. Wish there was an easy way to get the full game from MLB. All I saw was last year's games available for full-length download but will keep checking.

"I'd like to put him and Kent into a locked storage box like Vic Mackey did to two hoods who couldn't make nice, just to see who would come out alive."

My memory is a little vague, but didn't the one who survived end up getting shot by Mackey anyway?

360--Thats a good point too.
The Mavs gave up 7 players: Diop, Stackhouse, Ager, Harris, George and 2 future 1st rd picks for Kidd/Allen.

Their rotation is really going to be small:

G- Kidd
G- Terry
SF-Howard
PF-Dirk
C- Brandon Bass...?

Bench:
Hassell, Eddie Jones, Dampier (he's hurt).

They have virtually no depth and no size. But their starting 5 may be the best in the league.

i still think Lakers have a better starting 5 when Drew gets back.

354 Amen.

372 Ahh... Kent's big denial and McCain's eventual downfall with the far right. Dinosaurs.

Milton might only believe in them because he threw a few toy dinosaurs at his ex-wife.

And Kent should believe in them because he is becoming one.

354 - Didn't Bradley call out Beane after he was DFA'd? Add to that the SD incident and I think it would be a little strong to say he has been a model citizent. Tolerable? Yeah. Model citizen? Not quite.

370
I have to admit I thought it was pithy that they wouldn't just go at it and settle the problem. Milton's a big boy he didn't need to go crying to Tracy about how Kent didn't respect him.
Sure it would have been blown up in the paper that Milton can't control his anger but on the other hand everyone also knew that Kent was a jerk so they might have canceled each other out.

375..I'd give the Lakers an edge at SG and C.

But Dirk, Josh Howard, and Jason Kidd>>>>>Gasol, Odom, and Fisher.

379 Are you lisping a word there?

Does Dirk play any defense yet?

373 Kearn Little came out of the box. Mackey, in a set up by Antwon Mitchell, helped Kearn and another Mitchell guy break into a police evidence storage facility to get some drugs or something. The second hood killed the guard and then Kearn Little. Mackey and Shane were double-crossed and Kearn was taken out by Antwon.

Vic returned to the scene of the crime later as an investigator and identified Kearn for Dutch.

374
I think you overrate the current version of Kidd. With Paul, Deron, Nash, Parker, and Baron, he's not even a top 5 point guard in this league. The Mav's will go the way that the Trailblazers did once we crushed their spirit.

383
I'm intrigued and have no idea what your talking about.

What the Kent/Kemp and Kent/Bradley incidents had in common is both teams were losing.

If they were winning, those incidents might have played out differently.

Mr. Enders, if you think that Meltdown Badly hasn't had any incidents since we traded him, why would Oakland put him on waivers, willing to pay his salary just to get rid of him?

Also, he might have cost his team a playoff spot by tearing his ACL while arguing with an umpire (still strange to even say that). Is that a team player? Someone who puts his own hurt pride before his team needs?

385 The Shield. FX. Great show.

386 It was actually a fire-sale trade, Bradley and cash for Andrew Brown - minor point.

Milton Bradley is still one of the great baseball names. [Baseball has also had the Parker brothers (Doc and Jay), but they are very obscure. Jay does have one of the great career totals of all time, 1 start, O IP, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 2 R, ERA limiting to infinity.]

leave it to me to go to the library today to get a book on financial planning and also a film guide I needed for work, and end up with the Futurama comic book that Matt Groening did. Well, I got all three, but guess which one I read at lunch?

I need a book about procrastinating, too. I'll get that later.

Anyway, Newsday already has a piece up on Torre's press conference, to go with Tony Jackson's.
http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-sptorre0214,0,708552.story

Milton Bradley tore his ACL for our sins.

Actually that Newsday story is a waste. Never mind. I thought it continued on for another page. Pointless.

Poor Joe.

384--Kidd's had some very fine stats this year playing a slower pace with the Nets.

11.3 PPG
10.4 Assists
8.1 Rebounds

The guys you mentioned are better scorers (Kidd's FG/3point FG are crappy), but in terms of the total game I think Kidd is still a top notch PG.

He wont need to score much for the Mavs anyway. They'll need him to push the ball, grab rebounds, and play defense.

388 Bradley was DFAed before that. I'm pretty sure it was because Beane didn't want to DFA someone else, just to have Bradley get hurt a week later.

Dodgers set to get down to business

>> to make room for Pierre, Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp, two of the Dodgers' brightest young stars, will have to share time in right.

There will be variations on that theme. At times, Torre will want both Ethier and Kemp in the lineup, which will force Pierre to sit. <<

http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_8245369

388 Not to beat a dead horse, but Milton was designated for assignment and Oakland would have eaten his contract if they couldn't trade him. They had him traded to KC but Milton then said he was injured and KC backed off. SD then took him close to the ten day deadline and the deal included money from Oakland to get rid of him. SD got a lot of bang for their buck.

I suspect with no proof that something happened that we don't know about. There had to be a reason Oakland would pay him to go away after a monster post season performance in 06.

How about instead of "At times", make that "All the time".

There's absolutely no reason to ever play Pierre over Ethier in left field.

394
That is a disheartening quote. It will be hard to root for this team if they are stupid enough to platoon Kemp/Ethier while playing Pierre.

363 I heard that Stackhouse would be bought out and would re-join the Mavs.

"Young is an intriguing component. He's hit everywhere, and he's out of options, so management believes he must make the club or be lost to another team. As a switch-hitter, he can be particularly valuable pinch-hitting if he can handle a role best suited to a veteran."

This from Dodgers.com is sickening. It bears repetition. Could the D's actually give up Young for nothing and keep Lucille II or Sweeney.

Also, I read something in the SF Chronicle today that suggested that Milton Bradley was traded after he yelled at Billy Beane in the clubhouse.

399 I think a what you get from Dodgers.com is sometimes Gurnick projecting his own wishes, instead of reporting what the Dodgers are likely thinking. Thus the constant focus of the site for the last 2 years on trading young players for an impact player, only to see it not happen.

I hope this is another instance of that.

392
Your a stat guy. Using PER instead of the old stats, Jason Kidd ranks 16th among point guards with a 16.07. Devin Harris is 18.66. Jordan Farmer is just a tick behind Mr. Kidd. Chris Paul is an ungodly 27.
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/statistics?sort=per&qual=true&pos=pg&seasonType=2

399
I actually didn't find anything wrong with that quote. I just think it means it is hard for a youngster to just sit around after playing everyday from HS-AAA, compared to someone like Sweeney who knows his best times came and went and he's lucky to be getting a paycheck for sitting on the bench 98% of the time.

399 Yeah I agree with 401 , I didn't interpret that quote to mean the Dodgers are planning on giving up Young. I think they very much want to keep him, don't want to lose him for nothing. So barring a trade, he has a good shot at least. I really think - or at least hope - that Martinez was brought in as insurance at this point and doesn't stand much of a chance to make the squad. Still, I hope Delwyn mashes in the Spring, fair or not, so that Torre sees what he has.

Oh, crud. Jamie Dixon's name is now coming up to replace Floyd if he bolts for LSU.

Jamie Dixon is a real good coach and he would make USC into a big power. Not only that, but he is the guy UCLA would hire if Howland ever left to the pros. Talk about making the rivalry even more intense.

403 True enough. However,

(a) There's no reason to believe that young players, frustrated though they may be at sitting, will be outperformed by veterans who are used to it. This would be yet another example of the Dodgers making a decision based on the possibility of hurting a player's feelings, as opposed to making decisions based on what's best for the team.

(b) While sitting on a major league bench may be frustrating to Delwyn Young, it is probably infinitely preferable to the only alternative: DFAing him.

394 Also, that is not quote from Torre or Ned about the outfield situation, that is just Tony Jackson's analysis of the aftermath of the free agent signing of Andruw Jones.

Again, he believes that the Dodgers will have a hard time sitting the multi-million dollar man but there is nothing in the story or today's press conference that indicates that the players switching off will be Kemp and Ethier.

And remember that the first player mentioned in a recent interview that Torre is interested in seeing play was Matt Kemp (who was also a favorite of Grady's going back to when he first saw him during the 2006 ST)

405 Is this talk of Floyd leaving just white noise because everything I read seems to indicate that Floyd is going nowhere.

Also, while USC might become a better team, would Dixon be able to recruit the Mayos and Deroazans.

Yeah, I don't see Kemp sitting very often. If there's a platoon it'll be Ethier and Pierre, which is of course ridiculous, too. But I really don't think Torre will be afraid to sit Pierre. Honestly I think all 4 guys will get playing time and while I wish Pierre was only there to spell Jones in the late innings, if he has to be there at all, I don't think he'll be stealing much time from Kemp.

405
Dixon would not, which is a good thing for USC. Although, Derozan's situation is a lot different than Mayo's.

There has been talk for awhile that Floyd wanted LSU job and now that it is open the talk is really heating up.

406 I think a comment that El Lay Dave made earlier is right on point, older players get those opportunities (on ESPN.com, you can sort PH at bats and will not find a 1st or 2nd year player among the top 40 players). Partly it has to be due to service time issues and the other is that teams in general would rather play younger players in the field than have them sit.

407 Very good point bh. The article didn't include many Torre quotes, it was Tony's own preview of things to come, a sort of primer of spring training.

In my humble opinion, I think a trade is still the best option. I prefer to keep Ethier for a few reasons, mostly cost control if we find someone willing to take on Pierre's contract. I fear that Ethier will find more takers than Juan. Either way, I'd like it settled.

I much prefer Kemp playing everyday. A spring injury can change all of this.

409 Pierre shouldn't play center in late innings over Jones unless the game is lopsided.

Jones is a much better outfielder. I'm not sure what would make you think that Pierre would be a late inning replacement.

401-404 I appreciate what you guys are saying and you are all part of the wisdom at this place. I know it could just be Gurnick's spin. But things went so well this off-season, and then all of a sudden we are back to RM and Sweeney. I know it may be paranoid, but if they aren't going to trust guys like Abreu and Young, there were times they could have gotten good value for them and there will be chances to get good value this year.

413 maybe if repko is out in a corner OF spot you can stick Pierre in CF as a late inning replacement, that is an accident waiting to happen

100 years later, the guy still can't get a break.

Headline in the Daily News:
Merkle won't play with team in playoffs

http://tinyurl.com/yv624f

or maybe hire bud black to "take care" of the juan pierre situation

did billy beane really ask for homey bailey and josh roenicke (don't know who that is)for blanton??? i hope he got laughed at.

413 I should've clarified - I meant in lopsided games indeed, not as a defensive replacement. Definitely. I don't really see where Pierre's place is at all anyway, since he's not built to be a corner outfielder, and can't do much off the bench other than a pinch-runner... Maybe I should've changed that to "... then as a pinch-runner."

[415\ Yepper, I suggested that too - in a sort of sick joke, perhaps the human crash test dummy can take down another player. Not that I really wish any physical harm on Pierre because I don't.

418 Homey don't play that.

The Reds have a recent history of giving up decent talent for mediocre pitching.

Not sure if this is a joke or what---

But ESPN radio is reporting that David Stern will be expanding the NBA to.....................EUROPE.

He wants 5 more teams in the NBA.

Thats um.. lot of travelling, especially for the West Coast teams.

419 even if you do wish physical harm on pierre as long as it's not a life altering injury there are a lot of people in this world who would be really happy making 50K a game to do nothing. hell you could take a medevil club to my knees if i made 50K a game for a year.

it's like my girlfriend whose favorite player is now brett tomko because she felt bad that he always used to get booed at home. if only we were so lucky to be completely useless and make more than 96% of the american population

I really enjoy this topic; reliving some fun memories. July 5, 2004 was the day Gagne's 84 save streak ended. If not for a 3 run laser beam hit by Saenz in the bottom of the 6th with 2 outs, he would have never had the chance for the save. At the same time, if it had been someone else on the right side of the infield in the 9th, Gagne may have gotten to 85. The "killer tomato" got the at bat when he pinch hit for Robin Ventura. This was one of those "classic" Tracy AB's where he brought in a righty to face the lefty, then the Dbacks went to the pen to get the righty/righty matchup, that didn't payoff.

I still have my ticket stub to that game. I was in shock in the 9th, didn't know what to say or do. The box score says there were 32929 in attendance, but it was more like 25000ish.

Please Ned, get rid of Pierre even if you have to eat a substantial part of his contract. The guy hit zero home runs and you think that you do not need power from a corner outfielder? Also don't forget that Andruw Jones is only signed for two years so in 2 years you can have Kemp, a hole in CF and an aging unproductive, slap hitting, Juan Pierre. Keep Ethier and dump Frenchy!!!

Jay Johnstone's pinch hit home run in game 4 of the 1981 World Series is one of the most memorable Dodger home runs for me.

425 wait til position players report, maybe pierre's gone through a willie mays hayes career transformation

424
I was at a game in Petco while your game was playing in LA. I was watching the scoreboard and realized what happened. I told all the Padre fans what had happened. They didn't even know what I was talking about. Really, I've never been around such disinterested fans. It was like I was surrounded by a bunch of mild mannered Clark Kents.

If we are paying $8,500,000 for two players no matter what and only 1 will play most of the time, why not play the better one. Can anyone tell me?

Nevermind the better one being younger with more long term potential.

428
They get excited when Trevor Hoffman comes in, but little else.

I was at a game there in 2006 when Julio Franco became the oldest man to HR, and I was frantically telling everyone in my section that we just witnesses to history. They all looked at me like I had a third ear or something (no, I don't normally get those looks!). Sadly, the Petco scoreboard never acknowledged the feat.

Actually, they get pretty excited when the Dodgers are in town, or maybe it's just that they alerted to my attendance and know the Padres are 19-6 in San Diego versus LA in my lifetime.

428 i really hate the padres and their idiot fans

430
I put the note about Franco's home run on The Griddle within about five minutes of its occurrence.

432
I should have checked the Griddle first! This was back when I had internet access on my phone, so I was checking ESPN.com to see if they noted it, and in fact they did, but I doubt it was as quick as The Griddle.

428
How can you hate the fans? What's to hate?

429 because pierre will always be a candidate to lead the league in singles, what would ethier ever lead the league in???

432
That must have been one of your slow days.

429
I've never understood the arguement. What does salary have to do with who plays and yet we hear it time and time again.

434 i just really strongley dislike anything associated with the padres. at one game they had runners on 1st and 3rd and i heard one fan say, "we could really use a grand slam."

437 ego, if ethier starts in LF you're pretty much telling your GM that he's a friggen idiot with that signing and bruising his ego and basically admitted you made a huge mistake and a lot of people have a hard time admitting they made a mistake

431 ,434
Yeah, I wouldn't call their fans idiots. There are far less drunken shouting instances in SD than LA. For the most part, SD fans are supportive, albeit laid back to some extent. Like most cities, they will support a winner, and seem to get loudest against the Dodgers.

I have a healthy dislike for the Padres because I happen to live among Padres' supporters, but it's nothing against their fans. If I lived in Phoenix, I'd probably dislike the D-Backs more.

439
I think Colletti bruised his own ego, if you will, when he signed someone who plays the same position as Pierre this winter.

To many fish tacos will make you wishy-washy.

428 Milton Bradley wants to know where he can find some of these mild-mannered Kents.

Great fact from Gurnick's story...

"He (Torre) ran into catcher Russell Martin at the local International House of Pancakes on Tuesday morning"

It's good to know the lengths the manager and starting catcher will go for free pancakes!

443
Did Padre fans give him a hard time? I thought he was their savior until he blew the knee?

442
The non-breaded fish tacos are the best. I love those things. I think the only place to get those at Petco is at the Baja Bistro, which is on the semi-exclusive Toyota Terrace level.

"Torre immediately turned around and pretended not to see Martin, as he is determined to make it through the season without actually meeting any of his players..."

443
At my grocery store, you have to ask the clerks to get the Kents out for you. The Parliaments too.

445
From what I saw, there was no ill will toward MB in SD, until the Bud Black takedown incident (would it be a deletable offense to call that Black on black crime?), and even then the outcry was limited.

toy, he was making a joke about Jeff.

It was funny, and I completely whiffed.

So I finally read Gurnicks piece.

"From the left side, barring a trade, it's likely the Dodgers will always have either Pierre or Andre Ethier on the bench, depending on which one wins the starting left-fielder job, to go with Sweeney, who is second on the all-time pinch-hit list."

For what it is worth he doesn't seem to think it will be a time-share job.

The John Hollinger article on ESPN.com (free) starts with this line:

The Lakers must be falling over with laughter by now

http://tinyurl.com/34en4b

I think both Dallas and Phoenix made risky moves, but I also think they HAD to make those moves (especially Phoenix). It sure will be exciting in the West!

Also, one blogger thinks the Lakers (currently 2 GB of Phoenix) have the inside track in winning the Pacific because of their remaining schedule.

http://tinyurl.com/2ur6qw

434 Because they think our stadium smells bad and we have "smug dirtbag fans" and subjected them to too much Jayson Werth!

(or so says gaslamp ball anyway...)

438

That seems like a rough analysis of Padres fans. I have heard some pretty stupid comments made by Dodger fans in the stands...I just end up shaking my head.

455
Last year, some Dodger "fan" kept yelling "Peavy sucks." I finally turned around and tried to reason with him that Peavy was pretty much the definition of not sucking. To the heckler's credit, he wasn't nearly as vocal the rest of the game.

No one corrected him when he chanted "Tomko sucks."

455 My favorite example of this is when I was listening to Dodger talk during the first half of last season and some caller was arguing how Nomar was a better player than Bonds because he had an equivalent number of RBIs and his batting average was better.

I've tried that when Barry was in town. He typically just hit a bomb home run in response, and than the fans would continue to chant that he sucks. Yeah, his slugging pct said differently on the scoreboard

456
I would have liked to have gotten a video of you trying to reason with the LF Loge crowd when they chanted "Barry Sucks" as you explained that Barry was pretty much the definition of not sucking. It would not have ended well, even if you were Chuck Norris.

In 2006, I was at a game at Dodger Stadium and sitting in the picnic tables. A guy sitting behind me yelled out after Kenny Lofton struck out, "Thanks for giving us this (Rule 1 violation) in that trade Cleveland."

The guy was a jerk on so many levels that I didn't know where to start.

Here's a typical Dodger Stadium crowd now:
Leadoff batter singles
BOOOOOOOOOO
#2 hitter grounds into force play
BOOOOOOO Should have been a double play
#3 hitter walks on 3-2 pitch
BOOOOOOOOOOOOO
#4 hitter flies out
Nothing
#5 hitter bloops single to RF
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
#6 hitter is robbed of hit by SS
grudging applause

459
That Chuck Norris's mere presence was unable to vault Huckabee to the Republican nomination was as shocking to me as finding out Santa Claus wasn't real. :)

Ironically, both events happened in the past two months!

Yeah, basically crowds at most stadiums are more jerk-ish these days, alas. We're fast on our way to making "Idiocracy" a reality. Anyway, so I try not to make sweeping judgements on a team's fan base based on the typical lout at the stadium and just hope other teams' fans will give us the same.

461 What do you mean Santa's not real? Those cookies are always gone the next morning.

One time I was in the Right Field Pavilion when Barry was in town. I did not say anything to anyone about Barry for fear of my life and for my wife's well being. Of course, the fans next to us kept pestering a Giants fan (throwing food at him, hitting beach balls at his head, etc). Finally the security team came to take the one who threw a drink at the guy. While he was being escorted out, another brilliant dodger fan threw a hot dog at one of the cops. I loved watching the other cop at the stairs point the man out to the others and to see him handcuffed right there in the stands. Oh baseball memories.

462
Except for Cardinals fans. They are blessed by God and endowed with superfan powers.

Just ask them.

465 Especially the ones pretending to be empty seats during the latter parts of games.

That is a disheartening quote. It will be hard to root for this team if they are stupid enough to platoon Kemp/Ethier while playing Pierre.

I've already trained my mind to be numb from it, it's gonna suck but oh well.

460 You forgot the wannabe gang members starting a fight with drunken frat boys. That's been a regular feature of the last few games I've attended in person.

468
There's a fight in which I think both sides should lose.

460 That's pretty sad. I haven't been in a while, but I hope when I visit this year my Dodger Stadium experience is better than that.

As my kids are fond of saying, Santa Claus does exist. He's their dad!

think the only place to get those at Petco is at the Baja Bistro,

There's a pet store joke in there somewhere, but i will refrain from making it.

469
Truer words have never been typed.

461 Can we get a ruling from the Irony Committee?

473 I thought that was part of the joke.

460

ugh... also my recent "memories" of Dodger Stadium.

Well, I think the bottom line is, the closer you sit to home plate, the less you see it. Would that be a fair hypothesis? I wish there was a way to fix this kind of problem, but I think they only way out of this is to charge higher ticket prices.

Sorry to say, but the atmosphere at Angel Stadium is much better. You could literally take little kids to the game and have a good time. Obviously the fans aren't there for a baseball game, but that's beside the point. :)

I have noticed no correlation between the intelligence and patience of the fans and where you sit in the stadium.

There are wealthy fans in good seats who are incredibly stupid and rude.

Ive said this alot of times, but Im a fan of the top deck. Its pretty far from the plate, but most people up there are generally well behaved and came to either watch the game or enjoy the park with their families.

477

Even in St. Louis???

477 Hey, if I take all my kids to the stadium with me, I can pretty much guarantee there won't be any rude fans within earshot! On the other hand, I might need to take out a small loan.

Joe Torre looking forward to getting back to work

> Torre said he'll have to pay more attention because of his move to the National League, and as always, he'll use his coaches a lot.

"I'm dealing with probably more young players than I have in the past," he said. "I spent a couple of days with a number of these players at the mini camp in L.A. I'm looking forward to it. You try to pick people's brains. They all want to play the game, and they seem pretty respectful, and that's a pretty good head start." <<

http://tinyurl.com/2n7mjz

Really good article on ESPN.com by Tom Friend about the Tony Gwynn Jr., Padre-killing AB on the final weekend of 2007.

http://tinyurl.com/32ulv4

Dodgers selfishness ignored by media

>> All of a sudden, after 61 mostly wonderful winters of beachside baseball in Florida, Dodgertown is an outdated dump.

Vero Beach is a nowhere, no-fun town that rolls up its sidewalks at sunset. And the people of Indian River County are a bunch of rude, angry, money-gouging racists. <<

http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/30680

482

It's been a slow day... :)

Awesome article. It's really something when the "chosen son" is the one to take the Padres out of the playoffs. How would the irony committee rule on this circumstance?

483

Two ways to look at this

1. The Dodgers shouldn't have run away and taken this Vero Beach goodbye like a man.

2. Maybe Ross Newhan had a point...

484

1. should be: The Dodgers shouldn't have run away. Instead they should have taken the VB goodbye like a man.

I thought the fan behavior last year was remarkably better when they curtailed the drinking in the parking lot. I think I went the whole year without any confrontations.

Okay, my vote for most obscure but meaningful LA home run is Marlon Anderson's first home run in the second inning of the 4+1 game Sept 18, 2006. It was a homer to deep right, impressive by itself for Marlon. It was a critically necessary part of the famous game, and who knew he was just warming up? Without it the four in the ninth would still be a feat, but part of a losing effort.

I totally see why you say that 439 i just don't know if I agree. What bruises an ego more..not winning playoff games as your tenure as GM or not playing a single guy that you happened to sign (and over a guy you traded for)? Even if Ned is brutally criticized all year about paying a guy alot to sit (he wouldn't be, most would praise him-but for sake of argument), while getting fit for rings would Coletti be thinking, darn this would all be sweeter if Juan had played...

I am honestly believing that they either feel JP is better or they are not showing their cards in the press because there is no need to right now (which I would agree with). The hopeful and logical side of me says it has to be number 2

The Dodgers' prospects

How the Dodgers look as they open spring training today in Vero Beach, Fla.:

http://tinyurl.com/3a77ww

Every time Bob makes a joke with a cigarette reference, a sinner is let out of purgatory.

489 Dylan Hernandez apparently thinks Andy LaRoche will be starting - in Las Vegas.

It's hard to draw a conclusion from the minor-league splits I can find for Delwyn Young, but his RH batting looked ok to my eye. Along with his lack of options, I think he also become the only RH OF on the bench and useful for occasional starts against LHPs.

Yikes, I garbled up 492 . I think the fact that D. Young is out of options and is a viable RH OF on the bench who is useful for occasional starts against LHP increases his chances of making the club (over Repko).

Heh, apparently Deaven George is using his no-trade clause to hold up the Kidd deal.

494 Hilarious. But surely Dallas can find some coach to lure out of retirement to make the salary numbers work. What's Renaldo Blackmon up to these days?

489 Gotta love a standard preview with a projection of Pierre in LF, Nomar at 3B, and no mention at all of Billingsley other than listing him as in the rotation.

494
This is so crazy. Kobe Bryant supposedly had the only no-trade clause in NBA history and then we find out Devean George kind of has one.

Devean George?!!! How could the Mavericks sign off on that? How much did they have to drink?

I'm not sure that Devean george isn't saving the Mavericks from themselves. Kidd is an absolutely terrible fit for them.

Dallas plays a bunch of games against western conference teams with really great PGs that need to be defended, (NO, PHX, NO) and Kidd doesn't play great defense anymore. Devin Harris was also excellent against Tony Parker, as a match for his speed.

Dallas is not a running team, which is how Kidd likes to play. Nowitzki is too slow to be effective in anything but a half-court game. Howard is the only player on that team who can play a running style.

Kidd is a horrible, awful shooter. He's shooting 33% this year.

He's also old. It would be a bad trade.

498

I meant (NO, PHX, UT) above.

UT used to be NO anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

483 I hate to be the one to say it, and I mean no east coast bias, but this is why new media should eliminate newspapers within the decade.

Ahahahahahahahaha!

Devean George Saves the Mavericks. This is the funniest thing I've read all night. If the Mavericks win the championship, Mark Cuban needs to erect a statue of George outside the arena.

502 Cuban would actually do it, too.

Pau Gasol rules.

504 What are these Pau Gasol rules? He gets to stay in the lane for an extra second? Check out books from the LA Public Library for as long as he wants? Drive solo in the carpool lane without a Prius?

505 If he shoots over %50 he doesn't have to bathe.

I'm waiting for people to notice that Sasha Vujacic has turned into a nice player. He's about even with Ray Allen and Leandro Barbosa in PER.

501 You may be right with your conclusion, but citing bad writing isn't why print may go away. In fact the article you are referencing is from a print journalist. Bad writing will be with us forever regardless of media.

35 , etc. - I vote for Odalis solo homer/near-complete-game, too. I was in the park for that one.

I guess my problem is that the 4+1 game so crowds the rest out that I'm tempted to pick Russell Martin's, but, nah. Best regular season game I've ever attended.

Is there ever going to be a subway stop for Dodger Stadium? It is hard to sustain a late inning rally when half the crowd has already left. Obviously I do not live in L.A.

510
It is hard to sustain a late inning rally when half the crowd has already left

Oh, no you did-n't!

The chances of a subway or light rail stop being built at Dodger Stadium in my lifetime is likely somewhere between zero and -10.

Isn't that in the DT FAQ? That has to be the biggest myth in LA.

512
True, but we did hear they are trying to figure out a way to get mass transit working again so there is that.
The Coliseum game will have buses from DT to the game, right?

The Wizards uniforms look like they were made for a WNBA team.

515
Yeah, those are some of the worst. I would also add the Hornets gold jerseys to that list and the jerseys Diddy designed for the Mavs.

New post up top.