So should we give our opinions of Black or the Gray Lady of Spring Street?

To answer your question: I sure hope not, but one does have to wonder.

But as to the news (or rumor) at hand, I'll take whatever semi-good Dodgers news I can get. Sure beats Fregosi!

yeah, black > fregosi as far as i can tell.

When the DePodesta firing came down I was in CA reading the actual paper, which is very different from scanning online for interesting headlines. One thing that has made me wonder if paper newspapers are going to survive -- notwithstanding Bob's high-profile defection -- is that the layout and composition of a full size newspaper conveys a good deal of valuable information that is much harder to collect on line. Editorial decisions about article placement, column length, photo selection and layout, impart a lot of information about the judged importance/meaning of a story that is often just not there on the net, where most articles look the same.

So, I remember that, the morning of the day that DePodesta was fired, basically the whole front of the Sports section was taken up by a a huge Plaschke column arguing that DePodesta was basing the manager search on improper personal considerations with a giant picture of DePodesta (and, I think, his laptop) and a harsh headline along the lines of "Gotta Be A Friend of Paul To Get This Job."

Anyhow, this is old news I realize, and at the time I blew the article off assuming it was just more Plaschkean bloviating, but now I just wonder how the appearance of that article and its enormous prominence -- which was not really that obvious an editorial call given that there was no news in the column and the manager search was kind of a simmering story -- interrelated with the firing. Did Plaschke already know McCourt's plans? Did the article set McCourt off? No clue here, just musing in order to avoid work I should be doing.

Great--Plaschke picks the GM;
Simers picks the manager;

If Robert Scheer had hung around, God knows what the McCourts would let him do.

Black has never managed anywhere.

So much for "knowing how to win".

Sam,
I think you're mixing together a few issues, but that's understandable since your mind was elsewhere at the time.

First Plaschke wrote his "Got to be a friend of Paul" column. Then a few days later, the Times broke the story that DePodesta was going to get fired and that one ran with the huge photo of DePodesta staring at his laptop like he just got killed in a game of Everquest. Plaschke didn't write a column that day. I believe it was Brown and Henson writing the stories.

Then the next day, Plaschke wrote the column saluting the firing of DePodesta as the dawn of a new era.

Then I cancelled my subscription.

Off-topic, but did any of you folks watch roller derby on ESPN in the mid-80s? I used to watch it back-to-back with AWA Wrestling. I bring it up because I see tonight's episode of Cheap Seats on ESPN Classic is taking a look at roller derby from 1986. Should be fun. I'm expecting to see the LA T-Birds, and hopefully some Georgia Haas.

If Robert Scheer had hung around, God knows what the McCourts would let him do.

If Robert Scheer had his way, we'd all be going over to the Arechigas' house in Chavez Ravine for Thanksgiving dinner.

BTW, Dodgers missed a golden opportunity to get a player with tons of heart, hustle, etc.; the M's signed Alfredo Amezega to a one-year, league minimum contract.

10 - Oops, s/b Marlins.

7 No surprise I'm scrambled, but that's funny. I really had it in my mind that the Plashcke column was the day before the news of the firing was printed (thus the same actual day as the firing). Not at all surprised I'm mixing up the pictures - but the Plaschke column, again I could swear got huge, front and center play.

I gather you're sitting at work looking at these papers thinking, "poor soul, how can I let him down gently."

Anyhow, I am readily convinced that my recollections are wrong.

I do look forward to quitting my job and expanding my thesis about how newspaper layout conveys important information to the practiced reader that currently is not well transferred to the web.

10
Amezaga could have been an inspiration to Mexican Dodger fans so they could know that a horrible hitting Mexican player could make it in the big leagues just as much as guys like Mike Edwards.

4- Aren't papers doomed once the classified ads dry up? There is nothing superior (so far as I can tell) in the paper incarnation of those, and they cost too much. That's a third of their ad revenue, right? And there wouldn't seem to be any way to make that up.

I just got an email from a Red Sox friend asking if we want to trade Choi for Youklis. Do we? Does Colletti?

9-- Good point

14 - depends on which paper. The Washington Post counts on classifieds for less than 10% of revenues (4% last time I remember). Most papers are around 20-30% (IIRC the Times is in this range) and some are around 50%.

Craigslist is killing them now and it's only going to get worse.

10/28/2005 - "Wanted: DePo Man" by Bill Plaschke

10/30/2005 - "Dodger Fans, Think of It as a Heimlich Maneuver" by Bill Plachke

As of today, Plaschke has written 36 columns in which he has mentioned DePodesta. I would assert that maybe two of them were not critical and even the very first one was highly critical.

I realize I'm going in multiple directions this evening, and doing so in overlong posts that crowd out discussion as well, but I think this is worth quoting. The JD Drew phenomenon has resulted in some discussion here about whether and when players should play through injuries. Meanwhile, the Nationals had a high profile blowup on this subject last year with Frank Robinson and some players calling other players out for being softies. So today, Jose Guillen has shoulder surgery, and comes out with this: "In retrospect, Guillen said he should have taken time off during the season in order to allow the shoulder to heal. 'I cannot be playing like this anymore, because it really cost me a lot. I was playing in a lot of pain during the second half. I have to be smart enough next time. I have to look out for my future and my career,' Guillen said. 'There was no way I could shut it down [in the second half], because we were fighting for a playoff spot. Jose Guillen is all about winning, not about anything else.'" http://tinyurl.com/ctjav

So, it's not quite sure what this kind of self-contradictory statement means, but the thrust seems to be -- "All that stuff I said before about real ballplayers play through injuries, never mind." Funny.

Of other Times columnist, Simers has mentioned DePodesta 60 times in a similar time span and J.A. Adande 6 times.

Ross Newhan wrote about DePodesta 16 times.

6 *Black has never managed anywhere.
So much for "knowing how to win".*

Maybe Scioscia told him how.

21
Who told Scioscia?

18 Thanks -- so I gather the Henson/Brown piece on the actual firing was published on the 29th in the middle.

Sort of related, I've noticed a distinct trend of people on this site saying that one or other recent Simers column has been worthwhile. Hmmmm . . .

So, Nate, what do I tell my friend about Youkils?

I think it's still safe to skip anything by Simers. There is usually not much news. It's just a bunch of jokes centered around his children or wife.

He's like Dave Berry except that he acts as if someone is punching him in the groin every time he types.

Not sure about Colletti or the rest of us, but if we had to trade Choi, I wouldn't exactly be against trading him for Youkilis. Of course, we could just wait and hope Bowden takes over there, and we could get Youkilis for Repko

25
For the most part, I don't care one way or another about the current Dodger players. But it would be a shame to see Choi go. He's just about the only player I really like.

Apparently Mets have offered Wagner over 30 million for 3 years with an option for a 4th.

David Ortiz has said Manny told him he will not be back and will go out west and the team told Ortiz that they are working on getting that done. So it looks like MANRAM may be an Angel.

28
There was a time when players wanted to play for the Dodgers. Behind us now that time is.

I would be happy to have Manny Ramirez on my team even with all the dumb crap he does. But that can not happen when he would take up a third of your payroll.

Anyone planning to go to San Diego's OTHER bowl game. The brand new Poinsettia Bowl will match up Navy and Colorado State on December 22 at Qualcomm.

FJT's favorite school, BYU, has accepted a spot in the Las Vegas Bowl. The organizers are hoping that BYU brings a bunch of fans because attendance at this game is normally awful and it could get dropped. Matching up teams like Wyoming and UCLA will do that.

UCLA fans don't even go to bowl games when they are in town! (Spoken as a UCLA fan overwhelmed twice by evil Wisconsinites)

Is anyone watching the MSU/Zags game? The ending to this has been crazy. Back and forth with three pointers with under a minute left. Now going to OT.

And the BYUers swarm Vegas, and the city goes, er, unwild, and and and . . .

If Manny Ramirez goes to the Angels, they'll outdraw the Dodgers in attendance and TV ratings this year.

BYU and UNLV are in the same conference so Las Vegas isn't an unusual destination. The Cougars have played in Las Vegas five times and have never lost. And it's not a particularly long drive from Utah to Las Vegas.

Not a lot of places to stop along the highway however.

26. D4P
But it would be a shame to see Choi go. He's just about the only player I really like.

Not many to choose from?

36
Indeed.

Bud Black has reportedly said, thanks but no thanks to the dodger job. That didn't take long.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5106476

Glad BYU is coming.

In town, Sam Boyd ticket marketers are blowing out cheap seats trying to get to the magic number 29,185 or lose the bowl game.

ASU or Cal? If ASU doesn't opt to go elsewhere I'd think we'd get more fans with them.

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Nov-22-Tue-2005/sports/4433057.html

38
It's a sad day when moving from Angels' pitching coach to Dodgers' manager is not seen as a promotion.

RE 24. he's not like Dave Barry because Dave Barry is funny and intelligent and TJ Simers is obviously not.

38 Oh man, the implosion just gets better and better...

42
I wonder if Depo is just kicking back appreciating the chaos he has helped create, kinda like Lard Ass and his castor oil inspired barf-o-rama.

39

I doubt many Cal fans would want to take the trip to Las Vegas after a fairly disappointing year. They'd probably rather play in the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco, but the Pac-10 won't be able to send anyone there.

I believe the Insight Bowl has dibs on a Pac-10 team before the Las Vegas Bowl.

35- Only a coastal elitest could say that. Have you never heard of Parowan? They've got a truck stop there that sells fried mushrooms by weight. What about Nephi? St. Cloud is pretty nice, if you need the buzz and bustle of a big city. My favorite, though, is Paragonah (sung to the tune of Oklahoma).

Maybe we can get permission to interview Don Zimmer?

45

I stand by my comment.

Lawler's Law invoked in Maui!

Black did not want to move his family from San Diego. That has to be the dumbest, biggest pile of crap, excuse I have ever heard in my life. Wow LA and Anaheim are light years away from each other where I could not just keep my family where they are. We are the lepers of baseball.

46
There's no "maybe" about it.

Black doesn't want to come here because he won't move his family? Is the drive from San Diego that much of a difference? We're not exactly the Maine Dodgers...

Re: 31

I saw the Press Release about the Navy Bowl Game here at Annapolis. They'll be playing right about the time I'll be submitting grades and flying home to LA for the Holidays. I actually think we really should be beating up on the Ivies in Division III or whatever the heck they have, but that's a whole other can of worms, and the alumni would revolt.

I have an officer colleague whose father was on the last Navy team that beat Notre Dame in South Bend--a long time ago, and a long time coming, if ever.

Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium is actually a nice place to watch a game, btw. Very family-friendly, not too big, and in pretty good shape. The Brigade sitting together in their Service Dress Blues, the plebes doing push-ups when we score, the names of Navy and Marine Corps battles lining the rim of the stadium--there's a certain appeal there.

WWSH

McCourt fired DePodesta to quell the perception that his franchise was on the wrong track. The funny thing is, it was only the local media that perceived things that way. In firing DePodesta, he earned himself praise from Plaschke, but now all of baseball and the national media see him as a buffoon.

And nobody but absolute rejects and retreads want to be our manager. Priceless.

Beaver! Fillmore! Cedar City!

51
However, I've been told that West Point has a prettier stadium and setting.

Navy has a better fight song.

Yeah, the org isn't in great shape, but I think we're overdoing it on the manager search, no? All we need is someone on the same page as the Front Office, and I'll be happy. We don't necessarily want some big-name field manager who thinks he can off the reservation, after all.

WWSH

How can the manager be on the same page as the front office. The front office doesn't have a book, the ability to read and Steve has already gouged out Colletti's eyes with his pocket knife.

On MSNBC, I am reading an article about the return of the 30-year Treasury bond. One of the "related articles" is about the death of Bobby Bonds.

43. D4P

I find it funny that the people who supported DePodesta felt that the team was headed in the right direction. But only now w/o DePo the team is a mess.

Re: 54

I've never been to Army's football stadium, although I spent a few months at the West Point library doing dissertation research a few years ago. The physical campus is certainly far more martial, with its grim and grey collegiate Gothic, and the surroundings have a grandeur that the much smaller Yard can't match. USNA certainly has its own charms, though.

I met a West Point cadet recently who's told me that much of the Corps there is pretty cynical about how much emphasis is placed on Army football, with very limited returns for all the resources invovled, and from many of the cadets' perspective, with a war on, worrying about the football team seems to be a misuse of priorities. This is a pretty emotional issue for the alumni and the services, though.

WWSH

At least people were willing to interview with us for manager when DePo was GM.

58 Is that pro-DePo or pro-anyone else? Because losing DePo is not why we're in a mess (and we are in a a mess)

Re: 56

We need to give Colletti some time to get his sea-legs. Sure, this situation should never have occurred in the first place, but we should at least take heart in DePo's lieutenants staying, and the fact that Colletti seems to take their opinions seriously. That's why we're moving so slow, I think--he needs to get a read on all this. And we've got plenty of time for trades and free agents. This can still be an okay off-season, and I want to give Colletti a chance to show his cards.

WWSH

60 One of the 4 DePo guys from outside the organization is still able/willing to do the job. At least I assume Trammell is willing (we're a step up from the Tiger team he started with)

With DePodesta there was a plan. It may have been a bad one, but it was a plan. Now that plan was thrown away and has been replaced by the same amount of planning I use to pick out my underwear every morning.

Lawler's Law was broken in Maui. Michigan State got to 100 first and lost 109-106 in 3 OTs.

But Colletti might also have a plan. We need to let him have some time to implement it, and then we can judge.

WWSH

64 So we better hope Royce Clayton isn't at the top of the pile

And when we run out of FAs, we can re-use the old, dirty ones, like Marquis Grissom!

67

Someone has figured out my plan.

I'm refusing to trade Choi for Youklis. It makes sense if you start from a "Choi is dead to this team anyways" perspective, but I'm not accepting that perspective just yet, regardless of the state of Bob's scivvies.

69
Hey, they're clean!

38 - Thanks, I updated up top.

52 - Most of baseball agreed with the DePo firing.

62 - We need to give Colletti some time to get his sea-legs.

Right, just as soon as he gets done barfing all over the crew.

wait a sec... according to the foxsports article, black's reason is "because he didn't want to have to move his family from the San Diego area."

let me get this straight... working just 30 miles up the road, and getting paid a ton more money to do it, means that you suddenly have to move your family???? that's the most transparent line of BS i've ever heard.

73
that's the most transparent line of BS i've ever heard

Maybe so, but Depo's "We're not trying to trade Shawn Green" line has to come close.

It's official, we are the Cincinnati Reds of baseball. We have a terrible owner, no one wants to play here, no one wants to GM here, no one wants to manage here. Working for the Dodgers seems to be baseball Siberia.

After what year can J.D. Drew option out of his contract? I am sure he will be gone, unless it is all about money for him and Boras. So, maybe he will stay?

All we need now is for Jerry Springer to be mayor of LA.

Just in case you didn't know. Jerry Springer was once the mayor of Cincinnati.

Jerry!Jerry!Jerry!Jerry!Jerry!Jerry!Jerry!

75
I believe Drew can opt out after the 2006 season, and will probably do so unless:

1. He gets hurt again
2. He performs poorly

[77] i'd rather have jerry run for senate. and i think magic could likely be mayor of los angeles, which would be comical enough.

He is not going to get 11 million a year from anyone else. My bet is that he does not opt out unless he has a MVP type season. Most teams even if they like Drew would not give him that much money because of the injury concern.

So what can we, as Dodger fans, be thankful for this time of year:

1) We have Tommy Lasorda on our side
2) We have a former SF Giant now in charge of re-establishing the "Dodger Way"
3) We have an owner who is a well published author, see:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743243773/

and finally,
4) It is circa 11:30PM Eastern and I am going to bed. Maybe this whole thing will be one long nightmare I will wake up from tomorrow.

[81] i can't wait for the sequel. i hear it's going to be called "o'malley's ashes".

And, with the posting of comment 81, my opting for the widescreen laptop has finally paid off. To all of you 4:3ers out there, I'd like to say: neiner, neiner, neiner; enjoy your horizontal scrolling, suckers.

I'm crying. Really, and it's not because I can envision the Movie "O'Malley's Ashes" (which I can) but because you guys had me laughing from 1-83.

I think we need Danica to re-do that calculation with the knowledge that Royce is on top of the pile...
... and when I hit the sack in a few minutes, weary from my sad little 4:3 Cathode Ray Torture device, I will see little faint characters dancing in Plashckeuesqe familitarity in the darkness and I will know that we are still not at rock bottom.

Rosenthal says that the Padres final offer of 3/30 is not enough for Giles. Of all the horrible ideas this offseason, signing Giles is the least horrible of them. Which isn't saying much.

So is the rival GM who has knowledge of the Dodgers payroll, Brian Sabean?

I can see Rosenthal in his office, yelling "Get Me Sabean!"

85 Final better be final. And will he accept $30,000,000.01 over 3 years?

Why would Black manage the Dodgers when Lasorda was quoted as saying that the Dodgers wouldn't hire him because the press would crucify them? See Simers' latest article.

Judging from Rosenthal's article and what he says the Padres are planning for next year, it's going to be a long year down there.

I wish we would just let Milton Bradley coach the team. Now that is ratings!! Kent would sit on the bench everyday but still.......

BYU had at least 10,000 fans at the regular-season UNLV-BYU game in Las Vegas. UNLV assumes this to be the case because the attendance was 10K higher than normal and the crowd was loudly in favor of BYU. Note that not all of these necessarily made the drive -- Las Vegas has a huge Mormon population (the non-casino portion of town). The bowl game will basically be a home game for BYU. Not that this will necessarily save the Las Vegas bowl if it is in jeapordy. We have way too many bowls.

All I want for Christmas is stopgaps like Nomar, Rondell White, Steroids Lawton, or someone else til Delwyn Young, Billingsley, and LaRoche are ready :)

When was our payroll $81 mil? I think it should read payroll involving players who actually played (which I guess is what Rosenthal is getting at)

Padres are looking to acquire Jones/Burnitz and Ausmus? Considering how Burnitz hit at Dodger Stadium, I'm hoping he goes to the Padres. Maybe they can sign Jones too, thus blocking Johnson, who is probably better than the 2 FAs. And why get Ausmus when Ross and Olivo can do what he does? As long as they pay Matheny money for him, I'll be happy...

75 - It's official, we are the Cincinnati Reds of baseball.

More like, the Royals, with a better team and an infinitely more loyal fan base. The Reds may be bad, but they just got two of the minor partners from the Cards, who presumably have watched a functional organization up close. Meantime, the Royals are full of nephews and refuse, to use the great old line about how Hollywood executive suites get populated.

We're Royal-licious.

Oddly enough, almost 2 years later and I still hate the McCourts. Oh and why go for Juan Pierre when we can have Dave Roberts again?

Of course, nothing's really changed since June. Different cast, different symptoms, same basic dysfunctions.

8. D4P, Off-topic, but did any of you folks watch roller derby on ESPN in the mid-80s?

Mid 80s? Are you kidding? KC Carr, circa 1972 was the hottest thing on wheels. I was an 11 year old boy when that issue of Life hit the newsstand. I was never the same again.

http://tinyurl.com/c263e

I don't understand why if we must get a powerless speedster, we don't bother getting Gathright, who is Juan Pierre, but cheaper, would cost the same prospects, and is younger. Of course, I'd much rather neither.

The only advantage they have over, say, Jason Phillips leading off, is that they aren't named Jason Phillips, and can make the pitcher "work" apparently. Now I can't wait for someone to tell me I'm crazy

Not to rain on everyone's anti-Dodger parade, but, if you read closely, apparently Bud Black has turned down jobs before for the same reason. And I quote:

"Black declined the opportunity, as he has with other past jobs, because he didn't want to have to move his family from the San Diego area."

101. Yes but I'm guessing those jobs were not only a 100 miles away. face it no one wants to go near the Dodgers. And to think we worried that no team would deal with Depo after the Green/Penny/Johnson debacle. That seems like such small potatos now.

101. unless he declined San Diego, its a valid excuse. For declining the Dodgers job, its still a lame excuse

Then there is this:

"I spoke with him [Manny]last week before he left for Brazil and he told me that he wants to go to a team in the West," Ortiz said.

and what does this mean:

"Manny lives a difficult situation that only he and his family know about, and he does not want to play there," Ortiz said."

Bud Black...another pick for the bleating sheep. If all we know about Bud Black is that he comes "highly thought of" by baseball nimrods, then we won't miss him.

Which is a different issue than having Jim Fregosi be the only guy who will even talk to you.

[101] come on. it's not like bud black's current job is in the "san diego area". in fact it's in the greater LA area if anything. so it's not like working for the dodgers would be this huge geographical shift for a guy who already words for the los angeles angels. if he was turning down a job in the bay area or farther, i'd buy the family excuse, but not for a job that's a mere 30 miles from his current job.

oops, that's "works", not "words".

I dont really care about Bud Black, the fact that he works for the Angels doesnt sell him in my book. The Dodgers are going to have to take out an add in the classifieds to fill this opening.

101. If he's so commited to not moving his family, wouldnt the Dodgers be a perfect situation?

108

Classified ads are so yesterday.

I'm checking craigslist.

I just heard from FoxSports that the Dodgers' brass plans to exhume Walter Alston's rotting corpse and prop it up for an interview as a potential managerial candidate. News at 11. Or not.

Meanwhile, Tim Wallach declined to be interviewed for the position because moving over to Dodgers manager would require a commute longer than 3 feet down the bench, which would uproot his family.

Or something.

G'night!

9 teams hae asked about Gathright, what are the odds the Dodgers are one of them? The Padres and Marlins have both asked...

105 - considering he's never managed before, it's probably a good idea.

108, 110 - that costs $25 in Los Angeles. What, you think Frank's made of money or something? :-)

Because what this team needs is a solid pinch-runner.

There is some interesting talk over at Bronx Banter about the Beckett/Lowell deal.

Basically it is along the lines of "Well, this is the kind of trade you are supposed to use your farm system for, isn't it?"

Serious question here, bereft of cynicism or criticism: If the Angels wanted to move, where would they go? Somewhere else in Orange County?

Bud Black declining to sit down with the McCourts for a chat is just too funny. The McCourts have just about alienated fans from both the old scrappy school side of the fence and the sabr side. The scrappy-doo side with his firing of Jim Tracy and the sabr side with the firing of Depo. About the only people that will go near the McCourts with a 10 foot pole are Tommy Lasorda and Ned Colletti. Anyone with experience or without a pace-maker doesn't want to touch the Dodger GM or Managerial positions. How long will it be before the LA Times starts a bandwagon asking the McCourts to sell the team. I don't think the McCourts have too many friends inside the baseball industry. MHO is that Black snubbed the Dodgers because they didn't approach Scoscia for the managerial opening, not as though Scoscia would've took it though. Many GM's like Theo and probably a few other didn't talk to the McCourts about the GM opening because of the way Depo was treated. vr, Xei

116. The Los Angeles Angels of Mission Viejo? Corona Del Mar? vr, Xei

maybe plascke can manage the team?

116 I heard talk on the radio today that Moreno would move the team to Las Vegas. Then Anaheim could get the A's. I kinda like that idea all around. The A's could even use the Big A.

116 - Long Beach. Santa Fe Springs. There's a hell of a big piece of land in Carson with nothing on it.

120 - no way MLB allows it. Vegas isn't big enough for the Angels, and Arte is absolutely right to talk about the Angels being in a major market. This isn't even close to feasible. Talk radio!

117 - MHO is Black is perfectly happy being a pitching coach, opposite a team manager which he has never been, not even in the minors. It's treacherous ground for even an seasoned professional, let alone someone with no experience.

Oops, guess I'm wrong. Black says he'll sleep on it:

http://tinyurl.com/cfajd

Add Matt Morris's agent to the list of people who have a lot of confidence in Colletti.

Off topic: Tonight was Ted Koppel's last broadcast for Nightline. Nothing special - just a look back at his shows with Morrie Schwwartz (of "Tuesdays with Morrie" fame). But it's the end of an era - 26 years since the Iran-hostage crisis. I'll miss him, and likely watch the show a lot less often.

Fregosi or Buddy Bell for manager - they could fill in at third and both are character guys who are gamers and who know how to win and would improve the chemistry of the team. Trammell could play short until Izturis returns. Things are looking better. Any ideas on the over/under for the USC-UCLA game?

"The Mets have reached an agreement for a trade to bring Carlos Delgado from the Marlins, Newsday has learned. The trade won't be finalized until medical examinations of the players involved are complete and commissioner Bud Selig signs off on the deal.

The Mets have agreed to send righthanded pitching prospect Yusmeiro Petit and young first baseman Mike Jacobs to the Marlins for Delgado, according to someone familiar with the deal. As part of the deal, the Marlins will send $7 million back to the Mets to cover part of the $48 million remaining on Delgado's contract."

This according to John Heyman of New York NewsDay.

http://tinyurl.com/9rzql

Choi fans everywhere breathe a sigh of relief.

Well, they gain the 30 home runs, but how many balls dug out of the dirt do they lose? Huh? Huh? Huh?

Talk radio makes me crazy but my morning now regularly has me in the car for 20 minutes of Mike and Mike in the Morning. I'm no expert, and they're not perfect by any stretch, but I like them. They both seem like very decent guys, and I like the fan/player combo. And they both seem to look at things with a reasonably open mind.

That said, today I flipped on and heard the end of Jayson Stark, saying "and Glaus would have ended up at _____ [it went by quick and I didn't hear, but it wasn't us], but the Dodgers didn't have a big enough bat to make the deal work."

Anyone else hear that; anyone have a clue what he's talking about?

Some congratulations in order perhaps?

http://tinyurl.com/b7xjw

Well done, Steve.

All I've been able to pass is the dutchy is on the left side.

[129] don't be relieved yet; konerko is still on the horizon.

134 And Kevin Millar. He's a proven winner, you know.

And Kevin Millar is from L.A. Get ready for him to tell you how much he's always wanted to play in L.A.

Even though, like Jeff Kent, he lives in Texas.

It would be funny, if I didn't think there was a fairly high chance it might happen.

Kevin Millar should have gone to high school at my alma mater, Kennedy, but his father didn't think he would play enough there because the team was so loaded (and it was.) So he went to University High over in West L.A.

And he got a scholarship to go play at Lamar, so the plan worked.

Whever I think of Lamar I think of the basketball coach who was fired by the University for saying what a horrible town Beaumont, TX is.

Kevin Millar's greatest "asset" is that he's always ready to talk to reporters and takes the heat off his teammates. If he were a Dodger he'd probably be Plaschke's best friend. I can see it now..."World Series hero Kevin Millar makes triumphant return to LA, Southland rejoices".

According to Tim Brown's article: "Colletti was unavailable for comment." Better watch your step, Ned.

Man, Matt Morris' agent has the raddest name. I am jealous.

Wait a second, maybe Billy Wagner's agent has a better name: Bean Stringfellow.

Barry Axelrod's name is not as cool as Billy Wagner's agent: Bean Stringfellow.

Ooh, synchronicity.

129 - Obviously Ned's talking to Fla. about someone other than Beckett, Lowell, and Delgado. Hmmm....

What stage of grief is wanting to kill Bill?

We at DT only embrace peace, understanding and tolerance for all.

127
I think if it were me, I'd put the over/under on the UCLA/USC game around 85. And then I'd take the over.

29 did u mean to talk like yoda or are you just loosing it!

Behind us now that time is.

150
Heh heh. Yes, it was intentional. I just saw the most recent Star Wars movie for the first time the other day, in which Yoda utters virtually every sentence in his backward manner. My favorite was "Not if anything to say about it I have."

Faith in your new GM, misplaced may be. As is your faith in the dark side of the McCourts.

Confused me you have with another. Morons the McCourts are.

Destroy the McCourts, we must

I'm back in LA for Thanksgiving (yay!). First thing I hear is that Bud Black isn't interested in managing the Dodgers. Then when I got up this morning I read on the LA Times website that Bud Black has reconsidered and will sleep on it.

Then the Mets get Delgado...good news, Ned is saved from emptying the farm again

Thome to the White Sox? I'm guessing that Kenny Williams got ripped off.