Archives for the month of: August, 2013

FireworksFireworks as celebration or as a release of frustration? One swing made all the difference for me and 50,000 other Dodger fans Friday night.

Dodger pitcher Ricky Nolasco and Bosox hurler John Lackey matched each other nearly pitch for pitch. They each went eight innings, they each struck out six batters and walked none, even their pitch counts were close: Nolasco threw 101 pitches, 66 for strikes, and Lackey made 97 pitches, 69 for strikes. Only problem for the Red Sox, one of those was knocked out of park by Hanley Ramirez.

Red Sox boxIn the quickest game I think I’ve ever been to, the Blue Crew bested the Bean Crew, 2-0, and when it was over, the announcer said, “Please turn your attention to Dodger vision for highlights of tonight’s game.” I turned to my neighbor and said: “That’s gonna be a short reel.” Well, he was from Scotland or something and had no idea what I was talking about.

Dodgers boxInstead of linking to the mlb.com box score, I’m furnishing you with my own personal score cards. I will do this when I can for as many of the remaining games as I’m going to this season. (But today, since I’m still writing this with less than an hour before the game starts, I probably won’t be keeping score. I don’t like to do it if I’m late … or if it’s hot and I have to follow the shade at the ballpark.)

Brian WilsonOnce The Beard was B00ed, now The Beard is BL00.

Former Giant Brian Wilson (awesome last name, by the way) staked his spot in the Dodger bullpen last night by closing out the game and preserving the 6-0 shutout over the Marlins in his first inning of work in 16 months.

The 31-year-old right-hander had been sidelined since early in the 2012 season after he underwent Tommy John surgery.

I don’t know about you, but his quirkiness may just be a good fit for these Dodgers. They already have some real characters to go along with the more down-to-business types like Andre Ethier (not that Andre doesn’t want to have fun, just that he seems to have a strong work ethic).

Andre EthierThese guys just get more and more fun to watch, like Ethier smashing into the fence catching the last out of Wednesday’s 4-1 win. I thought Kenley Jansen might just be doing his impression of Brandon League for a minute there, but Captain Clutch saved his bacon.

The Dodgers are 9½ games out in front, and tonight they host the Boston Red Sox. Should be a good game. I’ll be there with my scorecard and an itchy Twitter finger.

Twitter_LogoWhat a strange and powerful tool this “Twitter” is!

I was watching the game on KCAL-9, and Dodger broadcaster Eric Collins mentioned that, on this day in Dodger history, Davey Lopes set an L.A. Dodger record for most total bases in a game, 15. Then Collins reiterated that it was a franchise record. I thought: “That’s not right!” And instead of just mumbling, “What about Shawn Green’s 19 in Milwaukee?” I thought, “Hey! This is exactly what Twitter is for, right?”

Now, I am not by nature a Twitterer. I have an account, and I send out occasional pictures of Zorro to my five followers. That’s about it.

Still, I got on my iPhone and looked up #Dodgers, because surely someone would be reminding the guys on TV about Shawn Green. Instead what I saw were things like: “brandon league sucks #Dodgers,” “Why is Brandon League on the mound? #hesucks #Dodgers,” “Mattingly is the only person who doesn’t think Brandon League sucks. #Dodgers.”

TweetSo I sent a tweet to Steve Lyons, which is pictured to the right. (I wish it didn’t sound so snarky in retrospect, but I understand the idea is to be succinct.)

Just a few moments later, I’m folding laundry in the kitchen (because the Marlins have tied it up thanks to Brandon League and all his sucking), and I hear this:

And I thought it was cool when my friend Chris Erskine got a shout out from Rick Monday on the Dodger radio broadcast! This is way cooler!

I only wish it had been on Prime, because nobody gets Channel 9 anymore. #timewarnersucks.