Dodgers Web Musings: A day when team is dominated by the left
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It feels like a left-field kinda day.
As in, who used to play, who’s going to play it, and will they be any good when they do. Maybe we’ll just start a daily theme post.
--Marcus Thames gets his Times’ T.J. Simers intro, and I’m guessing he might have been less than thrilled with questions about his defense.
--ESPN/L.A.’s Tony Jackson approaches Thames from a different angle, saying he is willing to play first base or anywhere else to help out.
--Manny Ramirez, that old Dodgers left-fielder, is getting a clean slate with Tampa Manager Joe Maddon, writes ESPN’s Jayson Stark, who said he was listening to the dreadlocked star. However:
‘I know one thing,’ says a veteran big-league coach and manager. ‘It will end horribly.’
Ah, what are the odds?
--Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness’ Mike Petriello wonders just how many different players will make an appearance in left for the Dodgers this season and if it will top last year’s mark of nine.
--Vin Scully Is My Homeboy’s Roberto Baly has his latest billboard shot in the Dodgers’ new marketing campaign, their takeoff of ‘It’s time for Dodger baseball.’
This one shows the really old left-fielder, Kirk Gibson, raising a fist with the slogan: It’s time for magic.
Meanwhile, in posts not focusing on left:
--The Times’ Dylan Hernandez said Tim Redding, who is unexpectedly competing for a spot in the rotation, was turned down by teams in South Korea and Japan in the offseason.
--True Blue L.A.’s Eric Stephen correctly points out that my numbers from last Friday on the Dodgers’ attendance downturn incorporate two games at Dodger Stadium, which are still to be played this season, and games at Camelback are actually in line with baseball’s overall spring decline.
--James Loney, every stat-loving fan’s favorite player, is examined by Dodgers.com’s Ken Gurnick. Loney said he’s looked at tapes and made corrections to a swing that deserted him in the second half last year.
Said Loney: ‘I’m thinking that if I can drive in 90 and hit .270 with bad mechanics, imagine if I was doing all the right things?’
-- Steve Dilbeck