Blog Kiosk: 2/14/2015 - Dodger Links - Truck Day, the Drillers and a Dodger Black Out

Yesterday was Dodger Truck Day as they packed up all of the things they'll need for Spring Training at Camelback Ranch.  Photo above via @MLB on twitter.  Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, Dodgers' offseason dealmaking extended to Truck Day."

The annual ritual was expanded this year because of a new marketing arrangement with shipper UPS, which streamlined the packing process of uniform trunks and luggage by palletizing the equipment so it would be easily loaded by forklifts.

"We used to do it by hand and had to arrange it like a puzzle," said equipment manager Mitch Poole. "Now it's all organized. It's a lot faster and easier."

Below are some more links to check out:

• Via Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA, "Vin Scully links Hideo Nomo and Craig Counsell together forever."

“Watching Hideo Nomo pitch to Craig Counsell is like watching two guys hanging from a window sill,” said Scully during a televised Dodgers – Diamondbacks broadcast several years ago.

• As you know, the Tulsa Drillers are the Dodgers new AA affiliated ballclub.  Meet their new manager Razor Shines in this article by the Drillers, here.

Drillers: What can you say to give the fans an idea of what they can expect to see on the field in 2015?
Shines: "Well first of all, the Dodgers organization is (as classy) as it can be. I can assure you that the first year the Dodgers are working with the Drillers they're going to put a competitive baseball team here. They're going to put class people here - the players are going to be good people. And not only good people, but they're also going to be good players. And the organization again, from top to bottom, is going to make sure the Drillers are welcomed into the Dodgers family. I can assure you of that."

• Via Michael Hiltzik at the LA Times, "Why I'm glad the Dodgers may be blacked out again this season."

The fans need to remember that when the long green is at stake, the teams are businesses that don't give a Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance's damn about them. That crucial awareness acts as a vaccine against the virus of gimme that pro sports teams spread in their local communities. The owners and their leagues demand tax abatements, public stadium funding, and all sorts of other handouts because, you know, they truly belong to the people.

• I thought I would also pass along the news that the cable merger between Comcast and Time Warner, that some say will drive a cable deal for Dodger fans, may fall apart.  Via Zach Epstein at Yahoo Tech, "Comcast’s customer service is so bad that it might end up undoing the TWC merger."  

Between you and I, I want the merger to fall apart.  It's the kind of monopoly that we will all dread.  Cable companies are the worst, and there is nothing more I'd like to see (other than a Dodgers Championship) than strict regulation of that industry.

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