The Grand Old Lady

Nope, I'm not talking about J.D. Drew (there is no update on his back). It is of the Los Angeles Coliseum that I speak. The Coliseum has been home to two Olympics, the Dodgers, Chargers, Raiders, Rams, O.J. Simpson: The College Years, and a whole gang of other stuff (New Frontier, anyone?) But not since the Los Angeles Xtreme of the XFL closed up shop has the Coliseum played host to wackiness like that which will ensue when the Red Sox play the Dodgers on Saturday in the fatuous confines of the Grand Old Lady.

The Los Angeles Coliseum sports a left field wall 201 feet from home plate with a 60-foot-high net. “We pulled the left-field netting as tight as possible so that balls will bounce off it kind of like the Green Monster,” says Lon Rosenberg, the Dodgers’ vice president for stadium operations. “But we didn’t want to pull it too tight and be like a vertical trampoline.”

A few things on the Green Monster comparison: The Green Monster is tall, yes, but it only stands 37-feet tall. The Green Monster is not very far from home plate, sure, but at its shallowest it resides 315 feet from home plate. 210 feet away! 60 feet high! Did I mention it's 440 feet to right?

The Gray Lady on the Grand Old Lady
Former Dodgers reflect on Coliseum
Comparing Dodger Stadium and the Coliseum
Record crowds expected at the Coliseum

Also: Today Josh Beckett threw 47 pitches in four innings of work. He struck out five New Britain Rock Cats. Bartolo Colon had a root canal, but is still expected to start tomorrow's game in Los Angeles.