Dodgers Fans

Say it ain't so, Clueless Joe. In Wednesday morning's report on the Dodgers' loss to the Giants, Joe Blanton said he threw the ball well. That's what is important, of course, Clueless Joe feeling really good about his own work while the Dodgers lose. "I felt it was the best I've thrown since I've been here," he says. But if that's all he's got, warm up the bullpen. He was so bad, Dodgers fans were booing him in the first inning. It was a huge game against the anemic-hitting Giants, and the fans let Blanton know they weren't pleased.

Orlando Hudson hit for the cycle and Andre Ethier belted two home runs. But when Ethier was asked to name the Dodgers' star Monday in the team's 11-1 win over the San Francisco Giants, he replied: Chad Billingsley. "The marquee guy of this game was Billingsley," Ethier said of the right-hander who limited the Giants to one run in seven innings and struck out 11 to boost his record to 2-0. "He was the guy who gave us a chance," Ethier said.

Another controversy around beleaguered Dodgers owner Frank McCourt erupted last week when an attorney defending him against a lawsuit brought by the family of Bryan Stow raised the possibility that Stow might be held partly responsible for the beating that left him brain damaged. "In 23 years, I have yet to see anything at Dodger Stadium involving any form of altercation that didn't involve at least two willing combatants," Jerome Jackson, the attorney, said on an ESPN radio talk show.

As we Dodgers fans yearn for the glory days of yesteryear, there were a few precious moments in the playoffs that mirrored past Dodgers greats: Jonathan Broxton channeling Tom Niedenfuer. Rafael Furcal emulating the throwing prowess of Steve Sax. Chad Billingsley's attempt to start Joe Torre smoking cigarettes while doing his best imitation of Don "Full Pack" Stanhouse. Blake DeWitt's penchant for hitting into double plays like, well, you pick someone from the archives. John R.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- If this was Zack Greinke's last start for the Angels, he gave them the shirt off his back. In the fifth inning, that is, and only because they asked. Of the two jerseys hanging in his locker on Sunday, Greinke picked the one that misspelled his last name. He took the mound wearing "Grienke" on his back, and the Angels finally noticed and gave him a replacement jersey halfway through the game. “I didn't care,” he said. “They wanted me to switch it.” On the other hand, he gave up all four runs with "Grienke" on his back.

I suspect that the Dodgers organization lost its integrity when the O'Malleys sold the team. Now it appears that their fans have as well. I will enjoy seeing all of the Dodgers fans give a hero's welcome to Manny when he returns from his suspension next week; the same fans who would boo Barry Bonds and others because of suspicions of drug use. The blind support that the team and its fans are giving a player who has been caught cheating, has shown no...

By dedicating more than $300 million to the best hitter and top pitcher on the free-agent market, the Angels launched an aggressive campaign to become a World Series champion — and also to win over the Southland. The buzz created by those deals carried the off-season, and the Angels unveiled dozens of billboards starring new additions Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson that targeted historically true-blue Dodgers neighborhoods. The timing was perfect. The Dodgers were down, having sunk in the standings while racked by the controversy of owner Frank McCourt's bitter divorce and personal struggles that ultimately landed the team in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Someone wanted to know how it went with Stan Kasten , the Dodgers' new president, now that I have love in my heart after seeing a spiritualist. Here's what Kasten had to say Monday when we came together to commune: "I'm entitled to say, 'no comment.' I'm entitled to evade. I'm entitled to change the subject. " How do you think it went? Maybe Kasten is an acquired taste. Maybe he will turn out to be what the Dodgers need to make an economic go of it after being left bankrupt.

Once the pixie dust fades from the Dodgers' new ownership agreement, this hard question will loom: How to restore luster to a historic sports franchise that has acquired a derelict image? And don't forget this corollary: Will the $2-billion price tag on the deal make that task easier or harder? For several years after the McCourts acquired the team in 2004, the franchise's financial books and on-the-field record glowed. The team's revenue nearly doubled to $286 million from $156 million from 2003 to 2009, and the Dodgers reached the playoffs four times in the first six years of the McCourt regime, as my colleague Bill Shaikin observed . More recently, especially after Frank and Jamie McCourt announced their plans for divorce in 2009, the team's fortunes sagged.

The Angels are 21 games above .500, the Dodgers are three -- one local team rewarding its faithful with a 43-20 record in Angel Stadium and playoff prospects, while the other has been a big flop. It isn't even Sept. 1 and Arizona's magic number to eliminate the Choking Dogs from title contention is 28. A Milton Bradley home run helped reduce the Padres' magic number to 30 to eliminate the Dogs from wild-card consideration. The Dodgers were 24 games above .