Dodger baseball on the air…

Hopefully everyone in LA got the chance to tune in today and hear Vin Scully, who was back on the air and in good spirits. He’ll also do the game next Saturday, so make sure to tune into KCAL for more poetry from the best…

Please forgive the delay in posting for ITD…went back to Los Angeles until next weekend to help get things ready at the Stadium before we open the doors to all of you on April 1. In fact, the doors of the Stadium were open today for the marathon, which I’ve heard was a great success. Did any of you run in it?

Anyway, with ITD back in LA this week, the lineups may be a little slower in coming but we’ll still try to post daily.

87 comments

  1. kpookiemon

    Listening to Vinny on the second day of Spring was a pleasure…watching the boys, was not…well, actually even that was a pleasure.

    Reply
  8. crzblue2

    I pay for two season tickets in the Top Deck at $4 each . A guy that moved here from Detroit a couple of years ago and had season ticket there, said he was paying more there for the same location. He has been a season ticket for a couple of years now.
    There is so much parking around the stadium for free for each of the entrances and also on both sides of the long street where the player parking lot is. One of them is only steps away from a parking lot inside.
    .
    I forget who was talking about the Top Deck was not open. Yeah, it was not open but for at least a month the store by the left field was open with everything half price. They were selling everything because I believe it was from a prior vendor and they are going with a new vendor/contract? When I went to the LF store, we went inside the stadium to take the view there and I took a few pictures. In the past the sale in the Top Deck was only for two days but this time they just kept selling everything half price for at least a month.
    .
    There are special tickets to be had all thru the season with buy one get one free, or half price on certain days from sponsors like Subway, Union 76, the kids clubs, Auto club, etc. Also at Dodger events like the Caravan days, they pass out free vouchers and they had a huge giveaway at Olvera Street giving out good seats for both at Dodger Stadium and Camelback Ranch in addition to a lot of signed baseballs and other Dodger souvenirs. I ended up with four free game vouchers but I already gave them away.

    Watch for specials online when the season starts and you will get good deals.
    .
    If I can be of any help buying your tickets at the stadium instead of paying fees online, let me know. I have made it a tradition to invite a few friends on Opening Day so I know those fees online can really add up.
    .
    Also with my two season tickets I get a tour voucher for two so if we have the ITD tour, someone can use one.
    .
    Emma
    http://crzblue.mlblogs.com

    Reply
  10. nellyjune

    From the previous thread – I, too, think O-Dog was mistreated. I had a nice long post written up earlier this afternoon, but I got submission-errored. Anyhow, I saw the 30/30 show on Minnesota and he just seemed so happy there. I hope he has a good season playing with one of the best catchers in baseball right now (who just got a nice healthy extension of a contract today).

    Reply
  11. nellyjune

    Why can’t they just lower ticket and parking prices across the board without having to embed it with some other deal or coupon? It should not have to be that much work in order to buy a ticket to a game IMO.

    Reply
  12. Dodger4life

    .
    Wasn’t it said that the seasons ticket sales were collateral for the McCourt Company loans. You know the same loans that they have deferred the tax payments on until the team is sold.
    .
    Which we the faithful repay each and every year.
    .
    Also haven’t they taken loans out on the 300 acres surrounding the stadium with payment due in full before ownership can change hands.
    .
    Yet report an operating loss as they fuel their lavish lifestyles, through from what appears to be our beloved Dodgers and it?s future.
    .
    I sense that they don?t care anything about the city, it?s fans, or the organization as a whole. Just how they can use us as a vehicle to a higher socialite status.
    .
    Didn’t they renege on paying off the Fox people and have their loan written off after undisclosed debt was discovered on the collateral given.
    .
    .http://www.dodgerdivorce.com/2009/11/how-mccourts-came-to-own-dodgers.html

    Have they not recently submitted one set of financial statements to prospective investors and another set of financial statements to the California Court system.
    .
    http://www.dodgerdivorce.com/search?q=financial+statements
    .
    Were there not reports of a fishy business deal gone bad in the past
    .
    http://www.truebluela.com/2009/12/10/1195546/mccourt-smells-like-an-old
    .
    http://www.birdsinthebelfry.com/doomed_to_repeat.htm
    .
    In light of this, why would I trust or believe anything that the McCourts say.
    .
    Not to mention from our view they seemed to be on top of the world,

    .http://www.allbusiness.com/sports-recreation/sports-recreation-facilities-venues/11764612-1.html)
    .
    that is until they decided to stick it to each other.

    Oh yeah, were in good hands. Thanks Bud
    .
    This comment is in no way a reflection as to my opinion of the team on the field
    .
    That opinion still stands steady in it?s belief that they can accomplish their goals in 2010!!!

    Reply
  19. thinkingblue

    GOOD DAY ITD,
    Baseball Season 2010 is almost here. I doubt in Frank sales the team anytime soon. Once the team starts loosing then we will see the ForSale Sign come up. I’m going to try an ignore the whole divorce drama and I will just enjoy the season as it come.

    I’m glad to hear that VIN is going good. VIN don’t scare us again! Stay healthy and I’m glad that your voice is still being broadcast.

    Reply
  20. enchantedbeaver

    Two words about Gagne’s release: CAREER OVER!!

    Another nice Ned “find.” Right up there with Giles. Two why have bothereds in Ned’s nothing ventured nothing gained way of loading the roster with crap. Next year, why not swing the doors wide open and have a cattlecall for every washed-up vet, wannabe, and never was that ever walked the earth.

    Oh wait, that was this year.

    NEVERMIND.

    Reply
  21. messagebear@msn.com

    Ah, Love that biting edge of sarcasm, E.
    Is that genetic or cultivated?
    I know that following Frank, Jamie, and Ned has something to do with it. That’s why we love you here at ITD!

    Reply
  26. enchantedbeaver

    So the Dodgers say Oh No-A to Berroa huh? As Gomer used to say, “Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!”

    Or was that in response to his affair with Rock Hudson?

    Eh, whatever…

    Reply
  27. crzblue2

    E,
    You are a barrel of laughs.
    .
    From the Los Angeles Dodgers on facebook:
    Attention Dodger fans in the LA area: The Top of the Park store @ Dodger Stadium will re-open tomorrow, March 23rd at 10AM. Get back in the swing of things with new gear for the 2010 season, Opening Day is just two weeks away!
    Emma
    http://crzblue.mlblogs.com

    Reply
  29. lbirken@aol.com

    Glad to have Vinny back behind the microphone where he belongs and hopefully will stay for as long as he wants. I hope that when the time comes for him to step down, Vinny is still able to do the job but has decided to leave on his own terms.

    I can’t say I am too surprised about Gagne. It was a longshot he would make the team. Eric, thanks for the memories.

    I think it is highly wishful thinking to expect a sale of the Dodgers at this time or anytime soon. I agree that one cannot really believe anything either of the McCourt’s say but my gut feeling is Frank will prevail over Jamie with regard to Dodger ownership. It remains to be seen how all the financial aspects play out as this soap opera saga continues. However, I have chosen to not let all this distract me from the season and the play on the field. I do share your concerns about how all this will impact the Dodgers but I just don’t want to waste a lot of energy on it just yet.

    That being said, I would be highly surprised to see a Mauer or Halliday type contract anytime soon for a Dodger player but I am not too upset about that. I am glad I don’t have to make these types of decisions as the way I see it, these deals are stacked against the club unless the player stays healthy and plays at a very high level every year as well as helping the club sell tickets. How much and for how long would you pay Ethier and Kemp to make sure they remain in Dodger blue for a long time?

    Reply
  30. messagebear@msn.com

    I think that Kersh looks ready and should draw the opening day assignment.

    I’m glad to see that Carroll has really gotten into gear ever since I lambasted him and compared him to Sweeney and Loretta, so hopefully he will keep that up, or I’ll have to bust his a** again. We really could use a reserve who’s productive with the bat.

    It looks like Anderson really wants to earn the PH slot, and I’m OK with that. I know the Ortiz’s are showing some good stuff in Spring Training, but I’m hoping that Monasterios can stick with club. He’s at least young enough to keep developing on his potential; the Ortiz’s may have a few good innings left in them, but the best is still behind them.

    Reply
  31. enchantedbeaver

    Pretty dull around here tonight. How about a musical tribute to honor some of Ned?s off season acquisitions? The Monkee?s theme song:
    .
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgyZCgw6kdw

    HEY! HEY! THEY?RE ALL NEDDY?S
    .
    Here they come…
    Walkin? in some cleats.
    They get the dirtiest looks from
    Ev?ry one they meet.
    .
    Hey! Hey! They?re all Neddy?s
    Bunch of pathetic old clowns
    And they?re real busy stinkin?.
    But Neddy wants them around.
    .
    They play wherever Joe wants to,
    They make an error or two.
    Father Time?s gettin? restless,
    And yet they?re wearin? Blue.
    .
    Hey! Hey! They?re all Neddy?s
    Bunch of pathetic old clowns
    And they?re real busy stinkin?
    But Neddy wants them around.
    .
    They?re tryin? to make it to payday
    So come and watch ?em pitch and sway.
    They?re the old generation,
    And got nuthin? left in their play.
    .
    Anytime…
    Or anywhere…
    The kids look over their shoulder
    And Neddy?s boys are there.
    .
    Hey! Hey! They?re all Neddy?s
    Bunch of pathetic old clowns
    And they?re real busy stinkin?
    But Neddy wants them around.
    .
    [instrumental break]
    .
    Hey! Hey! They?re all Neddy?s
    Bunch of pathetic old clowns
    And they?re real busy stinkin?
    But Neddy wants them around.
    .
    They?re tryin? to make it to payday
    So come and watch ?em pitch and sway.
    They?re the old generation,
    And got nuthin? left in their play.
    .
    Hey! Hey! They?re all Neddy?s…
    Hey! Hey! They?re all Neddy?s…
    [repeat and fade]

    ©NedCo Broken Records 2010. ?We?re in charge. Doesn?t that make you feel better???

    Reply
  32. northstateblues

    Hey, sorry I bummed everyone out with that ticket post yesterday, especially on Vin’s first day back. I hope my commentary wasn’t seen as too anti-Dodgers, because I’m all for the Dodgers, I’m just not sure we have an adequate caretaker for our team.

    Ever since he got his foot in the door, he’s gone on touting the proud Dodger Tradition in the same minute he said the Dodgers have the “best fans in the world” after being a diehard Red Sox fan his whole life until his second bid for a baseball team was successful. At the time, I gave him the benefit of the doubt, but looking back, it was a bit hucksterish, like a professional wrestler buttering up the crowd.

    But those ticket prices prove he doesn’t know ANYTHING about Dodger tradition.

    Dodger Tradition is an affordable outing for families to grow into not only Dodgers fans, but into BASEBALL fans.

    (L.A.) Dodger Tradition was pristine blue walls, with only the white numbers written on the wall. The only permanent advertisements visible were the two round (formerly 76) signs, one each on the billboard. Sure, Ebbets had advertisements, too. But I’ll take the quaint Schaeffer Beer and Abe Stark signs over whatever the heck an Adelphia is anyday.

    Dodger Tradition is the sounds of the organ (or horn, a-la-Sym-Phony Band back in Brooklyn) being played in between batters and innings. I love many of the songs played over the PA, don’t get me wrong, but at Dodger Stadium, I’d rather hear Nancy Bea playing “Twist and Shout” than the Beatles. And the Beatles are among this lifelong musician’s favorite bands ever.

    Dodger Tradition is putting money into the future of the club through development of young players who grow into Dodgers, so they don’t have to plunk down millions on a player who, by the time the leveraged owner can “afford” a one year contract, they’re well past “past-their-prime”.

    Ever since Ned Colletti became GM of the Dodgers, the team mantra when signing players from outside the organization is “We want to sign players who WANT TO BE DODGERS.”

    Well, as a lifelong fan of this storied franchise, let me say this: “I want an owner who WANTS TO BE THE DODGERS OWNER”

    Because by the actions of carving… no, Gerrymandering the stadium seating chart to decrease the amount of seating available for a nominal price, and buying a marathon, it’s apparent this guy doesn’t want to be the DODGERS owner, but something between an AL EAST owner and a hoity-toity Boston Socialite. (well… I guess that would technically make him a blue-blood…)

    ESPECIALLY apparent by the way he’s leeching off the Yankees to sell 14 game multipacks, instead of opening the 3 games to the general public (READ: “unwashed masses”).

    Putting the New York Yankees on a pedestal? That is NOT Dodger Tradition.

    That’s more like the sawed-off NYC inadequacy issues prevalent in pre-2004 Red Sox tradition. The issues that the rest of “Red Sox Nation” got over when they came back from 0-3 against those Yanks in the ALCS, and erased any further notions of a “curse” by grabbing the Gold ring instead of the brass ring.

    Maybe that’s the cause of all this, he had to put his die-hard Red Sox love on the back-burner the very year they broke through the “curse”, and he’s taking his resentment on :: mumbled through Frank’s gritted teeth :: “The best fans in the world”.

    Reply
  33. nellyjune

    YOU DID A SONG!!!! Wow!!! You gave Dodgereric some work to do – lol!!!! FABULOUS ENCHANTED, JUST FABULOUS!!!!

    Reply
  35. nellyjune

    lbirken – As much as it pains me to read all the stuff about our owners, once the season starts, it’s all about the players on the field and hoping they can accomplish all that they are capable of doing this season. Let’s just hope our owners view it the same way and let the season be about Dodger baseball and not about themselves.

    Reply
  36. trublu4ever

    Another great song, Enchanted 🙂
    .
    Northstatblues ~ I don’t care if your posts are three pages long….keep doing them! I remember well the pristeen look of the stadium, like you said. It was beautiful. don’t get me wrong, it is still one of the nicest ballparks, but stuffing advertising down your throats at every opportunity really sucks.

    Reply
  37. thinkingblue

    Good Morning “BLUE Thinkers”….
    *
    GREAT song Enchanted from the NedCo Broken Records…love how you added that…LOL
    *
    NSBlues: Wonderful post….we want an owner who is a true Dodger Fan, one who thinks blue and has a great vision for the team. Frank is just a business man, a Red Sox fan business man from Boston. I’m calling him “Mr. Crabs” all he really thinks about is “Money, money money!” (those with kids or is a kid at heart and watches SpongeBob understands what I’m saying.) …I can’t stand that cartoon…LOL!
    *
    NELLY – You are right – Baseball should be about the players and let me add…THE FANS! No room for greedy-bratts from Boston!

    Reply
  40. messagebear@msn.com

    I will submit to you that Selig is knowingly responsible for saddling the Dodgers with underfinanced and incompetent ownership. Selig, of course, comes from the background of a small market team, and his emphasis will always be to favor small market equity and results. He would not have been pleased to turn over the Dodgers with their tradition and dominance to someone capable of maintaining those characteristics. Yes, there will always be the Yankees and the Red Sox, who seem to be able to pay the highest salaries, but Selig obviously did not want the Dodgers to fit that same category. So, what better way than to get the franchise sold to an individual needing to finance most of his purchase and with the established characteristics of greed, whereby the owner will always take out more than he puts in and with a primary interest really concentrated on the real estate rather than the play on the field or the fans.

    ! hearty #482 to you, Selig – may you choke on your next bratwurst!

    Reply
  43. northstateblues

    Heheh, McCourt has reminded me of Krabs. Especially when he goes chasing after his lucky dollar/dime… who am I kidding? He chases after ANY stray dollar/dime, heheh. The wealthy skinflint who demands his customers shell out mounds of cash.

    I totally believe that Selig wanted Mr. Leverage to bring the Dodgers to small-market status, not bidding at Yankees/Red Sox levels (EXCEPT FOR SEAT PRICING).

    The Third Josh blogger (the first two being our Josh and the dodgerblues.com Josh), the proprietor of dodgerdivorce.com has some posts looking back on how McCourt came to own the team, as well as his 2001 bid to purchase the Red Sox from the Yawkees, past business ventures that had him reviled in communities from Boston to Honolulu, and how Mr. Selig turned down Eli Broad, a SoCal area developer and billionaire (!!!) willing to at least match McCourts offer, cash in hand (!!!!!!!!). Selig informed him “The Dodgers are no longer for sale”… and it’s speculated in the comments that this decision was based on the fact that Broad wanted (and was willing to pay for, maybe in cash) the TV rights, and Rupert “Summer’s Eve” Murdoch couldn’t have a competing SoCal Sports Network.

    The two posts:
    http://www.dodgerdivorce.com/2010/02/let-me-take-you-back.html

    http://www.dodgerdivorce.com/2009/12/hop-in-wayback-machine.html

    Reply
  44. trublu4ever

    According to Dylan Hernandez, the Dodgers are shopping Stultz and Hu……wonder what they are shopping for?

    Reply
  46. nedajerk

    Wait did I just hear we got Hoffmann back? I knew he was going to be back and I also knew Berroa was going to be released.

    Reply
  48. trublu4ever

    Before long, Enchanted may don his paperbag once again 🙂 And, you are right, North, very contagious!

    Reply
  54. trublu4ever

    Some people actually do think we are a cult! If they could only see what we actually look like….LMAO!!!!!

    Reply
  56. jhallwally

    Well, we drink up the rose colored Kool-Aid that Frank and Ned give us, put on our overpriced Dodger gear, and wait for Hale-Jamie to arrive in a Limo!!! I guess we are somewhat of a cult. LOL!!!

    Reply
  59. lbirken@aol.com

    I am hoping as the rest of you are that once the season begins we can have some fun, talk some baseball (and all the other fun stuff that seems to be discussed on these pages long after I have gone to bed), root on our team and forget about the Frank and Jamie saga. Sometimes we take all this stuff too seriously and forget professional baseball is a kid’s game played by men for our entertainment.

    Reply
  60. colliethec

    Hello ? there ? everybody!
    .
    I ? hope ? you ? are ? all ? well!!!!
    .
    I ? see ? Kuo ? spent ? the ? day ? icing ? his ? arm.
    .
    We ? don’t ? have ? a #1 ? or ? a #5. At ? this ? point ? the ? bully ? is ? in ? shambles ? with ? one ? player ? MIA ? the ? others ? injured, ? sore, ? or ? stinking.
    .
    2nd ? base ? isn’t ? ironed ? out ? yet.
    .
    We ? don’t ? have ? much ? in ? the ? minors ? in ? terms ? of ? SP ? to ? take ? over ? if ? needed ? seeing ? as ? all ? the ? potential #5 ? starters ? are ? either ? Rule 5 ? guys, ? out ? of ? options, ? or ? have ? it ? in ? their ? contract ? that ? if ? they ? don’t ? make ? the ? big ? league ? team ? they ? can ? become ? free ? agents.
    .
    I don’t know about you but all I see are question marks…

    Reply
  64. colliethec

    Nice Tru!
    .
    Okay, I’m watching the Twins game on MLB network & had to rub my eyes… They had this guy batting and he’s 5’3″! Chris Cates. Wow!!! It was really strange to see.

    Reply
  68. seeskybout2rain@comcast.net

    Thanks for the update on the Marin Co. kid, collie. It sounds like he’ll need prayers and lots of them. BAN METAL BATS IN HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE BASEBALL!!!!!…..I also saw the 5′ 3″ player for the Twins as well. His uniform, replete with the typical ST wide receiver number 90, looked too big for him. At first, I thought some kid had got the wrong directions to the tee ball game. Depending on your age, these are not your older brother’s or father’s Minnesota Twins from a financial standpoint. Peter Gammons had some interesting comments on the Twins’rise from contraction ashes the other night. New stadium and new TV deal. Fortune 500 companies are relocating there. The signing of a franchise player in Mauer to a long-term deal would have never happened to the old Twins. They are definitely on the rise. What franchise doesn’t this sound like??????????

    Reply
  69. colliethec

    That is Tru!
    .
    My picks..
    .
    Yankees, Twins, Mariners, with the Red Sox as Wild Card.
    .
    Braves, Cincinnati, with Philly as the Wild Card.
    .
    The WS will be Yankees vs Braves with the Yankees repeating.
    .
    I won’t call the NL West.
    .
    I don’t think the team (Dodgers) has improved over last season and seeing as we didn’t even get past the NLCS I’m not thinking we’ll get anywhere near the WS.

    Reply
  70. colliethec

    Hello there Sky…
    .
    Not having a TV deal really has hurt the Dodgers. As a major market team they should have one. NSB pointed that out in the past.
    .
    Didn’t it look strange!! Fun to see. I thought the same thing… what’s that little kid doing there. At first I thought it was the bat boy goofing around.

    Reply
  71. seeskybout2rain@comcast.net

    Hey, collie. It’s really sad about that kid. If Marin Co. bans metal bats, maybe something good can come out of this….You’re right in the respect that we aren’t better than last year. And, in a tight NL West race, which will probably be the case, We won’t get any significant help in July to push us over the top due to financial concerns. Our management is too financially compromised in the here and now to even consider making long-term deals for our core players. Despite everything, we might eke out a division title but we probably won’t go beyond the first round of the playoffs.

    Reply
  73. colliethec

    That’s how I see it as well Sky. I think the Giants are looking good with their pitching. They are strong with SP as well as RP.
    .
    I don’t think they should ban metal bats all together. They just need to ban the “hot” ones that are 2 & 3 walls, etc… Use the kind we used to use when I was a young one. Just in the last 10 years of playing softball I’ve seen these bats just take over the sport. The ball really jumps off the bat nowadays. They just need to control the bats that are being used.

    Reply
  74. seeskybout2rain@comcast.net

    I think metal bats are o.k. for softball. I just don’t think they belong in baseball. With any metal bat, a baseball just jumps off the bat too fast and there’s just too little reaction time. Colleges and high schools use them exclusively for financial reasons. It’s not worth it. I just think the risk is too great….the Mariners and Twins do look good but even they’ve got troubles. Nathan is out for the year and I heard that Lee has got arm issues.

    Reply
  75. colliethec

    The Twins losing Nathan is a bummer for them. But I think they can overcome it. The White Sox look pretty good and I wouldn’t be surprised if Detroit is in the chase as well. They are my dark horse.

    Reply
  76. seeskybout2rain@comcast.net

    The AL Central is always tight just like the NL West. I grew up watching games in Tiger Stadium and still have family in Michigan so I always hope Detroit does well. Of course, due to the Yankees and Red Sox, only one team will make it to the playoffs out of that division as well as the AL West. Tampa Bay, however,could slip in and knock either the Yanks or Red Sox out. Their pitching looks better than last year.

    Reply
  77. trublu4ever

    Collie ~ my picks for the American League were the same as yours. I don’t know if that’s good or bad 🙂 For the National League I picked the Phillies, Cardinals; and our Dodgers, of course….have to have faith with the Rockies as Wild Card. I also picked the Dodgers and Yankees for the WS….HIGH HOPES!

    Reply
  78. colliethec

    The Rays have great pitching. Even in the minors.
    .
    I went to Detroit in ’02 with my Bro on a baseball trip. It was fun but it was new Tiger Stadium and they weren’t good at the time. So there was hardly anyone there. It was autograph day and Negro League day, which was great. They played the Pirates and they both wore throwbacks from Negro League era. They had about 10 of the players from those teams autographing and it was an honor to meet them and talk with them. It was a great time.

    Reply
  83. trublu4ever

    Hey, I feel we all start the season equal. I think our hitting will be just fine. I’m betting on Billz, Kersh and Kuroda to have good seasons. If they give us a win everytime they go out there, who cares about the 4th or 5th starter.

    Reply
  85. nellyjune

    Collie – I think you may have set a record with the most amount of question marks in a single post. I will keep player from Marin County and his family in my thoughts and prayers.

    Reply

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