Deepest Condolences to Tony Dungy & his Family

It was announced yesterday that Indianapolis Colts' head coach, Tony Dungy's 18-year old son was found dead in his apartment. So far it has been ruled as a suicide, but an official autopsy is being conducted. It's a tremendous tragedy when you read of young adults committing suicide with so much of their life ahead. And I cannot fathom the sadness and grief that surrounds the parents of a son or daughter who commits suicide.

As I heard of this news, I heard more and more of Tony Dungy and the kind of man he is. He draws tremendous sympathy and respect from virtually every reporter, player and peer because of the kind of life he leads.

In a day and age where many stars and athletes attribute God as their source of goodness, Tony Dungy actually lives it out every day. It's hard to find Christians who actually act like Christians and yet Tony Dungy has done so without being preachy or condescending. His sincere compassion for those around him is an active part of his life, and he lets his actions speak louder than words.

Some close to Dungy say that he'll come back for the playoffs, but that after that, for this man who's life never revolved around football, he may just retire and do something else. He's been quoted in Sports Illustrated that he considered doing a prison ministry after he was fired from Tampa Bay. And for a man who took seriously, his role as a father, this devastating circumstance may just lead him to a different road.

My prayers and thoughts are with the Dungy family, may the Lord deeply comfort them in this difficult time.

The Dodgers keep adding

The Dodgers acquired Kenny Lofton for a one-year deal yesterday, and also offered Hee Sop Choi to a one-year deal that he ended up taking. The Dodgers pulled a fast one over Choi with a lookey-loo in his contract (taken from 6-4-2’s blogsite) :

It doesn't contain a standard-guarantee provision, meaning Choi receives only a percentage of his salary if he is released before Opening Day. If he is cut during the final two weeks of camp, Choi will get $178,278. If he is cut earlier than that, he will receive $118,852.

Either Choi is too nice or he needs a better agent.

I think that will complete McCourt’s spending spree. All in all, I feel a little better about the Dodgers than I did a month ago when McCourt could hardly drag any GM out here to LA. It is said that the Dodgers look like a used-car lot, but at least we didn’t lose any of our minor leaguers. And I’d add that Colletti was smart enough to sign 1-2 year deals. It’s a gamble for both the team and the players, but at least we have young players on the wings and you never know if these “old veterans”, (a nice way of saying over-the-hill players) will make a decent run for it.

A short note about Johnny Damon going to the Yankees for 4 years, $51 mil. What can you say, except that I’m not naïve enough to expect players to play for love of the game or loyalty. I’d just like to see Damon in his clean-shaven face and short haircut for the first time at Fenway Park next spring. Warning: watch out for bottles and tomatoes on the field.

Where will Bengie Molina go?

One of the reasons why I like the Angels so much is because of guys like Bengie Molina. It's not only his clutch hitting that was valuable, but it was also the way he handled the young Irvin Santana. Santana, even with his tremendous year, had some jitters here and there, some moments when he was wild. But Molina would always settle him down, guide him along, make him the better pitcher he is today.

I think the Angels should have offered Molina arbitration, but now that the market for catchers have shrunk and he is probably a little more anxious to get signed, why not the Dodgers sign him to a 2-year deal? You can always use more than one catcher, especially when Navarro is as young as he is. And how can you not like Molina at the number 5 spot in the batting order with his last season .295 BA, .446 SLG and 69 RBIs? He would also be the closest thing to replacing LoDuca with his popularity and likability.

This guy is a real find and I'm just surprised that there has been so little interest shown in him.

Could McCourt get smart?

There's finally been some action in the off-season for the Dodgers. We just picked up Bill Mueller from the Red Sox which is a great move and the credit can go both to Colletti & Grady, whom Mueller had ties with in SF and Boston. And it's reported that the Dodgers are also after Kenny Lofton, Reggie Sanders and they've lured Johnny Damon to a meeting in Los Angeles. This also comes at the heels of the Bradley trade to Oakland, where the Dodgers practically gave away Bradley for a minor leaguer. I still think Bradley had tremendous potential and I bet/hope that he will flourish into a major player that will haunt the Dodgers like the way Konerko has haunted the Dodgers.

All of Colletti's moves have been decent at best, paying more than what is needed, but at this stage of Dodger history, we need to overpay to get players to come to LA. 10 years ago, players would have taken a little less to play in LA, but now we need to make the extra effort and I think that is what Colletti is doing (minus the Bradley deal).

All in all, McCourt has been quiet lately on the front and if he is as smart as he likes to think he is, he will contiune to stay out of the lime light and just submerge himself under the waters. If he is at all concerned with PR, then no matter how much he is actually involved in the decisions, he needs to let the fans and media think that he is taking a lesser role. This will be the first step towards rebuilding a reputable organization.

A Little Step in the Right Direction

The Dodgers have finally hired a new manager. Grady Little definitely seems like old-school, back-to- the-basics kind of guy which I think will be good for the Dodgers. He's suppose to be a players coach, really likable and a coach that got along with young players. He's won a few Minor League Coach of the Year awards as well as a couple of Minor League Championships. Before he was in Chicago as their roving catching instructor, Little was the Manager for the Boston Red Sox for two winning seasons (93-69, 95-67 respectively). Little also played as a catcher for the Minor Leagues for six years. People's major complaint about him was that he didn't take Pedro Martinez out of a critical ALCS game against the Yankees that costed the game, championship and ultimately his job.

I think the fact that he was in Boston, under the pressures and microscope will be valuable to him as he enters Los Angeles. The pressure here will be great and is also magnified with the growing disrespect and disregard for the McCourts. One thing's for sure, both McCourt and Colletti's foot into the door of respectable owner and GM world, will depend on Little's success with the Dodgers this year. And hopefully Little will utilize more stats with his traditional insticts to not make the same mistakes twice.

He's know to have a great relationship with Theo Epstien (in case McCourt ever feels like firing Ned Colletti) and there has also been rumors that Bill Mueller thinks highly of him and therefore will be coming to LA.

My only gripe about him so far is a minor detail: that he talks too slow. People who talk too slow make me want to believe that they also think too slow. But I know that's not a fair assessment, so for now, I will give Little the benefit of the doubt. Overall, I think it was a decent pick, not a great one, but given the circumstances and the pool, the Dodgers could have done much worse.

Light at the end of the tunnel?

So the Dodgers finally sign a player, Furcal for $39 mil for 3 years. I don't know if we needed another shortstop, but at this point we finally got someone willing to come to the McCourt Insane Asylum and that's a step. He does have speed with 42 stolen bases and a reputable 58 RBI's last year, which can help jump-start the team.

ESPN reports that Manny Mota had a significant part in bringing in Furcal to LA. Let's hope that McCourt learns a lesson and holds off on firing any more lifetime Dodgers.

Dare I say, that it would be better for Milton Bradley to stay with the Dodgers. . . Before his injury last year, he was hot at the bat and starting to simmer down with his anger problems. He's has tremendous potential if someone can reign his passion in the right direction. Aside from his overreacting knee jerk reaction against Jeff Kent's "let's hustle" comment, I think he's made a reasonable effort to be a better player and since he's set to recover and be back for spring training, he could be a valuable force in the Dodger lineup.

Ned Colletti

When I first listened to the press conference to introduce Ned Colletti, my first impression was that there were warm fuzzies. Warm fuzzies between McCourt and Colletti, warm fuzzies about Colletti's humble beginnings and his hard work toward his "proudest day of his life", warm fuzzies about the "character and values" that Colletti has.

Warm fuzzies are essential components of Extreme Home Makeover, but how do the warm fuzzies address all my questions and doubts about the Dodgers? Surely warm fuzzies aren't enough to convince me that Colletti is the man but I'm willing to give him a chance. Heck, everyone deserves a chance to prove themselves.

Do I believe that Colletti has what it takes to turn this team around? Well, I've learned these past few years to not have such high hopes and expectations. He hasn't exactly proven himself in the past with the dismal Giants, but who's to say that when it's time for him to come up to the plate, he won't step up & hit a homerun... only time will tell.

It's too bad that even with the great weather, the beach and the legacy of the Los Angeles Dodgers, McCourt couldn't lure Theo over.

the fall of a great legacy

Here, in Dodger Land, it use to be a place where hall-of-famers once threw no-hitters and hit homeruns to win world series' on top of a magical hill, in the california sun...

Now it's a three-ring circus with people being fired, the heart and souls of the team being traded, where everything has been turned upside down and a ring leader who is just chasing after his own tail in a downward spiral spin toward destruction...
The chaos and incompetence of the McCourts will only add greater popularity and success to the already well-run machine of the Angels organization.