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… There were no pushes, punches or ejections during the dustup in the sixth inning.“That’s just players being players,” Padres manager Bud Black said. “It was a competitive game even though it was spring training. It was good, spirited play.”
The incident occurred after the Dodgers’ half-inning ended when Andre Ethier began shouting at the Padres dugout from the on-deck circle. Moments earlier, Furcal was hit by Padres reliever Brad Brach.
Ryan Ludwick was struck by Broxton’s pitch in the bottom of the fifth.
On his way back to the dugout, Ludwick stopped at home plate and began hollering at the Dodgers, but neither side got within 10 feet of each other as Black and Dodgers manager Don Mattingly broke up the dispute.
“I’ll tell you what, I don’t mind our boys stepping up,” Mattingly said. “I don’t mind at all.” …
Here’s an introduction to Joe Block, the Dodgers’ new KABC 790 AM co-host. The one-time play-by-play man for the Dodgers’ Double-A team in Jacksonville kindly agreed to this interview:
Dodgers 2011 talkshow host. Excuse the generic question, but how does it feel?
DodgerTalk is one of those staple shows that transcends its hosts and eras. I revere it. And I’m humbled to join some legendary and talented people who have fostered baseball conversation on countless summer nights across L.A. In English, it’s very cool.
What’s it been like getting reacquainted with the players from Jacksonville who are still on the club? Do you see a big change?
These guys are all the same. Jonathan Broxton is still quiet. Chad Billingsley and I talked like it’s been weeks, not years. James Loney said hello to me by name coming off one the backfields the other day, before I could even re-introduce myself. There is a special bond you forge riding the buses in the minors. All the bad movies, breakdowns and flatulence. … Once you’re in, you’re in.
You’ve lived the life of an up-and-coming sportscaster, it appears – different jobs, different cities, different sports. What’s been the best and worst parts of that journey?
The worst part – anyone will tell you – is being apart from family and, now, my fiancee. She’ll move here after the season, thank goodness.
The best parts are the people you meet and the experiences on and away from the field. I’ve met some wonderfully kind people and unique characters all the same. I’ve been piloted in a tiny plane over Montana mountains, marched in smalltown parades, dressed up as the team mascot, watched nervous kids become big-time stars … but nothing beats the self-discovery that takes place when you encounter so many different walks of life. The journey is as good, if not even better than the destination.
What’s your craziest game you ever covered?
I figured out that I’ve called something like 900 baseball games, so, odds are there have been a few crazy ones. The one that sticks out the most: It was the front end of a day doubleheader in Jacksonville. Nineteenth inning, A.J. Ellis is on the mound. He allows a run that breaks a 1-1 tie. Who can blame him? He’s a catcher. So he comes up in the bottom of the 19th and laces a game-tying single to run his day to 6-for-6. Now he’s the hero (or still the goat, for those who remembered that we’re going to the 20th inning with another seven-inning affair to follow). Ellis ends up getting the win after the Suns hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the 20th. So, Ellis was in line for the loss, got the win and had a game-tying hit and a perfect day at the plate, after catching the first 18 innings. John Shoemaker gave him the second game off.
Do you now see studio host as your path, or is play-by-play with some team your main goal?
You know, it’s funny. Your goals change as the years go on. I recently got engaged and now the No. 1 goal is to establish stability, make a home and, in time, start a family. So I want to be in position to do that. That’s why I came to KABC. I wanted to be back covering the Dodgers, and this is a great area to start putting down some roots.
What came naturally for you as a broadcaster, and what skills did you have to develop?
The love of baseball and the inability to shut my yap came naturally. My parents were so encouraging, telling me to pursue this career. They also discouraged me from calling play-by-play of everyone eating at the dinner table. But, I still got to “entertain” their friends when they had company and goofy stuff like that, though.
I’ve had to develop numerous skills, and I still believe one can always improve. I think I’ve gotten decent at transitioning from element to element within a live show, like DodgerTalk. There is an art to it. I’ve learned from good talk hosts and from repetition, primarily.
You had experience broadcasting for the organization in Jacksonville, but that was close to five years ago. From a career-building standpoint, how did you keep yourself in the Dodgers’ mind to pave the way for getting this job?
I always see myself, I suppose, as one who is genuinely interested in people. I’ve met so many great folks within the Dodger family that it was just natural to stay in touch. I’m grateful they thought of me to join Josh Suchon on DodgerTalk.
Who were your broadcasting role models?
Which broadcaster doesn’t look up to Vin Scully? You find me one, and I’ll be astounded. But as a kid growing up in Detroit, before the days of the Internet and worldwide access, I admired Ernie Harwell. His kindness toward me – and countless others – really encouraged me to dig in and learn the craft of broadcasting and the intricacies of baseball while still being a good person and helpful to others.
Lastly, and I ask you this in preparation for your new job answering fan phone calls: Is there such a thing as a stupid question?
Not at all. Folks calling in spend their time working a job, raising kids – dealing with their lives full-time. I get access to players and coaches and spend my day watching baseball and learning from them, so, as a result, I should have a thicker knowledge base than a typical caller.
I see myself as a liaison between the busy fan and the team. I want to share my perspective in hopes it’ll give them a tidbit or idea to tell the guys at the water cooler. I often ask callers’ questions to players and coaches on their behalf. Now, sometimes, I’ll get a funny look in response, but there’s never a stupid question. I’ve often heard insight from callers that stoked a new idea for me.
* * *
The Dodgers try to bounce back from John Ely’s rough outing Friday:
Rob Tringali/Getty ImagesIvan De Jesus Jr. has a .380 on-base percentage this spring.“Barring an injury,” writes Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com, “infielder Ivan DeJesus looks like a strong bet to make the club and remain in the big leagues until Blake returns from back injury. DeJesus, who will be making his major league debut, likely will get the bulk of the starts at second base during that time, while Juan Uribe will move to third.”
It’s a pretty impressive feat for the infielder, who has remaining options, who had to come back from a 2009 broken leg and was even said by some to be in the Dodgers’ doghouse last year.
Jackson also writes that the Dodgers will carry four starting pitchers on their Opening Day roster, and will call up a fifth starter from the minors April 12. That pitcher figures to be John Ely, especially if Tim Redding’s back ailment today proves to be serious. Jackson:
… Redding returned to Camelback Ranch, the team’s spring-training complex in Glendale, for further examination. No diagnosis or prognosis was immediately available. …
The season opener for Triple-A Albuquerque isn’t until April 7, so whomever the Dodgers choose to start in place of Garland could start that game and then be perfectly lined up to pitch for the Dodgers on April 12 in San Francisco. …
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Dioner Navarro will be on the Dodger disabled list when the 2011 regular season begins and likely remain out until the end of April because of a right oblique tear. Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com has details.
… Mattingly said A.J. Ellis and Hector Gimenez will compete during the handful of days left before Opening Day for the right to hold down the backup catching job until Navarro returns. But Mattingly also hinted that Barajas might draw almost all of the starts while Navarro is out. Although Barajas is 35 and Mattingly had planned to give him regular rest, that rest presumably isn’t as important in April.
“We’re looking at Rod as the primary guy,” Mattingly said. ” I know I have to keep him strong, and I know he is an older guy. But I love his leadership. Earlier in the season, it isn’t as big a deal. As you get more into summer, he will have more games under his belt and you’re getting into some heat, so really, you’re trying to keep him from breaking down.”
It seems more than safe to bet that Gimenez will now make the Opening Day roster, which is shaping up thusly:
Starting pitchers (4): Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly, Hiroki Kuroda
Relief pitchers (7): Jonathan Broxton, Hong-Chih Kuo, Matt Guerrier, Kenley Jansen, Blake Hawksworth, Mike MacDougal, Scott Elbert or Ron Mahay
Starting lineup (8): Rod Barajas, James Loney, Jamey Carroll or Ivan De Jesus Jr., Rafael Furcal, Juan Uribe, Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Jay Gibbons or Xavier Paul
Bench (4): Hector Gimenez, Marcus Thames, Tony Gwynn Jr., Aaron Miles
Fighting for two spots: John Ely, Tim Redding, Ramon Troncoso, Lance Cormier, Travis Schlichting, Juan Castro, Ivan DeJesus Jr., Jay Gibbons/Xavier Paul, Trent Oeltjen, A.J. Ellis
Just after 7 a.m. Tuesday, I got in my car for a three-minute drive to our neighborhood bagel store. As I moved into the left-turn lane, a many-wheeled truck was lolling the opposite direction past the driveway of the mini-mall parking lot. And then, just as I began to make my left turn, the truck driver suddenly put his truck into reverse, blocking the driveway before I could get through.
I was on the wrong side of the street, perpendicular to traffic, with nowhere to go and a car coming at me at regular speed from about 75 yards away.
I threw my car into reverse in the middle of the boulevard to get out of the oncoming car’s way, and lived to breathe for another day.
* * *
Today in Tucson, the Dodgers and Diamondbacks will gather to play a baseball game in memory of those killed in the January 8 mass shooting in Tucson and to raise money for the Tucson Together Fund, sanctioned to assist victims, families and witnesses of tragedy.
Spirits will be heightened, but I imagine they will also be high. They’ve wrapped this day around a game, after all. It’s going to be a day where life is celebrated, even in death’s immense shadow.
The best antidote to sadness is the argument that things will get better, and short of that, to find happiness in the moments that follow, and short of that, to just find meaning. But there’s no throwing tragedy into reverse. The players and the fans will go home, will go on with their lives. The survivors will go forward into their suffering. They walk a different path.
* * *
My first depression of note came when I was in college, though it was mild by any serious standard. It was over a girl, a girl I never really had but just seemed so perfect. No, not so perfect, but so right. And in order to make sense of why she didn’t want me, I started weighing the conclusion that there might be no reason anyone would want me.
Over the next couple of years, the stakes seemed to increase. I dated, but there would be times a girl would reject me and it would just devastate me, and I truly, truly feared that I was going to spend my life alone. My biggest breakup of all, in my mid-20s, pulverized me. I walked through life with a constant weight in my head for a couple of years. I bought books on depression. I sought therapy. It felt like the end of the world, and yet this was with the full knowledge that no one had died. It seemed so likely to me that things would be worse before they would get better.
People told me that I was being too negative. “You’re a good person. You’ll be fine.” I just had to rebuild my self-esteem, they said. I had to like myself again before anyone else could like me. But they didn’t know. They didn’t know like I did.
Each miserable day seemed eternal, and yet within five years, I did rebuild, and I met the woman I would marry.
You’d think that have taught me a lesson but good, but I can still struggle with a positive outlook, to this day. Despite my best efforts, my household outlives its means, and I cannot seem to find a solution. It weighs on me repeatedly. It doesn’t mean I don’t have happy days in between, but I do worry. My self-esteem rises and falls like the Dow.
Still, people can tell me things will get better, and they might be right.
What are those who lost loved ones in the Tucson tragedy told? What do they tell themselves?
As the Dodgers play baseball in his daughter’s memory, what is Dodger scout John Green to think?
Do they say to live each day in honor of your lost love? Do they say to just live?
This is not a self-esteem issue. The man lost his little girl. There is no going back from that.
And this happens every day, every hour, every minute. I know it has happened to readers of Dodger Thoughts.
It takes a special person to be able to survive this kind of loss. I don’t feel that I’m special in that way. But somehow people are?
I thought about this post as I kissed my daughter goodnight on her forehead last night. I wish I were going to be at today’s game.
* * *
A.J. Ellis, who has not hit a regular-season home run in the majors or minors since 2008, will rarely be confused with a power hitter, but he provided the knockout blast today, Steve Finley-style.
Against Rockies minor-leaguers Michael Marbry and Chris Malone, the Dodgers scored seven in the bottom of the ninth to avert a 5-0 defeat, capped by Ellis’ walkoff three-run home run.
Gabe Kapler’s two-run double in the ninth, driving in Travis Denker and the unconquerable Corey Smith (6 for 9 with three walks this spring), saved the Dodgers from a shutout. Ivan De Jesus Jr. singled in Kapler, and after Juan Castro singled and Jay Gibbons walked to load the bases, Ellis stepped up.
A wild pitch by Malone made the score 5-4 and ultimately denied Ellis the chance to truly duplicate Finley with a grand slam. Instead, Ellis settled for a three-run shot to left.
Last year’s backup catcher for much of the season, Ellis has been an afterthought in Spring Training because he has an option remaining. The immediate thought is that a serious injury to Dioner Navarro would carve out a roster spot for Hector Gimenez, not Ellis, and that may well be true — Ellis hasn’t helped himself by going 3 for 28 with two walks this spring before the home run.
But given that the Dodgers’ seem to like the idea of Gimenez playing other positions besides catcher, it’s not impossible that Ellis could still end up being the guy who would replace Navarro, with Gimenez continuing to try to make the team in a utility role.
Anyway, one home run off a minor-leaguer doesn’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world, but it was a beautiful moment nonetheless.
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… Lopes’ baserunning tutorials this spring have included a little humor here and there, but there is no question he takes this stuff very seriously. He does as much demonstrating as he does talking. And while he covers the nuances and the technical aspects of taking a lead, rounding a corner and picking a spot, he delivers the information in a way that is easy to digest.“If I had him as a coach when I was younger, I would have 500 stolen bases right now,” said shortstop Rafael Furcal, the Dodgers’ leadoff man, who has 293 of them in 11 seasons. “You look at some of these kids like Dee Gordon and [Trayvon] Robinson, they are basically learning all this stuff right now, while they’re young, so when they get to the big leagues, they are going to be ready.
“They are going to know how to run the bases in a way that will help this team win games.” …
From Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com:
Dodgers catcher Dioner Navarro was scratched from the starting lineup for Thursday’s Cactus League game against the Colorado Rockies and sent for an MRI exam after feeling pain in his right side taking a swing during a morning session of batting practice.
Results of the MRI aren’t expected until later in the day or possibly Friday. But with the season opener now just a week away, Navarro’s injury at least raises the possibility that he could become the fourth Dodgers player expected to begin the season on the disabled list, where he would join pitchers Vicente Padilla and Jon Garland and third baseman Casey Blake. …
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Getty ImagesSofia Vergara has never faced Bill Murray in an official game – yet.Apropos of nothing …
I got to thinking the other day about the demise of the Dodgers’ Hollywood Stars game, which actually began fading in importance in my childhood – I’ve never once seen it in person – but has truly crashed on the rocks in the current era. But once upon a time, it was a big deal. In a way, with the Lakers having become the gathering nexus of stars and sports, I’m surprised they haven’t made a celebrity game a tradition.
Anyway, it’s kind of a frivolous topic, but I decided to have some fun trying to come up with rosters that would make me want to come to the game – a lineup that would put some sizzle and some stakes back into the Hollywood Stars game. Here are the ground rules:
Here are my opening suggestions:
Sandys
Manager: Eli Wallach
Coach: Don Rickles
Captain: Sandy Koufax
Starting lineup
Miranda Cosgrove, C
Kobe Bryant, LF
Jon Hamm, SS
Tom Hanks, 3B
John Kraskinski, RF
Bill Murray, P
Reese Witherspoon, CF
Idris Elba, 1B
Emily Blunt, 2B
Bench
Jeff Bridges, P
Robert Redford, OF
Marisa Tomei, P
Nick Offerman, C
Ron Howard, IF
Danica McKellar, OF
Betty White, PH
Fernandos
Manager: Clint Eastwood
Coach: Ernest Borgnine
Captain: Fernando Valenzuela
Starting lineup
Alyssa Milano, 2B
Blake Griffin, CF
Bryan Cranston, P
Jimmy Kimmel, SS
Sofia Vergara, RF
Brad Pitt, 3B
Louie C.K., C (and for scorekeeping purposes, he should strike out in his first at-bat)
Tom Selleck, 1B
Amy Poelher, LF
Bench:
Will Smith, IF-OF
Anne Hathaway, OF
Zach Galifianakis, C
Mark Harmon, P
Adrianne Palicki, P
Selena Gomez, IF-OF
Mickey Rooney, PH
Broadcaster: Vin Scully
OK, now time for your suggestions. Which players did I miss? Whom would you add, and whom would you cut?
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Farewell, Elizabeth Taylor. Above is a scene from my favorite film of hers. (If you can’t see the video, click here.)
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… Carroll, who has been playing on the minor league side the last few days to get at-bats while he has been limited from throwing because of soreness in his right index finger, said he had no trouble throwing Tuesday and feels ready to return to Cactus League action. However, Carroll indicated the medical staff will make the final determination on when he actually does return.
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Dodgers 2, Cubs 1 (10)
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The Dodgers’ afternoon game today has been rained out.
Having been unable to get into a game for quite some time now, Casey Blake appears bound for the disabled list, reports Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
Blake has one hit and two walks this spring. He would likely be replaced at third base by Juan Uribe, with Jamey Carroll coming in to start at second base, but Carroll himself only has four singles and four walks in his own injury-marred spring.
Aaron Miles, Opening Day second baseman?
* * *
I believe that the 2011 Dodgers could win the National League West, and that after that, anything is possible.
That being said, I don’t know that I’ve been less optimistic about a Dodger team in quite a long time. That includes the 2005 Dodgers, who ultimately finished 71-91 in between 2004 and 2006 division titles. I had doubts about that team, but they were relatively minor. For the Hardball Times, I predicted they would win at least 80 games and maybe many more, and for Baseball Analysts, I had them finishing a close second (to the Giants) in the NL West, ultimately won by the Padres with an 82-80 record.
Rightly or wrongly, that the 2005 team disintegrated to the extent it did took me by surprise. If the same thing happened to the 2011 Dodgers, I wouldn’t be caught off guard.
Again, I do think there’s all kinds of upside to this year’s team, because of the pitching and the potential of bounce-back seasons from Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Rafael Furcal and James Loney. A late-season infusion from Jerry Sands, Rubby De La Rosa or a midseason acquisition could put the Dodgers over the top. But the foundation of the team seems crepe paper thin:
While pondering the spring of Hector Gimenez this weekend, seeing him get more play at first base, it occurred to me that he could be the 2011 Jason Phillips — a player with a high-.600s, low-.700s regular-season OPS getting time at a key hitting position partly out of frustration with the incumbent (James Loney, meet Hee Seop Choi). Phillips actually didn’t play that much first base for the ’05 Dodgers, but some still consider him emblematic of a season gone wrong.
Let me reiterate that I’m not giving up on this team — as I’ve said before, I’m actually kind of looking forward to the start of the 2011 season more than 2010, when I was more confident. If nothing else, Spring Training 2011 has been noticeably tranquil, and maybe that’s a good sign.
I’m often accused, sometimes derisively, of being an optimist — in contrast to being a realist, a word that somehow the pessimists co-opted for themselves. I don’t think my optimism has even been unrealistic. The Dodgers teams that I have been optimistic about had real chances to perform well, whether they actually did or not, and I think I’ve sometimes been quite justified to preach patience and calm.
I believe in the potential of the 2011 Dodgers. I believe this will be a long season with many twists and turns. I don’t believe that, if things start to look grim, I’ll be out on the streets of Faber shouting, “Remain calm — all is well!”
What happens when three old friends in crisis fall into an unexpected love triangle? In The Catch, Maya, Henry and Daniel embark upon an emotional journey that forces them to confront unresolved pain, present-day traumas and powerful desires, leading them to question the very meaning of love and fulfillment. The Catch tells a tale of ordinary people seeking the extraordinary – or, if that’s asking too much, some damn peace of mind.
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