Moving the L.A. Dodgers to Downtown and the NFL to Chavez Ravine Makes Sense - A Bleacher Report Article

Can you believe that Dodger Stadium is the third oldest ballpark in the Majors?

In my latest for Bleacher Report, I argued a downtown stadium might be best suited for the Dodgers while Chavez Ravine is an ideal football stadium site.

You can read the entire article HERE.


 

Yeah, I'm picking the Dodgers

One week ago, I wrote an article for The Hardball Times where I claimed the Dodgers 2012 season was impossible to predict. With no knowledge of ownership, how could anyone say for certain how anything was going to unfold.

Here we are a week later and I picked the Dodgers to win the NL West title.
So what changed?

Everything... and nothing.

I don't think you can underestimate the effect of having the ownership situation resolved in Chavez Ravine. For those of you outside of our fair Los Angeles county, you might not understand. But the ugliness of the McCourts hung over everything in Dodgerland. Not just with the embarrassing headlines and uncertainty. There were some weeks it looked like they weren't going to make payroll. They didn't know what an MLB takeover would mean.

And all this taking place in a half empty Dodger Stadium scattered with bitter fans.

Now there is going to be at least relief. The embarrassment is over.

So are the tight purse string days. The Dodgers desperately needed an ace pitcher when they were on the verge of putting together a real World Series contender.  CC Sabathia changed unifoms twice since the start of the 2008 season. Cliff Lee has switched teams 4 times. Roy Halladay and Danny Haren went to different clubs. And none of them were rumored to be Dodger bound.

The Dodgers made one blockbuster move in the last few years: Bringing in Manny Ramirez. And that trade included the Red Sox paying nearly all of Manny's salary.

New management knows that there is a lot of bad feeling in Los Angeles regarding the Dodgers. It is a safe bet to assume the team will try to fill in holes and make a blockbuster move.

And, despite all the turmoil, there was a lot right with the 2011 Dodgers that will return in 2012.
The NL Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw is still there. Newly signed Matt Kemp will bring his MVP worthy butt to center field. And perhaps a sensible conclusion can be found for the Andre Ethier contract.

Either way, logistically and emotionally these could be good times now in Los Angeles. And the pieces were in place for a team that finished with a winning record despite the turmoil.

The team won 82 games. Peace of mind is probably worth 2 or 3 wins.
A happy and relaxed Andre Ethier protecting Matt Kemp in the like up is probably worth a win or 2.

Mix that with the Giants injuries and weak linup and the Diamondbacks counting on a lot of young players to replicate their 2011 Division title.

And voila!
I'm picking the Dodgers! It makes sense to me.

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.

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!

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.

Red Sox fans... can you IMAGINE if this guy bought our team?

He wanted to!
Frank McCourt is a Boston guy and he wanted to buy the Sox from the John Harrington and the Yawkey family.

Instead John Henry and company took over in 2002 and won two more World Series titles in the first 7 years of his ownership than the Yawkeys did in nearly 70 years.

Meanwhile McCourt took over the Dodgers... and now they need to be taken over by baseball. Not loaned money like the spend crazy Diamondbacks. Not bailed out like the Madoff sucker Mets.

Nope. TAKEN OVER! It's Bud Selig saying "We are taking your toys away."

When has this happened before? Well, kind of once when nobody wanted to buy the Expos and Bud Selig wanted to make sure John Henry moved from the Marlins to the marquee franchise Red Sox and Jeffrey Loria could take over the Marlins.

The Expos were part of baseball and run in a disgraceful manner, yet still managed to put winning products on the field in 2002 and 2003.

That was a different scenario. The Expos were devastated financially after the strike and couldn't draw small crowds to Stade Olympique. They had no TV deal and desperately needed to move. Everyone knew they had to move to Washington DC (the only place that had a big league ready park) but they also needed to appease Peter Angelos and the Orioles. So while that was being hashed out, MLB owned the Expos and destroyed a once wonderfully quirky franchise.

This new situation is different. This isn't an expansion team gone wrong. This isn't a team that needs to be relocated.

This is the FREAKING LOS ANGELES DODGERS!
If there is any team in baseball that should be a big spending colossus like the Yankees it should be the Dodgers! The play in Los Angeles! They have a terrific stadium... a steady fan base... money... tradition... stars want to play in L.A.

It can be argued that Frank McCourt is the worst owner in the history of American sports.
In 2004 he bought the Dodgers... one of the glamor franchises in baseball. And in 8 years it was transformed into such a catastrophe that the league had to pull and Expos.

IMAGINE this with the Red Sox!
Imagine there is no 2004... no 2007... the Curse is alive... this obscene divorce hanging over the team... the experience of going to the ballpark is WORSE... and it is so bad that baseball needed to take over.

It could have happened. And Bud Selig made sure the Sox were sold to John Henry.

It's not often I say this, but MAN am I thankful for Bud Selig's decision.

So now baseball owns the Dodgers, which means there will be a new owner soon.
Why not me?

How could I be worse?

Dodger security = going on a diet

In the wake of the Bryan Stow tragedy, the Dodgers are pulling out all of the stops. They had a bad ass press conference at Chavez Ravine, brought out a legion of cop cars and the police, led by Chief Charlie Beck, promised "a sea of blue... not Dodger blue."

There will be added police protection. The poorly lit parts of the parking lot will be lit.
There will be no tolerance for punks, agreeing with the sentiments of my video.

A new leaf has been turned over. And the police have assured us that this security will be in place until the end of the series.

(Record scratch.)

Wait what? The SEASON, right? Not the series with the Cardinals.

Nope.
Until the end of the Cardinals series, and then they will evaluate what they need to do.

Um... didn't they just do that? They need increased security, light the dark areas of the parking lot and throw out people who cause trouble.

There, I just did your evaluation. Do what you are doing.

The problem isn't a Cardinals series. (Are there a lot of rowdy Missourians showing up to Los Angeles?) It is the drunk punks who make the experience unpleasant for so many people. So make it a place where they can NOT be drunk punks and people can feel good about going there with their families.

So what is really going on here?

I'll tell you. The Dodgers are going on a diet.

Trust me, I know about diets. I've been struggling with my weight since I was a zygote. I've lost weight. I've put it back on. And when I make the vow to lose weight, I make a big show of it. I avoid bread. I eat my fruit. I work out hard.

I drop pounds. I feel good. I listen to the Rocky soundtrack.

Then I sneak a cookie.
Then I have something I should have for dinner. "I've been good."

Then I have a sandwich.

Then I sneak something at the Supermarket sample tray.

Then I say "Why yes, I will have that brownie deep fried!"

Next thing you know I've put on more weight than when the diet began.

My "After" picture looks worse than my "Before" picture.

It is easy to put on a good show when you start. The person trying to kick smoking, doing drugs or internet porn is going to look really good at first.

It is the weeks and months afterward that are hard. And it makes me wonder what are the Dodgers really doing here?

Something Police Chief Charlie Beck said caught my ear.

"The reality is that Dodger Stadium is safer. But that is not the perception. So we are going to make the perception match the reality."

Whoa.

Did you catch that? It is a PERCEPTION that Dodger Stadium is not safe, so let's change the perception.

Let's not change the reality. Make it SEEM safer. Put on a show. The attention is on the Dodgers and they need to create the perception that it is safer. And soon there will be a new story to distract everyone... and like me sneaking a cookie, it will be back to the way it was.

And yet there will be the image of Charlie Beck talking tough.
The show will be made... and the Dodgers wouldn't have to spend money on security.

This is crap.

The Dodgers are a big market club. They can afford to throw millions at players. Do the same for the experience of going to Dodger Stadium. And not for one series and not noodle around in a committee. You think you are in a bad financial position now? Wait until families stop showing up.

MLB, let's cut to the chase and take control of this team from the McCourts before this fiasco continues. One of the flagship franchises in the game is being run into the ground with no regard for the product they put on the field nor the safety of their fans.

And that is MY perception.

Now if you will excuse me, I am going to avoid this cookie.

How I spent part of my weekend

Video courtesy of the brilliant Dan Cronin.

The equally brilliant Andres DuBouchet is sitting next to me.

Interleague Play begins... and morons dislike it

Interleague play begins today for the 14th consecutive season... and inevitably there are people who write the same tired crap about how interleague play has lost its luster.

It's now part of the summer... like cook outs on the 4th of July... someone will bitch and moan about Interleague Play. Jason Gay of the Wall Street Journal is the most recent one to offer nothing and vomits up the same tired arguments.


"And remember: this is Major League Baseball's most compelling interleague series. Who's fired up for Rockies vs. Royals action tonight in Kansas City? Or wants to tailgate with us in June, when the Yankees host that carnival of life-altering thrills that is the NL Central's basement-dwelling Houston Astros?"

Oh blah blah blah blah! Nobody is excited to see the Astros play ANYONE!
Where's Jason Gay's article saying we shouldn't have the Astros play the Diamondbacks? Or the Royals play the Orioles?

Baseball is a long long season and the marathon analogy is apt. Everyone watches the beginning and end of the marathon, but few pay attention to the long middle part. People love opening day and the first match ups for big rivalries... and they love the September stretch.

But between Memorial Day and Labor Day there is a long period where only the lunatics like me are paying real close attention. So why not have a Cubs/White Sox match up or an A's/Giants game to break it up.

I ask you Jason Gay, will there be a lot of intrigue for an additional Mariners/Orioles series in July?

Yeah some of the Interleague Match Ups are duds... but isn't it worth the duds to see the Yankees come to Dodger Stadium this summer? Or a Phillies/Yankees World Series rematch? Or seeing Manny return to Fenway? Or the Twins and Braves to meet up and have a 1991 World Series reunion?

When I wrote about this in 2008, I pointed out that interleague play allowed for Ken Griffey Jr. to return to a standing ovation in Seattle... and the cellar dwelling Pirates and Orioles match up brought about a reunions from the 1971 and 1979 World Series.

Yeah, Jason Gay... we had better get rid of moments like THAT in the middle of the season. Instead of bringing back old stars to celebrate and having some possible strange reunions, we should go back to having the leagues stay separate and make the mid season matchups no different than the beginning and end of the season.

I know I've said all of this before. But guess what? As long as the anti Interleague Play lunatics keep writing the same garbage year in and year out, I will have the same response.

I am getting to work on my 2011 post on the same subject.

Do as I say, not as I do

I saw how nuts Dodger Stadium went over Manny Ramirez's pinch hit grand slam the other day.

I can't help but wonder about all the people screaming for Mannywood now and cheering him on.

How many of them used to scream at Barry Bonds and holding up the "Got Juice" banners etc?

There must have been SOME overlap!

Keep in mind, when a player on a rival team is caught, he is a cheater.

When a player on YOUR team is caught, then "he got screwed!"

Folks, the steroid story is dead.

Susan Boyle = Kirk Gibson

I am man enough to admit I watched that Susan Boyle clip and smiled, laughed and cried a little.

Nothing wrong with letting something move you.

Try watching Rocky, Hoosiers or Field of Dreams and look me in the eye and tell me ONE of them didn't move you to tears!

(Actually you won't be able to look me in the eye because I'll be crying.)

For the two people on the planet who haven't seen it, here's the clip.

Now for those of you sports fans who don't understand what the big deal is, let me put it into terms that might clear it up.

When you watch a sporting event, there is inevitably an out of this world scenario that pops into your head. "Wouldn't it be amazing" if this happens or that happens. It usually is a big upset, or an unknown getting the big hit.

And it would be amazing because most times it doesn't happen. Most times the better team wins. Most times the stars beat the obscure players.

But every once in a while a scenario unfolds that is so incredible, so amazing that people constantly describe it as "out of a movie" or "if they put it into a movie, nobody would believe it."

Think of the Kirk Gibson homer. When he was limping around at home... with 2 strikes on him... and Dennis Eckersley on the mound... you had one part of your brain imagine if suddenly he hit a homer. But you knew it wasn't going to happen.

Which is why his homer was even more amazing.

As Jack Buck said "I can't believe what I just saw!"

Bob Costas described it as a B Movie moment.

And any baseball fan (other than Don Marquez) gets chills when they see it... remembering that moment that an impossible "don't even let yourself think it" moment REALLY happened.

Well that was Susan Boyle.

It's something you hope for, but know will never happen. There won't be some frumpy spinster sitting in a village in Scotland who is so talented that she gets a standing ovation and moves the snarky judges to tears.

And she did it... and it really happened. It was the Gibson homer of Reality TV moments.

I can't embed the clip of Susan Boyle onto the site.

But I CAN embed the Gibson homer.

It's worth watching again

Went to my first game of the year tonight

For a guy who talks a lot about baseball and watches even more, you’d think I’d GET to the ballpark on a regular basis.

But between work and being a father of two, I went to a grand total of one game last year.
It was on August 29 where I saw the Rockies beat the Giants at AT&T Park 8-0.

With a little more than a month to go in the season and the 4th place Rockies barely over .500, I thought it was a match up between two meaningless teams.

Little did I know that the Rockies would need every win to qualify for the playoffs and would win the Pennant.

Well last night I was driving through Los Angeles and passed Chavez Ravine and thought “Why not?” and pulled in to Dodger Stadium.

I missed the first inning and most of the scoring but I did see a kid names Chris Volstad make his first ever major league start... and throw a shut out into the 9th inning.

In all he lasted 8 2/3 innings.
Wow, imagine that! The kid was pitching well and they let him pitch!
Don't they know that you are supposed to baby them?

Don't they know that you are supposed to call paramedics if a rookie pitcher throws more than 30 pitches?

And he relieved one day and then went into the rotation?
Don't they know that is a long painful process the requires months of agonizing?

At one point the Dodgers had the trivia contest for some poor schmuck on the field.
The question was "Name the third Co-MVP with Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager for the 1981 World Series."

They gave the choices of Steve Garvey, Fernando Valenzuela and Ron Cey.

A guy in front of me yelled out "FERNANDO!"
I said "No! Ron Cey!" very confidently.

The guy looked at me and said "You seem sure of it." And yelled out Ron Cey.

The answer was of course Ron Cey.

The guy turned to me and said "You are a REAL Dodger fan."
I said "Nope. I'm not a Dodger fan at all. I just know it."

He responded "Did you Google it?"

I pointed to my head "This is my Google! When someone asks about the World Series, Google calls ME!"