Hey Ned, what's happening? Absolutely nothing!

Last day of the year and where are the Dodgers. They picked up nine nobody's and Jamey Carroll. Not exactly an excitement generator. Not even in Cleveland. We already have Blake DeWitt. What's the upgrade? 
Be prepared Dodger fan to sit around and watch the world go by as far as improving the team. I wonder what Joe Torre is saying to himself as all of nothing is going on. He's got to be rolling his eye's and looking at Joe Girardi and thinking that could have been me. That could be me for then next three years. He probably won't say anything. Not in his nature. He never gets truly upset in a game. Why should he now? 
Next week I'll post my predictions for the year. Some should be easier than others. Some I hope I'm wrong about.

Sigh...where are they going and what are they doing?

As the year comes to an end, I can see that following and cheering for the Dodgers in 2010 is probably going to be frustrating. The McCourt divorce has ground the wheels of baseball aperations to a halt. They use terms like "waiting on the sidelines" and "being patient" as code for sitting on their hands and not spending more money so Frank McCourt can say to Jamie McCourt's lawyers, "we have no money, see, we've frozen payroll.". 're
That's all well and good for them but for me, I've decided not to go forward with my mini season ticket plan. It's a lot of money to me, 4 tickets, about $3400. I'll be honest, it's not like I won't go to games. It's something I like doing with my son and family. They got me.
They Dodgers got an outstanding core with Kemp, Manny, Ethier Russell and Loney. They're going to competitve. The Padres will suck. (Sorry San Diego.) The D-backs' pitching may come back for awhile and make them competitive for the first half but they just won't score enough runs by the end of the year. The Giant's are the only team with a chance for the West and compete with the Dodgers.  Their pitching is far superior on top right now. The Dodgers should score more runs but so will their opponents. We'll see, it  should end up being a two horse race, barring a major injury.
As for the rest, the folks in Philadelphia and the Bronx can probably get their hotel reservations for the World Series. There probably will be surprise but in the end the money will be there when the playoffs start.
I'll stop now. I will try not to whine too much in the future. Next time, let's talk baseball!

The WBC

The World Baseball Classic is riveting. I watched that Netherlands v DR game last night and could not believe it. The mighty Dominican Republic falling to the pot-smoking, chocolate-eating, tulip-growing, windmill spinning Dutch. Twice! I know that if they played 100 times, DR would probably win 75 to 80 percent of the time but that's what makes it so fascinating. It's like March Madness. Kinda. They could be this year's George Mason.
Has anybody been watching the Cubans? It looks like there's probably half a dozen big league- ready players on that team. Steinbrenner would give that kid pitcher, Chapman, at least Burnett money. They're just a good all around team. They'll be tough to beat. I haven't been able to see any of the Asian teams yet so I'm not picking a winner yet but look out here comes Austrailia and the Dutch. The two new powers of baseball.

Manny is a Dodger...Really!

The drama is over. I say this with a slight hesitation but all signs point to Manny being a Dodger. At least for now. We're more or less back to where we started in November but it is now done. (In principal.) I hope for everyone's sake that all parties swallow their ego's and move on. I hope Boras doesn't pull a JD Drew and opt out next year but for now it is what it is.
Heck, I might even go out and buy tickets to a few games now. I got to tell you, without him I would be hard pressed to pay $15 to park, $23 for upper level (x4) and dogs, sodas and snacks (roughly $45) more than once or twice. Even if the pitching collapses, I would still go and see him. McCourt's not an idiot...even if I may have said so earlier. I'm sure I'm not alone in my thinking for the number of times I will go to see the Dodgers. Tickets for single games go on sale Saturday. Coincidence?

Frank McCourt and Ned Colleti need to wake up

What did they think would happen?
A couple of things. Number 1-Scott Boras got Manny to get out of Boston because he promised him that he could make more than the two years and $40MM he would make if he behaved himself. Number 2-Yes, the Dodgers offered $45MM for two years but not really. The way it was structured with so much deferred, it not really $45MM over two years...the Dodgers would be getting a free loan from Manny, no interest included.
Realistically, what needs to happen is that both sides need set their ego's aside and get to where they both know they are going to be...2 years and $45MM. Listening to McCourt this weekend it was like the nerd with the toys who didn't get his way so was going to collect his stuff and going home.
Get over it.
This is business and do you really think that Boras would have Manny take less than he would have got if he stayed in Boston. He's got an ego too. McCourt has the money to buy two homes in Malibu (why? I don't know...don't care either) so it's hard to justify the fact that he needs to defer money. Boras already did you a favor by deferring Andruw Jones' money. (Coletti made a bad decision, that's not Manny's fault.) I believe this will get done when cooler heads surface but everybody needs to step back and get over what's gone on so far and understand that they need each other. Get Manny in to spring training. Not so much for him but for the rest of team.

A-Rod. My two cents

Like a lot of people, I was surprised...but not shocked. I guess we've become somewhat jaded about the use of steroids in baseball. I'm a bit torn. On the one hand, I liked seeing home runs. On the other, as a father of a son, I don't want my son to feel pressure to perform if he's talented enough to play at a high level and feel it's OK or it's needed to compete.
That said, I'm tired and I don't care anymore, really. I'm going to look at the Steroid Era for what it is. I'll put an asterisk by it in my mind and just assume that if someone played at that time, there's a good chance he was juiced. Maybe he was. Maybe not. But I, like a lot of folks, are just going to think there was a good chance he was and leave it at that. Come on, Brady Anderson, Eric Gagne. Not to mention the big names we already know. I hope going forward we don't hear much more about it but I'm not going to hold my breath.

Come on, guys! What are we doing here

I've been holding back a bit lately. How much can I rant on the same thing. Bowa, Torre and all the players on the Dodgers say they want Manny back while diplomatically saying that they'll be fine without him. Come on. Yes, in the West we have a decent shot at making the playoffs without him but if you want to do some damage, you need him. If just making the playoffs is satisfying enough, stand pat. I know all the talk about not negotiating against themselves and all but let's face it. They need to get it done. Boras also needs to take a reality pill and realize that this isn't two years ago. both sides need each other. The Dodgers need to realize that when it costs over $100 to take a family of 4 to a game in average seats, Joe Sixpack is only going to go to one or two games with Adam Dunn or Bobby Abreu. With Manny, he may double or triple that. LA loves the Dodgers, no matter who owns them. We're frustrated with them because we've won one more title than the Padres and Giants in the last twenty years. Christ, the Donnie Moore Angels have won a title and are perinial contenders every year for nearly the past decade. It's been painful. Everybody knows about how bad the front office has been. We can rattle off the names, Offerman, Pedro, Delino, Dreifort, Brown, Schmidt, Jones, Pierre, Piazza, Sheffield and on and on. The have a chance to do something right. It won't right all the wrongs of the past 15 to 20 years but it will point the ship in the right direction. Manny's got to give a little too but the Dodgers need to make this happen. The bottum line is that he made the them relevant. He made people stop and watch. Heck, I bought a full price shirt for my son and from the looks of Dodger stadium in October, so did a lot of other folks.

Joe Torre 's Book....

Look, Torre's book hasn't even been released and every blogger and media outlet has some sort of scathing opinion of what he thinks of A-Rod. I haven't read it and I'm positive that 99% of the blowhards shouting down to Torre, Cashman, Steinbrenner and A-Fraud and his insecurites have not read it either.
The thing is that it looks like gossip. Nobody likes everybody they work with. Usually, at some point everyone know's who doesn't like them and we just learn to live with it. The big difference between this and us is that when you make $25MM a year, the people who talk to you about it are in the media. Deal with it. People have a pathetic need for drama. When you're dating pop stars and underwear models and having a cat-fight in the locker room it 's going to get out there. They have to fill up the air time. There's nothing really going on in baseball right now so they have to write about something.
There's a very good chance that when we all read it we'll go, "that's it? That's what all the hub-ub was about?" But I'm positive that won't be put out there. I know that I won't waste anytime on it because I won't care. And neither will anyone else.

Opening Day

No, it's not opening day yet. Just for me. I've moved over my blog to Blogger...I'd only put a few posts up so no one should have a cow. The Dodgers, and pretty much all other teams, start Spring Training in 17 days and there's still no visible sign that Manny Ramirez will be a Dodger. It looks like the two sides are playing chicken and each is waiting for the other to blink. For the sake of the season, I hope they both swallow a little crow and get this over with.

Past Posts Imported

January 16, 2009

Big News! No News.

The fact that the biggest thing to be posted on the Official Dodger website is the addition of Guillermo Mota speaks volumes to what is going on at Chavez Ravine. I’m hoping this means that Colletti and McCourt are gearing up to see who will be available for trades after the arbitration deadline but I’m not holding my breath. Get off the schnide guys! Make people want to get excited. Christ, make us think you’re not a bunch of do-nothing idiots.

Filed under Baseball, Colletti, Dodgers, McCourt

January 13, 2009

Fog in the Ravine

I don’t know what Colletti’s plan is. Must be top secret ’cause he’s doing a great job keeping everyone guessing. What does he know that the rest of us don’t? How do you not make a play for Lowe? He eats up innings! How do you not make Saito an offer…don’t give me the dog ate your homework answer, “he said he wouldn’t sign without telling us” And what are they doing about Manny? So far we got 3 starters and no real closer, no fear in the lineup and other than Furcal and Martin, an average infield. If his plan is to play to his opponents in the West, he’s executing it with precision. They should call Petite and Pedro. Petite for up to two years and Pedro for one. PR-wise it would be great! These are all off the cuff but they seem lost down there at the Ravine. It appears they’re just waiting for players to get desperate and they’ll swoop in and scrape up what left on the bottom for even cheaper prices. If anyone out there can point out to me what or where the plan is. Heck, maybe Alyssa Milano is sitting in on the meetings. She probably was at the McCourt’s house warming party in Malibu.

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Filed under Andy Petite, Baseball, Colletti, Dodgers, Manny Ramirez, McCourt, Pedro Martinez, Saito

January 8, 2009

Trevor to Brewers

I’m fine with that. Now Colletti can concentrate on real solutions. Hopefully

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Filed under Baseball, Dodgers

January 7, 2009

Trevor or Saito?

News out today has the Dodgers taking a hard look at Trevor Hoffman. The Dodgers do need a closer but I think they are getting desperate. While Trevor was once one of the best around, his change-up has become less effective. During the 90’s his change-up was devasting. Today the difference between it and his fastball is minimal. One only needs to look at the stretch run of ‘07 to see that he’s not what he once was. I know he still has that icy make-up of a closer but the fastball has fallen off so much that it’s barely in the mid-80s any more. He used to have a 12 to 15 mph difference between his fastball and change but now the hitters are only seeing about half that.

Assuming Saito has healed from last years injury to his elbow, I would take the chance on him. He’s a better “pitcher” where Trevor has been more of a thrower…who can’t fool too many anymore. While it’s just anectdotal, Trevor has just blown too many important games for the Padres the last couple of years. If Colletti can get Saito for two years, I think that would be a good deal for both sides. At 38 and with his history, Saito should be happy with that.

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Filed under Baseball, Dodgers, Saito

January 6, 2009

Hello world!

There’s a lot of confusion to why Manny is not a Dodger. I’ll be honest, I don’t know. I don’t know if Coletti/McCourt are gun-shy after the Andruw Jones fiasco or if there’s some secret plan that is being carefully crafted in a backroom somewhere. Either way, if he end’s up, heavan forbid, an Angel or somewhere else the Dodger’s will have pulled a Bush and squandered all the goodwill built up over the last two and a half months of the 2008 season. They’ve got a good young core group of players but so do the A’s and the Marlins. We don’t have a CC or big time pitcher and we’re not in Fenway chipping it over the Green Monster. The Dodger’s were relevant in this town for the first time since the Piazza/Nomo days and if they don’t sign Manny they will go back to being a nice, average team that, in the NL West, should win 80-some games and compete for the flag and be swept in the first round. It doesn’t seem like a good way to run a team. If McCourt has enough money to put a Nordstrom and a Hyatt in the back of the parking lot, he should be able to sign a guy to hit .300 and hit 30 homers.