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The K.C. Pirates defeated the Dodgers by a score of 5-1 at Kyle Chapman field in the early game on Tuesday, March 30, 2004. Statistics usually tell the tale of a baseball game. Tonight, they only tell part of the story. Dodgers pitchers struck out 8 Pirates and the Pirates' pitcher struck out 8 Dodgers. Dodgers pitchers gave up 4 hits to the Pirates, and the Pirates gave up 5 hits to the Dodgers. The Dodgers committed 4 errors and the Pirates committed 3 errors. Why, then was there a 4 run difference on the scoreboard? The answer is simple. The Pirates managed to group Dodger walks, hit-by-pitches, errors and hits into three innings and usually with less than two out. Contrast that with the Dodgers who got the leadoff batter on base only once in 5 innings. Now look at the first three batters up each inning. The Pirates got two out of their first three batters on base in the first inning, one out of three in the second, two out of three in the third, two out of three in the fourth, and one out of three in the fifth. Interestingly, the Pirates scored two of their runs in the first inning, one in the third, and two in the fourth. Thus, the Pirates scored runs in each inning in which more than one of their first three batters reached base. Now look at the Dodgers. In the first inning, two out of the first three batters reached base, but were stranded by two strikeouts. In the second, two out of the first three reached base and one scored. In the third, none reached base and none scored. In the fourth, two out of the first three Dodger batters struck out and no runs scored. In the fifth inning, one out of the first three batters reached base and none scored. Thus, the Pirates were successful in getting runners on base early in most innings (with no out or one out), and when they did, they generally scored. Conversely, the Dodgers got many of their baserunners with two outs, and therefore, were unable to score as often. Game highlights included a very nice complete game pitching performance by winning pitcher, Jeff Rohrbach, a combined 8 strikeout pitching performance by Dodger pitchers Andrew Jones and Sean Flaharty, a first inning single by Jeff Rohrbach to give his team enough runs to win the game (2 RBI's), a second inning bullet from the right arm of catcher, Jeremy Schaffer, to pick a Pirates' runner off of first base, a nice throw by the Pirates right fielder to nail a Dodgers' runner at home plate by a wide margin, a 4th inning RBI single by Randy Rojas, a 3 strikeout inning for Jeff Rohrbach in the 4th inning, and another nice throwout by Jeremy Schaffer to nail a Pirate runner trying to steal second base in the 5th inning. Tonight's loss evens the Dodgers' season record at 2-2. With the win, the Pirates snuck past the Dodgers in the standings, boosting their season record to 2-1. The Dodgers are in action again Thursday night in the 6pm early game against the Marlins. The Marlins have a grueling week, facing the Cardinals on Tuesday night, the Astros on Wednesday night, and the Dodgers on Thursday night. See you at the ballpark. By Scott Rothenberg

To quote Charles Dickens, "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Saturday night at Kyle Chapman field, the K.C. Dodgers played 4 magnificent innings of baseball, defeating the Cardinals 2-0, only to lose the two inning nightcap by a score of 9-0. In the first game of the evening, the Dodgers got the best of an exciting pitching duel between Jeremy Schaffer and Paul Knowlton. In the top of the 1st inning, Paul Knowlton set the Dodgers down 1-2-3 on three infield grounders. In the bottom of the 1st, Alex Martin opened with a weak dribbler up the middle for an infield single, but was erased when Andrew Burns deftly handled Kevin McKee's hard hit grounder to short, touched second base to get one out, and fired on to Andrew Jones at first base to complete the double play. Schaffer ended the bottom of the first inning by striking out Cardinal pitcher Paul Knowlton. The game was scoreless after one inning of play. In the top of the second, the hard firing Knowlton set down the Dodgers on a weak infield grounder and two strikeouts. In the bottom of the second, the Dodgers defense kept the game scoreless with two nice plays. After a leadoff strikeout, Charles Mann hit a hard fly ball to deep center field. Jared Rothenberg got on his horse and caught up with the drive for the second out of the inning. After Diego Lopez reached on an infield single, catcher Matt Kelly gunned down Lopez with a rifle shot to a waiting Andrew Burns at second base for the third out of the inning. Scoreless after two innings of play. The Dodgers scratched out a run in the top of the third inning by playing small ball. Miles Mendeloff led off with a groundball to short that he managed to beat out at first with some nice hustle down the line. Matt Kelly executed a perfect bunt single to first base, sending Mendeloff all the way around to third on the play. Matt Kelly stole second base on the tail end of a strikeout, and the Dodgers had runners at second and third with only one out. Andrew Burns executed a perfect sacrifice bunt, scoring Mendeloff and sending Kelly to third with two outs. Alvin Johnson lofted a tough line drive to right field that was deftly handled by Cardinal right fielder Charles Mann for the third out. Schaffer set the Cardinals down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the third inning on a strikeout, an unassisted groundout to first base, and a groundout to short that concluded with a nice stretch by first baseman Andrew Jones. The score was Dodgers 1, Cardinals 0 after 3 innings of play. Jeremy Schaffer opened the top of the 4th inning with a line drive home run to left field off of a 2-2 Knowlton fastball to widen the Dodgers' lead to 2-0. Two strikeouts and a lineout later, the Dodgers led 2-0 in the middle of the 4th. Jeremy Schaffer's continued excellent pitching ensured that the score would remain the same after four innings of play, striking out the side, including a 9 pitch strikeout of one of the Cardinals' toughest hitters. Thus, at the conclusion of the 1st game of the evening, the Dodgers led 2-0. In the top of the fifth inning, the Dodgers managed a leadoff walk, but were erased without scoring on a groundout and two strikeouts. This is where things got really interesting (weird?). Apparently, the Dodgers' defense had an 8:30p.m. curfew, because it left at the end of the 4th inning. The Cardinals parlayed a leadoff walk, SIX DODGER ERRORS, and five hits into 9 unearned runs at the end of five innings of play. The Dodgers seemed mildly interested in challenging the Cardinals in the top of the 6th. A leadoff walk to Alvin Johnson and the longest Dodgers' single of the year off the 270 sign in right field by Jeremy Schaffer gave the Dodgers runners at first and second with no outs. However, a determined Knowlton took charge and struck out the next three Dodger batters to end the inning and the nightcap. Even though the Dodgers plainly played two different games on Saturday night, winning 2-0 in 4 innings and losing 9-0 in 2 innings, league officials combined the outcomes to give the Dodgers their first loss of this young season. That's the bad news. The good news is that as bright, eager and dedicated as the Dodgers' players are, they will undoubtedly learn some valuable lessons from tonight's performance. Congratulations to Jeremy Schaffer on an excellent pitching and hitting performance. Congratulations to Paul Knowlton on a magnificient 10k pitching performance and to the Cardinals team as a whole on their dramatic and exciting come from behind victory. The Dodgers' next practice is sometime on Monday. Time and location to be announced. The Dodgers' next game is on Tuesday, March 30th, 6pm, at K.C. field against the Pirates. The Pirates will be a formidable foe since they enjoyed their first win of the season against the Marlins earlier on Saturday evening. See you at the ballpark!!!

The Dodgers erased an early 2-0 Astros lead en route to a thrilling and ugly 4-2 victory at Kyle Chapman field on Thursday night. How ugly? How about 8 walks-- by the winning pitcher. How ugly? How about three errors-- by the winning defense. How ugly? How about seven out of 12 outs by strikeout-- by the winning offense. We're talking ugly here. How ugly? If you look in the dictionary under ugly, you'll find the boxscore from this game. But a win is a win, and on to how it occurred. In the top of the 1st inning, Dodger pitcher, Jared Rothenberg started things off right by striking out the Astros leadoff batter. Unfortunately, he then proceeded to walk the Astros' 2-3-4 hitters, resulting in an unearned run scoring on a fielders choice. The inning came to an abrupt ending when Jarrett Higgins (remember that name), snared a hard hit line drive by Colin Bear in center field to end the Astros first inning uprising with a lone run on the scoreboard. In the bottom of the 1st, starter Colin Bear set down the Dodgers 1-2-3 on a strikeout, an infield flyout and another strikeout. End of 1, Astros 1, Dodgers 0. In the top of the 2nd, Rothenberg dug himself into another hole, walking two Astros batters. Fortunately, he dug himself out with a swinging strikeout, a called strike 3, and a soft groundout from pitcher to first. Middle of 2, Astros 1, Dodgers 0. In the bottom of the 2nd, Jared Rothenberg walked on a 3-1 pitch after a leadoff strikeout, then stole second base. Just when it looked like the Dodgers might push across the tying run, Rothenberg was caught stealing on a nice throw by the Astros catcher. That running faux pas proved to be costly as Brian Baumgarten followed with a single to third base and made it all the way to third on an infield error. Colin Bear struck out the next batter to end the inning. End of 2, Astros 1, Dodgers 0. In the top of the third, the Astros doubled their lead. The leadoff batter popped out to the pitcher. The next batter walked on 5 pitches. The next batter struck out but reached first base. Colin Bear singled to right to drive in the Astros' second run of the night, and made it runners at 1st and 2nd. Rothenberg induced a ground ball forceout at third to make it 2 outs. Rothenberg struck out the next batter, who reached first base anyway to load the bases. Rothenberg then struck out the final Astros batter to keep the score Astros 2, Dodgers 0 in the middle of the third inning. In the bottom of the third, Andre Oliver reached first base on a strikeout, was balked to second, wild pitched to third, and scored when the Astros catcher dropped a third strike, threw to first for the out, but Oliver scored just ahead of the tag. A groundout to second ended the inning with the score Astros 2, Dodgers 1. In the top of the 4th, Rothenberg walked the leadoff batter on a 3-2 pitch, then struck out the next batter. Ross Chan walked to make it 1st and 2nd for the Astros with only 1 out. Grant Haynes launched a Jared Rothenberg fastball into deep centerfield on a hard line drive. Jarrett Higgins (there he is again) squared himself, made the catch, and fired to Matt Kelly at second base to complete the double play. A crucial defensive play by an excellent defensive player. Middle of 4, Astros 2, Dodgers 1. In the bottom of the 4th inning, the Astros pitcher began to tire. After leadoff walks to Jeremy Schaffer and Andrew Jones, Jared Rothenberg worked a 2-1 count. The next pitch was a ball and got away from the Astros catcher. Jones and Schaffer went to second and third base, respectively. Dodgers fans anticipated that with a 3-1 count to Rothenberg and first base open, the Astros might intentionally walk him to set up a force at home. But it was not to be. Rothenberg turned on a 3-1 fastball and launched it past a leaping Grant Haynes to left centerfield for a 2 run double. After a pitching change, Rothenberg advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on another. A strikeout, a walk to Matt Kelly, a flyout to right and a James Thoreen HBP ended the game as time expired. Final score - Dodgers 4, Astros 2. Congratulations to the Dodgers on managing to win even though they played uglyball. Congratulations to the Astros on an exciting, hard fought battle down to the final minute. The one thing that both these teams can count on is several more exciting battles throughout the 2004 spring season. The Dodgers next practice is Friday, March 26, 2004, at 5:30pm at the Sportshouse on Hillcroft just south of South Braeswood. The Dodgers next game is Saturday, March 27, 2004, at 7pm against the Cardinals. Remember that pictures are at 9am sharp on Saturday morning (come looking real purty), and opening ceremonies are at 4pm on Saturday afternoon (come whether your purty or not). See you at the ballpark.

The Kyle Chapman Dodgers opened their 2004 spring campaign with a 10-2 4-inning victory over the Marlins on Tuesday night at Kyle Chapman field in beautiful Bayland Park. In the top of the first inning, the Dodger struck for 6 big runs on an Andrew Burns double down the right field line, an Alvin Johnson RBI single up the middle, a Jeremy Schaffer RBI double to right field, an Andrew Jones HBP, a long single to the base of the left field fence by Jared Rothenberg, a wild pitch, an error by the shortstop, and an Andre Oliver RBI single to right field. Andrew Jones took the mound with a nice cushion in the bottom of the first. He struck out the Marlins' leadoff batter, who reached base on a wild pitch. Jones struck out the second Marlins' batter, who attempted to reach first base on a dropped third strike. Catcher, Jeremy Schaffer gunned the ball to Jared Rothenberg at first to get the Marlins' batter. Then, the Marlins runner at second attempted to reach third base. First baseman Jared Rothenberg launched a rifle shot to Alvin Johnson at third. Johnson slapped the tag on the Marlins' runner to complete the strikeout double play. Jones ended the first by striking out the third Marlins' batter. In the top of the second, the Dodgers extended their lead to 10-0. Alvin Johnson reached first on a leadoff walk. Jeremy Schaffer was hit by a pitch. Andrew Jones walked to load the bases. Jared Rothenberg walked on a 3-2 pitch to make the score 7-0. Brian Baumgarten blasted a hard line drive sacrifice fly to center field to drive in the 8th Dodgers run. The ninth Dodgers run scored on a wild pitch. The Dodgers scored their 10th and final run when Matt Kelly singled to left, driving in Jared Rothenberg from third. The Marlins scored both of their runs for the night in the bottom of the second on a leadoff walk and a 2 RBI home run blast over the 270 sign in right field by Ryan Keenan. Jones finished the second inning by striking out 3 Marlins' batters and getting the final Marlins' batter on a ground ball forceout from short to third. In the top of the third, the Dodgers managed a single to left field by Jeremy Schaffer, and a HBP to Jared Rothenberg, but failed to score. Sean Flaharty came on to pitch for the Dodgers in the bottom of the 3rd. He was greeted by a leadoff single up the middle and a force at second from short to second. Ryan Keenan got a hit to right field. Brian Baumgarten came up throwing, firing a laser beam to Alvin Johnson at third to nail the Marlins' lead runner. Flaharty got the third out of the inning on a fly to right field to end the inning. After the Dodgers went down 1-2-3 in the top of the 4th, Flaharty fielded a leadoff grounder to the left side and fired the ball to James Thoreen at first for the first out of the innning. Flaharty nailed down the Dodgers victory with a strikeout, a single to left field, and a ground ball force to the shortstop who beat the runner to second to end the game. The Dodgers next game will be on Thursday night at 8:00 p.m., against the Astros, who surprised the Cardinals with a 6-5 win in the first game of the evening. Players should arrive at the field by 7pm for batting practice. Congratulations to the Dodgers players and coaches on a nice effort to begin the spring campaign with a W. See you at the ballpark!!!! By Scott Rothenberg