SB Nation - Marlon Anderson

Dodgers Week 24 In Review: Finish Line In Sight

Eric Stephen — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:00:21 -0000

More photos » by Keith Birmingham - AP

Its better that Jonathan Broxton misses his target on high fives with Russell Martin than on pitches to Russell Martin.

Previous Weekly Recaps: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23

The Dodgers dropped the hammer at home this week, winning five of six against the Pirates and Giants, bringing them to the precipice of a second-straight division championship. The Dodgers really put it all together this week, combining a hot offense with stellar pitching, and outscored their opponents 36 to 18. This was just the second week of the season that the Dodgers scored at least double the runs of their foes. Way back in their undefeated week two, the Dodgers outscored the Giants and Rockies 50-17, also at home.

Seven of the eight regulars, plus the top two subs, had an OPS of .841 or higher during the week, as the offense scored six runs per game for the second straight week. To become just the third Los Angeles Dodger team ever to score 800 runs, the Dodgers have an uphill climb, needing 74 runs over their final 12 games, an average of 6.17 per contest.

The pitching was also great, as the starters put up an earned run average under three and the relievers put up an ERA under two. Seven of the nine relievers who pitched this week didn't allow a run.

The Dodgers have a five-game division lead over the Rockies with 12 games to play, as the inevitable truth of their 11th National League West division title is getting closer and closer. The last time the Dodgers won back-to-back division titles was 1977-1978.

Dodger Batter of the Week: Ronnie Belliard had another great week as a super-sub, but this award goes to the man Belliard tied for the club RBI lead during the week, Andre Ethier. Ethier hit three home runs during the week, all of which gave the Dodgers the lead, none more memorable than Tuesday night's game-ender against Pittsburgh, his sixth walk-off hit of the season. Honorable mention goes to Matt Kemp and Rafael Furcal, each of whom put up an OPS over 1.000.

Dodger Pitcher of the Week: Jon Garland gets this award, his second in three weeks as a Dodger. He won both starts, pitching 14 innings with a 1.29 ERA and 1.143 WHIP. There were a lot of candidates this week, including Hiroki Kuroda and his one run allowed in six innings, or any of the back end of the bullpen, who didn't allow a thing all week.

Week 24 Record: 5-1
36 runs scored (6.00 per game)
18 runs allowed (3.00 per game)
.780 pythagorean winning percentage

Overall Seasonal Record: 90-60 (.600)
726 runs scored (4.84 per game)
559 runs allowed (3.73 per game)
.617 pythagorean winning percentage (93-57)

Mr. Walk-Off: Down one with Rafael Furcal on first base in the 13th inning on Tuesday night, Andre Ethier put on his hero cape again, hitting a two-run, game-winning home run off Phil Dumatrait to beat the Pirates 5-4. It was the fourth walk-off home run of the season for Ethier, and his sixth walk-off hit this year. No player in baseball, dating back to at least 1974, has had more walk-off hits in a season than Ethier, and his nine walk-off hits since the beginning of 2008 leads the majors. The Dodgers as a team have 12 walk-off wins this season.

Thirty And A Hundred: Sure, there are more advanced statistics with which to evaluate players, but sometimes the old standbys work just fine. Growing up, 30 home runs and 100 runs batted in were benchmarks of greatness to me, and while they still require context for proper evaluation, a 30/100 season still gives me the warm and fuzzy feelings of old. Andre Ethier's two-run home run off Tim Lincecum on Sunday gave him a career-high 101 runs batted in to go with his career-high 31 home runs. This is just the 36th season in Dodger history (and 21st in LA Dodger history) with 30 homers and 100 RBI, and the first since Adrian Beltre's contract drive in 2004. Matt Kemp is sitting on 25 HR and 95 RBI with 12 games to play, so there is an outside chance for the Dodgers to have 30/100 teammates for the first time since Gary Sheffield and Shawn Green in 2001. Coming into the season, I was sure the Dodgers would have one 30/100 outfielder, Manny Ramirez, but how weird is it that he might be the only Dodger outfielder not to have 30/100 this season?

KuoGeoBro: The terrific trio of Hong-Chih Kuo, George Sherrill, and Jonathan Broxton were great last week, combining for six scoreless innings, but this week they were sublime. The trio faced a combined 30 batters during the week, and nobody reached base. 14 of the 30 took the long walk of shame back to the dugout after striking out.

A Willie Davis Record to Keep: In home game number 77, James Loney hit his first home run at Dodger Stadium this season. Loney last homered at home on August 21, 2008. In between dingers, Loney hit .244/.309/.295 over 343 plate appearances in 86 home games. This means that Willie Davis will keep the Dodger record for most home runs in a season, all on the road, with 11 in 1969. Loney now has 13 home runs on the year, including 12 on the road.

Take The Longball Home: The Dodgers have turned on the power switch of late, homering in a season-high 10 straight games, hitting 17 home runs during the streak. It is the longest streak for the club since 2006, when the Dodgers had streaks of both 10 and 11 games with at least one dinger.

Not Quite Marlon, But Maybe Jermaine?: Ronnie Belliard is making the most of his chance with the Dodgers. He has started 14 of the 19 games since he came to the Dodgers, hitting .304/.339/.589 with four home runs and 14 runs batted in. Back in 2006, another late August middle infield acquisition from Washington, Marlon Anderson, got white hot during the stretch drive, hitting .375/.431/.813 with seven home runs in 73 plate appearances. By the way, Anderson's career high in home runs -- for a season -- was 12. In 18 games as a Dodger, Belliard has more home runs and as many runs batted in as Andruw Jones did in 75 games in 2008. One cost a shade over $35 million; the other cost roughly $363,388 plus Victor Garate.

Power & Speed: Belliard also did some work on the basepaths this week, stealing a base on Saturday against the Giants. He homered that game as well, making Belliard just the third Dodger to hit a home run and steal a base in the same game this season. Matt Kemp has turned the trick thrice, and James Loney did it once.

Furcal's Back?: Hampered both physically and mentally by a sore back all season, Rafael Furcal hasn't been much of a threat to steal this season, even though he has the green light from Joe Torre to do so. However, Furcal turned on the jets this week, with three stolen bases, his most in any week since September 2007.

Mr. Bases Loaded: No Dodger pitcher has pitched with the bases loaded more than Jeff Weaver this season, and boy has he delivered. In 24 plate appearances against him with the bases juiced, Weaver has allowed only one single and three walks, holding batters to a line of .050/.167/.050. None of the 24 plate appearances has resulted in more than one run scoring.

Walk To A Cure: On Friday night, Matt Kemp got his career-high 50th walk, giving the Dodgers eight players with 50 walks, only the third National League team in history to do so. More importantly, the Dodgers fulfilled my "50-Walk Challenge," issued in my first-ever post at True Blue LA. The wonderful readers of this site have stepped up, bringing our total pledged contributions to Think Cure, the official charity of the Dodgers, to $1,000. Thanks to every one for your support.

Transactions: Not a lot of action this week. The only move was when Guillermo Mota was activated from the disabled list before Monday's game, bringing the total number of players on the active roster to 35, including 16 pitchers.

Game By Game Results:

Upcoming Week: The Dodgers travel to the nation's capital on their Monday off day before beginning their final road trip of the season, a nine-game tilt through three cities. This week brings us three games in Washington followed by the first three games of a four-game series in Pittsburgh.

Magic Numbers
To win NL West: 7 (over the Rockies)
To clinch a playoff spot: 4 (over the Giants)

Week 24 Stats

Player	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS	BABIP
Ethier	24	6	7	2	0	3	7	2	0/0	.292/.370/.750	1.120	.286
Kemp	23	6	8	1	0	2	4	2	2/0	.348/.400/.652	1.052	.429
Furcal	20	7	6	1	1	1	1	4	3/0	.300/.417/.600	1.017	.294
Hudson	11	0	4	2	0	0	2	0	0/0	.364/.364/.545	.909	.400
Blake	14	4	4	0	1	0	2	4	0/0	.286/.474/.429	.902	.333
Manny	16	2	3	2	0	1	4	4	0/0	.188/.350/.500	.850	.182
Loney	20	5	6	0	0	1	2	3	0/0	.300/.391/.450	.841	.278
Martin	22	1	4	2	0	0	1	1	0/0	.182/.217/.273	.490	.211
Belliard	12	3	5	1	0	2	7	2	1/0	.417/.500/1.000	1.500	.429
Ausmus	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0/0	.500/.667/.500	1.167	.500
DeWitt	5	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	0/0	.200/.200/.800	1.000	.000
Pierre	8	0	3	0	1	0	1	0	1/1	.375/.375/.625	1.000	.375
Castro	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	.250/.250/.250	.500	.333
Loretta	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0/0	.250/.200/.250	.450	.200
Mientkiewicz	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	.000/.000/.000	.000	-----
Repko	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	.000/.000/.000	.000	.000
Thome	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	.000/.000/.000	.000	.000
Ellis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	-----/-----/-----	-----	-----
Pitchers	13	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0/0	.000/.071/.000	.071	.000
Totals	205	36	54	11	3	11	33	24	7/1	.263/.345/.507	.852	.283

Pitcher	G	W-L	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
Garland	2	2-0	--	14.0	13	3	2	3	6	1.29	1.143
Kuroda	1	1-0	--	6.0	6	1	1	0	7	1.50	1.000
Wolf	2	1-0	--	13.0	10	5	5	4	8	3.46	1.077
Padilla	1	0-0	--	5.0	8	4	4	1	3	7.20	1.800
Broxton	4	0-0	1	4.0	0	0	0	0	7	0.00	0.000
Sherrill	4	0-0	--	3.1	0	0	0	0	5	0.00	0.000
Kuo	3	0-0	--	3.0	0	0	0	0	2	0.00	0.000
McDonald	1	0-0	--	3.0	2	0	0	1	3	0.00	1.000
Belisario	2	1-0	--	2.1	1	1	0	1	2	0.00	0.857
Weaver	1	0-0	--	1.0	3	0	0	0	1	0.00	3.000
Mota	1	0-0	--	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.000
Billingsley	1	0-0	--	1.2	4	2	2	2	0	10.80	3.600
Troncoso	2	0-1	--	1.1	3	2	2	0	1	13.50	2.250
Totals	6	5-1	1	58.0	50	18	16	12	45	2.48	1.069

Dodgers Cash In Against Penny

Eric Stephen — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 23:26:17 -0000

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

Ronnie Belliard's grand slam in the bottom of the first inning removed all doubt as to the winner of today's game.

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The Dodgers got one of their most satisfying wins of the season, bombing Brad Penny and the Giants 12-1 at Dodger Stadium on national television. Penny, who didn't make any friends during his final days in Los Angeles last season, had his first bad game since returning to the National League, giving up seven runs in just 2.2 innings of work.

The game started off on a bad note for the Dodgers, as Manny Ramirez misplayed an easy flyball by Eugenio Velez in the first inning for a two-base error. Velez later scored on a sacrifice fly by Randy Winn. Little did we know that would be the only damage allowed by Jon Garland today. Garland allowed only seven hits in his eight innings, lowering his Dodger ERA to 2.33 and his Dodger FIP to 3.96.

The Dodgers immediately responded against Penny, using two singles and two walks to tie the game when Ronnie Belliard came to the plate. Belliard launched a pitch well into the Dodger bullpen to break the game open, giving the Dodgers a 5-1 lead. Belliard also stole second base in the third inning, his first stolen base as a Dodger. That was the fifth time a Dodger has had a home run and a steal in the same game this season, joining Matt Kemp (three times) and James Loney.

When Belliard was acquired last month, I jokingly invoked the name of Magic Marlon Anderson, another reserve infielder acquired at the end of August from the Nationals, this time in 2006. So far, the comparison isn't that far off:

Player	PA	R	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
Anderson, 2006	73	12	3	2	7	15	.375/.431/.813	1.243
Belliard, 2009	55	6	4	0	4	12	.308/.345/.615	.961

James Loney last homered at Dodger Stadium on August 21, 2008 against the Rockies. He has played 86 games at home since then, and hit no home runs. Until today, that is. Loney followed Matt Kemp's home run in the third inning with one of his own, a shot to right field. Before today, Loney had 12 home runs this season, all on the road, but now Willie Davis stands alone, again, as the Dodger record holder for most home runs in a season with none at home, with 11 in 1969.

Randy Johnson, activated from the 60-day disabled list Wednesday, pitched in relief in the sixth inning, giving up doubles to two of the three batters he faced. I was at The Unit's last regular season relief appearance, in San Diego on July 18, 2001. Johnson came in for an injured Curt Schilling to start the third inning, then proceeded to set an MLB record for strikeouts in relief, with 16 during his seven scoreless innings.

Every Dodger starter reached base at least once, and even some of the reserves got in on the fun as well. Blake DeWitt joined the power parade with a home run off Joe Martinez in the seventh inning. Jason Repko even got a plate appearance, grounding out to end the seventh inning.

Jeff Weaver pitched in mop-up duty in the ninth inning, closing out the win but not before allowing some baserunners. The Giants loaded the bases with one out, but Weaver again got out of the jam with minimal damage. This season with the bases loaded, opposing batters are hitting just .050/.167/.050, with just one single and three walks in 24 plate appearances.

22-year old catcher Buster Posey delivered a single in the ninth inning for his first big league hit. I have a feeling that he'll have many, many more of those in his career.

Rafael Furcal started the game with a single, the 34th time this season he has started a game by reaching base. The Dodgers are 26-8 in those games.

The Dodgers' win today clinched the season series with the Giants, as they have beaten San Francisco 10 of the 17 times they have played. The Dodgers have won the season series against every team in the NL West, winning 43 of 66 intra-divisional games this season.

The series finale is tomorrow afternoon, with Randy Wolf facing off against Tim Lincecum.

Magic Numbers
To win NL West: 8 (pending the Rockies' game in Arizona at 5pm tonight)
To clinch a playoff spot: 6

WP - Jon Garland (11-11): 8 IP, 7 hits, 1 unearned run, 3 strikeouts

LP - Brad Penny (10-9): 2.2 IP, 5 hits, 7 runs, 3 walks, 1 strikeout

Box Score

Castoffs Paying Dividends In NL West

Eric Stephen — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 03:09:19 -0000

by David Zalubowski - AP

Has Jason Giambi been a good acquisition so far for the Rockies? Yes, yes he has been.

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With all the hype surrounding the non-waiver trading deadline of July 31, there have been some moves made after that date that have been useful, at least in the early returns, for the top three teams in the National League West. Here is a look at some of the key acquisitions by the Dodgers, Rockies, and Giants in August, as they prepare for the stretch drive.

Dodgers

Vicente Padilla was so disliked in the Rangers' clubhouse that some Texas teammates actually congratulated GM Jon Daniels when it was learned Padilla was released. The Dodgers, searching for a fifth starter all season, signed Padilla to a minor league contract on August 19. All Padilla has done since joining Los Angeles is pitch three good games, with the Dodgers winning all three.

Split	GS	W-L	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	FIP
Padilla with Tex	18	8-6	108.0	120	61	59	42	59	4.92	1.500	4.93
Padilla with LA	3	2-0	16.1	16	5	5	4	12	2.76	1.224	2.41

Ronnie Belliard struggled earlier this season, but he started to get hot with semi-regular playing time with the Nationals. Belliard was hitting .361/.400/.590 with the Nationals in August, before he was traded to the Dodgers on August 30. I jokingly invoked the name of Marlon Anderson, another ex-National who caught fire for the Dodgers in September 2006, but so far the comparison is apt, as Belliard has produced. With the opportunity to give Orlando Hudson more rest, and the hamstring injury to Casey Blake, Belliard has been more than just a bench player, starting seven of his eight games as a Dodger.

Split	G	PA	HR	RBI	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
Belliard with Was	86	204	5	22	.246/.296/.374	.670
Belliard with LA	8	28	2	6	.370/.393/.667	1.067

I figured the Dodgers' roster moves were complete with the Belliard deal, but last Monday night proved me wrong. The Dodgers added Jon Garland and Jim Thome, adding some depth to the starting rotation and power to the bench, respectively. Garland, a workhorse who has pitched six innings or longer in 17 of his last 18 starts, won his Dodger debut last Thursday.

Split	GS	W-L	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	FIP
Garland with Ari	27	8-11	167.2	188	90	80	52	83	4.29	1.431	4.57
Garland with LA	1	1-0	7.0	5	2	2	1	6	2.57	0.857	3.71

Thome, limited to pinch hitting duty with his bad back, got a hit in his first Dodger at-bat. Assuming his foot injury isn't too serious, Thome will provide the Dodgers with a legitimate power threat off the bench over the next month or two and, knock on wood, a ready-made designated hitter in the World Series.

Split	G	PA	HR	RBI	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS	wOBA
Thome with CWS	107	417	23	74	.249/.372/.493	.864	.373
Thome with LA	3	3	0	0	.333/.333/.333	.667	.297

Rockies

Jason Giambi was signed by Colorado to a minor league contract on August 24, after being released by Oakland 17 days earlier. Giambi was activated once the rosters expanded, and quickly made himself at home with the Rockies:

September 1: Giambi pinch hit with the bases loaded in the 8th inning with a 7-3 lead over the Mets, and Giambi induced a walk in his first Rockies' plate appearance
September 2: Tied 2-2 with the Mets in the 8th inning, Giambi again came up with the bases loaded, this time delivering a go ahead, two-run single, in a game the Rockies would win 5-2
September 4: Tied 4-4 with Arizona in the 8th inning, Giambi again delivered a pinch single, driving in the go ahead and eventual winning run in a 5-4 Rockies win

Giambi became the third Rockies player in history to have a run batted in during each of his first three games with the club, joining Jeff Salazar (2006) and Steve Decker (1996).

Split	G	PA	HR	RBI	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS	wOBA
Giambi with Oak	83	328	11	40	.193/.332/.364	.697	.315
Giambi with Col	4	8	0	4	.400/.625/.400	1.025	.487

The Rockies also wanted to acquire Garland, but instead opted to trade for Jose Contreras of the White Sox. Despite his 5-13 record and 5.42 ERA with Chicago, Contreras wasn't having that bad of a season. His FIP was 4.14, and as Rockies Magic Number noted on Purple Row, Contreras figured to help the club as a fill in for the injured Aaron Cook. Remember, the Rockies had to start Josh Fogg against the Dodgers, so any kind of a warm body would have sufficed, but Contreras is much more than that.

Contreras did nothing to disprove his worth with his first outing in Colorado, allowing only one run over 6.2 innings in a win over the Diamondbacks on Saturday.

Split	GS	W-L	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	FIP
Contreras with CWS	21	5-13	114.2	121	83	69	45	89	5.42	1.448	4.14
Contreras with Col	1	1-0	6.2	8	1	1	1	5	1.35	0.350	4.04

Giants

The Giants got Brad Penny off the scrap heap when he was dispatched by the Red Sox after posting a 5.61 ERA (and 4.59 FIP) over his 24 starts in Boston. All Penny did his first game back in the National League was own the World Champion Phillies, throwing eight shutout innings in Philadelphia last Wednesday. Penny came back today with another win, this time against the Padres.

Split	GS	W-L	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	FIP
Penny with Bos	24	7-8	131.2	160	89	82	42	89	5.61	1.534	4.59
Penny with SF	2	2-0	15.0	8	2	2	2	8	1.20	0.667	3.33

Penny is scheduled to face the Dodgers, his old team from 2004 through last year, in each of the next two weekends.

Sure its early, but sometimes the big moves aren't the only ones that deserve all the headlines. In the case of the NL West, some minor moves have paid big dividends so far.

Dodgers Acquire Ronnie Belliard From Nationals

Eric Stephen — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 21:36:44 -0000

More photos » by Luis Alvarez - AP

Ronnie Belliard is now a Dodger

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The Dodgers have acquired Ronnie Belliard from the Nationals, presumably to be another veteran pinch-hitter off the bench for the stretch run and playoffs. Chico Harlan of The Washington Post reports the Dodgers are sending Low Class A pitcher Luis Garcia and a player to be named later to Washington.

The 34-year old Belliard, a utility infielder, is struggling this year, hitting .247/.297/.396, but from 2007-2008, the righthander hit .320/.385/.557 against lefthanded pitching. From Ned Colletti:

Ronnie can play three infield positions and gives us another quality hitter off the bench who adds versatility to our club. He also has postseason experience and played a key role on a World Championship team.

The last time the Dodgers acquired a hitter from the Nationals at the end of August, in 2006, we were treated to Magic Marlon Anderson, aka the greatest hitter in Dodgers history (before Manny arrived, that is). I've often thought Belliard looked like a mini Manny Ramirez anyway, so why not add to the collection?

CanuckDodger had Garcia ranked as the 22nd-best Dodger prospect in our True Blue LA midseason prospect report.

Ken Gurnick of MLB.com tell us that, as expected, Belliard will arrive in Los Angeles Monday, and a corresponding roster move will then be made.

UPDATE: Per the wonderful Cot's Baseball Contracts, we see that Belliard's 2009 salary is $1.9 million. There are 35 days left in the season, so the Dodgers will be on the hook for roughly $363,388 for Belliard's services.

Baseball Stadiums And You

Eric Stephen — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:06:54 -0000

Watching the Dodgers at another stadium is fun, especially when they win.

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Yesterday, Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts took his first trip to AT&T Park in San Francisco, and what followed from that in the comments was a nice discussion of various ballparks people have attended. It made me do some digging and reminiscing about the stadiums I have been to. What better way is there to spend the off day today than to look back at all the stadiums you have been to? Feel free to give us your ballpark memories in the comments.

Outside of Dodger Stadium, here is my list:

Angels Stadium

I have been here on numerous occasions, but the few that stick out for me are these:

July 18, 1991: This game was one of the reasons I almost never leave early. I was 15, attending the game with both of my older brothers, and thus not exactly in full control of the transportation opportunities. Once Albert Belle broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the ninth off Bryan Harvey, my brothers started to get up and leave. Stunned, and without a ride home if I stayed, I had to leave too. By the time we got to the car, it was 4-1 Indians, which had justified the decision by my brothers...until, that is, the Angels stormed back for four runs off four Indians pitchers (including former and future Old Friends Shawn Hillegas, Jesse Orosco, and Jeff Shaw) to win, 5-4.

August 8, 2000: Sitting one deck up behind home plate, I got to see the tremendous movement on the pitches from Pedro Martinez at his peak, which was a treat. The Angels somehow scratched together two runs to beat Pedro that night.

October 16, 2005: The White Sox won the pennant by taking Game 5 of the ALCS, as Jose Contreras pitched the fourth straight complete game of the series for Chicago. The final out of the series was an unassisted groundout to Old Friend Paul Konerko. The highlight of the game for me was seeing a family friend -- a huge Notre Dame fan -- at the stadium and showing him my USC shirt one day after the Leinart Sneak / Bush Push game.

Petco Park & Qualcomm Stadium

I lived in San Diego for the better part of 14 years, and saw numerous games here. The Dodgers never seem to do well with me in attendance in San Diego, as they are 7-19 lifetime (they did win on July 3 this year though, so I'm on a hot streak). Two games that stood out:

June 11, 1993: The very first game I went to in San Diego. Kevin Gross pitched eight scoreless innings, but the Dodgers -- including rookie Pedro Martinez -- blew a 4-0 lead in the ninth, and the Padres won 5-4.

September 30, 1995: This was the first time I saw the Dodgers clinch anything, as they won 7-2 behind Hideo Nomo to clinch the NL West over the Rockies (who would win the Wild Card). There were quite a few Dodger fans at the park that night.

Coors Field

July 27, 2000: I have only been to one game in Denver, and it was during a family reunion in Colorado. My cousins and I got picked up at the airport and went straight to the stadium. This game was nearly four hours long, yet only nine innings. The Dodgers won 16-11, behind the greatest game of Alex Cora's life. Cora had two home runs, and a double that hit high off the wall.

Chase Field (Bank One Ballpark)

I have been to three games here, only one of which was against the Dodgers.

July 24, 1999: I made the unwise decision to drive to Phoenix from San Diego and back in one day, and was rewarded with Brian Anderson outdueling Darren Dreifort. The D-Backs rode home runs by Steve Finley and Bernard Gilkey to a 3-0 win.

August 22, 2003: The only no-hitter I ever saw, only it wasn't a no-hitter. Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs allowed no hits into the eighth inning, then with two outs future Old Friend Shea Hillenbrand was awarded an infield single even though it was painfully clear from my nosebleed seats that he was out at first base. Zambrano got the next three batters out, so he has a no-hitter in my mind.

AT&T Park

September 30, 2006: I took a detour on my way home from a business conference to see my first two games in San Francisco. The first game was the next-to-last day of the season, and Greg Maddux beat the Giants to clinch a playoff spot for the Dodgers (they would end up as the Wild Card, although at this point that was undetermined). Thanks to Stub Hub, I was sitting in the same row as many of the Dodger family section, including Mia Hamm, Russell Martin's dad, and Carolyn Hughes (who is stunning in person, by the way).

Oriole Park at Camden Yards

August 23, 1996: I have been to a total of four games at Camden Yards, and truthfully none of them really stand out as memorable games, but the park is awesome. This game was a 2-0 Angel win, behind home runs from Chili Davis and Jim Edmonds, but I mostly picked this game because I forgot David Wells was once an Oriole.

Network Associates Coliseum

May 12, 2000: This is a late-inning Matt Stairs home run of which I actually have fond memories, and the only reason was that there are few things better than calling the guy who has a closer who just blew a save in your fantasy league -- in this case Kaz Sasaki of the Mariners -- and letting the crowd noise do the talking.

Safeco Field

October 1, 2004: This game was memorable because Ichiro Suzuki broke the single-season record for hits in a season with his 258th hit, in the first inning. Ichiro, who broke George Sisler's xx-year old record, added two more hits in this Friday night game, and went on to collect two more over the season's final weekend to settle the record at 262 hits.

Wrigley Field

June 4, 2003: My only trip to Wrigley was for a night game, but it was still a great experience. There are really only a few lights there, so it has a surreal effect of having the stands dark and basically only the field lit up. Its almost like watching an outdoor play. This game was the day after Sammy Sosa got ejected for having a corked bat, and the Cubs' faithful, including Jesse Jackson, gave Sosa a rousing ovation before his first at-bat. Five future Old Friends started this game: Julio Lugo, Marlon Anderson, and Toby Hall for Tampa Bay; Hee Seop Choi and Paul Bako for Chicago.

That's my list. A total of 10 stadiums (including Dodger Stadium, and counting both San Diego parks as one). What's yours?

Matt Wieters Applesauce: First Major League homer against the Mets, Carp is in the bigs, Wagner back in a month

Joe Budd — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:08:06 -0000

On the event of Matt Wieters' first major league home run, here is a little known fact about Wieters: his eyesight is so good that he CAN see Russia from his house.

Meet the Mets

Johan Santana had a good bullpen session yesterday and is all set to make his next scheduled start.

Ramon Castro trade bait Lance Broadway had his first good outing in the Met farm system, allowing only 3 hits over 6+ innings.

Wilmer Flores also hit his second home run of the season.

Marlon Anderson has found a home with the Newark Bears. That's quite a stable of former Mets they've got there: Alberto Castillo, Carl Everett, Tike Redman, and Armando Benitez (by my count).

Billy Wagner says that he will be able to return to the Mets in 30 days. Wagner would be a welcome help to Pedro Feliciano.

Around the NL East

Shockingly, Charlie Manuel did not select Jerry Manuel as a coach to join him at the All-Star Game.

The Red Sox smacked the Marlins, 6-1, to help Brad Penny to his 100th win. Dustin Pedroia had 3 RBI.

Marlin infielder Wes Helms goes on the record as saying that the Hall of Fame should ban steroid users.

The Blue Jays help the Mets again, thumping the Phillies 7-1. Jamie Moyer was not good again, allowing 6 runs on 10 hits in 6 innings. Despite the Met loss, they remain 3 games behind Philadelphia.

The Nationals, behind New York native John Lannan, beat the Yankees 3-2.

Javier Vazquez went the distance for the Braves, but still lost to the Reds 4-3 in Cincinnati. Jay Bruce hit his 16th and pitcher Micah Owings his 2nd for the Reds.

Around MLB

Congratulations Mike Carp. With the injury to Erik Bedard, the Mariners have called up Carp from triple-A where he was hitting .299. He will get the start today at first base.

Also, congratulations to Ivan Rodriguez, who has now caught more games than anyone in baseball history.

The Blue Jays have put Roy Halladay and closer Scott Downs on the DL. Ouch.

Speaking of DL, Mike Hampton is hurt again.

The US House of Representatives will investigate whether Sammy Sosa lied under oath at infamous steroid hearing.

The Horror of American League Parks

Eric Stephen — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 22:00:20 -0000

More photos » by Paul Beaty - AP

U.S. Cellular Field is one of three AL parks the Dodgers will try to conquer this month.

Browse more photos »

Since the beginning of the 2005 season, the Dodgers have played 33 games in American League ballparks. They have won only five of those games. They haven't been terribly unlucky either. They have scored 100 runs (3.03 per game) and given up 190 (5.76 per game), so their pythagorean record is only two games better, at 7-26. They have only had five one-run games, and they've lost them all.

They have been victimized by a vengeful Jose Lima, ran into Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano at their peaks in Minnesota, been bested by Mark Buehrle on the South Side, had their asses handed to them by Roy Halladay north of the border, lost to former farmhand Edwin Jackson in St. Petersburg, and been demonized by many Angels in Anaheim.

Part of the reason for this awful stretch has been poor starting pitching. In those 33 fateful games, Dodger starting pitchers have lasted 5.74 innings per start, which is decent enough, but they have a 5.61 ERA and a 1.468 WHIP.

The bigger problem is the Dodgers' utter inability to fill the designated hitter role with any production. Over this dreadful period, Dodger designated hitters are "hitting" .203/.266/.289, with one home run (by Luis Gonzalez) in 33 games. The chief culprit has been Olmedo Saenz, who has started 14 of the 33 games at DH, but he has been joined by such luminaries as Juan Pierre, Marlon Anderson, Antonio Perez, Kenny Lofton, Mark Sweeney, and Andruw Jones.

Here's a quick rundown the Dodgers' last 11 interleague road series.

Year	Opponent	W	L	Comment
2008	Detroit	0	3	The low point of 2008; the Kershaw rain start
2008	Angels	1	2	At least they won one
2007	Tampa Bay	1	2	The revenge of Edwin Jackson
2007	Toronto	2	1	Only series win; Chad Billingsley rejoined the rotation for good
2007	Angels	0	3	Dodgers scored 4 runs in 3 games
2006	Angels	1	2	This snapped a 15-game AL road losing streak
2006	Minnesota	0	3	Johan and the peak of Liriano
2006	Oakland	0	3	Included a 17-inning loss
2005	Angels	0	3	Dodger starters went 7 each game; still got swept
2005	White Sox	0	3	Two last-AB wins for Chicago, including a 4-run 9th off Brazoban
2005	Royals	0	3	The Lima Game II
Totals		5	28	The Dodgers are due

This year's AL gauntlet takes the Dodgers to Texas and Anaheim during the next two weekends, followed by Chicago to play the White Sox from June 23-25. But this year's Dodger team has been the best team in baseball so far. They have met just about every challenge thus far, so how about some wins in an AL park, huh?

Marlon Anderson, Best Player in Dodger History, Retires

meercatjohn — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 21:08:09 -0000

Marlon Anderson has retired but his magical 2006 Sept remains one of the great periods in Dodger history.

Sure the title is hyperbole and I say it in jest but from the time Magic Marlon put on the Dodger Blue he put on a mind boggling show that would have made Albert Pujols proud. His OPS+ ranks 2nd in OPS+ in Dodger history. Granted we are playing with the numbers by making the criteria a mere 100 at bats but what a 100 at bats.

It all started with a simple Ned special on Aug 31st, trade a low level minor leaguer for a veteran player.

In this case we sent the promising Jhonny Nunez to the Nationals for Marlon Anderson. Marlon Anderson at the time could play some 2nd, some outfield and hit RHP at a decent clip. Many were against this trade as they felt it was just another example of Ned flipping young talent for a player who could have been readily available from within. D Young was coming off a great AAA season but had never had one single at bat in the major leagues. Was he ready for duty in a pennant race? Some thought so.

Andrew - As far as Anderson goes, is there anything he does that Delwyn Young couldn't?

Canuck - And that is the downside of only trusting "seasoned vets" to fill small roles in a pennant race: prospects who don't have the hype and big upsides of our more elite prospects (like Delwyn Young) get no chance to show that they too have value, perhaps a lot more than the Marlon Andersons of the world.

Andrew - At least for me, it's not about giving up Nunez, it's about acquiring a guy that's no better than players we already have for 15-20 at bats. 20 at bats is absolutely nothing. You could grab any player in the bigs or AAA and there's pretty much an equal chance he'll be better than Anderson.

Baseball Prospectus ...Dumping Ledee and (now) replacing him with Anderson is an upgrade, but mostly a cosmetic one—there's not a lot of difference between them in what they can do, and if Ledee was hurt much of the season, it isn't like a healthy Anderson is so much better that it was worth giving up a prospect as promising as Nunez to get him...Certainly, discarding Nunez looks gratuitous, and the product of particularly poor planning.

While yours truly had this to say.

Comparing D Young to Anderson is nice and and over a full year I'd expect D Young to outperform Anderson but if Sept is close do you really want a AAA player giving you an important at bat over Anderson who has been to the wars? I know being a veteran holds no cache here but I'd rather have Anderson up in that moment then a border line major league prospect whose 1st stint in the major leagues comes during a pennant race. It is not like Young has had any time in the bigs to prepare himself for these huge at bats. Anderson is not Neifi Perez or Royce Clayton with the bat but a decent LH option. I'd rather have him then Mabry or Norton who were the other players mentioned that we were perusing in that Anderson can play both infield and outfield and give us a pinch runner who we can use freely when the rosters have expanded.

I expected Marlon Anderson to provide some pinch hits, do some late inning base running and basically provide some help to the bench. No one, and I mean no one expected Marlon Anderson to go off and have the greatest streak of his career in the next 30 days. It was one of Ned's simplest trades and yet the payback was huge. You could argue that without Marlon Anderson's heroics the Dodgers would not have made the playoffs. Without Marlon Anderson there is no 4+1 game. Without Marlon Anderson the Sept magic of 2006 would be nothing. It was just dumb luck that Marlon went off for us but it was luck we gladly accepted.

Ex teammate Doug Glanville wrote a nice story about Marlon getting released several days ago. Seems a shame that Marlon ended his career just shy of the necessary time for a full pension. Considering what he did for the Dodgers putting him on the roster in Sept would be a nice payback but there is no room in baseball for sentiment.

Here is a game log of 2006 scroll down to the when he joined the Dodgers and you will see a player hitting only 279 with an OPS of .759. By the end of Sept he had raised his OPS 100 points and had left behind a legacy of big hits that went unrivaled in my memory until Manny showed up this past year. It is one thing to be one of the best hitters in baseball and deliver big hit after big hit as Manny did last year. It is quite another to have a hitter with a career OPS of .705 go on a tear where he puts up an OPS > 1.200 during a pennant race.

I don't expect I'll ever see the like of what Magic Marlon did in Sept of 2006 but I'm sure glad I experienced it. It truly was magical.

The Highs And Lows Of Marlon Anderson's Mets Career

James Kannengieser — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 11:00:13 -0000

Marlon Anderson was designated for assignment this past weekend, effectively ending his up and down Mets career (2005, 2007-2009). I present various moments from his Mets tenure, and my rating of each moment, on a scale from one Marlon to five Marlons:

1/7/05 - Signs with Mets:

5/22/05 - Slash line through this date - .343/.425/.400:

6/11/05 - Hits game tying inside-the-park homer in the 9th inning (off Frankie!):

......

10/2/05 - Finishes the season with a .264/.316/.391 line:

11/21/05 - Signs with Nationals:

7/12/07 - Signs with Mets:

8/1/07 - Goes 2-4, HR, 3 RBI as Mets beat Brewers 8-5:

9/23/07 - Delivers key pinch hit in the 8th as Mets beat Marlins 7-6:

9/30/07 - Dominates as pinch hitter for 3 months, finishes .319/.355/.551:

11/6/07 - Re-signs with Mets for 2 years, $2.2 million (Sam says: "wat"):

......

9/28/08 - Ends catastrophic season with a line of .210/.255/.275:

2/18/09 - ITBSOHL! (in the best shape of his life):

4/10/09 - Starts the season 0-4 after a poor spring training:

4/11/09 - See ya. DFA'd:

To Marlon: fare thee well gone away, there's nothing left to say.

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:55:06 -0000

Some things to read while eliminating public transportation.

As you can probably imagine, a fair amount of today's notes are about Jeff Suppan:

Two-Fisted Slopper has renamed Sunday "Tough Day for Suppan #2."
Suppan and Jorge Julio combined to make the Brewers just the ninth team in the modern era to walk in four runs in an inning.
Brew City Sports thinks there's a 75% chance Suppan will be cut by the end of the season.
As of this writing, about 89% of voters at this FanPost think Suppan should be out of the rotation.
The Wall Street Journal discusses the significance of an ace getting shelled early.
The Official Site has more quotes from Doug Melvin defending Suppan. They were from before last night's disaster, though.
CZweif.com thinks the Brewers need to give Suppan at least a month before making a move.

Fresh off last night's disaster, the Brewers welcome the Reds to town tonight for a matchup of two of baseball's best young pitchers, Yovani Gallardo and Edinson Volquez. Once this home series is over, the Brewers head to New York to face the Mets and Philadelphia to face the Phillies.

What do you think of the first week of new manager Ken Macha? PocketDoppler thinks Macha will be publicly viewed as a better manager than Ned Yost, but his record may be worse. Yost posted a .477 winning percentage as manager of the Brewers. If Macha manages a team with this much talent to a sub-.500 record, he'll be lucky to be seen as better than Davey Lopes.

If it looks like my pockets are bulging today, it's because they're stuffed full of minor league notes:

Brett Lawrie was pulled from a game over the weekend for failing to run out a ground ball. Good to see the team working to keep attitudes in check.
39 on the line is reporting that Taylor Green is healing faster than expected and could return as soon as the end of the month.
Mark Rogers pitched three scoreless innings over the weekend in his first game action in 32 months.
In light of the recent tragedy involving Nick Adenhart, The Tifton Gazette has a profile of Nick Green, Adenhart's former roommate in the minors. Green is no stranger to tragedy.

There's one ranking to pass along today: The Honolulu Advertiser dropped the Brewers from sixth to eighteenth in their power rankings.

But, the Brewers do give you a significant bang for your buck: A recent study ranked them as fifth most affordable.

Elsewhere around baseball:

Astros: Doug Brocail has been placed on the DL with a rotator cuff strain.
Braves: Tom Glavine left a minor league rehab appearance early with discomfort in his shoulder.
D-Backs: Placed Brandon Webb on the DL with a shoulder issue.
Dodgers: Delwyn Young, currently in AAA, is drawing interest from at least three teams and could be traded by the end of the week. They also placed Hiroki Kuroda on the DL with a strained oblique.
Giants: Joe Martinez remains in intensive care with three hairline fractures in his skull and subdural hematoma. He is expected to be removed from the ICU within the next few days, but won't be able to pitch until at least late May. The team also signed Dallas McPherson to a minor league deal.
Indians: Pitcher Scott Lewis has been placed on the DL with a left forearm strain.
Mets: Designated Marlon Anderson for assignment.
Nationals: Signed Ron Villone to a minor league deal.
Padres: Claimed reliever Luis Perdomo off waivers. Perdomo was the Giants' Rule 5 pick from the Cardinals. They also signed Chad Gaudin to a minor league deal.
Phillies: Placed catcher Carlos Ruiz on the DL with an oblique strain.
Reds: Chris Dickerson needed a bandage on his head after being assaulted by a revolving door.
Rockies: Designated pitcher Juan Morillo for assignment.
Royals: Placed Jose Guillen on the DL with a right groin tear.

If the recession is doing one positive thing, it's forcing teams to reevaluate the prices they charge for concessions and the rules keeping fans from bringing things in: the Dodgers are lowering prices and the Nationals are allowing fans to bring food in.

Oh, and you should keep Denny Neagle away from your girlfriend.

Drink up.