OFFICIAL 2009 DODGERS OFFSEASON THREAD: (95-57) NL West Champs --- NLCS Chumps

[Los Angeles]

Yeah everything Fox: Lakers, Dodgers, NFL on FOX

I'm sure they'll work something out.

If only we were on the MrJ cable contract

 

[mr jordan04]

Originally Posted by bright nikes

If only we were on the MrJ cable contract

wheres mr charter himself, 562? he hooks up your cable for some soy milk and tofu
actually my box went down since they switched to different networks, so no more free EVERYTHING anymore

. i think its a matter of time before somebody hacks it

but i still charter for free

, but its just basic channels, but it getsthe job done

 

[ooiron manoo]

What the hell does Time Warner offer

No Fox
No NFL Network

.

DirecTV hookup FTW

Pass on Marquis, good thing the Nats picked him up. Back to obscurity.

 

[Los Angeles]

Still waitin on the 562 hookup

Had Verizon a couple months ago, had NBAtv, NFLN and all that then switched to TWC which offers NADA (well MLBN).

 

[frenchblue23]

Got the Time Warner at the crib because it's free.

My LG tv picks up some cable HD channels with the built-in tuner which is great

But if they are going to remove fox, I'm am heading to Directv and pay for it

 

[mr jordan04]

we just got a coupon at work that gives us directv for like $20 a month for "working here"

 

[frenchblue23]

Originally Posted by Mr Jordan04

we just got a coupon at work that gives us directv for like $20 a month for "working here"

Probably the basic.

If I'm going to pay, I'm going to get at least a premium package with all the HD channels.

 

[mr jordan04]

Originally Posted by FrenchBlue23

Originally Posted by Mr Jordan04

we just got a coupon at work that gives us directv for like $20 a month for "working here"

Probably the basic.

If I'm going to pay, I'm going to get at least a premium package with all the HD channels.

yea im sure it is, but whats included on the basic? as long as i have espn and fox sports im good

 

[p mac one]

More ESPNLosAngeles.com: Index | Previous chats | SportsNation

[h6]Clayton Kershaw[/h6]
[h6] (1:00 PM)[/h6]



Hey, how's everybody doing?

[h6]Adriel ((L.A))[/h6]


Clayton have you learned any new pitches or are you staying with your old ones?
[h6]Clayton Kershaw[/h6]
[h6] (1:01 PM)[/h6]



My main focus this offseason has been working on my changeup. I've always had that pitch, but I've never been confident throwing it. That's what I'm focusing on.

[h6]Brandon (Indiana)[/h6]


How much do you follow the Dodgers during the offseason? Are you the type of player who goes on the internet and reads the paper every day to hear the latest buzz on your team, or do you like to take some time off from baseball without hearing all the rumors and such. Thanks!
[h6]Clayton Kershaw[/h6]
[h6] (1:02 PM)[/h6]



I keep tabs on it from time to time. I wouldn't say I look at it every day, but I check once a week. I do try to take some time off from it during the offseason, though, just to relax.

[h6]Gabriel (Rosemead, CA)[/h6]


What is the one area you think this team could improve?
[h6]Clayton Kershaw[/h6]
[h6] (1:03 PM)[/h6]



We have a great team. I can't speak for the whole team, but I think we need to cut down on our total walks. I personally walked a lot of guys. Rick Honeycutt, our pitching coach, has definitely stressed that.

[h6]lorenzo (indio,ca)[/h6]


who is the funny guy in the dugout?
[h6]Clayton Kershaw[/h6]
[h6] (1:04 PM)[/h6]



In the clubhouse, you kind of see James Loney being the funniest guy...just not on purpose. He's kind of out there and does his own thing. If you watch his antics for 20 minutes, you're completely entertained.

[h6]Raul (Long Beach, CA)[/h6]


What did you learn from 2008, to post a 2.79 ERA in 2009?
[h6]Clayton Kershaw[/h6]
[h6] (1:05 PM)[/h6]



The main thing is just experience. Everyone says the first year of being the big leagues, you learn the most, and it takes time to adjust to the travel, the hitters, the video and information you have -- just the experience of doing it for one year helped a lot.

[h6]David (Florida)[/h6]


Who is the hardest batter you have ever had to pitch against?
[h6]Clayton Kershaw[/h6]
[h6] (1:05 PM)[/h6]



Albert Pujols. He's the best hitter in the game, and I've gotten to face him a few times. There's not one place to pitch him. You get him one way, and the next time, he'll hit a home run off of you.

[h6]Christian (Dallas, TX)[/h6]


Because of climate, did you have to make any changes to your pitching when you moved from right here in Dallas to Los Angeles?
[h6]Clayton Kershaw[/h6]
[h6] (1:07 PM)[/h6]



Not really. Los Angeles is the perfect pitching weather because you don't have to worry about the elements. You can sweat too much in the heat and humidity of Texas, which affects it a bit, but that's not a problem in L.A.

[h6]Bryan (Provo, UT)[/h6]


What are you most likely to be doing on an off-day?
[h6]Clayton Kershaw[/h6]
[h6] (1:08 PM)[/h6]



My off-days are pretty different every day. Right now I'm on the golf course, actually. I play football with some of my buddies and try to be active during the day.

[h6]Jerrad (San Diego)[/h6]


Who would win in a footrace you or Billingsley
[h6]Clayton Kershaw[/h6]
[h6] (1:08 PM)[/h6]



Oh, gosh. That's a good question. It's actually a joke on our team. We call Chad "11-4", because that's what he said his 100-meter time was in high school. I'd probably give him the edge.

[h6]Andrew (Somewhere in LA)[/h6]


Hey Clayton. Do you have a main goal for 2010?
[h6]Clayton Kershaw[/h6]
[h6] (1:10 PM)[/h6]



I don't set any personal goals. I think that can only limit you. Team-wise, everyone's goal is to win. It's your only goal every time you pitch. I don't care how that happens as long as your team wins. We've lost in the playoffs twice, and nobody is satisfied with that. Our ultimate goal is to win.

[h6]Bryan (Provo, UT)[/h6]


What is the oddest thing anyone has asked you to sign?
[h6]Clayton Kershaw[/h6]
[h6] (1:10 PM)[/h6]



Tennis shoes. I went to a middle school in L.A. over Christmas, and one kid decided that, because he didn't have anything to sign, we should sign his shoe, and he started a trend.

[h6]Yangel (Puerto Rico)[/h6]


Is it a great feeling to be playing with Manny?
[h6]Clayton Kershaw[/h6]
[h6] (1:11 PM)[/h6]



It's great. I really respect Manny as a player. Just the way he carries himself in a clubhouse, he makes the game fun, joking around. Everyone can relate to him--we're playing baseball, it's a fun sport, and he brings that atmosphere with him.

[h6]Taro (Tokyo, Japan)[/h6]


What do you think is your greatest strength? And your greatest weakness?
[h6]Clayton Kershaw[/h6]
[h6] (1:12 PM)[/h6]



I'm a very competitive person. I hate to lose, and I guess that could be a strength. As far as a weakness, I guess that could be one too. When things start going badly and things start going my way, I try to keep going hard as opposed to taking things easy. That can lead to big innings for the other team.

[h6]Rick Hernandez (Pasadena, CA)[/h6]


Pluto. Planet or Kuiper belt object?
[h6]Clayton Kershaw[/h6]
[h6] (1:13 PM)[/h6]



I don't know if you know this or not, but my great-uncle discovered Pluto, so I'll stick with his definition of it as a planet.

[h6]Andy Hernandez (Los Angeles, Ca)[/h6]


Were you upset with all of the no decisions you had last year?
[h6]Clayton Kershaw[/h6]
[h6] (1:14 PM)[/h6]



The one thing I always tell myself is that it's just part of baseball, part of being a starter. The one way to control that better is to get deeper in the game. I'll focus on that next year.

[h6]Clayton Kershaw[/h6]
[h6] (1:14 PM)[/h6]



Thanks for coming in and chatting today!

 

[p mac one]

at @dodgersgm on Twitter.

Please be patient with me. Plenty of quality free agent pitchers still available: Hendrickson, Schmidt, Tomko, Baez & Beimel. #Dodgers

I'm aware of the skills that Matt Kemp has on the basketball court, but I'd rather build my team around Mark Hendrickson. #Dodgers #NBA

Was told this signing was tax deductible. RT @RobertDMorseb #Dodgers sign Jamey Carroll to 2-yr deal for $3.85mil. What a waste. Bravo, Ned.

I'm not saying @FrankMcCourt doesn't have $$$ for me to spend on pitching, but tonight's #Dodgers holiday party is at Shakey's Pizza. #Mojos

 

[Los Angeles]

Shakey's mojo potatoes are something serious

How Ned woke up one morning and decided Jamey Carroll deserves a 2yr deal

 

[cincoseisdos]

Q & A
[h1]Dodgers President Dennis Mannion addresses state of the club[/h1][h2]In a discussion of several topics, he says that the team's baseball and business decisions have not been impacted by the divorce proceedings betweenFrank and Jamie McCourt.[/h2]

Randy Wolf never has been confused with Johan Santana. However, the Dodgers' recent decision not to offer salary arbitration to Wolf raised concerns amongfans.

The Dodgers led the major leagues in attendance last season, advancing to the National League Championship Series for the second consecutive year. Wolf wastheir most dependable pitcher, and yet the Dodgers decided they could not afford to risk him accepting a one-year contract at an uncertain price.

As Wolf, John Lackey, Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay have joined new teams, the pitching-depleted Dodgers have imported no player more significant than utilityinfielder Jamey Carroll.

The day-to-day control of the team now rests with President Dennis Mannion, whom Frank and Jamie McCourt hired as chief operating officer two years ago. In acareer that started in 1982, Mannion has worked in various business capacities for the Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets and BaltimoreRavens.

No one outranks Mannion at Dodger Stadium, where owner Frank McCourt has fired his estranged wife as chief executive officer and entrusted daily operations toMannion. Frank McCourt now works out of an office in Beverly Hills, focusing on development opportunities for Dodger Stadium and the parking lots that surroundit.

The Dodgers just about broke even last season, according to a high-ranking baseball source who did not want to be identified because clubs are not required toreveal their financial results. For now, according to the source, Commissioner Bud Selig considers the Dodgers no different from many other clubs that havelimited spending during these uncertain economic times.

In an interview with The Times, Mannion declined to say how many millions of dollars the team must pay in debt service every year. He discussed a variety ofother topics, including the Wolf decision and a litany of others including the series of events that may indicate the team is under financial constraints.

An edited interview with Mannion:

How would you say the divorce proceedings between Frank and Jamie McCourt have impacted the Dodgers' spending this winter? Have you been asked --by Frank McCourt, by Major League Baseball or by anyone else -- not to take on major long-term contracts this winter?

Our baseball and business decisions have not been impacted by the proceedings. Neither (General Manager) Ned (Colletti) nor I have been asked by anyone tolimit long-term liabilities.

So how would you explain to skeptical fans why the Dodgers are not in on any of the best free agents?

Ned has demonstrated a fantastic ability to read the talent market. We made back-to-back NLCS appearances for the first time in three decades as a result ofNed's ability to make the right acquisitions at the right time. We want the same thing our fans want, a team that can compete for a world championship yearin and year out, and we've been in that position for the last two seasons. We expect that to continue.

As far as development opportunities go, what's on the table?

I think the capital markets have put us in the position of being on hold. In the meantime, I think there's a colossal opportunity in doing basicreconfiguration of the reserve-level concession stands and the loge-level concession stands. I think there's an enormous opportunity, and we're goingto do this this year, of adding a great number of portable (concession) locations. With mobility, you can adapt yourself to crowd size and crowd traffic.We're continuing to build our production assets up so that we will be ready to put a new scoreboard and sound system. My hope is that we'll see that in2011. We're developing a number of events that we'll be announcing for fans to participate in that are on non-game days.

Will these be baseball-related events?

Yes. They run the gamut from mini-fantasy camps to kids' clinics.

Will they be affordable, unlike the $500-per-person batting practice evenings?

Yes. The "Under the Lights," as unaffordable as it was, sold out six times. To your point, we are developing new experiences that are affordable tothe common fan.

And what on-field developments can you share?

I do believe there is positive news on its way, coming in due time, and that's Ned's call. Obviously, you could dial in on the coaching staff. As faras it goes relative to player acquisition, that is a very fluid process. It was last year, and it will be this year too. So I have a lot of confidence, andFrank has a lot of confidence, in Ned's ability to work the system and come up with the right opportunities for us.

Does that mean Joe Torre is in line for a one-year contract extension, through 2011, after which he would join the front office and Don Mattingly wouldreplace him as manager?

Right. That's what he's working on.

We hear from you and Ned that it is "business as usual." Yet, that is becoming increasingly difficult for fans to believe, given the actionsof a major-market team that just about broke even last season. In the last two years, in addition to the Wolf decision, the Dodgers have:

* Deferred more than $45 million in player salaries, most of that with Manny Ramirez

* Traded top prospects in lieu of picking up contracts

* Declined to bid on virtually every top free agent

* Declined to bid on top international prospects

* Spent fewer dollars than any other club in the last two drafts

* Delayed playoff ticket refunds this year

* Fired more than a dozen employees

* Didn't re-invest $19 million from the Jason Schmidt insurance payment and the Manny Ramirez suspension into baseball operations

* Deferred renovations to the loge and reserve levels, beyond center field and in the clubhouses

No one action raises a red flag, but doesn't the totality of events suggest the Dodgers are experiencing financial trouble?

I think that you have to look at the degree of all those things and how big of an issue they really are. For example, with Wolf, this is a very complexeconomy. Folks were building five-year strategic plans a long time ago. They're now into five-month strategic plans. So to take a guy and say, we'regoing to offer him arbitration, and put yourself in a position where you may have been able to acquire a similar pitcher for less money later on, isn'tprudent use of a civic asset. It doesn't make sense to do that, if you're a good steward for your franchise.

So I think it's imperative that, when you look at all those types of things added up, you can bunch a group of them as capital markets-based projects. Youcan bunch a group as staffing. You can bunch yet another group in a very, very chaotic salary period for all four major sports. I think you have to look at thetotality. You have to look at that in buckets, and then you have to look at the totality of what this economic disruption has done to the entire country.

It's a factor for every team. Gold Glovers who lead off? They go. Career leaders in home runs for a franchise? They go. Star pitchers for a franchise? Theygo, and then they go get somebody. Or, a first baseman they let go and he goes and wins the World Series for the Yankees? You have to do what you have to do ifyou're a well-run operation. Teams that are well-oiled, well-run operations make very hard decisions, and sometimes it requires you to have restraint inhow and when and where you spend your dollars.

It's critical. Or you're going to find yourself way on the outs, deeper in debt and in a lot of trouble. You make your decisions based on the player.Sometimes you just don't want the player back. Sometimes it's based on descending salaries on certain types of players. Why would you put yourself in aposition where, if the guy can win -- let's use a number -- $8 million in arbitration and his agent right now is asking $9 million, and you have a historywhere it comes down to $4 million, what are you thinking?

And is it worth a premium draft pick? That's also showing bizarre behavior, in my opinion, in terms of teams bidding against themselves for draft picks.That's been going on for a while on the amateur side of the business. But it's happening now on the international side, with guys you don't knowanything about.

It's strange to me to see teams operate in a way where they bid against themselves for unknown talent, and at the same time, you have this plethora of guysin the system that maybe are not developing appropriately, i.e. a (Ronald) Belisario. That's interesting stuff to me. I think it's really fascinating.It's probably the upside of having very tough economic times.

Since Wolf probably would have signed a long-term contract somewhere else even if the Dodgers had offered him arbitration, how worried were you aboutthe millions it might cost to sign the draft picks you would have gotten in return?

You're dealing with a very fluid situation. Those millions that are potentially in play, they can manifest themselves where the opportunity is. If theopportunity is in buying more portable concession stands, then that's what you do. If the opportunity is buying some international talent that you have avery good handle on, that's what you do. In this particular world, you're making those assessments on a daily basis.

We have heard many times from teams that say they have allocated money from one part of baseball operations budget to another, say, from major leaguefree agents to scouting or player development. Are you saying your choice could be between spending on amateur talent and spending on portable concessionstands?

I'm just saying you have to have that kind of a fluid mind. That's an absurd example, to tell you the truth. I just used it to show you should be ableto cross over budgets when necessary. Let's face it, our main imperative is to win games and win a championship. So you can tell who's going to winthat battle when it's fought.

Is there anything other than action in your mind that is going to be able to convince fans that this organization is not limited by severe costcontrols, given all the things we've talked about?

I think actions are the only way to speak to it.

Are you convinced you'll be able to show enough action soon?

I would hope so.

[email protected]
Copyright [emoji]169[/emoji] 2009, The Los Angeles Times

 

[p mac one]

Since Wolf probably would have signed a long-term contract somewhere else even if the Dodgers had offered him arbitration, how worried were you about the millions it might cost to sign the draft picks you would have gotten in return?

You're dealing with a very fluid situation. Those millions that are potentially in play, they can manifest themselves where the opportunity is. If the opportunity is in buying more portable concession stands, then that's what you do. If the opportunity is buying some international talent that you have a very good handle on, that's what you do. In this particular world, you're making those assessments on a daily basis.

 

[bigmike23]

better hit it and quit it in the offseason Mr. kemp.

dont need no crazy girl holding you down durning the season *COUGH*TONY ROMO AND MR. BUSH*COUGH

 

[Los Angeles]

I don't see a pic on my phone, but not tony romo more like russ martin

 

[frenchblue23]

Originally Posted by bright nikes

I don't see a pic on my phone, but not tony romo more like russ martin

Pic is of Matt and Rihana.

 

[in yo nostril]

ah id let that skeezer hold me down for sure.

 

[mr jordan04]

Anybody know what stores carry the dodgers snuggie?

 

[sinser13]

^ 562 was slagging them awhile back

 

[in yo nostril]

562 will buy anything with a dodger logo on it.

 

[frenchblue23]

Originally Posted by In Yo Nostril

562 will buy anything with a dodger logo on it.

 

[mr jordan04]

Originally Posted by FrenchBlue23

Originally Posted by bright nikes

I don't see a pic on my phone, but not tony romo more like russ martin

Pic is of Matt and Rihana.

 

[in yo nostril]

my man has moved up from the minor leagues (liz hernandez)

 

[bigmike23]

he had better one a few months back. and she could sing better then rih

 

[Los Angeles]

that accent gets me every time though.