Despite all the negativity, liquidity issues, parking lot ownership, etc., etc., surrounding Frank McCourt, is it wrong that I am glad that we are not owned by FOX anymore? I know a lot of people are not thrilled with the McCourt/Depo combination, but so far, so good.

P.S. If you had told me we'd win the Giants series despite Lowe losing his game, Valentin making three errors, and Drew and Choi going 0 for 182 combined, I would never have believed you. This could only mean good things.

It's good to be the King, or in that case, Walter O'Malley.

As long as DePo is the GM, I'm not going to worry about McCourt. Even if McCourt is just another owner to whom winning is extremely secondary to making money, I know that DePo, regardless of whether or not I agree with his moves, is truly trying to put together a team that can win--and perhaps more importantly, has a clear and defined plan to do so--and isn't just another GM who is ownership's pawn.

I think he completely underestimated the fan reaction when he traded LoDuca, and was probably wondering why everyone is going crazy over trading a 32 year old catcher who has a history of playing well for only half a year.

If anyone can explain what great things Tom Yawkey did for baseball overall as opposed to Walter O'Malley, I would like to know what they were.

Walter O'Malley had his faults, but Tom Yawkey spent a lot of his money on a team and produced no championships and tacitly kept his team from integrating for two decades.

Of the execs (not league presidents or commissioners) in the Hall of Fame, you have the following:
Ed Barrow (Red Sox, Yankees)
Charlie Comiskey (White Sox)
Rube Foster (Negro Leagues)
Warren Giles (Reds, also NL President)
Clark Griffith (Senators)
Larry McPhail (Reds, Dodgers, Yankees)
Lee McPhail (Yankees, AL President)
Branch Rickey (Browns, Cardinals, Dodgers, Pirates)
Al Spalding (Cubs, although they were called the White Stockings at the time)
Bill Veeck (Indians, Browns, White Sox)
Tom Yawkey (Red Sox)

Has any team executive who started his front office career after O'Malley moved into the Dodgers front office been named to the Hall of Fame, other than Lee McPhail?

And, oh yeah, #2? It's never wrong to be happy that Fox doesn't own the Dodgers.

Until then, we're stuck with the cottage industry that profits from the urban myth that O'Malley "tore the heart from Brooklyn" when he moved the team.

Recommended revisionist history on that subject (Bob, I'm sure that you already read it) is "The Dodgers Move West" by Neil Sullivan.

The book at least attempted to explain both sides of the story.

This issue still simmers.

I'm still inclined to believe that people in New York will continue to believe that O'Malley is the Antichrist of New York city baseball for quite some time. It's much easier to pick out one man as your enemy rather than a complex series of demographic and economic changes throughout New York City and the United States.

And Plaschke's just the man for that job!

It's a shame O'Malley isn't in the HOF.

An unpopular view would see the team as a good ballclub built in part on early exploitation of the talent in the Negro Leagues, that by 57 was aging and in need of rebuilding, hampered by an inadequate stadium, and frustrated by the labryinth of NYC politics in being able to build a new stadium (for reference check out the Jets trying to get a new stadium these days).

Not hard to see which view is going to get the most traction with the public.

A cynic would suggest that the decades long talent search by the Dodgers for players of Mexican(Hector Valle, Jose Pena) or Mexican American ancestry (Babo Castillo) that finally paid off with Fernando was fueled in part by the whole Chavez Ravine debacle.

I'm pretty sure Phil Ortega was given more of a chance than he deserved because of his name. He went to Washington in the trade that netted the Dodgers Claude Osteen.

I can tell you exactly what Yawkey did that O'Malley didn't: Had his widow make a multimillion dollar donation after his death to construct a new "Yawkey Wing" of the Hall of Fame. The year after Jean Yawkey did that -- poof! -- Tom was in the Hall of Fame.

How about a Hall of Shame for execs... I nominate only two -- Harry Frazee and Fox.

What would Plaschke say about a trade where you sent away your best homerun hitter, best 3B prospect, and two young hard throwers, in exchange for a career sub .500 pitcher from a cellar dwelling American League team?

The Dodgers won two pennants with that trade.

Did somebody remove the Pope's feeding tube?

But back to the Dodgers-Senators trade, a friend of mine said that he was really upset about the trade at the time. He thought that Frank Howard was going to be a huge star for the Dodgers. The same thing about Richert.

It's interesting that Mrs. Yawkey could pretty much buy her husband's plaque at Cooperstown, but if Peter O'Malley tried the same thing, he would be pilloried by every sportswriter over the age of 50.

I"m the only one left in the room.

Perhaps I was understating it a bit. It is a good book.

Alex Cora.

Three things...

One, that is an amazing number of responses, I am flabbergasted.

Two, get yourself a Guestmap. I have one on my page, it is a really fun way to see where your influence reaches. I have readers in Japan, Israel, Australia, Russia, Italy, all over the world, really. It's a simple and easy plug-in to add, and it's free.

Three, do me a favor and plug my ass every once in a while, because you, my friend, are absolutely dominating. Congratulations.

The one Kent has now is nothing to brag about. Hell, my mother could grow that 'stache.

I don't think DePodesta would have wanted Valentin if he really believed he would make an error in every game.

(And thanks, John. The comment thing is a fairly recent development. I don't think DT had ever broken 150 before this week.)

Am I surprised that LA won 2 of 3, despite the errors and despite Drew and Choi not contributing offenively? Not at all. Not against a Giants lineup with no good hitters. Once Alou went down, they became a AA-quality offense. The Dodgers, meanwhile, have a good offense, ESPN be damned, that can survive a couple days without contributions from their best (Drew) and 3rd or 4th best (Choi) hitters.

I agree with Dr. Love. His mother could grow a bigger stache than Kent

(Sorry had to be done)

The Cubs fans have begun their self-immolation.

April looks really good for the Dodgers: Bondless Giants, Arizona, Colorado, Brewers, and the Padres. The early injuries may not hurt as much as it might seem.