So who will the other two be, I wonder...

Links to the player pages at Inside the Dodgers.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/A/Mario-Alvarez.shtml

"That's about all the news for today and I don't expect much more over the holiday, so this could be the last post for a few days."

Oh, and I've been out of touch the last couple of days, what happened with Nate and the Dancer?

I don't know but I got angry reading that tid bit just now. I seriously don't wanna think NedCo is that clueless, when I here the guy talk it's like he totally knows what he's doing but then I read stuff like that (especially cause he DID SIGN PIERRE!!) & I just don't know. The guy can talk no question about it but he sure can't walk the walk, I hope I'm wrong & I hope I'm just a little angry today & that it's clogging up my thinking somehow

Do you make the offer to Lowell and if he accepts tell him, "You'll have to wait until I see if I can get Cabrera"?

LaRoche's On Base bump is incredible though, and I do wonder if we might not regret losing him the most, in the end. Sometimes it bothers me he hasn't hit for a lick when he has had the chance. We probably shouldn't even be looking for a third baseman, really.

On the surface that seems like a pretty good idea...to just try and buy Cabrera. I wonder if that has been discussed....kinda like a posting fee.

Exactamundo.

While all these are rumors, let's face it, he doesn't want Laroche at 3B next year...

like I said, I know they're all just rumors.

But the fact that we've been rumored for Cabrera, Lowell, Crede etc leads me to believe that the Dodgers are definitely looking for a third baseman....

Nobody speculates about what the Pirates will do.

Never mind that, today also saw the release of Hearts of Darkness A Filmmaker's Apocalypse, which if you've never seen, well.. now's your chance. And Rescue Dawn, too, which makes a good double-feature.

http://whereisvanslyke.blogspot.com/
(Fascinating link on possible coaches for the Bucs)

OK, I got nothing.

I think agents especially, but also some GMs are just telling out and out lies this time of year under the cover of source anonymity that reporters respect even when they're obviously being used in a sleazy way.

Either Florida's GM is lying about Ned's offer, or Lowell's agent is lying about the supposed contract offer, or both.

I'm almost positive Lowell's agent is lying. Lowell set down a marker: Four years. If we offered it to him, why didn't he take it? I don't think it happened. But I think his agent wants other players to think he succeeded in getting Lowell his four years -- he just rejected it for personal reasons.

Think about it. You're a reporter. You know Ned's reputation. It's perfectly credible to suggest he would offer something like that. Reporter goes, "Hm. Plausible," and goes with it.

If the Dodgers are saying no news til after the holidays, I'm guessing the reporting on MCAB and the D's is also based on lies.

I don't see how he's gonna feed his family once his three-year contract runs out.

And I don't think Gammons or Stark are unethical.

Rosenthal strikes me as someone who just feels that he keeps having to crank out column after column because that's what Foxsports.com wants.

Turns out in Lowell's case that four years was two years too long. He'll be good for only two more years, so he got a three-year deal.

29- I don't get CSPAN3. I'm very bitter about it. I just found out the other day that I do get ESPNU. Now if only there were anything on it.

I know where they can find a centerfielder. Might we include ours in a deal with half his salary paid? Probably not, but probably as likely as a lot of stuff we have specutlated on in the past few days. Just wishful thinking.

Within the sportswriting field, a low level of ethics is accepted. It doesn't mean every sportswriter sinks to it.

And to drill down a little further: It's really the sources who are being unethical. The reporters I'm thinking of let them get away with it, because they themselves pay no penalty for being wrong. I don't know if that's unethical or amoral or just stupid. Probably a case by case thing. But one thing's for sure. When MCAB signs with the Orioles, Rosenthal won't be fired because he said the Dodgers were close.

House of Flying Daggers has nothing to do with Tolkien. I guess it's "fantasy", but not in the Comic Book Guy sense. It's a beautiful movie with a great soundtrack.

I bet you'd like it.

And then, they're also allowed to speculate about what might happen based on the lies they're told. It's just a mess - but that's what most people seem to want.

"perhaps"

After the inclusion of that word, they can put anything following it and it wouldn't be wrong!

40- The other day. You jumped ugly with dzzrtRatt over saying that Lowell needed four years, when it was clearly an affected voice. I read it catching up on six hundred comments at a time, so I could mention it. I thought that was the allusion in 31. I've been looking for an opening to scold you over it, since.

Sheesh. Strike all of my comments in relation to Lowell needing four year.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7466954

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned or not, but Tim Brown has the Dodgers talking about Matt Kemp in a package for Erik Bedard.

That would certainly eliminate the Dodgers from any Santana or Cabrera blockbusters.

1) we deal Kemp/Kershaw/? for Cabrera. Then go cheap in CF with Cameron because Cabrera will get $12M in arb.

2) We lose out on Cabrera. With money to burn and losing out to the Angels again we go big with Andruw Jones. Then we have a surplus outfielder and the Pierre fantasies can play out.

I prefer 2 in a huge way. A Pierre/Cameron/Ethier OF will take all the fun out of having Miggy.

"But what if something happens?!?"
"What could happen to an old fashioned?"

I did not read any of the Chinese reviews, but I'm guessing the movie was received much better among non-Chinese speakers.

Otto Meyer: Yeah, that's what it looks like. They always use them.

Nervous Motorist: Who always uses them?

Otto Meyer: Who do you think?

He cant jump at all, nor is very athletic.

"the marlins are INSISTING on kendrick and possibly adenhart" from the angels.

maybe i'm reading too much into the word choices there, but it sounds like the marlins might be persuaded to get something less than both kemp and kershaw. i mean, i WANT millions of dollars, a mansion, and a bugatti veyron, but i'm not necessarily expecting those things to be handed over to me.

72 And yet he scored 18 and rebounded 16 against Maryland the other night. His footwork looks good to me as do his hands; those can be difference-makers for big men.

http://uniontrib.com/more/40man

I think that's a good idea, and it's a good way for a newspaper to provide something that probably couldn't fit in the daily paper.

Some of it is dated, as the players are the 40-man roster as of the end of the season.

He should have tried to lay it up instead of dunk it.

Re: sportswriters
I don't know how unethical some may be, but I do get a feeling that some of them will lobby for a specific trade that they like, and that may be the case with some Cabrera rumors. An example that comes to mind was last July when Evan Grant of thhe Dallas Morning News kept lobbying for the Dodgers to trade Kemp & Loney in a package for Texiera.

Obviously, the Dodgers know they won't have Kemp by January.

Take another look, do you see Kershaw's name? This is obviously the best way to find out what's going to happen.

How about Cabrera? Is he riding the float?

More importantly, what about JP?

etc.

I kind of don't like #5 specially cause Ned acquired Juan Pierre (I can't trust 'em) but I am neutral on him & if he makes the right moves I'll be the first to praise Ned Colletti but till then I'll be looking at him with a suspicious brow (sp?)

Looks like this could be the Bruins' first loss.

I'm gonna turn it to ABC, where an old favorite is on:

"Popcorn?! Toast?? What kind of a Thanksgiving is this Charlie Brown??"

Bleeders is right, but given the choice, I'd much rather go with the home grown option, all other things being equal.

We can't assume Andruw Jones is going to rake this season. The jury is still out on whether 2007 was a fluke. That's the other factor.

Aaagh! The Eragon series is very good, but cannot approach the greatness of the Tolkien books. The Eragon movie was not OK, it was lousy, terrible, awful, about the worst movie based on a book ever made. The Lord of the Rings movies, on the other hand, are wonderful, and a great counterpart to the books. You will be really missing something if you don't see them.

I'm still neutral towards him so nah. I wanna believe we have a great GM believe me!

--

I'm telling you guys, stop reading Rosenthal. Your life will be that much healthier for it. It is tempting to drop him a line though, asking him what his deal is. But tain't worth it...

http://tinyurl.com/2aqvyv

109 - It's a parent thing, isn't it?

Benjamin Lucas Ungar was born in good health at 7 pounds 4 ounces and Mommy is doing well.

We just got home and finally settled in...good to see the dodgers still have their kids too. At least for now.

PS: Condolences, Jon.

1. Penny
2. Bedard
3. Lowe
4. Bills
5. Loaiza/etc.

That is a potentially scary rotation. I'm assuming Kemp would be the centerpiece of the deal and replaced by a free agent.

I should have said my post was not sarcastic.

He may be a solid post player in college, like Tyler Hansbrough--but his game wont translate to the pros at all.

For those of you who, you know, care about such things...

Ooh, UCSB beat USF tonight by the same exact score as last year's game.

Night all.

And I've finally got the last Harry Potter book so my night is officially complete. Cheers!

That was a tad physical.

He cant jump at all, nor is very athletic."

Dude, what games are you watching? The guy double/doubles every night.

I really don't care what the reasons are if Kemp is traded for MCAB (without having to also give up Kershaw). I like Kemp and would love to see him blossom wearing a Dodger uniform, but I will take MCAB for him if we can work out some kind of extension for MCAB. If Kemp were traded for junk, then yeah I would laugh at us too. MCAB isn't junk.
vr, Xei

I still wouldn't mind getting Jones and Bedard as a consolation prize so long as we keep either Kemp or Kershaw.

While I don't want to give up Kershaw either, I chose Kemp based on the TINSTAAPP adage (there being no such thing as Kershaw, it pains me less to give him up).

I declare a powerless, non-binding, completely worthless moratorium on all Cabrera trade talk. Nobody is allowed to discuss trading Kemp, Kershaw, or LaRoche for Miguel Cabrera. Those names are verboten here.

I also declare that Deadspin commenters cannot discuss Kige Ramsey, Kos commenters cannot discuss George W. Bush, and Freepers cannot discuss Hillary Rodham Clinton.

I'm cleaning up the tubes, effective immediately.

Or maybe it was Don Quixote.

What I wrote was confusing unless you had that guy's voice in your head like I did. (My doctor gives me these pills for it, but my dog tells me I shouldn't take them.)

158 Hello, my name is dzzrt R., and I am a Hot-Stove-aholic. I thought I had it under control -- I thought I was a social trade rumor-monger. But it is seriously disrupting my life. I know I should go to work, take a shower, eat, talk to my kid, but I keep hitting refresh...refresh...refresh...

For six weeks.

Hmm.

Since it looks like one of Kemp and Ethier are going to be playing for someone else next year, just how well does Young project as an outfielder?

Then he would do copious amounts of drugs.

You don't beat up on dead men walking.

It's what allows me to enjoy Freaks and Geeks on the same level that Timmermann does.

173
DT causes me to use Wikipedia and Dictionary.com a lot, so that is probably a good thing.

How can any Californian not know about Caryl Chessman?

I wonder how many know who Jerry Brown is. (Chessman was the cause that first got Jerry interested in politics. The interesting thing was, his father was the governor who refused to commute Chessman's sentence.)

An all-news station reported on the state's suit against toymakers yesterday. The story referred to "the attorney general" and never mentioned Brown by name.

That's why the Chessman case is so interesting. Because it is very complex.

{Switches subject most smoothly}

2009 could have Billingsley, Kershaw, Bedard, McDonald, Elbert, Kuo, Meloan, or Broxton in the rotation or just Billingsley and 4 free agents.

http://tinyurl.com/yqr9v7

Do all Californians know who John Muir is (was?)?

Every time I mention John Muir (which happens more than you'd think), my wife asks, "who's John Muir?" I've always assumed that's because she's from Texas.

If so, does only having 38 on ours indicate we have designs on 1 or 2 players on someone else's roster?

Any other ideas on why we only protected 38?

I am Governor Jerry Brown
My aura smiles
And never frowns
Soon I will be president…

Carter power will soon go away
I will be Führer one day
I will command all of you
Your kids will meditate in school

California Uber Alles
Uber Alles California

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ou/?p=890

But I'm with Greg, ix-nay on the abrera-cay alk-tay.

I need coffee. Up way too early. Feh.

You gotta look inside the numbers:
First, his rebounding numbers are a bit inflated since there alot of opportunities to gather rebounds in UCLA games. UCLA opponents are shooting .395 FG's, .239 3-point FGs, .687 FT's. UCLA as a team is shooting .456/.368/.648. Translation, there's lot of rebounds to be had in a UCLA basketball game. Love, since he has 23 Offensive Rebounds/35 defensive rebounds on the season, actually has benefitted from UCLA's own poor shooting to jack up his rebounding numbers.

Love's A/TO ratio is 12/11. This isnt good, especially for a player whose reported skill is great passing ability.

The skill that Kevin Love excels at is drawing fouls. He's shot 47 free throws in only 5 games. At this level, where he's physically stronger than most all other collegians, he'll probably be able to maintain this. But at the NBA level, where the big men are much more athletic and dont need to foul in order to defend, he'll struggle on the offensive end. On the defensive end, he could struggle too given his lack of footspeed on the perimeter.

Very rare in the NBA nowadays to be a good-great player at the 4/5 spot unless you are an outstanding athlete.

I think Love's upside at the NBA level is Andrew Bogut. Bogut's a decent player, but nothing special.

The fact that Love was rated higher than some of the other players like Eric Gordon, Derrick Rose, OJ Mayo, Mike Beasley, Kyle Singler really says more about what the talent evaluators were actually looking at, than his actual ability.

The Dodgers are not close to a deal for Miguel Cabrera, because so far, the cost, in young players, is prohibitive for L.A. And as good as Cabera is, there are questions about his extraordinary weight gain and whether he will continue to be a clone of Manny Ramirez, or if he'll become another Kevin Mitchell, whose physical conditioning eventually wrecked what could have been an exceptional career. "It's not as if the Dodgers are one phone call away on this thing," said an NL source. "There is a lot of work to be done for them to get involved. They are pretty far apart, right now."

The growing expectation around the game is that the Angels will land Cabrera.

http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=olney_buster

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving! That goes for everyone here at DT.

For D4P I submit this to you: You... are... correct. Why is Brady having such an extraordinary season? It's Randy Moss! Why did the 49ers go from darn good to really great? Jerry Rice! What kept the Cowboys from defeat this week? Terrell Owens.

In the catch, the catcher often means more than than the thrower.

That's just how I speak when I'm sleepy.

;-)

Long time reader, first time commenter. I have an affection for hyperbole which I'll do my best to curb: (UCSC grad)

193: I've come to believe Jeff Kent is very likely pressuring the FO to trade Matt Kemp.

I've been watching LA baseball since the Hollywood Stars owned the town from Gilmore Field; Bobby Bragan(M), Bill Mazerowski(2B), Chuck Steven(1B), Carlos Bernier(CF), Frankie Kelleher(LF)...

I ushered the first Dodger season at the Coliseum, over-seeing the last RF tunnel as a 16yo.

And lots of connections to commenters here: For example, someone here thinks King of NY the best gangster movie, ever. Many yearshe editor of that film gave me my first gig as an apprentice film editor. Lots to say and too much space...

blued22

Many years before K of NY was released, the editor of that film gave...