Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa

Many apologies to Steve Boros for inadertantly using his name for the evil one, i.e., Scott Boras. For old time baseball types, they'll remember Steve Boros, the once Detroit Tigers third baseman and longtime baseball lifer as coach, manager, one-time Dodger minor league field coordinator as one of baseball's "good guys".

This Steve Boros was cerebral and intellectual and a very pleasant man all rolled into one. Steve treated minor league writers like Tommy Lasorda treated network superstars - a decided rarity in the sport. We think of him often and fondly, which is our only excuse for using his name in preference over that other guy.

Everything Steve Boros was and is, Scott Boras is not.

While Scott and Steve share the last name, that's about the only thing they share. One tried throughout his career to build up the game of baseball, the other has tried throughout his to bankrupt the fans if not the sport.

One thought with his heart, the other with his wallet. They are the antithesis of each other, which makes my faux pax all the more regrettable.

Being a Christian, we are taught to think of good things, so when the name came up, we automatically thought, as we are taught to do, is to think of good things first.

That being said, my faux pas is hardly in the same category as the Dodgers errors of late, chiefly thinking the player they remember is the player of today. The Dodgers remembered the Boston Red Sox Nomar Garciaparra who the late Ted Williams was his choice for the next player to hit .400 or better.

The Dodgers remembered the healthy Jeff Schmidt, the younger Luis Gonzalez, the MVP Jeff Kent, the healthy Randy Wolf and on and on. What they got was a bunch of 'use to be' players on the downhill, and got a fourth place finish for it all.

With so many roster spots open, the irrepressable Boras, cited above, is sure to pitch he hapless Dodgers the memories of the once great Eric Gagne as he stomped to the mound in Dodgers Stadium. The current Gagné is NOT the old Gagné- at anybody's prices much less those Boras will seek to get.

As much Joe Torre's coaches from the Yankees, what the Dodgers could use is a couple of big league scouts and talent evaluators. The Dodgers are great at youngsters, but they haven't done as well at bringing in ready players from elsewhere.

Surely there are other Dan Ugglas and Carlos Penas out there. Rather than high priced names, the Dodgers could use a new Olmedo Saenz or two to flesh out their roster, players like Rob Mackowiak who is a free agent, who plays well off the bench, and who plays just about anyplace you put him.