Daily Archives: May 1, 2009

Come On, Get Happy

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After this morning’s bout of bad news (so long, Tony…) let’s lift the spirits:

Good news! Josh Suchon and Ken Levine from KABC’s DodgerTalk have asked me to be a guest on Sunday’s show! They’ve had a different Dodger blogger on each week for the past few weeks (see Son of Steve Garvey Orel’s account here). We’ll discuss life, love, baseball, swine flu, and finally get the answer to this horrifying question, posed by Josh:

Our first question will be why a Dodger blogger has a Boston area code for his phone number. Should be fun.

In all seriousness, it’s a very cool idea by the guys to reach out to the blog community (i.e. “unpaid uberdorks“) and I’m very much looking forward to it. I’m told I’ll be on at about 6:30pm PST, and they broadcast live online at KABC.com if you’re not in the area. But seriously, listen.

Possibly even better news! According to Ken Gurnick, Dodger beat writer – whatever that is – there’s one busted veteran we don’t have to worry about seeing again…

Right-hander Tanyon Sturtze, who has pitched well at Albuquerque, was given his release after Jeff Weaver was promoted to Los Angeles instead of Sturtze.

Bullet dodged!

No Good Can Come of This

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Starting the day with bad news… the rumors flying around the Dodgers blogosphere are suggesting that Dodgers beat reporter Tony Jackson of the Daily News has been let go, based on a report by Josh Suchon on DodgerTalk (which MSTI will be on this Sunday! More on that to come). Jackson hasn’t posted on his blog since reporting that Scott Elbert was sent down on Wednesday, and while that might not seem like that long of a time, it is when you consider he usually posts several times a day – and there’s been roster moves and a game since then.

If this is true, it’s a huge mistake and a blow to the entire Dodger online community, because TJ is a constant source of breaking Dodger news. Seriously, if you’ve been reading this blog, you’ve seen me quote or reference him at least three times a week. But now with this and with the same thing happening to Riverside P-E reporter Diamond Leung recently, real-time informed Dodger updates are going to be harder to come by. And that hurts everyone, from casual fans to serious bloggers.

Really, how is it that valuable resources like Jackson and Leung lose their jobs, and uninformed jokers like Bill Plaschke and TJ Simers can keep theirs? Life’s just not fair.

In actual baseball news, the downside of the 13-man pitching staff reared its head almost immediately last night, when Eric Stults had to pinch-hit for Cory Wade with one out and one on in the 8th inning last night. Stults failed to get a bunt down, and the Dodgers had already taken an 8-5 lead, so it ended up not being crucial – this time. But with the Padre bullpen falling apart, a real hitter might have been able to continue the rally in progress and blow the game wide open, rather than keep it within shouting distance (not that the Padres really had any chance against Jonathan Broxton, but still.)

Of course, many more 1.2 inning starting performances and we’re going to be seeing a 15-man pitching staff. James McDonald, we supported you for a starting job all winter and spring. What are you doing to us, here?