Dodgers News

Ramirez will stay with L.A.
Comment
November 7
Los Angeles Times
 
"Manny Ramirez is returning to the Los Angeles Dodgers next season.The team said yesterday that the slugger exercised his $20 million contract option for 2010.Ramirez hit .290 with 19 home runs and 63 RBIs in 104 regular-season games. He missed 50 games while suspended for violating baseball's drug policy.Brewers trade. Milwaukee dealt J.J. Hardy to Minnesota for speedy outfielder Carlos Gomez.Hardy, a 2007 all-star shortstop, was demoted to triple A in August.The Brewers also declined a $3.7 million option on righthander David Weathersby, buying him out for $400,000.Royals trade. Kansas City sent Mark Teahen to the Chicago White Sox, with whom he will return to his familiar position at ..."
Manny Ramirez will remain with Dodgers
Comment
November 7
Los Angeles Times
 
"The Dodgers have learned that Manny Ramirez will be theirs for another season -- at a price tag of $20 million. Ramirez's agent, Scott Boras, told General Manager Ned Colletti on Friday that Ramirez would not exercise the escape clause in his contract that would have let the former All-Star outfielder re-enter the free-agent market at age 37. Ramirez had until Tuesday to inform the cash-strapped Dodgers if he intended to void the second year of a two-year, $45-million contract he signed in the spring -- something that was viewed as highly unlikely in baseball circles because of the kind of year Ramirez had. Although Ramirez just completed a season in which he was suspended 50 games for ..."
Dodgers: Manny Ramirez to return in 2010
Comment
November 6
Los Angeles Times
 
"Manny Ramirez will return to the Dodgers next season, according to his agent, Scott Boras. Boras said that he informed General Manager Ned Colletti today that Ramirez would not exercise the escape clause in the two-year, $45-million contract he signed in the spring. Ramirez will earn $20 million next season."
Torre, witness to domestic abuse
Comment
November 6
Los Angeles Times
 
"He's Joe Torre, a household name from coast to coast, the stoic statue in the dugout, talking now about a lack of self-esteem -- his own. Of all people. He's MVP as a player, World Series champion four times as Yankees manager, the Dodgers under Torre the most successful they have been in 20 years. But he's still also little Joey in so many ways, a witness to domestic abuse in his own home, and the shame and embarrassment that come from believing only his family had such ugly problems. "I get to be 55 or so," Torre explains, "and my wife, Ali, is going to a Life Success seminar. So I go along, but 'Oh Lord,' I tell myself when I arrive, 'what am I getting myself into?' I'm a very private ..."
Six Dodgers file for free agency
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November 6
Los Angeles Times
 
"A handful of Dodgers filed for free agency, including infielders Ronnie Belliard, Orlando Hudson and Doug Mientkiewicz and pitchers Randy Wolf, Jon Garland and Eric Milton. Thursday was the first day of a 15-day window in which players can file for free agency. They cannot negotiate with other teams until the window closes. Garland became a free agent after the Dodgers declined the mutual option on the 30-year-old right-hander's contract. Acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Aug. 31 for a player to be named who turned out to be infielder Tony Abreu, Garland was 3-2 with a 2.72 earned-run average in six regular-season starts for the Dodgers."
Jamie McCourt is denied bid for reinstatement
Comment
November 6
Los Angeles Times
 
"On the day the Angels re-signed Bobby Abreu to a multiyear deal, the future of the Dodgers started to take shape on the eighth floor of the Los Angeles Superior Court building. Slowly. While Jamie McCourt was denied her request to be immediately reinstated as the Dodgers' chief executive in an emergency hearing Thursday, the more important issue of whether she is a co-owner of the storied franchise along with soon-to-be ex-husband Frank McCourt did not become any clearer -- and probably won't be for some time. Of a 2004 agreement that listed Frank McCourt as the sole owner of the Dodgers and Jamie McCourt the sole owner of multiple residences, Commissioner Scott Gordon said, "It's clear ..."
Court denies Jamie McCourt's bid for reinstatement as Dodger CEO
Comment
November 5
Los Angeles Times
 
"The Los Angeles County Superior Court has ruled against Jamie McCourt in her request to overturn her termination as Dodgers chief executive officer by estranged husband Frank, according to Dylan Hernandez of The Times."
Dodgers pass on Garland's 2010 option
Comment
November 5
MLB.com
 
"The Dodgers declined the $10 million 2010 mutual option for right-handed pitcher Jon Garland, who can become a free agent. Garland is entitled to receive a $2.5 million buyout, which will be paid by the Arizona Diamondbacks as part of the terms of the trade that sent Garland to the Dodgers for infielder Tony Abreu on Aug. 31. The 30-year-old Garland was 3-2 with a 2.72 ERA in six Dodgers starts, was a long reliever who did not pitch in the National League Division Series against the Cardinals and was left off the roster for the NL Championship Series against Philadelphia. On the season, Garland went 11-13 with a 4.01 ERA with 204 innings pitched, the fifth time Garland has pitched at least ..."
Dodgers bid farewell to Jon Garland
Comment
November 5
Los Angeles Times
 
"After six appearances totaling 36 1/3 innings — none in the postseason — pitcher Jon Garland has been cut loose by the Dodgers, who declined his $10-million option for 2010 (though the team is free to negotiate a new contract with him). Dylan Hernandez of The Times tweeted the news, and Ken Gurnick of MLB.com has a report. As part of the terms of the Dodgers' trade with Arizona, the Diamondbacks are reportedly paying the $2.5-million buyout. Second baseman Tony Abreu went to Arizona in the deal. Gurnick also reminds us that the Dodgers cannot offer Garland salary arbitration or get draft-pick compensation for him."
Dodgers' Padilla recovering from gunshot wound
Comment
November 5
L.A. Daily News
 
"Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Vicente Padilla is recovering from a bullet wound in his leg after a target shooting instructor accidentally shot him. Dr. Eduardo Reguera said Padilla, who signed with the Dodgers in August, didn't need surgery after spending time at Managua's Metropolitan Hospital. Police spokesman Vilma Reyes said Wednesday that Padilla's pistol apparently jammed during a target shooting session late Tuesday. Padilla handed the pistol to a shooting instructor, a former police captain, who didn't realize there was a bullet in the chamber and shot himself in his hand, Padilla's legal adviser Roberto Calderon told The Associated Press. The bullet also grazed Padilla's leg."
Rays working on Iwamura deal
Comment
November 3
St. Petersburg Times
 
"Just got back to New York and heard from an industry source who's not with the Rays that they are on the verge of completing a trade of 2B Akinori Iwamura. The Rays were looking to do some kind of deal since they weren't planning to pick up the $4.85-million option to bring him back. What's interesting is that the source indicated the deal wasn't with the Cubs or the Dodgers as has been speculated on but to an unexpected team. Hmmm. The Rays are operating under something of a deadline since they have until one day after the end of the World Series to either pick up the option or pay a $550,000 buyout and allow Iwamura to become a free agent. They have been working on essentially a ..."
Jamie McCourt seeks to remove Dodgers from divorce hearing
Comment
November 3
Los Angeles Times
 
"Jamie McCourt argued in a motion Monday that the Dodgers should not be a party in a divorce hearing, asking the court to throw out papers filed in the team's name that "unnecessarily and gratuitously attack" her. The motion is expected to be considered Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court as part of a hearing to determine the validity of McCourt's demand for immediate reinstatement as the Dodgers' chief executive. Frank McCourt, her estranged husband, fired her two weeks ago. After she filed for divorce last week, he responded in a filing that her reinstatement would be "akin to throwing a bomb into a crowded room.""
McCourts' divorce: Moneyball, Part 2
Comment
November 1
Orange County Register
 columnist Randy Youngman
"Well, now we know why their last name is McCourt. Frank and Jamie McCourt, one or both of whom own the Dodgers — that issue will be decided by a court — are likely to become synonymous with court proceedings as they proceed with a high-profile divorce that seems destined to titillate and disgust the common people in Southern California who wouldn't even know how to spend $500,000 a month. Yes, Jamie has asked in a court filing for $487,634 a month in spousal support to maintain an extravagant lifestyle to which she has become accustomed. Or if she is reinstated as Dodgers CEO — her husband fired her shortly after the Dodgers were eliminated from the playoffs, perhaps suspecting she told ..."
Even before the McCourts' divorce became public, there were signs that the team was falling apart.
Comment
October 30
Los Angeles Times
 
"Dodgers fans didn't need to witness this week's divorce wrecking ball to feel the rubble and cough the dust. By the time Frank and Jamie McCourt chose to publicly level their marriage, their ownership legacy had already been disintegrating. To those who watched the Dodgers fall three wins short of a World Series for the second consecutive season, perhaps none of the salacious allegations are as disturbing as the team's inability to trade for Cliff Lee. To those who heard about the cleanup hitter taking a shower while his teammates took a bath, perhaps none of the ugly finger-pointing is as unsettling as the ownership's coddling of Manny Ramirez. And, really, as embarrassing as the McCourts ..."
Jamie McCourt faces tough road, experts say
Comment
October 30
Los Angeles Times
 
"They are nine words buried in the fine print of a legal document that divides family assets between Frank McCourt and Jamie McCourt. They sit toward the end of a paragraph that lists properties belonging solely to Frank McCourt: "all assets of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team." Jamie McCourt insisted in her divorce filing this week that she is entitled to a share of ownership in the Dodgers. However, she faces an uphill battle in persuading a court to throw out the legal agreement that says otherwise, according to three family law experts surveyed Thursday by The Times. Jamie McCourt's attorneys have said the Dodgers should be considered community property under California law, which ..."
Harsh words fly in McCourt divorce filings
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October 29
Los Angeles Times
 
"The dramatic tale of the Dodgers ownership battle took another turn Wednesday when Jamie McCourt's attorney said that she had lined up financing for a possible bid to buy out her estranged husband. "Whatever it takes to buy Frank McCourt out, she's got," attorney Bert Fields said. Yet Frank McCourt has no intention of selling the Dodgers, to her or anyone else, his attorney said Wednesday. "Congratulations to her for being a prospective buyer," attorney Marshall Grossman said. "There is no seller. Perhaps she could explore some other sport." The day started with a new and salacious twist, with Frank McCourt claiming in a 664-page court filing that he fired Jamie McCourt as the club's chief ..."
Manny not leaving Mannywood
Comment
October 28
SI.com
 
"Manny Ramirez is planning to exercise the $20 million player option that returns him to the Dodgers for 2010. His original plan was to shop around, but after a year in which he was suspended for 50 games, he must have realized this is his best option. Manny's plan to stay should come as no surprise the Dodgers. Dodgers people have said all along they expect Ramirez to pick up the option. It's interesting to look at how much he improved his lot by forcing the trade to L.A. in the summer of 2008. Had Ramirez simply stayed in Boston and played out his old contract, the Red Sox almost certainly would have declined what was a $20 million team option in that contract. So with the extra $5 ..."
Dodgers' ownership at stake in McCourt fight
Comment
October 28
Los Angeles Times
 
"The battle for Los Angeles' storied baseball team hit the courts Tuesday when former Dodgers chief executive Jamie McCourt filed a divorce petition laying claim to half of the team and other assets she valued at more than $1 billion. In the petition, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Jamie McCourt claimed irreconcilable differences and asked for immediate reinstatement to the job from which her husband, Frank, fired her a week ago. Frank McCourt countered with his own filing, asking the court to declare him the sole owner of the team at once, then handle the larger divorce case later. The filings publicly revealed a power struggle months in the making and far from over. And it ..."
Is Mattingly in line to succeed Torre?
Comment
October 26
ESPN.com
 
"Don Mattingly was on the short list of managerial candidates in Cleveland, and wasn't hired. But he is speaking with the Los Angeles Dodgers about his future with that organization, and while it would be premature to say he is regarded as the heir apparent to manager Joe Torre, there may come a day when he will emerge as the leading candidate to replace Torre. Mattingly has been talking with the Dodgers since the team was eliminated from the National League playoffs by the Phillies, according to sources, and will have more conversations later in the week. Mattingly has made it apparent that he wants to manage; he was a finalist with the Yankees two years ago when Joe Girardi was hired, and ..."
Will Dodgers be contenders next year?
Comment
October 25
San Francisco Chronicle
 columnist John Shea
"Can Giants fans anticipate a Dodgers collapse next year? The answer might be delivered by divorce lawyers. As the Dodgers were being eliminated for the second straight year by the Phillies in the NLCS, Frank and Jamie McCourt were playing tug-of-war with the team's future, Joe Torre was looking at becoming a lame-duck manager, Ned Colletti was contemplating a rotation without an ace and Manny Ramirez still was being criticized for his bathing habits. The Dodgers hardly ended on a positive note, and now the question is how they'll respond to ownership turmoil and a left fielder with deteriorating skills who cares about teammates so much that he blew off the final inning of Game 4 to take a ..."
MLB monitoring McCourts' fight for control of the Dodgers
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October 25
Los Angeles Times
 
"With the fight for ownership of the Dodgers expected to hit the courts this week, the commissioner's office is monitoring the proceedings but expecting little effect on the daily operations of the club. Frank McCourt, who asserts he is the sole owner of the Dodgers, fired his estranged wife, Jamie, as the team's chief executive Wednesday. Jamie McCourt, who claims she is a co-owner of the team, is expected to respond by initiating legal proceedings this week. "Obviously, there's a disruption there," said Bob DuPuy, president and chief operating officer of Major League Baseball. "The team is being operated just fine." Although the ownership of one of baseball's storied franchises could be a ..."
Dodgers continue to dream about World Series; Wolf, Hudson likely gone for next year
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October 24
Los Angeles Times
 
"With the Dodgers less than an hour removed from recording their final out of the season, Andre Ethier let himself look ahead to the day they reach the World Series. What Ethier imagined was the same cast of players, only older. What he imagined was a team resembling the Philadelphia Phillies club that eliminated them from the playoffs in consecutive seasons. "They have a whole different identity than us," Ethier said. "They're built around that core lineup that has a lot of power. I don't think anyone in baseball is represented that well. It's tough to try to duplicate that. But I think we're developing guys here that can become those guys that they have over there." Can Ethier, Matt Kemp, ..."
Dodgers ponder future amid McCourt troubles, playoff woes
Comment
October 24
L.A. Daily News
 
"On the same day Dodger Stadium would've hosted Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, two sets of very different but equally important processes were beginning. Upstairs in the front offices, the Dodger brain trust assembled Friday afternoon to begin the painful job of putting the 2009 season to rest and looking ahead to next season. Across town the lawyer for now-former chief executive officer Jamie McCourt was preparing for an imminent legal response to her termination on Thursday, possibly as soon as next week."
Summing up the NLCS win
Comment
October 24
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
"As the Phillies closed in on their second consecutive World Series Wednesday night, The Inquirer's editors decided to run a staff-wide contest to see who could write the best Page 1 headline for the sports section. Hundreds of responses poured in, some of them more printable than others. If this wasn't a family newspaper, the hands-down winner would have been (with apologies to Chase Utley), "League [Expletive] Champions." An old newspaper hand suggested "Second in a Series." Other good suggestions were: "Back for Seconds," "Back Two Back," "Double the Pleasure" and "Two Much." A bitter Los Angeles native offered "Dodgers Force Game 6." A somewhat bulky editor put a sandwich down to ..."
McCourt claims wife Jamie's behavior was insubordinate, inappropriate
Comment
October 24
Los Angeles Times
 
"As Jamie McCourt vanished from the Dodgers' website, Frank McCourt charged his estranged wife with insubordination and inappropriate behavior in a letter firing her as the team's chief executive. The letter, signed by Frank McCourt on letterhead that identifies him as the Dodgers' owner, advises Jamie McCourt to contact team human relations personnel to arrange "a time and date to gather your personal belongings." The letter is dated Wednesday, the day the Dodgers were eliminated from the National League Championship Series in Philadelphia. Jamie McCourt, who considers herself a co-owner of the team, is expected to initiate legal proceedings next week. The grounds for dismissal, as set ..."
Can we wait until next year for Dodgers?
Comment
October 24
Los Angeles Times
 
"Now I know why the Dodgers chose to hold their champagne bash after winning the division title, instead of waiting until they achieved something more meaningful. They must have had a gut reaction that this would be their only chance to indulge. Good call, Dodgers. I would really like to root for the Dodgers again, because I've been mad at them since the days of Fred Claire and Kevin Malone and some of their ridiculous trades. At the present time, I can't, however. When Manny's gone, I'll belong! Michael Gesas Beverly Hills Never mind that every move Joe Torre made against the Phillies backfired and never mind that the Dodgers always seemed to be behind in the count before they came to bat; ..."
Dodgers need a No. 1 arm to get a leg up
Comment
October 23
L.A. Daily News
 columnist Ramona Sheburne
"The first reaction, the gut reaction should not be discounted just because it came first. Sometimes, often times, in the light of day, things look different than they do in the first few sad moments after a season comes to a close. Positives can be appreciated, negatives blur. Areas for improvement feel less damning and more inspiring. But on this morning, the first one after the Dodgers' season ended at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies for the second consecutive season, there was little that had changed from the night before. And the night before that, and the night before that. For the Dodgers to take the final step in their maturation process, they must find an ace to lead them ..."
Dodgers owner Frank McCourt fires wife as team CEO
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October 23
L.A. Daily News
 
"Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has fired his wife, Jamie McCourt, as chief executive officer of the team, two sources with knowledge of the situation said Thursday afternoon. Last week the McCourts confirmed they had separated. Dodgers spokesman Josh Rawitch said the team couldn't comment on the firing, which first was reported by Sports Illustrated on its Web site, because it's team policy not to comment on personnel matters. Both McCourts attended at least two of the Dodgers' final three games of the year in Philadelphia, where the team lost to the Phillies for the second consecutive year in the National League Championship Series."
Dodgers' owner Frank McCourt fires wife
Comment
October 23
Los Angeles Times
 
"Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has fired his estranged wife, Jamie, from her position as the team's chief executive, triggering what her attorney said would be an imminent legal response. "Jamie is disappointed and saddened by her termination," attorney Dennis Wasser said Thursday. "As co-owner of the Dodgers, she will address this and all other issues in the courtroom." Wasser would not say whether she would continue to occupy her office at Dodger Stadium. He said that would depend on the outcome of legal proceedings he expected to initiate "in the next couple weeks.""
La Russa will have options, if he wants them
Comment
October 22
Foxsports.com
 columnist Ken Rosenthal
"A year from now, four marquee franchises — the Braves, Cubs, Mets and Dodgers — all could have managerial openings. Tony La Russa isn't likely to be interested. Bobby Valentine might be. La Russa, 65, currently is deciding whether he wants to return to the Cardinals. He does not sound enthused about starting over with another club. If La Russa manages next season, it will be with the Cardinals. And even if he signs only a one-year contract, he probably would be unwilling to accept a multi-year deal with another club next winter. "Looking ahead, I don't see that I can ever make that commitment to someone," La Russa said Wednesday in a telephone interview. "The way I look at it now, when ..."
Philing in the blanks
Comment
October 22
Toronto Sun
 
"In the fall of 2005, when Pat Gillick took over as general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, he quickly identified something that bothered him. "I didn't like the energy level on this club," Gillick said the other day. "I thought we had to change the energy level. We needed a little more intensity, a little more get up and go." The Phils were a good team that was having trouble getting over that hump and into the playoffs. What Gillick saw was a group of young players - Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard - whose collective leadership was being delayed and impaired by the presence of several older players, good players, but not intense, driven leaders. Through ..."
Phils Werth-y champs
Comment
October 22
Toronto Sun
 
"One-hundred and seventy-one games into the baseball season, the Philadelphia Phillies still are alive in their bid to do something no National League team has done in 33 years. The Phils earned a second consecutive NL pennant last night with a 10-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers, putting themselves in position to win back-to-back World Series, a feat last accomplished by an NL club in 1975 and 1976 by Cincinnati's legendary Big Red Machine. "I could get used to this," Phils manager Charlie Manuel said as he held up the Warren Giles Trophy for the second year in a row. While Philadelphia moves on to face the survivor of the LA Angels/New York Yankees AL Championship Series (Yankees ..."
Phillies return to World Series
Comment
October 22
Washington Times
 
"All of the reasons the Philadelphia Phillies were an unpopular pick, both in September and October, to advance to their second straight World Series were on display Wednesday night. Their 2008 World Series MVP, Cole Hamels, continued a postseason tailspin to match a subpar regular season. Their once-impeccable bullpen kept getting handed big leads and kept making them smaller. And yet these Phillies are headed back to the World Series. And what's more, they might be stronger than ever. Behind an offense that's deeper and more dangerous than it was last year and in front of a crowd that behaves as if it can will them to victory, the Phillies clinched their second consecutive National League ..."
Phillies get to defend their crown
Comment
October 22
Washington Post
 
"They didn't even pack their bags, the thought of an all-night cross-country flight representing a negative the Philadelphia Phillies didn't care to consider. Their trump card, their ace left-hander, was stashed in reserve, ready to be deployed if need be -- but they preferred to save him for the next series, the big one. So the Phillies played, managed and carried themselves Wednesday night as if they, and not the Los Angeles Dodgers, were the ones whose season was on the verge of expiring. And at the end of a thorough, definitive 10-4 beat-down of the Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, the Phillies, resolute and resurgent, are back in a ..."
Phillies earn Series berth
Comment
October 22
Camden Courier-Post
 
"It began on Oct. 6, 2007, in a somber clubhouse in Colorado with four words spoken quietly by Ryan Howard to anyone who would listen. Remember how this feels. It was the moment the Phillies started learning how to win. Two years later, it is all they do in October. And the wins -- 18 and perhaps counting over these past two autumns -- have come in all forms, from beautifully pitched gems, to improbable late-inning comebacks, to thoroughly dominant routs. But this one, a 10-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers that ended late Wednesday night and put the Phillies in the World Series for the second consecutive season, looked and felt a little different, even though it ended with a familiar ..."
Dodgers face many decisions heading into 2010
Comment
October 22
L.A. Daily News
 
"This year's National League Championship Series was the first back-to-back rematch on the senior circuit since the St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros met in 2004 and 2005. But if it happens again next year, the Dodgers could look a lot different. The Dodgers have 14 players who will become free agents after the season and nine players eligible for arbitration. Among the notable free agents, the club will have to make decisions on pitchers Randy Wolf, Vicente Padilla and Jeff Weaver and position players such as second baseman Orlando Hudson, catcher Brad Ausmus, first baseman Jim Thome and utility infielder Doug Mientkiewicz. The team has a mutual option with pitcher Jon Garland. Manny ..."
Dodgers future appears bright
Comment
October 22
L.A. Daily News
 
"On the plus side, the Dodgers just completed their best back-to-back season in more than three decades, since before half of the current team was born. On the downside, the Dodgers were championship contenders again and failed to get the job done again, losing to the same rival by the same margin in the same round of the playoffs. Should fans be encouraged or discouraged by this turn - or return - of events? For now, the disappointment is considerable after the team that raised hopes with the National League's best record this summer was blasted out of the championship chase with a 10-4 defeat in Philadelphia that capped the Dodgers' second straight 4-games-to-1 loss to the Phillies for ..."
Youthful Dodgers weren't quite ready to take next step
Comment
October 22
L.A. Daily News
 columnist Ramona Shelburne
"When the hurt passes, when October fades into the colder, clearer air of November, the Dodgers will have a lot of good memories to take from this season. But on this night, in a lonely, sad clubhouse at the end of a long season that ended too soon, there was only hurt and regret. For the second year in a row, the Dodgers had lost to the Philadelphia Phillies four games-to-one in the National League Championship Series. For the second year in a row, the Phillies were clearly the better team. So yes, this one hurts more. "It's more disappointing this year than last year," Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier said. "We felt like we were more prepared, but it seems to be the same outcome. "It's ..."
Squandering everything, just to end up the same as in '08
Comment
October 22
Los Angeles Times
 columnist T.J. Simers
"City officials spent the day greasing the light poles, street lights and nearby trees knowing Vicente Padilla was pitching for the Dodgers and the drunken uglies here would go stupid once the Phillies clinched the pennant. The whole Dodgers season on the line, the team almost investing $100,000 in Padilla and it's all riding on his arm -- a shocker now they won't be in the World Series. A year ago the Phillies won the National League Championship Series in Los Angeles, somehow beating starter Chad Billingsley in Game 5 along with relievers Chan Ho Park, Greg Maddux, James McDonald, Joe Beimel and Hong-Chih Kuo. As you can see, the Dodgers are always loaded with pitching, or cheap bargains ..."
In the end, Dodgers 'just didn't have what it takes'
Comment
October 22
Los Angeles Times
 columnist Bill Plaschke
"Nowhere, fast. So describes the journey of the 2009 Dodgers, which ended Wednesday in a recognizably battered heap in the darkest part of a familiar dead end. Again, it was the Philadelphia Phillies dancing on the grass. Again, it was the Dodgers staring from the dugout. Again, it was three wins and three light years short of a World Series. "We thought we were better this year, we thought we had what it takes," said Matt Kemp afterward with a strange softness in his voice. "But we just didn't have what it takes." Out on the Citizens Bank Park field, the Phillies were bubbly wet and giddily swaggering after a 10-4 pounding of the Dodgers to give them a four-games-to-one victory in the ..."
Phillies eliminate L.A. in five games for the second year in a row
Comment
October 22
Los Angeles Times
 
"The coach turned back into a pumpkin. The emperor realized he wasn't wearing any clothes. Vicente Padilla ran out of magic. Like that, the Dodgers' season was over, with Manager Joe Torre and his group of miracle workers falling three victories short of the World Series for the second time in as many years. Again, the Dodgers were turned away by the Philadelphia Phillies in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series in five games, this time dropping the deciding contest by a 10-4 margin at Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday night. "It's more disappointing this year than last year in that we felt we were more prepared this year," Andre Ethier said."
Ramirez's showering is a non-issue for Casey Blake
Comment
October 22
Los Angeles Times
 
"Dodgers third baseman Casey Blake said today that all the fuss over Manny Ramirez's showering before Game 4 had ended was unnecessary, calling the act "really nothing out of the ordinary." Ramirez left the dugout and showered in the ninth inning after Juan Pierre replaced him in left field for defensive purposes. The Phillies rallied with a pair of runs off closer Jonathan Broxton for a 5-4 victory that was not witnessed by Ramirez, who said he "caught the highlights" on the clubhouse TVs. Although Ramirez was skewered by columnists and talk-radio hosts for refusing to remain in the dugout and offer encouragement to teammates, Blake said he didn't have a problem with it."
Phillies Slug Way Back to Series
Comment
October 22
New York Times
 
"The paradigm has shifted. A city haunted by failure revels in glory. Its fans, nurtured on negativity, expect only good things. A World Series title can have that effect. Another one may turn this historic town into rubble, but no one would complain. The team famous for losing just keeps on winning. The Phillies toppled the Los Angeles Dodgers, 10-4, in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday night to win the seventh pennant in franchise history. They became the first defending champion to reach the World Series since the 2001 Yankees, relying on elements predictable (four home runs) and not (stellar relief work) to ensure that baseball will be played here in ..."
All aboard the Chooch-Chooch Train
Comment
October 22
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
"IN THE MIDST of his second great postseason, previously unsung Phillies catcher Carlos "Chooch" Ruiz is suddenly so popular at the Bank that "CHOOOCH!" chants are almost as loud as "RAUUUL!" howls, and two rival fan clubs are showing him love. Mike Alfonso, co-founder of the Chooch-Chooch Train fan club, sent me an angry e-mail after I reported the Monday night debut of Chooch's Chicos - seven Ruiz rooters from Medford Lakes, N.J., in sombreros and fake mustaches - at Game 4 of the National League Championship Series. Alfonso said he is frustrated by the attention Chooch's Chicos received. He wrote that his Chooch-Chooch Train club has 30 members to the Chicos' seven, and is more true to ..."
Umpires Are Caught Off Base by Bad Calls
Comment
October 22
New York Times
 
"A few minutes before the first game of the World Series next Wednesday, six men wearing blue uniforms will walk onto the field. Normally, they would be ignored until they made a bad call. This postseason, however, there has been no way to ignore them. As Major League Baseball's marquee event inches closer, much of the focus has shifted from what the Yankees and the Phillies are doing well to what the umpires are doing poorly. The umpires have botched several calls this October, including making three glaring mistakes Tuesday night in the Yankees' 10-1 rout of the Los Angeles Angels. Commissioner Bud Selig declined an interview request, but he is known to be frustrated with the incorrect ..."
Mattingly Has Preliminary Interview With Indians
Comment
October 22
New York Times
 
"Don Mattingly, the Dodgers' hitting coach, had a preliminary telephone interview with the Cleveland Indians for their vacant managerial position, and could meet with them after the Dodgers' season ends. Speaking before Game 5 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday, Mattingly said he spoke with Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro more than a week ago. He declined to provide more details because he said he wanted his focus to remain on the field as long as the Dodgers were still playing. "I definitely want to manage," Mattingly said. "I just don't think it's the time right now. I spoke to the guys in Cleveland, it was a week ago or so. I wanted to keep it quiet. I didn't ..."
Joe Torre finding October exits don't get any easier to manage
Comment
October 21
New York Daily News
 columnist Filip Bondy
"He was better Tuesday afternoon, though almost resigned to his lot. "It's tough, there's no question," Torre said, about coming back after that disheartening 5-4 walk-off defeat. "I'm not going to sit here and say that it won't be an issue. But again, you're in postseason because you're tough-minded. "It's not guaranteeing we're going to win, but it's guaranteeing that we're certainly not going to roll over." His Yankee teams never rolled over, either, but they dropped plenty of series, too. Down three games to one now, Torre is very close to his ninth successive losing postseason. Only Bobby Cox, with 10 straight such disappointments, has fared worse - or better. It all depends how ..."
Dodgers' Ramirez washes away loss
Comment
October 21
Philadelphia Inquirer
 columnist Bob Ford
"This is that precious swatch of the endless season when baseball players lean forward and absorb the nuance of every pitch. Even if they aren't in the game, whether in the dugout or the bullpen or even in the clubhouse, there is nothing more important than what happens next. Unless you're Manny Ramirez, of course. What was Ramirez, who had been removed from Monday's game in the bottom of the ninth for a defensive replacement, thinking when Jimmy Rollins doubled into the gap to score the tying and winning runs and beat his Dodgers? Well, it was something like: "Mmmm, this warm water feels wonderful and it will be good to go out and have a nice dinner tonight and . . . hey, what's all the ..."
Phillies manager Manuel says he called Rollins' walkoff double
Comment
October 21
Philadelphia Daily News
 
"Were you surprised by Jimmy Rollins' walkoff two-run double with two outs in the bottom of the ninth Monday night? Charlie Manuel wasn't. In fact, the Phillies manager said that he called Rollins' shot, pointing to rightfield moments before the shortstop unleashed the laser that scored Carlos Ruiz and Eric Bruntlett and lifted the Phillies to a 5-4 win. According to Manuel, the sequence of events went like this: During Rollins' at-bat, Manuel looked over to the visiting dugout and locked eyes with Dodgers slugger Jim Thome, a longtime friend whom he managed in Cleveland. Manuel said he then pointed to rightfield, indicating where Rollins was going to hit the ball. "Thome is standing over ..."
Manny was in shower when Game 4 went down the drain for Dodgers
Comment
October 21
Philadelphia Daily News
 
"It was the biggest moment of the season. All over Philadelphia, in the stands at Citizens Bank Park, in both dugouts, people tensed as Jonathan Broxton, an out away from tying the series with the Phillies, fired a fastball to Jimmy Rollins. In the Dodgers' clubhouse, the tension was . . . absent. "Actually, I was here, taking a shower," Manny Ramirez said. He did not witness Rollins' two-run double that won Game 4 of the National League Championship Series and gave the Phillies a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven competition. He was devoted to hygiene and dependent on technology: "I came out and saw the highlight on TV." Ramirez was replaced in leftfield for the bottom of the ninth inning by ..."