Joe Beimel, internet celebrity

For those who haven’t seen it, there is a Dodgers fan who has posted a bunch of Joe Beimel tribute videos on youtube under the name troyfromwestvirginia. you can find them all at the following link.

http://www.youtube.com/user/troyfromwestvirginia

You can also find some responses that Joe’s friends have posted by simply going to youtube.com and typing “joe beimel” into the search box. This whole thing is taking on a life of its own, right up to the fact that troyfromwestvirginia has announced in his latest video post that he has decided to actually come to Vero Beach to see his hero, none other than Dodgers situational lefty reliever Joe Beimel, and actually waves his travel itinerary in front of the camera to prove to the viewer that he is, in fact, coming. Troy explains in his first video that the reason he is such a Beimel fan is that “I root for the underdog.” Well, Troy, we look forward to seeing you at Dodgertown next week. I hope you get to meet Joe, who is one of the most personable, fan- and media-friendly guys on the team. By the way, Joe Torre said today that he has a pretty strong idea of whether he is going to allow Beimel to keep his long hair, but he wouldn’t tell us until he tells Joe. Reading between the lines of that, it sounds like a trip to the barber is in Beimel’s immediate future, but I could be wrong.