Random rantings and ravings about the Los Angeles Dodgers, written by a small consortium of rabid Dodger fans. With occasional comments on baseball, entertainment, pop culture, and life in general.
Fri, 7p: Hyun-Jin Ryu vs Derek Holland Orange 6, Blue 4 Sat, 1p: Walker Buehler vs Chris Stratton Blue 15, Orange 6 Sat, 7p: Alex Wood vs Johnny Cueto Orange 8, Blue 3 Sun, 2p: Kenta Maeda vs Ty Blach Orange 4, Blue 2
WELP.
Donnie's Revenge is complete, the Marlins having taken two of three from us to boost their record to a scintillating 7-17. Meanwhile, the third-place Dodgers (11-12) visit the fourth-place Giants (11-13...how are we ahead of them in the standings?) in a series that includes a doubleheader that makes up for a rainout in San Francisco earlier this month.
The Dodgers went 12-17 last September, so maybe they're just getting their shitty month out of the way now? If so, brilliant plan, guys!
Welcome back to the show Walker Buehler! His major league STARTING debut is tonight and the hype train is real. Remember when Cody come up in April? That turned out pretty good. However the word on the street is that Buehler pitches two games then goes back down. Nonetheless, here a glimpse of the future.
Its also welcome back Don Mattingly and company (including Miguel "let me save Kershaw's no hitter" Rojas). He's dealt a raw deck by Jeter and the management - remember the lame duck manager status in LA? De ja vu. Welp, here's to getting well against a struggling team. GO BLUE!
Clayton Kershaw (1-2, 1.73) vs. Max Scherzer (3-1, 1.33) WSH 5, LAD 2
Saturday 4/21 6p: Hyun-Jin Ryu (2-0, 2.87) vs. Stephen Strasburg (2-1, 3.08) LAD 4, WSH 0
Sunday 4/22 5p: Alex Wood (0-2, 3.91) vs. Jeremy Hellickson (0-0, 3.86) LAD 4, WSH 3
After weeks of stumbling through the NL (and AL) West, and finally getting the groove back in San Diego (outscoring the Padres 30-10 in the three-game series!), we finally meet a formidable opponent from another division predicted to go to the playoffs...and they too are one game below .500. The Nationals have spent this year getting swept by the Mets and losing three of four to the Rockies, both of which came at home. But Bryce Harper is still mashing home runs (a league-leading 8 on the year), even when he breaks his bat in the process; and they are throwing two of their best arms against us in this series.
But we're rolling now too, right? Grandal is batting .352 with a 1.046 OPS; Matt Kemp is .347 and does look better at the plate than expected; and Corey Seager, 4-for-5 Wednesday vs. the Padres, finally looks locked in. Even Max Muncy got into the action with a 2-run HR on Wednesday; he's batting .400 with a 1.500 OPS, a small sample size, and a large waistline. Hey, we'll take it.
In personal news, I'll be at the Stadium tonight to watch the fireworks fly. It's set to 80's music. I'll be right at home.
Oh, and for all the rest of you: be careful out there.
Finally, some tips on what to do with pesky gNats (it's amazing what you learn when searching things on google):
Mon, 7p: Hyun-Jin Ryu vs Robbie Erlin Dods 10, Pads 3
Tues, 7p: Alex Wood vs Bryan Mitchell DODGERS 7, PADRES 3 (12); Jansen BS, but Grandal and Farmer win it in the 12th
Wed, 7p: Kenta Maeda vs Tyson Ross LAD 13, SD 4 Sweep!
Dodgers and A's to meet in the first-ever Sewage Series.
4/10: Hyun-Jin Ryu vs. Sean Manaea, 7p LAD 4, OAK 0
4/11: Alex Wood vs. Daniel Mengden, 7p OAK 16, LAD 6
The Dodgers return home for a brief two-game set with the Athletics before *checks notes* another off day. Counting last Friday's rainout, that's four off days in the last eight days. Though, lately, maybe it's a good thing that the Dodgers are not playing more than they're playing.
They are coming off a win over the Giants on Sunday, which, hand to God, feels like a month ago. This season has started off super weird, so maybe this series will being some normalcy.
(Then again, I used a picture of actual shit for the series thread, so...*shrug*)
Fri, 7:15p postponed until 4/28: Kenta Maeda vs Derek Holland
Sat, 1p: Rich Hill vs Chris Stratton SF 7, LAD 5 (14)
Sun 1p: Clayton Kershaw vs Ty Blach LAD 2, SF 1 (10)
Fear not, Dodger faithful! Our front office's extremely proactive off-season is about to pay off!
I know, it's hard to believe Stan Kasten loosened the purse strings so the Dodgers could trade a few scrub prospects for mega-slugger Giancarlo "Don't Call Me Mike" Stanton, but he did! Now Stanton is playing for the team he grew up rooting for!
And what luck we had when double threat Shohei Ohtani decided to pick the Dodgers to play for, joining his countryman Yu Darvish, who was signed when Friedman & Farhan dug in the couch cushions to find some spare change to shore up the rotation.
And thank god the Dodgers finally cut bait on deadweight Pedro Baez and re-invested in a real middle reliever, Brandon Morrow.
We're locked and loaded! It's going to be a great year, Dodger fans! Let's play — WAKES UP
Yeah, sure, we ended up 2-2 this weekend with the Giants. But the upside of the Dodgers' impressive pitching display in the Opening Weekend four games?
When the Dodgers throw a shutout in the sixth inning, fans get a free six-piece Chicken McNuggets with any $1 purchase at McDonalds.
And damned if I didn't get my free McNuggets after watching that crappy Opening Day:
McNuggets! I mean, it's not Free Shevacado, but I'll take it. (And I'll keep going, all year long, baby! I'm bankrupting McDonald's, with Clayton Kershaw's help!)
(Not sure if this works for away games.) UPDATE 4/3: Based on the Dodgers' shutout sixth last night vs. AZ, and the lack of that deal in my McDonald's app inbox, I am assuming it's not in play for away games. Drat.
Monday 4/2: Hyun-Jin Ryu vs. T Walker, 6.40p ARI 8, LAD 7 (15)
Tuesday 4/3: Clayton Kershaw (0-1, 1.50) vs. Godley (N/A), 6.40p ARI 6, LAD 1
Wednesday 4/4: Alex Wood (0-0, 0.00) vs. Tyler Corbin (1-0, 3.18), 12:40p ARI 3, LAD 0
In our opening series, we outscored the Giants 14-2 but we ended up splitting the four-game series, a mathematical improbability and honestly a pretty pathetic outcome. Though none of Saturday's starters ended the game with a batting average above .200, Sunday's game saw a number of players wake up and shatter the Mendoza line: Chris Taylor (2-for-5, now batting .267 in the leadoff spot); Yasiel Puig (3-for-4, .231); Yasmani Grandal (2-for-4, .400); and Kike Hernandez (2-for-4, .333). Cody Bellinger got his first hit of a year, a two-run HR in the sixth off of Josh Osich. And it was fun to finally spank a team on national television, driving Osich's ERA to 10.80 and Robert Gomez' ERA to 36.00.
And now we go to the valley of the Snakes, who beat the Rockies in their opening series two games to one, and got to spend Easter Sunday hanging out with their families and coloring dyed eggs. (What to do with those eggs?) The Diamondbacks' 2-1 record now leads the NL West, with the Dodgers a scant half-game behind.
These Snakes are happy! We can't score runs consistently, and we haven't rested! What could possibly go wrong?
Рич Хилл (0-0, -.--) против Криса Стрэттона (0-0, -.--)
Счастливой Пасхи!
Это также День дураков, но кажется, что Доджерс получил жестокие шутки с раннего пути. Две вялые потери, чтобы начать сезон. Хороший, ребята!
К счастью, вчера они отпустили нас от крючка и вернулись в колонну победы. Кента Маэда выглядела потрясающе, но его явная задняя боль в пятом была тревожной.
С обезьянами работает с их спины, теперь они могут сосредоточиться на получении победы сегодня вечером и избежать этой причудливой серии открытия с расколом.
Welp, yesterday yesterday and the day before happened. For many of us, the immediate thought was that Game 1 of 2018 was a mere extension of Game 7 of the 2017 World Series. Hitters swinging at bad pitches and watching good pitches, everyone swinging wildly for the fences, stranded RISP out the ass...not he way we wanted or needed to start the new season by any measure.
We'll have another chance to get back to winning ways, though. Tonight is Opening Night a bullshit NL Championship Ring Ceremony, and we don't have to face a no-name pitcher who turns into Cy Young -- a setup that always seems to vex Dodger hitters.
In many ways, we can just consider this a do-over for Opening Day Games 1 & 2. Hell, maybe Chris Taylor will get another chance to cream a hanging slider pitched right down the middle.
At least I've been able to watch all of the Dodger's many runs on local TV. The over/under for our first score is the third inning. Until then, we are nothing but 0s in search of 1s (or imagine... possibly even the mythical number 2!) Justin Turner, please come back soon!
On a happier, plaguier front, good to digitally see all of you SOSG-maniacs again. Chag Sameach / Happy Easter to most of you!
Welp, yesterday happened. For many of us, the immediate thought was that Game 1 of 2018 was a mere extension of Game 7 of the 2017 World Series. Hitters swinging at bad pitches and watching good pitches, everyone swinging wildly for the fences, stranded RISP out the ass...not he way we wanted or needed to start the new season by any measure.
We'll have another chance to get back to winning ways, though. Tonight is Opening Night, and we don't have to face a no-name pitcher who turns into Cy Young -- a setup that always seems to vex Dodger hitters.
In many ways, we can just consider this a do-over for Opening Day. Hell, maybe Chris Taylor will get another chance to cream a hanging slider pitched right down the middle.
2018 Opening Day? It was not fun. The Dodgers lost, 1-0 to the Giants, despite a great Clayton Kershaw outing that was blemished by a cheapie Joe Panik shot that just slipped inside the right field foul pole. It wasn't Clayton's fault, though; he went six innings and had seven Ks, scattering eight hits and yielding just the one earned run.
The Dodgers' offense, though, was simply woeful. The top five in our lineup: Chris Taylor, Corey Seager, Yasiel Puig, Kike Hernandez, and Cody Bellinger, all went a collective 0-for-17 with two walks (both Hernandez) and eight Ks (two each from the other four players). All of them looked like they were trying to swing for the fences and lost patience. Taylor was caught looking (a la Carlos Beltran) with the Dodgers' last best chance (runners at the corners with two out in the seventh). (To be fair, Taylor knew it, and looked really pissed off after that wasted opportunity.)
Yasmani Grandal went 2-for-3 but also was swinging mightily. It's so bad, Kershaw himself leads the Dodgers in batting average, having gone 2-for-2 (and showing more patience than most of the other guys in the lineup).
Do we miss Justin Turner? Absolutely. This team had none of the complexion of the 2017 National League Champions. In fact, they looked a little like the Dodgers teams in the late 2000s where they could barely eke out runs, so much so that when we got behind, it felt like it was over.
The Dodgers' 60-year anniversary logo, on the left field edifice.
On top of all that, the pageantry that is normally incredible for Opening Day, felt a little bit...muted. The national anthem was passable but the flyover came late (bad timing). The pre-game montage honoring Kirk Gibson, who threw out the first pitch, was compassionate, but didn't feel inspiring. In fact, the 60 years anniversary that the Dodgers are celebrating in Los Angeles, made the team feel more steeped in history rather than currently relevant.
I didn't like this Opening Day.
They fixed the padding on my seat (which is good!). However...
...the new netting that extends to the edge of the dugout will take some getting used to.
So about this extended netting. I get it, I appreciate the need for improved safety, and I have to say, it was nice to finally not have to freak out every time a left-handed batter was going up against Kershaw, just in case a late swing on a fastball would have a ball come rocketing into my section (I've seen it happen, and that's why you have to pay attention to the game!). And I agree with Deadspin, the NYT Op-Ed piece complaining about the netting is lame.
But the netting did make it more difficult to see the right field scoreboard from our seats; the new upper-and-lowercase fonts for the team lineups is particularly difficult to make out. Plus, the left field scoreboard was so busy prompting factoids about the batters (would have loved to have seen "Buster Posey's name anagrams to 'Oyster Pubes'!"), that it didn't show the key relevant fact recapping prior at-bats that game.
The pregame video montages were fine--and we saw a lot of them, arriving at the stadium two hours before first pitch--but behind the netting, it all just felt a little...distant.
At least the player introductions were sweet:
Yeah, it's always great to be at Dodger Stadium for Opening Day. This one was just not as cool as the other ones I've been lucky to attend. And of course, the outcome sucked; we shouldn't be losing to the Giants, like, ever. It was nice to have a 4p start, even if it did seem like everything was a little off, all day.
Okay I guess it's time to archive the 2017 attendance sidebar. Sigh.
My god, we went to a lot of games last year.
No maths on this, just the details:
SoSG 2017 Record: 27-13 / 5-2
4/3 vs SD (W, 14-3): AC, Dusty
4/4 vs SD (L, 0-4): Stubbs
4/15 vs AZ (W, 8-4): Dusty
4/17 vs AZ (L, 2-4): Nomo
4/19 vs COL (W, 4-2): AC
4/29 vs PHI (W, 6-5): AC, Dusty
5/1 vs SF (L, 3-4): AC, Dusty
5/3 vs SF (L, 1-4): Dusty
5/18 vs MIA (W, 7-2): AC
5/20 vs MIA (L, 6-10): Stubbs
5/23 vs STL (W, 2-1): AC
5/27 vs CHC (W, 5-0): Sax
5/28 vs CHC (W, 9-4): Dusty
6/6 vs WAS (L, 1-2): AC, Stubbs
6/10 vs CIN (W, 5-4): AC, Sax
6/16 @ CIN (W, 3-1): Dusty
6/17 @ CIN (W, 10-2): Dusty
6/18 @ CIN (W, 8-7): Dusty
6/21 vs NYM (W, 8-2): AC, Dusty
6/22 vs NYM (W, 6-3): Sax
6/26 vs ANA (L, 0-4): AC, Orel, Sax
7/6 vs ARI (W, 5-4): AC
7/20 vs ATL (L, 3-6): AC
7/22 vs ATL (W, 6-2): Sax
7/23 vs AT: (W, 5-4): Dusty
7/26 vs MIN (W, 6-5): AC
7/29 vs SF (W, 2-1): Sax
8/12 vs SD (W, 6-3): AC
8/13 vs SD (W, 6-4): Dusty
8/15 vs CWS (W, 6-1): AC
8/25 vs MIL (W, 3-1): AC
8/26 vs MIL (L, 0-3): AC
9/5 vs AZ (L, 1-3): Dusty
9/6 vs ARI (L, 1-3): AC
9/7 vs COL (L, 1-9): Sax
9/8 vs COL (L, 4-5): AC
9/9 vs COL (L, 5-6): AC
9/15 @ WAS (W, 7-0): AC
9/24 vs SF (W, 3-1): Dusty, Orel, Sax
9/25 vs SD (W, 9-3): Dusty
9/26 vs SD (W, 9-2): AC
10/6 NLDS Game 1 vs ARI (W, 9-5): AC
10/7 NLDS Game 2 vs ARI (W, 8-5): AC, Sax
10/14 NLCS Game 1 vs CHC (W, 5-2): Stubbs
10/15 NLCS Game 2 vs CHC (W, 4-1): Dusty
10/24 WS Game 1 vs HOU (W, 3-1): Dusty, Orel, Sax
10/25 WS Game 2 vs HOU (L, 6-7 (11)): AC, Sax
11/1 WS Game 7 vs HOU (L, 1-5): AC, Dusty
I haven't been able to post anything on this site since Game 7. The wound is still open and man, it still hurts.
But today writes a new page. Today is a new Opening Day, a new baseball season, a new chance to spend the next seven months riding the volatile emotional waves of major league baseball.
I think I'm ready. I hope I'm ready. I'll be there at the Stadium, in any event (post a comment if you want to say hi; I'll be on field level, third base side). SoSG AC and Dusty will be there as well!
When hope was highest: pre-game ceremonies for World Series Game 1.
It's tiiiiiime for Dodger baseball!
And I'm not ready.
The baseball fan in me has been suspended in cryonic stasis since November 1, 2017, the day the Dodgers' championship drought officially reached 29 years.
As you all know, it hurt like a bitch. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who dealt with it by burying the pain deep, deep inside (plus booze).
When the Dodgers made the playoffs, I purposely didn't attend any games because I wanted to save my shekels for the Big Dance. And once the Dodgers made it to the World Series, I smashed my piggy bank and bought tickets for Game 1, the first World Series game in Los Angeles in, well, 29 years.
Hours before gametime, SoSG Sax and I had settled into our seats in Reserve 5 when I got a text from my brother, a Dodger fan unfortunate enough to live in the Bay Area:
That's nice, I thought. He must be going to Game 2. Wrong. He was on his way to Game 1, lateness be damned. That's what 28 years of waiting will do to a fan.
So while my brother was racing down to L.A., Sax & I were giddy and in tears after one helluva National Anthem by Keith Williams Jr.:
The high final note, the flyover...it was electric.
Honestly I don't remember a lot of details from the game itself because every out, every pitch, felt like life or death. Especially without listening to play-by-play and color commentary, it was too easy to get way inside my head while watching the game.
Somewhere during the middle of the game, my brother landed and was hectoring a taxi driver to get him from LAX to Dodger Stadium in rush-hour traffic — ASAP!
We took a two-run lead in the 6th but it might have well been a tie game for how nervous we were.
My brother arrived in the 7th but he would have to wait. Our section was packed and I couldn't afford to miss a single beat of this experience.
The crowd was exemplary. No bullshit waves, no bullshit beachballs on the warning track. Constant cheering and standing and screaming for every two-out at-bat.
After Kenley slammed the door in the 9th: GIGANTIC EXHALE. The loudest I've ever heard Dodger Stadium. Awkward hugs and high-fiving folks I had never met before and will never see again. We finally found my brother and chilled in our section to savor the afterglow and let traffic ease up (it didn't help).
And that's the sum total of my in-person World Series experience. We had an awesome viewing party for Game 4 at Casa Orel but after Game 7...numbness. The Astros aren't even a really hateable team (Gurriel excepted, honorable mention to Reddick).
The Dodgers' extreme inactivity during the off-season reinforced my moribund mindset, although it's nice to have Matt Kemp back, for purely sentimental reasons.
So ready or not, we'll see how this season goes. We'll still do game/series threads (I think) but I know some of us are still looking for a hangover cure.
Go Blue (I can still muster that)!
It’s like the field is crying. Finally letting it all out after WS Game 7.
Celebrate Star Wars Night at Dodger Stadium with this Kenley Calrissian Bobblehead! The first 40,000 fans in attendance on June 15 will receive the item. Get your tickets now at https://t.co/yIzpa5asLu. pic.twitter.com/VpLO9bmJOq
3/27 vs. AZ (W, 6-4): AC
4/11 vs. TEX (W, 8-7): Sax
5/11 vs. SF (L, 3-9): Sax
5/25 vs. COL (W, 5-3): Sax
6/11 @ PIT (W, 8-6): Sax
6/15 vs. TB (W, 4-3): Nomo
7/4 vs. SD (W, 3-0): Orel, Sax
