Friday, July 17, 2009

This Is Plaschke's Town

From Bill Plaschke's Twitter feed last night:

Longtime fans hate reading it, but I have to say it -- Dodger Stadium needs to be gutted and redone. Same beautiful spot, better new stadium

23 comments:

Kyle Baker said...

This is not your town, your team, or your stadium.

This, however, is your Big Middle Finger, you clown of a hack of a wannabe sportswriter.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

Unless it's deep fried and smothered in chocolate, Plaschke doesn't like it.

NicJ said...

I heard he even wants the stadium named after him, but the McCourt's are worried that calling it "Douchebag Stadium" will ruin the family image that they are going for.

Nostradamus said...

That makes me want to write a scathing musical tribute to Bill, à la Tito Puente in "Who shot Mr. Burns"

Nostradamus said...

Somewhat OT, but I did see a "This is my town" billboard with Larry King's giant cranium on the corner of Olympic and Bundy this morning on the way to work, but I didn't have time get a shot off.

Not nearly as effective as Alyssa, IMHO.

Josh S. said...

"I didn't have time get a shot off."

With your camera or your gun?

Fred's Brim said...

can somebody complete the photoshoppery and have Bill sitting on a toilet (working on his next column)?

Nostradamus said...

Josh,

Camera, though the other thought did occur to me.

Wesley Vento said...

I would like to officially begin my "Egg Plaschke's Car" campaign.

Anyone know his address?

Nostradamus said...

FB,

I was thinking a Joe McCarthy and Plaschke mash-up.

"...Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?"

Neeebs (The Original) said...

Nic J: We can have "Massengil" sponsor the stadium to the name "Douchebag Stadium" doesn't have to be the official name.

Josh S. said...

One other thing from his article this morning (I copied this from Deadspin, so I wouldn't give Bill the hit):

"In the first inning of his first appearance in a left-field corner adorned with the "Mannywood 99" banner and filled with hundreds of loving fans who paid a premium for their proximity, Ramirez acted as if none of it existed."

Nope. Wrong. If you take into account the t-shirts (and slightly lower Ticketmaster fees than comparable seats on the right field side for some reason), those seats are actually discounted over what they were before Mannywood. No one is "paying a premium". Plus, those seats aren't exactly "close" to Manny anyway.

Quick! Someone find me something else to rant about!

Kyle Baker said...

No, Josh, you're on a good rant, don't veer from it. Embrace it!

Josh S. said...

OK Dusty, here goes:

Plaschke, make up your damn mind! First, Dodger fans are the bad guys for not turning their backs on Manny for his indiscretions. Then, Manny is the bad guy for not thanking us for not turning our backs on him! What about just being OK with the man going out there and doing what he's PAID to do: play baseball?! Get this team to a championship and we'll call it even! We don't want Manny to wave at us! We want him to catch that fly ball! We want him to blast that homer!

And we really, REALLY want you to shut up, Bill Plaschke.

koufax said...

i cant think of a writer more out of touch with his supposed "fanbase" than bill plaschfat.

Ben said...

I wonder if there is anyone in LA who likes BP? I mean, the guy is absolutely loathsome.

Kyle Baker said...

Since I'm "working from home" this afternoon, I had one of those modern TV sports shows on (you know, the kind where there are several sports hacks on the clock to say something pithy or controversial on 20 seconds, or to score points for saying the wittiest thing they could think of in the shower the morning before then write down to say later about a current topic). Sorry for the digression. Anyway, on said show, Plaschke was on (it was filmed with a wide angle lens) whining about Manny not acknowledging the crowd. Another guy had a turn at the topic, and he held up tickets showing he was there last night and had sat in 2 separate sections in order to get the feel of things. He said Manny spent the whole night throwing balls out to the crowd between innings and interacting with nearby fans the way he normally does. Plaschke just stared downward, verbally beaten.

It occurs to me that alleging Manny should have acknowledged the so-called Mannywood because of some deep-seated, longstanding connection to the section is just plain silly. It had been Mannywood for all of, what, 3 games, before Manny was suspended? And he's played for Dodgers for how long? Plaschke should know that Mannywood is, at best, a marketing gimmick in its infancy. The real, or at least "more real" Manny supporters hang out in the Left Field Pavilion, anyway.

Dean H. said...

It warrants mentioning every time Plaschke says something about the Dodgers: he does not care about the team.

The guy grew up somewhere else and just happened to land a gig at a big LA paper. I have never read a work that he has written which treated Dodger tradition and fans with anything more than bemused contempt.

Greg Bishop said...

It seems like the man writes simply to upset the most people that he can. That's the only explanation I can see judging by his ill-informed rants and hypocritical behavior (i.e. saying he wanted nothing to do with the Ramirez rehab and then showing up at one of the games.)

He is what people used to call a professional "shit-disturber," or perhaps just a "troublemaker."

rbnlaw said...

Plaschke=Doofus.

I was there last night. Manny seemed to acknowledge the crowd as he ran(?) to his position. He was throwing the balls into the crowd. . .deep into the crowd, and IMHO, pushing at the plate to give the crowd the dinger it wanted. The guy got a hit; everyone was happy.

What Pluschbottom didn't tell you was that the crowd gave its biggest ovation to number 9, the Beast himself, pinch hitting in the 8th. The crowd showed its thanks and baseball acumen in doing so. So, Billy Boy, suck it. Yeah, it sounds juvenile, but remember; the Times only publishes Simers to make you look less incompetent.

Now, in all seriousness, if Plaschke was talking about the parking lot, I totally agree. You'd never know the owner of the place owns parking lots based on the post-game scrum every night. If you're like me, and I'm sure you wish you were, and you tow 3 kids to a game each time you go, parking by the academy for a night game is a no-go. So, blow up the parking lot and lower the rate? Yes.
Gut the stadium? Bite me.

Unknown said...

Plachke is a fool. The whole point of Dodger Stadium is the focus on the baseball game, not gratuitous external garbage. The McCourt's and their architect realize this, which is why they have focused the ancillary stuff outside the stadium walls. Also, I hope the State slams the McCourt's on the building codes they have exemptions to if they try to change the capacity downward.

Nostradamus said...

@Alireza,

I can't imagine why he'd want to change the capacity downward. There are quite a few more actual seats in the stadium than can legally be used, and it's not making Frank any money not to fill them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodger_Stadium#Seating

Nostradamus said...

http://tinyurl.com/mje5ev