Game MVP: Olmedo Seanz

What's that old saying? The first one is always the toughest.

Generator Link: The Talking Tomato:

Opening Day Carpool Special

Tony Jackson of the Daily News provides the info:

"By the way, the Dodgers have a special offer for fans who carpool to Monday's home opener: a free ticket to a future game for each passenger. But there are several catches: first, you have to arrive at the stadium between 9:30 and 10:15 a.m. (game time is 1:10 p.m.), you have to park in Lot 15 (a farflung lot that is used only for sellouts), and the offer is limited to the first 600 cars. Those fans looking to take advantage of this should enter through the Academy gate. They will also be given early entrance to the park (the leftfield pavilion, not necessarily their assigned seating area) to watch batting practice. Oh, and the lots on Stadium Way by the Los Angeles Fire Dept. training facility will cost just $5. Most importantly, ALL OF THIS IS FOR OPENING DAY ONLY"

If you are going to the game and plan on arriving early be sure to take advantage of this offer. Free tickets, early entrance and batting practice... It doesn't get better than that. Anyone got a couple of extras?

Tony Jackson Link:

Update: More info is available at Inside the Dodgers blog. The free tickets deal is for lot 15 only.

Neglecting the Kids?

In today's post Rob McMillin of 6-4-2 touches upon something that I was thinking about while driving to work this morning. Will Coletti do what he did in San Francisco? Will he opt to go with high priced aging veterans over developing kids with strong promise?

Like Rob, I'm still not sure that Coletti has created a situation in which he has overseen a "near-historic squandering of young talent." After all, don't we still have alot of young talent left?

When I think about the team today I want to see Kemp, Loney, Russell, Ethier, Billingsley and Broxton out there. In the very near future I envision Abreu, LaRoche, Elbert and Meleon on the field. Further out the names Mattingly, Kershaw, DeWitt and Hu keep me hoping.

Unfortunately, realty is far from what I imagined. James Loney deserves to be a starter on the team, but he is in AAA. He has nothing else to prove in the minor leagues. Matt Kemp is on the bench potentially wasting his power. Billingsley is sitting in the bullpen when he should be starting. The shinning exceptions are Russell, Ethier and Broxton. I guess three out of six, batting .500, ain't too bad.

So far, Coletti is far from realizing my worse fears, but I will be watching.

American Memorabilia Auction: Campanella Jersey

Sometimes I wish I had the means to afford something like this. American Memorabilia recently closed their most recent auction that included a vintage game-used flannel jersey from Dodger catcher Roy Campanella. I'll let the auction house do the talking.

Precious few Campanella gamers have survived to the present, but this road jersey from his final season, 1957, is a marvel. The gray flannel is an attractive blend of cotton and wool with even surface sheen. It's accentuated by double royal blue arm piping, along with single button-path and collar piping. The “Dodgers” underscored script, in royal blue felt, is bold and intact. There is the slightest of edge fraying outside of the straight-stitch affixing in minor spots, but the nominal degradation does not detract from the identifier’s beauty. The tail beams with '50s fashion; a period Spalding label is sewn in tandem with a size 44 label. Beneath sits the royal blue chain-link name “Campanella” which, in turn, is positioned atop a "57" year identifier. Both match contemporary Dodgers and other Spalding exemplars to a tee, and serve as an outstanding identifier for impressive display. Beneath the tail flap is a washing instructions label with a “Set 1 1957” flag tag -- original and fully intact.

As was the destiny of most flannels, this jersey was relegated to non-major league duty after the ’57 season (Vero Beach, in this case) where it underwent a routine number change. Ironically, #24 in period blue felt and proper font, was administered (which was the jersey number of another Dodger immortal, Walt Alston). After minimal use at that level of competition, the jersey was included in an equipment/uniform donation that the Dodgers provided to a local American Legion team. The jersey's long-time owner (the original recipient) had the luxury of choosing this one from those of Junior Gilliam, Jackie Robinson, Johnny Podres, Gil Hodges and a buffet of others. As should be expected, the young Legion catcher chose Campy’s jersey, wore it for two seasons, and then simply stored it away. There are a few minor moth holes but the jersey is eminently displayable. The overall condition is illustrates the respect shown the historic garment by the young central Florida baseballer, and AMI is proud to offer it as Campy’s final season gamer.

It sold for $40,703.00.

Auction Link: AmericanMemorabilia.com:

Movie Review: Up for Grabs

As some of you may remember in 2001 Barry Bonds was in the midst of breaking Mark McGwire's homerun record. He hit #71 & #72 on October 5th against the Dodgers. Bonds both broke and extended the record that night. He then finished the season, on October 7, with a deep blast to the rightfield corner, homerun #73, that was the impetus for the most contentious fight in Baseball fandome history. A Alex Popov reached up and snow-coned the ball, but landed in a heap as the delirious crowd fell over him. As he fell to the ground the ball came out of Popov's glove and a Patrick Hayashi ended up holding the prize. Almost immediately a controversy erupted. Long story short, Popov sued Hayashi for the ball and the drama was destined to last longer than anyone really wanted.

This movie is a hilarious story about the lawsuit and the characters surrounding it. I laughed, I jeered, and I laughed again. The irony, as I'm sure you know, is that the two parties, by court order, split the proceeds of the ball. (Which they should have done in the first place.) On top of that the verdict was read shortly after the Angels shocked the Giants by defeating them in game 7 of the 2002 World Series. WooHoo!

This is a great story that ends with an auction price that is less than spectacular and provides an inside look at how greed can often lead to bad results. I loved the film and would recommend it to anyone. Put it on your NetFlix list.
Movie Link: Up For Grabs:

Opening Day Blues

What a Shellacking. The Dodger tradition of losing on opening day resumes in earnest. This was the fourth straight year we've lost on this day. Oh well. Why buck custom?

Derek Lowe gets pounded for six earned runs in four innings of work. He was not impressive at all. On the other hand, Ben Sheets looked like a Cy Young candidate. In a complete game win he gave up just two hits. By the end of the eighth inning, Sheets had retired 21 batters in a row since Kent's homerun, and faced only 29 batters total in the game. It was as close to a perfect game as you'll ever see.

One bright spot was Mark Hendrickson. He gave up just one run, a homerun by Hall, in three innings.

Now to the important news, there are only 161 games left to go in the season.

Game BoxScore: Yahoo: