O-Dog's Cycle and other Early Season Thoughts

If you've been living under a rock for the past week or so, you missed some fun baseball courtesy of the Blue. We fast forward to Opening Day at the Ravine this past Monday, leaving behind the 4-3 opening road trip.

Home openers are always a lot of fun. Spring is usually in the air, and the atmosphere at the Stadium has a playoff vibe and feeling to it. So it came as no surprise that we saw two dominating performances by the Dodgers against the Hated Ones to the North that afternoon.

So where do we start? Chad Billingsley thoroughly dominated the Giants, pitching seven strong innings while striking out 11 hitters. Andre Ethier slugged two home runs and drove in four runs. And then there was the O-Dog. All Orlando Hudson did was do something no other Dodger had ever done at Dodger Stadium, and he did what no L.A. Dodger had done in 39 years. The O-Dog hit for the cycle. And it couldn't have been done by a more likeable guy.

Only one other L.A. Dodger had ever accomplished that feat. Wes Parker did it way back in 1970. But he did it on the road. Only one other player had ever done it Dodger Stadium, and that was Jim Fregosi for the Angels in 1964 when they shared the Stadium with the Dodgers while waiting for Anaheim Stadium to be built. And then the bew Dodger, Orlando Hudson, does it in his very first game as a Dodger at Dodger Stadium.

Oh, and the Dodgers won the game 11-1.

Two nights later, another Dodger pitcher pitched a masterpiece, again, against the Hated Ones to the North. Clayton Kershaw dominated the Giants for seven innings on Wednesday, giving up just one earned run on one hit while striking out 13 hitters. The bullpen would blow the 2-1 lead, and ultimtely cost Kershaw a win, but the offense rallied against the Giants pen and won on a basesloaded walk in the ninth inning.

When all was said an done after last night, the Dodgers had swept the Giants, and are now on a nice five game winning streak going back to two solid wins in Arizona over the weekend.

The offense has really done what was expected so far. Even with Manny slow to get out of the gate, primarily because he's been walked so often (Dodgers lead the league in walks so far), the offense is finding ways to score runs. They've only hit nine home runs as a team through the first 10 games, but they enter play today as third highest scoring team in the National League. And O-Dog, Matt Kemp and James Loney are tearing the cover off the ball.

What's even more impressive is even with Hiroki Kuroda on the DL, and James McDonald having been hammered in his first major league start last week in Arizona, and the pen having a couple of bad games, sans Jonathan Broxton, who's been perfect so far, the team is surprisingly leading the league in ERA. And a lot of that can be attributed to Billingsley and Kershaw's two starts, and getting two solid starts from Eric Stults, as well. Randy Wolf had a good start in Arizona last weekend, as well, after looking dreadful in San Diego last week.

Obviously, it's still too early to tell if the rotation is good enough to keep this up, and if the pen can get a little more consistency, but it's always a good sign when you get off to a good start like this. We know the offense will continue to put runs on the board, especially once Manny gets going, and he will, but the key to this team's success will be the pitching, and so far it hasn't disappointed.

And one last thing... What a great effort last night by Doug Meintkiewicz. With the game still close, and two runners on, Dougie M laced a double into the right field corner for two runs. At the end of the play at second base, Meintky slid head first into second base awkwardly, and appeared to hurt his left shoulder in the process. He rolled over and writhed in pain, but wound up staying in the game for one more hitter. He was then pulled for a pinch runner.

Today we learned he will be out three months as he will require surgery to repair what we learned was a dislocated shoulder.

All I can say is it's guys like him that help you win championships, and he will be a very important part of this team when he gets back in about three months. Get well soon, Dougie!

The Josh Beckett-Bobby Abreu Incident

Let me start by saying that I'm no "fan" of either player who was involved in the incident. To add to that, I'm not an Angels fan, and I'm also not a Red Sox fan. I personally don't like Josh Beckett either; I think he's a moron, a hot-head, and has the personality of a sheep. Having said that, before anyone gets their panties tied up in bunches after reading this, my comments below are merely my objective opinion as an outside observer on what I saw this past Sunday afternoon.

So, what do you do as a pitcher when you're playing a cat-and-mouse game with a runner on second base, and the hitter gets tired of waiting for a pitch to be made and suddenly asks for timeout at the last minute just as the pitcher begins his delivery? Here's a lesson for those of you who have never pitched in a baseball game: you continue your delivery and follow through, and hope the ball ends up in the catcher's glove. Don't stop.

That is something you are taught as a pitcher before you get to high school. Why? Because stopping in the middle of your delivery is dangerous and can cause serious injury to the pitcher. But here's where it gets tricky. As a pitcher, the element of surprise when you look up and see the umpire holding his arms out to indicate 'timeout' when he grants it to the hitter after you've already started your delivery can do funny things to the baseball. You really don't know where the ball is going to end up. No really, you don't, and that's from the element of surprise.

I can't begin to think how many times I've seen balls pitched in those situations where the ball never even gets to the catcher. I've seen balls thrown to the backstop. I've seen balls end up being thrown straight into the ground and bounce to the catcher. Heck, I've even seen a pitcher hurt himself because he did what he was taught not to do: he stopped, and tore his achilles tendon when his cleat got caught on the mound in his attempted to stop his follow-through.

So then why was Josh Beckett suspended for six games when he did exactly what he was supposed to do as a pitcher, but his thrown pitch almost decapitates Bobby Abreu, who didn't really have a lot of time to react, but was still standing in the batter's box when the pitch almost hit him? There were other things besides Abreu almost getting beaned in the head that transpired after the incident that warranted punishment, but that's not what this is about.

As a hitter, you're also taught before you ever get to high school, that if the home plate umpire grants you the timeout you've requested, to get out of the box. Umpires are taught to get out, as well. And I don't mean just back out or side-step one or two steps, I'm talking about completely clearing the home plate area, and quickly. The last thing you want to do as a pitcher in that situation is to accidently hit someone, and as a hitter and an umpire, you don't want to get hurt either. And unfortunately, that's exactly what almost happened.

I saw the play just after it happened, and watched it over, and over, and over again. There was no reason to think Beckett intentionally threw at Abreu's head. Really, does anyone think that had timeout not been called or had Abreu not asked for it, that Beckett was out there head-hunting at that moment? It was the first inning. There was no score. There was no incident prior to that in the game to suggest Beckett was even thinking about it, or that it was even warranted.

But for whatever reason, the Angels took exception to Beckett's pitch, and Major League Baseball bought into the Angels argument that Beckett was throwing at Abreu intentionally. Now Beckett has been suspended for six games because the umpire granted Abreu a late timeout. And it's obvious to me based on some of the things I've read on the internet that I'm in the minority who think the suspension is complete and utter garbage.

And what's funny about the whole thing, and I looked this up after reading Beckett's comments after learning of the suspension today, which he is rightfully appealing, is Beckett, who has hit quite a few hitters in his career, has actually never hit any hitter in the head before. In fact, there was nothing to prove that he has ever thrown at anyone's head either.

What's even funnier about this is two of the umpires are on record saying they think Beckett did the right thing by continuing his delivery and following through with it. And somehow Major League Baseball sees it otherwise.

The whole thing is a complete joke. To punish a guy for doing what he was supposed to do to avoid hurting himself, and then think he was throwing at the hitter intentionally is pure comedy.

More Baseball Sadness, and the Mets Home Opener

Just days after Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed in an auto accident, baseball lost two more memorable figures.

Yesterday, longtime legendary Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas collapsed in the broadcast booth while preparing for the Phillies game in Washington, and died of heart disease. He was 73.

Kalas, who was known for his signature "Outta here!" home run call, had been the Phillies play-by-play man since 1971. He also did voice-overs for NFL Films and also called NFL games on Westwood One Radio. Kalas, however, will forever be remembered for his home run calls, specifically his calls on Mike Schmidt home runs, where he would call out Schmidt's full name - Michael Jack Schmidt.

Kalas was inducted into the Broadcaster's Wing of Baseball's Hall of Fame in 2002. He is survived by his wife and three children, including Todd, who is a broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Later in the day, former All-Star pitcher Mark Fidrych, who gained notoriety for his antics on the pitching mound during his five years in the majors in the late 1970s, all with Detroit, was found dead on his farm in Massachusetts in an apparent accident while he was working on his truck. He was 54.

Fidrych, known as "The Bird" because of his resemblence to Sesame Street's Big Bird, was the AL's 1976 Rookie of the Year. Some of Fidrych's more popular antics was talking to the baseball, and himself, while on the mound, and grooming the mound between pitches.

Meanwhile, the Mets officially opened their new ballpark, Citi Field, on Monday night, to much criticism by Met fans, as heard on WFAN all afternoon, not to mention history being made to start the game, and losing the game in unusual fashion.

While the park looks fantastic from the outside, resembling old Ebbets Field, there were a ton of complaints about the park on the inside, such as sight line issues, including people unable to see parts of the field from their seats because the seats are at an odd angle, and some complaining they couldn't see any of the scoreboards in the park. Another popular complaint included people saying they couldn't see the ball on fly balls from their seats.

From watching the game on TV, the park, particularly the field, looks big from overhead, much in the same way PETCO Park in San Diego looks. It looks like a cross between PETCO and San Francisco's A&T Park, maybe with a hint of Citizens Bank Park in Philly or Great American Ballpark in Cincy, with large field dimensions. The park was already gaining some comparisons to being just another big concrete park, which doesn't bode well for the Mets as they just moved out of a noisy dump that was basically a big concrete cookie-cutter cylander block.

Maybe the Mets owners should have let architects design the park instead of trying to do it themselves. Way to go, Mets! You've got yourself an $800MM mess after just one game!

As for the game itself, the Padres' Jody Gerut christened the new park by hitting a lead-off homerun, the first time a lead-off hitter as ever opened a new park with a homerun. But the strangeness came when the Padres got what would prove to be the game-winning run on a balk by Mets reliever, Pedro Feliciano, in the sixth inning.

This is already starting to resemble 2007 and 2008 for the Mets, which bodes even worse for them and their fans than the early complaints about Citi Field. OKay, maybe not, but it's fun to make fun of stuff like this, isn't it?!

Angels Rookie Killed

Who would have guessed that just hours after pitching six scoreless innings in his season debut, just his fourth overall start in the Majors, that 22-year old rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart would be killed in a hit-and-run auto accident? Sadly, that's exactly what happened early this morning.

Adenhart was riding in a silver Mitsubishi with three others when a red a minivan apparently ran a red light at a Fullerton intersection at around 12:20am PT, and broadsided the Mitsubishi, sending it into a light pole, killing two in the car instantly, and sending two others to UC Irvine Medical Center, including Adenhart, where he would later die during surgery. A third vehicle waiting at the red light also suffered minor damage. The driver of that vehicle was not seriously injured.

The other hospitalized victim was last listed in critical condition at UC Irvine Medical Center. Jon Wilhite, who is expected to survive, played baseball at Cal State Fullerton from 2004 to 2008. The driver of the Mitsubishi was a female friend of Adenhart's who was a current student at Cal State Fullerton and was a cheerleader there in 2007 and 2008. Her mother said her daughter, 20-year old Courtney Stewart, and Adenhart had met about a year ago and were just friends.

Meanwhile, the driver of the minivan, Andrew Thomas Gallo. ran on foot but was captured a short time later and booked on three counts of murder, three counts of vehicular manslaughter, felony hit-and-run, and a felony DUI. Gallo's blood-alcohol level was well above the legal limit, according to authorities, and he was driving with a suspended license stemming from a previous felony drunk driving conviction.

Adenhart had just completed a strong start for the Angels in just their third game of the young season, scattering seven hits over six innings against the Oakland Athletics. The A's would eventually come from behind against the Angel bullpen and win the game, 6-4. After the game, Adenhart went about his business.

"I battled early and it felt good to get out of some jams," Adenhart said.

Adenhart's father, Jim, a retired Secret Service agent, had flown in from Maryland to attend the game at his son's wishes. Adenhart's agent, Scott Boras, spoke with both the pitcher and his father after the game about an hour before the crash would take place. Boras said that his client "was so elated... he felt like a major leaguer."

Adenhart's mother, Janet, arrived in Southern California from Maryland on this afternoon. Adenthart's parents were divorced.

News of Adenhart's death hit the Angels family very hard. Angels outfielder Torii Hunter was one of the first to hear of the tragedy.

"I'm in shock right now," he said. "He just pitched last night. It doesn't seem like this is happening. This is real life. This isn't about baseball. This is whole life, he had his whole life ahead of him. He was a great kid, he was funny, he was very popular in the clubhouse and off the field. People loved him."

The news also hit Boras especially hard. At a Thursday press conference, Boras broke down in tears as he talked about his client.

"To, I think, focus on his loss is not what we need to do here today, we need to focus on who Nick Adenhart was and his achievement. His parents really want to communicate to everyone that it's a very difficult moment, but it's also a very special moment because Nick was most accomplished and his life's goal was to be a major league baseball player and he certainly achieved that standard."

But it wasn't easy getting there. Adenhart was project a Top Five pick out of high school in 2004, but an elbow injury derailed him and he slipped to the fourteenth round, where the Angels selcted him in that year's draft. He would eventually undergo Tommy John surgery and would spend the bulk of his first four years as a pro in the Angels minor league system.

This is the second tragedy this week for the Angels. On Opening Day on Monday, two fans got into a fight in one of the stadium's stairwells, and a third fan came in from behind and struck one of the two fighting in the head. That fan fell to the ground and hit his head on the concrete and later died at a nearby hospital.

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One of the things that stands out to me throughout this entire ordeal is Boras' emotions at the news conference yesterday. We don't usually get to see the "human" side of Scott Boras, and it was refreshing to see someone who gets so much flak around the league for his antics as an agent, and the way he goes about his business, just abe a genuine human being.

We tend to forget two things: one, he's just doing his job, and he happens to be the best at it, and two, that he's human just like the rest of us. What he showed yesterday was a reminder of how close of a relationship the players have to their agents, and vice versa, and that agents are not just there to negotiate contracts for their clients, but they're also advisors in all aspects of a player's well-being including their personal lives, and they build a relationship on a personal level, as well.

Tom Cruise's portrayal as Jerry Maguire in the movie of the same name comes to mind.

And one last comment... to the sick SOB who decided to get bamboozled that night and then get behind the wheel, with a suspended license at that... I hope they throw the book at you and you spend the rest of your life getting ass-raped by Scott Peterson-types in prison until they put enough electricity through your pathetic soul to light up the entire country for at least an hour!

Opening Day Roster Is Set

UPDATE (8:47PM CT): The final cuts have now been made and much to my surprise, Ronald Belisario will make the team and take the final bullpen spot on the roster ahead of Tanyon Sturtze and Josh Lindblom. Lindblom is headed to AA-Chattanooga to work on being a starter. Ramon Troncoso has also made the team, as well.

Also making the team is Blake DeWitt, who the Dodgers apparently feel would act as a capable middle infield back-up. Juan Castro has been sent out to minor league camp and will re-assigned.

Still at issue, though, is the 40-man roster. The Dodgers have just one spot left on the 40-man for three guys (Belisario, Ohman, Meintkiewicz). Obviously this will work itself out over the next 20 hours or so.

And, forgot to mention earlier that James McDonald has officially been named the fifth starter and will start Friday night's game in Arizona.

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At least for the moment, it's set. Here's the official team release with the roster as of now. Keep in mind this will change between now and game time tomorrow.

Both Claudio Vargas and Delwyn Young are on the list, but both are expected to start the season on the DL. This will open up two spots, one for Will Ohman, who was told he won't have to go to Albuquerque to start the season, and another for Doug Meintkiewicz. With Ohman starting the season on the Big Club, Jeff Weaver, who many thought had made the club as the long-relief/spot-starter with a solid spring, will start the season in ABQ. The reason behind this move is the issue of the 40-man roster and making room on it for him, and any other non-roster invitee who should make the team. Also on the roster is Blake DeWitt, who appears to have beat out Juan Castro for the last bench spot.

In any case, Opening Day has all but arrived and the team is gearing up for the season with one last Spring Training hurrah up in San Francisco this afternoon. Four regulars did not make the trip up north inorder to get one last day of rest before the games begin: Manny, Raffy, O-Dog and Martin all stayed back in L.A. They will be in the lineup starting tomorrow.

Season Preview... Sort Of

With the season to officially get underway in just five days, I've been trying to brainstorm what the team might look like once the official 25-man rosters are due in to league offices after Saturday night's pre-season game at the Ravine against Milwaukee.

The line-up and defensive alignment are all but set. The bench is starting to take some shape, but a couple of guys are going to make Torre and his staff's decisions virtually impossible to leave them off the roster. The rotation is all but set, barring an official announcement on the fifth spot from Torre. And the pen, for the most part has taken some shape, as well. Having said all that, here's what we know so far:

The Line-up.

• Furcal, SS
• Hudson, 2B
• Manny, LF
• Ethier, RF
• Kemp, CF
• Loney, 1B
• Martin, C
• Blake, 3B

You can bet this line-up will produce a lot of runs, and some are saying that the addition of Manny makes this one of the deepest line-ups in the NL, with virtually no easy out from top to bottom. Are 900 runs too much to ask for from this bunch?

The Bench.

Only three guys are more-or-less shoe-ins to be bench players: Juan Pierre as the fourth outfielder, Mark Loretta as one of the infield utility guys, and Brad Ausmus as Martin's back-up.

The last two (or three?) spots are still up-for-grabs. Doug Mientkiewicz has made it virtually impossible for the team to leave him off the roster, although I think his roster spot would be better suited elsewhere with Loretta already set to be on the team. Juan Castro is another guy who is probably making the team as the back-up middle infielder, primarily because of his experience. But Chin-Lung Hu and Blake DeWitt, both likely headed back to Albuquerque so they can play everyday and not sit most of the time, have both had fantastic springs, making Torre's decision very difficult. My guess is Mientkiewicz and Castro make the roster of this bunch.

This means Jason Repko, unless they go six deep on the bench, and Xavier Paul, who had a solid spring, will be headed back to Albuquerque, as well. Delwyn Young is headed or the DL, again. Danny Ardoin, last year's back-up to Martin who didn't play much at all, has accepted his assignment to AAA and is headed to Albuquerque.

The Rotation.

The first four guys are set-in-stone locks.

• Billingsley
• Kuroda
• Kershaw
• Wolf

The fifth spot is still open for business. However, based on some of Torre's comments recently, it's all but certain James McDonald will get that nod, at least on Opening Day. But you get the feeling that the team wants to add another starting pitcher before Monday. There are options out there, however, aside from Pedro Martinez, who's asking price is too steep for the Dodgers, nothing stands out as anything the team would be really comfortable with or ready to jump on.

And what happens when Jason Schmidt is ready to come off the DL after his extended spring/rehab? All that will depend on both his and McDonald's performances, and whether or not the team adds another arm. My guess is unless Schmidt can prove he's willing to "let it all out" or "let it loose" with his fastball, he's staying in Albuquerque, or wherever he's sent until he can prove he's ready to come back.

What this all means, as well, is Eric Milton and Eric Stults won't be in the rotation, and neither will Claudio Vargas. Stults is headed back to Albuquerque.

The Bullpen.

• Broxton
• Wade
• Kuo
• Mota

Those four guys are the definites. After that, it becomes tricky.

Vargas is slated to start the season on the DL, meaning, Jeff Weaver, who has essentially pitched himself onto the team and into the bullpen, will be the long-reliever/spot-starter, taking Chan Ho Park's spot from last season. Just signed Will Ohman will start the season in Albuquerque on extended Spring Training, and then will join the team before April 14th, taking Joe Beimel's spot as the situational lefty. Ramon Troncoso is probably headed back to Albuquerque, leaving Eric Milton and Josh Lindblom.

Milton is likely the odd man out of all this, and what the Dodgers do with him is anyone's guess. Lindblom, a kid no one had really known much about until he was called up to Major League camp recently from Minor League camp, has pitched extremely well and has impressed the coaching staff enough that he'll likely make the team out of camp. Meanwhile, Shawn Estes has already accepted his reassignment and is headed to Albuquerque, as well.

The Bottom Line.

The offense will be the bread and butter of this team. With Manny anchoring the line-up, the offense will carry the load over the pitching, something not seen from a Dodger team since the early days of Gary Sheffield and Shawn Green. The rotation could use another arm, and the hope is that Martinez's asking price will come down enough for the Dodgers to jump on him. The bullpen is basically getting a complete make-over despite the fact the back three of the pen were with the team last season. Many, myself included, have the Dodgers winning the division, and if the pitching holds, and the rotation gets solid contributions from the middle guys, the Dodgers could do some serious damage in the post-season.