Stadium Renovations Continue From the Bottom Up and Inside Out

As discussed at Dodger Thoughts Day last month, the next phase of Dodger Stadium renovations will involve the concessions and restrooms. The Dodgers held a press conference today to offer the media some details.

A good amount of attention has been given to improving worker conditions, which are important in and of themselves, but which I also hope (but am not entirely convinced) will lead to better service. As I've expressed before, the Dodgers can make all the renovations in the world, but if the manpower isn't more effective on a nightly basis, people will still complain. We'll just have to see.

Also noteworthy is that the renovations seem focused on the stadium's field level. Other levels, apparently, will be improved in future years. Here are some excerpts from the press release:

The multi-million dollar construction project will expand the Field Level concourse to include nearly double the number of points of sale and restrooms, two new all-inclusive clubs for baseline seat ticket holders and a new energy-efficient and environmentally friendly cooling system. …

With this redesign, all concession stands will now be served by the kitchen space behind them and those kitchens will be sized to produce and distribute the amount of food required for the number of patrons on each level. The ergonomically designed workspace will be outfitted with brand new state-of-the-art equipment, from grills, to refrigerators, to soda dispensers and ice cream machines and grilled Dodger Dogs will now be available at every concession stand on the Field Level. The addition of a new stadium-wide cooling system will lower temperatures in the workspace and all concession stands now will be fully compliant with ADA standards from both an employee and customer standpoint.

"With the upgrade in technology and improved work conditions workers will be able to better serve the Dodger fans," said Maria Elena Durazo, Executive Secretary and Treasurer, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. …

The widened concourses will feature a monochromatic color scheme utilizing stainless steel, gray tile, architectural metal panels, concrete, textured wall coating, and sculptured architectural panels accented with yellow highlights, which is consistent with the seat color on the Field Level. Taking hints from the existing language of the building, the open, airy concourse will provide more space for fans to move throughout the concourse and improve the lighting scheme and signage.

* * *

Joe Sheehan and Nate Silver of Baseball Prospectus had an interesting point-counterpoint today about the firing of Houston general manager Tim Purpura. Here's an excerpt from Silver's piece that I quote because it has relevance to Dodger fans:

There are 30 general manager jobs throughout baseball, and probably at least two or three times as many executives working in the game today who nominally have the resumes to fill those positions — that is before considering the "outside-the-box" candidates outside the close circle of the industry. However, like the field manager's job, or perhaps the quarterback position in the NFL, it is generally much easier to eliminate patently unqualified candidates than to determine which of the credentialed lot are really going to add value when they step into the office every day. Under those circumstances – when there are people like David Forst and Chris Antonetti and Kim Ng sitting around waiting for the musical chairs to rotate – you need to perform.

Make no mistake: the general manager's job is exceptionally difficult. Unless you have an exceptionally strong infrastructure around you, you need to have formidable skills in both player development and performance analysis, a formal and informal aptitude for the economics of the talent market, and the people skills to appeal to a wide diversity of constituents (the media, your manager, your owner, your players, the 29 other general managers, and your junior staff). You need to be exceptionally good at multitasking, and you need to work exceptionally long hours under high-stress conditions, probably for much less compensation than you could make in the business world. I keep repeating this world "exceptional", but that is exactly what the general manager needs to be; it is extremely unusual to find this set of aptitudes within one person.

Moreover, the general manager's job is to a large extent a zero-sum position. You can be the 25th best general manager in baseball, and you're still losing ground relative to your peers, just like the 9th best poker player in the world will lose money if the eight better players are sitting at the table with him. What you want, ideally, is for your general manager to be within the top half of the active GMs in baseball, or to have the potential to join that group with a moderate amount of additional experience. From the available evidence, Tim Purpura was not among the top half of baseball GMs today, and, I don't know that he has more potential to become so than someone like Antonetti or Ng. …

Andrew Grant also has a worthy piece about the relationship between Dodger general manager Ned Colletti and risk at True Blue L.A.

Selling high on a player is a risk. There's the guarantee you're going to get slammed by the media initially, plus the risk that no one will let you forget it if the player doesn't come back down to Earth. Even if the guy never does a thing after you trade him, people will still rip on the move, generally with an argument containing the words "who's to say" (the Lo Duca clause). If you sell low, no one but obsessed people like me will care. The media will give you kudos for getting rid of a struggling player, and unless that person goes on to be a hall of famer, it's likely there won't be any notice if the player succeeds elsewhere. No one that actually matters is calling for Ned's head because Werth has found success elsewhere. For all the reasons that the media hated Paul DePodesta, no one with a voice has made one peep about getting rid of Shane Victorino. Similar things happen if you buy low. ...

A good GM needs to be bold. A good GM needs to take risks. If you just sit there and make safe acquisitions all day, you just turn the game into an auction for overvalued talent, and that's a game that no team but the Yankees can win. Until Ned Colletti starts making moves that have some chance at upside with some risk attached, we'll be watching the same type of mediocrity we've been accustomed to the last 20 years.

Comments

[Bumsrap]

1.  Still, what a GM doesn't do, as is often said, can be better than what the GM does do. Filling a one year need with a five year contract is a case of doing when doing nothing perhaps would have been better longer term.

[Jon Weisman]

2.  Test.

[Jon Weisman]

3.  ITD lineup:

Furcal, SS
Pierre, CF
Ethier, RF
Kent, 2B
Gonzo, LF
Martin, C
Loney, 1B
Hillenbrand, 3B
Billingsley, P

[LogikReader]

4.  This lineup has 1-0 written all over it

[underdog]

5.  4 Just having Billingsley starting will make one expect that. Hopefully, it's 1-0 instead of 0-1. Eh, I actually expect a few more runs than that from the Dodgers, today, but we'll see...

[Dodgers49]

6.  Wells adds weight to stretch run

>> Manager Grady Little decided to have Wells pitch against the Padres, followed by Derek Lowe and Chad Billingsley. Rookie No. 5 starter Eric Stults will next pitch Sept. 4 against the Chicago Cubs. <<

## Nomar Garciaparra, out since Aug. 13 with a strained left calf, is eligible to come off the disabled list Wednesday but isn't likely to be ready to return this week. ##

http://www.presstelegram.com/sports/ci_6736755

[Vishal]

7.  hrmm. where's the kemp? :/

on a lighter note, upon hearing i'm moving to the bay area, someone wrote a note on my blog expressing the hope i wouldn't become a giants fan. after i responded by saying i would rather eat my own children than root for the giants, another friend made this. enjoy:

http://tinyurl.com/27jk7n

[Vishal]

8.  [7 ] warning: image not for the faint of heart.

[underdog]

9.  This posting made me think of this movie quote for some reason:
"Life's like a ball game. You gotta take a swing at whatever comes along before you find it's the ninth inning."

(A high five to anyone who can name the film without cheating)

[Vishal]

10.  btw, interesting topic, jon. andrew's got it right that a good GM can't be so risk-averse, not in a game with so much uncertainty.

[paranoidandroid]

11.  4 Not likely a 1-0 game since I'm going. I'm 5-0 this season and have seen Nomar homer, Kuo homer (third of three), and I was at the Marlins game when we put up 8 in the first two innings.

I bring the offense with me DT posters. Call your bookies and put down the mortgage payment, I'm bringing home a laugher tonight.

Oh yeah, where's Kemp in that lineup? If he hits one over the fence, can he space out while running the bases without comment?

[El Lay Dave]

12.  Furcal, Gonzalez, Lieberthal, Pierre and Hillenbrand are the only Dodgers to have faced Bergmann before. Gonzalez has the most PAs, 3-5 with a 2B and an HR. Furcal 3 BB in 4 PAs. Near microscopic sample sizes.

[alnyden]

13.  That is disappointing all the changes are happening at the field level only. That means the rest of us will have to continue to wait in line much too long to get our hot dogs. isn't there something they can do in the meantime to speed things up? And why is there ZERO progress getting a shuttle system to and from Dodger stadium? Some of us would like to take public transportation but have no options.

[Howard Fox]

14.  11 that's funny...the way Kemp is running the bases, he'll hit a home run, miss second on his lap, and be called out and credited with a single

[Howard Fox]

15.  13 they are doing that area first cause the attendants for first class were upset at having to wait on their orders for delivery

[Bob Timmermann]

16.  13
The Dodgers say there isn't enough demand. But the demand could be low because people don't consider public transportation because it's not offered.

Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded.

[ToyCannon]

17.  If Hillenbrand is ever going to get going tonight, would be a good time. He did get 4 hits the last time I saw him.

[Howard Fox]

18.  13 and there is already a shuttle system in place...they are called limos

[Howard Fox]

19.  16 as in "they give you money which is almost as good as cash"

[Vishal]

20.  [16 ] "i would never join a club that would have me as a member."

[ToyCannon]

21.  I'd like to hear more about the stadium wide cooling system. It would have been so cool for the Dodgers to install some solar power.

[Howard Fox]

22.  21 only in LA could someone think of outdoor air conditioning...kind of like in the 60s, a mayoral candidate's platform of putting large fans in the mountains to blow away the smog...

[xaphor]

23.  9 . That's life. Whichever way you turn, Fate sticks out a foot to trip you.

[Jon Weisman]

24.  21 - I think that's just for the workers. Or are you joking around?

[Sam DC]

25.  Important Update

Gotham City was destroyed by a massive earthquake. The Cataclysm, as it came to be called, was particularly devastating as it came just as Gotham was reemerging from the horror of The Clench - a massive outbreak of an Ebola virus variant. Lex Luthor profited massively in the wake of the disaster as his company oversaw the rebuilding of the city.

There have now been 3 Robins -- Dick Grayson, who grew up and became Nightwing, Jason Todd, who was murdered, and Tim Drake, who is just a yute and attends a school called Brentwood Academy.

There is no longer any dividing line between hot superhero-type comic strip girls and hot Heavy Metal-type comic strip girls.

Please return to your regularly scheduled business.

[underdog]

26.  23 Give that man a cigar -
"Detour" is the flick.

It's full of 'em!

[Howard Fox]

27.  clearly, by the direction of this thread, no one cares about the stadium renovations

[Eric Enders]

28.  This lineup is an outrage. The fact that it is not surprising in the least does not make it any less of an outrage. A guy is good enough to bat third against one right-handed pitcher on Sunday but not bat at all against another right-hander on Tuesday?

No matter what your opinion of his baserunning skills or baseball savvy, you shoot yourself in both feet when you willingly bench your best, and probably hottest, player.

Billingsley is pitching tonight, so I'm not going to go so far as saying that I hope the Dodgers lose. But if they do lose, it will have been richly deserved. Incompetence and lunacy should not be rewarded.

Dodgers OPS+ leaders
Matt Kemp 125
Russell Martin 118
Jeff Kent 117

Dodgers EQA leaders
Matt Kemp .301
Russell Martin .298
Jeff Kent .292

Dodgers batting average leaders
Matt Kemp .333
James Loney .302
Russell Martin .295

Dodgers slugging percentage leaders
Matt Kemp .516
Jeff Kent .484
Wilson Betemit .474

By any measure, traditional or sabermetric, Matt Kemp is the best hitter on the Dodgers. He also has six multi-hit games in his last 10 starts. How long is this going to go on, him rotting on the bench every third game?

[FirstMohican]

29.  Until Kemp learns how to play baseball the way it was meant to be played.

[Wilbert Robinson]

30.  27 I wish someone would renovate Shea and I mean renovate as in with a wrecking ball. The place is a monstrosity compounded by that Jose Jose Jose song. The paper mache apple isn't so bad though I guess...

[still bevens]

31.  28 b-b-b-b-but Gonzo has two hits against this guy in the past AND he is mopey about his playing time. Isn't that enough for you?

[Jim Hitchcock]

32.  Are you done with Maxwell, Vishal? And did you traverse the Ouray Valley coming back to the southland?

[regfairfield]

33.  28 Gonzalez started moping, so here we are.

[El Lay Dave]

34.  30 The new stadium for the Mets opens in 2009, doesn't it? They showed the progressing work on it during the w/e series out there.

[FirstMohican]

35.  27 - I thought you were talking about Hillenbrand until I read the 2nd (or 3rd?) sentence. Shea is coming down soon and Mets will play in Citi Field.

[Eric Enders]

36.  So Gonzo's mopey? Bench the greatest human being who ever lived, then. You can put him in during the ninth to preserve his games played streak if you must.

[FirstMohican]

37.  In 35 I mean 30 not 27

[Izzy]

38.  I couldn't put my finger on what it was that bothered my about Colletti before, but maybe it is as simple as this. He is way too conservative and willing to settle for consistent mediocrity, rather than the rewards of calculated risk. In other words, you may find him working at H and R Block when his gig is up, because that's probably where he should have been all along. Safe and sound; counting beans. And Jayson Werth, I think we all hated to see him go. I really hope he does well.

[El Lay Dave]

39.  13 the changes are at the field level first. Other levels in succeeding off-seasons. Apparently they can't all be done at once (seems reasonable); and I can't blame them for starting at the most expensive levels first.

Shuttle between DS and where?

[Eric Enders]

40.  "In other words, you may find him working at H and R Block when his gig is up, because that's probably where he should have been all along."

At least now I know where not to take my money. If, in fact, I had any.

[Wilbert Robinson]

41.  28 Dig deeper. In his career Gonzo is .600/.600/1.400 against Bergman! Grady is a genius. Hey what's a sample size? Is that like when you go to the supermarket on sunday and they give you a small triangular piece of a microwavable hamburger for free?

[Greg Brock]

42.  Playing your best players doesn't build character. Overcoming adversity builds charater.

Therefore, you must try to suck and win at the same time. I see what they're doing, and though I don't agree with it, I damn sure respect it. Building character is important.

[Dodgers49]

43.  Gonzalez wants to be an everyday player.

>> Asked whether he saw himself coming back to play under similar circumstances, Gonzalez replied, "No, no, not here. <<

## Gonzalez said that he is looking forward to collecting his 2,500th hit, a milestone of which he is 14 shy. Once there, he intends to aim for 3,000. ##

http://tinyurl.com/3x5zso

In an interview earlier this season Gonzalez admitted that his one remaining goal was to get 3,000 hits. And although he didn't say it I'm sure he feels that 3,000 hits would ensure his induction into the Hall of Fame. In fact, he said that he believed he could reach that goal by playing two more years after this one. But that doesn't seem possible now because it would appear that he is going to be some 500 hits shy when this season ends. In any event, even if he is to reach 3,000 hits in three years he must do it as a starter. Platooning and pinch hitting would take way too long. That may have been one of the reasons he preferred to sign for one year instead of two (the possibility that he would be stuck in a platoon situation during the second year). I expect him to look for a team during this off season that will offer him a job as a starter. If he can find one he will not return to the Dodgers.

[fanerman]

44.  25 The Cataclysm was caused by Matt Kemp when he got angry from being benched every third game and swung his bat at the ground, inducing a massive earthquake. Despite his frustration, Matt Kemp was able to channel his Bison Strength™ into a long-distance vibrational wave with an epicenter in the distant Gotham City, thus preventing damage to Dodger Stadium and freeing up funds for stadium renovations and improved worker conditions.

[Wilbert Robinson]

45.  34 Yes its supposed to open in 09 and have an Ebbetts field throwback facade. Its going to be called "Citi Field".

[El Lay Dave]

46.  Colletti called Gonzalez "the bridge to Kemp", but he's forgotten that the bridge was for a certain purpose. Now that Kemp has arrived, the bridge remains as a symbol of something other than its original intent and could now be dragging the team down.

We just need William Holden to come and blow it up.

[underdog]

47.  I understand everyone's issue with Kemp sitting and all, I'd prefer him in the line-up every - well, not every day, frankly, but 6 out of 7. I don't see the problem with starting Gonzo once for Ethier and once for Kemp each week. Any more than that, though, and it makes no sense. Still, I feel like honing in on today's lineup sans Kemp as a cataclysm seems like a bit of an overreaction to me. (Especially since I can almost guarantee he'll bat at some point tonight) But I do understand the feelings.

[Eric Enders]

48.  Next DT day we all need to wear this shirt.
http://tinyurl.com/3x7zuk

[dzzrtRatt]

49.  38 I think this is right on. Ned Colletti is Fred Claire.

-- conservative most of the time, with occasional wild indulgences that seem to lack strategic focus

-- very focused on the PR of every move, which tends him toward short-term thinking,

-- trusts the farm system will correct all his mistakes.

When the Dodgers were loafing around in the 1990s, I remember Fred Claire's response was to snap his suspenders and say, "Yeah, but five ROY in a row? You think that happens by accident?"

The only difference is that Colletti is presiding over a greatly revived minor league system and amateur scouting, thanks to Dan Evans and Logan White, so the conservative strategy might, in fact, work out.

[Eric Enders]

50.  46 I guess that makes Colletti Alec Guinness. The version without The Force, obviously.

[das411]

51.  and Werth....is rung up on a pitch below the knees and inside by Cowboy Joe West from Tom 24-inch-strike-zone Glavine :(

[dzzrtRatt]

52.  46 Or we need Congress to stop earmarking funds for it.

[Vishal]

53.  [32 ] yep, i'm done! and i get to take the million dollar highway this time because i spent an extra couple days in denver with a friend. i'm sure i'll make it back there before long though. :)

[Vishal]

54.  [ 53 ] er, i didn't get to take it.

[fracule]

55.  16 When I lived in Pasadena there was a shuttle from Union Station to the Show on Friday nights. Unfortunately, I think I may have been the only one to use it. That may be where their grumpiness is coming from. Having lived now in PDX for two years I see how good public transit can be. LA just needs to put some of its priorities that way. I mean, you can't even take the Metro to LAX.

[Chris H]

56.  39 In the past, McCourt hasn't always nailed renovations the first time. He had to redo the baseline seats since they didn't turn out right the first time. Perhaps, he is wising up and trying not to bite off more than he can chew?

Plus, if he screws up the concessions and bathrooms on the Field level he only has to go back and fix one level instead of four. Also, he'll know what not to do when the other levels are renovated.

[Humma Kavula]

57.  50

And it makes you James Donald. "Madness! Madness!"

[Dodgers49]

58.  Blue Jays ink pitcher Joe Kennedy

>> Kennedy, 28, was assigned to the triple-A Syracuse SkyChiefs, but could be promoted when major-league rosters expand on Sept. 1. <<

http://tinyurl.com/33k8vd

[Vishal]

59.  [55 ] i've never seen anywhere with as many busses per capita as there are in portland.

[MJW101]

60.  Luis G. started 15 games in August so far:

12 for 54 .222 Avg.

1 HR
3 2B
5 BB
10 K
7 RBIs

He is in a bit of a slump.

[El Lay Dave]

61.  50 57 The analogy isn't perfect, but some parts do fit. Ned doesn't see Gonzo as a monument to himself....... does he?

And Saito is not Saito.

[El Lay Dave]

62.  59 Lots of kissing in the rose city?

[bhsportsguy]

63.  55 One of the arguments against the shuttle is that they have to dedicate one lane exclusively for it use. I think the other is that it just isn't cost effective nor (and this is just me guessing) it really didn't impact traffic.

I think whatever strategy they look at regarding public transportation, they are going to have work with the MTA.

[Jon Weisman]

64.  I kept saying last year, when everyone was talking about what a great guy Gonzo was, that it didn't mesh with his comments when his playing time was reduced in Arizona.

Now, maybe this year, Gonzo isn't complaining but Little just wants to keep him happy. In any case, that wouldn't be my primary worry. Kemp would be in my lineup every day.

[El Lay Dave]

65.  64 Kemp would be in my lineup every day.

Playing which position(s)?

[bhsportsguy]

66.  65 If a certain CF would sit now and then, it would make this rotation a little easier to take.

[fracule]

67.  63 I agree. It's tough to determine the success of such programs because they will never have enough riders to significantly impact the glut of cars going into and out of Dodger stadium. The shuttle made a difference for me because I only went to Friday night games because of it, otherwise I would have stayed away.

[Zak]

68.  I am as big a Pierre fan as much as anyone here, but Pierre is one of the 3 best OFers on the club right now, 15 game hitting streak and all. The problem is simple... LuGo should not be playing.

When I read that article this morning about him whining to the LA Times, I told a friend of mine that I hope Little doesn't just automatically put him back in the lineup. So disappointing!! And so the wrong message to send out.

[bhsportsguy]

69.  I predict that tomorrow you will see Ramon Martinez at second base and the non-Lugo OF.

[Bob Timmermann]

70.  You can take the Metro to LAX. There is a free shuttle at the Aviation/LAX stop.

Not that any person in a hurry would want to go that way.

[D4P]

71.  70
I've entered a guess as to your 6 counties.

[Eric Enders]

72.  Jacksonville's playoff hopes are fading fast. The Biscuits, whom the Suns are trailing in the SL South, put up a 9-spot in the first inning tonight and will win their ninth consecutive game. The Suns themselves are in a 0-0 tie in the second and every Suns batter has struck out so far.

[Vishal]

73.  70 when i was living in hancock park, i took the metro home from LAX once. green line to the blue line to the red line, to a bus down 3rd street from the 3rd/vermont station.

it took me almost 2 hours.

[fracule]

74.  70 Sorry, should have said train instead of Metro. Why doesn't a train line go to the country's second busiest airport?

[King of the Hobos]

75.  72 The Suns just need to keep pace with the Biscuits for the next few days. They end the season with a 5 game series against the Biscuits.

[Eric Enders]

76.  All we need is a kiln. You know, for the Sun to bake the Biscuits.

[Wilbert Robinson]

77.  In his first season at the Triple-A level, 24-year-old Durham outfielder Justin Ruggiano has been among the IL's most impressive offensive players. He is currently near the top of the League with a .313 batting average (4th), 143 hits (3rd), a .386 on-base percentage (5th), a .508 slugging percentage (4th), and 75 runs scored (T-2nd). The Austin, Texas native is surging in August, hitting .424 with 6 HR and 18 RBI to lead the Bulls to a 16-9 record this month and a 2.0 game lead in the IL South. Ruggiano was acquired from the Dodgers as the "Player to be Named Later" in the June, 2006 deal that sent Toby Hall and Mark Hendrickson to Los Angeles in exchange for Jae Seo and Dioner Navarro.

[D4P]

78.  Why doesn't a train line go to the country's second busiest airport?

Trains don't go there anymore. It's too crowded.

[D4P]

79.  Ruggiano was acquired from the Dodgers as the "Player to be Named Later" in the June, 2006 deal that sent Toby Hall and Mark Hendrickson to Los Angeles in exchange for Jae Seo and Dioner Navarro

Hilarious.

[Eric Enders]

80.  Although neither stat is listed there, Ruggiano is also on his way to a 20-20 season. He's got 19 HR and 26 steals.

[underdog]

81.  I think I'm more patient with everything today because I had to spend an hour at Kinko's this afternoon and everything seems fantastic by comparison. It just makes one more patient. Or they blow a gasket.

---

I wonder if Ruggiano will be another Victorino, another OF that got away. To be honest, I never gave him much thought, though I only saw him play (in a game televised online) once and only followed him casually.

[Eric Enders]

82.  I always figured Ruggiano would become a Dellucci-style fourth outfielder. Maybe he'll be more than that now.

[regfairfield]

83.  Good month for guys we gave to Tampa Bay:
Navarro: .275/.309/.529
Jackson: 2.45 ERA
Ruggiano: .415/.452/.708 (AAA)
Pedroza: .344/.397/.689

[Vishal]

84.  [77 ] :( i mean, good for ruggiano, but that stings.

[Eric Enders]

85.  What level is Pedroza playing at now?

[Wilbert Robinson]

86.  85 A+

[El Lay Dave]

87.  77 Ruggiano is Delwyn Young, sort of, without the Vegas inflation. Both are 25.

Ruggiano: 457 AB, .313/.386/.508, 28 2B, 2 3B, 19 HR, 48 BB, 143 K
Young: 457 AB, .337/.387/.580, 50 2B, 5 3B, 17 HR, 37 BB, 102 K

Does Ruggiano's whiff rate translate to a signficantly lower projected MLB OBP?

[regfairfield]

88.  85 Still high A

[regfairfield]

89.  87 It's high enough that it pretty much means guaranteed failure unless he gets his walk rate to Custian proportions. If you strike 150 times in AAA, you have to hit a ton of home runs and walk like you're 1987 Jack Clark.

[regfairfield]

90.  Speaking of Clark, is his 1987 season the best three true outcomes season ever? He put up what I believe is the highest isolated patience ever by a man not named Barry and 55.55% of his PAs ended in a TTO.

[D4P]

91.  Speaking of Clark, is his 1987 season the best three true outcomes season ever?

For a non-pitcher, right...?

[scareduck]

92.  49 - The only difference is that Colletti is presiding over a greatly revived minor league system and amateur scouting, thanks to Dan Evans and Logan White, so the conservative strategy might, in fact, work out.

Only if the kids get playing time.

[Eric Enders]

93.  Okay, are there any computer-savvy folks around right now? I'm having a weird problem with my Gateway notebook. Every time I physically move the machine, like carrying it to a different room, or placing it on my lap or removing it therefrom, it freezes up and the only way to restart it is to remove both the power cord and the battery. Anybody ever heard of this problem, or know what I can do to stop it?

[Marty]

94.  93 That doesn't sound good. If it can't handle movement, makes me think you've got a real flaky motherboard or bad memory. I don't know how to fix it, but I know how to stop it.

[Jon Weisman]

95.  Game thread is open.

[scareduck]

96.  93 - the answer to your problem starts here:

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/

[Jon Weisman]

97.  94 - With a hammer?

[GoBears]

98.  38 He is way too conservative and willing to settle for consistent mediocrity, rather than the rewards of calculated risk.

We talked about this quite a bit around the time of the Betemit deal. My conclusion at the time was that yes, Colletti is risk-averse, but that that's not the worst of all worlds, because he's also a terrible judge of talent. Incompetent and risk-acceptant is much worse than incompetent and risk-averse. The latter is Colletti. The former is Kevin Malone.

Natch, we'd all like competence and risk-acceptance. That's what I thought we had with DePodesta.

[Eric Enders]

99.  Thanks guys. I used to be a Mac guy, but switched over to the Dark Side in '99 and I'm not sure I could go back now.

[El Lay Dave]

100.  99 Come back Eric, all will be forgiven!