Good day, gents. Thought I would step in and pinch hit for that distinguished blogger, Rob. Rob has been busy with some other writings.
I have been a Dodger fan (True Blue) since 1972. Joe Ferguson was my first Dodger hero (yes, Joe Ferguson C/OF. He had a good year in 73, look it up).
When I first became a Dodger fan, the O’Malleys owned the team. The O’Malleys were the rock of team ownership. Steady, conservative and never flashy. For 40 years the Dodgers only had two managers. They relied on the farm system to provide the bulk of their players. Garvey, Lopes, Russell, Cey and Ferguson, to name a few, were Dodger farm hands. The O’Malleys would often get some second tier player or retread to augment the team. Jimmy Wynn and Reggie Smith come to mind. I can’t remember them ever going after a top tier player.
The O’Malleys gave LA Five World Series victories. I was fortunate to see one, 1988 (I didn’t get to see 1981 because I was in boot camp). The O’Malleys also gave LA the greatest prize of all: The Great Vin Scully. In 1998, the O’Malleys sold the Dodgers to Ruport Murdoch. Soon after the sale, the Dodgers traded Mike Piazza, who would become the greatest offensive catcher in baseball history. Then began the dark times, things went from bad to worse when the Bean Town carpetbagger bought the team on his American Express Card.
In March of 2012, Moses (in the form of Magic Johnson) came to Chavez Ravine. Now the question is whether Moses/Magic (editor's note: Mosegic?) can lead us to the Promised Land. Will that huge bankroll be enough to lift the curse? Is this what it feels to be a Yankee fan?
I watched the news conference where they introduced the new ownership. I would have watched the news conference anyway but when I heard that The Great Vin Scully would be the MC, I was there. I was a little leery about the new owners, especially when they said that they had plenty of money to spend on talent. These guys had just dropped two billion on the team, not to mention that the rape of Chavez Ravine by the Chesapeake Bay Pirate was fresh on my mind. I could have never imagined the way these guys throw money around. Not even drunken sailors spend money like this... and I’ve been out drinking with drunken sailors.
Just a day ago we got word that the Dodgers had signed top free agent pitcher Zack Greinke and a talented portly Korean named Hyun-Jin Ryu. Kim Sung-Il eat your heart out. The frosting on the cake was when The Great Vin Scully announced that he would return in 2013.
To be honest fellow Dodger fans, I’m a little troubled. The curse notwithstanding, I remember when the Dodgers would play the Yankees in a World Series. The Great Vin Scully would refer to the Yanks as the best team money could buy.
Having said that, I must admit that I am really looking forward to April 1st. I haven’t felt this way in some time. 110 days to go.
