It appears Carroll Rosenbloom will at last get his chance to confront Georgia Frontiere.

Scout school? Sounds like fun. Has anyone here ever been to scout school? Is it just a Dodger training program?
vr, Xei

That's cool. A scout's life is not an easy one but if you like lots of driving, sitting on wood bleachers, and fast food, maybe its the life for you. You really have to love baseball to do that job.

2 Here's a link to a story done for MLB.com in 2003 on "Scout School."

http://tinyurl.com/24hs5r

Here's part of the story:

For several years now, the Major League Scouting Bureau has held "scout schools" where Major League organizations can send employees with an interest in player development to learn to scout. Often they are former players who still want to work in baseball or an employee with an interest in becoming a farm or scouting director.

4 -- Yes, it is place an MLB team, or MLB itself, has to SEND somebody. An average person can't just send in an application like it is a college.

4. Thanks.
vr, Xei

5 Every other year it is held either in Arizona or Dominican Republic, I saw a 2006 story indicating that it was going on Arizona that year so I believe they will do it again in Arizona in September of this year.

I hope Joe gets to stay for more than a day in Beijing, its quite a trip to make for a press conference.

So Beimel is approximately twice as good as Proctor it looks like.

Glad Kemp is happy about the China trip. Wonder how much extra time they have for site-seeing and which places (out of many) they will visit. I would think the Great Wall, but that's a bit of a drive (1-1/2 hours one way). Hope they remember to bring plenty of anti-biotics. Can you say upper respiratory (or sinus) infection? Have fun, it's a great place to visit other than the air pollution.
vr, Xei

9 -- Beimel is only a year away from free agency. I believe this is Proctor's first year of arbitration eligibility.

Will the Rams come back to L.A.?

I was going to say something about the small relative differences between the arbitration offers of the club and the players ($450,000 and $370,000), and then just suggest they split the difference, thinking, "what's $200,000 here or there?"

$200,000... It is still a good chunk of change.

Not sure if anyone else posted this but Goldstar events is selling tickets to the 3/29 Coliseum game already. Goldstar usually offers discounted tickets to plays, concerts, and other shows. They are charging $25 per seat + $6 service fee for "lower bowl" seating. Here's their site:

http://tiny.cc/Vy5An

Even though it sounded like one, I didn't post this as an ad.

Hey, Jon, I believe you said you had a preview copy of the first episode of Breaking Bad? How did you like it? I'm looking forward to seeing it on Sunday.

14 - Time's still TBA, I think.

15 - If you can believe it, I've been sitting on it for two weeks and still haven't watched it. Haven't started watching HBO's "In Treatment" either, and I've had a bunch of those for a week. Just struggling to find the time - even with the strike!

13 Brent Number 2, I think teams hesitate to split the difference so that they don't become known as teams that always compromise to the mean as it would encourage players to always ask for a few hundred thousand (or million) more knowing that they will get half of whatever amount they increase. Was that a long enough sentence? Does that even make sense?

Does anyone know if the service in 14 is legit? Most of the time dodgers are the first ones to sell their tickets except maybe by season ticket holders.

18 Goldstar sells a lot of tickets to sporting events in LA (and elsewhere) at discounted rates so I am guessing that the Dodgers have already told them that they will get a certain allotment of tickets for sale so they are just going ahead and selling them.

They're legit as I've bought tix through them for concerts in the past. They have sold Dodger tix too (usually for games that are not good draws - like vs. the Pirates). I too was surprised to see this game go on sale on their site first.

"Reserve infielder Wilson Betemit and the New York Yankees avoided arbitration, agreeing to a $1,165,000, one-year contract just before teams and players exchanged figures Friday."

BTW, I've already bought 4 tix for the game through them, though they state the $25 is not a discounted price.

Gosh, those Harbaughs are spreading through the coaching ranks like a virus. I mean, cool! ;-) Congrats to him.

15 I'm looking forward to seeing it, too, after my initial "Oh God, not another cable show about an unusual drug dealer" but this one sounds great.

Anybody itching to see Teeth?

24 Not the word I'd use, but yeah, I'm curious, and a little afraid. Freud would have a field day with that plot.

Tonight is Cloverfield, though.

Anybody itching to see Teeth?

I'm chompin' at the bit!

Actually, I have no idea what it is.

I'm just wondering, when she gets old will she need dentures? There could be a whole new market for the Polygrip people.

26 - Its story is probably not the first thing you'd think of.

27 - LOL.

Georgia Frontiere died today.

People think that just because Bob's pretending to be in Europe they can get away with misspelling "champing."

30 - see 1

31
Are you talkada me?

I'm not an ESPN Insider so wasn't able to read the article below:

Will Matt Kemp have a breakout year in 2008? He may if he has a good spring and produces like a middle-of-the-order hitter.

Eric Karabell

http://tinyurl.com/2vcyen

32 Apparently we are supposed to read your comments as well as your posts. Why is it that football owners seem to be more hated than owners in any other sports?

35 - Apparently you've never been to Brooklyn.

Touche, Jon. Being from Los Angeles I've never thought of O'malley poorly, but I don't blame Brooklynites for their anger.

Do you think golf writers have gotten the message about lynching? I have a feeling there's at least one more guy, somewhere, willing to bet his job that his lynching joke really is funny.

35 Will Matt Kemp be productive? He will if he hits.

Evil bugs:

http://tinyurl.com/28hctf

Keith Law, in the chat referred to earlier, said that Jay Bruce is the #1 prospect in baseball, and then later said that he likes Kemp better than Bruce.

So Matt Kemp is better than the #1 prospect in baseball. But is he good enough to start for the Dodgers?

41

Well upper-management really likes Kemp so I think he's got a good enough shot.

Thank you Jon,
I read your email and did what Ken said and it worked! Many thanks

I think Loney has just as good a chance, if not a better chance to have a more productive season next year then Kemp. I say this because I think Loney is more major league ready and I think he probably will get more regular playing time then Kemp(certainly for the first few months). Long term however I would probably take Kemp to have the better career...

*this year

William Katt in Circus of the Stars. I have to say, it was worth watching.

http://tinyurl.com/2c9g66

44 swood;I think then= than:0) believe me I am usually not a stickler.
I hope Kemp and Loney are allowed to just play this year. Karma says that most likely one will play better than expected, and one worse. but I think they should be allowed to progress another year without harrassment. It would be so beneficial if they were left alone to play.

46 But was it like a light of a new day? Did it came from out of the blue? Did it break you out of the spell you were in, did it make all of your wishes come true?

Thing I don't understand about the Goldstar tickets for the Colliseum game is that they don't say where the seats are. I'd almost prefer to wait and buy them as soon as the Dodgers put them on sale so I know where I will be sitting. I don't want to fork out the money and then have no control over where my seats are and end up with something I don't like.
vr, Xei

James Blake fighting in the 5th set down under on ESPN2.
vr, Xei

49

You know what man, that already sounds bad I ain't buying my ticks from them. I wonder when ticketmaster will start selling tickets for that series.

espn.com takes a somewhat odd approach with their obit: "Georgia Frontiere, the St. Louis native who became a hometown hero when she brought the NFL's Rams from Los Angeles in 1995, died Friday."

I guess.

Anyhow, I hope she doesn't run into my dad up there; I am quite sure he would something most untoward.

That's the AP, actually, not an ESPN authored piece, now that I look.

Veteran to fill out the bench?

http://tinyurl.com/2ws7ex

47 I agree with you that it would be great to see them both get equal playing time. The reality is though, Loney will probably see more consistant playing time then Kemp will if for no other reason then our surplus of outfielders. My prediction is this year Loney will be more productive. 5 years from know, Kemp will be.

I'm kind of surprised at Matt Kemp's reaction. I never thought he'd be so eager to invest in the far east. Mind you a) I'm glad he feels this way and b) I'm completely against any trip to the orient for the Dodgers.

The reason I'm against it is because it could hurt the Dodgers long-term going into the season. However, the Mets made a trip like that and went to the World Series the same year. It's hard to say.

---

52

Yay?

What do you do when someone you don't like passes away? It's a tough question. I think the best thing for me to do is respect all the good that Georgia Frontiere did for the Rams, the NFL, and the community.

Any ideas?

What do you do when someone you don't like passes away?

Samething your Mom told you to do when they were alive, "Don't say anything if you can't say . . ."

Aw, who am I kidding? I ignored my Mom in favor of Teddy Roosevent. Go ahead and rip on her. You won't be alone and i'ts not like she's can hear you.

I wouldn't care where the seats in the Coliseum were. They will all be bad. I hope for one as bad as possible. It is all part of the charm.

It's been too long since the Rams left. I've lost my hatred for Georgia.

As fans of a team uprooted from a city for a perceived lack of support and decreased chances to make money, I do not get angry about the Rams playing in St. Louis.

It is what it is. I am not going to be like one of those Brooklyn zealots. The Rams ceased being a big part of LA's sports scene after the move to Anaheim.

As for Ms. Frontiere was she truly a bad person or did she just do things we disagree with?

Man, is anyone watching this Tipserovic match? Beyond riveting!

Wow, that's why I shouldn't have tried to spell that from memory. Of course, I meant the Janko Tipsarevic match.

There once was once upon a time where a person married an older man who soon drowned. His son had been working his way up in the father's business and ready to run it when his father passed. The son was fired and dismissed by the widow that inherited the father's business and wealth. Money was given to the opera instead of investing it in the business and when the business was about to fail, the widow inherited another fortune and moved the business to be near her benefactorers.

It keeps getting more bizarre. After reading todays article in the LATimes I realize how screwed up spring training is going to be, inevitably hurting both the team and Vero Beach.

64 I assume that at base most of these stunts involve the McCourts wanting to spend as little time as possible in Vero. It's like walking the longest possible way home to avoid running into your latest ex. And I agree that at best it does not help the team.

65

Why did it have to end so badly though? one would think things could have been handled better. I see a trend in the McCourts...

1 You assume they went to the same place.

RIP, Allan Melvin

http://tinyurl.com/3xauhn

67 - No mixing? No socials?

"socials?" You're 40, Jon, not 70.

re: Kemp's reaction to going to China
Why is it, more and more, I'm seeing our young guys as more mature than our older, supposedly stable PVLs? Martin, last year, seemed far above the fray, the place where true leaders reside. Same for Loney, who also seems articulate, something you can't say about all our PVLs. And, today, Kemp's reaction to going to China is something along the lines of "hey, cool, I get to see part of the world I've never seen." Meanwhile, unnamed PVLs are grumpy. (Hmmm... wonder who that is.) For my money, a desire to see the world is a good thing. And, even if he's ignoring the obvious strain a China trip will put on the team, Kemp is wise to find the positive. In baseball, optimism (and a willingness to travel) are helpful.

69 You think heaven could afford her?

Carrol was no saint, they may be in the same place*

* The concept of heaven/hell is for entertainment purposes only.

Yeah!! Just got invited to UCLA/USC game. It pays to be the only person with nothing to do on Sat so your avaialable for a last minute invite.

I consider the signing of Proctor and Beimal very important to this team I hope they win their arbitration and are happy individuals. Our bullpen, in my opinion, is the core of this ball club and at the moment is the most important thing to keeping it competative. The scouts are doing a good job. I only wish they can bring in more offensive power. Right now the offense looks pretty good but only time will tell.

71. I was thinking about that too, but I think it also has something to do with relative age and wealth. Jeff Kent has more money than he needs, so he probably figures, "heck, I can go to China or anywhere else any time I want, so why screw up the preparation for what might be my last season?" Kemp isn't yet used to having gobs of disposable income, is young enough not to have done much traveling at all (except by bus in the minors), and has his whole career ahead of him, so it's an opportunity that has never presented itself before.

Also, age probably matters. Yeah, even old players aren't that old in real-person years. But still, I think a lot of us would agree that being 40 is very different from being 20. Jet lag sucks more. Traveling, especially for work, is at least as much pain as adventure.

So, in this instance, I wouldn't chalk up Kemp's excitement and PVLs' grousing to an odd distribution of maturity points - more to station in life. Does that make any sense?

75 Our bullpen, in my opinion, is the core of this ball club.

Huh? Could you elaborate on this idea a little? I'm not sure how this could EVER be true, but it seems an especially odd sentiment with a team full of young offensive players and an impressive rotation.

Maybe what you meant was that the bullpen is the wild card that will either put the team over the top or else doom it? That the rotation and offense are set (for better or worse) and pretty predictable, but that the 'pen is the are for greatest marginal improvement/comparative advantage? I'm not sure I even believe that, but in any event, I'm interested in what you meant to say.

Not trying to be snarky here - just trying to get your drift.

75
Joe I agree with you completely. The bullpen is one of if not the most underrated part of a winning baseball team, which is why I think its very important that we resign Seanez and work everything out with Proctor and Beimel.

Here is how I see the NL's most TALENTED(not necessarilly who I think will finish with the best record) right now:

1. Dbacks
2. Mets
3. Rox
4. Dodgers
5. Cubs
6. Phills
7. Madres
8. Brewers
9. Braves
10. Cardinals
11. Gnats
12. Astros
13. Nationals
14. Reds
15. Pirates
16. Marlins

Now this probably won't be where the teams end up record wise because of the unbalanced schedules. IT's just my take on talent level going into ST...

I think the underrated part of a team is the ability to score runs.

78 I think its very important that we resign Seanez and work everything out with Proctor and Beimel.

Proctor and Beimel are both contractually obligated to the Dodgers for 2008, regardless of what happens in their arbitration cases.

Also, Beimel lost his arbitration case last season and had a fine season, so that's not an issue. Looking at the initial figures, I'd guess the Dodgers will win both cases if the two sides don't agree to a contract before the hearing.

I wouldn't say it's important to sign Seanez. He was walking a tightrope all season and is bound to be nothing better than the many options we already have in house.

Well, Proctor and Beimel aren't going anywhere - the Dodgers own their rights. If you think the fate of the team rests on Rudy Seanez, I can assure you that's not true. And if you think it rests on Beimel and Proctor not pouting after losing an arbitration case (which, after all, Beimel lost last year), I can assure you that's also not true.

Good time to read this article:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/jon_weisman/07/17/relievers.random/index.html

As you can see from my list I think very highly of the west with 4 of the top 7 teams being from the divison.

78 A team needs good middle relief to win a championship but theres no way to plan on having good middle relief.

83 Why are the Rockies more talented than the Dodgers?

81
I disagree on Seanez. I thought he was very important to the 'pen last season, on the field and with the young guys. I understand he got himself into trouble sometimes but he was at his best when it mattered most and was able to get out of many jams. Who are the in-house options who you think are better then him? Melonan maybe but I don't know if he is ready to be a full time MLB reliever... Anyway, I think it would be a mistake not to resign Seanez. Reguarding Proctor and Beimel, I know they are obligated to the Dodgers, I'm just hoping nothing happens that will effect their on field performances.

86 There's absolutely no guarantee that Seanez will repeat his performance from last year.

I think the Rox postion players are better. Its a rough estimate at this point. I think the Rox young starting pitching will make or break their season.

86
This is true. But, I still think its worth resigning him.

* 87

The only thing that will affect the on-field performances of Beimel and Proctor is that they are both, at best, mediocre pitchers.

And Seanez is another Gio Carrara waiting to happen. He could potentially be replaced by anyone from Eric Hull to Greg Miller.

82 Jon I think you may have misinterpreted my comment. I don't think the fate of the team rests in Seanez by any means. I just think he would be a valuable part of the 'pen...

I think it's pretty much guaranteed that Seanez will not match last season's performance. It was a miracle he pitched as well as he did last year, and he's now what, 41? Count your blessings and cut him loose.

From MLB.com:
"Seanez made 73 appearances with a 3.79 ERA and was willing to be abused as a multiple-innings reliever. He'll be 39, but his fastball still can hit 93 mph. He had almost a 3-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio."

91 Greg Miller might be stretching it, but the point is that with the exception of 25-30 guys, relief pitchers are pretty interchangeable. The only reason I would support getting another one is just so we have more in reserve, not because they'd be better than Eric Hull.

Look at Joe Beimel for proof of this. His peripherals were actually much better in 2007 than in 2006, enough so that I no longer actively hate him, but his ERA was almost a run higher. Relief pitchers pitch so few innings that they can be an actively bad pitcher and still give you a good season.

Seanez 2007 was essentially a hot shoe. We all got 3 or 4 blackjacks, are up a few hundred bucks. Now is the time we must choose to to walk away from the table.

Plus, I think I saw Seanez in September clap his hands together and turn them to signify it was time to change the dealer.

96 LOL
95 Why did you hate Beimel in 06? I thought he had an ok year...

95

I threw Greg Miller out there because I see the odds of him finding his command and becoming an effective major league pitcher this year about equal to the odds of Seanez pitching another season like 2007.

When are the minor league NRIs going to be announced?

97 Because he had the track record of a bad pitcher, and he did absolutely nothing that year to make me think he wasn't a bad pitcher who was getting lucky. Limiting his home runs and increasing his strikeout rate to just bad instead of horrible helped out. I also appreciate his pick off move more, even if he does balk every single time.

86

The brain trust want to make Meloan a starter (I & others think it's a bad idea) but we shall see, I'm actually looking forward to that & hope he proves me wrong.

99
Right around now. Last year the Dodgers invited the following on Jan 16:

Jonathan Meloan
Tony Abreu
RHP Scott Elbert
SS Chin Lung Hu
C A.J. Ellis

102. Now that would be sweet if we had a righty Scott Elbert as well as the current lefty.

46 Pretty cool clip even if Katt's outfit is Richard Simmonseque.

That's incredible! (Which, now that we mention it, is long overdue for its own update...

Apparently he didn't see the DT discussion on this, starting at comment 152. So,

Boomer Esiason, Kelly Rippa, and Drew Carey
or
Charles Barkley, Howie Mandel, and Elisabeth Hasselback?

Thinking about the relief, there is one pitcher out there that I would try to acquire that is Huston Street.

The A's don't require immediate young players so I think there is a good match here with a package of Dejesus and Meloan for Street.

With Saito being 38 and stuff, and Street being...pretty good, there is a definite possible match.

105 -- Nate, you've been advocating this here and elsewhere for a while and I couldn't disagree more. We are possibly the WORST match for a Street in baseball. We not only have a CURRENT closer, we have Broxton as a FUTURE closer, and there is no way Street, with his less than over-powering stuff, should ever close a game ahead of Broxton. Hell, we don't even need a seventh inning guy given that we have Proctor. And, besides, Street is a classic example of the Moneyball "Any pitcher can be a closer" philosophy, with the idea that you inflate the guy's value as a "proven closer" then sell him off. Meloan would probably be a lot like Street as a reliever, if we weren't converting him back to starting. And frankly, for Street Oakland would demand more than you want to part with anyway.

106

If Oakland were to demand more then I wouldn't put myself in a bidding war for Street.

But as far as the Dodgers go, they are healthy long term with not too many major holes to fill long term. If you view Hu as the starter at SS then Dejesus becomes redundant. I like Meloan, but I am not devoutly attached to him.

I really believe, if Torre/Management play their cards right, this years team has a lot of potential to do something special. God forbid, if something happens to Saito or Broxton down the stretch, I don't believe the Dodgers currently have a pitcher who could fill either of their spots.

Goodbye, Sam the Butcher. Hope you finally asked Alice to marry you before passing on.

106 Why wouldn't Street become out setup guy then? For a guy with less than over powering stuff, he certainly has a nice strikeout to walk ratio for his career at nearly four to one. Proctor is the very definition of middle reliever and not acquiring someone because you have Scott Proctor makes no sense.

The question is do you believe Meloan will be better than Street over the next three years. If you don't think he will be, then yeah, I wouldn't do Nate's trade either, but I think we'd be hugely fortunate if Meloan ended up being that good. If you think Street is better than Meloan, acquiring him makes the team better for the next three years, and I don't know why you wouldn't want that.

Well, what do you know about that. SC can beat a good team.

107 -- DeJesus is not redundant YET. A couple of things are going to have to happen before we reach that point: first, Furcal is going to have to go away, and second, Hu is going to have to have a strong enough first MLB season to make SS his own. Right now, I don't foresee Furcal being extended, but it COULD happen. In which case, Hu is going to have go in trade (because he is not that young NOW, and can't stay in Triple A forever), while DeJesus would become the heir apparent and insurance policy at SS. But if Furcal goes and Hu "proves himself" in 2009, then DeJesus will have finished a full season at Vegas at the end of 2009 and be at his maximum trade value, as a guy who is ready to step into the majors. Right now, as a prospect two years away from the majors, DeJesus really doesn't have that much trade value. Some, but not much.

As for Meloan, this is another guy who will be rotation insurance for this year, and everybody worries about that when they aren't worrying about the bullpen.

Honestly, I think people are just not wanting to admit that we, the Dodgers, are "complete." It is about anxiety and insecurity at this point, like heading to the airport with your bags packed and wondering if there might be one last thing you forgot to pack. No, we packed everything, we're done. You want to worry about something? Worry about Joe Torre possibly letting Juan Pierre and Nomar pilot the damn airplane. That's the only thing I'm worrying about.

110
They really needed that to build their tourney resume, not to mention just to get a win! Lots of great cutting to the basket by USC today, and they overcame all the turnovers forced by UCLA as well as being dominated on the boards.

Not that I want to agree with Billy Packer, but UCLA should have got the ball to Love way more often. That man is a beast.

What a great win for us today, any time we can win at Pauley is a great win. Davon Jefferson is such a stud. I'm stoked, hopefully this gets us going again, we've been in a rut since the Memphis game.

I'm shocked more people don't run these zone based D's on ucla, Texas and Michigan both also did it and had success. Make ucla hit jumpers. Not having Roll out there is a bigger deal then people think.

So is LAT a USC OR UCLA fan? he never disclosed that 411...

Wow, I didn't realize this song [http://tinyurl.com/ywecow] was from these guys [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxboro_Hot_Tubs] I'm a sucker for catching tunes.

Given that LAT is an awesome lawyer/dad/dodger fan I'm betting on the Bruin side. Not sure what happened to Marty and Eric but I'm sure their ill - spent youth has something to do with them working for the dark side.

114 He lives close to UCLA, tho works near USC . . . neither of which of course has much bearing on who you root for. But he seems Bruin to me.

Gar I can't believe even in The Year of Love we have to endure losing to the Trojans.

109.

(1). You don't "buy" another team's closer -- at a closer's price in trade -- to make him your set-up man. Epstein should have observed that rule rather than bring in Gagne and watch Gagne implode.

(2). If you bring in a "proven" closer and say to him that not only is he not going to close now, but your own existing set-up man (Broxton) is next in line to close, you just create a lot of bad blood. This personal dimension is what people ignore when they say "We should have kept Navarro and let him back-up Martin," as if Navarro wouldn't tell Martin and everybody else associated with the Dodgers to go you-know-what themselves. This is probably why Consecutive-Games-Streak Pierre can't never gets benched for a game, either. There is a certain etiquette in baseball that I admit I sometimes hate (like when it means Pierre can't be benched).

(3). I didn't say Proctor is why you don't bring in Street. I implied Saito is the reason, and then said Broxton is another reason, then just threw out Proctor's name to say we even have the 7th inning covered, which is not to imply it would even be possible to trade for a proven closer and tell him "You're the 7th inning guy now" without -- again -- creating a huge personal problem.

(4). Why would Meloan have to be better than Street over the next three years? We have Meloan for SIX years, so right there they are not on equal ground, and we also don't have to trade away anything to have those six years. In 2008, in the Dodger bullpen, I really believe that Meloan would be just AS GOOD as Street. They strike me as being very similar: a good but not over-powering fastball, a breaking ball that is an out-pitch, and good control (though Meloan showed that good control in the minors without bringing it to the majors in his brief stint with the Dodgers last year). And if Meloan transitions quickly to being a starting pitching prospect, that gives him even more value to us than Street, whom nobody thinks can start.

118. This is probably why Consecutive-Games-Streak Pierre can't never gets benched for a game, either. There is a certain etiquette in baseball that I admit I sometimes hate (like when it means Pierre can't be benched).

Yep. When Torre was asked on Thursday about how Pierre will be used this season he said it would depend on two things:

1). The needs of the team, and
2). How important the streak is to Pierre

116
I grew up liking USC (brother and uncle went to grad school there) since I was 10 or so, and since my alma mater (UCSD) doesn't have D-1 sports it was easy to keep my collegiate allegiance to the Trojans. I was actually pretty close to going to UCLA, but picked San Diego instead.

trainwreck and I are almost in complete fandom harmony (Dodgers/Lakers/Raiders), except for the USC-UCLA thing.

What is a Raider fan to do tomorrow? I hate both the Pats and Chargers. As the Tuck Rule fades into memory, my hatred for New England has waned somewhat. Add in the Patriots' perfect acceptance of the villain role this season, and their quest to go 19-0, I'm going to have to root for the Pats tomorrow. After all, I have to be around Charger fans all the time, so I don't need them enjoying themselves! :)

119 You're kidding. He didn't really say "How important the streak is to Pierre." did he?

Canuck Dodger- Very good points about Melonan, Hu and DeJesus.

119 - I think that 2) was subject to (mis)interpretation.

I like USC just because its my #1 school that I am applying to. As for every other sport(other than baseball of course) I am a home town guy in DC(wiz, skins, hokies). I would have liked the Nats too if they had been around when I was growing up. Its hard to just pick up and follow a team that you know very little about, especially when you've been a passionate fan of an out of town team for years

121 119 You're kidding. He didn't really say "How important the streak is to Pierre." did he?

Okay, here is Joe in his own words. :-)

Torre takes his time in meeting team

>> Pierre has played in 434 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the major leagues. Whether that will be a consideration when drawing up the lineup, Torre said, will depend on a combination of what's best for the team and how much the streak means to Pierre. <<

http://tinyurl.com/2gv6fd

60 "As for Ms. Frontiere was she truly a bad person or did she do things we disagree with?"

I vote that she was truly a bad person (as I hug my team autographed 1989 Ram football).

120 we have the exact same teams we root for across the board.

I'm pulling for SD tomorrow, mainly so that Norv gets a fat contract extension and I think I hate the Pats slightly more then the Bolts. Now if Brady gets hurt and Cassell comes in, I'm pulling for the Pats.

120
I hate the Chargers, but I really hate the Patriots.

I want the Patriots to lose, but they won't.

The principles of etiquette are permanent, but the specific practices aren't. And, anyway, so what if Pierre doesn't like sitting? What's he going to do about it, hit less? "Ooh, it really burns me up having to sit while player who are better than I am play in my stead. Next time I field a grounder I'm going to throw it back to the infield even slower!"

Well I think that is the last UCLA game I will get invited to for a while. My brother and his friends seem to think I brought them bad luck. I think it had more to do with Roll and some others being out.

I am a Bruin fan. Although I never went to UCLA my mother did and I grew up going to UCLA games. (Thank you to Sam and TC for correctly identifying me as such).

I think the headline in the today's sports section was in very poor taste. How did that get by so many editors? Is Simers to blame somehow? Just an ounce of respect for someone who died can and should be expected from a major media source with a solid reputation. The Times isn't exactly the New York Post. I simply don't get it. Would they print that as the title of my obit also? Geez, I'm disappointed in the paper's lack of good sense.

Unlucky Dodger numbers for annual contract salaries are:

9,000,000 per = Pierre for five years, Nomar for two

11,000,000 per = Drew for five (with opt out after two), Dreifort for five

I believe 10,000,000 might also be doomed by a Mr. Gagne.

Please let 18 mil per for two years be the right number. Please?

132 Did J.D. pretty much work out beautifully though?

133 No, I think that JD would have been an improvement over the signings of LuGo and Pierre. We'd have two years of JD at 11 mil per, and he'd be trade bait or a high OBP guy in right field. We'd also likely be passing on a questionable Andruw.
So, in my humble opinion, JD opting out was not good for us in many ways.

130 If Magnum Roll makes the difference between a team winning and losing, then it's not a very good team to begin with. I don't think that's the answer.

Like Nate, I'm a huge Huston Street fan. I'd love for us to get him if the price is right.

Er, Mike Roll. I was having a little LSU Final Four flashback.

134 133 No, I think that JD would have been an improvement over the signings of LuGo and Pierre.

I would agree with that although I'm not sure JD's status would have had any affect on the signing of LuGo. I think it may only have blocked Pierre. Ned has indicated he planned to move JD to center (recall also that Drew's first act upon signing his Dodgers contract was to announce that he wanted to play center). And Ned didn't think Kemp was ready to be an everyday center fielder. Also, Ethier had slumped badly that September (we learned later that he was apparently hiding an injury) and Ned wasn't sold on him either. So I suspect that Ned would have signed LoGo to play left anyway and let Kemp and Ethier fight it out in right. Still, I would have much preferred a LuGo, Drew and Kemp/Ethier outfield over any that had Juan Pierre in it.

120
USC fan, swing and miss
Dodger fan, ball one
Laker fan , ball two
Raider fan, called strike on the outside black
All around good guy, laces the ball deep but it curves foul
Excellent Dodger Thoughts contributor, ball three
Raider fan, Nasty curve breaks over for called strike three while you jiggy leg it

Raider fans always have two strikes against them.

138
At least I'm near the top of the league in pitches per PA!

I am a Trojan fan because my father was one. He was a Trojan fan because his brother-in-law went there. Makes sense, doesn't it?

I guess Bob's too busy to host an "East-West Shrine Game" chat.

Although, I have to say my father did something I don't see a lot of nowadays. He was a Pittsburgh native who came to L.A. after the war. He adopted all the L.A. teams to root for (except UCLA) and never much talked about the hometown teams.

Now, everyone I know from another city remains fans of those teams and not the L.A. teams.

Come to think of it, Bob's probably sleeping through the big game.

If there are any DTers in Horry County, would you please head on down to wherever they're doing the count? They could use an extra set of fingers and toes.

Having skimmed the latest posts (not thoroughly I'll admit), I have to say we have two future shortstops that can field. And I feel that defense is more important at SS than most current fans. For some reason I feel Hu, although he is 24 already(or close) is going to show more power than Abreu, DeJesus, and even Furcal(unless he makes a full recovery physically and in his stats). Just a feeling.

103
I did a quick cut & paste from the Dodgers.com transactions and didn't catch that!

I remember when USC was the safety school you applied to when you were sending applications out for college.

Being from LA, I can safely say that I am a Dodger/Laker/UCLA (though I appreciated those '70s USC football teams)/Rams/Kings fan. Of the rest, the my favorite player, Bobby Grich, played for the Angels and their loss in 1986 remains a bitter memory, I was a season ticket holder for the Clippers and it would not bother me if they ever won a title, USC, well, I can't say I hate them but..., the Ducks are nothing to me.

147 Must have been a real hoot at the game today.

I'll give you a ring tomorrow. Family stuff ran long.

148 Cool, oh yeah it was a hoot, but the rumors are that they are talking contract terms with Chow.

149 That would be nice.

I don't know if we need Huston Street and wouldn't part with much more than DeJesus and Meloan but in all honesty it would cost a bit more. I'm pretty sure it would start with Ethier (whom from all reports Beane wants back) and consist still of DeJesus, Meloan, and another projectable pitching prospect such as Zach Hammes. That is a bit too much in my opinion. Of course Billy Beane may throw us Buck or some other "undervalued money-ball player" but really it is not worth the price.

147 High five on those allegiances! Even though I don't really follow hockey, I would be a Kings fan if I was.

I also have a very soft spot for U. of Arizona basketball since I grew up watching them. It's become closer to a 50/50 split of UCLA/Arizona since Howland took over, but if forced to choose I would still root for Arizona. In football it's all UCLA though.

Here's what we are looking at so far with our roster at full health (which isn't bad).

SP: Penny, Lowe, Billingsley, Kuroda, Schmidt
RP: Saito, Broxton, Proctor, Loaiza, Beimel, 1 or 2 of the following: Kuo/Hull/Stultz/Meloan/Miller/Brazoban/Houlton

LF Juan Pierre
SS Rafael Furcal
1B James Loney
CF Andruw Jones
2B Jeff Kent
C Russell Martin
RF Matt Kemp
3B Nomar Garciaparra

OF Delwyn Young
IF Tony Abreu/Chin-lung Hu
C Gary Bennett
IF Andy LaRoche
OF Andre Ethier
Possibly: Jason Repko or a FA PH bat

151 When was it ever reported Beane wanted Ethier back? Perhaps after Milton didn't work out?

looking at our roster I think it would behoove us to get a nice bat for our bench while shipping off Pierre and then adding an established arm or 2 to our pen if we can trade Loaiza (who I think is a worse option than Kuo, Stultz, and Houlton already if Schmidt breaks down. Also, we have Meloan, Elbert, Kershaw, and McDonald as candidates. Octavio Dotel is looking nice right around now.

154. They were in random trade rumors when we were interested in Harden and Blanton. I don't recall which of the many newspapers or websites had stated it but I know that he was a piece that Oakland reportedly wanted back in the deals.

Watching the highlights of NCAA hoops action on ESPN tonight, and I thought my eyes were decieving me... Were there really North Carolina boosters (a few young women) crying their eyes out when the Tarheels lost to Maryland today? Wow. Did they really expect them to go undefeated this season? Talk about reality check, or being spoiled.

Of interest to probably no one else here, but I thought it was cool that 4 UCSB soccer players were drafted in the MLS draft this weeknd - four! Two in the first few picks. Neat.

155 I wouldn't mind the Dodgers re-signing Sweeney, though that's sounding less likely these days, but are there that many "nice bats" for the bench out there who are better than Delwyn Young or Nomar (assuming LaRoche beats him out officially for third)? There may be, but i can't think of too many available players who are anything other than over the hill overpriced veterans...

158. i really like Tony Clark but we have absolutely no need for him other than JUST a bench bat which he won't go for.

157 You haven't been paying attention...

Our team I feel would be so much better if LaRoche can win the 3b job and earn it all year with his play..having Nomar off the bench seems to make alot of sense for him and the team I agree. Shipping Pierre enabling Young to be 4th OF would make us alot stronger as well. So just to hear myself talk, I agree with 155 and 158

RIP Emily Hartley (Suzanne Pleshette)

162 - The woman I named my first cat after. Or the character. My first cat was Emily.

157
Andy Iro!!!

I know that guy. So your info was interesting to me.

152
Supporting Arizona basketball over UCLA is "ungodly!"

165 I know it doesn't make much practical sense, but it's like if I moved to San Francisco and felt compelled to be a Giants fan. I've been following Arizona hoops all my life so it's not easy to just cut ties all of a sudden even if I start attending one of their rival schools.

153 Based on Torre's comments, I've convinced myself that LaRoche is the third baseman, Nomar is the utility guy/bat off the bench, and JP had better be a "team player" and say the streak doesn't matter so much to him so that Torre can play Ethier.

151 The A's don't want, or need, Ethier. He has too much MLB service time now. The A's are in full rebuilding mode, so they pretty much only want players with zero or near-zero service time, who they can control for a full six years.

I want one, just one newspaper to have a headline today: "Clinton and Obama split Nevada". None of this "Big win for Clinton" or "Clinton wins Nevada". Obama actually got more delegates. Do they not know how this works?

Heres my opening day lineup:

Furcal SS
Ethier LF
Kemp RF
Jones CF
Kent 2B
Loney 1B
Martin C
Nomar 3B
Penny P

*Laroche 3B

The Rockies are closing in on a 6 year/$30 million deal with Tulo. It buys out his first year of free agency and will be a record for a one-plus player.

If there is one player on the team who I could say is pretty much useless(now that the tomato is gone) it would be Loaiza. I didn't understand why Ned picked him up last year and I don't understand it now. I definately agree that Kuo, Houlton, and Stultz are all better options than a has been like Loaiza.

My opening day lineup:

LaRoche 3B
Loney 1B
Kemp RF
Kent 2B
Martin C
Jones CF
Ethier LF
Furcal SS
Penny P

LaRoche leading off???

Yes, LaRoche leading off.

That's how I roll.

Torre's opening day lineup:

Piercal
Piercal
Nomar
Jones
Kent
Kemp
Martin
Loney
Penny

I doubt Torre will bat Nomar 3rd. You're suffering from Gradyness!

176 lol

177 The chances of Nomar batting 3rd are close to nil. Loney will bat a heck of a lot higher, too.

I looked at some comparable players to Beimel and Proctor (non-closer relievers), to see how their arbitration hearings might play out.

Beimel (asked $2.15m, Dodgers offered $1.7m) - made $912,500 last year - 5 years service time
Here are other players with 5 years service time and their 2008 contracts:
Juan Rincon - $2.475m
Joaquin Benoit - $2m (plus $500k signing bonus as part of a 2-year deal)
Kiko Calero - couldn't find amount of 2008 deal; made $1.6m in 2007
Matt Wise - $1.2m
Two other comps from 2007 are Scot Shields ($3.4m in his 6th year) and Scott Linebrink ($1.75m).
Prediction - The comps are all over the place, but I think Beimel wins this year. But one should never doubt Kim Ng.

Proctor (asked $1.3m, Dodgers offered $930k) - made $445,923 last year - 3 years service time
Here are other players with 3 years service time and their 2008 contracts:
Jimmy Gobble - $1.313m
John Grabow - $1.135m
Geoff Geary - $1.125m
Matt Belisle - somewhere in between $1m and $1.65m (arbitration)
Randy Flores - $1m
Matt Thornton - $875k
Rafael Betancourt - $840k
Javier Lopez - $840k
Bobby Seay - $780k
Seth McClung - $750k
From last season, only 3 of the 7 relievers I found made more $1m or more in their 4th year: Justin Duchscherer ($1.1875m), Ryan Madson ($1.1m), Fernando Rodney ($1m)
Prediction - Dodgers & Ng win this one rather easily, unless the arb panel decides to award Proctor for "pain and suffering" with Torre's arrival. :)

176 Having a high OBP guy bat leadoff isn't a bad idea, but since LaRoche is not fast, he shouldn't be there.

169: See Rule 5.

182
LaRoche only needs to be fast if the hitters behind him suck. That's why I put good hitters behind him instead of sucky ones.

162/163 - I quite loved Suzanne Pleshette, even if her voice came to flat-out scare me in the later years.

185 True. Her cameo in the final "Newhart" remains as one of the best surprises in television history.

And I am sure if Bob's old cat could have talked it would been saying this a lot, "Hi Bob."

185 , 186
I watched quite a bit of the 2nd Bob Newhart show, and I only knew vaguely of the first one. Still, the last scene was pretty amazing. A truly great TV moment.

187 - The first one is superior, truly. Worth trying to find.

>Sob!< Poor Emily, gone to that great sitcom wife living room in the sky. The first Bob Newhart show was one of my all-time favorite sitcoms. You can download some of them from iTunes. Yeah, Pleshette was a heavy smoker for years and years, battled respiratory ailments off and on, so I guess it's no shock but still... very sad.

186 And other cats would have to take a swig of milk every time someone said that.

164 Cool. I'm surprised that he wants to stay with MLS, particularly after being drafted by Columbus as opposed to a coast team, but he said he's down with it - for now. Eventually he'll go back to England I'm sure.

164 Cool. I'm surprised that he wants to stay with MLS, particularly after being drafted by Columbus as opposed to a coast team, but he said he's down with it - for now. Eventually he'll go back to England I'm sure.

Oops, sorry about that. Damn browser stickiness!

Speaking of soccer... I'm off to try to hobble around in my game. And then the Freaks and Geeks reunion this afternoon!

good luck to whoever you're rooting for in today's NFL games, if you care. Or even if you don't!

I don't if folks get the comic strip Lio in their Sunday paper. I'd never looked at it before, but my 7 year old pointed it out to me today and it's pretty great. Dark and light at the same time.

193 - The Times runs it.

188 You can rent them from NetFlix.

While a lot of the comedy came from his office interactions with his group (Mr. Carlin, et.al.) and Jerry and Carol, his home life was also filled with funny moments. Emily was certainly the most "normal" of the other characters in the show but she had her moments and of all the characters, delivered some very funny lines at Bob.

Per ItD, Scott Proctor has signed (avoiding arbitration). No terms available yet.

The 1st Newhart show was one of my can't miss shows. His group of characters was outstanding and the writing was the best of it's era. Suzanne Pleshette will be missed.
I even dug her in "Support your Local Gunfigter" with James Gardner a made for TV movie if there ever was one.

Go Pack, if we think baseball is stupid when it comes to TV how about playing a game in Green Bay in January at night time. Some bright minds at work there.

197 - I'm at a point in my life where the NFL is only really worth watching when it's played in a blizzard.

I really wanted this to be a quiet off- season, especially regarding trades of our young players, and deals made for the sake of dealing. But I can't remember an off-season of missing baseball so much and hungering for news. So I seem to create little info seeking excursions.
173 After looking at Loiaza's career, I'm as puzzled as you. Somebody just dumped 7mil of payroll on us. I bet they couldn't believe it worked. Loaiza basically had one good year and a few fair ones but that was a while ago. Last year for us he pitched 22 innings, yielding up 9 HRs. Come on.....if he was still hurt he shouldn't have been pitching.

196
Proctor must have been scared by my prediction in 181 that he would lose his arbitration case. :)

181 Good Job

Furcal Furcal
Pierre Martin
Loney Loney
Kent Kent
Jones Jones
Kemp Kemp
Nomar LaRoche
Martin Ethier

53.9mil 38.3mil aprox.

I know this is an unfair analysis, but I sure like the line-up a more frugal team may have arrived at with a bit of luck.

201
We still have to pay Pierre and Nomar no matter what...that's already been decided. Now its time for performance --not salary-- dictate playing time.

The Proctor deal is in. $1.115m, per Diamond Leung. That is the exact midpoint of the two offers ($1.3m / $930k).

http://tinyurl.com/yoklsl

202 I fully understand. I also hope your second point is true. Last year it took a long time for performance to accomplish much change. In too many cases.

Here's what I have for the Dodger salaries, as of right now:

C Martin - team control (1yr, 150days service time)
1B Loney - team control (1.012 service time)
2B Kent - $9m
3B Nomar - $8.5m
SS Furcal - $13m
LF Pierre - $8m
CF Jones - $14.1m
RF Kemp - team control (1.049 service time)
----------
3B LaRoche - team control (0.056 service time)
OF Ethier - team control (1.153 service time)
IF Abreu - team control (0.085 service time)
C Bennett - $825k
OF Young - team control (roughly 50 days service time)
OF Repko - $487.5k
----------
SP Penny - $9.5m
SP Lowe - $10m
SP Billingsley - team control (1.110 service time)
SP Kuroda - $12.3m
SP Schmidt - $15m
P Loaiza - $7m
----------
CL Saito - team control (special case)
RP Broxton - team control (2.020 service time)
RP Beimel - $2.15m (if he wins)
RP Proctor - $1.115m
RP Brazoban - $540k
----------
C Lieberthal - $100k (buyout)
IF Lucille II - $50k (buyout)
3B/scout Mueller - $750k (buyout)
SP Odalis - $750k (split buyout with KC)
P Tomko - $1m
SP Wolf - $500k
----------
Total - $114,667,500 for 15 spots+

Assuming the following:
1) Repko is in the minors (down to 14 spots)
2) The 9 non-Saito spots under team control average $400k (up to 23 roster spots)
3) Saito earns $2.5m (24 roster spots)
4) Schmidt starts on the DL (back to 23 spots)
5) One bench player (Sweeney, etc) signs for $1m (spot #24)
6) One reliever (Seanez, etc) signs for $1m (spot #25)

The total payroll will be $122,767,500, roughly.

Note: all service time data pulled from Cot's Baseball Contracts.

Also, once Beimel's contract is out of the way, the Dodgers can hunker down and sign Martin to a long-term deal to steal the Tulowitzki thunder.

I'm at a point in my life where the NFL is only really worth watching when it's played in a blizzard

Ditto.

Loaiza is lucky Pierre is here to distract the negative attention. If/when Pierre is gone, Loaiza will probably garner most of the attention as one of the weakest links. Much like Bombko last year. I am hoping that Loaiza's knee is better and he will perform better this year. Not counting on it, but trying to stay optimistic about it.

201
"Loney Loney
Kent Kent
Jones Jones
Kemp Kemp
Nomar LaRoche"

Given the number of Cheers fans here, that last one should probably be "Andy Andy."

I'm not watching the game, but I see that the Chargers have 12 point on 4 field goals. They might want to consider scoring touchdowns instead.

Wall Street Journal reporting that L.A. Times Editor Jim O'Shea has been fired.

Well, he employs Plashke, doesn't he.

HUUUGE pick by Diego in the end zone. Maybe THEY'RE the team of destiny.

I suppose it's not a coincidence that the slimy Baltimore Sun editor on the new season of The Wire bears a striking physical resemblance to O'Shea.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/newswar/art/osheap.jpg
http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/paper/james_whiting.shtml

A striking resemblance. Though I would never characterize O'Shea as slimy.

With the Times firing editor after editor for refusing to impose budget cuts, they'll probably have a hard time finding anyone with any credibility to take the job. That's why I would like to volunteer my services. I have no problem making cuts and I know exactly where I would start: a certain goateed TV sports personality.

I'm backing you up E.E. For Editor.

Tomko to KC. Say hello to Odalis for us. Or is Odalis even employed by an MLB team anymore?

at the risk of opening up our chat to a long, dull litany of other lame phrases, i've gotta say the words "frozen tundra" are nails on my own little psychoblackboard. tundra is an area defined by its "permanently frozen" soil. so saying it's frozen is the verbal equal of "frozen ice cube." ... and, swear to god, i'm way to stupid to get worked up about most lame phrases. i probably say some myself. but this particular one, on this particular football day... i've gotta hit the freaking mute.

But then how am I supposed to distinguish between the ice cubes sitting in my freezer and the ones melting in my glass?

219... ha... without using the words "frozen tundra." somehow. which will put you one up on every fox employee with access to a live microphone.

But "frozen sod" doesn't have that Bermanesque ring to it.

Anyway, the most annoying redundant phrase for me has gotta be when a basketball announcer calls a foul an "offensive charge" -- as if there's any other kind.

How bout "Delay of game". I mean, what else can you really delay?

A few days ago I read True Blue L.A. (Andruw's piece) & they did a Chone projection I hope Andre Ethier's "tag" as a 3.5 outfielder is taken away, specially because we'd be a much better club WITHOUT J.Pierre.

I'd take Ethier's 18-22 dingers any day as apposed to Juan Pierre's #'s...

i don't think there is any doubt the majority of people on this board would rather have Ethier playing and not even have Pierre on the team. Why doesn't MLB adopt the whole buyout philosophy of the NBA. If a player is useless for their current team then the player should be more than willing to leave and seek out a new contract while absorbing a salary hit from his original team.

226 Is there really such a philosophy? Does it work? Can it be adapted to BB.

226
The only reason that works for the NBA is because of the salary cap. A team can buyout a player, pay his full contract, but it won't count against the cap. The Lakers did this with Brian Grant a couple of years ago.

This only way this is applicable to baseball is if the contract bought out didn't count for the luxury tax. But, in the case of Pierre, it wouldn't matter since the Dodgers are so far removed from the luxury tax threshold.

228. Also, most teams in the NBA are OVER the salary cap but I still think the principle should be adopted where a player who wants to be traded can ask for a buyout and then the team can seek out trades or buy out the player. I just look at the NY Knicks as a great example of players they should've bought out or already did like Steve Francis, Stephon Marbury, Jared Jeffries, Quinton Richardson, Malik Rose, Jalen Rose, Jerome James, etc

228. Also, in many instances, the player does NOT receive the full amount and takes a reduced payout so that they may sign with another team.

229
Can't you only buyout one player each year or something to that effect? I don't think the Knicks can buyout all of those guys at once.

Venus Williams's current opponent, Marta Domachowska, is not homely.

231.
I am not sure, I believe that to be the case but I am not positive.

228 The Lakers did this with Brian Grant a couple of years ago.

The Lakers buyout of Grant was a one-time deal. It's not something that can be done every year.

Lakers waive forward Brian Grant

>> The Los Angeles Lakers waived forward Brian Grant on Wednesday, taking advantage of a one-time provision to the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement that allows teams to save nearly $30 million in luxury tax penalties. <<

http://tinyurl.com/2zvjzr

232. The name Marta Domachowska makes me miss the names of the past like Michael Chang and Arthur Ashe. I'd even take Monica Seles or Martina Hingis. Now we have Sharapova and Domachowska.....geez

234.

If they waived Brian Grant then that is very different than being bought out. And that one-time provision means nothing to actual buy-outs that are done often in the NBA.

Adonal Foyal got bought out for instance.

235
Domachowska: A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

OK, here's the deal from what I have seen while looking it up. Each year you may buy out a player but I think it goes by Calendar year since Memphis this year has waived Eddie Jones and are going to waive Stoudamire.

236. If they waived Brian Grant then that is very different than being bought out.

But the Lakers still had to pay him. So I'd consider that a buyout.

>> The Lakers will have to pay nearly all of Grant's remaining contract, even if the 33-year-old player signs with another team as a free agent. <<

235
A bit jingoistic, no?

[Granpa Simpson voice]
Hmmmph. I wish we could go back to the old days of tennis, when the players were named Tilden and Laver, and Chang and Ashe were the names you called the ballboys.
[/Granpa Simpson voice]

I can't wait until February 14!!! Most of all though, I wish opening day was tomorrow.

Woah! this overtime sudden death system in the NFL stinks. Whoever wins the toss should get a field goal. But if someone is bad enough to throw a pic--who knows?

New post up top.

Contracts are only not guaranteed in the NFL, where you can cut a player without having to pay the rest of the contract. You will get a hit to your hard salary cap based on pro-rating the signing bonus but you will not be responsible for paying out the contract.

The Brian Grant situation occurred a few seasons ago, when the NBA had a one time/one player cut oppurtunity where you could cut and come to a financial settlement (or payout the rest of the contract) and that player's salary would not count against your salary cap and more likely, your luxury tax bill. Now, you still had to pay the player what he was owed but lets say you have a situation like Grant, you could not have his salary potentially push you into the dollar for dollar luxury tax.

Baseball does not have a salary cap so right now, there is no incentive to buy out a contract, you generally just Designate For Assignment (DFA) his contract and if you don't trade him, you end up paying out the rest of the conttract and the player becomes a free agent.

This all being said, the Dodgers are on the hook for rest of the money owed to Juan Pierre, they can pay out over the next 4 years or cut him and pay it out over the next 4 years.

To GO BEARS***I don't know if we watched the same team. But the team I'm talking about does not have that great of an offense as compared to 3 other teams in this division. The starters are just about average and it's the bullpen that carries this team. I'm only hoping that we start to score enough runs to support our pitching.