Dodgers withdraw offer to Manny … for now

Doesn’t mean it’s gone forever, but it’s gone for the moment.
“The offer expired,” Ned Colletti said.
I then asked where the Dodgers go from here.
“We’ll see,” he said. “It doesn’t preclude us from more conversations, but every offer yo make has a deadline to it so that it doesn’t stand out there forever. That offer expired and is off the table, and hopefully, we’ll have more conversations and see where they take us.”
Colletti said the Dodgers have yet to make a formal offer to any of their 13 other free agents, but that he has had conversations with the agents for Casey Blake (Jim McDowell) and Rafael Furcal (Paul Kinzer). Furcal remains at the top of the Dodgers’ wish list at shortstop as opposed to signing another free agent or making a trade.
“(Blake and Furcal) want to see what else is out there,” Colletti said. “They know we have strong interest and that we want them back. We’ll continue to stay in touch.”

Dodgers release first Cactus League schedule

It will start early (Feb. 25) because of the World Baseball Classic, and it will start with four away games, presumably because the new stadium in Glendale won’t be ready until March 1, when the boys host the Brewers at the new complex across the street from my house. There also will be TWO scheduled off-days (March 11/18) as opposed to the traditional ONE. Also, there are only three scheduled games with the White Sox, which is rather strange when you consider the two teams will be sharing a complex. My guess is that is a hedge against the possibility that the White Sox can’t get out of their Tucson lease for another year, something that is expected to be determined with certainty sometime in the next week or two. The Dodgers are the visiting team for two of those three games, meaning that if the White Sox can’t move in until 2010, the Dodgers will have to make FOUR trips to Tucson next spring instead of two.

Here is the link to the schedule on the Dodgers’ official web site:

http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/spring_training/tentative.jsp?c_id=la

Brad Penny … a.k.a. the baseball guy

Here is the link to a TMZ video of Brad Penny and a few of his buddies getting into a scuffle in a Hollywood nightspot a couple of weeks ago. It’s very unclear from the video what any of this was about, but the funny part is that right at the end, when order seems to have been restored and the camera is shooting nothing but a hardwood floor, some girl can be overheard explaining to someone her version of what happened, and she refers to Penny as “the baseball guy.” One day you’re a two-time All-Star, the next day you’re just a “baseball guy.”

http://www.tmz.com/2008/10/28/dodger-pitcher-dodges-punches-at-key-club/

Manny Ramirez, Rafael Furcal will re-sign with Dodgers

At least according to betonline.com, they will. They issued odds today that say the Dodgers are the favorites to land both players. Here are those odds, so take them for whatever you think they’re worth:

BetOnline.com: Manny Ramirez Contenders

Dodgers 1/2

Yankees 4/1

Mets 6/1

Blue Jays 6/1

Other 3/1

BetOnline.com: Rafael Furcal Contenders

Dodgers 7/5

Cubs 3/1

Giants 5/1

Blue Jays 5/1

Athletics 8/1

Other 11/4