Manny Ramirez - Tim DeFrisco - SI

Spring Training has been going along pretty ho-hum this year.  A few new recruits, still not enough pitching, but definitely without the Manny drama of last year….until two days ago.

I read Ken Gurnick’s article (click here) where Manny said that this will be his last year in L.A.  That really wasn’t a surprise, but it was the timing that surprised me.

It kind of hit me like a really good steak that you had at a restaurant, but now it’s been in the refrigerator a few too many days and you’re wondering if it’s still good.  It could be just as good as when you first tasted it, or it could be so bad that you have to throw it out.  Either way, it leaves you a little queasy even before you take a bite.

That’s how I feel with Manny.  The thing with Manny is that even though he comes across as a goofball, Manny is a very smart man.  He is all about calculating his money along with being a very good baseball player.  If he says something, it is only because he and his agents have already determined what to say and when to say it.  The fact that he made it known that this is his last year in his first statement of the spring is concerning.

I work with people who have given notice that they are retiring at the end of the year.  Yes, they get the job done, but if they hit something difficult, they usually don’t do as good of work, because they know it doesn’t matter and they are gone in a few months.

Why wouldn’t it be different for Manny?  He already has a guaranteed 20 million dollars, and we all know he has a history of dogging it.  If he is injured, or could get injured and then damage his ability to play next year, why wouldn’t he shut it down.  That would truly hurt the Dodgers.

One Giant’s fan did set me straight though.  He stated that if this truly is Manny’s last year in blue, then he has just given notice to other teams.  If he wants to play next year and get a good contract (both of which I believe to be true), then he has to put on a show this year.  This could truly help the Dodgers.

Either way, I’m queasy.  It may turn out fine, but why not say, “I’m just going to take this year one day at a time, and then decide at the end of the year.”  If he makes up his mind before then, fine, but why declare it in your first press conference of the year?

In either case, Ned Colletti already better be thinking about who will replace him in left field.  At the soonest, next year we will need another big bat.

What do you think?  Is he setting himself up to dog it, or put up good numbers for a big, new contract?

McCourts - Lori Shepler - LA Times.com

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.

Tim Lincecum - SF Giants.com

Had a great conversation this week with a Giants fan about baseball penalties. This whole Tim Lincecum thing has really been interesting to observe. I’m kind of glad for it because now the Giants fans aren’t focusing only on the Dodgers divorce.

The talk shows are still all the buzz about Tim Lincecum. Some stating that it was just a small amount and that it wasn’t a big deal. Others focused on the fact that he was just transporting it and wasn’t under the influence while driving.

Another hit the fact that he got pulled over for speeding at 8:30am in the morning with the stuff…which is full of problems.

The most interesting one I heard though was when someone called in and pointed out that even with just a “thumbs” worth of marijuana that that is a substantial amount. (Obviously they had experience)  It’s not just something new for Tim, but probably something deeper.  As I mentioned previously, this is an interesting question for the Giants.  Either this goes away, or it’s a deeper issue that could come back.  Everyone is expecting and awaiting the “official” apology, so we’ll see.

As described, the best part of this week, was when a giants fan co-worker told me his “Hierarchy of Baseball Penalties.”  Obviously, the penalties are approximate, but you’ll get the point.  

Cocaine – Small suspension, fine and sent to rehab

Drunk Driving – Bail to get out of jail, sent to do community service

Caught Speeding with Marijuana – $362 in fines (i.e. Tim Lincecum)

Taking Female Fertility Drugs – Baseball’s biggest penalty – 50 game suspension.

Obviously the reference is to Manny, but it cracked me up, because it is pretty accurate with baseball today.

Joe Torre - LA Times.com

I’ve got quite the delimma.  See, I recently had my birthday and I got some birthday money.   For a long time I’ve wanted an Iphone, because I love the apps and the phone/camera option.  My company pays for my work phone through Verizon, so it doesn’t make sense to spend extra money on an AT&T contract so I can get a phone.

So here’s my delimma.  I can get an out of contract Iphone, or I can save my money for a Dodgers playoff game.  As an out of town fan, I long for playoff games because I know I can go to the stadium with all the other crazy fans, wear all my Dodger gear and be part of the fan nation…not just an out of town fan who only gets to see so many games.  You become part of the special games, not just the regular season games.

Today the Dodgers swept the Cardinals to get into the next round of the playoffs.  Epic game and man oh man, the Dodgers look good.  The pitching is working and the offense is firing on all cylinders.  Either and Kemp are here to stay and Manny even joined in the fun today.  Padilla may be the best pick up of the year.

Of course, if I get the Iphone, I’ll have it for a good amount of time and the value can’t really be measured.  On the other hand, I could use all my savings to go to one game (seriously just one), and go to a game where the Dodgers lose.  Obviously the later option would stink.  If the Dodgers win, I have a memory I will never lose.  All this assumes I’m not going to charge the trip and go into debt.  I could…but I’m not there yet.

For a long time I could say that I went to the only playoff game the Dodgers had won in 20 years.  (Go Shawn Green and Jose Lima)  They’ve improved now, but it was a memory I will still never forget.  It’s hard to put a value on memories you can tell your kids and share with baseball fans.  The phone on the other hand…there will be a better one in a couple of years.

So, there lies my delimma.  The Dodgers are really good this year and I think they’ll go to the World Series against the Yankees or Angels.  There’s no guarentee that the Dodgers will get back to the World Series, so this may be the year to go after a game.  Such is the delimma of being a Dodger fan in Giants territory.

What’s your call?  Game or phone?  Help me out with this one…but trust me, I’ve got a good idea of what I would do if I had to make the decision tonight.  Yep, the game.

Casey Blake - Matt Sayles-AP

Hope you bought a lottery ticket yesterday because the Dodgers broke all the odds. To win game 2 against the Cardinals and take a 2-0 lead into St. Louis, no one would have believed you. Got to love it.

I was coming back from Vegas yesterday and could only catch part of the game on the radio. Nicely, the only part I caught was the bottom of the ninth. I can’t say it was a quiet listen, as my kids were screaming in the back of the car while I had the stereo cranked up. I should clarify screaming…they wanted to watch Thomas the Train Engine – which we allowed, just to the sounds of the Dodger game. My son kept saying “Sound on, sound on” and my younger daughter kept saying, “mama, mama, mama” with the hope that my wife would turn on the dvd sound since daddy obviously wasn’t going to budge on turning off the game.  Let’s just say chaos is my family sometimes…

In the midst of all that, I heard Casey Blake take the walk.  Then Belliard hit the single, then Loretta hit the single.  Ironic as always that Juan Pierre scored the tying run.  Who knew that the lower part of the lineup would just chip away at the lead.  Dodger fans would…but not the rest of the country.

Great article in the LA times yesterday about how the team thought Casey Blake was the hero with the walk (click here).  I fully agree and have been hyping him all year.  He doesn’t hit like Manny, but he definitely does the other things to be just as valuable.  

So in the midst of all the excitement, I was brought back to earth here in the Bay Area.  I talked to Giants fan co-worker and asked him why he hadn’t congratulated me that the Dodgers won last night…he responded, “You’re not on the team, why should I congratulate you?”  Such it is up here.  At least the Dodgers are in and the Giants aren’t so I can just smile and know he knows the Dodgers are the better team.

Bring out the brooms – let’s sweep the Cardinals!