First Day of Workouts – Josh Rawitch
If the sight of Eric Gagne on the mound doesn’t excite Dodger fans, I’m not sure what will. Eric threw a bullpen session today, as did several other Dodgers, including Danys Baez and Derek Lowe. Also on the mound were some of the prospects you’ve all been hearing a lot about like Chad Billingsley and Justin Orenduff. No one is going full speed just yet, but the pop of the catcher’s mitt was a great sound here at Dodgertown. Hundreds of fans were gathered around the "old strings" area, where Dodger greats like Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Fernando Valenzuela and Orel Hershiser used to throw their ‘pens, too.
Nomar Garciaparra also worked out at first base, which was great to see. As you might have read in the L.A. Times, he came down to Dodger Stadium earlier this month to work out with Eddie Murray and get a jump on Spring Training. That really impressed a lot of people around here – just the fact that he wanted to see what it was like to play the position at Dodger Stadium, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to simulate game action at Chavez Ravine while he was at Dodgertown. In the photo, he and Grady Little got a chance to catch up out on one of the fields here after the drills were done.
A couple more guys arrived here today, including new shortstop Rafael Furcal. Not surprisingly, he was a little lost when I ran into him trying to find the clubhouse, as he’d never been here before as a member of the Dodgers. I was able to give him a ride on the golf cart and he got a chance to meet his new teammates and take his physical, which all players do upon their arrival.
As for the blog, the comments have been great so far, so keep them coming. We’ve had some good suggestions already and will continue to stay on top of your requests as best we can.
Inside the Dodgers 
Hi Josh,
It’s great hearing about what happens behind the scenes. It’s going to be a great year for the Dodgers. If you bleed Blue…it’s a very exciting time!! Keep up the great work and I look forward to reading more blogs.
Best always,
Ray
Pretty serious aliasing on Nomar’s cap. Maybe you ought to think about using Photoshop to shrink these boys down to size before publishing them…
Josh –
You mentioned Nomar “wanted to see what it was like to play the position at Dodger Stadium.” How much like DS are the ballparks in Dodgertown? Are the dimensions built the same so players get a feel for the foul lines and basepaths? I’ve always been curious about that…
Ready for another round of blog and go seek?
😉 You and Jhall seek….we will blog!
LOL!!
Hate to say it, but, I’m torn between winning and losing tonight. I’d like Kersh to do well and pick up a win. However, it will probably be better for the team in the long run if we completely tank the next 10-12 games.
I was talking to Nellyjune about that at lunch today. The Giants would love us to win (the only time ever pulling for us) but, I really do want the guys to do well. I hate losing! However, if we win a few games, Ned might really do something stupid…..once again!
Yep, quite the conundrum.
Grady and Nomar, that brings back memories.
Yeah it does! Some good. Some not so good.
[UPDATED 3:39 p.m.: The statement from Ryan Kirkpatrick, an attorney for Frank McCourt:
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“Jamie McCourt continues to live a lifestyle that simply is not sustainable. She has seven homes which Frank pays for, and despite many requests, she has refused to sell or rent any of them. No one needs seven houses. Beyond covering her home expenses, Frank has been paying her $225,000 a month to support her unrestrained style of living. Today’s request by Frank simply reflects economic reality.”
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The statement from Matthew Hiltzik, a spokesman for Jamie McCourt:
“Frank’s hypocrisy and deceit know no bounds. It’s inexplicable that Frank has single-handedly destroyed the value of the Dodgers in the nearly two years since Jamie was last involved with the team. If Frank’s personal financial situation is really so dire, why doesn’t he just sell his half of the Dodger assets?”]
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According to the filing, McCourt has incurred legal bills of $9.38 million over the last 12 months, not including any bankruptcy-related work. Of that total, $3.44 million remains unpaid.
Ain’t divorce grand?
I figure 4 loses out of six is a good start.
( 😦 )
Nice to see the time off didn’t effect Fecal’s hitting.
Uribe too!
We get two for the price of Juan 😉
Ahhh! Glad to hear Vin again!
Very nice!
Amazing…they send Ellis down and keep Navarro!
Sad situation.
Wow…great throw Matt!
Nice throw Matthew!!!!
Wow…Rivera!
Wow! Nice start Juan!
I guess that makes Ned a genius 😉
Good start for Rivera. Ned’s probably got his secretary typing up an overpriced 3 year contract.
Ha! I was just thinking the same thing.
Boy, FurBe is a wonderful one-two punch!
Scintillating.
Neither could punch their way out of a wet paper bag at this point.
The U.S. Trustee overseeing the Los Angeles Dodgers bankruptcy urged the judge to reject the team’s request to borrow as much a $150 million from a JP Morgan Chase and Co. unit, saying the Dodgers didn’t properly disclose a loan fee.
How can they keep borrowing if they’re bankrupt? Isn’t borrowing money with no way of paying it back how the country got in the mess its in?
Ol’ Frankie keeps trying!
Reminds me of the book & movie; “Too Big to Fail.”
Meet next year’s starting LFer and say goodbye to Sands and Robinson.
NOOOOOOOO!
I sure hope not. Sands is going to be the real deal.
Better hope Navarro doesn’t have a good 2 week stretch or Ned will sign him up for 3 years and too much money.
Nothing good can come of this. The more wins, the more Ned wants to be a buyer. The better the new Juan does, the longer contract Ned will give him. 😦
It really is THAT predictable isn’t it?
A genuine lose – lose situation no matter how you slice it with current ownership & management. 😦
Wow…Matt is awesome tonight!
I’ve never rooted for the Gnats or Braves – can’t stand either team, but I’m sure hoping both go on long winning streaks.
Hell, I want to be the team to knock the Gnats out of the playoffs!
That can come in Sept Tru. No way I want Ned being a buyer the next couple of weeks. That happens, we’ll be looking 7-8 years to rebuild this team instead of 3-4.
Yep…September it will be. I think the Dbacks or Rockies will pass the Giants anyway. I don’t even want them to make it in as a wild card.
It’s a sad state of affairs when a Dodger fan is rooting against Kershaw. But that’s where I am tonight. Maybe we can lose it when Donnie brings in the bullpen.
Wow…..Matt is having quite a night!
YES HE IS!!!
Uribe power!!
LMAO!!!
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Way to go guys….lots of runs tonight!
There goes the shutout thanks to Urectum’s blunder. .
Sheeit!
This Dbacks team is scrappy. You can’t have defensive lapses against them.
Up to the bullpen now. . .
There’s a glimmer of hope we can still lose this game.
Doesn’t matter…Gnats are winning!
Insurance!! 🙂
😉 😉
Why McDoodoo?!
Mark Cuban’s a guest on Bill Maher’s Real Time tonight. Bill just gave him a Dodger hat on the air.
Hint hint.
Cool!
Cuz he do the voodoo that doodoo we smell.
L M ( . ) ( . ) O
Or, as Jhall would say…..( | )~~~~~~
Sniff. Sniff.
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Ahhhh… fannay de breeze. (Its French.)
Guarantee Ned resigns MacDougal to 2-years, $6M.
LOL…probably will!
Dumb question, I know. But, once again, why is Uribe on this team? And why is he hitting in the two-hole? Or should I say not hitting in the two-hole?
Uribe is a 2-hole if you ask me.
I don’t know why he is on the team….as for him battiing in the two hole, Donnie thought it would snap him out of his slump 🙂
Jeez! Furcal has stunk it up really bad since coming off the DL. I’m ready for Gordon to come back.
Nothing like your 1-2 hitters batting .175 & .206 this late in the season.
Kuo got bad calls at the plate there.
He sure did! Lousy umpire!
Way to go Javy!
Whew! Got interesting there at the end!
Damn it! The bullpen got the job done. Five game winning streak. Shit!
I really hate seeing Kuo get pull.
Pitcher
Year
Strikeouts
Sandy Koufax
1962
208
Sandy Koufax
1965
204
Sandy Koufax
1966
185
Sandy Koufax
1963
170
Don Drysdale
1960
162
Hideo Nomo
1995
161
Bill Singer
1969
159
Sandy Koufax
1961
157
Sandy Koufax
1964
156
Fernando Valenzuela
1981
156
Dazzy Vance
1925
153
Don Drysdale
1963
151
Clayton Kershaw
2011
147
Most Strikeouts By A Dodger Through 93 Games
Central W L Pct GB Home Road East Cent West Streak L10
Pittsburgh Pirates 48 43 .527 — 23-22 25-21 10-14 21-12 9-10 Won 2 7-3
St. Louis Cardinals 49 44 .527 — 25-21 24-23 9-9 18-15 14-13 Lost 1 4-6
Milwaukee Brewers 49 45 .521 0.5 33-14 16-31 13-11 20-17 10-8 Lost 2 4-6
Cincinnati Reds 46 47 .495 3.0 24-21 22-26 3-7 27-19 10-9 Won 1 4-6
Chicago Cubs 38 56 .404 11.5 21-27 17-29 7-8 12-24 14-14 Won 1 4-6
Houston Astros 30 63 .323 19.0 14-34 16-29 5-17 14-25 7-10 Lost 5 1-9
Congratulation Braves on being the 5th teams in history with 10,000 wins great accomplishment but they also on there way to 10,000 losses. I hate the Yankees so much but how come they only have 9,723 wins ranked them 9th and they behind the Giants, Cubs, Dodgers, Cardinals, Braves, Reds, and Pirates.
To bad Cox retired and it would’ve probably been much better.
I wonder why MLB don’t recognize the Dodgers and Cardinals wins in AA? Well apparently the Braves are the 3rd teams with 10,000 wins.
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