What a Weekend -- Dodgers, Dodgers and Opening Day

LOS ANGELES -- There's not much more you can add to make the Dodgers/Red Sox series mo' betta' than people already think it was, but I can add a few thoughts from Friday's game at Dodger Stadium -- a.k.a. the first day of Canter's Deli @ the old ballyard.

Top 5 --



1. The Most Sensual of the Salted-Cured Meats: I had a dream you could buy your way to heaven, I woke up and spent it on a sandwich. $11. A pastrami sandwich at the ballpark? And it's a good one? Holy moly. Holy flippin' moly. I mean it was great. Quick service in the new widened aisles on the field level concourse only make this sam-itch all the more shmobviously obvs as top eatins at the ballpark. It's wrapped in foil, it's fresh, it's great.



2. Blake DeWitt: This guy was the absolute worst-case scenerio at 3rd for the Dodgies this spring and will likely start (I think that's still the case.) The good news is, he looks like he can seriously play. On Friday, he started a couple double-plays and made a sweet toss to 1st on another fielder's choice. He got solid contact each time up. On Saturday, he got an error that would have ended the inning only to lead to two runs scoring. Ah well. Still, a great look for a guy who has no business playing in the bigs at this stage of his career. Good luck, Blake.



3. Fonzie and the Cuz: Another top notch performance for the umps, with three alums of Ump Camp 2006 in the Friday game including Alfonso Marquez (72) and Derryl Cousins (13). "Fonzie" was in the crew of the 2006 WS and is an absolute clubhouse favorite among the Ump fraternity. And Cousins is a veteran who (literally) can call plays at first with his back turned. "It's all sounds you'll find. It's all about the sound and that's how close plays get called."

4. New Parking Deal: I got in and out of the Dodger Stadium parking mangle in record time. Parked in 10 minutes and was out in less than 5. Great new set up in my opinion. Holla.

5. Vin Scully on a Transistor Radio: Guy behind us had a little radio, just like I used to remember with Ernie Harwell at Tiger Stadium. Listenting to him on Friday and then on Saturday doing the 115K game from the Coliseum was just another reminder of how much a great announcer can add to this rockingly beautiful game.

Mind Your Ps and Qs

I have little patience for the haste with which major league sports teams sell their stadia naming rights, but I must say that the developments on the corner of Ontario St. and Carnegie Ave. in Cleveland move me in the way only delicious puns can.

The Cleveland Cavaliers -- who, by the way, are the employer of a man named LeBron James; anyone heard of him? No? Ok. -- play basketball at Quicken Loans Arena. It's known as the "Q". In fact, the team sent out a press release to major media outlets encouraging -- nay, demanding -- that fans, media types and mothers-in-law-who-care-nothing-for-basketball call it the "Q". (I guess it's better than the previous name, which sounded too much like a social disease for my liking -- Gund Arena [say it really fast to yourself. yeah, that's right].)

Now, the heretofore-named Jacobs Field is now dubbed "Progressive Field." It is painfully apparent that the Tribe's new home will adopt the nickname "The Prog." No one would dare call it "The Pee." Maybe the "Tee Pee" -- but that comes with its own social-consciousness problems (Damn protestors.).

I, however, would love all of Tribe nation to adopt "The Pee" as the name of record. It would produce one of the great juxapositions of sports stadia history (take that, Circus Maximus!), and maybe, just maybe, bring a little karma to our championship-starved burg.

Now Batting: Chocolate Phosphate ... Phosphate

I'm thinking 4 million fans will be a lock this year for the Dodgers: Canter's Deli will have a stand on the third-base side at the stadium this year. Other well-known L.A. eating holes will be repped as well. While I'd probably pass on matzo ball soup during a midsummer day game (but would be interested to see what marketing does with matzo balls and baseballs), corned beef and cans-of-corn seem to be a match made for Blue Heaven.

No word on where Rodney's dedicated box seat will be ...


Dodger Stadium concession shot by this guy.

The 7 Train, She Is A Seductive Lady . . .

Say 90%ers, our own Mike Hudson is doing a brief spell in Brooklyn right now. Mightn't he be just a bit vulnerable to the Mets Fever? It'll get you when you least expect it . . .

Brawl'n: Some Great Ump'n

GLENDALE, Calif. -- I'm sure most 90 Percenters have seen the Yanks/Rays brawl three or four times by now, but what Shelley Duncan's studs-up slide into the crotch of the Rays SS may have distracted everyone from was the tremendous efforts off the Umpire Crew that day.

2B Umpire Charlie Reliford calls Duncan out. He looks the runner in the face and tosses him a split second later. This look is key. Even when it's fairly obvious what's happening, the Umps want to give players the benefit of the doubt. But Duncan was very composed after that ridiculous slide. He didn't go in awkward. He knew what he was doing.

I also saw an angle shot from what must have been team camera right behind first base. In that shot, you can see Jerry Crawford, the 1st Base Ump, taking a keen interest in what Duncan is doing making the turn to 2nd on what was little more than routine single. Not surprisingly, when things got ugly a few seconds later, Crawford was already near the 2nd Base cutout to keep players apart (very impressive for a Spring Training game where tempers are rarely seen much less felt.) And he tossed his share in the melee. Here's the full Ump'n recap below...that's a lot of paperwork to the league office. (Left out in all this was 3B Ump Wally Bell who apparently didn't get to throw anyone out...I'll bet he was looking around for anyone he could find for the rest of the game.)

EjectionsNew York Yankees pitcher Heath Phillips ejected by HP umpire Chad Fairchild. (1st); New York Yankees first baseman Shelley Duncan ejected by 2B umpire Charlie Reliford. (2nd); New York Yankees Third Base Coach Bobby Meacham ejected by 1B umpire Jerry Crawford. (2nd); Tampa Bay Rays right fielder Jonny Gomes ejected by 1B umpire Jerry Crawford. (2nd); New York Yankees Batting Coach Kevin Long ejected by 1B umpire Jerry Crawford. (2nd).

Already Looking Forward to the Offseason

Let me start this off by saying I love baseball, I have no children of my own (that I’m aware of) and I’m not a pedophile. With that out of the way, I watched a Little League game today to really get into the groove of Spring.
For me, the game’s highlight had to be the home plate Umpire yelling to both the Braves’ and A’s’ dugouts: “Does anybody on either team have any balls?”
My first instinct was to giggle, because in many ways, I’m still a Little Leaguer myself. Neither team had any balls – although this was no softball game. A number of fouls had depleted the Umpire’s stash.
After a delay, play was resumed, but not before the parents gave it to the Umpire.
“Stay on top of the game Blue!”
An agitated Umpire motioned to the Pitcher to play ball.
The Braves, sensing a rally, turned a boombox in their dugout on full blast belting out “We Will Rock you.” Their players, showing a bit more heart than Chipper Jones, began singing along. After hearing their cracking voices, I thought I might need to reconsider the Umpire’s initial balls question…
The A’s cocky pitcher was unaffected by the enthusiasm spewing from the opposing dugout. Armed with a full arsenal, including a fastball, curve, knuckball and even a submarine gyro pitch, this flamethrower had all the tools to dominate Little League (although he was also on the fast track to Tommy John surgery by the age of 11 – never a good sign). His team was up 3-0, runner on third.
The windup and the pitch – it gets behind the cather!
The player on third rushes in to score as the Catcher heaves the ball to the oncoming Pitcher. And wouldn’t you know it, after the fender-bender, the runner lay on the plate. Safe. Crying. Maybe that was Chipper Jones out there after all.
Again, the parents let the Umpire have it for the teary heap, although, as far as I could tell, he had absolutely nothing to do with the play.
“He didn’t do it on purpose,” the Umpire finally shouted to the parents while clearly imagining the tall jug of moonshine he would purchase following the game.
This whole inning got me thinking – while parents seem to let any rational thought leave their head when it comes to kids and tears, it was fun to watch a game where the fans lived and died with each pitch AND so did the players.
My beloved Dodgers have played .500 ball this Spring. The players seem to be going through the motions already. Hopefully, they’re dusting off the Winter cobwebs rather than planning their next fishing trip already. Gone are the days when Jose Lima skipped off the mound and Cezar Izturis and Alex Cora made defense their offense. Our lone playoff victory since 1988 is a long way away.
This year’s team gets to look forward to Mr. April-June, Brad Penny, Rafael Furcal’s insufferable slow starts and Jeff Kent’s mustache and its continuing effects on clubhouse chemistry.
I can’t quite put my finger on it – but they just don’t seem to have “it.” That Little League fire is gone. It’s just business out there. And that doesn’t bode well for 2008.

Friday Flexin': Indians, Mets, Kruk 'n' More

"Yeah, but it's my plate, A.J."

GLENDALE, Calif. -- There's no reason for me to say this, but I really like Angel Pagan, utility OF for the NY Mets (came over from the Cubs). His stats are fairly sterling and his numbers this spring (hitting around .400+) bolster my thinking. But even before I looked it up, he's one of these guys that seems to be everywhere when the Mets are on TV. Plus that name is kind of enjoyable, like a character in an hour-long drama about a biker with sci-fi religious undertones.

As I wrote this, he crushed a double off the left field wall (followed up by a sweet, run scoring double by the Sexy Killer Tomato.) Howdy! So keep your eyes open. (Ugh, Charlie Weiss is apparently a Yankee fan, too...barely squeezing his ample carriage into a luxury box seat at Legends Field. And he had the nerve to ask the Yankees staff why ND, NYY and the Patriots are so "hated for doing things the right way." I'm surprised Steinbrenner didn't turn the hounds on him for that crack.)

Today we had:

Cleveland Tribe v. NY Mets (ESPN-HD, Lee v. Perez)
NY Yanks v. Houston Astros (YES-HD, Pettitte v. Chacon)

Top 5

1. The Kruker: When John Kruk joined the Baseball Tonight crew, he seemed more a sweaty, nervous and, well, portly gent than a well-spoken hairdo suited for a seat under the bright glare of set lights and sticky-coating of pancake makeup. Within the year, he'd become a decent commentator, IMHO. I'm happy to say that in 2008, Kruk has clearly become the value-added talent ESPN hired him to become. I really liked his insights on the Mets/Indians game, doing play-by-play with Karl Ravech. (KR For his part was steady as Daysailer, as usual) He pointed out how nervous Killer Tomato should have been standing on third with a right-handed batter and a pitcher throwing cut fastballs on the inside (fat guys get other fat guys). And he deftly handled a "rough" balls-n-strikes call by home plate ump #47 Mark Wegner. With Cliff Lee cruising in the first before the Pagan/Saenz doubles, he got two strikes on Raul Casanova. The next pitch caught a portion of the outside often called a strike, but it was called a ball. The crowd groaned a bit. Instead of "that's a bad call" as we too often hear these days, Krukster went with "that's a tough pitch to take with two strikes." Good insight, doesn't get picky with the ump (who was consistently tight on the corners all day). Casanova ended up walking, and the two-out rally continued. Lee eventually got run after 2/3rds. But Kruk focused on the two doubles as the reason Lee got shaken up and lost his compsure. Kruk/Ravech brought up the tight strike zone later in the game, too, but rightly pointed out the Wegner was consistent -- fi very tight for Spring ball. Real pro moves there. Imagine any call like this during an ESPN College Football game, where you'd swear the entire game hangs on a borderline fumble call replayed 15 times with grunts of disgust from the broadcast team. To me, this always takes away from the enjoyment of the game. And I deeply appreciate those that chose to handle such situations with professionalism and class.

2. Closing Time: Cleveland's favorite dog to kick seems to be closer Joe Borowski. And the Big Burner did himself no favors today by giving up 2 hits, including a HR in 1.0 innings of work...but I still respect his talents, so we'll see. The hometown fans are hardly chanting his name, though.

3. Dodgers Hot Corner: I didn't see this. I haven't read anything but the headline. But the injury to Andy LaRouche seems to improve the chances Brandon Inge will be brought on from the Tigers to backup Nomar. He's a decent pinch hitter (offers some power, but poor average), can play pretty much anywhere and has a lot to offer defensively for the Dodgers. So here's hoping. I think they could use the overall depth and Inge is a truly gifted natural athlete.

4. Slide Step: Andy Pettitte has apparently been working on a new delivery with runners on. Pettitte, who picked off 5 runners last year to lead the league, has one of the best moves to first there is. So good, in fact, Yankees describer Michael Kay postulated that it had been overstudied by opposing players, making it easier for basestealers to crack the code (that kind of makes sense, but kind of doesn't). As such, Pettitte has developed a slide step. After hitting a batter in the 2nd Inning, the NYY talkers eagerly anticipated seeing the new step. And honestly, I was pretty interested at that point, too. Unfortch for everyone, he stuck with his usual high knee action and gave up a dinger on the second pitch to HOU left-fielder Victor Diaz.

5. Sideways Shawny: I don't really mind the sideways-ish cap. Dontrelle Willis (a founding member of this club?) once showed on camera how his cap just simply wouldn't sit straight. He'd put it on and magically with a pitch or two, it would be ever-so-subtleeeeee off kilter. And frankly, C.C. Sabathia (who's mug shows his cap going to the right, not left, BTW) can do whatever he wants if he keeps sitting 'em down faster than a Shoney's on Easter Sunday (more regional/local humor, there). But Shawn Chacon? After a great 2005 with NYY, his ERA was 2.85. Then he dialed a 7 in the front half of '06 with the Yanks and a 5.48 after being sent down in the second half to Four-A PIT. He came back the next year and notched a very respectable 3.94 in '07 in 90+ innings with a dismal Pirates squad. But I think his cap twist should have been temporarily revoked about 18 months ago. Tiger reliever Fernando Rodney had his cap cocked very, very sideways through the Magical Summer of 2006, but it came as little surprise to me that the cap started finding it's way back toward to the plate when 2007 bit him in the keister with a string of rough outings. Once he calmed down (his ERA settled in to a 4.26 in '07, up from 3.52 in '06 and 2.86 in '05), the crunked hat found its way back to his bandana'd head. Who knows where the Crooked Hat Club will draw the line. But I think Chacon should still be on probation. And I think Marino Rivera, saw three up and three down in his first action of the Spring, should consider pushing his hat a half inch the the left. He'd be pretty bad looking with that going.


FUKUDOME WATCH:

The buzz is building around our hero, with MLB.com (a site with so many freakin' scripts running that its crashing my Mac at the moment) doing a feature on how he is outperforming Ichiro...so far this Spring, anyway. Even we shudder at the comparison so early. Anywho, the Fukster was 1 for 3, with a double, a walk and a run scored. That earns a happy :P sign.

Thursday Wrap: Draining the TiVo

"You know...I'm starting to hate baseball."

GLENDALE, Calif. -- Good land-o-goshin!

I've got Mariners Report Daily, Royals Weekly and enough Red Sox Spring segments to make Roger Angell start longing for the NFL on Fox crew. But I press ahead...winning the benefit of tidbits like Riverdance-ing closer Jonathan Papelbon dressed in a see-thru shirt at a charity dance contest in Bumbledip, Fla.

On tap:

Dodgers v. Red Sox (ESPN-HD, Penny v. Wakefield)
White Sox v. Rangers (ComcastSportsChi. Haeger v.Padilla)
Yankees v. Twins (ESPN-HD, Kennedy v. Slowey)

Top 5:


1. Dodger Power/Seven-Run 9th: Game-winning Grand Slam from Dodger Jason Repko in garbage time against the Saux. This after a three-run shot from Lucas May in the same frame. Earlier, we saw an impressive Matt Kemp blast on an outside corner pitch from Mike Timlin.

2. At 41 and still in his prime? Tim Wakefield is proving that the knuckleball is truly the fountain of youth. He tied up more than a few big-league bats with that wicked googly. Kinda makes me wonder why we don't see more of this nasty pitch -- where has Steve Sparks gone? Want your kid in the NFL...teach 'em to long snap. Want 'em in MLB for 30 years? Have 'em pitch with no spin. (Although White Sox AAA knuckler Charlie Haeger got a bit touched up, watching three score on 5 hits in 3 innings of work today...but got a few "He gone"s for his efforts.)

3. The Cheetah! As we mentioned before, it's Spring for the umps, too. One thing that the 90 Percent baseball blog will offer you is top-flight umpire discussion. And I was lucky enough to have umpiring legend #4 Tim Tschida manning first to start the Dodgers game today. Not much more to say than he did swimmingly. Did you know...umps must rotate in Spring games, as Chester Cheetah was seen at 2nd base...executing that patented high-knee fist-pump to call the top end of a double-play.

4. Plus Free Use of the Clubhouse: Speaking of Papelbon, he's going to make $755K this year instead of the $450K range he made last year, thanks to the generosity of the Red Sox ownership. For the record, Mssr. Gagne signed a contract for $10 million with the Brewers in December, three days before the Mitchell Report was released. Sorry, Game Over. We'll always have 2004...

5. The New Hunter? Delmon Young, the Twins new hope in the outfield after Torii left for the Big A, c-r-u-s-h-e-d an Ian Kennedy hanger over the 408 foot center field fence against the Yanks in the top of the 2nd. They're crazy for him in St. Paul. (Local reference!) No bats where thrown at umps in his three ABs.


Honorable Mention: CWS big dude Jermaine Dye crashed into the right field wall of Tuscon Electric Park on a wind-driven fly ball. He appears to be fine, but took an awkward bump and fall. Left Fielder Brian Anderson made up for it by gunning down Babe-Ruth-of-the-Month Winner and former-Tiger Chris Shelton at home plate. "He gone" apparently also applies to such plays.

Wednesday: Nationals = Fitness! and more...

Better than last time: Santana showed some serious change-up Wednesday versus the Dodgers.

Just catching up on all things baseball and cleaning out the TiVo.

--Dodgers/Nationals - Tues (split squad - Nomar/Andruw/Ethier headlining)
--Dodgers/Mets - Today (Santana starts after his dismal debut/Penny starts for dem Blues)

Don't forget!! Dodgers v. Red Sox on ESPN at 1p EST/10a PST on Thursday!

Top 5:

1. Andre Ethier, competing for a spot in the Dodger outfield with Kemp/Pierre, smokes what would have been a 400+ foot dinger to right into a 20 mph gale against the Nats. Impressive power off of a left-hander, no?

2. The Nationals boasted some meat last year. So, I was intrigued to hear the MASN broadcasters saying the team was "in better shape than last year". They bolstered their case by pointing to Nick Johnson and Dmitri Young, pictured here in a photo taken days ago. Eh.




3. We all know base coaches are being prodded into wearing hard hats this year for their safety -- this in the wake of a liner killing a base coach in AA last year. Seemingly counter to this, MLB will also force base coaches to stay within the coach boxes this year, putting them 10 or so feet closer to the plate than they often stand. Chances this will actually be enforced seem low.

4. J. Santana punches out Andruw Jones with a wicked change-up on the outside corner, putting the slugger out in front and awk-ward...on March 5?!? I can't flippin' wait for the season to start. (He followed that up by doing the same exact thing to Andy LaRoche, the guy fighting for a job at 3rd who might end up getting the bump for...2003 Tiger Alum Brandon Inge??)

5. Diving attempt by Brady Clark, bubble left fielder for the New York Metropolitans, on a double to left-center by Dodger backup catcher Gary Bennett. As the SNY announcing team said:

"If that was a veteran, you're not getting a dive in March. If you're wearing #93 in camp, you're going flat out."

FUKUDOME WATCH:

Our hero breaks out on Tuesday with three hits and his first !SLAM-A-LAM-A-DING-DONG! (home run) in the MLB ranks. Booyah!

But then he didn't play today. :(

Everybody Hold A Good Thought . . .

. . . for Dodger favorite Davey Lopes.

Come Spring, Some Guys Experiment With Their Batting Stance, Other Guys Go Further

If The Prince wins a triple crown, can we give the credit to his anger over his contract or, perhaps, to his radical new diet?

It's Always Sunny in Tampa: Yankees/Phillies from Fla.

The Good Life: A Yankee Fan shows off two rings unrelated to baseball. To his left, another fan's shirt suggests that the "Mets Suck".

Bonus to the the YES Network for HD coverage on a perfect sunny afternoon from the HQ of NYY operations. (Fun fact: every spring game has sold out since the 1996 opening of Legends "Soon-to-Be George Steinbrenner III" Field. C'mon Devil Ray fans...you'll always have a special place in 90 Percent's heart for scouting Scottie, but you've gotta go to a couple games for YOUR team each year.)

Jeter appears to be a bit leaner than last year, maybe trying to one-up fitness-freak skipper Joe Girardi? J. Giambi is clearly not leaner than last year, perhaps trying to one-up Joba Chamberlain -- the pleasantly plump reliever hoping to make the leap to the starting rotation.

For the Yanks, we had Honest Andy Pettitte, fresh off apologizing to every human being he could find for using HGH (c'mon now...he even apologized to the broadcast team in the hallway). For the Phils, we had Cole Hamels (who is publicly aiming for the Cy Young this year). Awesome!

Top 5

1. Our new, lean Jeets goes deep in the hole on a Pedro Feliz grounder, lifts-off in patented Jeets fashion and torches a throw across his body to pinch the fleet-footed Philly at first (though called safe on the play, Huddy replay showed it was an out. Hey, it's Spring for the Umps as well.)

2. Disappointing day for current Philly/former Dodger rising-star...your attention please (pregnant pause) now starting (pause) in center field (with deep bass, one word) Jaysonwerth. He dropped a toughie in the sun on the run, missed the cutoff man on a throw from the warning track and did next to nothing at the plate in four tries, going 0 for 3, BB. Adding insult, his replacement in center was 1 for 1... and made a diving grab that made SportCenter.

3. Hamels hangs a breaking ball for Giambi that went about halfway to St. Pete! (A little local humor there.)

4. Skipper J. Girardi crossed the dugout to congratulate Melky Cabrera for a run-scoring sacrifice fly...in Spring Training. I think I remember J. Torre blinking once in 2001.

5. Tall Boy Kyle Farnsworth giving up a Home Run to Pat Burrell on his second pitch...a.k.a.: the moment Yanks gabber Michael Kay predicted that a great Farnsie spring would allow the Yanks to move Joba up from the bullpen.

FUKUDOME WATCH

0 for 3 today. What's Japanese for frownie?

Saturday of Spring Baseball

A Rough Day for Zito: 8 Runs on 7 Hits


Thanks to CSTV (Chicago Sports net), cw11/SNY (Mets net) and TiVo, Huddy was able to enjoy a Cubs/Angels and Mets/Dodgers doubleheader, care for a sick child, finish my 2007 taxes -- Federal and Cali, mind you -- all in one tremendous afternoon.

This season, I hope to do a little report on any and all baseball-related viewing...in person, on TV, via radio or Web. Presentation will always be clever and compelling, but may vary in format. For today, I'll go with the Top 5 of the day.

1. Ryan Church (loss of memory)/Marlon Anderson (bruised sternum) collison on an Andruw Jones pop-up to right
2. Met's rookie-hopeful Jonathan Niese pitches 2 scoreless innings, 3Ks
3. Cubs catcher Geovany Soto picks off speedy Angel Chone Figgins attempting a steal
4. Deep disappointment in Fukudome's not playing today
5. Cubs fans slurring in the fields of Arizona, instead of Chicago (related video below)



Honorable Mention: Olmado Saenz sighting in Mets' dugout!