Well, it's certainly been a weird two weeks to say the least. And I guess the most important thing is the Blue continue to roll despite major issues in the rotation and bullpen. But we'll come back to this in a bit.
I first wanted to say I'm sad to see Tony Jackson let go by the Daily News. His up-to-the-minute blog was one of the first - and best - places I went to for any real-time Dodger information and in-game updates. Obviously, in this modern day and age where information is more readily available online in real-time, and with the blog boom that allows freelancers and regular people to get information out to the general public, it's made life a little more challenging for those hard-working paid beat writers who do that for a living. Still, getting information directly from the press box was always a bonus for us regular readers of blogs from beat writers such as Tony. I certainly hope Tony resurfaces in some way, shape or form. He's certainly one of the best, and one of my favorites, as well. Good luck, Tony.
Dodgertown, CA 90090. No, that's not a typo. That's a real zip code for Dodger Stadium and the surrounding property it sits on. The L.A. city council recently designated the stadium and property with its own city name, "Dodgertown," and submitted a request with the U.S. Postal Service for "Dodgertown" to be granted its very own zip code. Well, the USPS granted it the zip code 90090.
My guess on the reasoning behind it all is to pay tribute to the original "Dodgertown" in Vero Beach, which was such an intrigal part of the Dodgers for about 60 years. This all becomes official on June 6. Pretty cool.
As for on the field stuff, nice to see the Dodgers cake-walking through the division already, as they've already built a nice 3.5 game lead on the Giants. The team is perfect at home (8-0) but break even on the road (8-8). This could come back to haunt them later on, especially if the bullpen and rotation issues aren't resolved soon. Outside of Broxton, who has been lights out so far, the bullpen has been inconsistent, and outside of Billingsley in the rotation, the same can be said there, as well.
Jeff Weaver is back in Blue after starting the season at Albuquerque, and he could be thrown into the rotation any day now, to bump the struggling James McDonald. Hong-Chih Kuo looks like he's all but headed to the DL. He looked awful last night while warming up in the pen. One of his warm-up pitches sailed so far over the BP catcher the BP gate, that the ball wound up near home plate! Meanwhile, Cory Wade has been reactivated from the DL, much to the delight of Joe Torre, I hope. There's no telling how much longer Ronald Belisario will be relied upon in any close game. I think between the rotation and BP issues, Ned Colletti should be on the phone as we speak trying to find any reliable arm. I assume Eric Milton will get a chance at some point, as well.
Other than that, too early in the season to get too excited, but its nice to see much of the offense, sans Russell Martin, off to a good start. Four Dodger starters are off to such great starts that they should be mentioned in early All-Star vote conversation: the three outfielders and Orlando Hudson. This could obviously change between now and early July when the voting ends. Both Broxton and Billngsley will obviously get some consideration, as well, if they keep up their early performances, as well.
That should cover things for now. Happy Saturday.
I first wanted to say I'm sad to see Tony Jackson let go by the Daily News. His up-to-the-minute blog was one of the first - and best - places I went to for any real-time Dodger information and in-game updates. Obviously, in this modern day and age where information is more readily available online in real-time, and with the blog boom that allows freelancers and regular people to get information out to the general public, it's made life a little more challenging for those hard-working paid beat writers who do that for a living. Still, getting information directly from the press box was always a bonus for us regular readers of blogs from beat writers such as Tony. I certainly hope Tony resurfaces in some way, shape or form. He's certainly one of the best, and one of my favorites, as well. Good luck, Tony.
Dodgertown, CA 90090. No, that's not a typo. That's a real zip code for Dodger Stadium and the surrounding property it sits on. The L.A. city council recently designated the stadium and property with its own city name, "Dodgertown," and submitted a request with the U.S. Postal Service for "Dodgertown" to be granted its very own zip code. Well, the USPS granted it the zip code 90090.
My guess on the reasoning behind it all is to pay tribute to the original "Dodgertown" in Vero Beach, which was such an intrigal part of the Dodgers for about 60 years. This all becomes official on June 6. Pretty cool.
As for on the field stuff, nice to see the Dodgers cake-walking through the division already, as they've already built a nice 3.5 game lead on the Giants. The team is perfect at home (8-0) but break even on the road (8-8). This could come back to haunt them later on, especially if the bullpen and rotation issues aren't resolved soon. Outside of Broxton, who has been lights out so far, the bullpen has been inconsistent, and outside of Billingsley in the rotation, the same can be said there, as well.
Jeff Weaver is back in Blue after starting the season at Albuquerque, and he could be thrown into the rotation any day now, to bump the struggling James McDonald. Hong-Chih Kuo looks like he's all but headed to the DL. He looked awful last night while warming up in the pen. One of his warm-up pitches sailed so far over the BP catcher the BP gate, that the ball wound up near home plate! Meanwhile, Cory Wade has been reactivated from the DL, much to the delight of Joe Torre, I hope. There's no telling how much longer Ronald Belisario will be relied upon in any close game. I think between the rotation and BP issues, Ned Colletti should be on the phone as we speak trying to find any reliable arm. I assume Eric Milton will get a chance at some point, as well.
Other than that, too early in the season to get too excited, but its nice to see much of the offense, sans Russell Martin, off to a good start. Four Dodger starters are off to such great starts that they should be mentioned in early All-Star vote conversation: the three outfielders and Orlando Hudson. This could obviously change between now and early July when the voting ends. Both Broxton and Billngsley will obviously get some consideration, as well, if they keep up their early performances, as well.
That should cover things for now. Happy Saturday.
