I had a chance to record a quick podcast this morning with Molly Knight of ESPN The Magazine, a big Dodger enthusiast and frequent guest on the blog/PGandB radio show.  We talked about the Maddux acquisition, the financial state of the Blue (she said that, based on her conversations with people in the organization, definitely in an "get them for free, or close to it" mindset, but why is a debatable point), and her views on the Blue in the playoffs (she's optimistic). 

Enjoy.

BK

Who says nobody walks in LA? 

On my way back up from the clubhouse, I was introduced to Mark Steele and Gary Wolber, who, over the course of nine hours today, walked from Granada Hills to Dodger Stadium.  That's about 23 miles, for those of you who don't feel like loading up the ol' Google map.  They are, however, not insane, but charitable.  Both are working to raise money for some very solid causes.  Mark, who made the trek in jeans (seriously), is raising money to build a field for The Miracle League, a group that helps disabled kids play baseball.  Gary will contribute to Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA, where his young son has received treatment for his autism.  Excellent organizations both, and worthy of support.  To reach Mark, email masteele@yahoo.com or call 818.325.2016.  Gary can be found at dodgerwalk@yahoo.com. 

Anyway, on to the game...

There is no elevator (or, if you prefer, "lift") that requires more patience than the one at Dodger Stadium.  Whatever gerbil the Stadium Ops folk use to power that bad boy is sadly overworked, and thus I almost never take it.  Yes, I'm one of the few media people on the planet who routinely uses the stairs, in part to help justify the amount of eating I do during the course of the game.  My distaste for Dodger Dogs is well documented, but they literally give 'em away in the press box, and during particularly slow games I've been known to partake.  Plus, they have soft serve up here, and man do I loves me some ice cream.  Anything I can do to mitigate the damage is worth the effort, hence the steps.  But the other reason is that the freakin' thing takes so long, I just get tired of waiting. 

Today, though, the doors opened up as I walked by, so I went ahead and took the ride down.  One floor down, the thing stops, the doors open, and in comes something I thought I'd never see- an oversized dolly carrying nothing but pastrami.  Boxes and boxes of the authentic Canter's variety, destined I assume for the new Canter's stand that opened up at the top of the season.  I've never wanted to knock over a liquor store before, but after hanging out so close to all that deliciousness, I totally understand the compulsion.

Anyway... In other (more relevant) news, Rafael Furcal's balky (not Balki) back is still sore enough to keep him out of the lineup.  is still out.  "We're going to wait another day or so.  It's better, but it's not like he just goes up there and tries to put the ball in play," Joe Torre said.  "It's progressively getting better, and I don't want to lose that right now.  I think he understands.  He's too important for us to send out there (if he's not right)... It's getting better every day, and I certainly don't want to go backwards now." 

Weird, weird Tuesday at the Ravine.  Those who walked through the turnstiles or turned on the telly saw the following unusual events:

• An inside the park homer.
• A double steal of second and home.
• A 1-2-3 double play.
• A guy record six straight outs via the K and eight overall, tying a career high in only 3.2 innings. 
• Another guy throw 71 pitches through three innings, but only give up two earned runs.
• Four+ innings without a recorded out at first base. 
• A guy steal second, then get called out when he thought the ball went into center... but it didn't.
• An Andruw Jones hit.  (Zing!)

But at the end of what was truely a Ripley's evening, the Dodgers walked away with what mattered most- the win.  5-4 over the Mets, pushing their record to 19-14, a season high five games over .500.  They've won 10 of 11, are now 11-5 at home, and will look for the sweep against New York tomorrow afternoon.  If the season ended today (which would totally screw a ton of season ticket holders), the Dodgers would be tied for the wild card! 

Click below for the breakdown. 

NOTE: Remember to join the live game blog tonight... assuming I can get the software working.

Scoops o' plenty Tuesday night at the Ravine, almost all health related.  I'll present them in convenient, easily digested bullets, starting with the item most relevant to tonight's proceedings:

• Rafael Furcal was a late scratch from the lineup tonight with stiffness on the left side of his lower back.  He tightened up in over the last three innings of last night's win, figured he'd be okay for today, but after getting some treatment and partaking in his customary pregame preparation, Furcal decided he'd be better off sitting this one out.  "He's been nursing a little bit of a stiff back," Joe Torre said.  "It doesn't seem to be something that's going to be a long term thing, but right now he is scratched."  The problem seems to be muscular rather than some sort of pinched nerve type deal, which is good.  Furcal did have some back trouble last year, but trainer Stan Conte didn't seem to believe it was necessarily a recurrence of the same issue.  It hasn't been a problem at any other point this season.  Conte said Furcal couldn't point to a specific moment in the game- a big swing or tough defensive play, both of which he had a few of last night.  With a day game tomorrow and a day off Thursday, it wouldn't be shocking to see him sit for a couple games.  The goal is avoid turning a two day injury into the two week version. 

If you're one of those Dodger fans who likes to show up in the second or third inning to avoid the traffic, well, shame on you.  On Saturday night, all the good stuff had already happened by the time you hit your seat. 12 of the 14 runs in LA's 11-3 win over Colorado came in the first, and fortunately for the Blue, they were responsible for ten of them.  Yep, on NFL Draft day, the Dodgers celebrated by hanging a touchdown and a field goal on poor Rockies starter Mark Redman, turning a 2-0 deficit into a 10-2 laugher with admirable speed.  The sort that would make Mel Kiper Jr. gush about their "game breaking burst" if the Dodgers were a college prospect. 

The Blue have now won two in a row, three of four, and actually managed to gain a game on the Diamondbacks, who lost tonight in San Diego.  Baby steps, but signs of sunshine are at least starting to peek through the clouds. 

Click below for the breakdown.

It is the signature call of the eye-patched, puffy-sleeved, parrot-shouldered marauders of the high seas, as well as plucky baseball teams from Pittsburgh.  It is also the signature call of the frustrated local squad and its fans.  The Dodgers have now lost eight times on this young season, including six of seven, and while there have been some discouraging ones among the octet, none were likely more so than Monday night's 6-4 walk of the plank.  Up 4-3 in the ninth, Joe Torre handed the ball to Takashi Saito to start the ninth.  Saito, a guy who had saved 64 games in under two full seasons as L.A.'s closer.  A guy who had become so automatic in that role that it's commonly assumed that he is, in fact, a product of the same process that produced the Six Million Dollar Man.* 

But rather than being bigger, stronger or faster, Saito was instead extremely hittable, a really unfortunate alternative.  He allowed a one-out single to Jose Bautista, a two-out knock to Adam LaRoche, then the big blow: a three-run homer from Pirates CF Nate McLouth, enough to provide the winning margin for Pittsburgh. 

Click below for the breakdown.

If everything goes as well for the Dodgers during the 2008 season as it did in their 5-0 Opening Day win over the Giants Monday afternoon at the Ravine, then strap in people, because you're in for a bang up year.  (Not just because if you project today's result over a full season, the Dodgers would go 162-0 and outscore the opposition 810-0.  I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I'm pretty sure that would be a record.)  Everything, from the pregame ceremonies featuring a host of Dodger legends from the days of yore- Don Newcombe, Sandy Koufax, Duke Snider, Carl Erskine, Ron Cey, Steve Garvey, Fernando, and Jerry Reuss among others- to the performance of Brad Penny (6.2, four hits, two walks, three strikeouts) went according to plan.  Even parking was a breeze!*

Sure, there's less age on this season than a bottle of Mad Dog 20-20, but they've only been at it for a few hours, and the Dodgers are already in first place!  That Joe Torre signing is already paying off. 

Click below for the breakdown and audio.

As we wonder how cool it would be if Blake DeWitt managed to hit 1.000 his entire career (At 1-1, he's off to a good start. UPDATE: Forget it.  He just flew out to right in the bottom of the fourth.  The dream is over...) it's probably a good time to kick back and take in the smooth, melodic tones of Joe Torre.  All the audio from his long pregame confab with the media is below. 

Once the game starts, it becomes almost impossible to transcribe, but I can give you a rundown of topics discussed: Opening Day stuff- how weird it is starting here rather than New York, how comfortable he feels with the club after Spring Training, etc.  The 3B situation, and opening the season with a very untested player at an important position.  How ready he is for the season to start and for some of the Joe Torre related hoopla to die down.  Nomar's injury, and if he'll require a rehab stint when the time comes (yes, he very likely will).  And, of course, the OF situation with Pierre and Ethier (at the end of the second clip, into the third one).

Download joe_torre_1_opening_day.mp3
Download joe_torre_2_opening_day.mp3
Download joe_torre_3_opening_day.mp3

Opening Day rolls along swimmingly, as the Dodgers are up 4-0 in the top of the fifth.

BK

UPDATE:  The Blue and Joe Beimel avoided arbitration today, with the lefty signing a one year deal.

The Dodgers introduced their two new Japanese pitchers today at the Ravine.  First, Robert Boothe, the amateur signed out of Asia University, and then the $34 million man, Hiroki Kuroda, late of the Hiroshima Carp.  Truly fearsome creatures, those carp.  Among the most formidable you'll find anywhere in the agua.  The goal today was to provide the first ever video clips on Blue Notes.  Unfortunately, I managed to erase all the clips without downloading them.  Debut, interrupted.  But here's what you would have seen:

• Footage of Boothe and Kuroda jogging along the warning track, then about 40 members of the Japanese media watching Boothe and Kuroda jogging along the warning track. (Locals included me, Dylan Hernandez of the Times, and a couple other dudes I recognized.)
• Footage of Boothe and Kuroda stretching, then about 40 members of the Japanese media watching Boothe and Kuroda stretching. 
• Boothe and Kuroda playing catch (not with each other) under the watchful eye of the Japanese media. 
• A four minute clip of Kuroda talking to the English speaking media, via an interpreter.  The Japanese media, I believe, were behind us at the time.

Fair to say the days events will make a bigger impact overseas than here.  But that doesn't mean there wasn't anything interesting that came out of it.

Lest you think I'm totally inept from a tech standpoint, that photo you see?  Taken by yours truly... while holding the MP3 recorder you see in the bottom left.  I'm like Ansel Adams, only better because I can multitask.

For some audio, click below. 

BK