Dodgers web musings: Clayton Kershaw is looking serious

Good news: Clayton Kershaw is apparently feeling challenged by his own success.

In a video, Buster Olney takes a look at Clayton Kershaw’s off-season regimen for the “Baseball Tonight” crew.

The reigning National League Cy Young winner told Olney:

“I feel like I have to go more over the top than ever because people are having these expectations that I’m going to come in and not be ready to go, so more so than ever I’m motivated to be ready to go.”

Also on the web:

-- Dodgers.com’s Ken Gurnick previews the Dodgers heading into spring, saying they “look to improve upon last year's 82-79 record by loading up on pitching, improved defense and hope.”

-- Jon Garland lives. He’s signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians.

-- Kevin Goldstein has his annual list of the top 101 prospects for Baseball Prospectus. Sadly, only one Dodger makes the list: Zach Lee at No. 70.

-- Mike Petriello at Mike Scoioscia's Tragic Illness thinks the rest of the National League’s first basemen may have dumbed down to James Loney territory.

-- Roberto Baly at Vin Scully Is My Homeboy looks at how the Dodgers roster was built.

-- Scott Andes at Lasorda’s Lair is worried what new ownership might mean for Dodger Stadium.

-- Eric Stephen, this time at SB Nation Los Angeles, on Tommy Lasorda being honored with a statue in the Dominican Republic.

-- In a video, Dodger Thoughts’ Jon Weisman reveals his own strigent off-season conditioning regimen.

-- The Seattle Times’ Geoff Baker looks at the comeback attempt of Hong-Chin Kuo, who says: "It has to come from inside me.''

-- Tip to Weisman: Alex Bleth at Bronx Bomber takes a long look at new Yankee right-hander Hiroki Kuroda.

-- Bryan Painter at The Oklahoman profiles new Dodgers assistant trainer Greg Harrel (includes video interview).

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Photo: Clayton Kershaw delivers a pitch against the Angels during an interleague game at Anaheim Stadium last season. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times / July 2, 2011

Dodgers Web musings: Frank McCourt has eviction notice?

Sometimes you want something to be true so badly, the blinders come on to all the potential pitfalls. History be damned, you just want to believe.

And so it is with the official news that Frank McCourt must bid a final adieu to the Dodgers by April 30^th.

It’s in writing and everything, though we’ve been down that road before. Late Tuesday night the sales agreement reached between McCourt and Major League Baseball was finally filed in bankruptcy court.

As The Times’ Bill Shaikin reported, it wasn’t exactly all good news. As expected, the agreement does give McCourt the ability to keep the parking lots surrounding Dodger Stadium and sign a "long-term lease" with the new owner. That’s plenty scary, so you just have to cross fingers that an agreement is reached for the team, stadium and surrounding property.

Otherwise, the agreement actually allows McCourt to build parking garages to replace existing spaces so he could develop the property. How insane is that? Somebody is going to drop a billion dollars to buy the team and stadium, only to watch McCourt develop the property around it? I’m thinking they’re going to want a lot more control than that.

But it’s still encouraging that the agreement does require McCourt divest himself of the team by April 30. Count the days.

Initial bids for the team are due by Jan. 13.

Also on the Web:

— Meet the new Dodgers, same as the old Dodgers? The Times’ Dylan Hernandez looks at Don Mattingly’s current team overview at the winter meetings.

— MLB.com offers a video of part of Mattingly’s interview, including an almost desperate plea: "We’re going to have to have guys have good years."

   

— Despite their flurry of activity, Tony Jackson of ESPN/LA writes that the Dodgers are still pursuing another bat, but this one via trade.

— Mike Petriello of Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness tries to determine which player could be that hoped-for bat.

— The Times in an editorial wants a new Dodgers owner who values the community.

— Roberto Baly of Vin Scully Is My Homeboy on news of Clayton Kershaw’s next scheduled sojourn to Africa.

— Ken Gurnick of Dodgers.com has the details of the team's spring training schedule. Shaikin writes that it returns the traditional Freeway Series this spring with the Angels.

— The Times’ Diane Pucin writes that the Dodgers’ next media-rights contract is shaping up as a monster battle between titans Fox and Time Warner.

— The Astros have interviewed Dodgers Assistant General Manager Logan White for their vacant GM position.

— Hall of Fame baseball writer Ross Newhan thinks Magic Johnson might be wise to cool his talk of spending big if he gets ownership of the Dodgers.

— ESPN’s David Schoenfield doesn’t think much of the Dodgers’ off-season acquisitions, figuring he’s added a bunch of mediocre 30-somethings.

— ESPN’s Jon Weisman is feeling uninspired by the Dodgers’ winter but longs for spring.

— SB Nation’s Jeff Sullivan is actually depressed looking at the Dodgers’ infield for 2012.

— If you doubt Tommy Lasorda can still spin a good yarn, check out his stories on new Red Sox Manager Bobby Valentine in the Boston Globe.

— And finally, remember that scene in the John Cusack film "High Fidelity" when he envisions different scenarios on how to greet rival Tim Robbins when he comes into his record store? Including the one where Jack Black leaps over the counter?

TMZ plays off that on its premise of what you might say to McCourt if you ran into him in a restaurant.

   

— Steve Dilbeck

 

Frank McCourt speaks to Dodgers employees

In the same club-level room where last year he had introduced Don Mattingly as the Dodgers’ new manager, owner Frank McCourt held a Tuesday morning meeting to address his employees for the first time since he announced he would be selling the storied franchise.

Standing in front of staffers who numbered in the hundreds, McCourt said he never thought his personal life would affect the club as much as it did, according to people at the meeting. McCourt was described as remorseful, reportedly telling employees that he wished he had taken better care of what he had.

“He really felt bad about what has happened,” said former manager Tom Lasorda, who was at the meeting.

While fielding questions, McCourt was asked about the sale process but didn’t provide a timetable for its completion.

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Photo: Dodgers owner Frank McCourt. Credit: Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times

Dodgers Web musings: Bryan Stow lawyer suggests settlement to MLB

The lawyer for the family of the Bryan Stow family has approached Major League Baseball about working out a "reasonable settlement’’  in its lawsuit against the Dodgers, ESPN/LA’s Ramona Shelburne reports.

Stow, the Giants fan who was brutally beaten in the Dodger Stadium parking lot on opening day, is the largest unsecured creditor. The Stow family lawyer, Tom Girardi, has suggested that damages could approach $50 million.

Whoever buys the Dodgers will inherit the lawsuit, so Girardi reasons it is in the best interest of  Frank McCourt, the Dodgers and MLB to know what the damages will be heading into the sales process.

Also on the Web:

-- The Times’ T.J. Simers thinks you can’t go home again, and believes Peter O’Malley is the wrong man to take the Dodgers into their future.

-- Unlike me, Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal isn’t convinced that the looming team sale means the Dodgers are out on Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder.

-- ESPN/LA’s Tony Jackson tries to walk through the still complicated process that lead to the Dodgers’ ultimate sale. A new owner by opening day looks like a pipe dream.

-- Oh, that’s all it took. Yahoo Sports’ Jason Cole thinks the Dodgers pending sale could hasten the NFL’s return to L.A.

-- The Chicago Tribune’s Mark Gonzales takes a look at the background of Dennis Gilbert, the L.A resident and White Sox executive who has expressed strong interest in Dodgers ownership.

-- The Times’ Dylan Hernandez writes that  Tommy Lasorda is big on the prospect of O’Malley returning as the Dodgers owner.

-- In a video, Lasorda tells CBS Channel 2’s Jim Hill that  he wants an owner with L.A. roots.

   

-- NBC Sports’ Matthew Pouliot and MikeSciosciasTragicIllness’ Mike Petriello both think Ned Colletti rushed and seriously overpaid outfielder Juan Rivera at $4.5 million.

-- True Blue L.A.’s Brandon Lennox looks at the Dodgers adding Scott Van Slyke and Alfredo Silverio to their 40-man roster and there isn’t much room to add other minor leaguers with the roster at 33 and free agents still to sign.

-- In a video, Fox Sports’ Rick Harrow -- the sports professor -– examines why that  despite their problems, the Dodgers will still attract a hefty sales price.

 

-- ESPN/LA’s Jon Weisman said one good thing to come out of the team’s sale is that it almost ensures that the new owner will sign Clayton Kershaw to a long-term deal.

-- Jackson, also reports that Dodgers assistant general manager DeJon Watson has withdrawn his name for consideration as the Orioles GM.

-- MLB Trade Rumors has its list of projected arbitration salaries, and it is estimating Matt Kemp could earn $16.3 million, Andre Ethier $10.7 million and Kershaw $8.4 million.

-- A Times’ editorial slams McCourt and his attorney for trying to cast blame on Stow.

-- In a video, MarketWatch.com’s Matt Futterman and Dennis Berman explain why they think the Dodgers may yet attract the largest sales price of a professional team in American sports history.

 .

 -- Steve Dilbeck

Buzzie Bavasi, Gil Hodges among finalists for Hall of Fame vote

The veterans review committee has announced 10 candidates for the Hall of Fame, including former Dodgers executive Buzzie Bavasi and first base star Gil Hodges.

Third baseman Ken Boyer, best known for his days as a Cardinal, finished his career with the Dodgers and was also nominated.

The candidates are from what the Hall has designated as the "Golden Era" (1947-72) and will be voted on at baseball’s winter meetings Dec. 5. A candidate must receive at least 75% of the veterans committee’s vote.

Included in the 16-member committee are ex-Dodgers Manager Tommy Lasorda and former Dodgers pitchers Don Sutton and Juan Marichal.

Bavasi spent 17 seasons as the Dodgers' general manager, directing them to four World Series titles and eight National League pennants. He went on to lead the Angels and Padres.

Hodges spent 18 years with the Dodgers and was an eight-time All-Star. He ended his career with the Mets and later managed them.

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-- Steve Dilbeck

Photo: Gil Hodges in 1956. Credit: Associated Press

Tom Lasorda likes the idea of Peter O'Malley returning to Dodgers

Former Dodgers Manager Tom Lasorda said on Wednesday night he felt torn about the Dodgers’ impending ownership change. He talked about how Frank McCourt treated him well, but said he understood the fans demanded new leadership.

Lasorda’s tone was uncharacteristically measured until he was asked about former owner Peter O’Malley, who said he wants to return as the team’s chief executive and would work on forming an ownership group.

Lasorda, who managed the Dodgers to two World Series championships under O’Malley’s ownership, suddenly came to life.

FULL COVERAGE: Dodgers sale

“That’s quite a surprise,” he said. “He did it before. The people loved him. He could make a big impact. He knows what it takes to balance an organization. He knows what it is to win.”

Lasorda said O’Malley should be asked to run the team by whichever ownership group wins the auction.

“I think whoever gets it should have him because they love him in the city,” Lasorda said. “People love Peter O’Malley.”

Lasorda said he wanted the Dodgers’ next owner to have strong local ties.

“For me, I’d like to see a local man,” he said. “Local owners, they know the stadium, they know the team, they know the fans.”

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Photo: Peter O'Malley hugs Tom Lasorda after Lasorda's retirement announcement in 1996. Credit: Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times

Dodgers Web musings: Don Mattingly doubts big bat is coming

Say this for Don Mattingly: He usually does not try to snow you. He might, understandably, favor the company line, but he is a straight shooter.

That was on display again this week during a radio interview with 710 AM's "Mason and Ireland," when Mattingly first stated the obvious -– that the Dodgers most need an impact bat -- but then acknowledged he was not counting on that happening.

"I can't say I'm confident that we're going to be able to do it," he said. "We've talked about different things. ... You hear Prince [Fielder], you hear Albert [Pujols]. Those are nice thoughts; there's a lot of teams talking about those type of guys ... but you got to have a Plan B, a Plan C. How do we put offense together if we can't do something like that? That's the biggest thing.

"And obviously, I don't know where we're going to be as far as what we're going to be able to do. Are we going to go backward with the budget, are we going to go forward? ... It's hard to know right now."

Got that right. Hard to know the budget when you can’t be sure who will own the team come next spring.

Gloves are off: Now imagine baseball without the Dodgers

When the gloves come off, the blows tend to get your attention. As soon as Frank McCourt gets those steaks off his eyes, let’s hope he can finally see how hopeless his situation is.

Not that he has any history to suggest he will.

But on Friday, Major League Baseball did away with the feints and jabs and the fancy footwork and just delivered a blow from the ankles. Pretense is no longer invited.

The Times’ Bill Shaikin wrote that MLB asked the bankruptcy court in a filing to order the team sold, said it would never approve any media rights deal that would enable McCourt to maintain team ownership and that such a sale could result in MLB discipline that could include the team's suspension from the league.

"No one will pay the [Dodgers] to broadcast Dodgers games if the club is not part of Major League Baseball," the filing reads. "Consequently, the [Dodgers'] path in this case is a dead end or worse."

Silly, right? Come on, that would be like the NFL playing the last 17 years without a team in Los Angeles.

Matt Kemp adds capper to the Dodgers' home season in 8-2 win

And so ends another season at Dodger Stadium. Can’t say it wasn’t memorable, on the field and off.

The Dodgers completed their 2011 at home Thursday with an 8-2 victory over the Giants before an announced crowd of 37,560 that once again saw Matt Kemp polishing off his MVP resume.

Kemp had three doubles and a two-run homer. It was Kemp’s 36^th home run of the season and he looks like a guy trying to hit one almost every at-bat now. And almost managing it.

He was once again greeted with frequent chants of "MVP," and when he hit his towering two-run homer in the eighth inning, the crowd brought him out for a curtain call. The four hits raised his season average to .326.

The victory left the Dodgers 42-39 at home for the year. Not exactly the stuff of their dreams, but not the nightmare at which it once hinted.

And in the short term, they took two of three games from a Giants team that came in on an eight-game winning streak but left with their playoff hopes severely damaged. So it was hardly all bad.

The Dodgers had Tom Lasorda in the dugout as an honorary coach on his 84^th birthday, Kemp going nuts at the plate and right-hander Hiroki Kuroda limiting the Giants to two runs in his seven-plus innings.

Kuroda gave up a solo home run to Carlos Beltran in the first inning, but the Dodgers came right back in the bottom of the inning against Madison Bumgarner with Kemp’s first double and Juan Rivera's two-run homer.

Magic of Vin Scully never takes a night off, on the air or not

The best part of covering the Dodgers happens about 30 minutes before first pitch. That’s when Vin Scully normally stops by the Dodger Stadium media dining room to visit with the local corps.

Sometimes it’s just for a brief greeting, but this season it’s more often turned into a lengthier visit, one where the inimitable Scully will end up sharing a story. And I’m certain, Scully has never told a bad story.

Here’s one he shared Thursday, on the final home game of the year, instigated by Tom Lasorda returning to the Dodgers dugout on his 84^th birthday and involving former Dodger Don Zimmer, when he was managing of the Cubs:

"One year we’re in Chicago to play the Cubs, and for some reason, we’re not broadcasting the game. And Tommy asks me if I’ve ever sat in the dugout for a game. I tell him 'no' and he says, 'You have to try it.'

"I said as long as it’s cleared by the umpires beforehand. I don’t want them throwing me out. So I put on a uniform –- spring training tryout No. 76, but not for Union –- and wait until almost before the game starts and walk through the Wrigley hallway, sit on the dugout and pull my cap down all the way to my eyes. I don’t want anyone to even notice me.

"After the Dodgers are retired in the top of the first, (first base coach) John Vukovich yells over at me, 'Hey, Scully!' And he throws me a baseball. I catch the ball and written on it is, 'If a fight breaks out, I want you.' And it was signed Don Zimmer.

"All the Cubs are in their dugout, laying down laughing."

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Photo: Vin Scully sings "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the seventh inning of a game between the Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium on Sept. 14. Credit: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images