San Diego Padres

Weekend Preview: Improving Matt Kemp, Dodgers Begin Roadie Tonight in Atlanta

Rebounding from an eight-game losing streak with victories in four of their last five, the Dodgers have hit the road. Beginning tonight at 4:30 p.m. it's three at Atlanta followed by three in the former home of the Braves, in Milwaukee to face the Brewers. While we wouldn't use the word "surging" t ... More >>

A New Day Dawns as Dodgers Win Two Straight

The Dodgers showed up for their weekend test, ready with their sharpened # 2 pencils (no jokes about their walking up to the plate with them in hand, please), scouted out the nearest restrooms, got credit for spelling their names correctly, and beat the patsy Miami Marlins two out of three. They di ... More >>

How Much Rope Does Don Mattingly Have Left?

Exactly how much rope does the Dodgers' skipper have left? Probably not the best choice of words there, because whatever you think of the way Don Mattingly is going about his business, any and all rope is best locked away safe and sound. Rope, sharp objects, plugged-in radios near bathtubs, adjacen ... More >>

Dodgers Swept into San Francisco Bay, Drift Rudderless Out to Sea

Good news, bad news. The good news first: no one drowned. Now the bad news. Your Los Angeles Dodgers went to San Francisco and were swept in three by the hated Giants, losing each night in one-run fashion, 2-1, 10-9 and 4-3. There was the usual trouble hitting with runners in scoring position, some ... More >>

Meet Josh Tucker: The Man Behind the Dodgers' Twitter Feed

He's got a quarter of a million Twitter followers, but you don't know his name. He's talked about on social media more positively -- and is responsible for more smiles from fans -- than the Dodgers' Luis Cruz, Ted Lilly and Juan Uribe combined. He's baseball savvy, he's creative and he's the man beh ... More >>

Dodgers Falling All Over Themselves, Hope to Avoid a Padres Sweep

Remember that supposedly over-loaded eight-man starting staff the Dodgers were sporting all winter? Well, it's down to four, and by most accounts five are required. Aaron Harang -- didn't want to be here, wasn't wanted anyway -- traded. Zack Greinke, TKO. Chris Capuano, ineffective and injured quic ... More >>

Boston Marathon Explosions Injure Several Runners; Race Called Off

Many updates at the bottom: Three are now reported dead; L.A. authorities are on heightened alert. First posted at 12:23 p.m. See also: L.A. Witness In Boston: 'We Were Caught Between 2 Explosions.' About a half-dozen people were injured in two mid-race explosions at the Boston Marathon today, acc ... More >>

Disaster Strikes Dodgers as Zack Greinke Breaks Collarbone in Brawl, More Drama Follows

Since the Los Angeles Times prefers the cleaner version of Matt Kemp's words -- requiring "We'll see, bitch" instead of "We'll see..." -- we thought you'd appreciate the actual quote, as tweeted by the Times' Dylan Hernandez above. "Bitch" is one way to describe Padres' Carlos Quentin, certainly. D ... More >>

Chad Billingsley Begins Comeback in San Diego Tonight. Will it Take?

The Dodgers play game two of their series with the Padres, facing old mate Eric Stults, tonight at 7:10 p.m. in San Diego. There Chad Billingsley will try to come back from not one, but two injuries. One major, one minor. Billinglsey bruised a finger in a routine Spring Training bunting drill March ... More >>

Dodgers Sweep Bucs, Trade Harang. A Good Time Was Had by All

Check almost any close-up of Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle during a baseball game and watch the frequency and ferocity of the up-and-down jaw smacking of his gum chewing; you'll be convinced, and afraid for his family, that his face is about to explode. Of course, it might be the Pirates' flounde ... More >>

How the Dodgers' New TV Contract Exemplifies Major League Baseball's Problems

Cable subscribers are subsidizing a dying industry

Skrillex: L.A. DJ, Producer Is Boy King of Electronic Dance Music

Leads the mashed-up, remixed generation

Toronto Film Festival: Moneyball and the Fetishizing of Spreadsheets

​ "It's hard not to be romantic about baseball," admits Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics played, in career-best form, by Brad Pitt in Bennett Millers' Moneyball.This line, from a screenplay by Stephen Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, happens in the home stretch of a film abo ... More >>

Fans Protest McCourt Ownership Outside Dodger Stadium

It started last season, quietly, and has slowly but steadily gained momentum-the fan protest to the McCourt ownership. Last season a number of fans stopped attending games to avoid contributing to the McCourts. This protest has continued to grow and attendance plummets to new lows. This Saturda ... More >>

Frank McCourt Gets a Boost From Black Church Leaders

​If patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, then religion is a close second. The much-loathed Dodger (co-?)owner, Frank McCourt, has already wrapped himself in the flag, trotting out "God Bless America" for the 7th inning stretch. That hasn't gotten people off his case, so now it's time to c ... More >>

Cleaning Out Dodger Stadium

Can the clock be turned back on drunken, violent crowds and 'bad" fans?

Unwinding The Spin From The Dodger Divorce Ruling

Photo by Ted SoquiFrank McCourt: beaten but unbowed​Last March, Frank McCourt gave USA Today a rare interview about his divorce. He reassured fans that everything was business as usual with the Dodgers, and he rejected comparisons to the divorce of John and Becky Moores, which forced the sale of t ... More >>

LAFD In 'Earthquake Mode' Following Swarm Of Shakers In The California Desert

​A swarm of temblors shook the desert county of Imperial east of San Diego Monday night, prompting the Los Angeles Fire Department to go into "earthquake mode" at 9:55 p.m. as a precaution, according to the LAFD's Devin Gales. The biggest of the shakers was a magnitude 5.7 that struck five mil ... More >>

Dodgers/Cardinals and the Beauty of Baseball's Revolving Door

​ The Cardinals took three shots to the gut Thursday. The first was literal, when Matt Holliday misplayed James Loney's two-out line drive against reliever Ryan Franklin, the ball bouncing off the left fielder's mid-section and allowing the tying run to reach second base. The second shot ... More >>

Autumn Is No Fall for the Dodgers

For a while there -- about 10:45 p.m. Friday night, to be precise -- it seemed as though all of the L.A. Dodgers' early season heroics (the winning streaks, come-from-behind victories, clutch home runs, etc.) were merely a cruel setup to make the team's annual collapse all the more devastating to fa ... More >>

Today in Photographs: July 4, 1976

Dodger player Davey Lopes looks up to find umpire Dick Stello call him safe after a pickoff throw at first base in game with the San Diego Padres.LA Times/UCLA

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

Jackson Memorial Set A Michael Jackson memorial that would be free for 11,000 ticket holders is planned for the Staples Center this coming Tuesday. The venue's owner, AEG, bankrolled Jackson's comeback tour but may yet profit after the star's death. L.A. Times, L.A. TimesMongols Paraphernalia Seized ... More >>

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

Zero for Conduct L.A. Unified School District officials are calling for legislation to make it easier to fire incompetent, tenured teachers. State Senator Gloria Romero, formerly opposed to the idea, now seems to be on board somewhat. L.A. TimesNo Cash Flow The Palmdale Water District's cash reserve ... More >>

SXSW '09, Day 2: On Applying for Secret Canadian Citizenship, The Tidal Wave of Tastemaking, and Dirty Projecting

Last year was my first year in Austin, so I can't really speak to nebulous notions of the SXSW "good ol' days." Anecdotal evidence suggests that the place has expanded exponentially each year since the rise of the Internet, and the demolition of the quasi-mythological monoculture. In layman's term ... More >>

Debauchery as Dodgers Clinch Western Division Title

Thursday night at Chavez Ravine, a crowd of 52, 569 crazed cheerleaders came to celebrate something that had already happened five hours earlier. With the loss of the Arizona Diamondbacks to the St. Louis Cardinals, the Dodgers were automatically the winners of the Western Division and heading into ... More >>

The Melvins Take Us on a Tour of Their Los Angeles

Rolling with Dale and Buzzo

Chihuahua Crazy

The Los Angeles Regional Races in Montebello

Along Came a Spider, a Poet and a Hip Aristocrat

What to do in Los Angeles this week

The Boras Factor

Is super agent Scott Boras destroying the game of baseball? And what does he want now?

Dealing for Dollars

Some of Scott Boras’ notable moves

Jerry Kids, Reno Confronts, and Greeks Come Bearing Dolmathes

Foul Territory

The Unhappy Warrior

Gray Davis: The rise of America’s most calculating politician

Eyes Wide Open

Todd Field watches and learns