By now everyone has heard that Joe Torre is the new skipper of the Boys in Blue. Even the Dodgers.com website has updated their coaching staff information. Though Torre has a recent affiliation with the Evil Empire, he's no stranger to the Dodgers or the Los Angeles market. Like the Dodgers, he's a Brooklyn native whose move to Los Angeles was the cause of much fanfare as well as commotion. And he's no SoCal n00b, either; longtime SoCal sports fans can recall that Torre was once a broadcaster for the Gene Autry-owned California Angels from 1985 to 1990 (the era of people like Doug DeCinces, Wally Joyner and Brian Downing) when their games were aired on the Autry-owned KTLA.So now that we have an Irish American owner and an Italian American manager again, might we see those halcyon days of pennants, rings, trophies and parades through Downtown Los Angeles? Only time, money and the acquisition of a high-profile big bat will tell. But for now, all is good in Dodgerville.
As for Grady Little? Will he follow another embattled ex-Dodger manager and manage the Pittsburgh Pirates? As he would often say, "Well, I tell ya whut," according to the most awkwardly-staged teleconference call in the history of modern telecommunications (visit Dodgers.com and search for "Grady Little Conference Call" (can't be hotlinked, sorry), he has no plans to return to baseball next year, and former Oakland A's manager and Pittsburgh-area native Ken Macha is currently in talks to commandeer the Pirate ship.
As Plashke (spelling?) said a couple days ago, this was all handled very poorly. The O'Malley's certainly weren't the best (really), but at least they had some class. Anyway, here's hoping this is the beginning of the long-awaited turn around. Given recent history, I'm not that hopeful, though.
ReplyDeleteAnything's better than the Rupert Murdoch-owned Dodgers!
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