Page 8 April 10, 2014 TORRANCE TRIBUNE Up and Adam Verch Insurance Services Auto • Commercial Auto • Business Liability • Workers Comp Watercraft • Motorhome • Health (Individual & Group) Homeowners • Life • Renters • Restaurants / Bars For all your insurance needs, Give Us a Call Today! 310-322-1626 Lic.# 0G13457 www.verchinsurance.com 302 West Grand Ave.,Suite 8 • El Segundo,CA 90245 Since 1988 Dodgers Come Back Home By Adam Serrao Last Friday afternoon, Dodger Stadium opened its doors once again for the 2014 Major League Baseball season and with it, a new chapter began in its assembly. With great hopes built up from last season, Dodger fans have now begun to expect greatness from their team that now dominates the minds and imaginations of the L.A. faithful. Baseball is back in Los Angeles and indeed that is a good sign. It is time, once again, for the sport that takes place under the stars and under the great lights that shine down upon the players mastering their crafts on the field. It’s that time of the year for fathers and sons, friends, loved ones or--most importantly--family to appreciate an all-American pastime once again. There is no telling what this chapter in Dodger lore might hold, but judging from the beginning of the season thus far, there will be much to keep our attention for the entirety of a 162-game season. From all the way across the world in Australia, back down to San Diego and all the way back up to L.A., the 2014 Los Angeles Dodgers have already been all over the world, yet the season has just begun. Some might say that the Dodgers’ tough traveling schedule has resulted in their first two losses of the season. L.A. looked good in Australia, taking two straight games over the Arizona Diamondbacks to start the season at 2-0. It wasn’t getting to Australia that was the problem, though--it was coming back. Clayton Kershaw had a muscle in his back flare up while Brian Wilson had nerve irritation in his elbow that, after just two appearances, has now sent him to the 15-day disabled list. Both Kershaw and Wilson looked good in their appearances in Australia, but once they arrived back in the States, it was clear that their workload in Australia in combination with the altitude from the flight home was what ultimately led to injury. Wilson knew he was injured in San Diego but attempted to pitch anyway, leading to the Dodgers’ first loss. Kershaw was slated to pitch Opening Day in Los Angeles, but because of injury, Hyun-Jin Ryu got the nod and gave up eight runs through just two innings en route to the Dodgers’ 8-4 loss. So what does this new chapter of Dodger baseball tell us so far? Well, it looks a lot like last season--at least when it comes to the injuries. Having to use the disabled list within the first five games of the season is never a good sign for a ballclub that isn’t necessarily the youngest in the league. Don’t expect the injuries to stop, but at least this year Mattingly and company are more prepared. With four outfielders and a cache of pitchers on the roster, the Dodgers just might have the depth to withstand injury this season. There is no timetable for Kershaw’s return and some even say that he will be sidelined well into the month of June. With Zack Greinke, Ryu, an impressive first start by Dan Haren, a stable newcomer in Paul Maholm and Josh Beckett and Chad Billingsley on the mend, the Dodgers should have more than enough firepower to endure Kershaw’s absence. Though the Dodgers suffered a terrible loss last Friday afternoon in what was the L.A. opener, their 8-4 loss might actually have been a good thing for the team. Ryu looked horrible (despite the Dodgers’ poor defensive play), sure, but he will almost undoubtedly rebound. It was the entire bullpen that was finally on display and feeling at home, though, as Jose Dominguez, Chris Withrow and Jamey Wright each entered the game and succeeded in not even allowing a hit. Even Brandon League got into the game and despite a collective groan of discomfort from the Los Angeles crowd, he threw to seven batters, struck out three and didn’t allow a hit in two innings. Not everything is optimistic, though. There is some cause for concern. The Dodgers’ offense, save for a few batters, looked anemic over the first seven games of the season. In the series against the Padres, the Dodgers batted .185 through three games. Back-to-back home runs helped to raise that average in the opener against the Giants, but there were still seven runners left on base and the team was 3 for 14 with runners in scoring position. With all of the bats on the roster, one would think that those numbers would certainly have to improve. Adding to the pessimism movement comes Yasiel Puig and the “problem” of having four outfielders. Puig is still his typical “Wild Horse” self, showing up later on Opening Day and getting benched for his first game in front of hometown fans. Were it not for his benching, Matt Kemp would have been left off the Opening Day roster, which admittedly was much to the latter’s disliking. As the great Dodger announcer Vin Scully said himself, “Baseball can be such a humbling game, like life itself, and the Dodgers are certainly tasting vinegar right now.” Truer words may never have been spoken. Sure, the Dodgers tasted that vinegar in front of a soldout crowd at Dodger Stadium in their home opener, but baseball is just like life. It has its ups and downs and fortunately enough for the Dodgers, it is early enough in the season that they can easily rebound from the minor downs that they have experienced so far this season. It is, indeed, going to be a long one and the first chapter is yet to be completed. So Dodger fans, strap in. It’s going to be one long season full of ups and downs, adversity and glory. • Warriors Take Break from Pioneer League By Adam Serrao The West High Warriors are in one of the toughest divisions in town. Away from their cross-town rivals of the Pioneer League, the Warriors are forced to deal with the likes of Redondo, Mira Costa and the Palos Verdes teams, to name a few, on a year-in and year-out basis. Oftentimes, the Warriors have success within their own Bay League. That success also frequently translates over to their rivalry games with the Pioneer League teams. This year, however, it has been a different story. Already with losses against North High and South High, the Warriors are scheduled to play Torrance High this week. It is yet to be seen how they will do in what will likely be the last of their cross-town rivalry games this season, but lately the Warriors have certainly been enjoying their time away from the bitter competition of it all. Perhaps head coach Juan Cueva just needed some time to get his young team on track early on in the season. Maybe the Pioneer League just has Cueva’s number this season. No matter what the reason, though, the West High Warriors have used tournament play in the Anaheim Lions Tournament to get themselves back on track. With two straight victories over Kennedy and Washington, the Warriors found themselves riding high and in good position to take the tournament. After taking an early 1-0 deficit to La Habra in the third round game, K.C. Shuck came in and earned a win for West as he shut down the Highlanders and helped West to a 4-2 win. Nyles Nygaard was at the head of the Warriors’ offense as usual, going two for three with two RBIs on the day. The Warriors wouldn’t be so lucky in their next game against the Laguna Beach Breakers. Laguna (12-2) has lost only two games all season long and unfortunately for West (6-7), it stayed that way. With three runs in the top of the third the Breakers received all of the offense that they would need to knock off the outmatched Warriors, who scored one in the bottom of the fourth and one in the bottom of the fifth to attempt a comeback. Ultimately it was the Breakers who came away victorious, knocking the Warriors out of the tournament finals in the process. The Warriors also went on to lose in a consolation game against Servite. Despite their two losses towards the end of the tournament, the Warriors seem to be figuring things out. While winning four out of five games and three straight in the Anaheim tournament, West outscored their opponents 32-9 in their victories. Cueva and company may have figured out the winning recipe for their team just in time for league play, which begins just next week as the Warriors take on the Mustangs at Mira Costa in their league opener. Torrance High The Torrance Tartars are a team that like the Warriors experienced much success in this year’s Anaheim Lions Tournament. The Tartars jumped out to a great start in the tournament by defeating its host Anaheim by a final score of 11-0. After a relatively easy victory over Villa Park, Torrance then took on Sonora. The game went to extra innings, so needless to say it was close, but David Aros was the hero as he got down a squeeze bunt to score Tyler Martizia with the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth. Unfortunately for the Tartars, their fate was much like that of the Warriors as they went up against a tough Fullerton team and lost while being knocked out of the tournament finals in the process as well. Torrance would rebound in the very next game against La Habra as Kyle Smith allowed just one run and struck out 11 batters in a dominant performance to give the Tartars their eighth victory of the season (8-6). Torrance will take a short trip through the Bay League this week as it goes up against both the West High Warriors and the Palos Verdes Peninsula Panthers before opening up league play next week on the road against South High. North High North High is the only local team that has started league play already, but is already perhaps wishing that it did not. The Saxons began their league season at home against the Centennial Apaches and were involved in a dogfight from the very start. Taking a 3-2 lead after what was a very entertaining first inning of play, the Apaches kept the excitement going with three runs in the top of the second for a 5-3 lead. North answered back in the bottom of the third with two runs to tie things up at 5-5, but Centennial scored three more in the top of the seventh to ultimately take a 9-6 victory. Mathew Llanos was the catalyst for Centennial, going three for four with three RBIs and a run scored. Jacob Peck led the way for North, going two for four with a double and a home run. The Saxons (6-6, 0-1) have a long way to go in a tough Pioneer League division this year where just about any team can rise to the top and take it all. South High The South High Spartans have been the most successful team thus far in the young baseball season, winning more than twice the amount of games they have lost (10-4). The Spartans’ latest victory was over Mission Viejo in what was the final game of the Anaheim Lions tournament. The only scoring of the game came after a two-out rally in the top of the fifth inning when Andy Rojas and Matt Jacoby singled and then Kyle Henmi drove them in with a single of his own. Junior Drake Pingel pitched the complete game shutout for the Spartans, who will begin league play next week at home against the Torrance Tartars. • The Family Value Combo 2 (5 oz.) Filet Mignons 2 (5 oz.) Top Sirloins 4 Boneless Chicken Breasts (1 lb. pkg.) 4 (4 oz.) Omaha Steaks Burgers 4 (3 oz.) Gourmet Jumbo Franks 4 Stu ed Baked Potatoes 49381JMK Reg. $154.00 Now Only...$3999 PLUS, 4 More Burgers FREE! to every shipping address in your order from this ad. Limit 2. 4 (4 oz.) burgers must ship with $39 order. Standard S&H added. Expires 4/30/14. ©2014 OCG | 20142 Omaha Steaks, Inc. Call 1-800-912-6541 and ask for 49381JMK www.OmahaSteaks.com/sp34 “The Tartars jumped out to a great start in the tournament by defeating its host Anaheim by a final score of 11-0.”
Torrance 04_10_14
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