But do these jobs come with a full dental plan?

1

As long as "Fightin'" Jeff Kent is on the team, I would hope so ...

I got a Ferrari ad on the new post. I like the job description, but if the Dodgers are going to emulate a car company ... Ferrari? I'd be more inclined to go with Honda -- a sensible strategy, good execution, good resale value, and they never break down.

1 - Stop trying to trigger Simpsons quotes.

4 I was tempted, but I resisted. For you, Jon. For you.

Does anybody know why Pierre's throws are so weak? He's a bigger guy than Ichiro, so I'm guessing it's not a physical limitation.

If the problem is technique, can't he use his fabled work ethic to improve in this area? What am I missing here?

4
That really wasn't my intention, although I realized it after the fact.

In hindsight I should have used 401(k).

I'm confused. Wasn't Springsteen in L.A. last night? And no chatter about it here?

Before folks start freaking out about Will Carroll's post, remember that he pretty such said the same thing back in July and while the Torre move might stem from the top, if they were looking at Girardi, that would have been a Ned move. Perhaps what happened is that they approached Girardi, Girardi wanted to wait and see what happened with the Yankees and then that all played out.

Remember that Kim Ng was with the Yankees with Torre. Frankly, I don't think Tommy has that much influence on the baseball matters with the Dodgers as outsiders seem to think.

Could drastic change happen, sure but it doesn't seem likely.

6 Arm strength doesn't really correlate with body build. Look at Hendrickson. And Pedro.

5 As did I.

Man, I love Hot Stove.

9 - Torre/Ng! That's the winning ticket!

Regarding the owner, what buzzwords did you have in mind, Jon?

13 - Heavy check book.

8 - A ticket fell into my lap for tonight! It then extracted face value from my wallet inside my lap, but still!

15 Excellent. Let us know how it goes.

13 - They're usually found at the bottom of posters with kittens in precarious situations.

The Simpsons is up to the 10th season on DVD now... I stopped at 8.

---

DT is where all the excitement is during the offseason. I wish I was here a year ago. Just to close on Will Carroll's rumor page, it's worthless to speculate on a story without any proof. However, I do it anyway...

Here's a quote some of you will enjoy:

He's not known as a strategic genius, either. Despite playing his career in the National League as a catcher, third baseman and first baseman, he's never been noted for his ability to manufacture runs. If he ever called a squeeze — suicide or safety — during his 12 years with the Yankees, I don't remember it.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21545419/

18 Last year was crazy. Somebody made a "joke" about signing a certain CF, and everybody blasted it as crazy.

Two weeks later, they did it.

I feel bad for Grady Little & to be more honest I don't think this reflex well on Frank McCourts image or lack there of. Does Joe Torre even know how to manage young up & coming prospects?? I would of preferred Girardi for the Dodger managing gig if it was gonna come down to this but, oh well.

ps oh, one more thing, it's just a rumor (I keep forgetting that!!)

The Dodgers do indeed call the department that handles personnel "Human Resources."

It's run by VP Joe Walsh.

The less famous Joe Walsh.

He doesn't have a Maserati that does 185.

18 I went up to 9.

Being October 30 and all, perhaps the Torre situation is just a giant hoax perpetuated by the ghost of Orson Welles.

I'll be tuning into the Mercury Radio Theater later to see.

22 - He might still want to lock the doors in case he's attacked, though.

Memo to Dodger Human Resources:

Buy Scott Proctor a new arm for Christmas - he'll need it come July.

Conrgrats on getting Torre

I just updated my post.

I could have gone to see Springsteen. But I decided not to. I was feeling embarrassed by how many of his shows I've seen. I mean, I like him a lot, I have gone through periods of being an absolute fanatic. But there are bands I like better that I've never seen, or only seen once. I got to see the New Pornographers at a club in Hollywood for about $20 a couple of months ago. When you factor in the time I spent talking with a gorgeous barmaid during the opening acts, it is simply not possible for me to have enjoyed the Springsteen show more. Not to mention the LA Philharmonic, which I haven't seen in two years. Hearing that orchestra in the almost unreal acoustics of Disney Hall is an experience you owe to yourself, even if you don't think you like classical music. I have been to the LA Opera a couple of times this year, and I can't even put into words how great that was. A Springsteen ticket would've set me back about the same as an opera ticket. Bruce looks like he's still taking good care of himself, so it's not like it's all over after this tour.

Besides, if the Dodgers get ARod, tickets to the stadium are going up. Even Scott Boras said somewhere that any team getting ARod will have to boost ticket prices about $20. So by not going to see Bruce, I'm making a statement in favor of obscure rock bands, attractive women, classical music and ARod.

29
I just dropped 163 Euros on an opera ticket in Vienna in January. My theory is: I ain't coming back there so there's no point in getting a bad seat.

As for the LA Philharmonic, I have two tickets I'm not using for December 8, a Saturday. If anybody wants them, you can send me an email.

24
Dear Ned,

I notice that as the Dodger news becomes more loopy, the comments on Dodter Thoughts, especially from Mr. Cannon and Mr. Timmerman, do too.

That, Ned, is what I like to call a "correlation". Please look up this word and apply it correctly in the future.

Next season, please change phrases like "...the guy gets on base an awful lot..." to "...the guy hits an awful lot of singles...".

Thank you kindly.

Your BFF,

Cajun

28 I was also at that New Pornographers show, and I agree that it rocked. The last concert I paid more than $30* to attend was Tom Petty at the Forum, and while he was okay, it also let me know that I was done with that for a good long while.

Instead of chatting the beautiful barmaid, I listened to the second opening act, and it was one of the most unusual acts I've seen in a while. What they lacked in musical ability, they made up in a very strange charisma -- everything they did was heartfelt.

*I should note an exception: the Hollywood Bowl. I attended the Jazz Festival and Rufus Wainwright's Judy Garland show. I sat in good seats both times. Both times, the tickets were gifts, so I don't know what the tickets cost, but they were likely over the $30 ceiling I stated above.

Hi everybody,
As sub-point to your Manager Requirements #5, Jon, is the vital prerequiste that the interested candidate possess a lot of class. Walter Alston had class.
From what I've heard and seen these last 2 weeks, Joe Torre has a lot of class.
I wish I could say the same for the Dodgers' current g.m and owner.

29 I was on a budget when I was in Vienna. I stood in line for an hour to get a standing room spot at the back of the orchestra section for Les Contes d'Hoffmann. Price of admission: three euro. Three!

The experience blew my mind and my knees, but not my budget.

32 I'm not sure I would say Ned Colletti lacks class.... in fact I'm sure I wouldn't say it.

I just haven't necessarily agreed with all his moves.

29 I'm intrigued, Bob, but I think I'd best not take advantage of your ticket generosity anymore.

If I did, the Philharmonic would doubtless go into an inexplicable, season destroying tailspin, briefly interrupted by a win over Cal.

I know, it's silly to bemoan ethics in sports and contracts, but sheesh, if we hire Torre, how bad does Coletti look? Remember JD Drew saying he intended to not exercise his opt-out option, and then he does, and Coletti basically makes him and Boras out to be these diabolical characters? Isn't exercising Little's 08 option, saying all along that Little's the manager and is in no danger, and then firing Little and hiring Torre even worse? At least Drew had an option to exercise; Little's just being fired! I'm not saying all this because I'm a huge fan of Grady, but I think Coletti looks really unprofessional.

I really enjoyed Joe Torre as a color commentator for the Angels before he got the Yankees gig. Perhaps, they could hire him for broadcasts, if not as manager, or maybe Fox could replace Kevin Kennedy with Joe.
vr, Xei

28 - I know what you mean.

I really wish I had seen Bruce at Dodger Stadium. Having missed that, I wasn't intending to see him this time. But then it happened.

I'm not as interested in new music as the rest of you, though, so it makes more sense.

36 I don't think this is a Colletti move. This slapdash attempt at instant credibility has all the makings of an ownership decision.

Especially this owner.

36. Plaschke's column today touches a little bit on that. vr, Xei

34 The silent treatment they've supposedly given Grady Little this the past week is not classy. This is why I included both the g.m. and the owner in my original post.

WFAN is reporting that it's a done deal with Torre (per another board).

37 - Right on.

36 - I guess GMs always have an option to fire managers :)

I know nothing about contracts, so I'll ask this question, which will undoubtedly seem very stupid.

Wouldn't there be a built-in buyout amount in Little's contract? So, if there are buyout negotiations, doesn't that mean that they are negotiating the amount of money it would take to keep Grady Little from saying/doing something?

Humma,

I saw the last couple of songs from the second opening act -- Lavender Something. A strange sort of charisma indeed. I wasn't sure if the singer was on acid or if I was. Did she really say "hooray for the Earth?" But you're right -- that band did have something going for them.

That's what I used to love about going to see music in LA clubs. You never knew what you'd get. Three acts, the first two completely unknown and often like nothing else you'd ever heard. One night I went to a club to see the John Doe/Exene/Dave Alvin side project, "The Knitters." The opening act was this guy I knew nothing about -- Dwight Yoakum. The first time I saw Springsteen (1974) he was an opening act, although in his case, he's the reason I went.

42. Yeah, and I just saw this... vr, Xei

http://www.pinstripealley.com/story/2007/10/30/01020/385

By the way, I'm about to see the perhaps appropriately titled "No Country for Old Men."

So, how long til Torre gets fired/replaced?

31 that second act you saw was called lavender diamond, who I think are awful and overhyped, plus that chick sings flat a lot. So that was why I was stuck in traffic for so long the other night? The Boss was in town?

Any guesses as to Jon's blog entry headline for the Joe Torre hiring (if it is indeed true). Mine would be "... Chicken Catch a Torre".
vr, Xei

46 What on earth would the Dodgers do with Posada? Something terrible, I imagine. Something really terrible.

38 Actually, seeing Bruce at Dodger Stadium -- this was at the end of the Rising tour -- was not particularly enjoyable compared to seeing him on the same tour at the Forum six months earlier. The show seemed unfocused, like he was just too far away. I'm sure tonight will be a lot better.

One thing I really gotta hand to Bruce. He prefers these old barns like the Sports Arena and the Forum to the Staples Center, and aesthetically I think he's right on.

50 "Torre Here"?

51 Play him in center instead of Juan Pierre?

51
Probably play him in CF...

54
DANG IT!!

1. We don't know what they have told Grady since no one is talking.
2. I think Grady did play the best players, in his opinion. He couldn't play Loney if Loney wasn't here, he wouldn't have had Tomko or Hendrickson start if they were not the only options he had to start. Now, his handling of the outfield situation left no one happy, except perhaps Juan Pierre but other than that and the revolving door at 3B (which again, can be subjective on who think should have played), I don't think he did that bad a job.
3. I thought Keith Law broke down the duties of a GM quite well a few months ago and unfortunately, those duties seem to take it up just a fraction (a large one but still a fraction) of what the job entails.
4. McCourt was actually doing a good job letting Ned and Grady take the forefront for the last couple of years but if they make this move, then all bets are off.

55 22 seconds. Booya!

the positive spin on hiring Torre and buying out Little, is that with that amount spent, they won't ante up for Rodriguez

I have read on other sites that the Dodgers have their eye on A Jones???

I saw Bruce at the Coliseum way back before many of you were aware of the Boss or the Dodgers. Great show.

59
This is just becoming laughable at this point.

58
@#$*&

44 The public details of his contract mention nothing about a buyout.

41
True.

49 Indeed, Lavender Diamond. And she does sing flat. And their songs resemble dirges - uninteresting dirges at that. And they aren't really good musicians.

But she did also say, "Hooray for the Earth" and told a story about encouraging a 13-year-old kid she met in Echo Park to go back to Juvie.

For me, an act is an act. Hopefully, it's about the music, but if not, maybe you have something else.

62 So MLB contracts don't always include a buyout? I always assumed they did. Interesting.

57
Someone help me come up with a good hybrid of Peter Angelos and Frank McCourt

Angecourt? McClangelos?

57. Ned is/was more of a problem than Little imo, but like my boss tells me, "[Rule 1] rolls downhill."
vr, Xei

65 I meant managerial contracts, but I suppose the idea that they would all have buyouts would be stupid.

So, then, what is Little's motivation for taking any buyout that's not the full amount of the contract?

Angelos' Ashes?

65
I think that the executive contracts are different and are not governed by any sort of collective bargaining agreement since there is no union representing MLB management/administration.

68 Couldn't tell you.

64 yeah I guess I can't be too critical of a nice girl who seems so positive. What's a dirge?

68
A lot of times, buyouts can negotiated to be less because it will allow them to get a job in baseball sooner. Otherwise, he would not be able to work for another organization until his contract is complete.

This negotiation is similar to what Billy Donovan had to do when he reneged on his Orlando Magic contract.

72 From Wikipedia:

A dirge is a somber song expressing mourning or grief, such as would be appropriate for performance at a funeral.

Just remembered that Don Mattingly's son Preston was drafted by the Dodgers last June. I'm sure everyone else already drew the irony from today's possible hiring, but it just hit me. vr, Xei

73 Very interesting. Thank you.

A side note. Today one of my advisers said to me: "I like how you're disingenuous even when you're dishonest." Hm.

So now the rumors are that the Dodgers are going to sign guys like Petitte, Rivera and A-Rod because of Torres presence. I honestly never thought the Dodgers might become the West Coast Yankees. McCourt is such a wannabe....Grow a personality of your own dude. At least Lasorda and all those guys were unique in their shortcomings....

53

reading a couple of things on the internet it looks like a done deal almost. if anything Joe Torre will be a Grady Little clone except, New York style...

74 damn, I do learn something new every day. I like that word, "dirge."

75 That gets mentioned a lot by folks talking about him coming to the Dodgers but as those who followed him this season, it will be a long time before Preston can be coached by his dad at the MLB level.

did anyone else hear the Lasorda interview with Dan Patrick this morning...quite funny, actually

I guess we've seen the last of The Windmill™

80 although Lasorda didn't say anything about anything, he did say that Preston Mattingly would need to be converted from shortstop...that was about all he would say

83 That already happened.

27

But aren't memos supposed to be terse and unemotional? ;)

77

I just don't get the supposed Torre-ARod connection. Does ARod really like Torre, especially after Torre batted him 8th last year? I kind of think hiring Torre would make it less likely the Dodgers get ARod.

so, in effect, Lasorda talks like he is privy to inside information when actually he knows nothing...sounds about right

47 Jon, you are a lucky man. Seeing "No Country For Old Men" is on my "Things I would miss most if I died today" list.

The Coens do Cormac McCarthy.

The best director/producer team currently directing/producing and the greatest writer of all time.

Enjoy.

87-Boy, I refuse to be argumentative here, and am as curious to see No Country... as the next guy, but neither half of that statement ("The best...") is remotely close to true.

Ah, well. I appreciate the enthusiasm, however hyperbolically expressed.

77 Yes, and Lasorda at least had the experience twice of seeing a crop of kids mature into championship-level major leaguers. If the 1968-1988 patterns were able to repeat, most of us would be happy. Lasorda was part of that. He gets the rap for being a PVL-ite because of his disasterous trade of Paul Konerko for Jeff Shaw. But even though that was a bad trade, the Dodgers did need a closer, and Shaw was a good one, even though he was a comically unpleasant personality.

I think it's a caricature of Lasorda to assume he's hot to trade the kids. Frankly, I don't think anybody wants to trade the kids. The "faction" in the front office that was ready to trade the kids last summer was proven wrong by the kids' performance. They all came through. If they hadn't, the Giants might've passed the Dodgers. It's another caricature to assume the GM or the owners didn't notice the impact of second-half falloffs from several veterans like Lowe and LuGo, the performance impact of Furcal's injury and the complete loss of Wolf and Schmidt which created "opportunities" for bad pitchers.

The way I look at things, if you factor out bad luck, you're still left with a manager who couldn't make up his mind about who to play, who enabled Pierre's Cal Ripken fantasies at the expense of the team, who kept handing the ball to starting pitchers he shouldn't have trusted, and who let clubhouse morale go south in a particularly nasty and painful way. Objectively, Little deserves to be fired. I don't think he deserves all the blame for the Dodgers' failure to make the playoffs, but he was not a good manager.

Colletti didn't distinguish himself either, but he doesn't make the lineups or interact with the players every day, and that's where Little fell way short. IMO.

85. I was trying to figure that out too. Does the Torre hiring make it more or less likely that ARod comes to the Dodgers. I could live with Rivera and Pettitte. I wonder if Rivera would live with playing 3rd fiddle to Saito/Broxton? Pettitte would add some depth in case Schmidt/Loaiza/Guo et al, don't pan out. vr, Xei

89 you are right on

90 Except that Rivera wouldn't be third fiddle, would he? Broxton would share 7th inning duties with EDSP, Saito takes the 8th, and Rivera takes the 9th -- until somebody fails, right? Would the Dodgers, especially the Dodgers under Torre, really sign Rivera and then not use him as the closer?

Of course, I think it's likely that Rivera will be a Yankee next year, but I thought that about A-Rod, too. I guess we'll see what happens now that Hank and Hal Steinbrenner's push is coming to shove.

If you are on the East Coast, head out now, otherwise you have some time to get ready. Thank MLB, Fox and participating outlets in the USA.

http://tinyurl.com/yuqgpf

By the way, Tim Marchman pointed out yesterday, rightly, that the Steinbrenners oddly both use diminuitives of the same name.

If Spawn of Kavula had been a boy, we were strongly considering the name Henry and the nickname Hal. Somebody asked if Hal was really a nickname for Henry. I said, "If it's good enough for Shakespeare, it's good enough for me."

Instead, Spawn of Kavula is of the female persuasion. She shall be named Naomi.

My solipsism is showing. In my opinion (which is informed by my very limited experience) McCarthy's work is the most evocative and affecting canon I have read/seen/felt.

93. What's in your link? Is it SFW??
vr, Xei

I thought Hal was short for Harold, and Hank was short for Henry

96 It's SFW. Click away.

90-- If getting Joe Torre in any way helps A-Rod become a Dodger, then this is a good move. At worst, it doesnt hurt the Dodgers.

If it helps land Rivera too, all the better.

Andy Pettite--no thanks.

92 But Saito has been the better closer. Rivera is staying in New York.

I can tell you that giving Torre 5-7 million a year makes it a lot less viable financially for the Dodgers to sign A-Rod.

McCourt has never had anything approaching a 125 million dollar payroll at the start of the year (I think we were at 111 to start 2007). It will be even worse if we use that money we lost to get a rapidly declining Pettitte and Rivera.

I'd take Pettite before I took Rivera...we need starters more than we need relievers, and the length of contract would be shorter

100 Sure. Just saying, under the mythical conditions in which Rivera does not stay in New York but comes to the Dodgers instead, that regardless of who has been better, Rivera would pitch the 9th. A prediction, not an argument.

95-I wasn't meaning to belittle you, or that preference, in the slightest. I have issues with McCarthy (won't deny his gifts, have enjoyed a couple of his books more than others), but leaving aside even the contemporaries I prefer, there's Melville, Tolstoy...

Melville. The piercing qualities of Moby Dick, Benito Cereno, Billy Budd all leave even Cormac sucking wind. Moby Dick is probably the most intense thing in the language this side of King Lear.

If Naomi runs into a guy named Elimelech, he's going to leave her sad.

But if she gets a friend named Ruth, she will be quite loyal.

102 beat me to it.

93

I am not even tempted to get the free taco. That doesn't speak well of their food.

Rivera's not rapidly declining.

Last year his ERA was 3.10, but that was flukey. He actually had a better K/rate than in 2006 (when his ERA was 1.80), and only gave up 4HRs in 71 IP. 74/12 K/BB ratio.

Rivera's old, but I'd take my chances at getting 70 good-great innings out of Rivera, than signing some average innings eater starter (Pettite, Randy Wolf, etc..)

Also, in the "the Dodgers must spend the money, so why not spend it productively"--I think signing Rivera would be better than banking the money and trusing MeLoan. We're talking about Mariano Rivera here...

Torre is our new manager?

Well done Mr. Colletti.

I know it's a long shot, but can we get a
Torii in our outfield next season too?

I am not and never have been a fan of Little, but the stomach ache I would get from the taco would not as severe as the one I am getting from the handling of this change in managers...

I'm sure McCourt thinks Torre will help recruit AROD. Then after Moreno signs him we'll find out that AROD wanted nothing to do with Torre. I recall getting my hopes up in '00/'01, and after the Rangers deal AROD said the Dodgers were never in it because of Green's huge extension.

109 Why do you want Torii Hunter?

101--If A-Rod is going to get a contract worth 300 mils or something ridiculous like that---5-7 mils is chump change.

If the Dodgers are worried about their current payroll for 2008, they'll just negotiate with some veterans to defer money, or A-Rod himself to defer.

105 It was down to Naomi or Alice. Bride of Kavula and I both liked Alice, but nobody else does, and since we also liked Naomi just as much, we decided to let public opinion sway the matter.

Moreno will make a big run at ARod, but will come up just short...

the Dodgers will take a little run, not get him, say we would rather focus on the young kids who are all panning out, then sign one or two middle nothings to block their progress...

the more things change, the more they stay the same...

OK, here's the scoop. Torre doesn't want to manage the Dodgers. McCourt is sick of Colletti and Little. As he did a couple years ago, he will first fire the manager, then the GM. He will then launch an exhaustive search for the best replacements. He will announce, some three weeks from now, his brilliant decision.

He will announce that Tommy Lasorda will serve in the dual capacity of field manager and general manager of the Dodgers! What better way to restore the Dodgers to the glory they once enjoyed.

From Ken Gurnick:

The hiring of the 67-year-old Torre would give the Dodgers a public-relations victory after a disappointing fourth-place finish in 2007. Torre, who rejected a one-year, $5 million offer plus incentives from the Yankees two weeks ago, reportedly would accept a three-year deal for less than $15 million from the Dodgers. Torre is rumored to be eager to return to managing and prove he doesn't need the richest payroll in baseball to win.

108 Whoops, didn't actually look at his numbers this year. I knew his strikeout rate collapsed in 2006 and I just assumed it stayed there.

Available Middle Nothings:

Hunter
A Jones (potentially a good signing)
Mike Lowell
Moises Alou (also potentially useful)
Darin Erstad
Cory Patterson (shudder)
Abreu
Cameron

and just to make everybody laugh: Livan Hernandez

Does anyone have a source on the Pettite/Rivera/Posada rumors? And by "source", I mean, someone who's not just assuming that Torre's pets in NY automatically want to follow him to LA.

Rivera and Posada? The last thing the Dodgers need is a closer and a catcher.

114 Naomi is from the Hebrew root "na'eem" meaning pleasant, and pleasing. My younger son is named Noam, the male equivalent.

116-That, right there, is the most nauseating speculation I've ever read on this site. And there have been a few doozies...

117 Public Relations! We can win the World Series of public relations!

114
Alice is also a top notch name.

You had a strong pair there.

I give you high marks for spawn naming.

119 the only one in that list I would be happy with would be Andruw Jones, providing that means Pierre is gone...if it means the 3 young Dodger outfielders now share 1 spot, then, no, I don't want him either...

I can't believe the Raiders are the most stable franchise I root for.

126 UCLA Basketball

119 Also Aaron Rowand? He also is coming off a great year and bound to decline, making him doubly enticing.

127
I meant pro team. UCLA basketball is the only competent and good team I root for.

Ben Howland keeps me relatively sane.

At least the Raiders are consistent :D

Anyway, 125 , if the Dodgers can can a manager this quickly, I don't see what would empirically stop them from shipping off Juan Pierre or simply benching him for pinch running duties, using him as a ball boy, designating him as the mascot of small hat sizes...

128

yeap, I knew I forgot somebody. Let's add Rowand to the list.

can can = not a typo... can CAN, as in "boy that guy got CANNED!"

Summer of Andrew!!

130 If Joe Torre's first act as manager is benching Juan Pierre permanently, I'll fashion a statue of him made out of mashed potatoes.

116 That would be the move that would make me move out of state. Keep Lasorda at the buffet, let the real baseball people run the show.

I'm doing my very best to ignore the Torre news on the grounds that it probably doesn't matter who the manager is. Little, Torre, whatever.

If Kemp gets traded, I will stop posting about the Spawn names, that's for sure.

130 Grady made 650 thousand, Pierre makes nine million, plus Ned thinks Juan Pierre is a good player.

We can't lose. Either Torre says yes, and he comes here and does well, as I expect. Or he says no, and McCourt is so embarrassed he fires Colletti and promotes Ng, who hires, oh, maybe Don Mattingly.

133 Statue of Joe, of course. Maybe a statue of Slappy if he's the new mascot. Sorry for the ambiguous pronoun.

Fanerman is not allowed to watch "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" anymore.

Mashed potatoes statues are strictly forbidden.

Moby Dick is probably the most intense thing in the language this side of King Lear.

Give Lolita a read. Nabokov said it was his homage to the English Language.

133 I'll provide the Gravy.

Did you hear about the remake of "Close Encounters"? It stars Michael Jackson. It's tenatively named "Close Encounters with the Third Grade".

Summer of Andrew!!

Thankfully, summer is already over.

139 Bob, you beat me to it.

Suggested post title (with apologies to Osama):

Torra Borra

Are we ever going to actually fire Grady?

It seems we are pretending he does not exist.

139 I have not seen Close Encounters in several years. What's going on with the mashed potatoes? I just thought of an easily accessible substance that I could use to make a statue in a few minutes in case Joe actually came through and did it.

145 That's been my solution to dealing with Juan Pierre for months.

Apropos of nothing... here is a question. How do you know when you've been on Dodger Thoughts too long?

My answer:

...did you guys see the ad for the Honda Civic during the games? Thoughtless guy litters, constantly; Civic driver continually picks up Thoughtless guy's trash. Civic driver fashions trash into a tree-shaped sculpture, which he leaves on Thoughtless Guy's car with a note saying, "You dropped this."

I said to myself, "That's a violation of rules two and three."

146 Richard Dreyfuss thought the same thing.

Out of any of those "potential" Yankee guys coming over, the only one that would even come close to making sense to me is Petitte. I know this is all still wild speculation....Does anybody know Lowes status with that hip injury?

Regarding the Mitchell roid report that could "drop" any second:

Where did the names on the report presumably come from?

Ball Boys?

I hope Mitchell is planning to drop the report during Boras's press conference to announce ARod's signing. And it would be even better if ARod's name is in the report.

151 He was seized by an irresistable impulse to sculpt his mashed potatoes into the shape of Jay Gibbons and Rick Ankiel.

148 too long or not long enough?

Another thing I don't understand about baseball players. Curt Schilling is nearly 41. He's won two World Series with the Red Sox. If it were me, and I just won the second one ... I'd be retiring, immediately. Yet he wants to keep playing.

156 Why would you want to stop doing something that you can still do better then most of your peers and that you love doing?
Do you think winning a world series is the only thing driving these guys?

156 He obviously enjoys sharing cab rides with his teammates.

Mitchell report? Enlighten me...

155 Right.

Logikreader learns to read... you can disregard 159

156 Curt Schilling has eight digits worth of reasons to keep living, er, playing. If one was paid $250,000 per years for 40 years, one would make $10M.

Seriously, highly competitive people thrive on the competition. It's probably not given up that easily.

148 - Man, HK, you could not believe how confused I was when I ventured over to BB for some Torre info and they kept referring to Rule 1 as being "134ed"!

156 - See "Clemens, Roger." Or for that matter "Favre, Brett."

163 I thought being 134ed at BB referred to a post not only disappearing, but disappearing under mysterious circumstances. I could be wrong.

It seemed at BB that they were not used to posts being deleted.

Long before money was that big of an issue, from most of the biographies I've read, the day they were forced to hang up their cleats was the end of the golden years of their life's. I remember Johnny Roseboro's being particularly sad.

164 Post #134 was not deleted by human hands. Its absence is indeed a mystery. The transaction was posted, and then rolled back by the database engine for unknown reasons.

Hmmmm.... post 134 disappeared without a trace? Much like that Ryan Luzinski prospect.

153 Isn't one conspiracy theory that A-Rod opted out of the contract so early so he could sign another before the Mitchell report comes out?

Hey, Humma, was 94 the first birth announcement?

If so, may she grow up to be the next Madeleine Albright or Margaret Thatcher, depending on which strong woman you'd prefer.

BP writer Derek Jaques talking about park effects

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=6898

If this is premium and you can't access it, he got this email:

In 1,395 games before the humidor (1993-2001) and 973 games since its installation (2002-2007), (what's that, about 100,000 total PAs?-that's a pretty decent sample size)

Pre-humidor, the Rox scored 69.5% more runs per game in Denver than on the road. Pre-humidor, opponents scored 42.3% more runs per game in Denver than on the road.
So: the Rockies homefield advantage in scoring was 164% that of their opponents.
Post-humidor, the Rox have scored 45.6% more runs per game in Denver than on the road. Post-humidor, opponents have scored 12.5% more runs per game in Denver than on the road.
Post-humidor, the Rockies homefield advantage in scoring has been 385% that of their opponents. Three hundred and eighty five frikkin percent!!!
In other words, before the humidor, Denver played like tee-ball for both teams. Post-humidor, it's a relatively normal park for visitors, but it's still been crazy funhouse mirror-land for the Rox offense.
Looks to me like something funny has been happening.

Derek's Response:"My numbers came out a little different from A.C.'s (my spreadsheet came up with 46% and 13% boosts, respectively, in the humidor era) but the differences weren't significant enough to obviate the point: that's an amazing advantage. Other teams in the 2002-2007 period enjoyed boosts of up to 15 percent greater run scoring than their opponents at home. The extra boost the Rockies get from their home park is more than twice that.While A.C. suggests that this disparity might be the result of humidor-related foul play, the fact that there was a considerable advantage prior to the humidor's inception—not to mention the rough treatment the Rockies got over the weekend—suggests otherwise. While the humidor has made a big difference in Denver, the lack of moisture in the baseballs obviously isn't the only side effect of altitude. We could be looking at opposing teams suffering mild (or not-so-mild) altitude sickness, or the home team simply being more familiar with the ballpark.
Regardless of the cause, the Rockies' advantage in runs scored at home is real"

168
Probably. It will be interesting to see if the report has any impact on subsequent signings.

169 No, not yet. Spawn of Kavula is still in Bride of Kavula's belly. But she'll come out any day now; official due date, which might not mean anything, is this coming Sunday, 11/4.

168 I would be amazed it A-Rod signs before mid-December. And the Mitchell report should be out well before then.

172 Pre-congrats! I hope she's born soon... for the sake of Bride of Kavula.

172
November 4! Just in time for sweeps!

158 It's a long cab ride from Fenway to Medfield. He's got to share the cost with someone.

157 , 162 , 163 Like I said, I don't understand it. I know these guys thrive on competition, they love what they are doing, and they get paid a lot of money. But if it was me, and I already had millions upon millions of dollars, I'd already proven I was great, and I'd just won my second World Series, I would be more than happy to give up the grind of playing so many games a year and spend some quality time with my family.

November 4 also happens to be my birthday.

I need a picture of a Dodger wearing #57 for my blog birthday post; who wore it?

Humma:

We named our daughter Anneliese, full name of Anne Frank. We are tribe members too. I love the name. Just sharing. Congrats in advance.

176
158 was inspired by Fire Joe Morgan.

176 I did detect a hint of snark on that one, but you never know. Those fuel surcharges will kill ya.

D4P has a vendetta against Boras and A-Rod.

174 She hopes so, too. Bride is not a small woman, but she is still finding it increasingly difficult to do simple things, like roll over.

175 That was the plan. Doesn't she know we're a Neilsen house family?

(Torre) previously managed the Braves, Mets and Cardinals. His overall winning percentage is .539. His win percentage excluding the Yankees years was .470 and those teams finished first once in 15 seasons.

Give that man $5 million/year...!

179 That's a beautiful name.

Thanks to all for your good wishes. I can't wait for her to arrive...

So now the Dodgers are at a point where no matter what, they need a new manager and they still haven't confirmed Joe Torre coming here. I wonder if Torre is looking at the Dodger organization and thinking that these guys have a front office even more screwed up then in New York. The next few days are going to be unreal....

Logan White for Manager!!!

154

That's it. I am going to clown college.

Mattingly! I told you to shave those sideburns!

Weird:

I just received in the mail an invitation to our friend's daughter's first birthday party.

The date? November 4.
Her name? Esther.

189
An OPS in the minor leagues ain't the same thing in the majors. If JtD or Perez or Dionner or Choi ever post an OPS over 800 in the major leagues in a season in which they see 300 at bats from this point on I'll be one surprised dude.
That looks like a last place team to me.

193 I think JoeyP made another enemy.

189 /193 To you, last place, but to me, it looks like the 2005 All-What-Might-Have-Beens.

194
A troll you say?
Wouldn't Ryan Ketchner and Orenduff have to be involved if they were trying to get Joey's goat?
Plus I don't remember him being a big fan of JtD.

Just what we need again, to be the laughing stock of an organization if Torre declines. My big worry if he's here is whether he will be a PVL puppet for Kent and Nomah and thwart the young studs progress. I guess we'll have to just lie low and let the dust settle before agonizing over things that may not happen. 90% of rumors come out not to be true so I am trying not to stress myself out with thoughts of the FO plunging the Dodgers on an never ending downward spiral into mediocrity.

178 Steve Howe. Not the most celebratory figure.

November 4: My older son's birthday. He shares a first name with Owens and James, and everyone's always wishing they had his girl.

193 - I agree

196 Well, maybe not Joey specifically. I just tend to use that as a placeholder for various trollings.

178 - John Wetteland!

172

--
Congrats buddy. Our first is due Nov 7 and I know exactly what you mean. Small tasks are really time consuming right now for her. I don't want this to go into "pregnancy thoughts" but the doctor today sweeped her membranes whatever that heck that means. So I googled it and it says:

A membrane sweep increases the likelihood that labour will start within 48 hours.

DOH!!!

So if this hypothetical signing does happen, which is more likely?

A) LaRoche is traded along with X player for an arm

B) Kent is traded and LaRoche is moved to 2nd

http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/archives/2007/10/the_latest_whic.html

Tony Jackson now claims this is not McCourt's doing.

The real sad thing is though, in reference to 189, the Dodgers would have been better off with using Choi/Saenz than Nomar in 2007, if only because they wouldnt have blocked anyone since they werent making much money. Nomar not only was terrible, but costing the Dodgers resources they could have used in other places.

Navarro OPS'ed .815 during the 2nd half of 2007. I'm not sure why people wouldnt want him to still be a Dodger, since he was cheap and the team would at least have a viable alternative catcher that could hold up everyday if Martin got hurt. Who do the Dodgers have left at Catcher behind Martin now?

Seeing Bradley or Werth at the top of the lineup instead of Pierre--sure. Today, in 2006, in 2005, in 2011...Um yeah.

Hopefully Furcal OPS's higher than Joel Guzman in 2008. Any bets?

Toycannon---Orenduff/Ketchner both tore up their arms. 2007 was a very average year for both of them. If Orenduff can limit his HR's allowed, he can still help the Dodgers IMO.

204 A. Not just because LaRoche hasn't played middle infield since high school.

205 "...baseball operations has a major hand in it and appears to even be driving it."

I wonder what part of baseball operations that is.

199
Keep him away from that Robert Ford kid he keeps playing with.

That kid is bad news.

Why I'm the luckiest bastard on the planet:

http://tinyurl.com/2jklvc

I'm afraid of instability, but I desperately hope Colletti is fired soon.

210
If Lou Gehrig said that with an echo, it would have been really funny....

199 Funny, the same can be said about my kid. Also my great grandmother's kid.

205 Funny, my ray of light was that Ned might go with Grady.

209 If he gets in trouble, hopefully that Lutz Long kid can help him out.

206
Orenduff didn't tear up his arm. His surgery was no big deal compared to Labrum or TJ.
http://www.truebluela.com/displaystory/2007/8/23/121530/908

I loved Navarro's 2nd half. Hopefully he'll keep it up and be part of the DRay's run at the windmill. I was being flippant on him, of all those guys I think he's the only one who can make it as a productive starter.

So if Torre says no, do we go with Mattingly or Pena?

210 Cute. Don't be offended when I say your son looks like Robbie Coltrane though.

216
Kevin Kennedy used to manage the Sox, I'd imagine he'd be next. Don't promote from within and always get someone else's hand me downs is our motto.

217 My son looks like the mailman. No offense taken.

104 140 any literary discussion about intense english language works has to include joyce's "ulysses." as for the VN reference, may i substitute "pale fire"? [said the guy with the sizable hobbyhorse . . .]

Are Assistant General Managers the new Vice President's? I hope I'm alone when I read that someone has been promoted to Senior Assistant General Manager so my hoots of laughter don't get me carted away.

211 - to be replaced by ... Jim Bowden! Think how well he'd get along with Tommy Lasorda!

so, if torre once batted alex rodriguez 8th, where in the world will he bat juan pierre?

221
Or you can be Assistant to the General Manager.

224
Or you can be whatever Depo is with the Padres.

205 A bit surprising, but it does fit in with Ned's Darth Vader like tolerance for failure.

223
3rd?

223 - 10th

228 10th

Vin Scully, bottom of the 3rd, 3/31/08:

"Bottom of the third and no score here at Dodger Stadium on opening day, two thousand and eight. Pitcher Brad Penny made the last out, so here to plate comes Furcal -- and now running behind him is Juan Pierre! He is gesticulating wildly, holding -- yes, that's Joe Torre's lineup card... he seems to be saying that Torre promised him, Pierre, that he would be batting tenth in the lineup today. Boy. After more than fifty years, you think you've seen EVERYTHING, and now this."

I rock! my cholesterol was at 131 3 months ago & I just got my NEW results today & my LDL-Cholesterol is at 90, 90!! My "total cholesterol" (don't know what that means) is at 154 (125-200, is average) my Triglycerides are kind of bad, 175 (good Triglycerides is 150) I gotta cut down on my ice cream intake but all in all I'm pretty darn proud of my self, Fruits of my hard work in action!!

It's pretty ridiculous that Colletti is in a position to fire Grittle.

Not that I really care.

Pierre has a Belly Full of Guts. Torre will bat him second.

210 Adorable!

Hmm... when should one begin paying attention to their cholesterol?

230
Below the Mendoza line with your cholesterol! Congratulations.

I'm a statins kind of guy.

226 "it does fit in with Ned's Darth Vader like tolerance for failure."

I find that description hilarious. Ned is so not Darth, and yet he so is. Ned should dress up as Darth Vader for Halloween.

229 "No, sorry fans, that's a wad of greenbacks. Apparently A-Rod paid Pierre to watch his car for him. That's the craziest thing I've seen since Scott Proctor set fire to his equipment in Vero Beach, while still wearing it."

230 233

Pay attention RIGHT away. Now. My cholesterol is high and I can't control it anymore with diet or exercise. The Vytorin is not lowering it much. I'm off to the doc in an hour or so too.

I envy Bluebleeders results. Good for you. I have bad genes. Both grandpas died of heart failure at age 59. My pops has had six angioplasties.

Ned is like Dark Helmet in Spaceballs.

235 It would be quite funny to see Darth Vader with a porno mustache.

236 The Dodgers could just promote Pierre to be A-Rod's caddy. Even if it costs an extra million per year, it'd help the team more than putting him in the lineup.

233
It depends upon your family history.

My family didn't have a history of it so the doctors didn't worry about until I turned 40.

Then I turned 40. I began worrying.

Irony would be if the Dodgers made their manager change this week the same day the Fed issues a rate cut or stays the course.

Bernanke and McCourt want to give the image of prosperity, stability, optimism, and caution all at the same time. They want us to believe the glass is half full and that the future will be rosy.

Neither the U.S. economy nor the Dodgers organization can flip a switch, make a change, and have everything back on course. They just want to sell it to us that way.

The Hawaiian shirt aficionado says Grittle is officially gone; press conference at 4.

Where's Xei with the odds for the Dodgers to sign A-Rod?

What happens when Slate meets FJM?

http://www.slate.com/id/2176968/fr/rss/

I really hope there is a place we can hear that conference call.

237 /240 Thanks. I have genes on my side, but I figure I should get it checked out.

In happier news, I'm published!

Does Grittle deserve some of the blame for a disappointing 2007?

Yes.

Does Grittle deserve more of the blame than Colletti for a disappointing 2007?

No.

Sorry, I was working so I am operating like everyone knows the following:

1. As Andrew notes above, Tony Jackson reports that Grady is out and Ned has a conference call (it will be on 710 ESPN AM live) at 4:00 p.m.

http://tinyurl.com/2r7qsf

2. Also that this move is being orchestrated by the baseball operations folks, i.e. Ned not McCourt.

My favorite rant/tirade remains Lee Elia's when he was the Cubs manager. I was still living in Chicago. He got off to like a 5-12 start and the team was booed at Wrigley. He went off on the "bums" who show up to watch baseball during the day instead of working. There were a few choice words too, like 50. It was very funny.

246 Log onto to that website probably KLAC will cover it too.

247 The trouble with the gene pool is there isn't a lifeguard.

Thanks, BH.

248 Maybe Darth NedCo is the driving force for manager musical chairs, but his attempt to add Joe Torre fails after all is said and done, leaving the Dodgers manager-less. Then Darth NedCo, in a fit of confusion, fires himself for his failure (or McCourt just could). Then it's back to 2005.

Boy, D4P going Jim Tracy on all of us :)

254
Tim Kurkijian was just on Sportscenter saying that Torre is flying to LA now to be introduced tomorrow or Thursday.

256 Well there goes that idea.

230 247 Congratulations to both of you, for rather different things, but both the fruits of your labor.

256 Maybe Torre is just coming in to do the Leno show now.

GRADY LITTLE FIRED

http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/

252 I spent $2k last month to find out I had a genetic hiccup that has no effect whatsoever on my survival/reproductive success/daily life. Gene pools are strange.

Torre's managerial divisional finishes:

Non-Yankees:
6
6
6
5
5
4
1
2
3
6
2
3
3
3
4

Yankees:
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2

So much for the hot stove taking awhile to heat up.

So, if everything talked about today is true, the McCourts have owned the team for four seasons, and in that time, have had three general managers and it looks like three managers. The average tenure is not even two seasons. As somebody mentioned, this is becoming like the Steinbrenner Yankees of the 1970s and 1980s, except that I don't see Frank McCourt becoming a TV character, ala Steinbrenner on Seinfeld.

BTW--Seinfeld Trivia Question (this is probably an easy one)--who did the voice of Steinbrenner on Seinfeld?

NPUT

237
I guess we better get you to a Clipper game sooner then later.