was my thought of the day this past labor day weekend.  It took back to back years of putridity, combined with the ex Yankee Legend having James Loney bunting over the weekend to blow my mind from Dodger Blue to RED. A season worth of questionable moves and non moves,  this latest was the tipping point. The majority of fans will correctly say no big deal, no need to get your undies in a bunch. Who really cares if the strategist asked the hottest hitter on the team to bunt? Who cares that if the strategy worked to perfection the MVP of baseball would have gotten  walked, leaving it up Juan Rivera to cash in the chips against a RHP with two outs and bases loaded instead of facing a one out 1st/2nd situation and swinging away. The same Juan Rivera who has a career .647 OPS against RHP. Let's not even mention the fact that Loney is not very adept at bunting. What could go wrong with that?

Shockingly only to the ex-Yankee Legend and his bench coach the strategy failed, Loney did not get the bunt down, and with two strikes down was easy prey for the second out.

In a season in which we have been closer to last place then first place this should hardly register.  In a world getting pummeled with destruction this should be the farthest thing from my mind, yet my mind couldn't deal with it, the rational part gave way to spasms of anger that so far this year I've managed to keep in check.  The team was hot, everything was going right,  for two weeks it was fun to be a Dodger fan again, and yet the moment James Loney was asked to bunt and failed I knew this was the end of the briefest of those good times.  Like a cat trying to rid itself of the insidious hair that tormented  it's bowels, I hacked up a hairball whose name was Systemic Incompetence and it had all of the Dodger Organization written on it whose sir name did not start with a K or whose legendary voice is the only reason many fans are still fans.

I'd had it from top to bottom

With the Carpet bagging owners who brought shame and ridicule to this great franchise, who instead of going gracefully in to the good night will drag this out so that the 2012 season will be in doubt ,and the jewel of the franchise will take his talents elsewhere where owners work in the background, and the team is not a permanent member of the Comedy Channel hit list.

With the Ex-Giant bureaucrat masquerading as the Dodger GM who wouldn't know proper PR spin if it smacked him in the face, who has done wonders squandering the few resources the Carpet Baggers had given him. Building an infrastructure immune from the world of sabremetric analysis that only a fool who coined the name "Google Boy" for Depodesta could be proud of. 

With the Ex-Yankee Legends parading around the Los Angeles Dodger dugout as managers while our Dodger legend coach's 1st base.  One who believes that Runs Scored is the best stat to use when analyzing the productiveness of a major league hitter. Really!!!! Runs Scored.

With the exalted Scouting Director who seems to still be living off  his brilliant draft eight years ago as the fans patiently wait for the next positional prospect to show up since that 2003 draft. One who isn't found so full of holes they are traded away for others teams prospects. Anyone can build a AA roster full of 24 / 25 year old outfielders who swat their way to the leaderboards, but it is another to actually find a player good enough to start and produce in the major leagues on a consistent level. The Dodgers have done a fine job of finding relief pitchers, fourth outfielders, spare infielders, and backup catchers since the 2003 draft but that is hardly how you build a winning team. Just like Ned who had Manny fall in his lap so did Kershaw fall into Logan's lap.  I'm much more interested in what he does when he does not have a top 10 pick.

With the scouts who signed off on the Adkins, Mattingly's, while ignoring the Stantons in their own backyard.

With the marketing department who have managed to ignore the two greatest players the Dodgers have had on their team in a decade while promoting "Hope is in the Air" when the only fragrance found at Chavez Ravine is the rotting stench of a once proud franchise struggling to perform while the owner does everything possible to keep the franchise from getting back on track after he derailed her.

With the Chavez Ravine operations manager who failed at crowd security not because of Mr. Stow but because of the degradation of the Chavez Ravine fan experience until the Mr. Stow incident put the fan experience on the hot seat.

With the all-star Dodgers who seem to use the All-Star game as the trigger for disappointment from Martin to Andre to Broxton to Kuo to Penny to Chad. Thank God for the K squad whose talents supersede the negative pull of being an All-Star Dodger.

With the training staff who can't diagnose a sports hernia? You'd kind of think that would be something they would be experts in. Wouldn't you?

With a radio team of Stiener / Monday and a TV team of clueless and Lyons.  I'm probably in the minority in that I like to enjoy broadcasts, not wince and turn into Charles LaRousse Dreyfus every time I watch or listen to a Vinnie less game

Granted systemic incompetence is hyperbolic overkill hardly worthy of anyone's time and those who have read this far are contemplating counterpoints with everyone of my irritations.  If someone else had written this tirade I certainly would be in full defense mode. I suspect Craig and Craig have probably already started. 

Yet I think my irritations are shared by some as I feel we are going to squander the unique greatness of Kemp and Kershaw just as the Giants squandered the Bonds years because they never built a proper team around him.

I know everyone in the organization is working hard under incredibly tough circumstances but lets not equate trying with competence.. The money was there,  it was spent poorly and if you try to build a functional team in 2012 / 2013 you would realize how much the money spent in 2011 is going to hamstring the team in 2012 / 2013.

What are you going to do, you can't stop being a fan?  though it appears thousands have

Not me, but I also don't want to become that "guy" that kicks a franchise when they are on the ropes.  This will be a single shot that may or may not have hit the mark,  the six gun will be holstered with five shots still left because I can't be a fan and handle the truth. I'd rather believe that Dee Gordon is more then just flash, that Sands will make the Keith Laws wince with pain with every hit, that the fans don't desert the franchise in such record numbers this fall that the embattled owner will be forced to cut payroll, that our GM really does know how to build a team, that our version of Willie Mays will indeed decide to spend his whole career with one team, that our newest Koufax will never see Dr. Andrews, that Andre is simply in a 1, 000 at bat funk, that Loney is out of his three year funk, that our owner realizes that owning the Los Angeles Dodgers is not just a business proposition but a responsibility , and most of all that Vinny gets to hear sold out crowds once again.

Hope will have to trump rationality,  or maybe in my case, irrationality.

As every Dodger fan knows for most of this year James Loney has been the worst hitter in baseball. He had a miserable start to the year but perked up in June and by June 24th had moved his miserly OPS upto .680 which was the high point. It then fell from the very low height of .680 all the way to .612 on Aug 6th. Think of that, a 1st baseman with an OPS of .612 after 2/3 of the season was in the books. Don Mattingly had finally had enough and started giving his at bats to Juan Rivera. Most anyone would have told you that James Loney's Dodger career was over.

Yet, here we sit on August 29th wondering who this man is who is all of sudden the hottest hitter in baseball. How did this happen? Many have pondered why James Loney has suddenly rediscovered the magic of 2007.

Was it a change in batting stance?

Did the light go on?

Change in diet?

Did his agent stop returning his calls when he asked him about his chances of being tendered a major league contract this winter?

Many will point to the fact he's been hot since he warmed up in the bullpen. Eric Stephen tweeted this:

Since James Loney warmed up in the bullpen, he is hitting .514/.541/1.000 with five doubles and four home runs in eight games

Did his agent stop returning his calls when he asked him about his chances of being tendered a major league contract this winter?

It could have been any number of things but only one thing we know for certain.  Illustration man Justin Sellers joined the team on Aug 12th, and since Aug 12th James Loney has become everything anyone has ever dreamed.

58 Plate Appearances

51 At Bats

23 Hits

5 Doubles

4 Home Runs

7 Walks

A triple stat line of .451 / .517 / .784 good for an OPS of  1.301

Anyone can get hot, but you have to have some skill to put up an OPS of 1.301 even if the sample size is 58 plate appearances.  James is not Andre Ethier where he goes hot and cold. When it comes to home cooking James has been leftover cold for almost four years. Heck a generation has come and gone who never saw a James Loney home run at the Ravine.  If want to see one now, better head out to Dodger Stadium because this could end as quickly as it began.

I'm afraid it will all end when Dee Gordon comes back to reclaim SS on Thursday, but for 19 days, James Loney  reminded us why we liked him four years ago.

Update: Roster contest ends tomorrow at 07:00 AM

With the news that Padilla will have surgery and miss the start of the year, the opening day roster loses one of it's locks.

Using Eric's Spring Training Roster Primer, pick your opening day Roster.

For each player you get right from the locks you get one point.

For each player you get right from the bubbles you get five points

For each player you get right from the long shot list you get 10 points

For each player you get not even mentioned you get 25 points (new left fielder  perhaps)

LOCKS 21 Players (1 Point each)

Infield - Loney, Uribe, Furcal, Blake, Carroll

Catcher - Barajas, Navarro

Outfield - Ethier, Kemp, Thames, Gibbons, Gwynn

Rotation - Kershaw, Billingsley, Kuroda, Lilly, Garland

Bullpen - Broxton, Kuo, Guerrier, Hawksworth

Bubbles ( 5 points each)

Infield: Velez, Mitchell, Castro, Miles

Catchers: Ellis, Gimenez

Outfield: Velez, Paul, Kaplar, Hoffman, Oeltjen

Pitchers: Belisario, Jansen, Elbert, Cormier, MacDonald, Link, Mahay,  Monesterios, Troncoso, Schlichting

Long Shot: (10 Points each)

Infield: DeJesus, Sellers, Gordon, Lindsey

Outfield:Robinson, Sands

Catchers:Closser, Espino

Pitchers:Ely, Redding, Villarreal, Vazquez,  Huber, Guerra, Colon, Rubby, Wilkin De La Rosa, Eveland,Jeff Weaver(may not be on the original list but I don't want anyone getting 25 points for using him)

I suggest cut and pasting.

The winner of this contest will be announced on opening day. The choice of prize will be:

1. Two Free Tickets to First TBLA Game Night

2. Two Beers on TBLA Game Night

3. 2011 Dodger Media Guide

4. 2011 Dodger Yearbook

along with praise and glory .

I can't afford a lawyer but Bhsportsguy suggested I add a disclaimer like they do in movies. Screw that, all of the people in this story are real and they all resemble themselves. Except for one. At any one time whoever is the most upset about how they were portrayed in this fictional story, you are the one who was not based on a real person.

Chapter One in case you missed it

Chapter Two in case you missed it

Charlie Brown Christmas Dance - Devil With the Blue Dress (via jmms429)

Dahlia leaned over and whispered in Ivdown's ear that she'd like to hear him sing.  Every time she talked or looked at him his heart lept in his chest; he couldn't say no to her, so he mustered up his courage and frantically searched the song sheet for something he could perform.  He wasn't feeling very confident when he spotted the song he knew he was meant to sing tonight.  He signed up for it, and while he waited his turn,  found himself growing more and more enchanted with this girl from his dreams. She liked what he liked, they talked about the HP books and movies, they talked about Futurerama, and they talked about how they voted No on the pot proposition.

She also seemed to look at his feet a lot instead of his face but he had no idea what that was all about.

Finally it was his turn to sing, so he took the stage and broke into the greatest version of Devil with the Blue Dress On ever sung by a white boy with no voice whatsoever to speak of.  He got so carried away with his success and the standing ovation he was getting from the TBLA crowd that his common sense left him once again in a critical moment and dived onto the TBLA group as though they were a mosh pit.  David saw his life flash before him but that is why Keith was there, to make sure when Ivdown did something really stupid that no one got hurt, so he plucked Ivdown out of the air like one would pluck a feather out of the sky.  Ar Kansas strong is not just a saying it is a fact.  Once Keith set him down it was official, Ivdown was no longer a Karaoke virgin.

However this ain't a love story and it takes a turn like the Dodgers 2010 season. As the clock struck midnight, a man took to the stage sporting a Lincecum wig, Brian Wilson beard, Giant World Championship Hat, and Jersey. He took the microphone, looked right at the TBLA group, screamed "this is for you, BITCHES"  then started singing Don't Stop Believing. 

Eric almost choked on his Blue Moon, as he looked around wildly for a baby or kitten to punch, Maddz started screaming a primal scream that made Josie's hair pop to a level not seen in LA since the 1970's.  Humma drank more gin even though he wasn't even there, Mintxcore was playing air guitar oblivious to what was going down,   David was shocking into thinking in Fortran, NoLander was looking for an old man to punch while no one was looking, Tripon was laughing, Craig N Craig were just shaking their heads and tapping their feet to the Journey beat,  Ivdown was contemplating rushing the stage but the idea of jail kept him glued to his seat, while Keith wondered if California jail would be better then living in Arkansas.  While everyone else was reacting to this putrefied human being, Dahlia jumped to her feet screaming

ENOUGH! 

and pulled the Glock from her blue purse.  Keith was watching her but unable to stop her, even with his Marine training he simply was not programmed to believe this little Hispanic hotshot was doing what she was doing; IvDown saw her but was unable to bring himself to stop her from doing anything she wanted.  The Glock cleared the purse, Dahlia took off the safety, gave it the Angelia Jolie sideways shot and squeezed the trigger sending the 9MM bullet speeding toward the targets forehead.

The jerk saw the bullet in slow motion as it whisked toward his left eye, and no, he did not see his life play out before him - God does not give  that luxury to Giant jerks - so by the time he figured out he was being a jerk for the last time a two-inch hole in the back of his cranium had been left by the bullet, and he was headed for the floor in the same direction as most of his brains, his limbs loosely falling about him as his Giant hat jerked off with the impact of his head hitting the floor.

In our darkest thoughts this is what the TBLA group hoped would happen when that bullet was fired, but the 9mm caliber bullet fired from the Glock was simply not strong enough to penetrate the skull of a Giant fan, so while the shot struck true and tore though the levels of lumpy flesh that coated his forehead it did not get any further, staying embedded right in the middle of his forehead.  It did however knock him down and the Karaoke crowd felt he had been mortally wounded, but the reality was he was simply unconscious, which for a Giant fan is the best state. While the wound was not mortal it did have consequences, for the rest of his life he'd have a headache, but the coup de grâce was that whenever he heard Don't Stop Believing he'd piss his pants, so he had to wear Depends for the rest of his life.

During the utter chaos that followed the gunshot, Delias grabbed Dahlia and whisked her away to safety, using methods long unused but never forgotten.  No one had even known Delias had been there and just like that he was gone.  A thief into the night, with his precious cargo.  Later that evening when the police reviewed the video, all they could see was a man wearing a Dodger hat with ear flaps who moved faster then anything they had ever seen.  They all concluded it had to have been a hipster.

In the aftermath the TBLA group all stared at each other cold stone somber as the adrenaline had washed away any feeling of drunkenness.  They all thought they had just witnessed a murder (justifiable) but murder nonetheless, so when they found out the Giant fan was only unconscious but not dead they all breathed a sigh a relief except for Tripon, who had hoped that he had witnessed a real murder.  The big question in all their minds was where was Dahlia?  No one seemed to know so when the police started asking questions they could honestly answer they didn't know who she was or where she went.

Or could they?

Ivdown would curse that Giant fan for the rest of his life for ruining for what up to now had been the hottest night  in his life.  As for the rest of the TBLA group it was simply

awesoke!

Devil with the  Blue Dress On is not just a song title it is a description, and no one wore that description better then our Blue Dahlia.

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Happy Thanksgiving everyone and thanks to everyone for making TBLA not just your place for Dodger information but your social gathering site of choice. 

Twenty one year old Dahlia became a Dodger fan the same way that millions of Dodger fans became Dodger fans. At no time in her life could she not remember the golden tones of Vinny, it was what spring and summer were all about. Winter became dreary without his voice, no deuces wild, no stories, no Chavez Ravine.

Continue reading this post »

Four years ago while one of the great moments in Dodger history was occurring, for those who knew Sean Reader it was a more subdued evening.  We have added 1,000's of new readers since I first wrote this story about Sean, and I'd like you all to take a second to read about him because this boy was our Dodgers biggest fan, and I don't want him to fade away from our memories.

How is Sean relevant to the game that many of you know as the 4+ 1game? Very relevant,  and the reason for this updated post. If you were moved at all by Sean's story, then how his father and best friend spent the 4+ 1 game might interest you. It would have been Sean's 13th birthday.

One of our members turned 17 last week. Sean would have been 17 on Saturday, we easily forget how quickly our lives can be affected by forces we cannot control.  On Sept 25th, Chan Reader is holding a birthday party to raise funds for a foundation he set up for Sean.  Last year Eric had the 50 walk campaign,  and asked us to donate to Think Cure. If you find the story compelling, please donate to the Sean Fund. They aren't going to cure cancer but they do good things. Tell them TBLA sent you.

Sean's Fund works with California Chess League (CYCL) to provide financial aid to those who need it to pay for chess classes and tournaments. Additionally, Sean's Fund provides for private lessons for children in the Santa Clarita Valley who suffer from cancer and brings chess to the patients at Children's Hospital Los Angeles who suffer from cancer and other serious ailments.

One final note. The man who runs the California Chess League is Jay Stallings. If anyone ever watched the movie Dave where Kevin Kline becomes President, then you get an idea of who Jay Stallings is. I've been lucky to know Jay, his students/parents have been lucky he gave up a financially brighter future to bring Chess into their lives.

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Below is the original post.

A year ago, on Sept 18th, 2006 a game was played that caused quite a stir in the Dodger world.

Many of us were doing different things as this game played out. Some like BHSPORTSGUY stayed, despite the odds of a comeback. Many like yours truly left, and missed the opportunity to witness baseball history, 1st hand. Others stayed with friends, and gave support where it was needed most . Then there were those of us who used the Dodger Thoughts community to express our feelings before/during/after the game.. You might find some old friends in that link, Dodgers Thoughts was at it's peak.

This was one of the better reviews of the game.

All in all a night I'll never forget.

I wasn't sure how to work this 1 - 0 angle. Talk about Don Sutton and his 1 - 0 games. Talk about how Clayton is now firmly established as one of the best young pitchers in the game. Talk about how Clayton can finally say he "shook hands with the catcher". Talk about what a joy it is has been to watch this man child grow from a boy to a man, and meet or exceed every heady expectation we ever had. Talk about how in a meaningless season in the dark days of Sept he gave us a game to remember.  So I'll try to work them all in a meandering piece of happiness.

Complete game shutouts are an anachronism from a era that some of us experienced first hand. When Sandy Koufax talked about "shaking hands with the catcher" this past spring we nodded our heads. I grew up reading about how important it was for the starting pitcher to finish what he started, and how much pride they took in doing so. The fiery competitive spirit of Koufax, Drysdale, Marichal, and Gibson would sooner fight then get taken out of a game they had a chance to pull a win from. 

Once that era was over only Fernando had the same drive to complete games, and that drive came with a price because Fernando was anything but economical with his pitches. I'm not here to debate pitch counts but Fernando might have stared Tommy down one to many times for his own good.

Was it all competitive spirit? Maybe, but a lot had to do with the paycheck because back then you got paid for how many games you won, not your peripherals, and when players barely made more then the Mad Men of the world, those wins were precious.

Did you notice I didn't mention Don Sutton in the above group. I don't think many would, but Don Sutton was the king of the shutout, and especially the king of the 1 - 0 shutout, so he must have had some kind of fire in his belly. Seven times in Don's career he would hurl a 1 - 0 victory and on June 16th, 1970 I was lucky enough that he did it on the very first Dodger game I ever saw at the ravine.  By the end of his HOF career Don Sutton had 56 shutouts, yet he's rarely mentioned as a man with the same competitive spirit as those who preceded him in Dodger lore.

I'm not going to say this game from Clayton has established himself as one of the pitching stars of the future. We already knew that, but for some reason we want everyone else to recognize it. Throwing these kind of games gets the notice of the media we like to mock. For whatever reason, no matter how much we don't care about the old media, we still want them to recognize our jewel. This game will get him that recognition.

I noticed that Clayton hugged the catcher and didn't shake his hands. Hugging is the new  "shake hands". Everyone is hugging everyone. When we get down on this season we watch a game like this, and if you stay until the end you see something that always brings back hope. Not the just the game, that was special in of itself, but really got me, was how happy everyone was on the team for Clayton, how real smiles were found up and down the congratulation line. Some hugged him, some did glove bumps, but all looked genuinely happy to be part of the game.

At the end of day sometimes all I want is proof that our players still care. Games like this recharge me. Clayton mocking A.J. Ellis going into 3rd base the other day recharged me. I want my players to like each other. It may not make sense and history is full of teams who were great who didn't like each other. So what? I want my team to be pulling for each other through thick and thin.

The core starts with a center, and Clayton Kershaw is now the creamy milky vanilla goodness of the Dodger core. So far in his young career he has only exceed expectations at every turn. If you were planning a trip to Dodger Stadium is there really any other pitcher you'd rather see? The Minotaur is for real, and he's ours. All ours. Enjoy him.

Where did it all start?

Was it counting on a 38 year old left fielder to be the center of the offense?

Was it counting on the same production from a 37 year old 3^rd baseman?

Was it counting on a career minor league knuckleballer whose work the previous summer had offered some hope?

Was it sending a perfectly serviceable back end starter to Japan instead of finding a spot for him on the roster?

Was it being too enamored with a Rule V pitcher with no apparent upside, thus taking a roster spot from the home grown talent that was sent to AAA to percolate and ferment to their hearts content as they watched their spot being taken by some outsider who had done nothing to deserve it?

Was it wasting innings on the Ortiz Twins?

Was it wasting at bats on an old left handed outfielder whose skills were so long gone only two people in Los Angeles felt he belonged on the team?

Was it the stubbornness that persisted in giving pointless at bats against left hand pitching to those starters who can't hit  left handed pitching?

 Was it the GM chiding the Gold Glove/Silver Slugger center fielder about his contract, and defensive indifference  while he was in the midst of knocking the crap out of the ball?

Was it the childish behavior of the check writers whose off the field antics were the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to this proud franchise?

In the end it was all of those things but the one that hurt the most was the one very few saw coming,  counting too much on the offensive core to actually perform when the crutch in LF was unable to play. My optimism has been shattered, I no longer feel I can trust these players with my hope.  These are players that I begged for management to play.  Betrayal is how I feel. It is not the players fault I expected so much, it is my own. That is even harder to deal with.

I like to think I know something, what I know, is that I know nothing.