Some get bats, some get photos, some get gloves
Over the course of a sportswriter's career, it's not unusual to gather a few momentos. A bat. A signed ball. A prized photograph, or small piece of history from an important game, for example. I don't have any of that stuff- the closest thing being a small photo of me, gospel singer Kirk Franklin, and Kurt Warner from a piece I did for ESPN the Mag that never ran. Or at least I didn't, until today. Today, I have kicked off my collection of "insider" sports memorabilia in a big way.
I am now the proud owner of Takashi Saito's socks.
In the clubhouse before the game, I noticed Saito had those fun socks where the toes are individually sewn, like a pair of gloves. With a little help from one of the Japanese reporters, I told Saito how that sort of sock has always freaked me out a little, because they make toes look an awful lot like fingers. He laughed, either because he thought that was funny (unlikely) or because he's an extremely nice guy and thought I was an idiot (better odds). Then, in a moment reminiscent of but perhaps more deeply moving than the Mean Joe Greene Coke commercial from back in the day, he handed me a pair. There's a "44" sewn in and everything. Awesome. So from this point on, I don't want anyone on this site picking on Saito. The man's a Hall of Famer.
Perhaps a pair will cheer up Jason Schmidt, coming off his rough outing yesterday. "He's not feeling really good after the outcome of the game yesterday, but right now we're at a point where we're evaluating," Grady Little said. "He went through a spell where he tried to rehab the situation. At a point we saw it getting better, but now we're back to the evaluating stage so we'll go from there." The rest of the questions about Schmidt, from health to his strength, to whether or not he'll make his next start, were generally met with some form of "we're evaluating" as an answer. "By whoever he needs to be evaluated by," Little said. "He'll be evaluated by a lot of people." They have evaluators in Canada. Could that include them? Yes, our neighbors to the north do health care differently than we do, but that's not a problem. "We don't fear that," Little joked.
Russell Martin woke up with a stiff neck, and won't start. He's fine, though and is available for the game. So no, that's not a misprint. Martin isn't in the starting lineup. Matt Kemp is, which for today means Andre Ethier is sitting.
LINEUPS
Dodgers
Rafael Furcal- SS
Juan Pierre- CF
Nomar Garciaparra- 1B
Jeff Kent- 2B
Luis Gonzalez- LF
Wilson Betemit- 3B
Matt Kemp- RF
Mike Lieberthal- C
Randy Wolf- P
Angels
Chone Figgins- 3B
Orlando Cabrera- SS
Vladimir Guerrero- RF
Robb Quinlan- LF
Shea Hillenbrand- 1B
Howie Kendrick- 2B
Mike Napoli- C
Reggie Willits- CF
Kelvim Escobar- P
BK
Subscribe to this Blog | What is RSS?
how did Lieberthal miss that throw from Kemp...it was a little off line but very catchable
Posted by: K T USN | June 17, 2007 at 04:13 PM
I think Loney should file a grievance with the players union about the electronic scoreboard in right field which as many folks now know is unpadded and hard as glass. After the injury to Matt Kemp we thought the McCourts would get the message and pad it somehow or give up the ten bucks in revenue they get from it's ads. But no. In other parks the owners bust their asses to give their team the home field advantage. Not here. It's all about revenue and vanity. Jamie McCourt wanted the pastel colors of the seats to be restored to 1962 colors. No question as to why they were changed originally. She asked no one. Certainly not Kenny Lofton last year nor Juan Pierre this year. Both of whom have complained to management. Garciaparra has also complained. This led to the "tanning" of those seats behind the plate which Garciaparra said, "made little difference." So we are hampered, especially in early innings and more especially in day games, by the seat colors because of the vanity of a woman owner. Look at every stadium in basball if you doubt what myself and other veteran season ticket holders are saying. Now the scoreboard in right which almost crippled Matt Kemp has injured James Loney - our top two prospects have been violently hurt by an unpadded wall put in by Jamie McCourt. Forget about the loss of the out of town scoreboard for a minute - these electronic hard plastic covered scoreboards have no padding and no forgiveness. It is a violation of the players agreement for player safety. Remember the mindless hard rubber track around the field, folks? That was sold to mangement for rain drainage in an area where rain is of no consequnce. Later, we learned it was for woman executives and visitors who wore heels - (I swear). It was finally removed when numerous players were injured. Now, the McCourts don't get it. The field is sanctified grounds and should be designed to help your team win games, not to KILL THEM.
Posted by: Hollywood Dodger Mark | June 17, 2007 at 04:14 PM
tough play by loney...hope he's alright
Posted by: K T USN | June 17, 2007 at 04:57 PM
Hollywood D M,
loney's knee hit the base of the wall which is unpadded and that's why he left the game hurt..it wasn't his head...thank goodness
Posted by: K T USN | June 17, 2007 at 05:01 PM
Hopefully this game will be the turn around for Nomar...it was his first decent game in a while
Posted by: K T USN | June 17, 2007 at 05:18 PM
KT USN-
Seriously. That could have been worse. Fortunately, he said after the game it wasn't too bad. If he feels the same in the morning, that'll be good. As for Nomar, they have to get him going. I can live without homers, but he has to start driving the ball into the gap with regularity.
BK
Posted by: Brian Kamenetzky | June 17, 2007 at 11:25 PM