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The security that was at Dodger Stadium on Opening Day of the 2011 baseball season failed to protect Giants fan Bryan Stow. As a result, the people responsible for staffing that security need to be held responsible for what happened to him, regardless of what the Dodgers would have you believe.

According to the Associated Press, the Dodgers are asking for the court to disallow the claim filed by Stow and his family that would have the team held responsible for his beating. 

In part of the 37-page motion, the Dodgers claim that they are not responsible for the safety of the fans who attend their games. 

The Stow claim is, when stripped to its core, based on the faulty premise that a landowner is an insurer of the safety of persons on its property.

As a part of the report, the Dodgers also claim that they were adequately staffed for the March 31 game. 

The Dodgers said there were 442 security personnel in the ballpark and parking lots that day, including police. The team said that was an increase from 398 for the 2010 opener and 308 for the first home game in 2009.

Yet here we are, nearly a year later. Fortunately, Stow is alive and even talking, although he is permanently brain damaged. But this came after a coma that lasted nearly the entire season. Clearly, the security was not adequate; the nature of the attack tells us that.

The wounds Stow sustained did not come from being shot or stabbed. As bad as that would be, that at least happens quickly. Theoretically, you can easily fire a shot at someone and inflict serious damage within a matter of seconds while getting away without ever being seen.

That isn’t what happened to Stow. He was attacked by two people for an extended period of time. Not only did the beating take place, but the attackers got away. 

It wasn’t until July that alleged perpetrators Louie Sanchez and Marvin Norwood were arrested for the attack.

If a prolonged attack takes place and it takes nearly four months to arrest the alleged attackers, then your stadium and parking lot did not have adequate security. The Dodgers can cite whatever numbers they want, it doesn’t change the facts of the case. 

If all of that isn’t enough for you, read something else that came from the Associated Press report. 

…police described (the attacks) as the culmination of a string of confrontations they had with randomly selected Giants fans at the stadium.

According to Baseball Reference, that game lasted two hours and 50 minutes. If incidents were happening throughout the game, a stadium with adequate security would have apprehended the perpetrators long before the final out was recorded. That didn’t happen because the stadium didn’t have anywhere near enough security on staff. 

Again, the numbers are irrelevant. The facts of the case tell us that the Dodgers did not go a good enough job securing the stadium and protecting the game’s fans. That is something that they need to be held responsible for.  

Follow @mdixon1985

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The ongoing circus that is the L.A. Dodgers ownership situation has introduced its latest acts. We’re a long way from learning who will buy the team from the departing Frank McCourt, but at least the field is narrowing.

The Los Angeles Times reports that at least eight bidders (of MLB’s maximum of 10) are still in the running to buy the team from McCourt. Among the contenders are hedge-fund manager Steven Cohen, a group led by former Lakers icon Magic Johnson and another group including real estate developer Rick Caruso and former Dodgers manager Joe Torre.

At this point, many Dodger fans will be glad just to be rid of McCourt, but bringing in a new owner who can provide some sanity is just as important. Of the candidates announced thus far, Torre and his partners would be the best bets for a long-term solution in L.A.

Cohen’s base is in Connecticut, and bringing in owners with no connection to the community is rarely an optimal solution. Magic and his team would be a fine choice with immediate fan support—not to mention that Johnson has already proven his business acumen—but don’t come with any expertise in baseball in particular.

If Torre et al. come out on top, though, they’ll have a trusted, experienced baseball man to run the operation. Although many baseball fans will always see him primarily as a Yankee, Torre’s three seasons with the Dodgers gave him ample opportunity to learn about what this team will need from its owners.

Above all, Torre spent a dozen years managing for one of the most meddlesome, tyrannical owners in the history of any sport. If anyone knows what mistakes to avoid as an incoming team owner, it’s a former longtime employee of George Steinbrenner.

McCourt may or may not have any interest in which candidate will be best for the future of the team, as his choice will likely be based on who throws the most money at him. If he wants to help clean up the mess he’s made of the Dodgers, though, Torre is the right man for the job. 

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For the second time in the last three years, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has fallen short in his quest to purchase a Major League Baseball team.

A couple days ago, we learned that Cuban put a bid on the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are currently for sale by current owner Frank McCourt.

Via Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, here’s the bad news for Cuban:

Seeing as how there were more than 10 opening bids placed on the Dodgers, it’s not exactly a shock that Cuban didn’t make the first cut.

We don’t know what Cuban’s bid was, but we do know that he told Shaikin back in November that he thought McCourt’s price tag was too high. McCourt has been known to value the Dodgers at anywhere between $1 and $1.5 billion.

“At that price, I wasn’t interested,” Cuban said in November.

Cuban tried to buy the Texas Rangers in 2010 but was outbid by Nolan Ryan’s group. USA Today called it a “victory” for Major League Baseball, as the league blocked Cuban from buying the Chicago Cubs and likely would have been slow or even unwilling to accept his ownership of the Rangers.

With Cuban’s bid for the Dodgers falling short, MLB is now 3-for-3 against Cuban.

There are a lot of Dodgers fans out there who are going to be disappointed with this news. Cuban may not be well-liked by the higher-ups in the league office, but he’s a fan favorite. 

The good news for these same Dodgers fans, according to Shaikin, is that Magic Johnson and Joe Torre are still in the running, as is hedge-fund mogul Steven Cohen.

So when this thing is all said and done, somebody with a lot of money is going to own the Dodgers. That should be music to the ears of the franchise’s fans.

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According to ESPN Outside the Lines report, the Milwaukee Brewers reigning 2011 National League MVP Ryan Braun has tested positive for taking performance-enhancing drugs.

If this holds true, Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers needs to be named the 2011 NL MVP right now.

While both Braun and Kemp had unbelievable 2011 campaigns, Braun’s is now tarnished with this allegation. With that being said, there is no reason why Braun shouldn’t be stripped of the title. 

Some would argue that Kemp had the better year anyways, so there is enough reason for why the MLB should turn their voting around and give the award to Kemp.

In 2011, Kemp batted .324 with 39 home runs and 126 RBI. Those numbers were the best of his career, and he easily was the most dominating hitter in the National League this past season. Braun had a great year as well, hitting 33 home runs with 111 RBI; his batting average was the only better statistic, as it stood at .332.

Braun’s Brewers had a much better season than the Dodgers, and that was likely one of the main reasons why he was given the award. This new situation though will make some wonder if he really deserves to be named the 2011 MVP.

Many will wonder though if the MLB will be willing to punish Braun to that extent. Never in the past has the league revoked a player’s MVP award for PED use, but considering the amount of time between the award and allegation, some could argue that the league should change its ruling in this case.

Obviously it will remain to be seen what comes of this situation. Braun will likely be appealing his case to the MLB to try to clear his name and the likely result of a 50-game suspension.

If it holds true, Kemp deserves this MVP award that obviously Braun didn’t win fairly.

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Addiction is a continued involvement with a substance or activity despite the negative consequences associated with it.

Former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy LaSorda was one of the great managers of all time. He considers himself a leader and a patriotic American.

In his book, The Artful Dodger, which was published in 1986, LaSorda presented four beliefs that he lives by. He wrote:

“Baseball is the best game in the world; the Dodgers are the best sports franchise in the world; the U.S. is the greatest country in the world; Tommy Lasorda is the luckiest guy in the world because of his attachments to all three of the above.”

LaSorda has no room for “namby-pamby” approaches to anything. His philosophy reeks of rugged individualism and being responsible for one’s actions. His reaction to Darryl Strawberry is typical LaSorda.

Strawberry “disappeared” at the start of the 1994 baseball season. LaSorda became livid when he learned that Strawberry admitted he had a “drug problem.”

“I’m very upset,” Lasorda said. “When you’re weak enough to let something like that control you, it’s disgraceful. How someone can be so dumb to put something in his body that will destroy him is beyond me.

“I get tired of hearing people describe this as a sickness. Sickness is cancer, a heart attack. Not substance abuse. That’s a weakness.”

Circumstances don’t seem to matter to LaSorda. Weakness is not an excuse, and that also applies to his family.

Tommy Jr, LaSorda’s son, died of complications related to AIDS in 1991. The father and son were estranged, primarily because Lasorda refuses to acknowledge his son’s homosexuality. When asked about the cause of his son’s death, LaSorda insisted that he died of cancer.

Bobby Valentine, who has known LaSorda since the late 1960s, tells a story that illustrates how tough and unyielding LaSorda can be, both with his words and with his fists.

“He was tough with his fists,” Valentine said. “I saw him in front of his house one day hit a kid who had been speeding by on a motorcycle. Knocked him across the hood of a car.”

There have been times when LaSorda could be gentle. After his mother had suffered a stroke, he sat at her bedside, talking about her life with his father, recalling events with his four brothers and telling her how proud he was of her. He hoped that she was proud of him.

She later asked her son Joe how much Tommy received for making a speech. Joe told her that Tommy would usually be paid $2,500. Tommy’s mother said,

“Give him the whole $2,500. He just made the best speech I ever heard.”

Reference:

Verdi, Bob. “There’s trouble between the white lines.” The Sporting News 18 Apr. 1994: 9. General OneFile. Web. 26 Nov. 2011.

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The Brooklyn Dodgers had some outstanding center fielders, including Joe Medwick, Dixie Walker and Duke Snider.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have had some outstanding center fielders, including Willie Davis, Rick “The Patriot” Monday and most recently, Matt Kemp.

In 2011, the 26-year-old Kemp  had an outstanding season. He batted .324/.399/.586, leading the league with 39 home runs, 126 RBIs and 115 runs scored. He stole 40 bases.

Kemp’s great season serves to emphasize that he has a long, long way to go before he can be considered in Snider’s class.

Edwin Donald Snider was 26 years old in 1953. The Brooklyn Dodgers won their second consecutive pennant, only to lose their second consecutive World Series to the New York Yankees.

During the regular season, Snider batted .336/.419/.627 with 42 home runs, 126 RBIs and 132 runs scored. He led the lead in slugging and runs scored.

From 1953 to ’57, Snider hit at least 40 home runs each year, which put him second only to Babe Ruth, who accomplished the feat seven times. Los Angeles Dodgers fans are eagerly awaiting Kemp’s first 40-home run season.

When Walter O’Malley ended the Brooklyn Dodgers’ existence by moving the team to Los Angeles, their new home was the Los Angeles Coliseum, which had been built to host the 1932 Olympics. It was basically a football stadium, and it showed.

The distance down the left field foul line was a Polo Grounds-like 252 feet away. The distance to right center field was a Yankee Stadium-like 440 ft. Nobody was satisfied except O’Malley, because using the Coliseum instead of Los Angeles’ Wrigley Field meant many more tickets could be sold.

San Francisco ace left-hander Johnny Antonelli thought the Coliseum was “the biggest farce I ever heard of.” 

Warren Spahn, possibly the greatest of all left-handers, was more emphatic about the distance down the left field line. “I’d like to see a rule making it mandatory for a ball to travel at least 300 feet for a home run,” he said.

When Snider saw the “ballpark,” he said that he would practice hitting from the right side—shades of Mickey Mantle.

Although he was only 31 years old his first season in Los Angeles, Snider never did as well as he had in Brooklyn. From 1958 to ’62, he batted .292/.385/.523, averaging 24 home runs and 88 RBIs over a 162-game season.

Snider appeared in six World Series, five with Brooklyn. In 1952 and again in 1955, he hit four home runs to set a record that has since been eclipsed.

Matt Kemp is an excellent defensive player, but he has nothing over Snider, who was slightly underrated defensively because he played center field in Ebbets Field. During his World Series appearances, Snider demonstrated his great skills against the Yankees at the original Yankee Stadium.

From age 27 until he was sent to the New York Mets in 1962, Snider batted .300/.396/.581, averaging 36 home runs and 109 RBIs over a 162-game season.

This past season was the only time Kemp hit more than 30 home runs. He should be reaching his peak, but at age 26, Snider had already hit at least 30 home runs twice.

There is no question that Kemp is one of the best center fielders in the game. Curtis Granderson and Jacoby Ellsbury come close, but Kemp may prove to be more valuable in the future. Maybe not, but he had a better 2011 season than either of them.

If Kemp played in 1953, his 2011 season would have topped Mickey Mantle’s (.295/.398/.497), but it is dwarfed by Willie Mays.

The “Say-Hey Kid” won the batting title with a .345 average. He led the league with a .667 slugging average and won the MVP as he led the New York Giants to the World Championship.

Time will tell if 2011 were an aberration for Kemp, but one thing is certain: Duke Snider remains the greatest of all Dodgers center fielders.

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“Get him out of here. Put in someone who can catch a fly ball.”

At the start of play on Sept. 26, 1956, the Brooklyn Dodgers trailed first place Milwaukee Braves by one-half game. The next day, Don Newcombe started against the Philadelphia Phillies‘ ace, Robin Roberts. It was Newcombe’s next to last start of the season.

Duke Snider hit an inside-the-park home run in the first inning to stake “Big Newk” to a one-run lead. Yes, it was possible to hit an inside-the-park home run at bandbox Ebbets Field.

The Phillies came back in the second when Del Ennis hit a slow ground ball on which Newcombe couldn’t make the play. Ennis was credited with a single. Willie “Puddin’ Head” Jones hit a similar comebacker. Newk threw him out as Ennis moved to second.

Left-handed hitting Elmer Valo then hit a fly ball to left field that Sandy Amoros dropped for an error. It seemed that the sun and the wind were too much for him.  The Phillies took advantage to score three runs off Newcombe, two of which were unearned.

In the seventh inning, with Don Bessent on the hill, Amoros failed to charge a Del Ennis single, allowing Stan Lopata to reach third and Ennis to take second. The lackadaisical play set up two more runs as the Phillies beat Brooklyn, 7-3

The Dodgers trailed the Milwaukee Braves by one full game.

Brooklyn manager Walt Alston excused Amoros.

“I can’t fault the little guy,” Alston told reporters. “He had a bad day, yes. But he has been hitting well and helping us to win games. And don’t forget that world-series catch he made in the last game. I’m keeping him in the line-up and who knows?  He may help us win the games we need from now on.”

The Dodgers recovered and led Milwaukee by one game with one game left for each team. Don Newcombe started for Brooklyn, seeking his 27th win. He faced the Pittsburgh Pirates‘ Vern Law.

Leading off the sixth inning with Brooklyn ahead 6-2, Amoros hit a home run, but in Ebbets Field, the concept of “enough runs” didn’t exist.

When Amoros led off the eighth inning, the Pirates had pulled within one run—the run provided by Amoros’ sixth inning home run.

Amoros hit another solo home run. The final score was 8-6.

Brooklyn won its second consecutive pennant, Newcombe won his 27th game, but of greater importance, Newcombe learned to think before denigrating a teammate.

References:

By, A. D. (1956, Nov 27). Sports of the times. The New York Times (1923-Current File), pp. 58. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/113576636?accountid=46260

By ROSCOE McGOWEN The New York Times. (1956, Sept. 27). Dodgers lose to Roberts of Phillies and fall one game behind idle Braves. The New York Times (1923-Current File), pp. 45-45. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/113623937?accountid=46260

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2011 was a mediocre season for the Los Angeles Dodgers. They started off terribly but came up strong to finish the year 82-79.

Dodgers fans got to watch an exciting finish as center fielder Matt Kemp chased the MVP award and left-handed pitcher Clayton Kershaw pursued the Cy Young award.

The 2012 season should be even more exciting as an improved Dodgers team will make a push towards a return to the playoffs.

Let’s take a look at why the Dodgers will win another NL West division title in 2012.

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Clayton Kershaw won the 2012 NL Cy Young Award on Wednesday, a fact you surely know unless you’ve been on the moon or taking a Rip Van Winkle-like nap for the last couple of days. 

But there are things about Clayton Kershaw that you may have thought you knew, or never knew at all.

1. Kershaw attended high school with Detroit Lions Quarterback Matthew Stafford at Highland Park High School in Dallas, Texas. Other famous alumni from the school include Angie Harmon, Jayne Mansfield, Morgan Fairchild, Aaron Spelling, Doak Walker, Bobby Layne, Kyle Rote, Jr. and Chris Young.

Oh, and because every school seems to have one, would-be President Reagan assassin, John Hinckley, Jr.

2. In a high school playoff game against Arlington Martin High School, Kershaw threw an all-strikeout perfect game.

3. Following a Christian mission trip to Africa, Kershaw and his wife, Ellen, are building an orphanage in Zambia. The couple will also release a children’s book in January 2012 about their life since middle school and the effect the trip to Africa has had on their lives.

4. In high school Kershaw played on a traveling baseball team, the Dallas Tigers, with Los Angeles Angels Closer Jordan Walden, Dodgers top relief prospect Shawn Tolleson and the aforementioned Matthew Stafford.

5. Kershaw is the great-nephew of the astronomer that discovered Pluto, Clyde Tombaugh. Tombaugh was also keenly interested in UFOs, which would seem to make him a better uncle for former MLB player Bill “Spaceman” Lee. 

Clayton Kershaw is as talented a young pitcher as the Dodgers have had in their rotation in a generation. It also appears from his accomplishments to date that Kershaw is not only an accomplished athlete, he’s a remarkable young man.

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The 2011 Major League Baseball season is nearing an end, yet it’s anyone’s guess as to who will win the National League Most Valuable Player Award.

While Justin Upton was the hot name on the block as recently as two weeks ago, his name has slowly faded from discussion for the prestigious award. The same goes for St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols, who may have had a case if the Cards were able to magically secure a playoff spot. With two late-game losses the last two nights, both the Cards and Pujols have fallen out of the race.

When it’s all said and done, the National League MVP has turned into a race of only two horses, both of whom have their teams heading in different directions come October.

Matt Kemp has put together a season for the ages and now sits only .003 batting average points from the Triple Crown. That would be an amazing feat, but does it make him MVP?

This is the tricky part of the MVP equation. Many people these days seem to forget the difference between a player being “valuable” and a player being “outstanding.” If there were a Most Outstanding Player Award for the player who has the best statistical season, there is no doubt Kemp’s name would be inscribed on the plaque. 

The issue here, however, is that there are rare cases—with this being one of them—that the best player of the season isn’t necessarily the most valuable. 

Kemp has the Los Angeles Dodgers at 79-77 and in third place in the NL West. Fans will make the argument that without Kemp, the team would surely be in last place. I agree with that notion 100 percent, but you’re talking about two cases where his team wouldn’t even sniff October! 

If being the Most Valuable Player means bringing your team from last place to third place, then we might as well throw out the award altogether. The luster behind the award and the true meaning of it appear to be all but gone.

I would sympathize with people who claim Kemp to be MVP if there were no other viable candidates around the league, but in no way is that the case.

Ryan Braun proved just how valuable he is to the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday evening, hitting a mammoth three-run homer to center field in the eighth inning, breaking a 1-1 tie and ultimately giving the team its first division title since 1982.

Both Kemp and Braun are the only two NL players in the 30-30 club this season, with both players leading the league in pretty much every statistical category. They both have more than 30 doubles, 100 runs and 100 RBI, yet Kemp has played in 11 more games than Braun this season.

The most glaring and obvious factor, however, is the fact that Braun’s team has 92 wins—compared to the 77 of Kemp’s Dodgers—accompanied by a divisional crown and a trip to the playoffs.

While Kemp has been minimally better statistically this season, where Braun has led the Brewers should trump those margins by a mile. 

Jeffrey Beckmann is a MLB Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow Jeffrey on his new Twitter account for all of his latest work. You can also hear him each Friday at 1 p.m. EST on B/R Baseball Roundtable.  

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