Vicente Padialla has become the pride of Nicaragua now as a Dodger. Facing his former team the Phillies in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. Going 7 and 1/3 innings allowing 4 hits, 1 walk, 1 run on a solo home run and 6 strikeouts. He pitched well enough to earn the win, but left the game in the 8th trailing by a score of 1-0.

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He is hands down one of the best pickups made in the second half of the season and has been more than rising to the occasion to show that he has what it takes to compete against formidable opponents in post season play. He's been a great asset and fits well in Los Angeles despite what his former team the Rangers say in letting him go for being a bad team mate.

Padilla began his career as a Diamondback in 1999 then went to Philadelphia in 2000 in a trade that sent Curt Schilling to Arizona. His time with Philly was from 2000 to 2005 in which he became an All Star in 2002 which was his first full season with the Phillies. After the 2005 season he was traded to the Rangers where he stayed until late August this year before being picked up Los Angeles.

What a game last night. Not so great to lose the first game of the series, but I still enjoyed being there and watching it unfold. We outhit the Phils, but they outscored us and the number of walks issued is a clear reminder how they can hurt you in a crucial situation when making strikes and getting outs is important.

The highlight of the game?

Furcal's foul ball Foul ball off the bat of Rafael Furcal off a pitch by Ryan Madson in the 8th inning at Dodger Stadium. I picked it up after it bounced off a few fans into an empty seat in front of me. Section 15 Reserve Deck, Row F, Seat 13. Oct. 15th, 2009.

Let's get 'em tonight boys! I'll be cheering for you Padilla and the rest of the Blue Crew from the confines of my living room today.

It goes without saying that when baseball season is happening I fall off the edge of the blogging world. I generally try to keep up reading other folks entries, but I get scarce when posting my own. For that I apologize, but I honestly don't wish to babble infinitely about baseball for 6 months out of the year, lol! Well maybe I do, but to spare you numerous posts whether they applaud or rant about the games I watch or attend I just blog about them from time-to-time. ;)

That said, I'd like to say that I had a wonderful NLDS! Watching them play the Cardinals hard and sweeping them in three games was exciting and joyous! I attended both home games here in Dodger Stadium and watched the 3rd from St. Louis on television. What was unimaginable by the so-called "baseball expert" analyst pundits occured. The Dodgers beat the Cardinals. Not just by simply winning the series but by sweeping them. Beating both NL contenders for the Cy Young Award. Something that will further go down as the upset of the season. So very much like October of 2008 the Dodgers sweep their second consecutive NLDS against a highly lauded team with stats off the charts.

Being at the first two NLDS games in person was a thrill for me. I went to Game 1 with my parents and son and for Game 2 I went with my good friend
genevieve_l.

I must add that Game 2 was incredible! The bottom of the 9th inning finish and winning in walk-off fashion never gets old and I was both on the edge of my seat and loudly groaning a bad call and every strike against us, breathing a heavy sigh with each called ball and foul that landed in the stands and out of play while booing the opposing defenders, but most of all cheering loudly with every opportunity that our team came up with to capitalize on a botched fly ball to Matt Holliday that he dropped, (it hit him in the nuts no matter what anyone says about it being the stomach) with 2 outs.

TWO OUTS! Holliday cannot come up with that with closer Brad Lidge on the mound. What looked like the end of a losing Game 2 for the Dodgers turned into a second chance and infused the fan-filled stadium with new life. It just got louder and louder and more frenzied with each pitch thereafter. Loney reached 2nd on an error to Left Field by Holliday. What ensued from there can only be described as an incredible come-back of the season.

After Loney reached 2nd they inserted the speedy pinch runner Juan Pierre. Next up to bat was Casey Blake who worked a 9 pitch walk after being down in the count with 2 strikes on him after a badly checked swing according to the first base umpire. The way Blake hung in there to walk was beautiful. Ronnie Belliard comes up to single on the first pitch to bring Pierre home to tie the game up at 2. With Casey Blake now at 2nd and Belliard at 1st Russell Martin walks on four consecutive pitches to load the bases up for pinch hitter Mark Loretta. Lorretta who was 0 for 15 against Lidge hits a looper on an no ball, one strike count that falls in shallow left center and the Dodgers come back to win 3-2!

I won't comment about the 3rd game and sweep. I think it stands alone to say that Vicente Padilla pitched a fine 7 inning game in a 5-1 victory for the Boys in Blue.

Today is a new day, a new series and the one that will determine the 2009 National League Champion. I'm going to be there with my family again in the hopes of seeing yet another victory for Los Angels to propel them forward on a trip to the World Series. First thing is to win 4 out of 7 against the Phillies. Man I love this time of the year!

Kern Gurnick wrote this article for MLB.com and I just had to take an excerpt  from that and share it with my LJ readers:

"If you saw the movie "Major League" and you remember the voodoo-practicing ballplayer Pedro Cerrano, you knew what reliever Ramon Troncoso was building in his locker before Saturday night's Dodgers clinching

With a miniature Tommy Lasorda Hall of Fame plaque flanked by bobbleheads of Manny Ramirez, Casey Blake and Matt Kemp, Troncoso had constructed a shrine to the baseball gods. It was complete with a random collection of a cigar; a plum and a banana; a packet of chewing tobacco; assorted drink cans; a Jonathan Broxton cowboy boot; and a glass half-full with what could have been dark Caribbean rum -- all gathered to chase away the evil spirits that had kept the magic number stuck on one for a week.

"If we win tonight," said Troncoso, "I'm taking this thing everywhere."

And the Dodgers won, snapping their longest losing streak of the year. In a season of losing Ramirez to a suspension and Opening Day starter Hiroki Kuroda to three different injuries, let Troncoso believe he exorcised the clubhouse of all the negative vibe."
 

I know I haven't been posting a whole lot lately and partly the reason is because I've been watching a lot of baseball in that time. Primarily Dodgers games of course. Though I have also been watching other games in the National League when they've been televised or watching the updates vie the internet.

Well I'm pleased to say to those that aren't in the baseball realm of awareness that my Boys in Blue have won their Division to make it back-to-back National League West Championships! Something that hasn't been achieved since the late 70s. This will be the 3rd Dodgers trip in the past 4 seasons. Congratulations boys! You so richly deserve this!

Not only did we finish as NL West Champs, but we also retained the best record in the National League securing our home field advantage for the next two rounds of post season play! The competition will be stiff, but that goes without saying when you're playing the best teams from their respective divisions along with the team that has the 4th best record in the NL.

Tomorrow play begins between my Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals who have been playing us very tough throughout the long history between our ballclubs. This season especially. The Cards have a fantastic starting rotation and two Cy Young Award contenders in Carpenter and Wainwright, but the Dodgers also have a fine selection of starters that haven't created much of a buzz yet have the abiliy with a mix of veteran experience to go the distance and be toe-to-toe with the Cards.

St. Louis may have headline making starters pushing for the Cy Young, but we have the better team ERA for pitching along with the best bullpen in the Majors. As for the offense, they may have the amazing Albert Pujols, but we also have a great assortment of sluggers in our lineup that can bring some pop and manufacture runs in addition to speed to run the bases. Yes, this will be an entertaining series.

I'm especially happy to be attending the first two games of the home series opener! I truly will be rooting for my team and loudly cheering! I may lose my voice before the end of Thursday night. =P

Yup!

Tentative schedule next year will have the Dodgers in interleague play facing the Red Sox at Fenway. Also they will be hosting the Detroit Tigers as well as the New York Yankees.

I look forward to this and hope there are no changes to this tentative schedule. I intend to plan a trip to Boston with me and my son to catch that Fenway series so we both can take in a great series between two great and storied teams in one of the last remaining historical ballpark bastions left in the Major Leagues.

Awesome!

Hiroki Kuroda was hit by a line drive from Arizona pinch hitter Rusty Ryal in the bottom of the 6th innning.

With a 2-2 count a comeback line drive struck Kuroda on the side of the head and sent him to the ground clutching his head in pain. It was a horrifying scene to watch and made my blood run cold as I sat in front of the television and witnessed it happen. He had to be removed from the field on a stretcher, but was still conscious as they carted him off the field and took him to the hospital.

The Dodgers went on to lose the game 3-4 in 10 innings which was 3-0 before Kuroda was injured in the 6th and removed from the game. Broxton blew the save by allowing 2 back-to-back solo homeruns to Mark Reynolds and Miguel Montero. Ramon Troncoso saddled with the lose in the 10th on a long single to center with the bases loaded.

I'm deeply saddened about what happened to Kuroda and pray that he'll be alright. God be with him and his family tonight.

I'll never be able to get that image out of my mind and the sickening sound of the impact of the baseball as it hit him. It leaves me with a dull, hollow feeling inside.

In terms of what this means to the team it is a tragic loss. Hiroki was battling back into fine form this second half of the season after being out for nearly three months when he went on the disabled list after his April 6th Opening Day start.

Him being out of the Dodgers starting rotation will affect the team greatly. Especially as things stand now without a definite 5th slot pitcher and a rotation that struggles to go more than 6 innings. Topping it off, the club has been playing .500 ball ever since the middle of June and allowing the Giants and Rockies to shorten the gap for the lead in the National League West.

May the team be able to pull through this lull and very significant loss of an ace pitcher who was invaluable last season and was crucial to us in the 2008 post season. Be well Kuroda and my prayers are with you.

Story can be found here.

Congratulations Tommy!

Read the complete story here on CBS 2/KCAL 9's website.

Yet another fantastic milestone and achievement for one of baseball's most enigmatic representatives.

Yesterday's Dodgers @ Giants finale was exciting and frustrating to watch. The best game of the three even though we took the extra-inning game into the the 10th for a 2-4 loss. What I must say is that I am very impressed with the Dodger pitchers that stepped up to face the Giants ace Tim Lincecum. Without having a clear 5th starter in our rotation and placing Jeff Weaver on the mound to start against him was tough and very trying.

Weaver pitcher a very ugly game, but yet still managed to pitch 3 scoreless innings making 61 pitches. Mind you, this followed another three scoreless innings of relief that he pitched three days ago. The 3rd inning was a tightrope act for Weaver when he was able to escape a bases-loaded with no outs jam by not surrendering a run. If only the naysayers and Weaver haters could properly put that into perspective and actually see and show some appreciation for his pitching performances this season.

I have to give my thanks to Juan Pierre for a great pinch hit as well has Furcal stealing second which allowed Ethier to single him to tie the game in the ninth and spoil Lincecum's complete game masterpiece.

Tough loss, much excitement and a nailbiter all the way through. My heart jumped a few times and beat hard just watching it on the television. Now let's get those D'Backs tomorrow and serve Dan Haren with another 'L' in the box scores!

My son started his first day back in Little League for this season's fall ball by attending the first practice. The practices will be small since some of the players are still playing tournaments on All Star teams and others are playing football or soccer. Only a handfull of the team are dedicating all their time to baseball and the fall ball team this season. It'll still be fun and good for all of them and will keep them playing and staying sharp for the upcoming regular season next year.

Seth's Braves teamate Josh and I were doing warm up tosses and man does that kid throw hard. He had my hand stinging from a few throws that were throbbing until late last night. He also threw one low and I had to dodge it unsuccessfully taking a hit to my right calf that still stings today.

All in all the kids looked a little rusty and hesitant, but that will all work itself out once they get into a routine and find their rhythm. Another practice today, but Seth will have to arrive late after he finishes his tutoring session.

When it comes to buying tickets one would never expect to be doing so from one such as Snoop Dogg, but when the Dodgers debuted their new Ticket Truck (which kinda looks like an ice cream truck) they had Snoop promoting it on it's first day out. I find that highly amusing considering who Snoop is and his background. At least the only thing that G was slanging that day were only Dodgers tickets. You can check out the full story here.

Yesterday was the Dodgers Opening Day vs. the San Francisco Giants. What an opening day it was too.

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Thank you Dodgers for a fantastic time at the ballpark. Thank you Chad for pitching a dominating game. Thank you Orlando for a memory that will be cherished for years to come! Thank you Ethier for adding to the excitement with your 2 dingers into the stands! Thank you Vin for being the voice of the Dodgers for 60 years and Torre for being a great manager!

It's been a month and a few days since my last post. I've been a bit slack on posting and apologize for the extended silence. Let me recap a few things and then move on to current events in later posts.

First, my trip with my son to Dodgers Camelback Ranch in Glendale, AZ was a great trip! I love the facility and intend to make it a new tradition for me and my son to make an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for years to come. The place is beautiful and well worth the trip. Perhaps next time I'll fly their and rent a car, but all in all I'm quite impressed with the facility.

While we were there at the stadium we walked around and watched as some of the White Sox players were taking batting practice in one of the nearby fields close to the entrance from the parking lot. The Sox are in a partnership with the Dodgers and share the training camp with them.

We continued along the path and took in the pools of water and mini waterfalls where they have koi stocked in them. We didn't see any fish though, but it was something pleasant to look upon. We meandered over to the Dodgers minors fields and watched them take batting practice and on a nearbyy field watched a bit of a simulated game. Meanwhile minor league pitchers warmed up throwing pitches on a nearby grassy area.

We entered the stadium and were blown away by the intimacy set in noticing that there's not a single bad seat in the place. We had out seats very close to home plate, 1st base side and had a great view of the action. Before the game we staked out the 3rd base side to watch the players file in and do their warm up stretches. We got to see some of our favorite players up close and managed to get the autographs to rookie minor leaguer Jamie Hoffman and new hitting coach and former Dodger pinch hitter Mark Sweeney. Sweeney was just announced as a new assistant hitting coach just the day before so it was quite the surprise when we saw him walking down the field to the dugout.

The weather was perfect and despite losing the game in the later innings it was quite a treat to be there and enjoy a game in the early spring. Soon after that my son and I took off to downtown Phoenix to look up Alice Cooper'sTown. That place is great. Typical of a sports bar with a rock 'n' roll, sports theme. Imagine a a mixture of Planet Hollywood, Hard Rock Cafe and ESPN zone all in one. We ordered some wings and fries and drinks. Myself having a Cooper'sTown Poison Pale Ale. Before leaving I couldn't help but snag some swag from the gift counter which consisted of T-shirts, guitar picks, shot glasses and hot sauce & BBQ sauce.

One of the really awesome things about Cooper'sTown is its location which is just a block and a half from the main entrance to Chase Field where the Diamondbacks play. One of these weekends when it can be planned I intend to make a trip to watch my Dodgers play the D'Backs. Book a hotel downtown within walking distance and revisit Cooper'sTown!

If you are a Dodgers (or even a White Sox) fan I highly recommend making the trip to visit Glendale's Spring Training facility and take the time to visit Cooper'sTown if you're a fan of the rocker and the restaurant's offered menu food and draft beer offerings in addition to their margarita menu, specialty drinks and specialty martinis.

Tomorrow I'm heading out to Glendale, Arizona with my 12 year old son to visit Camelback Ranch! I'm looking forward to seeing a Dodger Spring Training game against the Seattle Mariners in the Dodgers/White Sox brand new facility. It's too bad that Manny Ramirez won't be in camp when we go, nor Russel Martin or Jonathan Broxton as both will be playing with their teams in the World Baseball Classic. Still, this will be a very exciting trip and our very first real Spring Training game to watch!

Manny Ramirez returns in blue with a contract for 2 years worth $45mil! Of course it comes with an opt out after the first year if Manny so chooses. The good news is that the Dodgers were able to sign with the $45mil deferred over 5 years without interest as they had strongly stood behind from the very start 4 months ago.

I'm VERY excited to see Manny Ramirez back in Los Angeles!!!

GO DODGERS!!!!

Editorials: Manny Happy Returns - Dodgers, Manny agree to two-year deal - Manny deal a good one for both sides Happy Manny re-dons Dodger Blue

Finally and as last minute as it could get, The Dodgers and Andre Ethier settled on a 1 year contract for $3.1 million with $100k in performance bonuses.

I'm thankful that they at long last re-signed Ethier and met in the middle in regards to his salary. The way he's performed the past three seasons and especially in 2008 I felt he served a payday of at least $3 million upwards to as far as $4.5 million.

Dre is still one of my favorites of the young ones on the team and I love what he brings to the ballpark. He has a great arm, excellent fielding skills and a nice approach at the plate.

All that remains is for Scott Boras to get off his ridiculous contract demands for Manny Ramirez and square up with McCourt and Colletti to settle on a realistic deal that benefits both the Dodgers and Manny and not just Boras' fat earnings.

Details

Randy Wolf signed a 1 year $5 million dollar contract with an additional $3 million in incentives this last Friday.

Full Story

Nothing to read here aside from saying that I am still here and kinda took a break from reading journals the past week. If I missed anything important I apologize for my silence. I'll try to read back on some folks to see where things have been and try to make my daily rounds in the coming days.

Okiay, now on to the holidays. Both Christmas and NYE were quiet as I had planned and hoped they would be. :) See, very simple and happy with that. Thank goodness for the small things.

By the way, I never made it to that highly anticipated Donnas/RATT concert at the Anaheim HoB. Haha, what a trip that turned out to be. We never made it passed the parking lot of the Manic Kingdom when we were escorted out because my accomplices had a can of Joost and also some other funky alcoholic energy drink. We received no citations, just our word that we would not return for 24 hours or then be subject to citation or even arrest. Wow, what a warm, welcoming experience. I can just feel the Mouse's love. :p

So anyway, genevieve_l, Foggy and ,myself wen to hang out at some local sports bar in the Tustin area and played a few games of pool, drank some brews and listened to some local area rockabillie styled band called the Copy Cats which played covers by Elvis, Stray Cats, Johnny Cash and the like. Afterwards we went to a friend of Foggy's down in Orange. A very long night for ma and I didn't get home till after 5am after dropping off genevieve_l back in Pasadena.

Am I miffed about losing $76 on concert tickets I never got to pick up at Will Call? I was for about half a day, but honestly I don't care now. By the end of the weekend I was over it. I had fun regardless and I mostly just wanted to hang out with my friends anyway. Next time though, NO OPEN CONTAINERS IN ANY MOUSE'S HOUSE!!! lols

Okay, this year I hope more cool fun happens. Lotsa cool things to see and do and friends to spend time with. Most importantly, The Upcoming 2009 Baseball Season!!! WOOT!!! Yup, I think about baseball everyday still, even during this offseason. I'm becoming a baseball nerd, but this by all means does not mean I'm an expert nor an ecyclopedia of baseball knowledge. I'm just very passionate about it lately and have been looking forward to it each new season that comes.

Speaking of baseball my Dodgers recently aquired Claudio Vargas for $400k which could peak at $1.4 mil with incentives. Nothing too spectacular about that, but the best news so far is the eventual release or trade of Andruw Jones. The DOdgers managed to defer much of his salary over the next 6 seasons while Jones is guaranteed to be paid $5 mil this year. WHo pays that $5 mil will depend on whether he is traded or released. Personally I don't care which just as long as moves along away from us.

Still no new word on the Manny Ramirez front, but now other teams are interested such as the Giants which is unlikely since they are at their salary cap this upcoming season. The Angels may look into Manny again after losing the bid war with Mark Texiera. Some say the Yankees, but I think not after they aquired Texiera and already have allocated $400 mil with Mark's signing along with C.C Sabathia and A.J. Burnett. Anyway, L.A. has the strongest interest and I do hope Manny and his agent Scott Boras can meet with some reasonable compromise to sign up again with the Dodgers for an agreeable contract. I'd love to have him back for 2 years with incentives/options for a third.

On a side note: This Saturday is Little League signups and my boy wants to play again! So I will be looking forward to that. Hopefully with less drama from some of those lame coaches, board members and parents than last season. Seriously you tools, it's for the kids and not for your own selfish desires.

Cheers!

"A baseball official confirmed Wednesday that Furcal has reached agreement with the Dodgers on a three-year, $30 million contract with a vesting option for a fourth year. It is believed the deal is pending the passing of a physical exam."

More can be read here.

Earlier reports made mention that Rafael Furcal was siging with his old club the Braves, but his agent Paul Kinzer said, "We're still talking. We haven't signed anything or come to an agreement. I told Furcal [Monday night] to sleep on it. I didn't want him to make an emotional decision."

It's amusing how the media is quick to drop what they think is the latest scoop before confirming the facts. Pretty much like the almost sure deal that Sabathia was interested in signing with the Dodgers mere days before accepting a $161 million deal from the Yankees.

Anyay, Ned Colletti is still in talks with Kinzer and Furcal still has four three teams, (A's, Dodgers, Royals and now the Braves) interested in landing him. I truly hope he makes a decision that benefits him as well as the Dodgers. :)

Well former Dodgers reliever Chan Ho Park signed with Philadelphia for a one year, $2.5 millions contract. With good performances his contract could peak at $5 million. All Park has to do is pass his physical exam and it's official.

With his signing the Phillies now have a starting rotation of Cole Hamels, Brett Myers and Joe Blanton. Jaime Moyer will fill the last and final starting spot after signing back for two more years.

As far as Rafael Furcal goes. The Blue Jays have dropped out as possible contenders to land him. The finalists are the Oakland A's (offering a revamped 4-year deal), the Dodgers and The Royals. Toronto decided to lower their payroll for the upcoming season knocking out the possibility to sign Furcal. That very same reason may also knock out Kansas City. So this could wind up a bid ward between Oakland and Los Angeles with the A's being the only club to offer Furcal a 4-year contract.

So yeah, Casey Blake signs with the Dodgers for three more years. There's our 3rd base for the next few years. Blake DeWitt will play 2nd with James Loney at 1st. Mark Loretta will be uitilityman and we still need to sign a shortstop.

Still going after Rafael Furcal, but then so are the A's, Royals and Blue Jays.

CC Sabathia decided to sign with the Yankees after Cashman upped the ante to a 7 year deal with $160 million! Damn, for that money and length of contract you'd have to be a fool not to accept.

No new buzz on Manny Ramirez yet. Heck, there's rumors of interest in Andruw Jones. Of course if that rumor has any truth to it it would mean L.A. paying the remainder or majority of the $21 million still owed to him.

We still need a veteran starting pitcher and another ace quality arm though. I say go after Lowe and Pettite. One of those will be what we seek. However, Lowe won't sign unless he's certain that the Dodgers are committed to winning. Meaning spending the money and picking up players that will drive them to consecutive post seasons. I can't blame him for wanting that.

Still some holes to fill and there's still a lot of free agents left.