Ask Paul DePodesta, but not about the Dodgers

Former Dodgers general manager Paul DePodesta, now with the Padres in San Diego, has started an interesting blog — he knows a lot more about baseball than the sportswriters who rip him for being a stats guy. (He's the guy who acquired the Dodgers top starting pitcher for three declining and less valuable assets the last year in which the Dodgers won their division.) But he can't post about his L.A. days: "There have been a lot of questions regarding my time at the Dodgers that I haven't published. I am simply not permitted to speak about anything relating to the Dodgers. Sorry." Too bad.

The old days: The widow of 1960s Dodgers beat writer George Lederer recalls the family receiving four free season tickets every year he covered the team, socializing with players and getting perks like a color TV when the Dodgers won the World Series. "The Dodgers even handed out meal money to the writers before every trip," Pat Lederer blogs. "In cash!"