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Down 9-5 going into the bottom of the 9th... Kent leads off the inning and homers. Drew homers. Trevor freakin' Hoffman comes in to pitch. Martin homers. Anderson homers! FOUR HOME RUNS IN A ROW TO TIE IT! Their work wasn't done, though. After giving up a run in the top of the 10th, Kenny Lofton led off the bottom half of the inning with a walk... and then hometown hero (and St. John Bosco graduate) Nomar Garciaparra hit one into the stands to win it and send the Dodgers back into first place! Let's go Dodgers!

More: This was really an amazing game. The Dodgers had just lost first place to the Padres the day before, and whoever won the game would emerge from the series as the division leader with just two weeks left in the season. L.A. had had a terrible time trying to beat the Padres this year, with San Diego beating the Dodgers in 13 of their 17 previous meetings this year. The Dodgers did all sorts of things to make this game more difficult to win, namely:

1. They staked the Padres to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
2. The Padres had baserunners in all 10 innings of play.
3. L.A. committed two errors in the game.
4. After tying up the game at 4-4, the Dodgers let the Padres load the bases in the 5th, though nobody scored.
5. In the 6th, with the score still tied, the Dodgers loaded the bases with nobody out... and yet still failed to score, thanks to Clay Meredith inducing a couple of easy infield grounders.
6. They let the Padres score two runs in the top of the 8th to take a 6-4 lead. The Dodgers got one run back in the bottom half of the inning, but then normally reliable closer Takashi Saito allowed three runs in the top of the 9th to make it 9-5 San Diego.
7. That, of course, set up the amazing bottom of the 9th. But mind you, even after the Dodgers had stunned the Padres and got the crowd on its feet by beginning the inning with 3 consecutive home runs, they were still 3 outs away from losing the game, a run down, nobody on base, and facing the amazing Trevor Hoffman on the mound.
8. And then, after completing their amazing comeback to send the game into extra innings, they fell behind again in the very next half-inning. At that point, the four home runs would have been a valiant effort, but not enough.

So, hats off to Nomar Garciaparra for finishing the job and turning a loss into a victory and vaulting the Dodgers back into first place. It was a great game for recent Dodger pickup Marlon Anderson, too, who went 5-for-5 with two home runs, including the 4th in a row in the 9th. Not just a great finish, but a thrilling white-knuckler of a game from start to finish. About the only thing you can't say about it was that it was well-pitched.

Some thoughts on the game from Baseball Musings, Dodger Thoughts, and the San Diego point-of-view.

Update: ESPN's Page 2 has a lot of quotes from people at Dodger Stadium about Monday's game. And yes, I know that the Dodgers dropped back out of first place yesterday; Monday's game was still great.

This will be a pretty quick recap. Marcin asked me to fill in and here i am several days later and a few hospital visits later (food poisoning, no not spinach) here I am.

Game 149, was a nail biter. The Dodgers were lucky to even be in that game. With the Padres success against the Dodgers this year and the lack of offensive output, it is a wonder the game was so close.

Derek Lowe pitched a spectacular game. However, it was all for naught as the Dodgers' bats fell silent once again.

The one shred of silver lining is at least it was the Dodgers who ended the Padres' Cla Meredith's consecutive innings scoreless streak at 34 innings.

Game 150, turned into a nail biter. The entire game, it appeared the Padres were going to take this must win game at Chavez Ravine and with it a one and a half game lead and probably the division flag.

But then a miracle happened; the Dodgers bats had a resurgence. Heads were shaking in disbelief on both sides. Nobody could believe what they had just witnessed.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Dodgers down 9 to 5, something that hadn't happened since 1964 occurred. No, I am not talking about the fans whom had already left actually coming back into the stadium from the parking lot. Although, I am sure it has been at least as long since that phenomena had happened as well. But no, this rare feat is what actually caused the fans to turn around.

The Dodgers's bats not only came alive in the bottom of the ninth, but they cracked out back-to-back-to-back-to-back homeruns, tying the game at nine a piece.

The Dodgers went into the top of the tenth with what seemed to be all the momentum in the world. But then Aaron Sele decided it just wasn't meant to be. For he, with this huge momentum shift on the side of the Dodgers, decided to let the Padres reclaim the lead.

The Dodgers came up in the bottom half of the tenth, most of the fans who had miraculously returned, had again begun to leave, realizing that their commute home just got prolonged for no good reason.

Well, Sele owes steak dinners to both Kenny Lofton and Nomar Garciaparra. Kenny Lofton drew a walk to lead off the tenth and Nomar, reminiscent of the previous inning, took the ball deep, hitting a walk off home run.

Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.

Note:

The four-game series drew 219,124 which is the largest ever for a four-game series at Dodger Stadium. One can definitely feel the playoffs in the air.

Last night was the 48th Annual Hollywood Stars softball game at Dodger Stadium. It was also the first game I've been to this season and the first time I've been to the remodeled stadium (it's beautiful)
Jonny and Jen played in it. Jonny has been doing this for at least a decade, and Jen kind of just hung out with us on the warning track next to third base. Jonny actually won MVP for getting two "out of the park" home runs and doing better fielding than anyone else out there in his shortstop position. His team won 10-3.
from the Dodgers front page today, Jonny and Jen with Nomar and his wife, Mia Hamm
Here's an article from the Major League Baseball official website

LOS ANGELES -- Think about a company softball game, except the company is the entertainment industry and some very well-known names are taking part. Well, that's what happened at Dodger Stadium on Saturday at the 48th annual Hollywood Stars game.

The annual event started before the Dodgers came to Los Angeles in 1958. Celebrities such as Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole would take part in a yearly baseball game at the old Gilmore Field on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles, home of the original Hollywood Stars of the old Pacific Coast League. The celebrities moved the game to the Los Angeles Coliseum when the Dodgers came to town and then to Dodger Stadium when it opened its doors in 1962.

Over the years some of the biggest names in entertainment -- including Steve Martin, Robin Williams, Kevin Costner, Billy Crystal, Walter Matthau, Keanu Reeves, Jack Lemmon, Dean Martin and many others -- have lived out their fantasy of playing on a big-league field.

"I thought it was still a hardball game until I got here today; it's now softball," said actor Corbin Bernsen, who starred in the "Major League" films and is currently on the soap opera "General Hospital."

"Back in the original days it was hardball and it was serious hardball with guys like Billy Crystal and Tony Danza really going at it. But I remember a few years ago, when I was on 'L.A. Law' and I played in the game and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played first base and they came out with a 6-foot bat for him to use and you knew they weren't taking this game as seriously as they used to."

In 2004, the Dodgers switched the game from baseball to softball so female celebrities could play instead of serving as "bat girls" as they had previously.

"It's just fun to be out here and meet new people and everyone is just talking about having fun," said soccer legend Mia Hamm, who is also married to Dodgers first baseman Nomar Garciaparra. "People who have played in this game before have told me how much fun it is. I think we all just want to out there, have some fun, not make a fool of ourselves and not get hurt."

Hamm held her own, lining out to left in the first inning. Hamm then roped a clean single to left in the third and was called out at first base on a controversial call at first base by umpire Charley Steiner that ended the game. Replays would later show she was safe, but to no avail.

There are plenty of actors and athletes taking part, but politicians get into the act, too. In this year's game, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa took part and had a great time.

"I'm a better politician who wants to be a ballplayer," said Villaraigosa, who is in his first term as mayor. "I didn't play much baseball growing up, I mainly played football and ran track, so I may struggle out there a little."

The mayor got on base in the first inning and seemed to enjoy just being on the field.

Other celebrities, like the mayor, just loved taking part.

"As a baseball fan you can't beat being on a big-league field," said James Denton, one of the stars of the ABC drama "Desperate Housewives."

"It's just great being at Dodger Stadium; coming out here and taking a few cuts. It's softball, which is obviously a whole different deal, but when they offer you this chance, you don't say no.

"I'm missing the All-Star Game in Pittsburgh this year because we go back to work on July 10th with the show and the game is July 11th, so this may be the only game I may play in this year."

Denton held his own with a clean double to left in the fourth inning.

The game had two award-winning managers -- Cy Young Award winner Bret Saberhagen managing the White Team and Academy Award-winner Lou Gossett Jr. managing the Blue Team.

Paced by two booming home runs off the bat of the game's Most Valuable Player, Jonathan Silverman, the White Team easily beat the Blue Team, 10-3.

No matter what the score was, the game had a happy ending. And what did you expect? This is Hollywood.


LOS ANGELES -- Television and film stars, along with some current and former Dodgers, will be on hand for the 48th annual Hollywood Stars Game. The game will be played Saturday, June 24 at 5:15 p.m. before the Dodgers take on the Pittsburgh Pirates at 7:10 p.m.

Since 2004 when the game was changed to softball from baseball, an auxiliary outfield fence was added to offer greater opportunity for home runs. Fans are also invited to sit on Dodger Stadium's outfield grass and warning track to get a better glimpse of their favorite Hollywood luminaries.

The roster of stars scheduled to appear in the game includes:

James Denton ("Desperate Housewives")
Jonathan Silverman (film and TV)
Jen Finnigan ("Close to Home")
Jimmy Kimmel ("Jimmy Kimmel Live")
Sarah Silverman ("School of Rock")
Matt Gallant (host of "American Inventor")
Brooke Burke (host of CBS's "Rockstar")
Adam Carolla ("The Adam Carolla Show")
Brian White ("Family Stone")
Carlos Mencia ("Mind of Mencia")
Shane Powers ("Survivor Exile Island")
Mario Lopez (film and TV)
Kendra Wilkinson ("Girls Next Door")
James Van Der Beek ("Dawson's Creek")
Michael Clarke Duncan ("Sin City")
Corbin Bernsen ("Psych")
Wolfgang Bodison ("Akeelah and the Bee")
Tony Potts ("Access Hollywood")
Mia Hamm (USA Women's Soccer)
Antonio Villaraigosa (Mayor of Los Angeles)
Michael Rosenbaum ("Smallville")
Scott Patterson ("Gilmore Girls")
Larry Joe Campbell ("According to Jim")
Dave Annable ("Brothers and Sisters")
Louis Gossett Jr. - coach (film and TV)
Tony Todd ("Little Big League")
Ron Cey (former Dodger)
Bret Saberhagen (former Cy Young Award Winner)

Nico from Latino 96.3 will emcee the event. The Dodger Stadium parking lot and turnstiles will open early for the event at 4:45 p.m.

Equipment for the game will be provided by Rawlings, Mizuno and Majestic. Proceeds from the auction of autographed, game-worn player uniforms and memorabilia will benefit the Dodgers Dream Foundation.

I should mention that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa got booed at the stadium. Having been out of town for quite a while and not knowing what the Mayor or even the Governator are up to, but I don't think Dodger fans are going to be voting for the incumbent the next time around. As for the catcher who tagged-out the heroic mayor who tried to steal home, I fear that three summons for Jury Duty may be coming his way soon.

"Last year I went deep off Odalis Perez, but then again, who hasn't? Just kidding, Odalis, it was a joke." --Jonny on the local TV news, one of the funniest things I have ever heard

We went up to a luxury box for the Dodgers vs Pittsburg Pirates game that followed, a game that ended as a Dodgers victory, a 7-0 shutout. In there I chatted it up with Playboy bunnies and taught Carlos Mencia's kids to play 8-ball and then got pranked by Bob the former warm-up guy for The Single Guy. Dodgers are 39-35, 1st Place in NL West and are about to leave the San Diego Padres in the dust 1 game behind assuming that the Dodgers win the game they are currently winning and the Padres lose the game they are currently losing. Seventh inning stretch is over and I now return to the game. Vin Scully\ just talked about last night's celebrity game. Back to Dodgers Baseball...

It's August.

The Dodgers have some new players.

Good new players.

The only guys missing are unproven, wouldn't be seeing regular playing time, or have... issues.

The players on whom the team's future supposedly rests are still there.

Could it be that the Dodgers finally have a front office team that wants to... you know... win?

Before the season started, Ned Colletti put together an impressive team on short notice. They looked good coming out of the gate. Then the injuries set in. The bullpen disintegrated. A team that started off a carefully balanced mix of veterans and up-and-comers was a taped-together mess of rookies -- great rookies, mind you, but still learning the big-league game -- and veterans playing out of position. Offensively, they were spiraling downward. Mostly-decent starting pitching isn't going to do you much good if the team can't score some runs to back it up.

Pretty typical July scenario in the City of Angels.

Except something happened, something that I don't remember seeing since the O'Malleys owned the team:

They made good trades.

The first trade of note was the Odalis Perez-for-Elmer Dessens deal. Odalis Perez, as you may recall, was put in the bullpen after blowing a few too many starts, and was downright disgruntled about it. He was a good candidate to be dealt away. The question was, what team would be desperate enough to want him?

Go on, take a guess.

Odalis Perez is now a Kansas City Royal. He was accompanied by some minor leaguers who may or may not work out.

Elmer Dessens seems very happy to be a Dodger again. Or maybe he's just thrilled about no longer being a Royal. Six of one...

That seems to be a theme among the new Dodger acquisitions: They're happy to be playing for a team that hasn't given up hope of making the playoffs.

"It's nice to have a reason to pitch besides doing it for myself," Greg Maddux told the LA Times. "That's what happens when your team falls out of the race. We are absolutely still in it."

Wait a minute. Greg Maddux?

The Dodgers collectively joined me in that disbelieving blink. Greg Maddux. Greg Maddux? Greg freakin' Maddux is a Dodger?

"I still can't believe we have him. It's like a miracle," coach Rich Donnelly marveled to the Times.

Catcher Russell Martin, who's just a little more than half Maddux' age: "He's so prepared. This guy knows exactly what he wants to do. I just hope he likes me."

(How cute is that? Russell Martin is so my new fake baby boyfriend.)

The people who called in to the postgame radio show were miffed, of course. Why else would you call a postgame show? They couldn't see why Ned Colletti would trade a young, proven shortstop for an aging pitcher who would probably only be there for the remainder of the season.

Does six innings of no-hit ball answer their question? What the naysayers are missing is that Maddux is built for the long haul. He's a very technical pitcher who can put the ball exactly where he wants it, without putting undue strain on his body. Heck, he might even stick around after this season. Who knows?

There's also the little matter of Cesar Izturis hitting barely above the Mendoza line. The best pitching in the world doesn't matter if it's not backed up by a little offense.

That's the other thing that has me blinking: The Dodgers have remembered how to hit a ball with a stick.

As I'm sure you noticed, dear reader, the Dodgers had a pretty dismal July. In the two weeks after the All-Star break, they won one and lost thirteen.

Things got so bad that manager Grady Little, GM Ned Colletti and owner Frank McCourt went on the radio to have a "what's wrong with the Dodgers?" roundtable. As you can imagine, the callers weren't happy. All the guys could do was say, in essence, "Look: You try things. Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don't. And right now, they aren't."

And now they are.

Maybe it's the new players. Maybe it was the day off after that awful two-week stretch. Maybe it was Tommy Lasorda's threat of a hunger strike. Whatever it is, the Dodgers are winning. Today made it eight wins in a row. Yeah, it was just the Nationals, Reds and Marlins, but still: A win's a win, and eight of them go a long way towards balancing out the losing streak.

I'm still getting emails which say, "What's up with the Dodgers?" The inflection is just different.

With 162 games in a season, baseball lends itself to streaks. If a team is a .500 ballclub, then statistically it doesn't matter whether they alternate wins and losses by the game or by the streak.

There's still a lot that can happen in two months. The pitching staff could gel or collapse. (I've a feeling I'll be making a few posts about the pitching either way.) The veterans could get better, or they could be out for the season -- or longer. Russell Martin and Andre Ethier could continue to be Rookie of the Year contenders, or they could burn out. An infield made up of position players-turned-utility guys could work out, as it's been doing, or start having trouble remembering where to throw the ball. When the roster expands, the minor league prospects might be ready, or not.

Two months to go. This is getting good.

By the by, I have an extra ticket for this Monday evening's game at Dodger Stadium versus the Rockies. My, as the kids say, "crew" will be sitting in the top deck behind home plate -- the best, and cheapest, seats in the house. If you or anyone you know wants to join us, you can email me for details at rose.auerbach at gmail dot com. (There's a handy-dandy link over at my other blog, for those of you who don't feel like re-typing the address with proper symbols.)

And, yes, I'll explain the infield fly rule, if you ask nicely. Devin can breathe a little more easily.

John Ryan, of the San Jose Mercury News put it best: "A little bit of heartache with the heartburn today: Thomas Gregory Arthur, creator of the Dodger Dog, has died."

``Besides peanuts and Cracker Jack, it's probably the most famous delicacy in baseball,'' Dodgers team historian Mark Langill said Tuesday.

Arthur died June 8 in St. Louis at 84, but his creation lives on. The World War II veteran came up with the idea when Dodger Stadium opened in 1962. It started as a homage to the dogs he fell in love with at Nathan's. But . . .

``He called it the foot-long dog, but it was actually only 10 inches. It was before truth in advertising, but he decided to call them Dodger Dogs,'' his son Steve said.
``It's one of the best dogs in the country. It's not the meat. The secret is the spices.''

Next time you are at Dodger Stadium, be sure to have a Dodger Dog in his memory.

posted by Alomardodgers25team @ 4:17 PM 0 comments