It is quite something to try to get over to the 3rd St exit on the 110 South. People merging from the 101 make that a fun maneuver.

- Nomar playing shortstop in infield drills on Practice Field 2 before the game. His wrist looks fine and has likely been taking his veteran status to sit out the games.

- Andre Ethier remarking to fans that he'd be happy to play for whatever team would start him. He specifically mentioned Texas a couple of times. I think he knows he's the better outfielder and the whole situation frustrates him. I personally think he feels unappreciated by the Dodgers.

Is it really March Madness now that it will extend into April since they changed everything by a week. My brother was ticked off since he planned a vacation around the 1st week of the tournament only to find out it was a week later then normal. The good news is that he works for CNN so when the Tornado hit he was home in his basement instead of watching glass shards fly around his building.

And now I have to go to work, alas.

http://tinyurl.com/33ql7j

Torre really can choose to play the best players - he's at the start of a 3 year deal and has the authority.

Easy to enumerate the reasons why Ethier should start ahead of Pierre. The other big thing that could happen is that this could lead to a serious effort to trade Pierre.

There's only so much I can shamelessly self-promote!

Seriously, I am ready to write the letter. I will stop whining and actually do something proactive as a fan.

Here's hoping USC can send home the Big 12 Player of the Year in consecutive years!

Putting my Trojan bias aside, I'm picking UCLA to win the whole shebang. Also, to ensure I don't win The Griddle pool, I have the Pac-10 winning all six first round games.

I don't mean to be presumptuous, given that you are a 4-time World Series winning manager, but I thought I'd offer you a little advice on your current outfield dilemma. Although you might think I'm just some crank like the callers on sports talk radio, I assure you I'm far more intelligent than that horde. For one thing, your receipt of this letter proves I can read and write. Also, I frequent "blogs" on the internet, so I know things like what "OPS" stands for. I also do very well in fantasy baseball.

You have four outfielders for three positions. This is a problem that us fantasy baseball players know a lot about. After lengthy debate and discussion, it has become clear to everyone in baseball - aside from your general manager and certain local sportswriters - who the best three are. Your starting outfield should be Mr. Jones, Mr. Kemp and Mr. Ethier. Starting these three players regularly will go a long way towards earning you a 5th World Series (not that you need me to tell you how to do that, since you've already won four, of course).

I've never met the man, but everyone tells me that Juan Pierre is such a wonderful guy, and it would pain you greatly to put him on the bench. It would also pain your GM, who gave Mr. Pierre a lot of money to NOT sit on the bench. This will require you to exercise the exceptional people-handling skills that allowed you to win four World Series titles. You will have to explain to Mr. Colletti that you would like to play the best players on your team, and you will have to explain to Mr. Pierre that he is not one of the best players on the team. It's a tough job, but that's why you get paid what you do. As well as I do at fantasy baseball, I don't have any people skills whatsoever. So I get paid squat.

Good luck, Mr. Torre.

Sincerely,

DL

http://www.beloblog.com/Pe_Blogs/prosports/2008/03/dodger_farmhands_making_an_imp.html

Young singles in a run.

And underdog needs to get some actual work done. Ciao.

But remember, its Spring Training.

Oh, game tied 3-3.

I liked his comment about John Wooden though. Nice comeback kid.

Gary Bennett is no RJ.

Confidence and publically putting the team first aren't mutually exclusive. I'm not saying what Ethier should do, but in the context, I'm not sure it does him any good to talk about where he'd rather play.

Richard Nixon filled that role for me.

That could explain a lot.

...Kemp, Ethier, and Repko

There's really no doubt in my mind that Repko would be better than Pierre, though.

51 Very true. (I was born under Nixon, and then saw Ford, Carter and Reagan...) It's just that when I was 19, the president was the first GB, and I definitely don't recall wanting to have dinner with him. But whatevah. He's the Minotaur.

But what do I know about basketball?

I don't see how it does him any harm though. The guy is good and he knows it. He also knows he has an uphill battle to beat out JP. Ned has said it multiple times, Juan did what he was supposed to do. Where does that leave Kemp and Ethier? Those guys are ready to start, are they supposed to just remain quiet for the sake of Ned?

Some would call that being a good employee and say that that counts for something. Especially given what happened last fall, I wouldn't dismiss the importance of that out of hand.

Though I wonder, do you save Chad to pitch the first game at Petco and let Kuroda make his first appearance against the Giants after Penny and Lowe pitch.

228 I haven't been following the spring training games too closely of late. When does Kershaw pitch again? Thanks.

Kershaw is slotted behind Kuroda so we should see both tomorrow.

it appears that Cornell has the longest trip of any team in the NCAA basketball tournament to play its opening round game.

It's 2302 miles as the crow flies from Ithaca to Anaheim. Gonzaga has to travel over 2100 miles from Spokane to Raleigh and USD has a slightly shorter distance from San Diego to Tampa.

But what will I do with my Ethier jersey?

My guess is the politics of ballplayers works out like this:

75 percent -- completely apolitical
20 percent -- conservative
5 percent -- liberal

The Cornell profs likely wondered what happened to all the gorges. Cornell's campus looks a lot like Springfield.

http://tinyurl.com/yoglwh

Hearing The Minotaur's political preferences has added a human element to the otherwise mythological figure. He's 19, so, I wouldn't hold his current political views as anything permanent.

Dodger Owner Frank McCourt said today that the "Dodgers will not leave Dodgertown; we will take Dodgertown with us to Los Angeles."

McCourt made the revelation (my emphasis) on the day of the club's final Florida home date in 2008. The club celebrated its 60th anniversary in Vero Beach, FL, this spring. ...

"As our family prepares to move from this neighborhood, it strikes us that we can incorporate so many elements of this place in our home in Los Angeles. After all, Dodger Stadium is Dodgertown, and for that matter, LA is Dodgertown."

Some elements may well move to the club's new Spring Training site in Arizona.

"Some elements may transfer well there, but, that said, Arizona has its own style, its own feel," McCourt said. "The copper and cactus and Camelback culture has a western feel all its own. We'll start a new history there, one that comfortably welcomes families who can make a five-hour drive or catch a one-hour flight.

"But the stories and the legends live in Dodgertown's lounge, dining room, photos, street signs, and even in the light posts with those baseballs on top. It would be wonderful to capture the friendliness, the spirit, and the love of the game that is inherent here and bring it home with us.

"It's a real estate opportunity, which I of course love. We can create a plan to make this happen before too long."

'fraid so. :-)

Bob, does this have your seal of approval?

http://www.slate.com/id/2185975/

94

Then almost as soon as he moved out to L.A., he told everyone that the team would still be known as the Dodgers.

I'm afraid there's probably a businessman's rationale at work. If Pierre is demoted, his trading value goes down, and the Dodgers end up paying most of Pierre's salary for the duration of his contract, plus Ethier's when he moves into arbitration and is up for free agency (or they lose him then).

If they can just keep up the pretence for a while longer, they hope to get something in return when some other team is desperate for an outfielder. In the meantime, I still think that Ethier has made such a huge impression that he can't simply be banished, like Loney was, or just sit on the bench. He will be given a smaller proportion of starts than Pierre, but enough to make it totally obvious before June that he needs to be the main LF starter. It will happen.

"Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Nomar Garciaparra has played hislast game in Florida."

Uh, until April 29th, when the Dodgers open a series against the Marlins.

And who was that who hit a home run for the Dodgers right before him? I was watching with the sound off and couldn't tell - #96, who I thought was, uh, Kershaw? Was that DeWitt?

>> "This," Scully said before bidding an early farewell to Dodgertown on his way to China, "is where I stood in place and it seems like half the world came by -- players, coaches, managers, writers, broadcasters." <<

I wasn't aware that Vinny made the trip. It just didn't occur to me that he would take an 18-hour flight anywhere at this point in his life.

http://tinyurl.com/2cvfb8

Now Ethier hits a HR, with 2 out (one of those Pierre, of curse) and puts the game 10-9 Marlins. Getting good.

It was a bit wind-blown, didn't look like he got all of it but out it went.

Sure, it's spring training and all, but if today isn't Exhibit A I don't know what is.

http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=7243

1. Ethier's our starting LF. Torre can't be blind.

2. UofO Ducks got lucky to make the tourney. In my mind, they weren't deserving.

Bye!

126 128 I agree, at this point he cannot be ignored, nor can Torre just give left field to a guy who is hitting below .200.

Not a great day for the Dodger pitching staff, other than Proctor. Crazy winds probably didn't help.

21 for the lower house of the legislature.
26 for the upper house.
30 for governor.

In California, you can run for governor when you're 18.

The youngest governor in any U.S. state or territory was Michigan's last territorial governor. He started on the job when he was 19. His name was Stevens J. Mason. He also died when he was 32.

So ends today's boring historical anecdote.

Right. The last time I saw him I believe he was wearing #54. But I'm not absolutely certain if that is the correct number or not. I have short-term memory problems in my old age. :-)

and just to punctuate the discussion here, Ethier indeed.

Btw, I'm sure all these individual pieces re: Pierre have been posted, but in case you missed 'em, here's MLBTraderumors on what people have been writing the past day:
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/03/pierres-days-wi.html

Man, he really does look like his dad.

Except, you know, a lot younger.

A dribbling seeing eye single, but a single nonetheless.

Guess who's batting now? Chance to save the day... Pierre (I think it's Pierre, the announcers aren't saying) finally walks! Furcal up, bases loaded.

But the Astors win (sorry about that "Marlins").

Furcal grounds out, Dodgers lose their "final" game at Vero 12-10.

Formerly known as the Brigid O'Shaughnessys. ;-)

Yeah, I believe he is 1 for 1 so it would be his first official AB. I don't think it's his first plate appearance though. I seem to remember a box score where he pinch hit before and walked. But again, it could just be my imagination. :-)

So long Vero, howdy Glendale!

http://tinyurl.com/yo9f2s

According to my crystal ball Coppin State will crush Mount St. Mary's and then run the Tar Heels off the court in Raleigh. :-)

Again, the great thing is that Andre added some power (Vero Beach aided or not) to his game this spring and further demonstrated the difference between the two players.

Also, since I have not kept up with Boston, I wonder what is going on with Coco and Jacoby?

http://www.basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=248

Sheehan also ended up correctly predicting all 65 teams to make the tournament.

Fang!

That's a name!

>> "Five guys in a room," Lasorda says. "The line for breakfast was out the door. I wrote home and told my parents I had dinner with Pee Wee Reese, Gil Hodges and Duke Snider. Well, I did. But they never talked to me." <<

http://tinyurl.com/3yuzfc

If I had a son, I'd name him Fang. Or at least use it as a middle name.

>> Jackson, a special adviser who also serves as a spring training instructor, was fined $250 by MLB for jogging onto the field in an attempt to play peacemaker during a brawl with the Rays in a Grapefruit League game Thursday. <<

http://tinyurl.com/2lmqbt

I started a starting OF petition over on ItD in hopes that Ned will address what the fans want to see. If you all could keep a running tally of your votes it would be awesome and hopefully we'll get Ned back around to addressing this issue.

Starting OF petition update:

Jones, Kemp, Ethier: 18
Jones, Kemp, Pierre: 0
Jones, Ethier, Pierre: 0
Pierre, Ethier, Kemp: 0
Other: 0

This is as far as we've gotton over there, but there is definitely power in numbers so your participation is appreciated.

If we take up a collection, could we buy the naming rights?

But if you want to see a video of what I'll look like if the Dodgers do manage a Pierre trade, here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx-NLPH8JeM

(SFW)

191 He obviously weighs more than his volume in feathers and less than his volume in stone.

For whatever reason (logic), I simply don't buy the idea that Torre will play Pierre over Ethier.

Torre's comments have been nebulous at best, and I think it's because he doesn't want to just come out and say that Ethier will start. Keeps them competitive, and keeps Pierre's price a bit higher.

I read the part about Pierre being what he is to other teams, regardless of whether he starts or not. However, I think an offer to a backup will be slightly lower than if that guy was starting. At least it should start lower, on the premise that the player isn't as valuable to the team.