3 0 All DodgerRefugee^24 McCourt Makes His Case 1/29/04, 4:25pm Ok.... listened to the press conference.
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Notice his voice sounds just like Fred Claire's?

My stomach felt the whole time like I was waiting for Simon to say whether I would be going to Hollywood. I could say a slim majority of my psyche was left positive. A slim majority.
He said most of the magic words I hoped he would say. It helped that he was introduced by Mr. Instant Credibility, Vin Scully.
Let’s look at my original checklist…

- "I will never tear down Dodger Stadium.": Took a while, but he finally came around to saying the stadium was safe. Lost some points when he said he might sell naming rights.
At the same time, since he seems intent on raising money, that dreaded day of naming rights in Chavez Ravine realistically might not only be inevitable, but necessary if you want to develop a contender. I only hope its at least a name that retains Dodger Stadium. I can live with “Dodger Stadium, Presented by Union 76” or maybe even “Farmer John Field at Dodger Stadium.”

- "We are committed to winning and will do everything to develop a World Series team” Pretty much said that word for word.

- "We will continue to have a large market payroll.": Pretty much said he would spend money but be smart with it, which is my philosophy too. Remember that Fox actually spent a lot of money on the payroll, but pretty much left it on two or three players.
Look at the Yankees. Yes, they spent a load of money, but they’ve built a top-to-bottom team with it. That’s why they win, not the salaries.
Want to know another example of when it doesn’t work? Just ask the once-successful Texas Rangers before they spent most of their nesteg on Alex Rodriguez.

- "We need to tap into the tradition and history of the Dodgers": Addressed this too.

He said the right things and, most of all, seems committed. But as much as I hate to use the cliché, the words were nice but I need to see what the actions are before Dodger Refugee unpacks his truck and decides there really has been regime change for the good at Dodger Stadium, Presented by Yoshinoya.
Though I did find it interesting that he noted that the Angels provided a great example for what he wanted to do with the Dodgers. How many of you ever thought you would see the day when you would hear that the Angels were inspiration for the Dodgers.

Let's hope this isn't the result of what would prove to be empty words:

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