The Douchebaggery of Frank McCourt is staggering

It takes a special kind of a--hole to make the headline "Frank McCourt Looted The Dodgers" the SECOND most damning story of the day.

I understand that the Bryan Stowe case is sensitive and he needs an attorney to defend him and the Dodgers and he is already the bad guy in many people's eyes.

But does he REALLY not have the PR savvy to know that sending a lawyer out to put blame on STOWE for his own beating is kind of sort of STAGGERINGLY AWFUL?

I guess it was the last stone unturned.

He made a mockery of the franchise, bankrupted one of the great teams in baseball history, took a major market club and turned them into the A's...

And along the way the team handled the Stowe beating about as badly as possible.

I guess he thought "Oh what do we have to lose? Blame the victim!"

Some slippery lawyer came on 710 ESPN in Los Angeles to speak with Mason and Ireland and proceeded to talk about Stowe's blood alcohol (because being drunk is grounds for being beaten into a coma). And at the same time kept saying "I don't know if that's true, but I heard it."

Ah classy. Blame the victim with something LESS than facts.

And he claimed that security was already outstanding (then why did they bring in tons of police officers AFTER the beating.) And the idea that extra lights in the parking lots would have helped security was laughable. (Then why did they set up more lights.)

When you consider that Stowe was wearing a Giants jersey, I am stunned that he DIDN'T say "Look at what he was wearing!"

McCourt and his lawyer did all but bring John Steigerwald in as a character witness.

What the hell are they thinking?

Did McCourt think "Hey, there's someone out there who still likes me... why don't I piss them off too"?

Even if his lawyer thought they needed to have a strategy for the case, why make this public?

The lawyer on Mason and Ireland poo pooed any PR hit the Dodgers might get for blaming Stowe for his own beating.

"I'm not a PR man. I'm a lawyer."

Then why the hell are you going to the airwaves? Why are you basically doing public relations for the Dodgers?

Short of McCourt beating up Bryan Stowe's son with his bare hands, I can't imagine any other way he could make his public image worse.

No California Teams this year

For the second time since the Wild Card was introduced in 1995, there will be no California teams in the post season.

In 1999 and this year, the West was represented by Arizona and Texas.
And the Wild Cards in 1999 were the Mets and Red Sox.
We're not sure who it is for this year.

Let's run them down.

In 1995, the Dodgers won the NL West crown. (The Angels lost a one game playoff to Seattle.)
In 1996, both the Padres and Dodgers were in.
In 1997, the Giants won the NL West.
In 1998, the Padres won the National League pennant.
1999 saw no California teams.
2000 had the A's and the Giants winning their Division.
In 2001, the A's won the Wild Card.
2002 was the greatest year for California. The A's won the AL West but the World Series was between the Giants and Angels.
2003 had the A's and Giants winning their Division again.
The 2004 Angels won the Division.
In 2005, the Angels won the Division and advanced to the ALCS. Meanwhile the Padres won the NL West.
2006 saw the Padres and Dodgers both in the National League playoffs and the Oakland A's making it to the ALCS.
The 2007 Angels won the Division.
The 2008 and 2009 Angels and Dodgers each won their Division. Both made the LCS in 2009, the closest we have seen to a Freeway Series.
And the 2010 Giants of course won the World Series.

But with the elimination of the Angels tonight, any California dream for the World Series was put to rest.

Good luck next year, Giants, A's, Dodgers, Angels or Padres.

I want some West Coast Bias next year.

The Dodgers could clean up on Off Season Awards

It's funny, everything about the Dodgers this year seems like a catastrophe.
The Brian Stowe incident at the beginning of the year helped lead to the unraveling of the ownership.

Are they bankrupt?
Does MLB control them?
Will the Chinese Government assume control of the Dodgers?

The only thing for certain is that Dodger Stadium is all but empty and their season is lost.

And despite all of that, the Dodgers could find themselves bringing in some hardware when the season is wrapped up.

They have one major award all but in the bag and a few more wins in the final week of the season could net some more.

CLAYTON KERSHAW...
Cy Young Award Winner

Both Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee deserve a lot of votes, especially for putting up stellar numbers in a pitchers ballpark.

And Ian Kennedy's emergence in Phoenix will get some voters attention.

But Kershaw is in line to win the unofficial Triple Crown (Wins, ERA and Strikeouts.) He has let up the fewest hits over 9 innings of any National League pitcher. His 0.99 WHIP is second only to Cole Hamel's 0.98 WHIP. And while I STILL don't understand WAR, he is tied with Cliff Lee with this highest WAR among National League pitchers.

Throw in his 5-0 record against the World Champion Giants (including winning 3 head to head match ups against Tim Lincecum) and he is all but a lock to win the Cy Young at age 23.


MATT KEMP...
National League Most Valuable Player

It's a taller mountain to climb for Kemp, but not because of his numbers.

His 9.0 WAR is the best in baseball.
He has the most total bases and run scored in the National League.
He is in the top 3 of Average, Home Runs, RBI and in the top 4 in OPS.

Only 5 sluggers in all of baseball have homered more than he has, and Chavez Ravine isn't the easiest place to crank them out.

While Ryan Braun might be the front runner, Kemp doesn't exactly have Prince Fielder in his lineup with him.

Plus he plays a Gold Glove caliber Centerfield. The Dodgers' non contending season could keep the MVP trophy off of his mantle, but I think he deserves is.


DON MATTINGLY...
National League Manager of the Year

OK, this one will be a stretch. Kirk Gibson has this all but locked up by sending a Diamondbacks team that NOBODY picked to the post season (assuming they don't fall apart.)

But give Mattingly tons of credit. This team had every reason to fold up tent and Donnie Baseball could have phoned this season in and NOBODY would have blamed him.

Instead, here they are with 9 games left and they are above .500!

Can you imagine if this team has a winning season? This was supposed to be the worst year in Dodger history and in terms of off the field stuff, it was. But in terms of the product on the field, it's not even the worst team of the last 2 years!

Mattingly deserves a ton of credit of focusing on the field and if he comes away with a winner, then the Dodgers have a bright future!

And by the looks of the potential hardware, their present was a lot better than anyone could have expected!

My sons and a rivalry

I have written before about the fact that I am raising one of my twin boys to be a San Francisco Giants fan and the other to be a Los Angeles Dodgers fan.

It only seems right.
Why would they be Red Sox fans? They've never stepped foot on New England soil. Yet we've lived in both Northern and Southern California.

Now they aren't really into it yet, although they love wearing their team hats.
But they are getting close to the age when you start to follow a team.
And my Giant fan son is well aware that his team "won the trophy" last year.

Tonight after dinner, they finished watching an episode of Zooboomafoo and I saw that the Giants and Dodgers were in the bottom of the 9th inning.

What happened next made me question if I am a good father.

I turned to TV to Prime Ticket and Vin Scully was calling the game.
I explained that it was Dodgers 3 and Giants 0.
If the Giants scored 4 times, they would win.
But if the Dodgers got three outs before the Giants could tie the game, the Dodgers would win.

So Aidan, the Giants fan, cheered every batter on the defending champs.
Matty, the Dodger fan, loved that the players were wearing the same hat that HE wears.

The Giants tried to rally, but Matt Kemp made a fabulous catch against the wall.

At one point Giant fan Aidan tried to cover Dodger fan Matty's eyes. I guess his logic was if he wasn't enjoying the proceedings, NOBODY should see it.

They each gave a "YAY" for their team. A "Go Giants!" and "Come on win, Dodgers!"
And I sat back in my seat, glowing. I was hoping that they were beginning to love this game. And seeing that I watched so much baseball with MY parents that I was passing the bond on.

Then the Giants lost.
3-0.

It was the 6th time in 7 games that the Giants were held to 2 runs or fewer.

Matty gave a cheer.
Aidan rolled over on his belly.

AIDAN (The Giants fan.): Daddy.

ME: Yeah buddy.

AIDAN: I'm going to have a nightmare tonight.

ME: Why, pal?

(Aidan began to cry and pointed to the television.)

AIDAN: The Giants lost.

He came up to me, and hugged me. Tears flowing.

MATTY (The Dodger fan): Don't worry Aidan. It doesn't matter if you win or not. It's all about having fun.

(I love Matty's sentiment. But in truth, it DOES matter when it is your vocation!)

AIDAN: The Giants are NEVER going to win again.

ME: Buddy... your team won the Trophy last year. They are a good team. They just lost a game. MY team lost a game today too. But in baseball you win, you lose and you follow your team every day.

AIDAN: They didn't even score.

MATTY: Don't worry. They'll score tomorrow.

(Matty is clearly unaware of the Giants inability to score.)

AIDAN: I can't believe they lost.


Aidan sat like a lump, arms wrapped around me.
And I couldn't help but this that I did this to him.

He was a happy boy today playing and collecting pictures of animals and I introduced into his life the emotional rollercoaster of following millionaires playing a game.

But hey!
At least his team has won a title in his lifetime.
It's been since 1988 for the Dodgers.

This is a big step into a larger world for both of them.

Mattingly and Collins deserve Manager of the Year consideration

It's obvious that Kirk Gibson is going to win the National League manager of the year. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY was picking the Diamondbacks to win the NL West this year, let alone take an 8 1/2 game lead in early September.

So Gibson will add a Manager of the Year trophy next to his MVP (which will no doubt be the subject of another blog post.)

But take a look at what Don Mattingly and Terry Collins have done. Both are playing for big budgeted fiascos. The Dodgers have had as ugly a season as I can remember with all of the behind the scenes nonsense. The McCourt divorce. The handling of the Brian Stowe beating. The MLB take over. The Bankruptcy. The money being taken out of the team for personal reasons. The fans staying away in droves.

There was every reason in the world for the Dodgers to pack up and not show up. And for a while that is exactly what they were doing.

The Mets were also a mess. I thought they were a 90 loss team waiting to happen. The post Madoff Amazin' Mess was a mismatch of broken down veterans, expensive players who wanted out, young players who weren't ready and a parade of players on the disabled list.

And playing in the same Divison as the Phillies and Braves meant the season was irrelevant in April. And come trading deadline, they were sellers.

90 losses may have been a generous prediction.

Yet here we are on September 10th. The Dodgers are just 1 game under .500.
The Mets are 2 games under .500.

It would not take a Herculean effort for both teams to finish with a winning record.

The Dodgers are aided by the fact that Clayton Kershaw should win the NL Cy Young and there is a case for Matt Kemp to win the MVP.

The Mets don't have that star power, but they are finding unlikely heroes and staying focused in a way that I didn't think they had in them.

So give Don Mattingly and Terry Collins a lot of credit.
Both the Dodgers and Mets are ugly places off of the field and if the on field product reflected that, nobody would have blinked.

But if they could weather the storm of the craziness of 2011 and say "Hey! At least we put a winning product on the field" then THAT is worthy of Manager of the Year consideration.

Color me impressed, Dodger and Met fans.

Sanity

I had questioned why the Nationals and Dodgers needed to play a double header, especially with the Dodgers traveling cross country.

Evidently mother nature agreed with me.

Game 2 was rained out.
The Dodgers get out of Dodge. I guess it will be only 161 games for the boys in blue.

A question about the Dodgers-Nationals double header

Rain yesterday forced the Dodgers and Nationals to play a double header today.
Here's a question:

Why?
Seriously. Why did they need to play both games?
The Dodgers are going to San Francisco tonight and let's face it, neither team are playing this October.

The Nationals are 16 1/2 games out of a playoff spot with 21 games to play.
The Dodgers trail Arizona by 11 1/2 games with 20 left.

Yeah it is POSSIBLE that they could get hot, the Braves and Diamondbacks could collapse and a Nationals vs. Dodgers game could be an NLCS preview.

Is that possibility REALLY worth playing 2 meaningless games in what will no doubt be an empty Nationals Park?

Play ball.

Things are more bleak for the Mets than the Dodgers

There were more players in uniform than fans in the stands in Dodger Stadium yesterday.

The team is a bankrupt embarrassment with a tabloid divorce looming over the team along with the Bryan Stowe beatings and its grotesque aftermath and MLB taking control of the team.



It sucks to be a Dodger fan.

It's worse to be a Mets fan.



I'll say it. The Dodger mess will be easier to fix.

If a new owner can be put into Los Angeles this off season, the good will in Dodgerland will come around the nanosecond the owner says "My name is NOT Frank McCourt."



The new owner will have a huge fan base eager to put their support behind the team.

AND they have a young MVP candidate in Matt Kemp and a young Cy Young candidate (and probable WINNER this year) in Clayton Kershaw.



Plus he plays in a Division where the Giants can pitch but can't hit, the Diamondbacks are great one year and bad the next, the Padres are great the other years and bad the next and the Rockies forget to contend before September.



In other words, the idea of being a power in the NL West isn't so far fetched. Just add competent ownership!



As for the Mets... well, their problems haven't featured obscene divorces and people in comas. But they HAVE had the biggest Ponzi Scheme in American History hamstring them.



And oh yeah, playing in the biggest media market in the country probably won't help them stumble to their third straight losing season.



And today we found out that David Einhorn, their great knight on a white steed, who was going to buy $200 million worth of the Mets and probably eventually take over the team and lead them to their greatest days ever, is saying "No Thanks."



The Wilpons are still in charge. The Phillies and Braves are still VASTLY superior. The Marlins have talent and will move into a new ballpark next year. The Nationals are developing talent and have the combination of Strasburg and Harper looming on the horizon.



What do the Mets have?

They have Jose Reyes' impending free agency where, once Albert Pujols comes off of the table, he will be the biggest available name.



They have David Wright who is a nice player but no longer a franchise player.

They have nice players like Dillon Gee, Ruben Tejada, Jonathon Niese, Mike Pelfrey and Daniel Murphy.



All nice players.

Not exactly franchise players. Not exactly great building blocks to go past the Phillies, who seem hell to win their 5th straight Division Title and 3 pennant in that same period of time, or the Braves who have stockpiled amazing young talent.



If the Dodgers and the Mets could combine like Voltron, they would be a terrific team. Kemp, Kershaw and maybe Reyes with some nice complimentary players.



But they aren't one team. They are two big budget flops for 2011.

For 2012 and beyond, things are brighter in LA.

Dodgers... lock up Clayton Kershaw NOW!

Look, I know the Dodgers are a mess right now.

Frank McCourt took one of the most glamorous and successful teams in baseball history and ran them into the ground.



I am not even sure if the Dodgers have the money to buy those plastic helmets for Ice Cream Sundaes anymore.



But somehow they need to find the money to sign Clayton Kershaw to a long term deal RIGHT NOW.



He hasn't been arbitration eligible yet so this season, that I think will earn him a Cy Young Award or at least SHOULD put one on his mantle, he will make $500,000.



A. J. Burnett will make 32 times that this year.



At age 23, this is Kershaw's second excellent season with the Dodgers and he can be a positive face on the team.



Well guess what?

Someday, and that day may come while I am typing this sentence, a new owner will take over the Dodgers. The new owner has a lot of work to do to restore the fans confidence, but not as much as you would think.



First of all the new owner needs to be better than Frank McCourt. That my friend is a low bar.



But they also need to put together a new positive identity for the team. And guess what? It might already be there.



The great eras in Los Angeles Dodgers history often are symbolized by a pitcher (or two.)

The 1960s Dodgers were best remembered for having Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale.



The Dodger teams of the 1970s had the amazing home grown infield of Garvey, Lopes, Russell and Cey. But they also had a future Hall of Famer in Don Sutton in the rotation. They also had Burt Hooton and the great Tommy John.



What player comes to mind when you think of the 1981 World Championship?

I am betting it will be Fernando Valenzuela and Fernando Mania.



How about 1988? OK, it is probably the Kirk Gibson home run.

But the REAL MVP was Orel Hershiser. Do the Dodgers beat the Mets OR the A's without Orel's 3 complete game victories (and a save)?



Even the 1995 Division is best remembered for Hideo Nomo's magical season.



Positive memories for the Dodgers begin with the identity making ace.



And Drysdale, Koufax, Sutton, Valenzuela, Hershiser and Nomo were all home grown Dodgers.

So if Kershaw.



If the Dodgers will turn it around, their home grown Cy Young winner will have a lot to do with it.



This isn't signing a 30 year old pitcher to a long term contract and seeing it blow up in your face.



This is taking a young player and making sure you have his prime locked up!



Sign him to a 6 year deal NOW! That way you know you have him for 10 seasons in a Dodger uniform. Probably will have a Cy Young on his mantle. He already has post season experience. And when the contract is up, he'll only be 30 years old!



Out of all the awfulness of this season, the one thing Dodger fans can even BEGIN to cling to is the obscure hope for a better tomorrow.



The Clayton Kershaw era could be what they are looking for.

Sign him now. Circumvent the arbitration and first round of Free Agency and say to Dodger fans "HERE is a player you can get attached to!"



After this year, the Dodgers OWE this to their fans.

Some thoughts while doing jury duty

I am currently sitting in the jury waiting room of the Clara Shortridge Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles.

My civic duty has called and I have to sit bored out of my skull waiting for my number to be called in a potential criminal case.

They've called for 2 different pools of jurors and so far your pal Sully has been left out of the fun. They have WiFi, but certain sites are banned. Like Facebook and YouTube. But NOT Blogger. So while I wait my chance to try and get out of a trial, I will keep you, my dear readers, up to date.


DODGERS... YOU ARE NOT CONTENDERS!

There is some serious denial in the people calling into the Dodger talk shows in Los Angeles. People are talking about making a deal or two to put them back into contention. REALLY? The pick up of Juan Rivera isn't helping matters.

Even without the extremely odd circumstances regarding this team, they are one of the truly crappy teams in baseball. They are a modest losing streak from the basement of the NL West. Only the Padres, Cubs, Astros, Royals and Orioles are worse than the Dodgers. And what kind of run can they go on against the Giants, Braves and Phillies. Remember those are the teams they are chasing. If they can't catch them, then why build for now?

They are 14 games behind the Giants.
That is TWO WEEKS of games behind the Giants. They only have 11 weeks left and they have to hope the Giants drop the equivalent of 2 weeks of games MORE than the Dodgers.

And they are closer to the Giants than they are to the Braves.

Even without the extreme circumstances of the current Dodger situation, this is a lost season. Add in the misery of payroll and the stench of the entire season, and the Dodgers should break this team up out of mercy. I'm serious. Deal Kemp. Deal Kuroda. Deal Ethier.

Keep Billingsley and Kershaw because they are the foundations of the pitching staff of the future. But trade everything else save for Vin Scully's microphone.

The only people showing up to Dodger games are the die hard fans. Out of MERCY kill this season and let them see the future of the team. Out of DECENCY have the next generation of Dodgers have their growing pains NOW.

The Dodgers will get new management and new hope soon. Give a glimpse of 2012 and beyond and bury 2011 as deeply as possible.


THE PIRATES ARE SHOPPING... HOW AWESOME IS THAT?

Personally I would love to see the Pirates make a run at Carlos Beltran. Seriously, have him pull a "2004 Astros" and play amazingly well for a few months, help the Pirates into the playoffs and pick up a few draft picks when he skedaddles.

It is more likely someone like Conor Jackson will be heading to the Pirates. But even THAT is a change in culture. Usually the end of July is the time for Pirate fans to say good bye to old friends. The fact that a reliever like Koji Uehara could be going TO Pittsburgh is enough to have Clint Hurdle the front runner for Manager of the Year.


BIG MARKET SMALL MARKET...

We will hear the familiar refrains about big market teams swallowing up all the players from small market teams this year... and I bet NOBODY will see the irony that the Pirates are shoppers and the Mets, Cubs and Dodgers are sellers.


HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM

I feel badly for Brad Mills and Ed Wade of the Astros. They truly suck. And the Astros farm system truly sucks. And they have to trade Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers. And they will also probably have to deal Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn.

But with new ownership coming in, they have about as much chance of keeping their jobs as I have replacing Heath Ledger in the next Batman movie.

Even if they make a trade getting all the best prospects in baseball including Bryce Harper, they will be shown the door. And if those trades pan out, whoever the next GM and manager are will reap the benefits and praise. "Man, the team is so much better since Mills and Wade left



All these thoughts are going through my head... as I wait... and wait... and wait for my number to be called.

Hey Bud Black... Harang was pitching well

When a guy is throwing a no hitter after 6 innings, I'd leave him in the game.
Maybe it's just me.

When you have two dead from the neck up franchises playing each other in a "Let's stay out of the cellar" game, why not have the guy come out for the 7th?

When it is a 33 year old guy who could be throwing the game of his 10 year career... why not give him a chance?

Yes, I know he was hurt recently.
I know it was hot.
I know he was fresh off a rehab assignment.

But why have the "Could he have thrown a no hitter?" question linger over his career?
Seriously how many more years does Aaron Harang have?
2?
3?

You can't push pitchers when they are in their early 20s and you can't push them in their early 30s I guess.

Let him throw until he lets up a hit.
Wouldn't a no hitter from a likable veteran make a down San Diego year a little better?
Especially seeing it would have been the first no hitter in Padres history.

I would have let him pitch the 7th.
Not sure if this qualifies as babying pitchers, but I am going to link the video anyway!

Dodgers file for Bankruptcy... nice job

I can't claim to be a financial wiz, but I have a feeling if I ran the Dodgers they might be profitable. I mean it isn't like the Dodgers are an obscure team... a team in a run down stadium... a team in a small market... a team whose fan base is indifferent to baseball... a team with no history... a team overwhelmed by the local NFL team.

They are the f*cking DODGERS!

How can you go BANKRUPT running the Dodgers?

Frank McCourt found a way.
The fire sale should begin soon.

Soon the Dodgers will be in worse financial shape than the characters in the OTHER Frank McCourt's book, Angela's Ashes.

(Yeah that was a stretch, but how often can you connect two Frank McCourts?)

It's all settled for the Dodgers...

Oh the McCourts thing is a mess and Selig seems willing to let the team die on the vine. But there is one thing that can be said beyond a shadow of a doubt:

The Dodgers suck.
And they will be dismantled in a few weeks.

Seriously, tonight they lost at home to the worst team in baseball AGAIN.
Tonight they lost on a 10 hit shutout.
10 hits... no runs.

And because they are still paying Manny Ramirez, sitting at home after dodging any steroid question, the Dodgers may not make payroll next month.

They stink.
They are awful.

And if they are going to be awful with nobody in the stands, they might as well be awful with nobody in the stands with a lower payroll.

The fire sale is going to take place in 2 weeks.

By the time July is done, the Dodgers will basically be the current roster of the Albuquerque Isotopes.

In fact, Dodger fans should just start following the Isotopes NOW just so they can be more familiar with their team in August.

Some pretty low expectations in Dodger Town

The Dodgers can meet payroll and suddenly that is cause for celebration?
Seriously, that is what it has come to?

Congrats Mr. McCourt. You own one of the most famous baseball teams who play in the second biggest market in the country with a rabid fan base and you have made enough money to not bounce the checks.

MAZELTOV!

Now what are you going to do NEXT month?
You can't pull the Winona Ryder in Reality Bites trick of paying for everyone's gas.

The Dodgers will start dumping players in 2 weeks.

What an approprate metaphor... fire at Dodger Stadium

The season is going up in smoke, so why not the team?

I was expecting a fire sale at Chavez Ravine involving players. I didn't expect it to be so literal!

I could say "Well, it couldn't get worse for the Dodgers" but who knows?
Dodger Stadium could be built on an Indian burial ground.

(And not the kind from Cleveland.)

If the Giants and Dodgers play a wild game and nobody is there to see it...

Last night the Giants were in total control of the game for 8 of 9 innings it seemed like.

Then, blink, the Dodgers tied the game.

Then, blink, the Giants have a 3 run lead again on Cody Ross's 2 out 3 run 9th inning jack.

With all of these last at bat victories, Brian Wilson will have a shot at 20 wins before poor Matt Cain does.

But did you see where the Cody Ross homer landed?

The left field seats were practically empty.
Yeah I know it was a Wednesday, but still!

This is a Dodgers and Giants game!

Is this all residue from the Bryan Stow incident?
Fallout from the McCourts?

Either way it is sad. Los Angeles should be a huge baseball town, especially after the Lakers are out of it.

There must be a billionaire owner out there. One of my sons is a Dodger fan and in a few years he will be of the age where he will start to know the players and the ins and outs of the game.

Let's hope by then they have management that cares.

Someone named Josh Collmenter was awesome yesterday

In Los Angeles, they weren't showing the Red Sox-Yankee game on Fox. Instead they showed the always fascinating Dodgers and Diamondbacks match up.

Nothing like watching 2 sub .500 teams duke it out in a half empty Dodger Stadium.
It turned out to be a great game. The Diamondbacks won 1-0 despite the fact that Chad Billingsley and the Dodger staff held Arizona to a single hit.

But the story was Josh Collmenter. I never heard of him before.
Unless you are a Diamonback fan or a member of the Collmenter family, I am guessing YOU have never heard of him either.

He had made 7 relief appearances in 14 innings pitched prior to yesterday.
Then took the mound and threw 6 innings of 2 hit ball where the Dodgers never seemed to have a chance.

He only threw 71 pitches in those 6 innings and probably could have gone 10 innings if need be.

Not bad for a 15th round pick.
I know most of the blog world (and this one as well) will be writing about Jorge Posada.
But let's salute someone who actually showed up to play!

There goes any Andre Ethier streak controversy

Well I guess the nit picking is over. Andre Ethier's streak went 30 games. I thought it lost a little luster when he took a day off to rest an injury, but it no longer matters.

29 or 30 games. Both numbers are quite impressive and more than halfway to DiMaggio.

So we can salute Ethier on a terrific streak instead of wondering if it should count or not.
And let's face it... that conversation would have gotten boring in a REAL hurry.

It's the flea market series

The Mets and Dodgers are playing in the ballpark that is a shrine to the history and legacy of the Dodgers: CitiField.

The two teams from the two biggest markets are squaring off. And at this point they are both sub .500 teams with outrageous financial issues.

Let me put it this way:
The Mets could lose up to $100 million over the last two seasons and are involved in one of the great financial scandals of our age... and they are the STABLE one of the two teams.

As Frank McCourt is gearing up for a spectacular flame out, the Dodgers might not even reach payroll for June.

So when you have two expensive bad teams, what can you expect to happen later in the year?

SELL SELL SELL!

So take a look at the talent on display. If you want someone, make an offer.
One team could use a lower payroll every 2 weeks and the other team has already thrown good money after bad in the Oliver Perez/Luis Castillo fiasco.

Make your bids. These teams will look a LOT different on August 1 after the trade deadline!

Hey McCourt... Manny wasn't a free agent

Yesterday Mason and Ireland on 710 ESPN in Los Angeles had beleaguered Dodgers owner Frank McCourt on the air for a half an hour of questions being asked and calls from fans.

It should be noted that he will be beleaguered for a lot longer than he will be the owner of the Dodgers.

He of course painted himself as the victim, all the while saying "I take full responsibility." He pushed the blame elsewhere and made it clear that the $126 million he took from the Dodgers was NOT true (he said it was only about $100 million, most of it loans and it was cumulative.

I admire the guy to a degree for facing the music. But when he kept saying things like "I learned my lesson" and "I don't need all of those things anymore" which sounds a lot like someone saying "I swear this is my last cigarette."

One caller called in to ask why can't a marquee franchise like the Dodgers sign a Type A free agent. A good question.

McCourt dismissed it saying "What about Manny Ramirez?"

I so wish either Mason or Ireland pointed out that Ramirez was a trade. Manny wasn't on the open market and offered top dollar by the Dodgers?

He was in a trade with the Red Sox and Pirates of which the Red Sox picked up most of the contract. And yes he resigned with the Dodgers, but only after he received NO OTHER OFFERS.

The question was valid, especially when the likes of CC Sabathia could have been the difference between a trip to the World Series and an NLCS exit.

Ah well... the soap opera goes on as the Dodgers won't be able to meet payroll.
Look for the Chavez Ravine firesale coming soon.