Get well soon
First off, I’d like to echo everyone’s sentiments in wishing a speedy recovery to Frank Halstead, one of the regular posters on this blog. I’m continually amazed at the community you all have created here and am glad that he’s on the road to recovery.
Also, as some of you have probably noticed, the L.A. Times has started posting their stories in real time rather than waiting until midnight as a continued attempt to keep up with the ever-changing media world. They’ve created a Dodger blog and Laker blog and in this morning’s paper, they’re asking people to vote for which local pro team is their favorite. While it’s hardly a scientific poll, I’m sure you all will want to jump on the site and cast your vote.
Some of you wanted to know when we’ll be introducing the new guys at Dodger Stadium and tomorrow is the day. Jason Schmidt, Luis Gonzalez and Mike Lieberthal will all be at our annual holiday party for local youth from underserved neighborhoods and we will then have a media conference at the stadium later in the day. Plus, if you heard AM 570 this morning, you now know that Tommy Lasorda will be at the Mattel Children’s Hospital Holiday Party tonight dressed as Santa Claus.
Don’t forget to send in your questions for Ned’s chat today and as I mentioned before, the earlier you get them in, the higher up on the screen we see them and the better likelihood we can get to your questions. Please be patient and know that Ned can’t answer all of them, but he’ll do his best.
And finally, for what it’s worth, I feel like I should at least defend Ken Gurnick to the group who don’t seem terribly enamored with some of the things he’s written. While he does sometimes tend to be a little negative (which he’ll probably admit), I actually think he does an incredible job covering all aspects of the team, from the Majors to the minors to the front office and community. He’s got more than two decades of experience and he always seems to notice something that few others reporters do. I actually think that Dodger fans are pretty fortunate to have him writing for the site and one thing to keep in mind is that he’s not actually supposed to be a fan. He’s not an employee of the Dodgers, he’s an unbiased reporter who has to take into account what he hears from all angles and then send it to a copy desk just like the L.A. Times, Daily News, Orange County Register or Riverside Press Enterprise.
Inside the Dodgers 
wow thanks josh, I am hoping to be rooting for the dodgers for another 20 to 30 years, or more. I”ll never switch teams. no matter what borat offers me.
I really think we have such a great blog, and enjoy it every day.
let’s go L.A.
Hate to say I told you so guys but…SAYONARA GAGNE!!! Now he can sit and collect millions from ANOTHER TEAMS payroll.
Josh, I think we all understand Ken’s position and that he’s not a Dodger employee, God Forbid !! But as you brushed on, his approached is negative first, facts second. But when a professional journalist takes a fan to task for asking a simple question, regardless if it was asked before or they don’t agree with his views, he should be thankful we even waste our time sending him questions. BTW, I hold Charlie Steiner in the same vein, except Charlie is a Dodger employee and I do expect more from him !!! Now that our team is almost complete this off season, I can only hope that one more deal will happen before spring training, and that’s getting rid of Steiner.
Also, I am now folding up my official Gagne jersey and adding it to my collection along side of LoDuca and Piazza. My daughter is pushing for a Martin shirt this Christmas !!
Go Ned !!
Go Dodgers !!
i dont know if i should be sad or angry, its just dissapointing…
BELIEVE IN BLUE!
It’s only one year lostmysoul321 at $8 million. It is a much better contract then what we were willing to offer !! And I agree with Ned, our offer was more then fair. Only time will tell now if it was a good decision or not. Personally I think Gagne will be else where in 2008, Boras has him setup for the really big bucks if he comes back as a dominant closer in 07′
Go Ned !!
Go Dodgers !!
sad and angry…..blue-goatee’d pennants are gonna burn!!!
Glad to have you back with us Frank. Please take care of yourself.
Forgive my redundancy, but I posted this on the previous thread before knowing that a new one had been started:
Well, I guess it’s my turn to share some of my best Dodger memories. As one of the 50+ guys (today is my 53rd birthday), I was one of the lucky guys who had the pleasure of seeing the new L.A. Dodgers play their first home game at the L.A. Coliseum on April 18, 1958.
Even though I was only four years old at the time, I can still vividly remember being dwarfed in a crowd of 78,672 screaming fans. It was incredible and is the very foundation of my loyalty as a Dodger fan.
Over the next couple of years, my father took my brothers and me to several Dodger games at the Coliseum. My favorite player at the time was Wally Moon, who is best known for his towering homeruns to right field called “moon shots” by Vin Scully.
When the Dodgers moved into their new home at Dodger Stadium, I continued to accompany my dad to many games. Back then it cost $1.50 for a ticket into the Left Field Pavilion – my favorite seats even to this day (and where my season seats are located). The price for a kid’s ticket was $.75.
Having a 12 year old son of my own, I have a new found respect for my late father’s patience with me. “Can I get a malt? Can I get some cotton candy? Can I get a souvenir?” I now appreciate my father’s love for my brothers, my sister, and me a lot more than ever before.
I was fortunate enough to attend game-3 of the 1963 World Series against the Yankees. (I HATE the Yankees!). My brother Tom and I ditched school (with my father’s blessings, of course) and we stood in line all day at the Dodger ticket office on Elysian Park Ave. to get our tickets. And then to watch Don Drysdale shut out Jim Bouton and the Yankees 1-0 enroute to a four game sweep was awesome!
Although it wasn’t the Dodgers, I was able take my son Timothy to game-2 of the 2002 World Series at Anaheim Stadium against the equally hated Giants. Timothy was interviewed by a news team prior to the game, where he said (completely unsolicited) “Even though I like the Angels, I am a really a Dodger fan.” (Man that boy did me proud!).
During a Dodger game in 1974, I got a Steve Garvey foul ball while seated in the Loge Box seats. Although I was never able to get the ball signed by Steve, I do have a personalized autograph from him that my wife got for me when she ran into him at the Burbank Airport.
This past season, Timothy got to “Take the field with the Dodgers”, where kids get to run out onto the field when the Dodgers do and get an autographed baseball from the position players. Timothy’s assigned player was future Hall of Famer Jeff Kent. He later got autographs from Nomar and Kenny Lofton.
As a LFP season ticket holder, I always get to every home game early to watch BP. Doing so has netted me nearly 100 BP homerun baseballs over the past two seasons. I only keep the ones that I catch and give the rest to the many youngsters who otherwise would have little chance at getting a ball. The look on their young faces when I hand them a “real” baseball is absolutely priceless. I also have quite a collection of baseballs tossed up to me by Dodger players shagging fly balls during BP. Some of my most precious ones were thrown to me by Eric Gagne (during the three days he was on the active roster last season), Takashi Saito, Grady Little, just to name a few. My prize BP homerun balls (that I caught) include those hit by Jeff Kent, J.D. Drew, Andrea Ethier, and Vladimir Guerrero (at Angel Stadium when the Dodger played the Angels there). I also have several between inning J.D. Drew / Kenny Lofton warm-up balls thrown to me by Lofton.
Needless to say, I have been a Dodger fan all of my life – in other words, I have been a Dodger fan since 1953 (but you guys already knew that).
GO DODGERS!
PS: Did I mention that I HATE the Yankees?
PPS: Sad to see Eric Gagne go, but, as we all agree, the Dodger’s offer to him was very fair. Again, I feel that him not re-signing with the Dodgers is more of a Boras vs Colletti thing than the money involved (IMHO).
I’m wearing my Gagne jersey today. I love the guy, and I am doubtful that he would have been a good fit for this Dodgers team in ’07. His presence would have created doubt and uncertainty among the members of the bullpen regarding each of their individual roles, and that’s IF he stayed healthy. As it is, the bullpen has a lot of promise, and hopefully Eric can get his payday in TX and return to his former self. Maybe once he’s proven (to himself) that he’s healthy, a hometown discount for LA will be in order.
Good for him, boo for Boras…let’s hope we see a healthy Gagne in ’08!
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention one redeeming fact…
At least he didn’t sign with the Giants.
happy birthday fan since 53. and thank you all for your concern. You can tell I’m sitting around this week with not much too do. My first game was in 1959 at the coliseum,my dad was never a big sports fan period, but he bought some knot-hole tickets, if I remember right, a group rate way to buy tickets, if you took a group of kids wally Moon hit a moon shot,and he became my first favorite dodder.
I used to live in the L.A. areaand we went to games now and then, I saw maury wills and manny mota hit back to back homers, saw koufax pitch a one-hitter and lose to a rusty staubb homerun
and a world deris game where reggie hit is first of four straight homeruns, don sutton and the dodgers were up big time, and sutton was just throwing strikes to get through th game. dodgers won 10 to 4.
Thanks for the hometown discount gagne! Rangers for 2 million more after you collected 12 a year from the Dodgers! I thought Gagne was a competitor he wants to be on a winning team and he chooses Texas. hate to say it but I hope he’s never the same!!
Gary… don’t bother with buying a Martin jersey. What’s the point anyway? He’ll be gone too. That’s the way it is with Dodger catchers… Piazza, LoDuca… and now Martin in a few years.
I was really hoping I’d get to see Eric Gagne pitch for the Dodgers one day… guess I’m SOL. (I wasn’t around during 03-04)
Remember the good ‘ol days when a player STAYED with his team because of loyalty? Guess loyalty doesn’t pay the bills these days… it’s sad.
Watching JD, Lofton, Lugo and Maddux leave is one thing, but watching someone like Gagne leave really has me torn up. Lofton will be with his 11th team and JD with his 4th but Eric played in Vero and came up a Dodger. Regardless of the past two years he has been the marquee player in LA and I will miss seeing him come on the field to “Welcome to the Jungle” or seeing him cheer his teammates from the dugout. I hope that he is healthy and has a great rest of his career unless he faces us in October.
Eric: Thanks for so many amazing memories and thanks for going to the American league so I can still cheer for you.
Frank: Good to hear from you. Keep getting better!!!
fansince53: I loved reading your baseball memories. I have so many memories from growing up in FL and seeing spring training games and now I get to share those moments with my daughters. One of my proudest moments happened a few years ago while I was watching the Hall of Fame inductions and they were introducing all of the HOF-ers that were in Cooperstown. Before they could even announce his name my 10 year old daughter said “Daddy, look, it’s Sandy Koufax!!!”
I have raised her well…..
Go Blue!!!
So much for loyalty. $4 million or $6?
If you truly wanted to remain a Dodger and prove to the fans that you’re healthy, you would have made it happen. Good riddance.
I apologize for F- remarks etc. I was lucky enough to be there in ’04 and watch him save a game against Minn. Got a picture of him as he ran in front of me up the third baseline. Choi hit three home-runs that game. His first was hit just as we sat down…..I’m guilty too, I was late.
Eric,
Hope you get stuck in traffic on the 405 on your way to LAX. See you later pal. The DL is a lonely place when you’re new in town.
hate to see gagne go. i think it has more to do with boras and ned than eric. for those of you who are bitter about gagne getting paid and not pitching remember that the dodgers won the arbitration case and underpaid the best closer in baseball, and that the injuries, all of which were potentially career ending occurred while wearing dodger blue
Gagne is gonna be missed very much so by many a Dodger fans the guy literaly gave his all when he was with us, i have nothing but respect for him & wish him nothing but the best.
«Remember the good ‘ol days when a player STAYED with his team because of loyalty? Guess loyalty doesn’t pay the bills these days… it’s sad.»
Actually, it wasn’t loyalty. It was servitude. Baseball players were bound by the reserve clause to a team effectively for life, unless traded. They had no choice, and were malreated by owners who made millions off them. Unfortunately, for fans, the free agency system means we lose most good players sooner or later after their first years. Don’t forget, if the Dodgers wanted to be loyal they would have paid Gagné’s $12 million option instead of $1 mil buyout. That obviously made no business sense since he’s been injured.
Gagné is also just following business sense. What’s wrong is how these players (Gagné and Drew) SAY they’re going to stay for less money here, then don’t. Why say it? Why not just say straight out that they’ll do “what’s best for them” at the time? They’d like to see themselves as less mercenary, that’s why. But they should know they won’t resist a bigger offer, as most people wouldn’t. Someone like Liebenthal is an exception (and it’s not exactly loyalty in his case since he never played here).
Texas is taking a risk because it’s worth it to them, just in case he can play to old form (unlikely, but possible). It’s not worth it to us, so we didn’t match it. Good business again, that’s all. It’s just Gagné, who realized rather later in the day than he should have, that 1 or 2 million dollars is not exactly peanuts when this could be the last big-earning year of his lu=ife, when he’s in his mid-twenties, and might live another 60 or 70 years earning a fraction of the income in just a few years. It’s too bad hat’s how things are, but that’s how things are. he should have known better than to say he’d stay at a “home discount” as if that might have been $50,000 or something. I’m sure he’d stay for $50,000 less than what Texas is offering…
I’d like to give Gagne the benefit of the doubt and say that he realizes that he isn’t healthy. He took the most money he could get in what may be his last contract, instead of sitting on the Dodger bench again being a $4mil cheerleader.
We’ll know in a few months.
hey peepz the Times also has a great photo montache (?) of Eric Gagne.
I’m sad to see Eric Gagne leave. I was fortunate to be at Dodger Stadium for his only save this year. With my camera, I recorded Eric jogging in from the bullpen with the music, the scoreboard flashing, and all the cheering. Little did I know I was recording his last appearance with the Dodgers.
Like I said, Ned made a respectable offer and Eric made the decision to leave for reasons we don’t understand. That’s the way it goes.
Now for the silver lining…..
He didn’t pull a Johnny Damon and bolt to his rivals, the Giants.
We don’t have to experience the agony of watching him jog in from the bullpen in another uniform.
He’s a free agent at the end of next season.
Possible mid-season trade acquisition if Broxton or Saito are struggling/injured?
Thank you Eric for the exciting seasons you gave us. Good luck in Texas.
I agree with John. Ned gave him a reasonable offer but he decided to take the most money (I can’t blame the guy). Good luck pitching in 120 degree August days in Arlington with no shot of going to the playoffs.
I respect a person that wants to make the most money.. but not if they had stated earlier that they were willing to take less to be loyal to his team… Loyalty my ***..
I don’t understand all the spiteful comments about Eric Gagne. Wishing him other than “good luck” is just poor sportsmanship. He’s doing what’s best for him and one has to respect that.
How many of us here have said things in the heat of the moment, only to recant when the harsh reality at hand rears its ugly head? Yes Eric stated a home-team discount may be in order, but that in no way should be used against him, especially when so many other teams are willing to take the chance with him and spend the money.
He made a heck of a lot of money the past two years, but to sit here and say that two million dollars isn’t that far apart… amazing. You tell me how far apart that kind of money is. Two million dollars is a heck of a lot of money and certainly doesn’t make up for all those innings the Dodgers stood to gain when he was “only” making five-hundred and fifty thousand. These are different times and I hate to say it… but free agency bites.
It’s time for a salary cap in baseball… something has to give. 51 million bucks just to TALK to a player. Stupid.
53 – Pretty cool. When we visited LA in 1985 Jamie and I always got there in time for BP. But, we never got a ball. We did get a couple at Vero Beach. I missed one, just plain booted one, at the old timers game at Dodger Stadium. I moved up the line when they took BP realizing they would not hit the ball as far. All by myself Willie Davis hit a bounder I should have had. I reached over the wall and just plain missed it. We later got his autograph but not a ball. It’s hard to imagine what it would be like to get so many balls hit or touched by so many players. Some guys stay like kids all their lives. Way to go 53. Never give up that kid like desire. By the way, I expected you to say you hated the Yankees. I guess the Vladi ball sidetracked you. Oh, another by the way, was it a coincidence that you headed south during the same week Pamela Anderson broke up with Kid Rock, or was there a connection? Happy birthday 53. I would again wish Eric good health and success in his next situation and thank him for the memories.Go Ned!! Go Dodgers!!
ksspark,
I agree about the cap. It is just going to get worse. I don’t know if this is such a bad thing for Eric to go. I don’t think he really had a spot on the Dodgers for 07, and I seriously doubt he would want to be the setup guy. I hope he does well, but I imagine he took more because he is not sure how long he will hold out. Best wishes to him
forget you Gag-ne
maybe the jokes on me because i bought the whole, “i want to stay a dodger,” b.s.
you are just like any other money grubbing boras client. it’s all about the green.c
go ahead, go to texas and flounder. sure you might get 30-40 saves if you injured rear-end can stay healthy, but the rangers wont win
thanks for the memories.
Eric Gagne has just stabbed every Dodger fan in the back. Gagne has just pulled off one the greatest heist’s of all time: 19 million in the past 2 years for just 15.1 innings worth of work. How could you go from saying that you would take a “Hometown Discount” to stay a Dodger and then leave LA for Texas for just 1 million more? LA made Gagne larger than life… But Gagne just pissed that all away.
Signed,
Hoping his arm explodes again…
Lima was a better cheerleader than Gagne ever was. He threw me a ball in ’03. LIMA TIME!
make that ’04
Well said kssparkuhl.
53, thank you for the stories. You’ve caught more balls in Dodger Stadium than most opposing outfielders do in a lifetime.
Go Blue!!
Feel better Frank, and take care of yourself, we don’t need to lose any Dodger fans. 🙂 As for Gagne , it makes me sad that he has chosen 2 million more over all of us loyal fans that stuck by him the last two years. What was that bull he was saying ,about wanting to be part of a Canadian battery? I’m sure he’ll miss the Dodgers ,but to him the money was what it was all about.
another releiver is now gone gagne and then franquelis osoria was claimed off waivers by the pirates. I know everyone will be real broken up about that one.
lol
It seems kind of ironic that Eric Gagne is gone from the Dodgers, while the guy who ended his consecutive saves streak just became a Dodger. I was at that game with my son and when that streak-ending run scored, an eerie silence fell over Dodger Stadium (well, except for my son screaming “Nooooo!” at the top of his lungs). Even though the Dodgers went on to win that game, Gonzo’s double brought an end to a record streak that will NEVER be broken. It was a magical time in Dodger history, for sure.
Gagne brought with him an excitement and electricity that I had never before experienced at Dodger Stadium (well, except for Fernando-mania, that is).
I, for one, thank Eric for all of the passion that he brought to the game – and not only to the Dodgers and their fans, but to the community. His endless generosity to the community will be sorely missed.
I am sorry that it had to end this way, but I have absolutely no resentment towards Eric for his decision to sign elsewhere. I believe that it was a very difficult decision for him and that the uncertainty of his future played a major role in his decision to get the largest contract that he could.
I suspect that if he had re-signed with the Dodgers and had an outstanding 2007 season, the Dodgers would not have been able to afford him anyway when he becomes a free agent again in 2008 – especially with Scott Boras as his agent.
Even though Gagne is gone, I still have the ball that he tossed up to me during BP on June 1, 2006. BTW: I was wearing an Eric Gagne T-shirt at the time and believe that this is why he threw the ball to me. I remember telling myself as the ball was in the air coming towards me “Don’t you dare drop this one you old fart!” When I caught it, I let out a very distinctive “YES!” (And yes Harold, I truly DID feel like a kid again!). I LIVE for this!
I wish nothing but the best of good luck and good health to you Eric Gagne. Thank You for the many GREAT memories that you have given to my son and me. GAME OVER!
GO DODGERS!
Berkowit, thanks for your comments as I was thinking the same thing about “loyalty”. I will miss Gagne as much as the next fan. I have been attending Dodger games since 1958 and I while Koufax, Drysdale and Fernando created a lot of excitement no one created the pop that Gagne created when he came into a game. I attended a game at Coors a few years ago when Gagne came into the game in the 9th inning. The Dodgers had come from behind to take the lead and there were a good number of Dodger fans at this game. When Gagne came in from the bullpen Dodger fans stood and starting cheering and the Rockie fans wondered what was going on. We told them just wait, and you can guess the rest as Gagne earned another save.
However, this pop has been missing for some time now and it is time for all of us to move on. If you are a Gagne fan then continue to root for him just as many of you still root for Piazza and LoDuca. Be thankful he did not sign with the Giants. I still expect to see Gagne shirts at Dodger Stadium just as people still wear shirts with the name of a variety of former Dodger players.
You know cosmow, Franquelis Osoria was actually a pretty darn good pitcher. He ran into trouble when he could no longer hit the corners, but when he was on his game, he was almost unhitable. It’s too bad that we lost him.
GO DODGERS!
I really thought Gagne would be reasonable and take our offer that would have been about $10 mil with incentives..I thought the Dodgers were important to him..Didn’t we pay him almost $20 mil for 2 years for almost nothing?…The only saving grace is that he’s not in the national league, esp. with the Giants!!!…I think Scott Boras is the worst thing to happen to baseball EVER!!!…and anyone who signs with him doesn’t care about anything but MONEY…I love Eric and wish him well, but am very disappointed in how he handled this…seems a bit like Drew to me…
Anyway, now we don’t have to worry about the Gagne situation anymore. Its sad to see him go, but the man had to do what he felt was best for him. People keep talking about all the money he made being a cheerleader and others ask “well what about the years he pitched for relatively nothing.” Okay, average it out and it seems to me the man did all right for himself in L.A. But he should never have given the fans the false hope of a “hometown” discount is all. Again, what it says to me, that is signing for 2 mil more in Texas, is he knows he isn’t going to be the dominant closer he used to be so he went for more guaranteed money. At least I hope that’s what happened. Anyway, I wish him the best in the A. L. We won’t have to see him pitch for another team. And maybe he’ll ressurect his carreer. Good Luck Eric, thanks for the memories.
You wont catch me wearing my Gagne shirt. I’ll be wearing a shirt of the player with more athletic promise in his big toe than Kemp can ever dream of acheiving….the STRAW!
Too bad he sniffed it all away. Kemp looks like him, with hair.
This is baseball, people.. Let’s cheer for SAMMY SAITO!!!
osoria was not any thing close to an unhittable pitcher. his small frame is injury prone and he never really did anything to warrant being tabbed as having untouchable stuff. he will have the same arm problems as pedro martinez. tracy wanted to take a gamble. the tigers didnt tender alexis gomez a contract?? he played pretty well for them in the playoffs this year. nice laft handed bat.
wow…….. a matt kemp/darryl strawberry comparison. i know a lot of young folks are on drugs but i have to wonder about you kirby after that statement???? i really dont see one thing to compare between them?
graffitigenius – Perhaps I should have qualified myself a bit more. I was referring to Osorio in 2005, not 2006 – where he tanked. Here is his bio:
Had two tours with the Dodgers appearing in 11 games with the team from June 6-July 15 and then 13 more contests from Aug. 23 until the end of the season … In a total of 24 Major League games, went 0-2 with a 3.94 ERA in 29.2 innings … Second-toughest Dodger against right-handed hitters, holding them to a .140 average (8-for-57) with 11 strikeouts … At Dodger Stadium, was the team’s toughest pitcher, recording a 1.65 ERA (3 ER/16.1 IP) and holding opponents to a .157 average overall and right-handers hitless at home … Made his Major League debut on June 7 in Interleague Play vs. Detroit and retired all three Tigers he faced … Appeared in all three games of a July 1-3 set vs. Arizona to tally 4.0 scoreless innings … Recorded a career-high three strikeouts twice, once vs. Arizona on Sept. 21 and again vs. Pittsburgh on Sept. 24 … In 40 games out of the bullpen with Triple-A Las Vegas, he went 6-4 with nine saves and a 2.62 ERA over 55.0 innings … Played for the Aguilas of the Dominican Winter League and went 2-1 with a 2.82 ERA (7 ER/22.1 IP) in 20 games…struck out 25 batters in 22.1 innings.
GO DODGERS!
Hang in there halstead.
I was just thinking of the moon shots and wondering why no one mentioned the ’59 team very much. I got to see a series game that year when the White Sox beat Koufax 1-0. I think it was Nellie Fox that scratched out a hit and they got him around for the only score.
I was going to post something about the given word of players that boras represents not meaning very much, but in the end I guess all there is to do is wish the guy luck.
That’s the game today.
those stats actually are pretty decent. i dont think it hurts our depth though or at least ned thought so. i did like the movement on his fast ball dont remember his off speed stuff off the top. its tough to pick up the ball against some of those herky jerky guys. good luck to osoria first and gagne as far as im concerned just signed his retirement papers if you ask me. if he knew he was healthy he would have had no problem collecting 10 million in incentives and proving to dodger fans he wants to stay. these athletes word nowadays mean absolutely squat. why would you say that in the press? the guys got a guilty conscience and knows hes done . good riddance. my eric gagne bobblehead turned into a new chew toy for my dog.
It’s after 4 and I’m counting the miutes until I can leave this ******* place. I’ve got Straw on the brain.
knouffbrock – ’59 was the first series win for the team in LA. I did mention it a few posts ago as the year of Larry Sherry. Norm Sherry played then too and as mentioned by previous posters he was the one who convinced Sandy to not throw so hard and concentrate more on where he threw it. My man Duke had a pretty good season in LA that year with 23 HR’s and 88 RBI in less than 400 AB’s. Charlie Neal and Gil Hodges had a good offensive series. The Dodgers went from almost last in 1958 to first in 1959. The ’90’s were a stinker. We had series appearances or wins in the ’50’s, ’60’s, ’70’s, ’80’sand hopefully in this decade with three seasons to go. The teams in the ’90’s were not really Dodger teams. They were made up of so many free agents. Go Ned!! Go Dodgers!!
Frank – great idea. Let’s all work on being part of a 70+ club. Go Ned!! Go Dodgers!!
gagne — wishing you the best as you continue to try to resurrect your career after so many injuries. maybe we’ll find you in BLUE again someday.
to everybody else — gagne has provided us with so many great memories over 3 years and brought a lot of excitement to the team when there was little other reason to cheer. we continually sign players away from other teams and we expect them to come to LA and not take THEIR hometown teams a discount on re-signing…. we got schmidt, we lost gagne. other years, we’ve gotten lowe, et al. let’s remember eric for the memories he leaves us and wish him the best. he is just pursuing the american dream~
eulman-Sorry. I obviously missed those posts. ’59 was a pretty interesting team.
there were still a few of the players from the glory days in Brooklyn and some exciting new ones added in LA. If I remember correctly, Gil Hodges was comeback player of the year.
Correct me if I’m wrong , but I think the Moon shots were homers Wally took to the oppisite field over the left field screen.
Wally Moon did hit LH and his moon shots were down the short left field line. An interesting thing about Wally Moon was that he was NL Rookie of the year in 1954 over Hank Aaron. knouffbrock – I hadn’t written much about 1959. Mostly about the year of Larry Sherry but it was a great victory with some ’50’s Dodgers at the end of their career and some new guys. Chuck Essegian hit two pinch hit homers in the series. Duke had a homer too. Go Ned!! Go Dodgers!!
I ask every one of you, if another employer offered you twice what your currently making, would you go ?? You bet you would !! For the sake of your families and the improvement in your standard of living. It’s easy for us to say that becasue he’s made so much that it shouldn’t matter, but the fact is, it does matter. It matters to his kids, his future grandkids etc… With money comes responsibility, so you have to wish him well and move on !!
Go Ned !!
Go Dodgers !!
With money comes responsibility , i agree (even though the actual quote is ‘with great power comes great responsibility’, which is something Gagne has very little of)– such as LOYALTY, how about that responsibility? Really, can we please stop making excuses? We all know this is a busines, no body blames him for taking more money– he lied to the fans, and that is wrong. I dont know how your math is gary, but it wasn’t twice as much, and if he is so healthy the incentive difference is only 1 million WHICH IS NOTHING. seriously, everyone needs to stop claiming that people with more money should still value it the same as others– it is just not the case, and is so naive. Don’t be so black and white– the man has tens of millions of dollars and we are talking about two, maybe even one– i really dont buy it will affect his standard of living at all.
I wish Gagne well, i just wish he hadn’t said what he said, and i dont think he needs peoples excuses. I think if asked if he could take that comment back, he would say absolutely.
Good luck Gagne– you shouldnt have ******** us. My final conclusion: Fire Boras, he really is bad for the game. .OFFICIALLY OVER GAGNE.
gary, wonderful wisdom and words. You nailed it.
Henry
Go Blue!!
Story from today.
I live in Colorado, where I am working on my Master’s in Music. I had a rehearsal with a quintet today, and the bassist walks in and sees my Dodgers/Gagne shirt. We’re kind of buddies, so he’s taken aback and stutters through “Uhh…you’re a Dodger fan?” I say, “Huge. For life. You must be a Giants fan by your reaction.” We exchange the usual unpleasantries about which organization is better (an argument which I easily win at this point). Anyway, apparently he hadn’t heard about Schmidt. When I told him, his face looked…crestfallen. He was like “Ohhh….no way….awww…” and some other pathetic groans.
The point is, it was really fun to be there to see a Giants fan learn that they lost their best pitcher to their rival. It was beautiful, even.
Kind of a drab story – thanks for reading.
sorry about some of my spelling from before, was in a hurry.
I also, am sorry to see gagne go, blame boras, he is the worst thing for baseball, It is okay for players to want more, we all do, but money is all that guy cares about. every year he does exactly what he is doing against the dodgers to other teams, stires his players to the big spenders, and they blindly follow. now he is doing the same for untested japanese players, wanting 100 million from boston for matazaka. salaries go higher, ticket cost goes higher, sooner or later who will be able to see a game, tv money can’t replace real people in the stands.
I still like our team for 07.
remember, protect the prospects
puppyhead – good story. Reminds me of one I’ve told here before, although it’s been a few months since its last telling.
I was on a puddle jumper flight from Richmond, VA to Dulles to make a connector flight. I’m sitting on the plane, and as we land, I hear a guy a row behind me say to his infant son “you see him, we don’t like him.” I’ve got my Dodgers hat on, so my immediate reaction is turning around and saying “what are you, a Giants fan?” Of course, this was 2005 in August, and neither team was doing that well. I might have said something about Bonds, or something, but the guy telling his kid “you see him, we don’t like him” really stuck out in my head.
That’s probably the only really good story I have about being a Dodger fan, but I live and go to school in VA, I’ve been to LA and Dodger Stadium once, and I’m 20.
I like our team in 07, and I am gradually trusting Colletti more and more. He’s not as predictable as Grady, but reasonably so. I trust the farm system to produce and for the GM to recognize that talent.
great story, Puppyhead. As a native SoCal’er now living in NorCal, I enjoy days when I wear my blue and get stares from the orange-and-black guys around. even when I wear my Brooklyn hat, I get stares from the over 50 crowd up here (the young’ns probably think why’s that Dodgers fan wearing a Red Sox hat”, heh).
It was cool one day, while tutoring at college, an older guy saw me, came halfway across the library, pointed and said “Now THAT’S a Brooklyn Dodgers hat!” I said yeah, and he proceeds to tell me how him and his dad grew up in Flatbush and would often go to games at Ebbets, growing up worshiping the Boys of Summer. Then, after they moved, he was crushed, heartbroken. his dad was offered a job in the summer, which brought him to San Fran, and he’s been a Giants fan ever since. not so happy an ending, but I will gladly take any chance to talk baseball with any other lovers of the game.
I guess I can kinda relate, as I couldn’t stand the Rams since Georgia moved them to St Louis (and then all of a sudden started paying her players and winning). I could never root against the Dodgers, though, there’d be a good chance I wouldn’t get into heaven.
So much for Jayson Werth. Goodbye. Too bad, so sad. I just hope they’re correct about his future… because for a brief time there, he really showed us something.
And as for the Lieberthal signing… perhaps Colletti could have kept this one under wraps without tipping his hand. If so then maybe we might have actually been able to get something for Toby Hall. But since other clubs already knew we had a backup catcher, they thought they’d wait us out until he was non-tendered.
Oh well… a couple of draft picks and Mark Hendrickson for Dioner Navarro and some other hack.
RE:I ask every one of you, if another employer offered you twice what your currently making, would you go ?? You bet you would !! For the sake of your families and the improvement in your standard of living. It’s easy for us to say that becasue he’s made so much that it shouldn’t matter, but the fact is, it does matter. It matters to his kids, his future grandkids etc… With money comes responsibility, so you have to wish him well and move on !!
Go Ned !!
Go Dodgers !!
Gary,
If you truly loved and enjoyed working for an organization I bet you wouldn’t leave. I am a life long Dodger fan and so are my siblings. My younger sister had two interviews with two teams same week similar positions. One was for the LA Dodgers part-time the other was for the Angels full-time. She didn’t want to apply to the Angels. Everyone in the family advised her to get experience and then continue to apply with the Dodgers until she gets her foot in the door. She was offered both positions on the same week. In a heartbeat she chose the Dodgers. Obviously it’s less $$ then she would of received with the Angels, if you ask her why she did it she responds with, “My dream was to work for the Dodgers. I feel extremely blessed that I am able to realize my dream while so many others cannot. There is no amount of money and perks that could ever lure me away from the Dodger organization ever. My heart is happy and to me that is what matters the most.” With an answer like that, I think it has some of us questioning our own careers. Perhaps Eric Gagne will return to great form, my guess is probably not. My sister the Dodger employee, is still loyal to Eric Gagne and Adrian Beltre because they were “true blue” and came up through the Dodger organization so to her they are real Dodgers. But, my thing is why be loyal to them, when they were never loyal to you?… (I’m thinking of Jackie Robinson when I say this and yes I know the story he was traded to the Giants upon moving west and chose to retire instead of playing with the rival team). Go Dodgers! And Congratulations Sister You Totally Deserve It!!! Make Us/Them Proud!!
I For one concider a bird in the hand better then a bird coming outta the hospitial.Too many years paid to people who had promise and injury that i really don’t care to keep them.This is a very demanding sport and if a young player breaks down for more then a year they are not worth the money to ‘Hope’ They come back as good or better. Jason Werth was a bigger heartbreak than Gagne simply because he was shot down in cold blood by a headhunter who should be brought up on charges for Felony intent to cause Bodily Injury.He was Thrown at in a spring game by a pitcher trying to dominate before he had control.Gagne…. Thank you for taking the Rangers Money and leaving us a Way to the means Hope you come back strong and enjoy saving on a team that needs saving our games will be mostly won or lost with our bats and SP again this year.Sammy Does a good job and now has confidence.
How many mid relievers can you buy for 6M a year? 2-3?Load em up we have all the offence we need if our pitchers do there jobs with 1-2 spots to fill if anyone fails and YB doesn’t make it back.If you can’t score against a team you can’t win the game….
GO BLUE 07′
yeah real dodger fans ar tired of putting up money on a whim. this im as healthy as ive ever been **** just isnt cutting it for ned now. dan evans went down that road with dreifort and where did it get us??? minus 55 million dollars and a lot of broken hearts. dont set yourself up for failure. because i think thats the consensus on gagne.
do you have any facts to support Burnett actually trying to throw at Werth ?? i really liked his pop in 04. 16 homers in limited playing time. but wrist injuries are tricky, drew was never the same after his.
patriotacts425 – I have a very recent similar story, however it involves my 21-year old daughter. She is in her first year at UCSD and works part-time at a Coffee Bean in San Diego. As the 06 season was winding down, she was serving a couple of Padre fans who were bad-mouthing the Dodgers. As politely as she could, she told them that the Padres ***** and that the Dodgers Rock! (Atta girl!). Well, that really fired things up a bit at the old Bean.
Whenever my kids accompany me to the game, we are usually pretty easy to spot; My Dodger jersey says Fan Since 53, my daughter’s says Fan Since 85, and my son’s says Fan Since 94.
WE LIVE FOR THIS!
GO DODGERS!
thats awesome. how did you like the new boxes this season? i really liked those seats regardless of the price. although nothings like the pavillion.
Maybe some of you have heard this. I just read on espn.com INSIDER.
********
Jays make Wells a formal offer
Dec 13 – The Blue Jays have made a contract offer to Vernon Wells that would place the center fielder among the highest-paid players in the game, The Toronto Globe and Mail reports.
“We have made a formal offer,” Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi told the newspaper. Ricciardi, however, refused to confirm a report on Yahoo.com that it was for seven years and $126 million.
If true, Wells’ deal ($18M AAV) would top Alfonso Soriano’s ($17M AAV). Soriano recently signed an eight-year, $136M deal with the Cubs.
“It’s somewhere in there,” Wells told the Globe and Mail from his home in Arlington, Tex., when asked about the Blue Jays’ offer. “But to be honest, other than that, I don’t feel under any obligation to make any more comments about it.”
********
Go Blue!!
Frank, glad your doing O.K.
Harold, is that 70+ club based on age or years as a fan? If it is age I’ve only got four years to go. My how time flies.
Keep up the good posts guys. I’m going out of town for 5 days and will look foreward to reading the posts upon my return.
GO DODGERS
I like these Dodger/Giants stories. Back in 2002 I worked at a Summer camp in Northern California. Needless to say, I was one of the few SoCal guys and a Dodger fan. Everyone around me was a Giants fan, so we had a rival going all summer. Some of the other counselors would tell the kids that I was a Dodger fan, even when I was working a different shift that week (buildings and grounds). So, I would be fixing a fence or working on a car, and these kids would ride by and yell “Die Dodger fan”. This happened all the time, and it was hilarious. The best part is that we all went to the 4th of July game in SF and it was the Dodgers against the Giants. I think we blew them out, and the whole ride home they were all silent. I didn’t rub it in or anything. I just sat there with a smile on my face.
Plus, in the softball tournament we had with the nearby game, who do you think turned the game winning un assisted double play? The Dodger fan!!!
that should read “nearby camp”
Gagne was fair to the Dodgers.
The Dodgers offer was also fair- it was just too low. He would have given them the discount for $1M- but 2M is a whole lot more. In this case it would have made a 33% difference. Though no one knows, my opinion is that Dodgers goofed on this one. The difference in the money offered would have been made up by a lot of other things in monetary terms. And the Dodger family angle wouldn’t have been wounded again. My guess is he’ll be healthy enough to be an all-star again in July. And we’ll be regretful when we see him then.
I’m inviting everyone to my blog to post your three favorite Eric Gagne moments/performances. It’s at Words From The Park at park.mlblogs.com
Bill,
I do think it would have been nice for Gagne to come back. However, if he does come back to all-star caliber, I don’t think we can blame the Dodgers for not getting him. He is such an unknown, and we have that role filled with Saito. So, it was almost a no brainer in my opinion. The offer by the Dodgers seemed like just enough to be a steal, but if he moved on, “oh well”.
Orozcoblue, That was a great story about your sister and if I were young with no one depending on me I’m sure I would have made the very same decision. But to a primary wage earner of a family I still think we would all have taken the money. Assuming that is that your not doing yourself or others harm and the change isn’t a risk to the family. $2.0 + million puts a lot of kids, nieces, nephews etc.. through college where some might not be able too.
Go Ned !!
Go Dodgers !!