I don't think the debt aspect has really been covered properly. It's been mainly covered as a rich-people-behave-badly story, and LA is awash in those already.

I read in Business Week that Murdoch basically just wanted to dump the Dodgers after failing to parlay the club into the big regional sports channel comparable to NESN or YES (but aren't the Dodgers on FSN SoCal?) so he loaned McCourt the money to buy them (like selling a car). The collateral was a plot of undeveloped pavement in Boston in the Seaport area. McCourt defaulted. Murdoch flipped the land for a small profit.

It seems like MLB could have found a better buyer for one of America's most storied sports franchises in the second biggest market.

I finally made it to a New Orleans Zephyrs (Florida Marlins AAA) game last night, as they played the Nashville Sounds (Milwaukee Brewers AAA.) Nice, tight game, with the Sounds pulling it out 4-3 in the 9th after the Z's came back from 3-0.

Sam Narron of the Sounds was outstanding all night, having a 3-0 lead and a ton of strikeouts in the middle of the 7th. However, a single, double, and homer later by the Zephyrs, it was 3-3 going into the 8th.

What then happened in the 9th was the single most interesting inning that I've ever seen live - especially that it happened right in front of me as I was in the 3rd row on the 1st base line.

A leadoff walk by the Sounds put a man on first. The next batter blasted a shot down the line, that hit the firstbase umpire and ricocheted right in front of us. The ump grimaced and immediately made a hand signal that the ball was fair and in play. The runners advanced to 2nd and 3rd and were on their way home, when a fan grabbed the ball with his hat for his girlfriend. This caused the ump to send the runners back to 2nd and 3rd.

It was interesting because I've never seen a ball hit an ump, especially in a way that would decide a 3-3 game in the 9th.

Also, the fan was a lot more with-it than Steve Bartman, as he knew he'd keep the runners from advancing.

So then the manager of the Z's decided to intentionally load the bases.

From the Times-Picayune, this is what happened next:

With the infield playing in, Norris Hopper hit a hard grounder to the left of second baseman Danny Richar, who after making a diving stop couldn’t throw home. He tossed the ball to first base for the out as Katin scored the decisive run.

The thing is, the intentional walk probably backfired. The guy who stopped the ball was on his stomach, and could only flip it up from his stomach. However, the runners - with no choice but to run since the bases were loaded - had the decision to run made for them. They had to run on anything.

If they had to pause that split-second to see if he would get up fast enough, it may have slowed them down just enough to not score.

All in all it was the type of razor-thin-margin type of decisions and plays that make baseball as great as it is.

Jase, I know this might be an imposition, but can you get me some 'stuff' from a minor league team? A cap, perhaps? (although something cheaper with the team's name on it... NOT a pin)

I am good for the money (and postage).

And jefe... still waiting for your reply.

Incidentally, my ex went over to the States about 10 years ago, and brought back a cap that says 'Cocks' on it. Now, I am as broadminded as the next man (if the next man is Ron Jeremy) but I suspect this is the nickname of a team... any ideas?

Is it Bantamcocks, or something?

The other USC - University of South Carolina

And yes, when I'm back in the Dirty Jerse, I'll be sure to get some Trenton Thunder swag (Yankees AA team.)

I'll see about any Zephyrs stuff.

Want any State College Spikes or Altoona Curve stuff? I'm at the Spikes game right now.

Obviously he'd want a first base from the manager.

Hah!! Sadly, I was in Europe when that happened.
Robinson has been a good manager, I think. I hope he comes back again next year. He seems like the type who would be happy to manage in the NY-Penn League until retirement. He was a college coach and school administrator so teaching young players suits him.

I went to the Spikes last game of the year tonight. Great crowd of 5500. Spikes broke a long losing streak by beating nearby rival Williamsport (Phillies) Also, since Jamestown (Marlins) won, it means Williamsport misses the playoffs by a half game.

The funniest comment on deadspin was "that's as close as that kid's getting to first base."

Reed, did you hear of Hayden Penn ? He was on the Marlins, then on Indianapolis AAA for the Pirates, but never really cracked trough. The Pirates just sold him to the Chiba Lotte Marines (the team that Bobby Valentine managed a few times, and becoming the first American to win the Japan Series with them in 2005,) and had a brilliant 10-inning shutout pitchers duel against Yu Darvish yesterday.

By the looks of his stuff yesterday, he may be back in no time.

Kyuji Fujikawa, the best closer in the NPB alongside Marc Kroon, got his 150th save against the Carp last night. This is the final strikeout.

Chunichi just swept the Giants in Nagoya, thus leaping them into second place, a half game back of the Tigers. The Giants have had two sub-.500 months in a row, and it's obviously having an effect on Manager Tatsunori Hara...

BEFORE


AFTER

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iMhySXR0hY&sns=em
For those unaware of what we're refering to.

To make it more confusing, the Spikes were wearing one-off special uniforms for "What If?" Night. The fans voted for Haymakers as their favorite rejected team name. Lame, yes, but this is the NY-Penn League.

It's worth noting that this only got out on the web because the club put it out there. That "TV" footage, as far as I know, is only shown on the TVs they have in the restrooms and above the concession stands so you can follow the game while getting snacks or pissing. The audio is from the "Spikes Radio Network," which has only one station.

Jason, he was an Oriole before we either offloaded him to Florida for a random draft pick/spare part, or tried to put him though waivers and Florida grabbed him, but Penn was not much beyond useless starting or relieving when he was here.

gero, you are with email.

Funny: the Dodgers have trademarked the phrase "Los Doyers." For those unaware, "los Doyers" (Doy-uhrs) is how some local Spanish-speakers pronounce "Dodgers," though it gets used more jokingly by Latinos. There had been several non-licensed Los Doyers shirts for sale, and now the team has trademarked it and are selling their own versions.

To me, the official Doyers shirt:



Comes nowhere close to this gray market one:

Am I the only one who has noticed an increase in the frequency of references to the Padres as "the Friars"?

And the only one to wonder if there isn't some nastiness (whether conscious or not) behind same?

Why would that be nasty? I think writers and SportsCenter types like to have an alternative nickname. Like calling the Pirates the "Buccos," but I think maybe now only people who remember the We Are Family Pirates of the 1970s and are still hoping to win the Giant Eagle Homerun Sweepstakes call them the Bucs or the Buccos.

At Petco, the hotdogs are called Friar Franks. The logo of the monk swinging a big bat is one of my favorite. When I was at Petco, I got a hat with that logo and a shirt for a friend who is a fellow mid-century cartoony logo enthusiast.

I couldn't figure San Diego out. On the one hand, there seemed to be a lot of semi-hippy types who hang out in coffee shops listening to singer-songwriters after a long day of getting baked on the beach. But it's also got a ton of military. When I was at Petco, it was Army Appreciation night (they had separate nights for the Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and National Guard). They honored a guy who had played for the old PCL Padres and died in WWII. His sister and nephew were on hand. That was nice, I thought. But then they did a swearing-in ceremony for a bunch of new recruits on the field before the game. Everyone else cheered and clapped approvingly. I just felt really uncomfortable with the whole thing. Like I was participating in something really awful, but I didn't know what to do about it. I think the mild earthquake later that evening, as well as the Padres loss to the Blue Jays, was God's way of showing his disapproval, but not in a vengeful wrathful way, but more in a two-fingers-sign-to-show-I'm-watching-you- like-on-The-Sopranos way.

I was taking it as evidence of anti-Latino sentiment.

In a country where people are advocating public burning of Korans, you can't be too careful.

All that said, I'm also a big fan of the "swinging Friar" logo.

The military influence in SD definitely overwhelms that of the baked. I was thrilled to hear one of the SportsCenter guys this weekend actually say that the camouflage uniforms were awful.

You mean, they're trying to avoid having a Spanish name?

Is that how San Diego is in general or do you think the Padres make an extra effort to appeal to the military because military people are likely to come from somewhere else with allegiances to other teams and otherwise might not be so inclined to support the Padres?

I know that there was a time, at least, when the Padres marketed themselves to the Latino community and promoted coach buses that would bring fans in from over the border. Not sure how that is now.

My only experiences with San Diego have been covering meetings there. I think it's my third favorite convention site in the US of the ones I've been to. I've never really met a native San Diegan.

I lived in San Diego for four months or so in 1980.

It's a weird place, especially for a native New Yorker, though I can see how it would be a good convention town.

I am almost certainly over-reacting to the "Friars" thing, but I'm also certain that there are some wignuts among their fanbase that don't like the club's "foreign" name.

My take on their solicitousness to the military is that it is directed more towards the brass and the very significant numbers of former service members who have decided to retire to San Diego and the surrounding area.

It's good because the weather is mild, and everything a visitor needs is close together - the airport is near downtown, there are plenty of hotels near the convention center, and plenty of places to eat around there too, plus, as of a few years ago, a major league ballpark. I don't know how great it is for people who live there - there doesn't seem to be much pedestrian traffic downtown at night or on the weekends (contrast that to San Francisco) - but it's ideal for my purposes. The only reason I rate it only third (behind Washington and Boston) is that I don't fancy the cross-country flight.

Like everything else, it depends what you like.

When I was living there "downtown" was dead as a doornail, and the cultural scene is still rather limited for a city of that size (compare SF or Austin). But the weather is terrific (as long as you are near the coast), UCSD and the Salk Institute are definite intellectual draws and some parts are breathtaking beautiful.

Doesn't SF touch all of those bases as well?

And Baltimore (the weather is better than DC).