Scott Miller

LOS ANGELES -- Get ready for a season of memories as the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants celebrate their 50th seasons of serving as the trailblazers in baseball's westward expansion. And if the opening day pre-game ceremony staged by the Dodgers serves as any kind of preview, it's going to be some kind of fun.

Sandy Koufax, Carl Erskine and Don Newcombe each threw out ceremonial first pitches Monday after the emotional introductions of nearly 40 former Dodgers. Most of the former players all came onto the field in full uniform and stood where their old positions were. There was Maury Wills at shortstop, Duke Snider in Ccenter field, Ron Cey at third, Steve Garvey at first ... it was the brainchild of Dr. Charles Steinberg, the new Dodgers vice-president of marketing and communications, and it was trademark Dr. C all the way. He staged similar impressive celebrations in Baltimore and Boston.

"It was really cool," new Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "The Dodgers and the Yankees have the histories to be able to do something like that because of their histories of championships.

"I just wish Don Zimmer would have been here. That would have closed the circle for me."

Zimmer, now a special coach for Tampa Bay, was Torre's bench coach for several seasons with the Yankees. Torre said that rarely a day went by when Zim wouldn't mention Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese or some Dodgers-related anecdote in the dugout.

Though Torre grew up in New York, he said that the Dodgers and Giants leaving after the 1957 season affected him in a way far different from other New Yorkers. His brother, Frank, had just broken into the majors with the Milwaukee Braves, and the departures of the Giants and Dodgers meant that Joe would have to take a train to see his brother play. He no longer would be able to see Frank play in New York once the city lost its National League teams.

Being that it was his first game in a Dodgers uniform, Torre said he felt like a bit of an outsider.

"You sort of feel like a duck out of water because you're not a part of Dodgers history," he said. "It was the same way with the Yankees. I'd see Catfish Hunter, Whitey (Ford), Yogi (Berra) and you felt like you weren't a part of it. It wasn't until after six or seven years that you felt like you were a part of it."

The World Series titles Torre managed the Yankees to in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000 just might have been a bit beneficial in making him feel a part of it, too.

Monday, Torre caught the first pitch from Newcombe. He was hoping to catch Koufax's, but it was difficult to say whether it was more because of his friendship with Koufax or more because he has a Los Angeles-themed line he was going to use.

"I was going to tell him it was easier catching him here than trying to hit him here," Torre said, chuckling.

Likes: The new Nationals Park looked beautiful on television the other night, didn't it? Can't wait to get there and see it -- hopefully this year sometime. ... As one media-type cracked here Monday, it should be fairly easy to get to D.C. to see it -- just schedule it in the next time Congress hauls in a few ballplayers for more testimony. ... The Cubs' Kosuke Fukudome, 3-for-3 with a homer in his debut. Nice. ... Life just feels different on opening day, doesn't it? ... Love seeing kids like the Dodgers' Blake Dewitt play well in their first major-league game. ... Pretty great Cleveland-White Sox game Monday. ... Four No. 1 seeds in Saturday's Final Four, I've already got a request in for pizza and I ain't going far from the television. ... Two Bruce Springsteen concerts coming up in the next seven days. Opening day, Final Four, Springsteen ... this year may be peaking right now.

Dislikes: Both Kerry Wood and Eric Gagne give up three runs in the ninth inning Monday? Mamma mia. ... The Field Formerly Known as Jacobs having a new name in Cleveland. ... Rainout in Yankee Stadium and raw weather in Chicago. Shouldn't it be nice everywhere on opening day?

Rock-n-Roll Lyric of the Day:

"All the leaves are brown
"And the sky is gray
"I've been for a walk
"On a winters day
"I'd be safe and warm
"If I was in L.A.
"California dreamin'
"On such a winters day"

-- The Mamas and the Papas, California Dreamin'

One of the most attractive opening day pitching matchups has Houston ace Roy Oswalt facing National League Cy Young winner Jake Peavy in San Diego on Monday night.

Well, it's one of the attractive matchups if you're not, say, a white-tailed deer.

The two pals have been pointing toward their opening day duel for months now, trash-talking their way through winter hunting trips and the joint purchase of more than 500 acres of hunting property in southwestern Illinois.

"Some of the best hunting land in the United States," Oswalt told me this spring.

Oswalt is from Weir, Mississippi; Peavy is a native of Mobile, Alabama. They live about two hours' drive-time apart.

Not only did they purchase the Illinois property over the winter, they also enjoyed a home-and-home series of hunting trips together.

Peavy and some of his friends traveled to Mississippi to hunt with Oswalt on the Houston pitcher's 3,000-acre property, and then Oswalt and some of his friends visited Peavy's hunting spread in Alabama.

Funny thing is, neither Oswalt (14-7 with a 3.18 last season) nor Peavy (19-6, 2.54) personally bagged anything on their joint hunting trips, according to the Houston pitcher. The group shot three deer on Oswalt's property and "two or three" on Peavy's property.

But that didn't stop the two buddies from carrying on with their running commentary on Monday's opener for the past several months.

"We've got a lot of bets going on," Oswalt told me, grinning, at the Astros' camp in Kissimmee, Fla., in February. "I can't say what we've got going on, but we've been talking a lot of trash on the phone."

When I saw Peavy in Peoria, Ariz., a few weeks later, last year's unanimous Cy Young winner wasn't spilling any beans regarding the side wagers, either.

"We're going to get after it on opening day," Peavy said. "And then we'll go to dinner when all is said and done."

Venison? He didn't say.

Through one of those odd, quirky occurrences that can happen only around the ballpark, one week ago, I sat next to Preston Gomez in the Phoenix Municipal Stadium press box.

The Athletics were hosting the Los Angeles Angels and Gomez, the baseball lifer and one-time manager of the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and Houston Astros, now is a special assistant to Angels general manager Tony Reagins. I don't know why he wound up in the front row of the press box that day -- other than it was crowded and he probably took the last chair -- but, just before first pitch, as I plopped down in front of my laptop, he turned, stuck out his hand, smiled and said, "Hi, I'm Preston."

I had never met him before, and this courtly and genteel gesture struck me immediately as one inherent in his generation that, sadly, has been lost on ours.

It was one of the nicest moments of my spring, and a chill ran right through me Wednesday when I heard Gomez, 84, had been hit by a pickup truck at a gas station while driving home from spring training and is in critical condition.

It never gets old in this business, having the privilege of meeting so many baseball old-timers. And the not knowing when and where keeps you on your toes and can turn what otherwise would be a mundane day interesting.

The classic Gomez story, of course, came in 1970, when he was managing the Padres and he sent a pinch-hitter to the plate for pitcher Clay Kirby in the eighth inning with the Padres trailing the New York Mets 1-0. The kicker: Kirby was pitching a no-hitter at the time.

I briefly thought of asking Gomez about it last week in that press box, but I didn't. I figured he'd probably explained it 1,000 times -- he was simply trying to win a game, and in this old-school guy's eyes, the individual took a back seat to the team -- and besides, I was buried in work. I had a column to write, preview stories to work on ... you know. No matter what job we have, sometimes we keep our head down plowing through it and either don't have the time or don't take the time to enjoy the small moments.

After introducing himself, he was very careful to make sure to get my name, going so far as to read it on my media credential to make sure he had it correctly. We exchanged pleasantries -- what a beautiful day it was, how great the spring always is --then I went back to writing and he went back to scouting.

About midway through the game, someone fouled a pitch up toward us that landed in the stands about five or six rows beneath the press box and we exchanged smiles.

"You've got me covered, right, Preston?" I kidded. "Someone scorches a ball into the press box toward this computer, I'm going to let you catch it."

He laughed, eyes twinkling, and said he didn't know whether he could move so fast anymore.

Not long after, my friend Pedro Gomez, the ESPN broadcaster whom I've known since we covered high school sports together in the 1980s, came by to visit with Preston. They're both Cuban, and they chattered away in Spanish for awhile, and once they got back to English, Pedro asked whether I knew he and Preston shared the same name.

Turns out, Preston's given name is Pedro. I quickly told ESPN Pedro that maybe they shared the same name, but it was obvious which Pedro Gomez got the better end of the looks. And it wasn't the TV star.

We all laughed again, and it was real easy to see why Preston Gomez not only remains a respected baseball man, but beloved in the Angels organization. What a gentle, kind and knowledgeable man.

I'm back home writing now, finishing up that 2008 season preview stuff. And while I am, I can't get my mind off of the sudden and horrible twist of fate, Preston now laying in that hospital bed fighting for his life.

What a treasure that afternoon last week was, and how quickly things change.

Here's a prayer for Preston's full recovery, and for the rest of us to have the wisdom to recognize those moments when life hands you a gift, and to take advantage of them.