Frank McCourt Interview

Jon Weisman recently sat down with Dodgers owner Frank McCourt for a one-on-one interview. In it, McCourt discussed a number of things surrounding the state of the team, including personnel moves, arbitration, player development, the budget, and his perception and belief in himself and the decisions he makes.

Great column and interview. It's long, but well worth the read.

Obviously some people will still disagree with half of what McCourt says, whether he's telling us everything or not, but Weisman did a fantastic job asking questions that many of us as fans are concerned about when it comes to the Dodgers.

And I think Weisman hits the hammer on the nail when he says this:

Of course, what McCourt believes about himself ultimately isn't relevant. What's relevant is whether the Dodgers organization will thrive going forward. And I'm going to go this far: This team will live or die on its judgment – on the judgment of McCourt and the people he employs – rather than on McCourt's finances. His bank account, despite what most people have concluded this offseason, is not destroying the team.

I'm an objective person, and I truly believe, as Weisman notes, that the demise of this team going forward is going to be based on the development of players and other personnel decisions rather than how much they can spend or save based on the payroll budget. I'm a true believer in spending for the right reasons, and spending wisely, and not spending just for the sake of spending. To me, it seems that the Dodgers are, at the very least, trying to make decisions for baseball reasons, and not necessarily for budgetary purposes, at least this off-season.

Hot Stove "Curmudgeon"...

Takes on Chad Billingsley, courtesy of Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts.

A very good read. Pay close attention to his eight rules of thumb when it comes to the hot stove rumor mill. I couldn't have said it better myself.

McCourt Place

Here's a great read from Jon Weisman over at Dodger Thoughts. It's actually pretty funny because of some of the stuff that was said today by Jamie McCourt's lawyer.

Dodger Thoughts also has all the updates from today's Mc"Court" hearings. The main gist of it all is the court denied Jamie's request to overturn her termination as the CEO of the team.

And don't forget Dodger Divorce for all of the in-depth analysis on this mess.

Dodger Divorce

Kudos to Jon Weisman over at Dodger Thoughts for finding this site. Now I don't have to waste my precious space here with the banter that is McCourt vs. McCourt. Just keep checking back at Dodger Divorce for in-depth updates on the war of the McCourts.

Also, a great column posted today by Bill Shaikin of the Times on what really was the McCourts motives when they bought the team in 2003, and how those motives have affected the organization today, and how it could affect the team going forward. Give it a read. It's worth it.

Pleasure Reading

While I'm working on my next topic/entry here, Five Reasons Why the Dodgers Beat St. Louis, I wanted to share this blurb from Jon Weisman over at Dodger Thoughts. Weisman took notice, as did I but I didn't think anything of it, that most of the Cards fans at last night's game left early when it became apparent they were going to lose the game and the series.

Why is this important? Well, it's not, really, but Cards fans are known around the league to be the best baseball fans in the world, and here they were filing out of Busch Stadium early. And as Weisman points out, and he's been saying this for a long time, as have I (just not in writing anywhere), fans of all teams leave early at every ball park, but for some strange reason, only Dodger fans get the heat for it.

Torre on Game 1 and NLDS Roster Decisions

Jon Weisman over at Dodger Thoughts has all the quotes from Joe Torre regarding his decision to go with Vicente Padilla in Game 3 over Chad Billingsley, starting Ronnie Belliard over Orlando Hudson in Game 1, and perhaps Game 2, says Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness, and also some other roster decisions for the first round, including Ken Gurnick noting Jeff Weaver's inclusion, Blake DeWitt's omission, and the status of Hiroki Kuroda should the Dodgers advance to the NLCS.

An Off Day Thought

Just some thoughts running through my head today after the just-completed road trip heading into the final series this weekend against the Rockies out at the Ravine.

Last night on the game chat thread on Dodger Thoughts, I let my frustration take over after just an inning and half when I errantly posted this comment:

"It's only the second inning and I can tell this is gonna be another long night... jesus... they're not even trying..."

Obviously, "not trying" was a bad choice of words. In fact, I was way off-base with those words. But it was another long night, and they did look flat last night. They only mustered one first inning single all night. That's it.

Sitting through reading that thread, and the next one Jon Weisman posted, throughout the game last night, I came to the realization that I'm not in the minority when it comes to my frustrations with the Dodgers in recent days. But not once, did I ever give up on them as it seems so many fans have. It's almost as if Dodger fans are expecting the worse to happen.

Well, what is the worse that could happen, the lose the division and head into the post-season as the Wild Card? I thought the ultimate goal was to win the World Series?

So, I went to bed last night dwelling on that first question, and then woke up to see this ridiculous column this morning by Bill Plaschke on the L.A. Times Sports webpage. It really got me thinking because amazingly, Plaschke really put things into perspective for me. In a nutshell, when he gets all worked up over something like this, you know it's much ado about nothing.

That's when it all became to clearer to me, that my sentiments all week, and even last night with my single line comment on Dodger Thoughts was, indeed, all out of frustration. But Plaschke? Well, he's really concerned about this. And so are a lot of other Dodger fans. And between the two, it prompted ESPN's Rob Neyer to write this on his blog this morning.

Neyer's advice to Dodger fans? Relax! The Dodgers are still going to the post-season. And, as I questioned three paragraphs up, does it really matter if they go in as the wild card as opposed to the division? Not when the ultimate goal is to win the World Series.

The Dodgers aren't the only team struggling. It's been noted here in this space already that both Philly and St. Louis have also struggled in the past 10-12 days, as well. They, too, like the Dodgers, have problems. Sure, the Dodgers many not have that "ace" that Philly and St. Louis have, but their rotation might just be deeper and better suited for a post-season series.

The Dodgers have also still scored the third most runs in the N.L. despite their recent struggles to score, and the most important bottom line, they have, far-and-away, the best run differential in the N.L. at a +163. That is a very telling number.

Sure, that still may not be any consolation to some Dodger fans; this past week has been hard to watch. It's been very discouraging and very disheartening. They haven't played well at all. They've made a lot of unusual mental mistakes, some costly errors, and the timely hitting that we've seen much of the season has disappeared. Maybe they're trying too hard, pressing too much to get that one win out of the way. They all but had the division clinched on Sunday until they broke down in the ninth inning. I'm sure it's tough to over come those kind of losses. Those kind of losses stay with you a long time. But they've overcome them before. We've seen it all season from them.

And the odds of winning the division are still in their favor. We've seen the match-up numbers for the Rockies pitchers for this weekend against the Dodgers (see previous post). The Dodgers have two overwhelming advantages in the first two games. And we've seen the Dodgers struggle like this before, even heading into a series against the Rockies as recent as August, and they came out of it just fine.

The Dodgers know what they need to do this weekend. They what the task at hand is. The goal, however, is to win the World Series. Nothing less. Winning the division or the wild card doesn't change that. Losing three games this weekend isn't the end of the world, and it certainly isn't the end of their season.

Big Series in the Mile High City

And Dodger Thoughts' Jon Wesiman breaks it all down for us.

Obviously the Dodgers have very little room for error heading into this series starting tomorrow night. Back on June 3rd, the Dodgers lead the Rockies by 15½ games in the standings. With a sweep of the Blue this week, they'll be dead even atop the standings heading into the final month of the season. If they pull it off and win the division, says Weisman, the Rockies would make history.

The Dodgers lead the season series so far, 10-2, including 2-1 against them with Jim Tracy atop the helm since he replace Clint Hurdle back in May. But things are obviously a lot different now. The Blue have struggled in recent weeks, primarily this month, while the Rockies have the best record in baseball since that June 3rd date.

And if you by any chance missed the Rockies-Giants game tonight, you missed what might be the best game of the season. Weisman breaks that one down, as well, and how the last few games might affect the Rockies pitching staff in the Dodger series.

All good reads.

As for tomorrow night's opener, Clayton Kershaw takes the hill for the Dodgers against Jason Hammel. Both pitchers are 8-7, but the glaring difference is Kershaw's 2.96 ERA and 147 K's to Hammel's 4.54 ERA and 87 K's.

I Concur

There were a couple of blog posts today posted by Jon Weisman over at Dodger Thoughts that I wanted to echo here.

The first one was in regard to Jonathan Broxton, and the backlash he's been getting by a lot of Dodger fans in recent days over the handful of blown saves in recent weeks.

The second one, the most recent of the two, on who the culprits really are for the Dodger struggles this month. Three guys in the lineup are more to point fingers at than Broxton, or anyone else in the bullpen, rotation or even the lineup.

There's really not much for me to add to these other than to say I agree 100% with Weisman.

Check 'em out. Tell me what you think, whether you agree or disagree.

Trade Deadline Talk

Update (4:38pm CT): Kevin Baxter of the Times now says there's absolutely no truth to Ken Rosenthal's story below.

The flip-flopping in the media on these rumors is bound to last another five full days, so hang on to your hats, folks!

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Even though I haven't typed much in this space in a little over two weeks, it hasn't precluded me from keeping up with what's going on. I'll get back (and backtrack a little) to some of the on-the-field stuff that has taken place in the past two weeks a little bit later, but for the moment, a couple of print media pieces to share with you relating to the deadline Friday.

The non-waiver trade deadline is coming up on July 31, just five days away, and the Dodgers, with the best record in baseball, are tied into just about any and every starting pitcher and reliever on the current trade market. The two big rotation guns available are Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee. Both Toronto and Cleveland are asking for nearly the same type of packages for their pitchers: either a boatload of prospects or a couple of prospects and a couple of guys off the Major League roster.

There's no question the Dodgers could use another starting pitcher in the rotation for the post-season. This team's rotation is not quite built for the post-season. Joe Torre has been advocating the need for another pitcher in the rotation, as well as the bullpen. Several players, including Manny, have acknowledged that pitching will be the key to success in the playoffs.

That said, with the kind of package Toronto is asking for Roy Halladay, I would ask the Dodgers to politely say "Thanks, but no thanks." Toronto wants Clayton Kershaw in any deal for Halladay. While Halladay is arguably the best right-handed starting pitcher in the game right now, do you really want to risk losing a kid in Kershaw who is regarded as one of the top young pitchers in the game, for what could amount to just three months of Halladay? Halladay will have the right to demand a trade after the season if he's traded before the Jays-imposed-deadline-to-trade-Halladay of July 28, which is two days from now. He won't be a free agent until after 2010 though. So there's a huge risk in trading for Halladay in more ways than we care to discuss.

Now, back to the print media blurbs. In this morning's Times, three columnists all touched base on the Dodgers need for a starting pitcher. Not oddly enough, all three had different scenarios and different ideas for getting a starting pitcher, one particularly named Halladay. But the fact that three different columnists basically wrote the same piece in their own words, is a bit of overkill on the Halladay quest. Jon Weisman of the Times' Dodger Thoughts broke down the nonsense. Pay closest attention to his take on Bill Plaschke's diatribe at the end of his post.

It would seem to me the Dodgers, like most teams involved in the Roy Halladay chase, feel Toronto's asking price is simply just too high. So like other teams, the Dodgers have turned their attention to the other pitcher available: Cliff Lee.

Late word now from Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is the Dodgers and Cleveland are in heavy discussion that would send both Lee and catcher/first baseman Victor Martinez to L.A. for, among others, James Loney. Cleveland is also asking for either Kershaw or Chad Billingsley and a couple of prospects.

I wouldn't mind doing this deal, as long as it doesn't involve Kershaw, and or even Billingsley. While I do think something like this would dramatically improve the rotation, and even the offense, including Kershaw in particular doesn't make sense. If you're willing to include him, or Billingsley in a deal for Lee, why not for Halladay? Sure, you're getting a more solid bat in the middle of the lineup in Martinez in return, but is it still worth the gamble of moving Kershaw or Billingsley?

The names of some of the prospects being mentioned include Scott Elbert, and I would bet a lot of teams would love to have a kid like Elbert. While he is no Kershaw (not yet anyway), he does have a lot of upside and potential to be a solid starter in the league someday. He was listed at one time as the Dodgers #1 pitching prospect until injuries got the best of him, and Kershaw surpassed him. Unfortunately, there just doesn't seem to be much room for him in L.A. But Kershaw, and even Billingsley, are supposed to part of the young core that prompted Ned Colletti to negate any talk of moving them once their names were brought up in trade talk with other GMs in the past. Until now?

The Dodgers know they're on the cusp of something special. But they also know that what they have in the rotation might not be quite enough to get them over the hurdle they couldn't get past last post-season.

I don't think Halladay is going to be traded, but the Dodgers can't sit back and assume this, and need to be proactive in getting an arm in the rotation. On the flipside, be smart about it. You can afford to move a couple of prospects if need be because there simply isn't a lot of room on the big league roster right now anyway, and there might not be for several years. What you can't afford to do is mortgage what you've said you wouldn't do, which is break up the young core that could win for years to come. Stick to your guns, Ned.

Weekend Game Thoughts, and More on Manny

Jeff Weaver is following up yesterday's gem by Eric Stults with one of his today. Yesterday, the Blue earned their first win post-Manny's suspension with another scoring outburst, beating the Hated Ones To The North 8-0. Stults pitched a complete game, four-hit shutout, the second of his career, and improved his season record to 4-1 one, lowering his ERA a full run to below 4. Today, against Giants' ace Tim Lincecum, the Dodgers have tallied four runs so far through five innings, and have staked Weaver to a two-run lead. As we speak, Weaver is being pulled from the game with five solid innings after giving up a lead-off double to Randy Winn here in the sixth.

Really, though, the story of the game, and in the four games since Manny started serving his 50-gamer, has been Juan Pierre. Originally supposed to be a regular everyday player when he was signed three off-seasons ago, and now getting a chance again with Manny out, all Pierre has done is tear the cover off the ball, coming up with big hits, and scoring key runs. Pierre, with two more hits today, is hitting well over. 400 for the season, albeit, still in limited chances.

(Ramon Troncoso enters the game.)

So far, in the three plus games sans Manny, the Dodgers have scored 24 runs, an average of six runs a game (if the current score holds up) through four games, up from their season average per game. So far, the offense hasn't really lost a beat.

If you were watching the game on TV in the third inning, Vin Scully interviewed Frank McCourt after he and GM Ned spoke by phone yesterday with Manny. McCourt basically echoed his disappointment with Manny, and said he was pleased with the conversation he had with Manny. McCourt said Manny has taken full responsibility for his actions. The key component of the conversation,however, was to make sure Manny knew it was important for him to speak with his teammates, as well as the fans. McCourt expects this to happen soon, and he expects to see Manny back on the field for workouts (and to support his teammates during games from the clubhouse) in very near future, perhaps as early as next weekend when the team travels to Florida to play the Marlins.

Now, I'm not going to get into the logistics of L.A. Times columnist Bill Plaschke's thought process into the whole Manny debacle, other than to say I completely disagree with him, and I think he's completely lost his mind. The article he wrote showing his displeasure for Manny, and his tirade on ESPNEWS on Wednesday afternoon was pretty comical, and in a nutshell, moronic. To counter this, Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts pretty much echoed how I feel about the whole mess, Plaschke, Kurt Streeter, also from the Times, and many other media members, such as some of the goons at the Big Four-Letter Network, Dodger and baseball fans.

(And for another similar, and more comical take on Plaschke's superb professional journalism, check out this bit over at Fire Ned Colletti Now.

It took me some time to get my thoughts together and figure out exactly how I felt about it all, and Weisman pretty much hit the head on the nail with his comments today. And let's not forget, I still don't care that players have been juicing, because the game has never been on a level playing field anyway.

In any case, as a Dodger fan, I still support Manny, and will when he comes back. I too am a bit saddened that it came to this, but it is what it is, and there's nothing we can do about it.

Interesting Notes on Penny & Bonds

Jon Weisman of Baseball Toaster's Dodger Thoughts put together this interesting item on Brad Penny. In a nutshell, he notes that Penny could become the first Dodger since Fernando in 1981 to have a higher batting average than ERA in a season. Penny's ERA crawled up to 2.51 after Thursday nights efforts, but after going 2-for-3 with the bat, his average sky-rocketed to .293. He also notes that Penny, who is a leading candidate for N.L. Cy Young, is also starting to get some recognition for N.L. MVP, and that his total aggregate VORP as a pitcher and a hitter puts him in some pretty solid company among all National League players.

Weisman, who is also a columnist for SI.com, also had this interesting piece today on the Bonds home run chase, and what could happen if he breaks Hank Aaron's all-time career home run mark in L.A. this coming week when the Giants visit the Ravine.

Enjoy!

For You Dodger Fans Tired of Colletti

Originally posted on my MySpace blog, May 23, 2007:

This was posted this morning on ESPN.com's Rob Neyer's blog...

Entering last night's game against Milwaukee, Dodgers third basemen had combined to bat .188 with one home run, which helps explain why they've called up rookie Tony Abreu.

When asked specifically about Abreu, Dodgers manager Grady Little explained the motive for the move:

"To get another hot hitter in the lineup. We're looking for somebody who's going to get hot. He's earned the right to get an opportunity right now.

"The kid brings life, he brings energy, he brings productivity."

Well, at least we can quantify one of those things. Abreu certainly has been productive this spring. In spring training, he batted .340 with three homers in 23 games. Abreu opened the season with Las Vegas, and he's batted .347 with two homers in 39 games. That's impressive. But it's only a couple of months. And Abreu, though his youth and his performance make him a legitimate prospect, wasn't all that good last year in Double-A.

Meanwhile, rookie Andy LaRoche entered this season as the Dodgers' No. 1 prospect. Promoted from Triple-A Las Vegas earlier this month, he's batting just .241 with no homers. But, on the other hand, he's walked 13 times in 11 games, and scored eight runs. Granted, LaRoche has sometimes batted No. 8 in the lineup, and No. 8 hitters get a walks "bonus" because the pitcher is often due up next. But as Jon Weisman notes, it's not all about lineup position. LaRoche's walks are "something legitimate to tout."

The Dodgers don't seem all that impressed, though; Abreu started at third base last night. He and LaRoche both bat right-handed, so there's not a platoon there. And now it seems likely that neither will play often enough to get into a groove, which seems all the worse when you consider that both are just beginning to establish themselves as major leaguers.

The Dodgers do have a big lineup problem. They've got three everyday players -- Andre Ethier, Nomar Garciaparra and Juan Pierre -- who are not hitting, and it's certainly possible that they'll continue not hitting. I just don't know how replacing a Grade A prospect (LaRoche) with a Grade B prospect (Abreu) is going to solve that problem.