Flying home, flying high

How cool was that? I hope everyone got a chance to celebrate last night. We’re on the plane, about to head back to Los Angeles and as you can imagine, there’s a pretty positive vibe right now.

Lots of people picked the Dodgers to lose to the Cards, some even going so far as to say the team wouldn’t win a game. But that’s why they play the games on the field.

The best part is, no one here feels like this was the goal. This was only Step 2. First, win the division. Next, get to the LCS. Both were accomplished and with the Dodgers going to the NLCS in back-to-back years, it’s the first time that’s happened in 31 years.  I’d imagine many people who read this blog haven’t been alive for that long (I barely was!).

It’s a great time to be a Dodger fan and we’ve got to make sure that we have a true home field advantage on Thursday and Friday. Tickets are still available for all four LCS games so spread the word and get to the stadium. This team can use you now more than ever!

Under the arch

Game 3 of the NLDS is about to start soon, as lineups and introductions are going on down on the field.

Vicente Padilla has been pretty impressive since joining the team and he gets the ball tonight in the “biggest game of the year.” I guess every game from here on out can be called that, right?

No one thought we’d beat the Cubs last year, let alone sweep them, and the team went out and did just that. Most experts gave this club no chance going into this series and tonight it looks for a sweep. How cool would that be?

The Dodgers have won six of their last 10 postseason games, so if we can win six out of our next 10, I like our chances.

Same lineup as Game 1 & 2.

Hometown hero!

In the afterglow of Thursday’s comeback in Game 2 of the Division Series, a guest in the Dodger offices posed this unique question: “What were you thinking when Mark Loretta was in the batter’s box?” Standing on the top deck and taking photos of a towel-waving crowd at sunset, the obvious hope was for Loretta to drive in a run, which he did with a single to cap a 3-2 victory.

But during his at-bat, I remembered the afternoon of February 28 in Arizona when Loretta introduced himself to broadcaster Vin Scully in the lunch room of the Camelback Ranch spring training facility. Scully arrived a day early to prepare for the telecast of the team’s first exhibition game. Individual players and coaches stopped by with their greetings.

When Loretta approached, Scully stood and offered a welcoming handshake. Loretta said, “My aunt met you …” and Scully happily picked up the story from an offseason charity event in which Scully was being honored. While escorting the award recipient to the stage to a backdrop of applause, the hostess whispered to Scully, “My nephew is Mark Loretta, the new Dodger.”

For a local product who grew up in Arcadia and attended St. Francis High School in La Canada, the 15th season of his Major League career was a chance to play for the hometown Dodgers. He batted .232 in 107 games as a reserve, but with one swing of the bat in October, Loretta suddenly took his place alongside other Dodgers whose hits have won playoff games, including Cookie Lavagetto (1947), Carl Furillo (1959), Bill Russell (1978) and Kirk Gibson (1988).

— Mark Langill 

If it ain't broke…

Don’t fix it, right? Joe is going with the same lineup today as we did yesterday.

A huge win last night, no doubt. It was the longest nine-inning game in NLDS history but it was worth every minute for those of you here. An electric atmosphere from the crowd, so great job. Let’s do it again today.

Limited tickets are still available so grab your boss and come on down to the park!

I've got a feeling…

You all know the Black Eyed Peas song, right? Well, I think it’s a good sign that they’ve jumped on board with the Dodgers and are having their billboard put up right now at the intersection of Sunset Blvd. and Sweetzer Ave. on the Sunset Strip!

Tonight’s gonna be a good night and hopefully you’ll all be here to experience it. There’s nothing quite like the playoffs to rally a city and that’s what our fans tend to do when it comes to the Dodgers. If you are coming, PLEASE COME EARLY!! We’re opening the ballpark at 4 p.m. to try and alleviate traffic issues, as the game is pretty much right in the middle of rush hour traffic. You can watch BP, relax in your seats and take in the postseason atmosphere.

Of course, we’d be remiss in not mentioning the passing of John Foster yesterday. Mr. Foster was working for Farmer Brothers Coffee when he apparently died of natural causes yesterday in the press box during our workout. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends right now and hopefully you’ll all keep him in mind today.

On a much lighter note, for those who haven’t noticed, we’ve been updating our our Twitter page as quickly as possible with breaking news, which included the first announcement of the Dodgers’ Game 3 and 4 starters (Padilla and Billingsley), as well as tonight’s lineup. Be sure to follow us to get news as fast as we can put it out. Here’s the lineup:

Furcal, SS

Kemp, CF

Ethier, RF

Manny, LF

Loney, 1B

Blake, 3B

Belliard, 2B

Martin, C

Wolf, P

 

Postseason Bound!!!

A little late on this post, but worth the wait, right?? The place was nuts last night, so hopefully everyone has saved some energy for the postseason! Believe it or not, we’re the only NL team to go to the playoffs three of the last four years and four of the last six. There’s something to be said for that, I think.

Game 1 will be Wednesday at 6:37 p.m. with Randy Wolf on the hill and Game 2 will be at 3:07 p.m. with Clayton Kershaw on the hill.

Hope you’ll all be here supporting your team as you have all year long! And if you can’t be here, tune in on TBS on KABC 790/KHJ 930.

 

The oldest living Major Leaguer

Former Dodger infielder Tony Malinosky will be honored in pregame ceremonies prior to Saturday night’s game. The Oxnard resident, who appeared in 35 games with the 1937 Brooklyn Dodgers, will celebrate his 100th birthday on Monday. He is the oldest living former Major League player.

“Tony’s in a great mood today,” reports Beth Lango, Tony’s niece. “He woke up singing, ‘It’s a Beautiful Day for a Ballgame.”
malinosky 2.JPG

And here’s tonight’s lineup:

Furcal, SS

Pierre, CF

Kemp, RF

Manny, LF

Blake, 3B

Loney, 1B

Hudson, 2B

Martin, C

Kershaw, P

Let’s hope this is the one that win’s the NL West!

Inside the Dodgers Tour

Sitting in my office right now with David Kort, the winner of the ThinkCure auction in the Battle of the Joshs.

He’s been here for about 45 minutes and already met Maury Wills, Manny Mota, Joe Torre, Larry Bowa, Juan Pierre, James McDonald, Tim Wallach, George Sherrill, Mariano Duncan, Charley Steiner and we’re just getting going. Plus we’ve already taken him to some of the cool corners of the stadium that no one ever gets to see. And it’s benefiting ThinkCure.

Even better, when he picked this date a while back, no one realized he’d have a chance to be in the clubhouse when we celebrate a division title. Let’s hope we can pull it off tonight.

Here’s the lineup:

Furcal, SS

Ethier, RF

Manny, LF

Kemp, CF

Loney, 1B

Blake, 3B

Martin, C

Hudson, 2B

Wolf, P

Road finale in San Diego

Lots of Dodger fans were here last night hoping to see a celebration. Here’s hoping we’ve got a lot in the house tonight and we can finish this thing off before we head home.

Don’t forget that on Friday back home, we’re near a sell out for the celebration of Tommy’s 60th anniversary. The first 50,000 fans will get replica Hall of Fame plaques and there’s even seats still available in My Town: Italy, where Tommy is going to pay a visit on top of the Italian food and the limited edition t-shirts.

Lineup is pretty standard, but it looks like Andre dropped toward the back end, as he’s had a pretty rough road trip. And Casey Blake gets another day off to get his hamstring where it needs to be for the postseason.

Furcal, SS

Hudson, 2B

Manny, LF

Kemp, CF

Loney, 1B

Loretta, 3B

Ethier, RF

Martin, C

Garland, P

A little postseason history lesson

After qualifying for the playoffs, the Dodgers are still aiming to capture consecutive National League West titles for the first since 1977 and 1978. Tommy Lasorda and Joe Torre are the only two managers to lead Los Angeles to the playoffs in their first two seasons piloting the Dodgers. Lasorda and Gabby Street (1930-31 Cardinals) are the only N.L. managers to win pennants in their first two seasons as manager.

This is also the first time the Dodgers have reached the playoffs four times in a six-year span since the Brooklyn Dodgers reached the World Series four times in a five-year span from 1952-56. The “playoff” losses in 1946, 1951, 1962 and 1980 are considered part of the regular season as tiebreakers, thus don’t count as a postseason appearance.

The only Brooklyn manager to come close to reaching the playoffs in his first two full seasons was Burt Shotton, who replaced Leo Durocher during the 1948 season and finished in third place. In 1949, Shotton’s Dodgers won the 1949 National League pennant and nearly repeated in 1950, missing a chance to force a playoff with the Phillies by losing at home against Philadelphia on the final day of the regular season.

Brooklyn’s Ned Hanlon won consecutive N.L. pennants in his first two seasons as Dodger manager in 1899 and 1900, but the World Series didn’t begin until 1903.

— Mark Langill