BLACK FEBRUARY IS HERE

Sure those beautiful words, "Pitchers and Catchers Report" will occur in less than 2 weeks but we are still too far away from any meaningful baseball action in a world now without football (for like 6 months).

To ease this misery, the Dodgers got an early jump on things by putting their spring training game tickets on sale this past weekend. Why is that big news you ask, well for starters this is SADLY the last season in Vero Beach. Home to the Dodgers for 60 years now in some capacity or another (10 years more than LA has been home to the Dodgers), the team is scheduled to move to a shiny new home in Arizona next year. While this makes them closer to those of us in LA and increases the odds that LA fans get out to support the team in March, it is sad to lose such a historical part of the team. Sandy and Don used to walk those same roads and play on those fields. Cey, Garvey, Russell and Lopes learned to play along side of each other here. Mike Piazza got his start as a catcher here and Eric Gagne became GAME OVER on these fields. Yeah Vero is a sleepy town, not conveniently located and all the way across the country but Florida is SPRING TRAINING. Not Arizona. Most spring games in Arizona have box scores of football games, 14-7, 13-10, 10-7, not the pitching and defense duels you get in Florida. Oh well, its just more of Frank McCourt killing team history.

On the plus side, is that on March 29th, the Dodgers will host McCourt's favorite team, the Boston Red Sox (rumor has it they are the defending champs too), at the LA COLISEUM. This is a throwback to the first season in LA when the Dodgers played at the Coliseum and this 2008 version sold out in less than an hour. I'll be there with several of my buddies. I wasn't alive for the first tour in the Coliseum so the chance to see this in person, could not be missed. Proceeds from this game are slated to go to the Jimmy Fund, I mean Think Cure. McCourt's version of the Jimmy Fund (BOS Charity). In all seriousness, it is a good cause, going to support cancer research, it is just funny how he tries to make the Dodgers the Red Sox West. (Of course by hiring Torre, who knows what is going on now....)

In other news, the METS got Johan and it still boggles my mind that LA was not a player. Sure the Mets had to give Johan a 6 year deal, averaging 23 million a year, but come on, drawing 4 million fans, LA could afford that. You cannot tell me that a package of Kershaw (or a lesser P), LaRoche, maybe Ethier or Kemp was not 1000% more attractive than Gomez, Humber, Guerra and Mulvey???? Why did we not at least throw in an offer? Would the greatest pitcher in the game today NOT BE a welcome addition to this team? HELLO! It is still early enough that I do retain some optimism for this season. I like LA to fight for first with the D-Backs and either take the west or win the wild card. COL, SD, and SF do not scare or worry me at all. Until next time.....