LaRoche Only Has One Veteran With Which to Compete

Scott Rolen was traded to the Blue Jays today for Troy Glaus. There, it's done, we can stop Rolen these rumors around. I was getting Glaussy-eyed just thinking about them.

It's your job to win, Andy!

Caption Contest: You Decide

What is Josh Rawitch telling these minor leaguers?

What is Josh Rawitch telling these minor leaguers?
	"never untuck your shirt untill you are inside the clubhouse"
	"If you grow a mustache Jeff Kent will like you more."
	"Bob Harvey is a disgrace to the dodger brass"
	"Just hold your hands like this and say 'Me? I didn't do nuthin'."
	"Welcome to the benchwarmers meeting."
	"Jeff Kent's range is about this big"
	"So I says to him, 'HEY LAMA... how 'bout a little somethin', you know, for the trouble...' "
	"If you're happy and you know it clap your hands . . ."
	"No kidding. Takashi Saito...THIS BIG. I've seen it myself."
	"...Sure enough, he missed my head by this much. And then Brownie took a swing at me, and I sucker-punched his ass into the watercooler."
Free polls from Pollhost.com

photo by Jon SooHoo/Dodgers

R.I.P., Johnny Podres

Brooklyn hero Podres dies at 75 (AP/SI.com)

Caption Contest

What is Josh Rawitch telling these minor leaguers?

photo by Jon SooHoo/Dodgers

SoSG Shouts Out to China Fanbase

...though the funny thing is, it can't hear us. The things you learn when you travel...

SoSG's own Steve Sax has spent the last week in China, both in Hong Kong and Shanghai, walking around the streets with a sandwich board in an attempt to drum up more readers for Sons of Steve Garvey. And as it turns out, one is blocked from SoSG (and assumedly all blogger blogs) in Shanghai, though Hong Kong readers can access our site without restriction.

This may affect how many Hong-Chih Kuo posts we write in 2008. Xeifrank, be forwarned. It's not like we're not trying to give the people what they want.

Winter Workout Wonderland

Wes Parker, James Loney, Don Mattingly

Andy LaRoche, Matt Kemp

Stan Conte, Andruw Jones

photos by Jon SooHoo/Dodgers

A Belated Look at Other Dodger Employees in the Rose Parade

As much as we celebrate them, the Dodgers aren't all Vinny and Jaime and Tommy and Loney and Penny and Garvey. Thirteen longtime Dodger employees were selected to walk alongside the Dodger float in this year's Rose Parade:

name	position	years of service
Ray Alvarado	usher captain	11
Cheryl Collins	guest relations	7
Diana Darr	usher captain	16
Earl Davidson	usher captain	15
Eddie Gonzalez	assistant manager	44!
Raul Gutierrez	security and assistant manager	9
Sara Guzman	usher captain	13
Anthony Lopez	usher captain	29
Richard Montano	security lead	26
Raul Rodriguez	assistant manager	19
Jim Terminal	usher captain	19
Al Garcia	security	2
John Northcott	security	2

Two lucky employees won the chance to ride on the float: Danny Telford, an electrician with 10 years of service, and Kevin Waters, a stadium utility worker with 25 years of service.

Congrats to all employees! So...did you get paid?

UPDATE:

Check out Xeifrank's parade photos. Ernest at Blue Heaven has also scoured the internet for parade pictures.

photo by Jon SooHoo/Dodgers

"But in my heart, I'm a DODGERS FAN"

Chick Fight Could Cost Dodgers

From "Dodger fan seeks $1 million over parking lot punch" (reg.) at the LA Times:

Weeks before spring training, the Los Angeles Dodgers got an early workout this morning as jurors heard a woman claim she lost partial vision after an abusive, foul-mouthed fan hit her after a Sunday afternoon game against archrival San Francisco.

The central issue in the Los Angeles County Superior Court lawsuit is whether the Dodgers provided enough security at the ballpark in Chavez Ravine. Marta Parra Helenius, a 31-year-old nurse, claims the team didn't follow its own rules on how to handle unruly fans, leading to the assault and making her legally blind in one eye.

Helenius was punched in the parking lot after the San Francisco Giants pulled out a dramatic, ninth-inning victory on July 17, 2005, before 47,000 spectators. Denise Ordaz was charged with hitting Helenius, pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 270 days in jail last year.

Fans have been killed at Dodger Stadium and this piece of foxy boxing causes a lawsuit? We eagerly await the final decision.

UPDATE:

Rob at 6-4-2 brings some perspective:

At first I thought this was just another silly lawsuit, but it looks like the woman involved has suffered serious physical injury. Since the assault seems to have taken place on the Dodger Stadium grounds, there's at least a whiff of culpability, though honestly it's not clear what Dodgers security could have done differently.

My reaction is to avoid going to Giants games altogether. It seems to draw the worst kind of morons into the stadium.

UPDATE:

Dodgers cleared in stadium assault (LA Times (reg.)) (hat tip: 6-4-2)

James Loney Is Everywhere

James Loney is everywhere! In addition to riding on the Dodgers' Rose Parade Float, he's been a man about town. From Inside the Dodgers:

James Loney visited Mattel Children's Hospital and spent some time with the young patients there. He was in town for the Rose Parade and asked if he could go back to the hospital again, having visited it earlier this year, so it's great to see our young players getting involved in the community on their own.

He asked if he could go back to the hospital. He asked!

From the LA Times (reg.):

Dodgers first baseman James Loney attended practice and played a game of H-O-R-S-E with Sam Cassell.

Predictably, the basketball player trumped the baseball player.

"If he is out here shooting jumpers with you, then you have to try and hit a curveball with him," quipped Neil Olshey, the Clippers' director of player personnel.

James also attended Thursday's Lakers game. From Roman's Empire:

The most ridiculous moment of the night came when James Loney did an in game interview with Joel Myers and Stu Lantz. Either Loney is really, really soft spoken, or he was high as a kite. He must have said a total of 15 words in like 10 questions. The highlight was of course when he was asked to describe th adjustment between Houston (his hometown) and LA.

"Out here people try to get their hustle on," he said.

We hope James is more soft-spoken and less busy getting his hustle on. Glad to see he's got the Hollywood thing down by being seen all over town. Let's just hope he doesn't start spending time with Dr. Phil.

photo by Juan Ocampo/Dodgers

SoSG Presents: Better Know a Blogger

In the dead of winter, there's not much baseball to talk about. So we turn our gaze upon ourselves. Longtime readers of SoSG—hi Mom!—may recognize the individual styles of my esteemed colleagues, but for those who don't, here's a SoSG primer:

STEVE SAX: Saxy is prolific and thoughtful, and a bit more fond of puns and puzzles than most. He's unafraid to be critical, but he's also probably the most die-hard Dodger fan of the Sons. After all, who else would have the connections to admit James Loney into the Free James Loney Society?

OREL: Me! I bring the random to our "random rantings and ravings." For Better or For Worse, Sammy Davis Jr., boot-shaped beer stein...nothing is too random. Shirt! I'm also proud to have helped bring Dodger fans pictures of rookie hazing (as well as of barely-SFW truly fine babes).

ERIC KARROS: EK doesn't post lightly. While Saxy and I are plastering the refrigerator with crayon drawings, EK is finishing the lava-spewing volcano model that will win first place at the science fair. Witness the inaugural Abes vs Babes campaign, EK's latest custom video and the sexiest graph you'll see.

DELINO DESHIELDS: The Delino blogs fearlessly where other Sons don't tread. Where else can you find so much Hebraic goodness commingled with classy entertainment the likes of Gymkata, Norman Fell and Zardoz? The Delino is also a Simpsons fan, which increases his virility.

LASORDA: SoSG's resident sabermetrician, Lasorda can be counted on for some good ol' number crunching. Lasorda is a busy fellow, but when he checks in you can also expect something insightful and amusing.

PEDRO GUERRERO: Pete is a man of few words—words such as DOMINICANO!, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! and Boring—but those words get your attention (comment #23). Also a rabid and knowledgeable Lakers fan, Pete has a love/hate relationship with Kobe Bryant (currently in loving mode, I'm guessing).

ALEX CORA: The most elusive Son! A post from AC is quite an event, but during the season he's quite active in the comments sections, especially in Game Threads. Some of our best humor can be found in AC's comments.

The Sons of Steve Garvey: a Mötley Crüe united by love for the Blue. Here's to a fun 2008!

The Days of Being Outraged by Kevin Brown's Private Jet Are Over

From "Baseball contracts check out the bonus room" (reg.) by Kevin Baxter at the LA Times:

Japanese players, meanwhile, have never been shy in requesting perks -- so much so that the size and breadth of those bonus packages have become a status symbol back home.

When pitcher Masahide Kobayashi negotiated his contract with the Cleveland Indians in early December, in addition to a $3-million annual base salary, the big league rookie got the club to agree to pay for eight round-trip business-class plane tickets between Japan and Cleveland, plus a translator, a personal trainer, a car and a moving allowance of up to $25,000.

He also got the team to promise not to demote him to the minors without his written consent.

So when Hiroki Kuroda signed with the Dodgers two weeks later, he made sure to one-up his countryman, asking for eight first-class tickets, an interpreter for his family as well as English lessons for himself, a personal trainer who doubles as a masseuse and a moving allowance of $30,000.

And the Dodgers, who will also pay Kuroda's visa fees, agreed that he, too, cannot be sent to the minors without written consent.

I guess we just got married to Kuroda, because we're stuck with him for better or for worse.

Colletti and Torre Leave Lineup Decisions to Some Guy Named Tito

Witness Ken Gurnick's latest Dodgers mailbag:

Why do you predict Juan Pierre in the starting lineup over Andre Ethier when Ethier is the stronger fielder and by far the stronger hitter? What will Pierre bring to the table that Ethier won't? --Dave C., Santa Barbara, Calif.

I'll let Tito from Gardena, Calif., begin the answer: "I'm tired of all the baseball experts criticizing the season Juan Pierre had. All he did was lead the team in at-bats, runs scored, hits, triples, and -- more importantly -- played in all 162 games! There have been countless Dodgers players hurt for so many games that it's great to see a player come to the ballpark for every game and actually play! What a concept. All Pierre did was what we signed him for: play every day, get close to 200 hits, steal 60-plus bases, and score runs."

Pierre also is a logical leadoff candidate if Rafael Furcal gets hurt and, looking ahead, if Furcal leaves as a free agent after 2008.

Pierre, of course, has his obvious drawbacks, particularly throwing, although that is less of a handicap playing left field than it is in center. He still might get traded. He might sit and watch Ethier play. But general manager Ned Colletti gave Pierre a five-year deal because he liked his game and Pierre's stats, as Tito pointed out, were pretty much on par with his career average.

So, if there isn't a trade, I'm guessing at this point -- before they even show up at Spring Training -- that the veteran with the long-term commitment and the World Series ring is the incumbent until beaten out of the job. And, it's just a guess.

Since Ken Gurnick is using his Dodgers mailbag to play matchmaker amongst fans (rather than answer the question himself, btw), let us here at SoSG further the deal. After all, Dave C. and Tito clearly have a lot to discuss.

First, according to google maps, it's less than a two-hour drive from Santa Barbara to Gardena. Second, I don't know if this could possibly be Tito of Gardena fame? Or maybe he's the proprietor of this taco stand (not to be confused with the famous Culver City Tito's Tacos)? In any event, there's only about 60,000 residents of Gardena, so hopefully you can locate Tito and make a Dodgers connection, continuing the Pierre debate in person. Who knows, perhaps you have other common interests to discuss, like favorite opening chess moves, the prospect for political stability in an increasing multipolar world, or new quilting techniques?

And for the rest of us, let's hope Mr. Gurnick isn't right.

The Dodgers Should Totally Do This

From "D-backs reach out to fans with hardship" by Steve Gilbert at MLB.com:

PHOENIX -- Derrick Hall was amazed as he listened to the story.

A season-ticket holder explained to the D-backs' team president that her financial situation had changed dramatically and she could no longer afford her tickets. One of her fellow season-ticket holders purchased last year's tickets for her and made sure she got to the games.

"It really moved me what our season-ticket holders would do for each other," Hall said.

And so he began to think about what the organization could do for its season-ticket holders that were struggling.

The result is the first-of-its-kind season-ticket scholarship plan for fans experiencing financial hardships. The D-backs plan to award tickets, free of charge, for all 2008 home games to at least 12 families.

"They're going to be good seats, too," Hall said. "It's important that the D-backs experience be all-inclusive regardless of economic status. If we can create an outlet for some of these fans to escape some hard times and daily troubles as they rearrange and improve their lives, we will enjoy perhaps our greatest victory. It's something we are committed to."

..."We're going to give priority to current season-ticket holders that have seen their economic situations change," Hall said. "After that, it will be fans who can demonstrate financial need along with their love of baseball and the Diamondbacks."

Depending on a family's circumstance, the team may also contribute concessions, parking or transportation relief in addition to the tickets.

Those that are chosen will receive the same ticket book and will be afforded identical benefits of those given to paid season-ticket holders.

"We feel really good about this program," Hall said. "I'd love to have it grow even larger in the future."

That's former Dodgers senior vice president of communications Derrick Hall, by the way.

40YO M C-A M Seeks MLB Team with No Arrogant Youth

C-A means "Cuban-American"

Generally considered "good guy," though lack of attention can lead to visible discontent.

Location: SCOTTSDALE, AZ
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

If you'd rather not peruse craig's list for the rest of the details, you can read all about it in Jerry Crasnick's wistful and longing ESPN.com post:

Gonzalez also hit .294 in April, May and June [2007]. But as the season progressed and he and other Dodger veterans began losing time to prospects, generational tensions bubbled to the surface. The veterans thought the young players were coddled, and they chafed over fundamental lapses. Outfielder Matt Kemp, in particular, displayed a little too much big league attitude for the veterans' tastes. [There we go, bagging on "disgruntled" Matt Kemp again; do we really need to reference the horrors of the trash-can incident again?]

When Jeff Kent chastised the youngsters in September for their inability to "get it," James Loney and Kemp fired back in the papers. The Dodgers went 3-11 down the stretch to fade from contention, prompting owner Frank McCourt and general manager Ned Colletti to fire manager Grady Little and replace him with Joe Torre.

In hindsight, there was plenty of blame to go around. Little, by most accounts, was woefully out of touch and incapable of healing the rifts.

"The kids came up with some arrogance," said a person with knowledge of the Dodgers' situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "They've been told how great they are for so long, they think they're accomplished when they're not. But when things start to falter, you look for the veteran guys to steady it. When [Gonzalez's] playing time decreased, he started to become a little less of a team guy."

In October, Gonzalez went on Dan Patrick's radio show and said the Dodgers sacrificed winning for the sake of development in 2007. "We had no game plan," he said.

Although Gonzalez prides himself on his mentoring skills, an official with one of his former clubs said he can be critical of young players who spend too much time in the trainer's room or fail to play the game with the requisite fervor.

"I like Luis," said another person with ties to the Dodgers. "He's a nice guy. But under that smile, he's got a little pit bull in him."

"I'm an old-school player," Gonzalez said. "I'm a ballpark rat. I get to the park early and I stay late, and I haven't changed that approach. Nothing was ever handed to me as a young kid all the way up. I had to earn everything I've got."

Can he still back it up between the lines? Gonzalez has a notoriously weak throwing arm, doesn't run well and is adequate at best in the outfield. He also tailed off drastically last season, posting a .855 combined on-base and slugging percentage before the All-Star break and a .684 OPS after it.

I really don't see how "earn everything I've got" meshes with public discontent when one's OPS falls almost 200 points down the stretch. Nor do I see how someone who "prides himself on his mentoring skils" can show conflict when those mentees outperform the veteran. But hey, that's an issue for another team in 2008--not for the Dodgers. Right, Ned?

SoSG's Google Ads Present "Mike Piazza on Beliefnet"

Besides providing me with enough bank to buy a Wii Gun, Google Ads is also helping the readers of SoSG click their way over to a special story on former Dodger Mike Piazza's spiritual side. Since the banner has now been replaced by an ad for car insurance, I am reposting the link for "All-Star Christian Baseball slugger Mike Piazza on praying for home runs, forgiving opponents, and passing judgment on Barry Bonds."

Piazza looks at peace. And if I married a Playmate, I would be too.

Why Google ads don't bring our loyal readers to her website is a travesty.

Dodger Rose Parade Float Picture (SoSG Exclusive)

Apologies in advance for uploading this a day late. I had great seating at the Rose Parade yesterday and got an up-close photo of the Dodgers' 50th Anniversary Float. Enjoy!

A Look Back at 2007

Happy New Year (a day late) from SoSG. For those of you who are just now emerging from the haze of your 2006 New Year's Eve celebrations and missed the past 366 days, no worries - I've got you covered in the world of sports (though you may have some explaining to do to your employer). Here's my 3-minute take on all the past year's probable, improbable, exhilarating, and depressing sporting moments that didn't include the words 'Vick', 'Bonds', or 'Donaghy'. Enjoy!

Dodger Hitter Tests Positive for HGH

At the Rose Parade this morning, the Dodgers acknowledged that one of its hitters may have overdone the usual protocol for taking human growth hormone. Rest easy, Dodger Fan, the player still has a smaller strike zone than Vladimir Guerrero.

Dodger Pitcher Gives Royal Wave

Brad Penny and Takashi Saito wave from the Dodgers' float during the Rose Parade.

photo by Jon SooHoo/Dodgers