Dodger Thoughts

Jon Weisman's outlet for dealing psychologically with the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball and life

Month: May 2014 (Page 7 of 7)

New Dodger Stadium offerings impress food bloggers

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By Jon Weisman

Some different food bloggers have taken a taste of the new offerings at Dodger Stadium in the outfield plazas, and they like what they are tasting.

Sandie Ward, aka The Food Stalker, said the pizza at Tommy Lasorda’s Trattoria had “just the right amount of oil and gooey cheese” and called the cannoli “decadent,” while the Think Blue BBQ has “hands down the best single food item in the entire stadium.”

At first you find yourself searching for flavors, fascinated by the way they are woven together. In the end, you just give in and allow yourself to be seduced by the tender meat, sautéed onions with a hint of pickle. Chef slow cooks the brisket at 180 degrees for about 17 hours. The meat is so juicy and flavorful it would make me want to miss a sale at Barney’s. No kidding, it’s that good! The cheesesteak with grilled onions, peppers and cheese had me longing for my Philly roots. For the record, they should change the name of the sweet corn on the cob on a stick to “Death By Mayonaise”. With a delicious combination of mayonaise and herbs, it had me knawing at the cob for more. Finger-lickin’ good.

Rachael Narins had similar reactions at L.A. Weekly, calling the pizza “well worth seeking out.”

Over at Jay Eats Worldwide, restaurant consultant et al Jay Terauchi said of the Trattoria, “Not sure if other sports venues across the country has Italian food this good. I hope they’re jealous.” Terauchi also praised the barbecue beef and the elote (Mexican corn on the cob), although you can still find great food in other restaurants you can find at the straight blog online.

At LAist, Kristie Hang starts off by saying that the new plazas have helped make Dodger Stadium “a food haven.” Her favorite dish, a la Lasorda, was the penne with meatballs, along with the barbecue.

The brisket is smoked for a minimum of 12 hours (most are smoked about 17 hours). Chef Jason’s secret, tangy cider BBQ sauce is then added on top along with Bermuda onion and sour pickle slices on a potato roll. This is a must-try!

Tammy La has a nice video piece of her Dodger Stadium food tour, culminating in the new, enormous, 64-ounce helmet-sized nachos, while Ron Cervenka at Think Blue L.A. offers the hardcore Dodger fan perspective. (Cervenka favors the chicken parmesan sandwich at Lasorda’s.)

With so much to try, make sure you leave room in your stomach for the next homestand, beginning May 8.

Mother’s Day at Dodger Stadium

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On their way to Miami, Dodgers get a good night’s sweep

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By Jon Weisman

With a 4-3 victory tonight over Minnesota, thanks to 12th-inning home runs by Scott Van Slyke and Drew Butera, the Dodgers sweep a doubleheader for the first time since April 28, 2002 at Wrigley Field.

May 1 pregame, the sequel: Chris Perez nearly flawless in 2014

DETROIT TIGERS VS LOS ANGELES DODGERS

Dodgers at Twins, 4:10 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Hanley Ramirez, DH
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, CF
Scott Van Slyke, LF
Juan Uribe, 3B
Justin Turner, SS
Drew Butera, C
(Red Patterson, P)

By Jon Weisman

It’s been a near-perfect start to the season for Chris Perez, the righthanded reliever the Dodgers signed this past offseason.

With his five-out save today, Perez has pitched scoreless baseball in 13 of his 14 outings in 2014, while stranding 11 of 12 inherited runners. Of the 45 batters he has faced, only nine have reached base, on two doubles, three singles, three walks and a hit batter.

Really the only blemish against Perez this season was the two runs he allowed in the top of the 12th inning against Arizona, in his second inning of work that night.

Perez used 22 pitches to retire the final five batters of the first game of today’s doubleheader, striking out two. He now has nine strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings to go with his 1.35 ERA and 0.60 WHIP this season.

Previously on Dodger Insider: Chris Perez hopes health is on his side in 2014

Photo: Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

Dodgers celebrate 10,000th NL win June 4 with pin, $10 tickets

10,000 winsBy Jon Weisman

To celebrate the 10,000th National League victory in franchise history, the Dodgers have added a commemorative pin giveaway — as well as a special $10 ticket offer — for the 7:10 p.m. June 4 game against the White Sox.

The first 40,000 fans in attendance June 4 will receive the 10,000 wins commemorative pin. A pregame ceremony, including a DodgerVision video tribute, will take place prior to the game.

In addition, a limited amount of $10 reserved and left-field pavilion tickets are available for purchase now, while supplies last, at www.dodgers.com/10k or by calling (866) DODGERS.

 

Even on 0-for-5 day, Gordon’s speed a factor in Dodger victory

Gordon speed

By Jon Weisman

For the second game in a row, Dodger bats were hot in the cold, the team reaching base 21 times — led by Yasiel Puig with five — in a 9-4 victory over Minnesota to start today’s doubleheader.

Because I featured Puig on Wednesday, let’s focus on a huge play in the game that came early, after the Dodgers made two errors in a two-run first inning for the Twins.

Andre Ethier and Juan Uribe singled to start the top of the second, and Miguel Olivo (2 for 3 with a sacrifice fly in his Dodger debut) walked to load the bases. Carl Crawford grounded into a force at home for the first out.

Dee Gordon came up and hit what appeared to be a sure double-play grounder to short. But with his amazing speed, he narrowly beat the throw to first base, scoring a run and keeping the inning alive.

Puig then slammed a double to deep left-center to score Crawford and Gordon, and the Dodgers were on their way.

Gordon also stole his 14th base of the season, giving him 80 for his career in exactly 100 attempts. You do the math.

With four hits and a walk, Puig, whose OPS has risen to .900, became the first Dodger to reach base five times in a game since Carl Crawford on August 7. Juan Uribe had three hits (his seventh such game in 2014), while Adrian Gonzalez had a single and three walks. Hanley Ramirez went 0 for 5 but had two sparking plays on defense, one a glove flip to Gordon for a double-play, with an assist from instant replay.

Dan Haren allowed three earned runs in 6 2/3 innings, striking out seven. Chris Perez earned an unusual save, because he entered the game in the bottom of the eighth with the tying run on deck and then finished it out in the ninth.

May 1 pregame: Readying for Red

Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers

Dodgers at Twins, 10:10 a.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, DH
Andre Ethier, CF
Juan Uribe, 3B
Miguel Olivo, C
Carl Crawford, LF
(Dan Haren, P)

By Jon Weisman

Though Dan Haren takes the mound at the top of the hour for Game 1 of today’s impromptu doubleheader, it’s hard not to look ahead to the nightcap, when Red Patterson will make his Major League debut.

It’s likely a cameo for Patterson, who comes via the 26th man rule. A 6-foot-3 righthander who turns 27 in May, Patterson followed up two strong back-to-back starts in mid-April by getting hit pretty hard in his most recent outing for Albuquerque, allowing five runs on 11 baserunners in 5 1/3 innings. For the year to date, he has 14 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings, though last year, he averaged more than a fan a frame.

Don Mattingly told reporters today that Patterson impressed the organization during Spring Training and that he’s a strike thrower, which is valuable against a patient team like the Twins.

Eric Stephen noted at True Blue L.A. that Patterson “will be the oldest non-Japanese Dodgers starting pitcher to make his major league debut since Larry Miller, who was 27 years, two days old on June 21, 1964, also in the second game of a doubleheader.”

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers designated outfielder Nick Buss for assignment. Buss, 27, had a .330 on-base percentage and .391 slugging for the Isotopes, after going .363/.525 last year. He went 2 for 19 for the Dodgers in 2013.

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