Game 3 Thread: Apr. 6 @ Padres, 6p

Kenta Maeda (0-0, -.--) vs. Andrew Cashner (0-0, -.--)

After two games of excellent pitching to start the season -- two straight shutouts to be specific -- the Dodgers turn to Kenta Maeda to go for a sweep of the seemingly hapless Padres. Maeda of course is the much-ballyhooed off-season acquisition via Hiroshima Carp. Maeda had a terrific career in Japan, but the jury will be out as to whether or not he can be what at this point is the Dodgers' third starter. Time will, of course, tell, but hopefully he can be a key piece of the rotation looking to replace the loss of Zack Greinke not with one pitcher but with perhaps several.

Thus far the offense has been aggressive, confident, productive, consistent, and smart. Again, it's difficult to judge success against the shambles that is Padres, and it's a minuscule sample size, but from what we've seen so far, Seager seems to be picking up where he left off, Joc looks more comfortable and balanced at the plate, Puig exudes a new poise and patience, Turner is making solid contact, and Adrian gonna Adrian. Early days, but it beats the alternative - looking at you, Angels!

Programming Note: The start time is in the six o'clock hour, not seven o'clock.

Great Moments In Dodger History: April 5, 2016

Top 4, Dodgers @ Padres, LA 2-0 lead. With one out and Yasiel Puig on second, Carl Crawford faces a drawn-in infield.

image from flip flop flyin

Small Sample Sizing!

From ESPN.com the evening of April 5, 2016 (through two games played):

To be fair, our slugging percentage (0 HR) does kinda suck.

Post-Game 2 Thread: Kazmir Model

Cashmere model.

DODGERS 3, PADRES 0

Scott Kazmir had a model Dodgers debut today, one-hitting the Padres through six innings, and the Dodgers jumped to another shutout victory in San Diego. The Dodgers' offense came from Yasiel Puig, who took advantage of a hopelessly lost Jon Jay in center field to leg out a 2-RBI triple in the fourth. Puig was knocked in by Carl Crawford who found a hole on the left with a drawn-in infield ("drawn-in infield" always seems pretty sketchy, if you ask me). But it was Kazmir who was most impressive; if we can fill the big shoes of Zack Greinke with a decent #2, that would be a nice pick-me-up.

Pedro Baez, Chris Hatcher, and Kenley Jansen each had a scoreless frame with two Ks; add those six Ks to Kazmir's five Ks, and the Dodgers have 11 Ks total on the day. (Joc Pederson, .250 on the season, also had 2Ks on his own, but that's another story).

The Dodgers are the only team in the majors to have not allowed a run this season.

Game 2 Thread: Apr. 5 @ Padres, 7p

Scott Kazmir (0-0, -.--) vs. James Shields (0-0, -.--)

A 15-0 thumping is wonderful, of course, but maybe the Dodgers should have saved some of those runs for tonight's debut of Scott Kazmir. Kazmir, the formerly great, then dreadful, then pretty good, then kinda not so great in Spring Training lefty, may be swinging back to good again. But he's the first of four guys not named Kershaw, so we're all holding our collective breath.

So, if Kazmir is a heavy sweater and starts to unravel, here's hoping the offense picks up the thread.

Post-Game 1 Thread: 15-Love

Not sure exactly what this is. I am decently interested, however.

DODGERS 15, PADRES 0

With the news that another NL West team posted a 12-3 Opening Day victory earlier in the day, Clayton Kershaw went out there and simply dominated the Padres, one-hitting them over seven innings to lead the Dodgers to a 15-0 victory in San Diego.

Chase Utley is old and should not be batting leadoff (injuries have rocked the Dodgers before the season even began), and Utley had both himself and his walker thrown out at the plate early (trying to score from first on a Justin Turner double to left)--but even he went 3-for-5 with 2 RBI. Turner went 2-for-5 with two runs. Adrian Gonzalez went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI in cleanup. And Yasiel Puig went 2-for-3 with a triple, RBI, and even a walk. Heck, even Joc Pederson went 2-for-5 with two doubles.

No long balls for the Dodgers, but the hit parade allowed us to play bench players like Scott Van Slyke, Austin Barnes, Charlie Culberson, Enrique Hernandez, and Trayce Thompson to get an Opening Day appearance. Louis Coleman and Yimi Garcia got mop-up duty late, and the Dodgers take a ten-K victory (nine from Kershaw) into the largest Opening Day shutout win in major league history.

Pretty good start, if you ask me. The Dodgers are now on pace for 2,430 runs this year.

Game 1 Thread: April 4 @ Padres, 4p

Clayton Kershaw (0-0, -.--) vs. Tyson Ross (0-0, -.--).

It's time for Dodger baseball! FINALLY!!!

With Dave Roberts at the helm in his managerial debut, the Dodgers go absolutely crazy and start Clayton Kershaw, who has started the last five opening days (hilariously, Kershaw took over for Vicente Padilla after the Battletoad started in 2010, and lost to Pittsburgh 11-5). The Dodgers have won all five of Kershaw's Opening Day starts, dating back to 2011.

I figure Roberts will probably have some nostalgia returning to Petco Park, where he was bench coach for the last two seasons. However, there's no time like the present for us to defend our third-straight NL West title. Let's get to it.

Archiving the SoSG 2015 Attendance Record, For Posterity

Holy cow, it's almost time for the 2016 MLB season to begin. Time to archive the 2015 attendance record and move it off the sidebar, but memorialize it here for posterity.

This season in particular was a crazy one. We went to 40 games, which is about par for the Sons. This includes two games on the road, again about par for the Sons. And it included two playoff games...we won't talk about that.

Despite the Dodgers' first-round bounce from the playoffs, the Sons can still bring it.

Our eight-year cumulative record of 155-99 represents a .610 winning record, an 12-hundredths point improvement over prior year, and at this point the Dodgers really need to give us season tickets in order to ensure a solid season.

And this doesn't even factor into it our beer intake, which probably overindexes consumption levels (and concession sales) right there. Factor this in to one's economic modeling, and it might have been plausible to re-sign Zack Greinke this year. Instead, we've got Ross Stripling. Which is basically the same thing, I know.

I need another beer.

Oh yeah, about that record:

SoSG 2015 Record: 27-13

4/6 vs. SD: W, 6-3 (AC, Dusty)
4/8 vs. SD: W, 7-4 (Orel)
4/13 vs. SEA: W, 6-5 (10) (AC, Dusty)
4/15 vs. SEA: W, 5-2 (Nomo, Dusty, AC)
4/19 vs. COL: W, 7-0 (Delino)
4/27 vs. SF: W, 8-3 (AC)
5/1 vs. ARI: W, 8-0 (AC)
5/2 vs. ARI: W, 6-4 (AC)
5/3 vs. ARI: W, 1-0 (13) (Dusty)
5/11 vs. MIA: W, 5-3 (Dusty)
5/12 vs. MIA: W, 11-1 (AC, Dusty)
5/14 vs. COL: L, 4-5 (AC, Dusty)
5/15 vs. COL: L, 1-7 (Dusty)
5/23 vs. COL: W, 2-0 (AC, Dusty)
6/5 vs. STL: L, 1-2 (Dusty)
6/6 vs. STL: W, 2-0 (Dusty)
6/7 vs. STL: L, 2-4 (Dusty)
6/8 vs. ARI: W, 9-3 (AC, Stubbs)
6/10 vs. ARI: W, 7-6 (Nomo)
6/21 vs. SF: W, 10-2 (Orel)
6/24 @ CHC: W, 5-2 (AC)
6/25 @ CHC: W, 4-0 (AC)
7/3 vs. NYM: L, 1-2 (Dusty)
7/5 vs. NYM: L, 0-8 (Orel)
7/9 vs. PHI: W, 6-0 (Dusty, Nomo, Orel, Sax)
7/11 vs. MIL: L, 1-7 (AC, Dusty)
7/29 vs. OAK: W, 10-7 (AC, Dusty)
8/1 vs. LAA: W, 3-1 (Dusty)
8/12 vs. WSH: W, 3-0 (Dusty)
8/13 vs. CIN: L, 3-10 (Dusty)
8/29 vs. CHC: W, 5-2 (AC, Dusty)
8/30 vs. CHC: L, 0-2 (Dusty)
9/2 vs. SF: W, 2-1 (Nomo, Dusty)
9/18 vs. PIT: W, 6-2 (Dusty)
9/19 vs. PIT: L, 2-3 (Dusty)
9/22 vs. AZ: L, 0-8 (Dusty, Sax)
9/23 vs. AZ: W, 4-1 (AC, Dusty, Nomo, Sax)
10/3 vs. SD: W, 2-1 (Dusty)
10/9 vs. NYM (NLDS): L, 1-3 (AC, Dusty)
10/15 vs. NYM (NLDS): L, 2-3 (Dusty)

Prior SoSG attendance records: 2008 (18-15), 2009 (21-10), 2010 (9-8), 2011 (10-7), 2012 (24-18), 2013 (24-16), 2014 (22-12).

Getting Ready for the Season

Checking in from the Southernmost point in the US. Go Blue!

Philippe's Making Pitch to Dodger Fans

Phillippe's is an L.A. institution and an SoSG favorite; this season, the restaurant is continuing its Dodger-blue ways. From a press relase:

This Friday the Petros and Money Radio show will be broadcasting, as well as streamed online, from Philippe’s restaurant in LA from 3-6 pm on Friday, April 1st.

This will be the second time the radio team will be broadcasting from the restaurant, only this time it’ll be better because they will be giving away a pair of Freeway series tickets, against the Angels to that evening’s game at Dodger Stadium.

Philippe’s is also helping prep fans for Opening Day, Thursday April 12th. The restaurant will be a pre-game site for fans, and even post game. The restaurant will also raffle off a pair of Dodgers tickets for a future game.

Dodger Blogger Luncheon

Getting the field ready - even the top of the foul pole

Shock top Brat

My favorite the Kings Hawaiian Dog

The Dodger organization kindly invited the various bloggers to preview the changes in the stadium, taste the new menu items, and preview the promotional items.  I was mostly intrigued by the new menu items especially with my obsession with baseball and food (see Blue Plate Specials).  Some of the rookies coming up to the plate are:

Levy Restaurants Menu Items

·      King’s Hawaiian Dog

o   All-beef quarter pound dog topped off with a pineapple salsa, served on King’s Hawaiian bread

o   Locations: Extreme Loaded Dogs: 248, 421, 736

·      Gouda Kobe Burger

o   1/3 lb. premium wagyu burger (“Kobe” beef) topped off with caramelized onions, pickles and special dressing (1000 Island)

o   Locations: Elysian Park Grill: 222, 223, 422, 747, 748

·      Chicken Verde Sandwich

o   Grill marked chicken breast on telera bread with jalapeno aioli, lettuce, tomato and tomatillo verde sauce

o   Locations: Healthy Cart: P420, P738; AMPM: 201; Marketplace: 205; Tony’s Stand: 420

·      Shock Top Bratwurst

o   Spicy pork bratwurst link infused with Shock Top beer served on a buttered and grilled lobster roll with caramelized onions and spicy brown mustard

o   Locations: Think Blue BBQ: 251 (Grill Area Only)

·      Specialty Nachos Verde

o   Crispy tortilla chips with tomatillo verde sauce, pickled jalapenos and fresco Cotija Queso

o   Locations: TBD

·      Smoked BBQ Wings Bundle

o   15 smoked chicken wings tossed in a BBQ sauce served with fries and veggie sticks with two soft drinks

o   Locations: Think Blue BBQ: 251

BBQ Wings

Salsa Verde Nachos

I really enjoyed the King's Hawaiian Dog and the Shock Top Brat.  The salsa verde chips got a little soggy and I thought that the BBQ wings were good, not great.  But everyone else was raving about the sauce.  The Kobe burger was nice as well.

They also had some promotional items that were on display.  Of course the bobbleheads were a big hit.  The AGon bobblehead and the replica stadium were neat to see and they look great.  Other items were the Turner Chia Pet and the Vin Scully Avenue T-shirt.  There was also a spacious cooler bag.  I always thought that a clear dodger bag would be a nice promotional item.  I think that fans would use them with the additional benefit of the security lines would be much faster as bags could be “searched” without opening them up.  I mentioned my idea, and hopefully they will act on it. 

Mock up of the Vin Scully Avenue shirt

Anon celebrating

Nice cooler bag

Replica stadium

More pins!

Dodger Promotional Items

www.dodgers.com/promotions

·      Adult Hooded Sweatshirt

Presented by Bank of America

April 13 vs. ARI, 7:10pm

·      Adult Replica Jackie Robinson Jersey

Presented by Bank of America

April 15 vs. SF, 7:10pm

·      Knit Cap

Presented by The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

April 16 vs. SF, 6:10 pm

·      Clayton Kershaw Bobblehead

Presented by Security Benefit

April 25 vs. MIA, 7:10pm

·      Fleece Blanket

Presented by LG

April 27 vs. MIA, 7:10pm

·      Justin Turner Chia Pet

Presented by Cedars-Sinai

April 30 vs. SD, 6:10pm

·      Kids Corey Seager Replica Jersey

Presented by Hi-Chew

May 1 vs. SD, 1:10pm

·      Dave Roberts Bobblehead

Presented by State Farm

May 11 vs. NYM, 7:10pm

·      Replica Stadium

Presented by Farmer John

May 14 vs. STL, 6:10pm

·      Kids Batting Gloves

Presented by Kellogg’s Rice Krispies

May 15 vs. STL, 5:05pm

·      Welcome Mat

Presented by Farmer John

May 17 vs. LAA, 7:10 pm

·      Neck Pillow

Presented by Emirates Airline

May 23 vs. CIN, 7:10 pm

·      Adrian Gonzalez Bobblehead

Presented by Time Warner Cable

May 25 vs. CIN, 7:10 p.m.

·      Don Newcombe Bobblehead

Presented by United Healthcare

June 8 vs. COL, 7:10 pm

·      Cooler Backpack

Presented by Your SoCal Honda Dealers

June 20 vs. WSH, 7:10pm

·      Reusable Tote Bag

Presented by MLB Network

July 30 vs. ARI, 6:10pm

·      Retired Numbers Pin Series (10 pins)

Presented by 76

May 9: Pee Wee Reese #1

June 4: Don Sutton #20

June 16: Duke Snider #4

July 5: Roy Campanella #39

July 7: Walter Alston #24

July 31: Jim Gilliam #19

August 8: Jackie Robinson #42

September 4:  Sandy Koufax #32

September 7: Don Drysdale #53

September 22: Tommy Lasorda #2

We then got to go on a tour of the stadium, from the Top Deck to down on the field.  We saw all of the awards and got to sit in the dugout.  It was a very windy day, but that made for clear pictures.  Seems like they were doing a lot of sprucing up the place from washing the seats to fixing up the dugout club.  They were also installing new palm trees along Elysia-- I mean Vin Scully Avenue.  It looks really nice.  

Hi Dad!

I thought that the pictures on the newer gold gloves looked pretty lame

I guess they fixed Ethier's rage dent

Old visitor's locker room

No more Nancy Bea (cries)

From the Vin Scully Press Box

In all it was a great time, and got me excited to get the season started.  Remember, Dodger opening day is on April 12^th!  Go Blue!

Soon

Guest Writer: Dave Roberts is a Man of the People

Thanks to guest writer Sunha Kim for this report from Camelback Ranch:

You might not get an autograph, but you will get really close to the stars!

Part of the thrill of going to spring training at Camelback Ranch is getting up close and personal with the players and coaches, and hopefully getting a few pictures or autographs. If you are solely going to Camelback Ranch to snap a pic or get a signature with the big stars, however, there is a chance that you will come away disappointed. It’s not that stars are mean-spirited, but it is important to keep in mind that these players are getting ready to deliver us, the fans, our first championship in nearly 30 years. Most of the time, the players are in their zone and ready to perform at the highest level possible. That's really cool to see!

If you come to Camelback Ranch on a weekend, there will be large crowds as our team is lucky enough to have a strong and loyal fan base. Dodger fans come to Camelback Ranch not only from Los Angeles, but from all over the world. During my time at Camelback, I met a ton of fans living in Arizona. One fan I met came from New York City, and some other fans I met came from as far as Japan.

At this point, you might be getting the sense of why it might be so hard to snag a personal moment with your favorite star. If you are adamant about meeting one specific player, the best thing to do is to come during a weekday, as Camelback will be less crowded. That is what Pat and Melissa Hughes did, and they got autographs from most of the stars!

Pat and Melissa Hughes.

While it may prove hard to get personal with most the Dodger stars, there is one exception. I was at Dodger camp this past Friday, and I was lucky enough to snag an autograph and share a story with new Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts and Dodger legend Shawn Green. As almost every player walked straight from the field to the clubhouse after morning workouts on Friday, Dave and Shawn were kind enough to engage the large crowd that was waiting in the designated autograph area after morning practice.

The skipper with the fans.

Both Skip and Shawn spent a good 15 minutes with the fans who were eager to share stories, take pictures, and get their stuff signed. If anything, it is good to know that Dave Roberts is a man of the people. But given the strong start to the spring, who knows? Maybe Dave is the chosen one to shepherd us to the promised land for the first time since 1988.

Sunha Kim is a lifelong Dodger fan and boxing journalist. His favorite player growing up was pinch-hitting master Dave Hansen. Sunha's writing has appeared in Yahoo!, the business news site Quartz, and now Sons of Steve Garvey! Sunha currently hosts a boxing podcast called Kim On Boxing, and he is developing a baseball-centric podcast with another Dodger fan called Bro Club Sports. Stay tuned and follow him @SunhaPKim!

photos by Sunha Kim

Spring Training Game 1 Thread: Mar. 3 vs. White Sox, 12p

This is a photo of Elian Herrera as a Dodger. It was taken yesterday. I'm as surprised as you are.
Clayton Kershaw (for an inning or two, anyway) vs. John Danks

(shakes off rust)

A baseball game? Featuring real Dodgers? Like, I've even heard of this Clayton Kershaw guy. He was on last year's team, I think.

Another guy from last year's team who won't be making an appearance anytime soon is Brett Anderson. The real Bringer of Rain (Sorry, Josh Donaldson!) will miss 3-5 months due to back surgery. Some people have thrown in towel on the entire season because of this news. Yes, seriously. I mean, we're not exactly the positive bunch over here (Hi, Karina!), but I think we'll muddle through this somehow.

If you have SportsNet LA (I do now, but I'm at work and forgot to DVR the game!), I think this game is not one of the ones that were slashed from the schedule. So, enjoy!

Photo: Jon SooHoo

'Fastball' Documentary

Whoops, wrong movie.

Not that one either.

Yes, this is the one!

On Thursday, March 24, people in more than 50 Major and Minor League markets will be on deck for one-night-only fan screenings of “Fastball.” This timeless documentary will enthrall baseball fans young and old and is now available via Tugg Inc., the web-based platform that allows fans, teams and organizations to bring movies to their own local theater for screenings. Fans should head to the official Fastball Tugg website to request their own show and check back often as additional screenings are added.

The documentary, which is narrated by Kevin Costner (“Field of Dreams,” “Bull Durham”), also features active Major Leaguers Justin Verlander, Andrew McCutchen and David Price as well as baseball legends in Hank Aaron, Nolan Ryan, Bob Gibson, Goose Gossage, Derek Jeter and the late Tony Gwynn. The feature from writer/director Jonathan Hock and producer Thomas Tull will also be released in theaters and on demand March 25. It is already available for pre-order on iTunes.

The essence of baseball is the primal battle between the pitcher and batter, but the magic of the game arises from that confrontation, only 396 milliseconds in the making. The mysteries and memories of Baseball's greatest heroes are revealed in “Fastball,” featuring interviews with dozens of former players, from legendary Hall of Famers to current All-Stars.

Based on the original idea by the film’s producer, Thomas Tull, who also produced the Jackie Robinson biopic “42,” “Fastball” is peppered with archival footage of baseball's greatest moments plus original high-speed 4K footage and motion graphics that unlock the secrets hidden within a ball traveling over 100 mph. While players, historians, and scientists might disagree on who was actually the fastest pitcher in history – and yes, the film does the physics and concludes with a clear verdict – “Fastball” tells the story of the game itself.

Catching Up: Good News and Shit Sandwich

Per LA Times' Bill Shaikin:

The Dodgers open the season on the road -- and Vin Scully will be there.

Scully said Wednesday that he would broadcast the April 4 opener in San Diego -- the first game of his 67th and final season as the voice of the Dodgers.

"I love opening day, wherever it is," Scully said. "It's so near. I said I'd love to share in that."

Scully, 88, said he would not call the rest of the series.

Excellent noticias! This means Vin will be calling the season opener (in San Diego) and the season closer (in San Francisco). Cannot wait to hear Vin call in the game from Petco.

Now on to the stinky part, courtesy Bill Plaschke:

In a move that echoed the broadcast turmoil of winter 1972...the Dodgers’ ghost television network made yet another galling decision recently when it announced it was cutting back spring training broadcasts from 31 to 16.

That's right, kids. We'd gotten used to catching mid-day, weekday Spring Training baseball from Camelback Ranch. At least, those of us who can watch Dodger telecasts had. Now they've halved the number of ST broadcasts. I understand that they don't get huge ratings, but: The Dodgers have their own fucking network to show these games and to get fans excited about the upcoming season (a point Plaschke makes in his column). Instead they'll show some completely obscure Dodger games from decades ago. This is low-hanging fruit, so not sure the rationale if there actually is one.

Today

Dodger Fanfest 2016

Dodger Fanfest 2016 happened this past Saturday and I was lucky enough to have a day off and attend.  This was the first time I have attended, what Nomo affectionally names "Linefest" so I didn't know what was in store.  Seeing that there were about  25,000 people, you can imagine there were heaps of people going every which way.  I think the Dodger organization did the best that they could, especially with the amount of fans attending.  I really wanted to go because I wanted to meet Ryu.  Shout out to fellow brother Dusty for getting me access!

I had 4 autograph vouchers for the last 2 sessions.  I took Mamma Cora to help me out.  The lines were massive, but what I really enjoyed was talking with fellow fans.  There was a woman in front of us who travels down from San Francisco for this event.  She was lamenting that she didn't receive the All Star baseball from Ebay in time for Yasmani to sign it.  Then the gentleman in front of her said, I have one, and I can trade you a regular ball for it.  It was so cool to see.  The lines moved fairly fast and they kept on time.  I was able to meet Bill Russell and Brandon McCarthy.  I told Brandon that his twitter game was "strong" and whether he was going to change his avatar any time soon.  He said he was thinking about it, but since there were so many other players changing their avatar like his, he might keep it.  Mamma Cora met Yasmani and Austin Barnes.  She told Yasmani that he was a "very handsome  man" and he said thank you and turned to Austin and said "she better not tell you that too!"  That was funny.

Brandon McCarthy getting ready to sign autographs

Chase "Sweep the leg Johnny" Utley signing autographs

Vic the Brick and Alanna Rizzo

Standing in line for session 6, Tommy drove by and was waving to the crowd after his on stage appearance.  They seemed to use the visitor bullpen for media gathering and I saw Vic the Brick and Alanna Rizzo talking.  Steve Yeager was also down there. We got to talking with the people in front of us who attended the meet and greet with Kershaw.  They said it was cool, but went by too fast!  Greet, autographs, picture, out.  But they said he was nice as always.

The Tommy drive by

Yaz sighting

Joc sighting

I finally met Ryu.  He was very quiet, but was nice and signed both my baseball and bobblehead.  I got another Yasmani autograph as well - and if anyone wants to trade email me through the website! Yasmani also said that his rehab is going well.

Ryu signing autographs

Mamma Cora also snapped some great pictures, especailly of our new skipper.  He apparently was very gracious and when she asked Bob Geren where he was going to be sitting in the dugout, Dave interjected "Right next to me!"  Love the rapport.

Skipper Dave Roberts

I also spent 40 bucks on a "mystery bag autograph" and pulled a Jimmy Rollins baseball.  Of all of the autographs, I really like Dave Roberts and Jimmy Rollins because they are legible.

The baseball haul - From Top left to bottom right, Geren, Yaz, Barnes, Ryu Bobblehead, McCarthy, Roberts, Russell, Rollins, Yaz, Ryu

Thanks Ryu!

Overall, it was a nice time to visit the park.  Since we were there towards the end of the day, the crowd started to thin and we were able to "run the bases" (more like stroll) and lie down on the grass. I wandered up to the lodge level and checked out my new mini plan seats (thanks Bryce from Dodger ticketing!) and was pleased by the location.  I liked the event in that it got my baseball "its a new year" energy flowing again.  Can't wait for opening day!!!  Go Blue!