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The Trial of the Century August 30, 2010, 6:35 p.m. They tried Manny Ramirez, all right. They gave him two years, and guess who served the sentence. The citizens of Los Angeles, is who. And tell me it isn't fitting that the day Manny's trial ends, a trial for "stewardship" of the Dodgers begins. Tell me that isn't exactly perfect. I'm not a fan of Manny Ramirez, OK. In fact, I think he's a jackass. Yes, I bought into 2008 like the rest of you. And yes, of course those first two and a half months were wonderful. Of course, I enjoyed the run to the 2008 National League Championship Series. I love the NLCS – I've been to nine of them, and I love the NLCS! – and I loved the Dodgers being in one for the first time in 20 years. Of course, I can credit Ramirez for that. But in the grand scheme of things, what did Manny really bring Los Angeles in 2008? What was the payoff, really and truly? Four playoff wins, when 11 are required to take home the ring. Four October victories. BFD. There was no ticket-tape parade, no World Series victory, and no pennant. And he was cheating at the time. Repeat: he was cheating at the time. So the success of that remarkable first run is tainted. It's tainted, along with at least the early part of 2009. If there isn't an asterisk applied to both seasons in the history books, forever and always, there should be. The Dodgers won more games in 2008 and 2009 than they would have otherwise. Reason? Their best player was cheating. Meanwhile, Los Angeles sinks to the level of San Francisco. Fine, not quite the exact same level, because the Giants knew about Barry Bonds, and allowed him to do this thing for several years, whereas the Dodgers didn't know at first about Manny, but allowed him to do his thing for a year and a half once they did. In exchange for two trips to the NLCS, and two losses once there. With a disaster of a 2010 campaign as a follow-up. Do we really need to rehash Manny's "contributions" to this year's Dodgers, people? Was his ejection yesterday not as poetic an exit as can possibly be? C'mon. My conscience is clear. Has been since the day of the PED suspension, when I suggested Manny's unceremonial adiosing from the squad. Here's a bit of what I said, May 7, 2009, in Manny Being Barry. "The club should release their best player. Over and done with. Remember the “character” thing from a couple of years ago? Well, this is a character issue, if ever there was one, so let’s have at it, and right now. Admittedly, my feelings were raw at the time, so I hope you'll read the follow-up piece, What Would Tommy Do, as well. It's a shame we never got to hear Lasorda's take. Perhaps we will at some point in the near future. Had the Dodgers released Manny during or immediately after his suspension, they likely would have thrown the better part of $45 million in the trash, along with their left fielder, who certainly belongs there. As it is, with the Chisox picking up about ten percent of the tab, L.A. wasted just 40 million of their hard-earned dollars. Sure, had the Dodgers 86d 99 in '09, they might have finished second or third in the West, coming nowhere close to an encore disappointment in the NLCS. But there's no telling. Maybe their "kids" would have matured into winners by September of last year, or by July of this year. Maybe we'd be in a pennant race now. And maybe just maybe, Manny could have been replaced last May, June or July, or perhaps during the offseason this past winter. Maybe the Dodgers prepare for what might come in 2010, by acquiring another left fielder, instead of being left in the lurch. Maybe they get Aubrey Huff or Jermaine Dye, or God forbid, maybe they keep Juan Pierre. Perhaps they do any one of a hundred things, rather than rely on a man either unwilling or incapable of staying on the field for anywhere near half a season. In the end, Ramirez is every bit the villain as Barry Bonds, very much the same, if not worse than Alex Rodriguez, maybe a little more or less so than Mark McGwire. Manny used in 2008, he used in 2003, and I can't fathom a reason to give him the benefit of the doubt for any other time in the decade. I'm proud to say I've been consistent on the Manny topic since May of 2008. I'm proud to have questioned the Dodgers for their employment of players involved in the drug scandal, and for their failure to lead, or even to attempt to lead. And I'm glad Manny's gone, never to sully the Dodger name again. Be bye, cheater, douche bag. Do let the door hit you on the way out. Douche bag… Talkback: Your comments are always encouraged… Prediction: Manny goes to Chicago, where he'll be welcomed with open arms. September will be his most productive month of the season, in which he gives the doubling of his home run total from eight to 16 a run for its money. Probably a bridge burning sentence or two about L.A., with the obligatory "that's in the past" slash "I'm here to talk about the future" line. A little excitement on the Southside, a few wins for the White Sox, along with a little run. But they'll fall short, and perhaps well short, to the better club – the more likable club – the Minnesota Twins. No division, no Wild Card, no postseason baseball for the Windy City. Free agency the first chance he gets, precisely 15 days after the conclusion of the World Series… Dodgers Doings: Well, with your Manny, your actual court trial, and your team playing out the string, what else is there really? Not a lot, actually, but I do wonder about one thing. I wonder what was going through Andre Ethier's mind, as he watched Carlos Gonzalez' home runs sail well past him and into the Coors Field stands Sunday afternoon. Left-handed hitting Gonzalez, beautifully and easily striking balls thrown by left-hander Ted Lilly, like it was nary a challenge at all. I wonder if Ethier was thinking, "I'm going get me a bleepload of videotapes, I'm going to study that guy Gonzalez, and I'm coming in next spring just as capable. Maybe a private batting coach to help me get there." Wouldn't that be nice? And finally, what a breath of fresh air that Rod Barajas is. Here's a guy, just itching to put on the Dodger uniform, and hitting .462 in his first few games in blue. A Southern California boy, coming home to make good, as giddy as can be to play for Los Angeles, and not afraid to say so. Obviously, he's no Manny Ramirez, and perhaps no Russell Martin, but Barajas is a man I can root for. Go get em, Rod… Statue for Sandy: The Koufax in bronze campaign continues. Please Vote “Yes on 32.” And tell a friend… Remember, glove conquers all….
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Manny Being an Ex-Dodger August 23, 2010, 5:50 p.m. And the Dodgers being ex-contenders. With my blogging brethren, almost to a man, having already called the season, on this blue Monday I finally surrender and join those with a brilliant grasp of the obvious. After the series loser to Cincinnati yesterday, the only thing left for me to determine was a title for the column. I was torn between the obligatory "Stick a Fork in 'Em" and the slightly-less obligatory "The Dodgers are Toast" lines, which, if you parse the words – and really, word play is quite a bit more fun than watching L.A. baseball at this point in time – are contradictory. Sticking a fork applies generally to something being broiled, or in this case, barbequed beyond recognition; as in the phrase, "the Dodgers are dead meat." Whereas the Dodgers are toast suggests, well, toast. The Dodgers are without the manual dexterity required to accomplish the feat of being both dead meat and toast simultaneously, so that's out. And you wouldn't stick a fork in toast. So you see my dilemma. But look, it's over. It's all over. Your 2010 Los Angeles Dodgers are finito. Kaput. Six feet under. It's a lost season all the way around. We'll talk more about the whys and wherefore after the final out is recorded October 3, but if you step back for a minute, and look at it objectively, you might just think 2010 worked out exactly as it should have, the result fitting the participants perfectly. What with the baseball gods and all. I don't think the previous notion needs much explanation, so for now let's just say there's more than enough blame to go around, from Joe Torre, who managed badly, to Ned Colletti, who GM'd badly, and to Frank McCourt, who owned badly, before we get anywhere near Matt Kemp, or even a one of his teammates. And by the way, can we stop referring to the alleged nucleus of the Dodgers as "the core" now please? They were dubbed simply "the kids" for far too long, when they weren't really kids to begin with, and this "the core" label needs to go too. The Core is a song by Eric Clapton, remember, from the Slowhand album. And Clapton rocks. The Dodgers don't. At least, not in 2010. Anyway. It's time to prepare for the future, and that means jettisoning useless protoplasm. In other words, Manny Ramirez. He only came to say he must be going, and go he must. Be-bye pal. Jackass. Do let the door hit you on the way out. Prediction: Manny hits waivers tomorrow and is outta here Friday, on the exact same day as a settlement is announced in the McCourt court case. Friday for both. With Ken Williams doling out quality pitchers like they grow on deep dish pizza, the White Sox make for as good a trading partner as any, so that's what I'm pulling for. Manny to Chicago, where he takes the roster spot of none other than Andruw Jones. Now wouldn't that be special? But forget what you're hearing about Colletti selling off every able-bodied Dodger without a 2011 contract. You still have to field a team, so while there might be a demand for as many as three starters – Hiroki Kuroda, Ted Lilly and Vicente Padilla – the Dodgers will no doubt trade whichever man brings the most in return. Probably just the one guy, and probably Lilly. They'll jump at the chance to get Casey Blake, and the remaining year on his deal, off the ledger, so look for that too. Atlanta, most likely, and with very little in return, if anything. And I suppose they'll listen to offers for relievers too. But it all starts with Manny Friday. Ding dong, the witch is dead. Friday. And I absolutely can't wait… Talkback: Your comments are always encouraged… Predictions: However the ownership thing shakes out, Joe Torre's time in L.A. is coming to an end. About the only way he stays is with a generous contract and a consultant's role in the front office, and I just don't see him accepting even that much under a continued McCourt administration. And if there's a sale coming – and that's what I've been suggesting all along – the new owner isn't going to need another former manager hanging around, to go with Tommy, much less a Yankee like Torre. Larry Bowa and Bob Schaefer will follow Joe if there's another managing opportunity in the offing, with Don Mattingly finally accepting the proposition that the only way he gets to manage in the big leagues is by proving himself in the minors first. Rick Honeycutt will stick in the Dodger organization, and maybe even keep his job under yet another manager, his third such gig in Los Angeles. Dusty Baker is going to be that manager. Count on it… Rhetorical Questions of the Day: Has Tim Lincecum turned into just another pitcher, and if so, is it because of his being unnecessarily overused by Bruce Bochy? Steroid Zone: If you're new here, the Steroid Zone (scroll down below this column) is where we call out the latest major leaguer suspended for performance enhancing drug use. We've only had two such cheaters this season, in Reds' pitcher Edinson Volquez, whose mug shot has just been replaced by current douche bag, catcher Ronnie Paulino, of the Florida Marlins, so perhaps that's progress. Poster boys Barry Bonds and Rafael Palmeiro are permanent fixtures in the Zone, which is about the only shrine-like place they're ever going to be recognized. Enjoy… Media Savvy: Check out this neat Column One piece, about baseball in South Africa, by Kevin Baxter, of the LAT. And I'm especially excited about the great ESPN.com article on baseball statues, posted a couple of weeks ago. Thanks to Joshua Pahigian, author of 101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out for the nice plug. There's a prominent section devoted to the Statue for Sandy Koufax campaign of mine, and some awesome photos. And special thanks to Tom Hoffarth of the Daily News for the follow-up plug… Statue for Sandy: The beat goes on. Please Vote “Yes on 32.” And tell a friend… Remember, glove conquers all….
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