a_man_could_stand

On my way to the Stadium now to watch the Dodgers & Clayton Kershaw take on the Cubs. Tonight is Rick Monday "Flag-Saving" Bobblehead night..

For those unfamiliar with the story, the Cubs were visiting Dodger Stadium in1976. Monday, then the Cubs right fielder was warming up between innings when two young men ran out onto the field from the stands. The men knelt down and unfolded what appeared to be an American flag on the field...before security could reach the men, they started dousing the flag with lighter fluid...then one lit a lighter.

Before they could set fire to the flag, Monday sprinted from his position, snatched the flag from the ground and handed it to stadium security. He got a standing ovation from the Los Angeles crowd and the story remains part of Dodger Lore.

So special is the memory in the Dodger family that they made the unprecedented move of having a Bobblehead Night featuring a player in a visiting team's uniform....Monday, in his Cubs uni, in the act of grabbing the flag off the ground.

Monday has said time and time again that "any player would have done the same thing." This got me thinking...who is the Right Fielder for your team right now... and if this happened on your field tonight, do you think he would do the same thing?

...and is this a big deal for you?

I will be in Montespertoli on Nov. 1 (All Saints Day) and wondered how many things would be closed there and in Florence.

Do museums, cafe's, shops and restaurants close or have reduced hours? And if so, what would you suggest a traveler with a car do that day?

I'll be staying near Montespertoli the first week of November and will have a car. I plan to drive into Florence during the day and at night.

I've read all the "official" info about driving and parking in the region, but I wanted to get insight from actual travelers and natives.

What are your top personal tips you would give?

Mid-week (Wednesday or Thursday), heading to the area around Gare du Nord....I am unfamiliar with Paris traffic patterns and wonder if it would be better to get into Paris as early in the day as possible, or make it a leisurely drive and arrive in the late afternoon or evening.

Mattingly doesn't seem to want to live on the West Coast and, let's face it, the Dodgers kid's may take longer to develop than this current crew of veterans (Kent, Nomar, Lowe, Furcal) can stay useful and/or affordable...

Torre has already said that this 3-year deal will be his last before retirement. With their best prospects still in their early to mid 20s, it's possible that they're still 4-5 years from "the promised land."

Randolph's stock is pretty low right now, but he's still highly respected by the players. Give him two-plus years on the bench with Torre, building a team of young players, and the Dodgers might luck into something they haven't had in a long while.....Continuity.

We all have stories about horrible trades, busted prospects and "Carl Pavano" contracts that killed our favorite teams. But is there a deal that they almost made, but DID NOT that you still complain about?

For example, the Dodgers had a deal in principle to get Vlad Guererro from Montreal, but Fox was trying to sell the team at the time so they wouldn't close the deal.....I often wonder how the decade would have been different if Vladdy had donned the Dodger Blue instead on Disney Red...