Of course this could be a smokescreen for those pesky McCourt financial problems theorists.

The majority of marriages do end in divorce in California.

Valkyrie does not seem like a smart movie to take your team to if you want them to concentrate on winning.

Andruw Jones gear at the Top of the Park Store should be deeply discounted.

Instead of paying that total amount this year, the agreement spreads out the Dodgers' payments for as many as six years

With or without interest...?

John Clayton's saying that Tom Cable is receiving interest as a head coach outside of the Raiders.

BH- I should have been playing all day today, but I've been having to work remotely because my entire office has come down with the plague and all sorts of filings were due today. Plus, Sugar Bowl is on and I'm a mark for the non-BCS teams in these games. But shortly, I will be down on the Strip trying to make back what I lost at a pot limit omaha game last night.

Cal and Mike Montgomery breeze against Arizona, 69-55. ASU-Stanford and UCLA-Oregon State about to tip off.

6 - lucky for Tom Cable.

so he basically gets 36 million dollars for hitting .188 with 3 HR's and 14 RBI. What a country...

Chase Budinger's 4 for 17 shooting was no doubt an inspiration to his Wildcat teammates.

Is Budinger still considered an NBA prospect?

What would happen if a MLB team declared bankruptcy? Would they have to pay everyone on their payroll?

11
He still probably goes in first round, but that is not saying much this year.

Plus, frankly, there are a lot of crazy picks in the NBA draft.

12
If a baseball team filed for bankruptcy, most likely somebody else would buy the team and its contracts.

It's not like Cal Ripken didn't get paid when the O's were in bankruptcy court.

Who would bother to pay the Phoenix Coyotes their money?

16
The NHL will want to keep the Coyotes running at least through this season.

Looks like the Jones deferred money and the backloaded Furcal deal put us at $66M for 2009 and around $50M for 2010 with arb raises. Manny and Sheets please.

This just in:

Oregon State still sucks at basketball.

I wonder if the new McCourt home(s) came with lighted baseball fields?

Do they play baseball in Malibu?

Does Pepperdine count?

Pepperdine's baseball stadium doesn't have any lights. Malibu High would bring in lights for one or two football games a year and I can say that a sunset football game in Malibu was a truly stunning sight.

The only problem was that you had to watch Malibu High play football. Not exactly a powerhouse out there.

All those cupcake schools seemed to have prepared UCLA for the Pac-10 season.

Malibu High play football. Not exactly a powerhouse out there

Buncha Stan Gables, huh...?

(You didn't get that allusion, did you? Now you know how it feels...)

Stanford has a player named Da'Veed Dildy.

Stan Gables is no Jefferson Darcy.

I did cover Malibu in a playoff game against the California School for the Deaf, Riverside Campus. It was played at the Sherman Indian School.

People from Malibu matching up against public school for the deaf and making the Malibu-ites drive from the beach to Riverside during rush hour. Oh it was fun.

One of the Malibu coaches asked the officials to tell the CSDR players to stop making "funny noises" during the game. The ref ignored him.

16 Who would bother to pay the Phoenix Coyotes their money?

A city like Portland will take all the pro sports they can get. Even if it is the NHL.

19 It'll all be better next year when Roberto Nelson is there. ;-) {/provoke}

But man, they sure aren't very good -- I was excited about getting to see UCLA on TV tonight but after about ten minutes I turned it off anyway.

7 Omaha 8?

29 Another possibility -- I think Kansas City was after the Penguins when it looked like they were out of Pittsburgh.

So does this mean JP goes back to Center, or gets his playing time restored?

Can we do the same deal with JP?

Well, there goes my dream of an Andruw Jones Dodger bobblehead.

I really thought that the Sugar Bowl was going to end more like the Fiesta Bowl did two years ago.

Excessive celebration penalties are hilarious.

Its kinda sad that this Utah-Alabama game is the best BCS game so far.

Mike Montgomery is coaching Cal now? I completely missed that.

I am also stunned that Utah is beating Nick Saban and Alabama. I don't suppose they've got a shot at the AP #1?

Or can the MWC at least get a guaranteed spot in a BCS Bowl from now on?

I don't think Utah could be ranked higher than USC.

Even though Utah beat the team that beat USC.

I should double check, but I'm pretty sure Michigan was favored against Utah in the season opener.

Indeed, Michigan was a 3-point favorite against Utah.

35 - I totally want one for my collection of sucky, disappointing, and/or annoying Dodger bobbleheads. So far, that collection consists of Jeff Kent and Fred McGriff. No luck so far on finding Darryl Strawberry or Milton Bradley bobbleheads, though.

38 Best in what way?

46 You wanna buy my Jason Schmidt bobbleshoulder?

I think Utah should be ranked higher than USC, but that may be my Inner Ute speaking....

Texas Tech/Ole Miss was a pretty great game.

The Chronicle has confirmed that the Giants have had conversations with agent Scott Boras regarding the 36-year-old left fielder, but industry sources say a report that the Giants have extended a formal offer to Ramirez for a deal of up to four years was inaccurate.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/02/SP1T152UFN.DTL&feed=rss.giants

46 You didn't get the Brad Penny bobblehead?

Derek Lowe never had a bobblehead?

Ugh

Also.

Last week's Randy Johnson signing put the Giants well over the tentative payroll figure that new managing general partner William Neukom had in mind for 2009. Ramirez presumably would shoot the Giants' payroll well over $100 million. But given how weak the West is, ownership could bite the bullet if it felt Ramirez could put them over the top.

Why the Giants signing Manny makes no sense. They're spent most of their budget already on Howry, Renteria, Affledt, and Johnson. That's $25 million in this year alone, and 42 million total. They're going to spend another $20 million on Manny this year, and another 60 million all together?

My Nomar bobblehead broke on the way home. Nothing major just a small break

55 Note the word "tentative." Everybody knows they need a big bat (even more than we do) and Manny sure is a special case. I'm not suggesting they will, but it seems clear to me they should--if they can. That's enough modality for now.

55 They could also dump Winn and possibly others to cut payroll. I happen to think the recent Manny-to-SF talk is mostly Boras-driven, but I've long thought he'd fit pretty nicely up north.

52 , 53 , 56 - apparently not!

The question now is, who will Andruw hit 30 HR for next year?

58 57 Aaron Rowand really screws them over. He's expensive, and going to cost them Manny.

48 - e-mail me: rlm@scareduck.com.

60 - the Hiroshima Carp?

FWIW, here's the contract I've been thinking of for Manny. It's not intended to be team-friendly or anything--just my gut feeling on what it might take to land him.

2009--$22.5 mil
2010--$22.5 mil
2011--$22.5 mil
2012--$22.5 mil team option or $2.5 mil buyout

Total guaranteed money: $70 mil.

It's not cheap, but neither is Boras. He also helped us with the Jones deal (the second one), so there's that.

Boras could trumpet it as a 3y/$70 mil deal with the possibility of reaching 4y/$90 mil. That's at least in the neighborhood of what he was asking initially.

I feel like many here will think this is too high [Why give that 3rd guaranteed year?], but I don't see us lucking into a cheap deal here.

Since the Dodgers have done this massive contract change with Andru, is their any team other than the Mets that might be interested in Jones. Wondering if we could get some low level prospects eat some of the contract-since we are paying most of it already and hopefully get lucky?

35 - ... actually ... http://tinyurl.com/8r7sgq

63 He played like Carp all last year. [Rule 1]

If Andruw Jones played the way he did last year, he could play for the Hiroshima Carp and also hit in the .180s.

It wasn't like he was demolishing off-speed pitching.

http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l133&t=p_pbp&pid=474443

Ivan DeJesus Jr. hit his 5th homerun of the the PWL season on Dec. 30th.

69 When Casey Blake goes the way of Chris Sabo and Ben Grieve, DeWitt will scoot over to 3b and Ivan will take over 2b.

Unless Ned gets itchy, and trades either one of them for a starting pitcher.

56 I went to the Nomar bobblehead game, got there too late to actually get one, but was given one later by a friend of a friend who didn't want it. When I got it, the bat had fallen off. When I tried to glue the bat back in, the arm broke off. Only Nomar...

Now that I'm in my office, I realized I had forgotten about Steve Garvey.

71 - Unless Ned gets itchy

I understand Scratchy has better strike zone discipline.

Steve Garvey's wikipedia's page is awfully spare. Its as if Steve Garvey himself has edited it to make sure that Steve Garvey's life isn't told in full view.

Malibu - baseball yes, lights no! The HS is slated to use some bond money to 'permatize' the lighting. This is causing a stink & I give them a snowballs chance. The neighbors don't want Pepperdine to light their cross/bell tower, so I can't imagine the reaction to lights at the baseball stadium, hah!

The HS football team is undermanned, sorry to say. That said, its still a good experience for the participants.

Eddy D. Field Stadium (Pepperdine's baseball field) is about the best place outside of Dodger Stadium to watch a baseball game. All the better with the new screen and (heh) wireless access in the stands, to go with the ocean and palm view beyond the outfield. Y'all come out and watch a couple.

68 I think he's got the yips or a problem seeing (literally) the ball. It's as if he's closing his eyes when he swings...

Among the things Bob has missed on MLB Network: Harold Reynolds calling the Kansas City Royals "one of the storied franchises in all of baseball." ("Baseball needs the Royals to be competitive.")

{click}

11:55pm: Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times says the deal cuts Jones' 2009 salary to about $5MM. The Dodgers agreed to trade or release him; interested teams may prefer to wait for the latter. Shaikin says the Jones restructuring is independent of the Manny Ramirez situation.

Statspeak blog http://statspeak.net/
says that Manny Ramirez gets erronously maligned on defense due to the way fly balls are miscoded in some of the more popular defensive metrics, and that he is probably just a -4 runs defensively in 09.
vr, Xei

So why would the Dodgers release him before the season starts? Why not see him through spring training on the off chance he has learned how to hit again? If you can trade him for something, great, but if not, play it out until you have to make a roster decision. No?

81
maybe Jones agreeing to restructure is contingent on the dodgers releasing or trading him

I'd love some Ben Sheets here for 2 years $24mil...

Haven't heard a peep about him since NYY a feww weeks back.

(82)
bet it on it.

sheets could be awesome..
and while i like the slightly higher paying, but shorter contracts, the stink of schmidt still bothers me

well, the stink of his signing anyways...

All Jones souvenirs on sale now at Dodger Stadium--25% down plus 6 annual payments for the other 75%, and no restrictions on re-selling the cherished item.

It seems the Dodger payroll always includes $2MM for a player no longer on the team.

81 ,82 The Dodgers have agreed to trade or release Jones in exchange for his deferring much of the $22 million remaining on his contract, a baseball source said Friday.

This from the LA TImes

60.
According to Olney, possibly Saint Diego:

"..the Padres have always valued him in the past because of his performances at Petco Park; if he's paid the minimum salary, it wouldn't be a stunner if San Diego offered him a chance to play."

Wouldn't that be great to see Andruw in the West..

Seriously? You guys want Sheets? What, Jason Schmidt's medical bills weren't enough to wet your whistles?

1949: Will television help or hurt sports?

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymirror/2009/01/january-3-1949.html

90 According to Olney, Jones will receive his $15 million for 2009 spread out over 6 years with "no" interest.

So it was simply the right to be released from his contract or traded, and not extra money for him to accept deferring the cash.

I wonder if we will see more of these types of deals in the future, since the precedent has been set. Maybe not in Jones' case, but it might make trading certain players easier.

91- If I were an owner who could get Andruw Jones for the league minimum I'd certainly leap at it. If he's awful again, then he'd just be a cheap reserve. But there's always that chance he'll remember how to hit a baseball...

93
Video killed the pugilistic star.

Do I understand correctly that a team trading for Blimpy would

1. control him for 2009 only, and
2. would have to pay him zero money for 2009?

97.
Unless I'm mistaken the team who gets him will be responsible only for the league minimum of $400k...basically free in this day and age (and weight).

97 If a team trades for Jones, that team will be responsible for his contract (deferred money and all). Which means, a release is far more likely - then any team that signs him, is only on the hook for 400K.

97 98 If he's released in February because no other team has traded for him then he becomes a FA and some other team might be able to pick him up for league minimum, though that's hardly likely seeing as Boras is his agent. But they'd surely get him awfully cheaply. If some other team wants to be sure of getting him, they'd trade with the Dodgers before the ST release deadline and - who knows - the Dodgers might be able to extract a bit of something - probably a player rather than money - for the privilege. But nothing's preset about terms with another team - the only thing preset is the deferral of of his salary and the arrangement to trade or release him by ST.

Andruw Jones is going to be a Met. Or a Brave. Or a Marlin. He's going to go back east, and lets all say goodbye.

I'd guess two things.
The Dodgers are quite sure Jones won't recover much and/or they are sure they are doing something else in left field and are quite sure they will get Manny or Dunn.

Nothing else makes much sense. I can't Believe they would open a spot for Pierre and Jones is better defensively.

I wonder if Depo (and his blog) would survive new Padre ownership.

You mean if DePodesta were fired, his blog host would fire him too?

104
I think I mean either that

1. a new owner might not "let" Depo post the kinda information he currently does,

or

2. Depo might not bother posting if he gets fired.

He'll just start writing about Ayn Rand.

31 - nope, just a pot limit omaha high game. and i learned that oceans 11 has one of those every friday night, so i have somewhere else to go when i get the urge to play omaha.

here's something I'm kind of wondering about, at what point do people start giving up on the kids? Obviously, Martin isn't going anywhere for a while, nor I guess Billingsly and Kershaw... but what about the rest? What are the odds that Ethier, Loney, DeWitt, or Kemp are found lacking?

I would assume the Dodgers would give up on the kids right around the time they become arbitration eligible.

108. 7:2
vr, Xei

The current holder of the title "World's Oldest Person" lives in L.A.
http://laist.com/2009/01/03/the_worlds_oldest_person_lives_in_l.php

Gertrude Baines is 114.

People don't hold on to this title for very long though.

95 - Molly, if he can't do it in winter league ball, facing inferior pitching, there's no way he revives his career in the Show. Stick a fork in him.

So Ned can scratch one more name off his "My Name is Earl" list. Still a few more seasons worth of wrongs to be righted, though.

An 108 OPS+ from a center fielder isn't bad. Even if Kemp doesn't improve, he's still an above average center fielder.

When I saw Andruw play last year, he had a horrendously, long and unbalanced swing. He needs to completely retool.

108,
Kemp and Ethier are already above average players, why would anyone "give up" on them? I'm not even sure what that means. As for the other two, they need some improvement, but Dewitt is already a fan favorite and Loney is well liked and should be accepted if he improves some this year.

111

Has it been 114 years since a couple named their child Gertrude?

117
Let's see if this graph comes out:
http://tinyurl.com/5o667o

118 Almost for me.

Yeah, this "giving up" thing seems a bit premature, given the ages of the players being discussed and their success so far as a team. The first year Kemp, Loney and Billingsley assume starting roles for a full season, they got them into the NLCS. It wasn't only Manny that did that.

And it's not as if Kemp, Loney, Martin, Ethier, DeWitt or the pitchers are blocking anyone who's major-league ready in the system

Barring injury, I'm expecting improvement across the board for the Jacksonville gang. That's the argument against bringing Manny back and signing a lesser light for lower dollars. If these players improve as they should, it's not clear he'll be needed as much as a pitcher to replace Lowe.

It's the Angels who've had to give up on some of their touted young players. McPherson, Kotchman, Mathis have all disappointed to varying degrees, and they were hyped almost as much as our guys. Wood is still a question mark; among position players only Kendrick and Napoli have really established themselves. That's the more typical outcome when you have some touted minor leaguers. That's how things generally worked out for the Dodgers until the last few years.

Napoli hasn't established himself. He still has to share time with Mathis, despite being the better player by far.

I guess my concern is that Ned/McCourt/Plaschke get impatient and decide that the Dodgers need to try the Yankees' approach and just throw hundreds of millions of dollars at the best free agents and build a team of mercenaries in order to "win now". In an ideal world, someone steps in and says, "look, Kemp, Ethier, and Billingsly have the talent and potential to join Martin every year in the midsummer classic." But an ideal world, this is not

Of all my concerns, thinking that the Dodgers might take the Yankees approach and just throw hundreds of millions of dollars at the best free agents...has not been one of my concerns.

122 The Dodgers don't have the financial resources to throw "hundreds of millions of dollars" at free agents. So that won't happen.

But also, even with all the players the Dodgers have produced in the last 3 years, the farm system will never be the sole provider of talent and you have to fill out roster with free agents and trades.

And finally, by now it must clear that the Dodgers are going to stick with that core of players (Martin, Ethier, Broxton, Kemp, Loney, Billingsley, DeWitt, Wade, Kershaw, etc.)

If Ned is getting heat from signing Jones, shouldn't Joe get even more heat for starting him as many times as he did?

No. Its Ned's job to maintain the roster. Its Torre's job to write the lineup. If the Dodgers and Ned knew that Jones was a mistake, it was on Coletti's head to fix it, not Torre.

Besides, Joe Torre has more job security than Ned Coletti ever had.

Ned Colletti is going to have to learn how to make smart free agent signings before we are ever in any danger of him having the financial flexibility to field a team of mercenaries. Thankfully for us, he simply has no choice but to play Ethier and Kemp to make payroll.

124 - And by July, perhaps Miller,McDonald, Elbert, Hu, Abreu, and DeJesus will be included; and by September, maybe that AA lefty left fielder whose name refuses to pop into my head, will be included.

128 - Lambo

128 There's no point of starting Lambo's clock so soon when he's unneeded.

128,
I wouldn't be surprised if Miller never throws an inning for the Dodgers. Elbert and McDonald will hopefully be part of the core soon. But as for Hu, Abreu, and Dejesus, it will be hard for them to play with Furcal and Dewitt penciled in up the middle for the next few years. In the end probably only one of them will become a full time starter for the Dodgers with the others being trade bait/backups.

Lambo was the guy you were thinking of, but I'd expect him to get called up more around September 2010, not this year. This was his first full year of professional baseball.

so, who does everyone like in the NFL playoffs? I'd kind of like to see the Falcons and Matt Ryan make a run, and of course, I want someone to beat the Manning brothers, but otherwise, there isn't anyone I'm really rooting for this year. The Chargers or the Cardinals are the teams I should probably be rooting for, but Norv Turner and Kurt Warner make that very hard to do.

124 , 128 - but that's the thing, if catcher, first, second, right, and center, as well as four starters and the closer are all home grown talent- and they are potential all stars, is free agency all that important? As it stands right now, of the starting eight, rotation, and closer - 14 roster spots in all - the Dodgers have 7 guys that were home grown (Kemp, DeWitt, Loney, Martin, Billingsly, Kershaw, Broxton), 2 free agents (Furcal and Kuroda), and 3 acquired by trade (Manny, Ethier, and Blake) and two spots to fill on the starting rotation. Is that the kind of balance we want between home grown, trade, and free agents?

Divorce is right.

If I was Frank McCourt, I would do the Al Davis-thing, bring Andruw into the office and tell him, "Your no longa a playah for the Los Angulus Dahjahs...That's right Andruw and your not gettin' paid either..."

Hold on to your shorts there Bob Timmerman. I know the Players Association would never stand for that, but I would get every great lawyer money could buy--take it to the Supreme Court if I had to....This "man" misrepresented himself as a major league baseball player.

With all of the people in this world right now, not knowing where their next meal is coming from; having their house foreclosed or simply being put out of a job, how can this person live with himself because he doesn't like the West Coast, nor the team HE AGREED TO PLAY FOR??? (FOR VERY SEVERAL MILLION DOLLARS....)

He disgusts me.

What kind of a person spells Andruw with a "u" anyway?

Sorry for the rant, but it was my first off-season rant of the year.

holy snikes rolle just brought back the dirty bird!

And one other thing.... (keeping in tune with this thread title: "Divorce.")

There is nothing worse then a good fan scorned!

121 - Napoli hasn't established himself.

Says who? The only reason he didn't have the starting job in 2008 was a mid-season injury. Getting .273/.374/.586 out of your catcher ain't chicken feed.

137 Because it seemed that the Angels were bending over backwards to start Mathis whenever they could? Its hard to establish yourself when your team is trying to give the other guy all the opportunities to succeed.

Actual headline on MLBTradeRumors:

Jones Doesn't Fit In Cincinnati

134 It's a shame that the Dodgers (nor any team for that matter) do not have the guts to test the clause in every contract that requires the player to report ready to play. Andruw's failure to report in a proper condition (i.e. weight) to play should have been reason to void the contract, at least if I recall the standard contract language correctly. Bye bye Tubbo! You've eaten yourself out of millions and millions of dollars. That's how the scenario should have played out.

140 But there have been players who have not been in the best of shape and played. Who defines what "in shape" is, is body mass, percent of fat, 40 yard dash times.

And there has been no established connection between is physical shape and his inabiliy to hit, he certainly was able to field his position.

I'll never understand what it was about him that got fans so quickly to go against him but I guess he will soon be a former Dodger so I won't have to bother.

141 I for one am sad it didn't work out and wish him all the best going forward.

Yeah, he can't hit regardless of his physique.

Age catches up to players and it really hurts when you have bad fundamentals.

141 - "I'll never understand what it was about him that got fans so quickly to go against him."

Fans got on Jones because he appeared out of shape, didn't produce, and though his smile was pretty clearly to me a defense mechanism, others interpreted it as not caring. That being said, Dodger fans getting on a player is hardly unique, as we all know. In Jones' case, nothing got better, so that's why it appeared more severe in his case - but that's really the only reason it was unusual.

If J.D. Drew had never snapped out of the slump that opened his Dodger career, it would have been the same thing. As it was, Drew hit and still a lot of fans didn't like him. So I guess I don't know why you're in the dark about Jones.

Meanwhile, as far as 140 , it's not a matter of guts that keeps the Dodgers from testing the clause. It's the understanding that there's no way the Dodgers would win the case.

It was easy to understand why people turned on him so quickly, I thought; what's impressive is the staying power. But I still want Gary Bennett scaphism-ed, so, no judgment.

Matt Ryan and his brother might as well be twins.

Dodgers' deal with Andruw Jones approved by MLB

>> He went hitless in five at-bats for Aguilas on Friday, lowering his batting average in the Dominican winter league to .091. <<

http://tinyurl.com/78z2tg

140 I'm a union man first and last, and in that union, you either work or your out. We have a collective bargaining agreement that tells us what we have to do to live up to our end of the bargain. In my union your reputation follows you and it should be no different in the MLB Players Union. There is little doubt in my mind that any court in the land would uphold it under the rules of collective bargaining. You work, you get paid. the Dodgers have been patient; purportedly sought psychological help in trying to get him to hit--which is the reason why he was HIRED in the first place; they are with-in their rights to not pay him one red nickle.

In this case, I would not blame the owner or management for wanting to test the boundaries of the union--and let Andruw figure it out that he's got a longer road at getting paid without play then working hard and performing for the pay that he AGREED upon.

The MLB should be ashamed of themselves for letting player's reach this level of incompetance. Andruw Jones should be no different then any other American--any human for that matter. You work, you get paid for your services. I like to think that I work hard at my job; my profession, daily because I have integrity. Obviously "Andrew" doesn't know what the word is.

If any Dodger brass should be reading this, it is reprehensible to think that you have to negotiate with someone that clearly doesn't want to work and is looking for any excuse--including playing in Dodger Blue--to redeem his lack of sincerity.

Fire him.....

Thats what employers do to people that don't want to work for the company. You shouldn't have to pay fire him either....

131
Well said. I am just thinking that wherever Hu, DeJesus, Abreu play, if they do well they will begin to be considered part of the core. If Furcal moves to CF to protect his back and one of the above is producing better than one of the outfielders or third basemen, they get a chance unless Joe is determined to go old.

Okay, I broke the sarcasm rule, I understood why he got heckled and booed.

I should clarify my stance and say I never participated in it in all the times I saw him play. I don't hold myself to be better than that,it was my choice, others chose to vocalize their thoughts.

The whole idea that fans of the Cardinals have been waiting 60 years for a playoff win is kind of bogus when they are now the Arizona Cardinals, and nearly all fans at the game haven't really waited that long.

Jones showed up for Spring Training in 2008 out of shape - hardly unusual and in fact de rigeur in earlier days of the game. Beyond that, what evidence is there that he didn't work, that his struggles were for lack of effort?

148 But being a professional athlete is not like any other job. Your production is affected by how often you play, your opponent, your health and a lot of other factors. Also, he has a guaranteed contract and those contracts have been tested in courts and it is almost impossible to void them.

And unless you can prove he never intended to perform his contract (and generally, the basic rule for that is showing up), its non-starter to litigate.

148
Did you insult him for how he spells his name?

151 I am still waiting for the LA Rams to win a Super Bowl.

130
I don't have to start Lambo's clock for him to impress enough to be considered part of the core. Not that he is ready or capable to do so, but if he hits 300/100/35/100 in AAA, he moves into core consideration.

155 - A Rosembloom owns the team again. A new football stadium in LA would give lots of people jobs building it.

If this has already been discussed, I apologize. But are there any insights on the 31-year-old lefty, Brian Mazone, that the Dodgers have invited to training camp? Is he a possible Beimel replacement? He's been a starter in recent years, but with a low walk rate so a transition to the pen would seem possible. Also, he was out of baseball for his age 22 to 25 seasons, which seems to imply an interesting story.

157 But where to put it?

Anyone in their right mind think going back to the Coliseum is a good idea?

Wipe out the neighborhood surrounding the Coliseum to build a real sports complex with parking and security, tear down the old Sports Arena; but why, there's Staples, so make the Clippers play there?

138 - up until Napoli's injury, that was true. However, upon his return (Aug. 9), he was in a 60/40 playing time split with Mathis. Scioscia learned his lesson. Of course, it also didn't hurt that Napoli was hitting an otherworldly .388/.481/.776 over that time.

http://tinyurl.com/7a7utt

I haven't read the CBA, mainly because I'm not insane, but I'm guessing that the ability to play clause is better explained therein. If not, then the basic legal principles would apply. This would be considered a special services contract, without a doubt, and given the unique nature of the business, the ability to play clause would probably be valid. Though, I doubt that it would be enforceable in this situation. I think it is more in place for situations where players do something during the off season that prevents them from being able to play, like crashing a motorcycle into a telephone pole or dislocating a shoulder while skiing or body surfing. At the same time, because of the very small pool of potential employees, as a business decision, using the full power of the contractual language does not always make sense.

Addition by subtraction.

Sunken costs.

Change of scenery.

Lord knows I think Andruw Jones didn't keep his end of the deal, but I don't feel the slightest bit of sympathy for Dodger Management. Yes, Boras and Jones pulled one over on them, but it's not as if they shouldn't have been able to see it coming.

Just think of the Players Union as a Prenuptial that never gets challenged.

152 , 153 You are exactly right.

The Bottom line is A. Jones had undergone a semi-historic and catastrophic collapse, and I don't think bashing the guy for "not working" is productive. I doubt anyone really believes the man actually intended to perform so badly. A case could be made that his first 10 years in the league might have put him on track for the HOF, and I'm sure he wants nothing more than to have those days back. The Dodger front office, Ned especially, should be commended for coming to some alternative agreement with Andruw here and moving on, especially if the report of no interest on the buyout is true. You need to consider that the Mets will be paying Bonilla 28.8+ million (over 24 years) to buy out his 5.9 million dollar contract from 2000.

As far as the original signing goes, most people (especially me) agreed that Andruw would help the team. I don't believe any Monday morning quarterback that say Andruw's total and complete failure was inevitable (or even probable) last winter when he was signed.

oops "has undergone"

What kind of player(s) can the Dodgers reasonably expect to receive in a trade for Jones?

167 - Albert Belle?

With the Yankees, a player like Melky Cabrera.

167 Sammy Sosa via the Dominican WBC national team.

163

I am unclear about what the Dodgers failed to see coming...

I for one didn't see Jones catastophic year comming and still struggle to understand it within the historical context of player performance. Players that good dont get that bad that young

I think one would have to be incredibly and nearly irrationally pessimistic to have predicted the year Jones had last season at the time of his signing

I thought it was a good move at the time

Further, while I have come to dislike Jones, I dont see any evidence that either he or Boras pulled anything over on anyone

I think it was the case of an out of shape proud person failing worse than they have ever failed before with resulting emotional and professional turmoil to the extent that both parties just wanted to get away from each other

171 I second Hollywood Joe on every point.

The Bucs eventually rebounded, drafted Doug Williams and were in the NFC championship game within two years. The Lions should follow their lead. Who might be in the NFL draft who reminds you of Doug Williams? Big strong-armed guy tougher than most of the linemen playing in the NFL?

Yep, it's obvious what the Lions should do. Draft Tim Tebow. The NFC championship game awaits.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/pro/2009/01/02/ddn010209spaudible.html

173 - I feel sorry for whoever the Lions take, McCoy, Bradford, the kid from Tech, and Tebow would all do well to stick around another year.

174 Unless the Lions get smart, and trade their first pick for multiple first rounders, no QB has to worry about being picked by the Lions. Micheal Crabtree has Detroit Lion written all over him.

171 It's pretty CLEAR that Andruw Jones was not the CREAM of the Braves. But it's even more apparent that Frank never ever listens to his scouts.

171 , 172 - Rule 8 violation comin' up!

http://6-4-2.blogspot.com/2007/12/dodgers-sign-andruw-jones-to-2-year.html

173
That is some pretty dumb analysis.

Lions will take Bradford.

177 Astounding.

If Andruw would have shown up to spring training with a 5% body fat but blew out his knee and missed the whole season nobody would be saying we shouldn't pay him. So why the difference because he sucked when he did play? Nobody here is suggesting we sue Jason Schmidt to get out of paying him. Unless one of you is his bookie and have the cell phone log to prove he intentionally sucked for some gambling ring we have to pay him.

I forgot, the Lions got the Cowboys first rounder this year due to the stupid Mike Williams trade. (He was going to be a free agent, and the freaking Detroit Lions weren't going to franchise him!, AND THE COWBOYS GAVE UP TWO FIRST ROUNDERS FOR HIM.) If Mark Sanchez leaves this year, the Lions are going to panick and pick him up. And the Mark Sanchez face will be born.

181 75 games played. 209 at bats. A significant amount of games affected by Jones' poor play, and the refusal of the Dodgers to notice that they still had a outfield problem for months before being forced to recognize it.

I would like to see Tebow as an NFL QB, but I always feel kind of bad for guys who get picked first or second overall. Almost every year they are designated as saviors of a franchise on the ropes, and that's a lot of pressure to put on a 22 year old in any sport. There aren't a lot of guys like Payton Manning, Wayne Gretzky, or LeBron James that can actually save a franchise. There are more guys like Sam Bowie and Ryan Leaf.

I'm curious to see who the Lions hire to be their new GM and coach.

http://www.metsblog.com/2009/01/03/starting-pitcher-lowe-wants-16-million-per-year/

Lowe rejects Mets offer of $36 million/3 years, he wants $16 million per year. Braves and Phillies are other suitors. Teams that either already gave up their first rounder(Phillies and Ibanez), (Mets and K-Rod) or protected.(Braves have the 7th pick.)

182
You mean Roy Williams.

186 Right. Roy. Giving up two first rounders for Mike Williams would be like the Mets trading away David Wright, and Jose Reyes for Andruw Jones. Still a dumb trade for the Cowboys though, they couldn't wait until the off season for him?

187
They only gave up one first rounder and I think he was not a free agent until 2010.

158 I actually played with/against Mazzone in his years between competitive ball. He has a decent 2-seam fastball, a good curve and a decent change-up.

For anyone in the DC metro area, if you've never been to watch the Capitals practice at the Kettler Iceplex, it's an awesome free way to spend a morning. Couple years ago, the team got Arlington County to build a beautiful facility with the team's practice rink and a public skate rink on top of a suburban parking garage. Practices (including gameday free skates) are free and open to the public. Watching shooting drills from 20 feet away is pretty incredible -- the speed and power of these guys up close is unbelievable.

Info here -- http://tinyurl.com/7far7e

188 Huh. You're right. Shows me to just read off of profootballtalk.com as the truth. >_>

183

If he would have blown out his knee and had as many AB's as Schmidt had IP, nobody would be saying anything. It's not his problem his employers thought it would be a great idea to have as it's 4 primary outfielders:

A guy who sucks but they didn't realize it yet
A guy who sucked the year before
A guy labeled as a "3.5" kind of outfielder
A guy who may or may not "breakout" anytime soon

Tell me how any of that is his problem. Yeah he stunk but unless you can prove it was intentional we have no recourse. Again, if he would have been injured, nobody would say anything at all about trying to not pay him.

157 , 159 There have been a number of stories in the LA Times about Roski's quiet plans to build a stadium in the San Gabriel Valley, north of the 60 and west of the 57 freeways.

192 After Andruw Jones had knew first knee surgery in the season, and did his first rehab stint in Las Vegas, he came back after Juan Pierre landed on the DL. Weeks before he was supposed to, after Jones personally asked the Dodgers to activate him. Jones knew he wasn't ready, the Dodgers knew he wasn't ready, and Torre admitted as such when he said that Jones was using major league at bats as his defacto rehab at bats since he cut his rehab stint short to rejoin the Dodgers. He has as much to blame about this situation as anyone in it. Its his body, it was his decision to come to spring training out of shape, it was his decision to delay surgery on his bad knee. It was his decision to cut short his rehab, and it was his decision to not report back to triple A to resume his rehab after Juan Pierre and Manny came to the Dodgers. These are decisions Andruw Jones personally made.

The 2008 season was as much fault Andruw Jones fault as anyone else. He exacerbated the problem, and for anyone to claim nobody would say anything at all about trying to not pay him, isn't the point. He was, he played poorly. That's on Andruw Jones. Just as it was on Curt Shilling for signing a contract with the Red Sox for 2008, and then revealing that he needed surgery. Its on the player to perform, they know their own body as well as anyone supposedly.

189 Thanks for the response. Was he out of affiliated ball only because no organization would give him a contract? When you played against him, did you expect him to return to affiliated ball?

177 Thanks for the link. I'd forgotten how much skepticism there was at the time of the Jones signing.

Reading Rob's analysis when Andruw was signed demonstrates as nothing else the manipulative genius that Scott Boras is. Here you have a guy, Jones, whose production did fall off significantly and worryingly. But then Boras says, "never mind that, this is a $100 million player." Because he's Boras, he doesn't get mocked, and while he had no chance of getting that contract, he set the terms of the discussion, leaving Ned to think he was pulling off a sharp deal by "only" giving Jones $36 million over two years.

Boras can fog men's minds. And so I'm thinking about this off-season. I'm in favor of LA getting Manny -- he's a uniquely gifted hitter. But what about Mark Teixiera? Has Boras concocted a myth that Teixiera is some kind of future HOF'er? He's being paid like A-Rod, but is he really in that league? Or is that just Boras fairy dust?

Lowe rejects Mets offer of $36 million/3 years

Seems to me that you've never truly rejected an offer until you've accepted another one.

148

Your union experiences are different than mine. I've never known them to be anything but a shield for lazy, unskilled people to hide behind while a handful of people actually work hard and know what they're doing.

I would love to see a scenario where "you work or you're out." Perhaps it depends upon the industry.

197

So with that Boras mind fog thing going on, any chance of Scott taking over Apple if Jobs passes on?

199 -

(1) In my first real, long-term job out of college (this was 1987), I worked for Hughes Aircraft on 102nd St. near LAX off Century Blvd. It was quite a dumpy little building, but large enough for our own warehouse. We had our own Teamster for the warehouse, and his job, as far as we could ascertain it, was to show up drunk each morningat 8:00 AM, nose red as W.C. Fields', and stumble home at 5:00 PM. To get anything of value done, those of us in the software staff inevitably collected ourselves at 5:10 or so and moved things around ourselves.

(2) My father was a UAW member back when he worked on the Apollo program as a member of North American Aviation (later Rockwell when they bought that company out). Mostly, he paid dues, which, once his employment ended ca. 1972, proved wholly pointless; I think he ended up getting a laurel, and hardy handshake on the way out.

December 2008 ranked as the snowiest December on record in some locations. Fargo, Grand Forks and La Crosse all had their snowiest Decembers on record, and in the case of Fargo, the snowiest month ever!

Being the snowiest month ever for Fargo seems very impressive to me.

http://tinyurl.com/96rh2j

201

I'm not anti-union. I certainly understand how bad it was before they existed. But, like most things, the system is flawed and prone to exploitation by the worthless.

203 - Many workers today are exploited and taken advantage of. It is not just a historical issue.

204

Yes, and sadly, many of those exploited workers are paying union dues.

205 Unions often give workers their only opportunity to seek redress.

Just because unionized workers are being exploited does not mean unions are not doing their jobs. Many of those industries are ripe with danger and inequity, that's why the workers voted to unionize. That's why those workers have any rights or protections at all.

Boomer Esiason is guest judging on some repeat of Iron Chef, and it looks like the chefs are geting ready to serve him up some pig brains, pig ears, and pig feet.

And then of course also some actual food.

He's lucky the secret ingredient wasn't Bengal tiger, I guess.

Or Terrapin.

206

The iusw works hard at keeping it's workers in the best work place position(s).

http://www.iusw.org/node/1

207
I saw part of that yesterday. Boomer should not be judging a cooking show.

208 That's good.

I once ate breakfast in the same restaurant as Boomer.

Sadly, I cannot speak to his culinary tastes.

209 Anyone can be a judge on Iron Chef. Even John Madden.

To think that the Raiders were only three wins away from being in this game.

Damn, that is pathetic.

213 - You mean, if they had gotten 60 percent more wins than they had?

Sproles! That guy has some slick steps.

Wow, the NFL marketing machine did NOT see that coming, did they?

Wow, Philip Rivers really screamed his way through that interview.

206 My father always told me that most bosses aim to keep their employees sullen but not mutinous. If the employee is too happy, too comfortable, the business suffers. Examples: The Big 3, Andruw Jones.

The problem with unions is the problem with all organizations -- be they left, right, secular, religious, communist or capitalist. Whatever their mission was at the beginning, the mission devolves into self-perpetuation.

The 4-8 Chargers move on. That's great. Meanwhile, when does the college football exhibition season end? That's quite a layoff for the sole meaninful post-season game. Wasn't the layoff last year something like 5 weeks for OSU?
vr, Xei

I'm just happy because, if I remember correctly, that makes Simmons 0-2 in his playoff picks.

Are we likely to see a press release from the Dodgers on the Jones agreement? Or will they wait until he's dumped?

Starting Monday, Fanhouse will add ex-Chicago Tribune columnist and venerable Around The Horn noisemaker Jay Mariotti to its stable of writers. Fun for the whole family. via BTF, and deadspin.

195 Mazzone was actually picked up by an Independant organization when we were both playing semi-pro ball. We were both LH pitchers so I was a little frustrated that he was picked up before me. I used to throw a little harder and had better numbers than he did in the league we were in. I actually ended up getting an Independant league contract about a month after he left so the hard feelings subsided. Unfortunately a shoulder injury ended my professional career but he just kept plugging away. I thought he was good enough to play at the next level as I thought I was too (he was kind of my arch nemesis in the league we played in). Unless he has made some major strides in the 4+ years since I've seen him play, I wouldn't figure him to be much more than a league average pitcher. I will say that he is a great guy though and loves the game of baseball so its easy to root for a guy like that.

218 When it comes to Collective Bargaining, everything is a two-way street. Union's know this because they are not in power and do not hold a share of the market place they once so steadily controlled.

In this day and age, when it comes to workers/employees, the finger HAS to be pointed at management almost every time; at least to accept the responsibility for not adhering to the signatory agreement, and/or not properly managing the job. This means that they must make sure they are getting the most bang for their buck, as per that agreement.

If an automobile worker doesn't build a car fast enough, then he can be moved from that point of the assembly line. A lot of time its bad managerial habits that create the drop in production, simply because of guidance and direction.

I am not saying that Andruw Jones didn't try. I rooted for him each and every at bat to put the ball into play.

Little did anyone know that despite his seemingly weaker skills--he chose not to report to camp in some passable shape. What I am saying is that no matter how easy the excuse, that it would be best to accept responsibilities, in this case produce for the team you signed to produce for.....or did you think that was going to get handed to you on a silver platter?

what I am saying is that for him to complain that he wants to play for an East Coast team--while being a blessing for the Dodgers to dump that contract--it is ridiculous notion to think that it will be any different for Andruw Jones anywhere else--especially coming into LA out of shape and being more a detriment to the team, rather then a compliment.

Even worse, that in today's economy that he should be so thoughtless; so arrogant on where and how he has played knowing the very people that help contribute to his salary--the fans, as losing their homes and jobs at a rate not seen since the Great Depression.

If any of us performed like that on our jobs, we wouldn't be hear typing. We would be trying to figure out how we were going to feed the family and pay the bills. Andruw Jones attitude is no different then a CEO from one of the Big Three that think that bailout money was something that they deserved; as well as the "golden parachute" that will deliver them from that burning plane falling from the sky.

I am going to go out on a not so long limb and predict that in 2009 Andruw Jones will have his last at bat in MLB.
vr, Xei

As far as unions go, I am not a big fan of them, especially when they go on strike and then whine about being out of work and not wanting me to cross their picket line to buy groceries etc..., but I admit they are a needed cog in the check and balances of labor.
vr, Xei

MLB Network has been advertising that they are showing games from the 2008 post-season but all I have seen is the same Don Larsen perfect game that they showed on Thursday.

I find that strange.

But then at least I have the network.

227
You must live in Horsethief Canyon or The Farm.

I was at the Kings tonight and was fortunate enough to see us win in one of the games of the season. This is a very exciting team to watch at the moment and I encourage all to go out and see them, they will be top caliber in the next year or two.

The one negative for me was hearing people cheering for the chargers from their box seats, I am so dumbfounded as to how we as Angelenos can support a team from San Diego, LA really needs a team..

229 The Kings will win a playoff game before there is a football team in LA.

I was also at the kings game and heard that. I can not believe the amount of charger gear people are wearing around Los Angeles now.

Hey, I was at the Kings game too!

But I didn't notice all that many people cheering for the Chargers. The score was only on the board for a few seconds.

Perhaps people hate the Colts.

Besides, the Chargers are an L.A. team originally.

Football gear I see in LA.

NY Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
Oakland Raiders
Dallas Cowboys
Chicago Bears
San Diego Chargers

I have no problem rooting for the Chargers. They are the closest team to LA, and I've been a rooter since sometime shortly after the Raiders and Rams skedaddled. However, unlike with the Dodgers or the Cal Bears, a Charger loss doesn't sit with me.

It took about a decade, but I'm glad the networks finally figured out that LA fans really didn't want to see the Raiders at every opportunity, that all the Raider BS about "Commitment to Excellence" and "Just Win Baby" were the delusions of a sick old man that only served remind folks in LA about the ugly, creepy side of professional sports.

The Chargers have become the semi-de-facto home team for NFL broadcasts and that seems about right.

LA, you always let me back in. When the Colts break, break, break my heart. At least the Colts seem to always have good games..I just wish I could see more on the positive side.

220 Pretty sure he took Arizona +1.5, but I could be wrong, and too shell-shocked to check.

It is not Jones contract that bothered me last year, it was the number of plate appearances he got. Nomar starting at first instead of Loney in 2007, all that started at third instead of Nomar in 2007, Jones and Sweeney's PAs in 2008, Pierre leading off or hitting second--that is the stuff that bothers me.

236
It's tough to get good managerial decision-making for $4 million/year these days.

223 Thanks for the report. I note that much of Mazone's time in independent ball was in the Northern League. Is that the only independent league in which he played? Or did he spend any time in the Western League?

I was involved in ownership of one of the Western League clubs. The team was gone by the time Mazone first left affiliated ball, but I had a number of friendships in the league that continued until the league folded. So we could have mutual acquaintances.

So I see that Boras has found another way to get more money out of the Dodgers. All the money "saved" will just go to Manny, no?

Scouts believe his defense is in serious regression, largely because … well, he's gotten large. "He's just too heavy to play at the level he used to play at in the outfield," one scout said on Saturday.

"He's fat," said another.

I know it was over the holidays, but what did I miss?

Here's what I remember reading:

1) Dodgers reitterate that Manny is their #1 priority.

2) Boras, having read that, contacts the Dodgers via voice-mail.

3) Dodgers Colletti returns Boras voice-mail with a voice-mail of his own, but both plan to speak to each other regarding Manny shortly, most likley after the New Years Holiday.

So, that much I remember reading.

Since then, all I have read is the multiple reports of the Giants pursuing Manny with all kinds of offers from 2 years to 4 years guaranteed.

Now, I have to assume that Boras and Colletti have spoken since we have had this whole restructuring of the Jones contract.

So what ever happened to the discussions about Manny? If places like MLBtraderumors.com can go to great lengths reporting they planned to speak to each other, wouldn't there be at least 1 wild rumor of some type of new offer?

Or again, have I simply missed something?

241 - Does every conversation have to generate a new offer? Conversations can be a means to an end, rather than only an end in themselves.

Of course, I'm hoping that your plea for a wild rumor is at least somewhat tongue-in-cheek.

even if we get Manny Ramirez we still need pitching...

It's just that there were reports that the Dodgers and Boras would be getting together to discuss Manny, and no reports of the Giants and Boras getting together to discuss him.

Now I realize that the Giants and Boras didn't need it to be reported that they would discuss Manny, and in some of the rumors it was stated that in fact no discussions had taken place.

It just seems rather odd that it was widely reported that Colletti and Boras were meeting soon to discuss Manny, and the only thing we have read since in the way of rumors is Manny to the Giants.

My plea for a wild rumor was nothing more then a plea for any rumor, since the sides had asummingly begun talking again.

And yes, you are correct that every conversation doesn't necessarily have to lead to a new offer. But one would think that with the two sides talking, the one thing you wouldn't read, is new offers made from "other" teams.

Since rumors are inherently irrational, I would just advise you not to try to impose rationality on them. There's truly nothing to be gained from it.

243. Yes, we need both Manny and a SP.
vr, Xei

245 Some rumors are irrational. But not all. Or do you consider those reports?

For example, the rumor that the Yankees were on the verge of signing Tex, or even Burnett and Sabbathia. The rumor that the Dodgers were working on restructuring Jones contract?

Sometimes these rumors are early reports of what is to come. No?

Are any of the SP FAs Boras clients, as this could be a package? Cash flow relief from Jones coupled with Manny/SP to Bums.

248

Derek Lowe is a Boras client.

247 - Of course, eventually the truth comes out. Pointing out the few rumors that came true this winter does not make the analysis of rumors any more useful.

Ultimately, even with the rumors that do come true, what does that even mean? Because so many rumors aren't trustworthy, even the rumors that turn out to be true aren't really useful, because why should we believe them?

99 percent of the Texeira rumoring left out the Yankees. Finally, the right rumor came - mere hours before the actual news was confirmed. Does that constitute an "early report of what is to come?" How was paying attention to the rumors useful?

I've never told anyone not to have fun with the rumors. But when they start agonizing over them, investing them with actual meaning, it really just hits me wrong. The rumormill is like a person who is a chronic liar. The occasional truth that comes out doesn't change that.

James McDonald has more "upside" than Kershaw:

http://www.whittierdailynews.com/sports/ci_11364010

I'm a J-Mac fan, but talk about overrating a guy based on a small sample size.

229 I love Jonathan Quick, but if I hear one more, "Quick sure was 'quick' on that save!" joke I'm going to bury that person in 'quick' sand.

My dad grew up in Kansas City cheering for the Royals until he moved out to LA in 1972. He started cheering for the Dodgers (since they were NL) after he moved out here and raised me and my brother as Dodger fans. Recently, though, he moved down to San Diego after he retired and started working for the Padres. Now he wears Padres gear all the time and says, "we," when referring to them, but he still cheered for the Dodgers during the playoffs. I called him out on it over Christmas and he said it was OK since the Dodgers weren't his childhood team. I am pretty sure that he's the worst sports fan ever. Thoughts?

Anyway, I didn't mean to go on a tirade. All I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't draw any conclusions when you don't see a rumor on something. Your Texeira example shows that silence doesn't necessarily signify anything.

251 The article actually says that MacDonald has more upside on the radar gun than Kershaw, which is probably crazier than what you said.

Also, who compares Drew Doughty to Chris Pronger?

First time I've posted since my untimely death. A bit weird communicating from the beyond. I've been a D's fan since 1954 and actually saw Nick Willhite pitch a few times. One of those interesting stories where his first ML start was probably the best of his entire career.

248
Oliver Perez is another Boras client.

250
Jon, you fail to understand how much pleasure a masochist such as myself derives from agonizing over wild rumors during Hot Stove season. It's what I live for.

251

James Macdonald was consistently around 91-92 during our playoff run (he was very well rested) from what I've seen & read about him he's more 87-88 mph IF he were to maintain the 91-92 mph the ENTIRE season then I'd believe the hype (he seems like he knows what he's doing when he is pitching IMO) veremos.

Anze Kopitar is my alltime favorite Slovenian to play for the Kings.

228 Have you managed to discover where "The Farm" is? (Setting aside its alphabetization under T for the moment.) I wonder how many people live down on The Farm, and how many houses there are, if more than one. Google comes up with a restaurant called The Farm of Beverley Hills, but that can't be it.

258
Yes, the answer is in the comments on The Griddle.

Diamond has a Dodgers update on "the Aguilas game", which I gather must be a winter baseball Dominican game:

Rafael Furcal 4-for-6, 2B, R, RBI
Andruw Jones 0-for-5, K
Hector Luna 1-for-5, solo HR
Claudio Vargas 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2K

So far so good, especially the first two, on off-season transactions.

253 I didn't take your comments as a tirade. I understand your point, as it makes total sense.

And, I don't agonize over the rumors. I enjoy reading them. Do I beleive them to be truthful? Not entirely. I understand that some are, some are not. But they are enjoyable.

And I did expect to read something by now that the Dodgers either made, were in the process of making an offer, or were no longer interested in meeting Boras' demands.

As for the Tex rumors. How do we know that only the Yankee one was the true one? For all we know all the other rumors were true also, and as reported, they (the other teams) pulled out when Boras asked for more, and the other teams realized they would not be able to compete with the Yankees offer? Point being, just because a rumor does not pan out, doesn't mean it wasn't true or close to being true at the time it is reported.

Jones' performance was well below his ZIPS pessimistic.
http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/oracle/discussion/dodgers_signed_jones/

anybody know a website were I can read updates on our players in the Dominican? I'm trying to see how our boy Ramon Troncoso is doing out there...

263
Most of the newspapers in the D.R. have websites with updates. I just go to Google News, enter "beisbol" and start poking around.

I'm just assuming you can read Spanish. Or else you have just perpetrated the greatest fraud of all time on all of us. ;-)

Looks like the Giants have a good 3rd baseman in the making 8. Pablo Sandoval, 3B, Giants. Sandoval was a revelation in 2008, hitting .359/.412/.597 at Class A, .337/.364/.549 at Class AA, and .345/.357/.490 in 41 games for the Giants. [http://tinyurl.com/8vewyq]

___

I think I remember him from a game the Dodgers played up there. Vinnie seemed impressed...

Sandoval does not look like he's the right size to play third. He's a big guy. And not in the Troy Glaus sense.

I think he'd find a home at first or catcher.

244 . "...it was widely reported that Colletti and Boras were meeting soon to discuss Manny,..." That's business about as we probably expected it to be.

"...Manny to the Giants..." THAT's a rumor!

250 . "..Because so many rumors aren't trustworthy, ..."
Huh? No rumors are trustworthy. But they're fun! And they increase anxiety.

Sandoval looks like he can hit, though I think that's a work in progress, and as Bob says I don't think he's in the right position. He looks like a latter-day Uter-shaped Miguel Cabrera, without all the early success first. Maybe catcher or first is indeed a better fit for him, we'll see.

Oh, and my condolences to you Jacob. :-( You can join me on the Chargers-on-the-obelisk bandwagon.

262- He was worse than his 10th percentile PECOTA projection,too. There are people who weren't surprised that Jones was a bust, but there can't be very many who aren't surprised by how busty he was.

Slow day on MLBTraderumors:

Headline:
"Gregg Zaun Interested In Boston"

Wake me when it's March.

Really slow day on MLBTraderumors:

"Teenager looks through father's LPs, interested in Boston."

252 - if he's working for the Padres, than he absolutely has the right to say "we", since he's part of the organization. A fan saying "we" (and I'll admit, I'm guilty of it on occasion) is nails on the chalkboard for me.

My uncle is kind of similar, he grew up a Rams and Angels fan, moved to San Diego a few years back and started rooting for the Chargers and Padres, now he lives in Vegas and roots for UNLV (he went to Cal State Fullerton). I think some people just like the attachment to the local teams, and I see nothing wrong with it, really.

261- The fact that Colletti & Boras have disdussed and completed a re-stucturing of Andruw's contract shows that they have spoken recently, and suggests that the re-structuring of Andruw's contract could be a pre-requisite to signing Manny. It's to Boras' advantage to leak info to the press regarding interest in Manny from the Giants or any other club...as long as there is an ounce of credibility to it. Boras is stoking the fires, trying to create a market, and sportswriters are scrambling for the juiciest morsels they can print. I enjoy the trade rumors too, but some GM's like to fly under the radar before they strike a deal. Personally, I don't want Colletti to leak any info on his dealings because he usually ends up telegraphing his moves to the opposition. The market is depressed right now, so all the teams are waiting to see how cheaply they can sign the players they want.

Sandoval also hits that well without taking a walk, so either he'll be another Vladimir, or his numbers across the board will take a good dip.

4. Takashi Saito, reliever, free agent: The Red Sox made an offer to the former Dodgers closer earlier this winter. Saito has battled elbow issues, but the feeling of teams whose doctors have reviewed Saito's medical records is that he might be able to pitch, though not as a closer.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/articles/2009/01/04/the_most_improved_players/?page=5

Well if the Raiders do their deal with Metropoulos then they are likely headed back to LA.

277 - NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! The Raiders need to stay in Oakland, it is where they belong, their ancestral home.

Also, looks like the Patriots are going to franchise Cassell, meaning he's going to make about 14m, not bad for a guy who hadn't started a game since high school until this year.

Oregon opting to play anonymously today at Mac Court.

276
Boston seems to be unimpressed with the Dodger ability to judge when a player is done.

275
Vlady is unique in his ability to hit a bad pitch hard. He walks at a decent clip with over 50 walks every year since he was 22. That career .389 OBP is sixty six points higher then his .323 career average. Luckily Sandoval is only going to be a 1st baseman and probably a bad defensive one at that given his body proportion.

276
Boston seems to be unimpressed with the Dodger ability to judge when a player is done.

275
Vlady is unique in his ability to hit a bad pitch hard. He walks at a decent clip with over 50 walks every year since he was 22. That career .389 OBP is sixty six points higher then his .323 career average. Luckily Sandoval is only going to be a 1st baseman and probably a bad defensive one at that given his body proportion.

The Raiders were originally called the "Oakland Raiders" but they played their first seasons in San Francisco.

282 - as long as they stay north of the grapevine, I don't really care what they call themselves or where they play.

How long has Nikola Dragovic had the accent mark over the C on his name on his jersey?

First game of this season.

281 Yeah that's when we sign them.

It's not a good effort with the accent mark, although it is needed so people should pronounce his name correctly.

Last year, I think most UCLA fans pronounced Dragovic's surname as something that would be a Rule 1 violation.

Matt Cassell is going to make $14 million guaranteed. Mike Lineart isn't going to make that in his career. Maybe Matt Corp, and Mitch Mustang can start in the NFL too.

I would like to meet an idiot Oregon fan that actually buys every single one of these jerseys.

288
You got Matts on the brain. Aaron Corp.

Mitch Mustain too.

trainwreck and I know how to spell the names of USC's quarterbacks, yet we have suppressed the names of current UCLA quarterbacks through a combination of intense psychotherapy and the use of sensory deprivation tanks.

How overrated is McNabb? Vikings are going to win this game.

291 - I thought the name of the UCLA quarterbacks were "And He's Sacked" "Down He Goes, Again" and "Interception"

293
You forgot "Throws it away!" and "Dropped" and "That'll be intentional grounding."

Our QB next year should have the initials KP or RB. If it is a KC then I am giving RN the KD treatment.

The Eagles seem to have a problem with blocking defensive players. It kind of looks like the couple of first halves of UCLA games I saw this year. McNabb is going to be running for his life all day, that should be fun.

wow, I was just checking the bowl schedule and saw that Oregon State beat Pitt 3-0. I didn't know games had that low of scores anymore, hope someone bet the under.

Eric Stephen, if your around I need your e-mail address again. I wasn't able to find any more of the cards that you needed. Seems my collection hasn't been well taken care of at mom's and the mice and water have destroyed many of them. I'll get the ones I have to you soon though, just need an address.

295- Even if the KC is Kirk Cameron?

Especially if it is Kirk Cameron.

Trainwreck wants to see if Kerry Collins has any NCAA eligibility left.

I was just checking out our SP schedule & on Feb 28 we will be playing Colorado. I'm thinking of making it out there to as many weekend games as I can.

the Dodger schedule (on the weekends) doesn't look all that impressive but i guess i'm glad there closer to home...

from my count, 52 days till first SP game...

catching up on Ramon Troncoso (there isn't much out there) I was reading Wikipedia on him & this is pretty cool slash interesting Troncoso was added to the Dodgers 40-man roster after the 2007 season and made his Major League Debut on April 1, 2008 for the Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants. He pitched to one batter and produced an inning-ending double-play.

James McDonald on the fast track [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_McDonald_(baseball)]

it feels pretty good flexing my six pack (jk)

I will put an end to this.

I have nothing to say, but I'm not letting Bluebleeder get a Rennie Stennet.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN197509160.shtml

Clippers with the game of the year for them as they lose on the last shot by the Pistons.

Played with eight players for most of the game , missing Baron, Randolf, Kamen, R Davis, Taylor, Hart, and Fred Jones. They suited 9 but lost Fred Jones two minutes into the game.

20 year old Eric Gordon became a man today as he took it to the Pistons time after time in crunch time. 12 for 12 from the line. Marcus Camby won't get much support because he plays on such a crappy team but he's an all-star and gives the effort every night that we had hoped to see from Baron.

Based on the comments I figured the Eagles were losing. Imagine my surprise to see them up by two at 1/2 time.

NPUT