The Hit Parade Has Returned!
Magic Number = 3
Wow, where in the heck did that offensive output come from? Ten runs and fourteen hits?!? After eleven innings of no runs against the Giants on Sunday, my boys from Chavez Ravine pounded out six runs in the first inning, and I deemed the game over after Chad Billingsley laid down that squeeze pay to perfection while scoring a charging Casey Blake from third. That one play could be described in one word: Brilliance.
Yes, I know there were more fine plays than that… but when Chad drove in that sixth run on a squeeze play, all the Padres could do was cower in fear, crowd around the mound, and discuss their dining options for the evening and vacation plans for the following week.
This would happen frequently during the game.
It was really nice to see nearly every Dodger get a hit. As a matter of fact, every Dodger that started got on base at least once (Only Angel Berroa didn’t get a hit, but he walked, and that’s okay by me). Nomar’s home run brought a huge smile to my face because just a few days ago, several fans looked in fear as he jammed his knee rounding third base and having a knee injury that looked far more serious than it actually was. I also know it has been a while since Nomar hit a home run, and what a way to come back with that 422-foot bomb!
I also have to give huge props to my boy, Blake DeWitt for hitting a home run pretty much one minute after I called it. I bet you’re asking, “Why would you call a home run right then and there?” I’ll tell you, noble reader! Right after Casey Blake hit his second single, I noticed the flags blowing from left to right (almost blowing straight out), and DeWitt could easily hit that ball of twine to right field. As I noticed this, I promptly turned to my friend, Paul, a
nd said, “Look at the flags. It’s blowing out a little bit. He’s going to hit it out… to right field. If he gets it just right, he could reach the loge, but I think he’s going to hit it out to right.” About a minute later, he blasts one 403 feet to right field! I nearly called that one perfectly if I hadn’t entertained the notion that he may join the short list of Dodgers to hit a home run into the orange loge seats. Regardless, that was a sweet shot!
Blake has a sweet shot, but I still think Manny’s stroke is just incredible to watch. Can you believe he got past 50 RBIs as a Dodger tonight with one swing of the bat? 51 RBIs in 49 games. That averages out to more than one run batted in per game. With five games left, Manny only needs three RBIs to average one per game as a Dodger. He’s going to be very valuable in the playoffs.
So with the magic number at 3, Los Angeles could clinch the NL West title as early as Thursday evening. Wouldn’t it be nice to win the division in front of the home crowd? It could happen! Here are the remaining schedules for Arizona and Los Angeles.
Los Angeles:
-2 vs. San Diego
-3 @ San Francisco
Arizona:
-2 @ St. Louis
-3 vs. Colorado
Max Scherzer (0-3) is pitching against Adam Wainwright (10-3) at New Busch, and Shawn Estes (2-3) is up against Clayton Kershaw (4-5) at the Ravine. Yeah, Wainwright has been incredible, and if he wasn’t out for over two months due to injury, he could have a 17 or 18 win season going right now. I hope he has one more good start in him! As for our game, Kershaw has been pretty darn good at home, and I think we will see a win. I would not be surprised if the magic number is reduced to ONE by tomorrow evening, setting up a celebration at Dodger Stadium for Thursday night. Could it happen? Let’s hope so!
I’ll definitely be there Thursday, and if any of you loyal blog readers happen to be at the stadium and see me, don’t be afraid to say hi! I’ll be there a few hours early to take it all in, especially since it’s the final regular season home game of the season. With that said, I hope to see you at the ballpark. Before I get some rest, I will leave you with this picture of myself and Dodger World Series pitcher, Joe Moeller. (Yes, that’s me holding his world series ring from Florida. That thing was HUGE!)
Think Blue!
JD
First Blog
Welcome to the first of what I hope will be many happy entries regarding my life and baseball. More specifically, my Dodgers (or as I’ve heard many Mexicans call them, “Los Doyers”). While I might be tossing around a few opinions on our great national pasttime, there will be plenty of stories, a few fun anecdotes from past games and ballpark visits, and pictures for all to see. I truly hope you guys enjoy reading the coming entries, and may comment on them, as well!
First off, I should divulge a brief snippet about myself and why I love baseball. I was born and bred in East Los Angeles before moving around a couple times, finally ending up in Ontario, Cali for a few years. Since then, I’ve loved living in the Inland Empire for most of my life, including going to a few RC Quakes games. I always tried to play a little baseball at school and found that while I didn’t have a great bat, I had an excellent glove and exceptional range. Unfortunately, I didn’t quite have a glove like Andruw Jones, so I didn’t get very far playing the game, but I remained a fan and enjoyed all the pickup games at school.
Of course, growing up in SoCal, you are either a Dodgers fan or an Angels fan. Admittedly, I have a great respect for the Angels and their franchise… but the Dodgers are numero uno in my book, and you’d better believe I bleed Dodger Blue. When I saw my team win the 1988 World Series, I was happy.
However, I really became a fan of the Dodgers (and baseball in general) on Sunday, August 28th, 1991. I bet you’re asking yourselves, “Hey JD, how and why did you pinpoint that particular day?” Well, before the game, it was a special day for me. PICTURE DAY! It was the day where you could meet and greet players from the team and take pictures of them, or maybe with them! As a kid, I was very excited for this opportunity. I may have to look for those pictures, but I am certain that I got my picture taken with at least one player from that 1991 Dodger team. But that wasn’t the highlight.
The highlight was the game. Our home team played the Montreal Expos. On the bump for Les Expos was a veteran by the name of Dennis “Denny” Martinez. After a few innings, I was sad because my home team was losing and we can’t hit the ball at all! As the consecutive outs piled up, it was becoming clear to the fans at Chavez Ravine that something extraordinary was happening. Clear to almost everybody, that is… I was not a happy camper. It was at this time that someone explained to me what exactly was going on. It wasn’t until the 8th inning that I actually comprehended what was such a big deal about this…
…Denny Martinez was hurling a perfect game. Only in the 9th inning did I get excited and root for the other team. At least I wasn’t alone. I remember as it came down to the final out, nearly everybody was cheering to see this perfect game happen, and it did! Yes, I was witness to a perfect game. That’s when I knew that I was a fan of baseball.
Now that I typed all of that out, I will just say this about the current team in honor of Viva Los Dodgers and the fact that it is Mexican Heritage Month.
Go Doyers.
I promise to talk more about the current team on my next post.
Think Blue!
JD
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