Inside the Dodgers

It’s been 11 days since the last post here at Inside the Dodgers and no, we haven’t forgotten about you.

When this blog started nearly five years ago, there was a photo from Holman Stadium and we invoked a James Earl Jones line from Field of Dreams.

Five weeks later, Twitter’s founder Evan Williams had his first tweet and the way in which the world communicates changed. Well, that was only part of it. In between then and now, Facebook has grown to the size of the world’s third-largest country, videos go viral and reach more people than many mainstream media outlets ever did and the way in which we speak with our fans is vastly different than in 2006.

We wrote that day from Vero Beach that “It is our sincere hope that much like the cornfields in Iowa, ‘if we build it, you will come.'” And you have. Thousands and thousands of you view this site daily (admittedly, I stopped checking the numbers long ago) and the comments are among the most active on the entire MLBlogs network. Even as the regularity of posts has dropped off, you’ve still made Inside the Dodgers the ninth-most visited site on the network, according to the November leaders.

So as we wind down for the holidays, we’re trying to figure out what exactly we should be doing with this site for 2011. We have every intention of keeping it up and keeping it active, but we’ve got to do a better job of keeping it fresh…perhaps more photos, video and a true inside look at the thing you all care about most – the Dodgers.

Any and all ideas are welcome…it’s really been amazing to watch the community here grow. In some cases, kids who started reading this blog in junior high are shipping off to college. Others, like Joe Pierre, made their first pilgrimage to Dodger Stadium after decades of loving the team. One couple even met on Inside the Dodgers and are now married. OK, I made that one up, but the amazing stories go on and on…

So we thank for your support over the years and your patience as we redefine what this blog is all about. Happy holidays to all, here’s to a healthy 2011 (with a lot of victories and a parade) and stay tuned for more from Inside the Dodgers.

Colletti keeping busy…Dodger offices buzzing

It’s decision day on a few Dodger players, most notably Russell Martin, and Ned Colletti just told Jim Hill in an interview that this is one of the toughest decisions he’s had to face since he came to the Dodgers. We’ll know by 9 p.m. PT tonight at the latest what that decision is and hopefully that will provide a little more clarity on the catching situation.

Ned just finished a 20-minute interview with Jim Hill and they covered a ton of topics. It will air in part tonight on KCAL/KCBS as well as throughout the week. Among the things they talked about were Don Mattingly and his staff; Matt Kemp (who recently reached out to Ned and had a great phone conversation that is among the reasons Ned says he feels like this will be a big year for Matt); the starting rotation and the farm system.

There’s definitely a buzz in the offices and one among fans we’re speaking with on a daily basis. It feels a little weird to have so much already set in stone before we head to Orlando for the Winter Meetings on Sunday, but I’ll certainly take that over a four-day set of meetings where we come in with a ton of needs.

A busy day at the ballpark

There’s a lot going on these days at Dodger Stadium, and that’s a great thing. With Juan Uribe flying to Los Angeles to take his physical, Ned Colletti and his staff obviously realized that once he passed, we would have an extra infielder (Ryan Theriot) and he had a deal in place to move Ryan to St. Louis in exchange for Blake Hawksworth.

News like this tends to have a lot of moving parts, with Uribe heading to the doctor for the physical, sorting through the media availability for various players, making sure that word of a trade doesn’t get out before the players hear it from their respective teams. So of course, with that, is a lot of internal planning.

But, we have a great front office and PR department, medical staff, etc. who helped today run seamlessly. We got word that Juan was official and let the media know that the deal was done and that he’d be available on a conference call. From there, Ned had to call Ryan and let him know that he had been traded to St. Louis. And then, Juan headed to the stadium for a quick visit with team officials, a tour of the clubhouse and the conference call before he grabs dinner and catches a very early morning flight back to the D.R.

He couldn’t have been a nicer guy and his wife was also very kind. He said that Manny Mota pretty much called him every day after the World Series telling him how much the Dodgers wanted to see him in Blue and he said that it was very meaningful to him that the team cared so much about him. Before they took off from the stadium, we armed them with all sorts of hats and Dodger items to bring back to the Dominican and we’re certainly looking forward to having him on the team in 2011.

For those who follow such things, Blake is on Twitter @blakehawksworth but he’s yet to weigh in via that account…still, I’m sure he’ll be picking up a lot of L.A. followers. And hopefully he’ll add a nice arm to the bullpen for 2011.

Ned seems to still be on the hunt for more pitching, a LF and, as he says, to sort through the catching situation. Stay tuned…we certainly hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday.

Happy Birthday, Vin!

If you’re a fan of the Dodgers, you pretty much grew up listening to Vin Scully and for many of you with summer birthdays, you’ve probably spent a birthday or two listening to him.

Well, today’s his birthday so please stop and take a moment to be thankful for all that he’s given us over the years. I hope he’s spending it with his family and enjoying a nice lazy day around the house.

And in other news, Vin will be calling games next year for a rotation now set with five solid starters, as Jon Garland spent his Thanksgiving signing with his hometown team.

Obviously lots of other rumors percolating out there and while I can’t comment on rumors or possible deals, I hope Dodger fans are starting to get excited about the team that Ned and his staff are putting together. We’re not yet at the winter meetings and they’ve already filled many of the “holes” in the team heading into 2011.

Kuo and his love of dogs…

Despite being around the team year-round, I still learn new things every day about our players. Just found out that Hong-Chih Kuo has four dogs here in LA and one back in Taiwan and that he recently took part in an SPCA event in Taiwan last week. The news release is below…seems like a natural fit for next year’s Bark in the Park!

And don’t forget, you can still vote for Kuo for Setup Man of the Year at MLB.com

Happy Thanksgiving to Dodger fans around the country…enjoy the time with your family and friends.

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Taipei – Not only does Hong-Chih Kuo have the skills to be one of the few players that ultimately made it to the MLB, he’s one of the few that has a true compassion for animal welfare. Back in Taiwan for just a few weeks, he spent time on a campaign for the Taiwan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (TW SPCA), to speak up against animal cruelty. Kuo states that before moving to the states to play for the L.A. Dodgers, he saw many media reports of acts of violence towards animals and the devastating experiences of many of Taiwan’s strays. This hits close to home as he has five dogs of his own; four in L.A. and one in his native home of Tainan. Kuo contacted the TW SPCA through his manager and voiced his desire to try and help improve animal welfare in Taiwan.

The SPCA is an international animal welfare group of independent organizations based in many countries around the world, such as: England, U.S.A, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore. The Taiwan SPCA was established in July of 2009 and has already applied to the Ministry of the Interior for NGO status. Taiwan SPCA’s constitution, goals, and organizational structure are already being supported by many, including famous celebrities such as: Dee Hsu (Xiao S), Mavis & 100% Band, MC Hotdog, Machi, Wang Shao Wei, singer Alex Lee, and SBL basketball players whom have all filmed supportive messages and/or campaign messages for the Taiwan SPCA.

In Kuo’s video campaign, he is portrayed as a defender of animals and is shown helping out strays. The concept came about when Kuo started asking the TW SPCA for information on cruelty cases in Taiwan. It showed his genuine interest in the matter and his aspiration to make a difference. On the day of the video shoot, Kuo also signed an endorsement letter for the Taiwan SPCA, hoping that others will join in on the fight against animal cruelty.

The Taiwan SPCA hopes that this video campaign can be shown across all media platforms to remind the public that Taiwan’s animals still need our help. It shouldn’t be a “out of sight, out of mind” kind of situation anymore. If anyone wishes to volunteer, adopt or foster an animal, or donate to TW SPCA’s cause, please contact us at: spca@spca.org.tw

Looking for something to do tomorrow?

PRIME TICKET is having a 10 1/2 hour Dodger marathon starting at noon PT, including lots of “True Blue Stories,” several “Before the Bigs” (Martin, Furcal, Ethier, Loney), “In My Own Words” (Lasorda, Blake, Kemp) and closing it out with an hour of brand new programming: Dodgers Magazine at 10 p.m. and the premiere of the newest Route of Champions at 10:30 p.m.

Dodgers Magazine features a look at Don Mattingly managing the Phoenix Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League, an interview with Clayton Kershaw, a story on the unique friendship between Tommy Lasorda and the Commander of USSTRATCOM General Kevin D. Chilton and an interview with sisters Sylvia Fisk and Esther Rosen … Sylvia is 88 and has been working at Dodger Stadium for over 30 years.

Route of Champions takes a look at life in Albuquerque for the Dodgers AAA affiliate. Stories include a look at 3rd Base prospect Russ Mitchell, the amazing journey of John Lindsey, a visit from Tommy Lasorda for “Dukes Retro Night” and the story of how General Manager John Traub has the help of his entire family at the workplace. 

If you need your Fall/Winter Dodger fix, pull up a chair and tune in…

Coaching staff in the fold…

The world’s worst-kept secret – the Dodgers’ coaching staff, was announced today with a combined 176 seasons of big league playing, coaching or managing experience, including two former big league skippers (Lopes and Hillman).

The staff also has six former Dodgers (Lopes, Hansen, Honeycutt, Howell, Mota and Wallach) as well as holdovers Jeff Pentland, Rob Flippo and Mike Borzello. Here’s what Donnie had to say this morning. He’ll have more depth to his comments as the day goes on and media begins to fully report…

“I’m extremely excited about this coaching staff, which has a great combination of experience and youth that will create a positive environment for our team. We’ve been able to reach back and bring in a number of coaches with Dodger roots and that’s one of the things that was very important to us. Not just the quality of the people and the experience they bring with them, but the history of this organization – where it came from and where we want to go.”

 

School Pride, Dodger style

If you haven’t yet seen School Pride on NBC, be sure to tune in tomorrow night. Among the Dodgers who came out to speak to the kids were Andre Ethier, James Loney and Joe Torre.

It’s on at 8 p.m. (7 central time) and the filming of this episode was among the more rewarding things we did this year. It just so happened that it took place on the day Vin Scully announced he was coming back, so we even had all the kids yelling up to the press box “We love you, Vin.” 

For a sneak preview of the show, check out this link.

MLB Industry Meetings

Those who have followed Inside the Dodgers for a long time probably recall that every couple years, our industry heads to one spot to share best practices and talk about the future of the game on the business side of things. No different than what most of you do in your own jobs at various conferences around the country.

So, we find ourselves in Orlando, having talked about the international future of baseball (the Dogders’ trips to China and Taiwan came up several times), the changing landscape of media (lots of talk about blogs, Twitter, Facebook, flip cam videos, etc), the World Baseball Classic and even those who cover the business of sports.

It’s always a great way to network and pick up some ideas from others in the industry and tonight, there’s a team building event in which we’ll all be building 100 bikes for young kids from the local Boys & Girls Club. Pretty cool way to tie into their theme of “Going Beyond” which you’ve seen throughout the postseason.

 

We Salute You!

Today, on Veteran’s Day, everyone at the Dodger organization salutes those who sacrifice for others to make this country what is is today. There are so many great things going on around the nation today, including a really exciting event at Dodger Stadium where members of the military will be taking BP, hanging out on the field, meeting legends like Tommy and Newk and enjoying a great day at the stadium.

Before that, we’ll head out to the Veteran’s Hospital in Westwood with Tommy and Vin Scully to spend some time with those who are there and thank them for their service. It’s all part of a larger program we’ll be starting in 2011 to honor the military.

The Dodgers Media Network (www.dodgers.com/dmn) has a great tribute video to Dodger legend Rick Monday’s proud moment of saving the flag, while Bill Plaschke weighed in this morning with a heartfelt column as well.

And while we’re saluting the efforts of others, it’s important to note that Joe Torre will host his annual Safe at Home dinner tonight in New York to benefit the great work that his foundation does to stop domestic violence, while Ryan Theriot’s inaugural celebrity golf classic is tomorrow in Louisiana to benefit three great causes (www.ryantheriot.com).