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When it comes to baseball’s league-wide celebration of Jackie Robinson Day, the Los Angeles Dodgers tend to outdo all other clubs, as well they should.
Although their pregame ceremony Friday night was a bit understated compared to previous years, having Don Newcombe throw out the ceremonial first pitch to Matt Kemp was a poignant moment, and the decision by Kemp and left fielder Tony Gwynn to wear their uniform pants baggy and cinched just below the knee, the way Robinson is always seen wearing them in all those old black-and-white photos, was a fitting tribute. But if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, well, the flattery pretty much ended once the real first pitch was thrown. During Robinson’s decade-long career with the old Brooklyn Los Angeles Dodgers, the team went to the World Series six times. The performance the Dodgers delivered against the St.
Louis Cardinals -- one that ultimately led them to their fourth consecutive defeat, this time 11-2 before 36,282 at Dodger Stadium -- offered little reason to believe this team will get anywhere close to a World Series any time soon.