Dodger Stuff

It's odd that I skipped a Good, Bad, & Ugly for the Dodgers on probably the most news-worthy week of the offseason so far. But there was so much being written about Manny everywhere else, I just couldn't figure out anything to say that wasn't being said everywhere else.

I'll go with this...

I'm happy that he signed. I'm happy that the deal is a decent one for the Dodgers - not a great one because of the lopsided second year option - but a decent one. I'm very happy that Torre, Coletti, and McCourt wanted to meet with him before they signed him - that makes me incredibly hopeful that they did their very best psychotherapy to see if he would be a good Manny or a bad Manny. He's said all the right things so far since showing up at camp - hopefully he means them.

Do I hold a grudge over how things went down? Nah, not really. It's Boras so it was expected. I wish it hadn't gotten so drawn out and ugly but... well, it's a business, I guess, so you deal with the cards you're dealt. I expect there may be a sprinkling of boos on Opening Day with some fans holding a grudge but they'll be gone in a hurry. As for me, I was the one who refused to boo Andruw Jones last season so I certainly don't intend to start booing Manny.

My favorite Manny-related story of the week though?

On Manny's first official day in camp, he was there early to run with the conditioning coach. Upon returning to the clubhouse, Matt Kemp showed up. Manny remarked [humorously, I'm sure], "I've been here since 6:30. Where have you been?" Matt Kemp's reply was "I was here three weeks ago. Where have you been?"

Awesome.

Add that to Matt Kemp's proclamation today that he might go for a 40-40 season and he's working his way into my heart early this season.

Oh, and SI's Jon Heyman says that Pedro Martinez is talking up the idea of a Dodger reunion.

I'll buy that for a dollar. Literally.

On a sadder note, it was a bad week for ex-Dodgers as both Dave Roberts and Eric Gagne were released by their teams. Those two were two of my favorite players for a couple of years there so it's a sad day to see them on the unemployment line. If Gagne would take a cheap enough deal [and I mean rock bottom], I'd let him rehab in the minors and see what he's got. If Juan Pierre can be traded for a bag of balls, I'd consider signing Dave Roberts as the late inning pinch runner.

But that's probably just me.

It's an interesting time of year but I really can't wait for the season to start.