66ers

Looking back over the past year of Dodger- and baseball-related posts here on Celsius1414 or, heck, the last couple of weeks, it should be pretty obvious that the subject has become pretty popular ‘round these parts. A glance at the tag cloud page confirms it.

I’ve been thinking of splitting off baseball content into its own website for some time now, and with the Hot Stove League in full swing, this seems as good a time as any to debut trolleydodger.com.

The Trolley Dodger website is a standalone blog dedicated to the Dodgers, affiliated teams, and baseball in general. There are a few posts there already, and while I won’t be transferring any existing stories here on Celsius1414 to the new site, I am really looking forward to covering one of my favorite topics in great verbosity over the coming months. Given the events of the off-season so far, there should be a lot to write about.

Celsius1414 will continue on as always, minus the new baseball stuff.

Thanks for reading!

Michael Garciaparra, that is. The younger brother of Nomar, Michael used to play for the 66ers back when they were a Mariners affiliate.

Former first round draft choice Michael Garciaparra and three other minor league players were added to Seattle’s 40-man roster Monday.

Garciaparra, who was the club’s top pick in the 2001 draft, had a slow start to his career, prompting speculation the Mariners had overestimated him.

But the younger brother of Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Nomar Garciaparra went from suspect to prospect this year. The infielder hit .311 overall in a season split between Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A Tacoma.

Now being on the 40-man doesn’t mean he’ll be in the bigs automatically, but he’s continuing to work his way up the ladder. Having seen Michael play locally, it’s one of the things I’m looking forward to next year — being able to go to 66ers games and see potential Dodger stars.

And amidst all the other Garciaparra headlines this week comes the news (via this LA Times story on the potential Juan Pierre signing) —

“I was hoping to be back and wanted to be back,” [Nomar] said. “I didn’t entertain other offers. My intention first and foremost was to work out a deal here.”

Garciaparra’s wife, former soccer star Mia Hamm, is pregnant with twins. Knowing he will remain in L.A. the next two years — his contract has limited no-trade provisions — is comforting to his entire family.

“I believe in the organization and I really enjoy putting on that uniform,” he said. “The Dodgers are the team my family cheers for. This is a thrill.”

So apparently, Michael will be an uncle soon. ;D Congrats to Nomar and Mia! I anticipate the twins to be ruling the world soccer scene in 2026.

The 66ers have published their schedule of promotions and giveaways during the 2007 season. Dig that 50¢ Friday & Blanket Giveaway on April 13th. :)

The 66ers recently published their schedule for 2007 (printable version). The first game is at High Desert on April 5, 2007, and the first home game is a week later on April 12 versus the Lancaster JetHawks.

I created the schedule in iCal for my own uses and exported it for download for anybody who’d like it: 66ers2007.ics.zip. Download and double-click to extract the .ics file from the zip archive, then you can import it into iCal.

Home games (indicated with “vs”) have the start time, while away games (using “@”) do not, following the official 66ers calendar; check the other team’s website for start times on away games.

Be aware that game times or even games themselves are sometimes changed around. You’ll want to confirm everything before heading to the ballpark.

Tons of new Dodgers content today in anticipation of tomorrow’s Game 3, including one disheartening story about what really happened to Joe Beimel.

• LA calling on rally, magic to stop Mets - In must-win NLDS game, Dodgers pit Maddux against Trachsel.
• Dodgers hope for a Maddux redux - Righty out to help Los Angeles avoid elimination in Game 3.
• Notes: Two injuries hinder LA - Nomar tears left quad; Beimel’s injury disappoints teammates.
• Martin a pioneer for Dodgers catchers - Unlike past stars, youngster calling playoff games as rookie.

A couple of Dodgers wrote their own pieces, including a new blog post by Derek Lowe — Offense needs to get in gear to take Game 3 — and a pretty candid post by Toby Hall — Trading places, last to first.

Fallout from the Dodgers changing their Single-A affiliation — a note on the Vero Beach Dodgers website from the GM, Emily Christy.

Finally, a lovely profile of Vin Scully in the New York Times — Scully Recalls the Daffy Days of Brooklyn. And I have to say, after hearing the awful job most of the Fox and ESPN announcing teams have been doing so far, we sure have it lucky out here.