Little never had a losing season.

Bottom line: Who cares who the manager is? Is there any empirical evidence to suggest managers make a meaningful difference?

That and the pending writer's strike, leaving TV filled with reality shows and news programs does not make for a good off-season.

I'll believe mgmt this time.

Torre's not in LA yet, but as a lifelong Dodger fan living in NY now, when he does become the manager I'll be pretty happy with mgmt's decision.

Orioles name Shelby first-base coach

http://tinyurl.com/3dpfzv

Torre will make roughly 7 times that much.

If confronted and forced to answer, I doubt even McColletti would argue that Torre will do 7 times as a good a job as Grittle.

Now I feel nauseous.

The fact that we still do not understand what produces winning baseball is the real issue.

You mean paying a manager $5 million a year isn't on the list...?

It's unfortunate that the arrival of a Hall of Fame manager has to be tainted by the stench of this classless sacking of Little. It would have been nice to see the club sever ties with Grady at the end of the season. Then everyone could feel a little bit better about Torre's arrival. I'm sure with time (and, I hope, success) people will forget about this whole sordid episode, but it's another black mark against an owner who seems intent on going about the right things the wrong way.

Stan from Tacoma

That's five million fewer dollars toward the best player in baseball.

Greed is good.

Good luck Grady. I loved to hear you speak. I also want to win very badly, but I don't blame you for last year. They GAVE you Pierre and Gonzo. They told you to win with Hendrickson and Tomko. It wasn't your fault.

That won't be the reason we don't land arod...it'll be because we're probably going to end up signing jones to 18 mill a year.

Twins GM says 'we would love to sign' Hunter, Silva

Carlos Silva??

That's more than I make in two YEARS...!

Disconcerting because McCourt apparently believes Little was the problem (and I understand that there is a question as to whether the previous statement is true), enough , at least, that Ned is given another chance to sign a manager (which, I believe, will ensure at least 2 years of Ned's job). You don't hire a manager and then replace the GM. If that's your goal, you hire a new GM and let him find his manager.

Further, Whoever Is In Charge apparently decided that Girardi, and then Torre, was the man for the job, without so much as turning over a few stones as to who might be a forward thinking, progressive manager. At this rate, expect Buck Showalter to be the next Dodger manager.

I would think differently had the Dodgers got Girardi, who (at least on the surface) is young and new and successful with young talent. Torre is just another name. Successful? Sure, why not. The same way that Luis Gonzalez is a successful left fielder.

Bad things.

How many more seats will the Dodgers sell with A-rod vs. without him? How many more shirts/hats? What is the profit from those things? I guess I don't have a good sense for the economics of baseball. But I do have a good sense for economics in general, and I'm not seeing how that deal makes sense.

220-230 million max. It won't even sniff 250 mil. That's just my guess.

But the real key is winning. Winning = lots of money.

If the Dodgers sign A-Rod and don't win, well, ask Tom Hicks how much revenue he got. I'll bet it wasn't enough.

Actions tell the story, always has.

Sigh.

Long story short- I really want to believe that Bor-Rod has to sell short on this deal. I don't believe it, but lord do I WANT to believe it.

The future.

But remember, they are redoing the baseline seats and adding new restaurants so if A-Rod helps with that, that will shoot that $30 figure way way up.

I would imagine he would sell a lot of merchandise but they still would only recoup the bulk of that in the early part of his contract.

The real money would come from media sources (radio, tv) and maybe new corporate partners.

"if McCourt is George Steinbrenner West, then considering the owner, the Dodgers have hired the perfect manager.....his handling/manipulation of both his meddlesome upper management and the muckraking press around him for the last 12 years has been absolutely masterful. "

of course, the question of if Torre just "has" that ability, or the ability is contingent upon immediate, stunning success, may be asked.

but his presence might--just might, Jon, it's all I can muster right now--his presence might bring with it some stability and sanity...

Does anybody take Boras seriously when he says A-Rod is worth 48mm a year? If the Yankees believed that, they would have paid him something close to that to make sure he stayed. Similarly, does anybody take Boras Seriously when he says A-rod will be playing effectively at age 45?

Tony Jackson updated his blog with the best news of the day.

And grow those sideburns, baby.

http://tinyurl.com/27446z

That Posnanski may just end up as the Weisman of Kansas City. If he sticks with it.

" 'That is between Grady and the club,' Colletti said."

It's too easy to take that to mean they're buying his silence. But I like easy things, so I'm asserting it, without compunction.

59 Bruce Campbell

And, to play the ridiculous speculation game, this sets Mattingly up to manage the Dodgers when Torre leaves in three years.

If the the Dodgers really wanted to increase the bottom line, I think cutting payroll would be more effective. Apparently they can get nearly 4 million fans out while fielding a (roughly) .500 team.

66 Bowa also has a standing offer on the table to coach 3B for the Mariners. Just be glad Stottlemyre already signed on as pitching coach for the Ms. (Poor King Felix.)

Heard it. Not sure what to think. Certainly the spin is Grady having second thoughts, Ned saying, "Grits, don't do this to me, bud," and Little finally saying that because of some unspecified group of personal issues, he's not only leaving the Dodgers, he's unlikely to ever manage again.

But that could also be a well-scripted lie.

If so, Grady is a good actor. He sounded like a guy ready to pack up the plantation.

Every public word out of his mouth seems to be a stream of PR platitudes.

Furthermore, I get the impression that he is not really shrewd or intelligent. His moves read like the advice from consultants. And hey, for every good consultant out there you have ten bad ones. The people who know what they are doing ... well, they are usually doing it. Those not quite good enough to do, talk about doing, and gets hired as consultants. More often than not. And McCourt seemingly listens more to the bad kind of consultant.

The Dodger front office is a joke and the organization is untrustworthy. The PR people will spin it and McCourt will smile at the cameras. Until fans stop supporting what is set to be the perennial fourth-place finisher ( third in a good year ) in the NL West for the next several years, there is no reason for him to change.

Okay, phew, I got that out of my system. I'm good until the next update on what the Dodgers are up to this season.

The same five words that apply to every event of significance with the Dodgers since McCourt bought the team.

Now, after spending 90 minutes crawling down my favorite freeway on the way home from work, I have changed my point of view.

The McCourts have finally figured things out. This has nothing to do with winning or making Plashcke/Simers happy, or us happy, or even doing the right thing.

The Dodgers will hire a big name manager.
The Dodgers will sign the biggest star in the baseball universe to the biggest contract in history.
The Dodgers (the McCourts) will watch the turnstiles spin.

The guys who pay for those seats behind home plate are not on this blog. The people who pay for those hermetically sealed luxury boxes are not here. Joe Average Dodger fan is not reading this blog (no offense ladies & gentlemen - but you are not average fans - you are all extraordinary and special). The rich guy in the dugout box seat, the corporate VP in the luxury box, and Joe Average fan are out there listening to the Herd, to Romey, to Mason and that other guy. They are hearing this ...

Joe Torre is coming - he's the best manager in baseball. He's a winner.
A-Rod is coming - he's the best player in baseball. He's going to hit more HR's than BB and do it NATURALLY.

Season ticket sales will go through the ROOF.
Advertisers will line up to sponsor pre-game, in game and post game shows. The McCourts will have hit the jackpot.

It's Showtime!

I do kind of feel sorry for Grady Little though. Does anyone else think he just might end up in Atlanta, for when the new front office decides to retire Bobby Cox like happened to Mazzone there a couple of yrs ago?

No. McCourt is really Eddie, the shipboard computer on the Heart of Gold from the Hitchhiker's Guide series. Ingratiating, dumb as a post, and stupidly, endlessly cheerful no matter how grave the situation.

Just sayin'. There's a few extra million for the A-Rod kitty.

Add a "What are..." to your bottom sentence and you've made a pretty sweet Jeopardy question, or Karnac joke.

Yeah, and those are especially unpleasant six floors up, I've just learned.

I'm all for relieving stress in our general vicinity. :)

It seemed to last longer than usual.