Manny Mota
Many of you have probably read the news about Johnny Pesky out of Boston, as Major League Baseball is cracking down this year about how many coaches are allowed to be in uniform and in the dugout during the game.
That means that unfortunately, Manny Mota is going to have to stop traveling with the team and dressing in uniform, with the exception of pregame at home games, when he’ll continue to be in uniform and help out Eddie Murray and the rest of the coaching staff.
The good news is, Manny is going to continue his incredible work with the front office and in the community, as he’s easily the biggest supporter of the Dodgers Dream Foundation with his time and dedication. Plus, he’ll continue to do the incredible work he does with the Manny Mota Foundation in the Dominican Republic.
I’ve witnessed Manny’s work first-hand over the years and he’s an incredible ambassador for the Dodgers and for the game of baseball. We’ll certainly miss having him on the road, but we’ll see plenty of him at home games and in the community.
And, since I won’t get to post anything tomorrow because we take off in the morning for Milwaukee, be sure to watch Opening Day on Monday from one of the bars or restaurants that are part of the new Home Base Network. We’ve worked out deals with all of these places to have Dodger memorabilia all around, as this is a great way for Dodger fans from around the city to come together to watch the games when we’re on the road. To kick it off, we’ll have plenty of Dodger VIPs around the city, including Tommy Lasorda and Jamie and Frank McCourt (Barney’s Beanery, West Hollywood), Fernando Valenzuela (******* in Pasadena), Steve Garvey (******* in Burbank) and Kenny Landreaux and Wes Parker (Yankee Doodles, Santa Monica). Check out this link for all the bars that are a part of the network.
Inside the Dodgers 
Great post Josh. Manny is one of those Dodger institutions we all appreciate so much. The Homebase Network is a great way to get Dodger fans together and continue to build support in LA. Good Job.
You never answered my question Josh. What’s it like working for such a crappy organization?
Anyhoo…I’ve got my own Dodger hate blog up and running.
Check it out.
http://www.joeyp190.blogspot.com
Hi guys. Well this is it. Getting excited now. We went for a walk tonight and I sported my new official Dodger hat purchased in Bangor last November. The only Dodger hat in town. Some Red Sox, few Yankees, several hockey. Must say with my white hair I look a bit like Grady. I have been waiting for the 25 man roster with some anxiety. I have been on James Loney watch. I just feel he has to make the team and play. There must be a point when his confidence, desire, etc. sags while performing well and not being rewarded. I like Matt Kemp’s power surge but feel he could use the year or good part of it at AAA to break loose and terrorize some pitchers there.
I know Brady Clark is RH but felt badly he backed other guys up. Still, hard to argue with what Ned has been doing. Jim Traber on his show picked the Dodgers to meet the Yankees in the World series. Just like old times 51 and 53, asq and others. Great springs by Bigbie and Valdez. Nervous time for Ned. Good to be back. GO DODGERS!!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Tomas Perez???? Wow! I had not thought Mr. Ned was too bad but that just might be the move that makes me reconsider…good lord, soooo many late clutch at-bats he got with the Phils and did not come through, and then only the Drays would take him afterwards. Enjoy the many shaving cream pies!
I have spent considerable time this winter blogging on the Globe and Mail site re:politics. I love politics. There were a few posters on both sides who tried to be annoying. Among us we had a great time, shared political opinions, family info, made new friends across the country. We realized we had too much going for us to get involved in any debate with anyone trying to sabotage the blog with useless, negative comments. Took some self control but worked well. Just didn’t read those bolgs. Looking forward to again sharing a great season with great Dodger fans.
Many thanks in advance Josh for keeping this site going. You have a dream job with the greatest organization in all of pro sports. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Colletti takes what is perceived to be the “safe route” by old-school baseball thinkers. In their eyes, Ned has set up a no-lose situation for himself. If the team is successful, he wins. If the team is not successful, it will be chalked up to bad luck. “He did the right thing by putting speed at the top of the lineup, adding veteran presence and guys with WS rings, etc. It’s not his fault they lost.”
I think Ned tries to play out the season in his head with a variety of possibilities. That is, what to have in place if injuries occur, players underperform, etc. Injuries are a given. With his versatile bench players and farm hands he has most of the possibilities covered. Total underperformance of the pitching staff, several injuries,would be a hard one to combat. But even there he has some possibilities. I don’t think he is overly concerned about placing fault. He rolls the dice, wins some loses some, but thus far has done well in getting the team back on track. I think he simply accepts the responsibilty for what happens,success or not.GO DODGERS!!
Josh. what happened to tonight’s lineup?
fliegel@ptd.net
Clark CF
Loney 1B
Kemp RF
Betemit 3B
Anderson DH
Valdez LF
Abreu 2B
Martinez SS
Stinnett
Dodgers up 2-0 Middle of first inning.
How about those great defensive plays by Brady Clark and Betemit!
Hi Alex. Thanks for all the work on the spring training games. Really appreciated it.
Big surprise from Tony Jackson’s blog: Matt Kemp made the team over Larry Bigbie…
wow. poor poor poor james loney and his left handedness. still very happy about kemp. can you smell the bench time for gonzo yet?
honestly i think its a mistake to carry Kemp over Loney left handed or not. Loney is clearly the better player and the moment. Kemp needs to see pitching everyday.
I’m beside myself. Why isn’t James Loney on this team? I’m torn. Nomar is a great player and I want for him to do well… but I really like James Loney and hope to one day see him playing first base for the Dodgers on a reqular basis. I truly hope that Loney keeps a positive attitude and doesn’t let this get to him. We don’t want him to feel left out, but yet he is. This is just nuts…
Here’s the perma-link for Tony Jackson’s blog item:
“Roster shocker: Kemp makes team, Bigbie doesn’t”
http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/archives/2007/03/roster_shocker.html
I agree. It’s messed up Loney has to go back to the minors. He has nothing left to prove, he belongs with the big league club, and hopefully leaving him in Vegas doesn’t deter him from staying with the Dodgers (or get him a fist in the face from Pacman Jones).
On another note, I think it’s sad that Manny can’t be with the club anymore. He’s been a Dodgers fixture as long as I can remember, and for a guy to stick around the Dodgers through the Fox and DePo bloodlettings truly speaks to his character.
Also, I must’ve been out of the loop when this happened, but what happened to Mike Brito? I miss seeing him and his hat behind the plate holding the radar gun.
right, Loney is clearly the better player right now. If Kemp sees at least some starts, I guess it makes some sense, but if he spends it mostly on the bench it might hinder his development. I hope they aren’t showcasing him at the MLB level for a trade.
Loney—I get the feeling other teams are licking their chops trying to get him in a trade b/c they know we don’t need him right now. I hope the powers that be know how valuable he is to OUR team. Even with a hot start from Nomar, he’ll likely wear out down the stretch, and we’ll need Loney alot then. Maybe Loney replaces Anderson at some point on the roster? We don’t have any idea how useful he will be this year. Put Loney in a late inning replacement for Nomar and occasional outfield duty perhaps?
Great to hear from you Harold. Hope all is well with you and the family.
I just got home from Angel Stadium. It was great to see our B-Team jump all over their A-Team in the first two innings.
During BP, I hollered down to Chad Billingsley and congratulated him on his great outing on Thursday night. In return, he tossed a ball up to me. I also got a BP homerun ball from Gonzo, although I didn’t catch it, as it rolled down to me. (I gave it to a kid). My son also got an Andre Ethier BP homerun ball. Andre was drilling ’em in BP. Like the commercial says: “I LIVE for this!”
I, too, am upset that Loney didn’t make the team (YET). I honestly believe that Grady wants to keep him playing full time in Las Vegas rather than having him as a bench player with the big team. He will be up to stay shortly, I just know it.
Counting down the minutes until the first pitch!
GO DODGERS!
Confirmed by the LA Times
http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/dodgers/wire/sns-ap-bbn-dodgers-moves,1,6626404.story?coll=sns-ap-dodgers-headlines
Loney is going back to Las Vegas, and Kemp made the team. Bigbie either finds another team or goes back to Las Vegas.
This is pretty surprising. I thought that the question was Loney or Bigbie. Loney is ready, and while I love Kemp, I am not sure that he is ready (althoguh I thought he had a great attitude–day one he was upset, day two he said he was going down to work on what he needed to do, and come back as the right-handed power hitter we needed).
Kemp crushed that Home run last night (I was at the game and saw it leave the park, but I am not sure if it’s landed yet). But we know what he CAN do–it’s just learning to be consistent. Loney already has that. I thought he would be coming back if Bigbie did not (there are 32 games that Nomar won’t play that Loney can start).
I’m glad one of them made the roster–it’s a committment to the guys we are growing. But it seems like it should have been Loney. I still expect him up during the year, and in the lineup by next Spring, if not sooner.
Furcal starts on the 15 day DL, but can come back Sunday. Wilson Valdez made the team, probably will go back down as soon as Raffy’s back–hopefully Saturday.
This is seriously the worst decision Grady could have made! Kemp needs to see pitching everday, Loney doesn’t! Loney should be on the club playing 2 or 3 times a week giving Nomar and Gonzo regular days off.
This just stunts the growth of two future stars.
Grady’s incompetence is starting to become a joke.
At first I thought the James Loney news was an April Fool’s joke. Apparently not. It seems he will never be the regular Dodger first baseman. Nomar has a two year contract. James can’t bide his time for two years. All he can do is hit and catch with a budding gold glove. I guess that is not enough. I am starting to think he should be traded out of fairness to him. It is just plain wrong to try to convert him to OF. My take is he has the potiential to be a Mark Grace type of player. Delwyn Young converted from 2B to OF and it didn’t get him much. I hope Matt does really well but also think he needs to play regularly. I don’t think he’ll progress well as a part time player. If things don’t go well I don’t think he will take well to a mid season demotion.
Do we need Anderson, Martinez and Valdez? I’m not saying they are poor choices but aren’t they like three peas in a pod, except Anderson is a switch hitter? I suppose we do need two of them when Furcal returns. We also have Saenz who can play some 1B and 3B.
53- What a night you had. Keep that Billingsley ball.
Harold, good to have you back. I hope it is just like old times. Maybe we could reincarnate the BOYS OF SUMMER for one season. Wouldn’t that be great?
GO BLUE
51 – Great to be back. Was waiting for the roster to be finalized. Very disappointed for James Loney. What can you do after you have the best average in all of AAA? If he had hit for power it would be attributed to the atmosphere in Vegas. Better to have line drive gap power and develop HR power as he finishes growing. I hope he doesn’t sag mentally.
Thanks for the lineup euhlman. I’m okay with Kemp making the team, but he has to play. I also don’t understand the thinking behind sending down one of the best hitters on this team, if not the best hitter in Loney. We really don’t need to keep Valdez, we have other options. Why doesn’t management let Loney and Kemp play and back them up with Nomar and Gonzo? I thought it was about having the best players on the team, not the most expensive.
The other thing I’ve been thinking about is how management keeps saying that Bills needs to learn to pitch more efficiently to be in the rotation. Like Penny and Tomko pitch efficient? Okay I’m through venting. For now.
fliegel@ptd.net– I wonder about the Billingsley thing too. I think they might be wise to take their time with him. Location and efficiency with pitches were a problem last year. I hope he can overcome that this year and I am sure something will happen to open up a starting spot before the season is over. I think he is valued by the Dodger brass. I’m not sure why but somehow feel they don’t really value James Loney as we do. I know he must play, but Kemp even moreso has to play. James can just plain hi the ball. Seems to me hitting it more often is better than hitting it longer. Back to Mark Grace. High of 17 homers but a wonderfully productive career with bat, glove and attitude. I liken James to Mark Grace. Maybe the Dodgers are looking for him to be Mark McGwire.
I’ve just been skipping over the dodgerthoughts posts, and that works out well. Why encourage them/it.
I don’t really understand the Loney, Bigbie, Kemp situation myself, but management is a big bunch closer to the situatiion than I am, and I think they’ll remedy any wrong decisions in short order.
And it is a shame about Mota. That one is a real Dodger.
knouffbrock@frontiernet.net I expect you are right. I think I understand Bigbie as they no doubt figure the kids can contribute what he would over the course of a campaign. He had a great spring and can still contribute somewhere so I hope he catches on with another team. Seems like a good guy. I am concerned Loney might let down while he is still on an upward spiral. Of course, last season would be hard to duplicate anyway. But as you say, they no doubt have a plan. I expect some teams would like to have the Dodger situation with too many good players.
Well I guess you all knew I couldn’t stay away long !!
I try not to think I know it all, but I do try to believe that I’m as informed as any Dodger fan can be. But, even I didn’t see this one coming. I can only think that either the long term potential of Kemp far out weighed that of Bigbie, or Ned is shopping Kemp. I understand all the reasons for why Loney went down, righty vs lefty, more experience in the OF etc… But, letting Bigbie go and keeping Kemp is strange to me. Maybe, their shopping Kemp or something, but keeping him on the 25 man roster just to sit I think is doing him a grave injustice. But at the end of the day, I need to believe and that is exactly what I’m going to do. After all it’s a long season and changes will continue to happen.
Harold, it’s great to have you and the 50+ gang back !! You too Ray, Pats etc..
Go Ned !!
Go Dodgers !!
I guarantee Ned isn’t ‘shopping’ Kemp. Ned’s braintrust, including Logan White, feel he is a future 5-tool superstar. Players like that aren’t traded.
I’ve said it before, but I’ll repeat it. IF, a trade is in the works, The PERFECT choice
will be RYAN Zimmerman. This
guy is a STUD. Does not get much ink, but he’s got very
good #’s…..Pat