Tagged: Veteran's Day

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).  

Back in town…

I wish I had a lot of new news to report to you all, but there really isn’t much right now. The Spring Training schedule should be coming out in a couple weeks, so stay tuned.

Also, I’ve been reading all the Manny coverage from a distance and I think it’s actually almost humorous that there’s a belief that this wasn’t a serious offer. We’re talking about the highest paid player in franchise history (per year) and it’s obviously the very first offer he’s received from anywhere. For all we know, this will be the best offer that he gets. Just because he’s asking for six years doesn’t mean he’ll get it (does anyone remember Andruw Jones’ initial requests from last offseason?)

There’s no doubt in my mind that we would love to have Manny back here, but I keep reading about Bonds and A-Rod and the precedent they set because they had large contracts that paid them through age 42. Does anyone remember that one of those years, Bonds played only 14 games due to injury? And just because A-Rod is getting paid through age 42 doesn’t mean he’ll be productive that long. I just find that argument hard to believe, but then again, it’s not up to me to have to buy into it.

The bottom line is, there’s no doubt he’s worth one of the top two or three contracts currently in baseball over the next couple or few years, but who knows how he will perform in 2012 or 2013 or 2014??

Anyway, I know that this is all posturing as part of a negotiation and it’s totally normal for any agent to ask for the world, knowing they’re not going to get it, but if anyone thinks that somewhere in the range of $25 million per year is not a real offer, I’d love to know what they think would be “real.”

That’s about all I’ve got for now. We’ve got a few of our former players heading to veteran’s hospitals today and tomorrow to spend time with people there and pay tribute on Veteran’s Day, so hopefully everyone can take a moment to give thanks to anyone you know who has served on behalf of our country.