Dodgers Diaries

... and walls and windows and doors, as they came out to volunteer with my local chapter of Habitat for Humanity. And not ex-Dodgers like Ken Landreaux and Lou Johnson, or part-time players like Justin Sellers or Tony Gwynn Jr. I'm talking All-Star Dodgers, recognizable by people who don’t even follow baseball. I'm talking 2011 Cy Young Award Winner Clayton Kershaw and his wife, and 2011 shoulda-been MVP Matt Kemp. Kemp and I spent some time taking sledgehammers to walls (the walls lost) as we tore down a garage to make room for another house for a poor hard-working family.

The all-stars were there for more than a photo op, hanging around and helping us get work done long after a cynic would have said they could have gotten back on the bus. Kershaw in particular, lingered for a while (he isn't scheduled to pitch tonight). Kemp wielded the sledgehammer with ease, but didn’t labor so long that anyone needs to worry about him wrecking his swing. Somebody asked him that question, in fact. His answer: “Don’t worry, I work out."

Josh Lindblom, who also came out the last time the Dodgers helped out at Habitat, was there today as well, and brought his wife Aurielle with him. Jill Painter, the LA Daily News columnist, told me the two of them volunteer all the time, even when the cameras aren't there. That makes him my new favorite Dodger. Sorry, Jerry Hairston. :-)

Maury Wills helped me remove a window, and my outstanding crew of Bank of America volunteers helped us tear the roof off the garage.

Photos by Jon Soohoo

-- JOHN ROSENTHAL

Two of my favorite interests collided Wednesday as the Dodgers Community Caravan came to Lynwood to help refurbish a home with Habitat for Humanity. As a regular volunteer with Habitat, I was on hand to lend instruction to the players.

Jerry Hairston Jr. was eager to use power tools, so I handed him the circular saw and let him cut through the stucco so we could install a new window. He's planning to build his own home in Arizona, and just might do some of the work himself now that he knows how to install windows.

James Loney, Javy Guerra and Josh Lindblom got into the swing of things, by taking a few whacks at some stubborn concrete with a sledgehammer. I wouldn't say they were in mid-season form, but it's only February.

Former Dodger Ken Landreaux diligently attacked a stubborn 800-pound tree stump, refusing to leave until we got it out of the ground. Maury Wills, Fernando Valenzuela, Derrel Thomas, Bobby Castillo and Sweet Lou Johnson helped paint the eaves under the roof.

Needless to say, the kids from St. Paul High School, not to mention the family that's receiving the house, were thrilled. In baseball, as in life, there's no place like home.

Jerry Hairston Jr. photo by Jon Soohoo

-- JOHN ROSENTHAL

Andre Ethier did it again. No, not just help propel the Dodgers to a win with his offense. Although he did do that, with two home runs in the first two innings, the second a grand slam, to put the Dodgers ahead 7-0. What his offense did a second night in a row is mask a serious pitching problem.

Vicente Padilla did his part, throwing seven strong innings of 4-hit ball, surrendering just 3 runs to the Lilliputian offense. And if ever there were an occasion to bring in Russ Ortiz, a 10-3 game in the 8th inning would be the prime example. He even pitched a 1-2-3 8th. But with the game just three outs away, Ortiz got himself into the kind of trouble that has been all too familiar to Dodger fans in just 11 games. Before it was all over, the Giants had climbed back within two runs, and what was supposed to be a laugher became a tense night, if only for a few pitches.

No, Ortiz didn’t give up the three-run homer to lucky-guess hitter Eugenio Velez. That was Ramon Troncoso’s fault. But Ortiz allowed two runs to score before the blast, and put the two runners on base in front of him. His ERA is now an even 12, with no signs that he can get out major league hitters on a regular basis. The Dodgers have to have somebody better than this in their minor league system, be it James McDonald, Scott Elbert, Josh Lindblom, or a name we haven’t heard yet. I’m sure they’re simply waiting until Hong-Chih Kuo and/or Ronald Belisario are ready to return to the roster.

But why wait. You won’t have many seven-run leads to protect. And I can’t see that Joe Torre will ever feel comfortable trusting in Ortiz again in anything more taxing. Pitching will be at a premium in today’s game against Tim Lincecum. We’ll see whether Charlie Haeger is up to the task, or was simply lucky against Florida last Sunday.

-- JOHN ROSENTHAL