You kind of have to feel sorry for Tommy Lasorda in this video, even as you're laughing at him. It seems that the 81-year old Dodgers legend was somewhat worn out before going on television to do an interview with Chicago Tribune Live, which coincidentally is taped in Chicago.
He literally looks like he's sleeping during the interview, and I keep waiting for him to answer a question with an "I don't wanna go to school today, mommy." Somebody get the man a cup of coffee, or at least a hat to keep the sun out of his eyes. (Hat tip to Deadspin)
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
Baseball legend Tommy Lasorda is a pop culture icon whose one-of-a-kind style has made him a household name. Over his his 60-year career with the Dodgers, Lasorda has also become an ambassador of the sport, traveling across the globe to promote the game like no-one else.
One such place is Japan, where Tommy has been working with players, managers, and the league for over 40 years. Because of his efforts, Tommy received high honors from the Emperor of Japan.
Josh had promised us a few guests for the evening, but I don't think any of us really expected what we got. About 30 minutes before the game started, Josh came walking in, followed by Ned Colletti, who you'll know as the general manager of the Dodgers. Ned sat down and talked with us until right about the time of the first pitch, and I was ready to go with my notepad and pen until he said, "You mind if we make this off the record?" So, I dropped my pen and just listened. I guess I can't technically tell you anything he said, but I will say that there was nothing particularly earth-shattering about the conversation. No big news that I'm just dying to tell you. But it was nice of him to take time out to come talk to a bunch of bloggers, especially considering someone must have told him that many of us aren't too kind to him on our sites.
I agree: Given that Colletti is a baseball blogosphere whipping boy (oftentimes rightly so), it's pretty cool of him to take the time out on a Friday night to talk off-the-record with bloggers. Equally cool is the entire Dodgers' organization finding it apropos to wine and dine and schmooze with the underwear-clad media underbelly. Of course it's a quick trick for positive PR, but even recognizing that PR can be gained via bloggers is a step in the right direction. It also helps sports franchises close the media-savvy gap with every other industry on the freaking face of the Earth.
Ahem. Anyway, well done, Dodgers bloggers (Doggers?). A nation turns its lonely, monitor-scorched eyes to you.
So, Joe Torre is headed to China with part of his Dodger squad for two exhibition games against the Padres this week. And someone thought it was a good idea to put Tommy Lasorda in charge of the rest of the team that stayed behind in the States. Hey, no big deal, it's just spring training, let the Dodger icon have some fun in the dugout in a no pressure situation.
Lasorda's first game back, a 7-6 loss to the Florida Marlins, seemed just like the old days. The 80-year-old stormed onto the field in the second inning to argue with an umpire when James Loney was tagged out running to first base on a bunt. Lasorda thought it was foul.
The play ended the inning, and Lasorda was directed back to the dugout as the crowd cheered.
"He was yelling," Loney said. "He was giving it to him. But that's Tommy, though. You've got to win."
I'll cut Lasorda some slack here; he is 80 after all. Heck, he could probably accidentally step into the batter's box in the nine hole next time around and it'd be OK. Just make sure not to throw at him. I bet he bruises easily.
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1) In the midst of an refreshingly apathetic mention of Bill Belichick's Cheatergate, With Leather found this apoclyptic video. Singer dude, relax. Belichick cheated, but it doesn't nullify everything anyone on the Patriots has ever done. It's bad, but it's not that bad. Colts fans won't agree, but since when do we listen to Colts fans?
2) Things suck for Greg Oden right now, and for Trail Blazers fans who are forced to come to terms with any short-term hopes they had being dashed. Fortunately, no one handled it better than Henry at True Hoop.
Tommy Lasorda, one of Major League Baseball's most well-known figures, apparently has held a secret soft spot for the sport of hockey, one of "the greatest sports he's ever seen". I, too, was shocked to hear that one of baseball's ambassador's was such a big fan of the coolest game on ice.
"We were eating in a place that was located right on St. Catherine's street," said Lasorda, 80, and in his 56th season in the Dodgers organization. "He was talking to me about baseball catchers having a mask. He was drawing a mask on the table cloth. He asked me what I thought about goalies having a mask."
"He kept telling me about how those pucks would come pretty fast at him. And I believe that he was already thinking about a mask for goaltenders already at that time. And this was back in the mid-1950s. I think it was a couple of years before he developed his first mask."
"It's nice to think that maybe I played a small part in the development of Jacques' first mask."
Of course, it wouldn't be unlike Lasorda, a known motormouth, to take credit for something like that *cough*, but Plante had to get his inspiration from somewhere.
As a member of the Montreal Royals, Lasorda got to experience the height of the Montreal Canadiens dynasty, as well as the infamous 'Richard Riot'. Given how much hockey is a religion in that city, Lasorda couldn't help but get caught up in all of the excitement of the day. It certainly would have helped him deal with the much-smaller brawls on the baseball diamond.
Now, It's hard to imagine the roly poly fogey (I guess that Slim Fast didn't work out, huh?) as a hockey player, but Lasorda thinks he could have done it.
"I think I would have been a rather good defenseman," Lasorda said. "I would have been the type of defenseman who would have been a bit more defensive in his play. I would have been the guy who would take the opponent and drive them up against the boards. I don't think you would have seen me scoring too many goals."
If there is anyone who could appreciate the beating the average hockey player gets night in and night out, it has to be a baseball catcher.
She was out at Dodger Stadium prior to Monday night's Dodgers/Mets game, shooting scenes for her upcoming reality show. And low-and-behold, after a conversation with the face of the Dodgers -- theTommy Lasorda -- Posh proclaimed that she loved the Dodgers. Speaking with Lasorda wasn't the only thing Posh did; she got her baseball on too. Victoria Beckham played catch with pitcher Derek Lowe (don't start any rumors here) in preparation of throwing out the first pitch:
Beckham, also wearing white shorts, white high-heeled sneakers and oversized sunglasses, said she was "really nervous" about delivering the ceremonial first pitch. But many of her practice tosses to Lowe in the area behind home plate were on-target.
That's not bad considering how hard it is for some other prominent figures to hit the target. I guess the athleticism runs in the family. Posh did make mention that her husband David Beckham was looking forward to coming out to a Dodger game. Right, just like Jeff Kent is looking forward to catching a Manchester United contest sometime in the near future. And so begins the Beckham takeover of LA. And I couldn't be less thrilled. Previously at FanHouse: The Mayor of Cincinnati Can't Throw Sorry, No Photos
Often used to commemorate special moments in history are the exact pieces of equipment that were involved in the event. At the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown New York, you'll find cleats, hats, bats, jerseys, gloves, batting gloves, and any other product that could've been used on-field to produce a special moment. In fact, last week a bloody sock worn by Curt Schilling in the 2004 playoffs drew a ton of speculation after a report surfaced that the blood on the sock was fake. But one item of baseball history you won't find at the Hall of Fame, nor on ebay, nor anywhere else, is the game-winning two-run walk-off home run ball by Kirk Gibson to win Game 1 of the 1988 World Series for the Dodgers against the A's.
"It's our biggest mystery," said team historian Mark Langill. "We have no idea where it ended up." ... "There is no defining video of someone holding up a ball," Langill said. "The cameras go from the brake lights to Gibson rounding the bases, and they never go back into the stands."
So is it possible that the ball ended up with nobody taking it home? Were the fans all too concerned with celebrating rather than searching for memorabilia? Or is there one happy fan sitting at home on a lottery ticket quietly waiting for the right time to cash in? Nobody knows the answer, and we may never know. But we do have video for you to review (and try not to remain fixated on Lasorda bolting out of the dugout):
Perhaps set to become baseball's Gilbert Arenas (minus the swag), Tigers CF Granderson has a personal blog set up at MLB Blogs.
A sample:
We are at about the halfway point of Spring Training games now and a little bit of the talk around the clubhouse is about opening day in Detroit. The main talk now dealing with that is how many tickets each person will need and get. If you don't know me, I always leave a lot of tickets for friends and family throughout the season, and sure enough opening day is just like a majority of the season for me with a lot of requests. So I have to check and make sure with the Tigers that there will be enough tickets for my family and friends.
Now hearing that the opening day starter will be Jeremy Bonderman, a lot of talk is based on how important our pitching staff is to the success of our up coming season. I think it is very important especially with the guys we have and the type of guys we have. We have veterans with Kenny Rogers and Todd Jones. We have future veterans with Bonderman, Mike Maroth, and Nate Robertson. We also have young and exciting youth with Joel Zumaya and Justin Verlander. I think we have a very exciting mix and guys that at any given time can be the standout guy and pitch great for us. If they can be anywhere close to how good they were last year, our season should be pretty good.
It's not the most riveting stuff, sure, but it's a smidgen of a look at Granderson's thought process and personal life. Can't beat that. (Unless, of course, the blogger is Tommy Lasorda.)
Just another day at the ballpark. That's the way Tom Lasorda played it Wednesday, any humiliation from published descriptions of his alleged sexual behavior with a prostitute hidden under a cloak of Dodger blue.
Lasorda tooled around in the golf cart that has his name stenciled across the front, signed autographs and watched an intrasquad game from a seat behind home plate, snoozing through half of it. Nothing out of the ordinary there.
Good to see the 79-year-old isn't sweating it too much. But you know what will really distract the Dodger legend? SEGA GENESIS. Observe:
Aside: How sweet is that satin jacket with the name and number on it? Baller.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos. 
For all the perceived blogger hatred out there -- which is really less "hate" 
So, 
Tommy Lasorda, one of Major League Baseball's most well-known figures, apparently has held a secret soft spot for the sport of hockey, one of "the greatest sports he's ever seen". I, too, was shocked to hear that one of baseball's ambassador's was such a big fan of the coolest game on ice. 
She was out at Dodger Stadium prior to Monday night's 
Why, of course he is: 
