Loney Does Manny

Game 132 Thread: August 26 @ Nationals, 4p

Derek Lowe (10-10, 3.89) vs. Collin Balester (2-6, 4.99).

COMMENTS: The Dodgers: one game under .500, three games out of first place. The Nationals: 39 games under .500, worst record in the Major Leagues.

A sweep of the Nationals: necessary.

Lowe: Glad to see Maddux? Balester: how SoSG Sax probably refers to Christian Bale.

A Call for More Karma: Off-Day Puzzle Prize #1 Revealed

So we've talked before about how the Dodgers have been in need of some karma before, and you know what, it worked; following The Great SoSG Dodger Ticket Giveaway (TM), the Dodgers pulled off four wins in a row (completing a five-game win streak). It seems that when we give stuff away here at SoSG, good things happen for the Dodgers. So it's time to get the Dodgers karma going again, on the heels of a crushing four-game sweep in Philadelphia...

The winner of the Puzzle Participation Lottery, having participated in the Nostradamus puzzle, was none other than neeebs. And neeebs, here is your prize:

That's right, it's a pair of Shawn Green Dodger batting gloves (child size)! These gloves are already en route to you, as we speak. Congratulations and thank you for participating, and let's all hope that this pays off for the boys in blue (who are playing Washington tonight, so at least we've got that going).

(By the way, for those of you who won tickets in The Great SoSG Dodger Ticket Giveaway, we'd love to get your notes and/or pictures so we can recap your day at Dodger Stadium... except you, LoneyFan; don't jeopardize your finals!)

Next puzzle, Thursday September 4!

SoSG not responsible for items lost in the mail.

The Text from Vin Scully's Coliseum Plaque

VIN SCULLY

Vin Scully is the enduring voice of summer in Los Angeles.

Scully joined the Dodgers as a play-by-play announcer in 1950, when he was 22. In 1958, he moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles with the team. Those first four seasons in California, the Dodgers' home was the Coliseum, and Scully was there for all of them, serving as our eyes and ears, bringing a team into our homes and hearts. His words embroidered the Dodgers irrevocably into the fabric of Los Angeles.

Scully's tenure with the Dodgers is the longest of any broadcaster with a single club in professional sports history. On television or radio he has called 28 World Series, more than any broadcaster. He was inducted into the broadcasters' wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, the Radio Hall of Fame in 1996, voted Broadcaster of the Century by the American Sportscasters Association in 2000, and named baseball's all-time best broadcaster in 2005.

For more than a half century, Vin Scully has bridged the cultural and generational divide. His voice has connected us to each other, young to old, black to white, Latino to Asian. His voice is our common thread.

The games are ephemeral, the scores are forgotten, the players come and go, but the emotions endure, and the contributions of Vincent Edward Scully to Los Angeles will last forever.

That's how I read it from a picture on Dodgers Magazine, anyway. Scully was actually inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1995. Is there much of a market for ceremonial plaque text fact-checkers (say that five times fast)?

photo by Branimir Kvartuc/AP

Post-Game 131 Thread

PHILLIES 5, DODGERS 0

Why We're Not Covering Joe Torre's Blog

Joe Torre (supposedly) has a blog. And we don't care. Why? Because baseball players treat blogs like new girlfriends: lots of attention at first, then nothing. To wit:

player	blog	first post	latest post
Chad Billingsley	Chad Billingsley	Aug. 30, 2007	Sept. 22, 2007
Andruw Jones	Roaming Center with Andruw	March 13, 2008	March 16, 2008
Andre Ethier	Dining with 'Dre	June 5, 2008	July 5, 2008

In fairness, Tommy Lasorda—or his overworked, underpaid personal assistant—updates his blog regularly. And Takashi Saito's "Challenge Blog" seems well-maintained...if you read Japanese.

"But baseball players have full-time jobs," you say. Hey, so do we. If you say baseball players have better things to do, you'll get no argument here. But then why start a blog in the first place?

Leave the blogging to us, Dodgers. You guys worry about breaking the hearts of Dodger fans everywhere.

I'm Right Here, Thanks For Asking

From the Dodgers.com website: Where Are They Now? Steve Sax. In the piece is this nugget:

Sax, 48, has taken that approach to the business world as vice president and branch manager of the full-service securities firm RBC Wealth Management in Roseville, Calif., near Sacramento, essentially making him an estate planner.

The former second baseman always worked closely with his financial adviser during his Major League career in which he earned more than $18 million, making Sax's new position a natural fit.

"I love history, and that's what the stock market is, a lot of history," Sax said. "I love business and the way it works and the way things of the day either here or certainly globally affect what happens with our finances, and I just thought it was something I've always been fascinated with. I've been doing it for almost 10 years, and I love it."

So let me get this straight. Sax is an estate planner and financial adviser, and is quoted saying he does this line of work because of his love of history? What about all those comments about past performance not being a good indicator (or guarantee) of future returns? Yikes.

If 1983 is any indication, if Sax is going to miss the target, at least he'll miss high. Which is a good thing if he's managing your money, I suppose.

Sax also made no mention in the article of all of his hard work and time invested writing for the Sons of Steve Garvey blog. Imagine that.

Game 131 Thread: August 25 @ Phillies, 4p

Chad Billingsley (12-9, 3.10) vs. Brett Myers (6-10, 4.71).

COMMENTS: Having a four-game series roll over past the weekend into a late Monday game is like a bad hangover, particularly after getting drubbed in the first two games and then losing last night to a heartbreaking, walk-off, extra-inning homerun that included a closeup shot of Dodger "pitcher" Jason Johnson leaving the mound with an absolutely dispassionate and seemingly nonplussed visage. Did I mention the last two games have been on national television, allowing the entire country to see the Dodgers' flailing at the plate? Or that last night's come-from-ahead loss marked a return to .500 for both the Dodgers (65-65) and the Manny Ramirez era (11-11)? Or that Jonathan Broxton blew his second save in 12 chances since becoming the closer? Well, the good news is, this game is again against the Phillies and is again on national television (ESPN2). So our luck will surely change tonight. Right, Chad?

It Must Be Said: Russell Martin Needs More Rest

From Ken Gurnick's latest mailbag at Dodgers.com:

It seems like opposing teams are stealing bases against the Dodgers at an alarming rate. Is that true?
-- Ted R., Chatsworth, Calif.

Very true. It hasn't been pretty, as Dodgers catchers are erasing basestealers at a dreadful rate of 15.9 percent on the season, which is on target to be the worst for the franchise since 1996 (14.9 percent) when Mike Piazza was the catcher. With Gold Glove catcher Russell Martin getting the bulk of the action, much of it rests on him. He has thrown out runners at a 15.5 percent clip -- last in the league and barely half of his 29.3 percent last year. It's a wonder clubs aren't running more on the Dodgers to exploit the situation.

Orel Not So Sexy Anymore

Just FYI, here's what has bumped "orel sexy" from SoSG's top 5 search terms:

_____________________________________________________

UPDATE (1:22pm PT): 'best ass poll' has moved up to a tie for our top search keyword! To whichever reader recently googled it then clicked on the SoSG link: a heartfelt thanks!

UPDATE #2 (2:41pm PT): Ok, so it turns out it was me who did that and I had forgotten. I'm sort of embarrassed and proud at the same time.

Mario Super Sluggers Invade Dodger Stadium, Put On Clinic

AC and I were lounging around SoSG Worldwide Headquarters when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hello! It's-a me, Mario!"

"Mario, you can drop the whole accent schtick. Some people find it offensive."

[pause] "Sorry about that. It's just that Nintendo is bustin' my balls, pushing the jolly Italian plumber thing. Just the other day I had to Roto-Rooter Shigeru Miyamoto's sewage pipes!"

"How can I help you, Mario?"

"Now they're making me play baseball. For this game, Mario Super Sluggers. I have to learn to hit home runs, and fast. Get some gabagool in dese guns, capiche?"

"Newsflash, Mario. The Sopranos is over."

"Try telling that to Nintendo."

"Anyway, don't you already know how to hit home runs? From your other baseball games?"

"Yeah, right. Let's just say Mario Small Ball didn't set any sales records."

"So what do you want?"

"I tried to order some steroids, but my dealer says no one will touch 'em now!"

"Imagine that."

"So my agent thought the next best thing would be to have the Dodgers show me how to hit home runs. The Dodgers hit a lot of home runs, right?"

"Uhhh...."

"Great! I'll have Luigi pick you up in a Stretch Kart. Meet me at Dodger Stadium, Event Suite 2."

"Mario, just one question. Why is your moustache black and your hair brown?"

"What's that? You're breaking up—hey! Down, Yoshi! Bad dog! Or whatever you are! Princess, get Carlos Millan on the line—" Beep.

When we got to Dodger Stadium, it turned out Mario was way ahead of us. In fact, he had already assembled most of a starting lineup. And I couldn't help but notice the similarities between the Mario Super Sluggers and the Dodgers....

MARIO SUPER SLUGGERS	DODGER EQUIVALENT	Why?
Mario	Russell Martin	The franchise.
Bowser Jr.	Matt Kemp	Young and exuberant.
Luigi	James Loney	Sometimes bobbly but generally reliable.
Donkey Kong	Jonathan Broxton	Ox. Kong. 'Nuff said.
Peach	Jamie McCourt	Did you really think I was going to compare a player to Princess Peach?
Yoshi	Juan Pierre	Wearer of jaunty cap/shell. Occasionally lays an egg.
Wario	Manny Ramirez	Hero to some, villain to others.

Want to know more about Mario Super Sluggers gameplay? Check out AC's At-Game Recap!

(For gaming fans, it should be noted that while Event Suite 2 was hosting a Wii demonstration, Event Suite 1 had a 2K Sports kiosk complete with an Xbox 360 with the Red Ring of Death.)

Josh vs. Josh: The Verdict

THE FINAL SCORECARD JOSH RAWITCH: $1,520 JOSH SUCHON: $1,010

Congratulations to everyone involved!

Earlier: There Can Be Only One Josh

Game 130 Thread: August 24 @ Phillies, 5p

Hiroki Kuroda (7-9, 3.97) vs. Joe Blanton (6-12, 4.87).

COMMENTS:

STAT OF THE DAY: Dodgers' record with Manny Ramirez: 11-10.

Josh vs. Josh Update: T-Minus 24 Hours

THE SCORECARD JOSH RAWITCH: $611.55 $810 JOSH SUCHON: $650

Earlier: There Can Be Only One Josh

Game 129 Thread: August 23 @ Phillies, 1p

Clayton Kershaw (2-3, 3.59) vs. Cole Hamels (10-8, 3.22).

COMMENTS: Don't go grocery shopping when you're hungry, don't go calling exes when you've been drinking, and don't go writing a Game Thread after the Dodgers have gotten their butts kicked. Yet here I am, ready to bury this team, which is streakier than Morganna the Kissing Bandit. They lose when they should win, win when they should lose, and generally seem to be all about toying with their fans. Don't go breaking our hearts.

Anyway, didn't these young phenoms just face each other? Let's see if Uncle Maddux can teach young Clayton to become a stopper. After all, the Dodgers will have to stay within shouting distance of the Diamondbacks if they want to make those six remaining head-to-head games against them mean anything.

Josh vs. Josh Update: T-Minus 48 Hours

THE SCORECARD JOSH RAWITCH: $440 $611.55 JOSH SUCHON: $650

This one's a lot closer than today's Dodgers game was, that's for sure.

Earlier: There Can Be Only One Josh

Closure for Karros

Achieving emotional closure is generally a myth, yet that doesn't stop even millionaire baseball players from craving it. Writer Jorge Martin interviewed Eric Karros for the latest issue of Dodgers Magazine and came up with an interesting perspective on the end of Karros' career.

Karros on the end of his playing days:

2004, it was interesting, because I was in Oakland. I was not having a good time in Oakland. I went and asked for my release. [...]

I had my agent talk to the Dodgers about whether I could come here and finish off. [...]

I would have liked to have finished here, I would have liked to have had the opportunity to finish as a Dodger, to retire as a Dodger, but it didn't happen.

Karros on being included in this year's Opening Day ceremonies:

Awesome. That was by far one of the best things that this organization has done during my playing days or non-playing days. [...]

But to actually be out there in the bullpen to wait for your name to be called and then to run in to have the fans show their appreciation, that experience is one of those things that I will never forget. [...]

That's probably the door that I needed shut that I was looking for in 2004 with this organization. [...]

I'm good with that. I guess I didn't have to come back in '04.

GT 128: AU 22 at PH, 4 PM

GM, RP (6-9, 3.99) vs KK, RP (10-7, 5.01).

COMMENTS: Sorry, there are no comments today due to my affliction with the following:

Hello to Those Googling "Orel Sexy"

Are we everything you expected?

Post-Game Highlights: Dodgers vs. Rockies, August 20

Baseball and videogames have usually been a happy union. This blog has commented previously on the joys and addiction of the original RBI baseball for the Nintendo 8-bit system. My family used to joke: You know what is worse than playing RBI Baseball for 6 hours straight? Watching someone else play RBI Baseball for 6 hours straight. But how times have changed. On August 20th, the kind people at Nintendo invited some of the SoSG writers to attend a Dodger game in an event suite, eat Dodger Dogs, and try out the new Nintendo Mario Super Sluggers for the Wii coming out on August 25th. So there are TWO game experiences that I have to review.

First the Nintendo one. We had a quick demonstration by the Nintendo reps showing us how to use the Wii controller to hit, run, and pitch. There are different modes that you can play too. Of course the classic player-vs-player and even 2-vs-2 players against each other. There is also an ingenious one player mode in which you could go through the various kingdoms and learn the "special moves" as you battle various bosses. But, as everyone knows, the fun of the Wii is taking on your friends mode in a fierce battle of baseball. I guess I have to mention that Orel beat me 4-1, luckily we weren't playing for money. The game is fairly easy to pick up too which is the fun of pretty much all Wii games. One of the downsides of the game is that there is no online play, but you can't have everything. Overall, the graphics are crisp, the concept is great, and the game play is fun and would recommend the game for baseball fans that just want to have a great time playing with their friends (except watch out for Orel, he's good).

Now for the Dodger game experience. The Hollywood Event suite is, well, sweet. We were in the first suite next to the Stadium Club restaurant in right field. The first thing that catches your eye is the Dodger pool table complete with logo and Dodger blue and white light over the table. Over on the far wall there is a large print of the the Hollywood sign and the wall is decorated with various celebrity pictures, mostly from the Hollywood Stars Night games, as well as a 40" Sharp LCD TV that we used to play the game.

On the other walls there were bigger pictures of celebrities including one with Frank Sinatra in a Dodger hat. There were also two of those Dodger recliner chairs with drink holders that for some reason I couldn't get to recline all the way back. Comfy, but I couldn't see it in my living room. However, I did like the Dodger stools (that swivel!) and bar tables located throughout the room which looked shiny and new. And of course there were the 2 rows of seats outside with nice mesh chairs and a ledge to put your drinks. The game itself was pretty much a let down. Bills looked to be dealing early and the offense gave us a lead, but all of those errors by guys playing out of position just killed us. I think the experiment is over - if you are going to rest 'em Torre, just sit 'em. Orel and I also didn't understand why Ethier didn't come in at the end of the game and hit for Ardoin. Pierre had his obligatory one hit for the game (Juan for four right?). So take him and his weak arm out, move Martin to catcher, and have Ethier take Ardoin's place in the lineup for another chance at a walk-off. I guess Torre knew something that I didn't, but we still ended up with a loss.

Overall, it was a great experience, both gaming and Dodger-related. Thanks so much to Conor for his invitation to this event. I had a wonderful time - would have been better if the Dodgers won - but we can't have them all. Oh, and if the Dodgers need another bat, that Mario guy is pretty good.