Game 24 Thread: Apr. 29 vs. Padres, 7p

Alex Wood (1-2, 6.00) vs. Cesar Vargas (0-0, 1.80)

Well here we are again at the depth of the roller coaster ride that is the 2016 season. Fresh off an epicly embarrassing 4-game sweep at the hands of the lowly Marlins, the Dodgers will really need to hit that great reset button in the sky to salvage a shred of dignity in this homestand against the Padres. And it's almost getting too late to keep talking about how early in the season it is.

I find no solace in today's official game notes on Wood: "Wood struggled in Colorado last Sunday, allowing five earned runs in six innings...his strikeouts per nine innings stands at 5.14, which is in the bottom 10 of qualified pitchers in MLB." Hey, I guess that means he's not dead last in that statistical category, so that's something.

Many will, however, find solace in tonight's post-game fireworks show. A special tribute to Prince is planned with his music as the backdrop for the fireworks display. Indeed, we all wish we could pitch like it was 1999, because then we could lean on Chan Ho Park to turn this around instead of Alex Wood.

Nomo, Park Honored Today

From a BZAPR release:

NOMO, PARK TO BE HONORED IN CEREMONIES ON JULY 18

Two former Los Angeles Dodger All-Star pitchers will be honored on Friday, July 18.

Hideo Nomo will be inducted into the Japan Baseball Hall of Fame. Ceremonies will be held on the field to honor the 2014 inductees prior to the Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star Game at Seibu Dome in Tokorozawa (near Tokyo), Japan. Chan Ho Park will receive recognition during retirement ceremonies prior to the Korean Professional Baseball All-Star Game at Champions Field, Kwangju, South Korea.

Nomo became the youngest player elected to the Japan Baseball Hall of Fame at age 45 and 4 months on January 17, 2014. He is only the third player in history elected to the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. Victor Starffin, a Russian who pitched and won 303 games in Japan and Tokyo Giants’ superstar Sadaharu Oh, the all-time leader in home runs with 868, were the others elected to the Hall in their first year of eligibility.

Peter O’Malley, president of the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1970-1998, will participate in the induction ceremonies in support of his friend Nomo. O’Malley is chairman of Historic Dodgertown. In 2012, Nomo and Park became founding partners of Historic Dodgertown – Vero Beach, Florida and each has helped encourage teams from Asia to train there.

“Nomo and Park are both true pioneers,” said O’Malley. “They opened the door for more players from Japan and South Korea to participate in Major League Baseball. Today, there have been 40 players from Japan and 14 from South Korea who have played in the major leagues. I am very proud of their leadership and their on-going commitment to youth baseball in Japan and South Korea.” [...]

Park, 41, signed as a free agent pitcher with the Dodgers on January 14, 1994. He enjoyed 17 seasons in Major League Baseball, including nine with the Dodgers (1994-2001, 2008). In 2001, he was a National League All-Star for the Dodgers. Park’s 124 major league wins are the most by a pitcher from Asia. He also pitched in three postseasons, including the 2009 World Series for the Philadelphia Phillies. Park pitched in 1,993 innings and had 1,715 strikeouts.

Park, from Kong Ju City, first pitched at Dodgertown, Vero Beach, Florida during 1994 Spring Training as a rookie. Park made his first pitching appearance indoors on February 19, after a second consecutive day of rain cancelled his original debut at Holman Stadium.

Since retiring from his playing days in the United States in 2010, Park pitched one season for the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan and one year for the professional Hanwha Eagles of the Korean Baseball Organization in South Korea, where he remains one of the nation’s most popular athletes.

Today, Park is developing a baseball training center and entertainment complex in South Korea.

Congratulations to two Dodger pioneers!

Great Moments in SoSG History: Vol. I, Issue I

From a 3/31/2008 GT:

Catching Up With Chan Ho Park

Via Deadspin, make sure to catch former Dodger, current Hanwha Eagle Chan Ho poking himself in the eye (0:06).

Yeah, about this time, we Dodger fans could use some comic relief.

O'Malley Returns to Dodgertown

From a press release:

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Minor League Baseball™ announced today the formation of a new entity to operate Vero Beach Sports Village (VBSV), formerly known as Dodgertown. In addition to MiLB, the participants include former Dodger President Peter O'Malley, his sister, Terry Seidler, and former Dodger star pitchers Chan Ho Park and Hideo Nomo.

MiLB will submit the proposed transfer of its VBSV lease to officials of Indian River County, which owns the facility, for approval.

Each of the five participants would have an equal ownership share in the new entity. O'Malley would be the Chairman and CEO, MiLB President Pat O'Conner President and COO and Craig Callan will continue in his current role in the operation of VBSV. Callan has worked for 33 years at the historic facility.

The VBSV grounds are where the Dodgers held their spring training camp dating back to 1948, before relocating to Arizona in 2009. [...]

"I embrace this wonderful opportunity to use this iconic facility that my family has cherished for decades to promote baseball," said O'Malley. "Vero Beach Sports Village should always be an asset and a jewel to the citizens of Vero Beach and Indian River Countyand I look forward to adding further luster to its rich history.

"We know the Dodgers have a long-term spring training commitment with the community of Glendale, Arizona, and our endeavor in Vero Beach in no way impacts that relationship.

"I am very happy longtime friends Chan Ho Park and Hideo Nomo have joined me in this opportunity – it's exciting. Dodgertown will always be a treasure for the good people in Vero Beach and throughout baseball and anything I can do to help Dodgertown flourish is high on my list of things to do." [...]

Minor League Baseball began operating VBSV in 2009. Since then, the 67-acre sports complex and conference center facility has hosted several international teams, including the Chinese National and Italian National Baseball teams on two occasions. The Chinese National Boxing Team has also trained at VBSV.

The SK Wyverns, a South Korean Professional Baseball Team, are the latest international team to train at VBSV. They arrived on November 1 and will hold their winter camp at the facility through the end of the month. [...]

Over the last two years, VBSV has also hosted events such as the Minor League Baseball Youth Leadership Academy, a six-day event that combines the history, principles and structure of the game of baseball to provide an opportunity for at-risk youth to develop and master leadership and life skills; spring training for high school and college baseball teams; the University of South Florida’s football training camp; the Washington Freedom professional women’s soccer team’s training camp; and various other baseball, football, soccer and lacrosse camps.

Beginning in January 2012, VBSV will also be home to The Umpire School, a 28-day state of Florida accredited school operated by Minor League Baseball that trains umpires in the latest techniques, theories and interpretations.

If O'Malley doesn't end up taking over the Dodgers, at least he'll still be busy with Dodger-related activities. But it does beg the question: what happens to Camelback Ranch after the Dodgers are sold?

How Colletti Let This One Slip Past Is Beyond Me

Let's see: Washed-up major leaguer? Check. Former Dodger? Check. Former Dodger with MULTIPLE tours of duty? Check. Sub-average career ERA+? Check. Discarded by a small-market team after coming off an overall bad year? Check.

So it must have been the fact that he's never played for the Giants, to explain why Ned Colletti let Chan Ho Park slip away to the Orix Buffaloes, instead of picking him up for the 2011 Dodgers:

Japan's Orix Buffaloes agreed to a one-year deal with pitcher Chan Ho Park, according to the team's Twitter feed. The contract is worth just over $1MM, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. The 37-year-old Korean righty posted a 4.66 ERA, 7.4 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 1.3 HR/9, and 48.7% groundball rate for the Yankees and Pirates this year in 63 2/3 relief innings.

Park still had enough left in the tank to function as a National League middle reliever, but he's chosen to play in Japan instead.

I've never been a fan of Park Factor, so I'm not entirely surprised we passed. Between this and the Mota news, however, I'm pretty stoked that we're letting a couple of dishes pass us on the conveyor belt as we sit at the sushi bar* (looking at the timestamp, in both cases, is a critical step). Is there a spider roll about to turn the corner and head our way? I sure as hell hope so.

Note: (*) This metaphor is in no way supposed to allude to Park's Asian roots--he's not even Japanese, for pete's sake, nor is Mota for that matter. But it did seem like an appropriate analogy to reference. Or maybe I've been frequenting Yo Sushi a bit too much lately. I should go back to wagamama.

Assorted Ex-Dodger Trade Rumors

ESPN.com's Trade Deadline rumors is heating up as we enter the last four days. And while the Dodgers haven't really been mentioned (except peripherally in the Roy Oswalt and Ted Lilly discussions), there are a couple of ex-Dodgers rumored to be moving:

• Edwin Jackson: Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports that the D-Backs are not done dealing yet and will listen to offers on Edwin Jackson, who will be a free agent after the 2011 season. One of those offers may be from the nation's capital. ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney tweeted Monday that the Nats have made progress in their effort to trade prospects for Jackson, the architect of an eight-walk no-hitter.

  There had been speculation on a three-team deal involving the White Sox and Nationals, but Gilbert said there had been no such discussions as of Monday afternoon. Gilbert adds that the D-backs would still like to move catcher Chris Snyder and reliever Chad Qualls and would not be opposes to trading first baseman Adam LaRoche.

• Chan Ho Park: The Yankees are trying to unload veteran reliever Chan Ho Park, reports ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. The Yankees will likely get little back for a reliever who has allowed seven home runs in just 32.1 innings. The 37-year-old is earning $1.2 million this year.
• Jayson Werth: Rumors began to fly Monday afternoon that the Phillies and Padres had agreed on a deal that would land Werth in San Diego, but ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports via Twitter that the two clubs have not agreed to a deal, citing one source as saying "not true...had discussions...not close."

Chan Ho Park Declares Himself A Yankee

It's too bad Yankee GM Brian Cashman won't confirm Park's bold statement:

Chan Ho Park has agreed to a one-yeal deal with the New York Yankees, he announced Monday at a news conference in Seoul, South Korea.

The Yankees have not announced the signing, and on Monday team GM Brian Cashman declined to say a deal was done. But sources told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney that the Yankees had agreed to terms with Park on a deal worth $1.2 million, plus $300,000 in potential incentives, pending a physical.

Park, who pitched for the National League champion Philadelphia Phillies out of the bullpen last season, said he will join the Yankees bullpen, The Korea Times reported.

"I was deliberating on the Chicago Cubs and the Yankees, but their history and championship contention resulted in me picking the Yankees," he said, according to The Korea Times.

This is probably going to be confirmed later, but I had to laugh when I read Park's boasts, which I'm sure went down exactly as advertised. I mean, this is a guy who chose the Texas frickin' Rangers at one point, so he has a track record of prioritizing championship history over other criteria.

On an unrelated albeit similar note, I was deliberating writing for the New York Times, but Sons of Steve Garvey's history, great benefits program, and sarcastic humor resulted in me picking SoSG as my medium of choice.

You Call It "Focused." We Call It "Snoring."

"...the 2010 WHAT???" Baseball season? Winter Olympics? Head of the Charles Regatta? Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes Entry Form? American Idol winner?

Former Dodger and intestinal-fortitude-challenged individual Chan Ho Park may be on the cover of the latest issue of KoreAm magazine. But shhhhhhhh! Don't wake him! As Park dreams of a new team to sign him for this season, he says he's still reminiscing about last year's postseason ailments:

Though Park was ill during the Series—infected with swine flu, no less—he was able to maintain his focus while pitching on baseball’s grandest stage. His opponents: the greatest postseason performers in the sport’s history, the New York Yankees.

“I had the swine flu during the World Series, [but] it didn’t matter,” Park recalls. “Sometimes, when you’re not feeling good, mentally you get stronger and you’re able to focus.”

Park used that focus to bounce back during Games 4 to 6, adding to his bulldog mentality and displaying the L-O-V-E he’s generated from his fans and supporters.

Somebody get the Sharpie before he wakes up! I want to make sure he's aware of the L-O-V-E.

Speaking of Asian Pitchers Returning To NLCS Rosters

Chan Ho Park, sidelined in mid-September with a strained right hamstring, just bumped Brett Myers off the Phillies' NLCS roster:

Chan Ho Park will take [Myers'] place, a team source said. Park has not pitched since Sept. 16 because of a strained right hamstring, but Park said he feels healthy. Myers said he had a feeling he would not be on the NLCS roster once the Phillies did not pitch him in Games 3 or 4 of the NLDS against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

Park's addition to the NLCS roster was getting buzz since afternoon our time today, after news broke that he flew from Florida to travel with the team to Los Angeles.

Chan Ho Park, back in Dodger Stadium again. Wow.

Chan Ho Park Injury Lessens Chances for More Highlights

The way things are going, we're going to play the Cardinals anyway in the NLDS (and probably get smoked, but that's another topic altogether). But last night came news that Chan Ho Park's sore hamstring might get in the way of his making the divisional series roster, let alone undermine opportunites to reprise Park's finest moment:

PHILADELPHIA -- Phillies reliever Chan Ho Park will miss two to three weeks with a strained right hamstring.

The Phillies hope that Park will be ready for the postseason, but if he's out three weeks, it could put his availability for the Division Series in jeopardy.

Aw, (Hong Kong) phooey.

photo: Reed Saxon / Associated Press (June 5, 1999)

This Was a Little Confusing

Open Tryouts for Dodgers' Fifth Starter Begin

I sure as hell hope the Minotaur, Clayton Kershaw, is ready to go. Here's two lines from last night's debacle in the desert:

Loaiza, 4IP, 4H, 4ER, 1BB, 2K, 1HR, 6.75 ERA
Park, 1.2IP, 3H, 1ER, 1BB, 1K, 1HR, 5.40 ERA

It is embarrassing to trot out Este-bomb Loaiza as the starter, only to watch him promptly give up four runs in the first inning, including a towering home run to Mark Reynolds that Vin Scully described as going "halfway to Tucson." But after the Dodgers battle back to score a run and then two more, making it a one-run game, we leave Chan Ho Park on the mound who puts the game out of reach (before Scott Proctor comes and gives up four more earned runs, kicking us again in the nuts).

Loaiza and Park, these are the two guys that are "fighting" for the fifth slot in the lineup? How exactly are they fighting? By trying to see who sucks less? I loved how Jon headlined it "Loiaza and Park and Pray for Dark", btw--this was spot on).

We have too little offense this year to concede four or five runs with one of these guys on the mound. For Eric Karros' sake, I've put together a quick graph of my confidence levels around our starting pitchers, and it's not pretty (nor is it scientific). But it is representative.

Unlike Loaiza and Park.

Colletti Loses Mind, Signs Chan Ho Park

And your first post-Joe Torre signing is...Chan Ho Park??? When we wrote about this back in July, we were kidding. Then we open up this morning's Korea Times and see that the Dodgers signed Park after all? Has Colletti lost his mind, or is he not in on the joke?

The 33-year-old South Korean said Thursday he signed a contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he started his Major League career in 1994, and expected to join the team in spring camp.

Team 61, Park's domestic management agency, declined to reveal the terms of the deal, including whether it's a minor league contract or a split contract, which would provide Park a higher rate of pay if added to the Major League roster.

Park, in an entry in his Weblog, said his salary would be similar to a "rookie on the start."

"Dodgers Town is the spring camp venue where I first started my Major League dreams," Park said. "The terms of the contract are similar to a rookie on the start, but the important thing is that I will be able to play for a team that I always missed."

I can't say we missed Park all that much. Letting Park leave the Dodgers for the Rangers (were he was paid big money to compile a 22-23 record over the course of three and a half seasons) was one of the team's finest moves in the last decade. Park was once described (on a post-game show) as having "the heart of a butterfly", and it was true--any small sign of life from the opposing team's bats (like, say, a baserunner) and he would tend to completely crumble. Why we'd want to deal with this headcase again, I don't know.

Way to make a big post-Torre splash, Ned. What happened to the "Torre! Torii! Tori!" plan?

Hat tip, the ever-worldly 6-4-2.

With Bonds on the Precipice of History, Dodgers Re-Sign Chan Ho Park for Homestand

With Giant slugger Barry Bonds one swing away from tying the all-time MLB home run record, and the Giants rolling into town Tuesday for a three-game series at Dodger Stadium, Dodger GM Ned Colletti ran out to beat the trade deadline and re-sign former Dodger Chan Ho Park. Park holds the distinction of being in a select group of five players who have given up the most total home runs (8) to Bonds along his 754-HR journey-turned-dirge.

"Bringing Chan Ho back to Dodger Stadium to serve up a meatball to Bonds guarantees that the record will be set in Los Angeles," said Colletti, still beaming over the brilliance of the trade. "Greg Maddux, Curt Schilling, and John Smoltz weren't available, and Terry Mulholland was unable to be located, so Chan Ho made the most sense for us to sign."

Park pitched for the Dodgers from 1994-2001 and amassed a record of 80-54. Since being signed by the Rangers in 2002, he has also pitched for the Padres and Mets, adding 33 more wins and 34 more losses to his career totals.

Park gave up HR #350 to Bonds in 1997, and teammates mentioned that he lamented also giving up #501 in April 2001 having been beaten to the #500 milestone one day earlier by Terry Adams. Park also gave up two home runs to Bonds in one game in October 2001.

Park, who was let go by the Mets on June 4, is 0-1 in one appearance, in which he gave up 7 ER in four innings, including two home runs. "This is exactly the kind of BP pitching that we are looking to see in our home series against the Giants," Colletti said.

The Mets were responsible for the remainder of his $600K salary until the Dodgers agreed to match the amount in full for the honor of bringing Park back to Los Angeles. "I figure I can make that $600K back over this homestand alone," said Dodger owner and parking guru Frank McCourt, "by jacking up parking fees to $25 for the series. 50,000 fans for each of three games assumes 25K cars per game, totaling 75K cars. At an extra $10 per car, I've got enough to cover Chan Ho's full salary--and that's not even accounting for the increased beer prices for this homestand." McCourt then erupted into a maniacal "Bwah ha ha ha ha!" laugh and walked away rubbing the skin of his palms together.

Dodger pitching coach Rick Honeycutt was unavailable for comment as he was getting inebriated after hearing news of the move. Grady Little was rumored to be salivating over the prospect of leaving Park in at least one game for too long, but also could not be reached for comment.

For the record, this post is completely concocted. I don't think SoSG has gotten to the point where it is looked to for breaking news, but just in case, we wanted to make it clear that this report isn't true. Yet.

Dodgers Lose to Split Squad (aka The Mets)

A performance both gutsy and grating resulted in a Dodgers loss to the Dodgers, 6-5. MLB.com summed up Brad Penny's four innings perfectly. (That's why those writers make millions, and I'm buying 99Cent store prime rib with our Google ad revenue)

Brad Penny, often ineffective against the Mets, was that again, allowing five walks -- one a 10-pitch walk to Tom Glavine -- four hits and three runs in four innings.

The game had its share of snarky ESPN highlights. Olmedo Saenz showed off the blazing base-running that has netted him THREE career stolen bases. Moises Alou, looking every one of his 55 years, misplayed a fly ball that kept the Dodgers fifth inning rally alive. Chan Ho Park celebrated his demotion to the bullpen by giving up a two run meatball in the eighth. And Hendrickson walked enough batters so his plunking of Methuselah Franco netted the Mets a run.

Sidenote - As I'm writing this, 24's Jack Bauer is interrogating a mentally disabled guy. Now he's using this same mentally disabled guy as plant to get a microchip. Going... going... yes, he has cleared the shark!

Chan Ho-rrible

Today's line for former Dodger not-so-great Chan Ho Park.

3.1 Innings

5 Hits

4 Runs (all Earned)

2 Walks

6 Strike Outs

7.11 ERA

Meanwhile, I, Delino, broke my toe this weekend while rushing to grab a pair of pants. A little more stupid than Sammy Sosa throwing out his back from a sneeze, a little less stupid than Pedro Martinez hurting himself in the shower.

Get That Man A MasterCard

Chan Ho Park was unable to make his spring training start with the Mets today because he didn't have a visa. And so, the former Dodger threw pitches to other minor leaguers over on the side.

After earning $65M with the Texas Rangers over the past five years, you'd think this credit score would have been better.

Mets' Dodger Obsession Continues

From "Mets reach agreement with Park" (AP/ESPN.com):

NEW YORK -- Chan Ho Park reached a preliminary agreement with the New York Mets on a $600,000, one-year contract, giving the team another option for its starting rotation heading into spring training....

Park was to take a physical Friday in the Los Angeles area, the final step before the deal can be concluded. In addition to his base salary, he could earn $2.4 million in performance bonuses based on innings.

Park will compete with John Maine, Oliver Perez, Mike Pelfrey and Philip Humber for jobs in the Mets rotation behind Tom Glavine and Orlando Hernandez. Pedro Martinez is expected to be sidelined for the first half of the season.

Who's next, Mets? Tom Goodwin? Odalis?

Opt-Out Clauses and Other Painful Reminders

From "Escaping Bronx after '07 a possibility for A-Rod" by Jerry Crasnick at ESPN.com:

Front-office executives generally agree that opt-out clauses are a no-win proposition for teams. If a free agent is bad (e.g., Chan Ho Park), he gets the cash regardless. If the player performs well and the market goes crazy, he can use his opt-out clause to hit the open market or squeeze an extension out of his current club.

"It certainly is for the most part a player-friendly clause," said Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti, who was not a happy man when [J.D.] Drew opted out in Los Angeles. "There's little debate on that."

...[Alex] Rodriguez's production still ranks among the elite players in the game. [If] it becomes increasingly clearer that the A-Rod-New York union isn't working and he's going to opt out, potential suitors are standing in line.

The Angels are always looking for help for Vladimir Guerrero, and the Dodgers might be willing to sign another big Boras client despite the hard feelings from Drew's abrupt departure. The Nationals want a marquee name as they prepare to move into a new park in April 2008, and the Red Sox, those freethinkers, can never be counted out as players. Maybe Seattle fails to re-sign Ichiro Suzuki and decides to dump Adrian Beltre and bring back A-Rod to resurrect the good old days.

Okay, let's count the stab wounds for Dodger fans in those four paragraphs alone: Chan Ho Park (although the Rangers assume most of that pain; half a stab), J.D. Drew (one stab), Vladimir Guerrero (the fish that got away—thanks, Frank!—stab-and-a-half), Adrian Beltre (one stab).

Total stabs: four. Tears spilled in beer: four hundred.