A salute to Dr. King
I hope that all of you are getting the day off in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his efforts in the civil rights movement.
A couple stories have run about the various events around town, including this recap in the Daily News which talks about the reasoning behind having our Dodger prospects take part in the Kingdom Day Parade. Safe bet that’s the only time you’re ever going to see a quote from me followed by a quote by President Obama, but the underlying message from everyone today is a salute to Dr. King.
And as always, we appreciate everyone’s feedback in the comments section and hopefully by the end of this week, we’ll have some more announcements that will make all of you more exciting about the upcoming season and the team. I do have to ask, though, that you please remember this is a family site. There are a million ways to share your opinion without getting vulgar and I ask that you please do so.
Inside the Dodgers 
I venture to say that selling the team would go a long way toward turning this blog site into a PG rated family affair, especially if the men or women in charge were primarily devoted to baseball and the Dodger tradition, committed to maintaining a major league market payroll and operating with the baseball sense to utilize that payroll effectively.
So, SELL THE TEAM, Frank, you excremental weasel!
I hope that’s sufficiently family site worthy, because that’s as mild as I can get when it comes to talking about Frank.
Thanks for the new thread, Josh. I know we have been somewhat unpleasant lately. However, we love our Dodgers and want the best for all of them. It’s disheartening when I see many teams making moves to improve themselves and we are NOT. I now know for a fact, that you really do read what we have to say and, I appreciate that very much.
Bear we need to make you an honorary member of the Cleaver family 🙂
Cool – I’ll bet we got another hotdog cart for the upper deck!
Happy King day to you Josh and to the entire ITD contributors to this site.
No day off for me, in fact we don’t get a holiday ’till the end of May for Memorial Day. That is what happens because we get a week off in December but I’ll be taking vacation before then for Spring Training and Opening Day!
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Is raining cats and dogs here and my brother called me that I have a leak in the house. Oh well, need to wait until it stops raining before fixing the problem.
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Just came back from my Pilates class at noon. Company pays for half the cost. Anyway, instructor was pushing us today. She said “If it makes you feel better, be vocal.” One co-worker said “the words that come to mind, I can’t say them at work.” Then as the exercise got harder the same co-worker said “Gosh Darn it!” Vin Scully came to my mind :-).
Josh! I hope you will be announcing about the Dodger Caravan soon.
Emma
http://crzblue.mlblogs.com/
Any of you here a member of SABR? I am thinking of joining.
Emma
http://crzblue.mlblogs.com/
Emma-are you really two people? How do you fit all these activities in?
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I’ve thought for a while we should resign Padilla as #4. We need somebody besides Kuroda that will pitch inside. Way inside. I’d resign Weaver, too, while I was at it.
Why Messagebear……………………welcome to the family. Ward Dear, Wally and Beav will be so very happy to have you here.
Of course Bear, that’s what Manson said also…
LOL Knouff! Sometimes we women try to do too much. I actually don’t sleep too many hours and I know I should.
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question: Anyone here read Heavenly World Series? I never heard of the book before but Nao, who blogs from Japan was asking me. I never heard of the writer O’Rourke before. Now that I read something about the book, I am going to try to find it.
Emma
http://crzblue.mlblogs.com/
LMAO!!!!! Well, enchanted/Beav…………………..we have been that family (a cult family) before too. For some reason I am craving Koolaid right now.
You know I am doing the Angels next week in baseball geography, and I really hate the fact that they are the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. I mean either you are in Los Angeles or you are in Anaheim. They really aren’t that close to each other, and that is on a good traffic day (I know……..good traffic days don’t happen too often) Not only is it wrong that they use Los Angeles, it makes typing things with their name on it very difficult.
Things get set straight next week when it’s the real Los Angeles team’s turn.
BTW – Good luck to our players in arbitration tomorrow, with a special shout out to Andre…………………..go get’em Dre’ !!
BTW – I do know the players are just exchanging figures tomorrow. The end of my last post made it sound like they were going into hearings tomorrow. I still wish them luck, and that the figures closely match up so we don’t have to go through the hearing process.
Hi Enchanted and Nellyjune ~ I see we are having a hell of a damn day! 🙂
Nellyjune and Enchanted ~ Perhaps along with our songbook, we should come up with a reference guide of ITD Terminology 🙂
Hy ITD
Martin Luther King was one of our great Americans, I hope everyone is enjoying the day.
Opening day’s right around the corner.
I have to admit too, I’ve never heard anyone called an excremental weasel. Oh sure, a discharging ferret or a secretious stoat – that goes without saying, but never an excremental weasel. LMAO!!
Hi Oldbrooklynfan,
A fellow poster that lives in Brooklyn had a post a few days ago giving us a wonderful virtual tour of Brooklyn. Actually he has giving us a couple of virtual tours. This last one took us to Green-Wood Cemetery where so many of the “Fathers of Baseball” rest there in Brooklyn.
hope you are having a great year!
Emma
http://crzblue.mlblogs.com/
Enchanted – It seems like only here on ITD would you read things like that. Just think, before ITD, I don’t think I have ever known anyone to be called bombastic either :))
ITD, on occasions, has been known to be a Cleaver Family site but a PG family site????? Since when????? Excremental weasel??? That’s a new one!! Gotta love it!!! Now, if we could only arrange for Frank (which, by no means is he) a midnight visitation from the Ghosts of Dodger Past, Present, and Future and, as a result, sells the team, we could turn this blog into a 21st Century version of the Waltons: Good night, nelly, Good night, enchanted, Good night, bear, Good night, Jhall, etc. etc.
Sweet dreams, Kahli. 🙂
Oops, sweet dreams, Seesky! 🙂 lol
If Andre DOES take it all the way to arbitration, it might sound something like this:
“My client, Andre Ethier, led the team in just about every offensive category, had numerous outfield assists, led the majors in emotional, walk-off hits, and was one of the few Dodgers to “show up” in the playoffs. He’s young and is only going to get better. Ned…Kim…your turn.”
“Ummmmmm……..he was benched a few times in favor of Pierre. There! How good could he really be? For many of us in the accounting department…err, I mean front office…he’s just an excremental weasel…”
An ITD glossary!!!! An excellent idea, tru!!!! I’ll start the collection with ITDFST.
🙂
Howdy, fellow cretins. How about some Kemp contract details?
The two-year deal Matt Kemp recently signed with the Dodgers could be worth as much as $11.25 million.
Kemp is slated to earn $4 million this year and $6.95 million next season. His 2011 base salary can increase by as much as $300,000 if he hits certain benchmarks for plate appearances in 2010.
If Kemp makes 600 plate appearances this year, he would increase his salary next year by $50,000. If he makes 650, he would earn another $100,000, and if he makes 675, yet another $150,000.
Kemp made 667 plate appearances in 2009.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2010/01/dodgers-matt-kemps-contract-details.html
So, Dodgereric, does that mean Joe will bat Matty 8th? lol
Hi tru!
Lord, I hope that idiot has learned THAT lesson.
Howdy Dad and TruMom!!!
Josh is right fellas [and fellettes] – we need to clean up our act. From now on I’m going to use nondefamatory uninflamatory slanguage.
So how is everyone? Been raining like bottomless pit all copulating day here.
I must agree Eric, let’s hope that baseball geniously challenged field manager has had a decided enlightenment.
Golly e, it’s been raining down here most of the day as well. It even came in sideways for a little bit. I was cutting some wood in my garage (rebuilding a leaking shower) and my work area got wet even though it was 10 feet from the door.
Back to the Dodgers. I think Dave Stewart may have reached a smart middle ground with those 2-year deals.
Jeepers Dad, that is unforunate in two areas of endeavor; 1. that you had an unwanted aperture in your shower, and 2. that you’re workspace became dampened.
I still do not understand the wisdom behind a two-year contract for a fellow who’s career opportunities are unalterably predetermined for the next three by the franchise that currently employs him. Should not a multiple year pact not encompass two to three seasons of the free agent period? I can only comprehend a minimal savings in compensation for the 2011 term.
enchanted, don’t look at Kemp’s contract length from the Dodgers’ or fans’ point of view…look at at it as wise decision on his agent’s part…namely, that “the uncertainty of ownership” is the primary reason why the deal would be so short in length. That’s straight from Dave Stewart’s mouth. He knows Kemp can make a bundle in two years if he keeps progressing. But of course, there is no ownership controversy………..
Precisely Kahli. I understand Stewart’s reasoning, but other than maybe saving $2-3 million give or take, what is the motivation for the club to engage in a 2 year contract when they already control him for 3?
Precisely Kahli. I understand Stewart’s reasoning, but other than maybe saving $2-3 million give or take, what is the motivation for the club to engage in a 2 year contract when they already control him for 3?
And whomever at MLB which oversees the technical workings of this blog is an equine’s posterior.
And they can post this three times if they’d like.
And now it is time for my nocturnal rejuvinatory period. Fare thee well fellow ITDers!
e, my view is as kahli’s – seeing it from Kemp’s point of view. The fan’s point of view is inconsequential and McCourt’s……….who cares? With a 2-year deal, Kemp avoids having to go through it next season. The player’s risk on a multi-year deal is that he will become underpaid before the contract is up. A two-year deal obviously isn’t a long term and the only possibility of a rapid escalation of contracts is a rapid recovery of our economy. Not too likely.
Now a lot of people probably think that most of us are upset merely because the team’s success is too close to our hearts and we’re delusional. OK, maybe we’re delusional anyway, but there is a constant flow of people not burdened with Dodger fan-itis who agree with us. Witness:
“3. Will the Dodgers sign a starting pitcher of consequence?
Imagine how Pineiro feels right now. He might make his choice in free agency between the Dodgers, who have very little money, and the Mets, who have very little credibility.
This offseason has not been kind to the Dodgers, with much more attention focused on Frank McCourt?s divorce than Ned Colletti?s moves. But I wonder whether Dodgers fans followed the Beltran drama and thought: “Hey, the Mets are more messed up than we are. Pineiro might take less money to sign with us.”
Still, don?t discount the depth of the Dodgers? financial woes. When they traded Juan Pierre to the White Sox, they transferred $3 million of Pierre?s 2010 salary into a bonus to be paid starting in 2012. Colletti is doing everything he can to shoehorn one starting pitcher into the ?10 payroll.”
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/Ten-off-season-questions-for-Major-League-Baseball-011610
I now take MY nocturnal rejuvinatory period. Good night, God Bless and……….
Sell the team, Frank. Now.
Thank you for this blog post! It is important to remember those who fought for equal rights especially Dr King. I thank them and salute them! 🙂
http://mimi.mlblogs.com
Boy, I leave for a few hours to watch a picture show (fabulous movie by the way), and y’all changed the lingo once again. Good Night boys. Hopefully you wake up to your normal selves.
Kahli and Seesky – great posts earlier.
………..and yes, an ITD glossary may be needed at this point.
Josh,
Unless the announcement is McCheap selling the team or a rollback on the ridiculous parking prices, I can’t think of anything else out there that could be any sort of exciting addition to the team.
BTW, someone in the PR department should tell Frank to stop lying so much during all of his interviews. Hiw, you ask, do I know that he is lying? Because his lips are moving, that’s how. The man is nothing but a fraud!
Kahli & Eric – I’m seeing my view on Kemp’s contract as more of an indictment of management’s and ownership’s ineptitude in not being able to lock-up a premiere player into his FA years, along with the inanity of locking up a player for two years that you already have under control for the next three.
In otherwords, our management and ownership nurses hard.
Good Morning, ITD Ladies and Gentlemen ~ according to the ESPN Insider, the Dodgers are aggresively pursuing leftie Rich Hill, and, are watching the workout of Sheets. Any thoughts?
They did mention Hill could be a low risk investment….which seems to be what our front office desires.
Low risk also means low reward. The last time Rich Hill was able to find the strike zone was 2007. Ben Sheets, meanwhile, has not pitched since Sept 2008. We need to sign a real pitcher.
For those whom care to talk down to Mr McCourt and the organization and use profanity, I say this “you are the fans who make our organization look weak and troubled.”
We went through same offseason inactivity last year and ended up with the best record in the National League.
For once the Dodgers organization is thinking with their heads when it comes to signing checks. Andruw Jones, Jason Schmidt, Estabon Loaiza, to some extent Juane Pierre, and countless other bonehead moves, have put our team in handcuffs. If we can get one year contracts, at this year’s prices, and give our young players incentives to grow and become bigger and better players, isn’t that the best way to run a business and win ballgames?
For the those who have to have big contracts and big egos make their ways onto the roster during the winter months, or you’ll cry and whine and moan, we all know you’re closet soap opera addicts that you watch when your wives are all at work. We’ll see you in the left field pavilion when the season begins and we’ll try not to notice you playing “hit the beach ball” or “throw peanuts and expletives at the Giants fan” while the Dodgers are throwing a no-hitter.