DODGERS NOTEBOOK: BATTING ORDER NEEDS HUNDLEY.Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer DENVER - Catcher Todd Hundley Todd made his major league debut with the New York Mets on May 18, 1990 when he was only 20 years old. returned to the lineup and the Dodgers scored double digits Double Digits was a pricing game on the American television game show, The Price Is Right. Played from April 20, 1973 through May 18, 1973's show, it was played for a car and used small prizes. in runs for the first time since June 7. So Hundley went 2 for 4 with an RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in and two runs scored in the Dodgers' 16-11 win against Colorado, and the bottom of the order accounted for most of the run production. But Hundley's importance to the lineup can't be underscored too heavily. The Dodgers are much deeper when Adrian Beltre bats seventh and Hundley is hitting sixth than when Beltre is batting sixth and the catcher du jour du jour adj. 1. Prepared for a given day: The soup du jour is cream of potato. 2. Most recent; current: the trend du jour. is batting seventh. The key is keeping Hundley healthy. He's missed 41 games because of injuries, including 39 of the last 52. In Hundley's two stints on the disabled list, the Dodgers averaged 4.64 runs per game and are 20-18. When he's not on the disabled list, the Dodgers have averaged 5.90 runs and are 34-29. Hundley missed most of June after straining his right oblique muscle (Anat.) a muscle acting in a direction oblique to the mesial plane of the body, or to the associated muscles; - applied especially to two muscles of the eyeball. See also: Oblique running the bases, then missed 15 games after suffering a nondisplaced fracture in his right thumb July 7 when he was hit with a foul tip foul tip n. Baseball A pitched ball that is deflected slightly off the bat toward the catcher. . However, Hundley said the thumb was fine. ``I can bend it and I can feel my thumb, so that's what counts,'' said Hundley, who missed two games early in the season when he tweaked his knee. ``I've been hitting for the last week so the swing is there. Catching will come back, I expect, by the second inning.'' Even though Dodgers manager Davey Johnson ``I love (LoDuca). He's a gamer,'' Johnson said. ``He knows how to play the game. It's unfortunate. The one area we have depth is the catching. With Hundley being out half the year, LoDuca and Kreuter have done a great job. Sending him out is tough, and to make matters worse he goes down and shares time with (Angel) Pena.'' --Olson activated: Finally, after 3 1/2 months of injury and rehab and frustration, right-hander Gregg Olson
Olson has a 9.00 ERA in two games but hasn't pitched since injuring his right forearm April 8 in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . Since then, he's gone out on a few rehab assignments only to feel problems once again. However, after he pitched with Single-A San Bernardino San Bernardino, city, United States San Bernardino (săn bûr'nədē`nō), city (1990 pop. 164,164), seat of San Bernardino co., S Calif., at the foot of the San Bernardino Mts.; inc. 1854. and Triple-A Albuquerque for three weeks, then sat around and threw on the side with the Dodgers for the last week, the organization finally has deemed him ready to return. To make room for Olson, the Dodgers did the expected and optioned Onan Masaoka Onan Kainoa Satoshi Masaoka (born October 27, 1977, in Hilo, Hawaii) was a Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. Drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 3rd round of the 1995 MLB amateur draft, Masaoka would make his Major League Baseball debut with the Los Angeles back to Albuquerque, leaving the Dodgers without a lefty in the bullpen. But it's not as though Masaoka was being used often. He won Thursday to improve to 1-0 with a 2.75 ERA in 19 games, but he pitched 4 2/3 innings in seven games in July. --Vero vote: The Dodgers took a major step in cementing their return to Vero Beach Vero Beach (vēr`o), city (1990 pop. 17,350), seat of Indian River co., E Fla., on Indian River (a lagoon and part of the Intracoastal Waterway); founded c.1888, inc. 1919. , Fla., for spring training well into the century when a ``memorandum of understanding'' was passed with a 3-1 vote by the Indian River Indian River, lagoon, c.100 mi (160 km) long, E Fla., parallel to the east coast from N of Titusville to Stuart. Along the lagoon a variety of citrus and vegetable products are grown and transported by small boats to towns on its waterway and those further inland. County (Fla.) Commission and a 4-1 vote by the city council. A majority was needed. ``We're really pleased with having taken the next step in the process, and it's a substantial step,'' Dodgers president and COO Bob Graziano Bob Graziano is a former president of the Los Angeles Dodgers of American Major League Baseball. He is currently Managing Director for the Western Region of Northern Trust, an investment management company. said. ``It shows they're supportive of the framework of which all the deals would be done. It's a very significant step.'' The memorandum outlines the renovations and plans for Dodgertown, the spring-training home of the Dodgers since 1948, which includes the construction of a mini-town, the renovation of the offices and clubhouses and a renovation of Holman Stadium There are at least two sports venues called Holman Stadium:
Graziano said it puts the Dodgers ``significantly closer'' to signing a long-term lease, which sources said would be for 20 years. The vote also paves the way for the next few steps in the deal, which includes a land-purchase agreement as the Dodgers sell the land to the municipality, a lease document agreement in which the Dodgers rent it back for $1 per year, a collateral-development agreement and a parking-development agreement. It also pushes Las Vegas from the back burner to the back-back-back burner as a spring-training option. ``Vegas is still on a holding pattern,'' Graziano said. ``It's still there as a contingency, but our focus is on Vero Beach.'' --Odds and ends: Johnson hasn't said right-hander Ismael Valdes will start, but he said he didn't want to upset the starting days of Darren Dreifort, Kevin Brown and Chan Ho Park, who will pitch the next three games. It leaves Monday as the most likely choice, but Johnson said he would think about using Valdes in relief today and Saturday to ready himself for a start. . . . Adrian Beltre's third-inning grand slam was the eighth by the Dodgers this season, tying the franchise mark. The Brooklyn Dodgers hit eight in 1952. . . . While the Dodgers' 20 hits were their most since they had 22 on July 14, 1997, at Coors Field, right fielder Shawn Green continues to slump. He went 0 for 5 for the second straight day, was 2 for 18 (.111) in the series and his average is down to .282. DODGERS vs. PHILADELPHIA Time: 4:30 p.m., at Veterans Stadium TV/Radio: No TV; 1150-AM, KWKW-AM (1330 Spanish) Matchup: Dodgers right-hander Darren Dreifort (6-7, 4.74 ERA) has pitched well in his last two starts, winning both. He allowed two hits in seven innings in beating San Francisco on Sunday. He lost to Phillies 7-6 on May 27 and is 4-2 with a 3.96 ERA in 12 outings against them. Lefty Omar Daal (2-10, 7.22) makes his debut for the Phillies after being acquired in the Curt Schilling deal. Daal allowed seven runs on seven hits in 1 1/3 innings in his last start July 2. Saturday - Dodgers RH Kevin Brown (10-3, 2.31) vs. Phillies RH Paul Byrd (2-8, 6.14); Sunday - Dodgers RH Chan Ho Park (11-7, 4.14) vs. Phillies LH Randy Wolf (8-5, 3.69). - Brian Dohn CAPTION(S): 2 photos, 2 boxes Photo: (1) SNIDER (2) SHEFFIELD Box: (1) Chasing Duke (2) Dodgers vs. Philadelphia (see text) |
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