Beachballs and the Wave Not Enough for You? Head to Seattle

From Kotaku:

The Nintendo Fan Network rolled out at the Seattle Mariners Safeco Field during the 2007 season, giving DS-toting fans access to a bunch of MLB stats and in-game progress reports for a small fee.

Today Nintendo announced that the service is going to be free at home games this year. Gamers who bring their DS with them to Safeco will be able to wirelessly log into the Nintendo Fan Network. Features include access to player statistics, scores from other MLB games in progress, current team standings, chat with other fans and the ability to compete in trivia and other mini games. Additionally, fans can watch the in-stadium live broadcast video and use the Nintendo DS touch screen to order ballpark food and beverages delivered right to their seats.

Schmidt Sighted in Cincinnati

MLB.com reports that Jason Schmidt is throwing again, which I suppose is a good sign. I'll believe it when I see it on the mound, though...

CINCINNATI -- Jason Schmidt won't be pitching Tuesday night, or anytime soon, but there was a glimmer of hope four hours before Monday night's Dodgers-Reds game.

Schmidt threw 48 pitches in a bullpen session that was important enough for manager Joe Torre to witness.

"His curveball was good last time, and it stunk today, but his slider was good," said Torre. "He's getting impatient. He's at the point where he feels competitive."

It's been 10 months since Schmidt's shoulder surgery and, after a Spring Training setback, he's back to throwing regularly off a mound. Schmidt said the stiffness that he had been experiencing when beginning to warm up has suddenly diminished.

He's getting impatient? What about us Dodger fans?

Seriously, though, although it could be the most expensive solitary win that the Dodgers ever signed, rushing Jason Schmidt back at this point is NOT the malady for the Dodgers. We have plenty of decent pitching, as well as Chan Ho Park. What we need now is a consistent bat or two. Take your time, Jason, and get your comeback right.

Touch the Gnome!

From Dylan Hernandez at the LA Times:

Left-hander Joe Beimel handed [Russell] Martin a picture of a garden gnome cloaked in Dodger blue that is sold on the team's official website, telling him that he needed a "hitting gnome" similar to the gnome the relievers carry to the bullpen every game for good luck. Martin wrote on the image, "Hitting Gnome. Rub Me Here for Hits," and taped it on the back of one of the benches. Martin and [Nomar] Garciaparra said they touched the picture.

[Brad] Penny got a hit without making contact with the image -- "I don't like gnomes," he said. "They're evil-looking" -- but wasn't about to question its power, as he said the offensive surge allowed him to relax and pitch six effortless innings in which he gave up only one run.

"It worked," Penny said. "We better have him in there again."

Martin laughed.

"It should," he said. "I'm not superstitious, but I'm not the only one who got hits."

Martin laughed again when asked whether he would purchase a gnome to put in the dugout.

"I'll put it on a chain, I'll be like Flavor Flav," he said, referring to the rapper and reality TV star known for dangling an oversized clock from his neck.

[Andruw] Jones, who was hitless in four at-bats and lowered his average to .159, never had the chance to test the gnome's powers. Jones touched the picture in the ninth inning at Martin's insistence -- "He got pretty excited," Martin said -- but when Jones stepped into the on-deck circle, James Loney grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Like the hitting gnome, Monday's lineup will remain in place for today's game.

Earlier: Bullpen Gnome Ineffective On the Road

Post-Game 19 Thread: Dodgers Exorcise Belisle

DODGERS 9, REDS 3

The Great American Ball Park is bringing back memories. A day after old friend Eric Gagne suffered his third blown save of the season against the Reds, erstwhile Dodger starter Chan Ho Park pitched three innings of relief, allowed two home runs...and got the save in Cincinnati. Having entered the game with a eight-run lead. (Meanwhile, former Dodger goat Lurch won his fourth game of the season for the Marlins. Brad Penny, after today's win, leads the Dodger staff with three. Hmmm.)

But the story of the day was the Dodger offense, suddenly alive again after collapsing like an accordion at a clown convention in Atlanta, thanks to what our Steve Sax calls "the tonic of the NL Central." The Dodgers have outscored the Pirates and Reds 32-12 over four games, today teeing off against Cincinnati's green starter Matt Belisle for 12 hits and 7 runs in four innings en route to a 9-3 victory.

Nomar Garciaparra justified Joe Torre batting him third in the order, hitting his first home run and batting in three, and the other bats are heating up: Russell Martin went 3-for-3, Andre Ethier 3-for-4, Matt Kemp 2-for-5. In fact, the only player still under the Mendoza line is Andruw Jones (.159), who went 0-for-4. Will Torre dare start a heretofore unthinkable outfield of Ethier, Juan Pierre and Kemp? Tune in tomorrow—same Bat-time, same Bat-channel!

A win tomorrow (with Hong-Chih Kuo starting and Esteban Loaiza in the wings) would give the Dodgers much-needed momentum heading into a five-game homestand against division opponents: two games against the Diamondbacks (6 games ahead of the Dodgers in the standings) and three against the Rockies (5 games ahead). So help that old lady across the street and use that turn signal, because this team needs all the good karma it can get.

Game 19 Thread: April 21 @ Reds, 4p

Brad Penny (2-2) vs. Matt Belisle (0-0).

COMMENTS: Having already posted losses this year to a cancer patient in Arizona and two spot starters in Atlanta, the Dodgers will now face another spot starter just off of three minor-league rehab starts with a strained right forearm. Meanwhile, the Dodgers' last twenty-seven innings read like a binary nightmare:

Fri 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Sat 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Sun 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

Which brings the Dodgers to their current 7-11 record, good enough for last place in the NL West and six games off the pace. Like the convenience store chain, the Dodgers have been quick and easy, with a staff (starting pitchers) that is getting robbed with regularity.

For once spring training stats are accurate.

"Prickly City" Comic Strip Eerily Prescient

Answers to 80s Puzzle

Answers to this puzzle below...plus this gratuitous mention of Bret Michaels to boost Googlesearch hits.

80's Song:	Corresponding Sports Moment:
Saved by Zero The Fixx	On March 18, 1987, Orlando Woolridge scores 33 points for the Nets, including the game-winner, to beat Detroit 113-112. The win ultimately rescues the Nets from the ignominy of ending that season in sole possession of last place. (Orlando Woolridge wore number zero)
Unskinny Bop Poison	On the last day of the 1990 season, 600-lb Cecil Fielder belts two of the fattest dingers of his career - numbers 50 and 51, making him the first player in 13 years to hit 50 home runs. (Cecil Fielder was not skinny)
9 to 5 Dolly Parton	On July 31, 1987, the Dodgers beat the Braves ____ thanks to a solid outing from Fernando Valenzuela and home runs from Franklin Stubbs and SoSG's own Pedro Guerrero.
We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off Jermaine Stewart	Until he got fired for making insensitive remarks while covering the 2006 post-season for Fox, Steve Lyons was perhaps best remembered for this 1990 on-field incident. (Lyons unthinkingly removed his pants during a televised game after sliding into first base)
I Want Candy Bow Wow Wow	On December 11, 1985, the Dodgers said to the Giants "Give us Alex Trevino," to which Giants GM Al Rosen may have replied "Ok, but ______" (The Dodgers traded Candy Maldonado to the Giants for Alex Trevino)

Congratulations, Danica!

AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama

Game 18 Thread: April 20 @ Braves, 10.30a

Hiroki Kuroda (1-1) vs. Jair Jurrjens (1-2).

COMMENTS: Someone fire the equipment manager. The Dodgers clearly forgot to pack their bats on this trip, scoring a paltry two runs off the Braves' patchwork pitching staff. We're only 17 games into the season (a little over 10%), but is it too early to be concerned that this is not a good offensive team? Is it a matter of a poor lineup (we're leaving plenty on base and are 1-for-13 with RISP this series), poor performances from key players (Martin seems lost, Kemp continues to free swing, and Nomar has been abysmal), or Mattingly's absence? This season will be pretty sad if we're just fighting to stay ahead of last-place San Francisco all year. Let's see if a game pitching against the most loathed character in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace improves our lot.

Dodger Bats Ice Cold

last two games:

LAD 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
ATL 0 2 0 0 3 0 1 0 X 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 X

Game 17 Thread: April 19 @ Braves, 1p

Chad Billingsley (0-2) vs. Chuck James (0-1).

COMMENTS: Andruw Jones returning to Turner Field is like a high school reunion disaster. He's a heck of a lot fatter, his wheels aren't as fast, and he hasn't really done much of anything since he left. Last night, Jones' ninth-inning double to get him 1-for-3 was meaningless, and his .167 average on the season is pathetic. But at least he's got company down there, with No-Punch Nomar also at .167 (0-for-4 last night) and Mendoza Martin at .196 (0-for-3, including a fly out with the bases juiced in the second inning that would have shifted momentum on a dime). Chan Ho Park's entrance in the seventh, and prompt HR served up to Larry Jones, was the capper on top of Derek Lowe's shaky 5R 3ER evening.

Shake it off, boys, and open up a can of whupass today!

UPDATE:

The lineup:

Furcal, SS
Ethier, LF
Kemp, RF
Kent, 2B
Loney, 1B
Martin, C
Jones, CF
Garciaparra, 3B
Billingsley, P

This Team Is Psycho

...and not in a Steve Lyons kind of way.

16 games in: a different lineup almost every game. Score 11 runs one day, none the next. No more than two consecutive wins. Hitters either red hot or ice cold. A shocking blown save by Takashi Saito. I know Joe Torre's still learning his players but some consistency would be nice.

Tomorrow's scheduled starter for the Braves, Tom Glavine, has gone on the disabled list for the first time in his career. Could this be a break for the Dodgers? Only if they stop their habit of turning relatively untested pitchers into Cy Youngs (exhibit A: Bennett, Jeff. 4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER tonight).

UPDATE:

Thanks to research maestro Bob Timmermann for providing the numbers at Dodger Thoughts:

26. Bob Timmermann
[...] since 2000, the Dodgers have faced a pitcher making his major league debut, and also starting the game, eight times.

The opponents are 6-2 in those games.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/shareit/hUF2

27. Bob Timmermann
Excuse me, it's happened 6 times and the opponents are 4-2.

28. Bob Timmermann
If you expand the list to a pitcher facing the Dodgers in one of his first three career appearances in the majors during the same time period, there are 20 games and the Dodgers are 8-12.

30. Bob Timmermann
Overall in the majors in the 2000s, teams starting a rookie in his first game have won the game 134 times and lost 155.

NUTS!

Came across this salty tidbit in my local marketplace.

Now you can bring home the salty, undercooked, stale, overpriced taste of the ballgame. ...without your half open bag spilling in your pants while walking to the car.

Game 16 Thread: April 18 @ Braves, 4.30p

Derek Lowe (1-0) vs. Jeff Bennett (0-0).

COMMENTS: Lowe got 11 runs of run support in his last outing, a far cry from what he saw last year, and he rolled to a victory over the Padres. Furcal and Loney are crushing the ball, batting .407 and batting .364 respectively. Meanwhile, Bennett is from Donelson, Tennessee.

Andruw Jones returns to Turner Field (a wee bit heavier) for the first time as a non-Brave.

UPDATE:

The lineup:

Furcal, SS
Kemp, RF
Ethier, LF
Kent, 2B
Loney, 1B
Martin, C
Jones, CF
Garciaparra, 3B
Lowe, P

Rays Give Six-Game Veteran $17.5M

Earlier we wondered if the Dodgers should be pursuing the mid-market team strategy of buying out the arbitration years of budding stars, a trend that has become so popular that the market for potential, not actual production, has exploded. Now comes word that the Rays have signed Evan Longoria to a six-year, $17.5 million contract, "a deal that could be worth up to $44 million over nine seasons."

Longoria has 20 major league at-bats in six games. Although this deal could turn out to be a masterstroke of foresight, it's helping turn the buyout process into the baseball card market, with actual rookies taking the place of rookie cards. The Rays would argue that with the 29th-lowest payroll in the majors, such moves are necessary to stay competitive. But it's only going to make keeping our young stars—Russell Martin, Matt Kemp, James Loney—more difficult for the Dodgers.

And if Longoria is worth $17.5 million, what is Clayton Kershaw worth?

Yesterday's News, Today! aka How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love BLOGGER NIGHT

Finally, the Delino is breaking his vow of silence. After being alluded to as the "Other SoSG'er" by a site I will just call "the Other Dodger Blog," I am here with my own tarnished two cents on a fantastic evening.

The Dodgers Blogger Appreciation Night has already been covered by more legit sports bloggers than yours truly. So instead, I offer up lots of pretty pictures. (And an incredibly genuine thank you to all the organizers... as well as the mediocre talents of this season's American Idol, whose last second cancellation enabled us to take the suite in their place. Hope that car wash opening in Encino was worth it.) Please note - The SoSG guard their privacy like George Lucas protects the scripts for his newest lousy Star Wars retread. All faces have been replaced for the safety of the not so innocent.

Tom Petty once said "The Waiting is the Hardest Part." He also said "You're Jammin' Me." Both aptly describe the longest 10 minutes of our lives, as the distinguished gentlemen of SoSG were forced to wait for tickets like common vagrants. Surrounded by hipsters in leather ties and the world's slowest will call patron, the SoSG'ers grew impatient and let the boo birds fly. Finally, we got our tickets and showed up late to the suite, cutting down our time listening to Ned Colletti and admiring his kick-ass boots.

Bloggers have wives, children, and lives. Guess I should have known this based on the high percentage of non-virgins writing for SoSG (app 40 percent). I tried to convince Sax and Orel to start a Blogger rumble, but that idea quickly dissipated once we realized the suite had free hot dogs.

There's actually a transportation center (aka Throw Transport Down the Well, So My Parking May Be Free) An obscured Steve Sax expresses his appreciation for the center's diligence in taking months away from his life.

Tommy Lasorda has an outtie belly button. I'll keep that pic to myself, but his tight blue sweater left little to the imagination. Having grown up 3000 miles from this city, I always equated two people as THE Los Angeles Dodgers. Fernando Valenzuela, and Mr. Lasorda. Seeing him talk was my personal highlight of the night, if not the year (at least until my wife gives birth... or the season finale of Lost).

SoSG was the 60 Minutes of Blogger Night, if 60 Minutes accidentally started at 7:18pm. Led by the Wallace/Bradley duo of Sax and Orel, SoSG let the tough questions fly at Mr. McCourt. "Why do you seem to disappear from bad publicity." "What's with the autograph meshugas" "What are the Dodgers doing to recruit African American players" "What's your favorite Baseball Movie!?!" (Bull Durham. Never heard of it.) And Mr. McCourt answered every question with conviction. He even offered to invest in Delino's Sunset restaurant idea. (I'm thinking a Beard Papa's or Red Lobster). I was this close to asking Frank McCourt why 'Tis was such a letdown after Angela's Ashes. But fearing the wraith of Blue Blogger Nation (and not wanting to give Mr. McCourt an exit strategy), I kept the question under my hat.

Did I mention the free hot dogs?

Oh What a Night. I actually really hate that song. In fact, I forbade my wedding band from playing it, along with dozens of other crap 70s music. If you want my official "do not play" list for your own upcoming nuptials, just drop an email.

SoSG's Pop Culture Grid, Part I

Do you really care what Morgan Pressel would do if she were Isiah Thomas? Or how many shoes DeShawn Stevenson owns? Well then, you're in luck! Borrowing from Sports Illustrated's Pop Culture Grid (but see ours is in blue...so please don't sue us, SI!), the same incisive questions were posed to the seven Sons, four of whom's answers are revealed below.

(click picture to enlarge)

The Onion Scores Again

From The Onion:

Player's Career Arc Exactly Mirrors Second Verse Of Steve Miller's 'Rock 'N Me'

NORWALK, CT—While listening to the radio on his drive home Monday afternoon, former MLB player Terry Boylan realized that his professional career exactly mirrors the travels of the man in the Steve Miller Band song "Rock 'N Me." "I went from Phoenix, Arizona all the way to Tacoma, Philadelphia, Atlanta, L.A.," said Boylan, who was selected in the 1998 expansion draft by the Arizona Diamonbacks, traded to the Mariners and spent a season with their Triple-A affiliate Tacoma Rainiers, claimed by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2000 Rule 5 draft, released and picked up off waivers the following year by the Atlanta Braves, and traded once more to the Dodgers of Los Angeles. "Then I went to northern California—where the girls are warm—when I signed as a free agent with the San Francisco Giants. Though I didn't go there to be with my sweet baby, incidentally that's where I met my future wife. Weird." Boylan added that he is not superstitious nor does he get suspicious, and his woman is a friend of his.

How About "Nancy Bea Night" at Dodger Stadium?

We Dodger fans have it pretty good. Although the franchise hasn't won a World Series in *cough* decades, we still have six championships to celebrate. And there's a reason why Vin Scully's approval rating is astronomically high. But we've got some hidden gems too, including Dodger Stadium organist Nancy Bea Hefley. Although her role has decreased in recent years, Nancy Bea at the Roland organ remains one of the best parts of the Dodger Stadium experience.

Thanks to Chris of dodgerfan.net, I was reminded of Nancy Bea, and of Beantown West's Erin and me complaining to Josh Rawitch about the loud canned music at Dodger Stadium. As if Josh were personally responsible.

But we were on to something: a throwback night at Dodger Stadium with no canned music, only the dulcet tones of Nancy Bea's music. No player introduction music (although who wouldn't want to hear Jay-Z's "Déjà Vu" on the organ?). No dot races or scoreboard antics to distract the crowd. (Quarter Dodger Dogs and fifty-cent beers would be nice too, but let's stay real here.)

My initial worry was that a full game might overtax Nancy Bea, until I read the Pasadena Star-News:

In her early Dodgers years, [Hefley] played during batting practice, pitching changes and even when the groundskeepers prepared the field for play. She provided accent music for whatever was happening down on the field and adopted theme songs for various players.

I believe Nancy Bea has the stamina for such a game. Am I just an old fart, or would Dodger fans actually support this?

Eric Gagne Not Entirely Forgotten

Earlier we linked to a Lion in Oil story about how former Dodgers mentioned in the Mitchell Report were conspicuously absent in a research survey of Dodger fans. But now you can vote for your favorite closer at Dodgers.com, choosing from Jim Brewer, Mike Marshall, Ron Perranoski, Jeff Shaw, Todd Worrell and yes, Eric Gagne:

Eric Gagne began his Dodger career as a starting pitcher with mixed results. He would normally breeze through the batting order the first time around and then the opposing team would tee off on him the second time around. A demotion to the minors in 2001 laid in question what would become of the young right-hander in 2002? With the advice of Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax, the Dodgers tried Gagne out as a closer and a superstar was born. Gagne would go on to have three of the most dominating seasons a relief pitcher would ever have, saving 52, 55 and 45 games for the Dodger from 2002-04. Gagne would win the 2003 National League Cy Young award with the perfect season of 55 saves in 55 chances, make three straight All-Star appearances and help the Dodgers win the 2004 National League West title. Injuries would limit his appearances in 2005 and 2006. Gagne would leave as a free agent the following year.

I guess a poll at the official website of the Dodgers isn't the first place to look for a balanced history of players like Gagne, but pretending they don't exist is a good start.