Dodgers News And Notes

Frank McCourt meets with executives from the commissioner's office. LATimes.com's Bill Shaikin tells us that the Dodgers owner met with several of Selig's lieutenants earlier this week in New York. According to officials familiar with the discussions, McCourt requested the meetings.

It is uncertain exactly what McCourt proposed in his meetings, but he could get hundreds of millions of dollars by either negotiating a new television contract with Fox or selling a minority share of the Dodgers, then using the proceeds to settle his divorce. McCourt has insisted he has no plan to sell any share of ownership.

However, Selig could reject any television contract or partnership agreement. After court documents in the divorce trial revealed how the McCourts diverted millions in team revenue each year for personal use, Selig could cite grounds that such money should be used to improve the team rather than to pay off an ex-wife, one official said.


In addition, the officials said, Selig could refuse McCourt the short-term financing available to owners from MLB.

It is unclear whether such actions could pressure McCourt to the point of putting the team up for sale, whether McCourt would take legal action to stop any such moves, or how any decisions Selig might consider would be affected by Jamie McCourt's contention that she owns half the team.

However, the owner of another MLB club said he doubted Frank McCourt could rally other owners behind him — and against Selig — should the commissioner decide to act.

Dodgers' fourth annual Winter Development Program begins this weekend. The Dodgers' fourth annual Winter Development Program, which helps prepare minor league players for the Major Leagues both on and off the field, kicks off this weekend and will include workouts, community visits, informational seminars and visits to different areas of Los Angeles. Sixteen of the Dodgers' top minor league prospects will be in town for the week-long event and workouts will focus on fundamentals, strength training and conditioning.

Camelback Ranch box office opens. Vin Scully Is My Homeboy gives us the details on Dodgers Spring Training games. Single-game tickets went on sale today in  Glendale, AZ.

How close is Trayvon Robinson? ESPNLosAngeles.com's Jon Weisman gives us all the details on the switch-hitting center fielder.

Dodger in the Dominican and Venezuelan Winter Leagues. Chad at Memories of Kevin Malone gives us a recap on all the Dodgers that played in each league.

LA County Fair's Dodger Day: Garvey and Sax Autograph

Thursday, September 9, was Dodger Day at the LA County Fair in Pomona. Four former players appeared at the event, Steve Sax, Maury Wills, Steve Garvey and Fernando Valenzuela. These events always get crazy, but I know that it's a lot crazier when Garvey and Fernando appear. I knew I had to get there as early as possible. My mission was to get Steve Garvey to autograph his bobblehead.

The appearances began at 4:00 pm, with Steve Sax signing first for an hour. They would continue every hour after that for one hour at a time. Maury Wills was at 5:00, Steve Garvey at 6:00 and Fernando at 7:00.

I arrived at the fair at 1:15, hoping it would be early enough. I'm always very late to these things. Well, I was early enough. There was only one line when I got there and I was about 30 people back. Security told us that we would have to get back in line once we got Sax's autograph. THERE WAS JUST ONE LINE? This had disaster written all over it.

The front of the line when I got there

Standing in line, it's always fun to chat with the people around you, and I did meet some nice people waiting for Steve Sax. I can't remember all of their names, but a couple of them said they read the blog. COOL! They all had some nice Dodger stories to tell.

Once 4:00 rolled around, the line moved quickly. I noticed there was a second line forming off to the side. I asked them what they were waiting for. Some people were waiting for Garvey, some for Fernando. OK, so this is where I'm gonna go once I get the Sax auto. Well, I finally got to Sax, and he was very nice. I told him I was huge fan and he said thanks. He signed my 1982 Fleer rookie card for me.

Once I got the autograph, I went to that secondary line people were waiting in. I was about 40 people back, so I was in good shape for Steve Garvey. Maury Wills was next, but I was there to get Steve Garvey's autograph. While waiting, I met some more great people. The first person I met was a man named Bruce. You can read Bruce's Dodger Day experience here. He had some nice stories to tell. While I was chatting with Bruce, a couple of guys stepped into line and started talking to Bruce, I figured they were related. They weren't, they had just met each other waiting for Steve Sax. So, who were these guys? One was Greg from Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle and Memories of Kevin Malone. He recognized me from the site. The other was a nice guy named Eric. We chatted for a while, then things got chaotic. Security had to do something with the second line of people that had formed. So, they formed three seperate lines, one for each of the remaing players. Why didn't they think of this earlier?

I jumped into the Steve Garvey line. Waiting in the Garvey line I met more poeple, with more stories to tell. This is what the fans do to pass the time. Looking to the left, there was a huge line starting to form for Fernando. I didn't want any part of that. I was sticking to my mission, Garvey then go home.

Garvey showed up on time, and the line started moving. I've got to admit, this was one of the good things about the event, they moved the line along nicely. I got the bobblehead out. Once I got to the front of the line, that's when Fernando showed up. The crowd went crazy. But I was there for the Iron Man. Once it was my turn, I handed him the bobblehead. I told him to sign the helmet. Then I started telling him I was a huge fan, and that it was nice to meet him. While I was blabbering away, I noticed he was signing the base of the bobblehead. I asked him if he could please sign the helmet. He said sorry, then went on to give me an additional signature right on the side of the helmet. I got two Garvey autographs on one bobblehead! Nice. Mission accomplished.

As I was walking away, Eric asked me if I wanted to wait for Fernando. I took one look at the line, and said, no. There were at least 1,000 people in line for Fernando, if not more. That's when I knew it was time to go home.

Overall, I'd say I had a good day. I got 2 of the four player's autographs. I was there for Garvey, so getting Sax was a bonus for me. I met some nice people too. It was also nice to meet Greg from MoKM in person. That's the second Dodger blogger I've met now, Roberto from Vin Scully is My Homeboy being the first.

Around The Dodger Blogosphere

Let's see what's going on in the Dodger blogosphere:

What Jonathan Broxton needs to do to earn redemption. After his All-Star Game save, a lot of people were talking about Jonothan Broxton. Most of what was being said was good, but there are still some Big Jon haters out there.  Chad Moriyama at Memories of Kevin Malone tells us what Brox needs to do to win those haters over.
 
Vin Scully Is My Homeboy at the All-Star FanFest. Roberto over at VSIMH was in Anaheim on Tuesday for the final day of FanFest 2010.
 
MSTI's first half review. Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness grades the Dodgers first half of the season, player by player.
 
Dan Uggla in Dodger blue? Dodgersrumors.com tells us why the Dodgers should trade for Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla.
 
 

 
What has happened to Ronnie Belliard? Steve Dilbeck at the LA Times wonders where Ronnie Belliard has gone. He's not the same player we saw at the end of last season.
 
Memorabilia Monday. Greg at MoKM is asking readers to send in some pictures of sports memorabilia and a story that goes with it. He's already posted his Matt Kemp signed ball(I'm jealous).
 

Dodger Bloggin'

Tonight's Dodger loss was painful. The pitching was atrocious. Carlos Monasterios was a mess. But Ramon Troncoso replacing Monasterios in the fifth inning was the Dodgers undoing. Tron couldn't even retire one batter in what turned out to be a seven-run inning for the Red Sox. I don't even understand how Joe Torre can keep bringing Troncoso into games. Actually, I do understand. He loves to destroy bullpen arms. It's sad.

Let's see what's going on in the world of Dodger blogs:

Speaking of Joe Torre destroying bullpen arms, theLFP.com shares the cover of Joe Torre's next book with us, "The Art of Bullpen Management"



Blue Heaven shares another great auction item. It's a game-used Dodger batting helmet once worn by slugger Pedro Guerrero. What's so special about this helmet? Nolan Ryan hit Pedro in the back of the head which left a huge crack in the helmet. The helmet is also signed by Ryan and Guerrero.

There have been a few good Dodger autograph appearances over the last few weeks. KempKershaw over at Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle shares his John Ely meeting with us.

Matt Kemp has been struggling lately. Memories of Kevin Malone wonders if there is any reason to start worrying about the Dodgers star center fielder.

Roberto over at Vin Scully Is My Homeboy is in Boston with the Dodgers. He's been giving us the details of his east coast trip. He's sitting in Section 36 if any other Dodger fans in Boston were curious.

Speaking of Section 36, Boston Red Sox blogger, Section 36 writes a segment called "Visitor's Views", where he asks some questions to a fan of the visiting team at Fenway. Since the Dodgers are in Boston, he contacted me, and asked me a few questions. Of course I was kind enough to answer. You can check that out here.

Around The Dodger Blogosphere

Let's take a look at what's going on in the world of Dodger blogs

Roberto over at Vin Scully Is My Homeboy had a contest earlier in the week. He gave away an Andre Ethier bobblehead to the first person to e-mail him a picture of themselves wearing a VSIMH shirt. I thought it was a great idea.

Congrats to Mike Brown from The Left Field Pavilion. His Casey Blake "In Beard We Trust" shirts are real hot right now. Matt Kemp's wearing the shirt, and it was shown by Steve Lyons on Dodgers Live.



Matt Kemp and Jamey Carroll are similar? Really? Chad at Memories of Kevin Malone broke down the two players defensive numbers. It ain't pretty. Both Kemp and Carroll have struggled defensively this year.

Sons of Steve Garvey had some costume ideas for some of the Dodgers on Empire Strikes Back Night at Dodger Stadium. Jamey Carroll as 4-LOM is hilarious. I crack up every time I see their pictures side-by-side.