History is a wonderful thing. Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, the Los Angeles Dodgers won their 13th home game in a row from the start of the season, defeating the Washington Nationals, 10-3.
This eclipsed the modern major league record, previously held by the 1911 Detroit Tigers. Your intrepid reporter was there in person to see the action.
After Bleacher Report offered me the opportunity to be the Dodger Community Leader, I made and continued contact with the Dodgers media relations department. They were kind enough to invite me to visit their new spring training home at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz.
The Dodgers had also selected the 13th home game of the season to invite various leading bloggers to the stadium to meet with GM Ned Colletti and a few other front office members. The fact history was pending was quite the tasty cherry on top.
The Suite Life
About 30 of my fellow electron manipulators were escorted to the club level, where the press box and luxury suites are situated. Our suite was located just past the third base bag, as seen from the photo above, of Dodger starter Clayton Kershaw in the first inning.
After some introductions all around, we had the opportunity to spend a bit of time with Dodger GM Ned Colletti. I have in the past called for Colletti not to have his contract renewed when it expires at the end of this season, but have to state I was very impressed with him. Colletti treated us with a great deal of respect, answering our questions fully with background as to how and why decisions have been made.
What About McDonald?
I asked about James McDonald, the young pitcher who has endured a difficult start of the season. The 24-year old native of nearby Long Beach has been fighting his control, which has resulted in his losing his spot in the starting rotation and been relegated to the bullpen.
My question was why not have him sent to the minors where he can work on his mechanics in a less intensive environment instead of occasional work out of the bullpen. I also asked if the 40-man roster was an factor in the decision.
Colletti acknowledged the 40-man roster was a major element of the decision, as Eric Milton, the leading candidate to replace McDonald, is not on that list. All players on the active roster and 15-day disabled list must be on the 40-man roster. Players on the 60-day list, such as Doug Mientkiewicz, are not counted against the 40.
Milton has an option in his contract to request his release if not recalled by a certain date. Colletti spoke of how that is a factor, but not the only consideration.
If the team cannot accommodate the player at this particular moment but sees an opening a little bit later, it becomes a situation of whether the player is willing to wait a bit to contribute to this team, as opposed to trying his luck somewhere else.
Jim Slaton, the pitching coach for Triple-A Albuquerque, reported a couple of weeks ago how Milton needed about six starts before being ready to contribute to the big team. A former major league pitcher, Slaton has Colletti's confidence in such matters.
Colletti had dispatched a couple of scouts to observe him earlier, and will send a couple of different sets of eyes to see his next start.
He also mentioned the great success McDonald had late last season and in the playoffs. The Dodgers hope he will be able to correct his mechanical issues quickly, work on the mental side of the game, and be able to make a contribution to the team.
Sure enough, McDonald entered the game in the sixth inning, breaking a bat to get a fly ball to center, having the second hitter pop up to second and striking out the third National to finish off a very clean inning of work and earn a hold.
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