At-Game Recap: Tigers @ Dodgers (April 8, 2014)

Finally, my first game of the 2014 season at Dodger Stadium and boy was it a doozy.  Mama Cora and I braved the elements in the 80 degree sunny and mild spring day.  We tried to show up early, but even at 5:30 pm, the traffic on Sunset was pretty congested.  When we arrived at the parking booth, our prepaid season ticket holder parking pass would not register on the scanner.  Security told me to pull my car to the side while they took 15 agonizing minutes to figure out that they could just give me the yellow sheet for my dashboard and send me on my way while they resolve the situation later.  But we finally got inside the stadium and picked up our nice, soft Dodger hoodie.  Unfortunately the right sleeve has the Time Warner Cable insignia on it, but I am hoping to scratch that off.  (On a side note, I am trying to tweet snarky comments to every Sportsnet LA tweet they put out).

 I then got to witness the glory that is Think Blue BBQ and the seats over looking the bullpen.  Mama Cora wanted to find an opening day pin, but the left field team store ran out and they directed us to the right field store.  While walking behind centerfield, I heard a "clunk clunk" and to my right a ball was rolling down the stairs.  So I ran over and picked it up.  Woohoo!  It seems like it was a batting practice home run ball by a Tigers player to left centerfield.  This was my second HR BP ball I have snagged, bringing back memories of the first one I snagged at Oriole Park in Baltimore.

Batting Practice HR Ball

Feeling elated, we walked over to the RF Team store and bought the last opening day pin for Mama Cora, which made her day.  Of course, we had to stop by Tommy Lasorda's Italian Trattoria and try the meatball sandwich.  Impression:  Meatballs were thick and juicy, but bread was kinda stale and I feel that the sandwich could use more sauce.  A 6/10 of the Blue Plate Special o' meter.  We stopped to admire all the statues: Dodger dog, Rawlings glove, Tommy bobblehead, and the World Series ring.  I thought it was very cool to be able to walk all the way around the field level section.  What a treat.

Tommy's Meatball Sandwich

Much has been said (unfortunately not seen, thanks to Time Warner Cable) about the game.  One of the new Dodger sponsors is Forest Lawn Mortuary.  Kinda gruesome and I'm sure there are going to be a lot of jokes about that if we don't win the World Series.  Around the 8th inning, there was a Detroit Tiger fan down the 3rd baseline who would just stand and hold up her right hand while the Tigers were rallying.  She continued to do this for the whole inning and then around the end of the 9th she left.  What was funny was that after the walk off win when all of the Dodger players were coming back to the dugout, Uribe was looking for her and holding up his right hand and smiling.  It was great to see the boys in blue back in action.  Nice to get that walk off win!  Go Blue!

Forest Lawn: Plan Ahead.  Really?  That's our sponsor?

Miggy and Matt

Walk off baby!  Puig and CC hug it out!

An 8-bit Trade

Like every other Dodger fan, I have been religiously watching the sports newswire trying to comprehend and believe that this trade with Boston was really happening.  Words like "unprecedented" and "historic" were used to describe the trade that included All Stars players and a whole lot of money.  But when I think of this trade, it reminds me of another blocker buster trade that occurred in 2006 between my beloved Dodgers and the Florida Marlins.  This also included All Star players and was a real steal for the Dodgers.  The Dodgers received Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera for Mark Henderickson and Wilson Betemit.  And it all happened on my Playstation in the middle of my MLB 2006 season.  It worked out very well for both the Dodgers and me.  I played all 162 regular season games and went on to win the World Series that year.  

I have grown up playing a lot of video games and still have some great memories of my brothers and me sitting in the living room and playing the original RBI Baseball by Namco on the Nintendo Entertainment System.  In fact, I can still hum the background tune that accompanied the game.  The closest thing to playing a stacked team in that game was controlling the American and National league All Stars which included such baseball icons as George Brett and Mark McGwire.  Our family enjoyed the game so much, we went on to buy the RBI Baseball sequels. Then when I had my Playstation and Playstation 2, I was able to enjoy the Sony MLB titles that gave the player more freedom in selecting rosters and even making trades.  And that is where I remember that "other" Dodger blockbuster trade happening.

So for me, this trade is so unbelievable, that it feels like I am playing a video game and am stacking my beloved Dodger team to make a run to the World Series.  Except it really did happen and the trade seems to have positioned the Dodgers well for this year and in the near future.  Now it is up to the Blue Crew to hit the start button and avoid the glitches to bring home a title to Los Angeles.  Go Blue!

In-Game Putz Alert

I hated when Bonds did this move. And don't like it any more when Miggy does it.

Didn't David Ortiz get tagged out at second for this same crap. I guess Tigers can be douche-y just as easily as Giants.

Though I admit, Cabrera's hit could have reached the Sun.

Dodgers and Angels Lose Out on Cabrera

From "Marlins sending Cabrera, Willis to Tigers" by Robothal at FOXSports.com:

The Marlins and Tigers have made the first blockbuster splash of the Winter Meetings.

Florida and Detroit have reached a preliminary agreement that will send star third baseman Miguel Cabrera and left-hander Dontrelle Willis to Detroit for a package of young players headlined by outfielder Cameron Maybin and left-hander Andrew Miller, according to major-league sources.

The Tigers will also send four other prospects to the Marlins as part of the deal.

I Just Changed My Mind About Miguel Cabrera

Keep the kids!

To hear Ken Rosenthal say it, Alex Rodriguez negotiating with the Yankees is huge loss of face for Scott Boras. From "Boras finally tastes a bit of humiliation":

From the furor over A-Rod opting out during Game 4 of the World Series to Boras' inability to establish the benchmark he wanted, it has been anything but the agent's finest hour....

For once Boras appears to have misread the market. For once, A-Rod didn't appear to act as his puppet. For once, the final, jaw-dropping tally will tell only part of the story.

Buster Olney at ESPN.com seems to agree:

Rodriguez is going to get the largest contract ever in sports, when the I's are dotted and the T's crossed. He'll survive. But Boras' reputation as a savvy negotiator will not. He somehow managed to badly overplay the perfect hand.

Yet I have a hard time believing the most savvy agent in baseball—maybe all of professional sports—has lost control of his star client. Some are suggesting that Boras was complicit in A-Rod's plans. From Tim Brown at Yahoo! Sports:

Meantime, what has been portrayed as an end-around on agent Scott Boras – Rodriguez contacted the Steinbrenners through a third party, believed to be Mitch Modell of "Gotta go to Mo's" sporting goods fame, and initiated Round 2 of negotiations – might actually have been strategic and not a breaking of ranks.

According to those close to the situation, the Yankees did not attempt to bar Boras from future negotiations and, despite appearances, Boras maintains a civil and professional relationship with his client. Indeed, witnesses said Boras was in Miami meeting with Rodriguez for the past several days and was to dine with Rodriguez on Wednesday night.

So when A-Rod signs with the Yankees—and don't hand him any humanitarian awards yet, as he will still sign the largest contract in baseball history and Boras will still receive his commission—how will it affect the Dodgers?

Of course, A-Rod's disappearance from the free agent market will increase Miguel Cabrera's worth to the Marlins. A while back I favored Cabrera over Rodriguez, mainly due to Cabrera's youth. But if acquiring Cabrera costs the Dodgers too many of those seemingly untouchable names—Kemp, Loney, Billingsley, Kershaw—reportedly requested by Florida, it won't be worth it. I don't want to see this team eviscerated.

So if Ned Colletti keeps his head, we get to keep the kids. Then it seems the youngster in jeopardy of being traded is Andre Ethier, as the hopefully exorbitant asking price for Cabrera will make Ned look toward free agent center fielders (Andruw Jones, Torii Hunter, Aaron Rowand), moving Juan Pierre to left and keeping Kemp in right. (We all know it's Pierre who should be jettisoned, but we also know that ain't gonna happen.)

Jeff Kent will start the season at second base, and I expect Ned and Joe Torre to start Nomar at third. Andy LaRoche will start the season in Las Vegas as James Loney did this year, ostensibly to allow him to play every day. Maybe there will be a free agent pitcher signed as well, but with farts like Luis Gonzalez and Shea Hillenbrand gone and with Uncle Joe steering the craft, maybe we can concentrate on baseball next year instead of clubhouse politics.

UPDATE:

As usual, Jon Weisman puts it better than I do.

illustration by Laura Cornell/Kids Off the Couch

Miguel Cabrera. Miguel Cabrera! I Mean, Miguel Cabrera.

Jon Heyman at SI.com says Miguel Cabrera is "officially" available:

Florida will likely seek a package of three young players, including at least one or two top-tier talents for Cabrera, 24, who is eligible for free agency after the 2009 season.

Provided he can lay off the Ho-Ho's, Miguel Cabrera seems to make so much more sense than Alex Rodriguez (Cabrera is eight years younger than A-Rod). The question is, What package of three young players could the Dodgers offer?

Droolworthy

MLB Trade Rumors says Miguel Cabrera is acting somewhat naughtily in Florida:

Marlins Not Amused With Cabrera

Marlins President David Samson went out of his way last weekend to express the team's displeasure with Miguel Cabrera. He said the team is "extremely disappointed" that Cabrera missed the team's FanFest. In several of Samson's quotes he stresses how Cabrera was not there with his teammates.

The Palm Beach Post's Joe Capozzi has a source indicating that Cabrera skipped the event because he isn't happy being taken to arbitration over $700,000. He'll already be accounting for a third of the payroll; you have to wonder if the Marlins are already priming fans for Cabrera's exit. There seemed to be the same lack of professionalism prior to Joe Girardi's departure.

Cabrera is the rare young star player who may reach free agency after his first six seasons. The Marlins have several years to sit back and wait for the offer they can't refuse.

First Dontrelle Willis, now Cabrera (although the Marlins avoided arbitration with Willis). Other teams must be salivating at the prospect of Florida's next fire sale.

UPDATE: Cabrera wins!