A green thumb I am not...

I did not get that gene from my Dad...

Who was the greenest of thumbs...

After a few minutes in the yard...

And I’d make a U-turn back into the house...

Dodging wasps along the way...

That’s real work if you ask me...

I’ve got better things to do than dodge wasps...

Like write blogs...

And watch wrestling...

A real manly man I am...

The lovely Miss Kim and I have a running joke...

Every time I enter a Home Depot...

I get hives...

I am allergic to those places...

First of all...

They are way too big for me...

Clear all that junk out of there...

And lets play some wiffle ball... 

The only thing a Home Depot is good for...

Are the sausages at the front door...

Ernie Banks said...

“Let’s play two...”

Like I say...

I’ll take two...

Pardon me...

But do you happen to have any Grey Poupon...

And this thing has always bugged my soul...

Am I a real man even though I hate yard work???

I don’t fix things either...

What I know about cars...

You can put on the head of a pin...

And still have plenty of room left over...

As for me???

I’m a people person...

Put me in a room full of kids...

And I will keep ‘em entertained for hours...

Give me a wrench...

And I will probably wrench my back...

Just make sure those wasps are napping when I come over...

I got stung once...

Not fun...

Like I said...

Not a gardener...

Not a mechanic...

A people person...

However...

Some people...

Are NOT people persons...

Or people people for that matter...

I’ve seen that a lot with business owners...

Just because a guy has a little cash...

Doesn’t mean he can run a business...

You have to have some savvy...

That’s right..

Some savvy to go along with the cash...

That brings us to one man, doesn’t it...

The man who came out smelling like a rose...

But stuck us with his thorns along the way...

The Dodger franchise...

With all its regality...

Was gift wrapped...

A thing of beauty...

A jewel of the National League...

Vin Scully...

Who could ask for a better spokesperson???

Gibby goes yard on the Eck...

Koufax and Drysadale...

Garvey, Lopes, Russell, and Cey...

Tommy Lasorda...

Bleeding Dodger Blue...

And many more memories...

Who in the world could screw it up???

Enter Frank McCourt...

At first...

I really liked the guy...

Maybe you didn’t trust him...

But I did...

I even bought a half season in his early years...

Then refused to set foot in Chavez Ravine...

As it all unraveled...

In his latter years...

Need we list the failures???

Naw...

What’s the use???

And in the end...

He comes out smellin’ like a rose...

Roses are nice...

So nice...

They named a parade...

And a football game after them...

Frank...

I hope you are proud of yourself...

I hope you sleep well tonight....

And most of all...

Be careful not to stick yourself with those thorns...

They hurt...

We know...

You’ve stuck us a time or two...

dvt

http://www.imanokie.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/garden-rose-thorn-1.jpg

http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/images/content/wasp%20&%20hornet%20picture%201.jpg

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/cin/images/fan_forum/y2011/redsfest/indoor_fields.jpg

http://s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/GreyPoupon.jpg

http://www.sportsworldreport.com/data/images/full/2012/03/28/806-boston-real-estate-developer-frank-mccourt-announces-that-major-league.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/54/153449987_b8cb2a68d6.jpg

  Yeah, I said it...I won't always stick up for the Bad Guys, but today I am...Just look at Boba Fett...Dude was a Bad guy, and became a cult icon...So much so, that they made a point of creating his Bad-ass father for the newer editions of "Star Wars"...But this post isn't about my "Star Wars" geekdom...Hollywood has always propped up Bad Guys for us to root for...

First let's talk about Whitey Bulger...The Boston Mob Icon who was arrested last week, after years on the run...Whitey is the reason the movie "The Departed" was made...Now I'm not defending Whitey for the 19 murders he did...Or countless beating he gave...Or the countless other crimes he committed...

But why did it take the FBI so long to bust Bulger? He was living in plain sight...Living near an FBI field office...Often spending time in areas filled with surveillance cameras...It's because for years in Boston, the FBI had dirty agents that were protecting Bulger...Tipping him off when the heat was on...Letting him do his dirt freely...In return he ratted on his Italian competition...

It's said that not only did he have FBI agents under his thumb, but also city and state police...So while Whitey Bulger is a glorified, murderous fuck...Plenty of that blood he spilled is on the hands of the FBI...If whitey goes down, I hope he takes all those "To Protect and Serve" cock suckers down with him! They're all guilty of murder!

Another bad guy I am defending, is Dodgers owner Frank McCourt...Okay, maybe he hasn't been killing, and stealing and shit like Whitey Bulger...But MLB Commish, Bud Selig, and the Media have made McCourt a bad guy since his bitter divorce has put the Dodgers in a financial mess...Selig, the egotistical, power hungry, asshole that he is, is doing everything he can to take the team away from McCourt...

When McCourt bought the Dodgers they were a joke...They had been run into the ground repeatedly...In his seven years as owner, they have been contenders/in the playoffs four of those...That's pretty good in this day and age of Baseball...The way Selig has handled this, has show he has a clearly personal issue with McCourt...

If he was going to take this type of stand for the "Integrity" of the game, he should have ripped the Mets away...The financial situation that has gone on there is disgusting! Why not get in the Pirates shit? They are playing well this year, but all they have done for years is, not spend, and trade away any and all good talent...Taking a once proud franchise, and turning it into an after thought for a city that loves it's teams...

Tampa Bay has contended just like the Dodgers, but financially been a joke...Florida, another poorly run team, has won two World Series, yet no one shows up and no one cares...

People say the much of the problems the Dodgers are having are because of the McCourts living a lavish lifestyle, and taking money from their team to help live that life...It's their team, they can do what they want...

The Yankees, and Red Sox, often have to pay a luxury tax for the insane amount they spend on payroll...That money is shared throughout the league...The lesser teams like Pittsburgh and KC getting more than LA...A few years ago, the Pirates owner took his cut and bought a plane, instead of reinvesting that into his team...I don't agree with that, but until the rules are changed, owners have every right to do what they want with their money.

McCourt had a deal in place that would save his team, and bring steady revenue in for many years, and Selig blocked it...How does that help your league's integrity? It is giving a commissioner too much power, and letting him undercut owners...I was glad to see the court sided with McCourt, and I can't wait for him to sue Selig...He'll win, or MLB will settle...If Bud didn't want him as an owner, they had the power to stop the sale, way back when...This is about who's friends with Bud and who isn't....That's why they keep cock blocking Mark Cuban from owning a team...

Selig has repeatedly done things that harm the integrity of the game...This is just another in a long line...

Now a plug for a good guy...Vote for Asdrubal Carbrera for the AL "All-Star" team...Fuck Jeter...Cabrera has been killing it all year, with the bat and the glove...Jeter, not so much!

Later, The Beeze.
 

I think it is safe to say that I have never been a big supporter of Commissioner Bud Selig. Over the course of my years of blogging and writing, I’ve taken my fair share of shots of the beleaguered boss of Major League Baseball. Some of those shots were fired because of some action or another that was deemed stupid at the time and maybe some of them were fired simply from the hip, as a knee-jerk reaction to something that made more sense down the road.

I sit here tonight, before my keyboard, a humbled man. Rather than further kicking a dead horse and chastising Bud for his actions during the steroid years or for his complete idiocy in trying to further expand the play-offs, I feel I need to something that doesn’t come naturally to me.

I want to praise Bud Selig. It is Good Friday after all.

The state of the Los Angeles Dodgers, one of baseball’s most storied and beloved franchises, is reprehensible. Embattled in a bitter struggle brought on by a divorce between Frank and Jamie McCourt, the Dodgers are in a financial state much more dire than that of the New York Mets and possibly even more so than the Montreal Expos a few years back. Forced to borrow money from Fox Sports against future ticket sales just to make payroll is no way to run a sports franchise

When Commissioner Selig opted yesterday to take over control of the Dodgers, he made a bold and gutsy move, and it was absolutely the right call. There is no reason that one of baseball’s most high-profile teams should be held captive by two scorned children who cannot live within their means enough to keep their team afloat and competitive. Selig acted with consideration for the game and its fans, especially those in Dodger country, and I applaud him for having the gumption to do so.

Still, I need to ask the most obvious of questions here. Why was Frank McCourt awarded a franchise in the first place? He was efforts to buy the Red Sox had been unsuccessful, and thankfully so, due in part to his inability to show financial fortitude enough to first buy the team and then afford to operate it. However, the owners and the Commissioner saw it fit to award him a franchise with the stature of the Dodgers on 100% borrowed funds? That makes about as much sense as handing a monkey a stick of dynamite painted like a banana and expecting him to do something smart with it.

Allowing McCourt to assume ownership in the first place was a folly of astronomical measure. The divorce further clouds the picture on if the current ownership group will ever functionally recover. By stepping in, Selig sent a clear message to McCourt with only two options; either find a way to make this work and make the team financially sound again under the guidance of MLB or find a buyer who is willing to do so. Given that the Dodgers play in a major media market and the history of the franchise, there would be no shortage of potential suitors willing to step in and try to take the team off McCourt’s sleazy hands.

Operating under the current status quo was not an option in which made any sense for the Dodgers or Major League Baseball. Selig took the correct measures in ensuring that the team could sink no further. He’s not a hero or a savior, but in a time of need, he stepped up, as an authority figure should.

And for once he deserves some praise for that.

Other Fragments

-         Selig may be earning some praise for his actions with the Dodgers, but his announcement that the playoff system will likely be increased to 10 teams from 8 is misguided. With the longest season in American sports and arguably an already watered-down playoff system, adding another team to the mix in both leagues further pollutes the gene pool. All it does is tire out the wild card teams so that they pose less of a threat to division winners. It doesn’t make the system more exciting. It simply drags it out.

-         Learning a lesson from the NFL’s problems, Major League Baseball has announced it would increase pension payments to players 1947-1980 who didn’t normally meet service time limitations. Seeing how the NFL treated its retired players, MLB showed that its future is also in its heritage.

-         The San Diego Padres and Taylor Made have partnered to attach an 80ft replica of their R11 Driver to the right field foul pole. The shaft of the club extends past the top of the foul pole and balls that hit it above the pole will be deemed a home run. I can’t wait to see the instant replay arguments when the first one rings off of it.