Malachi 2:16   “I hate Divorce,” says the Lord God of Israel….

I won’t always be quoting scripture, but in this case, it just seems appropriate.  If God hates divorce, it’s no wonder we cringe everytime we hear about it.  As always, it’s the kids who seem to get hurt the worst.

If you haven’t heard about the divorce between Frank and Jaime McCourt, the owner’s of the Dodgers, you’ve been out of the country for the last 2 months.  Even then, you may have heard about it.  For some reason, those two decided to make this a very public split, and thanks to the media, most fans are pretty informed, and yet biased based on which story they heard first.

At this point it’s really a he-said, she-said battle, and now no one will every know the real truth because both sides are giving “no comment,” and “taking the high road.” 

Here’s a quick synopsis of what we do know and then I’ll dig deeper. 

• First stories of the divorce.
• Frank fires his wife who is currently #2 of the Dodgers for such reasons as insabordination.
• He then also blames the firing on her having a fling in France with a separate Dodger Employee.
• Jaime McCourt claims she really has control of the team and wants to be re-instated.
• The legal courts side with Frank, and she’s still out of a job.

Now, it’s just sloppy.

I credit TJ Simers of the LA Times for a very good interview with Jaime McCourt (Click Here).  He says it straight, but he did a great job trying to give the facts.  As always, there’s two sides.  The part that still makes me shake my head is that she says, she never cheated until the marriage was over…now the divorce wasn’t finalized, but obviously in her mind, the marriage was over, so she could move on.  With all the fervor that Frank McCourt dragged her through the mud of the details…he obviously disagreed with the quickness of her choice, given their 29 and 10/12’s months of marriage.

All right, so we the kids..aka the fans, are dragged through all this, really wondering what will happen to the team and what happened to the good old days of one family ownership who really cared about the team.  Actually, let’s be straight, the true fans are just wondering if there will still be enough money in the kitty to get two good starting pitchers so that the Dodgers can actually get to the World Series.  We care about the people involved…but given that divorce is common in America, the want is to move on and focus again on baseball.  

Ok – so here’s where I want to dig deeper.  I think divorce is tragic and as mentioned by Jaime McCourt, I do think their kids are getting the shaft on this whole thing.  What I keep thinking about is where it started?  There are pictures of a much more happy couple when the Dodgers were first purchased.  Somehow between then and now, the marriage fell apart. 

Based on TJ’s article, it seems that there was some difference of opinion on direction of the Dodgers, all real estate and money, versus taking care of the community and the fans.  Even more, look at when things finally fell apart.  It would appear the worst happened this last baseball season.  Of course divorce doesn’t happen over night, so things have built up to this, but still things obviously accelerated this year.

Here’s some ideas, keep in mind purely speculation.  First – money.  As often in divorces, money plays into it.  We know the Dodgers felt the pinch last year, so perhaps the mount of debt played into many discussions.  Similarly, if Frank was caught up in this and not taking care of his wife, or not on the same page with her, then perhaps things eroded more quickly.

But here’s another question – how much did Manny play into this?  (If Manny reads this please know I mean no disrespect), but it’s an interesting question.  Manny divided Dodger fans, let alone the owners.  Everyone knows Frank McCourt and Scott Boras didn’t get along, but Manny won.  Frank held out in some ways, but Manny got his money.  If the couple wasn’t united on this, that’s a major blow. 

Then, oh yes, then, Manny gets busted.  The timing is just before things really went down hill with the McCourts.  I’m sure it wasn’t the main thing, but if they were divided on it, no you have a real riff.  There’s less money coming in and there’s the decision on how to discipline him or what to do with Mannywood..  Frank eats his decision and so does she with the public, and you have a potential final straw.

Did Manny cause the divorce?  I’m sure not, but the timing of the circumstances does make me wonder.

My sincere condolances to the McCourts on this trial.  I do hope they can resolve and take care of their kids.  Not only their real ones, but the fans who want things put back together for the team.

So what do you think?  What do you think contributed to the last straw?  I’m curious on your thoughts.

Tags: Frank McCourt, Jaime McCourt, Manny Ramirez

I was gone this week at a training in San Diego, and thankfully, the Dodgers just kept on rolling.  Two from the Phillies is pretty good.  The offense is still strong…but the pitching is still suspect.  Even without Manny, they will need to solve pitching.

Apparently Manny stopped by to apologize to the team the other day.  I’m glad Frank McCourt made him do it.  Manny screwed up.  Living in secrets only leads to more assumptions.  At least the players could see how he reacted and make their decision on their own on his sincerity.  From the reports he was definitely sincere.  I don’t agree with what he did, but I think this is more of a baseball problem now than just a Manny problem.  Baseball has turned its head to this for a long time, so Manny is just another one in the crowd. You can throw him under the bus, which people have done, but baseball hasn’t.  The fan money coming in is still too strong for superstars.  Until there are lifetime bans, or at least 3-5 year bans, this will continue and more will fall.

I personally believe that Manny really does regret how this has affected the fans in L.A.  Despite the off-season contract hold-out, I believe he really wanted to be in L.A., and wants to say here for a little bit.  I’ve read a lot of articles for this site, and I have been able to read between the lines.  He is definitely disappointed he got caught more than anything, but Manny does live for being the hero everyone loves.   He was the hero in L.A., and he now knows how much people did adore him…before.  He will be loved again, but he knows not in the same way.  A lot of fans have crossed to the other side.  Who knows how much damage he did to his body, but the damage will be forever done in the minds of the fans.

On a side note, I had a Giants fan tell me the other day that the best part of Manny being caught is that he is still in my picture at the top of this website.  I’m not sure what I’m going to do with that now.  I love that picture, but it is kind of silly to have that picture up there when he is suspended.  What do you think?  Change the picture, or leave it?  Leave your comment below.  If anyone has a picture of Pierre from SF, I’ll definitely consider that.  He’s on-fire right now.

Tags: Frank McCourt, Juan Pierre, Manny Ramirez

Dodger games on TV are a premium up here, so I was pretty excited about today’s exhibition game between the Dodgers and Giants.  It’s funny though, I forgot that it was the day before Opening Day, therefore most of the regulars are on the bench…including Manny.

It’s an interesting game though because you got to see the depth or lack of depth of the Dodgers lineup this year.  Juan Pierre, Mark Loretta, Brad Ausmus, Blake DeWitt – all decent players but all the bench guys for this coming year.

What caught my attention though were the starters who were in there – James McDonald, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and James Loney.  Obviously, there isn’t a back up for every spot, so you have to keep some regulars.

Here’s where my thoughts turned to concern.  Let’s think worst case scenario this year.  If Manny, Kemp or Eithier go down, Pierre is the everyday.  If two go down, it becomes a different question.

If Blake, Furcal, or Hudson go down, then you have Blake DeWitt or Mark Loretta.  Similarly, Martin goes down, then Ausmus.

Here’s the one that I couldn’t answer though.  What happens if Loney goes down?  I’m convinced the guy will win the batting title some day and he doesn’t seem prone to injury, but you never know what will happen.  I guess Casey Blake could go over there, but who else?  Mientkiewicz is an easy answer if he makes the team, but that hasn’t been decided yet.

I’m sure the Dodgers top brass have thought through this scenario, but it isn’t really obvious. 

Well, back to the game.  McDonald looks a little shaky.  Pierre is running like always.  Ethier doesn’t seem quite right yet, but Loney looks solid.  Bengie Molina and Randy Winn continue to be Dodger killers.

Let the Season begin!

Tags: Andre Ethier, Bengie Molina, Blake DeWitt, Brad Ausmus, Casey Blake, Doug Mientkiewicz, James Loney, James McDonald, Juan Pierre, Manny Ramirez, Mark Loretta, Matt Kemp, Orlando Hudson, Rafael Furcal, Randy Winn, Russell Martin

To conclude the Top 7 Things Learned at Camelback Ranch, I thought I would have some fun and give a quiz. Part of the fun of going to Spring Training is seeing the players up close, and trying to recognize them outside of uniform. Here’s a little test to see if you can pick out the players. I’ll try to start easy and get harder. Answers at the bottom.

A)

B)

C)

D)

E) (Hard One)

So, how did you do?

Here’s the answers:

A) Jason Schmidt B) Randy Wolf C) Blake DeWitt  D) Ned Colletti  E) Andre Ethier (left) and Don Mattingly (Right)

Thanks for the memories Camelback Ranch.  Great First Season and we’ll see you next year.

Tags: Andre Ethier, Blake DeWitt, Don Mattingly, Jason Schmidt, Ned Colletti, Randy Wolf

Continuing my list of the Top 7 Things learned at Camelback Ranch, here is Item #6.

My buddy found a great place to catch homerun balls from batting practice.  Technically leave the boundaries of Camelback Ranch and head towards a back parking lot, and you’ll find yourself in prime ground.  Bring your glove because he came away with 4-5 homerun balls.

One thing though…bring gauze.  The terrain is very unstable and rocky, and diving in the “natural terrain” will leave war wounds.

The wounds heal quickly though…the memories last forever.

Next up on the List:

The Quiz:  Name That Dodger

Tags: Area to catch Homerun Balls at Camelback