Dodgers Baseball News http://dodgersbaseballnews.com Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:18:08 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 A Few Good Moves http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/a-few-good-moves/ http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/a-few-good-moves/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:18:08 +0000 Miguel Salcido http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/?p=145 The Dodgers have not had many good moves in a quite a while. Between ownership fiascos, fan violence and boycotts, and Ned Colletti’s unusual free agent signings (or lack thereof) we as Dodgers fans have not had much to look forward to. In fact the Dodgers MLB Odds of winning the World Series in 2012 are said to be 40-1. The team does not look much improved and has a very low payroll for the market that they are in.

However, its not all bad. There have actually been some good moves by the Dodgers, or in the Dodgers favor. First and foremost is the fact that MLB finally stepped in and shut McCourt down. It was a gritty battle but ultimately MLB won out, they always do! The MLB Baseball Odds of Bud Selig losing a battle versus an owner are a million to one. So we get to look forward to who our new owner will be and the consensus seems to be that no one cares as long as the owner has deep pockets and is willing to spend to compete for the World Series. Unfortunately the bidding on the team seems to be more driven by the real estate and future media rights involved in the sale, and less about the actual franchise. The Dodgers franchise has often times been referred to the Crown Jewel of MLB franchises, yet other motivations dominate the landscape. This is a terrible move becuase what all of these wealthy investors don’t understand is that if they make the team good again, it makes EVERYTHING worth more money. They can control how much they can get from a television deal and how much the land is worth by putting together a winning organization.

Another good thing that has been done is that we locked up Matt Kemp to what I feel is a great deal for us. We basically got him at $20M per year over the next 8 years. Not bad considering we will own all of his best years. I think that it is a deal that he is also happy with. And who said that the mark of a good deal is when both parties aren’t sure it the deal was good for them? I think that players of his caliber are going to command more and more money and that as the years go by this deal will look better and better.

I have one more good move for you. Signing Clayton Kershaw to a 2-year $19M contract. I’ll take that all day long! It is also a good deal when you look at what Tim Lincecum received for his two year deal. Lincecum got more but at that time he had 2 Cy Young Awards. Clayton has one and was awarded a great salary!

So there you have it, proof that we have actually done some things right.

]]> http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/a-few-good-moves/feed/ 0 Why Buying the Dodgers is Like a Game of Texas Hold’em http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/buying-the-dodgers-is-like-texas-holdem/ http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/buying-the-dodgers-is-like-texas-holdem/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 03:51:35 +0000 Miguel Salcido http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/?p=143 Everyone knows that the Dodgers are up for sale and are drawing some big financial guns into the bidding for one of the most storied and cherished baseball franchises in history. This by itself would be a huge story, but oh no, this is LA and the plot gets MUCH thicker. In fact, the process is playing out like an online poker game and no one is showing their cards. Well at least no one that is still in the running! Recently it was revealed that Mark Cuban had not made it to the next round of the process to bid on the Dodgers. More on this later.

You see, the Dodgers come with a great deal of assets outside of the team and the brand. Dodger Stadium is a crown jewel and third oldest baseball stadium in existence today. But more importantly, in terms of finances, is the land and lots of it that surrounds the stadium and overlooks downtown LA. There is a ton of land there and in LA land is at a huge premium. In fact, there is so much land there that people have proposed building an adjacent NFL stadium! OK, so now this is turning into a real game of poker jatekok. I’ve thought for years that the land is probably worth more than the team.

But wait, it gets even better. Also being auctioned off are the future television rights to Dodgers games, and LA is a sports hot bed. The future rights to broadcast Dodgers games will lead to either a monsterous deal with a TV network that will probably be close to a billion dollars or more, or an enterprising owner could build their own regional sports network as the Yankees have with their YES network. This is what will really help to drive bids for the Dodgers into the 1.5 to 2 billion dollar range. This was enough to make even Mark Cuban fold, noting that bidding was getting out of control and that people were bidding for the TV rights first and the franchise second! Now texas holdem can be a long and tedious game, with lots of bluffing and certainly lots of rasing the pot. I expect nothing less as this entire process plays out before us over the next few months. But what worries me the most is that potential owners seem to not be giving the team the attention that it deserves here. Potential owners should be more concerned with putting together a winning team than they should the media rights. After all, if the franchise continues its downward spiral the media rights will not be worth anything at the end of the day.

]]> http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/buying-the-dodgers-is-like-texas-holdem/feed/ 0 Why The Pain Has Just Begun For Dodgers Fans http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/why-the-pain-has-just-begun-for-dodgers-fans/ http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/why-the-pain-has-just-begun-for-dodgers-fans/#comments Mon, 25 Apr 2011 04:22:52 +0000 Miguel Salcido http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/?p=124 Most Dodgers fans are happy and excited about the prospect of MLB stepping in and righting the ship. Many realize that we do have a long hard road ahead of us but that in the long run the series of events that are about to unfold are required. I’m here to predict that the road will be much longer, and harder, than anyone has imagined thus far.

It has occured to me just this morning, like a glimmering Easter egg hidden amongst the bush. McCourt has EVERYONE by the balls!

Frank McCourt’s Leverage

  • I believe that McCourt has purposely split the Dodgers and all the land around Dodger stadium, including the parking lot. Remember that the sale of the team included ALL of that land at Chavez Ravine? PRIME real estate. Many said that alone was worth $400M!! Frank is an @ss but he ain’t no dummy. Now, if the team is forced away from him he can and will make things impossible because he owns all the land around the stadium separately and MLB cannot wrestle that away from him!

….the fact Dodger Stadium and the parking lot are separate companies from the Dodgers, which could muck up a sale. (via Mike Waldner – DailyBreeze.com)

  • Although Frank cannot sue MLB, he can go after Selig personally. And if there is an attempt to take the team away from him you can bet your bottom that Selig will be in court for years to come. This is the ONE thing that Selig has fears over and is what has delayed his moves. He sacked up and went ahead with these moves anyways but you can bet that he’ll be playing his cards VERY carefully. I mean, with a $3 billion dollar deal on the table Frank may have a case if that opportunity is taken away from him.

These two things that Frank has positioned himself so strategically around are called LEVERAGE, and Frank is the king of leverage. When he signed that agreement to join the MLB owners club he knew that he could leverage these two things to subvert the restrictions in that contract. Sly bastard.

Let’s Not Forget About Bud Selig

Selig has totally screwed the Dodgers. He pushed the sale to McCourt so much that there was no bidding, no competition for the sale. But Fox was having a hard time lining potential buyers up at $400M, now the club is said to be worth $800M. I’m not sure that there will be a long line of buyers at that price now, especially with the economy down and Frank owning all the land around the stadium.

I almost feel that Seligis on the Yankees payroll. It is a plot to kill the second largest market in MLB, the only other club that has even the slightest potential to be as big as the Yankees. It is even said that Selig and Jerry Reinsdorf pushed O’malley out of the owners club back in the day! That alone started a series of events that have lead to a decade or instability for the club. Selig is also screwing Oakland for the past 4 years by not allowing them to move the club to San Jose like they want and everyone in he Bay Area wants.

 

]]> http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/why-the-pain-has-just-begun-for-dodgers-fans/feed/ 1 Collecting Baseball Cards and Autographs http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/collecting-baseball-cards-and-autographs/ http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/collecting-baseball-cards-and-autographs/#comments Sat, 02 Apr 2011 23:31:45 +0000 Miguel Salcido http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/?p=119 As a kid, there was nothing sweeter than getting and autograph. Baseball cards were great, but they were better with an autograph. Going to games were great, but getting an autograph at the game made it better! Now as an adult I still love to collect autographs. But unfortunately there are criminals out there who prey on autograph seekers by selling fake autographs. In fact they are so good at it with today’s technology that one would hardly ever know it was a fake!

 

Fortunately there are autograph authentication experts like this company ACE, Autograph Certification Experts, that I found online. They have ann expert staff, headed by a guy named Justin Priddy who is considered a top expert in his field and who has published many signature studies and been showcased on TV, radio and many print publications. This company can authenticate your autographs, providing a high level of certainty that you have a quality product. They even have one of the largest signature libraries around so that they can use a mix of experience, art, and technology when authenticating autographs. If you have a truly valuable autograph then this is hands down the way to go.

 

Once you have authentication from a company like this you can significantly increase the value of the autograph. That means that the service helps to pay for itself. I love finding things like this! Having an official authentication will also make your autograph more desirable to potential buyers. I think that selling autographs online presents the greatest opportunity because of the reach that you can get. You can sell to people thousands of miles away from you. But if you really want to reach this audience then you’ll need your autograph authenticated for sure. Buyers are extremely weary of online transactions because of all of the fraud that goes on. But thanks to ACE Experts you can overcome this issue and get the true value out of your autograph.

]]> http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/collecting-baseball-cards-and-autographs/feed/ 0 Furcal Comes Through in a Pinch http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/furcal-comes-through-in-a-pinch/ http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/furcal-comes-through-in-a-pinch/#comments Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:35:54 +0000 Miguel Salcido http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/?p=112 Literally. Rafeal Furcal hit a pinch hit single down the right field line last night to score Russel Martin from second base. Brad Ausmus played the entire game in place of Martin and singled to lead off the 8th inning. He was then bunted over to first by Juan Castro who was playing in place of Furcal. The two starters were getting some deserved rest but ended up coming in and helping the team secure the victory. Martin came in to pinch run after Ausmus was sacrificed to second, and Furcal was a pinch hitter.

The RBI gave the Dodgers the win and the series agains teh Colorado Rockies. The Dodgers had lost two series in a row so it was important to stop that streak. The vicotry also gave the club its 50th win on the season, making the Dodgers the first team in all of baseball to reach that number.

I feel like it was even more important to win that series becuase it was the last game before Manny comes back. And I feel its important for the team and the fans to feel like they do not have to lean on Manny’s talent so much and it exemplifies the idea that this is a team effort!

The media was already flooding Torre and the rest of the team with Manny questions after the game. The team seems prepared to deal with the circus that will follow Manny the rest of the season. We shall see.

]]> http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/furcal-comes-through-in-a-pinch/feed/ 1 Rally, Rally, Rally! http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/rally-rally-rally/ http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/rally-rally-rally/#comments Fri, 01 May 2009 19:21:59 +0000 Miguel Salcido http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/?p=104 The Dodgers took the lead 4 times last night! That is 4 rally’s! This was a big game, a division game against the Padres who are in second place. The Dodgers maintained their perfect record at home this season, 7-0.

THE BISON

kempKemp looked brilliant in the 7th! He stayed back on the first pitch, a good slider, to stroke it the opposite way. Then once on base commanded the pitcher’s attention and on a single to right by Blake he baited Brian Giles into thinking he was staying at second base. Then he really turned on the burners and flew to third. This was a huge play since he scored on a bloop single to right by Loretta. Had he not been at third he would not have scored on that hit.

THE UGLY

I have never seen a worse at bat than I did from Furcal following Loretta’s bloop RBI single. There were runners at first and second with no outs. Furcal squared up twice to bunt the runners over and promptly had two strikes. Not this is a lead off man, his entire career and one who has mastered the art of the bunt single and he could not get the bunt down. Wait, it gets worse. He then proceeds to swing at a slider coming in on his hands, whiffs on the pitch for the third strike, and then the pitch hits him in the rear hip! It was surely and odd occurrence. Sorry Raffy, I still love ya!

UNCLE CHARLIE

80321004VD023_Milwaukee_BreJonathan Broxton had it working last night. You could tell that at times he was having control problems with his 97 mph fastball. Although he tossed a few nasty ones at the knees. So he went to a VERY nasty slider and curve. I saw more buckles than a rodeo in that inning. It was just wrong to have to face that nasty breaker just knowing that he had 97-100mph of heat he could come at you with too. Everyone pretty much HAD to sit dead heat and that made them look flat out silly with the curve and slider Broxton had going. Whew, nasty!

]]> http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/rally-rally-rally/feed/ 0 Pitching, Pitching, Oh Where For Out Thou Pitching? http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/pitching-pitching-oh-where-for-out-thou-pitching/ http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/pitching-pitching-oh-where-for-out-thou-pitching/#comments Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:48:05 +0000 Miguel Salcido http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/?p=94 Well, we were thrashed last night by Lincecum the great and Bengie Molina and crew. Many are starting to feel like we NEED another starter right away as our pitching has been exposed the past week or so. Even though we are handily in first place, too many Dodgers fans remember other seasons that blew up on us so they are holding their breath, and turning Blue! :-) We were decimated by injuries the past 3 seasons (cough, hang Stan Conte) and that is the worst way to lose.

conte

So I understand the fear that everyone has, the constant nagging about the batting order and who should hit in front of or behind Manny. The calls for Pedro, the most overpriced and geriatric pitcher available. The roasting of Russell Martin, Rafael Furcal, and our young, and not so young pitchers. I understand the constant second guessing of every move Torre is making (guilty as charged).

But we need to just chill out a little and let things unfold a bit more first. I am starting to feel that Dodgers fans are slowly, and unknowingly, becoming as bitchy at Red Sox fans. That they all have their microscopes out, examining each game, each play, scrutinizing each move. And I am just as guilty of falling into this category. I have to remind myself more often that I never want to become like them. I want to enjoy the game and back my team no matter what! I want to be proud, even when we lose. And have faith, yes faith, when things look their worst. After all, remember our run at the end of last season??? We had all but written that team off and then one of the most epic runs unfolded.

So relax, sit back and have a drink, a cigar, a soda, or whatever it is you enjoy and let’s watch our boys battle with the confidence that we should all have. Because we do have a great team of talented individuals and one hell of a manager and staff.

DODGERS TRIVIA TIME:

Whose National Baseball Hall of Fame plaque was the first to sport a cap with a Brooklyn “B” insignia?

(Comment with your answer, winner get’s to make their own “guest” post/rant here at Dodgers Baseball News)

]]> http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/pitching-pitching-oh-where-for-out-thou-pitching/feed/ 0 What a Difference a Day Makes http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/what-a-difference-a-day-makes/ http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/what-a-difference-a-day-makes/#comments Mon, 20 Apr 2009 23:48:28 +0000 Miguel Salcido http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/?p=86 Ahhh, finally some respite from the season. Wait, what is that you say, “Miguel, it’s only been two weeks!” Well, its my first season blogging and I also took the reigns over at LADodgerTalk.com last week so that the owner could take a vacation. I also moved my family from an apartment to a house this last weekend. So needless to say, I am BEAT! Did drawing-of-overworked-accountantI mention that I have a day job with alot of responsibility? Oh yeah, and then there are the 3 side projects I am currently working on. And I almost forgot that I try to represent our Dodgers at Bleacher Report, and I write for RBI Magazine sometimes. And I also have some other blogs on Internet marketing that I maintain.

I have to say that running LADodgerTalk.com for a week allowed me to learn a ton about different writing styles and also about what it takes to do good posts each and every day. There are a ton of great commentors over there so I wanted to really make sure that I gave them something good. Some days were better than others and I noticed that some of the regulars were not as active in commenting. I need to get better at engaging my readers and motivating them to comment without them knowing it, its a difficult art to master.

  • There was a great piece today from the LA Times about Joe Torre and his exit strategy from baseball. Looks like the Dodgers have it right and are allowing Torre to enjoy the game again. Let’s see if they get Mattingly to replace him once he retires after next season or if the Yanks steal him after Girardi blows another season for them!
  • Russell Martin tied for the league lead with four grounded-into-double plays and two caught stealing (Borrowed from Jon Weisman at Dodger Thoughts).
  • Anyone else notice that we are keeping pace with the Padres? No one expects them to finish well and after our disaster in 2005 Dodgers fans should be weary. As the cliche goes, its a marathon not a sprint.
  • We start a 9 game road trip tomorrow. And we play 20 consecutive games starting tomorrow. That means no off day until May 11th! I think we will all have a better idea of the team after we come out of this marathon stretch of consecutive games.
  • Andre Ethier was named the NL Player of the Week with 12 RBIs, going 9 for 23. Looks like the award also gets you an engraved Swiss watch from Torneau?
  • Ethier hosting Carne Asada Sunday on May 3 after the Dodgers play the Padres at 1:10 p.m. PT at Dodger Stadium. Dining with Dre, and a few thousand of his closest friends sounds good to me!
  • Vin Scully to be inducted into National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame tomorrow. Who didn’t see that coming?
]]> http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/what-a-difference-a-day-makes/feed/ 0 Hoping For Some Kershawshank Redemption http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/hoping-for-some-kershawshank-redemption/ http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/hoping-for-some-kershawshank-redemption/#comments Wed, 15 Apr 2009 23:49:48 +0000 Miguel Salcido http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/?p=77 One can do so many cool things with that name, Kershawshankredemption! Everything except own the domain which has been wisely snatched up by my friend Mark Timmons of LA Dodger Talk. Actually, I am still gust posting over there till Mark gets back from his cruise, yeah life is rough. And I am quite proud of the catchy title I came up with for today’s post there, “Cain and a Very Able Kershawshankrepemption.”

kershaw3

Its been a rough past few weeks with my life pretty much speeding around me. Work has me super busy, trying to help a friends with some stuff for his business, friend has a baby, cousin had a baby, Easter, fantasy baseball, getting ready to move this weekend into a house finally (renting but will buy in a year), and of course trying to spend time with the wife and kids (and the Dodgers!)

I want to start doing live twitter feeds during games so that people can follow the game play-by-play/commentary style via twitter. I have my Twitter feed plugged into this site in the right sidebar and moved it to the top of the page yesterday. But first I have to find time to watch an entire game. I will most likely be packing the next few days so fat chance on that. But I will be attempting to do this soon, maybe after Mark gets back and takes LA Dodger Talk back over.

I think that this will be VERY cool new twist on game broadcasts and that people will really take to it. I will do a more detailed post on it later and explain to everyone what exactly Twitter is.

fuckthe-giants-pg-versionThe Dodgers are squaring off against the HATED giants with Kershaw taking on Matt Cain at Chavez Ravine tonight. Cain is 0-6 lifetime against the Dodgers in 11 starts. So our guys have some high averages against Cain and I will be looking for some offensive displays tonight, in between boxing up stuff that is!

]]> http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/hoping-for-some-kershawshank-redemption/feed/ 0 Historic Opening Day At Dodger Stadium 2009 http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/historic-opening-day-at-dodger-stadium-2009/ http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/historic-opening-day-at-dodger-stadium-2009/#comments Tue, 14 Apr 2009 03:58:01 +0000 Miguel Salcido http://dodgersbaseballnews.com/?p=69 Inspired…… that is how the team feels and that is how the fans feel. As today’s game drifts away into history I can’t help but feel inspired by the potential of the 2009 Los Angeles Dodgers team. We saw what this team truly has and hopefully will display all season.

An explosive offensive display combined with excellent pitching. A record crowd of 57,099 watched history be made right before their eyes. Orlando Hudson hit for the cycle today, only the 2nd Dodger in history to accomplish the rare feat. Wes Parker last did it for the Dodgers in 1970.

Andre Ethier burst out with his first 2 home runs of the season, and everyone in the starting lineup got a hit today. Chad Billingsley pitched 7 strong innings striking out 11 while walking none and allowing just one run. And the bullpen held it from there.

A fitting 11-1 victory over our arch rivals the San Francisco Giants capped a beautiful southern California day. A wise man named Roger reminded me today that the memories of today’s game will be carried through generations of Dodgers fans who attended today’s home opener.

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