It's Official - No Expanded Coverage for SportsNet LA on Opening Day

This entire situation is infuriating, and to make matters worse there's nothing we can do about it.  No amount of brooding, complaining or finger pointing will change the fact that a majority of households in the Los Angeles area will not have the Dodgers on their television.

Last week there was a small glimmer of hope that the season could start on a good note, but that flame has been put out. Per Meg James at the LA Times, "Time Warner Cable throws in the towel on Dodger channel negotiations"

Time Warner Cable has surrendered the ball.

The New York company conceded Thursday that it has failed in its efforts to win broad distribution for SportsNet LA, the TV channel owned by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Time Warner Cable made several pitches this month to other pay-TV providers -- including AT&T's DirecTV and Cox Communications -- hoping to entice them to sign up for the Dodgers channel in time for the baseball season, which begins Monday.

The company proposed cutting the carriage fee for the channel, entering into binding arbitration or signing a six-year deal – but struck out.

"They’ve rejected every offer we’ve made," Time Warner Cable spokesman Andrew Fegyveresi said Thursday.

"We’ve offered short-term deals and long-term deals, we’ve lowered the price by 30%, we’ve asked for arbitration, we’ve offered ... the same thing they charge for their regional sports networks, we’ve told them we’d meet them any time, anywhere to negotiate and nothing has worked," Fegyveresi said.

I have no sympathy for Time Warner.  They had more than ample time to strike a deal, and if they'd been willing to do before what they say they'd do now then we wouldn't be where we are today.  But here we are, and the only ones to blame is Time Warner themselves... Oh, and the Dodgers for signing that deal with the devil. 

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Dodgers Notes from Spring Training: Spring Game 31/Home Game 16

Throughout Spring Training the Dodgers PR department sends out helpful daily notes from Camelback Ranch, and I am happy to pass them along.  See what they've written below.

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L.A. Angels (15-8-6) vs. LOS ANGELES DODGERS (13-14-3)
Thursday, March 31, 2016 – 7:10 p.m. PT | Dodger Stadium
LHP Andrew Heaney (1-0, 2.57) vs. LHP Scott Kazmir (0-1, 7.71)
TV: SNLA Radio: KLAC/KTNQ

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(Dodger Stadium, pic via AGon on twitter)

STADIUM FOR SORE EYES: The Dodgers are back at Dodger Stadium tonight for the first time since losing Game 5 of the NLDS on October 15, 2015 to the New York Mets. In addition to tonight’s game, the Dodgers and Angels will meet Friday (7:10 p.m., RHP Kenta Maeda vs. LHP Hector Santiago) at Dodger Stadium, with the series shifting to Anaheim for a 6:05 p.m. game Saturday (LHP Alex Wood vs. RHP Nick Tropeano). After an off-day Sunday, the Dodgers kick off the regular season on Monday against the Padres at PETCO Park.

Vintage Dodgers' Gamers and a Championship Ring at SCP Auctions

For Dodgers fans and collectors the upcoming SCP Auction is everything you could have hoped for.  It's filled with well over a hundred different items; including a massive collection of personal items from the estate of Don Drysdale.  Heck, it's almost breathtaking in its scale.  There's just so much to stare at.

Since I suspect I'll be putting up several different post focused on just the Drysdale stuff, I thought I would begin an cavalcade of posts by focusing on a few of the non-Drysdale items that caught my eye.  I promise to begin in earnest with the Drysdale goodies in a post tomorrow.

What could possibly be the best way to introduce an auction featuring Don Drysdale then to begin with a real honest-to-goodness game-used jersey of his left-handed teammate Sandy Koufax.  Below is a 1956 gamer signed by the "Left Hand of God."  (Auction Link)  I should add that Koufax gamers are impossible to find, and when they do come to auction they sell in the hundreds of thousands.  This particular jersey originates from the warehouse of Chuck Poehler, owner of Los Angeles based sporting goods manufacturer Goodman & Sons.

Jackie Robinson Correspondence to a Brooklyn Dodgers Fan

With the seasons start around the corner and Jackie Robinson day soon to follow, I thought I would take a moment to share a couple personal letters I ran into written by Jackie to an adoring fan.  In fact, the letter wasn't written to just any fan. These two letters were written to Margaret "Peggy" Dwyer - President of the Pee Wee Reese and Duke Snider fan clubs.  (Auction link here and here)

As you can see, these letters were written on Jackie's own personal letterhead, and in both he expresses great admiration for his teammate Pee Wee Reese.  Check out what he wrote below:

Blog Kiosk: 3/31/2016 - Dodgers Links - Segedin, Wright and Roberts Say's No iPad

Check out Roy Campanella hanging out with some little leaguers at the place he called home during Spring Training - at "Campy's Corner."  Dated to March 1959, photo found on eBay, he would often regale players and fans alike with stories of yore. 

Below are more links to check out:

• Ken Rosenthal at Fox Sports writes something funny.  He makes some outlandish predictions for every team.

Dodgers:  Team president Friedman, reacting to a series of injuries down the stretch, buys Cuba to fortify team with major-league-ready replacements.

• Via Jesse Sanchez at MLB.com, "Roberts not planning to use iPad during games."

"I'm used to looking at paper and I kind of have certain things that I like to go to and reference when you walk through an individual game," Roberts said. "To navigate through an iPad, I don't want to have to worry about it loading up. I want to know where I have to go for information."