Another WOW
So I spent the first four hours of today in meetings about the WBC and I’m equally as excited about that as I am for Camelback Ranch.
For those of you in Los Angeles, you won’t want to miss this tournament. It wound up being an incredible success in 2006 and I expect that this year will be even better.
Tickets for the games at Dodger Stadium March 21-23 are on sale starting Monday so check out all there is to know about the WBC…
Now it’s off to a Best Buy, where Andre Ethier is buying holiday gifts for many children in need…
Inside the Dodgers 
Well I am a child (adult) in need…I’ll take a flat screen or Wii from Best Buy. That is wonderful that Andre is helping the Children. Andre keep up the great job. It makes me feel good that those that can, help the ones that can’t. God bless you Andre! And Josh you are a wondeful as well, God bless you too. Thanks for keeping us posted. And the tourname sounds great…right around my b-day…I know what to ask for now. THANKS JOSH!
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ROSE
Josh- Thanks for the update. It will be a great time when baseball returns to Dodger Stadium!!
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For the rest of my ITD friends. I want to say Happy Birthday to Walter Elias Disney. His work brings joy to my life everyday, too bad her died before my lifetime! Today he would have been 107!! 🙂 Anyway. Happy Birthday Walt~~
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Josh!
thanks for a new thread!
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Andre!
That is wonderful what you are doing for the kids. Best Buy got some of our money last week.
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Mr. Maddux,
Good luck in your future endevours. We loved seeing you in Dodger Blue!
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About WBC, that reminds me I have to respond if I do want the WBC tickets included in my season tickes.
Hola mis amigos fanaticos de los Doyers :-).
Hello Emma. I hope you are doing well my dear 🙂
Hello Emma & Amy….it’s been a long time.
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And yes HAPPY BIRTH WALT DISNEY…he has created the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH AND HAD BROUGHT A LOT OF SMILES TO BOTH CHILDREN & ADULT ALL OVER THE WORLD.
Come esta Loca-azul?
Good Afternoon Ladies!!! I see the first six entries are filled with girl power. How is everyone?
Rose,
Lol. I am great. 1 hour and 15 min b4 quitting time!
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Amy,
Mr Disney left a great legacy behind! Happy birthday Mr. Disney!
Hey Nelly- I think you were in my dream last night. By now I forget what it was about, but you were our ITD teacher. We were in school for something and you were up in the front of the classroom teaching us. Too bad I don’t remember the rest anymore 😦
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Yea for the ITD girls 🙂 I know Rose..it’s been way too long. Any plans to visit D-Land in December?
TESTOSTERONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dnelly,
Girl power just like at Andre’s blog!
Girl power all the way…and very little TESTOSTERONE….LOL Hello Eric!
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Amy – this Christmas I will not be visiting our place…sniff snifff but that castle looks very very beautiful…Are you going?
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Yup EMMA it is almost quitting time…and the weekend begins…yeah! Then we can hit the Cuervo ya’ll were talking about earlier….I need a margarita, it’s been a long week.
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DNEL – you are our ITD teacher…each time we have a questions you are there to anwer it!
Outstanding Andre, You are a true American.
GO DODGER’S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi ITD,
Well, Andre Ethier is obviously a decent guy.
My advice to Andre:
“Get away from the McCourts as soon as you can!”
And I really could care less about the WBC, let alone actually buy tickets. Sorry.
But hey, there’s always Jack Wilson!!!
-Scott
It doen’t surprise me that Andre would do a wonderful ting for needy children……..he’s just a great guy!
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Good to see you Dodgereric. We were getting worried about you.
Rose- I hope to go twice in December. The girls and I are actually thinking about going for New Years eve. That would be fun 🙂 And I want to go before Christmas. I just have to make more solid plans.
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Hi Tru 🙂 good to see you too. I hope your December is starting up nice for you.
Ward Dear…….June Darlin’ has been worried about you. You must be a very busy, busy boy. It’s good to see you 🙂
Sorry ladies ~ I asked how everyone was and then I left. I had to console my teachers next door about a psycho kinder parent. I am just hoping I don’t get the student next year.
I think having the WBC semifinals and final at Dodger Stadium is actually pretty cool. Hopefully, the McCourts don’t use the extra revenue to buy anther mansion (what about the kids?).
For those of you who have seen a pic of Josh, click on the link he provided for the WBC and then click on “Dodger
Stadium to host Clasic final. He starts the conference.
Hi Scott, good to see you here again! Nice post! Like most of you, I’m trying really hard to figure out how an $8 million Wilson is such an upgrade over Berroa.
Hi Tru! Thanks, but no worries. Just busier than the proverbial long-tailed cat in a room full of rockin’ chairs………..I just hadda say something with all the girl power running amuck around here. Not that I mind you girls, mind you. Heck, I married one!
Is so great to hear Vin Scully & Jaime Jarrin in the conference about the WBC!
Josh,
As we know, flags are not permitted at the stadium. Would they be permitted during the WBC?
Hi Amy ~ I’m having a great December. My anniversary is Saturday and I’m almost finished with my Christmas shopping.
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Dodgereric ~ I think the Wilson deal was a rumor and it won’t happen. Isn’t it strange though that CC is waiting to see what Texeira is going to do before he makes a decision and, Lowe is waiting to see what CC is going to do?
MANNY A DODGER!!!!!!Did I hear right the Manny Ramirez is becoming a Dodgers…Please someone clear the rumor for me. I clicked on the website provided by Josh…..and I went to “Dodger
Stadium to host Classic final” (looking for Josh which I did not find) and when I was listening to the clips they said something about welcoming Manny to the Dodgers….SOME PLEASE PLEASE HELP!
OH MAN NEVER MIND….I DID NOT SEE THE DATE…I FEEL NOT SMART!
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MANNY IS STILL NOT A DODGERS….SORRY!
HEy Rose! that is what Frank said!
At the beginning is josh and then just b4 Chan Ho Park.
EMMA I need to start paying attention to the dates!
Glad to see Dre helping out the youngsters, as well as the whole Dodger organization. If Championships were defined by charity, we’d probably be going far in the playoffs every year.
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!
Guess I scared all the ladies away… I have that effect on all women.
Ha-cha-cha!
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/JimmyDurante.jpg
Oh, and BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!
Good evening Northstateblues. Durante was an interesting choice.
Jr Dodger?..lol..bring back the BLUE CREW….what the hell is this all about..im guessing it’s another one of McCourt’s wise ideas…what a mo*on..here’s hoping that we sign someone..god help uss
I am with nsblues – BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!! Who made the choice to change the name? You know at most schools when something is changed that affects the kids, they ask the kids for input. I think if the name had to be changed, the kids would have come up with something more clever than Junior Dodgers (IMO). You know it’s a slow news day when all we can talk about is the name of the kids club for Dodgers. However, leave it to ITD to keep the talk going. We wouldn’t want to disappoint.
Okay – back to NASCAR 🙂
Tru, Just posted Durante ’cause I said Ha-Cha-Cha as I was typing my post, heh.
Dnelly, if it was left to the kids, they’d be the SUPER DUPER DOUBLE BLUE-PER DODGERS, PIRATES AND ASTRONAUTS CLUB, heheheh!! Yeah, it’s a slow news day, and I’m not planning on children in the foreseable future, but still, Junior Dodgers?!! Someone please get the ex-Giant contingents’ hands outta the cookie jar! That is not how we roll at the Ravine!
C’mon, “Blue Crew”, it rhymes! A lot more kid-friendly than the awkward sounding “Junior Dodgers”. Plus, as I said at the end of the last thread, J.D. is an awfully unfortunate monogram for a children’s club.
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!!!!!!
My kids were Blew Crew members. Well, actually I used their names and the stuff was really for me! I too say, BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!
Those were some awesome packages the Blue Crew sent, Tru. My favorite was in 1997, when my little brother got this awesome, door-sized poster of a comic-ized Jackie Robinson with the 97 schedule.
It was very sad after I turned 14 and didn’t get those cool kids’ promotions anymore.
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!
GO DODGERS!!!
I know, Northstateblues. I enjoyed everything I got from my Blue Crew membership. I think the Giant call their youth group Junior Giants and, I don’t think we should be anything like them……..we are original and we are the DODGERS!! PLEASE BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!
That’s one of my qualms with the re-branding, Tru. Blech, Junior Giants… ack!!! It’s just so unoriginal. And that’s coming from someone with Jr. in his name, heheh.
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!
You have my permission, Northstateblues, to tell whoever is in charge that we here on ITD have decided it shall be THE BLUE CREW!!! Afterall, who know more about the Dodgers than ITD bloggers!
I hope they can go back and change the name back, that it isn’t like uniforms where you have to give over a year’s advance warning of a change.
The Dodgers franchise, as the current incarnation of the Brooklyn Base Ball Club, has a ton of history they could draw from. Groups like the Knothole Gang, the Sym-phony band, etc. exemplified fan involvement with the franchise. They painted an image in the fan’s mind synonymus with the club.
When I was a kid, the Blue Crew made me feel enough like I was part of what was going on at Dodger Stadium. Just the name “Blue Crew” made me feel like I was part of… well… a Crew. Not that being a “Junior Dodger” wouldn’t have elicited the same effect, but “Blue Crew”, that was something original within the Dodger brand, and it felt like the name of a Clubhouse, you know?
Everything changes, but I didn’t think it was time for the Blue Crew to go under yet…
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!!
It is a pretty slow news day if I’m this psyched about the kids club’s name changing, eh Nelly?
But still, I digress…
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!
GO DODGERS!!!
Hey, we wouldn’t be ITD if we couldn’t take the most trivial topic and make it a night’s worth of entertainment. We are talking about the most creative blog around 🙂
oops!!
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!!!!
Josh – I mentioned this on Andre’s blog, but I just wanted to say on here too that I think Andre is to be commended for all the things he is doing for kids in Los Angeles, from his work at the LA Rescue Mission, to the visits to the hospitals and now the shopping spree. There is no secret on this blog that he is currently my favorite player on this team, but things like this is what I have always admired about him. He is a great baseball player and I know he is not done showing the Dodger franchise what he can do. I think the end of last season was just a taste of what’s to come with Andre. I hope the Dodgers know how much of a class act they have with him, both on and off the field.
I’ll drink to that, Nellyae!!
Well said Nelly,
Bottom’s up to Andre and the Dodger’s
GO DODGER’S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YEA, YOU ARE BACK, DODGER4LIFE!!!!!
Good to see you too, True 🙂
Thank’s…
I thought for a while you’d have to sign in as a different person, Dodger4life. I wonder if that would work?
Let’s hope I dont have to cross that bridge. Please 🙂
LOL, Dodger4life! I’m sure you will remain the same.
Yeah – Dodger4life is back!!! That NASCAR awards show is awesome even though I missed Denny. That would have really sucked if I hadn’t thought of checking NASCAR.com. So, I was not so upset anymore. All the guys looked very handsome and the ladies looked elegant.
I told my class what Andre was doing today, and they were all very proud of him as well. I think I need to tape record my class someday so I have proof how often his name is mentioned in my classroom. It is unreal, really.
OAKLAND — The A’s are no longer the apparent front-runners to sign Rafael Furcal, as the free-agent shortstop declined their contract offer.
FOXsports.com reported Friday night that the A’s met Furcal’s wishes for a four-year deal, but he balked at the value of the offer, which was believed to range between $35 million to $40 million. Furcal, who is a career .286 hitter but also has a history of back problems, is coming off a three-year, $39 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Paul Kinzer, Furcal’s agent, confirmed the decision to FOXsports.com. Kinzer indicated that he could reopen talks with the A’s, but only if Furcal would accept a more economical contract.
nsblues – great post on Andre’s blog
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!!!!
So, do you think we are going to try for Furcal now?
Yeah. I think we will offer alot of cash for two years to him and pray he is healthy.
I also don’t like this Junior new name. Like NSB, it reminds me of J.D. Drew and I don’t want anything to remind me of him. I am going to mention this on Sunday.
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!!!!
Good Job Emma!!!!!!
So, jungar, is that why you are 50 rich – the non-signing of Furcal?
Emma, yeah, that was the first thing I thought of when I saw that shield… and Junior Dodgers doesn’t have the same ring as the Blue Crew.
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!
I wasn’t necessarily taking that angle until it was mentioned. I was more pissed that it appears we are copying the gnats – yuck!!!!!! ……and Junior Dodgers is just so boring.
Nelly, just the thought of copying the Giants at anything… :: shiver ::
I seriously had hoped that the new owners would’ve gotten it by now, doing anything the way the Giants do it = BAD.
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!
Dodgers way – great
Giants way – bad
Dodgers ay – good
Giants way – evil
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!!!!
I think the Dodgers Organization forgets about the fans in nor-cal sometimes, not to mention the fans not even living in this state. That is what makes the 42 ballparks not such a smart idea. Yea,you may have made a few so-Cal Dodger fans happy, but there is absolutely no benefit for those ball parks for anyone living outside of the Los Angeles area. Whereas you sign Manny or CC, you have benefited and made very happy thousands and thousands of loyal fans not only in so-cal but across this state, nation and world.
It is unanimous, ITD, on this day,
WANT’S TO BRING BACK ~ THE BLUE CREW!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bringing back the Blue Crew will put us in our happy place – LMAO!!!!
Yes, put us back in our happy place, Dodgers…
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!
Both America and Garth Brooks made this song work
to “Don’t Cross The River”
PLEASE SELL THE DODGERS
There’s a little girl out talking on her own
She’s got a great big mouth
She’s just the kind that makes you wince and moan
Our team is going south
And if she influences her old man
I’m scared we’re headed for that big trash can
She’s giving Manny’s money to some kids
Next year they’re serving sodas without lids
Just sell the Dodgers if you don’t have the cash
You’re more concerned that your pants and blouse clash
No more banks
Will give you a loan
If you want you can take the train
The only thing that matters is you’re leaving
Lose yourself out on the road
Maybe we’ll even pretend we’re grieving
Please sell the Dodgers if you can’t pay the boys
Your fake concern just upsets and annoys
Why don’t you
Bring back our lil’ Blue Crew
66 Days until Spring Training
Until then we will be praying
Our young guns will be playing
Furcal will be staying
Manny or CC, Frank will be paying
JP and Andruw we’ll be trading
66 Days until Spring Trading
Until then we will be praying
THINKING DODGER BLUE ~ THE WHOLE YEAR THROUGH
CALL IT FANATICAL
CALL IT PASSION
CALL IT CRAZY
BLEEDING DODGER BLUE ~ THE WHOLE YEAR THROUGH
SOMETHING THAT DODGER FANS BELIEVE IS TRUE
Good Night ITD readers and writers!!!
Take care and God Bless!!
Well, well, well – Where did you come from Ward Dear….. Great song BTW – Wow!!!
Did you watch the NASCAR awards tonight? – just awesome!!!!
DodgerEric I love Garth.
Good-Night Nelly have a good night, and God Bless you and the rest of yours…
Till tommorrow 🙂
I thought everyone was leaving, then everyone shows up at 12:30ish – what is this?
Great song Eric!! Not looking forward to lidless soda, especially if they raise the prices for it.
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!
Dodger4life – you put my mind about writing a song, and now that’s all I am thinking about.
Get on it ~ Northstatebluesn it aint gonna work 🙂 LOL!!!
Goodnight D4! God Bless, my friend!
Good evening north and June Darlin’!
I got home tonight just in time to catch the last 20 minutes or so of the NASCAR banquet. Was there anything memorable?
heheheh, I’m an adjective now!
(at least I hope I am… what kind of English Major would I be if I didn’t know my parts of speech?)
(A northstateblues kind, that’s what)
Good~Night DodgerEric, God- Bless to you and all yours as well 🙂
How is the new job working out for Mrs. DodgerEric???
northstatebluesinit would actually be a verb, yes? I am assuming he is talking to me then he is tell me to get on it so that would be a verb, yes?
Ward Dear… ……you are a huge Jimmie fan so for you I would imagine you saw the best part – Jimmie. However, I was out for some of it, and I missed Denny, but I was able to find his speech on NASCAR.com so you may want to peruse that at your leisure and see what the other drivers had to say. I had never seen it before so I was very impressed.
With the state of the big 3, I worry what would happen to NASCAR if they went under… that would be a sport changer right there.
Hopefully, we’ll never have to find out.
Dnelly, you’re right! I done a baaaaad thing.
It’s gotta be late if I missed that.
nsblues – can I just red pen the whole sentence – LOL!!!!
It’s okay nsblues – my sentence to you didn’t make one bit of sense – LOL!!!!!!!
Ward Dear…..How did Chris’ first week go?
Sorry Dodger4life – I didn’t see you asking the same question about Mrs. Dodgereric 🙂
Mrs dodgereric had a challenging week. She hasn’t been in the financial world for 5-6 years and they’re not giving her a lot of help yet, so it was a little rough. But she’s happy that she’s bringing money into the house again. That’s a big thing to her, her pride was really injured there while she was out of work.
That’s something that I’ve thankfully never experienced since 1973.
The reason I asked about “anything memorable” is that there is usually something along those lines. Last year Kyle Busch thanked his girlfriend, but called her by his brother’s wife’s name. Oops! Tony Stewart’s been known to let ‘er rip too.
north, they have issues to solve. And that’s a fact.
That’s probably gonna do it for me. I’m zoning out here.
Have a good night, everyone, “keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars!”
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!
north, take it slow. BTW, I really liked your post a couple of days ago about Mel Ott. It was really good reading.
And I must thank MLB.com for returning us to relative normalcy. It sure makes it easier to converse.
Ward Dear…… I am sure once she gets settled, Chris will be just fine. As far as memorable, I thought it was all memorable so I am probably not a good reference point for that. Dodger4life saw it too, so maybe he sees it from a different perspective. Tony pretty much thanked the Joe Gibbs Driving Team and how wonderful their relationship was. Denny made the comment about keeping the Joe Gibbs Racing Team up late at night because he is now their senior driver. Well, you saw Jimmie so he was pretty remarkable, and did you see Cale Yarborough come out with him? Also, Kevin Costner talked about the 60 years of NASCAR and then introduced the King – that was a moment for sure.
Good night northstateblues!!!! Always a pleasure to spend time with you.
I heard a decent proposal on the radio the other day. Let’s have the oil companies bail out the automakers. They’re doing alright, and they have a vested interest in keeping the autos rolling.
I saw Costner perform at the Fontana race in the spring. He was onstage with a band and was really rockin’! I was impressed.
I thought Cale was great. His remark that Jimmie had only tied him was funny.
Richard Petty was talking about the early years. Some good stuff there 🙂
Im praying for the missus 🙂 She’ll be just fine. I honestly beilive that.
She’ll pick it back up, I have no doubt. Thanks to the both of you for your kind words. 🙂
I know you believe that……….
It was funny when Kevin told the story about how Richard Petty had that strange feeling because he had never sat in the passenger seat of his car before. That was funny because it does feel funny sitting in the passenger seat of your own car and I am not driving it 180+ mph.
You are most very welcome Ward Dear……. I know what she means to you, and I know you want her happy. Like you said, she will be just fine once she gets her bearings.
I’m not much without her.
Well, I’m nodding off so I better hit the rack. I’ll talk to you later. Hopefully this coming week will be a memorable one – for all the good reasons! I’d like to read and write some songs that accentuate the positive for a change!
Good night and may God Bless you Nelly and D4!
Good Night Ward Dear…….thanks for hanging out with us. God Bless to you and your family as always, and have a great Saturday, and I will talk to you later…..take care 🙂
Positive thought’s and positive action’s can change the world.
We have done it before and we will do it again.
It is not alway’s easy to be positive but in the end it is the prize we will cherish the most. Stay positive everyone.
As I say good-night and God Bless I leave you with my Happy song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH0qz2PYFFk&NR=1
I wonder also if Furcal is just fielding offers and will ultimately take a shorter but larger salary from the Dodgers. No one really knows how well he will play since he was out most of this past season with his back. To give him a larger salary over more years would be unrealistic until his good health can be proven. For the past 2 years, it has been ankle and back issues. Like I’ve said before, the Dodgers have been burned with bad health on the part of these longer signings. He played okay during the playoffs considering he was out for so long but I think he played just so everyone can see he can at least play at all.
And I agree with everyone else re: Andre. He is the most generous awesome Dodger!! He has a huge heart. 🙂
One more post. I can go to the WBC games but I have almost no interest. I only go to Dodger Stadium to see the Blue play.
That one Gabe Kapler play that robbed Russell of a homerun keeps coming back! I happened to be right in the middle of that play, the blonde in the lower right. It happens to be one of the top ten plays of the year on MLB.com. Too bad it wasn’t in favor of the Dodgers. :-(That one play keeps popping up on the internet. In fact it was on Russell’s Yahoo player page. Imagine, I was on Russell’s page for a while!!
Good morning ITD boys and girls!
What do you know!!! I didn’t get an error message!!! I’ve been trying to sign in for the last couple of days, but I kept on getting error messages. It looks like the MLB servers are fixed and we are all posting the RIGHT time zone!!!
I know I’m chiming in kinda late on this, but I also think that Junior Dodgers is totally unoriginal and they should rename it BLUE CREW FAN CLUB like it was! I still would love to have Raffy back, but nothing more than a 2 year, incentive-laden contract. Since the gnats have signed Renteria, they don’t need Raffy. And since Raffy turned down the A’s offer, I am just hoping that Raffy returns back to us!
GO DODGERS!!!
last three years…..
—Renteria
256 runs
92 doubles
46hr
182rbi
34sb
–Furcal
234 runs
67 doubles
26hr
126rbi
70sb
—
There is your market Furcal. If we offer him more than Renteria (and his 2 gold gloves to Raffys 0) we are fools. Renteria is a better player…. 2 years $18.5 million is tops. Now before you say that totals shouldn’t count, i think given the injury risk they very much do. You get what you pay for, Jason Schmidt won 1 game and we have paid him 30+ million, he aint giving the money back cause he is hurt.
Way to go, keep it going USC!!!
The original to this song is, “We’re A Couple Of Misfits.” It’s from the Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer. Rudolph and Hermey, the distracted elf on Santa’s toy assembly line, have run away from Santa’s toy factory. They sing this song. It’s kinda of an obscure Christmas song, but when I saw the title, I HAD to parody it for Frank & Ned! I’ve renamed it: Frank & Ned Are a Couple Of Misfits. I’ve attached the video for the song, so you can get what the tune originally sounded like! (Before I butchered it up!) When you look at the video, pretend that the elf is Frank and Rudolph is Ned)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwlOUAAyPQE
We’re a couple of misfits
We’re a couple of misfits
What’s the matter with misfits?
That’s where we fit in!
We are stingy and sparing
Schmidtty, you need repairing!
Juanpy, you keep on sulking!
See, we don’t fit in!
We may be different from the rest
Who decides the test?
Of what is really best?
We’re a couple of misfits
High, atop of our summits
PVLs, really are best fits!
We really don’t fit in!
Why am I such a misfit?
I am not just a nitwit!
I’m Nedco, the dimwit!
See, I don’t fit in!
Why am I such a misfit?
I am not just a nitwit!
I’m Franky, the tight **it!
See, I don’t fit in!
We cert’nly are different from the rest
Other teams pay the best!
We just pay the rest!
Dodger fans are not misfits
Where’d we get these old nitwits?
Oh, from Gnatville & Boston!
That’s why they don’t fit in!
Great job CP!
Thx Tru! Like I said, it’s an obscure song, but I saw that title and there was just NO WAY I couldn’t parody it! That was fun! So how are you? Besides cheering for USC?
Oh Tru, I know I just asked you something, but I just realized the time! Go ahead and answer me! I’ll read your response later…
Cp ~ I’m great! Having a good weekend so far. Waiting to go out to dinner.
WOw, quiet night tonight. I’m not going to be around for a bit myself, have some decorating to help with. Just hoping everyone’s having a good night.
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!
GO DODGERS!!!!!
Good Evening ITD readers and writers!!!!!
CP – very impressive song, girl!!!!! We think too much alike because I was thinking the same song. I just hadn’t had time to sit down and think about it.
nsblues – I hope you are having fun decorating.
Oh I forgot the most important thing….
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!!!!!!!!
Just now on ESPN crawl: Furcal rejects multi-year offer from Athletics!
Do we still have a chance to keep Raffy?
I see that CP commented on Raffy and the A’s this morning, sooo…
NEVERMIND!
Great game today by the Trojans. I guess it wasn’t good enough for some because ESPN said they didn’t win by enough. Maybe instead of talking about how the offense didn’t score enough, how about how the defense held the Bruins to one touchdown.
Thinking about Scott Boras and the mega bucks, I hate that only the “Big Boys” can play–Yankees…Red Sox…Mets. So I found a list of the seventeen $100+ baseball contracts. Yankess have three. Only two other teams have had more than one. Can you name ’em? The Dodgers had one, Kevin Brown. The Gnats, Zito. Pujhols A-Rod (twice!!!), Jeter, Manny, Helton, Miguel Cabrera, Soriano, on and on. So it looks like the big bucks have been spread around after all. It’s the Mets (Beltran, Santana) and the Rockies (Helton, Hampton).
That’s $100 million…
GO DODGER’S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bring Back ( The Blue Crew!!! )
josh, i was SO excited that we were hosting the WBC and i really wanted to go.. and then.. i saw the prices.. and i’m going to hold off on buying tickets to see if i can get anything when the dates get closer.. i mean really.. it’s $120 for top deck / pavilion seats.. i’m sure that it’s going to be really exciting.. and the games will be good.. but i guess i just don’t want to front the money right now.. especially because going to spring training will be pricey too..
Looks like the Dodgers are once again in the lead for Blake. I really hope we don’t give him more than 2 years either.
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I’m not yet sure how to copy a link on my Apple computer so I cut and pasted the article below.
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The Twins’ pursuit of free-agent third baseman Casey Blake appears to have reached an impasse.
According to a report by the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Saturday, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told the newspaper that the Twins ended talks with Blake on Friday after the two sides couldn’t work out a deal.
There were multiple reports earlier this week that the Twins offered Blake a two-year deal with an option for a third year. But the newspaper indicated Saturday that the sticking point between the two sides was that Blake wanted the third year guaranteed and the club was standing by its offer.
Twins general manager Bill Smith has maintained his policy this winter of not discussing the club’s pursuit of any free agents.
It now appears like the Dodgers, who, along with the Twins, were listed by Blake’s agent, Jim McDowell, this week as front-runners for the third baseman, could be the favorite to land Blake.
With Blake apparently out of the picture for the Twins — at least for now as there is always a chance the two sides could reopen talks — Minnesota will likely use the Winter Meetings this week in Las Vegas to contact other teams about a trade for a third baseman or a shortstop. The ballclub has been intent on upgrading the left side of its infield offensively this winter, and besides Blake, it has shown little interest in filling holes in the infield through the free-agent market.
So where might the Twins start their search? Rockies third baseman Garrett Atkins and Mariners third baseman Adrian Beltre have been mentioned in trade rumors.
If the trade market for third baseman doesn’t seem to provide a fit, the Twins have also been open to discussing trade options for a shortstop who can add some offense.
Here is the report about Furcal for those that haven’t seen it.
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OAKLAND — The A’s are no longer the apparent front-runners to sign Rafael Furcal, as the free-agent shortstop declined their contract offer.
FOXsports.com reported Friday night that the A’s met Furcal’s wishes for a four-year deal, but he balked at the value of the offer, which was believed to range between $35 million to $40 million. Furcal, who is a career .286 hitter but also has a history of back problems, is coming off a three-year, $39 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Paul Kinzer, Furcal’s agent, confirmed the decision to FOXsports.com. Kinzer indicated that he could reopen talks with the A’s, but only if Furcal would accept a more economical contract.
The A’s have not commented on Furcal’s status, and GM Billy Beane has a longstanding policy of not discussing negotiations.
It has been speculated that Furcal could return to his former team, the Dodgers, but they have shown little outward interest so far this offseason. Two clubs in the market for shortstops avoided Furcal — the Giants, who initially pursued him diligently but instead signed Edgar Renteria, and the Cardinals, who obtained Khalil Greene from the Padres.
Oakland’s alternatives at shortstop include sticking with incumbent Bobby Crosby or pursuing free agents such as David Eckstein, Adam Everett, Cesar Izturis, Nick Punto or Orlando Cabrera, a Type A free agent who would require draft-choice compensation to the Chicago White Sox from the team that signs him.
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The interesting thing to me is the comment that the Dodgers have “shown little outward interest this offseason”.
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Once again it seems that we hear that they are pursuing this Free Agent or that one only to find that they really aren’t.
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I harken back to T. Hunter last year, who they supposedly were after and then part way through the season Hunter stated that they had never contacted him.
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Is this the same with CC?
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Is this the same with Manny?
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Things that make you go HMMMM.
I agree with Jungar that Renteria is better just based on his health. The numbers also back that up (Being a better player). I liked Renteria and thought he would be a good option but after he came to camp last year for Detroit in a similar weight gain as Jones, was in the not sure about him for us. I have gone back & forth on him.
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I thought he was a very good player before last year. But he seemed to be on the Jones plan.
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However his agent has said he was overweight last year and has been working out hard getting into shape for this season.
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Hopefully Jones is doing the same as they sort of paralleled each other last year.
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Hopefully Jones hears about that in the media and realizes that the boos he was hearing (I’m not a supporter of booing the home player or team) wasn’t the fans fault but his and gets his body and mind in shape.
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Since he is going to play winter ball we might see soon enough what he has to offer this year.
Yes I know there are some red pens there but I’m falling asleeeeeep!!
Wouldn’t it fantastic DNelly if we could have our team back from last season. You have heard me say that before but it seems that it could be a possibility. Casey is still out there not happy with what’s offered him. Furcal is no longer being considered by the A’s probably because it’s not proven that he is healthy. Borass has realized that maybe no one can top the offer Frank put up for Manny. No one has signed D Lowe yet and Sabathia is till out there. How awesome would it be to have all our wonderful guys back plus CC? I know what you guys are thinking but a girl can dream, no? 🙂 What player wouldn’t want to be part of a team who almost made it to the Big Games? And Joe has proven to be a great manager making it to the playoffs 13 consecutive seasons even with a new team. Sigh…we will see.
Good Morning, ITD readers and writers!!
65 days until spring training!!!!
Thinking dodgerblue the whole year through!!!!
Good – Morning Dodgerfaithful,
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!!!
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!!
65 DAYS UNTIL SPRING TRAINING!!!
THINKING DODGER BLUE THE WHOLE YEAR THROUGH!!!!
UNTIL THEN WE WILL BE PRAYING!!!
GO DODGER’S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Carpe Diem…
Good morning ~ all I want to say right now is, “BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW”!
Hi TrueBlue,
I trust you had a good time last night 🙂
Hi Dodger4life. Yes, I had a good time last night. Nothing fancy but a nice little get together. My son and his wife took us out. thanks for asking.
Your welcome True, I have to run Have a good day 🙂
I just think it’s crazy (if it’s true) that Furcal would reject 40 million when Renteria just got 19 million for 2 years. Looking at it from a GM or owner perspective….
Both have risks coming off last season with furcal being a bigger risk (back) ….but before last season how could Furcal and his agent think he is worth more? What gives them the stones to think they will get more money and a better deal? From who? From us? The Cubs? I can only think that Furcal wants more money. Not years.
{{{{{{ Furcal is a.286 avg. 352 obp and a better baserunner, but only 96ops+ over 9 seasons, creates 5.5 runs per 27 innings…and a pretty poor .237 post season hitter in 137abs, 1 all star game, 0 gold gloves….}}}}
vs.
{{{{{renteria…13 seasons, .290 hitter .347 OBP, career OPS+ of 96, 4.4 RC/27 (speed difference), .246post season hitter in 207abs, 5time all star and 2 gold gloves)
—
worse case a wash?. raffy runs better but edgar is better defender and they are the same hitter.
That RC on Renteria is 4.9 not 4.4
From Truth & Rumors on CNN.com:
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The McCourts, who own the Dodgers, are talking about the tough economy, so the signals aren’t favorable for a big signing. If they can’t get Manny Ramirez, they’ll turn to Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell, or even entertain a deal for Jermaine Dye. Jake Peavy could be a possibility, and they could make a big offer to CC Sabathia.
Boston Globe
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Bummer other than the CC part.
Good afternoon ITD boys and girls!
Ya know, after I posted my song yesterday, I caught the time, and I had to run! But I was fully planning on signing back in last night. But funny thing happened to me before I got to do that! The power went out, not only in our house, but also for several blocks! It took Edison until 2 AM this early morning to get it fixed!
My Nellygirl – You were also thinking this same song??? I thought it was too obscure a song that I would’ve been the only one thinking of it!!! (Yeah, right, sure…) I guess we do think too much alike!!! But it’s been like that for a while now!
Oh, and Shepherd! That’s quite all right if we all chime in on the same topic! (In our case, it’s Furcal). Maybe if we say it enough here on ITD, maybe it’ll happen!!!
I posted this comment once before but it just disappeared in internet world so I apologize if it ends up here twice.
I see that Raffy is off the A’s list so he may still be with the Dodgers. And Casey did not likewise accept any offers. No one has topped the Dodgers offer to Manny either. And D Lowe is still out there. And CC….! Is it too much to hope that we could have our team back for another try at the World Series with the added bonus of CC? A girl can hope and dream…eh? If I were a baseball player I would want to be back with a team who made it to the playoffs and could possibly win it all in 2009! 🙂
Good Evening ITD readers and writers!!!! Wow!! It’s been quiet around here today. I was in Sacramento with my family. My son was at a baseball camp at my alma mater (Sac State), and I decided to go the last minute to get some Christmas shopping done on Saturday and watch some baseball on Sunday. However, I won’t say it was freezing (even though I was) because I know some of you are in the 20’s. However, it was mid 30’s to mid 40’s with fog and more fog, and for us Californians that is cold. The only one I was able to convince I was freezing was my sister-in-law who was complaining this morning that the low in the Palm Springs area was going to only be in the low 70’s.
CP – yes, I had that song on my list of songs to try. I know every children’s Christmas song for obvious reasons, and I had mentioned it to Dodger4life the other day about the Misfit toy song. The key line “we’re a couple of misfits” fits our owner and GM to a tee.
xoxrussell – fabulous posts today, and yes, we can all dream to have our team back, and then some 🙂
matty kemp was interviewed during the lakers-bucks game a little while ago looking great. we have such great young guys.. they give good interviews, they look good, and of course they’re good ball players! the future is still bright.. we just need a GM who is capable of filling in the holes..
Hey Sara!! We do have a super team, and there’s always hope our GM will learn from his mistakes and do the right thing by this Dodger team with so much potential.
hey dnelly.. yes.. there is HOPE.. but sadly, there cannot be expectation 😦
Sara – it’s very sad that we can’t expect (or at least the attempt) to have the best for our team.
i know.. very sad indeed
your redskins struggled today huh? 😦
just a little 😦 …and to think I was pulling for the Steelers to beat Dallas so we could tie them in the standings, and we blew it big time.
Hey!! The Trojans did very well though. Did you go to the game?
i had tickets.. but i didn’t want to go.. i really hate going to the rose bowl.. the traffic and the parking is just too much to battle with.. it’s annoying..
we really didn’t play WELL.. but we won.. so i’ll take it..
i was pulling for the steelers too.. buy mostly only because i like the steelers.. and i do not like the cowboys..
Well, I think sometimes the ESPN people do need to take into account that USC was playing a true rival, and it doesn’t matter how good a team is, the rivalry always plays a part, and yes, you are right, at least they won.
My son is a Steelers fan, and that is a team I can actually cheer for and be okay with them winning it all, unlike the Giants. As far as the Cowboys, I have never been a fan, but I can’t say that I despise them like I do the gnats. I just didn’t like the fact that they had them picked to be a premier team in the beginning, and now watching them fall apart is kind of nice.
Giants being the SF gnats, not the NY Giants from the NFL. I like the NY Giants.
you do like the NY Giants? ugh, i don’t.. i like a lot of the players.. but i don’t like them collectively because they are led by eli.. and i really can’t stand eli..
i like the steelers.. mostly, i just like hines ward.. he’s an amazing receiver.. and of course i love troy polamalu.. one of my boys from ‘sc..
you’re right.. rivalry does come in to play.. but this ucla team is so awful.. they just had too many injuries to actually be competitive..
Well, I am a Redskins fan first, Chargers fan second, and then everyone else just kind of falls into place when the playoffs start. I didn’t want the Patriots to win the Superbowl so that is why I brought up the NY Giants. I would still rather have them win than the Cowboys. My son’s favorite player is Polamalu,and I bought him the jersey last year.
i would want anyone over the patriots.. well.. anyone over the tom brady led patriots.. right now, i don’t mind the matt cassel led patriots.. i love matt cassel.. another great ‘sc guy..
That is true – this is a different Patriots team right now. See, I felt the same way about the Cowboys. I was actually okay with the Cowboys until they got Owens, then I went from tolerating them to not liking them at all.
owens and romo for me.. can’t stand either of them..
No, not a fan of romo ethier.
Well, I feel better, at least the Redskins scored as many points as the Rams did today – LOL!!!
haha.. yeah.. always look for the silver lining!
Quiet an accomplishment!!!
Quite = Quiet. MY secretary has the night off 🙂 lol!!!
….and I guess I can say we have more wins than the Lions do. Wait! everyone has more wins than the Lions do – LOL!!! Even the Rams and the Raiders can say that!!!!
Good Evening Dodger4life!!!!!!
Good Evening Every body,
Life is still good today 🙂
GO DODGER’S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Silver linings are good. My silver lining is that I didn’t have to watch the Raiders lose today! Got that out of the way on Thursday.
Looks like the talks’ gonna get crazy tomorrow, eh? I think I”m gonna find out if there’s a way to listen to Dominican League games online (I don’t have ESPN Deportes, so no chance to watch), I would only understand about 15% of it, but I miss baseball.
Here’s to hoping Andruw ~ TEAR’S IT UP!!!!!!!!!
Good evening northstateblues!!! I can also look back on Thursday as well and know that one of my teams won thanks to your silver and black 🙂
How are you doing this evening? What are we reading these days? You are almost done for the semester, yes?
My team’s good for that. At least USC is still kickin’ it and taking names. It was good to see the two teams in their Red and Blue jerseys, was a good test for the HDTV.
I’m good, done with reading, now just review-reading and a paper, then I have finals next week. And probably more Tule Fog, I’m sure you got more than your share in Sac, heh.
northstateblues – The fog was horrible on Saturday. I was shopping Saturday,but my husband said he couldn’t even see the players on the field past the pitching mound. Today it was just overcast, but it was very cold both days. I won’t say freezing since we have fellow ITDers who deal with much worse then the mid 30’s.
Good luck with finals? Do you have a bunch or was it mostly papers since you are an English major.
red pen – put the ? in the wrong spot – damn!!!!!
We still love ya. LOL!!!!
nsb, i completely agree.. i’m so glad we wore our home uniforms.. having both teams in their home unis made the game much more special.. who needs 3 timeouts in the first half anyway? 🙂
I just have 2 finals in my two classes. Luckily they’re not cummilative, I’d have no chance.
Weatherwise, I’ve been throwing the term “California Cold” around a lot lately, heh.
big surprise.. lowe, manny, casey all decline arbitration:
http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081208&content_id=3705661&vkey=news_la&fext=.jsp&c_id=la
btw, we weren’t in RED.. we were in CARDINAL!! haha 🙂
California Cold is definitely a needed term these days. However, this is the warmest I have been all week because it was obviously colder up there then down here in the valley. I just want to see the sun again someday 🙂
That’s great your finals aren’t cumulative – that’s always a good things.
Thanks Dodger4life 🙂
Sara, yeah, especially against this UCLA team, heheh
So much for The End of the Los Angeles Football Dynasty. Neuheisel might have a better chance Restoring the Universe with Hank Steinbrenner.
ugh.. neuweasel.. we’ll see how long he lasts before he commits an ncaa violation..
heheh, yeah, I forgot about the Cardinal. Of course, with the way Stanford’s teams have been lately, who wouldn’t forget ’em?
Oh wait, you’re talking about USC’s jersey, sorry about that 🙂
Nelly, yeah, I consider California Cold the range from when it’s cold enough to see your breath to when it’s insane to even think about barbecuing.
Of course, I never let a little cold weather stop me from BBQing, heh.
I was surprised that Lane Kifflin commited an NCAA violation before he even had the Tennesee job. I stuck up for him when Al Davis turned on him, but now, wow.
The Rose Bowl is alright by me. All the press is saying “Yawn, Rose Bowl again…”, but if you’re gonna do something repetatively, making the Grandaddy of Them All every year is a hell of a way to do it.
it’s not really about making the rose bowl every year.. it’s more about the fact that it means that we are winning the pac-10 every year.. i’ll take it.. still, it’s disappointing because we should be in the title game this one.. one bad quarter against the beavers.. sigh
oops.. red pen.. this YEAR.. not this one..
nsblues – I am tired of seeing my breath (LOL), and yes, it’s always a good time to bbq, regardless of weather. Dodger4life might disagree since he does live in Idaho.
Sara -that one quarter does kind of suck that it took them out of contention that fast.
yeah.. but it’s our own fault.. we shouldn’t have lost to the beavers..
I know, but it still kind of sucks 🙂
yeah it does.. especially for the defense.. because they feel that they cost us that game.. it was our worst defensive quarter of the season.. but they shouldn’t have to feel like they kept us out of the championship because they’ve been picking up for our offense all season.. we definitely have one of the best defensive units in the country (if not the best), and our offense is ridiculously inconsistent..
Yeah, it’s sad that everything’s decided by computers and polls… don’t know how they’d do a feasable playoff, but I just don’t trust BCS rankings.
USC didn’t give up a single point for how many games and dropped two rankings? I don’t care if USC lost to Pomona City College, that rankings drop was a mess. I’m still kinda confused how Oklahoma ended up ahead of Texas if Oklahoma beat Texas, but I’m happy for Matt Kemp.
I definitely agree about USC’s defense, just amazing!!!
yeah it always stinks to drop spots after wins.. and it has never made sense to me that we would be penalized for strength of schedule when we have no control over that.. it’s not like we schedule 1-AA schools like other teams.. if notre dame (who we play every year) is terrible, and so is our conference opponents (who we must play).. how is it fair that we should suffer for their mediocrity?
as far as the oklahoma-texas thing.. that’s really the fault of the big 12.. using the bcs to break a three way tie is just stupid.. everyone knows the system is flawed, and to have that as your tiebreaker is just ridiculous..
I couldn’t agree more about that Sara.
Rage Against the (BCS) Machine!
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!!!!!!!
Back to Dodger baseball 🙂
So, they are not accepting arbitration. So, what do they want? hmmmm!!!!!
D4L, yeah, can’t believe I haven’t said that yet!
DOWN WITH JD
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!
nevermind – I read the article 🙂 I guess we just have to wait and see what happens this week.
yup dnelly, we’ll just have to wait and see..
I wonder if all the GM’s are gonna go crazy in Vegas… wouldn’t mind being a fly in the bar this week
Last year during the winter meetings, the Dodgers signed Andruw Jones. Boy, did that turn out differently than planned.
seriously.. these winter meetings are going to be very interesting..
The funny thing is, every Ned signing I liked the day it happened. I could see why he did it, and even if there were a few question marks, I understood why he had made the move (even the panicked ones). Just really bad luck, you would think with those signings, a few more of them should’ve bounced our way.
I’m almost hoping I don’t have a good feeling about an upcoming move, heh.
You know Brandon lives in Las Vegas. You kind of wonder if he will try and do some investigating. We haven’t heard from him in a while. What hotel are the meetings being held at?
I certainly wasn’t against the Andruw signed because I thought it would mean a new home for JP, ethier another team or the bench.
i thought the andruw signing was a good one too.. mainly because it was only for 2 years.. and i wanted JP to be benched.. we’ll see what andruw can do this year.. i’m trying to be somewhat optimistic..
alright ya’ll.. catch you later.. have a good night!
Good Night Sara – thanks for the chat!! It’s been a while – take care 🙂
I think I’ll call it a night too…, have to stave off this cold as much as I can… but before I go, here’s the new Dylan Hernandez column on the Dodgers’ needs going into Winter Meetings:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dodgers8-2008dec08,0,3610344,print.story
Good night 🙂
Bellagio Nelly 🙂
Wow!!! The Bellagio ~Fancy……..must be nice!!!!!
Good night northstateblues!!! Get some sleep so you can get rid of that cold, not that it will really help 🙂
64 Days until Spring Training
Can’t wait for the Dodgers to start playing
Thinking Dodger Blue the whole year through
Here is to rooting for our Dodger’s this week.
WE BELIEVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GO DODGER MANAGEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WE HAVE FAITH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LET THE MAGIC BEGIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am afraid it’s going to take some magic to get/keep some of these players we would like to see on the Dodgers next season.
However ~ WE BELIEVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GO DODGER’S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
17 Days until Christmas
64 Days until Spring Training
Thinking Dodger Blue all year long
Thinking Dodger Blue all year through
365 Days a year
7 Days a week
24 hours a day
Bleeding Dodger Blue through and through
Good Night ITD readers and writers!!!! Take care and God bless…… 🙂
Good Night Dodgerfaithful, GOD BLESS US ALL 🙂
GO DODGER’S ~ CARPE DIEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gooooood morning, ITD!
Well, here we go. Here’s to hoping we spend some of the money that the nearly 4 million fans spend at Dodger Stadium EVERY YEAR on something other than PVLs.
I wish I could be more positive.
I wish McCourt and Coletti had created enough positive history to enable me to be more positive.
The only thing of which I’m positive is that I’ll be rooting for the Dodgers in the spring. I’m just not too positive of the composition of that team.
And that’s too bad. I hope I’m wrong and the Bobsey twins surprise me.
Good morning Dodgereric. I’m hoping Frank opens his wallet and gets us what we need. I want the best team possible on the field opening day.
Morning Eric!
Is anyone else concerned that Torre is attending these meetings? (which he never did before.) – That has PVL written all over it.
“Comments from the highest levels of the organization indicate there’s a real concern over how the worldwide economic crisis will dampen next year’s revenues. In other words, the $60 million in salaries coming off the 2008 payroll might not all go back onto the ’09 payroll.”
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“… But unlike the past two winters — when Colletti aggressively landed Furcal, Jason Schmidt and Andruw Jones — there’s no indication they’re ready to outbid any team for any player. In fact, they’re just as likely to make their biggest splash with a trade, even though they don’t appear to have a real surplus in any one area.”
Comment: Just call me Gomer Pyle – Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!
I’m very concerned that Joe is attending the meetings, Enchanted! Heck, I’m concerned Ned is attending the meetings!
LOL Tru!!
Kind of frightening, isn’t it Enchanted? I think we will come away from the meetings with Manny, Furcal and Blake. What do you think? We want pitching too, but I don’t see much in our future.
Good Morning ITD readers and writers!!!!!!
It’s great to see all those shiny names on an early Monday morning!! I am going to remain hopeful that something good comes from these meetings, and like Ward Dear said, and enchanted has said before, we will all be cheering on the Dodgers come Spring Training just like we always do. I am going to do my best to remain positive until our management gives me reason to be disappointed in them (which I do realize could be as early as today sometime – LOL!!)
I can see it now…
Ned: What do you think of Brad Ausmus Joe?
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Joe: Whell he was a dynamo against us, I mean the Yankees, in ’99 and 2000.
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Ned: Done!! Good call Joe!
Ned: What do you think of Rich Aurilia Joe?
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Joe: I remember him from his brief stint in Seattle in ’04 Ned. Boy I admired how he played the game.
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Ned: Done!! I sure am glad you’re here Joe!!
Ned: Hey Joe, what do you think of Gabe Kapler ?
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Joe: I thought he was great in Welcome Back Kotter.
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Ned: Right! Done!!
Ned: Hey Joe, this is easy…!!!
I AM THINKING POSITIVE!!! I AM THINKING POSOTIVE!!! Please do a good job Ned ad Joe!
Definitions of optimism:
noun: a general disposition to expect the best in all things
noun: the optimistic feeling that all is going to turn out well
“The basis for optimism is sheer terror.”
Oscar Wilde
LMAO, Enchanted!!!!
I’m TERRIFIED, Dodgereric!!!
Damn, enchanted! I may not be positive, but you sure have me laughing! LMAO, that is!
LMAO!!!!! Okay, I can see the positive outlook is going right out the door already – LMAO!!!!! too funny enchanted, and Ward Dear….thanks for the lesson on the meaning of optimism – LMAO!!!! We are going to have a good Monday, aren’t we? Good ~ I need it – haven’t seen the sun for days now (I have lost track of the number of days).
OK, OK, let’s be positive.
“Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier. ”
Colin Powell
Tis the season of the three wise men bearing Frank nonsense and dur.
“With optimism, you look upon the sunny side of things. People say, ‘Studs, you’re an optimist.’ I never said I was an optimist. I have hope because what’s the alternative to hope? Despair? If you have despair, you might as well put your head in the oven.”
Studs Terkel
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”
Helen Keller
You are in rare form this morning, Enchanted!! Must have had an interesting weekend.
“Comedy is acting out optimism.”
Robin Williams
Oops, I’m regressing………
You too, Dodgereric!!!!
LMAO!!!!
What happens in Vegas… comes home with us and haunts us for the rest of our lives.
I thought the three wise men were enchanted, dodgereric and jhall – Now, there are three true wise men.
LMAO!!!!!
One of them’s full of Schmidt…
no, just the voice of reason – LMAO!!!!
Got to run a couple errands – keep Ned away from the magic bean salesman while I’m away.
……you are leaving us with that job. Oh no!!!! We are in trouble now. No Ned, don’t do it! Don’t do it Ned!!!!
Good Morning Everybody,
Life is good today ~ Pretty darn funny too!!!!
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!!!!
GO DODGER”S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good Morning Dodger4life!!!!!
Life IS good today – still foggy, but good 🙂
I hear you have snow finally 🙂
Good morning Dodger4life. It has to be The Blue Crew!!!
Hi True, How is everything???
HI Nelly,
Hello Enchanted, and DodgerEric,
Dodger4life, I know it’s really cold where you are but it is gray and damp here. Very depressing with no sunshine. I’m thinking of your beach in Hawaii with my tropical drink in my hand!
The ITD Management Team,
IS READY TO ROCK AND ROLL!!!!!!!
Good for you True,
We have a light dusting of snow this morning. But it is sunny to the west 🙂
are any of you guys going to hold me as i whimper if the dodgers trade for jack wilson? 😦
I’ll hold you, j-murray! Please, please don’t let this happen!!!!
Possibly J if we don’t all shoot ourselves in the head first.
Forgot to say hi to D4. Hi D4!!
Oh enchanted!!! LMAO!!!!
What they told you…
• Torre: Pettitte not coming to Dodgers
What they didn’t tell you…
• Frank: CC, Manny, Hudson, Sheets, Burnett, Perez, Furcal, Fuentes not coming to the Dodgers either…
Gil Hodges ~ Maury Wills ~ Joe Torre
WE LOVE OUR DODGER’S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
365 DAY’S A YEAR
7 DAY’S A WEEK
24 HOUR’S A DAY
GOOD LUCK AND LONG LIVE THE DODGER’S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LIFE IS GOOD TODAY!!!!! 🙂
OK, OK, don’t shoot me. I know it’s only Rosenboob talking. But……
“As the Dodgers try to resolve their infield, they are again talking to the Yankees about a trade for second baseman Robinson Cano. The teams have resumed their discussions about Cano at the winter meetings, according to one source.
The Dodgers also are interested in Yankees center fielder Melky Cabrera, and the Yankees likely would want outfielder Matt Kemp and pitching in return. The Dodgers’ interest in Cabrera is a sign that they might not be confident of Andruw Jones making a strong return in 2009. The Dodgers also need to find a match for Juan Pierre, who has requested a trade.
As the Dodgers try to resolve their infield, they are again talking to the Yankees about a trade for second baseman Robinson Cano. The teams have resumed their discussions about Cano at the winter meetings, according to one source.
The Dodgers also are interested in Yankees center fielder Melky Cabrera, and the Yankees likely would want outfielder Matt Kemp and pitching in return. The Dodgers’ interest in Cabrera is a sign that they might not be confident of Andruw Jones making a strong return in 2009. The Dodgers also need to find a match for Juan Pierre, who has requested a trade.”
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8912072/LIVE:-Latest-updates-from-winter-meetings
Ooops, sorry about the double. Must be upset…………
Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Dodgers and Yankees are in talks about a possible deal…the yanks really want Matt Kemp…i hear were looking at Melky Cabrera..Let me guet this Straight..so we would trade away a stud in Kemp for someone that is not better then him..oh and the Yankees want a young pitcher too..why oh why are we even going through this again..If Ned tardes away Kemp im done for the season..^^%6%98%^9%65960
Its the magic bean syndrome again… That would go down in the annuls along the lines of Martinez for DeShields.
Is that just the NY press wishful thinking? Or is that Torre rearing his ugly head?
no,no,no,no,no ……..Haven’t we already been through the center field thing twice already, and where has it lead us…..to JP and Andruw. I am going to try and think of the source on this one and wait until proven, but for goodness sakes – no trading the young guns, please!!!!!
Think about guys..we have an ex Yankee as a manager who would love to bring all his old boys out here..and a ex Giant who i wouldnt be surprise if be brings in vizquel for a year or two…oohh and a red sox fanatic as a owner..who also likes to bring in a little red sox flavor to the mix…where am i getting at?…There is no more Dodger way..it’s over..=(
We need to kidnap Ned and lock him in a dungeon until April.
Wasn’t it suggested last year he be sent to a far away island. The dungeon sounds more appropriate 🙂
Cano, and/or Cabrera for Matt Kemp and pitching — A DEFINITE NO WAY!
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Ned & Joe in Vegas together — A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN!!!
BTW, Cano OBP’d .305 and Cabrera .301 last year. And for that we’d give up Kemp AND a pitcher?
If you’re going to trade Kemp, we’d need 2 everyday quality starters and a front end pitcher.
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Our ace in the hole though is that Rosenthal’s an idiot.
Don’t forget the magic beans……..
I know we lost a few pitchers but, wouldn’t you think we’d try to keep the rest of the team together to see what we could do playing them for an entire season? Our division is weak to say the least. So, by keeping Manny and maybe adding a pitcher, we should walk away with the title.
Of course the Yankee’s ace in the hole is that Ned’s an idiot…
I’m afraid you are right, Enchanted!
What? Trade Matt and a pitcher?? Are they crazy? We are short pitchers with D Lowe, Beimel, and Chan Ho free agents. Who would we trade? Billz or Kershaw?? Then we would have no pitchers.
Semi-official dodgereric poll
Subject: Yankee/Dodger Cano/Cabrera/Kemp trade rumor
Choices (Voting % Prediction)
1 – NY media wishful thinking (5%)
2 – Rosenboob BS (7%)
3 – Thread of truth (6%)
4 – Ned’s an idiot (82%)
LOL, Dodgereric!!!! Thus your favorite name: NEDIOT!!
Ah, one vote for Nediot!
This just in – the Hall of Pretty Good will induct Joe Gordon. The fact that he was a Yankee probably had nothing to do with it.
That Dodgereric pole is just fabulous!!!! LMAO!!!!!
By the end of the day, we will have many, many votes for Nediot!!!
In fact, we may have to use our statistitian, JuneDarlin’ to keep track!!! LOL
Boy, you people don’t pay me enough around here to be statistician too. It’s hard enough keeping up with enchantedGM and all that goes on in his mind, (LMAO not included), and now the “Groundhogs Day” version of winter meetings, and then trying to do my team mom duties of finding a home for JP and Andruw. However, anything for the team I say.
From Ken Gurnick:
Dodgers, Yankees haven’t talked
Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti knocked down a Foxsports.com report that he is “again talking” to the Yankees about acquiring second baseman Robinson Cano, with the Yankees interested in Matt Kemp and pitching.
“It’d be nice to talk first,” Colletti said.
The Dodgers do need a second baseman with Jeff Kent a free agent and possibly retiring, but Colletti has be consistently reluctant to deal Kemp because of his youth and potential. The Dodgers also are in no position to be dealing pitching, as they are looking to replace six free-agent pitchers, most notably Derek Lowe, Brad Penny, Greg Maddux, Joe Beimel and Chan Ho Park.
Dodgers interest in Cano is logical, as manager Joe Torre and third-base coach Larry Bowa had him with the Yankees. — Ken Gurnick
Baseball got a whole lot less interesting today. I just finished watching Greg Maddux’s retirement news conference and I was probably sadder then he was to see him go. He was the reason I wanted to pitch when I was younger and he’s still the reason I want to pitch now even thought I’ll never be able to again. Greg Maddux made me love baseball and I can never repay him for that. He was easily the best pitcher I ever saw pitch in person and I really doubt the world will see another pitcher or person like him. Greg Maddux is why baseball is the greatest sport ever. You don’t need to be stronger or bigger or faster then someone, you just need to outsmart them. No one did a better job of outsmarting people then Greg Maddux and thats why he’s one of the greatest baseball players to ever live. I’m just glad I got a chance to see him. We all should be.
This just in…
• Brewers may have upped offer to CC
• Cardinals to pursue righty Burnett
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Meanwhile:
• Dodgers organist Hefley opens playbook
First it was Juan Pierre
Then it was Andruw Jones
Now, apparently, it might be Melky Cabrera
Now whatever opinion one might have of Cabrera, Coletti is again prepared to fix the center field situation. I try not be as hard on the people that run my teams as others but for the past three years Coletti has solved or is trying to solve the center field problem. That in itself is a big problem.
Jack Wilson really wants to be a Dodger, he is a Southern California native; he wants to come home. Do you guys think that Wilson’s numbers were deflated because he played for Pittsburgh, he might be better in a new more competitive atmosphere. I believe I am talking myself into this move. I think Ned should make it happen.
Now I hear we are showing an interest in Tejada! Good grief, Ned, don’t be a Nediot!
And, Enchanted, “Tommy” Claus greets fans!
Max, that was a good piece on SI, the Maddux lessons were very interesting. Maddux had a great fastball; movement and location, he invented the two-seam fastball to left-handers that started at their belt buckle and end on the inside corner. I am going to miss watching Maddux pitch.
And, now we are interested in 42 year old John Smoltz. Since Randy Johnson will probably join the “A”‘s, Smoltz’ age is about right for us!
I think Maddux should replace Honeycutt as our pitching coach.
This just in…….
The Los Angeles Dodgers, looking for pitching, are talking with the son of Mordecai “Three-Fingers” Brown. TF Jr, as he is called, is 102 years old. But Ned Coletti, the Dodger’s GM, says that “He’s got all 5 fingers.”
I’d say sign him! Wouldn’t want the Yankees to get him!
Ward Dear…….and to think it was going to be another boring Monday on ITD. You are seeing to it that we are all very well entertained and happy (at least for no other reason then laughing hysterically). You are bringing the sunshine out on another cloudy day here in the central valley and for that I thank you kindly.
Ned might be meeting one-finger enchanted…
Good stuff eric!!
And one finger Tru!
You know, if we can talk Maddux out of retirement, get Smoltz, Johnson, Kenny Rogers and Tommy Glavine, that ought to just about satisfy JoJo’s and Ned’s need for experience. Think of the advertising dollars we’ll rake in from AARP, Metamucil and Viagra.
Sheffield and Giambi are also available! LOL, Enchanted!!
They can have special motorized wheel chairs to bring the pitchers in from the bullpen. Dodger blue with an umbrella, wouldn’t want sun-stroke.
The really sad thing is Tru, I bet they could still win the West.
You are right, Enchanted! The Padres and DBacks will really be bad. And, the Giants and Rockies are not much better.
“The Los Angeles Dodgers are nearing a contract agreement with third baseman Casey Blake after raising their offer to three years, sources said Monday morning.
The team expected to hear more from Blake’s representative, Jim McDowell, as the meetings went on. Blake batted .271 with 21 home runs and 74 RBIs, splitting season between the Cleveland Indians and the Dodgers. Blake rejected an offer from the Minnesota Twins a few days ago because they wouldn’t agree to a third year.
Staying on the theme of reuniting the left side of their infield, the Dodgers were to meet later Monday with Rafael Furcal’s agent, Paul Kinzer. It would appear the market has softened for Furcal, who is fending off suspicions his surgically-repaired back could be an ongoing issue.”
Not sure if I want or laugh or cry…
Precisely Tru, which is why if they want to rebuild, this would be the year to do it. Just add a couple of starters and a guy like Hudson to anchor the infield and they could go to war with what they’ve got.
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!
YANKEES STAY HOME!!!
Good afternoon to you too, Northstateblues!
Hi Tru! Just chiming in after coming home from work, heh.
Actually, I like Robinson Cano, but I would hate to see what we’d lose in a trade (especially if it’s Kemp. Pass me what they’re smoking). We’ve been fleeced so much lately, I doubt there’s much wool left.
But yeah, YANKEES STAY HOME!!!
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=winter_meetings_2008
Dodgers GM Colletti open to talkDodgers GM Colletti open to talk
Monday, December 8, 2008
Posted by Jerry Crasnick
Dodgers GM Ned Colletti showed up in the Bellagio press room before noon to watch Greg Maddux’s farewell press conference and wound up spending a half hour discussing the team’s offseason goings-on with a group of reporters.
When one writer complimented Colletti for being so media-friendly, Colletti replied, “I’m just doing it because I don’t want to go out there and see Scott [Boras].”
As the assembled reporters laughed, Colletti quickly added that he was “joking.”
nsblues – Well, that’s just wonderful. He needs to stop joking and figure out what he is going to do to fill holes and deal with his two mistakes that are taking up outfield space.
From the same link, but a more recent post:
“The Yankees’ six-year, $140 million offer to Sabathia has been on the table now for nearly four weeks. And not only has Sabathia not said yes, he has been sending messages to the three interested West Coast teams — the Dodgers, Giants and Angels — that he would like to play in California. Dodgers GM Ned Colletti even revealed Monday that he ran into Sabathia in the hotel Sunday night and that Sabathia had told him he wants to be a Dodger.”
Dodgereric – What is Ned waiting for? ….to see if some over the hill guy wants the job instead.
Here it is again on mlb.com:
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081208&content_id=3706479&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp
In that article, Coletti says that “he’d be a huge piece for us.” Only he wasn’t talking about Sabathia, he was talking about Casey Blake. Huge?
I honestly don’t know, June Darlin’. It seems to me that by now, if they were truly interested, we would have heard that there had been conversation. But there really seems to be a waiting game going on with at least the “Big 2”. I don’t include Manny with Sabathia and Tex because those two are going to get one of those 9-figure contracts. I don’t think Manny will. You know there’s going to be a bidding war over them and no one seems to want to start it.
I don’t think that we’re ever really going to get that big guy with McCourt as the owner.
Ward Dear…. I really have nothing against Casey Blake, but I don’t consider him a “huge” deal. As far as CC, like you said, if CC wants to be a Dodger, then what’s the hold up other than money (which is Frank). If our big acquisition is resigning Casey Blake, then we are going to end up with another center fielder and a 40 year-old pitcher to go with him.
Isn’t 40 the minimum age requirement for an acquired Dodger pitcher?
I know that owners and agents are always at each other about the finances of baseball, but this is the first year in my memory where the owners have a good point. As a NASCAR fan, I’m very aware of the impact the economy is having on sports and it’s probably going to get worse. I’ve read recently that Pepsi is not going to pay to advertise at the Super Bowl this year. That’s big.
I’ve also read that a lot of advertising contracts are written in stone for ’09 but not ’10 and later. If the advertisers are going to be cutting back, the owners aren’t going to be so likely to commit to long-term contracts. The only one around this season who doesn’t come with a lot of question marks is Tex. Sabathia is a pitcher who’s worked a lot of innings and isn’t in the greatest physical condition. Manny is 36, plays lousy defense and has the other baggage. Furcal has health history problems. Etc, etc. All will take a big gamble to sign to the long term contracts that Boras and the others seem to think is their right.
It’s still a free market society. The players have been getting these huge contracts – why? Television. Why does TV pay out all that money? The advertisers. There are other factors of course. Tickets? How much of the payroll do our tickets really pay for? I don’t know. Let’s say the average ticket for a seat in DS is $30. For 81 games and 45,000 per game, that’s $110,000,000. If $30 is too cheap for you, say $40. That makes it $146,000,000. Gross. Out of that comes everything – staff salaries, operating expenses for the stadium like electricity and water, all that stuff. Not to mention trying to make a profit. I’ll bet that there isn’t a lot left for player salaries. The bulk of that must come from TV money. ESPN, Fox, ABC, CBS, I don’t know when all those contracts expire, but if it’s soon, MLB owners are probably sweating bullets. And conversely, if they have some long term deals in place I’ll bet it’s TV and the advertisers that are puckering their sphincters.
Yeesh, look at the time. I’ll try to hop back on later tonight.
Not quite right Tru – 40’s the minimum I.Q. to be a Dodger GM.
LMAO Enchanted!!!! So true!!!!!
Only reason we can breathe a sigh of relief Tru is because Ned’s at least a 47-48.
Wow Casey Blake, I have to admit he was a true professional the last 2 mos of 08 and helped us….but he hit .251 and his skills are only going to decline. Also I am not a Jack Wilson fan and I am tired of reading about him…Am I missing something?
I do not like the so called Yankees/Dodgers trade that has been rumored…Now that Blake is about to resign…Dewitt should default to 2b…That should kill the Yankees rumors.
Furcal I hope is realizing that he needs to prove he is healthy and then retry the free agency next year….Come Ned lets keep Raffy.
Dodgereric…I agree with your post about the economy…Teams are starting to tighten up now because I do not think when the TV revenues are up for renewal that the big money is going to be there again…Everyone is going to start feeling it…Athletics is not exempt!!!
I call shenannigans
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Maple bats won’t be banned by Major League Baseball
By Bill Shaikin
11:58 AM PST, December 8, 2008
Reporting from Las Vegas — After a season in which jagged chunks of broken maple bats flew across the infield and into the stands in epidemic proportions, Major League Baseball will announce Tuesday that it will not ban the bats.
Instead, after consultation with foresters and bat manufacturers, baseball will adopt rules that enable players to use whatever grain of wood they like — maple included — but will provide specifications for bat design intended to minimize the number of bats that break.
Representatives from bat manufacturers are scheduled to meet with MLB officials this afternoon in Las Vegas, in advance of tomorrow’s announcement. The announcement was confirmed by two sources informed of the decision but not authorized to speak in advance.
Studies have shown that bats made of the more traditional ash wood tend to crack and splinter when they break, while maple bats tend to shatter violently and in large pieces.
Two serious injuries occurred at Dodger Stadium in April. Pittsburgh Pirates coach Don Long suffered nerve damage after a piece of a shattered maple bat struck him on the side of his face as he stood in the visiting dugout, watching the flight of the ball. And Susan Rhodes, a fan seated four rows behind the visiting dugout, needed surgery to repair a broken jaw after a chunk of a broken maple bat sailed into the side of her face.
But after the commissioner’s office and players’ union examined more than 1,000 bats broken in games during the 2008 season, a safety committee has decided to permit the continued use of maple bats.
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Harumph?
Scott is lonely
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Boras wants to talk to Dodgers about Manny
Monday, December 8, 2008
Posted by Jayson Stark
Scott Boras requested a meeting with the Dodgers for Tuesday, presumably to discuss Manny Ramirez. Earlier on Monday, Dodgers GM Ned Colletti had publicly expressed puzzlement over why Ramirez’s side hadn’t responded to the club’s two-year contract offer last month or to their offer of arbitration last week.
• The Dodgers appear to be inching toward re-signing free agent Casey Blake. The hang-up continues to be whether the Dodgers are willing to guarantee a third season. They already are believed to have a two-year offer on the table, as do the Twins.
• Two more players bound for Japan: Hiram Bocachica, by the Seibu Lions (where he played last season) and pitcher Les Walrond, by the Yokahama Bay Stars.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=winter_meetings_2008
It was also reported on ESPN that the Dodgers still want to talk to CC.
Good Evening ITD readers and writers!!!
How is everyone tonight?
Ward Dear~ your post earlier today before you left work about the economy is so very true. Hopefully all involved in the decisions in the next few days, weeks, months will take that into consideration when trying to make their deals.
Hey Nelly! I’m good, still a little sick, but I’ve had a couple of Hot Toddies, so I’m good 🙂
There’s a new thread
If Blake is signed, he is the Dodgers ideal no.2 hitter. It was one of Torre’s continuous mistake, not as harsh as playing Martin too much and playing Pierre over Ethier [shaking head…head hurting], but it negatively affected the team. Blake is patient, fights in each at-bat, and isn’t afraid to go deep in the count. We need a third basemen because DeWitt ain’t the answer, if not Blake, then who?