Quick Hits...

* That scream emanating from LA? Nope, it's not reaction to another Kobe rumor, but the agony of Dodgers' reliever Scott Proctor, who thought he had escaped Joe Torre and his abusive treatment of Proctor's right arm. With Torre taking on the head job with the Dodgers, Proctor may be headed for a Dravecky-like moment on the mound next year.

* Nice hire by the Dodgers, who increase their cachet in LA in their race against the Angels for regional supremacy. However, the way they went about it was pretty poor. Then again, it shouldn't be surprising as the McCourts' have generally showen a lack of regard for those that work for them since they took over the club.

* Luckily, one of their rumored prime targets in free agency seems to have a commensurate lack of class. Rumors that A-Rod will want to follow Torre to LA are overblown. A-Rod and Torre didn't seem to be best friends in New York. Plus, A-Rod is after dollars. Torre won't serve as motivation to join the Dodgers if the McCourts won't pony up the dollars. If the Dodgers are willing to pay, then A-Rod will find himself in Chavez Ravine next year. But, as I speculated earlier in this blog, I still think that this is the most natural fit for A-Rod, surpassing the favored Angels, due to Arte Moreno's widely reported opposition to paying one player the sums that Boras wants for his client.

* Signing A-Rod to man the hot corner under Torre will return the buzz to the Dodgers, particularly with the backlash the Lakers and Kobe seem to be suffering from. However, unless GM Ned Colletti can follow the signing by spinning some of their then superfluous prospects for starting pitching (Penny, Billingsley, a rehabilitated and aging Schmidt, Loaiza, etc., won't get it done), the hype will quickly wear off.

* The Angels and new GM Tony Reagins should be moving hard to put together a package for Marlins' 3B Miguel Cabrera. Not sure what it will take to get this done. It will be interesting if some of the Angels hyped prospects still have their luster after Stoneman's reticence to trade them and the somewhat average performance some have put up since then (Wood, Adenhart, Morales, Kotchman, Mathis, Aybar, etc.). Surely, the Marlins will be looking for a package similar to the Hanley Ramirez/Anibal Sanchez package they obtained from the Red Sox for Josh Beckett. Cabrera offers similar or better ability than A-Rod and Tejada, respectively, while being significantly younger and cheaper. If he does end up in Anaheim, just keep him away from Vlad's mom and her cooking.

* It was absolutely pathetic watching the Skins take their beating against the Patriots. If that kind of pile on had taken place in a hockey game, gloves, sticks, helmets would have been scattered all over the ice until the losers struggled to put a line on the ice. If a player had stolen a base, laid down a drag bunt, or even taken too big a hack up a ton of runs in a baseball game, the next batter and most of the ones after him would have been diving for the dirt. Instead of griping about the score being run up, do something about it. Not sure that you want to try and earn one of the numerous bounties being placed on the web for Brady's head (or knees), but show some pride. Yes, Gibbs is a classy coach. But, I'm not sure that Gibbs would have accepted this during his hey day against the Cowboys, Eagles, and Giants. There were some brutal games in those days and there seemed to be genuine hatred between the members and coaching staffs of those teams. Gibbs and his players need to go out and find their inner asshole, starting this weekend with the Jets. Maybe Pete Kendall's hatred of the Jets will transfer over to the rest of his teammates.

* Not a good start for the Wizards. Gilbert Arenas made Jamaal Tinsley look like...well, Gilbert Arenas. Even Mike Dunleavy put up a triple double! Not a good first step in the continued quest by the Eddie Jordan and the Wizards to play some defense this year.