Dodger Thoughts

Jon Weisman's outlet for dealing psychologically with the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball and life

Month: February 2012 (Page 4 of 5)

It’s time for more softball and Les Nessman

We are only at T-minus 43 hours for the start of the LFP.com Dodger Bloggers Softball Tournament, featuring 14 teams and close to 200 players representing Dodger websites hither and yon.

Like the other squads, the Dodger Thoughts team will be playing at least three games, starting at 9 a.m. Saturday at Big League Dreams in West Covina. The tournament itself starts at 8 a.m.

As the de facto manager, a role I intend to embrace with all the intermingled enthusiasm and sleepiness of a 1990s Tommy Lasorda, I am here to tell you that I am in little to no condition to play three softball games in one day, let alone more if our ragtag bunch propels us into the playoffs Saturday afternoon. Though there was a time I played every week, I don’t believe I have swung a bat in the two years since the last time I played in a game, a game that left me sore in one particular place for about a month afterward. On the bright side, in November I started jogging again, and have regularly been running four miles a … well, week. So by the time Saturday’s games are over, I might not be fit to drive home, or even walk from the driveway through the front door. Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to a good time out in those fields of dreams.

Every now and then, I dip into the prodigious comments of True Blue L.A., where you can find ongoing parsing of the nuances of Saturday’s events and a passion normally reserved only for hallowed occasions like Festivus. It is for that reason that I have labeled theirs as the WPIG squad and ours as the WKRP team, recalling the classic softball game of WKRP in Cincinnati (see video up top). Don’t be surprised to see me, like Dr. Johnny Fever, playing left-center in the comfort of a lawn chair. But at the same time, don’t be surprised if Dodger Thoughts players like David Guerreva, David Higgins, James Higgins, Anthony Mason, Brian Rafeedy, Eric Velazquez, Mary Whitfield, Matt Worland and the Dodger Thoughts commenter known as Xeifrank are poised to shock the world. I’ll tell you this, True Blue L.A.: You don’t want to see us in the finals, unless you’re there to apply sunscreen to our winning faces.

If you’re in the neighborhood, come on by — should be a fun, fun day.

Interview: De Jon Watson looks at Dodger prospects

Though the Dodger farm system certainly has its less fallow spots, it also certainly has its fertile areas, which were enough for ESPN.com’s Keith Law to rank it 12th in the majors, higher than I’ve seen elsewhere.

For a closer look at some of the Dodger developing prospects, I interviewed Dodger assistant general manager in charge of player development De Jon Watson recently for a piece that is running in full at ESPNLosAngeles.com. Here’s how it begins …

The patchwork roster surrounding established Los Angeles Dodgers stars like Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw this year would hint at a dearth of minor league chips to play with, but De Jon Watson would encourage you to ante up.

The Dodgers’ assistant general manager in charge of player development has more than a poker hand’s worth of serious starting pitcher candidates rising through the system, and would even argue for a few wild cards among the position players.

“It’s been good stuff, man,” Watson said of the franchise’s depth at starting pitcher. “Our kids are coming. It’s great to have that type of competition. … If you have a hiccup or someone goes down for a little bit, you have a legitimate option waiting in the wings. The key is being as sharp as they can possibly be when that opportunity arises so you really don’t miss a beat.”

That doesn’t change the Dodgers’ pattern of leaning toward veterans at the start of the season. With Hiroki Kuroda leaving as a free agent and the team’s 2010 minor league pitcher of the year, Rubby De La Rosa, recovering from Tommy John surgery, the Dodgers signed Aaron Harang and Chris Capuano rather than hand a starting rotation slot to Nathan Eovaldi, who had a 3.09 ERA in six starts at age 21 late last summer.

Shortstop Dee Gordon is the only 2011 Dodgers rookie who has the inside track on a starting spot with the team this season. Gordon, who had 24 stolen bases in 56 games and a .325 on-base percentage (.398 in September), will look to capitalize on his hot finish.

“The biggest thing to look for from him is going to be his on-base percentage,” Watson said, “because his speed is going to change how they pitch to the guy that’s behind him. He’s going to apply pressure both from an offensive standpoint and a defensive standpoint for the opponent. So he has to get on base. For us, his key is understanding what type of hitter he is, understanding the strike zone.” …

In addition to Eovaldi, De La Rosa and Gordon, Watson also provides a status report on Jerry Sands, Zach Lee, Garret Gould, Allen Webster, Chris Withrow, Shawn Tolleson, Steven Ames, Scott Van Slyke, Alex Castellanos, Chris Reed and Pedro Baez.

Hope you enjoy reading the full story

Read More

Scully wants to keep working


Above: Vin Scully talks in 2008 about meeting John Wooden.

Vin Scully has an interview in the March issue of Golf Digest (for now, I believe, it’s available only in print). Kevin Roderick of L.A. Observed links and excerpts:

Some people die twice: once when they retire, and again when they actually pass away. Fear of the first one is a big incentive for me to keep working. Players, writers, people who work at the ballpark and front office, when I quit I know I’ll never see them again. I’ve never been the type to come to the ballpark and hang out; I’ve gone to one game in the last 60 years that I wasn’t working. I keep working because I don’t want to lose my friends.

It’s an interesting passage, particularly for “when I quit I know I’ll never see them again,” since this would be up to Scully to a large extent. One could easily envision the kind of pilgrimages that John Wooden was the centerpiece of.

Roderick also notes this Scully quip about having bad teeth through the years: “if I were to write my autobiography — which I will never do, by the way — I would title it, ‘My Life in Dentistry.'”

Scully’s first Spring Training broadcast appearance will be March 17. Eric Stephen of breaks down the Dodger exhibition broadcast schedule at True Blue L.A.

Elsewhere …

  • TMZ has posted audio of a 911 call reporting James Loney’s freeway crash in November. No matter the legal disposition of the case, if you were there, it sounds like it must have been utterly frightening.
  • The Dodgers signed 37-year-old Jamey Wright to a minor-league deal. Wright hasn’t been a starting pticher since 2007, but his past season-and-a-half out of the Seattle bullpen was passable in a Mike MacDougal sense. Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com tweeted that Wright can opt out of his contract in late March.
  • Former Dodger shortstop Bill Russell can be seen with former Yankee counterpart Bucky Dent in this commercial (posted by Roberto Baly of Vin Scully Is My Homeboy), airing at 1981 World Series time, for Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo. Dent sounds a little like a grown-up Linus from A Charlie Brown Christmas.
  • Baly had a pleasant surprise when he went to the Dodger caravan Tuesday — he was there to see Clayton Kershaw as Kershaw’s new contract with the Dodgers was being announced.
  • Daily News writer Tom Hoffarth is auctioning an autographed copy of Kershaw’s book, “Arise,” at eBay, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to support Friends of St. Lawrence – Watts Youth Center, which empowers the children and families of Watts through educational, advocacy, and enrichment programs.
  • David Schoenfield of ESPN’s Sweet Spot looks at historical comparables for Kershaw. It starts on a downbeat note but gets more whammo after that. Schoenfield also invites you to an over-under game on Kershaw’s 2012 ERA here.
  • Evan Bladh passes along the story of Brooklyn Dodger batboy Charlie DiGiovanna at Opinion of Kingman’s Performance.
  • “What happened to the spitball?” Jonah Keri asks (and answers) at Grantland.
  • Today in Jon SooHoo: Mike Scioscia and Gary Carter together at Spring Training, February 1991.
  • Aaron Miles, who waited until this time last year to sign with the Dodgers, is waiting even longer for a 2012 contract this time around.
  • Not every baseball parking story has Frank McCourt’s name attached. “Fans of the New York Yankees may soon have to pay as much as $55 to park at Yankee Stadium thanks to the poor planning by New York City, the Yankees and a private firm that is running low on cash,” writes Rob Iracane at Big League Stew.

Dodgers sign Clayton Kershaw to two-year deal


The Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw have agreed to terms on a two-year contract that will keep him out of an arbitration deal at least until 2014, the year he could theoretically become a free agent over my dead body. Details on the deal to come …

Update: Dylan Hernandez of the Times tweets that the deal is worth $19 million. You would figure about $8.5 million of that would come this year and $10.5 million next year, though with the Dodger sale in progress, it might not slice quite like that.

By comparison, Tim Lincecum earned $23 million over his first two arbitration-eligible years (2010-11), which followed back-to-back Cy Young Award wins in 2008 and 2009.

Update 2: The contract is only slightly backloaded, reports Hernandez: $8 million (including a $500,000 signing bonus) in 2012, $11 million in 2013.

Update 3: The Dodgers will pay Kershaw and Matt Kemp a combined $18 million in 2012 and a combined $33 million in 2013. Kemp is earning $10 million this year and $20 million plus $2 million in deferred money next year.

Update 4: Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com reports that $2 million of Kershaw’s 2012 salary is deferred, meaning he’ll be paid $6 million in 2012 and $13 million in 2013. That means the Kemp-Kershaw combo gets $16 million this year and $35 million next year.

Update 5: More from Jackson …

… Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti credited Alex Tamin, the club’s newly hired director of contracts, research and operations who was handing all the team’s arbitration cases for the first time, with coming up with a deal that was fair to both sides.

“It was a full-length process, and it took awhile,” Colletti said. “We had one-year discussions, two-year discussions and four-year discussions. There were a lot of different things in play all the time. Alex did a great job of managing it and keeping it level and giving us a chance at a multiyear deal that gives Clayton and his family some security. And for us, you know what you’re going to be paying (for two years).”

Said Kershaw of the deal: “There were a couple other options (in terms of years), but we felt like this was the best for both sides.” …

Infielder roulette

Monday was a day of past Dodger infielders making news, and present Dodger infielders become past ones.

  • Russell Mitchell was designated for assignment to make room on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster for Todd Coffey. He could return to the organization if he clears waivers. (Remembering 2011: Russell Mitchell)
  • Blake DeWitt, once upon a time known as “The Solution,” was designated for assignment by the Cubs, who acquired him in the Ted Lilly trade a couple years back. DeWitt, 26, had a 95 OPS+ (.305 on-base percentage, .413 slugging) with Chicago in 2011, compared with Adam Kennedy’s 79 OPS+ for Seattle – but don’t expect the Dodgers to give someone up to acquire DeWitt, who more likely would end up back in the minors for the Cubs.
  • Alex Cora is still at it, signing a minor-league deal with St. Louis.
  • Edwin Jackson reportedly turned down a three-year, $30 million deal with Pittsburgh to sign with Washington for one year and $11 million, banking on doing better in next season’s free-agent market (or just determined to set a record for organizations in a career).
  • Dodgers assistant general manager of amateur and international scouting Logan White talked about some of his prize picks – Zach Lee, Clayton Kershaw, Allen Webster, Nathan Eovaldi and Chris Reed – with David Laurila for Fangraphs.
  • Up-and-coming reliever Shawn Tolleson was profiled by Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.
  • The late Jose Lima is the subject of a recent SABR biography by Rory Costello.
  • Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. is taking a day-by-day look at the Dodgers’ divisional rivals, starting with Arizona on Monday and continuing with San Francisco today.
  • Monday in Jon SooHoo: Blake Griffin and Matt Kemp.
  • Mark Prior is trying one more time to salvage his pitching career, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (via Drew Silva of Hardball Talk). Prior last pitched in the majors in 2006 and won only two games after his 25th birthday.
  • Also aspiring to come back: Brandon Webb, out since Opening Day 2009.
  • Tim Lincecum talks about Clayton Kershaw, among other topics, in this video passed along by Roberto Baly of Vin Scully Is My Homeboy.
  • Here’s a simple dice baseball game designed for kids ages 3-6, via Baseball Think Factory.
  • One last baseball-oriented remark about “Smash” that I tweeted: “Hilty is the proven veteran talent. McPhee is green but higher-ceiling. It’s Juan Rivera vs. Jerry Sands. Harang vs. Eovaldi.”  Except this wasn’t quite right. It’s more like A.J. Ellis vs. Tim Federowicz.
  • Ten years ago, while on detail for MLB.com in Venezuela, former Dodger communications vice president Josh Rawitch wrote about an up-and-coming Rivera.
  • In this terrific podcast interview, ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Kamenetzky brothers talk to Oscar-nominated actor Gary Oldman about, among many other things in a 45-minute chat, his great admiration and love for baseball.
  • This seemed to fascinate some folks on Twitter late Monday: Take a look at these NPR contributor bios, and see if their pictures match with your images of them.

‘Smash’ upends ‘The National Pastime’

[Flash 10 is required to watch video]

At Variety On the Air, I offered a largely positive take on new NBC musical drama Smash, but with a few scattered misgivings about some aspects of the show, including a couple of the musical set pieces in early episodes. Above is one of those numbers, the baseball (cough)-infused “The National Pastime.” Apologies for the spoiler for my West Coast readers.

Smash depicts the making of a Broadway show based on the life of Marilyn Monroe, and her relationship with Joe DiMaggio is apparently one key part of the fictional fiction. That explains the genesis of the above number, which despite the enthusiastic performances (and barely bridled sexuality) of Megan Hilty and friends, is kind of a nightmare. Corny doesn’t begin to describe it.

When I watched it a second time Sunday, months after seeing the screener last summer, to see if I had been too harsh in my initial assessment, I decided that I was – that it only ranked about an 8 on the nightmare scale, as opposed to a 10. But what still bothered me the most was how beside herself with joy Debra Messing’s character, the songwriter, was at the number. Her revelry at seeing “The National Pastime” wrapped in this kind of glory made me fear for the musical she was co-creating in the show.

I mean, in the world of this musical, you’ve got about two hours to tell the story of Marilyn in a meaningful way, and you’re going to spend three precious minutes with this? Surely there’s a better way that doesn’t involve making me wish baseball had never been born.

Some will enjoy “The National Pastime” just fine, and in any case, the rest of Smash is much better than this. But I can’t help it: “The National Pastime” is a big fat swing, leg-kick and a miss.

 

Kuo heads to Seattle

Our troubled but beloved Hong-Chih Kuo is headed to Seattle on a one-year contract, report Dylan Hernandez of the Times and Jayson Stark of ESPN.com.

Previously on Dodger Thoughts … Remembering 2011: Hong-Chih Kuo

Hunch bets on whether Dodgers will improve


It should be easy, right? But it’s not.

What needs to be emphasized, in trying to gauge whether the Dodgers will be improved this season, is how unpredictable baseball is. Whether it’s Clayton Kershaw and Matt Kemp or Josh Lindblom and A.J. Ellis, year-to-year changes among players are volatile. Trends and cynics are made to be broken.

In the chart below, listing the players who’d likely be the Dodger Opening Day roster if the season started today, I’m laying out my hunches on where the Dodgers will be better and where they’ll be worse. The net change, in my view, is a positive – but the positives are a) not particularly dramatic ones and b) perhaps a bit optimistic. (Fool me thrice, James, shame on you, but fool me four times …)

The Dodgers haven’t made any moves this winter to become significantly better. That doesn’t mean they will be worse than they were in 2011, and getting just a little better could be enough to keep them in the thick of the 2012 pennant race into the summer and trade deadline fever. The most negative thing I would say about the 2012 Dodgers is that there’s a lesser chance of a World Series title than of the roof caving in. But hey – I’m not counting either possibility out! However, with baseball’s unpredictability, fans might still be eyeing a little excitement through platforms like ยูฟ่าเบท มีโปรโมชั่นที่น่าตื่นเต้นในปี 2024 for sports betting.

Player +/- Comment
Clayton Kershaw 0 Still young, but asking a lot to expect improvement over award-winning season.
Chad Billingsley + As in 2010, should improve from a disappointing year.
Ted Lilly 36 years old and trending down for past three seasons.
Aaron Harang Good environment for him, but can’t see him outpitching 2011 Kuroda.
Chris Capuano Has never had an ERA lower than Dodgers’ 2011 No. 5 starters, who had 3.81 ERA in 31 starts.
     
Kenley Jansen + We’ll hold out hope for his excellence to extend over full season.
Javy Guerra 0 Without a dominant strikeout rate, not confident in a big step forward.
Matt Guerrier + Making a hunch bet here that he’ll be more effective after inconsistent NL debut.
Todd Coffey + Could bring stability in place of last year’s Broxton-Kuo-Troncoso-Cormier-Padilla combo.
Mike MacDougal All things considered, Dodgers probably got a little lucky with him last year.
Scott Elbert + Now that his role is defined, 26-year-old with K ability can take another step forward.
Josh Lindblom + See Elbert. No reason for this guy to be in minors other than roster games.
     
A.J. Ellis + Despite power shortage, I’ll venture he’s better than Barajas over 100 games.
James Loney + Sheesh – who knows? We’ll bet he has another hot streak without repeating terrible ’11 start.
Mark Ellis + Dodger 2B had .627 OPS last year. Maybe Ellis improves on that with better defense.
Dee Gordon + Will bet on him having growth.
Juan Uribe + Has to be at least a little better this year than last.
Juan Rivera Could be the No. 3 left fielder by May.
Matt Kemp 0 See Kershaw.
Andre Ethier + At minimum, good chance of him recovering 2010 form.
     
Matt Treanor 0 Not significantly better than Navarro.
Jerry Hairston 0 Hairston and Kennedy are essentially replacing Blake and Miles.
Adam Kennedy Guaranteed $800,000 contract makes little more sense to me than Navarro’s deal last year.
Jerry Sands + Not expecting an All-Star, but plenty of chance for him to play signficant role.
Tony Gwynn Jr. 0 At 29, we probably know what we’re going to get.
Total +7  

Tab, you’re it

One new feature at this Dodger Thoughts home is the selection of tabs near the top of the page. So, for example, if you’re only here for the Dodger content, click “Dodgers,” and there you go.

Teaser: I’m planning to add a new tab next week!

‘A Very Carson Christmas’

Never too early to shop for the holidays, especially for you Downton Abbey fans out there.

Dodgers to sign reliever Coffey

The Dodgers have signed runnin’ righty reliever Todd Coffey, pending a physical, to a one-year deal for $1.3 million, reports Dylan Hernandez of the Times.

The signing comes as a bit of a surprise, considering how full the Dodger bullpen seems even without counting on someone like Ronald Belisario. Los Angeles already has Javy Guerra, Kenley Jansen, Matt Guerrier, Josh Lindblom, Mike MacDougal, Blake Hawksworth (who is recovering from arthroscopic surgery) and Scott Elbert, as well as some promising arms in the minors.

The 31-year-old Coffey is better than the worst of that bunch, averaging 6.9 strikeouts per nine innings last year and 6.7 for his career. Opponents last year had a .305 on-base percentage and .351 slugging percentage against him. He stranded 29 of 36 inherited runners in 2011 (81 percent), a rate that was far better than he normally has. But he’s not so much better that I would see this as anything more as a move to add depth to the relief corps.

Update: Steve Slowinski of Fangraphs calls this signing “excellent,” with the important caveat that Coffey has wide platoon splits favoring him against right-handed batters. Mike Petriello of Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness also approves.

‘Diner’ turns 30


This one was a real labor of love for me — my Variety story on Diner looking back at the movie on its 30th anniversary and looking ahead to its reincarnation on Broadway this fall.

This film is one of my early inspirations: so funny and so poignant. Here’s how the story begins …

“Diner,” written and directed by Barry Levinson, is a wonderful movie.

That simple sentence began a lengthy, thoughtful review by Pauline Kael in the April 5, 1982, New Yorker, a review that saved a cinematic gem from quick extinction — and, as it turned out, helped pave the way for a Broadway musical decades later.

This spring will mark the 30th anniversary of “Diner,” Levinson’s inaugural effort as a helmer, which simultaneously celebrated and deconstructed the late-1950s Baltimore of his youth. Come the fall, Levinson’s “Diner” tuner adaptation, with music and lyrics by Sheryl Crow, and with Kathleen Marshall directing, will bow on the Rialto.

Set design has begun, with final casting to take place in the spring in advance of what will be an out-of-town test run in the summer.

The rebirth of “Diner” has stirred excitement about the musical (mixed with guarded curiosity) from those who remember the film for both its comedy, centered on the exploits of six Baltimore buddies, and its insightful commentary on communication bumps and bruises between the sexes.

In an age of four-quadrant blockbuster mindsets, the blossoming of what was such a personal project into a franchise is noteworthy. Though movies of such intimate scale often disappear, a few can pay off for decades.

Still, if the legit adaptation has any naysayers, that would only make sense. Ultimately nominated for an original screenplay Oscar, a Writers Guild award and a Golden Globe, “Diner” would have been relegated to an MGM dustbin if not for the power of Kael’s pen, say Levinson and his colleagues.

I watched this movie on a regular basis in my teens and 20s, but when I checked it out again last month in preparation for this story, it was heartening to how fresh and vibrant it was. It holds up remarkably well, something I would attribute to Levinson’s absolute precision with the material and the great work by the cast, which made a moment in time so timeless.

In a sense, this was Seinfeld before Seinfeld: light on plot but heavy on conversation and just trying to make it through the simple and the ridiculous parts of life. But it has a yearning that Seinfeld dropped pretty much by its second season. These guys (and Beth) want something better for themselves, but they don’t really know how to get it — in fact, most of them can’t even admit they want it.

Seinfeld would have the equivalent of the football quiz, the Carol Heathrow bet at the movie theater, “Are you gonna eat that?” But it wouldn’t have had Shrieve’s at once hilarious and harrowing verbal beatdown of Beth over his records. It didn’t, and wouldn’t, have had the ending that Diner had.

Not that I intended this to be a Diner vs. Seinfeld discussion. Both are classics.  But while I loved Seinfeld, writing my own Diner would be my dream. There’s hardly a moment in the film that isn’t kinda quietly brilliant.

They made it look so easy, Levinson and his gang. They’re just stories, right? Just people talking. And yet it’s so rich. Most of the stuff I’ve ever written on my own has aspired to be like some combination of “Diner” and a few other movies like “The Misfits” mixed in. Someday …

So, I hope you enjoy the story. For me, it’s a smile.

Keeping busy in their spare time

We often joke about the Dodgers and their community efforts, ever since Jamie McCourt made her ill-fated “Dreamfields” comment a few years ago, but the scope of what the organization does for the community is pretty massive.

To get a grasp of it, check out their 2011 Community Report.

* * *

  • Josh Wilker, again. Tragic news regarding one of his inspirations.
  • Cincinnati slugger Joey Votto will become a free agent after the 2013 season. David Schoenfield of ESPN.com’s Sweet Spot speculates that the Dodgers will be one of six teams in most dogged pursuit of Votto at that time — if they can wait that long.
  • Scott Andes of Lasorda’s Lair chronicles the long list of injuries the Dodgers suffered in 2011.
  • Casting has more or less just gotten underway for pilots under consideration for the 2012-13 TV season. For Variety, I wrote a story about how familiar female names are dominating the early going: Kirstie Alley, Roseanne Barr, Jami Gertz, Judy Greer, Marcia Gay Harden, Anne Heche, Reba McEntire, Rhea Perlman and Sarah Silverman. Some might call it “proven veteran leadership.”

Durocher Day

Dodger Thoughts commenter Bob Hendley passed along this photo of Leo Durocher and Laraine Day with his mother-in-law in Santo Domingo during Spring Training. 1948. Very cool.

Speaking of Durocher: Variety reported Wednesday that Christopher Meloni has been cast to play Durocher in “42,” the upcoming feature film starring Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson and Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey.

For more on Durocher, check out chapter 57 of 100 Things Dodgers Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die: “The Head-Spinning, Allegiance-Shifting, Authority-Defying Leo Durocher.”

Elsewhere …

  • Josh Wilker of Cardboard Gods: still writing, still wonderful.
  • Today in Jon SooHoo: Pitching in his first major-league game in Canada on May 17, 2001, Eric Gagne gets a standing ovation from fans in Montreal. In that game, Gagne allowed two solo homers in the first inning, then pitched two-hit, shutout ball over the next five innings, striking out seven and walking none — but the Dodgers lost, 3-1.
  • Steven Cohen, one of the well-funded Dodger bidders, is pursuing a minority share in the Mets for the time being, according to Bill Shaikin of the Times. If Cohen ended up winning on the Dodgers’ front, he would then sell that Mets share. Shaikin notes that “Cohen has cleared a Major League Baseball investigation, the people said, which could bode well for his chances in the Dodgers sweepstakes.”
  • “The Verducci Effect,” which states that young pitchers who have large increases in innings pitched will decline the following year, is built on faulty methodology, concludes Derek Carty of Baseball Prospectus.
  • Former Dodger pitcher Vicente Padilla is facing legal problems in Nicaragua over child support payments. That could prevent him from reporting to Spring Training on time, although the amount in question has been reported to be only $4,200.
  • Instant-replay reviews in sports aren’t as cut-and-dry as you might think, writes David Cohen in his column for Variety.
  • Here’s a cute follow-up from Volkswagen to last year’s awesome kiddie Darth Vader ad for the Super Bowl.

‘Here Come the Geese’

This song, “Here Come the Geese,” is on a Barenaked Ladies album for kids, but I really dig it for some reason.

It’s from the album Snacktime, which I would include on any recommendations for kids’ music.

One of these days I might post a desert-island discs list for parents. For starters, They Might Be Giants would be on there as well.

* * *

Just a reminder, because it’s been a while since I’ve said this in a post: Any Dodger Thoughts thread is an open chat thread. You can talk about old topics, new topics or out-of-the-blue topics …

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