As I watched Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer for the gazillionth time last night it amazed me how much I like this rudimentary children's story. The misfit toys are embedded deep into my sub conscious and I still get strange pleasure when they are picked up to be disbursed to the misfits of the world. It is one of those shows that if it is on, I'll watch the whole thing and always feel better after having done so.

The same holds true for the early Beatles pap that I soaked up from the age of 8-10, spinning 45's while lying sick in bed with whatever ailment had kept me from school.  You could play I Feel Fine anytime at all and it will perk me up. I enjoyed Across the Universe much too much when you consider how much I can't stand current pop music.

Then we have baseball and everything about  the game from how it is played on the field, to the statistics, to the off field maneuvering. I'm addicted to all of it and it all started as a child.

If I step back and look at these through a middle age lens and experience all of the above for the very 1st time, I know for a fact that I would scoff at Rudolf and turn it off within minutes of watching it. The same would hold true with the Beatles, just as I turn off anything with Justin Timberlake involved, I would not give those pop songs a glancing thought.

Would I do the same for Dodger baseball if I watched my first game not as a child but as me right now? The gluttony of the players, owners, agents, and fans combined is quite appalling when put into proper context. Why do we feed the beast? Is it because baseball is such a great game and deserves all this attention, or is it simply a reflex from childhood that we can't control?

This quote from today's Kurt Streeter's LA Times article made me laugh.

Better yet, just ask the McCourts, who, according to reports, recently purchased side-by-side estates on the Malibu beachfront for just over $50 million.

coming just days after Jamie was trying to decide if they should be spending money on players or fields.  Evidently my guess that the McCourts might be having some cash flow problems was off the mark. They are only having problems spending their money on their team instead of other endeavors. They have every right to buy whatever house they desire, but God I hope Carlos Santana makes them pay the next time they want to save two million dollars by throwing a prospect into a deal.