McCourt's divorce tops Dodgers winter news
If you are into juicy gossip and all the sordid details that come with high-profile divorces, the McCourt split in tabloids is just for you. And if you just like baseball stuff, read this.
One of the things I look forward to with baseball each coming season is listening to the games on the radio. If I'm not at the park watching a game with a cold one and a hot dog, listening to the game on the radio is still the next best thing to me.
Don't get me wrong; this isn't one of those good ol' day stories. As Nick Charles put it so well in the original Thin Man, "Don't kid yourself. These are the good ol' days."
I've bought the MLB.com radio stream since before I moved out to the country, and it's the best $10-$20 I've spent each year. And now that I'm the only person in my office, I don't have to wear headphones while I'm hard at work during the day and trying not to bother anyone else around me.
I really wish all of today's youth – age 30 and under – could go back and experience a week of sports as we did in the late 50s, early 60s, and before that. This isn't meant as a punishment. It's meant to let you hear some of the truly greats at the radio mic describing the game on the field. The really good announcers were not limited to just baseball, mind you, but when there was just one voice in the booth describing the action on the field, it was a thing to hear. And see. Yes, I said "see." Watching a game on the radio was truly possible with some of the really good broadcasters.
What reminded me of that now is two of the teams for this preview have a couple of my favorites to listen to when I'm streaming the games on this here cyberweb contraption. Vin Scully has been with the Dodgers longer than any other person but one, Tommy Lasorda. He's one of those rare human beings who replaced a legend, Red Barber, and wound up being even bigger than the man before him.
The Brewers have one of my favorites for this day and age, Bob Uecker. You might think of a clown when you hear Uecker's name, but for my money he's the closest thing to a traditional play-by-play radio broadcaster going in this day and age. Hey, I'm an Astros fan and hate the Brewers for the most part. But Uecker is good, really good.
Treat yourself to a game on the radio at some point this season.

Los Angeles Dodgers 12/1
2009 record/finish: 95-67, 1st in NL West
Departing: 2B Orlando Hudson, LHP Randy Wolf
Arriving: RHP Josh Towers, UTL Jamey Carroll
2010 outlook: Not a lot of change so far this offseason, other than taking care of some free agents including Vicente Padilla who is really a carry-over from the tail end of the '09 season. Most of the offseason news surrounding the franchise was the divorce crap between the McCourt's.
The airing of the front office dirty laundry did likely retard some of LA's offseason plans, but it's not like the Bums were going to be major players in the free agent market to start with. Wrapping up players like Matt Kemp, Jonathan Broxton, Andre Ethier and Chad Billingsley were the priorities; with that done, the Dodgers should open the '10 season somewhere a little above where they were in terms of payroll last April (ninth to start last season).
The club returns virtually intact from the product that topped the NL last season with 95 wins. The biggest change will be going with former first-round pick Blake DeWitt as the full-time second sacker. Oh, and assuming he doesn't fail another drug test they will have Manny Ramirez around for an extra 50 games this year. In the 50 games Manny missed last season, LA went 29-21 (.580) while going 66-45 (.606) when he was available for manager Joe Torre to put in the order.
My pick: 95 wins, 1st in NL West
Milwaukee Brewers 40/1
2009 record/finish: 80-82, 3rd in NL Central
Departing: OF Mike Cameron, SS J.J. Hardy, RHP Braden Looper, INF Felipe Lopez, C Jason Kendall, UTL Bill Hall
Arriving: OF Carlos Gomez, LHP Randy Wolf, LHP Doug Davis, RHP LaTroy Hawkins, C Gregg Zaun
2010 outlook: Having Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder in the lineup would make any team dangerous. But being a dangerous team is a lot different than being a playoff contender and I see the Brewers as nothing more than a middling team that should battle with the Reds for third place in the division.
Would it be a huge shock to see Milwaukee do more than that and push its way into the postseason mix? Absolutely not. Yovani Gallardo has top-of-the-rotation stuff and there is depth among the starters. Key to this mix will be whether or not Manny Parra gets back to the form he exhibited towards the end of his first full season, 2008. Wolf and Davis, along with Jeff Suppan, should fill out the starting mix and Hawkins gives Ken Macha a solid setup arm in front of Trevor Hoffman.
Alcides Escobar takes over at short and Rickie Weeks will try to avoid another injury-plagued season at second. The real key to this offense will be newcomer Carlos Gomez. If he can develop into a genuine leadoff hitter (i.e., an on-base mark of .330 or better), the Brewers could easily lead the NL in scoring. That is a huge IF, however.
My pick: 82-80, 3rd or 4th in NL Central
Kansas City Royals 75/1
2009 record/finish: 65-97, 5th in AL Central
Departing: RHP Jamey Wright, 3B Mark Teahen, C Miguel Olivo
Arriving: OF/1B/DH Josh Fields, OF Rick Ankiel, C Jason Kendall, OF Scott Podsednik
2010 outlook: I remain convinced that GM Dayton Moore is a solid guy to have in your front office. At the same time, he's in a bad spot trying to compete with the salary restrictions this club has. If the Royals are patient, Moore might build a 'small-market contender' a la the Twins or Athletics, but the question is will the Glass Family be patient?
Kansas City has a top-notch ace in Zach Greinke and a top-notch closer in Joakim Soria, so that puts them ahead of 6-8 other clubs at the very least. There's just not much help behind (or in front of) either of those two righthanders. If the Royals are going to really make a move up in the next couple of seasons, Brian Bannister and Luke Hochevar have to come to the party.
The recent signing of Ankiel is interesting in that the added depth – assuming KC thinks he can play everyday – might mean they are willing to deal David DeJesus to get another arm. Alex Gordon is another member of the team that needs to take that next step forward after an awful season compounded by hip surgery at such a young age. If he can, it sets up a very nice infield with Gordon at third, Billy Butler across the diamond at first and the middle infield tandem of Alberto Callaspo and Yuniesky Betancourt.
My pick: 70 wins, fourth in the AL Central
If you are into juicy gossip and all the sordid details that come with high-profile divorces, the McCourt split in tabloids is just for you. And if you just like baseball stuff, read this.
One of the things I look forward to with baseball each coming season is listening to the games on the radio. If I'm not at the park watching a game with a cold one and a hot dog, listening to the game on the radio is still the next best thing to me.
Don't get me wrong; this isn't one of those good ol' day stories. As Nick Charles put it so well in the original Thin Man, "Don't kid yourself. These are the good ol' days."
I've bought the MLB.com radio stream since before I moved out to the country, and it's the best $10-$20 I've spent each year. And now that I'm the only person in my office, I don't have to wear headphones while I'm hard at work during the day and trying not to bother anyone else around me.
I really wish all of today's youth – age 30 and under – could go back and experience a week of sports as we did in the late 50s, early 60s, and before that. This isn't meant as a punishment. It's meant to let you hear some of the truly greats at the radio mic describing the game on the field. The really good announcers were not limited to just baseball, mind you, but when there was just one voice in the booth describing the action on the field, it was a thing to hear. And see. Yes, I said "see." Watching a game on the radio was truly possible with some of the really good broadcasters.
What reminded me of that now is two of the teams for this preview have a couple of my favorites to listen to when I'm streaming the games on this here cyberweb contraption. Vin Scully has been with the Dodgers longer than any other person but one, Tommy Lasorda. He's one of those rare human beings who replaced a legend, Red Barber, and wound up being even bigger than the man before him.
The Brewers have one of my favorites for this day and age, Bob Uecker. You might think of a clown when you hear Uecker's name, but for my money he's the closest thing to a traditional play-by-play radio broadcaster going in this day and age. Hey, I'm an Astros fan and hate the Brewers for the most part. But Uecker is good, really good.
Treat yourself to a game on the radio at some point this season.

Los Angeles Dodgers 12/1
2009 record/finish: 95-67, 1st in NL West
Departing: 2B Orlando Hudson, LHP Randy Wolf
Arriving: RHP Josh Towers, UTL Jamey Carroll
2010 outlook: Not a lot of change so far this offseason, other than taking care of some free agents including Vicente Padilla who is really a carry-over from the tail end of the '09 season. Most of the offseason news surrounding the franchise was the divorce crap between the McCourt's.
The airing of the front office dirty laundry did likely retard some of LA's offseason plans, but it's not like the Bums were going to be major players in the free agent market to start with. Wrapping up players like Matt Kemp, Jonathan Broxton, Andre Ethier and Chad Billingsley were the priorities; with that done, the Dodgers should open the '10 season somewhere a little above where they were in terms of payroll last April (ninth to start last season).
The club returns virtually intact from the product that topped the NL last season with 95 wins. The biggest change will be going with former first-round pick Blake DeWitt as the full-time second sacker. Oh, and assuming he doesn't fail another drug test they will have Manny Ramirez around for an extra 50 games this year. In the 50 games Manny missed last season, LA went 29-21 (.580) while going 66-45 (.606) when he was available for manager Joe Torre to put in the order.
My pick: 95 wins, 1st in NL West
Milwaukee Brewers 40/1
2009 record/finish: 80-82, 3rd in NL Central
Departing: OF Mike Cameron, SS J.J. Hardy, RHP Braden Looper, INF Felipe Lopez, C Jason Kendall, UTL Bill Hall
Arriving: OF Carlos Gomez, LHP Randy Wolf, LHP Doug Davis, RHP LaTroy Hawkins, C Gregg Zaun
2010 outlook: Having Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder in the lineup would make any team dangerous. But being a dangerous team is a lot different than being a playoff contender and I see the Brewers as nothing more than a middling team that should battle with the Reds for third place in the division.
Would it be a huge shock to see Milwaukee do more than that and push its way into the postseason mix? Absolutely not. Yovani Gallardo has top-of-the-rotation stuff and there is depth among the starters. Key to this mix will be whether or not Manny Parra gets back to the form he exhibited towards the end of his first full season, 2008. Wolf and Davis, along with Jeff Suppan, should fill out the starting mix and Hawkins gives Ken Macha a solid setup arm in front of Trevor Hoffman.
Alcides Escobar takes over at short and Rickie Weeks will try to avoid another injury-plagued season at second. The real key to this offense will be newcomer Carlos Gomez. If he can develop into a genuine leadoff hitter (i.e., an on-base mark of .330 or better), the Brewers could easily lead the NL in scoring. That is a huge IF, however.
My pick: 82-80, 3rd or 4th in NL Central
Kansas City Royals 75/1
2009 record/finish: 65-97, 5th in AL Central
Departing: RHP Jamey Wright, 3B Mark Teahen, C Miguel Olivo
Arriving: OF/1B/DH Josh Fields, OF Rick Ankiel, C Jason Kendall, OF Scott Podsednik
2010 outlook: I remain convinced that GM Dayton Moore is a solid guy to have in your front office. At the same time, he's in a bad spot trying to compete with the salary restrictions this club has. If the Royals are patient, Moore might build a 'small-market contender' a la the Twins or Athletics, but the question is will the Glass Family be patient?
Kansas City has a top-notch ace in Zach Greinke and a top-notch closer in Joakim Soria, so that puts them ahead of 6-8 other clubs at the very least. There's just not much help behind (or in front of) either of those two righthanders. If the Royals are going to really make a move up in the next couple of seasons, Brian Bannister and Luke Hochevar have to come to the party.
The recent signing of Ankiel is interesting in that the added depth – assuming KC thinks he can play everyday – might mean they are willing to deal David DeJesus to get another arm. Alex Gordon is another member of the team that needs to take that next step forward after an awful season compounded by hip surgery at such a young age. If he can, it sets up a very nice infield with Gordon at third, Billy Butler across the diamond at first and the middle infield tandem of Alberto Callaspo and Yuniesky Betancourt.
My pick: 70 wins, fourth in the AL Central