2009 July 09 « Mike Scioscia's tragic illness

Randy Wolf’s Math Lesson

July 9, 2009 at 5:10 pm | Posted in Randy Wolf, Will Ohman | 7 Comments

Introductory press conference, December 2006:

2007 season:

2009, April – July:

2009, July:

Randy Wolf has switched his uniform number to #43 as he seeks to improve his record to 4-3. Wolf wore #43 while with the Phillies before being issued #41 at his introductory news conference when he signed with the Dodgers. By Spring Training, he was #52 for his first season with Los Angeles. Last season, he wore #25 with the Padres and #39 with the Astros before starting this year as #21.

So, he’s now #43 so he can get up to 4-3. As I write this, the Dodgers are up 6-1 in the 3rd, so it’s looking pretty likely. Does that mean next week we can look forward to #53? If at some point he’s, say, 10-5, can we look forward to him wearing #115? Because, I’m not going to lie – that’d be pretty awesome.

More importantly, how does Will Ohman feel about all this?

Poor Will. He looks sad.

Andruw Jones Should Be In Prison

July 9, 2009 at 6:26 am | Posted in Andruw Jones, Delwyn Young | 6 Comments

I have no animosity for former Dodgers; quite the contrary, in many cases, we’ve focused so much time and attention on these guys while they were in the Dodger system that you can’t help but follow what they’re doing once they’re no longer wearing the blue. It’s no secret around here how much I backed Delwyn Young and hated seeing him go, and so of course I’ve been following him as he breaks out in Pittsburgh (.315/.388/.403, currently). The same goes for Cody Ross, who made such an impression in his short time in LA (hard to forget that 2 HR, 7 RBI day about ten minutes before he was DFA’d) and has been a solidly above-average power performer in Florida for several seasons now.

You could go on and on – for example, Edwin Jackson was rushed to the big leagues by the Dodgers, never really given a fair chance (really, 14 starts, was that all?) and after being allowed to gain some experience in Tampa, is now an All-Star and one of the top AL starters for Detroit. I’m happy for these guys, despite it not working out for whatever reason in LA – be it lack of opportunity, a roster crunch, or just outright inexperience.

Which brings us to a former Dodger who, let’s just say, does not fit that mold. If you’re like me, you’ve tried to put anything related to Andruw Jones in Dodger blue out of your mind after his disastrous 2008, but it’s a little hard to ignore when he hit as many homers in last night’s Rangers game than he did in all of 2008 for the Dodgers.

Fatty’s now up to a .929 OPS – granted, only through 160 at-bats – which would be a new career high if he can keep it up. This is only slightly in contrast to last year, when he was hitting .158, competing for the “worst season of all time”, and plotting his escape while blaming everyone else.

Are we really supposed to believe it was the tenacious Dodger Stadium crowd that hurt Fatty’s feelings so much? I suppose it could have been the proximity to In-N-Out, but Texas is hardly known for its svelte population either. The point is, when guys like Young and Ross do well, I’m glad to see it. When I see that this abomination is doing well, it just makes the memories of last year sting even more.

Hey, sportswriters. You want to complain about Manny Ramirez and his sins? At least he produces when he’s on the field. Why don’t you go after a worthless piece of crap who literally stole – and continues to steal – money from the Dodgers?