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About Jon
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1) using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity
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Goodbye, Goodwin
2005-03-25 08:00
by Jon Weisman

It appears over for former Dodger Tom Goodwin - who might belong on this list - but not for Hideo Nomo.

Although Goodwin has often been the subject of ridicule, this farewell by Roger Mooney of the Bradenton Herald is touching if you follow the link to read it to the end (even though the Maury Wills pupil bit has already been done to death in Dave Roberts profiles throughout this century):

ST. PETERSBURG - He was the hot prospect once. The first-round draft pick. The guy Maury Wills tutored each spring on the finer points of stealing a base.

Yes, Wills was there for all the speedsters in the Los Angeles farm system, but he always let Tom Goodwin know that he was the prized pupil.

Goodwin thought about that Wednesday morning as he sat in a chair in the visitor's bullpen at Dodgertown before Tampa Bay's game with the Dodgers. He thought about his first big league camp, his first big league game, his first big league hit.

"I sat there and look out at the field, and it all came back to me," Goodwin said. "I thought this is where it all started. I thought that not knowing what would happen (Thursday). That it could be my last game."

It was.

Meanwhile, Mooney reports that Nomo allowed two hits over six innings while strking out five against the Reds on Thursday, showing improved velocity and location.

* * *

Giants manager Felipe Alou will serve a one-game suspension on Day 2 of the regular season, April 6 against the Dodgers. The Assciated Press reports that Alou's suspension relates to the three-game suspension given to former Giants relief pitcher Dustin Hermanson, now with the White Sox, for intentionally throwing at former Astros second baseman Jeff Kent, now with the Dodgers.

* * *

Steve at Fire Jim Tracy has reaction to Bill Plaschke's latest covered. Head over there to comment.

* * *

Update: Nick Christensen of the Las Vegas Sun has the perspective from the Dodgers' top minor-league team, the 51s:

Las Vegas 51s manager Jerry Royster has worked his way back to Triple-A camp at the Dodgers' spring training complex in Vero Beach, Fla.

Now, he just needs a team to join him.

"There's just not that many guys that are here" at minor league camp, Royster said. "It would probably have been better for me if I had stayed with the major league team. That's where the bulk of my team is. It's where both of my potential catchers are, that's where the outfielders are, and where the middle infielders are.

"I think my entire starting rotation, other than maybe (Joel) Hanrahan, are up there."

Comments
2005-03-25 10:01:21
1.   scareduck
Jon - you have a missing </i> close tag in the text of this post.
2005-03-25 10:09:14
2.   dzzrtRatt
I'm thrilled about Nomo's apparent progress. There's no bigger underdog in sports than the Devil Rays, trying to get by on a $35 million budget in a division with three of the most affluent teams in the game, so I pay attention to them. Having a stoic, stalwart veteran like Nomo to anchor their rotation might help make the Rays a .500 team, given the obvious raw talent throughout their lineup and rotation. If some of these players emerge at once as the stars they will become, the Rays could be a great story; made even greater if Nomo gets to play a part in it.

I ridiculed Goodwin, until he went over the Giants in 2002 and kicked LA's butt with some key hits in crucial games. I was outraged! Why didn't he ever hit like that for us? Anyway, I hope someone picks him up. Maybe the Yankees can use him to back up Bernie.

2005-03-25 10:10:10
3.   Bob Timmermann
The Yankees have Doug Glanville to take their traditional "bad end of the bench" roster spot.
2005-03-25 11:18:44
4.   Wayne Wei-siang Hsieh
Nice to see Hideo having a chance at reviving his career. He's still my favorite Dodger, and I still wear his jersey. I actually had hoped that we could bring him into camp as NRI, although it's not a surprise that that didn't pan out. Anyhow, at least he's back in the AL East. It would have broken my heart to see him come back in a Giants uniform.

Worst moment for me as a Dodgers fan was seeing Nomo getting roughed up last season at Dodger Stadium against the Giants, and hearing the crowd boo him. And understanding why the crowd was so peeved. I was sitting there in my home Nomo jersey absolutely heartbroken.

WWSH

2005-03-25 12:01:47
5.   everett
Since we're talking about minor league teams and ... the Tampa Bay Devil Rays...
How's this for a burried, offhanded slap at the dodgers:

Top 5 teams you'd like to see MLB contract or relocate:
Matt (Romig) Says:
1. Tampa Bay Devil Rays
2. Milwaukee Brewers
3. Oakland A's
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Los Angeles Dodgers

http://fantasysports.yahoo.com/analysis/news?slug=bf-highfives_032405&prov=yhoo&type=lgns&league=fantasy/mlb

2005-03-25 12:27:19
6.   dzzrtRatt
I know you want to divert Plaschke comments over to Fire Jim Tracy, but...it sure looks like Jeff Kent is going to be a huge plus for the Dodgers; maybe Kirk Gibson reincarnated. Tough, no-BS guy, on a mission to win a World Series before he retires, will get in anyone's face who isn't committed to that goal.
2005-03-25 14:32:20
7.   fanerman91
Off topic, but did anybody see the game? We beat the Cards 6-4. How did people do?
2005-03-25 17:34:56
8.   Suffering Bruin
Tom Goodwin attended Fresno State University, IIRC. When I saw him, he was playing for the Fairbanks Goldpanners, the most decorated Alaska League baseball team ever. I was doing play-by-play for the North Pole Nicks, who I think went into bankruptcy after the season. It was by far the most fun I had as a broadcaster, not least because the Nicks beat the Panners in a terrific pennant race.

Tom Goodwin, at the time, was not just fast for baseball. He was fast, period. I mean, we're talking Olympic speed. I never saw anyone faster from second to home.

Why is this intersting? Because at no time in his career was Tom Goodwin ever considered that fast. Speedy guy, sure, but never the kind of speed he seemed to have in Fairbanks, AK. Was it only what all of us up there at the time thought was true or did something to take him from supersonic fast to just plain old fast?

I knew a guy who worked in Great Falls, Montana. He was there when the Dodgers A-ball team had Pedro Martinez, Raul Mondesi, among others. The best player he saw up there--and he had plenty of company to support this opinion--was Mike Busch. Yeah, today he shakes his head while saying it but he'll also tell you that back then, everyone was talking about what a great player Busch was.

Best high school basketball player I ever saw? It's a tie between Ed O'Bannon and John Williams. Best running back I saw in high school? Russel White. Those are three names that I would've bet would make plenty of all-star teams at the professional level of their respective sports.

I would've thought it was a sure thing that Tom Goodwin, while perhaps not being a great player, would enter Major League Baseball with electric speed. Didn't happen and darned if I know why.

2005-03-26 09:27:44
9.   Eric Enders
"Tom Goodwin, at the time, was not just fast for baseball. He was fast, period. I mean, we're talking Olympic speed. I never saw anyone faster from second to home."
-------

Funny, the first memory I have of Tom Goodwin is watching him play in the Olympics, shortly after the Dodgers drafted him.

2005-03-26 11:07:49
10.   Icaros
I was at Dodger Stadium on 9/1/91 and saw Goodwin's first ever ML appearance and first at-bat. He got an infield single, seemed pretty fast at the time.

It was also Eric Karros's first appearance, but only as a pinch runner (!) for Mike Sharperson (RIP) and a 9th-inning defensive replacement at 1B.

Dodgers beat the Cubs 12-3. Thank you, Retrosheet.

2005-03-26 11:36:22
11.   Jon Weisman
I saw Goodwin play at the 1988 College World Series. He was definitely highly regarded at the time, and always considered a speed threat, though I suppose not Carl Lewis.
2005-03-26 12:38:25
12.   Bob Timmermann
Goodwin may be able to find a home with the Yankees yet. They released Doug Glanville.

If Doug Glanville has no job in baseball, where will Jayson Stark get jokes for his columns?

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