The Dodgers Are Back

It’s been two weeks and I’m back, and the Dodgers are back.

This past weekend the Dodgers swept the Colorado Rockies in a three-game series. Yes, it’s true; they finally won three games in a row, their first three-game winning streak of the season.

Saturday’s game against Colorado was full of action. The Dodgers had a ten-run rally in the first inning. Matt Kemp with his first grand slam of his career and his first five-RBI game, was on fire. He now has an average of .318. Sweet! The final score was 11-3.

On Tuesday, the Dodgers headed east to face the Florida Marlins for another three-game series. It’s the top of the ninth; the score is tied at six with two outs, Ethier is at second. Old man Jeff Kent is up to bat. With a hit to center field, Ethier comes in to score and breaks the tie. The Dodgers lead 7-6.

Saito was brought in, in the ninth inning for the save, striking out

two. With a 7-6 win, the Dodgers are back to the .500 mark. Sweet!

And what’s even better, is that it seems Saito is also back, helping the Dodgers with their fourth straight victory. Last year, Saito ended the season with an ERA of 1.40. Currently, his ERA is at 2.38.

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Just last night, the Dodgers had their fifth straight victory, beating the Marlins 13-1. Sweet!

I know it’s early in the season, but to me every win counts.

Rafael Furcal came through once again with five hits and three runs. Second in the league, with an average of .381, Furcal’s three-year contract with the Dodgers ends this year. Ned Colletti will need to start thinking about whether he wants to re-sign him. He’s stupid if he doesn’t.

Currently, leading the league with an average of .410 is third baseman for the Atlanta Braves, Chipper Jones.

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So as a Dodgers fan, watching Andruw Jones in the lineup pisses me off. After signing him to a two-year contract for $36.2 million-dollars, he sucks. With one homerun and 4-RBIs, his batting average is at a disgraceful .159. He sucks and he’s gain quite a few pounds. People say the camera adds ten pounds, but how many cameras are on him? Get it together Druw.

Another player that is a great disappoint is Jason Schmidt, who signed with the Dodgers at the end of 2006. The deal? $47 million-dollars for three years. Ugh! What a waste of money. He started the 2007 season and before you could say: F*@k the Giants! He was injured. What a waste.

But I guess it could’ve been worse, we could’ve signed Barry Zito. (-;
I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but the San Francisco Giants demoted Zito to the bullpen. What does this mean? Well for one, their $126 million-dollar pitcher will no longer be starting. This saddens me. Zito, who signed a seven-year contract with the Giants only six months ago, has a 7.53 ERA for the season. He has been unable to win any games this season.

Luckily, the Dodgers didn’t sign Jones or Schmidt for a seven-year contract.  Which makes me wonder? What will the Giants do with six more seasons of Barry Zito?

Zito’s stats for the season:

• 0-6 in his six starts
  
• 15 walks
• 11 strikeouts
• Has given up 30 runs
• Averages 4-2/3 innings

No one expected Zito to perform the way he is, and now the Giants really need to consider what they want to do. For now, they hope by placing him in the bullpen, he will improve.

Although the Dodgers have made some bad decisions, signing Jones and Pierre, who isn’t even starting this season. I can stomach Pierre’s contract, but Zito, I would like to nominate him and his $126 million-dollar contract as the undisputed champion, of the worst MLB contract ever.

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I wanted to end this post with a special treat. Below is one of the greatest baseball moments of all time. Where would you rank it? Top 100? Top 10? #1?
Kirk Gibson’s homer in the 1998 World Series against Dennis Eckersley is priceless. Gibson, who can barely walk, steps up to the plate to pinch-hit. It’s the bottom of the ninth, the count is 3-2…the rest is history. Enjoy!

National West Standings

W L PCT

Arizona 20 8 .714

Los Angeles 14 13 .519
San Francisco 13 16 .448
Colorado 11 17 .393
San Diego 11 17 .393

Tomorrow, the Dodgers will face the Marlins in the final game of the series. In hopes of the sweep, pitcher Kuroda will go up against Marlins pitcher Badenhop.

GO DODGERS!

Off Topic: Exploring Net Neutrality

Let me introduce you to a completely new issue that I just found out about. It is called Net Neutrality.

Have you ever heard of this?

Yeah, neither had I. So let me introduce you to the issue:

Net Neutrality is in some ways like the First Amendment, but for the Internet. It is "the foundation of the free and open Internet" (Media Alliance).

The pro-Net Neutrality video below, explains what Net Neutrality is in about a minute.

So if you're wondering how Net Neutrality can effect you? Read on.

Currently, all traffic on the Internet travels equally. There is no idea that one site is superior than the other. Now, large corporations are trying to challenge that. Giant companies want to place fees for faster speed service on sites. If you don't pay the fee, your site may take up to a minute or two to download all its content, maybe even longer if you have video.

They say they are providing us with what we want, which is on-demand TV and movies, but they want to limit us in the way we retrieve this content. Simply put, they don't want anyone competing against them. Telephone giants, like Comcast and AT&T, want to decide what the best websites are for you.

Ahhh, is in that sweet? They're always thinking about us. In a market full of Starbucks, Walmarts, and Rupert Murdochs, how is a small business or non-profit organization supposed to compete?

Since 2005, several bills have been introduced to Congress, but none have become law. Wikipedia has a nice list of the proposed bills.

A few opponents of Net Neutrality:

The Justice Department

Arnold Swarzennegger

Senator John McCain

Senator Barrack Obama on where he stands on the issue of Net Neutrality.

So, how am I affected by Net Neutrality?

Currently, I have the freedom and power to visit any site I want. Without Net Neutrality, I would be forced to visit sites that have paid for the better and faster service. This would leave non-profit sites, educational sites and many small sites that cannot afford the premium, out of my reach. A system that many of us know as, the haves and the have-nots.

This is obviously nothing new, it has been going on for centuries. But I knew the day would come when these huge corporations would go after the Internet because of its capacity and future potential.

Here it is at its best.

This great blog dedicated to the greatest team in the world, the Dodgers, can be potentially lost in the vast world of the Internet.  I don't have the financial resources to pay for premium service, like Joe-Millionaire, who is writing a blog about how bad his Padres are doing this season. 

My e-mail and banking services can be jeopardized because they could take too long to load.

As a student, the impact could be potentially detrimental. San Francisco State University's (SFSU) websites can be compromised. SFSU has enough financial trouble and requiring any school system to pay a premium, could put any school in financial ruin. SFSU servers are slow as it is and accessing I-Learn, SFSU webmail or MySFSU without Net Neutrality can make the process hours longer.

As a Bay Area resident, non-profit websites like, Beyond Chron, would not be easily available because they would not be able to pay the high-price being charged. Without Net Neutrality many Bay Area voices that use the World Wide Web to spread their ideas and opinions, could be silenced.

Nation-wide the Internet has allowed millions to retrieve a vast variety of information from any site without any limitations. Additionally, the Internet has allowed millions to share information with each other, making us online journalist, critics, activist, and publishers of online content.

Is this really a problem?

According to corporations and some lobbyist, it is. They would like to regulate more than just television, more than just the radio, and more than just periodicals. They want it all!

Do they want to regulate what can and what can't be distributed?

When I first started researching Net Neutrality and those opposed to it, I said, "Great! Finally some form of Internet regulation".

I've always been passionate about regulating explicit online content from reaching children, and only children of course because everyone has the right to search for a MILF online.

But after diving more into this issue, I realized that this is another ploy for the rich to become richer. It is a ploy to silence those who have a small space on the Internet. It is a ploy to reduce and possibly eliminate competition.

GO DODGERS!

Let the Kids Play!

Wow!

The Dodgers have lost four of their last five games. After San Diego swept
the Dodgers in a three-game series, I can’t help wonder...what the f*@k is going on?

I know, I know. We do have LaRoche, Garciaparra and Abreu on the DL (disabled list), but we have some good young kids on the roster.

So Torre, let the kids play!

Let me start with James Loney. With a batting average of .264, the kid is hot right now.

On Wednesday, Loney homers on a fly ball to right field.

Loney’s nine-game hitting streak is a career high, and leads the league.

And with Tony Abreu out, Chin-lung Hu has been playing great. Abreu may have trouble getting his utility job back from Hu.

Hu’s batting average of .333, proves that he is a great infield utility player, especially in the shortstop position.

Now Ethier, who has an average of .281, talks about the upcoming game against San Diego on Friday, in the game that Jake Peavy is scheduled to pitch.

“He executes all of his pitches. Obviously, it takes a good team game plan to overcome a pitcher like that.”

Ethier has been playing relatively good and knows what needs to be done in the series against San Diego.

With young players like Jonathan Broxton, James Loney and Matt Kemp, the Dodgers offense has to improve.

Now, don't forget about Blake DeWitt, who has been covering third base since Garciaparra and LaRoche have been on the DL. The rookie DeWitt has a decent batting average of .250.

As Nomar gets closer ro recovery, he will need to return to the Minor Leagues for a rehabilitation assignment, that could come as early as Friday.

Unfortunately for DeWitt, when veteran Garciaparra returns, DeWitt can expect a ticket back to the Minor Leagues.

Andy LaRoche, who under went surgery to repair a torn thumb ligament, has begun swinging the bat again, but throwing will be the most important hurdle he will need to overcome. Before he can throw, LaRoche can be looking at another month of healing.

Oh! I can't forget about the young pitcher, Clayton Kershaw, who is currently playing in the Minor Leagues. He could be a great addition to the Dodgers pitching rotation.

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In his second career start, pitcher Hiroki Kuroda suffered his first loss.

After nearly six innings pitched, Kuroda was able to strike out four, but walked two. He hit one batter and allowed nine hits.

It is clear that offensively the Dodgers need help. On Wednesday, the Dodgers came up with three runs. But sadly, they went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring positions.

Furcal, who doubled and scored a run, said this was a good series for the Dodgers…a good series…. to forget.

(Click on the image for a great video.)

Furcal has a great batting average of .382. He currently has 13 hits and 5 doubles.

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Currently, the National West League standings are as followed:

Arizona: 7 wins, 2 loses
San Diego: 5 wins, 5 loses
Colorado: 4 wins, 5 loses
Los Angeles: 4 wins, 5 loses
San Francisco: 3 wins, 6 loses

The Dodgers are off today. They will face San Diego at home on Friday. Starting pitcher Brad Penny will face Jake Peavy.

GO DODGERS!

Last Minute Pitcher Change

Dodgers decide to go with Hong-Chih Kuo.

The Giants go with Merkin Valdez.

Check this out. 

It Has Officially Started

Making the slow trek from the left and right-field bullpens, Dodger legends such as Carl Erskine, Ron Cey, Don Newcombe and Sweet Lou Johnson made their way to their original positions. Chavez Ravine was filled with cheers as more than three dozen Dodger greats stepped onto the field for the pre-Opening Day ceremony. Here's a video.

And just when you thought it couldn’t get better, fans were ecstatic when Fernando Valenzuela, Tommy Lasorda and Sandy Koufax emerged.

Delivering simultaneous ceremonial pitches, Erskine, Koufax and Newcombe threw the ball to catchers, Javier Herrera, Lasorda and Torre.

With the smooth voice of Vin Scully the game began…“And now, it’s time for Dodgers baseball!”

The one-hundred-twenty-six-million-dollar-pitcher, Barry Zito faced starting pitcher, Brad Penny. The stage was set and the game began.

After the first scoreless inning pitched by Penny, the Dodgers were up to bat. Furcal hits a double. Kemp is up and with a single, it allows Furcal to score.

Up next, is the first 40-year-old player the Dodgers have had in the Opening Day lineup, Jeff Kent. The old-man proves that experience counts in the major leagues. Kent hits a homerun, allowing two more runs. The score is 3-to-0!

The Dodgers’ defense, pitching and hitting made it a great game. By the seventh inning the score was 5-to-0. Closer Takashi Saito was brought in, in the ninth inning to seal the game.

Brad Penny threw almost seven scoreless innings. 

Bravo!

In a recent article, Penny discloses how he struggled in his first game of the season. 

What is he talking about? He pitched great.

On Tuesday April 1st, the Dodgers did it again. With a 3-to-2 victory over the Giants in the ninth inning.

But not all was as calm and easy as it seemed. Third-base coach, Larry Bowa was ejected in the sixth inning after a heated confrontation with one of the umpires. The argument began when ump, Ed Montague told Bowa to keep within the coaching box boundaries. Watch the video.

Bowa has been suspended for three games and fined by the commissioner’s office on Wednesday.

After the game Tuesday, Bowa said:

“I did it all Spring, nobody said a word. I did it yesterday, nobody said a word. It’s impossible to coach third and stay in the box with a runner at second.”

Through it all, the Dodgers were able to gain the lead in the ninth inning when pinch hitter Delwyn Young came up to bat. With two outs and Furcal on second, Young’s infield hit was just enough to send Furcal home.

It was a beautiful way to end a crazy night.

Tonight the Dodgers hope to sweep the Giants.

Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum will face Dodgers pitcher Chad Billingsley.

April 2, 2008 Lineup

Rafael Furcal-Short Stop
Russell Martin-Catcher
Andre Ethier- Left Field
Jeff Kent- Second Base
Andruw Jones- Center Field
James Loney- First Base
Matt Kemp- Right Field
Blake DeWitt- Third Base
Chad Billingsley- Pitcher

The Dodgers are off Thursday. They head to San Diego on Friday for a three game series against the Padres.

On Monday, the Dodgers jet off to Arizona to face the 2007 National League West Division Champions, Diamondbacks. Opening Day at Chase Field has been sold out and less than 450 standing room only tickets are available.

GO DODGERS!