I hope he does not tell Kemp to run through the scoreboard.

Would you accept locker room credentials if offered to you Jon?

Lot 5 Parking?

By the way, don't we have two outfielders, a 1st baseman, a catcher AND two pitchers who fit into the same category? He dissed Broxton and Billingsley!

1

McCray: Juan, you're not running hard enough
Pierre: I'm the fastest guy on the team, Coach
McCray: But you're not running hard
Pierre: what should I do?
McCray: as you're running toward the fence, don't stop until you get to the parking lot
Pierre: Ok, then what?
McCray: keep going.

re: clip,
Does this mean Rowand is on the way?

also, it's strange, seeing that clip after watching The Natural over the weekend

Washington now leads by only 3 with 16:31 to play in the game.

1 Both Kemp and Loney have already tried that.

2 - I already have them through SI.com.

1 Kemp already tried that at the home opener.

To help Kemp practice sliding into home plate, I hear McCray's going to make the catcher dress like a trash can.

So does that mean we won't go after Andruw Jones? I'm still holding out hope that NedCo is trying to move Pierre to make room for A. Jones but maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part.

6
I hate the announcers for Washington and Arizona games. Huge homers and they constantly make mistakes when it comes to other team.

10

Perhaps Pierre's nickname for this season can be The Immovable Object.

11 - I don't expect much from local announcers anymore. It could be a lot worse, like when Long Beach gets a Big West game on FSN and it's two guys who don't even know what teams are in the conference. Or Jack Haley.

We're giving them a game, but this Dentman (sp?) kid is absolutely killing us.

I already have them through SI.com.

Why haven't we seen a Juan Pierre In depth-er yet? :)

13
I don't really blame commentators for being terrible at Big West games haha.

Yeah, looks like Dentman can hit the open shot this year.

9 That's hilarious!
They'll probably just put a cardboard cut out of Kent in the trashcan and put it in front of home plate.

15 - do not mock the Big West... there are a few programs that could be tormenting the big conferences come March, in a couple of years anyway.

61-61 and then Dentman has to make a great shot with two guys in his face.

17
I am a UCSB alum so I speak from experience.

18 - ah, my bad, I was thinking you were part of the Westwood contingent.

18
Westwood fan, but I went to UCSB.

Jon, by the time I got through all the comments on the last post you had moved on. My birthday is coming up in two weeks, and while 24 might not seem like a big deal, I am about 2 years out of college and I thought I would have more (something) figured out by now. Already my dreams of screenwriting seem far fetched, and the reality of bills and money is just tedious. Meanwhile, after 4 years of having most of my favorite people grouped tightly around campus, everyone has spread to the far corners of the globe and no one is keeping in touch all that well. You would think that a post about how you are still dealing with similar feelings at 40 would be a downer pointing out that there is no guarantees that anything will change, but I just feel comforted to know I am not the only one. It can get lonely trapped in here (my brain) all by myself, thanks for the company, commiseration and voice of reason here at Dodger Thoughts.

Man, am I late to this party. I just got done reading Jon's post after a long day. I'm sure many have already commented wisely--Jon's spirits are lifted and that's very good news. I'll just add that when I went through it (call it midlife crisis, oh-crud-I'm-how-old?, what have I really done with my life, etc.) what was of absolute paramount importance was that I did not try to go through it alone, whatever it was I was going through. I tried to go it alone--I'm a tough as nails man, as are all men! And I failed miserably. Family and friends, no matter how many, make wonderous sounding boards. Besides, it's in times of trouble when you know who to count on. I'm looking forward to reading that thread.

Re: the Conlin exchange from crashburn alley.

WOW!

I cannot believe what I just read. That is all.

Am I late in reading this?

Regarding Rodney McCray: I played golf with him about fifteen years ago. After the last time I saw Logan White (a less-than-happy pitcher for AIA), I never would've guessed then that he would've been a front-office superstar. After spending a few hours with McCray at the Rancho Park 3-par, I never, ever, would've predicted then that he would be a coach. I'll leave it to you to decipher what I mean by that.

Suffering Bruin has lived an interesting life.

Almost Karate Kid and gets to hang out with all these sports figures.

23 I just got done reading it. Simers is just as bad in his e-mail responses though he doesn't bring in the Hitler stuff. Lots of writers are more than happy to lower the boom on e-mailers. Who's the guy in Colorado? Been writing for years? He'll do the same thing.

People can be insecure about what they don't understand. Such insecurity can bring about fear or anger and, sometimes with struggle, understanding. It would appear that many columnists are quite comfortable in the fear and anger state of mind when it comes to bloggers. We're seeing the same thing in the political world.

25 Me, Ralph Macchio and a younger kid. I was told I was too tall and my voice was too deep. They chose the right guy, trust me.

You want to know the funniest thing? I was so dim, I didn't know why I was being called back all the time. I kept saying, "You want me to read again? Sure..." and I didn't find out until later that I was being seriously considered. Probably a good thing I didn't know what I was doing.

Playing dumb was perfect for the role of the Karate Kid.

23
I just read it as well. It serves as a warning to all of us that, in 30 years when we are complaining about the "new thing" to not assume that the old way is best.

Amazing that a journalist with decades of experience would use a phrase like "The only positive thing I can think of about Hitler's time on earth..." in print.

Crotchety. Closed-minded. Ignorant. Entitled.

No wonder I stopped reading newspapers.

From previous thread:

203 Dolphins have a chance against the Steelers?.....this certainly throws a wrench into the "Steelers can beat New England" prognosis that the Belichik haters so desperatly cling to.

In my case I'm actually not one of those Belichick haters (although I don't particularly care for him). I just happen to be a Steelers fan. A couple of weeks ago I took a look at New England's remaining schedule and figured the only team standing between them and an undefeated regular season is Pittsburgh. As soon as I made that prediction here the Steelers lost to the darn Jets (who have beaten only one other team) and barely beat the winless Dolphins. But I'm going to stick with my prediction. Just out of stubbornness. :-)

27
Even though I have lived here for 6 years, SoCal is just a whole different world than Louisiana...

Stories like yours are fairly common out here, but where I am from the only cool stories came from knowing one of the seemingly dozens of professional athletes from the area (Karl Malone, Terry Bradshaw, Lee Smith, Vernon Wells, Bert Jones, JR Richard, Willie Roaf, etc.)

Paul Newman shot the movie "Blaze" in a town close by. The welcome sign is still there 15 years later.

But I'm going to stick with my prediction. Just out of stubbornness.

Well, of course, you can't back down now. Go down with the ship, and we'll think better of you.

[30-32]The Steelers had a great shot at breaking the Dolphins streak. A near miss.
The New England talk was all over the radio on the way home. I loved the irony during tonight's game.

It's a special kind of insanity that manifests itself in making Hitler jokes, in writing, to some guy you don't know on the internet.

34 - It sounded like a Bill Hicks reference ("Hitler had the right idea, he was just an underachiever") gone awry. As always leave comedy to the comedians, or at least stick to self-deprecation to avoid accidental self-immolation.

Longtime reader First time poster

Was not sure what topic would finally inspire a post but previous thread did it.

Also just went through the big 40 and appreciate and compliment Jon's response to it. I think the ability to appreciate what you have and still strive for more is the essential balance for getting up in the morning. (thats as emotional as I get about non-sports discussion)

But the kicker in the thread was the reference to the greatest day in my personal sports history. I watched Gibsons homerun in an Oakland bar on the same day I witnessed UCLA become #1 in football. I actually carried a Dodger hat under my UCLA band uni. Little did I know that my second and third favorite teams (after UCLA hoops) would not again reach such heights by the time I was 40.

Thanks for the hard work on the blog as I am much better Dodger fan even after being exiled in Seattle for nearly a decade. Regarding the discussion of Husky-FSN announcers. They are a local joke too.

Rox Girl over at The Purple Row has an article up listing the possible and likely holes for each of the NL West teams heading into the 2008 season (rosters as is). Amusingly, she fails to analyze the Giants as she explains they just have too many holes. She lists as likely holes for the Dodgers CF and RF and possible holes as 3B, SS and the bench. She also thinks that the Rockies have the most starting pitching depth of any team in the NL West. I guess that's debateable depending on the health of Schmidt and Guo.
vr, Xei

The part where he explains the layers of editing that keep him from being as big a fool as he's capable of being, in the paper, makes me wonder: How many Hitler jokes do you suppose his editors have had to spike?

And the "Some of my best friends are Jews," bit makes it art.

On the subject of age 40 and its discontents, there's a story told of how the stage entrepreneur Billy Rose once commissioned several short compositions from famous contemporary composers as background for one of his extravaganzas. One of these composers was Igor Stravinsky. Once Rose discovered what he had gotten himself into, he wired Stravinsky thusly: "Your composition wonderful success. Would be stupendous success if you would allow me to re-orchestrate it." Stravinsky wired back, "Am satisfied with wonderful success."

If you can manage it, this would be a useful philosophy to adopt.

38 - The idea that you can show your tolerance resume and thus explain away racism is just absurd. That said, his joke isn't racist in the slightest, just in very poor taste. If he was smart he would have just apologized for the poor choice of words and moved on. Then, if he was smart he wouldn't have gotten into an email war in the first place.

37: The trouble with that debate is that the subject would have to be "Resolved: That Jason Schmidt Will Be Healthy."

Strange night in the NBA's western conference with the Spurs, Mavericks AND Suns all taking a beating.
vr, Xei

if any team figures to get out in front on this eventually, it's Rawitch's

Not sure I follow this. Outside looking in, it seems to me that Blez at Athletics Nation is more likely to get access than anyone covering the Dodgers.

42
The Warriors play the same style as the Suns and the Suns lack of depth hurts them when they play teams like that.

38 Watch, now he's going to invite his Jewish exterminator to dinner at a restaurant where he knows his bosses will be eating just to prove a point.

LA Times said the Dodgers contacted Tony Clark's agent (presumably to pinch hit).

46
So I guess we are trying to replace Mark Sweeney? I still think we should give Delwyn the job.

BTW, it took me so long to read through everyone's responses to the last thread that I didn't even get the chance to get LATed.

First of all, you guys make me feel young :) That being said, I guess I'm lucky in the sense that I've never been all that ambitious in life so I've never put the pressure on myself to shoot for lofty goals. I never really liked school all that much, but I was smart enough to get by with the bare minimum and score myself an engineering degree. I originally wanted to be an orthodontist, but once I realized it took 10 years of schooling, I settled for the career path that would take the least schooling while still achieving a pretty comfortable life.

Nowadays, I don't work all that much, make pretty decent money, and spend the rest of my time doing stuff that makes me happy (obsessing about the Dodgers, checking out tons of new music, watching lots of movies, etc.) I could make more money and challenge myself more by pursuing a more prestigious engineering job, but I don't think I would be nearly as happy. Nowadays my only real serious goal is to eventually achieve the domestic norm (wife, kids, house, and dogs) while still making enough to stay comfortable. If I have to give up my stress-free job to support my family - so be it, but I'd rather keep my current job and use the free time to be the best dad possible.

Sorry that this post was a bit self-indulgent, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that you're already living a life that I would be proud to call my own - a perfect family, a job doing what you love, and enough money to survive (though maybe not as much as you'd like). Things could always be better, but as long as you're fulfilling the basic pleasures of life I think you shouldn't be worrying much.

45- Whoa.....true to your name on that one...

49 Someone doesn't watch enough Seinfeld ;)

Jon, just read the last thread. One of your best posts ever. Many others, especially Ratt, bhsports and Suffering Bruin, said it better than I ever could so I'll keep it short. I know it sounds trite, but just take one day at a time and try not to get too bogged down in grand expectations. When you lookup in ten years you will have accomplished more than you ever dreamed. One more thing, don't forget to tell your wife you love her.

I guess not....but as I run through the possible jokes involving the line I'm sure it was hilarious.

Byron Johnson, Byron Johnson, I have read baseball history for a long long time and I never saw him referred to as anyone but Ban Johnson.

Thanks N.Y. Times.

http://tinyurl.com/36zb8n

51 I'm sure he does, after each refresh, as he checks the net to make see that Ned has not made any trades in the last 45 minutes.

52 George comments that a co-worker of his looks exactly like Sugar Ray Leonard, at which point said co-worker accuses him of thinking all black people look the same. In true George (aka Larry David) fashion, he goes out of his way to prove that he's not racist. Unfortunately, the only black guy he even remotely knows is the exterminator who fumigated Jerry's apartment a while back. Ultimately, he convinces the guy to go out to dinner with him at a restaurant where he knows his co-worker will be to show that he's friendly to the black man.

For reference, the episode is "The Diplomat's Club" - season 6, episode 21

21-

Your goals of screenwriting aren't far fetched if you make it happen. I know that sounds so cheesy, but almost anything really is attainable, but some luck doesn't hurt ;)

So much of the problem with keeping in touch comes down to putting in the effort. I'm 26, but all of my best friends (we've been friends for anywhere from 12-20 years) still not only stay in touch, but hang out on a regular basis. I went to Cal State Long Beach, two of them went to Harvard, one went to USC, One went to Virginia, and one is now a professional juggler who spends his life travelling the globe (and he makes about 250K a year doing it...i can't stand him). But we all went out of our way during the college separation years to stay in touch as much as possible and it's worked out now that everyone has migrated back to LA.

The weirdest part is getting older. At 26, I'm by no means old and I'm not terrified of my 30's. I'm actually thinking that's the time where I'll really hit my stride as a man. But it's just so weird to think of how I made it to where I am, and how fast it is going to go from here. I'm a first year high school teacher and I'm dealing with retirement plans. How did that happen?

The key, at least for me, is to do as much in your life and be as good of a person as you possibly can. I've been lucky enough to hike with the reindeer in Sweden, see the ruins of Rome and Turkey, and sit under the Eiffel Tower with a loved one. Not everyone is lucky enough to be able to do all this, but it's so important to experience as much as possible while on this planet. I've learned very quickly that being a great teacher is tough, but being a great man is even harder. I hope to be both before I'm done...

Sorry about the off topic post, any news on trading Juan Pierre yet? ;)

"We've been talking about finding someone who could hit 20-25 home runs, but I think our first baseman (James Loney) and our right fielder (Matt Kemp) both might be able to do that right now, from what I saw from them the last month of the season."

Yeah!! (from LA Daily News)

That's Ned above.

Happy Birthday Jon. I dont write very often but I do visit your site daily. Thank you for your honesty. As many have already pointed out, many of us are in similiar boats on the same river of life. Your site here brings companionship for some many, and you have instigated that. I live in Heidelberg, Germany, so I dont have much of a chance to take part in dialogue about sports, and for sure not about the dodgers, whom I have followed since I was a child. So here, it gives me a chance to have a small taste of home. So thanks for what you have created and maintained here at Dodger Thoughts.

Jon, you got everyone of us to stop for a little while and reflect. Reflect on our lives, reflect on what we are doing to stay in touch with family and friends, reflect on our efforts to develop a few close friends, reflect on what kind of conversations we have with the people that we do have contact with, and reflect on how our goals might be changing after we reach the second half of our lives.

Most of us hide behind our masks, never sharing our condition, our dreams, our regrets and that hinders our ability to make acquaintences into close friends. In the end, the more we keep our lives simple and we take time for honest introspection we give ourselves a chance to evolve and better understand what we might be trying to accomplish in this lifetime.

Thanks for the thread.

Repko could be the best centerfield option the Dodgers have but I wouldn't want to play on the same field with him. So far he has shown an inability to not hurt his teammates or himself. Put that screen up used for the Exhibition game with the BoSox in Dodger Stadium and Pierre would benefit.

43 - Okay, any team besides Oakland.

Sean Taylor has died.

Also from Josh Rawitch's e-mail to Dodger bloggers:

I've been meaning to do this for almost a year and it only seems fitting that I'm finally getting a chance to reach out on the 40th birthday of Jon Weisman, the "Godfather" of Dodger blogs. I've cc'd him here -- I'm sure he'll find this to be a momentous occasion in the world of blogging and he certainly deserves a lot of credit for helping our organization arrive at this point. What he has started has been copied (or attempted to be copied) by fans across the country in all sports and I think we're only scratching the surface on the way organizations that have a devoted following like ours communicate with their fans.

Hey Jon don't sweat it man, I've heard 40 is the new 30 plus you look very young for being 40.

65 - Huh? Jon's only 40?

64. And Jon worries he hasn't accomplished very much by 40. I guess I missed the email from the Dodgers when I turned 40 crediting me with heling the Dodgers and calling me the Godfather of anything.

63 Awful news.
With this and Darrent Williams, makes you wonder if it's safe to live as a defensive back in the NFL...

64 Sweet of Josh.
Jon Corleone, I am honored and grateful that you have invited me to your blog on the wedding day of your daughter.

61 well, it's been suggested here before I'm sure, but having Repko and Pierre out there together might not be such a bad idea, then. ;-)

67
But Jon (presumably) doesn't make (much) money off of DodgerThoughts, and certainly not enough to make him as wealthy as he would like to be.

I find it amusing that Conlin accuses the blogger of being a Met homer. His column doesn't get written if Rollins is not a Phillie.

66

Yep, he's a MAN!! He's 40!!!

The real question I think is whether, at 40, it's time to hang up "shiftyj"?

Maybe sub in "Jon Corleone"?

68
Jon,

You will probably have to put up with me calling you one of the following two names in perpetuity: Don Jon or Jon Corleone.

Sorry, but that is just too good.

"Don't ever take sides against the family. Ever."

=40, now, if you had a pony, you could ride him on your boat. :-)

I have to say, many's the day I feel like I'm like the hamster getting on the treadmill. But overall I still like what I do and love the group of people I work with... which in my experience counts for a LOT. If not for my immediate group of co-workers I would have left my current position long ago.

If 40 is the new 30 is 6 the new 2? 'Cause my almost 6 yo has definitely been stretching out his patience testing ability!

Prior is reportedly available... is he worth the risk, assuming the Dodgers don't have to give up any top line prospects?

Jon,

Thanks for the wonderfully honest post. It was challenging and empowering at the same time to read through what you have been struggling with. I am thankful for your thoughts...they definitely make me want to be a better person.

On that note: my wife and I are expecting our first child (a little earlier than planned). I am excited and scared all at the same time. I am not necessarily worried about parenthood, but it is the whole supporting a family in Southern California that scares me. A lot of extra luxuries will be getting ditched (satellite tv might be one of them), but I am still in the process of finding a vocation that can support my family. Sadly, teaching public high school would be a step up from where I am, but it is something I look forward to. Now I just need to get past the beast known as the CSET.

Thanks to all for your great comments in this blog. I don't know what I would do without this community.

75
I say that we should invest in Hiroki Kuroda, but that is only after hearing about him and not seeing him. Lowe and Loaiza will both be gone after this year with Penny and Schmidt following shortly thereafter. I say to sign Kuroda for 4/40.

No draft picks, no youngsters to trade, just money that we are (hopefully) saving by not spending nearly $100 mil on Torii Hunter.

59
Hey, I lived in Heidelberg in 1966 where every apartment for the service families is 6 stories high and they all look the same. My 1st day of school in 2nd grade I got lost walking home and wandered from apartment to apartment because they all looked the same.
I expect I embarrassed my Dad that day since he was an officer and on his 1st day his idiot son couldn't find his way home.

75 I thought Prior signed a 1 year contract just before the '07 season. Did he sign another contract?

This is a high risk guy. If he was a FA I think there are lots of teams that would love to offer him a contract with lots of incentives. He had such potential. I wonder what is left?

78 makes me want to cry. Seriously.

I don't know your dad, but I hope his compassion and concern for his "idiot son" obliterated any embarrassment he might've felt.

78 I have a friend who was an Air Force navigator assigned to England. One night he and his wife went to the theatre and when they went back to their car it wasn't there so they reported it to the police. The police called them a few days later to report that they found it. It was exactly 2 blocks from where he thought he left it. It had never been touched. At least you had an excuse, you were a 2nd grader.

Here's a link on what the Minnesota Star Tribune thinks they can get for Johan Santana from various teams.

http://www.startribune.com/twins/story/1574909.html

72
I think Jon takes a lot of money off the table by hanging onto shifty. I think a post about how it came about and how he refuses to part with it might give us even more insite into the Marlon Brando of Bloggers.

82

I love how most of the dream trades only include two players and the Twins' Dream Trade scenario with the Dodgers includes Kemp, Bills, and LaRoche

Come on!

84. Exactly! Or in the Halos case it involves an overpaid OF they don't need anymore and Ervin Santana whom they demoted to the minors. GREAT!! Ours still includes a potential 20-30HR 3B man and one of Kershaw and Billz.

80
I doubt if there was a ever a better father.

75 No. Reports were that he looked finished the last time he pitched. He's an NRI at best now.

87
Wouldn't that be premature since the reports were before the surgery to repair the problem. How is that any different then Jason Schmidt who "looked finished" the last time he took the mound before his surgery?

Dodger director of public relations and broadcasting Josh Rawitch is putting all Dodger bloggers on the PR department's what-can-we-do-for-you list.

Where did you find this tidbit? And is there a list of all Dodger bloggers?

vr, Xei

80

78 makes me want to cry. Seriously.

Seriously?

Hmmm, no mention this morning of Tony Clark's agent claiming that the LADs want to sign him, per the Times. Maybe we've all become jaded regarding agents pumping up their clients at the Dodgers expense? Unless he's willing to be the new Tomato, I can't explain what LA would do with him. But I read elsewhere that he wants more playing time.

91

More playing time? faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan-tastic

92

Memo to the uppers:

Lay off former Diamondbacks for the '07-'08 offseason.

93

Memo to self:

Don't overreact to hot stove rumors, especially for ancillary players.

and... no need to write three posts where one will suffice. This may eventually become one of the rules.

Can't understand why Texas would not be interested in Tony the Tiger. They have a huge hole at 1st base and the DH is either a washed up veteran in Sosa or a prospect who might very well be a AAAA player. I'd give Botts the at bats but it wouldn't hurt any to have Tony Clark as plan B for both DH and 1st base.

We can't use him since he will want to play more then Mark Sweeney. I'm a bit surprised we haven't made a play for Sweeney since he fits our needs to a tee. I'd rather have Lamb but I expect Lamb also wants to find a team where he is more then a spare part so they can find out together he's only valuable as a spare part.

90 - Yup. I'm an old softy. Becoming a father mushed me all up. Toilet paper commercials can get me weepy these days. It's pathetic, I know.

Anyone know what kind of stuff Kuroda has? His numbers look pretty nice.

If the Dodgers could sign him to the supposed 6 year, 20 million dollar contract, I would trade for Santana. In the NL he would be absolutely dominant and the pitching would be sick 1-5. It depends what you would have to give up, but Kershaw, an outfielder to replace Hunter (not Kemp) and another prospect in the Dewitt, Meloan, Hu range would be worth it.

97 I've read he has a 94mph fastball and 'plus command' on his breaking pitches but thats the extent of my knowledge.

Just read the Bill Conlin thing.

Staggering.

AZ Snakepit has some scouting info/links on Kuroda as does Lookout Landing.
vr, Xei

30
Pittsburgh has the #2 quarterback in the NFL, #2 Runningback in the NFL, the #1 Defense in the NFL, and are spreading their passing game amongst 2 very good TEs and 2 VERY good WR. The Steelers have always had a problem with playing down to lesser opponents and playing above better ones. i think i remember snapping the Pats 21 game win streak a coupe years ago.
So your prediction is not only possible but likely.

89 Also from Josh's e-mail:

And of course, if you know of any Dodger blogs that were not included here, please do let us know.

100 Has his newspaper commented on Conlin yet? Suspended? Fired?

103. Since you got the email, can you pass that along? Thanks.
vr, Xei

Is Conlin mentally ill? I can't see any other excuse for his responses. Maybe he's on a new medication, or needs to be. Or having a bored flunky intern read and respond to his email? Maybe that's it.

Otherwise, entirely unprofessional.

What's the deal with all papers called Daily News? All the ones I'm familiar with are generally quite bad these days. Is there a connection or is that just a coincidence?

104 - Deadspin has been following this story closely (of course). Here's the closest thing to a comment from the paper:

http://www.phillymag.com/blogs/philly/2007/11/26/bill-conlins-internet-hell/

Daily News Sports editor Pat McLoone said any kind of blowback or punishment levied against Conlin would be a personnel matter that he wouldn't comment on. But he did say Conlin was in the wrong, and that he has responded to "10 or 12 e-mailers" upset by the comments.

91 92

He did hit that MOSTER SHOT at Dodger Stadium during the season (CF almost cleared the stadium) but I doubt the Dodgers will sign him specially if he wants more playing time.

91 Why not, we need another professional pinch hitter this year, and Clark is certainly better than Sweeney or Olmedo. Even with Delwyn we only have four bench players.

Delwyn and Clark are both switch hitters right?
Sweeney's a lefty... Hmm, I wonder - how is Clark as a lefty vs. as a righty. I think he's better overall, but if he wants to play more than he did, then he might not be a fit. I think Sweeney and DY would be fine bench/pinch hitters.

Shouldn't Delwyn go down to Vegas to play in the OF everyday? Is he out of options already?

107 From up here on Mt. Pilot, it seems like this is a paradigmatic episode. The short version is: Reporters can dish it out but they sure can't take it. They really can't take it. Sometimes, they go insane in the face of criticism.

Think of all the times reporters have ruined someone's career because of an ill-considered, intemperate quote from the person, given at a high-stress moment in which they revealed some ugliness in their soul. Now, because of the blogosphere, the hunter has become the hunted. Conlin vented a murderous ugliness in his soul, and now (a brief pause for crocodile tears), his entire career will be defined by it.

110 Does Clark want to try second base? Center field?

109
It is not a case of not wanting Clark but why would he come here when he knows he will only be a pinch hitter, when he should be able to get a gig that nets him at least 250 at bats somewhere.

91 -94

I think the only thing that bothered me was Clark's desire for more playing time. He seems to be ideal for a PH role, but if he wants to be a starter, the Dodgers are not an ideal fit for him. The numbers, brought to you by "Hall of Scrubs," indicate 17 HRs, a .500+ slugging pct, and a 103 OPS+

OBP is very low at .300 . Not sure what to make of that.

BA comes out with the Dodgers Top 10 next Tuesday. The first two spots are a lock:

1. Clayton Kershaw
2. Andy LaRoche

The rest is tough to call. Will be interesting.

I think the Dodgers are sending out the signals with increasing frequency that Kemp, Bills and Kershaw are untouchable. I could see trading LaRouche, but who would replace him? (God forbid it be Nomar.)

Now if the Twins want Juan Pierre, D. Young or Ethier, and a pitching prospect not named Kershaw, we could have a deal.

116 I agree with those two. Hu has to figure somewhere in the top ten, as do McDonald & Meloan. That could be your top five right there.

I would take a Tony Clark. He seems to have a good attitude and the D-Backs young guys have talked about how much he helped them out. Maybe Torre can find him 200+ at bats somehwere in between playing some outfield, first base, DH in interleague play and pinch hitting. Kind of an interesting player for me.

Happy belated birthday Jon.

Let's see, a vet and great clubhouse guy who is leaving the D'Backs becasue he wants more playing time. Where have I heard this before?

116 My guess.

1. Clayton Kershaw LHP
2. Andy LaRoche 3B
3. Jonathan Meloan RHP
4. James McDonald RHP
5. Chin-Lung Hu SS
6. Josh Bell 3B
7. Tony Abreu 2B
8. Scott Elbert LHP
9. Andrew Lambo 1B/3B
10. Pedro Baez 3B/Austin Gallagher 1B/3B

121 yeah but the idea behind getting Clark is that there is an understanding that he is a backup and not a starter. Gonzo was signed to be the everyday left fielder.

122 Sounds about right. Is Abreu still considered a prospect? I guess he is, just seems weird seeing him on a prospect list. I wonder if they'll have Mattingly over Lambo? (Though I agree with you...)

123 Exactly, no team would want Clark as more than the bad half of a platoon, so he won't be able to find that play time elsewhere.

124 Abreu no longer counts as a prospect.

124 Good point, Abreu is not a prospect anymore.

So I might move everyone else up, a lot depends on the medical reports re Elbert, but lets go ahead and add Ivan Dejesus in the mix too.

Sorry ToyCannon, I always forget DeJesus.

So I'd guess either Mattingly would make the list in place of Abreu, somewhere... Otherwise, who? Lucas May? Another pitcher? Would Bryan Morris still merit a high spot, despite his injury/recovery status... ?

Oh, and Ivan DeJesus, too. :-)

And three hard-boiled eggs. {honk!}

128 I think Xavier Paul would make it before Mattingly.

Chris Withrow....just based on the fact that basically every first round pitcher drafted by White ends up doing well in the minors.

Withrow! Right. And maybe my personal favorite James Adkins. ;-)

This, from the LA Times Colletti story, doesn't quite make sense:

The Dodgers have approached the Baltimore Orioles about left-hander Erik Bedard, but those talks have stalled, according to a baseball source. The Orioles are waiting to see the outcome of the Dodgers' pursuit of Cabrera because the players they want for Bedard could be the same players that the Marlins are seeking in exchange for Cabrera.

Why would the Orioles be waiting? If there's a Dodger player they want badly enough, I would think they would be more aggressive, not less.

This could be just a case of bad writing. Maybe Hernandez meant to say the Dodgers had put the Orioles on hold pending the Cabrera talks' outcome. Maybe the Cabrera talks affect whether the Dodgers would want to expand the deal to include Tejada.

Steve Henson on the Padres' plan for success: "The Padres are accustomed to contending for the NL West title year in and year out, counting on payroll bungling by the Dodgers and miscalculations by the Giants and Diamondbacks to maintain an even playing field. Now, however, there is a new team to contend with, the rising Colorado Rockies."

Gee, maybe we won't bungle this year.

131 I thought about that but that would be purely speculation by BA since he barely pitched in the GCL.

132 To be fair, he pitched well in limited appearances in the Midwest League, averaging better than a strikeout per inning pitched and having a WHIP barely over 1. Bypassing both short-season leagues to go to Low-A ball and still pitching well after a full college season is a nice year. Sure, he may not have a high ceiling but I will be watching to see what he does when he goes back to the Midwest League next season.

134 Maybe they should worry about finding someone who can protect a lead in the 9th inning. (Twice).

133 I'd like to think it's because doing the worst thing possible is just the Oriole way.

Sure, he may not have a high ceiling but I will be watching to see what he does when he goes back to the Midwest League next season.

He only pitched in 1-2-3 inning stints. Its easier to acquire higher K rates when going in short spurts like that. Also, the Dodgers will probably be aggressive with him. Him and Sexton will probably start out at Inland Empire...Jacksonville would be a bit of a surprise but not a total shock for me.

136 Sadly, they already have three guys who can do that.

133

Bedard is sexy but man, we really aren't in a position to give up mlb ready position prospects for a pitcher.

If the request was something like Hu/McDonald/Meloan and maybe someone lower like Bell, I would think about it though.

Hu/McDonald/Meloan is a really good package. Its not as sexy as something like Kershaw/Laroche but sexy players like that don't often get traded :)

I am saying sexy too much today.

140 You do know that until Kershaw pitches his first game in Dodger Stadium (and then maybe after that) he will be the name always mentioned in any trade talks with the Dodgers.

It does surprise me in a way how Broxton gets overlooked, I mean this guy is young but experienced, could certainly close for any team and he is still cheap.

142 I read your coach maybe at practice today.

Orioles trade Miggy to Angels for Wood and Saunders.

Plug Wood at 3b and Saunders in the rotation.

Orioles trade Bedard for Hu/McDonald/Meloan.

Plug Hu at SS, Meloan in the back of the bullpen and McDonald for a midseason callup.

Those are pretty good steps into the rebuilding process.

142 Have you ever heard of the band Right Said Fred?

144

One of my buddies is a sports photographer for the school newspaper and he just informed that theres a bball press conference at 3 today (MT).

So, who knows.

146

They have that one song...thats about it.

142 Supreme is a good word to use as a substitute.

Orioles should also trade Brian Roberts and Melvin Mora if they really want to rebuild.

Dear Tony Jackson,
Don't blog too hard or anything!

signed,
Underdog

Bruce Feldman, an ESPN Insider, reports that if (or when) UCLA loses this week to USC, he will be fired and that two coaches are very interested, one is Mike Leach and the other, Norm Chow.

151 Maybe Jon has an idea but baseball beat writers probably have lots of time off stored since they work from the middle of February through September without many days off.

CHONE Bedard forecast

29 GS, 176IP, 162H, 16hr, 63bb, 181K, 3.58era

Thats in the AL EAST though.

152
Norm Chow would look at UCLA's receivers and say, "You expect these guys to catch anything?"

155
The only thing I worry about with Chow is that he reportedly hates recruiting.

153 Oh of course... but one or two blog entries per month can't be too much to ask. I guess he rightly knows there are other bloggers (like DT) to pick up the slack, but still...
Maybe he's in Bermuda or something.

157
Jackson probably put the most hours in of any of the beat writers covering the Dodgers this year. He covered nearly every game and blogged throughout the year.

He's probably taking time off before the winter meetings start.

Even the players sometimes get more of a break than the writers. I've asked my brother if he ever wanted to be a baseball beat writer and he put that at the end of the list of things he'd ever want to do. He'd like to see his family sometime.

155 He'd probably look at the entire offensive unit and say do you think these guys could ever score a touchdown.

156 Recruiting is really mostly an assistant's task with the head coach making the sale at the end. The one thing is how much of the current defensive staff would stick around. But from an offensive side of the ball recruit's perception, they would have to be pretty excited about this potential move.

38 And the "Some of my best friends are Jews," bit makes it art.

40 The idea that you can show your tolerance resume and thus explain away racism is just absurd.

Absurd? Why would a person's history of anti-racism not count for anything, while his present perceived racism counts for everything? All you are saying is that the present matters and the past does not. Which is simply an argument against time itself. Absurd.

Mock it, but he does have a record of anti-bigotry. His coming out against "The Cross and the Flag"...in '61, before such a stand was required, and Marge Schott, means something. His opinion that that Hitler did nothing good, means something.

Though always ridiculed, I would say the Jewish-friend argument means something as well...at least as an indication that a person judges people on an individual basis.

So, that's 3 points for Conlin Tolerance. 0 for Conlin Bigotry.

Do you find it interesting that nobody has reported "Such and Such team is interested in Luis Gonzalez?"

160
Aren't you the same joker who made the unbelievably rude and insensitive comment the other day about a tragic event that was the top story here on DT a week or so ago?

Who are you to lecture anyone? Please.

The silence is deafening on the Rowand/Jones front. Last year Soriano and Lee signed days apart. If the Yankees deal Melky to Minnesota I would expect them to snap up one of the two right away.

Gammons says he expects Cabrera to be an Angel by next week.

160
I'm not sure that I agree. I would like to know what he meant by "...eliminating all bloggers." Why not say that he would have eliminated all blogs or blogging. One can only assume that his words, though probably not meant literally, show a tacit lack of writing/reading comprehension.

How did he think that would be read. Not sure Hitler would have sent an email demanding that bloggers desist.

I don't mean to say that he is necessarily a bad or racist guy, but you have to be held responsible for what comes out of your mouth no matter what you meant by it.

He did not apologize for the statement, and that speaks volumes to me.

164
Is there a link to that?

160 - You are correct in substance and wrong in the particulars. "Some of my best friends are [fill in the blank]" is just one of those phrases that is off the table even if in fact it may be true. You can't justify a comment made in poor taste by demonstrating how open-minded you are. Why is it significant that your friends are X? It doesn't change the essential error of that moment.

That doesn't mean that Conlin is a racist or an anti-Semite (in the KKK sense of things), but that comment was incredibly thoughtless and either betrays a person going for maximum hurtfulness or someone who is truly indifferent to what Hitler might mean to people. Either way he was wrong. On the scoreboard of say something nice or not at all he can't cover the spread.

164 - for the sake of both LA teams, I hope that's true.

164 College football coaching rumor #1006, Arkansas going after Lane Kiffin.

169
When Bo Pelini goes to Nebraska and Les Miles goes to Michigan, I wonder who LSU will go after.

LSU has done a good job finding underrated coaches at mid-major universities (Michigan State and Oklahoma State).

160 - As I pointed out, I don't think it is a racist comment, just an extremely poor choice of words. In cases of real racism (Michael Richards for example) your resume of having black friends or supporting the Anti-Defamation League doesn't mean anything, a little leaven leavens the whole loaf. In essence, as unfair as it sounds, you are as bigoted as your worst moment of bigotry. All you can do is apologize and try to make amends, anything else sounds like your past tolerance earned you a "get out of jail free card" on your instance of bigotry.

That said, Conlin is an idiot, not a bigot. Hitler stands for unfettered violence and evil more than antisemitism (in my mind anyway).

166
He said it on ESPN.

169
He is a Raider and he is going to stay a Raider.

This news item is not as much fun as trade and FA rumors - but the Boston Globe has provided some details on the latest Dodger acquisition. The Dodgers have hired an ex-dentist from Boston to plan & manage the celebration of the team's 50th year in L.A.

Boston.com
By Carol Beggy & Mark Shanahan, Globe Staff / November 27, 2007

LA Lures Steinberg
It appears Dr. Charles Steinberg's stay on Yawkey Way is coming to a close and he's heading to Los Angeles to help the Dodgers mark 50 years in the City of Angels next season. League sources told the Globe's Gordon Edes that owners Frank and Jamie McCourt offered Steinberg a front office job orchestrating the celebration while the Sox marketing magician was in LA for the Thanksgiving holiday as their guest. A dentist by trade, Steinberg arrived in Boston after John Henry bought the team in 2002, and quickly established himself as the P.T. Barnum of the BoSox organization, crafting the pre- and post-game flourishes that have become common at Fenway in recent years. (Who can forget the dramatic Opening Day ceremony in '05? Or the Ted Williams memorial service?) Steinberg, who did some consulting for the Dodgers last season, could not be reached yesterday.

171
I like the way my grandma used to put your leaven example:

A spoonful of wine in a barrel of sewage is...sewage.
A spoonful of sewage in a barrel wine is...sewage.

Curious if folks think the DVD set of My So Called Life would be appropriate for a smart, mature LA girl age 13, also my niece? I'm tempted, and I think she'd dig it, but I keep holding back thinking it's too mature?

162 I am a Jew and I am sure that other members of this site are Jewish as well. In my personal Jewish opinion, what Conlin wrote was at most just a bad analogy. If people are really so blinded to not regard Conlins right to defend himself, that is irresponsible. Argue about baseball stats and players all you want between people, but Conlin has a right to defend himself if people are accusing him of bigotry. That defense of himself should include his past regarding civil rights which is obviously well documented.

175 Yes, if she's smart and mature, I'd say go for it. I was smart and immature in my 20s and liked it ;-) but my sister's students (middle school) liked it a lot not that long ago and even if the issues are sometimes "mature" it's much less than any of them have probably seen or heard about already.

176 I don't really want to get into this discussion much further, but while you make fair points, the main point with Conlin was that his defense was feeble and mean-spirited, and he made a badly chosen analogy. It was entirely unprofessional and, I think, indefensible. He also has a long history of purposely making people angry. Read the rest of that blog's thread and do a google search on him to see what people think of the guy. So his rights are one thing. What is literally right is quite another.

Anyhoo.

A really interesting interview with Theo Epstein on Yahoo Sports. Some great quotes.

"Never prioritize one year over the future," Epstein said, a phrase of which he's rather fond.

http://tinyurl.com/2z8g7z

By the way, welcome to the Bruins, Kendall Williams!

179 Did you welcome Taylor King too? :)

179 Cool. Another PG from Cucamonga!

Btw, UCSB at UNLV tonight. Should be a good one. UNLV looking for revenge for last year's game.

177 I don't want to get into it either. I am here to talk and read baseball. I read the whole correspondence between the two and sure Conlin can be called mean spirited, but he always has the right to defend himself against such heinous accusations as bigotry, racism, etc. Plus this was a private email dialogue between two people and it seems kind of childish of the blogger to post their correspondence to the public.

had that dyslexically - it's UNLV at UCSB, rather.

182 Indeed. But more childish than all of Conlin's responses?

Anyway, onwards and upwards...

181
Too bad I have no way of watching it.

175 agreed that if you think she's mature to handle it then it go for it. i remember the girls in my high school loved that show and some still worship jared leto to this day. i'd probably check with her parents also to see if they're cool with it.

170 in the true sense of the mid major label, michigan state and oklahoma state don't really fit it, they're both part of major conferences. sorry i'm an oklahoma state grad and fan, so i had to comment. if you would have said usually crappy football schools, then i would have agreed with you completely.

176 Anti-semitic, no. But wishing for mass deportation and murder of sports bloggers just because they annoy him? That at least calls for a suspension. Rather than trotting out his best friends in the Jewish community, perhaps Conlin would be better served by identifying best friends who are pacifists.

Conlin's a dope who will not be around professionally much longer. Let him write for two more years or whatever and then go away. No one will miss him.

The IRS may want to talk to him though.

185 go to www.BigWest.TV! "Only" 4 or 5 bucks per game to watch online (well, I'm tempted, anyway...)

UCSB fans and alums will also enjoy this article:
http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/11/27/ucsb-needs-to-revive-tradition/

153 If you're not a baseball fan who lives it and breathes it every day of the year, you're in the wrong business. Tell Tony there's 10 million guys who would be glad to do his job and consider the paycheck every week as gravy.

178-

Here's another one from Epstein:

"You start planning for a season three or four years in advance. That was the case this time. The decisions you make over the course of a long period effect the upcoming season. We're always thinking about this one."

Does anyone believe the Dodgers are committed to this sort of planning and process?

Do the Dodgers have a statistical guru of Bill James' ilk on staff? If not, why? Are they too insecure to cope?

Would Torre countenance the statistical input that Little resisted when he managed the Red Sox?

Am not a Red Sox fan, but I greatly respect their devotion to intelligent process. One can hope that McCourt attempts to implement a similar philosophy here. Another thing the Red Sox do well is leverage their financial advantages on the amateur market, something the Dodgers should be doing.

190 Really, going to 162 games plus exhibitions, on the road half the time, having to deal with people who may or may not want to talk to that day plus with all the access and other coverage, having to come up with 200-250 stories plus blogging.

Sure, its sounds fun but it is hard, the pay isn't that great considering all the time you put into it.

191 And yet they signed Julio Lugo.

189
UCSB is very anti-fun and partying now. In fact, the first thing they did during our orientation was make us go a lecture where we were told how UCSB no longer wants to considered a party school and only wants to be known as a great academic school and they are going to help with the police in cracking down on partying.

We had to get padded down just to enter the Thunderdome half the time.

182 "it seems kind of childish of the blogger to post their correspondence to the public."

Just want to register my disagreement with this part of what you said. Conlin's a public figure, and was writing to the blogger in his public role. Why should the blogger protect him?

This is what I was referring to earlier as the paradigmatic aspect of this episode. Like many powerful industries, the media is not used to transparency, but the blogosphere is providing it anyway. Lots of examples from the non-sports world out there. Things are changing, and the rules are catching up.

But given how much people here are convinced that baseball decisions are influenced by the media, holding the media accountable seems entirely appropriate. If one of you got an e-mail from Bill Plaschke saying something of this nature, would you sit on it out of concern for appearing childish? What if it cast doubt on his judgment, credibility or integrity, as some might argue Conlin's remark does?

If this blogger got a nasty e-mail like that from his sister and put it on his blog, that would be a breach. But Conlin was corresponding with him in his role as a reporter representing the newspaper. Totally fair game to use it.

194 I can totally understand them trying to cut down a bit on the partying rep - it did get out of hand, to crazy degree. But banning tortillas!? They've gone too far. The Thunderdome needs to get its thunder back.

Is Halloween less crazy now than it was a few years ago? Somewhere between totally dead and the out of control chaos would probably be a nice medium...

195 I agree 100%.

The thing that is so remarkable is that Conlin is so "old school" in his disdain for blogs that he truly doesn't seem to understand them at all, or how important they can be. Any professional sportswriter these days, no matter what their age, needs to maintain a professional tone in their responses to the public. They represent the newspaper. I'm sure the whole thing made the paper's PR people cry into their hoagies.

I wouldn't say it was childish, and it's certainly a customary practice, but re-publishing somebody else's email does violate his copyright, unless the sender agrees to permit it. If Conlin said, "Go ahead, run my hilarious Hitler crack," he's even more crazy.

190 Have you actually tried writing something pertinent about baseball day in and day out? It's not easy.

190 - It's absolutely a grind, no matter how big a fan you are. The only way the paycheck could be gravy is if you were independently wealthy.

194

trainwreck, are you still going to UCSB right now? I must be located only 3000 feet from you!

I was considering going to tonight's game, but that article kinda tempered the mood =(

--

TC: Halloween in IV/UCSB hasn't changed any. You can take the students out of the party, but you can't take the party out of the students. 219 arrests this year!

Have you actually tried writing something pertinent about baseball day in and day out?

No.

200 Or if your newspaper subsidized your housing.

2nd half of 201 was for underdog, not TC.

Dodger Vice President and Assistant General Manager Kim Ng was named to the Young Leaders Forum for the National Committee on United States-China relations and departed yesterday for a three-and-a-half day retreat in Nanjing, China.

"I'm humbled and honored to make a trip like this on behalf of our country and the Dodger organization," said Ng of her first trip to China. "Given my heritage, this forum takes on an even greater meaning for me and I'm truly looking forward to the opportunity to exchange ideas and learn from the other fellows."

The Young Leaders Forum (YLF) is now in its sixth year and provides an opportunity to enhance the dialogue between the two countries and build lasting economic, geopolitical and cultural ties among the people of both nations. The U.S. and China will each send 20 fellows to participate in the retreat, where they will explore substantive issues and develop enduring friendships.

YLF fellows serve for at least two years and come from a variety of fields. Among those joining Ng on the trip are NASA astronaut Christopher J. Cassidy, co-founder of Flickr.com Caterina Fake and the House Majority Leader for the state of Minnesota, Erik Paulsen.

205 Love that!

Jon -- any react to my My So Called Life question?

It's been so long since I saw it, I'm trying to remember how explicitly it deals with drugs and sex and such.

My niece is 13 and I think she'd be fine to watch it. I guess I'd ask her parents first, now that you've gotten me worried. Rayanne's a pretty heavy-duty partier, but I think all the needed context is there.

187 Anti-semitic, no. But wishing for mass deportation and murder of sports bloggers just because they annoy him? That at least calls for a suspension.

In a 1984 world or a Mary K luncheon for sure.

In a rational world, either a chuckle or a roll of the eyes, depending on your sense of humor. Hopefull the latter.

Thx.

197 195 I guess it is a matter of opinion on what you view as public domain, but as a blogger of baseball I would feel responsible for reporting how and why we disagree on the stats that were interpreted to choose the MVP. As far as the parts where Conlin becomes insulting, that has nothing to do with what I want to read about.

197 I do agree, but this was certainly a case of poking the bear then getting surprised when you lose a finger. Anyone that sends an a columnist a link to an FJM article is not interested starting a rational discourse.

206 {cry} I guess my opinion 177 doesn't matter to SamDC {boo hoo} Just teasing...

201 Woo hoo. I grew up there, didn't go to school there, but I did experience a few Halloweens. They were memorable, though I have no desire to go back, now that I'll soon be 38+1. ;-)

It is a grind just to watch for 3 hours every day all season like me, no matter how much you love it. Nevermind all of the other stuff that goes along with Tony's job. He can keep the job, most of the people he has to deal with all day are probably jerks anyway.

205 - That was from a Dodger press release, by the way.

212 I seek the wisdom of crowds.

If I could Ask the Audience, I would!

201
Left about a year ago. Back in Bay Area now.

196
Halloween was less and less crazy each year I was there. And it is nothing compared to when you experienced it I am sure, because there was no police office inside of IV.

New Ned Colletti interview on a NY Daily News blog here:
http://tinyurl.com/3d7hn6

Haven't read it all yet, but it concludes with this:

9. Complete this sentence: The Dodgers will be successful in 2008 because…

NC: That's a great question. The Dodgers will be successful in 2008 because their younger players will continue to improve and the veteran players' desire to win will meld with the younger players' improvement, their knowledge of what it takes to win and improving under Joe's leadership.

long time troller first time poster.

Here is a good interview with Ned...not sure if its been posted already. If so apologies a head of time

http://tinyurl.com/3d7hn6

oh beat me to it by 4 seconds!

217 218
Synchronicity

216

I think our society in general is slowly taking all the fun out of everything. Perhaps that's just me being 24+1?

217/218 - Once again, TinyURL in conservation mode.

221
I'm 40+1 and I've been no fun since I was 2-1.

217
I like when he said we add Pierre's speed and Furcal's ability to play the game.

I was at UCSB during it's glory days of basketball prowess. We started the whole Thunderdome experience. In the mid to late 80s UCSB had some pretty good teams, and was always a thorn in the side of UNLV. There was this guy named Gaucho Joe (probably a drunk surfer) who would get the fans/students in a frenzy during time-outs, spelling U-C-S-B with his arms and torso. The best games were of course when Tarkanian brought his Runnin Rebels into town. Gaucho Joe had a prop that we called "Tark On A Stick", which was a stick with a bald head on it with a towel crammed into it's mouth. I'm not sure what Tark thought of it. One year UNLV only had two losses, both were at the hands of the Gauchos. When the UNLV players showed up for games, most of the players already had wives and babies. For some reason I found that odd, but I shouldn't have. vr, Xei

I like that his response to "What is standing between the Los Angeles Dodgers and a world championship?" ends with "It's not like we're sitting in the LCS or something."

219 Add another term to the DT dictionary -- A comment is "mutilated" when it comes less than five seconds after another offering the same information.

224
Thats really the only negative part about the interview I think. Ned seems to kind of have a plan for this year which is more then we can say of him last year. I guess thats progress.

What concerns me more is that all the New York and Boston papers are getting most of their information from Ned and Mr. McCourt where as the LA Papers are just using info we've already heard before. I hope I don't have to start reading the New York Daily News to get my Dodger updates.

219 Sorry to have preemptively rained on your debut!

In one of the questions he states, "... picking up Takashi Saito ... might have been the best signing out of the Asian market to date."

Um, Ichiro? Hideki Matsui? Maybe best in terms of bang for the buck since Saito is at a tremendous bargain of a salary.

I also like Ned asking if this is a Johan Santana question.

Hah hah. Not to kick this dead horse again since Tony Jackson's long vacation was basically justified well to me, but it's funny, on the heels of that, to read the NY Daily News' blogger starting off with: "Technically, I'm still on vacation, which is why you're not seeing any analysis (not that there have been many moves) until I really return to work on Thursday."... ahem! 228 Yeah, I'm wondering about that, too - why is there more pertinent coverage out of Boston and NY recently than the LA papers... hopefully just a temporary thing.

228 - Like it or not Pierre is on the roster, Ned would be foolish not to mention him positively. If he wants to trade him then why advertise his lack of value and if he is staying then why kill his morale?

229 Saito has been far better than Matsui in his first two years. An elite closer is far more valuable than a good outfielder with questionable defensive ability. I'd say he's actually been pretty close to Ichiro so far, it's not that far out of a statement.

232
He could be talking about him positively to raise his trade value?

ah nope...thats a pipe dream

233 - I think the big thing is that Saito cost nothing and there was no competition for him. He was money for nothing, a gift from the gods, Colletti's best move (it would be most GMs best move) and I doubt even he takes much credit. Ichiro and Matsui were known elements, Saito is magic.

I just found it funny that mentioned a specific attribute of Pierre's, but then says Furcal's ability to play the game.

Doesn't everyone in baseball have the ability to play the game?

236 - Furcal is good at every element of the game though. He can run, throw, hit for decent average and power and field. That is the ability to play the game.

235
It is quite unbelievable how lucky we have been to have Gagne and Saito back to back (I'm ignoring the Baez debacle). Dominance and personality in two closers that both came out of nowhere to do their jobs.

I find it funny that the Boston Globe and the NY Daily News has had interviews with McCourt and Colletti in the last few days.

It does appear that the Dodgers are trying out the theme of that they will keep the kids in the media and perhaps have it sweep nationally first so the local types will have nothing to gain by shutting it down later.

238 Spurrier to coach LSU, how will that play?

240 Is that real?

240
It won't. I could see them going after someone like Jeff Tedford or Rich Rodriguez first.

Having to go for a Florida retread would just be too much for their pride.

241 As real as any coaching rumor. BTW, have you shown your daughter the dvd of Anne of Green Gables '80s version.

I have now decided that I can't stand the new guy on ESPN 710 at 4:00 p.m. I can't believe I am writing the next few words, Petros is much better.

239
I can see that as a possibility. I'd also like to think this nation sweep of "keeping the kids" interviews is a slap in the face towards Ken Rosenthal.

228 What concerns me more is that all the New York and Boston papers are getting most of their information from Ned and Mr. McCourt where as the LA Papers are just using info we've already heard before.

Yes, and for that reason I found this part interesting:

>> But when the phone rings for an interview, <<

It seems someone was calling him or returning his call. I can't imagine anyone in the Dodgers organization calling T.J. Simers for an interview. When you employ "so-called" reporters who constantly ridicule the team owner and his wife this is what you can expect. I don't blame the McCourts. I can understand why The National Inqirer would employ someone like Simers. I just don't understand why a newspaper such as the Los Angeles Times thinks his type of sports reporting is a good thing.

At least the Dodgers are still talking to Dylan Hernandez. But I noticed a few weeks ago that Plaschke was upset because his calls were not immediately returned. Maybe he has to go through Lasorda.

246 - I think you're taking that too literally. The interview would be arranged through the PR department, and who dials the phone number is irrelevant. It doesn't indicate that the Dodgers requested the interview.

247 - My point being, the Dodgers might or might not seek an interview with Simers, but they return his calls - in addition to talking to him when he comes by. Except when they don't :)

I think it's possible the Dodgers are targeting East Coast Media, but more likely, the Dodgers are a more interesting story on the East because of a) Torre and b) their constant mention in trade rumors.

When the UNLV players showed up for games, most of the players already had wives and babies.

That happens at BYU too.

mlbtraderumors is saying that the Yanks/Twins are discussing Santana for Kennedy and Cabrera. Obviously it's just a rumor..but really, Santana for those two? Couldn't we put together some sort of offer like Elbert/Hu/Meloan for Santana to see if they bite?

247 246 - I think you're taking that too literally.

That's possible. I've never actually worked in the media so you would have far better insight there. I'm actually a retired computer programmer so I'm out of my league.

250
No way the Twins give him up for that.

250 - We can, but they probably won't bite, just like they won't bite at that Kennedy Cabrera combo.

You say, "Obviously, it's just a rumor," but you don't really mean it. You're giving it credibility by trying to come up with a better offer, even though you know on its face that the rumor is absurd.

Part of what frustrates me about Simers is that he belongs on the gossip pages, not the sports pages. I don't know if it's because he really doesn't know his sports, so he just make everything about himself instead. His contentious relationship makes it impossible for a sportsperson or team owner to have a meaningful conversation with him--you have no idea how it'll come out on the papers. This negates his value as a "journalist."

One time I wrote him to express frustration with his take on something, and his basic response was "well that's why I have a column and you don't." Oh, and his big kicker was "I just got a raise so I must be right." There's logic for ya.

I thought Kennedy and Cabrera were the best players ever. Aside from Joba and Hughes of course.

253-

The rumor may not be absurd if Santana is holding the Twins hostage because of his no trade clause.

I'm not giving the rumor credibility, I'm just saying it's floating out there and that if it WERE true, we could come up with a better offer.

Again, the no trade clause is what I'm thinking about here...

To pass the time at work today I was thinking of scenarios that would bring Santana to L.A without giving up Kemp or Kershaw....here's what I've got....

Meloan
Young
LaRoche

Is it too much?....I don't see how the Twins say no...they have planty of pitching in their system, and need bats....LaRoche fills so many of their needs, and Young is just such a good hitter than any AL team hurting for run production would be able to find a place for him....Meloan could be groomed for Joe Nathan's possible departure....

I'd do it if I was the GM of either team...

P.S, could Ned then trade Pierre to Baltimore for Mel Mora, or Chi-town for Juan Uribe....

Thoughts?

256 - The rumor is absurd because regardless of Santana's contract situation, what the Yankees are offering is just not nearly enough. So of course the Dodgers could beat that.

258-

I agree that it's not nearly enough. BUT, if Santana had a "I'm only going to the Yanks" mentality then wouldn't the Twins either have to take less or just let him walk?

While we all know it's not nearly enough, we have seen GM's make moves that make less sense than that.

For what it's worth, and it may be worth nothing....I lived in Santana's home town of Merida in western Venezuela, and for whatever reason, everyone there was a Yankees fan....The rest of the country had a much more diverse taste in Major League squads...

a belated happy birthday and hearty congratulations to you, jon! i haven't read this thread or the last, but surely your evident fecundity must be some comfort, mitigating any sense of oldness, right? :)

When did I learn the meaning of the word "fecund?" It was in the title of a Hill Street Blues episode.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0601679/

Old friend "Choi Hee-seop" is in the news.

http://tinyurl.com/2fpf2a

The movie Firefox is on AMC right now. I remember being on vacation with my parents as a kid. My dad was reading Firefox. He kept talking about how good it was. At one point, when he was out or sleeping or something, I picked it up and started reading it. And it was so great. But then he wanted it back. But I wanted to keep reading it.

So he picked it up, and just went to his page, and ripped the book in half right there so we could both read! It was incredibly shocking. I just couldn't believe someone could do that to a book (even just a mass paperback). I still don't know quite what to make of it.

264
So they were discussing open source web browsers then?

We've really lost something spy novel wise what with the Cold War over.

266
John Le Carre still does a good job.

264 - There was a MASH episode along those lines. Maybe they stole the idea from your dad.

Regarding the Conlin flare up, it seems a lot of people are quick to crucify Conlin, but I think the blogger should get more flak for provoking Conlin in the first place. For as bad as Conlin handled the situation, the blogger's initial e-mail was equally inappropriate.

More generally, I sympathize with Conlin, and I can understand his aversion to blogs. The guy just received an e-mail that basically said, "I'm not going to bash your work on my blog since two other blogs, among others, have already done so." Basing an opinion about all blogs based on that e-mail is not smart, but I can understand where the frustration is coming from.

269 What the blogger did was give Conlin a chance to back up his column, but all he did instead was go on the defensive. He could have gone with the flawed "I watched him play every day and noticed the intangibles" and been done with it, but instead he flames the fires.

269
It's not what he did, it was how he did it.

244 My roommate said the same thing.

Dave Dameshek (or "Shek" as The Sports Guy always refers to him in his columns) used to do sports on Adam Carolla's morning show and I liked him, but I can see how having him do his own show wouldn't work out too well. I can't stand sports radio in general so I can't give much of my own opinion.

So if USC & UCLA can share the Rose Bowl as home stadium, will that lead to both schools being allowed to wear their colors in their annual contest?

http://tinyurl.com/3c7kl6

273
I saw that news and I am going to pretend I never read it, unless it actually happens.

[272-244]It will be very difficult for me to listen to 710 until they make some changes. Yuk!

I'm amused that Torii Hunter's Angel contract was agreed to at a Del Taco off the 91.

http://tinyurl.com/yqurzv

I hope Ned Colletti is meeting Scott Boras at In-N-Out tomorrow. Mmmmm. Andruw Jones, animal style.

273 I think that they used to do that before UCLA moved to the Rose Bowl.

276 FOOD FIGHT!

276 FOOD FIGHT!

276 FOOD FIGHT!

276 FOOD FIGHT!

Sorry, the button got stuck, but it kind of works.

277 It has to do with an NCAA rule that the road team must wear white uniforms (or something to that effect). If the penalty is less than forfeiture, I say the Bruins should sport the powder blue unis to go with the Trojans' cardinal. And what better way to test the rule than with UCLA as the road team? :)

283 I just looked up the NCAA rule. If a player does not comply with the uniform standards (i.e. UCLA not wearing white tops Saturday), the team will be charged a timeout and the player won't be allowed to play until he complies with the rule.

262 -- It's unusual -- for most people, I suspect -- to be able to remember the first time one heard a certain word, or where one saw it in print for the first time -- assuming that it wasn't recently. Yet reading your post, Jon, I immediately recalled my first encounter with the word "fecund." I first saw it in high school, over twenty years ago, in the first paragraph of the first essay I ever read by H.L. Mencken, who shortly thereafter became one of my favorite writers. From "In Memoriam: W.J.B.," written by Mencken after the death of William Jennings Bryan in 1925:

"Has it been duly marked by historians that William Jennings Bryan's last secular act on this globe of sin was to catch flies? A curious detail, and not without its sardonic overtones. He was the most sedulous fly-catcher in American history, and in many ways the most successful. His quarry, of course, was not Musca domestica, but Homo neandertalensis. For forty years he tracked it with coo and bellow, up and down the rustic backways of the Republic. Wherever the flambeaux of Chautauqua smoked and guttered, and the bilge of idealism ran in the veins, and Baptist pastors dammed the brooks with the sanctified, and men gathered who were weary and heavy laden, and their wives who were full of Peruna and as fecund as the shad (Alosa sapidissima), there the indefatigable Jennings set up his traps and spread his bait."

284
And as CajunDodger would point out to us, home teams can wear white as long as the visitors agree to wear dark colors.

So LSU almost always wears white unless the opposing coach is trying to play mind games with the team.

My friends who are USC fans hate the Rose Bowl. As a facility that is.

I only like it because it's convenient. If I were a USC student, I would be wondering why my team is playing 15 miles away when there's an equally antiquated facility across the street.

I can remember the first time I saw the word fecund.

It was in this thread.

[283-284] Did they get an exception to the rule? Maybe 220 will chime in and help clarify.

288
Pete Carroll claimed he would decline the penalties to allow UCLA to wear the blue uniforms, but I doubt Karl Dorrell wanted to call his bluff on that.

And that's really not Karl Dorrell's style.

Dodgers signed C Rene Rivera to a minor league deal with a NRI to spring training.

He has hit .248/.298/.359 in parts of 7 minor league seasons, all with the Mariners' organization, and .227/.252/.333 in limited major league duty, but 2008 will only be his age 24 season.

I looked at some old Baseball America prospect handbooks, and here are his rankings with Seattle:

2004 - 20 (Seattle ranked 12th best farm system by BA)
2005 - 21 (11th)
2006 - 21 (27th)

The words "defensive prowess" are mentioned a lot regarding Rivera, as is the word "chunky". He is considered very good with the tool of ignorance, having been voted the best defensive catcher in the California League in 2004 and throwing out a Texas League leading 54% of base stealers in 2005.

Not a bad pickup for catching depth in the system, possibly even in the Jim Sorgi role.

i'm glad that my choice of words has proven stimulating!

223 does this mean to suggest that you were once a rollicking, blithesome infant?

256 The Twins have the option of keeping him. Santana doesn't have a "no-play" clause. They can also deal him midway thru the year and maybe get more for him.

It's a curious market when you have an asset that becomes worth almost nothing in a year, but you think you should be able to sell it for a lot now. Even though he is the scarcest of scarce assets, what's the incentive for the Yankees to give up extremely valued young, cheap players to get someone they can get in a year just by throwing money at him. Especially when obtaining him this year guarantees nothing past this year.

It's like: Imagine a beautiful cabin in Aspen. Top of the world. Luxury digs. The Twins are acting like they're selling you the cabin. But the rest of the league realizes they're only selling a time-share. Or maybe more accurately, offering it for rent.

Stupid BigWest.Tv is asking me to actually downgrade my version of Safari in order to use their player. At first I thought it needed an upgrade but I have the latest version and am thus punished for it. And Firefox (the browser, not the book nor movie) doesn't work either. Maybe I'm being punished for having a Mac, or for caring about a Big West-Mountain West game.

--
(Btw, that MASH episode and the book in it was "The Rooster Crowed at Midnight" - they ended up calling the very elderly author to ask her what happened (and she gives the wrong answer). One of the better later era episodes.

/MASH nerdery, OFF

292 Do all of these low/no offers make Ken Frozenthaw's job tougher?

caring about a Big West-Mountain West game

i think we found the real problem here :)

294- Rosenthal has become a whipping boy here on DT....Frozenthaw?....well, I'm laughing, but was it funny?...

I was just reading MLB Trade Rumors.com (I guess my eyes were really sensitive the other day cause I swear my eyes were bugging out at the black leyout with white lettering from MLB Trade Rumors.com, no problem today) aren't you guys a little jealous that the Mariners seem to have the edge with Asian players these days, we use to be the team but I guess it's shifted to the Mariners the last few years.

297- They scout the "Pacific Rim" more than anyone else I think......Jim Colborn was their main man on that front before he mentored Odalis Perez...

296

I've been at 'em for a while now, specially his Fox saturday baseball smile. He was actually really good last year during the winter being the 1st to report BIG SIGNINGS OR BIG TRADES.

295 Hey now - either one of these teams would give Cal a tough game. :-P Maybe not the way either one is playing tonight, mind you, but, talent-wise, each conference has at least a few very good teams.

296 He leaks .... rumors.
Sorry, not so funny.

297 That may have alot to do with who the owners are.

301- Now I'm really chuckling:)

294 No, because the teams holding the assets still have an incentive to have "unnamed MLB sources" float "information" to Rosenthal, in hopes of creating a perception of market value for their asset. The agents of FAs do the same thing, of course - either it works or they don't need to bother, exhibit A: Torii Hunter, signed to 5 years, $90M.

286
I would indeed point that out, but I actually like their purple and whites best:)

Let's trade Pierre for whatever, and then give up a guy like Dewitt for Coco Crisp....Juan Pierre with a little pop, and amazing D...plus he's an L.A guy...

He would put up 06' Furcal numbers in L.A....Keep LaRoche, and he will hit 25 ding-a-lings...

plus Kent would love him!

304 Ahh, back to business! Great Observation!
The higher the stakes, the more that this is in play?

294 The owners are from Japan?

233 An elite closer is far more valuable than a good outfielder with questionable defensive ability.
What is the right metric for that argument? Comparing win share percentages for players that fit those descriptions? (Saito is a little over 1.0 for each of his seasons, pretty remarkable.)

306 I'd rather have Ethier than Coco.
Based on what Coletti & Co. are putting out right now, do you feel that the kids will have April and May to make their case?
If they don't, then look for changes?

Giants broadcaster Dave Flemming, '98, is taking over Stanford play-by-play duties after Bob Murphy, '53, retires this weekend.

311 How many years did Bob man the mike?

292 Even though he is the scarcest of scarce assets, what's the incentive for the Yankees to give up extremely valued young, cheap players to get someone they can get in a year just by throwing money at him.

Of course, the risk for the Yankees is that he might not be there in a year no matter how much money they are prepared to throw at him. If the Twins don't like the Yankees offer and some other team (Dodgers ?) steps up to the plate the Yankees lose out.
So, what are the odds of that happening?

313 Great Observation!
In your scenario, the Yankees would not have the utility of Johan for two years, besides, they can easily afford it now.
They, like the Red Sox have shown that they will just keep buying what they need, as they need it, with their T.V. revenues.

311 - Don't know his exact start date. I was never a fan of his, actually, though I liked his partner, John Platz.

http://tinyurl.com/2jy492

313 The O's say that they plan to employ a hybrid the Twins method, spending conservatively, but picking their spots if they really love a situation.
The Dodgers seem to be on a similar course.
The Angels do not.
Anyway, that's what it looks like to me.

I just read about the Southern Cal football team possibly moving into the Rose Bowl. And, though I respect Rule 13, I wish I could violate it.

Stupid Trojans.

315 I was wondering if you cared for his work. How do you feel about his replacement?

Top Prospects Merely a Down Payment on Santana

>> If the Twins trade Santana, Bill Smith, their first-year general manager, will be pressured to get an appealing package in return for a team that is scheduled to open a new stadium in 2010. <<

## Santana, who has a 93-44 record and a 3.22 earned run average, has been on the disabled list once in his career with a torn elbow muscle. He uses the same motion to uncork 95-mile-an-hour fastballs and 73-m.p.h. changeups. ##

%% Despite Santana's excellent résumé, the list of pitchers who have signed $100 million contracts is short, and the list of pitchers who are $100 million success stories is even shorter. Zito, Mike Hampton (eight years, $121 million) and Kevin Brown (seven years, $105 million) are the only pitchers who have signed nine-figure deals. %%

http://tinyurl.com/yr65s2

Adding Kuroda almost seems like the perfect situation for the Dodgers. We can grab a decent pitcher without depleting the farm and he can battle for a championship alongside his pal Takashi Saito. Loaiza and Schmidt are the catch though.

315 As another birthday tribute, you should know that I would have never stuck around for the end of the Notre Dame game if not for your input here.

whats rule 13?

217 I know I should let it go, but I can't seem to understand Colletti's thought process wherein veterans have a "desire to win" that is implicitly greater than that of young players. Using his logic, older players are hungrier for victory than youngsters, who are presumably just happy to be there? Does Mark Hendrickson want to win more than James Loney? Sometimes it's flat-out scary what the man says.

also...there seems to be a very gloomy outlook towards jason schmidt... im not exactly up to date on his injury status and all the cool stats yall use to evaluate so maybe someone can clairfy for me....

wasnt he the top NL pitcher a year or two ago?

was his injury one that pitchers dont return to form from?

it seems to me he and A. Jones are in the same boat. been spectacular and then after 1 injury year people are treating them as second rate.

plz clarify for me.

And the crowd goes wild at the Thunderdome (sans tortillas)! A three pointer by James Powell at the buzzer and UCSB beats UNLV 63-60. Exciting game after all after a bad first half. Nice.

319 I am in total agreement.
How many Big Contracts for pitchers at/past 30 have ever worked out in the Dodger's favor?
How many High Priced free agents have seemed like they were worth it for the Angels? Go Mo Vaughn!
How about the most recent, Matthews?
We sure love JP!
It's not limited to pitchers.

324 andruw jones was injured?

318 - Don't know.

317 - You just did.

Unless there is something we don't know, I am surprised at how many Andruw Jones doubters there are...he is one season removed from back to back seasons of 45+ hr's...

327 if im not mistaken he kept getting nagging that he played through.

someone posted a thing here recently showing his stats throughout last year of how he played during his injuries and how he played after cortizone shots.

after each injury he played poorly for about a month, got a shot, and played pretty well.

i may be wrong though.

327 Recent Dan Perry article says Druw needed cortizone injections for trouble in the shoulder and that is what caused his offense to fall off. Now he's ok though, please give me $20,000,000.00

324 was his injury one that pitchers dont return to form from?

A new procedure was used to treat Schmidt's injury. So, although his doctors are optimistic no one really knows what to expect come Spring Training.

Dodgers Notes: Schmidt has tough road ahead

http://tinyurl.com/39ydxn

317
"We want our football program to stay at the Coliseum," USC director of athletics Mike Garrett said. "But, as we all know, the Coliseum needs significant upgrades to provide fans with the Trojan game experience they deserve. We'll keep working to stay in the Coliseum, but until we have full support from the [Los Angeles] Coliseum Commission, we're forced to pursue the option of playing in the Rose Bowl."

I wonder if Mike Garrett knows that the Rose Bowl is pretty dumpy too. And the seats only have enough leg room for Eddie Gaedel.

327 324 andruw jones was injured?

The bargain of the winter at any position might be Andruw Jones. Nagging injuries in 2007 hurt his offensive numbers in a big way, but he's ripe for a rebound. As the blog Capitol Punishment expertly discovered, Jones hit more like vintage Jones after he received cortisone shots last season. It's expected that Jones' shoulder will be fully healed by spring training, and that means he'll likely put up drastically better numbers in 2008.

If you hop over to The Hardball Times and have a look at Jones' advanced batting statistics from last season, then you'll see the only thing that's terribly out of whack with previous campaigns is the percentage of his fly balls that left the park. That certainly suggests that Jones' bum shoulder was sapping his power stroke.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7465356

334 It's nice to see that the Coliseum Commission isn't content with merely ruining any chance of getting an NFL team in Los Angeles. Heck, colleges deserve to be tormented too.

I hear Mark Ridley Thomas is going after Pop Warner next. Or perhaps a high school team.

The people living around the Rose Bowl would go into conniptions if USC played there too. They don't like UCLA playing there.

333 34 years old, not 24.
Throwing professionally since 1991 at age 18.
Minor and Major experience/wear and tear.
Won-164 Lost-127 Innings pitched - 2,552.
Injury was described as a complete tear of the cartilidge in the shoulder.
Still being paid through the 2009 season, $12,000,000.00 per ...
and $10,500,000.00 signing bonus due 2010-2011 per this site.
He really has some powerful motivation to re-hab from this devestating injury?

Can't we just enjoy sporting events now without worrying about they do in TV ratings?

http://tinyurl.com/3xb3kx

Can a champion in sports be decided without Nielsen being part of it?

339 - I agree, especially when sports contracts are flush. But I fear our travels down this road of conversation again.

Pseudo-NPUT.

I took the under on the Laker game tonight over at WagerLine (11.5pts). I was in the top 98 percentile in the battle for a new TV, but have sadly plummetted to the 40 percentile mark after back to back bad betting (for entertainment purposes only) nights. I couldn't imagine the Lakers beating anybody by 12 points or more, but the Sonics are pretty bad.
vr, Xei

[334-336]State, County, City. How many people are on that Commision? What positive thing have they ever done?
Peter O'Malley? He might still be the Dodger's owner, and maybe we could have had an NFL team if they would have just left Peter alone.
Let the bargaining begin!

323 - it's part of Colletti's baseball ideology. The theory goes that younger guys are happy just to be there (remember the cliches from Bull Durham?), the older guys have been there long enough to understand that winning is the most important thing, so they have a greater desire to win. This ideology breaks down when you run into guys like Gonzo who are more interested in getting stats that might make them marginal hall of famers. It also does not account for teams like the young Marlins a few years back.

I don't blame him for buying into the cliches, it's something that has run rampant in sports for a very long time - as an example, see Phil Jackson's preference for vets over younger players. It's usually wrong, when applied broadly as an ideology.

The Coliseum Commission has nine members and four alternates.

Three are appointed by the County Board of Supervisors
One by the LA City Council President
Two by the LA City Recreation and Parks Commission
Three by the California Science Center Board of Directors

The Commission meets the first Wednesday of each month.

There is no pay for the job.

344 So it's merit pay?

344 No pay for the job, but a big, unknown cost for us!

345 It's political.
Connections.
Making multi-million dollar decisions without conflict of interest, ha, ha, ha!
(No side monies for projects or under the table money, ever, ever, changes hands.)

It's not political, it's who you know.

348 Good point, they are not voted in.
This of course makes them even more pure as custodians of this public treasure (chest).

348 Big game at this venue on Saturday.
There's a wild rumor that UCLA will start a walk-on QB. Have you heard?

UCLA's only walk-on QB is the infamous MacLeod Bethel-Thompson.

If he's starting, I'm not departing.

Even though I'm watching from home.

351 I had an elaborate ruse planned , but I'm not going to do it.
I've already been called out for non-humor tonight.
It would also probably destroy the small amount of tolerance that you now so graciously display for the USC people.

Happy belated birthday Jon

I was at the Rose Bowl on Saturday and I wasn't very impressed by it. It's nice that they moved the food venues to the outside of the stadium though. The sightlines are mediocre at best. I guess it doesn't get much better than autzen stadium on the west coast.

Kuroda would be a great pickup...

351 Now that you've been alerted, maybe the rumormill will churn on Friday.

292-

I understand that Santana doesn't have a "no-play" clause, but he does have a "no-trade" clause. So, that doesn't necessarily mean that they can deal him midway through the year since he has the right to veto any trade.

All I'm saying is, if the Yanks DID end up with him by giving up a less than stellar package, it could be one of those "I'm only playing for the Yanks so either trade me to them or I'll sign with them when my time is up and you'll only get two picks" kind of things.

Not plausible, but certainly not out of the realm of possibility.

On a side note, I like the fact that Saito went to Japan to recruit. This would be a nice signing. It does lead to other questions though. Does this mean Loaiza would be on his way out? Is Schmidt not recovering well? Is it just a matter of stockpiling a lot of pitchers? Who knows.