Yep… Already, the Dodgers have announced that they have sold 3 million tickets for 2009, with more than a little help of Manny Ramirez and most importantly the Manny Ramirez bobblehead.  (The 3 millionth ticket was sold for that game.)  The Dodgers ranked third last year, behind the Yankees and Mets both who sold over 4 million tickets in the last year of there old stadiums.  The Dodgers sold 3.7 million last season, which is said to be about 82.2% capacity.  We all do love a winner, and that best record in baseball sure will attract fans.

In more Dodger news, Jason Schmidt will start his first game for the Dodgers in more than two seasons on Monday night.  His velocity is down, but if he can hit his spots, he should be able to still get hitters out.  Jim Petz writes a really interesting story about how infielders play behind a pitcher.  What is it they look for to help them know where the ball is going?  What kind of prep work do they normally do for a new opponent?

From the piece:

“If the hitter has a count in his favor, you may favor him a little more on the pull side and vice versa,” Joe Torre said.

Good Stuff.

So this week the Reds will see Jason Schmidt, and the sold-out crowd for the Manny Ramirez bobblehead day.  Anyone remember when the Reds and the Dodgers were NL West rivals?