SBNation.com User Blog: Dodgerblue8188

A Trip To The Farm:Chattanooga Lookouts

Dodgerblue8188 — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 03:28:43 -0000

I took a road trip this past week to Chattanooga Tennessee with my dad. It would be the first stop on our way to Atlanta to see two games with the Dodgers and Braves. Originally I had only planned to see 1 game but after seeing the type of seats I could get for just $9.50 I quickly decided to go to two games. I sat directly behind the catcher in the first game and in the first row a section past the home team dugout in the second game.

The stadium opened in 2000 and seats about 6300. It's the first AA stadium I have been to so it's hard to judge how nice of ball park it is in comparison. But I have to say it's a nice atmosphere located in the downtown area of Chattanooga.

We arrived to the ball park about an hour before game time and it was pretty hot outside so the players stayed inside a bit longer than they probably usually do. As time progressed you'd catch players walking out of the locker room. The locker room is out in right field. I had the pleasure of getting photographs with several players. Zach Lee, Chris Withrow, Allen Webster, Scott Elbert, Griff Erickson. Overall most of those guys were really friendly especially Griff Erickson. I could have probably had a short conversation with the guy. He was really happy to take a picture and stuck his hand out to shake my hand after asking my name.

I have to say one thing about the stadium that is hard to deal with is the sun. The sun didn't go down till about 8 pm and there was not much shade at all in the seats.

I saw Blake Smith and JT Wise hit a home run. Blake Smith made two great catches in the outfield. One diving catch while running in and the other catch he ran down in deep center field. I saw Aaron Miller and Allen Webster start the game. Scott Elbert came in the 2nd game and struck out all 3 batters he faced.

The thing I noticed the most is how you really see the huge gap in talent from the major league level compared to the AA level. Routine plays made into errors. Also the size of the players were really noticeable. The players seemed so much smaller in relation to major league players. Which is not a surprise when you think about it.

The Lookouts won both games that I saw. Oh yea, if you want a program just make sure you have a quarter!

I went ahead and provided a facebook link to 3 albums I have of pictures First link is pictures of the actual stadium while the 2nd and 3rd link are the two games I saw respectively. I also added a video of Aaron Miller striking out a Sun to end the inning.

Stadium Pictures

Game One

Game Two

via i747.photobucket.com

I have to say one thing about the stadium that is hard to deal with is the sun. The sun didn't go down till about 8 pm and there was not much shade at all in the seats.

The Lookouts won both games that I saw. Oh yea, if you want a program just make sure you have a quarter!

Stadium Pictures

Game One

Game Two

A sweep experience!!!

Dodgerblue8188 — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 06:12:43 -0000

This past weekend I went up to NYC to see the Dodgers Mets series. I took my dad to all 3 games so that he could experience NYC for the first time. I was a bit worried going into New York as the weather was calling for showers all day long. Well, the weather started to get better as the night went on and ended up being some of the best weather I have ever experienced in New York City. It was in the 70's and 80's all weekend.

We took the subway to all 3 games which meant I saw my share of fellow Dodger fans. It really was awesome to see so many Dodger fans considering where I live we are a rarity. I had been to Shea twice back in 2004 and 2005 but didn't remember seeing that many Dodger fans back then as I did this past weekend.

Two moments that stick out the most. One which was of course the come back. I could not believe the Dodgers came back to win that game after the Mets had runners on with no outs. When Treanor got that base hit it was such a relief and a pleasant site to see the Mets fans start to leave. The second was when RA Dickey came into the game with the Dodgers up. The crowd kept cheering R A Dickey over and over again until Juan Uribe shut them up with his home run.

I have to say while I have only been to a few major league stadiums Citi Field is the most amazing stadium I've been in. The stadium is bigger than most people would think judging from pictures. There are different concourses/restaurants for different sections. On Sunday I stayed in Caesars section and needed a ticket just to get inside the concourse for that level. It also seems that there really isn't a bad seat in the park. Pricing is a bit ridiculous as it costs about 28 dollars just for a seat in the highest section.

I got a chance to get up close to the dug out pre game on Saturday. Clayton Kershaw was giving autographs and I probably would have had a shot to maybe get my hat signed. But some idiot tossed a ball at Clayton from about 10 feet away assuming Kershaw would just sign it so Clayton caught it and threw it back at him and left.

After the series sweep the Dodgers are now 5-0 when I go see them play in Queens. 6-0 if you count the spring training game I saw in 2005 down in Vero Beach.

It's also quite nice to walk into a visiting stadium and see pictures of Jackie Robinson and other Brooklyn Dodgers. The main theme of the stadium is focused around Jackie Robinson and Ebbets field.

I have attached some pictures I took of players and the stadium. Also a video of Kershaws sacrifice bunt I recorded and Gwynns bunt. For some reason the pictures are getting cut off on the right side. But you should still be able to get an idea.

Clayton Kershaw sacrific bunt against Mets 7-23-12 (via Budman582)

Tony Gwynn base hit bunt

gwynn (via Budman582)

Citi Field

Only Mets fan I cared for!

Game 3 win...was trying to get the jump but had to settle for the hug.

Kershaw signing before leaving due to a rude Dodgers fan.

The jump game 2 victory!

Going on 2 outs full count

SAFE!

Robinson video.

Tribute on the floor

Da Bums

Citi Field

View from Subway

After the series sweep the Dodgers are now 5-0 when I go see them play in Queens. 6-0 if you count the spring training game I saw in 2005 down in Vero Beach.

It's also quite nice to walk into a visiting stadium and see pictures of Jackie Robinson and other Brooklyn Dodgers. The main theme of the stadium is focused around Jackie Robinson and Ebbets field.

Clayton Kershaw sacrific bunt against Mets 7-23-12 (via Budman582)

Tony Gwynn base hit bunt

gwynn (via Budman582)

Citi Field

Only Mets fan I cared for!

Game 3 win...was trying to get the jump but had to settle for the hug.

Kershaw signing before leaving due to a rude Dodgers fan.

The jump game 2 victory!

Going on 2 outs full count

SAFE!

Robinson video.

Tribute on the floor

Da Bums

Citi Field

View from Subway

Seats near visitors bullpen

Dodgerblue8188 — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 16:36:43 -0000

Seats near visitors bullpen

Hello,

I'm coming to Turner field next month (Saturday night game). I already have my tickets for one game (section 120). I am looking at section 132 which is right near the visitors bullpen. There are seats available on the isle and judging from the ticket selection on mlb.com it looks like I'd be VERY close to to players in the bullpen. The only thing that worries me is the foul pole possibly being in the way.

Can anybody tell me if they think these are worth it? They are only 32 dollars. I already spent over 50 for section 120 so I' d prefer not to spend that again.

Also, what time are fans allowed in the stadium? Anything thing else that would be good info to know I will appreciate :) I'll be driving in from VA.

Dodgers Mets series late July Hello Mets fans :) I come in peace. I hope you don't mind me posting...

Dodgerblue8188 — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 17:37:11 -0000

Dodgers Mets series late July

Hello Mets fans :) I come in peace. I hope you don't mind me posting here. I am going to Citi Field on the Friday and Saturday when the Dodgers come into town. I have bought my tickets for Friday nights game. I'm looking on stub hub for Saturdays game. The prices are still a bit steep so I'm wondering if I should wait until the game gets closer. Of course I don't want to miss out either.

My question to you guys is how crowded might this game get? Mets are playing good ball right now so I'm sure that will reflect on how many people show up.

Are there any sections of the stadium I should avoid sitting in because of poor view? I am trying to spend no more than 60 on each ticket. People often tell me that they get good deals on stub hub but I have a feeling I'm seeing high seat prices because there is still a good month before the game.

Thanks

2011 Dodgers Spreadsheet Project

Dodgerblue8188 — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:49:53 -0000

[A lot of time and effort went into this. There is an absolute ton of great information in this document. Nice work by DodgerBlue8188. -Eric]

This is the completed version of my 2011 excel scrapbook of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. You can find my final 2010 version here 2010 Dodgers Excel Scrapbook. For comparison my 2010 version had about 25 worksheets while my 2011 version has about 125 worksheets. My goal was to not only present regular data but also data that could give people interesting stats that you can't find as easily on baseball web sites.

You can download my 2011 Dodgers Spreadsheet here. It's about 6.5 MB.

Statistical Features:

Daily results for each level of the Dodgers organization.
Statistics for the Dodgers.
Monthly comparison statistics including the leaders at certain categories for each month.
Comparison among each division.
Comparison among each team.
Comparison among day/night-1st half/2nd half-home/away
Records versus each team

Player profiles/Prospect Watch

Kershaw, Kemp, Billingsley
Minor league player profiles
Webster, Miller, De La Rosa, Gould, Lee, Martin, Withrow, Gordon, Sands

Team review

This is set up for each minor league level. It is a snap shot of the prospects statistics as well as the team's records versus each team the play.

[A lot of time and effort went into this. There is an absolute ton of great information in this document. Nice work by DodgerBlue8188. -Eric]

You can download my 2011 Dodgers Spreadsheet here. It's about 6.5 MB.

Statistical Features:

Daily results for each level of the Dodgers organization.
Statistics for the Dodgers.
Monthly comparison statistics including the leaders at certain categories for each month.
Comparison among each division.
Comparison among each team.
Comparison among day/night-1st half/2nd half-home/away
Records versus each team

Player profiles/Prospect Watch

Kershaw, Kemp, Billingsley
Minor league player profiles
Webster, Miller, De La Rosa, Gould, Lee, Martin, Withrow, Gordon, Sands

Team review

This is set up for each minor league level. It is a snap shot of the prospects statistics as well as the team's records versus each team the play.

History

A collection of minor league teams, all stars, opening day lineups, records, playoff records, awards, leaders.
Previous seasons-information from my 2010 version that could be of some use for quick reference. i.e. Draft results.

Front office directory/Transactions

List of Dodger employees.
Transactions at the major league level.

Feel free to download to your computer and take some time browsing around. You're likely to miss some pages so pay attention to all the hyper links. Most likely if something is underlined it is a hyper link.

Hope you enjoy!

In Depth Statistics

Dodgerblue8188 — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 22:15:52 -0000

Breakdown of different statistics

Many of you have seen the work I do on the side of tracking the Dodgers organization. I've built a spreadsheet these last two years going in depth on a lot of the things that go on.

This year I created formulas to try and track different types of scenarios. For example, I have formulas in excel to track what the Dodgers statistics are against each team they play, each division they play (home/away), and how they do against there divisional teams both home away and and overall.

The problem is that I can't find any place on the internet that allows me to see if my numbers are correct. I've found some errors here and there (mostly mapping from the data base to the breakdown). But I would really like to be able to see if I have it 100% correct and the only way I can do that is finding another web site that will allow me to filter categories. I've double checked the statistics for when the Dodgers play each team but that's as far as I can go.

Does anybody know of a site that would show those things?

Thanks

Btw, sorry to have to post this as a fan post I just know you guys present some really in depth stats so figured this was the best place. Please just keep up for a few days to see if anybody knows then I'll delete.

Dodgers June ERA Mlb.com vs ESPN

Dodgerblue8188 — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:02:31 -0000

ESPN Vs Mlb.com June Team ERA

I noticed this while double checking my spreadsheet. ESPN matches with what I have for June team ERA at 4.53 through June 23rd. While MLB.com has 4.63. A difference in 2 earned runs. I am pretty sure those 2 ER came from the scenario a couple weeks ago where the earned runs were not charged to the Dodgers team ERA only Matt Guerrier (I Believe it was Guerriers?).

One, I'm kind of surprised mlb.com is making that mistake as they had it correct on the box score because I remember specifically checking for that when I entered my information into my data base.

Two, anybody seen this happen before? Am I just missing something?

Ever been to a Lookouts game in TN?

Dodgerblue8188 — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 17:41:25 -0000

Have you been to a Chattanooga Lookouts game in TN?

I just googled directions from Virginia Beach to Chattanooga and it's about a 10 hour drive. I've always wanted to take a road trip by myself to just get away from everybody. I have thought about taking a trip out that way but it's something about driving 10 hours just to see a minor league game that gets to me lol..

But then I realized Atlanta is only about 2 hours from Chattanooga. Well, that means I could drive to Chattanooga for a game and if the scheduling worked right I could also go down to Atlanta when the Dodgers are in town.

Unfortunately, the timing would not work this season as the Dodgers don't go to Atlanta until early September and I'll be in college.

I am thinking about maybe making a trip like this next year if the scheduling works. By then maybe Zach Lee will be in AA who knows..

But I wanted to ask all you fellow Dodger fans if you had been to Chattanooga for a game and the experience you had at the stadium/city. Recommend it? How about a Dodgers game in Atlanta?

This is the only place I can think of posting this that would actually feed me legit responses so I hope it's okay to post this here.

Thanks in advance.

Clayton Kershaw month of May

Dodgerblue8188 — Mon, 30 May 2011 18:08:31 -0000

Clayton Kershaw

Just noticed this after entering his information into my spreadsheet.

Month of May he went 4-0 with a shut out. 1.77 ERA .96 WHIP 46 K's in 40 IP. Could have gone 5-0 had he gotten more run support in Houston last week.

On the season he is 6-3 2.62 ERA 1.10 WHIP 9.91 K/9 2.73 BB/9.

Just keeps getting better and better.

2011 Dodgers Project

Dodgerblue8188 — Wed, 04 May 2011 16:23:42 -0000

Last season I began an "excel scrap book" that consisted of various aspects of the Dodgers organization. Many of you will remember as I posted it last October. I had positive feedback so I decided to continue this for the 2011 season. I wanted to add some features while at the same time presenting more information based on a single data base. In comparison my 2010 edition had 25 tabs. My 2011 edition has over 125 tabs. If you were one that saw my 2010 edition and thought it was something really interesting I urge you to take the time to download this file as it's much better and complex than my 2010 version.

You can download the excel file from this host. The file is between 6-6.5 MB.

http://www.mediafire.com/?x0bteh4o03ww9i4

Statistical Features:

Daily results for each level of the Dodgers organization.
Up to date statistics for the Dodgers.
Monthly comparison statistics including the leaders at certain categories for each month.
Comparison among each division.
Comparison among each team.
Comparison among day/night-1st half/2nd half-home/away
Records versus each team

Player profiles/Prospect Watch

Kershaw, Kemp, Billingsley
Minor league player profiles
Webster, Miller, De La Rosa, Gould, Lee, Martin, Withrow, Gordon, Sands

Team review

This is set up for each minor league level. It is a snap shot of the prospects statistics as well as the team's records versus each team the play. When the season is over it will have standings and final stats.

History

A collection of minor league teams, all stars, opening day lineups, records, playoff records, awards, leaders.
Previous seasons-information from my 2010 version that could be of some use for quick reference. i.e. Draft results.

Front office directory/Transactions

List of Dodger employees.
Transactions at the major league level.

Numerous other features that are from my 2010 edition and things that I just don't feel are worth mentioning here.

It took quite some time to build this excel data base but now that my formulas are complete it's usually a 15 minute process each day depending on the amount of prospects that pitch/play.

If anybody is interesting on seeing this throughout the season please let me know. I can always make a fan post every other week to see how certain things have changed or simply e-mail out to any parties interested.

Lastly, I did want to give a thanks to Eric Stephen as he has answered several helpful questions that have helped me with several features. A special thanks to Brandon Lennox as he has also helped me with information that has made this project a little easier. Many other posters here have also answered questions and I do appreciate that.

Thank you and enjoy.

Mark

You can download the excel file from this host. The file is between 6-6.5 MB.

http://www.mediafire.com/?x0bteh4o03ww9i4

Statistical Features:

Daily results for each level of the Dodgers organization.
Up to date statistics for the Dodgers.
Monthly comparison statistics including the leaders at certain categories for each month.
Comparison among each division.
Comparison among each team.
Comparison among day/night-1st half/2nd half-home/away
Records versus each team

Player profiles/Prospect Watch

Kershaw, Kemp, Billingsley
Minor league player profiles
Webster, Miller, De La Rosa, Gould, Lee, Martin, Withrow, Gordon, Sands

Team review

This is set up for each minor league level. It is a snap shot of the prospects statistics as well as the team's records versus each team the play. When the season is over it will have standings and final stats.

History

A collection of minor league teams, all stars, opening day lineups, records, playoff records, awards, leaders.
Previous seasons-information from my 2010 version that could be of some use for quick reference. i.e. Draft results.

Front office directory/Transactions

List of Dodger employees.
Transactions at the major league level.

Numerous other features that are from my 2010 edition and things that I just don't feel are worth mentioning here.

It took quite some time to build this excel data base but now that my formulas are complete it's usually a 15 minute process each day depending on the amount of prospects that pitch/play.

Thank you and enjoy.

Mark

Mike Piazza

Dodgerblue8188 — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 04:45:57 -0000

One thing I've learned since joining this site is more about arbitration and team control. I have always wondered why Piazza was traded. Did it have something to do with him being eligible for free agency? I was looking at his years on baseball-reference and it looks like he would have been up.

1993	24	Los Angeles Dodgers	$126,000	USA Today
1994	25	Los Angeles Dodgers	$600,000	1996 Joint Exhibit 1
1995	26	Los Angeles Dodgers	$900,000	1996 Joint Exhibit 1
1996	27	Los Angeles Dodgers	$2,700,000	1996 Joint Exhibit 1
1997	28	Los Angeles Dodgers	$7,000,000	1997 AP survey
1998	29	Los Angeles Dodgers	$8,000,000	4/3/98 USA Today

One thing I don't understand though is how he made 600k his second year. Kershaw is in his 3rd year and going for less than that.

1993	24	Los Angeles Dodgers	$126,000	USA Today
1994	25	Los Angeles Dodgers	$600,000	1996 Joint Exhibit 1
1995	26	Los Angeles Dodgers	$900,000	1996 Joint Exhibit 1
1996	27	Los Angeles Dodgers	$2,700,000	1996 Joint Exhibit 1
1997	28	Los Angeles Dodgers	$7,000,000	1997 AP survey
1998	29	Los Angeles Dodgers	$8,000,000	4/3/98 USA Today

One thing I don't understand though is how he made 600k his second year. Kershaw is in his 3rd year and going for less than that.

2010 Dodgers Project

Dodgerblue8188 — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 01:14:44 -0000

Beginning this season I wanted to keep track of all levels of the Dodgers system. I created an excel document that would capture a lot of aspects of the organization in ways you can't find on any old web site. I created 3 data bases and each data base populates a lot of information. So while you'll see a lot of info I did not type all of it out, just populated it from data bases.

There are several pages that you may enjoy:

Minor league directory
Stadium directory
Transactions page that allows you to filter names and reasons for a player to be on there.
The standings section has some interesting information broken down.
Rosters section has opening day and final rosters listed as well as pictures of some players.
Draft class has some information as well for those who are not as familiar with it.

I know all of you are die hard fans so a lot of the information is nothing new. However, my goal is to one day have a blog and have this file available on a daily basis for fans who don't have time to go to 3-4 different web sites to get the information i have here.

Any suggestions is welcome. I am thinking of doing this in future years as it won't take as long since i have the template set up. You need excel to view this. Thanks for viewing.

Download the file here.

There are several pages that you may enjoy:

Minor league directory
Stadium directory
Transactions page that allows you to filter names and reasons for a player to be on there.
The standings section has some interesting information broken down.
Rosters section has opening day and final rosters listed as well as pictures of some players.
Draft class has some information as well for those who are not as familiar with it.

Any suggestions is welcome. I am thinking of doing this in future years as it won't take as long since i have the template set up. You need excel to view this. Thanks for viewing.

Download the file here.

John Lindseys future in the Dodgers organization

Dodgerblue8188 — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 16:51:38 -0000

Do you think the Dodgers bring him back to play in AAA? I'm guessing based on the season he had he'll be signed and of course be at spring training. But seems like he'd have to tear the ball apart in spring training to make the team.

One point I wanted to make is how he had a great offensive season in AAA yet it took an expansion of the roster to finally get him called up. When he does get called up he struggled to be productive only to end the season with an injury. Based on those two facts I can't see the Dodgers bringing him up again unless it's in Sept of 2011.

Do you think he stays within the organization because of that reality? Or might he go somewhere else that might not have as many road blocks preventing him from getting a call up.

Tough month of June for our boys in blue

Dodgerblue8188 — Sun, 30 May 2010 05:53:12 -0000

The Dodgers will have a very tough month of June. This could be a big sign of how good this team is. The Dodgers will face 6 games against the Angels who we always seem to have trouble with. A home series against the Yankees. An away series in Boston. 3 games in San Francisco. 3 games in Cincy..again. As well as a 3 game series at home against the Braves,D Backs (1 game in May) and Cardinals. If the Dodgers can score some runs during these series but show a missing link in pitching. Could this be the major push to finally try and add an ACE type pitcher in Oswalt or Cliff Lee? 27 games in June and 21 of those games are against teams that are on pace to make the playoffs this year or were in it last season.