A few odds and ends to pass along as Nolan Ryan (65) and Ernie Banks (81) celebrate birthdays. Jackie Robinson would have turned 93 today …
- The Magic Johnson-Stan Kasten ownership group could be the leader to purchase the Dodgers, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, as that group will likely procure the financial backing of billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong. Soon-Shiong is a close friend of Johnson's and once purchased Magic's minority stake in the Lakers.
- The Rangers and Nelson Cruz are working on avoiding an arbitration hearing, the outfielder tells Enrique Rojas of ESPN.com. Cruz also said that while the sides are negotiating for a one-year agreement, they are leaving open the door to a multiyear pact.
- Yoenis Cespedes will likely visit the Marlins within the next week, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. Miami has long been considered among the leaders to sign the 27-year-old outfielder who recently defected from Cuban, although the the Cubs and other teams "remain deeply involved," per Rosenthal.
Not a fan of Far East money in the Dodgers, but as long as it’s not a majority stake I guess…
Huh? I don’t see any Far East bids…unless Burke’s Chinese-backed offer made it past the preliminary round.
People with Asian names are not necessarily citizens of an Asian country. If it’s Soon-Shiong you’re referring to, he’s technically South African and has lived in North America since the 70s.
People with Asian names are not necessarily citizens of an Asian country. If it’s Soon-Shiong you’re referring to, he’s technically South African and has lived in North America since the 70s.
A lot of baseball royalty born on this day.
Ryan, Banks, AND Robinson! Seems like if your born on January 31st your guaranteed the Hall.
Yuniesky Betancourt is going to do a backflip if he ever reads that…
Ryan, Banks, AND Robinson! Seems like if your born on January 31st your guaranteed the Hall.
Nice. That was my second choice after Cuban. Johnson-Kasten sounds good to me!
agree…i would love Magic-Kastens running the dodgers!
There was an article in the LA Times I think recently that talked about them and how there group had the perfect combination of the local hero (Magic) the baseball smarts (Kasten) and the money (I don’t remember his name but he’s the least important anyway from a baseball standpoint). I’m really excited about getting a new owner who cares and wants to help us win.
I still prefer the Torre-Caruso team, but this one sounds good too. Better days are coming Dodger faithful!
agree…i would love Magic-Kastens running the dodgers!
Report from Chicago: Apparently Cespedes is interested in the Cubs because his agent Adam Katz changed their offer letter to say “Chicago Cuba”.
Cespedes is 26
October 10, 1985
And let the birth date debate begin!
Apparently Yoenis Cespedes decided Miami was tolerable after all…
Apparently there’s a Marlins minor leaguer named Ernie Banks, who is 25 years old.
I was wondering why Cespedes needed to defect from Mark Cuban…
I thought you might have been kicked in the head by an emu when I initially read your post, then realized what you were referring to.
…and nearly 14hrs after it was initially posted it still isn’t fixed.
A happy birthday to Nolan Ryan, easily the greatest pitcher of his generation.
To Mr Cub too, I’d have loved to have been able to see him play in his day.
Unless you think two years and a couple of months equals a generation gap, Nolan Ryan was not the greatest pitcher of his generation. That would be Tom Seaver. I’d argue for Steve Carlton, too.
“Let’s play two”
…and millions of abused but still loyal and hopeful fans.
I wouldn’t think so, would you? Considering his age (over 70) I was surprised when he took the MLB job, and even more surprised when he quit it to pursue the Dodgers. But who knows? He could be playing a whole lot more golf but he seems to enjoy staying busy.