Results tagged “dodgers”

LA Times sports columnist Bill Plaschke wrote an article describing the lackluster reaction of Laker Nation last night as Pau Gasol made his first appearance of the season. Coming off a hamstring injury that sidelined the Spaniard for the first eleven games of the season, Gasol was back to his usual self, contributing 24 points and 13 rebounds in a 108-93 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

I don’t want to beat a dead horse. Frankly, I don’t want to beat any horses. I do, however, feel a deep need to perform my civic duty and illuminate some additional reasons for the swift and generous resigning of Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp to long term contracts.

The World Series isn't over yet, but that hasn't stopped the exciting Dodgers offseason from getting a little head start. Dodgers pitcher Vicente Padilla apparently shot himself in the right leg in his home country of Nicaragua today.

It's an uncertain time for Dodger fans. To put things lightly, there are some questions about the ownership. It is not clear who will maintain control of the club. It is not clear what the payroll of the club will be. Despite falling two years a row to the Phillies in the NLCS, the reality is the Dodgers are blossoming into a very good baseball team. I am going on the record in saying I don't want the progression to end. We have miles left in our legs.

After a heartbreaking loss, it’s best to take a giant step back. It’s best to look at a failure against the backdrop of the season as a whole. The first conclusion I reached was, “At least we aren’t Washington Nationals fans”.

There's a little controversy brewing up in San Francisco about the naming of neighborhoods and New York-like acronyms. One of the grittier neighborhoods called the Western Addition has been unofficially renamed by real estate agents to be called NoPa, or North of Panhadle.

Diamond Leung still loves baseball and journalism. But you'd understand if he didn't. After five years at the Riverside-Press Enterprise, two of those as the Dodgers beat writer, Leung, 27, was laid off from his post after the paper eliminated most of its baseball coverage. The San Francisco native and UCLA grad, at right, moved back to his hometown and did what any young, self respecting unemployed baseball lover would do: start a blog. The aptly named Diamond Notes is a baseball news source that aggregates some of the more interesting finds others may miss. We caught up with him yesterday, touching on the Dodgers diminishing World Series hopes, life after journalism and why he doesn't watch baseball on T.V.

The Dodgers lost yesterday, giving the Phillies a 3-1 lead in the series, but if our boys in blue win tomorrow, the playoff series comes back to Los Angeles for games on Friday and if need be, on Saturday. That said, Dodgers officials today are releasing 6,000 tickets for the two potential games. The cheapest tickets go for $51. Go, go Dodgers!

It's hard work watching baseball games on Fox. On the one hand, each contest always seems lasts an hour too long and, on the other, the Fox announcers over-the-top Yankee gushing (though mostly Derek Jeter) makes you feel less like you're watching a baseball game and more like an episode of the Dating Game. Plus, last night's classic not withstanding, game one of the ALCS was a slow, matter of fact contest between the dominant Yankees and the suddenly hapless Angels.

In a seven game series, the winning team needs four victories to advance to the next round. Although the Phillies hold only a 2-1 series advantage, make no mistake: Tonight is a must-win for this Dodgers squad. Following last night’s public execution of Hiroki Kuroda, the Boys in Blue are reeling.

The first National League playoff game has just begun and while tens of thousands of eyeballs are glued to the game right now, there are plenty who are not. Maybe they don't care or maybe they are waiting to watch it on Tivo at home. And if you're part of the latter group, some digital billboards might ruin it all for you.

It has been a long wait for Dodger fans. The Phillies pushed the Dodgers around last year in the 2008 NLCS. Philadelphia made short work of the Boys in Blue, sending them home in just five games. And it wasn't that close.

We always forget so quickly, but yeah, it's that time again when Mayors bet beloved city treasures when their sports teams hit the playoffs or finals. In this day and age, the bets happen on Twitter.

LA Dodgers beat Atlanta Braves 5-4. There were a lot of little subplots to last nights' Dodgers-Braves game. The Dodger lead was slowly slipping away (6 games over the idle Giants). Former Dodger Derek Lowe was making his return to Chavez Ravine with the Braves. Which Dodger team was going to show up? Would the Dodgers help Randy Wolf get a decision? Who knew WHAT to expect. In spite of all the uncertainty, one thing is for certain. If the game is on the line and Andre Ethier is at the plate, more often than not the Dodgers are gonna win. Andre hit his fourth career walk-off homer, a 3 run shot, to give the Dodgers the win over the Braves and keep the Dodgers 6 1/2 up of the Giants in the NL West.

The story is as old as baseball itself -- Dreadlocked Slugger moves to Hollywood... Dreadlocked Slugger earns suspension for female fertility drug use... Dreadlocked Slugger returns. And...

Apparently, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was booed at when he was introduced at last night's Dodgers pregame ceremony, according to the LA Times. And maybe rightfully so, but considering his latest promises for the next four years, we think he deserves a second chance in his new term. That chance won't last forever by any means, but if he does what he says he's going to do--major rail infrastructure being a sexy one--you know he then will have a guaranteed job as Governor down the line. He promises to track results online, so we'll see about that, too. Because, hey, whatever happened to the promises of citywide Wifi by this year? Will it actually happen by the end of 2009? Tracking those results cannot be easily found on the Mayor's website.

       

Ever wonder how Andre Ethier manages to stay so chill despite leading the Dodgers in game-winning RBI? The Dodgers' right fielder shared his secret on Saturday with 100 lucky participants in DodgersWIN with the first-ever yoga session in Dodger Stadium. Ethier's yoga instructor, Johanna Epps, flew in from Phoenix to lead a group in one hour of twists, poses, sun salutes and Etheir's personal favorite, the difficult Pigeon Pose. The session took place at the unusually tranquil hour of 11 a.m. in the Mannywood neighborhood of Dodgertown, CA 90090 -- aka left field.

Saturday, Jeff Weaver of the Los Angeles Dodgers is scheduled to start against his younger brother, Jered Weaver of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in interleague play at Anaheim. "It's a chance to share the same mound on the same day and not many can say that," said Weaver. "It's a moment we won't forget. It's pretty special regardless of the outcome," Jeff told MLB.com. Weaver said his parents had planned to attend the wedding of a relative in Temecula, but those plans have changed.

Dodgers Skipper Joe Torre, not yet done promoting his Yankee tell-almost-all, stopped by Universal City on Monday to visit another New York City transplant. As Conan mentions at the top of the video, the Dodgers have the best record in baseball right now. Hopefully we'll all get to say that in October.

Streetsblogger Damien Newton is not happy with the most recent Dodgers free parking promotion, which will run during the series against the Oakland A's June 16-18, saving you $15. Newton's problem is that the Dodgers earlier this year refused to fund the public transportation shuttle between the stadium and Union Station, a program that began just last year. Here are his thoughts plus math: "Well, now it's official. The Dodgers don't consider people that don't own cars part of their fan base. For the record, the Dodgers parking lot fits 16,000 cars. At $15 a pop, they are losing more revenue with this three day promotion to 'all their fans' then they would have spent funding the bus service from Union Station to Dodger Stadium for the entire season." But will the A's games fill up the parking lot?

       

As the mainstream media continues to crumble around us, more and more remaining news sources are turning to the internet as a legitimate resource for information and mass appeal. You can’t watch an evening news segment without hearing the word ‘twitter’, and most every single site now has a blog associated with it. GM has a blog? Kodak? Boeing? While occasionally a corporate blog can be helpful (see also: the Google blog any time Gmail fails to function properly), for the most part they are just another buzzword that someone threw money at. And while LAist enjoys a reasonable amount of media credibility (we’re no Perez Hilton, thank god), there are still plenty of events that we can’t get into, and even more small blog sites that can’t even get their foot in the door.

Too bad Manny is suspended. Blogdowntown reports that despite a moratorium on supergraphics, new "Mannywood" advertisements have appeared on the sides of buildings on Flower and Figueroa in the past two weeks. Funny thing is, the billboard moratorium was just extended yesterday until June 24th. (Photo: Eric Richardson)

Everyone's jaw is dropping here in Los Angeles (holy shit!) while Cubs fans are screaming "suck it, Dodgers!" Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez has tested positive for performance-enhancing drug and will be suspended for 50 games, according to the Los Angeles Times. His first game back will be July 3rd--in the meantime, outfielder Xavier Paul will apparently be promoted to Manny's position. The official announcement by Major League Baseball is expected later today.

LA has a diverse cast of characters. Whether it's the characters with stirring stories or interesting occupations or the people who are just simply characters, this town has them all. In an effort to get to know some of those characters a little better, we've created "Seven Questions with..." If you have a suggestion for a future Seven Questions subject send us an email.

Beloved Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully will be inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in a ceremony in Las Vegas tomorrow. The National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame honors one radio and one television broadcaster every year.

A few have wrote in asking what the heck that was about. Don't worry, there's no need to grab your nuclear fallout suit, it was just in celebration of home opening day at Dodger Stadium, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department in an alert. They play the San Francisco Giants. Go Blue!

Is the above post-Dodger Game traffic jam scenario familiar? Last year, the city did a pilot program called the "Dodger Trolley." It whisked baseball fans to and from Dodger Stadium and Union Station (and some stops between). If the city is to do it for the 2009 season, it would cost $400,000, but with the current budget shortfall and economy, finding the funding has not happened yet, Eric Richardson at blogdowntown reports:

The Manny Ramirez saga is over. In what the LA Times has dubbed "The Great Compromise of 2009," a deal was reached today, confirmed by a a baseball source who spoke on the condition of anonymity. We're looking at a $45-million two-year contract that includes an opt-out clause that can be used after the first year. Ramirez, 37, will earn $25 million this year, making him the second highest paid player in the sport, and will get another $20 million if he chooses to stay through the second year.

With Spring Training underway, the Dodgers have made Manny Ramirez another offer to return for the 2009 baseball season, reports the Los Angeles Times. The latest offer is $25 million dollars for one year with a player option for a second year for $20 million dollars.

Most bar fights should, by rights, involve women and their jealous boyfriends, or the old "Tastes great/Less filling" debate. Of course, tension between bar patrons is often brought on by sports rivalries, and at J's Cocktail Lounge in Fullerton, this was no exception.