2012: The Dawn of a New Era

The last time we spoke, The Dodger Blog was an official outlet and yours truly was a credentialed member of the media. Unfortunately, Portland's 750 The Game is no longer a member of the Dodger's Radio Network. What does that mean for Portland? Well, It's residents no longer get the honor of listening to the legendary voice of the incomparable Vin Scully. What does that mean for you? The Dodger Blog forges on into the independent world of sports blogging. While I will no longer be credentialed on a daily basis to cover every single home game, I have spoken with representatives in the Dodgers PR department and they have graciously extended me the opportunity to cover some games throughout the summer. So regardless of URL I call home, The Dodger Blog intends to continue bringing you insightful content through out the 2012 season.

My final article with the now-defunct 750 AM Dodger Blog, was a piece regarding Clayton Kershaw's Cy Young award. A year that saw a roller coaster of emotions for Dodger Nation, culminated on a beautiful, and well deserved note. Kershaw bested nearly every ace he faced throughout his ridiculous (or we can call it "filthy" if you prefer) 2011 campaign. He held the league's pitching triple crown and as icing on the blue cake, he thoroughly dominated his biggest rival in 2-time Cy Young Winner Tim Lincecum. The Dodgers come into 2012 with the now grizzled veteran manager Don Mattingly. I'm only sort of kidding on the veteran part... While he may only have one season on his resume, that lone season saw about as much adversity as most managers see in their entire career.

Matt Kemp also had the kind of season that resulted in what most baseball folks consider an MVP-snub. Regardless of whether he had the hardware to match, Matt had an equally impressive season as Kershaw, and the two thoroughly cemented their places as the corner stones this Dodgers franchise will build around for the next decade. And with those "new guys" owning the Dodgers, expect the building process to make big splashy waves throughout major league for years to come. You thought I wasn't gonna go there did you?! Not a chance, I had to say something. Don't worry, there have been enough "ding dong the witch is dead" articles during the past week. The occupy movement now moves to Dodger stadium now that Frank McCourt just rejoined the 1%. When LA's legendary athlete/businessman Magic Johnson, takes his place in the owner's seats on opening day, you can be sure of two things: 1) A thunderous and roaring applause that will mark the start of something special, and 2) the owner's seats, like the rest of the seats in Dodger Stadium, won't be empty like they were all of last year. The stadium will be at max capacity, might stay that way for a at least a week.

The ticket prices are lower than they've been in a number of years, the season has the most scheduled promotions in the history of the franchise, and the fans are ready to give someone else their 5 dollars for a Dodger Dog.

Welcome back to the Dodger Blog. Even Magic likes it....