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4) arguing for the sake of arguing
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7) using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively
8) making the same point over and over again
9) typing "no-hitter" or "perfect game" to describe either in progress
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12) claiming your opinion isn't allowed when it's just being disagreed with
Respected writer Pat Jordan has a spirited profile of Dodger owners Frank and Jamie McCourt in the Times that quickly disintegrates into a wasted opportunity. The piece offers fairly intimate access to the McCourts, encourages them to vent in unguarded fashion, but then just settles for the tired defense of them as misunderstood. There's no doubt that's true to some extent - who among us hasn't been misunderstood? But an unchallenged recounting of the McCourts' past 2 1/2 years performs no service. It's a propaganda piece.
Example:
Prodded to elaborate on those early decisions, Frank says: "Everyone was protecting their own job, their own turf. When they confronted a problem, they didn't want to solve it, they just wanted to position themselves so they wouldn't get blamed. Listen, [prior to my ownership], the franchise hadn't won a postseason game in 16 years, the team was losing $60 million a year, the brand was eroding and everyone's pissed at me [for making changes]! People were entrenched in jobs that paid $500,000 a year and they weren't trying to win, to make money, to do their [expletive] job. . . . I said, 'Let me get this right. The team's losing money, hasn't won, the brand's eroding and you're [expletive] complaining because I'm making changes?'
"So I brought in my own people. If we succeed, what's that got to say about the people who had a chance to make this franchise succeed before us? They're bitter because we embarrassed them. So they sabotaged us [in the press]."
This is the world according to McCourt, and as far as Jordan cares, it's the only world that exists. Apparently, everyone the ownership fired was making half a mil while eating donuts. Ross Porter, Paul DePodesta and Jim Tracy (take your pick), Gary Miereanu, Bill Plaschke's friends in the trenches - everyone. The implication is the same line of thinking that has undermined the McCourts' attempts to win over Los Angeles. They make honest mistakes; everyone else is incompetent.
They can't even follow the Golden Rule. Point me to where any of the executives fired by McCourts have trashed the McCourts the way the McCourts have trashed them.
In Midnight Run, Charles Grodin's martini-dry question for Robert DeNiro is, "Why aren't you popular with the Chicago Police Department?" It's the mystery within a comedy, with great suspense and in the end, a great payoff. At Dodger Stadium, the ongoing question for Frank and Jamie McCourt is, "Why aren't you popular with the city of Los Angeles?" And this is a comedy with no mystery, because the answer is so simple.
As professionals, they will only be as popular as the team is successful. When the team isn't successful, they will only be as sympathetic as they are honest, including being honest with themselves. As long as they go around claiming that everyone else is underperforming but they're just misunderstood, as long as their theme song remains, "Why doesn't everybody like us?", they're not going to get anywhere.
The McCourts have made improvements to Dodger Stadium, have for the most part allowed the rebuilding of the farm system to continue, have presided over a division title. We can see it. They have also made a series of management decisions that flew over the cuckoo's nest. Can they see it?
If they can, Jordan didn't show it. Maybe Jordan thought he was doing us all a favor by writing this defense of the McCourts. They've gotten some rough treatment. But some of it that treatment has been deserved, and ignoring that fact doesn't change it.
* * *
https://griddle.baseballtoaster.com/archives/441105.html
A carefully stated truth, but is it really something to brag about? It's also true they fired the most over-qualified young general manager in the game and hired an anti-intellectual dweeb with a knowing smirk and a Jeff Kent-matching moustache. Why? Who among us believes the front office average IQ went anywhere but in the sewer, unreturned phone calls notwithstanding? I can't help it; I hate 'em.
Or have we covered this previously?
At the player's meeting last night, you don't suppose Nomar volunteered to play third base, a position he played only last year, do you? That would allow them to bring up Loney who's hitting what, .380?
Character is a word that gets tossed around a lot, but it should be tossed out. A talented player gets told how great he is all through high school, maybe college, the minors and even in the majors. After all those years of hearing it, he is convinced. Character is completely replaced by ego. To Hell with winning, I got to protect my average...
Point me to where any of the executives fired by McCourts have trashed the McCourts the way the McCourts have trashed them.
This is all anyone really needs to know.
Why would they even give this interview?
Because they're very concerned about how they're perceived by the public, due in large part (I would think) to the fact that they want people to keep coming to the games so they can keep making profits.
it's a business of course they wan't people to go to Dodger Stadium, you can't folt them for that (atleast I'm not)
Come on, Colletti's mustache is much bigger than Jeff Kent's. Kent trims his more, while Colletti has that big old bushy thing.
Furkle
Izzy
Birthday Boy
Drew
Martin
3.5
Cruz
Martinez
Colletti is old school that's why.
When did this happen? Somebody thinks Steinbrenner is shrewd? Must've been some stat geek, like that Bill James character.
You know what's really amazing, it's that you could easily win a world series if you had a team entirely made up of the best players that make less than $1 million.
This would be it's starting lineup, if it's an NL team
Jose Reyes
Grady Sizemore
David Wright
Ryan Howard
Nick Swisher
Jason Bay
Robinson Cano
Russell Martin
Liriano
Kazmir
Verlander
Weaver
with the likes of Chien-Ming Wang, Chad Billingsley, Kyle Davies, and Matt Cain competing for the 5th starter job.
and not brian mccann over russ martin?
Good point on McCann. He is OPSing .959. That team's even better than I thought!
What he leaves unsaid is his belief that his dreams of Dodger greatness do not conflict with his dreams for the future development of Dodger land. They are both part of his one grand dream for his L.A. enterprise, which is not unlike his grand dream for that 25 acres of Boston land that he never developed while waiting for the perfect moment. Frank McCourt will always be an Irish Romantic, with all that implies, a touch of doomed fatalism.
"I'm willing to fail," he says. "I'd rather go down with the ship than play it safe."
I like that quote from Frank McCourt.
What he leaves unsaid is his belief that his dreams of Dodger greatness do not conflict with his dreams for the future development of Dodger land. They are both part of his one grand dream for his L.A. enterprise, which is not unlike his grand dream for that 25 acres of Boston land that he never developed while waiting for the perfect moment. Frank McCourt will always be an Irish Romantic, with all that implies, a touch of doomed fatalism.
"I'm willing to fail," he says. "I'd rather go down with the ship than play it safe."
I like that quote from Frank McCourt.
so: who's the greatest dodger of all time?
Brian Bohanon
Jackie would be my pick.
I went for Koufax for L.A.
Baltimore: Cal Ripken Jr. vs. Frank Robinson
Cleveland: Nap Lajoie, Tris Speaker, Bob Feller
Oakland: Reggie Jackson, Rickie Henderson, Lefty Grove
Cincinatti: Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Frank Robinson, Pete Rose
St. Louis: Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Ozzie Smith
Houston: Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Nolan Ryan
ripken
feller
rickey
morgan
gibson
bagwell
though, to be honest, i don't know a heck of a lot about nap lajoie and tris speaker.
It's getting harder and harder to watch the missed covers and cut-off men, the weak DP grounders on the first pitch, etc. etc.
Sorry to start off on a negative note, but please Dodgers, let's start playing some ball.
Jackie Robinson for me.
that's the first thing I saw when I tuned in.
great to know.
you gotta love seeing the progess of the rooks.
14. D4P, I completly agree with the first half of your statement. They are indeed very concerned about how they are percieved. That said, they should be more concerned about how the team is percieved than how they are percieved.
However, the second part of your statement I don't really agree with. I don't think anyone is going to continue to come to Dodger Stadium becasue of anything Frank says. With some exceptions, I think fans in general do not like or identify with owners. Usally owners only hurt themselves in the press. Excluding charity work, only two things win the fans admiration. i.e., field a winning team or lower prices. Otherwise there is nothing an owner can say which will keep fans coming out. And this is as it should be. Its about the team not the owner.
Why didn't you do this when you played at Dodger Stadium everyday Encarnacion!
Billingsley really needs to learn how to strikeout batters.
It also might quel the "Cardinals really arent that much better than the Dodgers" attitude.
"the way to build a winning team is to combine proven veterans who know how to win with speed and athleticism" attitude.
The 4 good ones obviously impact the team more than you are giving them credit for.
I know virtually nothing about PR, but wouldn't the best move, for these people, be to shut up and go away? In ten years, if they're still around, then that'll be what it is. But there's no way to skip the ten years.
Edmonds or Isringhausen?
A lot of chaff, some doing decently, some are terrible.
One starter you can actually count on.
An unrealiable bullpen.
A star player that's underperforming.
A star player that's putting up a studly year.
The difference is that the Cardinals have Pujols, and we don't.
The difference is that the Cardinals have Pujols, and we don't.
it's funny how people see things, I don't see them like you do.
Hendrickson, Hall, Baez, Carter.
Check and mate.
As for pitching, Carpenter, Reyes, and if they get Wainright into the rotation..Thats a bright future.
8 days left to resist!
oh I see.
there's nothing to stop!
In today's game, it was the heat. It was a sweatbox out there today, even in the shade. I'm sure many people with tickets stayed home.
I've been wondering the same thing. When will they start blaming him for the injuries, particularly those to the older players (e.g. Mueller, Kent, etc.)?
Next week Repko will be back but he's not going to help the power failure all that much. Kent will be back a week later(?) which will help but it's hard to know what they'll do - or, in fairness, what they should do.
Good non-roster invites too.
Sportstalk radio is just not a big deal in LA, local sports anchors get a few minutes on the air, Fox analysts like Ned too.
Bradley's a key piece (in his prime CF'er making small change) that the Dodgers right now, and possibly next season if Kemp isnt ready, are missing.
I hadn't rememebered how truly awful we were from this point on last year. There's hope yet. Of course, we'll have to win more than 1 out of every 11 games to improve on last year's record.
As for Nomar, I wonder if it is ever discussed about moving him to 3rd - I wonder how he feels about it for one thing. Calling up Loney and moving him over wouldn't solve all the offense woes right now either, but it could up things a notch. Or not.
This means you Kenny Lofton and Danny Baez. If we still have these guys after the deadline I'd be shocked...well, actually I wouldn't with the way Ned works, but you catch my drift.
Read a rumor about Aramis Ramirez. Probably has no legs to it...by why in the heck would we be going after that guy anyways?
Maybe try him at 3b or in LF for the last two months, sort of as a tryout to see if he'd be worth signing for next year to play those positions.
I really wouldn't be all that surprised to see Ned hold his current cards and not make any substantial moves, if he felt he couldn't make a good deal.
On the other hand, the publicity-sensitive McCourts would not be very likely to stand pat, even if it meant making a stupid deal. They would want the fans to see that they are "doing everything they can to bring a pennant to L.A." That could lead to something like renting Soriano for two months and giving up half the farm system. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Will the McCourts insist Ned make a big deal, even if it's a bad deal?
Makes much more sense to me to play him at 3rd. He has some experience there and we already have a good left fielder.
I think Nomar will end up OPS'ing around .900 for the season. Thats a 70point improvement at 1st. But could have been a 200+ improvement in LF or at SS. Around 180+ at 3b.
yes, and he's a rental AND we have one of the best 3B prospects in all of baseball.
Doesn't make any sense...give up top prospects for a rental? No thanks.
And its actually a good one I think.
Dodgers traded Sandy Alomar Jr to the White Sox for minor league pitcher BJ Lamura.
Lamura is old for his league, but he's put up decent numbers. I'm just shocked Colletti was able to get anything for Alomar. What was Kenny Williams' thinking?
That is some David Blaine/Lance Burton stuff right there.
well done.
wow, not a bad one...I can't believe he got something. He should be sending lofton and baez next.
I even found a WSox discussion forum from awhile ago where someone was asking about him.
http://www.whitesoxinteractive.com/vbulletin/archive/index.php/t-37331.html
This just goes to show that everyone other than pure garbage has value.
Now not saying we can get the moon for certain players but we can definately dump some veterans for minor leaguers and we need to, because we need to open roster spots for loney, kemp, laroche, aybar.
Ned got another BJ...? That sly dog...
Or they'll trade him, too, and call up Edwin Bellorin or something.
1. Prior to the season, he had secretly written off the team's championship chances in 2006 and had decided to focus instead on improving the future by
2. Stockpiling "proven veterans" while their value was low (i.e. during the offseason) with the intent of
3. Trading them to contenders looking for "veteran presence to put them over the top" when their value is high (i.e. at the trade deadline).
Repko in - Alomar out
It'd be a trick if Ned actually turned a group like that into something (or even tried), but individually each one of those players would be an asset given the right team.
Yep, and lets hope grady's love affair with lofton has come to an end.
I'm not high on repko considering his minor league stats but i'll take a guy with power who has shown some signs of offensive production over a 39 year old no power guy.
These 2 guys need to be promoted:
Laroche 958 ops
Loney 983 ops (has played in the outfield this season)
I don't know where to put loney considering repko is coming back (ethier, repko, drew).
Now if drew is injured, maybe DL him and put loney in his spot (loney, repko, ethier).
Did I mention that Dan Kolb is a closer?
They were in the AA together from 1884 through 1889.
St. Louis didn't join the NL until 1892.
Why do you keep including the "c"?
169 Also, I know you're not suggesting this, but I'd be especially surprised if the Dodgers had any interest in trading Saenz, whether dumping or not - too valuable off the bench. Martinez has proven valuable as a backup IF and they wouldn't get much for trading him. Ditto Ledee and Cruz (but one of them could be gone, too). Someone may want Lofton. Gonna be an interesting week.
I think you read the story wrong. The Cardinals had never swept the Dodgers and they have been playing 115 seasons against each other in the NL.
There were also no sweeps when the two teams were in the AA for six seasons.
So humble.
Did I just say that out loud?
I actually didn't read it I just saw the headline.
if he did this I might take back all the bad things I've said.
[what about trading Nomar]
if we plan on going with Loney this wouldn't be a bad idea. He could bring a couple really good players back.
instead of eating all that contract we need to get someone to take at least 1 or 2 mill of his contact....I don't think that's an absurd notion either. Someone takes a chance on a formerly decent pitcher for 1 or 2 mill while we pay 8-9? Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.
For a top starting pitching prospect that will be ready next year or ready now, and save some money by not having to sign both zito and schmidt, just 1 of them, and making it easier to shore up the rotation, because it will be hard to convince both zito and schmidt to sign.
Alomar is down, and I'd trade off everyone listed but Saenz. He's a useful ph, and has power.
I'd throw in Drew into the mix, because he's not on the DL, and he'd be a good substitute for someone looking for Abreu. Besides, he's kinda gone, but who else knows that? Isn't his value higher than Shawn Green's? That will help ensure that Kemp can be clear for the majors, too.
If anyone is dumb enough to take on Odalis Perez' contract, that would be great. Best case scenario is Odalis and cash for Gonzalez. But if he just got DFA'd, that would be fine too.
Any mediocre veteran thats on a 1yr deal, that Ned has no intentions of offering arbitration too, should be dealt now.
So he can see his on the back.
I feel the same way, which reminds me of a movie quote:
"Just when I thought you couldnt get any dumber....You go, and totalllllllly redeem yourself"
Flanders has a chance to redeem himself. If he doesn't take advantage of it, he'll earn the new nickname "Nediocre."
What is "BJ" Italian for...?
No, he's gotta be in the minors for at least 6 more years for that to be the case.
Career:
9.48 h/9
0.56 hr/9
4.34 w/9
7.47 k/9
This season so far at age 25 in AA.
53.1 ip
32 hits
2 hr
31 bb
67 k
That have him listed as william lamura
Baez has had such a bad year, that I dont think he'll get a multi-year deal in the off-season. That would lead to him accepting arbitratin from the Dodgers, which would really stink. Baez is this year's Jeff Weaver.
Was there a reason DePo didnt deal Jeff Weaver last season around the deadline? I cant remember.
Strikes out a lot, but also walks a lot.
35.3 IP
8.66 K.9
3.77 K/BB
.25 HR/9
This is very wise, and has many applications to problems other than baseball team owner GM.
It may be faint, but its something.
1) Baez has had a truly, disturbingly, pathetically bad year. Attempts to salvage it are a waste of time.
2) Baez accepting arbitration would be an outrage and a disaster of epic proportions.
3) Any deal that Baez signed after accepting arbitration will be a far worse deal at the end of it than Jeff Weaver could have ever dreamed of getting in the same situation.
All of that said, rewards come with risks. Ned put himself in the position that we have to deal with the situation. It may be that he has to reap what he sowed to give it a shot at working out.
The Diamondbacks' sparkling farm is much admired out here. (Though Nationals scouting director Dana Brown is also beloved and there is wondering if there's room for him and Rizzo in the front office.)
That will teach you read to the whole story!
"This was a specific request, and I followed suit and made the acquisition," Williams said. "The coaches thought at this juncture of the season, with Sandy's experience, especially with certain members of our staff, combined with his ability to give us quality at-bats against tough left-handers and move runners and put bunts down, it was a definite upgrade.
"We think Sandy has done a great job of keeping himself in shape, and he's not going to have to play regularly. Sandy has been after me for two years to bring him back. I don't have to ask him how he feels about it."
What game are you watching Sam? The game is in the sixth inning.
And it's 1-1.
Also, this fellow's name is Weissman; I didn't know I even had a family branch named Weissman (not related to any "one s" weismans, however).
...and Nate, notice how the LAD now have an open slot for a certain backup catcher...
He also didn't just fire people, he hired people and then fired them very quickly as well. He doesn't seem to make moves that scream stability.
The whole thing with the publicist was very telling. They care way too much about their public perception. My assumption is that they want to be associated with the Dodgers like Steinbrenner is associated with the Yankees. They want to be as big as the Dodgers themselves.
Thanks Bobby, thanks.
221 - the Vlad deal was axed because Selig told them that their deal might not go through if the team made an offer on him before the vote. That is, Selig was pleased to interfere with the operation of the team prior to Frank's purchase of it, thus establishing
1) he was Frank's daddy
2) the shaky nature of the deal wasn't an illusion of bad press (according to the Times, it violated the Basic Agreement terms on debt service)
Maybe one of the most underreported things vis-a-vis the McCourts was their hiring of Sitrick & Co., a PR firm that specializes in crisis management. It says a lot about them that they believe their problem deserves such treatment; but then, they seem to believe that anything negative said about them is a lie to be stamped out.
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