6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog

The Duke of Flatbush, a smooth-fielding outfielder and, thanks to his prowess as a home-run hitter, a fan favorite in Ebbets Field, was a Dodger, both in Brooklyn and his native Los Angeles, for 16 of his 18 years in the major leagues. A Hall of Fame member, the eight-time All-Star helped the Dodgers to six National League championships, and Brooklyn's only World Series title, in his first 11 seasons, providing Dodger power from the left side of the plate.

Snider hit 40 or more homers in five consecutive seasons and during the decade of the '50s led all major leaguers in home runs, 326; runs batted in, 1,031; runs scored, 970; and slugging percentage, .569. He finished his career with a lifetime batting average of .295 and 407 home runs, 389 of them as a Dodger, still the team record. He is the only player to have twice hit four homers in the World Series, matching his 1952 feat in '55, the year the Dodgers won the Series and he was named major league player of the year by Sporting News.

He hit the last home run in Ebbets Field and had the first hit in Dodger Stadium, a single on opening day in 1962, and was part of the 1959 Los Angeles Dodgers team that beat the Chicago White Sox in the World Series.

Labels: dodgers, history, obituaries

// posted by Rob @ 1:57 PM link  //  0 comments

1. The owners still aren't averse to helping out those they favor, and
2. They hate Frank McCourt.

Mr. Selig’s decision to give what amounts to extraordinary assistance to one of the sport’s most prominent and highly valued teams — one owned by Mr. Wilpon, a man Mr. Selig has long regarded as a close personal friend — could anger other team owners, who might wonder why their money is being used to rescue a team with a $140 million payroll.

...

“The fact that the loan is coming from baseball would be a jarring event because, as with the Texas Rangers, the league is effectively a lender of last resort,” said Marc Ganis, a sports industry consultant. “It would indicate the team cannot get loans from normal commercial sources, which could be taken as a sign of very significant problems.”

Labels: dodgers, haha, mccourts, mets

// posted by Rob @ 7:48 PM link  //  0 comments

Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig has rejected a proposal under which Fox would have loaned about $200 million to Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, three people familiar with the discussions told The Times.

McCourt would have used the Dodgers' cable television rights as collateral, extending the team's current contract with Fox by as many as four years if he did not repay the loan, according to the individuals, who were briefed on the proposal but who are not authorized to discuss it.

Labels: dodgers, mccourts, woo hoo

// posted by Rob @ 9:19 PM link  //  0 comments

Labels: dodgers, injuries

// posted by Rob @ 8:06 AM link  //  0 comments

Labels: blue jays, dodgers, hot stove, stupid ideas

// posted by Rob @ 2:05 PM link  //  0 comments

Kinzer would not specify why Belisario was still in his native Venezuela. But asked if Belisario was having trouble securing a visa, Kinzer replied, “It goes a little deeper than that.”

Labels: dodgers, spring training, stupid ideas

// posted by Rob @ 11:44 AM link  //  0 comments

Labels: angels, dodgers, mccourts, tv

// posted by Rob @ 12:56 PM link  //  2 comments

Labels: angels, draft

// posted by Rob @ 5:58 PM link  //  0 comments

Update: David Pinto breaks down Weaver's pitching: "The 78-80 MPH range is where Weaver makes his money", getting batters to swing and miss at sliders and changeups that look like his major-league-meh fastball.

Also, Tangotiger says the Weav arbiter picked correctly, comparing him to three other recent compensation cases (Justin Verlander, Felix Hernandez, and Josh Johnson). (Via Halos Heaven.)

Labels: angels

// posted by Rob @ 10:01 AM link  //  0 comments

Labels: angels, athletics, weird

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Labels: cardinals, dodgers, history, postseason, twins

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Labels: blue jays, hot stove, rumors, trades

// posted by Rob @ 8:02 PM link  //  0 comments

Carlos Santana, C, Cleveland
Missed by: 10 at-bats
Would have ranked: No. 1 or 2

If Santana wrecks his knee a week sooner, he remains on the list and is either first or second on the Top 100 list depending on whether Strasburg is still eligible. If Santana doesn't hurt his knee, he grabs another 150 or so at-bats and probably ends up on most AL Rookie of the Year ballots. The injury was apparently less severe than an MCL or ACL tear, with a recovery time of 4-6 months rather than 8-12, so he should be ready to go for spring training, although I wouldn't be shocked to see Cleveland give him more days off this year than a starting catcher might ordinarily receive. Santana is a well-rounded offensive player with great plate discipline and an explosive bat; if he stays behind the plate long-term, he'll be one of the best players in the American League.

Labels: dodgers, indians, stupid ideas

// posted by Rob @ 8:24 AM link  //  0 comments

Labels: ex-angels, hot stove, orioles, transactions

// posted by Rob @ 8:21 PM link  //  0 comments

The Dodgers were a great franchise once. But on the eve of the 2009 NLCS, Frank McCourt filed for divorce from his wife Jamie, who he had made CEO of the team for some reason that must seem inconceivable to him now. Not content with a simple firing, he sent her a public letter blaming her "insubordination, non-responsiveness, failure to follow procedures, and inappropriate behavior with regard to a direct subordinate." That last one: an alleged affair with her chauffeur. Oh, and he changed the locks on her office.

The weirdness was only starting. It came out the pair had hired a faith healer to watch games on TV in Boston, and send "positive vibes" their way. Jamie, refusing to accept her firing, sent her chauffeur/boyfriend as an official Dodger ambassador to Taiwan. Frank, who owns Dodger Stadium, charged his own team exorbitant rent, in order to move the money where Jamie can't touch it.

So now the Dodgers desperately slash payroll, in an attempt to horde funds in advance of a court ruling. Los Angeles, a city that's like a flame to moths for professional athletes, can't sign anyone to prevent their freefall. And we still don't know who owns the team, nor do we know why anyone would want to. The Dodgers were a great franchise. Once. (Barry Petchesky)

Labels: dodgers, haha, mccourts

// posted by Rob @ 10:02 AM link  //  0 comments

Labels: dodgers, mets, owners

// posted by Rob @ 9:11 PM link  //  0 comments

When Fred Wilpon’s son Jeff was married at Fresh Meadow Country Club on Long Island, Bernard L. Madoff and his wife were there. When Mr. Madoff’s son Mark was married at the same country club, Mr. Wilpon, the principal owner of the Mets, was a guest as well.

When the Mets negotiated their larger contracts with star players — complex deals with signing bonuses and performance incentives — they sometimes adopted the strategy of placing deferred money owed the players with Mr. Madoff’s investment firm. They would have to pay the player, but the owners of the club would be able to make money for themselves in the meantime. There never seemed to be much doubt about that, according to several people with knowledge of the arrangements.

As an aside, I had been meaning to congratulate my friends at SB Nation for their "get" of ex-ESPN writer Rob Neyer, who has a few thoughts on this matter.

Update: More on the Mets:

Fred Wilpon, in August 2009, told the Times' Richard Sandomir that the Madoff scandal hadn't impacted the Mets in any way.

“But Fred Wilpon felt the need to emphasize again that the finances of the team had not been affected”, Sandomir wrote. “The resources available to him — revenue from luxury suites, club seats and a nearly 70 percent stake in the SNY network and his real estate holdings — have not been compromised by Madoff, he said.”

Around the same time, Howard called into a Fox Business Network interview with Erin Arvedlund, author of a book on Bernie Madoff. Arvedlund had asserted that the Wilpons would be forced to sell at least a part of the Mets to cover Madoff losses, something the Wilpons long denied, but acknowledged last week. Howard said, in the course of disparaging Arvedlund's reporting as“outrageous, unfounded and grossly irresponsible”: “We have said from the outset that the losses incurred from the Madoff fraud have not and will not affect the operation of the Mets.”

The reality seems to be that all three men had to have known that these statements were untrue when they uttered them. As Serge F. Kovalevski and David Waldstein wrote in Tuesday's piece: “When the Mets negotiated their larger contracts with star players—complex deals with signing bonuses and performance incentives—they sometimes adopted the strategy of placing deferred money owed the players with Mr. Madoff’s investment firm. They would have to pay the player, but the owners of the club would be able to make money for themselves in the meantime. There never seemed to be much doubt about that, according to several people with knowledge of the arrangements.

“'Bernie was part of the business plan for the Mets,' a former employee of the club said.”

Labels: mets, stupid ideas

// posted by Rob @ 2:02 PM link  //  0 comments

1. Dee Gordon, ss
2. Zach Lee, rhp
3. Rubby de la Rosa, rhp
4. Chris Withrow, rhp
5. Allen Webster, rhp
6. Jerry Sands, of/1b
7. Scott Elbert, lhp
8. Kenley Jansen, rhp
9. Ethan Martin, rhp
10. Trayvon Robinson, of

1. Mike Trout, of
2. Tyler Chatwood, rhp
3. Jean Segura, 2b
4. Hank Conger, c
5. Jordan Walden, rhp
6. Kaleb Cowart, 3b
7. Garrett Richards, rhp
8. Fabio Martinez, rhp
9. Mark Trumbo, 1b/of
10. Cam Bedrosian, rhp

Labels: angels, dodgers, minors

// posted by Rob @ 8:01 AM link  //  0 comments

Related: Napoli signed a 1-year, $5.8M deal with Texas.

Labels: angels, funny, haha, hot stove, stupid ideas, trades, transactions

// posted by Rob @ 11:24 AM link  //  0 comments