A day after Bud Selig announced that Major League Baseball would assume control over the Los Angeles Dodgers, club executive Steve Soboroff has come to the defense of current owner Frank McCourt.

From ESPN.com:

Soboroff, the Los Angeles civic leader and former mayoral candidate whom the Dodgers hired Tuesday as vice chairman, said Thursday the Dodgers are in good shape financially and Selig’s move was “irresponsible” and came as “a shock.”

Soboroff cited the Dodgers’ potential 20 year, $3 billion television deal with Fox as evidence McCourt has sufficient funds to operate the team.

“All this momentum is building and then all of sudden this letter comes in and says, ‘You don’t have any money. You don’t have this or that.’ I think it was irresponsible,” Soboroff said.

Soboroff also expressed frustration Thursday with the way Selig handled Wednesday’s announcement and the lag time before appointing an overseer.

“To me, if you’re going to send somebody out here to take something over, you don’t write a letter that says, ‘Gee whiz, here’s all these problems with you and here’s everything else, but don’t worry, later on in the week we’re going to send somebody else out,’” Soboroff said. “You do it the same day. … What are you supposed to do for four days?”

I’m not going to pretend that I know even half of what’s going on with this situation with Frank McCourt, Major League Baseball and the Dodgers. It’s not like I’ve been in a room with the McCourts over the past decade and taking diligent notes on their spending habits. I just can’t know everything about everything – even if I pretend to. (And trust me, I do pretend to.)

That said, it’s not like Selig isn’t within his rights to want to know what the hell is going on with one of his teams. Thanks in large part to the acquisition of Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers have had some recent success under McCourt (not World Series success mind you, but success nonetheless). But there are some ugly reports out there about McCourt’s spending, which include the fact that he gave himself a $5 million salary and his ex-wife $2 million (which is according to evidence at their divorce hearing). There was also a report that they gave a six-figure free to Vladimir Shpunt, a self-described scientist and healer in Boston, to send positive energy across the country to the Dodgers. (Shpunt might want to check the coordinates on that positive energy, because he may have mistakenly sent it to the Giants last fall.)

So while I don’t blame Soboroff for coming to McCourt’s defense, I don’t think Selig is off his rocker in wanting to do a little investigating into the Dodgers’ financial books. As baseball’s commissioner, he owes it to the game and to the fans in L.A. to make sure that everything is on the up-and-up and that McCourt does have his club’s best interests at heart (financially speaking).

John Steigerwald is the Pittsburgh-area columnist who caused a stir earlier this week for a column he wrote about Bryan Stow, the 42-year-old Giants fan who is still in a coma after being beaten by two thugs outside of Dodger Stadium on Opening Weekend. I responded to the garbage that Steigerwald wrote yesterday, but since then he has taken to his blog (as well as TV and radio) to defend his stance.

This was from an entry entitled “THANKS FOR NOT TAKING IT PERSONALLY:”

I don’t apologize for the column but I do apologize to the Stow family if this nonsense has reached them and in any way added to their pain. I don’t, for one second, blame Brian Stow for the beating he took. I do blame the ever increasing out of control, out of perspective behavior by fans, too many of whom are no longer satisfied with going to their stadiums and cheering for their teams. And I sure as hell don’t think –as some hysterical posters have claimed –that Bryan “had it coming.”

If you read the entire entry, Steigerwald again comes off like an ass and almost seems to think that he’s the victim of “hysterical” readers. But he came back with another piece called “MOVING ON,” which came across much better in my eyes.

I wrote what I wrote and I stand by it, but at the same time, I understand why so many people interpreted some of what I wrote as being insensitive to Bryan Stow’s situation. I made the mistake of assuming that the tragedy of the situation spoke for itself and that I didn’t need to point out how terrible it was for Stow and his family. When I wrote ” Maybe somebody can ask Stow, if he ever comes out of his coma, why he thought it was a good idea to wear Giants gear to a Dodgers’ home opener when there was a history of out of control drunkenness and arrests at that event going back several years”, I can see by the responses that that came across as flippant and insensitive. That was not my intent. If I had it to do over again, I would write it differently. I know what I felt in my heart when I wrote it and it was anger over what had happened to this guy over a stupid jersey. That’s why I spent a good part of the column expressing my feelings about the jersey phenomenon. I don’t get it. That doesn’t mean that I don’t think everybody has the right to wear what they want to a game.

Much better, John. You’re still way, way off base and your original column should still be used as toilet paper but at least you actually took the time to see what all the outrage was about.

As I wrote yesterday (although not in so many words), I think Steigerwald’s point is pretty freaking stupid. Let’s put Bryan Stow’s situation aside for a moment and focus on what Steigerwald was trying to say in his original column: that grown men shouldn’t wear jerseys to a game because a) the players can’t see you and even if they could, they don’t draw inspiration from you or your jersey, b) you’re not a kid anymore and c) the jersey may contribute to “the new mob mentality that seems to exist in the stands these days.”

I would venture a guess that most adults wear jerseys to a game not because they think they’ll have some kind of positive affect on the players or their team, but because they like to wear them. Some people don’t like wearing ties. Some people don’t like wearing collared shirts. Hell, some people don’t like wearing long pants and wear shorts year-round, even in the winter. It’s just a matter of preference, and the preference for a lot of people when they go to games is to wear jerseys. They’re not tabbing into their inner-child or hold this belief that the jersey holds mystical winning powers: THEY JUST LIKE WEARING JERSEYS TO A GAME.

And Steigerwald’s idea that the jersey was the reason that Stow fetched a beating is just as ridiculous. Like I wrote yesterday, what if Stow and his buddies were wearing Giants polo shirts instead? Would they have avoided a beating? Would the thugs who did this have said: “Ah, you know what? Dude is wearing a Giants polo shirt. I feel less inebriated, angry and violent. Now, if he were wearing a jersey, well, all bets would be off.” I’m thinking no.

I think the bottom line is that there are some cowards in this country who look to prey on the weak and unsuspecting because they’re too insecure about their manhoods. Obviously these thugs were looking for a fight the minute they woke up and I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a pre-mediated plan to attack Giant fans that night – REGARDLESS OF IF THE GIANT FANS WERE WEARING JERSEYS. Simply put, these are animals that need to be caged.

Besides, this jersey notion takes away from the real issue: Fans should be able to support their favorite teams at a public venue without worrying about whether or not they’ll end up in a hospital at the end of the night. Would I wear a Giants anything in L.A.? Probably not. But I should have the right to without somebody laying their hands on me.

Steigerwald’s column was trash and his jersey opinion is just as bad. Hopefully somebody will tell him to drop the notion moving forward, because there’s nothing there.

And to the Stow family, may you be able to speak with Bryan again soon. I do not know him, but I wish him my best.

I’ve seen plenty of crap writing in my day but John Steigerwald of the Observer-Reporter has taken bad journalism to a whole new level.

I actually read this piece yesterday but I wanted to let my opinions marinate overnight. I like to play devil’s advocate as much as possible and give writers the benefit of the doubt if I can at least see where they were coming from. But after reading Steigerwald’s article again this morning, it’s pretty clear that this guy doesn’t have a point.

Steigerwald’s column is about Bryan Stow, the 42-year-old paramedic and lifelong Giants fan who is now in a coma because a pair of thugs beat him to within an inch of his life outside of Dodger Stadium on Opening Weekend. Steigerwald suggests that Stow (whom Steigerwald apparently called “Snow” until he was corrected in the comments section of the piece) should have known not to wear his Giants jersey to the park that night.

Maybe someone can ask Stow, if he ever comes out of his coma, why he thought it was a good idea to wear Giants’ gear to a Dodgers’ home opener when there was a history of out-of-control drunkenness and arrests at that event going back several years.

If he ever comes out of his coma? You’re kidding me right? How insensitive can you get?

Nobody needs to ask Stow why he wore his Giants’ “gear”: He was supporting his team at a ballgame. It’s not like he went to the beach dressed in an Eskimo suit.

Are there really 40-something men who think that wearing the jersey makes them part of the team? It was cute when a 10-year-old kid got that feeling by showing up at Three Rivers Stadium in a Pirates jersey, but when did little boys stop growing out of that?

Here’s tip for you if you actually think that wearing your team’s jersey makes you a part of the team:

It doesn’t.

Is this now a cautionary tale that Steigerwald is writing or is he badgering a man in a coma? I’m confused.

Obviously, not every fan who wears his team’s jersey to a game is looking for someone from “the enemy” to beat up. But maybe somebody should do a psychological study to find out if all those game jerseys have contributed to the new mob mentality that seems to exist in the stands these days.

If you’re one of two or three guys wearing Steelers jerseys sitting in the middle of the Dawg Pound in Cleveland, guess what? The Steelers players can’t see you and even if they could, they’re not really getting a lot of inspiration from you.

If you’re set upon by a bunch of drunken adults wearing dog costumes, you probably shouldn’t expect any help from the guys on the field who are wearing the jerseys that look just like yours.

Why not just go to the Browns game in Cleveland dressed as a regular human being? When did it become necessary to wear a uniform to the game?

I’m sorry, what does a “regular human being” dress like? IT’S A FREAKING BASEBALL GAME. Someone is not allowed to wear a jersey? What if Stow and his buddies were wearing Giants polo shirts? Would they have avoided a beating? Would the thugs who did this have said: “Ah, you know what? Dude is wearing a Giants polo shirt. I feel less inebriated, angry and violent. Now, if he were wearing a jersey, well, all bets would be off.”

Yeah, Stow probably wouldn’t have been beaten if he wore Dodgers stuff that night and cheered for the Giants in his head. But what is Steigerwald trying to say here? That nobody should cheer for their team on the road because the players of that team won’t draw inspiration from you? I think as an adult, Stow knows that he doesn’t possess magical powers that help the Giants win depending on what he wears to the game. And honestly, it’s kind of insulting for Steigerwald to go into detail about how, as a fan, you don’t control your team’s fate by what you wear.

This has to be one of the more poorly constructed articles I’ve ever read. Making matters worse, Steigerwald not only thrusts blame on the victim, but he didn’t spell Stow’s name correctly in the original article and he still hasn’t fixed a couple of typos that readers have pointed out in the comments section. If I’m Steigerwald, I’m telling readers that someone hacked into my account and published this garbage without my knowing.

Bryan Stow did nothing wrong that night. I don’t care if he was wearing a full Giants uniform complete with batting helmet, cleats and Giants-themed wristbands. He was beaten by two thugs who deserve to be in prison – end of story. As a “human being,” he has the right to attend a baseball game and cheer for the opposing team without having to worry that the night will end in brain damage. We all do.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that Don Mattingly will replace Joe Torre as the Dodgers’ manager for the 2011 MLB season.

An official announcement will be made Friday before the Dodgers’ game against the Colorado Rockies.

Mattingly has been the Dodgers hitting coach since the middle of the 2008 season, which was Torre’s first with the team. Before that, they were together with the New York Yankees.

The Dodgers announced earlier this season that Mattingly, who has never been a manager, would guide a team in the Arizona fall league, fueling speculation he was being prepared to take over the major league club.

The article reports that Torre may stay with the Dodgers organization in some capacity, although nobody knows at this point what role he would have with the club.

It’s been long believed that Mattingly would take over for Torre some day, but there has been recent speculation that the Dodgers were considering Tim Wallace for the position. L.A. hasn’t exactly been an offensive juggernaut under Mattingly’s instruction this year and considering he doesn’t have any managerial experience on any level, this could prove to be a bad move in the long run.

Although hey, he has been learning under Torre for the past couple of years, so maybe “Donny Baseball” will surprise.

I’ve got one two words of advice for the Los Angeles Dodgers right now: Have patience.

SI.com’s Jon Heyman is reporting that the White Sox have won the waiver claim on outfielder Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers now have until Tuesday to either trade him or pull him back. Ken Rosenthal is also reporting that L.A. has placed starter Ted Lilly on waivers, meaning a deal could also be forthcoming for him if he’s claimed.

The problem is that the Dodgers have won three in a row and are now only five games behind the Giants in the NL Wild Card race. Less than a week ago, it made sense to put players like Manny and Lilly on waivers seeing as how neither of them will be part of the team’s long-term plans. But today, things are much trickier.

Do the Dodgers keep Manny and Lilly in order to make a run at the playoffs or do they trade them and hope to get lucky over the next 30-plus games?

If they wait, that question could be answered for them over the next three days. The Dodgers are set to play the Rockies (who are four games back in the Wild Card chase) in Colorado for a three-game set starting tonight. If they take the series and the other Wild Card contenders (Giants, Phillies, Cardinals) struggle, then why not keep Manny and Lilly and try to make a run?

Look, I get it. It stands to reason that even with Manny and Lilly (who has been outstanding since coming over in a mid-season trade with the Cubs) the Dodgers don’t have much of a chance to make the playoffs. And even if they do, how far would they be able to go given their current collection of talent?

But what do you think they’d get for Manny and Lilly in a trade right now? Nothing of value, I can tell you that. They’d get some salary relief, but we’re not talking about a ton of money here.

Now, if they get swept by Colorado or even lose 2 of 3, then all bets are off. Trade Manny and Lilly for whatever you can get and use the money on draft picks or free agents next year. It makes no sense to sit six or seven games back in the Wild Card with just over 30 games remaining and carry dead weight.

But by all means, wait three days. The picture will become clearer at that point.

Due to a calf injury that has sidelined him for the better part of a decade, Manny Ramirez has completely fallen off the baseball map over the last couple of months.

ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that the Dodgers will likely put Manny on waivers sometime this week, which would end his brief stay in “Mannywood.” Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says that if L.A. does put the aging outfielder on waivers, the White Sox plan to claim him for the stretch run.

But does Ramirez have anything left to give a contender?

Let’s get this out of the way first: the Dodgers have little to know need for him at this point. He’s a free agent at the end of the year and seeing as how Scott Podsednik (picked up in a mid-season trade) gives the club three quality starters in the outfield, L.A. might as well get something for Manny while they still can.

Despite the general consensus that Ramirez is washed up, keep in mind that he’s still hitting .312 this year with a slugging percentage north of .500. Yes, injuries are a major concern, but if he can stay healthy for the final 35-plus games then he could give a team like the White Sox a shot in the arm.

Now losers of seven of their last 10, the Sox continue to slide further behind the Twins in the AL Central. They’re currently 4.5 games out of first place in the division and seemingly have zero chance of catching the Yankees or the Rays for the Wild Card now that they’re 9.5 back in that race.

Paul Konerko continues to carry this club, but Alex Rios has started to fade and Carlos Quentin has been incredibly streaky. If Ramirez (who obviously knows American League pitching) can be had for cheap, there should be nothing stopping GM Kenny Williams from claiming him.

That said, Manny still has to get past all the National League teams and clubs with a worse record than the Sox. Plus, the Dodgers and Sox would still have to agree to a deal.

But if all of that happens, the Sox have nothing to lose at this point. They could use another bat and while Manny probably won’t be the difference between them making the playoffs this year or not, he still has enough left in the tank to provide a spark.

…Actually, they want the whole thing – not just a piece. The Houston Chronicle reports that scouts for each team were in attendance Saturday to watch Roy Oswalt’s start against the Reds.

Too bad he was hammered for nine hits and six earned runs. He also allowed two home runs and walked a batter as his ERA jumped from 3.12 to 3.42 and his WHIP from 1.07 to 1.11.

No matter – teams will still peruse him and it’ll be interesting to see which team puts together the best package in order to acquire him. Of course, whichever club pulls the trigger on a trade will also have to be willing to pick up the $16 million tab that he’s owed in 2011. Obviously that wouldn’t be much of a problem for a team like the Yankees, but the same can’t be said for the Dodgers or Cardinals.

Either way, with the trade deadline rapidly approaching, it’s likely that he’ll be wearing another team’s uniform by his next start.