What a year...

Josh, thanks for hosting this forum and giving us information about the Dodgers. Happy Holidays and a safe and healthy New Year to everyone. And even though it may seem trivial to you, any information you can share with us about the Dodgers and how things happen within the organization is greatly appreciated.

Josh ~ Like lbirken, I want to wish you and all of the Dodgers a very Happy Holiday season. You have made this a place where we, the loyal fans, can come and chat about our feelings towards our team. Looking forward to 2009 and, hopefully another trip to the playoffs.

Thank You Josh. Your commitment to the ITD Blog is something that we are so Thankful for and for that you should be proud. You not only allow us to have an outlet to discuss all things Dodgers and baseball, but you listen to us and are an active part of our conversations- not just the man in charge of new threads. We truly have a unique family here on ITD and most of us have become friends outside of the blog. 2008 was by far my most memorable Dodger season of my entire life. I made memories that will last me a lifetime. Have a happy and healthy Holidays and a wonderful New Year!
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Thanks :)
Amy
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P.S- please don't forget about our ITD tour of Dodger Stadium in January!! We need to get that on the Calendar~

Josh, thanks for another year of keeping us posted. Hope you and yours and everyone at 1000 Elysian Park Ave have a wonderful Holiday season!

GO DODGERS!!!

It was one of the best years in a long time, the best one in 20.
Thank You Josh for giving us the opportunity to express our thoughts.
Whether the Dodgers started in 1883 or '84 it's been a great 125 years.
Only one thing left and that is to re-sign Manny Ramirez and maybe even bring Derek Lowe back on board.
With another year under their belts Martin, Loney, Ethier & Co., are going to tear up the league in 2009.
Happy Holidays from Brooklyn N.Y.. the birthplace of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Good Evening ITD readers and writers!!!!!

Josh - Thanks for a wonderful year keeping this blog going. I believe I have been reading this blog for a full year now, and it has been nothing short of incredible, both because of you keeping us informed and the amazing bloggers who have become a family in its on right. To you and the others in the front office, have a wonderful holiday season and best wishes to you always. Like you said, there is still nine days left in 2008, and at this point, anything can happen.
THINKING DODGER BLUE ALWAYS!!!!

The year was very memorable and I was lucky to be able to go to most of the games, including all of our home postseason games. It was absolutely awesome. I was able to meet many of the Dodgers which made it even more wonderful. Thank you Josh for making this blog one of the best in the MLB. The coming year will be even better. Hopefully we will resign Manny and D Lowe. It was great getting Raffy and Casey back. Have a wonderful Holiday season and may the new year be bright! Always bleeding Dodger Blue.......Cat

xoxrussell - It's great to see you on here!!! I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season. Take care and God Bless to you and your family :)

LET'S GO DODGERS!!!
CLAP, CLAP, CLAP-CLAP-CLAP
LET'S GO DODGERS!!!
CLAP, CLAP, CLAP-CLAP-CLAP

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Quiet night, heh.

Good evening ITD boys and girls!
Josh – We just can’t thank you enough for putting up with us! I know, I know, there are times where you’re wondering, “What are these ITDers talking about?” But thanks, not only for giving us a forum to talk, but for keeping us informed and in pace with Dodger management doings.

Yeah, NSB is correct – kinda of a quiet night. Anyone here for me to talk to?

THINKING DODGER BLUE ALWAYS!!!
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!
ETHIERAHOLIC FOREVER!!!
LIFE IS GOOD TODAY!!!
54 DAYS UNTIL ST!!!
GO DODGERS!!!

My Nellygirl! So how did your cookies come out last night?

Hey CP!!! Doing good so far...I am still working on a few right now, buy going great!! How are you?

I’m doing great! Jim and I went to Marie Callendars for MNF. Usually he doesn’t like to go out for MNF when the Packers are playing, but since they’re out of the playoffs, he said okay this time. We only stayed there ‘til shortly after halftime and then came home. It’s too bad that they lost the way they did. But for the last 5 weeks, that’s exactly how they lost those games. They were ahead late, but lost it at the end.

Did you check your e-mail lately? :)

Well, if we hear from dodgereric, it will be a miracle. He is doing his "Lord of the Rings" marathon with Matt, which involves all three movies and lots and lots of food. Enchanted was around earlier, but acting very strange....either a mother ship issue or he's been drinking the koolaid again. Northstateblues is around somewhere, and Dodger4life is having problems with his modem, so he is out of commission. So, I am trying to make up for his positive attitude. It was good hearing from messagebear, lbirken, sara and fliegel.

Yeah, I read earlier that Enchanted was talking very strangely. It does seem like a mothership issue, kinda like dcollins’ mothership issue before! :)

How very cool that is CP!!! Thank you!!!

Glad you like it Nelly! I’ve been looking for a while to find just the right one to send to you!

Thanks so much DNelly! Hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday season.

Hey xoxrussell! It’s been a long time! How are ya!

xoxrussell - you are so very welcome!!!

Thx Nelly! Actually, I almost sent you that one, but I just couldn’t resist the “sdrawkcab” penguin! In case you’re wondering, the word in “” is backwards spelled backwards!

I have been thinking about those for a while too. I just have been kind of waiting for the right time to send them.

I was thinking of sending yours for it to be delivered on Christmas Day, but I wasn’t sure if you were going to be home or not. I just figured that I’d send it much like I send my regular Christmas cards!

Oh, and by the way, I forgot to tell you before, but I think it was an absolutely wonderful and thoughtful thing to send your package to Dodgereric!

Thanks CP.....it was a fun project. The funny thing is the song actually got added to our first grade song list for April (thanks to last years class), but back when I got it added, it was for the chorus, not the whole version. Well, my students won't sing it now unless it's the entire version. So, we will have to teach the other 100 students the entire version in April. So, if we can get all 120 first graders to sing it, that would be just awesome. However, come January through April, my goal is going to try and teach some history of baseball. It's funny, I was just talking to northstate about the same thing earlier.

Hi cpompe1. I'm doing great..looking forward to the holidays being over since that means it will be closer to baseball season. How are you? DNelly, you are the best teacher!! I am in awe of you as usual.

:)

xoxrussell – I’m also looking forward to Christmas and New Years! And you’re right, once the holidays are over, that means that baseball season isn’t far behind! I mean, once we turn to a new calendar, hey, it’s only one month away before pitchers and catchers report to ST! I can’t wait!

54 days until pitchers and catchers report :)

Nelly, that’s a beautiful thing! 54 days until pitchers and catchers report!

Well, my eyes are getting sleepy. I’ll catch up with y’all later…

Good Night CP!!! Take care and God Bless!!!

xoxrussell - late night tonight?

OK, I've managed to clear out the tears from my eyes. Just thought I'd check in and see what's happening here. The 5th Annual Lord Of The Rings Marathon is history and tomorrow will be the chocolate chip cookie making marathon.

Wow!!! I didn't expect to hear from you......well, I guess this means you are alive and well. Maybe I should be asking how Chris is doing? LOL!!!

I have been doing my own version of "baking cookies marathon" round 2 anyway. I only do round 3 if needed because it's for Christmas day and I only have to do repeat batches of certain kinds .......it looks like tomorrow is your turn :)

So, did we get in every item on your menu along with the movies?

She actually watched them all the way through with Matt and I! I never would have believed it. She's already asking what we could do to make it better next year.

I've got to get them out tomorrow so I can deliver them to work. Our place shuts down for Christmas Eve, so it's tomorrow or forget it. It was easier to do before I started dipping them, that really slows me down.

Oh no, we changed up considerably from the original plan. We started out with breakfast burritos from a local place. Moved on to the hidden tin of chocolate caramel popcorn at the second disk of the first movie. The lunch menu got cut back. Too much breakfast burrito I guess. The rain here brought out hot chocolate and marshmallows. Then came out the chips and dip that carried us to dinner - hot dogs. We finished it off with home-made lattes.

So, you dip them in chocolate......my goodness...how fancy!!!!

As far the movies, that is great that Chris watched them with you. Let's see Michael and I got stuck at the eye doctor for two and half hours so we had two and a half hours of mother/son bonding......at one point we got separated and started texting each other.

A changed menu, but fun nonetheless :) LOL!!!!

Yeah, try it sometime if you haven't already. It's not real hard (otherwise I sure wouldn't be doing it - LOL!!). Melt the semi-sweets in a double-boiler with a couple tablespoons of Crisco. They go from 'really good' to 'OMG!'

It doesn't look like Yankee fans are too excited about Manny:
http://bombersbeat.mlblogs.com/archives/2008/12/cashman_manny_375_report_not_t.html

I have dipped peanut butter cookies, and I did pretzels one year. I tend to do the cookies that require rolling or some sort of shape I am finding out, meaning they all have to be rolled into a ball first.

trublu had heard earlier this evening that the Yankees weren't interested in Manny. So, "IF" that is true, then I am guessing we are fighting the Angels for him if we are even fighting, which I am still skeptical about.

So, with your line of work, are there people always on call in case of an emergency?

There's an article in the Times that says (towards the end): "There is a slim chance the team could pursue free-agent slugger Manny Ramirez, but only if the 36-year-old left fielder..... is willing to accept a two-year deal.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-angels23-2008dec23,0,605726.story

Doesn't sound like a real threat at this stage.

Oh yeah, for the first 26 years I would pull on-call for a week at a time 24 hours a day every 4 - 6 weeks or so. In my current job I don't have to anymore. I miss it sometimes.

It's funny that Fuentes's picture was in that article. One of my husband's friends got to see the inside of his newly built house in Merced, which is out by our lake here. It is three floors with an elevator. Can you believe it!?! We have been hearing all along, he was either going to the Angels or the Cards. Well, maybe Manny will just be able to walk into our hands, nah!!! it won't be that easy :)

An elevator? Must be nice to be rich. Unless he has grandparents living with him, and that would just make it a very nice thing.....

By the way, I need to say thanks to Josh along with the rest of you. It can't be fun to read some of the things we say when it's about people you work with, Josh. Thanks for putting up with us, it's really good therapy!

That would be my thinking about the elevator. He doesn't seem the type to put in an elevator unless it was needed for some reason. I know people who have elevators in their cabins up in Twain Harte and Miwok. Kind of takes the rustic out of a cabin, don't you think?

LOL! If it has an elevator, it's a house! Unless you pull the elevator up yourself with a really good block-and-tackle system. Then it's a really cool cabin!

Well, I didn't intend to stay on this long. I'm a little tired after this busy day.

Good night Junie, and may God Bless you and yours!

Now to start planning Star Wars Day!!!

http://dodgers.scout.com/2/823934.html

Here is a google article that came my way...........could be a little frightening :)

Good Night Ward Dear.......I am glad your LOTR marathon was a success, and yes, you need to do Star Wars for sure. Take Care, God Bless and good luck with you cookie baking marathon tomorrow :)

nellyae16 on I just want to wish you and all my fellow Dodger addicts a very merry Xmas and a Happy healthy New Year. Also thanks to Josh for keeping us informed and getting Ned to answer our questions. It has been quite a year ,and even with all our complaining the Dodgers were only a few games from the World Series. Lets hope we can build on that next year as well.

Good morning, fliegel. Happy Holidays to you. Here's to a great new year!

Sounds like a great start for Andruw in the Dominican Winter League. 8 strikeouts in his first 16 at bats. Hitting .188. Can't wait to see him in april. (Yuk)
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Frank, please sign Manny and trade andruw for a few hot dogs to anywhere.
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Can't wait for march and MLB.TV to start. Living in St. Louis and the Dodgers now playing in the west means all games starting later in the day (St. Louis time) will be great for me.
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Sign Manny, Resign Beimel, sign Randy Wolf trade Andruw and Pierre for anything, even a pair of dirty socks and get 2009 started.
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GO DODGERS. GO

Boblee ~ Looks like Andruw has found his long lost swing! LOL

trublu44 Same to you my friend.

Josh - Thank you for all of your work here on the blog. I was fortunate enough as a season ticket holder to be at almost all of the games this year, and it was truly an interesting/exciting year on the field. While I still have serious doubts about the direction of ownership of the team and what their true business plan is, I will always remain a loyal Dodger fan (my kids middle names are Koufax, Drysdale & Robinson for crying out loud!) Have a Happy Holidays and thanks again for all that you do.

Good Morning, ITD readers and writers!!!

fliegel - to you as well :) ....and yes, we did do an awful lot of complaining for a team that won the west and was a series away from the WS.

Boblee - What's wrong? Andruw is doing just great, don't you think? He is batting close to 200, and why shouldn't we think that isn't good enough to start over Matt who ended the year batting .290, with 18 HR, 76 RBIs and 35 stolen bases. .....and you can say the same thing for JP and Andre. Why go with Andre who ended the season with a .305 average, 20 HR, 77 RBIs and an OBP of .375, when you can have JP with .282 average, 1 HR (which is unbelieveable still), 28 RBIs and an OBP of .327. Why should we as fans even think any differently? I guess we are just fans and don't see the real (current) talent sitting in front of us. I said current because in all due respect to Andruw, he did have some pretty good years with the Braves so I have to give him credit for those. With JP, we kind of knew what we were getting (not that we were happy), but with Andruw, a total shock of "OMG!!!" ....what happened? BTW - Have confidence in your football team......we held the Eagles to three points and so can you. However, you are playing in Philly, and for that, I wish your team good luck!!!!

Good Morning to you too trublu!!!

THINKING DODGER BLUE ALWAYS!!!
53 DAYS UNTIL PITCHERS AND CATCHERS REPORT TO SPRING TRAINING!!!

Good Morning ITD friends!!
Let me say, Merry Christmas Eve Eve to everyone. Happy Hanukkah to all my friends who celebrate :)
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I in no way want to defend Andruw. But let me remind you that he is in the winter league to improve and work on this physical and mental blocks. If he were hitting .300 with 5hrs right now then he wouldn't need the extra practice. We should commend him and the Dodger organization for taking the extra steps to get him back to being a decent ball player. It's going to be a slow process and he will probably come out of the league with minor improvements that hopefully will be the beginning of bigger improvements.
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Ok that was my added cometary on the situation. I know he's not our favorite teammate...but at least he is being active and making an attempt.
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I in no way want to defend Andruw.

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So don't, because then u did. We shouldn't commend him on anything. He makes 20 million dollars, shows up fat, can hardly run then hurts his knee then announces that he can't wait to be a free agent in 2009. Which is why he will work hard this year. Pathetic. He is making an attempt to sucker another team out of cash and cause he has to. Were patying him 20 million dollars. No other team in baseball wants him and we should commend the dodgers. Post about deWitt or Kershaw or MacDonald or Kemp or whoever else. Don't defend the in-defendable

At least Pierre plays hard Amy, ya know? I Might not like his game but he is defendable.

Here is the thing, Coletti said Manny or noybody.....Well that is it image and ticket sales or nobody is how I read that. We need to upgrade our offense Manny or no Manny. I'd be perfectly happy with Abreu or Dunn for far cheaper...How can u go from Manny level production in LF to we will go with what we got production. There are in betweens if u truly care about winning a WS.

Would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and say that I've enjoyed conversing with all of you on ITD and look forward to your comaraderie again in 2009.

Josh, thank you for your hard work on this blog. I know we (I) are(am) a handful sometimes, but your work is very appreciated.

PS Josh - don't worry about ITD day at the stadium whenever you have it - I live in NM. :)

I want nothing more than Andruw to get his swing back, but if we do or don't sign Manny, if he comes into ST with anything less than what Matt and Andre have produced in these last two years at Spring Training, then there is not a whole lot that will convince me he deserves playing time over them. At maximum it needs to be a platoon of JP and Andruw if Manny is not signed. If Manny is signed, then trades or just out right releases have to be done. This platooning issue with Matt and Andre is just ridiculous we are even thinking it may happen again. If they truly are our future stars, they need to be treated as such. JP has had two years now to prove he is better than Andre and has yet to do that. Andruw, same thing, has had two years, one with the Braves (which is why they traded him in the first place) and one with us, to figure things out, and still hasn't.

I am not going to pretend I will be okay if Andruw and/or JP are starting over either one of them just because they wear the Dodger letters across their jersey. They haven't exactly represented the Dodger name so well, on or off the field anyway. So, unless Andre and/or Matt are injured or ill, there is no reason they shouldn't be starting every game. So, if they are not going to sign Manny, then the least Dodger management can do is give us the pleasure of watching Andre and Matt play every day. Then at least maybe we can believe they believe in our young guns.

LOL!!! too funny enchanted!!!

Sadly jungar .188 is an improvement over last year. But hey, when he hits the ball he's batting .375!! I guess the most encouraging thing so far are his 6 walks that drive his OBP to .409.
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Here's his line so far:
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5 16 1 3 0 0 0 1 6 8 0 .188 .409

What it may boil down to is do we want JP's known mediocrity in there everyday, or AJ's abysmalness (is that even a word?) with the possibility that once in a great while he spits out a double or a HR? (All the while knowing that DY, Repko or Paul are better options over these two.)

Your only giving me a choice between that? Rough. I'll take Jones, at least he can catch and would make our corner OF better. Either guy is an 8 hole hitter nowdays.

bluck!!!! to both IMO :)

Hello everyone and Josh thanks for the great forum to meet true Dodgers fans and to allow us to spew our venom towards management.

I would like to wish everyone a great Holiday Season and I cannot wait until ST...

I have not read all the posts on the last thread, but has anyone mentioned Kuroda. I see he is not going to participate in the WBC (thats a good thing), the quote that his shoulder is not responding as well as they thought is a little worrisome....If you guys have already discussed..sorry but this is not good news, hopefully it is just precautionary and he will be ready in ST....

Since you made a personal attack on Amy, I want to defend her. Uncool!

You were one who was happy with Andruw, before he showed up fat. I recognize that you complained he was fat as soon as he got to ST. You withheld your strongest complaints, because hey, he hit 26 HR and 94 rbi in 2007. That was his worst year since 1999. So, we all thought that he might come around during the season. I understand that you are angry with a professional athlete that shows up unprepared for ST. He made himself vulnerable to injury.

As far as what motivates him this year, I really don't care what motivates him to return to his numbers of 2005 and 2006, as unlikely as that is. I think you would agree that -if- he hits 41 or 51 HR and 128 or 129 rbi this year, you would would be writing differently about him. He won't do that, but cut Amy some slack as a fan. He has done it in the not-so-distant past. It is before ST, let Amy dream. We all need to hope that the Ds get to and win the WS.

As far as Manny vs. others, I pick Manny. But that is another topic.

In fact, I agree that DY, Repko, and Paul are better options than JP or AJ. At least until we see how they are performing on the field.

I predict that opening day will be AJ in CF, Kemp in RF, and Ethier in LF. Torre will not favor anyone over Kemp and Ethier this year, unless they have a serious decrease in production.

When JP is in the lineup, it will be Kemp in CF, Ethier in RF, and JP in LF. DY, Repko, and Paul will get a few chances to dislodge JP and AJ. They had better produce quickly or they are tradebait.

well good afternoon ITD!!! I've missed you guys!! I haven't been on in SSOOOO long! how is everyone?
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Josh thanks for reminding me of all the GREAT memories of the 2008 season! even though i didn't attend every event, i still got to experience a lot of those things you listed!! AND next year will be my first time going to some spring training games!! i can't wait!! thanks again! and have a great christmas and new year!

Hey Acardona!!! How are you? It has been awhile :)

shepherd - one could only hope that is what happens with our outfield. Matt and Andre need to be playing everyday, no question about it. Have a great holiday!!!!

Good morning (soon to be afternoon) ITD boys and girls!
Acardona – It’s great to see you! I’m still unemployed, but still have a lot to be thankful for. Do you remember back this summer that I was saying that I was have shoulder problems? Well, I went to an orthopedist this morning; I’ve got physical therapy to do. Before, they were saying I had bursitis. Now I’ve got a frozen shoulder (well, duh, it’s stiff). I’ve got to do 2 sessions of PT and then I’ll get another cortisone shot. Then, we’ll see how it goes. Plus I’ve got my instructions on what I’m supposed to do at home, before my shot. So, that’s the scoop on me. How are you!

And my Nellygirl! How are you this fine morning?

And as far as JP and Princess Druw are concerned, what’s most irritating to me is that they both have contracts that no one will touch. And I don’t see Frank paying most of their salaries, just to trade them.

Yes, logic would dictate that Matty and Dre STAY in the starting lineup, but the Dodgers aren’t always logical…

Hi CPO!! wow i'm sorry! i hope everything goes well and you feel better soon!! as for me.. well finals were crazy and work has been getting worse and worse.. but school is over (for now) so i don't have to stress about that. i can't believe christmas is only 2 days away!!

also I'm so happy to hear that Raffy stayed with us!!

Hey CP!! I am doing great!!! ......and yes, Dodger logic is sometimes much different than normal logic. Then again, our ethics are different too according to our Philly ITD faithful than the rest of the mlb too - go figure!!!

CP .....sorry about the shoulder :(

Hi Nelly! how are you? are you ready for christmas?

The allocation of PA went: MK, Martin, Loney, Ethier.

If Raffy stays healthy, he will get the most PA this year. Other than injury or severe drop-off in production, I expect that the allocation of PA will be Raffy, MK, Ethier, Loney, Martin, DeWitt, and Blake. AJ, JP, DY, Repko, Paul will fight for the last starting position. The fight is not even, as AJ will be favored, then JP.

If the Ds re-sign Manny, playing time for those five will be impacted the most. Torre liked Manny in the 3 hole, with Either at the 2. Cleanup would be a battle between Loney, Kemp, and Blake.

I think the battle for Manny comes down to the Angels and the Ds. The Yanks only want to cast their shadow. Manny does not fit their corporate image, even if they say they would like him to protect ARod. Manny has too strong of a personality for the Steinbrenner family. He will not temper himself and their best course is to stir the pot and try to get others to bid up. This justifies their outrageous spending and takes some pressure off the talk of a cap.

Boras and Manny have every reason to make the other teams think that the Yanks are in the hunt. It doesn't have to be true for them to spread the rumor. I still say that 3 years and $75 million wins Manny's signature. If AJ was worth $40 million for two years (he wasn't), Manny is worth $75 million for three (he is as of 2008). Two years at $45 million reflects the Boston discontentment discount. Obviously, Manny is more than 12% more productive on offense than AJ. His lack of defense requires a NL discount, though.

Yeah acardona, have a great Christmas vacation! I’ve gotta a few more things to do before Christmas, but nothing big.

Nelly – thx on the shoulder. Boy, if this is the type of pain that our pitchers try to pitch thru, well, more power to them. Unfortunately, I still can’t see how the Dodgers KNEW that Schmidt was hurt and they signed him anyways. Again, Dodger logic – something that is nonexistent and foreign to them.

.....not really, but I will be when the day actually shows up. It's different this year than last. Last year I had very little time in between school getting out and Christmas. This time I had more time, but am getting less done. Part of it is my kids are older so I don't have to overdo the Santa thing anymore so I am spending more time in the kitchen baking and cooking than out shopping. My kids only want a few things, and even though the price tags are a little higher, it is pretty cut and dry shopping for the most part.

Are you ready?

Wow, I wish we were not having the Andruw debate...I would be happy if he is in shape to play his gold glove defense and hit .240 with 25 hrs and 80 plus RBI...in the 7th or 8th hole....Unfortunately, I think he is so far gone mentally that getting over .200 will be difficult....Lost confidence is worse than an injury.....maybe I am wrong, because if not there will be alot of swing and misses by Mr Jones this year....

What a shame, because he was heading for a potential HOF career, and if he does not right himself in a hurry he will not have a chance.

I think I'm as ready as I'm going to be! haha! everything just came so fast for me! I was so concentrated on school and work that I lost track of how close the holidays are! lol

well.. I'm going to go eat lunch them get ready for work.. :-( have a great day everyone!!

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Dnelly - CPO - have a great christmas ladies! and a happy new year!!

AJ's problems pop quiz:
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(A) Took ability for granted
(B) Steroids
(C) Older than he states
(D) All of the above

Anybody notice this little gem?
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Yanks offer 1923 prices for exhibitions
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http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081223&content_id=3726538&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

But its my understanding it doesn't come with a scented towel.

Ramslover – You’re right, by all rights, we should not be having a debate about Andruw. Not with the kind of numbers he put up with Atlanta all those years. I mean, he was a beast with them. It is a shame that we’re talking about Andruw Jones in this manner, only a few years removed from his best seasons. HOF – who knows? He’s gotta right his ship in 2009 and every year after that. I mean, he’s still in his early 30s. It’s not like he’s 37 or 38 and having these problems.

ramslover.....you are so very right about Andruw. I watched alot of Atlanta because of my friend who is an A's/Braves fan, and I enjoyed watching the players on their team. We came into last year thinking Andruw had just suffered a bad slump in Atlanta, but then as the season progressed, we found out he was having knee problems all along (hmmmm...schmidt?). So, we really don't know which Andruw showed up during ST last year. Was he injured the entire time, and once again like Schmidt, just pushed under the radar hoping it would heal itself? Then you have the mental aspect on top of it now.

This really comes down to our management alot more than the players themselves. Our management has put our team in this predicament with too many outfielders and how they deal with it this season with how well Andre and Matt both did, will definitely be interesting to say the least.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Acardona!

Enchanted, both my husband and I have ALWAYS thought (b) was Princess Druw’s problem.

Nelly – Any chance that Frank will roll back prices? Nah……

Well, I’ve gotta go. I’ll catch up with y’all later…

Josh!
Thank you so much for providing this forum for us and for keeping us informed! I hope, I hope we will have the Panda Express event again next year! The best to you and your family and to all of our Dodger family.
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Hello ITD!
hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and that 2009 is THE year we celebrate with a parade in October. I love reading from all of you. Looking forward to the ITD tour and meeting you all. -Emma

Bye CP and Acardona!!!

Acardona - have a Merry Christmas if we don't see you again until then :) ETHIERAHOLICS FOREVER!!!!

enchanted - Frank can't afford the team we want at the prices he is charging now, scented towel or not :)

The D's are never going to live down the "scented towel" PR debacle.

Enchanted ~ i'll take "D"....all of the above. Everyone knew that Andruw's last year in Atlanta was pathetic.....well, everyone except Ned.

Is that the only PR debacle, Enchanted?

I would have to put the 42 fields as one of those PR issues, wouldn't you? I don't think that issue is going to go away anytime soon. Schmidt?....a PR issue :) shall we continue.........

Now that Reagins shot down my Angels scenario, who will make legitimate bids for Manny?

I think that the Ds will outbid the rest of the NL. So, who in the AL will join the bidding? Now I think that Boston, Angels, and the Yanks are out. Who among the other 11 AL teams are in? Presumably, he wants to play for a playoff team. Tampa can't afford him. So, is it the White Sox? There are trade rumors about Dye. Maybe Ned and Frank actually have a strategy! Wouldn't that be great.

Teix needs to sign before we get clarity.

Nellyae ~ you are right about Schmidt! Loaiza? Sweeney? JD Drew?..................

I have a feeling that Manny is in for a rude awakening, he is going to have to settle for only 50-60 mil over 2-3 years...I do not know how he can live with himself....He became a free agent the wrong year, with the economy the way it is and no real hope for better days ahead. He will get picked up and make a decent contract by his terms, but the market is bare....

Id say

1. Dodgers...Ned in retrospect made a REAL OFFER MR BORASS....

2. Yankees...I do not care what they say if they can get Manny for 2-3 years they will do it...

3. Orioles...I think they are desperate to get back to some sort of respectability....

4. Angels...if he is cheap enough (in baseball dollars) they will reenter.

5. Giants...Hope not but...

Yeah this is good news for us. Also I was attaking Amy. I was attacking the defense of Jones. He should shut up and play. He hasn't been good now for two years. If you read my posts here back then which you have but you are forgetting, I mentioned all that before we signed him. Jones I thought would hit 250 with 20hr and 80rbi as a dodger and would get killed for it by media but for me that would have been a huge upgrade over Pierre. Then matters got worse when he showed up the way he did. He was one of my favorite non dodgers. And then to say the things he said without once saying i hope to help the dodgers win a WS in 2009 first in foremost, well then the sooner your an ex dodger, the better. Don't write for me Shep.

Nelly as far as Andruw goes....it is more mental in my opinion...sports is all about confidence at that level...you can see it when an athlete starts to doubt his ability it is hard to overcome...

Steve Blass, Rick Ankiel, Bill Bene (#1 pick of the Dodgers could not throw stikes), Sax with the throws, Knoblauch...Once it goes mentally...they are done!

Tex just signed with the Yankees!

8 nyears....$180 million

Excuse the "n" got so nervous over that amount of money!!!

Are you serious? .....the Yankees? Boy, and they are trying to cut their budget. That's some budget cut.

ramslover - very well understood. Having a son who is a pitcher, it's nothing but mental for him most of the time. He's got what it takes but when he mentally has a breakdown, watch out!!!

Who is gonna protect A-rod, Jeter and Texiera in that line up? Damon? Matsui? No they're gonna need some help, even though the Angels are out, we don't have Manny yet. lol

Yep, the good old Yankees just stole him from the Red Sox. And, the Angels have said they WILL NOT SIGN MANNY!

they (the Spankees) needed a 1st baseman. I remember the lady that I bought the Yankee ticket from was asking me if the Dodgers be willing to trade Loney. I said "Not my Loney!"

Yankees - yup, they're good for baseball.

Didn't mean to imply that the scented towel was their ONLY PR debacle, just the most absurd.

trublu - Jill just lost another favorite player to the Yankees, which she despises. First, Swisher and now Tex....what a shame, and I really liked him as a nonDodger.

You have to be kidding me....that is nuts...the system is completely broken....I hate the Yankees!!!!!

Jungar ~ Yea, they need to add manny to their payroll......just said with A-rod, CC and Tex it is a huge amount of cash!!

Have no fear, outfield help may only a phone call away... LOL
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http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081223&content_id=3726757&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

enchanted - we know you are fully aware of all of the PR issues and then some........:)

A new term for baseball........SALARY CAP!!!!

espn says that the angels have no plans to pursue manny.. so now that the yankees have signed a big bat.. i doubt there will be any sort of market for manny.. hence, he will probably be a dodger again..

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3790162

enchanted - He can sing too!!!!!!

Wouldn't ya just love to see the Yankees belly flop now??

Enchanted ~ we can get Williams to go along with Randy! LOL

LMAO, Dnelly!!!

I don't think we would be the only organization to think that either enchanted......how about the other 29 teams in the mlb.

.....unless we are talking ethics and then maybe the Philly Phans are okay with what the Yankees are doing. Remember, the Dodgers and their fans have no ethics.

The one thing I don't understand about the Andruw signing, and I was all for it at the time because to me he was an upgrade over Pierre, was that I did not see him in person. How in the he** did Ned miss that Andruw was a moose? And didn't he think that his size would affect his performance?

You know, we can talk salary cap and ETHICS and whatever else you want, but as far as I'm concerned the owners get what they deserve for not policing their own for the good of their industry. I suppose in a year or two they'll be the ones going to Washington looking for a bailout.

The Yanks just got the young best pitcher and best young hitter on the market. Crazy. I hope we swoop in on Manny soon.

you are probably right enchanted :)

fliegel - wouldn't everyone like the answer to that question.

Jungar, you are one of my favorite ITDers to read. You bring in good research and have a good head for baseball. Just don't get personal with people expressing their hopes in winter.

You said to Amy about her saying she won't defend AJ, "So don't, because then u did. We shouldn't commend him on anything." I didn't write that, you did.

It is time to look forward to next year. AJ screwed up last year. His behavior in not supporting the team paying him is bad. Let's let it lie and see how he behaves in spring.

I really don't blame the Yankees for doing what they are doing........I think it's great to go out and, hopefully, buy yourself a World Series. A huge checkbook must be a nice thing to have.

Prediction: Matt Holliday signs with the Yankees for 2010. 6 years, $130 mil.

good prediction enchanted.. book it.

Prediction: JP starts in LF for Dodgers 2010.

trublu, that's what all yankees fans will tell you. that they at the very least, have an owner that cares enough to buy them anything they need.. but you know, like you said, "hopefully" buy themselves a world series.. nothing is guaranteed.. some of these people could easily be injured or something else.. and things may not go the way they hope.. it's been "a while" (not nearly as long as us.. but you know.. in yankees terms) since their last championship.. and i don't think they were truly buying championships when they were last good.. they had a core.. they kept it together.. and they won.. but since the late 90s, they really haven't been as good.. they've been spending all the money.. but not winning it all.. so we will see what happens..

:( I don't like that prediction

i know dnelly.. i don't mean good as in i like it.. i mean good as in realistic..

espn is saying that no one should be surprised to see the yankees still pursing manny..

i mean, why wouldn't they.. what's another 100 million to the ginormous amount they've already spent this offseason?

I agree with you, Sara. Money doesn't always buy you happiness or a world championship.

I was talking about enchanted's prediction on LF. I believe Matt Holliday will be with the Yankees, maybe even sooner. I think Billy will sell him off at the trade deadline for the highest bidder, which by what we have seen, the Yankees have a pretty good hold on that spot.

maybe not dnelly.. because the yankees have made a lot of moves and signings so their farm system is really not deep compared to most.. big trades require lots of minor league talent..

Sure, Yankees, go ahead, sign Manny too! With Jeter, ARod, CC, AJ and Tex.........they're payroll would be? Please, one of you, let me know. I know somebody knows the answer. And, that's not including the everday, average players.

........you are probably right Sara......just frustrated is all :)

i know.. i think everyone's frustrated.. but we weren't after tex.. and the angels say they don't want manny.. so we really didn't lose anything.. it's not like the CC signing.. you know?

plus let's not forget, their payroll has always been at the top.. and they still haven't won a title in 8 years.. they were actually a good TEAM in the late 90s.. now they're just ridiculously talented individuals, but something always makes them fall apart.. it's still baseball.. and on opening day.. pretty much everyone has a chance at the title..

Sure the Yankees get all the press and signed a couple of decent roll players but don't forget, we signed this year's leading PVL - Mark Loretta!!!

Ain't no stoppin' us now!!

okay, so a friend just told me that the yankees will have to pay the MLB 30 million or something.. it's like a tax.. does anyone know more about this? i'm just curious..

Another thing I can't figure out is why would the Dodgers pay 4mil a year for Torre and not give him a team capable of going all the way? . To manage the young players and a few old guys any minor league manager would probably do just as well with the given talent.

Its just the "luxury" tax Sara - the owners have seen to it that really doesn't mean anything. Only a handful of teams have ever had to pay it for exceeding a certain dollar amount of payroll. When you're the Yankees and get over $300 million in illegitimate tax breaks well... you get the picture.

btw, i actually think the yankees will have the 5 highest paid players in the league next year.. definitely 4.. and if giambi is still getting paid what i think he is.. then 5.. now THAT'S crazy..

well.. actually.. it depends on what manny signs for.. unless he signs with the yankees, and then it'll be the top 6

thanks enchanted.. yeah, i knew it was a sort of luxury tax.. i think detroit owed like 2 mil last year.. not like it matters to these teams..

The luxury tax........it's nothing to them....just change really :)

sara - I really enjoyed watching Tex play, and I don't slight him at all for getting what he can. We can only hope our boys in blue get that kind of contract some day. When he was playing for Atlanta and I got to see him and Andre on the same field, it was a lot of fun. I was just hoping for him to go to the Angels or Washington. Same with Swisher.....it's going to be hard to see him in Yankee pinstripes too. It was hard enough seeing Swisher with the White Sox last year.

oh and then.. if you just calculate NY as a whole.. and include the mets.. then they'll have 7 of the top 8 minus ichiro

fliegel - All Torre was was a PR move by Frank (IMO)

Out of the last 9 times (not counting now) the luxury tax has been done, the Yankees are 5 of those times. Now, they are 6 out of 10. I learned that from dodgereric's post about the luxury tax and salary caps.

yup dnelly, "kids" getting paid.. at least a couple of our great youth core will be getting that kind of treatment in a few years.. between martin, kemp, loney, ethier, billingsley, kershaw.. at least a couple will be the tops of a free agent class.. not all will pan out, but odds are that a couple will..

One things for certain - Frank will never have to worry about paying luxury tax.

LOL!!! no, enchanted, probably not :) LMAO!!!!....but he will have 42 ball fields to call his own :)

Now how much fun would this blog be if we signed all the good players like the Yankees? We need our PVLs and dammit, Ned gets 'em for us. Frank knows this also so he says, "let 'em have towels." Jamie's always good for putting her foot in Frank's mouth and to top it all off, we have Joe too.

Who could want for more?

....excuse me.....it's really 50. He is adding 42 more :)

LMAO!!!! so true, so true......We have almost 500 songs, etc. to prove it too :) LMAO!!!

I like to look at the big picture...

well...since 10:00 I see that my post caused a little bit of controversy. I really don't need to comment b/c you all know how much I love the team and want the kids/team to succeed.
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Shepard..thanks for your kindness :)

Yeah Amy, you're such a trouble maker! LOL!!!

:) That's me.. sticking up the ALL the players!

Amy do not feel bad because I was the one taking up for JP last year...I feel as you do, they are wearing Dodger Blue and it is a new season so they all get a clean slate. I just hope Ned realizes that having JP and AJ on the team is going to be like the anchor from an aircraft carrier on a bass boat!!!!

If they are not playing and JP in his defense from what I saw and read was professional in 08. But he is not going to sit aroung for a whole year and not play and not say anything...

Ramslover- Heck, I still like JP! I am totally realistic about his playing abilities, but I give him credit for his intangibles. People don't like that I feel that way too.
I love all my Dodgers, even if they let us down at times. Everyone has a role and need to be supported by the fans.
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GO BLUE!!

I know, but not everyone sees the glass half full...we as a society are always looking for a negative...and that is the right of all who post here...to say how they feel....hopefully no one will take it personally or get personal...

Mark Teixeira's deal puts the Yankees' offseason FA bill at $424 million

underline. highlight. exclaimation point.

The Yankees had made an offer to Teixeira weeks ago, but then withdrew it; their intention all along was to make an offer, which they did formally on Tuesday, if it fell within parameters acceptable to the organization.

they have parameters??

Not to worry Sara - when all those guys hit 40, we'll have our shot at them!

My son emailed me earlier today with the news about Texiera signing with the Yankees and this is how I replied:

All the more reason to rejoice in every Yankee loss. Years ago when Charlie Finley was trying to dump players the commissioner voided a deal involving Vida Blue because the commissioner felt the deal was not in the best interests of the league. Can you imagine such a thing happening now with the current commissioner and the power of the player's union? The Yankees will have to pay even a larger luxury tax but obviously they don't care. Another Scot Boras client wins again, Boras continues to prove the stupidity of major league owners (or at least some of them) and he goes on to the next client with all this information about how much teams were willing to pay even if they lost out in the deal.

LOL Enchanted... gotta love's Frank's obsession with old veteran players :)

correction amy, NED'S obsession not frank's.. ned is obsessed with the vets.. frank's just obsessed with curbing spending..

oh our glorious owner and GM =P

Now where would we be without Frank and Ned???

One could only dream...

LOL!!!!!

Wtih the Yankees signinig 3 top FAs, it sucks for Toronto who now will get a 3rd round pick for losing Burnet and the Brewers who now will get a 2nd round pick for CC.

Let's see...Manny won't be a Yankee, an Angel or a Red Sox. Um, who does that leave? I guess Manny could be an Oriole or a National...but I doubt they'd want him at his age. Is it possible Ned played this correctly...or will Manny end up a Gnat or something equally horrible???

Thanks Yanks, we just might find Ned is the greatest Magician of them all...

LET'S GO DODGERS, LET'S GO!!!

The Yankees have only spent $424 million or so in this off-season and, since they have cleared quite a bit from the previous payroll, could still spend more.

It's funny how Selig hasn't said much of anything about this. And obviously any Luxury Tax is pocket change to the Yankees.

But hey, if he can turn a blind eye to Roids, turning a blind eye to this won't even break a sweat.

I know. But, a lot of people are saying that the Yankees give the fans what they want.........a chance to win at all costs!

Tru, that's mostly right. But what the Yankees fans want (and the only thing they will settle for), they haven't had since 2000.

Talk about a Pity Party...

You are right! At least the fans will have a lot of booing to do if the players don't perform to their expectations.

This just in! The favorites to represent the American League in the 2009 World Series are the Red Sox or Yankees. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

You see, this is the genius of NedCo...
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The Yankees now are expected to win, period. Under Ned and Frank's leadership, the pressure of that expectation has been totally alleviated.
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In fact, we don't expect anything.

Kind of like Seinfeld.

What is the 2009 Major League Baseball season about?

Nothing!

Unless, of course, the Yankees finish 3rd. Again. :)

"$424 million. Doesn't that seem a little weird? I mean, that's like 800 ball fields."
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.
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Jamie McCourt thought bubble 7:17 PM

Unless you're the Yankees. Then $424 million only buys 0.424 of a ballpark.

LMAO, Enchanted & Shepherd! Way to go!!!
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Just heard te Mets are real close to signing Lowe.

Woo-hoo TruBlu - draft picks!!!

I've a feeling that both Lowe and Penny fell into the catagory of "not wanting to be here/Dodgers." A lot can be said for that. Ferk wants to be a Dodger, Kemp wants to be one for life. If you don't want to be here, bye-bye.

If Ned lands Garland & Wolf, that pretty much equals Lowe & Penny of last year. Won't match up as well against Webb & Haren as we did before, but it still ought to be a good enough rotation to win the west.

Hell, give Manny $70M for 3 years with an opt-out after two. Don't see why he wouldn't take that as it still gives him the opportunity for one last payday in the AL.

Then start printing the playoff tickets because this teams gonna roll.
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Of course that could be the Cuervo talking.

It's getting closer ITD'ers!
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I love Christmas but it sure makes it tough to enjoy it when you work retail. I'll be sad when it's over but somewhat happy!
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Looks like I missed some fun today during work while everybody is off enjoying their families and Christmas activities.
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Enchanted you read my mind when I saw that about the Yankees selling their tix for the prices from when old Yankee Stadium was first built. The first thing I thought of was that they were able to give them those prices because they weren't getting a scented towel!
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Tex to the Yankees. Wow, what a bummer. A salary cap is really starting to look necessary. I know the Players Union and Players would be against it, but they should look at it for the good of the game.
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You would think that there are more players that are on the outside looking in at the few rich teams and that would cause these players to try and rally some of their peers to a salary cap. I mean if there are only 4-5 teams that can spend boatloads of money that would be 100-125 players on the MLB rosters. With the rest of the teams not able to keep up and 25 players per team they would out number the "haves".
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They were mostly against steroid testing as well and look where that got all of us. It really messed the game up.
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They (The Players and their union) really need to start looking at the big picture.
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But in this instance I'm actually happy about the Yankees getting Tex because as discussed by you guys, I think it improves our chances for getting Manny. Now if we don't get Manny then I'll really be bitter about it.
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But I remember last year when the Tigers were building their team I thought they would be an awesome team. Needless to say they weren't.
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Also in the late 80's - early 90's the Yankees attempted to purchase rings and that is when they became horrible. Anybody remember Danny Tartabull?!
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So let's go Dodgers! Have a Merry Christmas & New Years & any other Holiday you might celebrate!! And bring back the Blue Crew, and the great Dodger traditions.

Good Evening ITD readers and writers!!!!

I have nothing to add other then you making me laugh while reading what has been written since the last time I was on here.

dcollins - I worked retail while going to college and a few years after, and I know just how you feel - fun, busy and tiring all at the same time. However, in two of the three retail jobs I had, two were in clothing, and Back to School was horrific compared to the holidays.

I don't envy you Nelly with the Back To School.
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I've just been in retail for 16 years and I'm so excited for 1 year to have the day off before Christmas and Thanksgiving as well as the weekends after. I haven't had that in 16 years.

I wonder if the Yankees are worrying about how many little league fields they won't be building.

You are right dcollins.....that doesn't happen often. Good for you!!!!

jungar - it's the least of their worries, I'm sure :) LOL!!!! However, don't you feel good the Dodgers are building 42 new ones? It's exactly what this fan needs living about 250 miles away, and I'm close compared to some. I'm sure enchanted, dodger4life, dcollins, northstateblues, etc, etc, etc, will find the time and money to take their families and loved ones to visit them someday. Who need DS when you have 42 little league parks to go to instead. Maybe the dream parks will come with scented towels too. Can you tell this topic bugs me just slightly, and this coming from the teacher of the group.

I love TJ Simers now that he just rips on McCourt.
---

.J. Simers
8:20 PM PST, December 23, 2008
As fat pitches go, even Andruw Jones could hit this one out of the park, Manny Ramirez now sitting there with nowhere else to go but the Dodgers.

So what do the Dodgers do?

"We're still interested in talking about Manny," said Dodgers GM Ned Colletti.

But is this Frank McCourt's dream come true, or his worst nightmare -- and the Dodgers really do end up with the guy?

He's certainly not going to tell me, but we're all going to find out in the next few weeks.

The Angels pulled out of the bidding for Mark Teixeira and then General Manager Tony Reagins said, "We are not going to sign Manny Ramirez," the Angels taking the lead in the league so far in announcing the number of good players they are not going to sign.

The Yankees, meanwhile, came to terms with Teixeira on Tuesday, and there's probably a better chance of the Red Sox bringing back Babe Ruth than Ramirez.

So the Dodgers have no competition. It's like playing in the National League West -- they just have to show up with something, almost anything to win.

Arte Moreno offered Teixeira an eight-year-deal for $160 million, but it wasn't enough to beat out the competition -- falling $20 million shy of the final deal with the Yankees.

It's Moreno's money, and if he doesn't want to spend what it takes to secure Teixeira, it's his choice -- just like every fan has a choice whether to buy a ticket or not.

If McCourt doesn't want to spend money to bring back Ramirez, he'll have his reasons too, just like every Dodgers fan when it comes to deciding whether to attend a game or not.

Why wouldn't the Dodgers sign Ramirez after already offering him more than $45 million? Concerns about his defense? His attitude? Did something happen last season while he was playing here that has yet to surface publicly?

If the Dodgers want Ramirez, Tuesday was the start of a great New Year with everything falling in place. Their toughest decision now: Do they go cheap on a two-year deal and maybe tick off the guy, or allow him to save face after leaving behind two years in Boston and sign him to three years?

Scott Boras will probably have something to say about all this, and the first thing we'll probably hear about is some "mystery team" that's really interested in Ramirez.

Baltimore and Washington were willing stooges when it came to Teixeira, so there's a good place to start.

Easy to dismiss them, of course, as just another Boras negotiating ploy unless you factor in the Yankees and the sneaky way they made off with Teixeira.

But still, I'm not buying it. Kansas City? Texas? You think Ramirez is going to hitch his future to some outpost?

He probably believes he has one more contract to sign after this one, since it won't be the five- or six-year deal he expected. He's going to want to go somewhere to set himself up for another big payday. And L.A. presents a mighty big stage.

Right now how many teams are going to look upon Ramirez as the guy who changed the Dodgers rather than Manny being Manny, the Boston quitter?

His reputation allows the Dodgers to get him cheap, and cheap players are the team's favorite kind.

So that makes Ramirez almost a slam-dunk Dodger unless the Dodgers really don't want him. And if not, there's always the chance Jones might hit the ball.

Now isn't that worth the price of admission?

LOL - the last three lines is very telling :)

red pen - "are" instead of "is" - geez!!!!

Nelly I for one am excited for the extra 42 ballparks in LA.
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When I make a trip down there I'm going to go there to watch a game. Tickets are .25 each and you get a scented towel!!

We need Dodger4life back to liven things up and make things happy again.

GO DODGERS!!!!!
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!!!
EVERY LITTLE THING WILL BE ALRIGHT!!!!!
LIFE IS GOOD TODAY!!!!

I am sure you are dcollins......those scented towels sure are a draw. Maybe since it's a kids ballpark, they will make the towels smell like gummy bears and bubblegum.

So, the Dodgers seem to have a clear field in the Manny Sweepstakes. They seem to have 3 choices at this point:

1 - Improve on their original 2-year $45 million with a 3rd-year option offer that Boras flicked off his shoulder like so much lint. (What? Bid against themselves? Not happening.)

2 - Low-ball 'em, we're in the driver's seat now! (Oh yeah, that'll get Manny to ST in the right frame of mind.)

3 - Reinstate their original offer. This is what makes sense to me. It was a fair offer as a per/year deal. It lets him get that AL deal in two years when (hopefully) Lambo or Russell might be ready.

There are other realities: no offer at all, going after Abreu, Dunn, et al, and the nightmare - we love what Jones is doing in Winter ball, the job is his to lose in ST and we always have Pierre as the plan B.

I totally see Boras going to the fantasy offer that Simers describes. He has none of the ethics that some idiots like to talk about. He sees lying as part of his job, IMO. I would really be surprised to see Manny sign anytime soon. The Tex deal seems to hang Manny out to dry ....... unless the Yanks aren't done .......

Boy, you are up late!!! How was cookie baking?

...and yes, it appears we are the only ones who seem to want Manny :)

Oh my achin' back! Must have made 25 dozen of those things today! Just catching up with the day's events. I made the bulk of those before 2pm and then spent the next 3 hours delivering them to co-workers and friends and visiting them. Then my mom came over for dinner and helped out with the last 6 dozen or so.

How was your day?

I'm assuming that your school has January 19th off for Martin Luther King's birthday right? Are you back in school on the 20th?

25 dozen - wow!!!! dipped and everything, fancy!!!!!

My day was good......got most of my shopping done and cookies are done too. Now I have to tackle Christmas Eve dinner (chili and cornbread - tradition), Christmas morning breakfast and Christmas dinner, which is a shared venture between everyone but all at my house, which is welcome of course. Plus, church tomorrow sometime (we have 3 times to choose from)

So, how do you manage the next two days?

Yes, we have the 19th off, and back on the 20th :)

Give Manny three years and whatever cash Frank can muster. Then wake me up for the news conference. This whole free agency period--spearheaded by Teixeira's plodding pursuit of happinessl--has left a real sour taste in my mouth for the players, the agents and for baseball. Now begins the "little fishies" feeding frenzy.

How is your mom?

Kalhli - are you at least enjoying your time off? :)

...always enjoy the time off...................ready for the Diva Cowboys to slither into post season up in the land of baseball's World Champion Philadelphia Phillies and their greatest fan and moralist, phan himorherself.

Kahli - this might be the one game out of the season (and it's been many seasons) that I am actually going to cheer on Boblee's Cowboys. I rather see the Eagles out than the Cowboys at this point.

I'm hitting the mall tomorrow AM to get Chris' gift(s). Don't yell at me, she's been reluctant to tell me what she wants until now. Back home to clean up the place and then off to sis-in-law's for Christmas Eve. Then back here for Midnight Mass and Christmas Day at home (as always). We'll have dinner here for us, my mom, my sis and hubby, Chris' folks and her uncle and wifey. That's our usual group for Christmas.

My mom is pretty good, all things considered. We played your DVDs for her, and she got a big kick out of them.

I'm thinking the 20th might be a good day for an ice cream party!

Back to baseball, a good Christmas present for baseball would be a Commissioner with some intestinal fortitude. The best interests in baseball would consider the owners, players and fans. That is not being done by the current holder of the office.

If we don't get Manny now, McCourt should have nowhere to hide.

Lord, look at the hour. May God Bless each and every one of you and let's all try to remember the meaning of the Season!

Nighty-night!

Good Night Ward Dear........Have wonderful day tomorrow and the next with your family. Take Care and God Bless!!!!

BTW - I am glad your mom got to see the dvd - very cool, and I am glad to hear she is doing as good as can be expected. It will be hard, but she will get through it. As far as the ice cream party, that would be outstanding. What's funny about that week is in geography, we are going to the home of none other than our very own Los Angeles Dodgers. Would that be timing or what? ( Kansas City and the Angels are before that)

I want to wish all the ITD writers and readers a very Merry Christmas. Who knows, maybe we will have Manny in our Christmas stocking! Well, perhaps, for the New Year!

Merry Christmas ITD boys and girls!
Won’t be here long, just for this one post. I’ve got some present wrapping to do before church later this afternoon! Just wanted to come here and say Merry Christmas to everyone here!

And yes Tru, it would be VERY nice to have Manny in our Christmas stocking!

Good morning all and I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas....May Santa bring us Manny!!!!

It is going to be in the 60s today in Dallas...This weather is nuts, 28 degrees for 2 days and then 70...go figure.

Hello and a Very Merry Christmas True Blue Faithful. Been a very busy holiday season here. I hope everyone is doing well and I look forward to blogging with you in 2009!!
All The Best Gang!!!

Just dropped in for a quick glance to see my good friend jhall! It's great to see you again Wally and that you're doing well.

Junie, no promises at this point but I can see this as do-able!

I agree that Manny in our stocking would be a great present for us, but it'll probably be in January......

Merry Christmas to all of our ITD faithful!!!!

Hi Dad/Chevelle!!! Merry Christmas to you and your family my friend. Hope you are having a great holiday and thanks for the great conversation and comradeship this past year. Looking forward to more in 09!!!

There is no excuse now, there should be no way the Dodger's lose out on Manny.

Note to team: WE WANT MANNY!

Good Afternoon, ITD readers and writers!!!!

I just wanted to stop in and wish all of those I haven't wished personally a very Merry Christmas. It has been great year already blogging with all of you, and we are going to have a great 2009 year.

jhall - It is very good to see you my friend. I know you are busy, but you are terribly missed around this place by your Cleaver family for sure. Have a wonderfully White and Merry Christmas.

Manny Happy Returns! :)

Merci Nelle'!!! A Very Merry Christmas to you and your wonderful family. It is an honor and pleasure to call you my friend. Thanks for everything!!!!!!!!!!

Beav, same goes for you my friend. Merry Christmas and Thanks!!!!!!!!!

Trumom, you're awesome. My same sentiments as well!!!!!!!!

Ramslover - my sister-in-law and family live in Dallas, and I can certainly understand where you are coming from.

Hey jhall - I didn't think you were still around. You are so very welcome, and the pleasure is mine as well.

Thanks and Merry Christmas to all of you, my ITD friends. I cherish all of you and your opinions and your comradeship!!!

Your top drawer Nell'!!!!!!!!!!!!

:) Thanks!!

So good to see you Jhall! Hope you have the best Christmas ever!
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Ramslover, don't forget the sunscreen! lol

Happy Holidays to all my friends on ITD, especially my good friend DNelly. Also trublu and cpompe1, and the rest of the gang. 2008 has been a truly blessed year for me. My family is healthy and happy. There will be a new addition this coming year. My sister is well. My Dad is doing better. What else can I ask for? Our wonderful Dodgers had a fantastic year thanks to the additions of Manny and Casey. Our kids especially Russy, Matty and James were awesome. We have a wonderful manager, Joe. This coming season will be just as great whether we have Manny or not, I just know it. Let us all feel truly blessed with what we have in our team and each other. Again, season greetings and may we again have another super season. Love Cat

oops, sorry DNelly, and we were blessed with the absolutely stellar performance of Andre!!

Seasons Greetings to you too, xoxrussell! Looking forward to the new year with two more grandchildren, twin baby girls.....due any day now!

Merci Trumom!!!

xoxrussell - I know exactly what you meant. Andre is always on your mind as well, and he knows that too.
Have a wonderful Christmas, and you are right, we are going to have a great team, Manny or not. We have our young core, and they are destined to do fabulous things this upcoming season. 52 days until catchers and pitchers report.....we are certainly getting there - yeah!!!

Merry Christmas XOX!!!

Jhall!!! my friend it's been too long
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how are you? Merry Christmas!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVE AMY!!!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE AMY!!!!!

Amy, mon amie!!!! Very well, merci!!! Merry Christmas to you and yours as well. Hope you are doing well, I think of you often. Looking forward to 2009 and our young Dodgers!!!!

To my fellow ITD bloggers - wishing all of you and your families a very blessed Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year. Josh, thank you for hosting this blog - you do a great job - and may you also enjoy a wonderful holiday season. And to our Boys in Blue - all the best!

Merry Christmas Diggie!!!! Best Wishes Always :)

Jhall-- you are too sweet, thank you. It's my day of birth tomorrow!!! yay for me :)
. I too look forward to 2009 and I'm sure things will work out. We can't predict what's going to happen with the team until the season is underway. That's why baseball is great..always surprises. I love my boys in blue!

Hi ITD!!!

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Joyous Kwanzaa, and Happy Holiday Season.

We want Manny for Christmas... hoping we don't end up with coal instead >:)

Glad to see all these names today that I haven't seen in a while, Hope everyone's doing well :)

Stay safe, we want to see everyone next year and for Many More!

- John

Happy Birthday Amy!!!! You're swell!!!

Merry Christmas NS!!!

nsblues - Always a pleasure seeing you on here. Have a great Christmas up there in the real nor-Cal.

Dodger4life - In case you get a chance to use another computer while yours is out of commission, I hope you have a white Merry Christmas as well. Life is good today :)

THINKING DODGER BLUE ALWAYS!!!
BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!
GO DODGERS!!!!
52 DAYS UNTIL SPRING TRAINING BEGINS!!!

Have a fabulous Christmas NSB my pop star friend.
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Jhall :)
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Good afternoon Nelly! I hope all is well with you~

Merry Christmas to you too, Jhall!

Nelly, hope your Christmas is great too. Don't get washed away, this rain isn't going anywhere for a while!

It's wonderful Amy, and Happy Birthday tomorrow and Merry Christmas as well :)

Hi PopLegend Amy!!!!!!! Hope you have a great birthday!!! And a Merry Christmas too, of course :)

Greetings Dodger fans! List of importance to the Dodgers!

1.Resign Manny
2.Resign Furcal
3.sign top end SP
4.Resign Blake
5.Sign veteran bn player
6.Sign veteran rp pitcher both left and right

We got most of the work done. We need Manny no matter what! this is crucial to the dodgers being a contender or not! it sounds like the dodgers may end up signing him...i hope it will be a 3 yr deal with a 4th yr option! kinda like furcal and blake...for starting pitching i hope we land BEN SHEETS, Randy Johnson, or even jon garland! ben sheets being the most prized! but what have all of you heard about manny or sp? what u guys think

Just wanted to wish all ITD folk a very Happy Holiday season wherever you are. Tomorrow, I brave the hopefully friendly skies and omniprersent airport security for a family Christmas in Michigan. It's been a fun year on this blog and a good year on the field. Hopefully, we will get the players we need to compete in our stocking this year. Whatever the result, I'm sure all the usual suspects will be here commenting on it.

Right back at ya Wally!!

Just want to say that its been my privilege to converse with all of you on this blog, and I want to wish all of you a safe and happy holidays.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

Seesky - Merry Christmas and safe travels as you head out to Michigan. Have a great time!!!!

enchanted - Merry Christmas and best wishes always :)

Hey sammieramirez, are you new around here? If so, welcome! I don’t think Frank/Ned will go for Sheets. I don’t want that old man Randy Johnson. So for me, I would much rather have Jon Garland. I’ve heard rumblings about the Dodgers possibly also picking up Randy Wolf. I wouldn’t be totally opposed to that or to Andy Pettitte. But Pettitte may be a challenge, since we’d have to give up a first-round draft pick to the evil empire; something I don’t think Frank/Ned want to do.

Hey Nelly! I wanted to tell you something. I think you said the other day that you have chili for Christmas Eve dinner? Well guess what? My husband’s making chili for our Christmas Eve dinner too! Again, didn’t we say we are a lot alike???

Hey CP!! Yes, we are!! too funny :) We have been doing it since our first Christmas Eve in Tennessee. I have to give credit to Bill's sister for starting it back then. She came out from Texas for Christmas when we were living there. That was 15/16 years ago....wow!! How time flies!!

sammieramirez - I didn't realize you were up there. Have a great holiday!!! Always look forward to your input.

Sheet's talented but brittle. He seems to spend a lot of time on the DL. Haven't we suffered enough from Schmidt's Syndrome? Johnson would be ok as long as he's short term and relatively cheap. However, I would take Garland, Petitte, Wolf, Perez before the Unit.

If we get Perez, will the third time be the charm for a Perez pitcher in Blue?

I've felt for a few years that Garland might find his way to L.A., don't really know why, maybe because like Dunn, he's been available a couple of times lately, and fills a need the Dodgers have at the time. Maybe this is the year...

GO DODGERS!!!

cute little Q & A on the homepage about ethier's christmas..

just wanted to drop by to wish everyone a very merry christmas!! =)

and happy birthday amy!

nsb, i feel that this is the offseason we will get garland as well.. his name always seems to surface.. i think with garland and wolf, we'd have a decent rotation..

Hey Nelly! I'm sorry, I should have put on my post that I wasn't going to post any more than that one. I didn't mean to keep your response "hanging" for over 6 hours! It is funny how we keep on finding stuff that links us together! So how was your chili? Jim's was great, as usual! We had a friend of ours come to Christmas Eve services with us and come over for chili after. It's great that Jim cooks chili, because I have NEVER been one to cook chili! And he cooks it once in a while - especially when the temps get colder, like now. He takes over the kitchen duties!

Amy - It has been a long time since we've talked. I didn't know that you share a birthday with the most famous person to walk the face of the earth! Happy Birthday Jesus! Happy Birthday Amy!

And yes, I've gotta go. Should have said that in my last post, but, oh well.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ONE AND ALL!!!
http://www.carols.org.uk/twas_the_night_before_christmas.htm

hey everyone!!! i hope you are all having a very merry christmas eve!!

that Q & A with Andre on the home page is so cute! i hope he has an awesome christmas with his wife and baby boy!

well its pretty dead in here.. so i'm gunna go. have a great christmas everyone!!! my first present i opened was an awesome pare of dodgers slippers!! there a little big but i love them!!! :-) alright just wanted to share that with ya'll! good night!! .........(Ethieraholic forever!!)

Good Evening Acardona!!!! I hope you have a very Merry Christmas. Sounds like you are off to a good start with Dodger stuff already. That article was pretty great about Andre. From one Ethieraholic to another, best wishes always!!!!

Sara - Merry Christmas to you too :)

I was just stopping by myself. I had a houseful, now I am just waiting for a couple more teenagers to leave so I can finish wrapping.

CP - You didn't leave me hanging. I know everyone is busy, and the postings are sporadic. I have been in and out all day myself.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR AMY!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!

HO! HO! HO! ~ Good morning ITD friends. Hope Santa was good to all of you........have a great day with your families and friends!

THANK YOU NELLY!!!! Right at Midnight. You are such a good friend and Team Mom. Merry Christmas to your entire family.
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That means you too Trublu!
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Feliz Navidad to all my ITD friends. :)

Happy Birthday PopLegend Amy!

Hope everyone is having a good day today :)

Good Morning and Merry Christmas ITD readers and writers!!!! I had somewhat of a breakthrough....my son actually tried to buy me a Dodger Street sign and managed to buy it with my husbands help. Considering they are gnats fans, I have to give him (them) some credit for buying it.

Amy - you are most certainly welcome!!!!!

nsblues - If your weather is like ours is........yuck!!!! It just hailed here, but not enough to stick to the ground. However, I see blue skies on the horizon so there is hope. Have a great day sir!!!!

trublu - see you later :)

Good late evening ITD boys and girls!
Well, I'm hoping everyone had a great day today! I sure did. I know many of you will find this amusing, but my Christmas dinner included, get this, a Philly fan. Yes, I said a Philly fan. My sister is taking her friend to LAX in the morning, so he came down and shared Christmas dinner with us. He's a nice guy. He already knew that our family is a staunch DODGER family. I told him that I wouldn't hold it against him that he's a Philly fan. My nephew Danny got a Dodger "Santa" cap and wore that today. It looked great!

Well, I can't stay long; I'm tired. But I had to leave that message tonight! Goodnight one and all! I'll catch up with y'all later...

good late night ITD!!! i hope you all had a wonderful christmas with your loved ones!! i know i did :-) - DNELLY, yes it was certainly a great gift to start out with!! it ended up being the only dodger related present i got but thats completely fine with me!! i got them so i'm happy! thats so funny about your son and husband buying you a dodger street sign! i'll give them props for that! i know i would never buy anything that had to do with the giants! haha well i'm happy you had a great christmas!! Ethieraholics forever!! - AMY, i hear its your birthday? (well.. was your birthday) HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! i hope you had a great christmas and birthday!! CPO, sounds like you had an interesting christmas.. a phillie fan huh? that must have been awkward? but i guess he/she cant really talk smack in a house full of dodger fans huh? haha!! well i trust you still had a wonderful christmas!! for the last time MERRY CHRISTMAS ITD!!!

50 Days until pitchers and cathers report to Spring Training - yeah!!!!!

red pen already - "catchers"

Thank you Arcar/ the other Amy :) MY birthday went well as did Christmas. It's good to see you around and Merry (belated) Christmas to you!
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Morning ITD...sadly I am sitting at my desk at work today. There are only 3 of us here in the entire department. At least the means I wont have to stay a full day..yay for that!!!

Good Morning, Amy. Glad you had a good Christmas and birthday, as well. Even though you are working, have a great day!

Good Morning, ITD readers and writers!!!! I hope everyone had a great Christmas.

CP - at least the Philly Phan was in your house and not the other way around. However, I, like you, live with opposing teams fans in my house, so I am sure you did just fine.

Acardona......I got a few other Dodger things, and then I just ordered a book that was recommended as well. So, I had a very good Dodger Christmas.

My Giants fans in the family got their share of Giants stuff as well so it was pretty balanced as far as baseball teams go. Then there are those in-laws (my husband's sister from Dallas) who always give you the gifts you go "okay....why?" and will certainly end up in a white elephant exchange next year, and that statement came from my husband himself. They are just a very strange bunch out there in Texas and my husband will be the first one to say it so it's not like I am speaking out of spite or anything.

Amy - I am glad to hear you had a great birthday and Christmas......and maybe you will get to go home early today :)

trublu - How are you doing? :)

Good Morning ITD boys and girls!
I trust that everyone had a terrific Christmas! Amy, even though you’re working today, it’ll be nice if you get off work early!

Yeah Nelly, it REALLY would’ve been uncomfortable if I were in a sea of Philly fans, instead of the other way around! My sister’s friend was great about it though. It seemed like he wasn’t fazed by that fact that Dodger fans surrounded him. No, he really is a nice guy. We were playing card games, many of which he started and everyone came in. It was just a lot of fun yesterday! But I think my nephew that wore the Dodger “Santa” cap was more uncomfortable than I was!

So Nelly, I’m curious. I know that your husband and your son are Giant fans, but after your daughter went to Dodger Stadium “Under The Lights” is she now a convert to the Blue? I hope so! I was wondering if Santa got her any Dodger “stuff.”

CP - I think she leans more towards Dodger Blue now, and no, Santa did not give her any Dodger stuff. She really likes Tim Linsecum, which if he wasn't a gnat, I would totally understand. However, she thinks Russell and Andre are to die for as well. I don't think it's a matter of which team she likes more or less, she is not as much into baseball as the rest of us are, I guess. Plus, it is hard for her because her school colors happen to be orange and black as well so they are naturally wearing those colors most of the time. So, I think we will have to see once baseball starts up again, what she does. Until then, she is a Raiders fan and that I can live with.

I do have a funny story about my five year old neice who is destined to bleed Dodger Blue. For Christmas she asked for an ipod (just a cute kid one), but anyhow, my sister let her look at the colors on-line. She comes across the orange one, and she says to her mom "Orange, Hell no!" and then she ended up picking the Dodger Blue color one. I guess the "hell no!" part did come from my daughter,which wasn't so good, but her not liking gnats orange was pretty funny.

Nellyae ~ we have to start training them young!!! By the way, we should play our new game New Years Eve! Or, perhaps, New Years Day would be even better......while watching football.

Just another google alert that headed my way......

--------------------

Andre Ethier led all NL right fielders with a .950 OPS, ahead of Ryan Ludwick, Brad Hawpe, among others. Can Ethier become a 30 HR hitter?

http://www.faketeams.com/2008/12/26/702342/fantasy-baseball-interesti

---------------

...and to think we still have doubts whether he will play over our two pvls.

I hope everyone had a good holiday. Santa did not deliver Manny yet but there is still time for some last minute gifts. My scenario has it this way: there really is a limited market for Manny at this time and T.J. Simers or not the Dodgers do want Manny back. They put their original (you know, the non-serious) offer back on the table, haggle a bit with Boras and finally work out a deal. Manny accepts but cops an attitude that he will show the rest of major league baseball he is worth more and plays as if this is a free agent season. Of course I admit there is another possibility that he accepts the offer and then sulks about it but I want to keep things positive. After all, it is only a dream.

Happy Happy, Merry, Merry everyone. Love ya. Even the Pierre lovers.

Randy Johnson is a gnat!!!!! He signed a one year contract with them today.

http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20081226&content_id=3728921&vkey=pr_sf&fext=.jsp&c_id=sf

Here is the article from the gnats website.....

But general manager Ned Colletti, with all indications his job was on the line, first closed the black hole at third base by acquiring Casey Blake, then trumped every trade the Dodgers have made by landing future Hall of Famer Manny Ramirez and his dreadlocks.

Almost instantly, a stumbling offense became a consistent run machine and a dour clubhouse was transformed into Manny's Disco, with Ramirez and his meringue music bouncing off the walls and energizing even those teammates who hated the genre.

---from Dodgers.com

Your job is still on the line. Get Manny in blue and let's not have a stumbling offense (again)

Good Evening ITD readers and writers!

jungar - best wishes to you too, and that was a pretty telling article about the good and the not so good about our Dodgers this past season. Let's hope they can correct some of it starting with Manny and then some good pitching would be nice.

Good evening ITD boys and girls!
I know it’s gonna be a short night for me tonight. I’ve been feeling sick all day. I’ve had an upset stomach all day, I’ve been achy – but fortunately, not feverish.

Nelly – As long as your daughter thinks that Russ and Andre are to die for, that’s cool that she likes Lincecum. Tim isn’t as much “to die for” as our boys, but he’s okay. Just keep working on her! But that is a funny story about your niece. Not necessarily the “language” part of it, but just that she picked Dodger Blue instead of orange!

And yeah, what’s with this, on one hand, we have media and everyone OUTSIDE of the Dodgers thinking that Andre is a great player and those INSIDE the Dodger organization thinking that our two PVLs should play over him? What’s up with that?

Oh, and the gnats can have the old man…

Hey CP!!!! Sorry you are not feeling so well..hopefully it's just a one day thing. As far as Andre, even in the portion of the article jungar posted, it states how Andre's mulitple tools sent JP to the bench so, it shouldn't be a matter of he and Matt proving they belong there. It should be JP and Andruw who have some major hills to climb if they are to make the starting lineup.

My husband is okay with Johnson...thinks it will put people in the seats. My son thinks they are fine with pitching, but they need a bat that can hit balls into the bay.

Hey Nelly! I’m hoping that my illness will go away by tomorrow. I REALLY don’t want it to last any longer than that! Jim and I were planning a short trip to Laughlin, leaving Monday and staying thru the 1st. Fortunately any illnesses that I do get usually only last one day, so let’s hope that this is one of those as well!

We’ll see this season exactly how the Dodgers feel about them. I mean, they would be starters on any other team. But just because Ned made those idiotic decisions to (1) pay JP to that long-term a contract and (2) pay Princess Druw at all, Matty and Andre are the ones that are paying for it. That’s just not right.

Well, I’m just glad that the Dodgers don’t have the old man. And yes, I am also hoping and praying that I don’t end up eating my words by the end of the season. Just our luck that Johnson will have a terrific year for the gnats and, well, I don’t want to think of the rest…

You know, you are I are alike in that respect too. If I am sick, it lasts maybe a day or so at the most, and considering the profession I am in, that's pretty good. I, knock on wood, have never had a flu shot ethier.

Well, I said it’s going to be a short night for me tonight. I’m getting sleepy, so I’ll catch up with y’all later…

....I still rather he do well with the gnats than us if that ends up being the case. I have nothing against him really. I just think we need younger pitching right now.

...plus Randy is from the Bay Area so he will have a big fan following there. It will be a good fit for him I think.

Good night CP.....get some sleep, and hopefully you will feel better in the morning. God Bless!!!

The Reds acquired Willy Taveras in a two-year deal.

Good Morning, ITD readers and writers!!!! I hope you all have a great Saturday.

49 days until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training

Good to see Druw off to a 3 for 18 start with 8 k's in the Dominican league.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Agb0vLx6pVa2oaC8ZcXLS285nYcB?slug=ys-motaandruwjones122608&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Morning all~
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I just booked my first appearance to ST this morning. I will be at Camelback Ranch on March 15th. Let me know if anyone else will be going that day :) I can't wait.. I'm in need of some Dodger Baseball in my Life!

Hello ITD.

No Gnus on Manny again... If Ned wants Manny on the team, it'd be good to have him in a good mood come spring, not being degraded to an afterthought (even though Borass is helping Ned want to come to the latter conclusion).

Aside from that, I'm good. SF can have Randy, it's perfect in its own little way. Ray Jay Johnson is more like it. "You can call me old, you can call me washed-up, you can call me done, but you doesn't have to call me Johnson..."

Princess Druw has tried hard, but looks like he's already back in 2008 shape. That was quick. Wonder if he'll spend the Dominican playoffs in a windbreaker, too. Of course, I hope he gets his groove back, but that steam-powered locomotive left the station long ago.

BRING BACK THE BLUE CREW!!!
BRING BACK THE DODGERS!!!
GO DODGERS!!!

Good Afternoon ITD readers and writers! The simple fact is that JP and Andruw both need to find new homes where they can be appreciated for the talents they do ( and don't)have. They won't be happy in the Dodger blue this upcoming season. Andre and Matt have proven over and over again they deserve these two spots, and unless Andre or Matt walks into spring training injured, JP and Andruw don't stand a chance. So, do JP, Andruw and Dodger fans a favor and find new homes for them.

I hear that, Nelly. We'll become laughingstocks if we have to platoon "I almost hit for the cycle twice in a week" Ethier and 5-tool Kemp for 1-tool Juanpy and the-fork-is-my-tool Druw. Two years in a row.

If they do that, it'd be the hardest anyone's tried to lose for some time. It will also be typical of the team who is historically known for having 3 men on base at once... the same base.

I don't know, maybe the McCourts have a different, albeit accurate assesment of Dodger Tradition, making the fans wait 65 years for a championship.

The Dodgers are contemplating bringing back Ramirez, a free agent who doesn’t appear to have many offers despite almost single-handedly leading the team to the NLCS. The return of Ramirez would greatly impact the scenario for Jones, who currently would compete with Juan Pierre for a third starting outfield spot alongside Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier. Should the Dodgers sign Ramirez, Jones would be on the bench.

Or be traded, if anybody would have him. He’s had plenty of time to contemplate what went wrong last season.

“I tried too hard, especially after getting off to a slow start in L.A.,” he said. “I got off to a bad start from spring training, the travel to China, Vero Beach [Fla.], Phoenix, all affected my rhythm in getting ready for the season. It became hard to find my hitting groove.

“Then it begins to get in your mind. I started listening to too many opinions regarding my batting stance, my approach, my hands, pretty much everything. People in the Dodgers, along with Joe [Torre], were trying their best to help, but I just dug a bigger hole by trying so many things.”

--

Dude in 2007 in 572 AB's u hit .223 with a .311 OBPand a .414 slug. So what were your excuses then? Tried to hard to impress the Braves? Someone tinkering with your swing then? Did you hear matt Kemp complain about goin to China. You made more money your two weeks in China than Kemp did all season..I don't want to hear it. Gosh I h ope we get Manny so both of those bums are on the bench or on the giants or padres or anyone but our team. Way to blame it on everybody but yourself buddy.

jungar - ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVEABLE!!!! You have got to be kidding me? Excuse after excuse after excuse. Can't they just admit that they have been outplayed in every aspect of the game by Kemp and Ethier. If we sign Manny and they are not sitting the bench, then there is something seriously wrong with this management team ( I know,we know that already). UUGGGHHHHH!!!!!! So very frustrating to read that lovely excuse - thanks :)

Next up for Andruw:
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I tried too hard, especially after getting off to a slow start in the Dominican” he said. “I got off to a bad start from flying in in my private jet, the travel from the airport, car ride to the hotel, travel to the ballpark, all affected my rhythm in getting ready for the season. It became hard to find my hitting groove.
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I tried too hard, especially after getting off to a slow start in the World Baseball Classic" he said. “I got off to a bad start from Atlanta, the travel back from the Dominican, home with the kids in my massive Atlanta estate, the flight to L.A., all affected my rhythm in getting ready for the tournament. It became hard to find my hitting groove.

Its obvious that this guy won't take ANY responsibility for his own patheticity (I made that word up, but I liked it), and he's also a greedy %^&^&^%#$##! who's only goal appears to be fleecing someone else out of a few million in 2010. Android might as well hang 'em up. The best he's going to get from his FA year is probably an invite to someone's 2010 ST if he's lucky.

BTW, hope everyone had a nice Christmas! :)

Yeah
he hit .249 after the all star break in 06
he hit .222 in 07
he hit .158 in 08

That's a bad trend. Is that Torres fault? Apparently.

Good Evening enchanted!!! It's good to see you. I hope your Christmas was good too. Mine was pretty nice.

Isn't it great to see Andruw so full of sh.... (excuses)? BTW - like the new word........keep it close by because I think you will be using it quite often if he is playing instead of anybody else at this point.

I've never hated a hometown player before, but Andruw's beaten down that barrier.

That was a nice "character" pick-up for Ned.

Evening jungar!

I agree Enchanted...I never really have either but he really bugs me now. Pierre is close but that's because of his style of play (no hit, no throw) not because of the things he has said. I could see why he would be like WTF (when he did speak up)? you signed me to hit .290 with a .330 OBP and 100 runs and 50 steals and that's pretty much what I did.

---
I guess I am old school in that, if I was Dru I would decline any interview and say, did u see my season last year, what is there to talk about, I don't have time to talk...I am working to hard right now to regain my all star form and help the dodgers to a World Championship in 2009, let's talk in October.

---

Yea - now we have Mr. "I am full of excuses" Jones, and Mr. "I am going to pout until I play" Pierre.

Pierre I look at as Ned's fault for signing a player with an extremely limited skill set. His poutiness and self-centered attitude definitely sunk him to a new level, but at least when he's out on the field he gives it all he has.

Andruw's in another world. I had hoped he'd comeback strong enough in the Dominican to at least garner some serious trade inquiries, but fat chance (pun intended) of that happening. I've actually begun to look forward to his failures. The whole pathetic time there the last month or so he was playing I was happy for the team when he got a hit, but at the same time I wasn't rooting for his success.

Yes, I have to admit that right now if I had to choose between the two of them, I would definitely have to say JP over Andruw because he does show up everyday to play and gives what JP can give. Still, IF Manny is signed, this issue is a definite problem for next season. There is going to be no way "they" can justify playing either one of them over Kemp and Ethier. So, unless JP has been working on his weanie-a**sed arm, and comes in throwing like the other two can, then it "should be" a done deal. He comes in off the bench as a late inning pinch hitter or is traded. As for Andruw, who the hell knows.....

If I was Ned, I'd have taken the offer for Andruw and paid $17 million of is contract. That's still a $4 mil net savings and he'd be worth more to the Dodgers mucking up some other team. Now with his poor showing in the Dominican, I'd say that's removed any trade possibilities whatsoever. He does the same thing in the Classic and ST (and no doubt he will), there's nothing left to do but release him. I can't see how you can waste a roster spot on him, Manny or no.

One could only hope :)

If Jones could just be Mike Cameron for us in the event we don't get Manny i'd be stoked. just hit .250 with 20hr and drive in 70 from the 7 hole and play solid defense. Is that so much to as from someone making 20 million next year...Even that is way better than Pierre hitting 290 with 50 steals.

What I see as the biggest problem with or without Manny is that as long as Druw and JP are on the team, Idiot Joe will use them. That means Druw at best becomes the 2009 version of Sweeney, and at worst is the everyday CF. Noodles at best will take PH ABs away from DY, and at worst take ABs away fron Dre & Kemp. That's why it's imperative Ned remove both players from the roster for whatever he can get while eating as much of their salaries as necessary to accomplish it.

....if only :)

Good afternoon ITD boys and girls!
Well, I’m not going to be here long, but I thought I check in really quick before tonight. My husband and I are going out-of-town from Monday morning until Thursday night. I just wanted to tell everyone to have a safe and terrific New Years!

Happy New Year to you too Cpompe1. Hope you have a safe and happy trip! :-)

I don't think Joe will make the same mistake of letting Andre sit while playing those who are not as hot. The lineup they used in clinching the Western Division worked well. I think even Joe can see that. If only we can have everyone back! Sigh. I may be in the minority wanting D Lowe back as well. D Lowe, Manny, and Beimel were on my wish list. Manny, I get the feeling, will return to the fold. D Lowe probably not. Beimel a far reach. GO DODGERS. Hi DNelly, how are you? How is your reading going. What a luxury for you! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I worked but had a truly blessed one.

This has been the slowest week I can remember. I do want to wish all of the ITD bloggers and readers a very Happy New Year. And please make my New Year's wish come true........SIGN MANNY!!!!

Good Evening ITD readers and writers!!!!

CP - Have a great time in Laughlin for New Years!!! I have done Las Vegas a few times for New Years so it will be interesting to see how Laughlin plays it up.

xoxrussell - I am doing great!!! I am enjoying my fun reading....a little bit of suspense, a little bit of drama and actually some Dodger baseball in there as well. I am trying to finish several books because I have several others I want to buy and a couple I have already ordered so I need to finish so I have room for more. As for my Dodger wish list. Well, all the young guns are still here so that is something positive for sure.

At this point I am assuming the Chargers are going to win this game. Ward Dear.....I hope all is well in your household considering what happened last time these two teams played and Matt being a Broncos fan. There is no question about this score so no close calls dictated the outcome.

hey everyone, hope all your holidays were great~

dnelly, the eagles made the playoffs anyways.. so no hard feelings towards the redskins.. haha

Hey sara - not at all..........Chargers all the way now!!!! :)

the nfl playoffs should be interesting for sure.. lots of entertaining teams..

for you manny lovers.. here's an online petition to frank mccourt about resigning manny..

http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?19882008

interesting: from baseball to the white house..

Camille Johnston, the Dodgers' former senior vice president of communications, has been named special assistant to President Barack Obama and director of communications for First Lady Michelle Obama. Before working for the Dodgers and having to issue statements like "Grady Little is our manager," Johnston was the director of communications for Tipper Gore.

Sara - I think this playoff season is going to be fun. I think just the Patriots and the Cowboys not being in there will make it more fun since they were among the favorites going into the season.

jeanne zelasko contacted the dodgers about the open play-by-play job.. not that i have anything against her trying to be the first woman play-by-play person.. but i'm not sure i'm for this:

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/articles/2008/12/25/20081225spt-mediacol.html

yeah dnelly.. i'll be watching the steelers, eagles, and colts.. those are the teams with most of my favorite players..

i know a lot of people will be pulling for the dolphins too.. they haven't been in the playoffs in such a long time..

Well, in this family it will be the Chargers, Steelers and Panthers. This is the one sport where we are generally on the same page. Baseball is a totally different story as you know.

......yes, it would be cool to see the Dolphins do well, only if the others mentioned don't get there first.

i see boston is close to signing penny to a one-year deal.. it will be interesting to see how brad handles the pressure.. and pitching in the AL.. AL east to be precise..

Wow.........only one year? That will be interesting....hmmmm!!!

yeah, i don't think anyone wants to take a longer chance on penny..

I don't blame anybody for that.......that's going to be a tough crowd to please.

yup, i'm not sure penny can handle the pressure.. he's likely to meltdown..

Interesting that Brad gets signed by the east coast team most likely to sign D Lowe. Brad being the former Dodger ace before he imploded. Maybe D Lowe will return to the Dodgers at a more manageable price. I hope. :-)

Any news on DLowe?

xoxrussell - So, do you think DLowe and Penny may end up in Boston together?

ITDers are ignoring one snarkalicious possibility:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3793001

Don't you think that Ned would want to sign Sammy? He's a HOF with 600 HRs, only 40, and waiting for a contract from someone. Anyone!

I think Ned will sign that kid up, don't you? He must be worth at least $20 million to the Dodgers. Maybe $25 or $30 million, after all, he has more lifetime HRs than Manny. He has hit over 60 three times. Manny doesn't stand a chance in Ned's mind. Besides, Manny is too young at 36. He's not yet a proven winner. What's that you say? Sammy never played for a winner? Details!

-Snark

Shepher ~ we can sign Barry along with Sammy.......that would really make us solid! LOL

Sorry, Forgot your "d" Shepherd.

Definitely, Barry is the best hitter in the history of the game, isn't he? And he's from the Giants!

Let's see, the outfield would be Barry, Sammy, and Sheffield. Have Macguire play first base. Lo Duca would catch.

Roger Clemens would have to anchor the pitching staff. Gagne iis the closer.

Help me out here. Who should play the rest of the infield and the rest of the pitching staff? PH?

I bet we could get them all for $200 million. Hey, do you think this has been the Yankees' strategy all along?

Hey Shep...
.
.
Miguel Tejada - SS
Neifi Perez - 2B
Ken Caminiti (posthumously) - 3B (wouldn't be the first stiff we've had at third) [rimshot please!]
John Rocker - RP
Chuck Finley - SP

Tejada,
OOoo, I like that one! He has the right performance profile for the recent 3 years.

Rocker, that's a gem. And he interviews so well! Good upstanding member of the community.

My favorite is Caminiti. He had a full three years to peter out. Your sense of humor is brutal.

Perez wouldn't be expensive enough. We gotta find a replacement for him.

I know. I'm going to hell for that one...

2B is tough - Brian Roberts? Chuck Knoblauch?

Gotta be a spot on the bench for Palmeiro.

ESPN.com is reporting the Dodgers, tired of waiting on Manny, have contacted Adam Dunn's agent. Lord have mercy.........................

As a Cowboy fan (ouch!) and as enchanted's Aesthtic Coordinator, I propose an ownership swap: Jerry Jones for Frank McCourt...straight up. Jones will sign Manny in two nano seconds after having acquired Blue Heaven, and probably Lowe, Sheets, and Hoffman, to boot. Frank can hire Jami to coach the Cowboys, thus terminating Country Bum's son, Wade. Jami shows more fire thhan half the Cowboys' roster anyway.

I guess we have to go with Knoblauch. He turns 40 this year. He's marginal, but we're desperate.

He gets only $12 million, though.

Nice touch, Dunn. He'll want at least as much as AJ got. Problem is that he's only 28. I don't think Ned will bite.

Oh, you're on another conversation.

Never mind!

Yeah, Palmeiro would have to be PH. That means he gets, what? $15 million?

He's 43 now. He's in.

Man, this negotiating stuff is hard. :^0

I'm not sure I can spend $200 million. How does Cashman do it? He is a really talented negotiator.

I'm over Dunn myself.
.
Have to admit though, he opens up a lot of "Airplane" jokes.

you're rogeroverdunn?

--

Andruw Jones, coming off a disastrous first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, has been the subject of trade talks between L.A. and the New York Mets, according to sources.

Jones, who turns 32 next spring, hit .158 with 76 strikeouts in 209 at-bats for the Dodgers in 2008 -- just two years after he mashed 41 homers and drove in 129 runs for the Braves. There is a perception within the industry that Jones, who played the first 12 years of his career in Atlanta, was just never comfortable with the Dodgers.

As part of the two-year, $36.2 million deal with L.A. signed before the 2008 season, Jones was paid $9 million last season, and he is due to make $15 million in 2009. He also received a $12.2 million signing bonus, $2.1 million of which is due in 2009 and $5 million in 2010. But presumably, the Dodgers will be willing to eat a lot of what remains on the contract to facilitate a move out of L.A. for Jones, who has 371 career homers and five seasons of 100 or more RBI.

The Mets' intention, if they were to conclude a deal for Jones, would be to play the 10-time Gold Glove center fielder in right field, flanking Carlos Beltran. Ryan Church played most of the season in right field for the Mets last season.

New York also has been trying to move a player who has fallen out of favor -- second baseman Luis Castillo, who is coming off a poor season and is owed $18 million over the next three seasons. But it's unlikely that the Dodgers would have interest in Castillo, because they have a young second baseman in Blake DeWitt, and Castillo does not play a lot of different positions. If the Mets were to move Castillo, they would be in a position to then pursue the top free agent second baseman, Orlando Hudson.

Earlier on Monday, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reported that the Dodgers had reached out to the representatives for Adam Dunn. If L.A. were to move Jones -- and the Dodgers are highly motivated to do so, according to sources -- then a spot would open in the outfield for Dunn, if the Dodgers did not bring back Manny Ramirez.

Anyone think Ned is using Dunn to get Manny back to the negociating table?

Please Ned, trade Jones at any and all costs.

Yes, I do. Manny will put butts in the seats (or is that seats in the chairs?). Dunn- not so much.

Besides, what is he gonna spend the money on? Pitching? PFFffht!

Besides, Dunn is such a defensive presence!

Only 11 errors in 2008 and 13 errors in 2006. He must have worked hard to accomplish that in the OF and 1B.

Break out the Gold Gloves! -- My guess is that's why he couldn't sqeeze the ball.

Good afternoon ~ I think they have also contacted the agent for Abreu, as well as Dunn. At least the Dodgers are going after some players and trying like heck to rid ourselves of Jones and Pierre.

Dunn will hit 40 more homeruns and drive in 60 more runs than Pierre while scoring as many. Sure he ain't Manny, but anything to get Pierre/Jones off the field works for me!! But I think this is a ploy as well Shep, I agree.

Don't be so quick to write off JP... remember his power surge in Sept?!!

So according to one article, Andruw was never comfortable in L.A.
.
.188 + 8Ks
.
Guess he's not comfortable in the Dominican either...

I don't believe the reports on Jonse being uncomfortable in L.A. for a minute. He seemed like he enjoyed himself in the AYCE Pavillion between innings.

Yeah, Jungar, don't exagerate!

Dunn will hit 39 more HRs than JP, due to JP's September power surge. :)

Got another one for you.

Resolved: If the Ds re-sign Manny, the Ds will start 2009 with the best 1-2-3 combo in their history (Furcal, Ethier, Manny).

Agree/Don't with reasons and alternative(s).

Incidentally, rounding out with Loney, Kemp, Blake, DeWitt, and Martin would contend for the best D batting order ever. Discuss.

Repost, but seeing the possibility of a Dunn deal/smokescreen, thought I'd post this again:

Ned, You Got Lucky (cover of Tom Petty and the Hearbreakers song)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTAhZKP5wCY

[Manny Ramirez: vocals]

You better watch what you say
You better watch how you joke about me
Don't get carried away
Ned, if you can do better than me
Go... yeah, go
But remember

A good bat is hard to find
A good bat is hard to find
You got lucky, Ned
You got lucky, Ned
When I found you

You tell a one note joke
And then you turn your back on me
You say the team's not complete
I almost took you all the way
But go... yeah, go
But remember

A good bat is hard to find
A good bat is hard to find
You got lucky, Ned
You got lucky, Ned
When I found you

Yeah go
Just go
But remember

A good bat is hard to find
A good bat is hard to find
You got lucky, Ned
You got lucky, Ned
When I found you

By nsblues on December 14, 2008 3:22 PM

For those who knock Joe:

In 2008, Kemp had more than 650 PA, Martin had 643, Loney had 640, Ethier had 575. JP went from more than 700 in 2007 to fewer than 400. AJ had fewer than 240. Ethier was a fixture at the end of the season.

All of our favorites were favored. As I said last spring, Opening Day is primarily for ceremony. I still think that Ned was trying to move JP at the beginning of last season, but no takers. AJ was a bust and hit worse than ever before in his career: his attitude was terrible. I prefer DY, Repko, and Paul to AJ and JP, but I hope we get Manny back and some pitching. We shall see.

• Mets' interest in Jones dwindles

.188 in any league will do that to you.

Nah, sit back, relax and watch as Uncle Joe gives Andruw all of Sweeney's ABs next season. The big question is will Andruw be able to match Sweeney's line:
.
98 92 2 12 3 0 0 5 15 15 28 0 0 .250 .163 .130

Sweeney hit (or didn't) lefty, meaning that DY may get more of his AB from the left side this year.

One comment about Sweeney. He had a terrible year, but his career of PH was quite good before 2008. He just stayed in the game too long.

Good Evening ITD readers and writers!! It is so very quiet on here again tonight. I was in San Jose doing some shopping and having some fun with a girlfriend.

nsblues - great song to repost and great posts by shepherd, enchanted and jungar as well.

I disagree Shep. With Andruw on the bench Joe will either feel obligated, or as in the case with Sweeney, blindly loyal to the veteran professional hitter in critical PH ABs. With DY on the bench there was no reason to keep trotting Sweeney out there as often as he did when much of the season he spent south of .100. JP I think will end up getting at least half of the PH ABs DY should be getting from the left side. That is of course all predicated on Ned signing a new left fielder. Otherwise we'll get to see AJ criusing CF. This is why Ned HAS to get rid of both Jones and Pierre. Otherwise JoJo will find and create ways for them both to get ABs and playing time they don't deserve.
.
Its also awkward if Jones is the defensive replacement. Unless he gets relegated to LF only, all three OFers have to switch position late in the game.
.
Nothing good can come of Jones being on this team next season. Ned's managed to not only compound his JP mistake with an even bigger one, he's managed to give them both contracts that no one will touch and seeming the added nuance of not being willing to eat a vast majority of their contracts to be able to move them.

Good morning, Enchanted. I don't want Andruw on our team, period! If the interest in Jones, by the Mets, is dwindling, it would be in Ned's best interest to fire them up again.......even if we have to give him away!

Morning TruMom!!

There's a Bobbie Gentry song in there I'm sure...

LOL, Enchanted. I honestly can't understand why there was interest in Jones in the first place. Haven't they seen him play?

Good Morning enchanted and trublu!! When I first read that headline last night, I had a hard time believing the Mets, of many teams, would have interest in Jones. I would think their fans have enough to be angry about having had two seasons in a row where it looked like they were going to make the playoffs, only to get knocked out in the last few games of the season. The last thing that team needs is Jones. You know, isn't Joe Pierre's daughter a Mets fan. Maybe he should ask her. I wouldn't think she would be too happy. enchanted~you know I agree with you 100% about Jones and JP. If we don't find a way to get them in into new homes, or just plain send them home, we in are in for some Joe, the magician, trying to find ways to get them in the game at all costs.

Bobbie Gentry - Ode to Billy Joe

ODE TO ANDRUW JONES
.
It was the new years soon another sleepy, boring Dodger da-a-ye-ee
Ned was out shoppin’ Andruw and no GMs would come to pla-ay
At quittin’ time Ned stopped and walked out of his office su-u-i-eet
And sadly muttered, hung his head and said, “Another day ends in de-feat.”
And then he said, “I got some news this mornin’ from the SS Minyana’s bri-a-i-idge
“Ain’t got no in’trest in obtaining the Southern California Fr-idge.”
.
‘n Franky said to Jamie as he passed him out Foundation gre-a-ye-een
“We’ll Neddy never had a lick of sense, we wanted guys who’r fit and le-ean”
There’s forty-two more fields in the county I got to bui-u-i-ild
‘n Jamie said, “Don’t forget the other guy he got ain’t none too skill-ed”
“Seems like nothin’ ever comes to no good up on Neddy’d ri-a-i-idge”
“And now you tell me that we’re stuck with the Southern California Fr-idge.”
.
‘n Vinny said he recollected when Fridge was known as Andruw Jo-oo-o-nes
A svelt but powerful kid who was nothin’ but skin and bo-ones
And wasn’t Ned talkin’ to him ‘round last Christmas li-i-i-ight?
Gave him $36 million for one-fiftyeight, now that don’t seem ri-ight.
I saw him yesterday nosing round the buffet bri-a-i-idge
And now ya tell me that he’s now the Southern California Fr-idge
.
And Neddy said to Frank, “Hey! What’s happened to your appe-ti-a-yi-ite?”
“There’s free agents come a callin’ and you won’t take another bi-ite.”
“That nice young shortstop Raffy-somethin’ dropped by to say-a-ye-ee”
“Said he’d be pleased to be a Dodger, oh by the wa-ay”
“He said he saw a guy looked a lot like AJ up on Mauricio Baez Bri-a-i-idge (its in the Dominican - you can look it up. See a song and geography all in the same post! But I digress...)
“And he was throwin’ his career away ‘cus he’s the Southern California Fr-idge.”
.
A year has come and gone since we signed AJ and don’t ya kno-oo-o-ow
Still can’t hit a lick but Joe’ll play him ‘cus he’s not retarded, he’s just slo-ow.
There was a CC goin’ ‘round Cashman grabbed him up to do his thi-a-ye-ing
And now Frank he don’t want to sign much of anythi-ing
And Jones he spends a lot of time trying to find his swing up on Yaque Del Norte ri-a-i-idge
And in two-thousand nine we’ll still be watchin’ the Southern California Fridge.

Artist: Scarecrow
CD: Wizard of Ned
©NedCo Broken Records 2008

NedCo - If its broke, don’t fix it.™

Fantastic, Enchanted! I knew you'd come up with the song.

Enchanted, glad you disagree. Thing is, I don't want AJ or JP on the team either, let's hold an After Christmas Sale. I was much more interested in the assertion that Raffy, Andre, Manny would be the best 1-2-3 in Dodgers history, if we get Manny back. And only the 1977 Dodgers were more impressive as a complete offensive lineup when you have:

Raffy
Andre
Manny
Loney
Kemp
Blake
Dewitt
Martin
Pitcher

The weaknesses on defense are obviously Manny and Blake, but they don't commit many errors-- their range stinks. Raffy has great range and a great arm. Manny retrieves the ball, recognizes that his arm is poor, so he gets rid of the ball like an infielder with good (if weak) throws to the cutoff. Blake fields OK, with limited range.

Now if the young turks step up on the mound, we could have something special-- if we get Manny back. Incidentally, there is another Japanese SP on the FA market.

Good morning, ITD, and an early Happy New Year's greeting to you all. Shepard, your post is totally on the mark. We, definitely, need a veteran presence on our mostly young turk starting rotation. Heard another story on ESPN about Manny's dwindling options. Most of the deep pocket teams are out of the picture and the D's are the most prominent of the ones left standing that make any sense. The Nationals seem to be all dressed up with nowhere to go......As far as the Jones issue is concerned, it's a zero sum game any way you slice it. If we trade him, we pay most of his salary and get in return somebody we don't need whom we also pay. In Castillo's case, for 3 years. If he stays, he's a clubhouse issue by taking away playing time from more deserving players plus he's unhappy not playing enough somewhere he doesn't want to be anyway. Though I doubt Frank or Ned would do it, we should pay him off and release him.

Ideal would be to trade AJ for a pitcher, any pitcher. Same with JP.

I see Lurch is off the market. Aren't our kids better than Lurch?

That would be great but, pitching being the valued commodity that it is, most teams are keeping anybody that's breathing, cheap, and the least bit talented.

Good Afternoon, ITD readers and writers!!!!

Awesome song enchanted!!!!! When I saw that post this morning I figured you would come up with something.

Seesky- It's good to see you! How was your trip to Michigan?

Just thought you guys would like to know that I'm watching Game 5 of the NLCS on the local Comcast Sportsnet station in Philly. Victorino just ran down a deep shot to the fence in right center. Manuel is talking to Hamels with two runners on. Will he leave him in? YES!
Two on, two out. Jeff Kent at the plate. 2-2 count. Hamels to the belt. The pitch. GOT HIM LOOKING!!

I'll be back in the ninth.

Oh. Happy New Year!!

And another Brad Lidge slider ends the night!

Good stuff.

Hi, Nelly. Lots of weird weather this past weekend. Left SLC Christmas Day before the snow hit and got to Detroit after they had theirs. Celebrated our family Christmas in Northern Michigan with temps in the mid 40's, rain, and fog as thick as pea soup. Otherwise, a very good holiday. Hope yours was good as well.....is anyone been looking at the launching of MLBTV? The cable locator says my cable system will carry it so I'm looking forward to seeing it. They're going to air the full broadcast of Don Larsen's perfect game on New Year's Night, the first time that's been done in 52 years....I see our Phillies fan is out and about. Enjoy it while you can, Phan. When spring training starts, it's just yesterday's news.

Good Evening ITD readers and writers!!!

Seesky - I am glad you had a good trip even with the weather issues. Mine was good as well.

I haven't looked into mlbtv, but I guess I will have to now. 46 days until pitchers and catchers report - yeah!!!!

As Tom Petty says, the waiting is the hardest part. I just wish we'd get these player issues solved.

I know what you mean.....there's nothing to talk about because nothing is happening. Last year we had Andruw to talk about (differently than we are now),which in turn gave us JP to talk about (same issues with him) and Kuroda to talk about. This year so far we have Loretta and Blake........um not much to talk about.

oooohhhh!!! That might make a good song :)

Now, I see the D's are talking about Dunn and Abreu as alternatives to Manny. If we can't get Manny, I'd rather have Abreu than Dunn. Dunn's got more power but too many K's. Abreu hits for a better average and is a better defensive player. SIGN MANNY!!!!!

You're right. It just might at that!!!!

SIGN MANNY!!!!!

i keep reading about how Manny is 37years old and his game will deminish. Well Manny is 37 but how much and how fast will his numbers drop? He is old but was among the top 4 in the NL in hitting,HR's, RBI. So to go out and spend 15 mill on a Dunn or Abrueu is foolish. Manny is good for 3 more years. He is another Barry Bonds in the lineup, he is a threat and if you pitch to him he will make you pay. Bonds was over 40 years old before he left the game and he was still crushing the ball.

Manny makes alot of sence, bring him back.
Manny is the bully on the block, he knows he is the best around and loves it. He is HOLLYWOOD!

Manny Ramirez's agent contacts the Dodgers

Negotiations for slugger appear to be underway again as Scott Boras gets in touch with team after General Manager Ned Colletti says Ramirez remains the club's 'first choice.'

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dodgers31-2008dec31,0,4333524,print.story

How about a 5-year deal for Manny with a mutual buyout/optout clause after 3 years at 25 million per annum? I'll bet Boreass would take that deal tomorrow.

......oh come on... just sign him already :)

Good thing Colletti and Borass are talking, looks like America (if by America you mean people who go on ESPN.com and vote in the SportsNation poll) has other things on its mind:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/fp/flashPollResultsState?sportIndex=mlb&pollId=65779

Hmmmm!!!! That is very interesting northstateblues......

America doesnt know what it's talking about. well... maybe Arizona, heheh.

Seriously, if the Manny deal doesn't work out (and it better), I'll give Dunn a chance. Watching the K's might be tough, but it'd be nice to have a power bat. Of course, we all know what the marine layer does to power after 8pm.

Manny's shots seemed immune to that, though.

Why wouldn't the country want us to have Dunn over Manny though? They know that with Manny, we may be unstoppable. With Furcal, Kemp, Ethier, Manny, Loney, Martin and Blake.......I would be willing to take on the Yankees too. Now, when we sign Manny, we just need some pitching to go along with him :)

seesky - thanks for the title. I took a little advantage of the way in Tom Petty sings to make some of the words fit.

Song - "The Waiting"
by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLCJEYLIBQY

Oh bloggers don't it feel like hell right now
Don't it feel like something from a dream
Yeah, we've never known anyone quite like this
Don't it feel like Borass is a pain in the ***
We know better than to try and pretend
Baby no one could have ever told us about this

The waiting is the hardest part
Every day we see one more card
We take it on faith, We take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part

Well, yeah Manny might have chased a couple of deals around
all it ever got him was down
Then there's Dodgers who made him feel good
And always as good as it is right now
Manny you're the only one that LA wants now
To make the fans feel like they have a super star now

The waiting is the hardest part
Every day we get one more yard
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part

Don't let Borass get to you, don't let him get to you
Don't let him hurt you Manny, don't let him get to you
We'll be your cheering hearts, we'll be your screamin' fools
Don't let this go too far, don't let this get to you

****guitar interlude****

The waiting is the hardest part
Every day we get one more yard
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part

Yeah, the waiting is the hardest part........

****more guitar****

It's the hardest part
repeat until fades

Good New Year's Eve morning ~ maybe my New Year's wish will come true......Manny and the Dodgers are talking. Please, "Let's Make A Deal"! Hope everyone has a safe New Year's Eve. I'm really looking forward to ST and the start of our baseball season.

Morning Tru - happy new years to you and the rest of ITD!!

Nice song Nells!!

Have to admit that if they sign Manny and with the natural progression of all the kids, even with the current pitching staff this team would be hard to beat in the west. Add a couple of halfway decent pitchers like Garland and Wolf and they'd be pretty formidable all the way around.

Vargas? C'mon Ned, you can do better than that.

Good Morning ITD readers and writers!!!!!

enchanted - thanks!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR ITD~~~
.
2008 was such a great baseball year for me and for most LA fans. It has officially become my most memorable Dodger season of my entire life. And with that came the joining of the best blog on the net, Inside The Dodgers. We often refer to our family dynamic here on the blog and I think it's a pretty accurate description. We've laughed together, cried together, fought together...yet we all manage to love and respect one another. We've even become friends outside of the internet. So Thank You ITD for being entertaining and a safe haven for all crazy baseball thoughts and obsessions :)
.
May 2009 be a happy and healthy year to all.
GO DODGERS!!!!

Goooooooooooood Moooooooorning, ITD!!!!! Happy New Year to one and all!!!! You are most welcome, Nelly. Happy to be of assistance in the creative process. Hopefully, the new year will bring a belated Christmas gift in a Manny signing. Maybe Boreass's contacting the D's is a tacit admission that the D's are his best hope of getting close to the deal that he wants and that he's through bluffing. If there are so many other potential suitors out there, where have they been for the past 6 weeks? All in all, it's been a great ride in 2008 and it's been a great privilege to have experienced it with all of you. Hopefully, at this same time in 2009, we'll have something more to savor. GO BLUE!!!! To all a safe and happy holiday and a fruitful 2009!!!!

Brian Fuentes just signed a two year contract with the Angels. I actually knew he was in Anaheim yesterday due to people my husband knows, so we knew something was up. Well, the good thing is that we will only have to face him in the freeway series.

Here's another one for you........Mark DeRosa is now a Cleveland Indian. He was acquired for three Minor League pitchers.

Brian Fuentes signed for 17.5 million for the two years.

okay enchanted....I just realized when you mentioned Vargas, you weren't kidding. He really did sign Vargas....30 year old Vargas. That is not the answer to our pitching problem IMO.

Just stopped by to wish everyone a safe, healthy and happy New Year! Without your health you don't have much else, unless you have a major league baseball guaranteed contract.

I've peaked at the "preview" of the MLB TV channel and have been enjoying my "winter fix" of baseball, although they're just highlights of "great plays". It's restored my balance and sanity a bit . . and I'm certainly looking forward to watching Don Larsen's perfecto. I'm afraid I don't have happy memories of that game at all!
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Most of all, I wanted to wish you all a very Happy New Year filled with love, good health, prosperity and God's blessings.

I must admit that I also thought that enchanted was joking about Vargas. If we're lucky, he may be, as someone commented, this year's Chan Ho Park. So, stay tuned, as we continue to wait for some real signings. The waiting is.....

seesky - jungar's pulled a few that I believed and weren't real so when enchanted brought that name up, I thought it was enchanted being enchanted. Then I read the headline and article myself. Have a great New Year's Eve!!!!

Happy New Year to you too Diggie!!!!! I have watched some mlbtv too.......fun stuff

So, does the word apparently in the article about Vargas mean that it hasn't happened yet because the title sure does make it seem like it's a done deal?

Nelly, have a great New Year's Eve as well. MLBTV promises to be the fix that all hardcore baseball fans need to get us through to ST and beyond. I've been thinking about other "All-Time Games" that I'd like to see after the Larsen perfect game. Those thoughts warm a true baseball fan's heart on a cold night in December.

The Vargas deal is probably contingent on passing a physical.

...well, we know physicals are dealt with around here, but maybe they have learned their lesson this time around.

And yes, this mlbtv stuff is pretty good. I have been reading about our Dodger history so I have been watching clips that relate to what I have been reading.

red pen - we know "how"

One of the best books about Dodger history I've read is "The Dodgers Move West" by Neil J. Sullivan. He does a real good job of separating the fact from the myth about the Dodgers move from Brooklyn and the politics and the business stuff surrounding it. It's over 20 years old and probably out of print.

Hi ITD!!! Just want to wish our East Coasters a slightly-belated Happy New Year, I have my Brooklyn Gear on, so I'm thinking of you. For the other Zones, hope you have a safe and happy new year, and remember: "New Years is for Amateurs".

(But I'm not a professional anything yet, so I'm probably in for some menudo tomorrow)

GO DODGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO OUR DODGER FANS WHO ARE LIVING IN THE EASTERN AND CENTRAL TIME ZONES!!!!!!!

10... 9... 8... 7... 6...

5... 4... 3... 2... 1... HAPPY NEW YEAR MOUNTAIN TIME ZONE!!!

...If you think about it a while back, during our time warp, we were sharing time with our mountain time buddies so maybe we could technically call it 2009 for some of us in the pacific time zone too. Nah......we need the extra hour :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO OUR DODGER FANS IN THE MOUNTAIN TIME ZONE!!!!!!!

Good evening everyone! I'd like to wish all my friends here on ITD a wonderfully Happy New Year! Let's hope it's one where all of our troops can get to come home to be with their families!

Good evening Ward Dear.......Happy New Year!!!!!!

And a Happy one to you too, Junie!

It looks like we can relax - we've signed Claudio Vargas!
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dodgers1-2009jan01,0,1561228.story

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO OUR DODGER FANS LIVING IN THE PACIFIC TIME ZONE!!!!!!!!
45 DAYS UNTIL PITCHERS AND CATCHERS MAY REPORT TO SPRING TRAINING - YEAH!!!

....I don't know about you, but people have asked me who Claudio Vargas is and I didn't have a clue, and up until a few hours ago, I thought enchanted was joking. So, yes, I feel much more at ease knowing we have him as part of our pitching staff.

I guess I need to catch up with the posts the past few days. I've kept my ear to the ground regarding Dodger news, but not so much here. It's been a bit of a tough holiday season here in the dodgereric household.

Long story short, we lost our loving family pet, Thor, on Christmas Day. Between dinner and desert with 11 family members present, he just stopped living right in our kitchen. I think he must have had an aneurism or something. Like most dogs, he was the epitome of unconditional love.

My stepfather passed away on the 29th. This was a blessing as there was no decent quality to his life anymore and no hope for improvement. My Mom is doing as well as can be expected, and we've been spending a lot of time with her the past few days.

On the brighter side, we took a step toward making '09 a better year. We bought a Bassett puppy today. Chris and the kids were ready for a new dog and she couldn't be cuter. Our biggest concern is how our cat is going to get used to a new dog. She was pretty tight with Thor and misses him. Time will tell, I guess.

I am so sorry Eric........we all were wondering where you might have been. I am so sorry. However, it seems like all is a little better now. Your family is always in my prayers.......

It sounds like the puppy is cute......a bassett, huh? What is her name?

Thanks, kid. I know you and several others here are always good for praying. It works, and I'm grateful.

Times were certainly tough here for a while. It's bad enough to have to go through these things, but at Christmas is particularly bad. Chris lost one of her grandmothers at Thanksgiving about 14 years ago.

There's a battle going on for that between Matt and Maddy. Chris and I want to name her Sif, after Thor's girlfriend. But Maddy wants Lola and Matt wants Amy. Chris says the kids get to name her though, as I named Thor and she named our cat, Mishka. They're both pretty stubborn. We'll probably have to compromise. I'll see if I can't get a photo of her on photobucket one of these days.

You certainly have had your share of emergency type things happening during the holidays between the last couple of Thanksgivings and now Christmas this year.

As for the name.......good luck :)

Yep, it'd sure be nice to have one with a little less drama again. I've almost forgotten what they're like.

Man, I just dropped back to read a little and saw your song and enchanted's latest effort! Nice work, you two! That enchanted has quite the imagination, doesn't he? You're both duly implanted in Dodger Lyrics, numbers 468 and 469, respectively.

So, how are your holidays going? There sure isn't much Dodger news to interrupt things.

Thank you......I had to go pick up my kids from a party at the boys and girls club. Enchanted is definitely one of a kind.

My holidays are going pretty good so far. It went really fast.

The Dodger news sure is slow compared to last year during the same time frame. Not much excitement over Loretta and Blake, and now, Vargas......serious, I thought enchanted was doing one of his, let's see what pvl we can come up with next routine, and he wasn't joking.

..We were supposed to do our traditional trip to Gilroy today for shopping and Dave's Famous BBQ, but Bill's insulin pump broke the other day, and it was supposed to be delivered today by 10:30. Somebody had to be here to sign for it and it never showed up. So, we just ended up having my parents over for dinner and we had a quiet night at home instead. At least my kids got to do something after spending all day waiting around the house.

Matt went to the movies with his gang tonight and Maddy is out with hers'. Us old fogies just hung out with the dog watching "Honeymooners" reruns...... how'd that happen? :-)

I just got another shock. A good one this time. I just stole 1st place in Total Points in my fantasy league. I never even looked at it until now. I was in 4th place going into the last week, 49 points out. I scored a ridiculous 188 points! The most anyone got all year was 142. I should pocket about $300! I need it, the dog was $500 and my truck needs a couple of new tires!

That is great!!!!!! Our commish, manfromchina, ended up 4th. He wasn't too happy. How does Matt feel about the Broncos coach being fired?

....the quiet nights without the kids are sometimes the best times :)

Happy New Year ITD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

okay....a baseball question. I was reading about Sandy Koufax, and how come it is that he was able to pitch 27 complete games, win 27 games, all the while getting cortizone shots every other time he pitched, and pitchers today get one twinge and they are sidelined for 15 days minimum? Is it different pitches, faster pitches, or what?

northstateblues- how is your Mr. Potatohead Dodgers hat doing? :)

Yeah, it seems like Ned can't stop digging through the dumpsters, can he? Enchanted could never have come up with anyone as obscure as Vargas, even with his vivid imagination. Sure is good to know that Ned's taking care of that #8 starter slot.

I don't suppose Bill had much of a New Years' Eve without his pump. Does he have to resort to shots?

Happy New Year Northstateblues!!!!!!

No, he always has back up old fashioned shots, yes :) He was just fine.

Merced is pretty happy about Brian playing for the Angels, and do you know I scooped his dad. My dad saw his dad, and my dad ended up telling Brian's dad because I called and told him. I guess Brian was in Anaheim yesterday for a physical.

As far as Vargas, he did get him cheap.....league minimum. That is very Ned.

Eric, my condolences to you and your family. I'm sure it's tough losing family around the holidays. And some people would belittle others losing a family pet that aren't animal lovers. We lost our (well, my gf's family, but he felt like mine for sure) family dog a couple of Easters ago, and although I can't speak for losing a family member on a holiday, I know losing a longtime family pet on a holiday can be rough, I can only imagine what it's like to lose a family member on the holidays. My condolences, thoughts and prayers are with you and yours.

Yet, on a happy note, hopefully we only have better things to look forward to next year. Money's only money, but the true riches are those we find with our family, friends and loved ones. May everyone find that and more in the new year.

And here's to hoping this year is only the beginning of what we can come to enjoy from our Dodgers in the near future. 1988 seems like only yesterday, even to this 28 year old, but hopefully we'll have something other than Kirk Gibson to celebrate in rememberance next year.

Potato Head's Dodger Hat is safe and sound in my pocket, it's not going to have to deal with any more whisky-related trauma. We still have some people over, and some will spend the night (which of course we'd rather have than drunk drivers on the road), but I wanted to stop in during the midst of it all.

Hiya, north! Happy New Years!!!

Matt's kind of stunned. Shanahan's been their coach just about his whole life. I wouldn't mind seeing the Chargers dump their current idiot and grabbing Shanahan or Bill Cowher. Turner doesn't do much for me.

I think Sandy would have had Tommy John surgery had he been pitching today. In answer to your question, there's a different mindset these days. Most of these guys pitch through pain, but there's a lot more medical advice now. With all the money tied up in these guys, the docs are paid by the owners to protect them more.

I've said before that the 100-pitch limit is causing more tender arms. They're not allowed to build up the arm strength to complete games anymore. If you want to run a 10-mile race, would you stop your training at 5 miles?

As for your Chargers coach........the Redskins have had him too, and I agree, get rid of him if possible.

With Koufax, and having a son who is pitching, it was an interesting topic that came to mind. He has a pitch count limit too. However, Koufax didn't start pitching until he turned 15. Michael's been pitching seriously since the age of 11.

I think someone will pick up Shanahan, don't you?

Thanks for your sentiments, north. You're right, unless you've had an animal around you constantly yourself, you can't imagine why people take it so hard when they die. It would seem silly to one who's never experienced it.

Thor was my kid's best friend for 12 years. And there was no warning of illness. We all knew eventually he'd go, but we hadn't a clue. My stepdad was another story. He'd been ill for months and was just transferred to a hospital for renal failure 24 hours previous to his passing. So at least there was some warning and, as I mentioned, actually relief due to his suffering.

".... true riches are those we find with our family, friends and loved ones. May everyone find that and more in the new year." Very well said!

"And here's to hoping this year is only the beginning of what we can come to enjoy from our Dodgers in the near future." For my part, I will be dressed this season for the part. I asked for and received a Dodger game jersey for Christmas. It's at the lettering shop as we speak, getting Bill Buckner's name and number sewn on for me. I'll be good to go for '09!

Good for you Eric!!!!! That's fantastic!!!! You are ready to go!!!! I ended with more Dodger things that will ending up gracing my classroom. Actually, Michael got me a Dodgers street sign. However, there were just as many Giants things given to balance out the Dodger blue.

I also read about Roy Campanella, and wow, is that a story to read further into. What an inspiration he is to just the game of baseball. I mean, all of them are, but just with the accident and being able to just say "this is what I've been dealt and I will go from there."...paraphrased of course.

Michael's different. His body is still developing. He should have a serious pitchcount as well as a limit on those stressful pitches like a slider or a screwball. But these adults, they're all different. I just don't think you have to treat them all like porcelin dolls. There are some that you have to be careful with and some that have 'rubber' arms. Sandy burned out after 11 seasons. Nolan Ryan pitched for 26.

And yes, someone should sign Shanahan. He was more than the coach there, I wonder if he'd need the same deal with another team? I doubt that the Charger's AJ Smith would give him or anyone else a sniff of player control.

That is true about Nolan Ryan, and you can say the same thing about Glavine, Smoltz and Maddux too. Even though Glavine and Smoltz had injuries this year, they have been pitching for a long, long time. So, they length of time in years they are pitching is a factor.

Michael just got glasses just for baseball because he was having a hard time judging flyballs in the outfield and sometimes the signs at night when he was pitching. Now, he looks like Ricky Vaughn from Major League......too funny :) Actually, he looks like a cross between him and Clark Kent - lol!!!!

Cool Eric! I hope to have a Drysdale jersey one day myself (which can never have the name on back if you want to be "authentic" for his career, but I feel names-on-back become infinitely more educational with the passage of time, regardless of "authenticity")

I'm glad Boston made their "amends" with Buckner recently, but it took a championship for them to come to that point. Funny they didn't blame their superstitiousness from 1918-2003 on that. We could've been swept by the Cubs if we drank that Kool-Aid. Who knows, maybe the Chicago Kool-Aid is stronger (who am I kidding, it's lucrative to buy into the ol' Cubs Curse).

Did you know some blame Buckner's Botch on the fact that he was wearing his Cubs batting glove under his fielding glove during the Series? Hope we never get to the point when we're dissecting that much to "explain".

Bill was thinking Shanahan to Dallas perhaps. He and Jones are supposedly kind of close.

To me it seems like the Cubs kind of like having their curse. Once the curse is broken, they won't be able to use it anymore. I have to admit, it is kind of fun. I am sure it's not so much fun if you are a Cubs fan, but I am sure it's fun for some, and like you said, somebody's making money off of it.

People like Campy are forever inspirational to us all. If they don't quit, how can the rest of us?

Years ago, I was working at a house in a poor neighborhood. There was a young man there who really impressed me. He had just been in a motorcycle accident a few months earlier and had lost his entire left leg. He was 19. His attitude was remarkable! He was determined to not let it get him down. He talked freely of his challenges and I would love to find out how he was doing today.