Kevin Modesti: What Magic and the mayor have in common

Kevin Modesti: What Magic and the mayor have in common

By Kevin Modesti

The Dodgers' new owners might have grown impatient, waiting to speak at their introductory press conference this morning until Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and City Councilman Ed Reyes finished speeches extolling the ballclub's importance to the community. But the politicians' prominence at the news conference at Dodger Stadium was fitting. These days, sports owners have more in common with office-holders than the owners, at least, might wish.

Much as elected officials try to convince constituents they're getting their tax money's worth in government services, team owners must convince the public it's getting what it pays for when it buys pricier and pricier tickets.

And not only tickets. Also stadium parking, souvenir apparel, cable TV and all of the other investments expected from the modern sports fan.

It didn't used to be this way, not as much. Tickets and parking were relatively cheap, watching games on TV was ostensibly free, and the sports-merchandise industry had yet to persuade most fans they must drape themselves in team colors. If the team was a winner, it added joy to fans' lives, but if it wasn't, well, there was always next year.

Now fans are conscious of how much money they hand over to the franchise they support, and they impatient for results. If they see management spending that money unwisely, they have as much right to be angry as a taxpayer does when she sees dysfunction in Washington or Sacramento

-- or Villaraigosa's City Hall.

There has been no more glaring example than outgoing Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, who raised ticket and parking prices and then appeared to use the new revenue less to acquire star players and improve Dodger Stadium than to finance his and then-wife Jamie McCourt's lavish lifestyle. With the help of league executives, L.A.'s baseball voters threw the bum out.

Amid today's optimism, the new ownership group headed by Mark Walter, Stan Kasten and Magic Johnson must remember that sports fans can be just as unforgiving as the people who write letters to the editor beginning ominously, "As a taxpayer ..."

Maybe Vin Scully, the Dodgers' play-by-play broadcaster and press-conference emcee, was alluding to the limits of optimism when he began to talk about what the new owners were promising by saying: "Not hope and change -- that's been used."

Johnson offered fans something concrete: "(The price of) general parking is going to go down ... from 15 (dollars) to 10."

Think of it as a rare tax cut.

TRUE BLUE LA

Dodgers 5/3/12 Minor League Report - Isotopes Bust Out, Quakes Walk-Off

Minor League Player of the Day – Michael Pericht - 2 for 4, 2 HR's, 2 RBI's, 2 Runs - Pericht's stats might not have been as gaudy as some of the batters in the Isotopes game, but anytime you hit the game tying and game winning homer in the same contest that will get the you minor league player of the day in my book. The big catcher had been off to a slow start, but he has a ton of raw power and hopefully this game will start him on a hot streak.

AAA – The Isotopes crushed the RedHawks (Astros) 15 to 5 on Thursday behind a 24 hit assault. The offensive barrage was a well balanced attack as every batter in the Albuquerque lineup had at least one hit, including starting pitcher Will Savage who actually connected on a two-run homer. Scott Van Slyke cranked a pair of bombs out of the park and collected 4 RBI's, while Jerry Sands went 3 for 5 with two triples. The other big hit days came from Elian Herrera and Matt Angle who both had 4 base knocks and drove in a run each. Pitcher/slugger Savage didn't have a great outing, but he went the required 5 to record his 5th win of the season. Derrick Loop and Wil Ledezma were solid in relief, while Ramon Troncoso gave up an unearned run.

AA – Allen Webster had another subpar outing, but his bullpen and offense picked him up as the Lookouts doubled up the Stars (Brewers) 10 to 5. Webster allowed 5 runs on 8 hits over 5 frames and saw his ERA balloon to above 6, and left his team in a 5 - 1 hole. Luckily the Chattanooga bats got going in the 6th inning and scored 9 unanswered run to pull out the win. Jake Lemmerman boosted his average above .300 for the first time this season with a 3 hits, including a double and a solo homer, and scored 3 runs. Blake Smith also took one deep and singled while JT Wise went 2 for 5 with a double and a RBI. As mentioned above the Lookout relievers were great as they finished the game with 4 scoreless innings. Shawn Tolleson was again called upon in a tight situation and got out of the jam, while Blake Johnson and Geison Aguasviva ended the game with a pair of hitless frames.

HiA – The Quakes were down early, but Michael Pericht single handedly brought his team back as Rancho defeated the 66ers (Angels) 4 to 3 in dramatic fashion. While Pericht came into the game homerless, the big catcher hit a game tying tater in the 7th then won the game with a walk-off bomb in the 9th. Brian Cavazos-Galvez also drove in a run with a double, while Joc Pederson had his first solid game since joining the Quakes as he went 2 for 3 with a walk and a stolen base. Chris Reed was originally scheduled to start this game, but he was late scratch due to a sore left shoulder so Jon Michael Redding got the nod and he allowed 3 runs on 6 hits. No word on the extent of his shoulder soreness and what it might mean for him, but hopefully Reed will be fine in a few days. Steve Smith was outstanding in relief as he gave up just 1 hit over 3 frames, then Scott McGough recorded the win with two shutout innings that included 4 K's.

LoA – The Lugnuts (Blue Jays) spoiled the starting debut of Ryan O'Sullivan as Lansing dropped the Loons 6 to 5. O'Sullivan had an interesting line as he allowed just 2 hits over 4 innings, but he also walked 3, allowed 2 runs (1 earned), and didn't strike anyone out. Juan Noriega, riding a 30 inning scoreless, broke down in a big way as he gave up 5 hits over 2.1 frames which resulted in 4 runs. Michael Thomas and Yimi Garcia ended the game with 2.2 hitless innings and 5 K's, but the Great Lakes offense just wasn't able to make up the difference. The only highlight at the plate came from Scott Schebler as he went 2 for 4 with a triple and 3 RBI's. Justin Boudreaux had the only other extra base hit, a double, while Noel Cuevas had the only other RBI.

Coming up – Garrett Gould will try to continue his strikeout barrage of the California League as he is the scheduled starter for the Quakes on Friday. It looks like Ethan Martin will get the nod for the Lookouts, while Stephen Fife will try and build off his last start for the Isotopes. Finally Matt Laney will toe the rubber in an early morning game for the Loons in the final game of their home stand.

Minor League Transactions – LoA: The Loons got some good and bad news on Thursday as O'Koyea Dickson was finally added to the roster, but it was at the expense of James Baldwin who was placed on the DL with a strained oblique. AAA: Speaking of obliques, Ivan De Jesus was finally assigned to the Isotopes roster after dealing with a strained side himself.