August 2010
Vin in In for 2011!
What great news to start a Sunday morning…there has never been anyone like him and while I never say “never” when it comes to the future, it’s fairly safe to assume that there will never be another like him in our lifetime.
He’s not only the best at what he does for a living, but he’s every bit as humble and kind as you would hope he would be. Welcome back, Vin. We’re looking forward to a fruitful 2011 — hearing your voice and watching you “work.”
Dodgers Sign Zach Lee!
It’s official…at least pending a physical. The Dodgers have signed Zach Lee, their first-round pick who had been previously considered unsignable by many baseball experts. He will give up football at LSU and focus on baseball full-time.
It’s a huge signing for the Dodgers, who earlier today signed 11th-rounder Joc Pederson and 26th-round pick Scott Schebler to give them a total of 30 of their 50 picks signed, including nine of their top 10 and 13 of their top 15. Many believe that he would have been in the Top 10 in talent had everyone not assumed he was committed to playing football.
It makes tonight’s awful loss just a little easier to swallow, though admittedly not much. That was yet another tough one.
Road trip starts off right…
The offense seems to have clicked last night and raise your hand if you thought Jay Gibbons was going to start out this hot! He’s back in the starting lineup tonight.
It’s no secret, the Dodgers need to start winning series against every team to help erase the 4 1/2 game wild card lead and 7 game division lead. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s far from impossible. Last night was a good start to a big road trip.
Tonight, Chad Billingsley is going for his 10th win for the fourth straight season. That’s pretty impressive consistency (Derek Lowe was the last Dodger to do it and before that, I think it was Chan Ho Park, but I’d have to go back and really look it up!)
I was surprised to learn today that the Dodgers have won 12 of the last 14 season series with the Phillies going back to 1996. Of course, they’ve gotten the best of us in the two series that matter most, but a game like last night is important because right now, the Phillies are ahead of the Dodgers in the wild card race, too.
Game time tonight is at 4:05 p.m. PT on PRIME Ticket so tune in…
Garret Anderson, Jay Gibbons, Sylvia Fisk and Esther Rosen
In today’s L.A. Times, Bill Plaschke found one of the amazing stories in the building so make sure you check it out. It’s always great to see some of the hard working people here get some recognition and the incredible thing is, there are stories like this behind so many people who work for the Dodgers, yet few ever learn of their tales.
It’s only fitting, since Bill points out that they’ve never met a player in four decades of Sylvia working here, that we put their names in the headline with two players who made news today. The club designated Garret Anderson for assignment to make room for Jay Gibbons, who has been tearing up Triple-A all season long after spending last year retired in Thousand Oaks. Garret has been a class act throughout a difficult year and we wish him well. Hopefully Jay can come up with some big hits for this club in the final seven-plus weeks of the season.
As for Sylvia and Esther, the timing of the story was also ironic because yesterday we had the latest installment of the Starting 9 program. Various stadium workers – from ushers to ticket takers, security to parking attendants and food service workers, etc. are nominated by their colleagues to be their department’s member of the Starting 9. Those nine employees then get to watch batting practice from the field, meet a Dodger player and, here’s the kicker: Meet Vin Scully.
It’s awesome to see the reaction on their faces when they meet the person who ties all Dodger generations together and hopefully Sylvia will be honored in the future if she hasn’t been already.
ThinkTour…
Today, the two winners of the ThinkCure auction who had the winning bids to go “Inside the Dodgers” will be here to spend the day following around yours truly to see what it’s like to work for the team. It’s always a fun day for me, as it’s a reminder of how fortunate we are to do what we do for a living.
Meanwhile, if you are interested in the Inside the Dodgers tour, it’s set for Sept. 4 at 12:00 p.m. and as we mentioned last month, it’ll be a special group rate of $10 per person or $5 for kids. You can also tickets for that night (you can pretty much get them wherever you’d like to sit…we aren’t requiring anyone to purchase in the same section).
If you’re interested in the group tour, please email Brett at bretts@ladodgers.com and he’ll take credit card info, etc. to get you set up. If you want to attend the game that night against the Giants, please contact Bryan at bryans@ladodgers.com or 323.224.1376.
Putting a tough loss into perspective
Tonight’s game was a very tough loss to the Padres, but it’s hard to think of much else other than Don Hawkins, the gentleman who passed away this evening after collapsing on the field at Dodger Stadium. Mr. Hawkins was the group leader of Mormon Community Night and more than 4,000 fans from the group were in attendance, with a contingent set to take part in pregame ceremonies.
Shortly before they began, Mr. Hawkins collapsed on the field and we learned part way though the game that unfortunately he passed away. The family’s wishes were for us to continue with the pregame ceremonies and ask the fans to keep him in their thoughts and prayers, which we did and they certainly remain there with his passing.
Andre Ethier, In My Own Words
For all you Ethierholics, after tonight’s game on PRIME Ticket, stay tuned to see the premiere of “In My Own Words: Andre Ethier.”
Hosted by Steve Lyons, the half-hour show will take a look at Ethier’s breakout season in 2009, the mental approach he takes with each walk-off opportunity and what his first All-Star experience was like. The sit down interview will also feature Ethier’s passion for food and how the birth of his son Dreson has changed him.
Additional content beyond the sit-down interview includes Ethier back home in Arizona (attending his jersey retirement at Saint Mary’s High School), a mic’d up segment with the outfielder at this year’s All Star game, and two “Dining with ‘Dre” segments.
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On a side note, Elias Sports Bureau sent us the following today…Ted Lilly, who allowed only two baserunners in seven innings in his Dodgers debut on Tuesday, is the only pitcher since 1900 to throw at least seven innings while allowing no more than two batters to reach safely (via hit, walk or hit by pitch) in his first game for the Dodgers.
Inside the Dodgers
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