Walk-Off Walk and Rookie Heroics

Winning on walk-off walks seems to be becoming more and more common for the Blue this year. Last night they eeked one out in 10 innings, beating the Halos 5-4 on a bases-loaded walk by Juan Pierre. The Dodgers finally got some timely hitting with runners in scoring position last night in the late innings. The Dodgers strated their rally after trailing 4-1 on a solo homerun from Juan Rivera, and a three-run job by Torii Hunter. Torii also made two great catches in the game, one while crashing into the wall and taking at least a double awayfrom Casey Blake, and maybe saving a run.

Meanwhile, in today's game, Dodger rookie outfielder Jamie Hoffmann, making his first start of his career in place of an injured Andre Ethier, who injured his big toe last night when he fouled a pitch off of it, came up with two on and no outs in the second inning and a run already in and smacked a three-run home run into the left field pavilion for his first home run of his career, giving the Dodgers a 4-0 lead early off Angel starter Matt Palmer. Hoffmann was called up two days ago when Xavier Paul was put on the DL with a staph infection on his knee. For Hoffmann, it was just his third at bat of his career.

Unfortunately, the 4-0 second inning lead has all but evaporated for the Dodgers in the top of the sixth inning today. The Angels have battled all the way back off Chad Billinsgley, and now have a 5-4 lead. Torii Hunter made another spectacular catch in the fifth inning when he crashed into the wall again and took an extra base hit away from Matt Kemp. Torii appeared to be hurt at first, and stayed down for a few minutes before getting back up and remaining in the game. Hunter just scored the go-ahead run for the Angels on a Kendry Morales sac fly.

A Sweep and Interleague

Well, that was a nice ending to the Mets series. Dodgers complete a three-game sweep and improved their record to 29-13 (17-3 at home). But then last night happened.

During the Mets series, the Dodger offense started showing signs of living dangerously, and last night it caught up with them. It seems the Dodgers are starting to find it a wee-bit difficult to hit with runners in scoring position, and last night it proved to be costly as the Angels won the first game of their interleague matchup this weekendm handing the Dodgers a rare loss at home.

Clayton Kershaw didn't pitch very well either, but got lucky because the Angel bats had just as much trouble with runners in scoring position as the Dodgers did. The difference? While the Dodgers couldn't do anything against Angels starter Jered Weaver or the Angels pen, the Angels got that big hit when they needed it, and it turned out to be the game winner when Chone Figgins singled in two runs with the bases loaded in the 8th inning off losing pitcher Cory Wade.

The defense was pretty good in this game, as well. Most notably, Angel centerfielder Torii Hunter made two spectacular catches in the game, one of which probably saved an extra base hit off the bat of Casey Blake, and perhaps a run.

And, by the way, what has happened to Andre Ethier? His bat has gone comletely cold, and quiet, since Manny's suspension. I know the kid is a very good hitter, and a solid player, but it's become quite apparent that his offense has suffered immensely without Manny hitting in front of him. It is nice to see, however, Juan Pierre still tearing the cover off the ball in Manny's absence. Obviously Pierre doesn't possess the same power as Manny, but he's certainly proving his worth to this team by getting on base and being the table-setter for the offense. The Dodgers lead the Majors with 44 first inning runs.

Here is tonight's lineup, as the Dodgers send Randy Wolf to face off against Angels ace John Lackey, making just his third start of the season.

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!

A Month Later...

Well it's been a month since I've had a chance to post anything, and we all know what's happened since. Dodgers got swept in Colorado, part of what has started an incredible run by the Rockies that has seen them win 21 of their last 22 games going back to Sunday before they swept the Dodgers, and earn themselves a berth in the World Series. And I must add, it has been a lot of fun watching the Rockies.

Back to the Dodgers. They went on an ugly tailspin that saw them finish 8 games out of first place and in 4th place overall in the standings. They barely finished better than .500 (the NL West is the only division in the Wild Card era to have four teams finish with better than .500 records). So now we move on to 2008...

Several players have already been cut loose: Shea Hillenbrand, Roberto Hernandez and Olmedo Saenz. Manager Grady Little will return as the manager next year despite the fact Joe Torre is suddenly available. Luis Gonzalez, Randy Wolf and Mike Lieberthal are unofficially a free agents (the filing period begins after the World Series). Gonzo is all but gone, and Lieberthal will probably return for another year as Russell Martin's primary back-up, but still no word on what they might do with Wolf. Jeff Kent's contract has become guaranteed for 2008 based on him reaching 550 plate appearances this year. But there is growing speculation in light of the clubhouse turmoil and differences between the veteran players and younger players towards the end of the season that Kent may not come back for another year.

The Dodgers have a lot of questions as they head into the off-season. Who's going to be the everyday third baseman next season? Will they pursue Alex Rodriguez should he opt of his contract with the Yankees? (Personally, I say, if he does, break the bank on him if you must!) Can Kent co-exist with Matt Kemp and James Loney should he elect to to return for his final year? Will they trade some of the young players for an established big bat in the middle of the lineup, say, of the Miguel Cabrera variety? Will Jason Schmidt be healthy enough to contribute every 5th game? Who will fill the 4th and 5th spots in the rotation? Will they move Juan Pierre to left field so they can pursue one of the better offensive and defensive free agent center-fielders on the this year's free agent market, i.e., Andruw Jones or Torii Hunter?

As the off-season kicks into high gear after the World Series, we should start to see some of these questions answered. Stay tuned after the World Series for more frequent updates and comments.