Brief History of the Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Team Posted on Rabu, 30 November 2011 | 0 komentar

The AA folded in 1890 and the team switched to the NL as the Brooklyn Superbas. Under Ned Hanlon, the Superbas won the NL pennants in 1899 and 1900, becoming the only franchise in MLB history to win pennants in different leagues in successive years.

From 1901 until 1916, the team saw various ups and downs. Hanlon’s desire to own the team never materialized. He put himself heavily in debt and even invested heavily for the construction of Ebbets Field, which would become the Dodgers' home in 1913.

Under Manager Wilbert Robinson, popularly known as "Uncle Robbie”, the Dodgers won pennants in 1916
and 1920 with the line-up featuring players like pitcher Jeff Pfeffer and outfielder Zack Wheat. The club lost both World Series, to Boston and Cleveland, respectively.

In the late 1920s the team became known as the "Daffiness Boys" for their distracted, error-ridden style of play, probably because of Robinson’s helplessness to focus on the field after he assumed the title of president. He returned to manage the team to improve the performance of the team.

The Dodgers rebounded from a 20-year pennant drought in 1941 under Manager Leo Durocher, a former Brooklyn shortstop. The same season, the Dodgers introduced batting helmets to Major League Baseball. The following season, Branch Rickey was hired as president and general manager of the team. Rickey made history when he integrated the team after signing Negro League superstar Jackie Robinson in 1947. Robinson had an instant impact on the team. He along with teammates Pee Wee Reese, Arky Vaughan, and Gil Hodges led the club to the 1947 pennant. Robinson, Catcher Roy Campanella and pitcher Don Newcombe became the powerhouse of the team in the late 40s and early 50s. From 1949 to 1952, the Dodgers won six NL pennants with a World Series victory in 1955 against the Yanks.

In 1958 owner Walter O’Malley moved the club to Los Angeles. Manager Walter Alston led the Dodgers to
their second World Series victory in 1959. In the 1960s and early 1970s, he guided the Dodgers to four
more pennants. Moreover, the Dodger’s pitching staff during this era was invincible. The Dodgers defeated
the Yankees in the 1963 World Series, and two years later they bested the Minnesota Twins to take home
their fourth World Series title. Under Manager Walter Alston, the Dodgers won their last pennant in 1974.

In 1976, Future Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda became the team’s new manager. He managed the club for 22 seasons, leading it to four NL pennants and two World Series championships in 1981 and 1988. In 1992 the Dodgers finished the season in last place for the first time in 87 years of their existence. The team rebounded once again in 1994, 1995, and 1996 to claim the division titles. Before the start of the 1998
regular season playoffs, Australian-born media magnate Rupert Murdoch purchased the team. The logo of the team has Dodgers written in a blue script with a streaking baseball.

2006 Los Angeles Dodgers Preview Posted on Senin, 01 Februari 2010 | 0 komentar

Led by newly signed 2nd baseman Jeff Kent (.289 29 105), the Los Angeles Dodgers posted an unimpressive 71-91 record in 2005. 1st basemen Olmedo Saenz (.263 15 63) and Hee-Seop Choi (.253 15 42) joined outfielder Milton Bradley (.290 13 38) and late season pickup Jose Cruz (.301 6 22) to provide the majority of the team’s offense for the year. Catcher Jason Phillips (.238 19 55) and outfielder J.D. Drew (.286 15 36) also helped add some pop in the lineup as Los Angeles ended 2005 a full 11 games behind the Division Champion San Diego Padres.


Pitchers Jeff Weaver (14 11 4.22), Derek Lowe (12 15 3.61) and Brad Penny (7-9 3.90) combined to provide a majority of the team’s quality starts while reliever Yhency Brazoban (4 10 5.33 21 saves) anchored the back end of the bullpen.


Off Season Moves:

The Dodgers signed a bunch of free agents in the off season to address their needs. Free agent Nomar Garciaparra (.283 9 30) was signed to play first base, Bill Mueller (.295 10 62) to play third, Rafael Furcal (.284 12 58) to play shortstop and Kenny Lofton (.335 2 36) to play centerfield. Milton Bradley was sent to the A's and the team added NY Met Jae Seo (8-2 2.59) and Giants free agent Brett Tomko (8-15 4.48) to the starting rotation.


The LA Dodgers addressed their bullpen needs by picking up closer Danys Baez (5-4 2.86) and reliever Lance Carter (1-2 4.89) who was signed from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.


2006 Analysis:

Mueller, Garciaparra and Furcal were all solid pickups and should help reduce the need for Kent to do all the scoring in 2006. The Dodgers are hoping Garciaparra can play healthy for a full season and they expect him to surprise skeptics who believe he is damaged goods. Furcal is an anchor in the infield and has an absolute canon for an arm. Fans should expect him to step up his game another notch in 2006 after the Braves let him get away.


Seo had perhaps the best 2nd half of any of the Met pitchers last season. The Mets felt his 2005 season was essentially a fluke so they were willing to trade him for reliever Duaner Sanchez. The Dodgers are hoping Seo can provide a significant amount of quality innings in 2006. Fans shouldn’t expect Tomko to do much better then last year but the Dodgers still need him to improve on his 8-15 record though. Fans also should be confident that the off season bullpen signings will help. Both Baez and Carter will be welcome additions. Baez in particular was chased by a few different teams and the Dodgers were lucky to grab him.


If a few of the offensive pieces can come together the Dodgers might surprise some people in the NL West. Most experts would point to the fact that the starting pitching is still too shaky to pick the team for any serious contention in 2006.