Archives for posts with tag: Opening Day
High-priced right-hander Zach Greinke makes his Dodger debut.

High-priced right-hander Zach Greinke makes his Dodger debut.

Coolio! My earrings did the trick! It had nothing to do with Matt Kemp finally making contact, or Andre Ethier hitting his first home run of the year. Even Zach Greinke, who only allowed two hits in 6-1/3 innings looks surprised by how effective my little baubles could be.

Center-fielder Matt Kemp after hitting an RBI double in the sixth inning, his second hit of the game and the season.

Center-fielder Matt Kemp after hitting an RBI double in the sixth inning, his second hit of the game and the season.

But seriously, I wish the Dodgers could play like that every day. Then we really would be headed for the World Series. The bats that count were active — RBI doubles from Kemp and Adrian Gonzalez, Andre’s second-inning bomb — a starting pitcher in control and a bullpen that’s lights out. And the icing on the cake? Not a single Dodger error, for the first time this season.

It’s always nice when you win on fireworks night — festive explosions in the nocturnal sky seem incongruous after a humiliating defeat — but this win was especially satisfying if only because it reminds us Dodger fans of how good and exciting our team has been and can be. We see the sparkle in Matt Kemp’s smile and remember how much fun it is to root for the Boys in Blue.

earringI have a pair of Dodger earrings that I almost always wear everyday the Dodgers play. This year, I forgot to put them on. Yesterday, my husband asked me, “Why aren’t you wearing your lucky Dodger earrings? That’s probably why we’re in 4th place!” Yeah, that’s the problem.

Well, anyway, I’m putting on the bling today, so hopefully the Dodgers will pull out a win from the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight.

My old favorite Russell Martin will be behind the plate for the Bucs, and the Dodgers’ high-priced new pitcher, Zach Greinke, will be on the mound for the boys in blue. So we’ll see tonight if the money spent on him was worth it. It seems he gets hurt a lot, but I’m no expert on his career.

It would be nice to see some magic tonight, and besides the earrings, I’ll be donning a Dodger T-shirt and Dodger shorts and keeping my fingers and toes crossed.

New BlueI don’t think the word new means what Dodger management thinks it means. They keep throwing that word around as if it applies to this team, and it doesn’t. It may apply to the concrete sculptures of bobbleheads and baseballs that are strewn around the concourses. It may apply to the larger clubhouses that no fan will ever see. And it may apply to the ticket prices that ask $30 for a Top Deck seat for “Premium Games.” But it doesn’t apply to the team, to its play in the last two games, nor, as I’ve heard tell, to the long lines at the concession stands.

That bottom of the sixth, when Mark Ellis singled, Carl Crawford singled and Skip Schumaker got hit by a pitch to load the bases for Matt Kemp looked a lot like “The Same Old Blue” when Kemp hit into a double play and then Adrian Gonzalez struck out swinging. They only got one run out of an inning that should have been a scorefest, and the Giants, who had taken advantage of Josh Beckett and an error to score four in the third, went on to win 5-3.

I am in no way wishing the Dodgers to failure. I want them to win. I want them to thrive. But, ironically, if they keep playing like this, it might get me back to the stadium. Seats on Stub Hub will be going for 45 cents again, just like last year.