2008-12-13
2008-12-12
10 Things iPod About You
It returns! I'm tired and can't think so once again, random commentary on the first ten tracks to come up on Party Shuffle on iTunes! Hopefully there will be something insightful or at minimum, witty, but I make no promises!
Message In A Bottle - The Police
Nowhere near my favorite Police song but it's cool. It's the kind of song that I probably wouldn't skip over if it came up. Oddly though, the song [right now anyways] reminded me of the punk cover of the song by a band called 22 Jacks. 22 Jacks always makes me giggle a bit because I highly offended their agent back in my glory days as Director of Concerts in college. At the time, 22 Jacks was getting a lot of pub since the band was made up of several members of more famous punk bands. When their agent suggested booking them, I made a remark something like, "Oh, the self-proclaimed punk supergroup" to which he replied, "I don't know about self-proclaimed but they're pretty fucking good, I'll tell you that!" I actually had a really bad habit of offending agents and managers in that job. It's probably a good thing I didn't pursue that field as a career. This would probably be a good time to tell the story about Slightly Stoopid threatening to kick my ass once but... well, that'd just be blatant namedropping since they're apparently becoming somewhat biggish now and I wouldn't want to do that! I'll save that story for another time, I guess.
Simple Man - Graham Nash
I stumbled upon this on an mp3 blog a few months back. I don't really have a lot to say about it since I may have listened to it once or twice since then. But I kinda dig the song really. If I was a pretentious piece of shit music reviewer, I'd talk about the harmony in the backup vocals and some kind of glowing praise about the haunting sound of his voice. But that's not me. My reviews typically consist of saying things are "cool" or "awesome." I just can't muster much more than that. It's one of the reasons I hate most album reviews. People tend to masturbate with their own words in that kind of writing. If it's cool, say it's cool. If it sucks donkey balls, say it sucks donkey balls. How hard is it?
Holiday - Madonna
Now we're talkin'! Holiday actually always reminds me of the Truth Or Dare documentary they did for Madonna back in the day - one of my favorite musician docs actually. Throughout the movie, there's a running theme of her calling together her backup dancers before the show and doing a prayer. At one point, as they're walking to the stage after the prayer, they cut loose on this a cappella version of Holiday that is a ton of fun. Madonna is one of those acts that I would love to see live if I thought she wouldn't be an "artist" and decide that she was too good for her old stuff. Fucking artists. They always want to ruin it for the fans. This may be the first time that I ever noticed the crazy percussion in the background on Holiday. What's up with that?
Waiting Room - No Doubt
Fuck me. I have to listen to this whole song? This is off the Rocksteady album that had a few bright spots and a lot of stuff that I was just kinda "okay" about. Rocksteady's a weird album because they worked with so many different artists and producers on it, it turned out a little mish mashy at points. This particular track is a collaboration with Prince which sounds really fucking amazing on paper but just turns out kinda "eh" once it's done. There are parts of the song that I really dig the hell out of but I can't stand the chorus which kills things a bit for me. The main riff sucks too. But it's Gwen and Prince so it can't be all that bad, right? I bet Prince and Britney could have a hell of a collaboration. I wonder what Prince thinks of Britney as an artist - not The Artist - just an artist. Okay... I can't take it anymore. I must skip.
Happy Days Theme!
Hell yes! Now that's how you clean your musical palate! Of course, it makes me a little sad because it reminds me of how fucked up modern television has become in their disrespect for opening theme songs. After fifty years of television, we're losing that great art and it'll never return as the networks look for more and more ways to get more ad time into 30 or 60 minutes.
Beautiful People - Marilyn Manson
Ahhhh, my Manson phase. I actually own a Manson album although I haven't listened to it in years. I used to really dig that album and a few things he did after it. Now? Not so much. Even this song which I still think is pretty well done, I don't really enjoy it anymore. I guess I also have to admit here to owning the Marilyn Manson autobio book that I believe I never read because I was so stunned when he talked about his grandfather having vaseline encrusted suction cup mounted dildos in a workbench in the basement in the first chapter - which of course was the whole purpose of him writing it. Shock and awe, baby - shock and awe.
Tennessee - Arrested Development
I love this song. I even loved it years later when they did that One Hit Wonders TV show a few years ago and AD won it by performing this song. They still had it. I used to own this song as a cassette single. Most of my "urban music" was only cassette single actually. If you were to dig through that drawer of tapes right now, you'd find fine selections like this right alongside En Vogue, Father MC, The Cover Girls, Stereo MCs, and so, so, so many more. But this one actually holds up very well unlike a lot of others. It's kind of odd though that they never really had more than this song and Everyday People make it big. I guess Mr. Wendal sort of did but not to the same level of success. Mental note: Check iTunes to see how good the rest of their stuff is.
Diamonds On The Inside - Ben Harper
I was late on the Ben Harper bandwagon and I still don't really have a good seat on it. I own a few songs by him that I dig muchly but I've never taken the time to dig deeper to find more stuff that I like. I'm sure there's quite a bit of it because the stuff that I like I REALLY, REALLY like. Sadly, that's about all I can say.
Take It On The Run - REO Speedwagon
You can blame my aunts for this one. Speedwagon is definitely a remnant of me being exposed to their musical tastes in the 80s. This is probably actually my least favorite of the big Speedwagon hits but it's still amazingly awesome. It's cheesy, of course, but that doesn't take away from being amazingly awesome.
Anyone able to tell I'm running out of steam yet? Yeah, I thought so.
Nightswimming - Dashboard Confessional w/Michael Stipe
This is from that super cool Dashboard live album where they work with Michael Stipe doing both Dashboard and R.E.M. tunes. If you haven't checked that out and are a fan of either band, you're doing yourself a great disservice. Get your shit together!
Message In A Bottle - The Police
Nowhere near my favorite Police song but it's cool. It's the kind of song that I probably wouldn't skip over if it came up. Oddly though, the song [right now anyways] reminded me of the punk cover of the song by a band called 22 Jacks. 22 Jacks always makes me giggle a bit because I highly offended their agent back in my glory days as Director of Concerts in college. At the time, 22 Jacks was getting a lot of pub since the band was made up of several members of more famous punk bands. When their agent suggested booking them, I made a remark something like, "Oh, the self-proclaimed punk supergroup" to which he replied, "I don't know about self-proclaimed but they're pretty fucking good, I'll tell you that!" I actually had a really bad habit of offending agents and managers in that job. It's probably a good thing I didn't pursue that field as a career. This would probably be a good time to tell the story about Slightly Stoopid threatening to kick my ass once but... well, that'd just be blatant namedropping since they're apparently becoming somewhat biggish now and I wouldn't want to do that! I'll save that story for another time, I guess.
Simple Man - Graham Nash
I stumbled upon this on an mp3 blog a few months back. I don't really have a lot to say about it since I may have listened to it once or twice since then. But I kinda dig the song really. If I was a pretentious piece of shit music reviewer, I'd talk about the harmony in the backup vocals and some kind of glowing praise about the haunting sound of his voice. But that's not me. My reviews typically consist of saying things are "cool" or "awesome." I just can't muster much more than that. It's one of the reasons I hate most album reviews. People tend to masturbate with their own words in that kind of writing. If it's cool, say it's cool. If it sucks donkey balls, say it sucks donkey balls. How hard is it?
Holiday - Madonna
Now we're talkin'! Holiday actually always reminds me of the Truth Or Dare documentary they did for Madonna back in the day - one of my favorite musician docs actually. Throughout the movie, there's a running theme of her calling together her backup dancers before the show and doing a prayer. At one point, as they're walking to the stage after the prayer, they cut loose on this a cappella version of Holiday that is a ton of fun. Madonna is one of those acts that I would love to see live if I thought she wouldn't be an "artist" and decide that she was too good for her old stuff. Fucking artists. They always want to ruin it for the fans. This may be the first time that I ever noticed the crazy percussion in the background on Holiday. What's up with that?
Waiting Room - No Doubt
Fuck me. I have to listen to this whole song? This is off the Rocksteady album that had a few bright spots and a lot of stuff that I was just kinda "okay" about. Rocksteady's a weird album because they worked with so many different artists and producers on it, it turned out a little mish mashy at points. This particular track is a collaboration with Prince which sounds really fucking amazing on paper but just turns out kinda "eh" once it's done. There are parts of the song that I really dig the hell out of but I can't stand the chorus which kills things a bit for me. The main riff sucks too. But it's Gwen and Prince so it can't be all that bad, right? I bet Prince and Britney could have a hell of a collaboration. I wonder what Prince thinks of Britney as an artist - not The Artist - just an artist. Okay... I can't take it anymore. I must skip.
Happy Days Theme!
Hell yes! Now that's how you clean your musical palate! Of course, it makes me a little sad because it reminds me of how fucked up modern television has become in their disrespect for opening theme songs. After fifty years of television, we're losing that great art and it'll never return as the networks look for more and more ways to get more ad time into 30 or 60 minutes.
Beautiful People - Marilyn Manson
Ahhhh, my Manson phase. I actually own a Manson album although I haven't listened to it in years. I used to really dig that album and a few things he did after it. Now? Not so much. Even this song which I still think is pretty well done, I don't really enjoy it anymore. I guess I also have to admit here to owning the Marilyn Manson autobio book that I believe I never read because I was so stunned when he talked about his grandfather having vaseline encrusted suction cup mounted dildos in a workbench in the basement in the first chapter - which of course was the whole purpose of him writing it. Shock and awe, baby - shock and awe.
Tennessee - Arrested Development
I love this song. I even loved it years later when they did that One Hit Wonders TV show a few years ago and AD won it by performing this song. They still had it. I used to own this song as a cassette single. Most of my "urban music" was only cassette single actually. If you were to dig through that drawer of tapes right now, you'd find fine selections like this right alongside En Vogue, Father MC, The Cover Girls, Stereo MCs, and so, so, so many more. But this one actually holds up very well unlike a lot of others. It's kind of odd though that they never really had more than this song and Everyday People make it big. I guess Mr. Wendal sort of did but not to the same level of success. Mental note: Check iTunes to see how good the rest of their stuff is.
Diamonds On The Inside - Ben Harper
I was late on the Ben Harper bandwagon and I still don't really have a good seat on it. I own a few songs by him that I dig muchly but I've never taken the time to dig deeper to find more stuff that I like. I'm sure there's quite a bit of it because the stuff that I like I REALLY, REALLY like. Sadly, that's about all I can say.
Take It On The Run - REO Speedwagon
You can blame my aunts for this one. Speedwagon is definitely a remnant of me being exposed to their musical tastes in the 80s. This is probably actually my least favorite of the big Speedwagon hits but it's still amazingly awesome. It's cheesy, of course, but that doesn't take away from being amazingly awesome.
Anyone able to tell I'm running out of steam yet? Yeah, I thought so.
Nightswimming - Dashboard Confessional w/Michael Stipe
This is from that super cool Dashboard live album where they work with Michael Stipe doing both Dashboard and R.E.M. tunes. If you haven't checked that out and are a fan of either band, you're doing yourself a great disservice. Get your shit together!
2008-12-11
Random Thoughts
The wife said that she was disappointed by my constant blogging about the Dodgers this week and we just can't have that, right? So, in the interest of marital tranquility, I will consult with the trustworthy Google Reader to provide a few topics of discussion.
Golden Globes
Well, that was shocking. After all the buzz last week about The Dark Knight possibly becoming a favorite to get an Oscar Best Picture nod, the film basically gets snubbed by the Hollywood Foreign Press [that's who does the GGs, right?] Heath Ledger got a Best Supporting Actor nod but nary a glance for anything else. I'm disappointed and now more than a little bit nervous that the Academy voters will follow suit. From my quick glance earlier, I believe The Wrestler was also snubbed with the exception of Mickey Rourke. I haven't seen it yet but the positive buzz leading in made me think it might stand a chance as well.
The World With Good Taste In Television's Loss Is Heroes Gain
After one of the best episodes of the season for Pushing Daisies aired this week as a reminder of just what a fantastic show we're losing [how did anyone not adore Kristin Chenowith singing "Eternal Flame?"] we do get some relative good news that Bryan Fuller is heading back to Heroes to save it. Pardon me for not giving a flying fuck about Heroes right now. As a comic book geek, I'm about to commit sacrilege but I'd gladly trade a Heroes cancellation for a saving of Pushing Daisies - oh, and if you can revive Wonderfalls too, I can trade a couple other shows I'm half-heartedly watching.
Globes On TV
Holy shit! I hadn't even seen the TV nominations for the Globes until now. What the fuck is going on here? No Lost, no Housewives, no Daisies? I appreciate the need for telling network television that their product is often times shit warmed over but come on... at least give credit where it's due. And nominations for Weeds and Entourage? I'm sorry but as much as I love both of those shows, both of them were pretty bad this season - Weeds was downright unwatchable IMO for most of the year.
I planned on doing more but my Google Reader just went fucky. I'm done. Blue out.
Golden Globes
Well, that was shocking. After all the buzz last week about The Dark Knight possibly becoming a favorite to get an Oscar Best Picture nod, the film basically gets snubbed by the Hollywood Foreign Press [that's who does the GGs, right?] Heath Ledger got a Best Supporting Actor nod but nary a glance for anything else. I'm disappointed and now more than a little bit nervous that the Academy voters will follow suit. From my quick glance earlier, I believe The Wrestler was also snubbed with the exception of Mickey Rourke. I haven't seen it yet but the positive buzz leading in made me think it might stand a chance as well.
The World With Good Taste In Television's Loss Is Heroes Gain
After one of the best episodes of the season for Pushing Daisies aired this week as a reminder of just what a fantastic show we're losing [how did anyone not adore Kristin Chenowith singing "Eternal Flame?"] we do get some relative good news that Bryan Fuller is heading back to Heroes to save it. Pardon me for not giving a flying fuck about Heroes right now. As a comic book geek, I'm about to commit sacrilege but I'd gladly trade a Heroes cancellation for a saving of Pushing Daisies - oh, and if you can revive Wonderfalls too, I can trade a couple other shows I'm half-heartedly watching.
Globes On TV
Holy shit! I hadn't even seen the TV nominations for the Globes until now. What the fuck is going on here? No Lost, no Housewives, no Daisies? I appreciate the need for telling network television that their product is often times shit warmed over but come on... at least give credit where it's due. And nominations for Weeds and Entourage? I'm sorry but as much as I love both of those shows, both of them were pretty bad this season - Weeds was downright unwatchable IMO for most of the year.
I planned on doing more but my Google Reader just went fucky. I'm done. Blue out.
2008-12-10
Winter Meetings: Day Three
Well, there goes that pipe dream. The lure of New York money once again proves too hard to resist and CC Sabathia has apparently signed with the Yankees. Oh, and in case you were thinking the Yanks were done there, they are apparently also getting close to a deal with Derek Lowe. Sabathia and Lowe side by side would seemingly lock the Yanks as the favorites in the division.
But what does this mean for everyone else?
The Angels now have no Plan B. If Texeira goes elsewhere, they may get desperate to make a splash in the free agency pool and yes, we just might see them make a run at Manny. By the way, this morning's rumors have the Red Sox leading in the hunt for Tex - should be interesting.
It also cranks up the price of all remaining FA pitchers. If Sabathia and Lowe are off the market, keep an eye on AJ Burnett among others. Even the pitchers a little further down the chain - RJ, Moyer, Benson, etc. The price goes up and so does the competition to land those guys. That one will affect the Dodgers directly.
However, with Sabathia off the market, you would expect a flood of people to sign quickly. Anyone who was holding out hope for the big fish should move on to their next choice and their next and the ones after that.
There's a rumor also being floated that the Yanks are mulling a run at Manny because Hank Steinbrenner wants to sign him. No word on whether or not this comes AFTER the Sabathia signing because you would think even the Yankees would have trouble with signing both of those guys. But even the rumor of that is enough to give Scott Boras morning wood. The Dodgers, the Angels, and the Yankees in a potential bidding war for Manny - the last big name FA left on the market after he engineers Tex to Boston? Yeah, he'd enjoy that.
One last thought - the last time Boras pulled one of those plays, sending JD Drew to Boston out from under the Dodgers' noses, we ended up signing Juan Pierre in desperation.
I'd hate to see what happens if the Dodgers get shut out on Manny.
But what does this mean for everyone else?
The Angels now have no Plan B. If Texeira goes elsewhere, they may get desperate to make a splash in the free agency pool and yes, we just might see them make a run at Manny. By the way, this morning's rumors have the Red Sox leading in the hunt for Tex - should be interesting.
It also cranks up the price of all remaining FA pitchers. If Sabathia and Lowe are off the market, keep an eye on AJ Burnett among others. Even the pitchers a little further down the chain - RJ, Moyer, Benson, etc. The price goes up and so does the competition to land those guys. That one will affect the Dodgers directly.
However, with Sabathia off the market, you would expect a flood of people to sign quickly. Anyone who was holding out hope for the big fish should move on to their next choice and their next and the ones after that.
There's a rumor also being floated that the Yanks are mulling a run at Manny because Hank Steinbrenner wants to sign him. No word on whether or not this comes AFTER the Sabathia signing because you would think even the Yankees would have trouble with signing both of those guys. But even the rumor of that is enough to give Scott Boras morning wood. The Dodgers, the Angels, and the Yankees in a potential bidding war for Manny - the last big name FA left on the market after he engineers Tex to Boston? Yeah, he'd enjoy that.
One last thought - the last time Boras pulled one of those plays, sending JD Drew to Boston out from under the Dodgers' noses, we ended up signing Juan Pierre in desperation.
I'd hate to see what happens if the Dodgers get shut out on Manny.
2008-12-09
Winter Meetings: Day Two
Backup infielder to replace Nomar? Mark Loretta!
Starting third baseman? Casey Blake!
Two signings down - who knows how many to go? I was a litle surprised to see the Dodgers go three years with a fourth year option for Blake. The rumor was that the Twins and Dodgers were squaring off over him with neither team wanting to give a third year. After the Twins backed out, I thought for sure they'd be able to get him for two years with a third year option. The deal looks okay right now but when Blake's about to hit 40 years old, they may regret going that long.
The Blake signing cements Dewitt going back to second base which should be a good thing for him. That means there's only one spot on the infield to be concerned about. The Dodgers are back in on Furcal but seem unwilling to give him four years - understandable, no? There's a decent-sized length list of teams in on Furcal so it's a long way from a done deal buuuuuuut... you'd have to think that a reopening of discussions with Raffy at all is a good thing. Rumors say they don't want to go over two years but three would seem almost a lock to be needed. This one is foggy and I can't really figure out which way it'll go.
There's some speculation today that the Dodgers hold all the cards in negotiations with Manny which I kinda implied last night. Coletti met with Boras and the result was the announcement that Manny is still interested in being a Dodger. Well, that's good news! But Coletti didn't really sound like he knew what was next. Nothing I've read has changed my gut feeling that he'll end up back as a Dodger but anything can happen.
The Saito thing picked up a notch as it appears that Friday is the deadline to tender contracts and the Dodgers just aren't sure if they want to make that offer apparently. If they don't, the bullpen situation gets pretty cloudy. Does Broxton get another shot to close? Is Hoffman a legit possibility? With K-Rod and Wood being snatched up, the options at closer are growing slim.
Now what about CC Sabathia?
Well, the Giants apparently think they're the odds-on favorite to land him - which makes me a little nervous. The Yankees are in full court press mode right now, visiting him yet again to try and land the big free agent fish. The Dodgers apparently remain players in this situation but only if they can fill their other holes in a financially conservative fashion. Obviously, that'd have to be pretty quick to make it happen. So far, so good. But I can't imagine if they get Manny back that they can afford CC too. And if they land CC, they definitely need to go on the cheap for the fifth starter - Stults, Kuo, Macdonald, Park. There was some Kris Benson talk this week which is a potential low-risk, high-reward move too. Continued talk on the Randy Johnson front today as well. All the California teams except for the rebuilding Padres are in on RJ.
Oh, and in a "well, that's interesting" note, apparently Kevin Towers was quoted as saying he hadn't talked to Coletti about Peavy in weeks. The pricetag must've scared our GM off - probably a good thing.
The plot thickens - stay tuned!
Starting third baseman? Casey Blake!
Two signings down - who knows how many to go? I was a litle surprised to see the Dodgers go three years with a fourth year option for Blake. The rumor was that the Twins and Dodgers were squaring off over him with neither team wanting to give a third year. After the Twins backed out, I thought for sure they'd be able to get him for two years with a third year option. The deal looks okay right now but when Blake's about to hit 40 years old, they may regret going that long.
The Blake signing cements Dewitt going back to second base which should be a good thing for him. That means there's only one spot on the infield to be concerned about. The Dodgers are back in on Furcal but seem unwilling to give him four years - understandable, no? There's a decent-sized length list of teams in on Furcal so it's a long way from a done deal buuuuuuut... you'd have to think that a reopening of discussions with Raffy at all is a good thing. Rumors say they don't want to go over two years but three would seem almost a lock to be needed. This one is foggy and I can't really figure out which way it'll go.
There's some speculation today that the Dodgers hold all the cards in negotiations with Manny which I kinda implied last night. Coletti met with Boras and the result was the announcement that Manny is still interested in being a Dodger. Well, that's good news! But Coletti didn't really sound like he knew what was next. Nothing I've read has changed my gut feeling that he'll end up back as a Dodger but anything can happen.
The Saito thing picked up a notch as it appears that Friday is the deadline to tender contracts and the Dodgers just aren't sure if they want to make that offer apparently. If they don't, the bullpen situation gets pretty cloudy. Does Broxton get another shot to close? Is Hoffman a legit possibility? With K-Rod and Wood being snatched up, the options at closer are growing slim.
Now what about CC Sabathia?
Well, the Giants apparently think they're the odds-on favorite to land him - which makes me a little nervous. The Yankees are in full court press mode right now, visiting him yet again to try and land the big free agent fish. The Dodgers apparently remain players in this situation but only if they can fill their other holes in a financially conservative fashion. Obviously, that'd have to be pretty quick to make it happen. So far, so good. But I can't imagine if they get Manny back that they can afford CC too. And if they land CC, they definitely need to go on the cheap for the fifth starter - Stults, Kuo, Macdonald, Park. There was some Kris Benson talk this week which is a potential low-risk, high-reward move too. Continued talk on the Randy Johnson front today as well. All the California teams except for the rebuilding Padres are in on RJ.
Oh, and in a "well, that's interesting" note, apparently Kevin Towers was quoted as saying he hadn't talked to Coletti about Peavy in weeks. The pricetag must've scared our GM off - probably a good thing.
The plot thickens - stay tuned!
2008-12-08
MLB Winter Meetings: Day One
The MLB Winter Meetings opened in Vegas today. This is a week usually filled with crazy rumors that never come anywhere close to going down but there's always a few grains of truth in there. The Dodgers obviously have a lot of holes to address in the roster so let's take a look all the way around the horn to see what rumors are out there today.
Catcher - Thankfully, all the Russell Martin trade rumors are gone. Of course, the Dodgers do need to find a reliable backup catcher still - preferably someone you can use at least once every five games to give Martin a breather. He remains one of the most overworked players in baseball so that needs to change in a hurry. There were still some rumblings that Ned Coletti might go after a starting catcher and slide Martin to 3B to solve that problem but those have seemed to die down. The word today is that the Dodgers aren't interested in Jason Varitek so I'm guessing Martin's safe behind the plate for now.
First Base - James Loney doesn't have to worry about his starting job after the fantastic season he had in 2008. There's still no word on if Nomar is retiring or not. If he's not, I'm open to bringing him back in a supersub role so he can spell Loney at 1B now and again.
Second Base - Everyone assumes that Blake Dewitt mostly likely will get to start here but there is a possibility that they'll go after a second baseman if they can't find a third baseman and move Dewitt to the third sack. The signing of Mark Loretta tonight muddies this situation a little bit but I'm guessing the Dodgers know something we don't and are using Loretta to replace Nomar.
Shortstop - A week ago, it seems obvious that the Dodgers were not going to be able to bring back Rafael Furcal. But Furcal's rejection of the A's offer this week and the news that we've reopened discussions with Raffy tonight provides a glimmer of hope. The Jack Wilson rumors continue to persist too as well as some talk today about Miguel Tejada. My vote is that if you can't re-sign Raffy at a decent deal - let Hu take his shot and see what happens.
Third Base - The Twins dropping out of the Casey Blake race seemed to set up the Dodgers in perfect position to bring back Blake which would be fine by me. Blake seemed like a hard worker and proved to be pretty popular with the players. He was a solid contributor so if he can be had at the right price, he's my top choice. Ken Gurnick reported tonight that the Dodgers "are close" to re-signing Blake.
Outfield - The Dodgers have a surplus of outfielders already (Pierre, Jones, Ethier, Kemp) but one big name still hangs out there. Manny. Coletti expressed disappointment today at how the Manny negotiations have gone so far. I still don't see a major competitor for Manny so I've gotta think eventually, they'll bring him back for an undetermined time period. I still think three years with a mutual option for a fourth would get it done. If they can't sign Manny, there's been some buzz about Adam Dunn, Raul Ibanez, and a couple others. Personally, I might go with the horses in the stable if you can't sign Manny unless you can move Pierre or Jones which is unlikely.
Bullpen - The big news today was that while Takashi Saito's winter rehab is going well, he may not be ready for Opening Day. That obviously makes it decision time. How much do you trust Broxton? How effective do you think Saito will be when/if he comes back? If you answer in the negative to both, Trevor Hoffman seems to be a valid option. There has been a little buzz in that direction today. With Beimel seemingly gone, you have to expect some middle relief to be signed as well.
Starting Rotation - The Dodgers need a minimum of one starter - probably two unless McDonald is ready to take a spot. Obviously, the big prize is CC Sabathia, who Coletti made headlines talking about today when he claimed that Sabathia told him that he wants to be a Dodger. I really don't see the Dodgers dropping the dollars to make that happen. Derek Lowe is probably the next best option but most people assumed he'd be moving on. He made some news today saying that he wanted to stay. I suppose that's not entirely out of the question yet. Randy Johnson and Jamie Moyer are also on the radar it seems. The Pettite stuff seems to have already faded away.
And that's that! I may go ahead and do these until the Meetings are over to keep everyone up to date.
Catcher - Thankfully, all the Russell Martin trade rumors are gone. Of course, the Dodgers do need to find a reliable backup catcher still - preferably someone you can use at least once every five games to give Martin a breather. He remains one of the most overworked players in baseball so that needs to change in a hurry. There were still some rumblings that Ned Coletti might go after a starting catcher and slide Martin to 3B to solve that problem but those have seemed to die down. The word today is that the Dodgers aren't interested in Jason Varitek so I'm guessing Martin's safe behind the plate for now.
First Base - James Loney doesn't have to worry about his starting job after the fantastic season he had in 2008. There's still no word on if Nomar is retiring or not. If he's not, I'm open to bringing him back in a supersub role so he can spell Loney at 1B now and again.
Second Base - Everyone assumes that Blake Dewitt mostly likely will get to start here but there is a possibility that they'll go after a second baseman if they can't find a third baseman and move Dewitt to the third sack. The signing of Mark Loretta tonight muddies this situation a little bit but I'm guessing the Dodgers know something we don't and are using Loretta to replace Nomar.
Shortstop - A week ago, it seems obvious that the Dodgers were not going to be able to bring back Rafael Furcal. But Furcal's rejection of the A's offer this week and the news that we've reopened discussions with Raffy tonight provides a glimmer of hope. The Jack Wilson rumors continue to persist too as well as some talk today about Miguel Tejada. My vote is that if you can't re-sign Raffy at a decent deal - let Hu take his shot and see what happens.
Third Base - The Twins dropping out of the Casey Blake race seemed to set up the Dodgers in perfect position to bring back Blake which would be fine by me. Blake seemed like a hard worker and proved to be pretty popular with the players. He was a solid contributor so if he can be had at the right price, he's my top choice. Ken Gurnick reported tonight that the Dodgers "are close" to re-signing Blake.
Outfield - The Dodgers have a surplus of outfielders already (Pierre, Jones, Ethier, Kemp) but one big name still hangs out there. Manny. Coletti expressed disappointment today at how the Manny negotiations have gone so far. I still don't see a major competitor for Manny so I've gotta think eventually, they'll bring him back for an undetermined time period. I still think three years with a mutual option for a fourth would get it done. If they can't sign Manny, there's been some buzz about Adam Dunn, Raul Ibanez, and a couple others. Personally, I might go with the horses in the stable if you can't sign Manny unless you can move Pierre or Jones which is unlikely.
Bullpen - The big news today was that while Takashi Saito's winter rehab is going well, he may not be ready for Opening Day. That obviously makes it decision time. How much do you trust Broxton? How effective do you think Saito will be when/if he comes back? If you answer in the negative to both, Trevor Hoffman seems to be a valid option. There has been a little buzz in that direction today. With Beimel seemingly gone, you have to expect some middle relief to be signed as well.
Starting Rotation - The Dodgers need a minimum of one starter - probably two unless McDonald is ready to take a spot. Obviously, the big prize is CC Sabathia, who Coletti made headlines talking about today when he claimed that Sabathia told him that he wants to be a Dodger. I really don't see the Dodgers dropping the dollars to make that happen. Derek Lowe is probably the next best option but most people assumed he'd be moving on. He made some news today saying that he wanted to stay. I suppose that's not entirely out of the question yet. Randy Johnson and Jamie Moyer are also on the radar it seems. The Pettite stuff seems to have already faded away.
And that's that! I may go ahead and do these until the Meetings are over to keep everyone up to date.
2008-12-07
Apartment Living
Our neighbors below us just hit the floor with some type of object in a primitive attempt to let us know we were apparently walking too loudly in the living room for their liking. This is the first such warning since we've moved into this building unlike our last apartment where it was basically a nightly occurrence.
It bugs me tremendously - infuriates might be a better word. And I have several reasons why that seem like good bloggin' fodder for this late Sunday night.
1] If the noise is too much because they're trying to sleep, then why are they hitting the floor in the living room? You're trying to tell me that footsteps from multiple rooms away is keeping them up at night? Fuck that noise. They just want to be bitchy.
2] These particular neighbors are a running joke with us because they are constantly fighting, screaming, slamming doors and what have you. Every once in a while, we hear a loud bang downstairs and I nearly always quip that sooner or later, it's going to be a gunshot from them. Yet, through all their apparent lovers quarrels, I've never done a Mexican hat dance [and I've got the sombrero to do it!] in complaint. A little common courtesy might be appropriate here.
3] It's walking, dammit. It's not like we're up here rockin' the casbah at 3 AM. If we were running music or the TV as loud as possible on a weeknight, I might see a little more merit in their complaint. But I'm walking here! I should be allowed to walk, right? It's still not quite as bad as our old apartment where they'd hit the floor in the middle of the night if I rolled over in bed too loudly.
4] I love the savagery of the floor pound. It's like mankind as a society has given up all forms of verbal communications and we're slowly drifting to the point where we'll just mime everything. But until then, let's just slam a bodypart or object against another object repeatedly until someone gets the message. Of course, if they were the type to come up to complain, I'd probably not open the door to hear it because you never know if they'll be packing heat - gunshots, you know?
Annnnnyways... I'm going to go roll over now [hopefully not too loudly] and get some sleep. Hopefully the loving couple downstairs can sleep off the invasive feeling of whatever crawled up their ass and died by morning.
I'd better keep a broken bottle at the hip for our Christmas party in a couple weeks because as Cypress Hill once wisely and eloquently stated...
"When the shit goes down, ya better be ready."
It bugs me tremendously - infuriates might be a better word. And I have several reasons why that seem like good bloggin' fodder for this late Sunday night.
1] If the noise is too much because they're trying to sleep, then why are they hitting the floor in the living room? You're trying to tell me that footsteps from multiple rooms away is keeping them up at night? Fuck that noise. They just want to be bitchy.
2] These particular neighbors are a running joke with us because they are constantly fighting, screaming, slamming doors and what have you. Every once in a while, we hear a loud bang downstairs and I nearly always quip that sooner or later, it's going to be a gunshot from them. Yet, through all their apparent lovers quarrels, I've never done a Mexican hat dance [and I've got the sombrero to do it!] in complaint. A little common courtesy might be appropriate here.
3] It's walking, dammit. It's not like we're up here rockin' the casbah at 3 AM. If we were running music or the TV as loud as possible on a weeknight, I might see a little more merit in their complaint. But I'm walking here! I should be allowed to walk, right? It's still not quite as bad as our old apartment where they'd hit the floor in the middle of the night if I rolled over in bed too loudly.
4] I love the savagery of the floor pound. It's like mankind as a society has given up all forms of verbal communications and we're slowly drifting to the point where we'll just mime everything. But until then, let's just slam a bodypart or object against another object repeatedly until someone gets the message. Of course, if they were the type to come up to complain, I'd probably not open the door to hear it because you never know if they'll be packing heat - gunshots, you know?
Annnnnyways... I'm going to go roll over now [hopefully not too loudly] and get some sleep. Hopefully the loving couple downstairs can sleep off the invasive feeling of whatever crawled up their ass and died by morning.
I'd better keep a broken bottle at the hip for our Christmas party in a couple weeks because as Cypress Hill once wisely and eloquently stated...
"When the shit goes down, ya better be ready."
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