After the "suffering the Dodgers endured during the Frank McCourt administration, their success is being celebrated" by many around MLB, according to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY. Rays Owner Stuart Sternberg said, "What the Dodgers are doing is good for baseball. I'd like to think that when small-market teams do well, it's good for baseball, too, but this is special.'' A's Owner Lew Wolff: "The Dodgers' success is good for the game. You can't argue that. We've all been talking about it.'' Angels Owner Arte Moreno predicted that the Dodgers "could draw 4 million fans by the year's end." Dodgers President & CEO Stan Kasten said, "I do think a good team in Los Angeles is good for baseball. Just like a good team in New York is good for baseball. ... When you have the media centers of New York and Los Angeles doing well, that's good for everyone." He added, "We have an owner (Mark Walter) who believes in our market, believes in our fans, and believes in doing everything the right way, and making sure the team is built the right way" (USA TODAY, 8/15). Kasten said, "From a fan base that has been this loyal and this supportive for 50 years, as of this day, this minute, we lead baseball in not only home attendance, but in road attendance. I don't know the last National League team to do that, if ever" (MLB.com, 8/14).
SWING AND A WHIFF: In L.A., Chris Erskine reports a "posse of wild skunks" has begun showing up at Dodger Stadium. Dodgers staffers said that they have "run across at least three of the critters, all on the reserve level near the top of the stadium." A skunk on Monday "scurried under the souvenir kiosk at Section 20" an hour before game time, and the "telltale musk lingered into the third inning and reached as far as the field-level seats in left field." But the team "denies having a skunk 'problem,' and says that Monday's capture was an isolated incident" (L.A. TIMES, 8/15).
