A wild night all around

Pretty safe bet tonight’s game can’t be as crazy as last night’s. Then again, every time you think that’s the case, something wild happens and you’re left shaking your head.

We need to snap out of this funk. A six-game losing streak is never fun, especially coming out of the break. But as we’ve all seen, this team can streak with the best of them and has an ability to come back when everyone least expects it. Here’s hoping Billingsley and the Boys are up to the task tonight.

Manny to the disabled list…

It appears Manny Ramirez’s calf injury is significant enough to put him on the disabled list, which we officially have done while activating Brad Ausmus from the disabled list. Obviously that’s not the news we were hoping to hear from today’s MRI, but clearly it’s more important to have him healthy down the stretch than have him go out there on an injured calf and make things worse.

Of course, the timing isn’t very good given that the team has dropped five in a row, but for true baseball fans, tonight’s matchup of Kershaw and Lincecum should be a really exciting one (and hopefully the first of many between two division rivals for years to come). And hopefully it’s the start of a winning streak…

Regarding the Inside the Dodgers tour, it looks like Sept. 4 is the winner, so stay tuned for details and mark your calendars. We’ll send out more info shortly…

And finally, I truly appreciate the candor of several people posting on ITD and hopefully you can understand that my job is not to be a voice of baseball operations for the team and to weigh in, point by point, on each position on the field. That’s for Ned, Joe and their staffs to do (and as you know, they answer these questions almost daily in the media).

There’s no doubt just from reading your comments how passionate you all are about the team and how badly you want the team to win. All we can do is assure you that the people who come here every day to work are equally as passionate and literally spend almost every waking minute of every day trying to find ways to win. No one comes into the office hoping that today is the day we start a five-game losing streak.

It’s awesome that there’s debate here about which pitchers should be acquired, what our farm system is like, what the lineups should be and the moves that Joe Torre makes in game. That’s why you all love the game and it’s why I love it, too. It’s why many of us have literally chosen to dedicate our life’s work to it.

We look forward to seeing many of you at the tour and hopefully I can answer a question or two for you, if it’s helpful. And if not, that’s okay, too. Just don’t lose your passion for the team…

Inside the Dodgers Tour

For those interested in a group tour for the Inside the Dodgers crew, please let us know if you have a preference on any of the following dates and how many people you think would make it out, as well as if you’d also want to purchase a ticket to the game that day.

Options right now include Aug. 7, Aug. 21 or Sept. 4…

Second half gets underway

How about that NL? Wouldn’t it be something if it turns out that Broxton gets the last out of the Midsummer Classic and the Fall Classic, with one happening in Anaheim and the other in Game 7 at Dodger Stadium?

Lots of preview stories in the media today about the second half and while some have said that our schedule will be more difficult than most, others have said it will be easier. I guess it all depends on perspective. We will be playing a lot of teams over .500, but we’ll also be playing the NL West a lot, and we’ve fared quite well against our own division, as you all know. In fact, the Dodgers actually have the best record in the NL against NL teams, so that’s a good sign, too.

But there’s plenty of work to be done…four teams are right in the thick of things in the NL West and with Manny coming off the DL, here’s hoping the team can stay healthy from here through the end of October.

The last six games against the Cards have ended in Dodger Ws. How about a seventh?

Tune in tonight…

Our stars are on display tonight at the All-Star Game on FOX so hopefully you guys will all be watching.

And of course, our hearts go out to the Yankee family today with the passing of George Steinbrenner. It’s obviously been a tough week for them, with Bob Sheppard also passing away. Though his legacy will live on tonight at the All-Star Game when his voice announces Derek Jeter in Anaheim.

Here are some of the comments made from Dodger personnel regarding The Boss:

“George was a friend who I admired very much.  He was a giant in our game and he built an empire.  All he was was a winner.  He wanted to give the fans a winner, and that’s exactly what he did.”     – Dodger Hall of Fame Manager Tommy Lasorda

“I will always remember George Steinbrenner as a passionate man, a tough boss, a true visionary, a great humanitarian and a dear friend.  I will be forever grateful that he trusted me with his Yankees for 12 years. My heart goes out to his entire family. He will be deeply missed in New York, Tampa and throughout the world of baseball. It’s only fitting that he went out as a world champ.”   – Dodger Manager Joe Torre

“I am deeply saddened to hear the news of George Steinbrenner’s passing.  His vision, passion and commitment to winning, recharged the New York Yankees and revolutionized the game. 

I remember a man driven to succeed.   He was the owner, “The Boss” and number one fan of the Yankees.  Our relationship was built on mutual respect.  I will never forget and always be grateful for how he treated me and my family both during my playing days and after I retired.

I will miss him very much and extend my deepest condolences to his wife, Joan, and all the members of the Steinbrenner family.”    – Dodger Hitting Coach Don Mattingly

“George Steinbrenner was the first owner to convey to me his congratulations when I purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers.  From that day forward we built a strong and meaningful friendship.  He was a larger than life owner who cared deeply about winning.  George helped shape the game of baseball during his incredible stewardship of the Yankees.  My deepest sympathies go out to his wife, Joan and his four children, Hal, Hank, Jennifer and Jessica and the entire Steinbrenner family.”  – Dodger Owner Frank McCourt

Ten games over .500

As one of the most successful managers in baseball history, Joe Torre tends to have an interesting take on a lot of things, and I’ve always found it intriguing over the last couple years that he tends to gauge his team based on its relationship to the .500 mark, not to the standings.

Of course, when we get to September, you need to be at the top of the division, but when we struggled early, he kept saying that the goal was to get to .500 and then after that, it was five games over and now 10 games over.

I guess if you worry about your own team more than your competition, you don’t tend to freak out at the peaks and valleys.

First pitch is a couple minutes away here on FOX…and don’t forget, the first-half finale against the Cubs tomorrow is at 5:10, not the usual 1:10 Sunday time.

The Cubbies are coming to town

It’s always amazing how many people I know who are looking for tickets when the Cubs come to town. I guess it’s a lot of Chicago transplants in LA or just the fact that it’s two of the most famous teams in baseball squaring off, but I’d imagine we’ll have some pretty large crowds these next four days. Hope you all will be a part of it.

Four more days until the All-Star break, so it would be great to close it out in a strong way.

Meanwhile, I’ve seen enough of Mike Stanton for now. It’s great and all that he’s a local product, but he beat us up pretty nicely over the three days here. It was cool to hear him talk on the PRIME TICKET pregame Dodgers Live about coming to Photo Day as a kid. I’m sure there will be a ton of kids here this Saturday when the annual event takes place.

That’s all I’ve got for now…

Bloggers invade Dodger Stadium

Our annual blog night is tonight and we had a great turnout from about 15 different sites…

Among those who stopped by to say hello were Ned Colletti (for an hour), Ron Cey, Sweet Lou Johnson, Kim Ng, Dennis Mannion and the Miller delivery guy from the commercials.

Now, let’s hope the Dodgers can pull out a victory in the bottom of the ninth and make it a perfect night.

Happy 4th of July

Time to celebrate our independence and thank all those who serve in our nation’s military, including one of the newest members. Taylor Jackson, daughter of ESPNLA.com beat writer Tony Jackson, graduated from basic training last weekend in the U.S. Navy. Congrats, Seaman Apprentice Taylor!

And congrats are also in order to Andre Ethier and Jonathan Broxton on their All-Star honors. A great case could have been made for Furcal, Kuo and even Kershaw, but I guess that’s what the All-Star selection Sunday is all about – debate. So feel free to debate it here.

Here’s hoping you all are enjoying a BBQ and watching or listening to the game and then roll out tomorrow night to Dodger Stadium for Fifth of July fireworks.

History revisited…

Pretty cool that just a few feet away, Vin Scully is doing the Dodger broadcast, Joe Garagiola is doing the D-backs broadcast and down in the dugout, Kirk Gibson is managing the D-backs. All three men were there on Oct. 15, 1988 when Gibby hit the famous home run in Game 1 of the World Series.

A few of us were joking before the game that when Gibson goes to the mound to pull out his pitcher, he should do a fist pump with his right arm like he did rounding the bases.

Meanwhile Joe G. and Joe T. were hanging in the dugout during batting practice and a ton of players came over to meet Garagiola. The broadcast area here is named for him and they have a cool timeline of his history in the game of baseball.