It’s reported that former Dodger Dave Roberts was diagnosed with Lymphoma cancer back in early March. He is being treated with chemotherapy.

I wish Dave all the best in his fight. My family has been touched personally
by that f#*kin disease, and I know it takes a fighter to beat it.

And he
is one.

Dave was, and still is, one of my favorite Dodger players. With somewhat limited ability hitting wise, he gave it his ALL every game. He handled the lead off position perfectly. Always trying, ANY way, to get on base. And once he was on…watch out! He was exciting to watch, racing around the base pads.

‘ And the rabbit is loose!” as Vinny would say.

We called him ” Pig Pen”….because most games, within 2 minutes of
the first pitch, his jersey was already dirty. ( From diving for a
ball,or diving into or back to a base)

Good luck Mr. Roberts……

Rob

Just off the top of my head…….

People….The Wave….STOP IT !!
 It was invented by the Michigan Wolverines, the Washington Huskies, the Detroit Tigers, fans
at the Montreal Olympics…who really knows??…who cares?? It depends who you believe.
But none of which included the Los Angeles Dodgers.
And seeing our fans doing the wave with bases loaded and the Dodgers at bat in the bottom of the 9th….  PAINFUL!
Could you be ANY more distracting?????
———

People….99cent Store Beach balls…STOP IT !
But ” It’s aboooout the kids!”…..NO...IT IS NOT ABOUT THE KIDS!
Teach your kids about the GAME!
And save your wife the embarrassment of having to hide the beach ball in a “undisclosed” area of her body, past security. Enough said.
—–

 -People…STOP booing the fan that can’t make the bare hand grab of a smoking foul ball!. There is a reason players wear gloves. The ball freakin HURTS!. I know from personal experience. Is a 5 dollar Rawlings  baseball worth a broken jaw, a swollen hand or a few broken fingers???

-People….PLEASE BOO the MIDDLE AGED fan who IS wearing a GLOVE and drops the foul ball !!
Freakin weirdo!
Hey, he’s the one that brought the mitt, he better make the play !

-People…PLEASE stop cheering when our player….who with a man on first, hits into a fielders choice, an out is recorded at second, but he beats the throw at first. He failed, he did not move his man over. That is NOT something to cheer about.

-People…..it’s about the GAME. it’s if the Dodgers WIN !…It’s not about talking on your cell phone to everyone that will listen to your pathetic ***, telling them where you are, how good the seats are, or even WORSE……some great business deal you have going and how you need help with it. WORK is OVER once you enter the gates. ” It’s time for Dodger Baseball”….right???

-People….when the opposition hits a home run….DO NOT throw it back! This isn’t Wrigley Field. it’s THEIR tradition, not ours.We have our OWN stupid traditions.

-People….It’s a Dodger/ Pirates game.  Why are you wearing a Cubs hat?  I don’t get it.

-People…Do you realize that the song  ” Don’t stop believing” by Journey, that the Dodgers play every 8th inning, was written and sung by a die hard GIANTS fan???  How can you love this song??? He’s a fan of The Hated Ones!!!

People….The guy who lip sync’s to said Journey song every night, even though I think he is a die hard Fan…….is getting OLD.
And staged.
The Dodgers even put security around him now, so that people won’t jump in and ruin his “performance”.  Now that’s lame.
http://deadspin.com/5362174/this-man-has-an-opinion-on-the-nl-west
_______________________________________________________________________________

Things I LOVE about Dodger Stadium………
Hot female Dodger fan’s with “jerseys”….YES !!  Bow Chicka Bow Bow…. .

Greeting and talking with the same ushers and other Dodger personnel  every game.
It’s not the same as seeing the same waitress at a familiar restaurant. Dodger ushers are all fan’s , and when you say Hi….your all rooting for the Dodgers to win. Hoping WE win.
A waiters at Olive Garden could care less if you had a great time.Just leave a big tip, and he’s happy. Dodger ushers and all personnel root for their team.
These kids piss me off. Enough said.

My first “view” of the field every game. It always instantly puts me into a good mood. The players going through their pre-game ritual warm ups… the smell of the grass…..perfect.
Dodger fan’s who REPRESENT!
Your in an opponents stadium, don’t be shy…Let everyone know!
I’ve been to a lot of different stadiums watching the Blue….never pulled out a banner, but believe me, the fan’s around us KNEW who OUR team was !

High -Fiving with a random fan after a Dodger home run or score.! You might not know jack about the guy, but after we score, we are ALL fans/friends!
Baseball, sunshine and an ice cold beer. Is th
ere something more perfect??

Go Blue!

Rob

.

Ok….the season is still young….

I know, I know,…..

But as a die hard Dodger fan, the frustration is already starting to mount.

Our Rick Honeycutt led pitching staff has now morphed into something I just don’t recognize anymore…

We are now ranked 26th in all of MLB with a team ERA of 5.46 !

So lets break this down…

Our starting 5 have a combined ERA of 5.19
!
And what we are passing off as our relief core…a combined  ERA of 10.47 !!!!

PATHETIC!
—————————————————————————————————————————————–

Now..on another note, our offense has been explosive!

We are #1 in all of MLB in in Team Avg- .302!…..Team Runs- 99!……Team hits- 176!..and on base %- .366 ! AND we are 2nd in Slugging % !!!  When is the last time we have ever even been in the top 5 in slugging % ??????

WOW!

But we all know, that pitching wins games !!!!

So although we have been hammering out the runs….with our remarkably inept pitching, so have other teams !!

And with that, we sit tied for LAST in the west !
                                                        The cellar

Sometimes ya just have to laugh….
 

Thank goodness, I have found the answer….
                                   
                                               BUG’S BUNNY !!
                             My favorite, and a classic

http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/apex5A4upko&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0

Saturdays game against The Hated ones was painful. It’s never easy to watch your team get absolutely shut down, and play embarrassingly POOR baseball. Why was this game somehow different?

Easy….just have your manager fill out a lineup card like this:

“Day game after night game, gotta give the older guys a rest,Martins caught too many games this year already, A.J.Ellis used to catch Haeger in AAA”

                                                    I DO NOT CARE!

I talked to Ken Levine and Josh Sushon before the game ( they do their pre-game show sometimes from the Baseline Club), and they reported that this was a “tactical” line up decision by Torre. Give some guys some rest, hope that Haeger could keep them in the game and get to the Giants bullpen, then have the rested players come back in, and win.

HUH???

What kind of strategy is that???

Were facing the pitching troll Tim Lincecum, arguably the best pitcher in the National League, but we just lay down?  Forget it, we can’t beat this guy? Why not just forfeit…return the fan’s money. Because that’s what Torre basically did.
But with Haeger starting, you put in a lineup that is by FAR your poorest defensively/offensively, and expect that were going to knock out Lincecum, and get to their bullpen?

The Dodgers obviously had no luck scoring on Lincecum ( with 10 LOB), the Giants were patient with Haeger wild knuckle ball, and only swung at his 80 mph fastball, and the Dodgers committed 2 errors.


2 errors?  Come on.
Lets see, just off the top of my head…..

Players come and go, but these guys deserved better….

Repko was the poster child for “hard luck” players. Played hard, 100% of the time. A “run threw the wall” kind a player. But quite possibly never would have been anymore then a below average MLB player. But the thing is, his body never gave him a break. Tough injuries year after year, but he never stopped trying. I wish him the best.
Stults looked every bit a shoe in for at least the 5th starting spot over the last few years, but never did quite have the stuff that the Dodgers needed. Now it looks like greener pastures are in store for him in Japan,From a Los Angeles Dodger, to a Hiroshima Carp. What a strange world we live in. I wish him, his wife and two young children all the best!

Doug Mientkiewicz ( or EyeChart, as I call him) found out he wouldn’t make the 25 man roster.I really was hoping he would make it. I think he puts the G in GAMER, and has shown he can still compete. Plus I’m not a big Garret Anderson fan so……
I hope the Dodgers quit messing around and either release him, or maybe he accepts a coaching position. I hope he stays with the team some how. he has a lot to offer the rookies.

That all being said, with just a few days till the season starts, and 13 days to OUR opening day @ beautiful Dodger Stadium, how about a shout out to spring training???  Every year one of the coolest trips I make, and it never fails to step up to the plate, and knock one out!  Here’s to you, Camelback Ranch! !! See you again in 2011!

GO BLUE !