LOS ANGELES DODGERS CLIPS
SATURDAY, APRIL 14, 2012
DODGERS.COM
Harang fans 13; Dodgers walk off in ninth
Righty sets club record with nine straight K's; Ethier's walk wins it
By Quinn Roberts / MLB.com | 4/14/2012 2:40 AM ET
LOS ANGELES -- In a game full of ups and downs, it was the Dodgers who came out on top Friday night against the Padres.
Yet, it wasn't without a struggle after the bullpen couldn't secure a two-run lead going into the ninth inning.
Kenley Jansen surrendered a game-tying two-run home run to Chase Headley one out from victory, but four straight walks by the San
Diego bullpen in the bottom half of the inning gave Los Angeles a 9-8 win in the series opener at Dodger Stadium.
Andrew Cashner got the first two outs in the ninth before walking the bases loaded and giving way to Joe Thatcher, who walked Andre
Ethier to score Mark Ellis from third with the game-winning run.
"At the end of the day, it is a win," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "It doesn't matter how you get it. The music is playing and you
walk out of here with a win.
"If it is a loss, it would be a little tough to swallow with two outs in the ninth, but it wasn't. You'd rather have a clean game, but it is a
win and you start over tomorrow."
The Dodgers won their fourth consecutive game and remained undefeated at home, still owning the best record in the Majors at 7-1.
The blown save for Jansen, who got the win to improve to 2-0, prevented Dodgers starter Aaron Harang from picking up the victory
after thrilling the Dodger Stadium crowd with 13 strikeouts.
Harang got off to a dominant start against his former team after giving up a leadoff single to Cameron Maybin, striking out nine straight
batters to set a new team record.
After the game, the ball he recorded that ninth strikeout with sat in his locker.
"It is an honor, knowing the history of this organization and all the great pitchers the team has had. It is great to accomplish to get such
a feat," Harang said.
The Dodgers' record was previously held by Johnny Podres, who struck out eight straight on July 2, 1962, against the Phillies. The Major
League record is held by the Mets' Tom Seaver, who struck out 10 straight hitters on April 22, 1970, against the Padres.
Finding success with his two- and four-seam fastball, Harang also mixed an occasional curveball and slider to keep San Diego off
balance.
"It didn't really hit me until the crowd got into it and started cheering. I didn't realize it or figure out what was going on until then,"
Harang said. "It was a pretty neat experience."
The streak was broken up on a home run by Will Venable to left field leading off the fourth inning.
Giving up two more runs in the inning, the righty surrendered an RBI double to Yonder Alonso, who later scored on a fielder's choice.
Harang finished the night having allowed four runs on four hits in 6 1/3 innings. He walked one and tied a career high with the 13
punchouts.
"His fastball was crisper, he had a good slider, a good curveball," Padres manager Bud Black said. "The fastball was located well at the
top of the strike zone. He pitched very well."
The effort was a far cry from Harang's last performance on Sunday against the Padres, in which he went just 4 1/3 innings and gave up
four runs on seven hits in a loss.
"He was definitely most effective tonight with his fastball command," catcher A.J. Ellis said. "He was using both sides of the plate, mostly
away to the lefties and just got ahead in the count the whole game."
Dodgers pitchers tied a franchise record with 18 combined strikeouts, accomplishing the feat for the sixth time, and first since June 4,
1990, against Atlanta.
After the Padres touched up Harang for three runs in the fourth, the Dodgers answered right back, scoring four runs in the bottom half
of the frame off Padres starter Clayton Richard. Justin Sellers and A.J. Ellis belted back-to-back doubles, before an RBI single by Tony
Gwynn scored Ellis. Matt Kemp then hammered a first-pitch fastball to right field for his third home run, giving the Dodgers a
commanding 8-3 lead.
However, the Padres got three of those runs back in the seventh to cut the Dodgers' lead to 8-6 and set the stage for Headley's tying
blast.
The Dodgers opened the scoring with four runs in the third. A walk to Sellers and an error by shortstop Jason Bartlett off the bat of A.J.
Ellis put runners on first and second with none out. A two-run single by Mark Ellis and another from Ethier put the Dodgers ahead 4-0.
"A.J. had some great at-bats. Justin also had three tremendous at-bats," Mattingly said. "Two walks, hits a double, and gets on twice.
Mark Ellis also had a huge hit for us up the middle."
Federal judge approves Dodgers sale
By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com | 04/14/12 12:02 AM ET
The sale of the Dodgers and Dodger Stadium to Guggenheim Baseball Management was confirmed Friday night by Federal Judge Kevin
Gross in his Delaware court, over Major League Baseball's objections related to desired time for reasonable review of details.
Nearly 10 months after Frank McCourt put the club in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, when he was about to miss payroll, Gross
approved the $2.15 billion sale to controlling partner Mark Walter of Guggenheim Partners and backers that include former Lakers great
Magic Johnson, longtime baseball executive Stan Kasten, Los Angeles entertainment executive Peter Guber and investors Bobby Patton
and Todd Boehly.
In addition to attorneys, attending the hearing in Wilmington were McCourt, Walter, Kasten and Eric Holman (president of Magic
Johnson Enterprises).
I congratulate Mr. McCourt, who was able to see the big picture, and $2 billion is a very big picture," said Gross. "I hope this will bring a
very refreshing air to baseball in Los Angeles, which I have said before is a franchise of mythical proportions. I'd like to have seen in the
documents that they can't sign Cole Hamels. I didn't see it, but I may insert it."
Gross' baseball-tinged humor only came at the conclusion of what turned into a day-night hearing that concluded at 9 p.m. ET, only
three hours before a deadline needed to assure the club would change hands by April 30.
"We are pleased to have successfully concluded the Chapter 11 reorganization process," the Dodgers said. "All the organization's goals
in the reorganization cases have been achieved. We look forward to returning all of our attention to Dodger baseball."
Approval came over objections from MLB that it needed "reasonable time" to review documents from the sale and a right to remedy -to the point of vacating -- Gross' confirmation of the sale if documents yet to be produced are found to be in violation of MLB rules and
regulations or contrary to information provided when owners approved the Guggenheim bidding group.
Gross, however, said all requirements of the bankruptcy process and settlement agreement between the Dodgers and MLB were fully
met, and any further disputes would be resolved post-confirmation.
Specifically, MLB expressed concern about the control of the Dodger Stadium parking lots.
"We don't think it's fair to put the league in the position of having documents jammed down it and the ability to perform its job to the
29 other teams be compromised," MLB lawyer Thomas Luria said, asking for a three-day window to review documents it has not yet
received. "We may have a problem with this deal closing."
Gross admitted he was was blindsided by the late dispute.
"I had no idea," he said. "I thought this would be a celebratory-type occasion."
MLB attorneys also voiced concern over the continued participation of mediator, and retired judge, Joseph Farnan, who has resolved
numerous conflicts throughout the bankruptcy.
Gross again sided with the Dodgers, saying Farnan's jurisdiction would remain intact regarding the settlement agreement, but not
baseball business matters outside the agreement.
Although the auction process for the sale was dictated by an agreement between McCourt and MLB, Luria charged that the sale was
executed and announced in violation of league rules because MLB did not sign off on the specific deal.
"As exciting as it was to see the price come in," he said, "we still have 29 other owners and we're unable to do what the other owners
expect us to do."
The deal includes a joint venture between Guggenheim Baseball Management and McCourt for the Dodger Stadium parking lots and
surrounding property. The cost to Guggenheim for 50 percent interest in those properties is $150 million. The lease for the parking lot
was extended from 25 to 99 years through the joint venture.
Dodgers attorneys said MLB was trying to circumvent the sale by reaching beyond the scope of the agreement it struck to have the club
sold. That agreement required McCourt to sell the team and the stadium, but not the land surrounding the ballpark.
Gross said if the club and MLB could not resolve the parking lot issue, he -- and not the mediator -- would. But he would not delay
confirmation because of it.
A document was submitted earlier to the court outlining control of the parking lots, but the Dodgers had requested it be kept under
seal. The Los Angeles Times objected to sealing the document, and the Dodgers responded by withdrawing it Friday.
Gross overruled the Times' objection and allowed the document to be withdrawn. Dodgers attorney Bruce Bennett said in court that the
52-page document is still being revised but will become part of the public record when it is completed.
"It's not a document that will be kept secret for very long, but we'd like to keep it secret until it's finalized," Bennett said.
Gross also granted an objection by the Dodgers to an attempt by Jamie McCourt to put in a creditor claim for her $131 million divorce
settlement with former husband Frank McCourt.
Only various Dodgers business entities are subject to the bankruptcy proceedings, not Frank McCourt personally. Jamie McCourt has
been assured by McCourt's attorneys through court filings that she will be paid by Apr. 30, the date the divorce agreement calls for and
the date by which the Dodgers sale must close. Dodgers attorney Sidney Levinson said Friday the sale will close "prior to April 30."
One obstacle to Gross' approval was cleared in a morning hearing when FOX Sports withdrew its objection to the sale because the new
owners pledged that Time Warner, a FOX competitor, was not a partner or investor of the purchasing group and had no agreement with
the purchaser for a new Dodgers television contract. FOX holds Dodgers cable rights through the 2013 season.
Bennett opened his statement to the judge by alluding to the Dodgers' 6-1 record through Thursday night.
"It is important to note," he said, "a team that was said to be neglected and starved for talent has the best record in baseball.
"The debtors owe thanks to the fans who stuck with the Dodgers, manager Don Mattingly and the players who refused to be
distracted."
Harang's nine straight K's a Dodgers record
By Quinn Roberts / MLB.com | 04/13/12 11:05 PM ET
LOS ANGELES -- In the zone for the first three innings, Aaron Harang rattled off nine straight strikeouts in Friday's opener against the
Padres at Dodger Stadium to set a new team record.
The streak was broken up on a home run by Will Venable to left field leading off the fourth inning.
Cameron Maybin led off the game with a single to center field, which was the only ball put in play before Harang tallied the nine
strikeouts.
The Dodgers record was previously held by Johnny Podres, who struck out eight batters in a row on July 2, 1962, against the Phillies.
Finding success with his two- and four-seam fastball, the Harang also mixed an occasional curveball and slider to keep San Diego off
balance.
Harang fell one short of the Major League record of 10 consecutive strikeouts, set by the Mets' Tom Seaver on April 22, 1970.
For 'Sweet Lou' Johnson, nothing came easy
Outfielder's home run helped Dodgers win 1965 World Series
By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com | 04/13/12 9:39 PM ET
LOS ANGELES -- When Lou Johnson walks into Dodger Stadium and sees the banner commemorating the Dodgers 1965 World Series
title, it's the enduring payoff of a tough road traveled.
The lead-up to Jackie Robinson Day gives Johnson the chance to reflect upon not only what Robinson did for African American athletes,
but what other trailblazers like Buck O'Neil and Don Newcombe did for "Sweet Lou."
Robinson started the momentum when he broke baseball's color barrier 65 years ago, but discrimination in society, as well as baseball,
remained. Strangely, while discrimination might have slowed down Johnson's journey to the Major Leagues, it also made it possible.
My dream was to play basketball at the University of Kentucky, where my mother and father worked, but they wouldn't take blacks,"
Johnson recalled, "so I never was involved with the university, and that haunted me a long time."
You'd never know it watching those black-and-white tapes of Johnson applauding himself as he rounded the bases of a Game 7 home
run that helped the Dodgers win the World Series against Minnesota. On the field, Johnson played with an outgoing exuberance that
won over fans and became his trademark despite playing only three seasons for the Dodgers.
But as Johnson tells it, that effervescent personality wasn't welcomed in those early years that led to the civil rights movement of the
1960s.
"When I got here, people thought I was crazy for clapping my hands when something good happened," said Johnson, now 77 and in his
31st year as a community relations liaison for the Dodgers. "I clapped my hands, because for so many years nobody clapped for me, so I
clapped for myself.
"In the last few years I've been able to see and visualize why I spent so much time in the Minor Leagues. It wasn't because of how well I
played. It was my way -- the way I talked and acted and sounded. Back then, you weren't supposed to say anything. I was always talking,
always vocal, but it was never aimed at anybody. And I talked the way I talked, using the [slang] words I always used. And I guess my
mouth got in the way. But I couldn't play any other way. African Americans back then, well, you just weren't allowed to be yourself, and
I didn't go along with that and I think that's what held me back, because I do believe I was good enough to be a Major Leaguer long
before I was."
And long before Johnson had the chance to play in the Major Leagues, he toiled in the Negro Leagues.
"[Former Major Leaguer] John Shelby's grandfather taught me how to play softball when I was in high school," Johnson said. "So I went
to Kentucky State and played baseball and the scouts saw me and singed me and sent me to Olean, N.Y., where the Yankees had a Class
D team. It's the same place where Maury Wills played.
"For three straight years, I got cut on the last cutdown day. But in 1954, the Kansas City Monarchs came through there for an exhibition.
That club had Buck O'Neil as manager, Satchel Paige, Dave Whitney, George Altman. Buck O'Neil saw me and gave me a contract. He
was manager and first baseman.
"That winter, the Negro Leagues were having trouble and the Cubs bought the contracts of O'Neil, Altman, J.C. Hartman and me. That's
how I got into organized baseball, because of Buck O'Neil. He was the key for me. But I still spent five more years in the Minor Leagues
with the Cubs before I got my first chance."
It took Johnson three years in the Negro Leagues and another six years in organized Minor League ball before his first Major League
callup by the Chicago Cubs in 1960. He spent three of the next four years back in the Minor Leagues, and in 1964, he was traded by
Detroit to the Dodgers, who sent him back to the Minor Leagues until two-time batting champ Tommy Davis broke his ankle and
Johnson got the call.
It was an opportunity Johnson had waited a lifetime for, and he etched his name in Dodgers lore by providing the offense and emotional
spark to overtake the Giants for the pennant and edge the Twins for a World Series ring.
That ring represents the obvious highs and not-so-obvious lows of Johnson's life, which include a recovery from substance abuse. At
bottom, Johnson offered up that ring as collateral for cocaine. When the ring showed up at auction on the Internet, Dodgers historian
Mark Langill alerted then-president Bob Graziano, who bought the ring and gave it back to Johnson.
It was Newcombe, who had survived substance abuse himself, who sent Johnson to a rehab center when he came looking for help.
Newcombe, who preceded Johnson in the Negro Leagues by a decade, is a special advisor to the chairman of the Dodgers.
"If not for Don, I wouldn't be here, and I don't mean just sitting here, I mean I wouldn't be here, period," Johnson said. "What he
accomplished, turning his life around, he helped me turn my life around. Newk did something I hadn't been willing to do. If Don hadn't
been with the Dodgers, I wouldn't have accepted his help. It's only because the Dodgers gave me the opportunity to shine that I came
back for help. Now I walk into Dodger Stadium and see that sign up there from '65. That makes me smile."
Mattingly rests Gordon, Loney vs. lefty Richard
By Quinn Roberts / MLB.com
LOS ANGELES -- With the Dodgers facing Padres left-hander Clayton Richard in Friday's series opener, manager Don Mattingly decided
to rest a few of his left-handed hitters.
Justin Sellers started in place of Dee Gordon at shortstop, while Juan Rivera was at first base in place of James Loney.
After Gordon went 0-for-4 with three fly-ball outs in Thursday's game against the Pirates, Mattingly felt Gordon looked a little fatigued
and could use the day off.
"Dee hit some fly balls yesterday and kind of got out of his game. So, we'll give him a day off and get Justin out there," Mattingly said.
"That is the beauty of having Justin. You get a guy who can really pick it at short. It is just the day for it."
With Gordon in his first full Major League season, Mattingly wants to make sure he's not overworked.
"He has a lot of responsibility, playing short and stealing bags," Mattingly said. "We are just giving him a mental day off, and it won't
hurt him a bit."
While Loney did get his first hit of the season in Thursday's contest, he's struggled in his six starts this season, batting just .050 with two
RBIs.
Mattingly said Loney will start the final two games against right-handers Joe Wieland and Edinson Volquez.
"I like playing our guys, and if James was crushing it, he would be in the lineup tonight, but he has struggled," Mattingly said. "It gets him
a day.
"I just wanna get him going and let him line up and get him going against right-handers. We have two the next couple of days, and he'll
be in there then."
Dodgers defense living up to expectations
LOS ANGELES -- Thanks in part to three reigning Gold Glove Award winners in Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Clayton Kershaw, manager
Don Mattingly had high expectations for the Dodgers' defense coming into the season.
And only seven games in, the team has yet to disappoint. Committing only two errors so far, Los Angeles has a .993 fielding percentage,
the best in the National League.
"I kind of expected the team to be this good defensively this season," Mattingly said. "We were third in the league last year in defense.
James [Loney], Mark [Ellis] and Juan [Rivera] can all pick it. I really thought we'd be good defensively."
With Kemp, Ethier and Kershaw all receiving their Gold Glove Awards before Friday's game against the Padres, Mattingly believes the
Dodgers will put out a solid defensive team every night.
"Defense is one of those things that you should be good at every day. It is just a matter of wanting to be a good defensive player,"
Mattingly said. "To be in the right spot, to throw to the right base, that is all just a matter of wanting to be a good player. That should be
there every night."
Scully misses fourth straight game with cold
LOS ANGELES -- Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully missed his fourth consecutive game Friday night with a bad cold.
The Dodgers said Scully is improving and could be back as soon as Saturday.
Charley Steiner and Steve Lyons called the game on PRIME TICKET, while Rick Monday and Kevin Kennedy were behind the microphone
on AM 570 Fox Sports Los Angeles for the opener against the Padres.
Flirting with history, Dodgers turn to Lilly vs. Padres
Southpaw returns from disabled list to face rookie Wieland
By AJ Cassavell / MLB.com | 4/14/2012 2:15 AM ET
No one is making any grand comparisons between the 1981 Dodgers and the 2012 club just yet, but a 7-1 record has Los Angeles off to
its best start since the '81 world champions opened 9-1.
On Saturday, the Dodgers will look to keep pace against the 2-6 Padres.
Highly touted prospect Joe Wieland will make his Major League debut for San Diego after being acquired in last season's Trade Deadline
deal that sent reliever Mike Adams to the Rangers. Wieland will face Dodgers lefty Ted Lilly.
"One of my favorite days is when a guy makes his Major League debut," Padres manager Bud Black said. "Joe will never forget today
[Friday, showing up in his first big league clubhouse], and he won't forget tomorrow."
Wieland, who wasn't made available for comment Friday, was pulled from his start Tuesday while pitching for Triple-A Tucson and was
told by manager Terry Kennedy that he was heading to the big leagues. His start comes on the day the Padres will need their fifth starter
for the first time this year.
In two starts with Tucson, the 22-year-old was 0-1 with a 3.52 ERA in 7 2/3 innings. He had two walks and 11 strikeouts in that stretch.
"You like the arm and like the delivery," Black said. "In the spring, we saw a guy who has four pitches. I liked his composure, and he
looked like a well-rounded player. He showed poise on the mound and is a clear thinker."
Wieland will be facing Lilly, who is 14 years his senior. Lilly returns to the rotation after starting the season on the disabled list with neck
stiffness. In his lone rehab start, Lilly struggled, allowing seven runs in six innings.
But most importantly, Lilly said the rehab start let him know that he was healthy enough to pitch. He is coming off a roller-coaster 2011
season that saw him finish 12-14 with a 3.97 ERA.
"It has been a long week, not being able to be out there with the guys," Lilly said. "Everyone wants to get out there, and I am happy I
finally am.
"As far as health goes, I really don't have anything that is keeping me from going out there and doing my job. My neck feels really good."
Padres: Using the whole roster
Black likes to say it -- and he did so again on Friday -- "you've got to use your bench, all 25 guys."
On Friday, Black mixed up his lineup, giving Jeremy Hermida his first start of the season in right field, and catcher John Baker his second.
Both recorded hits in a 9-8 loss.
The moves gave catcher Nick Hundley -- hitless after his first 24 plate appearances -- and outfielder Jesus Guzman -- hitting .172 in 29 atbats -- the night off.
• The Padres will have to make a move before officially adding Wieland to the roster on Saturday. They won't have to adjust the 40-man
roster, however, because they have an open spot remaining.
There's a chance the team could option a position player to the Minor Leagues and carry a 13-man staff for a few days. Outfielder Mark
Kotsay is due to come off the DL on Monday. However, a four-man bench doesn't hold much appeal for Black.
Dodgers: Dazzling on defense
With three Dodgers receiving Gold Glove Awards Friday night, the club continued its sharp defensive play with another error-free game
in a walk-off victory. The Dodgers lead the National League in fielding percentage and are tied for fewest errors with two.
"Defense is one of those things that you should be good at every day," manager Don Mattingly said. "It is just a matter of wanting to be
a good defensive player. To be in the right spot, to throw to the right base, that is all just a matter of wanting to be a good player. That
should be there every night."
• Legendary Dodgers announcer Vin Scully missed his fourth straight game Friday with a nasty cold, but the club said he is improving
and could be back for Saturday's contest.
• Matt Kemp has been on a tear to start the 2012 season, and he added to it with a two-run homer Friday night. Kemp is now hitting
.419 with three homers and 11 RBIs.
Worth noting
• The Padres and Dodgers have become accustomed to playing low-scoring games recently, so Friday night's 9-8 final was a bit of a
rarity. It was the highest scoring game between the two clubs since an 11-10 extra-inning victory for Los Angeles on Sept. 18, 2006.
• The Dodgers have beaten the Padres in 14 of their last 17 games dating back to last July.
Jackie did it his way ... with courage
Robinson started a national change that continues to this day
By Richard Justice | MLB.com Columnist | Archive 04/13/12 10:00 AM ET
In the end, they could not strip Jackie Robinson of his dignity, and 65 years later, that's perhaps the most incredible part of his story.
Lord knows they tried. Through the years, we've come to associate him with words like grace and courage, but the truth is, they don't
begin to describe the hell that was Robinson's life.
We use those words because they're the best we can do. In truth, it's impossible to know or understand what he endured. He was spit
on and cursed, routinely. Pitchers threw at his head, routinely. He was drilled in the legs and ribs for sport. Fans threatened him, often
loudly. He was constantly confronted with people who despised him because of the color of his skin and nothing else.
Can you imagine standing there on the field smothered by the sounds of hate? How many times did he fear for his life? He had agreed
not to respond to the insults or retaliate to the physical punishment. He had an aggressive, abrasive style on the field, a style that
probably agitated people who already were prone to dislike him.
Please, let's not sanitize Robinson's story. He indeed was a man of grace and dignity, but the truth is, he was treated like an animal,
actually worse than an animal. He was a member of the Dodgers only on the field.
Some of his teammates treated him well, but he was never really one of them. While they stayed in fine hotels and ate great food,
Jackie was forced to stay in hotels so hot and filthy that he'd sometimes soak the bed sheets in ice water to cool the room. He ate his
meals in the backs of kitchens, often alone, at least until Branch Rickey added Roy Campanella in his second season and Don Newcombe
in his third.
To get back to a part of town that accepted him wasn't easy, and Robinson sometimes waited an hour on street corners for a cabbie
who would stop for a black man. He was proud and stubborn, and he knew people were counting on him. The editor of a black New
York weekly wrote that Robinson "would be haunted by the expectations of his race. ... White America will judge the Negro race by
everything he does. And Lord help him with his fellow Negroes if he should fail them."
Robinson loved baseball more than baseball loved him, and he wanted to show the world that a black man could succeed in a white
man's league. Nothing has been the same for baseball -- or America -- since April 15, 1947. And on the 65th anniversary of Robinson's
first game -- a game that drew just 25,600 at Ebbets Field, a moment that drew little mention in New York's newspapers -- Major League
Baseball will again honor Robinson.
He always seemed to understand that his real impact would extend far beyond the baseball diamond, and one of the many things that
made him special is that he saw his sport as a means to an end.
"Jackie basically started the civil rights movement," Newcombe said. "In those days, there was no civil rights movement. People like
Martin Luther King were too young then."
Maybe that's why King said Robinson had a dramatic impact on the civil rights movement, because he forced people to confront the
possibility of change.
"Back in the days when integration wasn't fashionable," King said, "he underwent the trauma and humiliation and the loneliness which
comes with being a pilgrim walking the lonesome byways toward the high road of freedom."
Robinson paid an ugly price. Did you hear the one about the opposing catcher spitting on Robinson's shoes in the batter's box?
Robinson wasn't a patient or passive man by nature and wasn't inclined to look the other way on injustice either. During his Army days,
he was court-martialed for refusing to move to the back of a city bus in Texas.
"I know you're a good ballplayer," Rickey told him. "What I don't know is whether you have the guts."
Robinson asked: "Mr. Rickey, are you looking for a Negro who is afraid to fight back?"
Rickey shot back: "I'm looking for a ballplayer with guts enough not to fight back."
Perhaps the real lesson of Robinson is about social responsibility. He was determined to leave the world better than he found it. After
his playing career ended in 1956, he attended rallies, fired off angry telegrams and lent his name to causes. There was a 1957 letter to
President Eisenhower.
"I read your statement in the papers advising patience," he wrote. "We are wondering to whom you are referring when you say we
must be patient. It is easy for those who haven't felt the evils of a prejudicial society to urge it."
And there was a 1961 note to President Kennedy.
"I thank you for what you have done so far," he wrote, "but it is not how much has been done, but how much more there is to do?"
And a 1965 telegram to President Johnson:
"Important you take immediate action in Alabama. One more day of savage treatment by legalized hatchet men could lead to open
warfare by aroused Negroes. America cannot afford this in 1965."
He died too young, at 53 in 1972, but because of him, America was pushed a little bit in the right direction. Today, baseball will take a
moment to remember one of its proudest moments. The men who run the game will be pressed about racial progress and new
programs and the like. Players will offer opinions. The issue will be out there.
Robinson surely would be pleased about that.
"A life is not important, except in the impact it has on other lives," he said.
Grandson proud to tell Robinson's message
By Terence Moore | MLB.com Columnist | Archive 04/13/12 3:17 PM ET
For so many reasons, Jackie Robinson deserves even higher marks in the history books as a national icon. Sixty-five years ago this
weekend, he didn't just shatter the color barrier in baseball, but he became the Great Emancipator of the 20th century.
He really did. In fact, he was all of that and more, and this was before he spent April 15, 1947, trotting to first base at Ebbets Field for his
Major League debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Who was the first athlete in the history of UCLA to win varsity letters in four sports? Uh-huh. Not only that, Robinson was impressive
while playing semi-professional football and basketball.
More striking, three years before Robinson became baseball's first African-American player, he already was into social justice. On July 6,
1944, for instance, he was Rosa Parks before Rosa Parks, when he refused to move to the back of an Army bus while serving in the
military. He was court-martialed, but he was acquitted by an all-white jury.
This can't be stressed enough, and it hasn't been: Robinson's act of defiance on behalf of integration occurred 11 years before Parks
refused to move from the front of that bus in Montgomery, Ala.
So what else has society forgotten, underplayed or overlooked regarding the legacy of Jack Roosevelt Robinson?
"I think there are a bunch of things," said Jesse Simms, 33, Robinson's proud grandson.
Simms is a special assistant these days for Minor League Baseball president Pat O'Conner, and his emphasis is on the educational and
outreach aspects of something in baseball that would make his grandfather smile -- the Diversity Initiative Program.
Added Simms, "There are things that haven't been said enough about what my grandfather wanted to accomplish in his lifetime but
what he wasn't able to do. And I think it's our job -- as those who are living his legacy -- to highlight his accomplishments, and to talk
about the things that we all need to do in society to honor his name."
In case you're wondering, Simms was born seven years after Robinson died at 53 from complications involving his heart and diabetes on
Oct. 24, 1972. Even so, the grandson carries the grandfather in his soul, partly because of Sharon Robinson, his mother and Jackie's
daughter, who works for the Commissioner's Office, and his grandmother, Rachel Robinson, Jackie's widow, who will turn 90 in June.
The mother and the grandmother continue to give Simms the deepest meaning of those Jackie Robinson stories, and he internalizes
them. Plus, he understands better than most what his grandfather overcame to slay obstacles with conviction and courage.
"I was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 29, and I was in a coma, and I didn't come out of it for two weeks," Simms said. "Me, being
a diabetic, and having to fight through that, with my kids and everything. ... So you know what I'm really proud of regarding my
grandfather? It was his ability to fight through this disease.
"There were two battles he was fighting. He was fighting for his life, and he was fighting for his family. He was just a fighter."
That is among Simms' eternal messages.
While most of the Robinson family will be in New York this weekend for baseball's yearly Jackie Robinson celebration, Simms is in
Atlanta, where he will deliver several of his eternal messages.
Simms will attend the Braves' three-game series at Turner Field against the Milwaukee Brewers, and Sunday's game will be an official
part of what baseball calls Jackie Robinson Day. Before that, Simms will be the inspirational speaker on Saturday for the Braves'
inaugural Jackie Robinson Baseball Invitational, featuring 16 teams of mostly African-American youngsters from ages five through 12.
They will play in a free tournament from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m ET.
Braves African-American outfielder Michael Bourn also will join Simms for this event, which is designed to help black youngsters stay
motivated to play a sport that has seen its number of African-American players decline on a percentage basis since the 1970s.
"I think we all would agree that we want more African-American involvement inside the game of baseball, and that's just the bottom
line," Simms said. "I can't speak for my grandfather, but I feel that he would be happy with where we've come, but he also would be
fighting for where we've got to go."
As for Simms' background, he was born in New York, but he grew up in Stamford, Conn., where his grandparents lived for years. Simms
was a standout middle linebacker in high school, and he eventually tried to follow in his grandfathers' cleat steps at UCLA, but he
transferred to play at Penn State for a brief stint.
Simms never played baseball.
"I think that just because of my size and everything else, weighing 285 pounds and running the 40 [yard dash] in 4.6 [seconds], football
was a natural for me," said Simms, who spends much of his time with his wife and family in Tampa, Fla., where he talks "Jackie
Robinson" to anybody who wishes to hear his eternal messages.
As for Simms' decision to deliver those messages this weekend in Atlanta as opposed to somewhere else, he cited a restaurant venture
he is trying to bring to the area. Then he added, "It just seems right to be in Atlanta [for Jackie Robinson Day], with such a multicultural
environment. And, obviously, you have my grandfather coming from Georgia."
Robinson was raised in Pasadena, Calif., but he was born to a family of sharecroppers in Cairo, Ga.
You know, something else folks likely don't know.
LA TIMES
Bankruptcy judge approves sale of Dodgers despite MLB objection
A fierce verbal battle in court ensues before Dodgers' sale to Guggenheim Baseball gets OK. The deal is scheduled to close April 30.
Major League Baseball argued that it should have had the final say.
By Bill Shaikin
April 13, 2012, 10:36 p.m.
WILMINGTON, Del. — The sale of the Dodgers to a group fronted by Magic Johnson was approved by a federal bankruptcy judge on
Friday, but not before a tense and acrimonious evening court session in which Major League Baseball failed to get a second chance to
review the transaction.
The sale is set to close April 30. If the deal closes as scheduled, the Dodgers would play their first home game under the new ownership
of Guggenheim Baseball on May 7, against the rival San Francisco Giants.
In approving the sale, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross rejected the league's claim to a final say in the deal and forced MLB to live by
its settlement with Frank McCourt, an agreement that has outraged several owners because of how much sovereignty the league ceded
in order to get McCourt to sell the Dodgers.
In a two-hour verbal war that stunned Gross, attorneys for the Dodgers and MLB tossed allegations around the courtroom as freely as
baseballs.
Bruce Bennett, an attorney for the Dodgers, suggested the league had "manufactured" issues out of its distaste for McCourt and called
MLB a "serial violator" of its settlement with him.
"How many laws that violates, I do not know," Bennett said.
Thomas Lauria, an attorney for MLB, said that incoming Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter made a promise regarding the Dodger
Stadium parking lots to induce MLB owners to approve his group and then refused to provide documents to back up his pledge.
Lauria also said that a representative of the new owners had threatened litigation if MLB did not back down and that the Dodgers were
"jamming" documents past the league solely so that McCourt could get his money in time for the $131-million divorce settlement he
must pay April 30.
At the center of Friday's fight was the authority of the court-appointed mediator responsible for enforcing the settlement between
McCourt and MLB.
The mediator has the power to mediate disputes regarding the settlement terms even after the Dodgers exit bankruptcy, a provision
Lauria said would be unfair to other teams without recourse to challenge the decisions of Commissioner Bud Selig.
Lauria said MLB did not want a league of "the Dodgers and the other 29 teams."
The settlement includes confidential provisions about how the league could treat revenue from a Dodgers-owned regional sports
network, Bennett said. He declined to elaborate, but the provisions are believed to limit how much of the Dodgers' television proceeds
must be shared with other teams via revenue sharing.
Those conditions — and the ability of the mediator to enforce them regardless of what Selig might say — represented what
Guggenheim attorney Michael Small called a "substantial component of the value proposition of the transaction."
Guggenheim agreed to pay $2.15 billion — a record price for a sports franchise — to buy the Dodgers and half-ownership of the Dodger
Stadium parking lots. McCourt, who did not have to sell the land under his settlement with MLB, gets to retain half-ownership.
"We really are concerned about the parking lot situation," Lauria said.
Lauria said that Walter had pledged to MLB owners that he would not buy the Dodgers unless Guggenheim controlled 16,500 surfacelevel parking spaces — that is, no parking structures. Once the sale was announced, however, Lauria said Guggenheim refused to
provide any details about how the joint venture to own the parking lots would work.
The Dodgers submitted some of those details under seal this week, and attorneys for the Los Angeles Times had asked Gross to compel
the team to release the details publicly. The Dodgers instead withdrew the document and said they would release it at a later date,
although Bennett said Friday the team's lease for the lots would be extended from 25 years to 99 years.
The money a fan pays to park at Dodger Stadium will be collected by the new owners, but neither McCourt nor Guggenheim has
explained how the parties will divide the revenue the team generates from the parking lots.
And, although people familiar with the sale agreement say no development can take place on the parking lots unless McCourt and
Guggenheim agree, neither party has shared a vision for the future of the property.
As Gross conducted a morning session Friday, attorneys for MLB, McCourt and Guggenheim met with the court-appointed mediator.
Those meetings continued for eight hours, with Lauria deciding to appeal directly to Gross, who said he did not expect the hearing to
take such a hostile turn.
"I had no idea," Gross said. "I thought this was going to be a celebration-type occasion."
Although MLB had yielded the final say to McCourt in the settlement, Lauria said no party could announce the sale of an MLB team
without league review and approval.
"We were unable to do what the other owners would have expected," Lauria said.
McCourt took the Dodgers into bankruptcy 291 days ago, three days away from running out of cash to pay his players. Although he said
he intended to retain ownership when the Dodgers emerged from bankruptcy, his surrender is expected to net him close to $1 billion in
profit.
"I want to congratulate Mr. McCourt, who I think was able to see the big picture," Gross said.
Aaron Harang sets consecutive strikeout record in Dodgers' win
The starter strikes out nine batters in a row after a leadoff hit, but the 9-8 victory comes on a walk-off walk in ninth inning.
By Dylan Hernandez
April 13, 2012, 11:40 p.m.
Aaron Harang lasted only 41/3 innings in his Dodgers debut last week.
"I didn't look at it as a typical game for me," Harang said.
So, was what Harang did Friday night in the Dodgers' bizarre 9-8 walk-off victory over the San Diego Padres more typical?
"I wish I could say yes," he said, laughing.
Facing the team he pitched for last season, Harang did something no Dodgers pitcher before him had done -- not Sandy Koufax, not Don
Drysdale, not Fernando Valenzuela.
Over a stretch that started in the first inning and ended in the fourth, the 33-year-old newcomer struck out nine consecutive batters,
breaking an all-time franchise record that lasted almost half a century. The previous standard of eight was established by World Series
hero Johnny Podres on July 2, 1962, against the Philadelphia Phillies.
But on this Friday the 13th, Harang's run at Tom Seaver's major league record of 10 consecutive strikeouts was only one element of a
wild night. The game's finish was as wild as the start was spectacular. Stand-in closer Kenley Jansen served up an equalizing two-run
home run to Chase Headley with two outs in the ninth inning, only for the Dodgers to literally walk off with the victory in the bottom of
the inning by drawing four consecutive free passes.
The fourth and final walk was drawn by Andre Ethier, who collected his 12th career walk-off run batted in. The Dodgers improved their
major league-leading record to 7-1.
"At the end of the day, it's a W," Manager Don Mattingly said. "It doesn't matter how you get it."
Based on how Harang started the game, there were no indications such late-inning heroics would be necessary. He gave up a leadoff
single in the first inning to Cameron Maybin, then proceeded to strike out the next nine batters. He finished the game with 13
strikeouts, matching a career high he set while pitching for the Cincinnati Reds against the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 29, 2007.
"I didn't notice what was going on," Harang said. "You kind of get in that zone."
The first six of them struck out swinging: Will Venable, Headley, Yonder Alonso, Jeremy Heredia, Orlando Hudson and John Baker.
Harang started the third inning by striking out Jason Bartlett looking on a 3-2 pitch. Pitcher Clayton Richard and Maybin also went down
on strikes.
"That was pretty wild," Mattingly said.
But the Dodgers scored four runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 4-0 lead, which forced Harang to sit on the bench for an
extended period in the cold. (The temperature at the time of the first pitch was 54 degrees.) When he returned to the mound for the
fourth inning, he promptly served up a towering home run to Venable that cleared the left-field wall.
Harang was charged with two more runs that inning, as he gave up a walk and a pair of doubles. The Dodgers' lead was down to 4-3.
The Dodgers added four more runs in the bottom of fourth, which Justin Sellers and A.J. Ellis led off with back-to-back doubles. The
surge culminated with a two-run home run by Matt Kemp, which extended the Dodgers' advantage to 8-3.
Jansen's late-inning shocker was set up by a hideous seventh inning, in which Harang, Todd Coffey and Scott Elbert combined to give up
three runs. The lead was down to 8-6.
On the whole, Harang's performance turned out to be somewhat uneven. He was charged with four runs and four hits in 61/3 innings.
Ted Lilly eager to make his season debut for Dodgers
Dodgers left-hander Ted Lilly will pitch Saturday after missing one start because of neck pain that landed him on the disabled list.
By Dylan Hernandez
April 13, 2012, 9:38 p.m.
Ted Lilly has waited for more than a week to make his season debut.
To him, it's felt substantially longer.
"It's not like I missed a ton of starts, but it feels like I missed a few," Lilly said.
He's missed one, to be exact. Lilly will make his season debut Saturday against the San Diego Padres.
"It's been fun watching us win," Lilly said. "At some point, we'd all like to be a part of what's going on."
A stiff neck threw off Lilly's throwing program in spring training, which, in turn, forced the left-hander to start the season on the
disabled list. He said his neck is no longer bothering him.
"I don't have any excuses," he said.
His arm strength is where he wants it to be; he threw 83 pitches in a minor league rehabilitation game Sunday.
He wasn't satisfied with the results, however. He was pounded by the Angels' Class-A affiliate for seven runs, including six earned, in six
innings.
He served up two home runs. Giving up home runs was a problem last season, when opponents hit 28 against him.
"The object is to keep the ball in the park," he said.
In the first year of his three-year, $33-million deal, Lilly was 12-14 with a 3.97 earned-run average last season.
His problem was consistency. He ended the season significantly better than he started it, winning five of his last six starts and posting a
2.09 ERA over his last 11 appearances. During the final two months, he limited opponents to a .169 average, which was lowest in the
majors.
Decisions, decisions
Lilly's return will present a roster dilemma. Only three players have options that allow them to be sent to the minor leagues without
clearing waivers: Javy Guerra, Kenley Jansen and Josh Lindblom.
Guerra and Jansen won't be sent down; Guerra is the closer and Jansen is the primary eighth-inning man.
That means Lindblom could be the odd man out, even though he's arguably been the top performer out of the bullpen. Lindblom hasn't
give up a run in the five innings he's pitched over three appearances.
Scully update
Vin Scully's health continues to improve, but the Hall of Fame broadcaster is unlikely to call the Dodgers' game on Saturday unless the
weather drastically improves. Scully hasn't called the Dodgers' first four home games because of a bad cold.
Scully is expected to return Sunday.
Are Dodgers watching Javy Guerra end any debate on team closer?
By Steve Dilbeck
April 14, 2012, 8:35 a.m.
And on the fourth day, he rested. Though for a while there, the Dodgers had to be wondering if they shouldn’t tap Javy Guerra once
again.
Guerra had pitched in three consecutive games, and although he had thrown only 34 pitches, Manager Don Mattingly decided it was
time to give his young closer a day off.
Not that Guerra wasn’t game.
“You know what, the way we’re playing right now, I’d throw every day if I could,” Guerra said.
Instead, in the ninth inning with the Dodgers up by two Friday night, Mattingly went to Kenley Jansen, a harder-throwing right-hander
many have hoped would replace Guerra as closer.
“I know a lot of people were clamoring to switch [Guerra] and Kenley early in the spring, but his saves have not been like top-steppers,”
Mattingly said. “There are a lot of guys, they may get the save, but every time it seems like it’s second and third and it comes down to
that last pitch. Javy’s pretty much been like these last three. Maybe a guy gets on, but they’ve been pretty clean.”
Friday night Jansen gave up a two-run homer to San Diego’s Chase Headley that tied the score in a game the Dodgers won in the bottom
of the ninth on four walks.
“There’s a difference between pitching in the eighth and the ninth,” Mattingly said.
Guerra, 26, is all cool in the ninth, a right-hander who seems to welcome the pressure. He looks almost defiant on the mound.
And he’s had nothing but early success this season. Guerra leads the major leagues with five saves. In those five games he has given up
one hit and one walk. He’s struck out five. Naturally, he sports a 0.00 earned-run average.
Not bad for the accidental closer, the guy the Dodgers went to last season when All-Stars Jonathan Broxton imploded and Hong-Chih
Kuo battled anxiety, while Vicente Padilla was injured.
“He’s been pretty solid,” Mattingly said. “It’s hard for me to go away from success. You can say maybe one guy profiles [as a closer] and
one guy doesn’t, but when a guy goes out there and keeps getting them, it’s hard for me to say what’s happened that he shouldn’t be
the guy.”
Last season Guerra was called up from double-A Chattanooga on May 15. He made good on his first 10 save opportunities and 21 of 23
overall. His 91.3 save percentage is the fifth-best mark in Dodgers history. By the end of his rookie season, Guerra had made a believer
out of Mattingly and himself.
“When you have success, it’s pretty good for your confidence,” Mattingly said. “It’s crossing barriers. Now you know you can do it, and it
can either breed confidence or put too much pressure on yourself. And Javy’s been the kind of guy where it’s really bred confidence.
He’s continued to work and has great stuff.”
Guerra had a solid spring training, but really nothing to foretell this kind of start to the regular season. Guerra said for the first time he
was relaxed in spring, not worried about making the team and working on different pitches.
“And then there’s nothing like the lights turning on and you get your national anthem and actually go out there for a real game,” he
said. “There’s nothing like that real feeling.”
Aaron Harang strikes out record nine consecutive, Dodgers win 9-8
The right-hander, who made an early exit in his first start, breaks a 50-year-old record set by World Series hero Johnny Podres as the
Dodgers improve to 7-1.
By Steve Dilbeck
April 13, 2012, 10:38 p.m.
Then in his second start, Aaron Harang came out of the phone booth and laughed at the mere mortals. It was going to be that kind of
night.
This was a much different Harang from the right-hander who couldn’t get out of the fifth inning in his first start, also against the Padres.
This Harang threw fastballs past hitters, dropped 70 mph curves on the corners and froze hitters.
After giving up an initial hit to Cameron Maybin to begin the game, Harang went on a strikeout tear Friday, the likes of which the
Dodgers have never seen.
Harang struck out nine consecutive batters, surpassing Johnny Podres’ record of eight set 50 years ago, and finished the frigid night with
13 strikeouts.
That the Dodgers would ultimately blow a two-run lead in the top of the ninth inning, only to win it 9-8 in their next at-bat on four
consecutive walks before an announced crowd of 31,601 at Dodger Stadium seemed secondary to the stunning performance by Harang.
The victory pushed the Dodgers’ record to 7-1, best in the major leagues, and increased their lead in the National League West to 1 1/2
games over the Diamondbacks. Overall, the Dodgers struck out 18 Padres.
In his first outing against his former teammates, Harang left after 4 1/3 innings, having surrendered four runs on seven hits and five
walks. The only thing that even hinted at his second start was his six strikeouts.
But after giving up that initial hit to Maybin, he tore through the San Diego lineup, striking out each of the Padres. Eight of the nine
strikeouts were swinging.
Will Venable ended the streak when he led off the fourth inning with a solo home run. Harang seemed almost rattled, then giving two
more runs on a walk and a pair of doubles.
The Dodgers scored four times in the third and fourth innings off left-hander Clayton Richard, the only pitcher to have beaten them this
season.
Richards battled with his control in the third inning, whe he walked three. Mixed in with an error, an RBI infield hit by Mark Ellis and a
two-run bloop single by Andre Ethier, it was enough to score four.
In the fourth inning, Justin Sellers doubled and A.J. Ellis followed suit to drive him in. Tony Gwynn Jr. singled in Ellis before Matt Kemp
sent a two-run homer out to right.
Harang left after throwing 6 1/3 innings. The 13 strikeouts matched his career high, set in 2007. He gave up four hits and walked two.
The bullpen, which had been a somewhat surprising early strength, faltered on this night. Todd Coffey gave up two runs on two hits and
a hit batter. Not his best timing, since the Dodgers are going to have to make a roster move Saturday when Ted Lilly comes off the
disabled list.
Then in the ninth inning, with the Dodgers poised to win 8-6, Kenley Jansen gave up a two-out, game-tying, two-run homer to Chase
Headley.
The Dodgers won anyway, when Andrew Cashner walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning and left-hander Joe Thatcher
came in to walk Andre Ethier and force in the winning run.
Vin Scully unlikely to return until Sunday
By Steve Dilbeck
April 13, 2012, 8:58 p.m.
The Vin Scully Watch continues …
The day-to-day on the Dodgers' beloved broadcaster is expected to roll on for at least one more day as he recovers from a severe cold.
Scully missed his fourth consecutive game Friday, and, unless the chilly weather improves dramatically, is also expected to miss
Saturday night’s game.
Scully reportedly is feeling better and might return Sunday to broadcast the Dodgers’ final game of the homestand against the Padres.
The Dodgers then leave on six-game trip he was not scheduled to join.
While Hall of Fame broadcaster has been out, Charley Steiner and Steve Lyons have been handling the television broadcasts, with Rick
Monday and Kevin Kennedy on the radio.
Aaron Harang strikes out nine consecutive batters, sets Dodger record
The starter, who made an early exit in his Dodgers debut last week, breaks a nearly 50-year-old team record held by World Series hero
Johnny Podres.
By Dylan Hernandez
April 13, 2012, 8:53 p.m.
What in the name of Vladimir Shpunt was that?
Facing the San Diego Padres in Dodger Stadium, Aaron Harang set an all-time franchise record by striking out nine consecutive batters
on Friday night.
This is the same Harang who lasted only 4 1/3 innings in his Dodgers debut last week. The same Harang with a career earned-run
average of 4.26.
Harang broke the old record of eight, which was established by World Series hero Johnny Podres on July 2, 1962, in Dodger Stadium
against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Harang gave up a lead-off single to Cameron Maybin to start the game, but struck out the next nine batters. Will Venable prevented
Harang from breaking Tom Seaver’s all-time major league record of 10 by hitting a home run over the left-field wall.
For the record: An earlier version of this post said Johnny Podres set the record in 1962 against the San Diego Padres instead of the
Philadelphia Phillies.
ESPN.COM
Aaron Harang strikes out 9 straight as Dodgers top Padres
LOS ANGELES -- Aaron Harang was blissfully unaware his strikeouts were piling up until the crowd's excitement let him know how well
he was pitching.
Harang set a Los Angeles Dodgers record with nine consecutive strikeouts, one short of the major league mark, and Los Angeles beat the
San Diego Padres 9-8 on Friday night on four straight walks in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Matt Kemp hit a two-run homer and Harang tied his career high with 13 strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings to help the Dodgers win their fourth
in a row. They lead the majors with a 7-1 record, their best start since 1981, when they opened 9-1 and went on to win the World
Series.
"You kind of get in that zone and you kind of become oblivious to everything around you, what's going on. It's hard to explain," said
Harang, who avenged a loss at San Diego on Sunday.
"He was a little bit high-strung that day and needed to settle down," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "He was excited to get out
there today and show us he is better than his San Diego outing."
Chase Headley hit a tying, two-run homer with two outs in the ninth off Kenley Jansen (2-0), who walked Chris Denorfia to lead off the
inning and struck out his next two batters.
Andrew Cashner (0-1) retired his first two batters in the bottom half before walking Mark Ellis, Kemp and James Loney. Joe Thatcher
came in and walked Andre Ethier on four pitches to force in the winning run.
The Padres struck out 18 times, tying the most by a Dodgers pitching staff for a nine-inning game. Still, Los Angeles blew an 8-3 lead.
"It was a strange game," San Diego manager Bud Black said. "It started off with two guys pitching really well, and then the game got
crazy. I'm sure the Dodgers felt pretty comfortable in the middle of the game. Then we dropped it on them in the ninth, and they came
back with a gift at the end."
Harang broke Johnny Podres' previous club mark by striking out nine consecutive batters after Cameron Maybin opened the game with
a single. It came on a night when the temperature dipped to 52 degrees after rain fell most of the day.
"I gave up that first hit and was trying to get out of the first inning, and the next thing I know, we're scoring all those runs in the bottom
of the third," Harang said.
Harang and catcher A.J. Ellis had set a pregame goal of getting ahead of the hitters.
"He was on the attack all night long," Ellis said. "At six or seven [strikeouts], I started paying attention and checking out the board."
The streak ended when Will Venable homered leading off the fourth on a 3-1 pitch from against Harang. The right-hander, who pitched
for the Padres last season, allowed four hits and four runs while walking four.
Podres had eight straight strikeouts against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 2, 1962.
Hall of Famer Tom Seaver set the major league record with 10 consecutive strikeouts for the New York Mets against the Padres on April
22, 1970. Seaver fanned the final 10 San Diego batters in that game.
Dodgers regular closer Javy Guerra had the night off after pitching three days in a row and earning five saves in a span of eight days.
Padres starter Clayton Richard allowed eight runs and six hits in six innings.
The Dodgers took a 4-0 lead in the third. Mark Ellis' infield single to second base scored two runs with two outs. Ethier's RBI single
scored Ellis and Kemp, who walked.
After zipping through the first three innings, Harang sat longer than usual in the unseasonable cold while the Dodgers batted around in
the bottom of the inning. He promptly gave up the homer to Venable before walking Headley, who scored on Yonder Alonso's double
that left the Padres trailing 4-3.
"It threw me off a little bit," Harang said. "I kind of had to get loose again. With the cold weather, it was difficult."
The Dodgers extended their lead to 8-3 in the fourth. A.J. Ellis had an RBI double and Tony Gwynn Jr. added an RBI single before Kemp
hit a two-run shot to center field, his third homer of the season.
The Padres trailed 8-6 after scoring three runs in the seventh. Pinch hitter Denorfia had an RBI double, reliever Scott Elbert walked pinch
hitter Jesus Guzman with the bases loaded and Headley added a sacrifice fly.
Game notes
Dodgers bullpen coach Ken Howell will miss the team's upcoming six-game road trip because of diabetes-related issues. He'll be
replaced by Jim Slaton, the team's pitching coach at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz. … The Dodgers are 4-1 against the Padres this
season and have won 14 of their past 17 against their NL West rivals dating to last July 8. … Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully missed
his fourth consecutive game while recovering from a bad cold. The Dodgers said the 84-year-old Scully is improving and could return
Saturday. … The infield tarp was pulled on and off multiple times before the game started, and neither team took batting practice.
Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press
Aaron Harang fans nine straight
Updated: April 14, 2012, 2:41 AM ET
By Tony Jackson | ESPNLosAngeles.com
LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Aaron Harang set a franchise record Friday night by striking out nine consecutive
batters against the San Diego Padres. Los Angeles went on to win 9-8.
Harang fell one strikeout short of the all-time major league record of 10 by Hall of Fame right-hander Tom Seaver of the New York Mets
on April 22, 1970, also against the Padres.
Harang broke the 50-year-old Dodgers mark of eight consecutive strikeouts set by Johnny Podres against the Philadelphia Phillies on July
2, 1962.
The string of strikeouts began immediately after Harang gave up a lead-off single to Padres center fielder Cameron Maybin. It ended
when Will Venable led off the top of the fourth with a home run.
Harang finished with 13 strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings and received a no-decision.
Harang, an 11-year veteran, was making just his second start for the Dodgers after they signed him last winter to a two-year, $12 million
free-agent contract with an $8 million club option for 2014.
He struggled in his first start for the Dodgers against the Padres on Sunday at Petco Park, giving up four runs (three earned) on seven
hits with five walks and lasting just 4 1/3 innings.
Harang spent last season with the Padres, going 14-7 with a 3.64 ERA.
Dodgers' planned sale approved
Updated: April 14, 2012, 8:26 AM ET
Associated Press
WILMINGTON, Del. -- A bankruptcy court judge in Delaware gave his approval Friday to the Los Angeles Dodgers' plan to sell the team
for $2 billion.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross' approval of the Dodgers' reorganization plan came at the conclusion of a two-part morning and
evening hearing he called a "doubleheader." The decision allows the team to exit bankruptcy.
The reorganization plan is based on Dodgers owner Frank McCourt's agreement to sell the team for $2 billion to Guggenheim Baseball
Management, a group that includes former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson. Mark Walter, chief executive officer of the financial
services firm Guggenheim Partners, will become the controlling owner, and the team will be run by former Atlanta Braves president
Stan Kasten.
Both Kasten and McCourt were in court on Friday. The sale is set to close by April 30, the day McCourt is to make a $131 million
payment to former wife Jamie as part of their divorce.
"All the organization's goals in the reorganization cases have been achieved. We look forward to returning all of our attention to Dodger
baseball," the team said in a statement after the hearing.
The Dodgers entered bankruptcy in June 2011 during a bitter dispute with Major League Baseball. At the time, baseball commissioner
Bud Selig refused to approve a new TV deal with Fox Sports that the team was counting on in order to make payroll and keep the
franchise solvent.
Friday's hearing helped resolve a number of lingering issues ahead of the team's sale. Fox, the team's current broadcaster, had wanted
written assurance that competitor Time Warner Cable was not contributing funds being used for the purchase. Lawyers for the Dodgers
agreed to do that.
Friday's hearing dragged into the evening, however, as lawyers for the Dodgers and Major League Baseball sparred over the information
being given to the league about the plan. A lawyer for Major League Baseball said the league had issues with the plan and was owed
more information. A Dodgers lawyer said the team had met all the criteria to have the plan confirmed, and the judge agreed.
Of Jansen, Coffey, and Howell
April, 13, 2012
By Tony Jackson | ESPNLosAngeles.com
LOS ANGELES -- Before the Los Angeles Dodgers pulled out a 9-8 victory over the San Diego Padres on Saturday night, they watched an
8-6, ninth-inning lead turn into an 8-8 tie. This was the result of Kenley Jansen, usually the team's eighth-inning setup man who was
pressed into closing duty because Javy Guerra had pitched three days in a row, coming in and issuing a leadoff walk and then a two-out,
two-run, game-tying homer to Chase Headley.
That result itself was somewhat less notable than the fact the fireballing Jansen's velocity was noticeably down, even as he was striking
out three batters that inning to raise his average for the season to 16.5 strikeouts per nine innings -- slightly better than the all-time,
major league record of 16.2 he set last year.
Jansen has been battling a mild case of flu in recent days, which could have accounted for the velocity drop.
"I've been battling the flu, but that's not an excuse at all," Jansen said. "You still have to make good pitches and keep us in the game and
try to help the team win. That is what it's all about."
Both manager Don Mattingly and pitching coach Rick Honeycutt noticed the slight dropoff, but neither seemed alarmed by it. Honeycutt
said it might have been due to the cold weather or illness. Mattingly said it might have been the difference in the eighth inning and the
ninth, which almost anyone in baseball agrees is fairly huge except for the pitchers who actually pitch in those innings.
"It doesn't feel any different," Jansen said. "You have to treat the eighth inning just like it's the ninth inning, just come in and get the job
done."
But catcher A.J. Ellis said Jansen did seem a bit out of sorts at the beginning of the inning, when he walked the first batter, Chris
Denorfia.
"He was a little more tentative than I have seen him," Ellis said. "But after that first batter, he was definitely locked back in. He came
right back to strike out the next two batters on six straight pitches. Chase Headley is a good hitter, a three-hole hitter in the National
League, and that pitch ended up over the middle of the plate.''
Jansen was trying to throw it in on Headley, but said it ran back over the middle. At any rate, the hope is that the velocity drop was a
one-time thing -- although he gave up a double to Yonder Alonso after Headley's home run, Jansen still looked pretty unhittable in
striking out the three batters he did. If it continues, though, it could become a source of alarm.
With veteran left-hander Ted Lilly scheduled to come off the 15-day disabled list and make his first start of the season on Saturday night
against the Padres, the most likely move appears to be reliever Todd Coffey going onto the 15-day DL.
Mattingly revealed after the game that Coffey has been receiving some type of treatment on his right knee for a condition the specifics
of which aren't known -- Coffey declined to comment after the game -- and given the fact Coffey failed to retire any of the three batters
he faced and now has been charged with four earned runs in a total of one inning in his three appearances this season, all of that adds
up to a very convenient roster move if the Dodgers decide to go that way.
If not, the most likely move would be to option reliever Josh Lindblom, if only because he is the only guy in the bullpen who has options.
But that would be a tough move to make -- and possibly a harsh message to send -- given that Lindblom has made four appearances this
season and allowed no runs on one hit over six innings, including pitching out of an eighth-inning spot he inherited with a runner on
second and nobody out. Lindblom retired the next three batters with relative ease, stranding Jeremy Hermida on second.
Dodgers bullpen coach Ken Howell, who suffers from diabetes that has caused him to have to have toes amputated in the past, walked
out of the clubhouse after the game wearing two different types of shoes. It was announced shortly thereafter that he would be leaving
the team until the next homestand, which begins on April 23, to receive medical treatment.
Howell was replaced in the bullpen on Friday night by catching instructor Steve Yeager. Jim Slaton, the pitching coordinator at the
Dodgers' spring-training complex in Glendale, Ariz., arrived during the game and will be taking over bullpen-coaching duties for the
duration of Howell's absense beginning on Saturday night.
3 up, 3 down: Dodgers 9, Padres 8
April, 13, 2012
By Tony Jackson | ESPNLosAngeles.com
LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers continued their best start in more than three decades Friday, beating the San Diego Padres 9-8
before 31,601 at Dodger Stadium to improve their record to 7-1. The game ended on a bases-loaded walk by Andre Ethier to force in the
winning run with two outs in the ninth, his 12th career walkoff RBI.
It is the Dodgers' hottest beginning to a season since 1981, when they started 9-1 and went on to win the World Series. Dodgers
pitchers combined to strike out 18 batters, tying a franchise record they now have reached six times, most recently on June 4, 1990.
The Dodgers got a stellar performance from veteran right-hander Aaron Harang, who tied his career high with 13 strikeouts, and a tworun homer from center fielder Matt Kemp. Ethier and Mark Ellis also drove in two runs each.
But Kenley Jansen, who normally pitches in an eighth-inning setup role, was called on to close it out because Javy Guerra had pitched
each of the three previous days, and Jansen failed to close it out, giving up a two-run, game-tying homer to Padres third baseman Chase
Headley to erase what was left of what at one time had been a five-run Dodgers lead.
The Good
Going streaking. Harang set a new franchise record by striking out nine consecutive batters after giving up a leadoff single to Cameron
Maybin to begin the game. Harang broke the previous mark of eight consecutive strikeouts by Johnny Podres on July 2, 1962 against the
Philadelphia Phillies. Harang fell one strikeout short of the major league record of 10 in a row, set by Hall of Famer Tom Seaver for the
New York Mets on April 22, 1970, also against the Padres.
Seizing the moment. Making his first start of the season at shortstop (and his second overall) while Dee Gordon took a night off, Justin
Sellers kicked off four-run rallies in both the third and fourth innings, leading off the third with a walk and beginning the fourth with a
double to the wall in left-center. Sellers scored both times. Later, with two outs in the eighth, Sellers fell behind reliever Brad Brach 0and-2 before working Brach for an 11-pitch walk. Sellers hadn't reached base in any of his four previous plate appearances this season.
Forcing the issue. Dodgers third-base coach Tim Wallach made his contribution to the cause on a critical play in the third, turning what
might have been an inning-ending groundout into a two-run single. When Ellis hit a grounder up the middle, Padres second baseman
Orlando Hudson went into the hole to snare it, then made a one-hop throw to first, giving Ellis just enough time to beat it out. With two
outs, Wallach never hesitated to wave trail runner A.J. Ellis around, and Ellis slid in just ahead of the throw from first baseman Yonder
Alonso.
The Bad
Try decaf. Todd Coffey faced three batters in the seventh inning without recording an out, giving up a single, a double and a hit
batsman. He wound up being charged with two runs, as well as allowing an inherited runner to score, and his ERA through three
appearances for the Dodgers jumped to 36.00. With Ted Lilly due to come off the disabled list and start Saturday night's game, it
wouldn't be terribly shocking if Coffey, who has a guaranteed one-year, $1.3 million contract, were to come down with some physical
issue just in time to go onto the disabled list and clear a roster spot for Lilly.
Patient much? Leading off the fifth inning against Padres lefty Clayton Richard, Ethier, who finally appears to be getting comfortable
against left-handers, worked Richard for an impressive, seven-pitch walk. So what did Juan Uribe do when he followed Ethier to the
plate, knowing that Richard might be struggling to find the strike zone? Why, he grounded into an easy, 6-4-3 double play on the very
first pitch, of course, immediately snuffing out a potential Dodgers rally.
No-shows (again). The Dodgers announced, with an organizational straight face, that there were 31,601 in the house. There were not.
Unless, as one of the late, great, long-ago inhabitants of the press box used to say, they were all out taking a smoke break.
DAILY NEWS
DODGERS 9, SAN DIEGO 8: Harang breaks franchise mark with nine consecutive strikouts
By J.P. Hoornstra, Staff Writer
Posted: 04/13/2012 10:30:06 PM PDT
Friday will be remembered as the day - probably the only day - that Aaron Harang and Tom Seaver were mentioned in the same breath,
over and over again, with a small slice of baseball history at stake.
Harang began his second start of the season by allowing a single to San Diego Padres leadoff man Cameron Maybin. He proceeded to
strike out the next nine batters in a row, breaking a 50-year-old franchise record in the process and falling one short of Seaver's all-time
record of 10 in a row from 1970.
The right hander's reward for his brief brush with the record books? Nothing.
With two outs in the top of the ninth inning, Chase Headley's two-run home run off Dodgers reliever Kenley Jansen tied the score at 8-8,
denying Harang the win. The Dodgers needed four straight walks in the bottom of the inning to pull out a 9-8 victory in walk-off fashion.
"The ninth inning is a different animal," Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis said. "Things start snowballing. It can be tough. Unfortunately for them
tonight, they had the walk bug hit them in the ninth."
The Dodgers won another close game and Andre Ethier - whose bases-loaded walk off Joe Thatcher scored Mark Ellis - had the winning
RBI for the third time this week.
Other than that, there was nothing typical about the Dodgers' fourth consecutive victory, improving their record to a major-league best
7-1.
"At the end of the day it's a win," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "It don't matter how you get it."
Well before "Aaron Harang" became a trending topic, another club record seemed more likely to end Friday: No Dodgers home game
had been rained out since April 17, 2000, a streak of 972 games that was threatened by inclement weather throughout the morning and
afternoon.
Ultimately, it forced the teams to take batting practice indoors, kept a few fans away from the stadium (the announced attendance of
31,601 was surely short of the actual crowd) and chilled the game-time temperature to 54 degrees.
That seemed to have no effect on Harang, who used the dreary conditions to carve out a memorable evening:
His nine strikeouts through the first three innings tied a major-league record shared by Mickey Welch, Sam McDowell, Don Wilson, Sid
Fernandez and Randy Johnson (courtesy of the Society of American Baseball Research).
Harang broke the franchise record for consecutive strikeouts, set when Johnny Podres struck out eight straight Philadelphia Phillies on
July 2, 1962.
3 innings tied a career high, set Sept. 29, 2007 against the Chicago Cubs.
Harang was given the ball he used to strike out his ninth straight victim, Maybin, to end the third inning. At that point, the crowd stood
to cheer; before then, Harang said he wasn't conscious of the record at stake.
When the pitcher came to bat in the fourth inning, he said Padres catcher John Baker told him, "Hey, thanks for making me part of
history."
The cold night caught up to Harang as the Dodgers batted around in the bottom of the third inning. They used three walks and two
singles to score four runs, giving the pitcher what appeared to be a comfortable lead.
However, Harang began the next inning by throwing three straight balls - none too far off the plate - to Will Venable. Venable took a
strike, then drilled a home run over the left-field fence to end the strikeout streak and Harang's shutout bid.
The Dodgers padded their lead with four more runs in the fourth inning, highlighted by a two-run home run by Matt Kemp, to make it 83.
Harang didn't run into trouble again until the seventh, around the time he hit the 100-pitch mark. After the right-hander walked John
Baker, Todd Coffey sprinted in from the Dodger bullpen only to allow a single, a double, and hit Maybin with a pitch.
Scott Elbert relieved Coffey - who didn't record an out - and issued a bases-loaded walk to Jesus Guzman for the Padres' sixth run.
Pitching the ninth inning in place of Javy Guerra, Jansen issued a leadoff walk to Chris Denorfia, then struck out Andy Parrino and Kyle
Blanks - the 17 th and 18 th Padres batters to strike out in the game, tying a Dodger club record - before surrendering the home run to
Headley.
Jansen (2-0) blew the save but wound up the winning pitcher after Ellis, Kemp and Loney drew two-out walks off San Diego reliever
Andrew Cashner in the bottom of the ninth. Thatcher relived Cashner and issued four straight balls to Ethier, who drove in his majorleague leading 13 th run of the season.
DODGERS NOTEBOOK: Bankruptcy court OKs sale of team
By J.P. Hoornstra, Staff Writer
Posted: 04/13/2012 10:22:44 PM PDT
A federal bankruptcy court approved the sale of the Dodgers to a group including Magic Johnson.
The sale to Guggenheim Baseball Partners LLC was first announced March 27 and is expected to close April 30 - the day outgoing owner
Frank McCourt is to make a $131million payment to former wife Jamie as part of their divorce.
"We are pleased to have successfully concluded the Chapter 11 reorganization process," the Dodgers said in a statement. "All the
organization's goals in the reorganization cases have been achieved. We look forward to returning all of our attention to Dodger
baseball."
Friday's decision came as little surprise, even though two objections - one by Major League Baseball, another by Fox - were filed with
the court overseeing the process Tuesday. The decision was handed down by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Kevin Gross in Wilmington,
Del.
Johnson didn't attend the hearing but Stan Kasten, a member of the Guggenheim group, did along with McCourt, according to multiple
reports.
The Associated Press reported lawyers for the Dodgers and MLB sparred over the information being given to the league about the plan.
An MLB lawyer said the league had issues with the plan and is owed more information. A Dodgers lawyer said the team has met all the
criteria to have the plan confirmed, and the judge agreed.
Lilly on track
It was only six days ago that Ted Lilly made a minor-league rehabilitation start, but he has been hearing it from teammates in the
Dodgers' clubhouse.
"I get a lot of questions from the other guys, like, `When are you going to play?"' Lilly said.
The left-hander, who tossed six innings for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga on April 8, is set to come off the disabled list and make his
season debut today against San Diego.
Lilly said his neck felt "really good" Friday and that the rehab start "confirmed the fact that I felt healthy enough to pitch" when the
season began.
In six innings against the Inland Empire 66ers, Lilly allowed two home runs, including a grand slam. His final line was poor - six innings,
eight hits, seven runs, six earned runs, no walks and two strikeouts - but that didn't bother Dodgers manager Don Mattingly.
"To me, those numbers are like spring training numbers," Mattingly said. "Two of 'em, he felt were fly balls that would've been outs. I've
seen many pitchers go down and get beat up in Triple-A and A ball."
Gordon rests
Dee Gordon was stunned, if not outright offended, when asked if he requested a day off Friday.
The answer was a resounding "no" - but Gordon got a day off anyway, the first time this season the 23-year-old shortstop has begun a
game on the bench. Rookie Justin Sellers got his first start of the season.
"He hit some fly balls yesterday, kind of not his game, and this guy (Padres starter Clayton Richard) is tough on lefties," Mattingly said.
"It just tells me that he was a little off his game, so today seemed the right day for him. Giving him a mental day off is good for him."
Award show
Prior to the game, Golden Glove awards were presented to Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier. Kemp also was presented
with the Silver Slugger award and the Mel Ott award (for leading the National League in home runs).
EXAMINER
Pitchers with most consecutive strikeouts in a MLB game
Joe Dorish - 4/13/12
These are the pitchers who struck out the most consecutive batters in a major league baseball game. Every pitcher who struck out at
least eight batters in a row is listed.
The list includes a pitcher from my favorite baseball team, the New York Yankees. That former Yankees pitcher now has a son who plays
1B for the New York Mets.
Pitchers with most consecutive strikeouts in a MLB game
1. Tom Seaver - 10
Tom Seaver of the New York Mets struck out 10 consecutive batters vs the San Diego Padres on April 22, 1970. That is the major league
baseball record for most consecutive strikeouts in a game by a pitcher.
Tom Seaver struck out 19 Padres hitters that day, and pitched a complete game to get the win, 2-1.
T-2. Aaron Harang - 9
On April 13, 2012, Aaron Harang of the Los Angeles Dodgers struck out nine batters in a row vs the Padres. Harang struck out 13 batters
in the game, but also gave up four runs in 6.1 innings and did not get a decision as the Dodgers beat the Padres by a score of 9-8.
T-2. Ricky Nolasco - 9
Ricky Nalasco of the Miami (Florida at the time) Marlins struck out nine consecutive Atlanta Braves hitters on September 30, 2009.
Nolasco struck out 16 total hitters in the game, which he won by a score of 5-4. Nolasco gave up no earned runs in 7.2 innings pitched.
T-4. Johnny Podres - 8
On July 2, 1962, Johhny Podres of the Dodgers struck out eight consecutive Philadelphia Phillies. Podres had 11 total strikeouts in the
game, which he won, 5-1. Aaron Harang broke Podres Dodgers record for most consecutive strikeouts on April 13, 2012.
T-4. Nolan Ryan - 8
On July 9, 1972, Nolan Ryan of the Los Angeles (California back then) Angels struck out eight consecutive Boston Red Sox hitters, and 16
for the game. Ryan pitched a complete game one-hitter for a 3-0 win.
T-4. Nolan Ryan - 8
On August 7, 1973, Nolan Ryan of the Angels struck out eight consecutive Milwaukee Brewers, and 13 batters in the game. Ryan also
gave up six walks and four earned runs in nine innings, and got the win as the Angels won 6-5 in 10 innings.
T-4. Ron Davis - 8
Ron Davis of the New York Yankees struck out eight consecutive Los Angeles Angels (California Angels back then) on May 4, 1981. Davis
did it in relief over the final three innings of the game, as he pitched three scoreless innings to preserve a 4-2 win for Yankees starter
Gene Nelson.
As a big-time New Yok Yankees fan I remember Ron Davis striking out the eight batters in a row in relief. Ron Davis' son, Ike Davis, is the
New York Mets starting 1B.
T-4. Roger Clemens - 8
On April 29, 1986, Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox struck out eight Seattle Mariners hitters in a row. Clemens had an amazing
night that night, as he struck out an all-time best 20 hitters for a nine inning game, and pitched a complete game 3-1 win.
T-4. Jim Deshaies - 8
On September 23, 1986, Jim Deshaies of the Houston Astros struck out eight Los Angeles Dodgers in a row. Deshaies totaled 10
strikeouts in the game, and pitched a complete game shutout for a 4-0 win.
T-4. Blake Stein - 8
On June 17, 2001, Blake Stein of the Kansas City Royals struck out eight consecutive Milwaukee Brewers in a row. Stein struck out 11
batters in the game, but gave up four runs in 5.2 innings and took the 5-2 loss.
Dodgers have perspective on best start since 1981
Jim Smiley – 4/13/12
With six wins in their first seven games, the Dodgers are off to their best start in more than 30 years. The last time the team began a
season 6-1 was the strike-shortened 1981 season that ended with a World Series championship.
While pleased with his team’s play, Dodger manager Don Mattingly understands that his club still has 155 regular-season games to play.
Obviously it’s really early,” Mattingly shrugged.
So what exactly does the hot start mean?
“It just means enough that we’ve gotten out of the blocks the right way.”
In 2005, the Dodgers got out of the blocks the right way too, winning five of the first six, and 12 of the first 14. But a good start early
doesn’t guarantee a good finish. By June 1st, the 2005 team was only a break-even ball club; by season’s end, the team was twenty
games under the .500.
If healthy, this Dodger squad figures to be more like the ‘81 team than the 2005 edition.
Pitching has been a strength in the early going, with the two horses at the top of the rotation, Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley,
turning in stellar performances.
“The starting pitching has been great,” Dodger first basemen James Loney explained. “These guys have been going out throwing
strikes, attacking the zone and our bullpen has been great too.”
For Los Angeles to compete, they’ll need more than great pitching. Offensively, Loney will need to be more consistent than he was last
year.
He’d like to forget the first four months of 2011; from April to July, Loney hit .256 with only four home runs. Then he hit .367 and .348
in August and September respectively, adding eight more round trippers.
With high hopes for 2012, Loney again stumbled out of the gate, going hitless in his first 16 at bats before a first-inning single yesterday.
Now at 1-for-20 on the year, the low-key Loney seems unfazed.
“Obviously I got off to a little slow start here,” Loney said, stating the obvious. “For me, the key is staying consistent with my work
everyday, going in there confident and not dwelling on it. Things will go the right way.”
Loney and his teammates know there’s a lot of season left.
Second basemen Mark Ellis who had two hits and a run scored in last night’s 3-2 win over the Pirates, has a similar perspective about
the 6-1 start.
“We’ve got a long ways to go,” said Ellis. “There’s still some things we can do better, but it’s definitely better than being 1-6.”
What makes this start intriguing is not so much that the Dodgers have won six of seven, but how they’ve been able to do it. Mattingly
says this brings self assurance.
“We’ve won in different ways,“ the Dodger skipper explained. “We’ve been able to score a few runs at times, we’ve pitched pretty well
with our starters, we’ve been able to close things out and shorten the games on teams. We‘ve been able to win a lot of different ways
and it‘s good for our confidence.”
Seven games into the season, the Dodgers aren’t making World Series plans just yet, but the fast start has Los Angeles fans hopeful that
this season ends as well as it did in 1981.
Isotopes Notebook: Lasorda receives pleasant surprise
Christopher Jackson
It is hard to still surprise someone like Tommy Lasorda, a baseball lifer and Dodgers legend.
The Albuquerque Isotopes managed to do just that Friday night, presenting Lasorda with a special ring to commemorate his 1972 Pacific
Coast League championship with the Dukes.
"That was, believe me, a big surprise," Lasorda said with a smile. "I thank them from the bottom of my heart because in those days you
win, you didn't get any rings.
"Our half-season club (Ogden) won last year and they got rings that look better than World Series rings."
Lasorda's squad brought Albuquerque its first PCL title in its first season as a Triple-A team.
"In 1972 I managed here and I think we won by 12 games and no rings," Lasorda said. "So these guys are good enough to me to make
me a ring and it's beautiful."
Lasorda was in town to take part in the opening night ceremonies for the Isotopes, helping to represent the Dodgers in front of a packed
house of 10,059 fans.
"In my opinion it's the most beautiful stadium in the minor leagues and I've been to them all," Lasorda said of Isotopes Park. "They're
just great fans, they love baseball and they support the team."
Lasorda said he could return one or two more times this season, but for this weekend he has to hustle back to Los Angeles to celebrate
his 62nd wedding anniversary on Sunday.
"Yeah, a ballgame," Lasorda deadpanned when asked if he had anything special planned. "At 62, you get tired of celebrating."
Around the Lab


Friday's game with Omaha marked the fourth time in the last six seasons that the Storm Chasers/Royals were the Isotopes' opening
opponent.
For a good laugh, check out the new Web site A.J. Ellis Facts, which the former Isotopes catcher would probably enjoy himself.
OC REGISTER
Ranking SoCal’s baseball teams
April 13th, 2012, 6:53 pm · · posted by Howard Cole, OCREGISTER.COM
Obviously it’s very early, but as The Register’s lone Dodger slam-fan-writer-man in residence, I need to hurry up with this post while the
getting is good.
With moments to go before tonight’s first pitch, the Dodgers are Southern California’s best team. At 6-1, clearly, those of us following
the goings on at Chavez Ravine are looking at SoCal’s best team. The best team; ladies and gentleman, is your Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Angels, bringing up the rear in the American League West at 2-5 are the Southland’s worst team. All in good fun now, but that really
does roll off the tongue naturally, I must say.
OK fine, to split hairs here, the Angels are tied with San Diego for SoCal’s worst team. The Padres are also 2-5, but with some good
fortune tonight in Los Angeles (that’s actual Los Angeles, don’t you know) could leapfrog the Halos into sole possession of the coveted
second-worst squad this side of San Francisco.
I suppose if we were to split hairs further, and look at the all-important run differential statistic (Angels minus five, Pads minus eight) we
could give the OC club the benefit of the doubt. But who wants to split hairs further? The Angels are SoCal’s worst team, period. And the
Dodgers – the Los Angeles Dodgers – are its best team. You can look it up.
TRUE BLUE LA
Reflections On Friday The 13th At Dodger Stadium
by Eric Stephen on Apr 14, 2012 10:34 AM PDT in Dodgers Postgame Reaction
Heading into Friday night at Dodger Stadium, Aaron Harang had the distinction of being the only Dodgers pitcher with a loss, and was
looking to improve upon his last outing, in which he gave up four runs and 13 baserunners while recording only 13 outs.
"I saw a guy who knew in San Diego he didn't pitch well," manager Don Mattingly said after Friday's game. "I think he knew he was a
little bit high strung that day, and had to settle down. He was excited to get out there to day to show us he was better than that San
Diego outing."
The number 13 figured prominently again for Harang on Saturday, but in a positive light, as he tied his career high with 13 strikeouts,
including a new Dodgers record with nine consecutive punchouts, one shy of Tom Seaver's major league record.
"The biggest thing for me was to come out and give us a chance to win," Harang said.
Harang did just that, pitching into the seventh inning. It wasn't all great, as he did allow four runs, including three in the fourth inning
after his strikeout barrage was interrupted by a long offensive inning for the Dodgers that saw them score four runs on two hits,
including just one ball to the outfield.
"He has on the attack all night long. He threw a lot of fastballs to both sides of the plate," catcher A.J. Ellis said. "As soon as he got to
two strikes, especially ahead 0-2 or 1-2 which he was for most of his strikeouts, he was able to make quality pitches on the edges. Good
pitches on the edges beats good hitting."
Ellis said the Dodgers saved the ball from Harang's ninth strikeout and it went to an MLB authenticator.
Harang is tied for the major league lead with 19 strikeouts on the season, in 10 2/3 innings (Felix Hernandez also has 19 strikeouts, but
he has made three starts). Dodgers starters have a cumulative 55 strikeouts in 45 innings so far this season. Chad Billingsley and Clayton
Kershaw have each struck out at least a batter per inning and have a combined 25 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings, and they have the two
worst strikeout rates on the starting staff.
The Brothers Ellis
In the bottom of the third inning, the Dodgers had three walks, an error, and two hits, one that barely reached the outfield and another
one that didn't. Yet they plated four runs. Two of those runs came on an infield single by Mark Ellis that drove in two runs, including
catcher A.J. Ellis from second base.
"I was just going on contact there, and I trust [third base coach] Tim Wallach at third," Ellis said. "When the ball was hit I didn't know if it
was going to be up the middle, so I was busting as if the ball was going to be in center field. Tim kept waving and I kept going, and it was
one of those strange plays that I don't think happen too often."
The third inning was the first time the Dodgers have batted around all season.
On Jansen
With Javy Guerra getting the night off after saves on three straight days, Kenley Jansen was the designated closer Friday night. After a
walk to leadoff the inning, he struck out the next two hitters on six pitches. But then he allowed a game-tying home run to Chase
Headley, his second home run allowed this season.
Jansen's velocity was also down, throwing between 89-91 MPH, hitting 92 on two pitches. But Mattingly didn't sound worried.
"Kenley's different. There have been times early on where he gets tentative or gets off kilter, and the ball doesn't come out the same
way. We'll continue to pay attention to his mechanics. The ninth is different than the eighth, so we'll pay attention to that too,"
Mattingly said. "As long as Kenley is not hurt, then we're not concerned."
Notes
 As pointed out by Bob Timmermann on Twitter, the last two walk-off walks in MLB have come courtesy of Joe Thatcher,
who also walked in the winning run in Arizona on September 10, 2011. In both cases, Thatcher entered the game with the
bases loaded and walked his first batter on five pitches.
 The Dodgers struck out 18 batters as a staff last night, tying the franchise record for a nine-inning game, which has been
set six times. The last time it happened was on June 4, 1990 against Atlanta, when all 18 strikeouts were courtesy of
Ramon Martinez.
 Andre Ethier's walk-off walk was his 12th walk-off RBI of his career. Ethier leads the majors with 13 RBI, two more than
David Freese and teammate Matt Kemp.
 Justin Sellers had a double and two walks on Friday and his manager was pleased. "Justin Sellers had three tremendous
at-bats, with two walks, he fouled off a bunch of pitches, gets on twice and hits the double," Mattingly said.
 Before the game, Ethier, Kemp, and Clayton Kershaw were presented with their Gold Glove awards; Kemp and Kershaw
were given their MLB Players Choice awards; and Kemp received his Silver Slugger and the Mel Ott Award, given annually
to the National League leader in home runs.
 The Dodgers are 4-0 in one-run games this season.
 The Dodgers are 14-3 in their last 17 games against San Diego, and have beaten the Padres seven straight times at Dodger
Stadium.
 The Dodgers' 7-1 start is their best since beginning the World Series-winning 1981 campaign with a 9-1 mark.
Up Next
The Dodgers go for their fifth straight win Saturday with a pair of pitchers being added to the roster today, with Ted Lilly getting
activated from the disabled list to start for the Dodgers and Joe Wieland getting called up from Triple A to make his major league debut.
Dodgers 4/13/12 Minor League Report - Winker Walk-off Wins it for Loons
by Brandon Lennox on Apr 14, 2012 9:00 AM PDT in Los Angeles Dodgers Minor League Report
With the Quakes game postponed, the Dodger minor league teams won all 3 of their games on Friday thanks to solid bullpen work.
Minor League Player of the Day – J.T. Wise - 2 for 3, 1 2B, 2 Walks, 2 RBI's, 1 run. Wise was over-shawdowed in 2011 by Griff Erickson,
but so far in 2012 he's out-performed the young catcher. J.T. reached base in 4 of his 5 at bats on Friday and drove in a pair of the
Lookouts' runs.
AAA – The Isotopes finally had their home opener on Friday, and treated the Albuquerque crowd to a 7 - 4 victory over the Omaha
Storm Chasers (Royals). Josh Fields started the scoring in the 2nd inning with a 2 run homer, and Jerry Sands added to the early lead
with a solo jack of his own in the 3rd. Both Fields and Sands finished with 2 hits a piece, while Luis Cruz tripled and led the Topes with 3
base knocks. Joe Becker recorded 3 RBI's, although he only had 1 hit and drove in 2 of the runs via ground outs. Starter Fernando Nieve
showed significant improvement over his previous start as he picked up the win by allowing 7 hits and 3 earned runs over 6 innings, but
it was his bullpen that really deserves the credit as Will Savage and Josh Wall recorded the final 9 outs while allowing just 1 hit.
AA – The Lookouts won their 4th game in a row against the Suns on Friday as Chattanooga defeated Jacksonville (Marlins) 7 to 3. Matt
Magill got the start for the Lookouts and had another solid outing despite lasting just 4 innings and issuing 4 walks. The Simi Valley
native allowed just 3 runs and struck out 8, although he did walk 4 and had to be pulled prior to the 5th inning because he had already
thrown almost 100 pitches. His bullpen was excellent, however, as Geison Aguasviva, Blake Johnson, and Steve Ames combined to allow
just 1 base-runner over the final 5 innings of the game. Despite scoring the 7 runs the Lookouts didn't really have a standout offensive
player as the hits were spread among 8 different batters. J.T. Wise again led the team with a pair of hits and 2 RBI's, and he actually
reached base four times in the game if you include his two walks. Kyle Russell and Griff Erickson had the other extra base hits in the
game as they both doubled, while Erickson had the only other mulit-hit game besides Wise.
HiA – Postponed due to rain
LoA – The Loons flew back into the win column on Friday as Great Lakes defeated the Tin Caps 5 to 4 on a walk off single by Joe Winker.
Winker's game winning hit was his only base knock of the night, but his game winner scored 2nd baseman Jesus Arredondo who led the
club with 3 hits and finished just a homer shy of the cycle. Right fielder Scott Schebler also had a big game as he tripled, singled, and
drove in 2 runs. Starter Matt Laney had a mediocre outing as he allowed 5 hits and 3 runs over 4 innings, but his bullpen held the Tin
Caps in check as the Loons' relievers struck out 8 batters in 5 frames and eventually picked up the win. Eric Eadington had the bullpen
highlight of the night as he K'ed 4 batters in just 2 frames.
Coming up – Nathan Eovaldi's start for the Lookouts will be the pitching highlight of the day as Chattanooga finishes up their 5 game
series with Jacksonville. John Ely and his 21.00 ERA will go for the Isotopes, while Gustavo Gomez will take the mound for the Loons with
an ERA of 22.50. Because of their rain out last night the Quakes have scheduled a double header with Visalia, but that won't happen
until Sunday. On Saturday the Quakes will play just one and Andres Santiago will be the starter for Rancho.
Minor League Transactions: LoA - Catcher Andrew Edge has been added to the Loons roster, while Friday's starting pitcher Matt Laney
has been removed from the roster
Coffey Knee Injury Could Open Door For Lindblom
\by Eric Stephen on Apr 13, 2012 11:36 PM PDT in Los Angeles Dodgers Roster
Friday night at Dodger Stadium was so strange and epic that it deserves another recap, but only after I have had time to fully digest the
events of Friday the 13th. That post will come at some point on Saturday morning, but in the meantime there are two pieces of health
news to pass along.
Relief pitcher Todd Coffey, who has retired only three of the eight batters he has faced in three games this season, including hits to both
Padres he faced on Friday, has a right knee injury for which he has been receiving treatment lately, manager Don Mattingly said after
the game. Coffey was unavailable for comment.
That is both relevant and timely for the Dodgers, who have to make a roster move to activate Saturday's schedule starter Ted Lilly off
the disabled list. Josh Lindblom, the only reliever outside of Javy Guerra and Kenley Jansen with options, seemed destined to return to
the minors despite his six scoreless innings so far. But if Coffey would need to go on the disabled list - and this is just speculation at his
point - that means Lindblom stays.
"You can kind of see where we're using him, how he's pitching," Mattingly said. "We've used him twice in games we needed multiple
innings, and we've used him twice now late in the game to try to get to our back end guys."
Catcher A.J. Ellis praised Lindblom as well.
"He's been huge. He's saved our bullpen a lot. He has shown he can do a lot of things," Ellis said. "He's shown he can throw the seventh.
Tonight he showed he can throw the eighth. The guy has proven last year and this year that this guy is a back end of the bullpen major
league pitcher."
In other news, bullpen coach Ken Howell won't be with the team through at least the end of the upcoming road trip to Milwaukee and
Houston, as he is having health issues related to his Diabetes. Howell had to have a toe amputated in 2008 due to Diabetes. Pitching
coach Jim Slaton has joined the Dodgers from the club's facilities in Glendale, Arizona, and will temporarily fill in until Howell returns.
Aaron Harang Passes Podres, Walks Beat Padres
by Eric Stephen on Apr 13, 2012 10:25 PM PDT in Dodgers Game Recaps
It's not every night you get to see a 50-year old record fall. The threatening skies in and around Dodger Stadium cleared up just enough
to let the Dodgers and Padres play a baseball game on Friday night. Aaron Harang brought the lightning, and Matt Kemp provided the
thunder in the Dodgers' 9-8 win over the Padres, won on a walk-off walk to Andre Ethier in the bottom of the ninth.
Harang started the game by allowing a single to Cameron Maybin, then the next nine batters all suffered the same fate.
Strikeout.
As in nine of them. In a row. Harang set a new Dodgers record, surpassing the eight straight strikeouts by Johnny Podres on July 2, 1962.
Harang came within one strikeout of tying the major league record of 10 straight punchouts, set by Tom Seaver for the Mets on April 22,
1970, also against the Padres.
It was one of those great baseball moments that really came out of nowhere.
Harang's streak ended when Will Venable did not strikeout, but rather powered a ball into the left field pavilion for an opposite field
home run. Harang would give up three runs in the fourth inning, but luckily the Dodgers scratched together four runs in the bottom of
the third inning despite just one hit to the outfield.
The Dodgers' bottom of the third was highlighted by A.J. Ellis scoring from second on an infield single by Mark Ellis, and the latter Ellis
getting two RBI on the play.
After the Padres cut the lead to one with their three-run fourth inning, the Dodgers answered back with four more runs of their own in
the bottom of the fourth. Back-to-back doubles by Justin Sellers and A.J. Ellis opened the inning with a run, and a Tony Gwynn Jr. single
brought home another. But the inning was punctuated by a booming opposite field home run by Kemp, his third of the season.
As Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts pointed out on Twitter, it might not be too early to start the triple crown watch for Matt Kemp,
who is hitting an absurd .419/.441/.806 with three home runs, 11 RBI, and 10 runs scored in just eight games. It should also be noted
that Kemp trails teammate Ethier by two runs batted in, as Ethier knocked in three more tonight with a two-run single and the winning
walk.
Harang pitched into the seventh inning and finished with 13 strikeouts, tying his career high. However, shaky relief from Todd Coffey
and Scott Elbert allowed the Padres to plate three runs in the top of the seventh to pull within two at 8-6.
But Josh Lindblom restored order by recording three outs in the eighth inning, providing another reminder that he shouldn't be the
reliever to go when Ted Lilly is activated on Saturday.
With Javy Guerra sidelined after saves on three straight days, Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth, and he was on the verge of closing it out
with two outs, but Chase Headley crushed a two-run home run well into the right field pavilion to tie the game at 8-8.
In the end, the sparse crowd that was here braving the cold were in for a treat, and Dodger Stadium got loud even though the
attendance was closer to half the announced figure of 31,601. Now the Dodgers are 7-1.
All Sales Final - Judge Kevin Gross Approves Sale of Dodgers
by CraigMinami on Apr 13, 2012 8:10 PM PDT in News
"Let me explain ... no, there is too much. Let me sum up."
-- Inigo Montoya from "The Princess Bride"
In what was seen a foregone conclusion, this evening, Judge Kevin Gross approved the sale of the Dodgers to the Guggenheim group
and thus set in motion the coming of the 4th owner in LA Dodger history.
This sale process has gone remarkably smooth since Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Dodgers (McCourt) reached a settlement
agreement that set the terms of the sale.
In fact the Judge had thought aside from a few rulings on some minor points, today would be a celebration of sorts.
As reported by Bill Shaikin in the LA Times:
The contentious debate seemed to surprise Judge Gross, who, as arguments grew tense, quipped, “I had no idea. I thought this was
going to be a celebration-type occasion.”
The main issue appeared to be MLB trying to see more documents and to also try and gain back some things they had given away as
part of their settlement agreement with McCourt.
Let there be no doubt, MLB made this bed (some say back when they allowed McCourt to buy the team) when they set forth the terms
of this sale. By all accounts McCourt has followed the agreement so the odds on MLB changing the terms now seem rather far-fetched.
Are there still things I would like to know, sure two are the structure of the financing and how the joint venture that will own the land
surrounding Dodger Stadium (parking lots) operates (and what McCourt gets from that deal).
But there are no guarantees we will ever really know those things.
One thing I do know, in a little more than 2 weeks, Frank McCourt will no longer own the Dodgers and the next magical era of Dodger
baseball will begin.
Dodgers Pregame Notes: Sale Approved, Lilly Ready, Loney, Gordon Sit
by Eric Stephen on Apr 13, 2012 6:00 PM PDT in Dodgers Pregame Notes
The rain has put a damper on a day Judge Kevin Gross approved the Dodgers sale in Delaware Bankruptcy Court, but the Dodger
Stadium grounds crew and team have said that they plan to get Friday night's game against the Padres in. Aaron Harang gets the start
tonight, and the plan is for Ted Lilly to come off the disabled list to start on Saturday.
If there is a rainout tonight before Harang pitches, he would remain in turn and pitch tomorrow, but manager Don Mattingly thought
that was highly unlikely. "I don't think we're going to need a plan B. It sounds like we're okay," Mattingly said.
As for Lilly, he said he is fully recovered from the neck stiffness that caused him to miss two spring starts, and more than anything is
anxious to get back on the field. He said teammates would joke with him by asking, "Hey, when are you going to play again?"
"It's hard enough when you're not on the DL and have to wait four days before you can play again," said Lilly.
Lilly allowed two home runs and seven runs in six innings in a rehab start on Sunday with Class A Rancho Cucamonga, and said he wasn't
really happy with his outing but that there was a silver lining.
"I wasn't good enough to win. I was happy in the fact that I went out there and threw the ball without any pain," Lilly said. "Even in a
rehab start in Single A, I want everything to go well for health reasons. But I also don't think it's too greedy to get results, pitch
effectively, and help the team win there."
Manager Don Mattingly wasn't concerned with the results, but just that his pitcher was healthy and ready to pitch Saturday, which he
now is.
"To me those numbers are like spring training numbers. When the guy tells us two of [the home runs] he thought were fly balls could
have been outs," Mattingly said. "I've seen many guys, pretty good pitchers go down and get beat up in Triple A or A ball, or you send
them down to spring training and they get killed, then the season starts and they're fine."
Starting Lineups
Though James Loney is sitting tonight for the third time in four games against left-handed pitchers, Mattingly insists his first baseman
isn't being platooned.
"If James was crushing it he would have probably been in there tonight," said Mattingly, who noted Loney would start against the two
right-handed pitchers scheduled to pitch Saturday and Sunday, in Joe Wieland and Edinson Volquez.
"I'm just trying to get him going. I don't look at a strict platoon," Mattingly said. "Once he gets going, I'm not worried about it. I just have
to get him going."
Dee Gordon, 2-for-16 with a walk in his last four games, gets his first day off of the season. Mattingly said his light shortstop would get
occasional days off, and tonight was as good a night as any facing lefty Clayton Richard.
"More than anything, it's just a day off for Dee," Mattingly said. "Those flyballs tells me he got out of his game a little bit yesterday. He's
going to need a day here and there.
"He has a lot of responsibility. He's playing short and is trying to steal bags. Giving him a mental day off once in a while to watch the
game is not going to hurt a bit."
LAIST
Dodgers Put on a Happy Face Against the San Diego Padres
From the drama in bankruptcy court to the weather to the game itself, the doom and gloom of Friday the 13th threatened the Dodgers.
But in the end, the Dodgers said, "Bye Bye Birdie," en route to their 9-8 walk-off win against the San Diego Padres.
Gray skies are gonna clear up. Put on a happy face.
With the torrential rainfall that soaked Los Angeles throughout the day, it seemed like the Dodgers would suffer their first rainout since
April 17, 2000, 972 games ago. But even with the Voice of the Heavens absent for the fourth consecutive game, the sun did peek onto
the field prior to first pitch. No rain, no delay, everything was set to go.
It was a perfect setting for the Dodgers to pick up some hardware: Matt Kemp with the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger, Clayton Kershaw
and Andre Ethier also with Gold Gloves. Kemp additionally received the Mel Ott Award for slugging the most homers in the National
League in 2011 and along with Kershaw received the Players' Choice Awards for Most Outstanding National League Player and Pitcher.
Brush off the clouds and cheer up. Put on a happy face.
The Dodger sale was approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross today despite a bit of drama. Major League Baseball put in an
objection to the sale thanks mostly to the parking lot deal with Frank McCourt. But McCourt got his way, and the $2.15 billion sale to
the Guggenheim Group will likely close by the end of the month.
Take off that gloomy mask of tragedy. It's not your style. You'll look so good that you'll be glad you decided to smile.
Aaron Harang was probably the unlikeliest candidate of breaking a Dodgers' franchise record. But after Cameron Maybin led off the
game with a single Harang ran off nine consecutive strikeouts, surpassing Johnny Podres' eight consecutive strikeouts set in 1962.
Harang came close to tying New York Mets Tom Seaver's Major League record 10 strikeouts set on April 22, 1970 which also happened
to be set against the Padres.
"It's definitely an honor, knowing the history of the organization and all the great pitchers they've had, to be able to accomplish the feat
is cool," Harang said.
It seemed unlikely after Harang's first outing in San Diego where he couldn't get out of the fifth inning, but he made some adjustments.
"My front side was flying open and pull me off of the direction to the plate," Harang explained. "I was really focused on making sure my
direction to the plate was good."
It seems Harang is well suited for Friday the 13th having struck out 13 batters.
Pick out a pleasant outlook. Stick out that noble chin.
Padres' starter Clayton Richard looked to continue his domination of the Dodgers from Sunday afternoon. But then the third inning
happened where his control and Padres' defense failed him. After walking Justin Sellers on eight pitches to lead off the inning, shortstop
Jason Bartlett bobbled a hard hit grounder by A.J. Ellis.
Both Sellers and A.J. Ellis scored on Mark Ellis' two-out single, and after walks to Matt Kemp and Juan Rivera, Andre Ethier hit a two-run
single to give the Dodgers a four-spot.
And if you're feeling cross and bickerish, don't sit and whine.
Harang's record setting streak came to an abrupt end in the fourth inning giving up a solo homer to Will Venable. The Padres managed
to score two more runs in the inning making things a bit tighter.
"With the weather being as cold as it was, that was the big thing," Harang said. "Not really being able to have anywhere to throw in
between, it made it tough. It took me a little while to get loose when I got back out there and got back into rhythm."
But the Dodgers came through once again in the bottom of the fourth with four more runs highlighted by Kemp's two-run homer to
right centerfield.
I knew a girl so gloomy, she'd never laugh or sing. She wouldn't listen to me, now she's a mean old thing.
The Padres scored three more in the seventh to cut the lead to 8-6 thanks to a lack of control by the bullpen. Things really looked bleak
in the ninth inning. Kenley Jansen was in to save the game in lieu of Javy Guerra who had three saves in three consecutive games. The
next thing you know Chase Headley hit a two-run homer to tie the game.
"The ninth inning is different than the eighth," Manager Don Mattingly said. "That's something you pay attention to also."
So spread sunshine all over the place and put on a happy face.
Padres' reliever Andrew Cashner got two quick outs then couldn't hit the plate walking Mark Ellis, Kemp and James Loney. Yes, Cashner
walked Loney on five pitches with Ethier on deck.
In came Joe Thatcher and four pitches later he walked Ethier for the walk-off walk.
"[Ethier] is just a guy that is swinging the bat real good and is focused during his at-bats," Mattingly said. "He has been battling lefties.
He's had good at-bats even on balls he swings through or fouls off."
SI.COM
Jackie Robinson’s debut changed the game, and the nation
Richard Rothschild
Sixty-five years ago Sunday Jackie Robinson changed the course of history in his fourth-best sport.
After all, Robinson, UCLA's first four-sport letterman, was an NCAA long jump champion in track and field, led the nation in punt return
average in football and played for the Bruins' basketball team but he batted only .097 during his one full season with the UCLA baseball
squad.
Yet for Robinson to have achieved his lasting legacy as a sports icon and racial pioneer, his success on the professional level had to come
in baseball. Because in the late 1940s there was baseball and there was every other sport.
Who today remembers that professional football had integrated in 1946, seven months before Robinson took the field for the Brooklyn
Dodgers? Kenny Washington and Woody Strode (teammates of Robinson's at UCLA) played with the Los Angeles Rams of the NFL, and
Hall of Famers Marion Motley and Bill Willis suited up for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference.
But in that era pro football played little brother to the college game in terms of national popularity. Meanwhile, the NBA was in its
infancy, college basketball was a niche sport and hockey was played in too few cities.
Baseball's biggest competition came more from boxing and horse racing than any other team sport. Heavyweight champion Joe Louis
was one of the world's best known athletes, black or white.
Baseball needed Robinson and Robinson needed baseball to create the greatest long-term impact on sports and society. And directly
after World War II baseball was never more popular.
Four years of war-induced shortages and austerity measures had left Americans with a pent-up demand for the good things in life. The
nation was in a mood to celebrate and baseball rode that wave. Between 1946 and 1951, 13 of the 16 major league franchises set
single-season attendance records, 12 of them more than once.
Baseball was in prime position to command national attention, and Robinson turned out to be the man whose intelligence, physical
talents and unconquerable courage made him one with history.
Beginnings
Born in Georgia in 1919 and raised in Pasadena, Calif., Robinson was always an elite athlete. The younger brother of Olympic 200-meter
silver medalist Mack Robinson, Jackie played baseball, football, basketball, track and tennis at Muir High School.
After his stellar career at UCLA, where met his future wife Rachel Isum, Robinson joined the armed forces in World War II, reaching the
rank of junior lieutenant. He played one season (1945) with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues and attracted the attention
of Branch Rickey, general manager of the Dodgers.
Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, a longtime foe of integrating the major leagues, had died in 1944 and Rickey seized the
moment to put baseball -- and the nation -- on a different path.
He invited Robinson to his office in Brooklyn on Aug. 28, 1945. During a three-hour meeting Rickey challenged Robinson to ignore the
hatred and race-baiting that surely would come his way if he were to integrate baseball.
In a famous exchange Robinson asked, "Are you looking for a Negro who is afraid to fight back?"
Rickey answered, "I need a player who has the guts not to fight back."
The Dodgers GM sensed he had a man whose intellect, maturity and character would enable him to pass through what Jesse Jackson
years later described as "dangers seen and unseen.'' Robinson became the first African-American in the 20th Century to sign a Major
League Baseball contract and what was called the "noble experiment" had begun.
There wasn't anything noble about the way Robinson was treated during his first spring training with the Dodgers in 1946. Florida's
strict Jim Crow laws meant Robinson could not live in the same hotel as his teammates or dine at the same restaurants.
But once Robinson and Rachel headed north to join the Montreal Royals of the International League everything changed. The FrenchCanadian city embraced Robinson, who responded by hitting a league-leading .349 and winning MVP honors. He was ready for the
majors.
Next stop, Brooklyn
As April 15, 1947, neared and the Dodgers prepared to play the Boston Braves in the season opener at Ebbets Field, the Brooklyn
clubhouse was not exactly harmonious about Robinson's arrival. Southerners Dixie Walker, Eddie Stanky and Bobby Bragan drew up a
petition saying they preferred being traded to playing with a black teammate.
Rickey and manager Leo Durocher silenced the rebels, with Durocher vowing Robinson would "make them all rich." Another Southerner,
shortstop Pee Wee Reese, also supported Robinson
Statistically, Robinson's debut was forgettable. He was 0-for-3 with a run scored while recording 11 putouts at first base. But a new age
had dawned before 26,623 fans and the Pittsburgh Courier wrote, "History was made here Tuesday."
Although Robinson received threats, hate mail and racist comments from opposing dugouts, and teams constantly threw at his head
and tried to spike him on the bases, baseball fans of all races were enthralled. All seven of the other National League teams drew their
largest crowds of 1947 when Jackie Robinson and the Dodgers were in town, including a National League high of 52,355 at the Polo
Grounds on April 19. Somehow Wrigley Field, with a baseball capacity of less than 40,000, squeezed in 46,572 fans for the Dodgers' first
visit to Chicago on May 18.
Robinson was making more than just the Dodgers rich.
He finished with a .297 batting average and led the National League in stolen bases. He was named the first Rookie of the Year, and the
Dodgers won the pennant before falling to the New York Yankees in a dramatic seven-game World Series.
That was a watershed year for baseball. The World Series was televised for the first time and the NCAA conducted its first College World
Series. But Robinson's breaking the color line, one year before the U.S. military integrated and seven years before the Supreme Court
outlawed segregation in public schools, was the sport's biggest story.
Change did not come overnight. Baseball and the NFL still had all-white champions as late as 1953, the NBA in 1958. The majors weren't
fully integrated until 1959 and the American League did not have its first black MVP until 1963. But there would be no turning back.
By 1949 Robinson was at the top of his game. He led the National League with a .342 batting average and 37 steals (both career bests)
and was second in RBIs and slugging percentage. He became the first African-American to be named MVP and the Dodgers won their
second of six pennants with Robinson.
Also by '49, Rickey had loosened the reins, and Robinson was free to confront any player who spiked him or any manager who heckled
him. His full competitive energy was unleashed.
Teammate Ralph Branca said, "Jackie didn't just win. He triumphed."
Durocher, who had started to manage the New York Giants in 1948, was a tad more salty: "This guy doesn't just come to play. He came
to beat you. He came to stick the (bleep) bat right up your (bleep)."
From '49 through '53 Robinson was consistently among the National League leaders in on-base percentage, batting average, doubles,
stolen bases, runs scored -- and getting hit by pitch. The Dodgers won NL pennants in 1952 and 1953 before finally winning their first
World Series in 1955, then added another pennant in 1956.
Eventually, age and diabetes slowed Robinson and he retired after the '56 season rather than accept a trade to the Giants. Instead of
going through the Dodgers, Robinson announced his retirement in the pages of Life magazine.
Robinson didn't join the major leagues until he was 28, so his career totals (1,518 hits, 734 RBIs) appear modest. His lifetime .311
batting average and .410 on-base percentage, however, are solid numbers in any era, and Robinson was elected to the Hall of Fame in
1962. Martin Luther King Jr. described him as "a legend and symbol in his own time who challenged the dark skies of intolerance and
frustration."
By time Robinson entered Cooperstown, future black Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson and Ernie Banks had
further transformed baseball.
Later years
Robinson recognized baseball was not ready to appoint a black manager, general manager or even third-base coach and he pursued
other interests. He became the first black vice president at a major U.S. company (Chock full o'Nuts) and was active in politics and civil
rights. He supported liberal Republicans such as New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller before switching to Democrat Hubert Humphrey
when the GOP turned more conservative on racial issues. He assisted voter registration drives in the South.
But his diabetes was worsening, his sight was deteriorating and he was developing heart problems. The death of his oldest son Jackie Jr.
in a 1971 car crash was a devastating blow.
In Roger Kahn's epic book on the old Dodgers, The Boys of Summer, he poignantly described the aging Robinson in the chapter "The
Lion at Dusk." The nearly-blind Robinson moved practically in slow motion but Kahn marveled at "the vaulting human spirit imprisoned
yet free, in the noble wreckage of the athlete, in the dazzling palace of a man."
Robinson's final public appearance was at the 1972 World Series in Cincinnati where he accepted a plaque honoring the 25th
anniversary of his '47 season and threw out the first ball. Robinson appreciated the honor but added, "I'm going to be tremendously
pleased and more proud when I look at the third base coaching line one day and see a black face managing in baseball."
He died nine days later at 53, missing baseball's first black manager, Frank Robinson, by 2½ years.
At his memorial service, Jesse Jackson eulogized Robinson as being "immunized by God from catching the diseases that he fought" and
praised him for having the capacity "to wear glory with grace" and for serving as "an instrument of peace." Robinson's funeral
procession to Cypress Hill Cemetery in Brooklyn drew tens of thousands of onlookers.
Today Robinson might feel honored that Major League Baseball retired his No. 42 for all teams on April 15, 1997, the 50th anniversary
of his first game. He certainly would approve that so many black managers have run major league teams and that one of them, Cito
Gaston, won two World Series. But he also might be disappointed that African-American players currently make up less than 10 percent
of major league rosters, down from nearly 30 percent in the 1970s.
April 15 is a gruesome day in history. In 1865, at 7:22 a.m., Abraham Lincoln died after being shot in the head the previous night. In
1912 the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg. In 1927 the Great Mississippi Flood, the worst in U.S. history, began
its devastating path.
On April 15, 1947, however, something glorious took place, something transcendent. Jackie Roosevelt Robinson helped make baseball a
game for all Americans and clear the road for what Lincoln called "the better angels of or nature."
In another time, he might have been an Olympic medalist in the long jump, or an all-NFL running back or a shutdown defender in
basketball. But as the man who integrated modern baseball, Robinson was the right man at the right time in the right sport.
PASADENA STAR NEWS
Jackie Robinson's legacy comes home to Muir High School
By James Figueroa, SGVN
Posted: 04/13/2012 10:59:24 PM PDT
PASADENA - On the 65th anniversary of Pasadena's Jackie Robinson breaking through Major League baseball's color barrier, three
generations of Dodgers gathered with Muir High School students on Friday to honor the Hall of Famer and Muir alumnus.
The Dodgers came to Muir for a panel discussion ahead of Sunday's Jackie Robinson Day, baseball's annual celebration of Robinson's
landmark feat with the then-Brooklyn Dodgers.
In his honor, all major league players will wear Robinson's No. 42 on Sunday, and Muir students were invited to Dodger Stadium to see
it there.
Star shortstop Dee Gordon and outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. headlined the Muir panel as the current generation of Dodgers.
"I'm a big Dodger fan. Dee Gordon is one of my favorite shortstops, and it was really nice to get to talk to him and hear what he had to
say about it," said Nico Resendiz, a Muir shortstop. "It was also great to hear all these other Dodger players."
Former Dodger Derrell Thomas moderated the panel and, along with Ken Landreaux, represented Los Angeles natives who won the
1981 World Series.
From the 1960s era, Tommy Davis and "Sweet" Lou Johnson represented those who knew Robinson and played a few years after him.
"He wasn't just a ballplayer, he wanted to start things right," said Davis, referring to Robinson's influence on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
and the civil rights movement.
This year marks the first time the Dodgers organization has returned to the place where Robinson honed his skills as a youth, Muir
Principal Sheryl Orange said.
"I'm hoping it won't be the last," she said. "Our young men particularly need to see their heroes, their forefathers, their ancestors, the
people who paved the way."
Muir baseball team members were among the students who attended the discussion in the school library, with the backdrop of
Robinson's jersey, posters and yearbooks.
Most were simply happy for a chance to talk with Dodgers past and present.
"I enjoyed it because I got to hear how baseball really is, all the aspects of it," Muir second baseman Jonas Pulley said.
Robinson's legacy is part of everyday life at Muir, and baseball coach Robert Galvan said he makes sure his players know it.
"I constantly remind them every day they should have honor, a little bit of humility ... why they shouldn't take baseball for granted, why
they have what they have today," Galvan said.
Throughout the discussion, the panelists stressed the importance of education as a complement to athletics.
"Dude was unbelievably intelligent," Gwynn said of Robinson. "I think he took care of things in the classroom first, and that presented
him with the opportunity to do other things in sports."
The greatest part of Robinson's legacy, Johnson said, is that race can no longer be used as an excuse for not succeeding.
To Orange, that's an important message for today's students.
"I like the fact that it's no longer about the color barrier," she said. "It's about what you make of yourself and how you do that."
NEW YORK TIMES
Catcher’s Tears Were a Likely Inspiration for Rickey
By CHRIS LAMB
Published: April 14, 2012
The Montreal Royals, the top minor league team in the Brooklyn Dodgers organization, broke baseball’s color line on Oct. 23, 1945, by
signing shortstop Jackie Robinson of the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro leagues. The Associated Press reported that the Dodgers’
president, Branch Rickey, said he had given a lot of thought to discrimination since his coaching days at Ohio Wesleyan University in the
early 1900s.
He recalled that during a trip to South Bend, Ind., to play Notre Dame, the team’s only black ballplayer, Charles Thomas, was denied a
room. Rickey asked whether Thomas could sleep on a cot in his room, and the hotel clerk obliged.
Later that evening, Rickey said, he saw Thomas sobbing and rubbing his hands, saying: “Black skin. Black skin. If only I could make them
white.”
Rickey tried to console Thomas by telling him that racial equality would come.
“Come on, Tommy, snap out of it, buck up!” he said. “We’ll lick this one day, but we can’t if you feel sorry for yourself.”
Rickey said the scene haunted him.
“I vowed that I would always do whatever I could to see that other Americans did not have to face the bitter humiliation that was
heaped upon Charles Thomas,” he told The A.P.
Rickey often repeated the story after signing Robinson, including when Robinson played his first game with the Dodgers on April 15,
1947. Rickey, however, rarely spoke about the scene in the hotel room in the years before signing Robinson.
“The Charlie Thomas story, though based in fact, is vintage Rickey,” said Jules Tygiel, the author of the 1983 book “Baseball’s Great
Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy.” “The allegory is almost biblical, and the sermonlike quality of the tale invites skepticism.
Many people place little stock in the episode as the primary rationale for his actions. Even if one accepts the Charlie Thomas story at
face value, it does not fully explain why the Dodger president chose to challenge the color barrier four decades later.”
Although Rickey may have embellished the details for dramatic effect, “there is no doubt that the incident occurred,” Rickey’s
biographer Lee Lowenfish said. Thomas, too, confirmed it.
The two remained friends until Rickey’s death in 1965.
Thomas was born in Weston, W.Va., in 1881, the same year that Rickey was born in Stockdale, Ohio. When Thomas was 3, his family
moved across the Ohio River to Zanesville, Ohio. He lettered in football, track and baseball in high school, then attended Ohio Wesleyan,
about 20 miles north of Columbus.
Thomas and Rickey were football teammates. Rickey, also a catcher on the baseball team, was declared ineligible for playing
semiprofessionally. He became the university’s football and baseball coach, recruiting Thomas, a football fullback, to be the catcher.
Thomas said he faced little outward prejudice from classmates and teammates.
“From the very first day I entered Ohio Wesleyan, Branch Rickey took special interest in my welfare,” Thomas told Ebony magazine in
1968.
But Thomas regularly faced racial discrimination from opposing teams and fans. During a 1903 baseball game at Kentucky, some players
and fans chanted to get him off the field, using a racial slur. Lowenfish wrote that Rickey ran across the field to the Kentucky dugout and
shouted at the opposing coach, “We won’t play without him!” The game was played without incident.
In segregated hotels, Rickey always made sure Thomas had accommodations, often on a cot in Rickey’s room, Thomas said.
“So long as this relationship of master and servant was obvious,” Rickey told the journalist Carl Rowan more than 50 years later, “then it
was perfectly all right with whites who otherwise would object to a Negro’s staying in the hotel.”
The incident in South Bend probably occurred in May 1903, although it was not mentioned in newspapers. The Daily Journal-Herald of
Delaware, Ohio, reported on May 13, 1903, that Notre Dame beat Ohio Wesleyan in South Bend, 11-0. Thomas found a measure of
revenge three weeks later when he hit a home run in a home victory over Notre Dame.
“The feature of the game was witnessed in the first inning when Thomas stepped up to the slap and slammed the spheroid against the
backyard fence for a home run,” The Daily Journal-Herald reported June 5.
Thomas was remembered for his skills on offense and defense and for his grace under pressure. In a letter to the student newspaper on
May 27, 1905, one alumnus who had attended a game against Ohio University wrote that “the only unpleasant feature of the game was
the coarse slurs cast at Mr. Thomas, the catcher.” The letter continued, “But through it all, he showed himself far more the gentleman
than his insolent tormentors though their skin is white.”
Thomas left college in 1906 to attend dental school in Columbus. He graduated in 1908 and opened his first practice in St. Louis. He later
moved to Albuquerque, where he lived for 40 years before retiring in California.
Rickey, who left Ohio Wesleyan before the 1905 season, played briefly in the major leagues before he, too, moved to St. Louis, where he
became an executive with the Browns, and then the Cardinals, for whom he was the general manager until 1942. Rickey was probably
aware that any attempts to sign blacks in Missouri, a former slave state, would be met with hostility. The Cardinals played their home
games at Sportsman’s Park, the last major league ballpark to remain segregated.
Once Rickey became president of the Dodgers in 1942, he was in a position to effect change. Rickey signed Robinson, who played his
first game in the major leagues a year and a half later.
When Thomas died in 1971 at 90, his obituary in The Albuquerque Tribune quoted a friend, Herman Schulman.
“He and Mr. Rickey were such good friends,” Schulman said, adding. “Every time that Rickey would come to Albuquerque, he would
always get hold of Dr. Thomas and they would have dinner.”
ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL
Hall of Famer Joins in the Festivities
By Ken Sickenger / Journal Staff Writer on Apr. 14, 2012
‘Topes surprise Lasorda with 1972 championship ring
Some rings are worth the wait.
Tommy Lasorda certainly felt that way Friday night when the Albuquerque Isotopes brass surprised him with a championship memento
40 years in the making.
Lasorda, the baseball Hall of Famer and longtime manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, was in the Duke City for opening-day festivities
at Isotopes Park. He expected to shake some hands, maybe toss a ceremonial first pitch.
What he didn’t expect was for ‘Topes president Ken Young to hand him a championship ring for the 1972 Pacific Coast League title won
by the powerhouse Albuquerque Dukes team that Lasorda managed.
“It’s a big surprise,” Lasorda said, “but I’m thankful from the bottom of my heart. It’s beautiful.”
Lasorda, 85, didn’t exactly regale the media with tales of that powerhouse ’72 Dukes squad. In fact, he admitted many of memories
have run together over the decades.
Still, he recalled how different Albuquerque was back in his PCL managing days.
“I used to jokingly say you could drop a bomb in downtown Albuquerque and not do $40 worth of damage,” he said. “Not anymore. It’s
a great city. Beautiful ballpark. I love coming here. In my opinion, it’s the best ballpark in the minor leagues.”
Lasorda has been in higher spirits since the recent Dodgers sale to a group including former NBA star Magic Johnson. He found it
difficult to stomach the financial issues that had turned his beloved franchise into something of a soap opera.
“Who’d have ever thought the Dodgers could end up in bankruptcy?” Lasorda said. “It was a shock to me — a shock.”
But Lasorda said he has confidence in the new ownership group.
“People love Magic,” Lasorda said. “He’s got lots of support. The fans are happy to see him involved with the Dodgers and so am I.”
Lasorda will spend this morning in Albuquerque before returning to Los Angeles to spend part of his 62nd anniversary with wife, Jo.
Asked if the couple had specific plans, Lasorda offered a quick retort.
“Yeah, a ballgame,” he said. “Our anniversary is April 14, so for a long time we never got to celebrate. Now, when you get to your 62nd,
you’re tired of celebrating.”
PASADENA SUN
Tommy Lasorda leaves them laughing in Pasadena
Tommy Lasorda, the revered former manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, encouraged a crowd of 100 at the Pasadena Rotary Club on
Wednesday to continue their good work on local and international charitable causes and showered them with anecdotes and comments
from his decades in Dodger blue.
Lasorda touched on Pasadena’s own Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play major league baseball and a teammate during
Lasorda’s stint with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Lasorda said Robinson’s achievements transcended all the social issues his arrival raised
because he was a player who “always wanted to beat you.”
“Robinson was the greatest competitor I’ve ever played with,” Lasorda said. “He wanted to beat you real bad. He didn’t only did it for
baseball, for also for his country. He did it not only for his color, but as an American citizen.”
Lasorda’s speech came the day after the Dodgers celebrated 50 years in Dodger Stadium and shortly after the team announced that
reviled owner Frank McCourt has sold the franchise to Magic Johnson and others for more than $2 billion.
Lasorda said he’s met leaders of the new ownership group and they seem to be “good people.”
“They are going to give our fans what they really need: a championship team,” he said.
He compared some his achievements with the work of Rotary International and other service organizations, saying his proudest
moment was when the U.S. team he led topped Cuba and won a gold medal for at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
The Pasadena Rotary Club also has international ties, funding an orphanage in Kenya and the construction of two houses a year for
impoverished families in Tecate, Mexico.
Lasorda’s laugh lines often come at the expense of former players. He recalled a visit to a race track with former Dodgers’ second
baseman Steve Sax. Neither knew much about racing, Lasorda said, and Lasorda encouraged Sax to eavesdrop on a group of men who
had been winning and follow their every word.
“I told Saxy to follow them, and listen very carefully what they talked about,” Lasorda said. “Well, when he came back he had three
roast beef sandwiches, and told me about a guy who needed to sell a car with 90,000 miles and didn’t know how to do it.”
Sax had bought the car, Lasorda said.
Rotary Club past president David Mans noted that in the past the club has brought in other famous sports figures, including former
Dodger Jay Johnstone.