Happy birthday Vin
I’ll try to write more later today after the press conference, but in the meantime, we’d all like to wish a happy birthday to Vin Scully. He did a rare call-in this morning to AM 570 because they asked to wish him a happy birthday and he obliged. I learned from this that he’s had three hole-in-ones, which is pretty darn impressive. I’m still seeking No. 1.
KLAC posts podcasts on their site, but this one is not up yet. Check back later if you missed the interview and are longing to hear the Voice of the Dodgers during the winter.
Inside the Dodgers 
Happy Birthday Vinnie & thanks Josh for the heads up.
Happy birthday Mr. Scully.
Growing up in Springfield, MO in the 60s and 70s, it was very difficult to watch the Dodger games — impossible really. An occassional game of the week was it. Because home games were on the west coast and games ended after our newspapers deadline, subsequently box scores were usually a day late getting into the paper. However, the one thing we could always depend on was if the Dodgers were at home on Wednesday nights, the games were often carried by CBS radio. Being in the midwest this ment usually a 9:30 pm local start. My father would tell the nuns at my school “that Henry would be late to school on Thursdays if the Dodgers were in LA.” Our entire family would hundle in my mother and father’s room and listen to Vin Scully. Mr. Scully was a very personal part of our family as he was to all of yours I’m sure. His voice and love for the game and for the Dodgers reached a small town and a small boy some 36 years ago. I can’t begin to tell you how I feel today watching and listening to Mr. Scully in LA on the cable baseball package we have at home here in St. Louis with my two boys. Mr. Scully thank you most certainly for giving me those hours with the Dodgers, but more importantly thank you for giving me that time with my Dad and now with children.
Best of birthdays and well wishes.
Happy Birthday Vin! Thank you for everything you have done for us Dodger fans and every other fan that listens to you in the major leagues. You are at the top of the broadcasting industry, There is nobody who comes close! I still wish that I can meet you one of these days, Hopefully its this coming season. May God bless you with many more birthdays to come.
HEY VIN,
HERE’S WISHING YOU A HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM A GRATEFUL FAMILY OF DODGER FANS. YOU ARE THE BEST!
Vin your an LA legend. You and Chick Hearn brought me up and im glad i got to witness a true great.
Vin Scully. In a career full of improbables, the inevitable has happened. Happy birthday to simply the best.
happy birthday mr. scully, its going to be a sad day when charlie steiner is the main brodcaster… as far as the manny trade, i would not do it.. and i can only hope that ned makes more than an effort to bring back eric gagne..
BELIEVE IN BLUE!
Enjoy your day Vin, you deserve it. You’ve brought so much joy to so many people for so long. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY VIN BUDDY! Yeah there buddy pal guy atta boy. Go get ’em tiger. I’ll buy you your first lap dance, huh pal?
Now a few things in all seriousness-
Firstly- Toronto is not going to trade Wells until August or September and only if they are out of contention. He is a fundamental part of their offense, a franchise player and a great partner for the Big Hurt.
Secondly- If you want a big bat this winter be prepared to say good by to Loney/Kemp/LaRoche/Kuo/Ethier/Stults (the rest are untouchable). They are all good players, a couple may become all-stars. If we want 35 HRs two of them are gonna go with Penny or Hall.
Thirdly- I’m sick of all this ******* whinning about which guys are ******* whiners. If the guy hits 35 HRs and knocks in 120 runs, I love him. Everybody wants the ******* homerun hitter on this blog. That much is plainly clear. So stop your ******* whining about who it is (as long as it ain’t Bonds, but that doesn’t even need to be said). The cost for the bat in terms of prospects is another topic to be debated entirely.
Fourthly- Our pitching has not improved yet. Wolf is left handed Penny. I’m all for new faces, that’s part of the fun of opening day, but we need an Ace here people. And don’t get me started on our relief. Elmer Fudd is our long man??? Give me a ******* break. How about a releiver who isn’t a failed starter huh? Please?
Fifthly- Sure could eat a couple Dodger dogs right about now. And an 3 8 dollar bottles of Bud.
That’s three 8 dollar bottles. Bosses are looming, must type quickly…..
Happy birthday, Vin. It was your voice in 1952 that captured me as a Dodger fan for life. I can still recall your description of Duke climbing the ivy at Wrigley.
Thanks so much for a lifetime of dedication to baseball and the Dodgers and a lifetime of memories for me. You are the best.
If Manny can only give 35 homers and 120 RBI for $20M he is a failure. Lots of guys can give you 25-28 homer and 100-110 RBI for half of that. My main point is that we just can’t tie up $80 for the next four years when other pieces are needed. And my debate always includes the kids because I can remember all the WS championships when the Dodgers were made up of mostly Dodgers, quite often without big bats. – 1959, 1963, 1965, 1988. 1955 and 1981 had bats but won on pitching. On to another topic. Mike Lieberthal wants to be a back up to Russell Martin.
My guess, but you locals would know more, is that Manny’s HR and RBI numbers drop 10 to 20 percent hitting in Dodger Stadium. I don’t think going after one, even proven, big bat is the answer. I think a few 20-30 HR guys is a better fit for Dodger Stadium — which we potentially do have right now.
Pitchers and youth.
Go Blue!!!
I was able to win an arguement (once) with a couple of local giants fans who were being very loud bragging about how superior the sf outfit is. I shut them up by pointing out the Dodgers were way superior in one spot. All I had to say was “Vin Scully”.
HAPPY B-DAY VINNY!!!!!! This will be 49 years listening and you’ll always be the best.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY VINNIE!!!
You are the only DODGER announcer I have ever listened to in my 55 years as a DODGER FAN. You put all other announcers to shame. I could listen to you forever.
GO DODGER BLUE!!!!!
I think Manny in blue would be a lot of fun. When you weren’t pulling your hair out.
I don’t even think money is so much of an issue anymore. There seems to be plenty of that floating around. What Boston would want in return is what scares me.
I’d rather keep the kids.
i can’t guarantee it’s perfect, but it’s close. this is a list of every rookie that played their first season in a dodger uniform from ’86-’03 (04-06 to recent to know players worth)
the many (in chrono. order)
jeff hamilton,larry see,craig shipley,tim crews,shawn hillegas, jack savage, tracey woodson, mike devereaux, chris gwynn, mike ramsey, william brennan, mike munoz, darrin fletcher, jose vizcaino, mike huff, darren holmes, jim neidlnger, jim poole, terry wells, carlos hernandez, dave hansen, luis lopez, jose offerman, brian traxler, tom goodwin, pedro astacio, rafael bournigal, billy ashley, henry rodriguez, omar daal, raul mondesi, chan ho park, ismael valdez, garey ingram, greg hansell, antonio osuna, jose parra, felix rodriguex, todd williams, juan castro, mike busch, roger dedeno, darim garcia, todd hollandsworth, darren dreifort, wilton guerrero, rick gorecki, mike judd, dennys reyes, henry blanco, adam riggs, jeff kubenka, frank lankford, gary rath, eric weaver, angel pena, adrian beltre, alex cora, mike metcalfe, jamie arnold, onan masaoka, luke prokopec, hiram bocachia, adam melhuse, jose nunez, victor alvarez, david ross, joe thurston, luke allen, chin-feng chen, wilken ruan, steve coyler, edwin jackson, bubba crosby, koyie hill
the few good
tim belcher, ramon martinez, john wetland, eric karros, pedro martinez, mike piazza, paul konerko, eric gagne, paul lo duca.
that’s about 75 mediocre players (and they were better than all the one’s who didn’t get called up) and 9 good. that’s what, figure counting all the guys that never got called up, probably looking at a 5% success rate of finding a superstar. of our 10 best prospects, maybe 1 will be a fantastic player. so, should we keep them all, no way. sorry everyone, but most of them will fizzle out, better to trade them now then hold on to them (memories of Jose Offerman….uhhhh)
atomikkid-This has been my contention also. I’d be thrilled to see everyone of our kids make it. But, the thread looks at all the kids as can’t miss and blast most FA and trades. I try to remind everyone re: “IRRATIONAL EXUBERANCE” regarding the kids. Campanis always used a lot of the highly touted minor leaguers as trading chips. I see that in Kemp [unless he learns how to track down a line drive and cover the hole in his bat] and Either [they may have found the hole in his bat] and he needs to get his head straight. Bills needs to find the strike zone. Loney has bad wheels. Greg Brock sure looked GREAT for a couple of month, as did Mike Marshal.
Atom
That was a very interesting post, and food for thought. Guess I think this bunch of kids is better than most.
atomikkid – that’s a lot of research. You are probably right my friend. Now I don’t have the desire to check out all the free agents or big trades but have a hard time finding many successes in my limited memory bank. Brett Butler would be one. I can’t refute your data but can put a couple of qualifiers on it. You have researched a time when our farm system went bankrupt and not considering the job done in the past four years to build a top tier system. During that time first round picks were lost by signing Darryl Strawberry, Andy Ashby, Kevin Brown. First round picks Ron Walden, Dan Opperman, Kiki Jones suffered arm injuries that ended their careers. Now you might say that supports your theory that prospects are prospects and refutes mine that prospects are our future. Dan Evans gift to us was to restore the farm system. Big buck guys get injured too – Dreifort, Brown, Green , Drew. Even Nomar as much as we love him. The whole thing is a **** shoot. Build or buy. Other teams are after our kids, especially our pitchers. They assess them as the Dodger staff does. As I say, I can’t research free agents signings but my gut tells me the percent of those that made significant contributions to the team is probably less than
10% also. I am open to trading youth for experienced youth. That is players on the rise – 25-28 – not at the top or going down. I have no use for superstars who command unreasonable salaries and have bad attitudes. They never make your team better. Go Ned!! Go Dodgers!!
Euhlman-FA busts not only apply to the Dodgers. Busts are more prevalent than succeses. Then there is the sophomore jinx too! Hit Ethier in his rookie year, therefore I never considered him a sure thing. I have my fingers crossed on Martin being able to maintain his level. Kemp is a loooooooong way off and Laroche is an unknown.
ROY’s have flamed out too!
bigblue you are correct. But, I don’t care if free agents are busts on other teams. I don’t like them being busts on the Dodgers. Here’s a few ROY’S who didn’t flame out: Robinson, Newcombe, Black, Gilliam, Howard, Sutcliffe, Howe, Fernando Sax, Nomo, Karros, Piazza. And yes the jinx does get them but the good ones get over that. As I say, I don’t mind a trade for young players who can contribute for a longer time, but don’t like trades on older guys who are there for the short term. Go Ned!! Go Dodgers!!
What a sucessful group you named. Too bad Karros was so unappreciated.
What Dodgers fan would like to see a FA bust on the Dodgers??? All of our FA signings ought to be nothing short of the money they are getting. Agreed with everyone here, I hope we sign Vernon and not Ram and Vernon flourishes. ^5 to all our kids [can’t miss] that will become stars on the Dodgers and not somewhere else.
euhlman, well said. I won’t comment specifically to your points it’s all there to read. I’m not for short term fixes, I’m for long-term. I say be patient. As I said in an earlier post, with youth. In two years we might be looking at 5 years of glory.
Go Ned, Go Dodgers, and … go Vin.
lohm-It may be longer than 5 years of glory. We will replenish the major league team as the current players age, as the Braves did for all those years.
Would everyone be ok with this?
Kemp & Bills (maybe throw in tomko/hendrikson) for –
Jason Bay – LF Pittsburgh Pirates
.286/35/109
waddaya think?
Maybe Kuo instead of Bills- but would probably have to throw in a AA above average pitcher-maybe Stults?
I could live with that trade as long as we can get a contract extension and keep him for 5 years. The guy is only 29 and his stock is on the rise. Manny’s is on the way down.
I’d be kind of okay with that, but I would like to get a prospect in the deal. And, I’ll echo jhall in saying that we should get 4 or 5 years out of him. I’m with atomik on the kuo instead of c-bill thing. That kid’s gonna be worth a mint really soon!
I think that our bullpen should probably be in pretty good shape. I’m not counting on Brazoban, but I think Meloan should be ready by spring training and Mark Alexander may be hot on his heels(maybe June callup?). With Meloan, Saito(if he stays), Broxton, Gagne(if he comes back), Dessens, Beimel, Brazoban(?), that’s kind of deadly. Not in that order, of course. Does anyone else get the feeling that Boras is trying to get Gagne to go to Boston? They’re desperately in need of a closer and they’ve got money. Those two things spell big paycheck for Boras. I may be a loner on this, but I really want a Canadian battery(Gagne + Martin) at the end of games this year.
Back to Topic….
Happy Birthday Vin and Thank You Very much for being The Best Baseball announcer in History! My wife is not a sports Fan but I never hear a bad word from her if You Call the Dodgers game I am watching. We Both Love the way you keep the fans in the game and the Game on Topic with stories thrown in and plays called and then finish the story! You Create New Dodger fans and keep the rest of us coming back for yet another Year of Dodger Baseball!
GO DODGERS!
Vin you are the best at your trade and I’ve enjoyed every game you you’ve ever done since 53 !! I wish you a very Happy Birthday.
I just wish others could learn more from you !!
Go Ned !!
Go Dodgers !!
atomikkid – J. Bay is the kind of player I’m talking about. On the way up. Plays hard, good attitude. Good Canadian kid. For him or players like him in terms of success and age, I’m willing to pay a price. Would fit with our other kids coming along. Guys like Manny don’t fit the bill now for us. Here’s a quote from Vin: “Good is not good when better is expected.” Bigblue the only way to prevent FA busts is to not sign any and I grant that in today’s game that is unrealistic. Somehow we have to get the ones who still play the game with zeal and their pocketbook alone. Two examples would be Gibson and Nomar. And in trades, as per Manny, his future is too short to pay $20M/yr costing us prospects and restricting payroll flexibilty in the next 2-3 years. Go Ned!! Go Dodgers!!
Should read – …”and not their pocket book alone…” as so many seem to do. Go Ned!! Go Dodgers!!
Buster Onley writes: Spoke with an official Tuesday who said that on a scale of 1 to 10, the chances of the Red Sox dealing Manny Ramirez are “a 9.” The Dodgers remain in the best position to make the trade, if they become devoted to the idea of landing Ramirez, and Michael Silverman reports that the Red Sox are close to getting what they want for Ramirez.
But remember this: Boston GM Theo Epstein could do all kinds of work in these trade talks and reach an agreement, and the whole thing could still blow up. Manny could be Manny one more time.
After repeatedly requesting a trade, Ramirez could look at his possible destination and say, “No thanks.” Or he could effectively kill the trade talks by demanding a large contract extension in return for approving the deal.
Happy Birthday Vinny you are the best broadcaster fort the dodgers and in Major League Baseball. Us Dodger fans are spolied with you in are living room and also at Dodger Stadium.