Here's John Sickels on the Bison:
http://www.minorleagueball.com/

CONGRATS!!!

I believe we have to say that the kids are on the power play now.

For about 20 years.

From the last thread (Raiders' Thoughts continuation):

218 - I also would prefer Dorsey, but I think they've made too many commitments to the defensive line this offseason already, including Kelly and Joseph. I wouldn't cry if we chose McFadden, but I think I'd like the final piece inthe defensive armor better. With a standout D, our offense with Russel, Fargas, Bush, Walker, Carter and Miller should be more than adequate.

220 - Can't argue with having the best secondary in the AFC. I miss Hayes and Haynes; any semblance of it would be outstanding.

How about Wolfe Perry Weisman? Todd Lichti Weisman? Hank Lusetti Weisman? Brook Robin Weisman? Jarrod Jason Weisman? Doctor Tom Weisman? Richard Kelley Weisman?

Congrats and best wishes to the entire Weisman family!

Haven't had solid DTs (and thus a solid defense) since the D. Russell / G. Jackson / J. Parrella / R. Coleman days.

I think Davis grabs McFadden or Gholston.

I have a mellow 2 1/2 year old daughter and my goodness are those calm kids a beautiful blessing.

Gholston has some speed/strength, but it looked like Richardson was developing well last season at that spot.

With Fargas' injury history, I won't be as bummed about McFadden as I was before the Hall trade. Was thinking back then that one of the stud RBs in the draft would drop to the early 2nd round. Just not sure if Davis wants to / can pay top 5 money again.

I was originally on the McFadden bandwagon, but not anymore. We re-signed Fargas and Rhodes surprisingly took a pay cut to stay. In addition, the staff still has high hopes for Michael Bush. After Rhodes got all those yards for us in the two games he starts, I think we can plug in anyone and be productive.

Not.

Chris Long
Dorsey
Ghoulston
McFadden
Jake Long
Ellis

I was born in Nov. of 1980. Next baseball season, you know who won the World Series, so I wish the same luck to your child for the sake of us all!

P.S. Ignore all the suggested names. Name him after me. It's easy to spell, and easy to remember.

And I thought what Xei and Andrew thought, that you'd named him Jamaal Wilkes. Or Keith?

I think Blue Weisman would be a cool name.

Next month! Yikes!

Sandy Koufax Weisman, now that works.

Well I totally ruined that terrible joke.

I think we should draft Ryan Clady out of Boise State. He's a great lineman, and has experience being a Bronco already!

Now, today, Nomar says that he will not swing a bat at all in Arizona, has no timetable on his return and Torre says that Abreu, Dewitt and Hu are the leading contenders for the job. Joe also says that long term, the Dodgers will not trade away the future for a fix, saying that LaRoche and Dewitt (emphasis mine) are the future at 3B.

http://tinyurl.com/2zhhvq

I have to admit, that sounds pretty cool.

and I hear football thoughts.

Signing Bonus: $750k
3rd yr (2008): $500k
1st arb yr: $2.6m
2nd arb yr: $4.65m
3rd arb yr: $6.5m
FA yr 1: $9m option
FA yr 2: $12m option

Billingsley is about a year behind Wainwright in service time, so perhaps next offseason will be the time to extend him. I'd do it now, since he's bound to be more expensive based on his soon to be stellar 2008.

For comparative purposes, Billingsley has a 130 ERA+ in 237 career IP.

Clayton Bison Coltrane Hee-Seop Weisman.

At the very least, please don't name him Pierre Weisman.

When I first read your post I thought it said 21 LBS. Seemed like it all went pretty quick considering that.

Seems like something Greg Brock would have an opinion about.

For me, this headline at cnn.com is sort of compelling: "Experts: Ray Incident Highly Unusual." On the one hand, this is the second stingray killing in the last year so is this headline really fair? On the other, well, no kidding it is pretty unusual for a stingray to leap onto a boat and knock someone to their death.

(And yes, this comment is mostly offered as proof that, really, you don't need to have much to say to jump in the comment pool.)

Furcal SS
Ethier LF
Martin C
Jones CF
Kemp RF
Loney 1B
Hu 2B
DeWitt 3B

And yes, that story does conjure up images of flying sting rays but it must be unusual. Or a product of global warming.

Dewitt with a walk, Ethier continues to swing it well.

Of course you are taking the chance that the kid could be Pacbell, AT&T, and SBC all before he is potty trained.

http://tinyurl.com/286l28

And there were some out there who wanted Johnny B. back in Dodger Blue. (Not anyone here) But he was one of my favorite players.

Wilson Betemit (3B) had a two-run homer, an RBI double and a walk to lead the Yankees to a 7-2 win over the Blue Jays on Thursday.

Either way, we will need a DT and a DE in the next two years. Unless, Sands actually does his job. This is what this all comes down to.

Sox bullpen just got called for interference preventing Ethier from catching AJ's foul fly.

As I look back to the press box, I wonder how The Man will stick it to Tony Jackson seeing Phoenix Stadium has no elevators.

(triple)

Oh snap, Sammy on to pitch :)

Ah, never mind.

I wonder if he's gonna be on third to start the season.

JP on to hit.

Loney grounds out. Hu too. End of 7th.

1 out to go.

http://www.beloblog.com/Pe_Blogs/prosports/mlb/dodgers/

Day game 12:10

Anyone care to join us??

Is it fair to call a (soon to be) 26 yr old player with 279 career games inexperienced?

And he still did pick up almost 500 plate appearances that year.

http://deadspin.com/369939/media-approval-ratings-vin-scully

197 198 200 Torre had a long relationship with Bernie, whereas all of the Dodgers except Proctor are new to him. He has no complicating emotional bond with Ethier or JP. My guess is that he really hasn't made up his mind yet--and that's not a bad thing, considering the alternatives.

First time poster, long time lurker here. 28 year old life long Dodger fan who reads this site daily. Took my 20 month old nephew to his first spring training game today - he spent his 1st bday at Dodger stadium along with about 20-25 other games last season. He was screaming "Dodgers" today in left field to cheer on the boys. Highlight of my day? Getting a hug from Either's mom in the ladies room as a thank you for wearing his t-shirt. Great game in AZ that was well worth the sunburn I got.

Furcal certainly does seem to be a different player than last year-lets hope.

"I am a Giants fan ..., and I approved Vin Scully. My wife worked for a PR agency that had dealings with an LA city disaster preparedness office. They commissioned a poll to the effect of "Whose voice would you trust the most giving you important information in case of emergency?" Vin won, and it wasn't even close."

How 'bout Delino DeShields Weisman?

Furcal is our leadoff hitter and you need more ability out of the two hole than JP can provide (power and OBP aside, just ability to hit the ball to different places etc like the gaps and behind runners.)

Penny's like the fat kid in little league who just grunts and throws harder than anybody else in the league. I'm glad we have the fat kid on our team.

Russ Martin keeps a can of dip in his back pocket. Mancrushing a bit less.

Furcal is back. That was a bomb, and it got out of here yesterday. He didn't turn on a pitch like that all year last year.

Orlando Cabrera's bat always looks like it swings him. Is it me, or is he using an older brother's bat?

So Penny actually grunted on the fastball that struck out Dye in the 5th. Remember that little league trick where the kid would grunt -- and then lob a changeup? Genius! I miss those crafty days.

Is there any other place besides baseball games where it's acceptable to eat shelled peanuts? What a narrow window of a market for a truly superior product. Unfortunate.

During Mike Macdougal's warmups, Ozzie Guillen called out to Andruw (in the on-deck circle), pointed, and mocked his own pitcher's spastic delivery in full pantomime. Andruw was in hysterics.

Baseball games are more fun with beer, but you notice more without it.

It's really remarkable how many perfectly audible and perfectly horrible things are yelled from the seats right next to the on deck circle. Also amazing: how many perfectly audible things AJ Pierzynski says during the course of a game. None profound, many profane.

Huuuuuu's name amuses fans to no end -- most all of whom think they're the first to come up with all sorts of funny things!

I swear the Bison cracked his bat on that bomb -- it sounded like it, and the batboy ran out and checked it right away. He's so Winfield. And as a "birthday gift" to Jon and the entire DT crew, I give you this (and yes, it says what you think it does):

http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=PqCZnxJ

OB's in Manhattan Beach has a big ole barrel of them that patrons can scoop up and reject the shells on the floor. Or maybe it's discard the shells on the table. Hmm, I wonder why they asked me to leave?

Brad Penny pitched [today] ... and afterward, Joe Torre named him the opening day starter. "Why not?" Torre said.

Picking up on the previous thread -- I have posted a coupla times but read every day even when traveling (which is a lot.) I don't remember how I landed here, but I discovered DT mid 2006 and have been grateful for sensible and passionate (frequently in the same post) analysis.

I grew up a Dodger fan in Phoenix when all you had was the Suns, minor league hockey, and the Giants PCL team. I guess my earliest clear Dodger memory would have to be the 1974 WS and being mad at that stupid Bill Buckner for getting thrown out in game 5. When you're young you don't think about larger issues of why your team just got owned.

I got back from Florida, incl. Vero, less than a week ago and yes, it was all that it promised. Another thing to be grateful for.

Jason Schmidt ... still is not throwing off a mound and is not expected to be pitching until May or June, according to manager Joe Torre.

"They've all shown enough to warrant playing every day," said Torre. "It's something I'll fiddle with and rotate. There's always the danger in doing that, as much as you get to keep everybody involved, you don't want to take away from someone who won't be as good when he doesn't get the at-bats."

Wasn't he quoted saying something similar to the emphasized part a couple days ago? Which OF's play will suffer, in Torre's opinion, if he plays less? Every day J?

A couple compliments for Ethier, Kemp from Torre also.

Bigbie exiled after breaking code

http://tinyurl.com/29f6gv

http://tinyurl.com/3873ec

Bison Museum, Scottsdale

Arizona's Premier Bison Collection

>> When the Boston Red Sox yesterday threatened to boycott their trip to Japan because Major League Baseball wasn't extending to coaches, trainers and staff the $40,000 stipend that was due the players making the trip, the logical question became how much the Padres and Dodgers players received for going to China.
"We got a gift bag," said reliever Heath Bell.

"Inside was a ball, a T-shirt, two Snickers bars, a bottle of wine imported from California, a stuffed animal and a box of tea. I must have missed the money."

Yesterday an official of the Major League Baseball Players Association notified a Padres official that the players who traveled to China could expect a small stipend.

The Padres probably will learn more today when Donald Fehr of the MLBPA makes his annual visit to the team's compound. <<

http://tinyurl.com/ys8opp

Regarding peanuts on the floor--Northwoods remains my favorite peanuts on the floor establishment.

A spring training baby. Auspicious.

And yet.. knowing the Dodgers and Lakers and UCLA won (even if former is meaningless), that there's a new Weisman out there, that tomorrow can't be any worse than today (I hope) and that I have in my freezer the best darned chocolate soy ice cream I've ever had, makes things not as bad as they might seem.

Here's to tomorrow!

And to me hiding under the covers until today is officially over.

http://tinyurl.com/3cy94z

That place is filled to the rim with cougars.

I don't get much time to post here, but since I missed the last thread I thought I'd better chime in. I've been a faithful reader of Dodgerthoughts since about y2k. I remember that I was hungry for Dodger rumors in the off-season when I stumbled on to this site and was impressed by the opinions of this forum.

My Dad took me to Dodger Stadium for the first time when I was 8 yrs old in 1967. The atmosphere was thrilling and I was instantly hooked. I missed the Koufax yrs, but caught the tail end of Drysdale's career and can clearly recall the night he set the scoreless innings record of 58+ (later eclipsed by Hershiser). Scully has always had such a comfortable way of sharing a baseball game, he made me feel like I was almost actually there. It's gonna be a sad day when Scully's not broadcasting anymore. My son refers to him as his "3rd Grampa".

It's hard to believe that no Dodger hit more than 10 HRs in 1968, except that was the "year of the pitcher" when Denny McLain won 31 games & Bob Gibson had a 1.12 ERA. That same year the Dodgers moved their single A farm team here, Dad got season tickets, and I got the privilege of watching Ron Cey and many other prospects hone their skills before they made it big.

The most memorable game I've attended was game 1 of the '74 World Series when Joe Ferguson cut in front of Jimmy Wynn to throw Sal Bando out at home on an attempted SacFly by Reggie Jackson. My proudest season was '77 when Garvey/Smith/Cey/Baker each hit at least 30 HRs. My biggest surprise was when Gibby hit his famous HR against the McGwire/Canseco A's in game 1 of the '88 World Series which propelled the over-matched Dodgers to victory (along with some help from a certain Bulldog). My saddest moment was when O'Malley sold the team to Fox, who then traded Piazza.

Thank God those Fox years are behind us! We are now in position to be very competitive for several years. I'm not as critical of Colletti as many fans are. Though he's made several mistakes, I understand the rationale behind most of his moves, and I understand that each move is a gamble. I'm mostly glad that he's held on to his prospects...that, too is a gamble. I understand why he signed Pierre at the time, though I would have preferred a 1 or 2 year commitment to Lofton instead of 5 yrs for Juan.

FWIW, I prefer LaRoche over Nomar, Ethier over Pierre, Repko over Young, and I can't wait for Kershaw to arrive.

I'm also a BIG fan of Arrested Development.

Thanks again, Jon, for providing a clean forum with reasonable rules and good insight. Best Wishes to you and your growing family.

I think you can eat peanuts and discard the shells at the Gladstones on PCH in Malibu too. At least you used to be able to, I haven't been there in a while.

And hopefully, sometime in the near future, a TV camera will catch you holding the newest member of the family at Dodger Stadium so Vin can say, "Awwww, will you look at that? Isn't he the cutest- a boy and his father...."

Best wishes to your entire family.

Like many others, I visit your site regulary if not daily. I discovered your site about a year ago, and immediately got addicted to the intelligent conversations, fine writing and light banter/humor. You are obviously the glue that hold it all together, but the community of posters with different perspectives is what makes Dodger Thoughts the place it is. I especially appreciate Canuck/Toy/Nate's insight on the kids, D4P's concisely worded 'our world is crashing' commentary, Bob's knowledge of history (despite his bad taste of not liking peach...).

I became a Dodger fan in 1982, a year after my family immigrated from Hong Kong to the Los Angeles area. I have now been back working in Asia/China for 15 years. It is hard to follow my favorite sports teams here(Dodgers, Lakers, Rams) as not many of the games are on TV. (And no, MLB TV doesn't work well.) Dodger Thoughts, in reality, are my eyes to the Dodger games. And I know I will get the full picture of the team and games from you all. Like many on this site, I too am looking forward to this next baseball season.

That's a sure fire way to be rid of any lingering malaise about turning 40. Now you'll be too happily exhausted to think about it.

A new twist on JP from the LAT: "That's going to be my toughest stuff I have to deal with, the outfield," said Torre, who said he spoke to all four players early Thursday, then called Pierre into his office for a short postgame chat." Wonder what that was about.

Rosenthal-nak the Magnificent has added Loretta to our list on potential fill-ins.

I became a Dodger fan in the 70's during my elementary school days in NJ. My grandfather had not turned his back on the team when they left Brooklyn, so I have vague recollections of his passion for the team and his rantings at the NY Post, including: "Lasorda, you idiot! Why have Guerrero steal a base during the last game of the spring!" or "Lasorda, you idiot, you left Reuss in the too long..."

Not until 1988 did I truly appreciate my love for the Dodgers. I am still convinced that I played a key role in their WS run by religiously wearing the same blue t-shirt during the series with the A's. One of my favorite memories from that series is the role Mickey Hatcher played during the stretch...not a great athlete, and likely past any prime he may have had, Hatcher's scrappy enthusiam remains as vivid a memory for me as Orel and Gibson performing their magic.

Excellent site, excellent posters, excellent team. This is a great diversion during the day and a perfect way for us fans on the east coast to remain "in the know" about the Dodgers.

Congrats on the "bonus baby" ... any pics?

This is a public service announcement.

And a belated best wishes to Jon and family who I thought I congratulated early in these comments. As sometimes happens I apparently forgot to press that second button.