OFFICIAL 2009 DODGERS SEASON THREAD : Season Over. Congratulations Phillies.

[ooiron manoo]

Let's get this last out,

Damn it, they are pulling the plug on Kuroda

.

 

[socluis90]

damn i wanted him to finish this...

 

[Los Angeles]

Aw no CG for kuroda, magificent performance though.

Big ox in line for a save, let's wrap this up

 

[Los Angeles]

southside fans are hilarious.

And its a damn wrap 18 svs for brox

Kuroda best start of the season.

 

[socluis90]

take that hahahhah

 

[sinser13]

game went by fast, great game by Kuroda.

 

[p mac one]

Just keep winning

 

[in yo nostril]

that was some awesome pitching. i hope he has movement like that in his pitches the rest of the season

 

[Los Angeles]

Kuroda should only get stronger as the season goes since he had like 2 months of rest in the beginning of the season.

 

[in yo nostril]

kuroda still owes me a no hitter after that game last year. damn mark teixeira ruined my dream that night.

 

[mr jordan04]

Originally Posted by CincoSeisDos

I just got one to get all my news updates faster than NT sometime.

It's simple as hell, reply, retweet, follow.

What don't you dudes get though?

562 lemme ask you...after seeing your post yesterday....
why the +##% do you follow perez hiltons twitter? you were quick to post about him gettin beat down

 

[cincoseisdos]

NOOOOOO

Let me explain...

I was texting my girl at the time that night. And she says something along the lines of "OMG Perez Hilton just got beat up!" I ask her what the hellis she talking about, all she responds with is "twitter."

I look dudes page up and I see the goldmine that is my thread on the situation yesterday

Look me up, look at who i'm following. no PH there, I promise

 

[mr jordan04]

**remembers rafael palmeiro talking to congress saying he never touchedsteroids**

 

[Los Angeles]

can't believe she tweeted about getting her *$@ kick and asking for help.

I'm following taylor swift

 

[cincoseisdos]

"Let me repeat: I have NEVER, followed Perez Hilton on Twitter"

 

[div1lbc]

Kuroda tonight!

 

[mr jordan04]

 

[cincoseisdos]

[h1]Manny Ramirez takes the field -- to cheers[/h1]

Email Picture

Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Manny Ramirez gives high-fives to his Albuquerque Isotopes teammates before the start of their minor league game against the Nashville Sounds on Tuesday.

Fans in Albuquerque pack Isotopes Park to watch the suspended Dodgers star use these games to prepare for his return to the major league lineup though he strikes out and grounds out in his first at-ba

By Dylan Hernandez
7:10 PM PDT, June 23, 2009
Reporting from Albuquerque -- Fans stood. Cameras flashed.

Manny Ramirez was about to hit.

Ramirez started his week-long tour of the minor leagues with a strikeout and a groundout in his first two at-bats, which were preceded by standing ovations from the standing-room only crowd at Istopes Park.

Starting in left field and batting first for the Dodgers triple-A affiliate Albuquerque Isotopes, Ramirez saw six pitches in his first at-bat, which ended with a swinging strike. He grounded out to short on a 1-and-0 pitch in the third inning.

The Nashville Sounds pitcher who twice retired Ramirez was Manny Parra, who was demoted to triple A by the Milwaukee Brewers only 10 days ago.

Ramirez probably wasn't surprised by the reception he received.

Earlier in the day, he sounded certain that fans in Los Angeles would continue to back him.

Told that everyone in the city was in love with him until he was hit with a 50-game suspension for violating baseball's drug policy, Ramirez replied, "They still are. They still are."

Ramirez said the same about the residents of Albuquerque, where he will play tonight in his first game since being suspended.

The hometown Isotopes, the Dodgers' triple-A affiliate, have a chance at breaking their all-time single-game attendance record of 15,189 fans, as less than 500 standing-room only seats remain for sale.

"Like I said, people love me," Ramirez said. "Everywhere I go, people support me. I'm excited to bring a lot of joy to a lot of people here. I'm excited that I'm here."

Ramirez, who is eligible to play for the Dodgers again July 3, refused to say whether he used steroids.

The All-Star left fielder will start in left field and leadoff for the Isotopes tonight to ensure that he gets as many at-bats as possible.

Ramirez will play four innings tonight, five Wednesday and seven Thursday. He is expected to return to Los Angeles on Friday and resume his "rehabilitation" assignment with Class-A Inland Empire on Sunday.

Ramirez was greeted by a wall of cameras when he emerged from the Dodgers' clubhouse to take batting practice.

Infielder Blake DeWitt, who was standing near third base, laughed as the cameras followed Ramirez down the left field line and remained on him as he stretched in the outfield.

"This is funny," DeWitt said.

Ramirez blasted several home runs in batting practice, prompting him to say of the hitter-friendly park, "This field is a joke. I want to play here."

Fans were hanging over the railing along the tunnel connecting the clubhouse to the field when Ramirez reemerged to warm up for the game.

Ramirez was cheered when he took the field, as many fans stood to applaud. Ramirez received another chorus of cheers when he tipped his cap to the crowd.

[email protected]

[h1]Manny Ramirez returns in New Mexico[/h1]

Slugger goes 0 for 2 in first game since suspension. Merchandise sales are off the hook.

By Dylan Hernandez
June 24, 2009
Reporting from Albuquerque -- A news helicopter circled the airspace above Isotopes Field. Ticket takers wore dreadlock wigs. The lines in the souvenir shop stretched across the room.

Manny Ramirez was in the building.

And when Ramirez had his name called over the public-address system, many of the 15,321 fans who made up the standing-room-only crowd Tuesday night stood to applaud. Camera flashes lit up the stands. A banner that read "Mannywood, N.M." was unfurled in the box seats down the left-field line.

Ramirez struck out, but it didn't matter.

He grounded out, but it didn't matter.

More cheers. More flashes.

Ramirez did more in the first game of his weeklong minor league tour than prepare himself for his return to the Dodgers' lineup July 3.

He sold tickets for the triple-A affiliate, more for this game than in any other home game in the Isotopes' seven-year history. He moved merchandise and did so quickly, as all 136 Manny-style wigs in the souvenir shop were sold for $25 within 45 minutes of the gates opening.

He has eight games remaining on his suspension for violating baseball's drug policy, but there wasn't a single steroid chant or a single syringe thrown onto the field.

"It completely lived up to my expectations," Isotopes General Manager John Traub said.

What Ramirez did on the field almost became secondary.

He batted leadoff and was 0 for 2 facing Nashville Sounds left-hander Manny Parra, who was demoted to triple A by the Milwaukee Brewers only 10 days earlier.

He saw eight pitches.

He struck out swinging in the first inning and grounded out to short in the third.

He didn't get a ball hit his way in his four innings in left field.

That didn't dampen the mood.

"That was a pretty neat crowd for a triple-A ballgame," Isotopes second baseman Blake DeWitt said. "The atmosphere from the get-go was pretty impressive."

It's expected to remain that way over the next couple of days.

Isotopes Manager Tim Wallach said Ramirez would play five innings today and seven Thursday. The only tickets available for both games are for grass seating.

The Isotopes are expecting a shipment of 500 wigs from the Dodgers on Thursday. Ramirez is expected to head back to Los Angeles on Friday, but tickets for that game are also close to selling out.

The town's response to Ramirez proved a point he tried to make when addressing reporters before the game -- that his 50-game ban wouldn't affect his popularity.

Speaking to reporters in the hours leading up to the game, Ramirez said the city of Los Angeles continues to love him. Of the way he has been received in Albuquerque, he said, "Like I said, people love me. Everywhere I go, people support me. I'm excited to bring a lot of joy to a lot of people here. I'm excited that I'm here."

Ramirez refused to say whether he used steroids.

Initially, he was reluctant to talk about anything.

Pulling his bat out of a corner locker that was occupied two days earlier by Jason Schmidt, Ramirez declined to be interviewed.

"Come back on July 3," he said in Spanish, as he rushed to the batting cage.

The hallway by the cage became off-limits to reporters, who were prevented by a security guard from walking by to get to the field.

"No media," the guard said.

Done with his cage work, Ramirez returned to his locker to grab a bat and helmet. He ran by reporters, telling them, "I ain't talking, baby. Write whatever you want."

When he emerged from the tunnel that led to the field, Ramirez was met by a wall of cameras. The mob trailed him as he walked down the left-field line to stretch.

Watching from a distance, DeWitt laughed.

"This is funny," DeWitt said.

Ramirez hit several home runs in batting practice, including one that hit the giant scoreboard over the wall in left-center. That prompted him to make another drive-by comment to reporters who stood nearby, as he said of the notoriously hitter-friendly park, "This field is a joke. I want to play here."

But the hitting session that made Ramirez laugh provided Nashville catcher Angel Salome with the memory of a lifetime.

Salome, 23, went to the same New York City high school as Ramirez. He was introduced to his hero by ESPN Deportes reporter Enrique Rojas.

Salome smiled as he recalled how Ramirez told him, "Hey, throw me pitches right down the middle. I'm not going to hit it. I'm not that good of a hitter."

However, Ramirez's teammates didn't get a treat they were expecting.

Major league players in town on rehabilitation assignments often pay for special pregame meals for the team.

Last week, Isotopes players were treated to food from Outback Steakhouse by Will Ohman and P.F. Chang's by Claudio Vargas.

Pizza was served Tuesday, leading to some light-hearted kidding.

"Manny better pony up," Ohman said, laughing. "I know his money is deferred, but if we get Domino's after the game, there will be a lot of [angry] guys."

Well, they didn't even get that.

Ramirez, who signed a two-year, $45-million contract in the spring, wasn't around to explain why.

He made a quiet exit from the field at the end of the fourth inning. Soon after, he strolled out the back of the clubhouse to the parking lot. Crowded by a mob of 40 or so autograph seekers, Ramirez didn't answer any questions as he signed a couple of items on his way to a car that was waiting nearby.

The night was over.

Wait, there was something else, right?

Oh, yeah, the game.

The Isotopes won, 1-0.

[email protected]
http://www.latimes.com/sports/columnists/la-columnist-tsimers,0,1973522.columnist

T.J. Simers:

[h1]Even he can't stay mad at Manny[/h1]

Sure, he's a drug cheat, but Ramirez's personality makes him something special, even in Albuquerque.

T.J. Simers
11:20 PM PDT, June 23, 2009
From Albuquerque -- Manny Ramirez's arrival here is the biggest thing since Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon, heard to mutter under his breath, "Are you sure we didn't land in New Mexico?"

He's back, all right, and while baseball won't allow him in uniform when the gates to Dodger Stadium open, here in the hinterlands, the Isotopes have hit the jackpot, selling a record number of tickets because Ramirez was caught using drugs and needs to rehab somewhere.

The hair is longer, the laugh just as loud and the pants bright white because they haven't been worn now for the last 45 games. But the ball still comes off the bat with a mighty whack, a sound that draws a crowd around the batting cage.

He arrives here Monday, third row on Southwest Airlines, middle seat between his uncle and Manny Mota, allowed on the plane 15 minutes before anyone else -- and so much for calling 24 hours ahead of time hoping to land seat A-1.

He signs autographs, poses for pictures while dropping off his luggage, and "is just great to people," says Mota, nary a negative word heard, and yes, they still love him.

When Ramirez arrives in Albuquerque, a limo is allowed on the tarmac, frustrating the local TV stations waiting to document his arrival. Fortunately for everyone, I'm sure, someone's cat got stuck in a tree, video at 10 on Albuquerque Live.

ESPN's Colleen Dominguez reports Tuesday afternoon that Ramirez orders pasta. She does not follow him inside even though that's why she's here, because she needs to go to the empty stadium to do a report for ESPN.

"I didn't see him order pasta," she says later in explaining her exclusive, "but I feel comfortable with my sources."

Dodgers' PR guy Josh Rawitch cannot confirm Ramirez ordered pasta, "because I wasn't there." That doesn't seem to matter to Dominguez.

Rawitch is also here to tell the media that Manny doesn't want the media "banging on the batting cage while he's inside," so everyone needs to move to the field or the clubhouse.

The Times' Dylan Hernandez appears disappointed, all his life wanting to come to Albuquerque and bang on the batting cage while Manny's inside trying to hit a ball off a tee. Manny can hit a 94-mph fastball in front of 50,000 screaming fans, but for some reason Hernandez unnerves him while facing a tee.

A nation awaits more breaking Manny news, Dominguez confirming "it was spaghetti." She also spots him carrying "six bottles of water." Nothing gets by her.

At the ballpark, it is standing-room only, reporters from L.A. and other media outlets here, the governor of New Mexico also expected. They are selling $6 standing-room-only tickets.

ESPN News has plans to go live each time Manny bats, Manny explaining before the game, "people love me everywhere."

Hard to argue, or for that matter feign Gary Matthews' Jr.-like outrage, Manny more charismatic, more talented and more interesting than Matthews.

The wife and daughter maintain no one cares what Manny did, more interested in what he's going to do from now on, so why fight it?

They are right -- something that has never been written here before. Manny is fun, a thrill with a bat in his hands, and while one should be consistent and rip Manny if trashing Matthews for years, get your own column.

I like Manny, the Dodgers more entertaining with him in the lineup, which explains why they doubled the crowd here for a normal Tuesday night in June.

If he's the same goofball, the same compelling hitter he was last season, then let's go, the party is about to begin, but first a few more questions just to see if he really is the same guy.

Initially, he is not, and that's before he strikes out to begin the game and before he grounds out. Thanks for the Isotope memories.

Word arrives before the game that Manny will not be speaking to reporters while in Albuquerque, the media flying two hours to get here, and "so, Jason Repko, tell me about yourself."

Before it comes to that, reporters make several runs at Manny. "Are you going to hide all day long?" someone asks, and you know who.

He's so serious about avoiding the media, though, he even takes fly balls in left. Right now someone in Boston is saying, "told you so."

But this is L.A. Manny, a different guy from the one everyone talked about in Boston, L.A. Manny listening to some advice offered by Mota and then stepping forward to say, "Let's go -- let's talk. What do you want to know?"

So the media crowds around him, the ESPN cameras not allowed in the clubhouse, but he did have spaghetti for lunch.

"So where are you mentally right now?" he's asked.

"I'm just getting myself ready to come back," Manny says.

"What do you want to accomplish here?" the softball questions coming one after another.

"I want to feel . . . how my legs are going to respond."

Before the next question is asked, Manny takes over, reminding everyone why he's such a hoot, why he will be so hard to hassle over time.

"I'm waiting," he says with a laugh. "I know you're going to throw me the slider. I'm waiting. I'm waiting."

"OK, so did you use steroids?"

"I don't want to talk about that," he says, asking for the question and then dismissing it.

"That was the high hard one," he's told.

"You throw me a couple of fastballs so I can see them, and then I knew you'd come with the slider. That's why I stayed back," he says, while swinging an imaginary bat.

"Where are you in terms of being sorry?"

"I'm not talking about that anymore. I already said what I'm going to say. I'm here to do my rehab . . . "

As bad as it went when he left Boston, he's reminded now that everyone in L.A. was in love with him before being suspended.

"They still are," Manny says. "They still are."

Go ahead, try and tell me he's got it all wrong.

[email protected]
What i've been waiting for, old man Plaschkes response...

Bill Plaschke:

[h1]It's a pretty shaky suspension bridge for Manny Ramirez[/h1]

Email Picture

Christian Petersen / Getty Images

Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez watches batting practice before playing in a minor league game with the Albuquerque Isotopes on Tuesday. Even though Ramirez cannot play on the Dodgers until his 50-game suspension is over July 3, he can play up to 10 games in the minor leagues.

Something needs to be done about the rule that allows banned major leaguers to play in the minors.

Bill Plaschke
June 24, 2009
While the Dodgers were playing the 42nd game of Manny Ramirez's 50-game suspension Tuesday, Manny Ramirez was doing something very strange.

He was playing for the Dodgers.

Well, not exactly, but close enough, as he was playing on a Dodgers-sponsored team, with Dodgers-funded teammates and coaches, in a stadium where a portion of the ticket revenue is sent to Major League Baseball.

Manny Ramirez playing for the triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes is as weird as the word "isotope."

Why is Ramirez allowed to play there? Why is Ramirez allowed to play anywhere? Since when are players allowed to turn a rehab assignment into a detox assignment?

And why can't baseball punish a guy without also apologizing to him?

Sorry about those 50 games, slugger. You can use our minor league club to get back in shape before the suspension ends, come back at full strength, is that OK?

Under the current rules, I don't blame the Dodgers for sending him there, and it's hard to blame Albuquerque for trying to make a few bucks off the circus, but there is something fundamentally wrong about all of this. I blame the entire Major League Baseball system -- from the commissioner's office to the union to the individual clubs -- because nobody saw this coming.

When negotiating the drug policy three years ago, baseball officials felt they had to allow for minor league rehab assignments in order to get union agreement on a 50-game suspension total. The union was claiming that, otherwise, with the player needing to get back in shape, the suspensions actually would amount to more than 60 games.

Officials were also receiving pressure from their clubs to allow the players to do rehab assignments during the suspensions, instead of later, so the teams did not have to pay the players while they were in the minor leagues.

In the end, the baseball bosses were so desperate for any sort of penalty, they caved in to everybody. And perhaps they hoped that everyone would be so happy the druggies were finally being punished, nobody would notice.

Well, today, we all notice.

Today, a suspended baseball player is back on a field playing baseball and making money for the same people who suspended him.

Today, a shamed drug offender is basking in the national attention and adulation created by the same people who shamed him.

Today, a troublemaker who is currently being suspended from high school is enjoying private tutoring from his teachers in a simulated classroom environment filled with students, and where's the learning in that?

This is not the first time this has happened this season, as the Philadelphia Phillies' J.C. Romero quietly made five appearances in the minor leagues before completing his 50-game substance suspension.

Did it help? Well, Romero began his season with six consecutive scoreless games, and has given up one run in nine innings so, yeah.

Romero is a fairly anonymous middle reliever and didn't grab the national attention of Ramirez, but it was wrong then, and it is wrong now. Baseball needs to fix it before it happens again, and baseball knows it.

"This has never been a point of contention before," said Pat O'Conner, Minor League Baseball president. "But it's a whole new era."

Currently, O'Conner's teams don't have a choice but to accept players such as Ramirez. Major League Baseball is in the middle of a 10-year agreement with Minor League Baseball that includes what is known as the "Rule 9(i) rehab."

The rule allows suspended or injured major league players to spend 10 days (hitters) or 16 days (pitchers) in the minor leagues before returning to the active list.

"We can't pick and choose who we'll accept," O'Conner said. "Suspended players, injured players, it's apples and apples."

He paused, and acknowledged that the Ramirez case is unique.

"This is a different kind of apple," he said. "This is one for the ages."

Talking with O'Conner and major league officials Tuesday, it became apparent that the Ramirez case has caused both parties to reconsider Rule 9(i), and it will be revisited this winter.

"It's a new era, and would something like this be deserving of at least a conversation?" O'Conner said. "Maybe so."

In the meantime, Ramirez's suspension continues to look increasingly like a nice vacation for him and a financial windfall for the Dodgers.

Think about it. During the suspension, Ramirez had reaped all the rewards of being a Dodger without any of the responsibilities.

He has been allowed clubhouse and training room and field access without ever explaining how and why and when he violated baseball's drug policy. The Dodgers have taken care of his every need -- from cough syrup to batting-practice baseballs -- without once asking him to be accountable to the community that they once considered a priority.

The Dodgers so value Ramirez's comfort above all else that they actually sent employees to Albuquerque to help him and protect him from the unwashed masses who would dare bother the great man during his courageous comeback from a female fertility drug.

I guess that's cheaper than hiring a midwife.

All of this is set up to fill stadium seats and company wallets upon Ramirez's July 3 return. Did you hear about the previously planned bus trip to San Diego for the Padres series on Fourth of July weekend? In an e-mail sent to fans, a Dodgers employee re-billed the trip as a welcome back for Ramirez, exploiting a drug offender in only a slightly more sophisticated manner than the dude standing on a darkened corner of Sunset.

And, c'mon, after watching fans fill up the yard in Albuquerque, is there any question that the Dodgers will re-christen the "Mannywood" section the moment he returns to Chavez Ravine?

When Manny Ramirez is old and gray and sitting outside the locked doors of Cooperstown, he might reflect on this summer as the best 50 games of his career. Or is it 42 games? Or, really, was he ever gone?

It's all Isotopes to me.

[email protected]

 

[ooiron manoo]

I skipped all your articles Cinco....

I have the day off tomorrow, so I plan on picking up that good ol' newspaper.

I find myself leanings towards creating a Twitter account, I will sleep on it and come up with a clever handle

.

 

[mr jordan04]

hey IRONMAN, how's the turnout for that dodger roadtrip to san diego? out of curiousity i looked on the site for prices, and it said everything was soldout. how many fans are they taking?

 

[cincoseisdos]

Originally Posted by ooIRON MANoo

I skipped all your articles Cinco....

I have the day off tomorrow, so I plan on picking up that good ol' newspaper.

I find myself leanings towards creating a Twitter account, I will sleep on it and come up with a clever handle

.

it's all good. When I went to the grocery store this morning they had no newspapers, I was really bummed out. Haven't paid for a newspaper since Iwas in HS, getting the Press Telegram every thursday to read the high school top10 teams of the week checkin for our squads. Digital age sucks

 

[mr jordan04]

since I was in HS, getting the Press Telegram every thursday to read the high school top10 teams of the week checkin for our squads.
for what?
bellflower isnt good at anything

 

[cincoseisdos]

oh mannnnnnnnnnn comin' from someone who went to Norwack?

The Norwalk females were almost as on point as Downey chicks though

 

[mr jordan04]

John glenn homeboy! Git it right!

 

[cincoseisdos]

hasta peor!