32 Years of Waiting & 14 Years of SoSG

1988: birth year of Clayton Kershaw and Ghosts of a Championship Past.

When the Dodgers won the World Series in 1988, I was but a boy with hopes and dreams. 32 years later, that boy is older and heavier, his hopes and dreams having become wishes and adjusted expectations.

32 years is enough time to get an education and a job and realize how different they are from experience and a career. It's enough time to start a family, who will learn to tolerate your irrational Dodgers fandom.

Is it the Cubs' 108 years? Of course not. Is it still a fucking long time? Yes it is.

It's also enough time to figure out winning the World Series takes talent, discipline...and some je ne sais quoi.

Talent: The Dodgers were always rich enough to afford it (and sometimes stupid enough to give it away).

Discipline: Levels of hard work and common sense seemed to vary with the revolving door of managers that followed Tommy Lasorda's 20-year tenure, as well as the whims of whoever was keeping the GM chair warm (Kevin Malone? DePo?).

Intangibles: We never seemed to possess the inevitability of the Yankees, the devil magic of the Cardinals and Giants, the scrappiness (later entitlement) of the Red Sox. We endured 31 years of postseason drought and disappointment, never even getting within a victory of reaching the World Series. The Astros' cheating scandal of 2017 and the Red Sox cheating in 2018 were just the cherries on top of the cowpie.

So what changed? It was as slow as turning a battleship, but here's the summary:

1. Fuck off, Fox.
2. Go to hell, Frank & Jamie.
3. Hello, Guggenbros and Andrew Friedman (assist: Ned Colletti).

The result? A steady stream of talent (not just the occasional Manny Ramirez-esque splurge) resulting in 8 straight division titles. An organizational philosophy of discipline. Remember how frustrating the swing-for-the-fences approach was just a few years ago? Then this year, cavernous Globe Life Field became our "home" park and talk started about how the Dodgers' homer-happy approach could fall flat there.

Globe Death Field

— Sons of Steve Garvey (@sosgsosg) October 7, 2020

Instead the Dodgers made adjustments and nailed the balance of situational hitting and bashing dingers. Discipline! Lots of credit to hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc for that.

And the intangibles! Finally luck was a lady, the cookie didn't crumble, the ball bounced our way:

NLDS Game 1. 5th inning: Padres 1, Dodgers 0. Dodger-killer Jake Cronenworth makes a throwing error, allowing us to tie the score. We score 4 runs the next inning.

Something about that 5th inning pic.twitter.com/Bp7xCo6Bgh

— Sons of Steve Garvey (@sosgsosg) October 7, 2020

NLDS Game 2. 7th inning: Dodgers 4, Padres 3. Cody's catch! It sets the stage for a one-run squeaker of a victory (thanks Kenley):

I thought we were toast after going down 3-1 to the Barves in the NLCS. Indeed we were losing in the 6th inning of Game 7, but there was a crucial momentum shift two innings earlier:

NLCS Game 7. 4th inning: Barves 3, Dodgers 2. The inexplicable Barves double brain-fart:

What if Swanson pulls a Pierzynski and touches home after JT's tag? Maybe a replay situation. What if Riley doesn't double back like ZZ Top in Back to the Future III? Maybe he's safe at third. More maybes than in an Arrested Development marathon!

NLCS Games 5-7. One word: Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooookie.

And the coup de grâce:

World Series Game 5. 4th inning: Dodgers 3, Rays 2. Manuel Margot decides he's the man:

Silly rabbit, Kershaw's the man.

(And for anyone questioning the legitmacy of a COVID-shortened season: The two best teams met after a regular season that was mentally and emotionally more taxing than a 162-game season, plus every playoff team had to play an extra round. Take your asterisks back to 2017 where they belong.)

32 years is a generation! Thanks to the Guggenbros for investing the scratch, to Friedman for his roster wizardry and to Doc for keeping the egos in check. Best of all, their sustainable approach means we should be competitive for the forseeable future.

And when we win the World Series again, I still won't be done celebrating this one.

♦

The nadir of the Dodgers' 31 years of postseason futility came in the 2006 NLDS against the Mets. Jeff Kent and J.D. Drew were thrown out at home on the same play — by an all-former-Dodgers relay of Shawn Green to José Valentín to Paul "Fuck the Dodgers" Lo Duca. Naturally the Dodgers went on to lose that game by 1 run and get swept out of the series.

The collective outrage from group e-mails within our circle of Dodger fans must have been overheating our Intel Celeron microprocessors because days later, we decided to take our talents to Blogger. The Dodgers' streak of futility was at a mere 18 years — what babies we were! — when Sax made our first post.

It was three years B.T. (Before Twitter) and we were getting started during the golden age of sports blogging. It was thrilling to see the blog gain readership and recognition by the Dodgers organization itself (shoutout to Josh Rawitch!).

A glance at the sidebar shows our "attendance" at over 3.5 million views, which still blows my mind. A big hug to my friends and fellow Sons — the rest of the O.G. 6 — AC, EK, Lasorda, Pedro & Sax — and the "newcomers" — Delino, Dusty, Gnomes & Stubbs (and honorary DoSG Karina!).

But 14 years of blogging? Also a long time. At times it's felt like a crying baby that needs to be fed (damn GTs!). And the 31 years of falling short didn't help.

Now that we've arrived at the promised land...I don't know? In this fucked-up year, Vin Scully's truism holds even more true: "If you want to make God smile, tell him your plans."

Go Blue!

Crawdaddy: An Appreciation

Crawdaddy is dead; long live Crawdaddy. Thanks to loyal SoSGer Johnny Blanchard for this in-depth take on Carl Crawford's meaning to the Dodgers:

Carl Crawford is gone, long live Carl Crawford. Here was something that happened some time ago. Per baseballreference.com:

August 25, 2012: [Carl Crawford] traded by the Boston Red Sox with Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, Nick Punto and cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers for players to be named later, Ivan De Jesus, James Loney and Allen Webster. The Los Angeles Dodgers sent Rubby De La Rosa (October 4, 2012) and Jerry Sands (October 4, 2012) to the Boston Red Sox to complete the trade.

This is part and parcel of our new era, Dodgers fans. This was basically the big move that the new ownership (AKA Magic!) gave us, as a sign of our commitment to winning. The sign that the Dodgers were going to be the behemoth that we were supposed to be all along. Look at that trade right there again. Even before opening up the stats pages, you already know that this trade has been an unqualified success. They swung for the fences — our Dodgers — and we crushed it.

The Dodgers from 1986 to 2006 stunk. Oh sure, we got the World Championship in '88, but let’s face it, that team sucked. Orel Hershiser and Kirk Gibson were it, with a bunch of crap otherwise. Past Kirk and O, our next biggest contributors per WAR were Tim Leary and Tim Belcher and John Shelby. Tim Leary had no track record; Belcher was a rookie; Shelby was acquired in a good trade to get rid of Niedenfuer, although there was really no indication Shelby would be a great player, and really he wasn’t in 1988. It’s really a joke to look back on how poorly the Dodgers were run back then. After the '70s and early '80s, the Dodgers were good but not great, and certainly not performing like the elite top 3 team they should’ve been. And then came the '90s, which were fine I guess, but I knew when we made the playoffs in the mid-'90s we were the inferior team to whomever we played. AND THEN we traded a Hall of Fame player ("Mike Piazza") that our galactically stupid fans booed before he left because he had the gall to ask for money commensurate with his talent. Then came the early 2000s and basically mediocrity until the wonderful McCourts showed up.

Frank McCourt tried to do what was right. This is true, amazingly enough. He didn’t know anything about baseball (other than the Red Sox were wicked awesome), so he went out, and you’ve gotta give it to the Bostonian jerk, he hired the smartest guy around, one Paul DePodesta. Now, despite your opinion, typical Dodger fan, Mr. DePodesta was our best upper management type since I would assume the '80s, judging on the stupidity of our moves during those years. You may hate math and calculators and spreadsheets and numbers, but those sorts of things are the things that typically entail what is called "a plan." So DePodesta put together a plan, wherein we signed good players that were actually worth the money and got rid of pieces of garbage that were overvalued and/or aging steroid freaks (see Encarnacion, Juan — the man who ranked in the top 10 in outs made in 2002 and 2003 and LoDuca, Paul who was 32 when we traded him and about to be a free agent after magically having a 25 home run season in 2001, when he turned 29, after hitting 35 in his entire professional career prior to that), and in return we got a great pitcher (see Penny, Brad) who was 26 years old. Those are the sorts of things someone does when he has a plan.

But, alas, Paul DePodesta was fired the next year, essentially because Bill Plaschke had it out for him, and Bill Plaschke had it out for him because he was a nerd. No sources are needed for this assertion because everyone is aware of this that follows the Dodgers and Plaschke wrote a column acknowledging it, for Pete's sake. So, the dumb fans booed away because they traded away Paul Lo Duca, a non-Hall of Fame catcher, and the Dodgers lost a smart general manager with a plan, back when those general managers were not as prevalent as now, 2005.

OK, fast forward, we had old Ned Colletti, and whatever, he was fine, but not exactly on the forefront of the sabermetric revolution. He played along with McCourt's desires to suck money out of the Dodgers and they did OK, mostly because of our great farm system of the 2000s. Blah, blah, blah, it wasn’t actually that bad and Manny Ramirez dropped into our laps, and they had a great late 2000s, being a lot closer to the World Series than most fans realize. In any case, they were starting to have a plan, which was to build a farm system, essentially because it was cheaper than acquiring old talent, thanks to Frank McCourt. Amazingly enough.

And then "Magic" bought the Dodgers in May 2012, and the Dodgers finally had someone with a plan. Does anyone out there realize this is the golden era? Do you people know we are in the good old days? Who cares if we have tons of money but the guys who run the team are idiots? We had idiots running our team from 1986 until 2006, give or take. And starting in 2012 until this moment, we have a plan. And the first big move was to use our financial power to get a great player (see Gonzalez, Adrian), along with useful, good Major League players (see Punto, Beckett, and Crawford) that helped our team.

Carl Crawford hit .278/.320/.400 for us from 2012-2016. He even stole 48 out of 61 bases, which is a good rate. I am unaware that he was a clubhouse cancer. He was not a great outfielder, but not horrible. He had a bad arm. Having a bad arm is the least important thing for a left fielder. (As a side note, as regards winning, having a great arm in the outfield, especially left field, is spectacularly overrated. This is one of those things that stupid fans think is important but it is really just a very obvious thing when a guy can’t throw well. Meanwhile, ask those stupid fans what exactly makes Carl Crawford a vastly superior player to Juan Pierre. I guarantee you those fans find it hilarious to say that Crawford has a noodle arm. So did Pierre. Pierre had less than half of Crawford’s career WAR in about the same number of years.) Carl Crawford hit .353/.421/.882 in the 2013 NLDS, which kinda helped us win that series.

So, I don’t know, maybe I'm fighting a straw man here, and everyone appreciated Carl Crawford’s contributions. I guess what I'm saying is that Y'ALL need to know that the Dodgers being "forced" to take Carl Crawford’s contract is exactly why it’s awesome to be a Dodgers fan right now.

Photoshop by @EephusBlue

Parking New$

A recent official Dodgers press release on parking prices and procedures offers some good and bad news:

The Los Angeles Dodgers will be adding dedicated prepaid lanes for fans purchasing parking passes in advance for games during the 2015 season.

Fans should follow the signage to these designated auto booths at all gates for the dedicated prepaid lanes.

To enjoy these dedicated prepaid lanes, the Dodgers encourage fans to purchase their parking in advance to assist in traffic flow and expedite movement through the auto gates. Advance parking prices are $10 and parking at the gate is $20. The Dodgers also will offer premium parking in advance at $35 and $50 at the gate. To purchase parking in advance, visit www.dodgers.com/parking.

The Dodgers also offer $5 parking in lots 13 and 14 on Stadium Way. The $5 fee is available in advance and the day of the game on a first-come, first-served basis. Lots 13 and 14 are located across the street from each other on Stadium Way, adjacent to the Los Angeles Fire Department training center, a short walk east of the main Elysian Park Ave.-Gate A entrance to Dodger Stadium. A free shuttle will be available for disabled fans.

I know the prices were already announced a ways back but I haven't officially whined about it in this space yet. Outside of advanced parking purchases, parking is now back up to McCourtian levels. So much for that feel-good Magic Johnson announcement that prices were being lowered right after the new ownership group took over. As Steve Martin famously noted in "The Jerk," it's a profit thing.

I'll try out the prepaid lanes soon and report back on how that goes.  Seems like a good idea so hopefully it will be well executed and help traffic flow. I always seem to be behind an old lady paying for parking with pennies.

5 Thoughts on the Giants' Dynasty

1. That's right, I said dynasty. 10 of the last 15 World Series have been won by the 21st-century baseball powerhouses: the Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals and Giants. Three World Series titles in five years isn't quite Yankees territory, but it's getting there, and the Giants may not even be done yet. What's worse, the Giants are pulling away from the Dodgers in terms of franchise championships: The Giants have eight and the Dodgers have been stuck at six for, oh, 26 years and counting....

2. The Giants are no longer a small- or mid-market team. Their $149-million payroll is the major league's sixth-highest, and it only figures to go up — as it should. It's good to see their management reinvest all that postseason money into their team. It's bad to see that they have fewer Jason Schmidt- or Andruw Jones-sized blunders in their free agent history, but that's an entirely different frustration.

3. Every team has bad fans. Remember Jonathan Denver, the Dodger fan (and the son of a Dodger security guard) killed by a Giants fan near AT&T Park in 2013? It turns out that Denver and his brother teamed up against the Giants fan, whom the SF District Attorney could not prove "beyond a reasonable doubt" did not act in self-defense. So if you detected some subtle anti-L.A. sentiment in the Giants' quotes about Bryan Stow participating in their pre-game World Series ceremonies, just remember that every team has bad fans — even the Giants.

4. 2014 was as unenjoyable as winning years get. The Dodgers' 42-8 streak in 2013 may have been an anomaly, but the 2014 Dodgers didn't even come close to making any kind of winning statement. Unlike, say, hockey, baseball rewards the team that gets hot at the right time, and the 2014 Dodgers never truly got hot, posting a winning streak of more than three games against above-.500 teams only once (in July, against Atlanta). Add to that the bullshit Time-Warner Cable situation (still unresolved, by the way!), and 2014 would be a year to forget — if you saw it in the first place.

5. Some fuck you's are in order. Fuck you, Chase Carey, for trading Mike Piazza. Fuck you, Frank McCourt, for costing us Vlad Guerrero. And speaking of Vlads: Fuck you, Vladimir Shpunt, for not doing your job.

OK, I feel a little better now.

Let the Image Rehab Begin

Ex-Dodgers owner Frank McCourt gives Georgetown University $100 million to launch public policy school http://t.co/G5Rbd9JDDO

— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 18, 2013

Game 69 Thread: June 19 @ Yankees, 10a (Game 1)

@Yankees *slow clap*. Shiny objects are nice, but the best thing to ever come out of The Bronx is a Dodger: pic.twitter.com/COAvKgBNZ6

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 18, 2013

Word.

Hyun-Jin Ryu (6-2, 2.85) vs. Hiroki Kuroda (6-5, 2.78).

Yesterday's rainout gives us the opportunity to see Dodger Present vs. Dodger Past. Since he left the Dodgers, Kuroda has gone 22-16 with a 3.17 ERA and a 1.130 WHIP for the Yankees. So, thanks for cheaping out on that, Frank McCourt.

At least we've got Rookie of the Year candidate Ryu, who gets it done on the mound and with the bat. Except we're at Yankee Stadium so not so much with the bat today.

McCourt Set to Cash In, NFL or No NFL

From "Frank McCourt could be sole landlord if NFL comes to Dodger Stadium site" by Bill Shaikin at the LA Times:

If the NFL wants to play at Dodger Stadium, Frank McCourt could be the sole landlord.

In any case, the value of the Dodgers sale could exceed $3 billion.

Those details were included in previously unreleased provisions of the sale agreement between McCourt and the Dodgers' new owners, Guggenheim Baseball Management. The Los Angeles Superior Court last week denied Guggenheim's request to keep those provisions secret; The Times obtained a financial summary of the deal Wednesday.

The key provision makes clear that McCourt retains a critical role in determining whether the NFL returns to Los Angeles. McCourt could win either way: by luring the NFL to the Dodger Stadium site, or by pocketing $150 million if he cannot.

It's been apparent for a while that Guggenheim couldn't completely sever McCourt's financial interests from the Dodgers; now we learn McCourt stands to make at least $150 million on top of his $1.278 billion in profit from selling the team. It's been a fatiguing season — we'll see if Dodger fans have the energy to muster outrage at this time.

When a deal goes down, however, expect plenty of bitching and moaning. I can just picture Magic Johnson tweeting about it:

Note: fake tweet!

The Diamondbacks Have a Dress Code

Poor Josh Rawitch. First he had to defend Frank McCourt and now he has to deal with Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick. From Nick Piecoro at the Arizona Republic:

Fans sitting in a suite behind home plate on Friday night were asked by Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick to change out of their blue Dodgers shirts or else move to a different suite.

The fans agreed, changing into Diamondbacks merchandise provided by the team, Diamondbacks spokesman Josh Rawitch said, adding that the fans would have been refunded had they chose to be relocated.

Rawitch said that because of the high visibility of the seats, the team has a policy forbidding fans from wearing opposing team’s gear before they purchase the suite, which ranges in price from $3,250 to $3,500 depending on the night.

"We don’t tell them they can’t cheer for the other team," Rawitch said. "We just ask them to adhere to the policy that we give them when we sell them the tickets."

Though the stadium was publicly funded, the Diamondbacks say they have the right to dictate what fans do and do not wear, just as teams can determine whether fans are allowed to bring signage into stadiums.

Insecure much, Kendrick? I was going to bag on those Dodger fans who would so easily wear the opposing team's colors, but what are you going to do when the opposing team's owner actually enters the suite and argues with you? Maybe they should have just gone shirtless in protest. Stay classy, Arizona.

UPDATE: The Dodger fan speaks! Dodgers Fan Who Was Forced To Change Shirt: D-Backs Owner "Is A Bully" (Deadspin)

MLB Fan Caveman Q&A: Thomas Roberts

Bar, left. Not Thomas, right.

Earlier this week we introduced you to Thomas Roberts (@BertsBall), who is in the running to become a finalist at the MLB Fan Cave.

But what of the man himself? you may be asking. Well, we dug deeper and got the scoop for this exclusive interview:

SoSG: Tell us a story that best illustrates your love for the Dodgers.

Thomas: Here’s a perfect story that illustrates how I love the Dodgers and stick with them through thick and thin. I was at the Hall of Fame 2 summers ago. This is the Mecca for any Baseball fan. It is holy ground. A pilgrimage that every fan of the game should make. Anyway, as I browsed the countless artifacts and exhibits, I was riding the ultimate high. Visiting the Hall of Fame was on my bucket list and I had just crossed it off.

Well near the end of the Hall, they have computer monitors that display the latest Baseball stories. After spending the entire afternoon immersed in the past of the game, I figured I’d glance at the huge screens and see what was going on in the present. It was then and there in the Hall of Fame that I read the most depressing news of my life. Plastered huge across the screen for all to see was “Dodgers file for Bankruptcy protection” with a picture of Frank and Jamie McCourt. I found out that the Dodgers were Frankrupt while I was in the Hall of Fame. The ultimate low.

It hit me hard. After such an incredible day drifting through the legends of the game, I found out that my beloved organization was in shambles. So did I take off my Dodger hat and throw it in the trash? No! I gritted my teeth and wore it proudly the next day in Philadelphia at the Phillies game and then in Baltimore at the Orioles game. Sure I got a ton of crap and heckling from other fans but none of that mattered. I had my colors on and I was going to wear them proudly, even if my colors were flat broke.

SoSG: You can star opposite Bar Refaeli in this commercial (above). Or you can get two tickets to Magic Johnson's luxury suite for any game at Dodger Stadium. Which do you choose and why?

Thomas: I take the two tickets and invite the Nerdy kid from that commercial to come to the game with me. Then I have him tell the tale of how he made out with Bar Refaeli and live vicariously through his story. It’s a win win situation where I get both options for the price of one. Check. Mate.

SoSG: Let's say, theoretically, that you are chosen to be in the MLB Fan Cave, and that it turns out one of your cohabitants happens be a Giants fan. Much like your lawnmowing neighbor, this person actually turns out to be pretty cool, and you guys end up forging a strong friendship rooted in a love of the game of baseball. Do you add arsenic or hemlock to his/her breakfast cereal?

Thomas: Absolutely Not! What’s wrong with you!? Arsenic and Hemlock would be too quick of a death. I want him to suffer. First I would lure him into a false sense of security where he thinks that our friendship is bigger than my hatred of the Giants (big mistake on his part) then I quietly slip Nyquil in his diet coke and invite him to watch “For Love of the Game” with me (the most boring Baseball movie ever made.)

After he drifts off into a deep slumber, I cover his entire body in Industrial strength Dodger Blue paint. That way his pores clog and he is unable to sweat. Slowly but surely the paint will suffocate him (like in Goldfinger) and not allow him to cool down when it’s really hot outside.

The last part of my plan involves taking him to a game at Wrigley field in July and sitting in the outfield bleachers where the temperatures can kill a small child. Not being able to sweat will cause him to suffer from heat stroke and it was all due to the paint that he couldn’t get off. He will have literally been killed by the Dodger Blue.

There you go! Three painfully honest answers from your MLB Fan Cave candidate.

Like what he had to say? Vote Thomas Roberts into the 2013 MLB Fan Cave here!

Want to hear in-depth answers from another candidate? Stay tuned!

Time Warner to Make It Rain on Chavez Ravine

First Sandy, now this. From "Time Warner wins Dodgers TV deal" (AP/ESPN):

Time Warner Cable Inc. has won a contract to carry Los Angeles Dodgers games for at least the next two decades starting in 2014, snatching the games away from Fox Sports after this year's baseball season ends, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The deal has not yet been finalized, although it is to be announced within days, said the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday on condition of anonymity.

The Los Angeles Times earlier reported the nation's second-largest cable operator will pay around $7 billion to carry the games.

A second person familiar with the situation said that Fox Sports, a division of News Corp., had been prepared to pay more than $6 billion for a 25-year deal to keep the Dodgers on its Prime Ticket regional sports network. But it lost the bidding war after its exclusive bargaining period ended in November. The second person was also not authorized to speak publicly.

(Blinking ours.) Zack Greinke is rich, Frank McCourt is richer, and Guggenheim Baseball Management is about to become the richest. A five billion-dollar profit? Hell, they'll be able to rehire Vladimir Shpunt!

Guggenbros About to Get Paid?

From Nikki Finke at Deadline:

It seems strangely logical that the highest-priced sports team in the world is about to score the richest TV deal ever in pro sports history. Insiders tell me that Fox Sports is close to clinching the exclusive TV rights for the Los Angeles Dodgers by paying between $6 billion and $7 billion over 25 years to put the team on its regional sports network in Southern California and of course its national Fox Broadcasting Company. Fox already shows the games on its Prime Ticket local cable channel but also has Fox Sports West here.

The previous agreement expires at the end of next season, and saw Fox Sports paying only about $40 million per season for the Dodgers TV rights. There was speculation the final price would just go north tof $150 million per season. This new deal soars to $280 million per season (the average for the life of the contract). The huge outlay by News Corp demonstrates the increasing value of sports to its bottom line, while the huge payday for Guggenheim offsets the record-setting $2.15 billion price paid for the Dodgers.

If the Dodgers' TV rights do indeed sell for north of $6 billion — versus the team's $2.15 billion purchase price — then I want to borrow whatever crystal ball they're using at Guggenheim Baseball Management. I mean, they'll be richer than...Frank McCourt!

Dodgers Finally Getting Something from Boston That Doesn't Suck

"D'ya miss us?"

• Red Sox, Dodgers Nearing Blockbuster (MLBTR)

If you're worried the Dodgers are becoming the Yankees West, let me remind you:

Six years of Fox ownership.
Eight years of McCourt ownership.

It's karmic payback time, Dodger fans.

Steve Dilbeck of the LA Times called it: The Dodgers are trading two of their best young arms and three iffy position players for a stud first baseman, an injured outfielder and a disgruntled starter, all on the wrong side of 30. Oh, and $260 million of contracts.

So...what are the positives?

1. Adrian Freakin' Gonzalez. Welcome back to the NL West, Adrian! The addition of Gonzalez gives Mattingly two lefty power bats and two righty power bats to mix and match in the lineup — for at least the next two years. And for those who'll miss James Loney's defense, Gonzalez has also won three Gold Gloves.

2. Were you hoping for Josh Hamilton instead? Gonzalez is 30. Hamilton, with his well-documented liabilities, is actually a year older. Vernon Wells, whose contract some are comparing to Gonzalez's, will be 34 at the start of next season.

3. The Red Sox still have to follow through. Boston is collecting a lot of praise for creating financial flexibility, but how many holes did they just create? What's their next move in an weak upcoming free-agent market headed by Hamilton? As SoSG Stubbs puts it, "I can't think of anyone less suited to cope with Boston than Hamilton."

4. Bye bye Blanton? Pending an announcement regarding Billingsley's tender elbow, how does Kershaw/Bills/Capuano/Beckett/Harang sound? I can't find any recent statistical evidence to support this, but I'm a believer in the pitchers-switching-from-AL-to-NL bump. Make it from the AL East to the NL West and it's not unreasonable to expect an improvement in Beckett's performance.

5. Whither Yasiel? Carl Crawford just had Tommy John surgery. Like, two days ago. No, really. So it's unlikely he'll be ready for the beginning of next season. Shane Victorino wants a multi-year deal, so he'll be gone. Does this put Yasiel Puig on schedule for a 2013 debut in Dodger Blue?

I'm not sure why taking on over a quarter-billion of salary still requires the Dodgers to surrender De La Rosa and Allen Webster to get the deal done. ("As one rival executive asked Friday night: Why didn’t the Dodgers just do Gonzalez for Webster and De La Rosa?" writes Ken Rosenthal.) Losing Rubby and Webster sucks, but as they say, you gotta give to get.

Maybe we just added a few albatrosses to the aviary. Here's hoping they're worth the risk.

photo by Juan Ocampo/Dodgers

McCourt Transplants Hair Stylist Funding In Settlement

Frank McCourt has one less debt outstanding, now that he and Jamie have settled $20K in outstanding debts to their hair stylists:

LOS ANGELES -- The former full-time hairdresser of Frank and Jamie McCourt has settled a lawsuit he filed against the former Los Angeles Dodgers owners for back pay he was allegedly owed, according to a celebrity news website.

The hairdresser, Dave Mackey, worked on a retainer for the now divorced couple back in 2008 and 2009 at a rate of $300 per day, TMZ.com reported.

Mackey had alleged in the lawsuit he filed last year the McCourts had failed to pay him for a two-month period and owed him $20,900, TMZ.com reported.

Mackey has now reportedly settled the claim with the McCourts and will receive his $20,900 in back pay. Mackey, this week, also filed court papers to dismiss his civil suit, TMZ.com reported.

$20K for hair styling. In Frank's case, that's like $100 a hair!

McCourt's Dodgers Leadership Not Off The Hook Just Yet

Bill Shaikin of the LAT reported that a federal grand jury is investigating financial improprieties that may have occurred during Frank McCourt's ownership of the Dodgers. The LA Daily Journal broke the story.

A federal grand jury is investigating possible criminal financial misconduct of the Dodgers and related entities during the ownership of Frank and Jamie McCourt, a person familiar with the matter told The Times.

Authorities have requested documents from representatives of each of the McCourts, the person said. The investigation started early last year and appears to be focused on the accounting and propriety of Dodgers spending, the person said.

The Los Angeles Daily Journal first reported the investigation.

The McCourt divorce proceedings and the Dodgers' subsequent bankruptcy filing led to revelations about how team money had been diverted for the personal use of the McCourts. In a Bankruptcy Court filing, Major League Baseball alleged McCourt had "looted" $189 million from the Dodgers for personal use, a claim attorneys for McCourt called inflammatory and unsupportable.

We Sons have talked many an evening over how Frank McCourt never got his karmic retribution, a topic of which we're fond of speaking. (Trust me.) After all of his shenanigans, he walked away with a princely sum indeed.

So now that the feds talk in maths, with the buzzing (like a fridge) heating up: will Frankie continue to be a detuned radio?

Oh, and Steve Dilbeck reports that the firm that represented Frank McCourt in bankruptcy court...is going bankrupt. This guy's like a black widow. Or maybe an asphalt widow.

Game 29 Thread: May 7 vs. Giants, 7p

Ted Lilly (3-0, 1.38) vs. Barry Zito (1-0, 1.76).

Opening day is here! That is, the home opening day of the Guggenheim Era. Now everyone can stop pretending to like Frank McCourt, and it's time for the Dodgers to start kicking ass for Magic & Co. Appropriately, the Dodgers (18-10) will be taking on the second-place Giants (14-14) for the first time this year. And, in the first of what is sure to be a series of endlessly classy moves, Magic Johnson will escort Rachel Robinson onto the Dodger Stadium field for pre-game ceremonies, and Dodger great Don Newcombe will throw out the first pitch. Beating the Giants to start this new chapter in Dodger history would be only fitting.

Hold That Cork

From "Dodgers' sale deal doesn't close on schedule" by Bill Shaikin at the LA Times:

Frank McCourt bid farewell to his manager Saturday. The new owners of the Dodgers met with the players Sunday, in advance of an anticipated news conference Tuesday.

All of the activity revolved around the expected closing of the Dodgers' sale Monday. However, the deal did not close on schedule, leaving McCourt with ownership of the team for what appeared to be one final night.

The closing now is expected to occur Tuesday morning, according to three people familiar with the sale process. The sale does not appear to be in jeopardy, the people said.

The failure to close the sale came at the end of a day of meetings among attorneys for McCourt, MLB and Guggenheim Baseball, the incoming owners. The delay involved the approval of documents that had not been cleared by the court-appointed mediator supervising the sale, the people said.

McCourt did meet a Monday deadline to pay a $131-million divorce settlement to his ex-wife, Jamie, according to a person familiar with the matter but not authorized to comment, eliminating the possibility that she could intervene in the sale process.

Hey, what's one more day after eight years of waiting? I mean, it's just one more day...right?

UPDATE: It is done. From "Dodgers sale closes; McCourt era ends" by Shaikin:

Frank McCourt surrendered ownership of the Dodgerson Tuesday, closing a turbulent chapter in the history of one of baseball’s most historic franchises.

The new owners wired the final payment on the record $2.15-billion purchase price on Tuesday, closing the transaction that ended the McCourt era and ushering in Guggenheim Baseball as the Dodgers’ third owner since the O’Malley family sold the team in 1998, individuals close to the negotiations confirmed.

The new ownership group, fronted by Magic Johnson and incoming Dodgers President Stan Kasten, is expected to hold its first news conference on Wednesday. Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter, who arranged the financing as chief executive of Chicago-based Guggenheim Financial, is expected to make a rare public appearance at the news conference.

Stay on Target...

From "Dodgers sale on track to close Monday" by Bill Shaikin at the LA Times:

When the Dodgers take the field Monday night, they should be under new ownership.

The sale of the Dodgers is expected to close as scheduled on Monday, according to three people familiar with the process.

Friday marked the deadline for parties to object to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court order approving the sale from Frank McCourt to Guggenheim Baseball, a group led by Mark Walter, Stan Kasten and Magic Johnson. No objections were filed.

Who's going to join us in a toast Monday night?

EK Speaks from Beyond the Grave

SoSG EK has always been a levelheaded guy, so when he emailed me his reaction to the sale of the Dodgers, I knew I had to share his more sober response with our readers:

So McCourt is out, mostly. Though it makes no sense to me, TV deal notwithstanding...seems like the buyers should have all the leverage, yet it's the seller who makes out like a bandit. McCourt just keeps beating the system, that bastard. You figure that many high-powered people wouldn't buy at that price without doing their diligence, whereas my diligence is based on reading 2 or 3 articles on the sale and a perfunctory analysis of the economics. So maybe there's an extra ~$1B of value hidden somewhere in there I'm not seeing, or key deal terms I'm unaware of. Still, it is very surprising. With no leverage, a history of horrible behavior and extreme irresponsibility, and no other bids in the ballpark (no pun intended), he manages to sell for way above market, and emotion-induced blindness results in cheers across the fan base...seems McCourt is using the Manny blueprint.

When you think about it, it's the hatred of McCourt that causes fans to overlook the economics and love the transaction. So McCourt's despicable behavior itself is what is causing the transaction from which he profited immensely to be celebrated by the very people he screwed over. Magic may be in, but McCourt is the real magician.

Everything's Turning Up Frank

Frank McCourt and his girlfriend at Petco Park today:

From @jillpainter:

Appears as though Frank #McCourt has a new gal pal. They're holding hands. He wants people to notice. He's sitting in front row.

UPDATE: From the end of the game:

Rich and Richer

Magic Johnson and Frank McCourt at today's Padres home opener.

photo by Jon SooHoo/Dodgers