Dodgers go meekly again, but the baby lives

LA Dodgers photo by Jon SooHoo.

This post is actually about two new books on the Dodgers by journalists on the beat. But first — in Chicago today, a fan in the front row at Wrigley Field reached over and bare-handed a foul ball above the glove of the Dodgers' Adrian Gonzalez — while holding a baby with a bottle in its mouth in his other arm. On the one hand, the dad showed some quick reactions. On the other, he immediately began taking heat from announcers and on social media for his misplaced priorities. Video and the photo above by the Dodgers' Jon SooHoo (in perfect position!) flashed around the Internet, bringing down mixed reactions on the guy's head. On the field, the call was fan interference and an out against the Cubs — but only after Gonzalez and Dodgers manager Dan Mattingly complained and a brief review by the umpires. Didn't help: the Dodgers didn't score again and lost 1-0 after allowing the Cubs to load the bases with none out in the 10th inning of a scoreless game, followed by the inevitable walk-off sac fly. The struggling Dodgers remain in first place, but by only a game over the Giants.

When you catch that subtweet before it gets deleted. pic.twitter.com/IKQlhnszXc

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 24, 2015

Now to the new books. J. P. Hoornstra, who covers the Dodgers for the Los Angeles News Group newspapers, is out today with The 50 Greatest Dodgers Games of All Time. "I'm excited to hear from angry fans," he tweets. He has blurbs from Nomar Garciaparra and Orel Hershsiser on his book page, along with this: "The biggest compliment I can receive from you is your insults."

Coming on July 14 is The Best Team Money Can Buy: The Los Angeles Dodgers' Wild Struggle to Build a Baseball Powerhouse, from ESPN the Magazine writer Molly Knight. Hers promises an inside look at the new ownership regime of the Dodgers. "News-making, inside revelations about the tumultuous years when the Los Angeles Dodgers were remade from top to bottom—from the ownership of the team to management to the players on the field—becoming the most talked-about and most colorful team in baseball," says the Amazon blurb. "In 2012 the Los Angeles Dodgers were bought out of bankruptcy in the most expensive sale in sports history. Los Angeles icon Magic Johnson and his partners hoped to put together a team worthy of Hollywood: consistently entertaining. By most accounts they have succeeded, if not always in the way they might have imagined."

Added: How SooHoo got the shot.