FanNation - The Republic of Sport

In 1980, a burly young pitcher from Mexico came to Los Angeles and threw 17 shutout innings in the season's final month to help the Dodgers come within one game of winning the National League West.  In 2007, a veteran, lanky righty from south of the border took the first step yesterday toward writing a story that the Dodgers hope ends in a playoff berth.  Comparing Fernando Valenzuela to Esteban Loaiza may be a bit of a stretch, but the impact Loaiza has on the Dodgers' 2007 hopes could be as dramatic as Valenzuela's impact was seventeen years ago.    

YESTERDAY's DIFFERENCE MAKERS

3)  A balanced Dodger offense- In an 11-3 win, there are usually many heroes and that was certainly the story yesterday at Wrigley Field. Five different Dodgers drove in two or more runs, all Dodger players in the starting lineup had at least one hit and the team registered four doubles and had five walks.

2) James Loney- The leader of the Dodgers' pack was the sweet-swinging first baseman, who drove in three runs with a single and a double.

1) Loaiza- The new Dodger's first outing was a success, despite his surrendering a homer to Alfonso Soriano on his second pitch of the game. Loaiza went seven innings scattering nine hits, and helped out at the plate as well with a two run single.

AROUND THE HORN

Dodgers' Tuesday starter Brad Penny is 1-1 lifetime at Wrigley Field with 15 hits allowed in 12 2/3 innings pitched. Chicago's Aramis Rameriz (9 for 21), Jacque Jones (4 for 9 with a homer) and Derrick Lee (4 for 8 with two doubles) have hit Penny hard, while Penny has had Jason Kendall's number (3 for 18) and has retired Alfonso Soriano all three times he's faced him.

Penny has given up one homer in his career at Wrigley Field and the player who hit it is familar to Dodgers' fans. Current Dodger Nomar Garciaparra went deep against Penny and the Dodgers on August 30, 2005 in a 6-3 Cubs win.

The all-star performer may not want to hear it, but Penny's second half numbers are once again significantly below the numbers he put up in the first half.  In his first full year with the Dodgers in 2005, Penny was 5-5 with a 3.43 ERA before the break and 2-4 with a 4.48 ERA afterwards.  In 2006, he was 10-2 with a 2.91 ERA leading up to the all-star game and 6-7 with a 6.25 ERA in the second half.  This year, he was 10-1 with a 2.39 ERA in the first half and 4-3 with a 3.82 ERA so far in the second half.

Chicago's Steve Traschel is 4-10 with a 4.02 ERA in his career against the Dodgers.  All three catchers on the Dodgers' roster have good numbers against Traschel.  Russell Martin has a hit in his only at bat, Mike Lieberthal is 13 for 32 with two doubles and two homers, and Chad Moeller is 6 for 13 with two doubles.

Dodger closer Takashi Saito has faced the Cubs three times in his career and not allowed a hit or a walk against them.  He's 1-0 with one save and has fanned six in four innings pitched against the Cubs.

DODGER FLASHBACK

Mention the name Kevin Brown around Dodgers fans and chances are that the term "waste of money" or something of that ilk will come up.  Unreasonable expectations, Brown's excessive salary and his injury history probably are the causes of those comments, but the truth is that Brown was quite effective for the Dodgers when he was healthy enough to pitch.

One of Brown's best games came on September 4, 1999 in his first season as a Dodger.  Facing the Cubs at Wrigley Field, Brown allowed only two hits and one walk in a complete game, 6-0 shutout.  Brown fanned eight Cubs en route to his 16th win in 22 decisions, a win that was aided by four Dodger solo homers (hit by Todd Hundley, Mark Grudzielanek, Eric Karros and Raul Mondesi). Brown would finish 18-9 on the year and would compile a 58-32 record during his time in Los Angeles.     

An interesting footnote to Brown's effort was the fact that journeyman catcher Jeff Reed was the only Cub to reach base in the game. Reed had singles in the second and fifth, and walked in his only other at bat.  A .250 hitter in his 17 year career, Reed hit .346 with a .485 on base percentage lifetime against Brown.