The Dodgers recalled Outfielder/First Baseman Jerry Sands yesterday and he was in the starting lineup against the Atlanta Braves last night. He was only ten games into his inaugural AAA season but he was still wearing pitchers out. The Dodgers brass thought it was time and they really had nothing to lose. The offense is going nowhere, they need some kind of spark, and it will generate some excitement among the fans.
The Dodgers threw him in there against a tough right-hander, Tim Hudson. He more than held his own, doubling in his first at-bat, a sacrifice fly in his second, and this illicited a brushback pitch from Hudson in his third. Yeah, there was some intent behind that. I am glad that veteran Ted Lilly was pitching because he returned the brushback favor against Nate McClouth. If Kershaw or Billingsley had been on the mound, I don't know if Sands would have received that sort of protection. He did strike out his last two at-bats but I would deem his debut a success. It also helped that the Dodgers won, 4-2.
Jerry Sands is also a marketing man's dream. The most obvious is to cue up "Enter Sandman" by Metallica everytime he comes to the plate, get commmercial spots out of that, and develop a whole marketing campaign from that. The Dodgers could use that kind of excitement. Alot of that is based on the fact that Sands will be successful and not turn into the next Greg Brock or Billy Ashley but based on his success and work habits at the lower levels of the minor leagues, he won't have a problem with that.
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