NOTE FROM MARK TIMMONS: Evan Bladh wrote this several days ago, but asked that I hold it out of respect to Kobe Bryant and his family. Now, life goes on, even though we are all deeply saddened. Maybe LeBron and the Lakers will use his memory to fuel another title run. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Does anyone remember DodgerBlues.com? It was a website, now defunct, that poked fun at the foibles of our favorite team. Its logo was a Blue DB with the silhouette of a defensive player misplaying a fly ball as it bounced off his head. It used to have a clock at the top that showed how much “time since the last meaningful Dodger moment,” which was identified as the ’88 World Series Kirk Gibson home run.
The satire and irreverence at Dodgerblues.com was not for everybody, but it should have been. If you could laugh at yourself, it was a good place to be. For some, the site was somewhat therapeutic as a place to vent and rant about the team’s failures. Some were offended by the profane nature of a number of posts, but the site actually became very popular with some Dodger fans and even players who didn’t take life too seriously. In 2012, the site owner shut it down and many lost that one place they could go to release their frustrations about Dodger failures through humor.
Let’s face it, it wasn’t like the Dodgers didn’t provide the site owner material. There was plenty of that. If you think about it, the site was a natural evolution of events. The growth of the world wide web, the failures of the Dodgers during a lean period. The disfunction of the ownership groups after the O’Malley departure. The creativity of a smart, intellectual and creative fan base pool. It was a convergence of events that forged the site’s emergence.
Created in the midst of the Fox ownership debacle. Piazza had just been traded away without the Dodger General Manager’s knowledge by a Yankee fan working for the Fox ownership group, (Chase Carey). The Dodger organization was falling apart. Lasorda was a disastrous interim G.M. who didn’t understand the nuances and complexities of contracts. There was the musical-chair game of managerial changes following a period of stability that saw the organization have two managers over 42 seasons. The Dodgers were a disorganized rudderless ship and it showed on the field. Dodgerblues.com flourished as a satirical site as we languished as fans through those years.
The message board was the equivalent of “a night at the improv” for Dodger followers. Fans would post their rants with a level of creativity that outdid most comedians of the day. Periodically a non-Dodger fan would appear and he’d be escorted out. This was a place for us only. As Danny Kaye so eloquently put it years before, “They may be bums, but they’re OUR bums!” Outsiders weren’t invited to poke fun of our guys, only we could do that.
Just to give you a snippet of the typical person that posted on Dodgerblues.com: when it was announced in 2011 that a dodgerblues Twitter account was created, here is some of the responses from readers:
“C’mon man no Twitter! We’re already pushing it with FB. Whatever u post on Twitter make sure u copy and paste it on FB, I’m not bleeping budging!”
“Don’t you have to be under 13 years old or under to get a twitter account? What’s next, Dodger Blues party at Chuck E Cheese?”
“Hate twitter but now you’re forcing me to go there!! If the Dodgers do suck this year, at least I know Dodger Blues can put a smile on my face!”
And then it all died.
In 2012, the site creator and operator announced that he was shutting it down. As unceremoniously as Dodgerblues.com surfaced, it disappeared into the night. We didn’t even know who had created it. He was gone. The site domain remained for about five years and the clock kept ticking away, reminding us how much time had passed since 1988, but there was no more humor. It was the end of an era. We had to endure the failures alone and watch San Francisco win two more titles. Then in 2017, out of the blue, (or should I say Dodger blues?) the Dodgerblues.com creator was identified.
Unknown to many of us, after the 2017 World Series loss, Tom Hoffarth of the L.A.Daily News sought out the site creator. For the years that the site ran, he had remained anonymous, which probably was a good thing. MLB had attempted to file suit against him, mainly over copyright infringement complaints. The creator didn’t shut it down because of those threats, it was just too time-consuming to keep the page up. He was just a regular guy with a regular job and family. There was no money in it, just a lot of time, so he closed shop and moved on with life.
Hoffarth identified the creator as Josh Segal, a now 44-year old landscape architect based in the San Fernando Valley. He wasn’t a stand-up comedian, he wasn’t a writer of sitcoms in Hollywood. No, this guy was a person who one day started the site after spending time ranting on Dodger related sites and figured he had something. He registered the domain name and started his satirical posts about the team. He never imagined it would grow in popularity as it did.
Segal identified himself as a frustrated Dodger fan who had allowed the team to torture him since childhood. He’s also one of the funniest guys I’ve ever read, and after all these years following the discontinuation of the site, he hasn’t lost his edge. He purposefully had distanced himself from his Dodger fandom, and following the Dodgers 2017 game 7 loss, Hoffarth quoted him saying the following:
“They beckoned me back in and kept saying, ‘Come, come closer…and I knew better, I wasn’t going to do it. But I was suckered in and, the next thing I knew, they were kicking me in the nuts, slapping me in the face, turning me around and, ‘saying go away, come back next year.’’He continued, ”Despite the skepticism, the team trained me to have, and how I protected myself over the years, going into Game 7, I thought they were going to win…at least for about a minute and a half.” Which was about the amount of time that Darvish pitched well in the series finale.
In fact, Segal, who still owned the Dodgerblues.com domain, was so convinced that the Dodgers were going to defeat Houston, that had prepared a clock stoppage for the site, with a superimposed “GAME OVER” over the clock count image. Of course, we know that didn’t happen. Now the site is completely down. You can’t visit it, the Gibson clock is gone.
Segal originally registered the domain name in 1999 and by 2002, (according to Google stats), it was the third most popular site visited related to the Dodgers after Dodgers.com and the ESPN site. This was a time when Bonds was at his steroid peak, Jim Tracy was stumbling over his words and lineups, Kevin Malone had been, uh… Kevin Malone. There wasn’t a lot of positivity going on. The Giants were winning the pennant, the D-Backs a World Series and we laid our hopes that unhappy, wanna be Brave, Brian Jordan. would somehow make us forget about losing Piazza and then Sheffield. The Dodgers provided Dodgerblues.com with plenty of material and Segal obliged in providing it.
I recall a request made by the site to have readers submit photos of Dodger players that had been taken by fans because he had been threatened with that lawsuit if he used any licensed Dodger photos. I didn’t have much but had been at a game at San Francisco recently and I had snapped a photo of my son attempting to get a ball signed by the only Dodger that approached the stands, Terry Mulholland. Yes, that Terry Mulholland. The guy that sported an ERA of 5.83 and 7.31 in his two seasons with the team. If you think about, Mulholland was a perfect submission for the site.
I sent the picture which had my kid’s head blocking some of the player’s face. It took about 7 seconds for Segal to respond back to me. “Thanks…I think, and by the way, if your kid was really trying to get an autograph from Mulholland, you might want to get him into some counseling real soon.”
There still continues to be a periodic contribution from Josh Segal at present on his twitter account under the name @dodgerblues. He has his streaks of posts, which usually ramp up during the playoffs. The humor is still cutting edge.
There was a tweet that showed a photo of a car sporting a license plate in a San Francisco frame that read “3WS5YRS.” Segal’s tweet read: @dodgerblues “Too bad ‘0WS30YRS” exceeds DMV’s character limit.”
Another was a Halloween tweet showing a photo of an unripe pumpkin sporting a Dodger cap: @dodgerblues “Just like Rich Hill, pulled off the field too early.”
His latest one referencing the Astros cheating scandal shows he hasn’t lost his touch:
@dodgerblues 1/13/20 “I say the Dodgers and Astros re-play the 2017 World Series. Same players, borrowed from other teams or retirement or wherever they happen to be now. Do it during Spring Training. And Astros players don’t get to wear cups, cleats or use bats. (censored expletive) Bleepers!”
Same old Dodgerblues.com. Twenty plus years later, he’s still got it.
Love it. I loved loved loved dodgerblues. I like that type of humor, so that site was one of my faves. The pictures he’d superimpose for every article were hilarious.
This also is why I like reading the rants by Scott on Ladodgerreport. It always reminded me of dodgerblues and the ”
world is ending” mentality, even when it’s written partly satirically.
You know who I miss?
Dodgerpatch and The Truth Hurts.
Hope you both are OK…
I miss MJ too and Dino Chavez and a whole bunch more.
I miss Hamchuck.
I miss MJ also. I enjoyed her comments and interaction with all of you guys. She inspired me to have the nerve to post here.
Don’t you miss Badger and James Moya too?
If someone tells me a movie is really funny it never seems to be but if I see one without any expectations, I usually enjoy whatever humor is in it. Mark set the expectations for Evan high and I was disappointed with his first post.
First impressions are not always accurate. Evan has met all of Mark’s hype starting for me with his second post and I am saying this now because I enjoyed what he wrote today. It came out of the blue as far as subject matter goes and reminds us the good times we are in today.
No longer do we watch a Dodger game in hopes Izturis and Cora will make a great play because if they didn’t we were not going to see much.
Mark got it right with Evan but he let the throw home go to the backstop with Grandal.
From a Red Sox pundit re Price and Betts:
In order to exchange salary, the Red Sox would likely take on the contract of A.J. Pollock and potentially Joe Kelly. The return would also likely feature a major league arm such as Ross Stripling or Kenta Maeda, as opposed to the promising right-hander Dustin May.
Should we take vote on whether we’d be willing to do that kind of deal? I think it would be similar to the Jeter HOF vote. Maybe one person would dissent.
Did the pundit happen to mention prospects like Ruiz, etc. being included? Or maybe Chaim Bloom just owes AF some sort of huge favor from when they were both at Tampa.
Pundit or fan?
Forgot all about that Evan. Thanks for the reminder. If we can’t laugh at ourselves, then life is just a little more difficult, even for our favorite team. For many of us we are our own comic relief and I expect it is the same with professional athletes and management. Guys like Jay Johnstone, Mickey Hatcher and Kike Hernandez, among others, remind us of that.
I loved the humor of Mickey Hatcher and Jay Johnstone, in fact I have a couple of Johnstone’s books. The stories of ST at Vero Beach and at Dodger Stadium still bring a smile on my face when I think about it. Like the time someone apparently filled Tommy’s bathtub with jello, or locked him into his building or when they tied an animal (can’t remember which one) on Burt Hooten’s porch one morning to celebrate his birthday. Hope my memory serves me ok.
Just as I enjoyed the games and players, I enjoyed the fun they had also.
Yep. Always like watching people have fun.
I laughed at Johnston running back to dugout from hotdog stand just in time to pinch hit and get a hit.
Yes, Bumsrap, I remember that one too or when he raked the infield as the maintenance crew with Jerry Reuss, I think.
Dusty Baker reportedly the new Astros manager.
Dusty Baker is named as manager of the Assterisks. Newest sign stealing technique may have something to do with a toothpick and that nervous tick thing he does with his tongue all the time.
Seriously, they couldn’t have moved much further away from analytics with Baker who is about to take the helm of his 5th different team.
Apparently Moses turned them down.
Well, I will hand it to the Astro’s owner. You can’t use technology to steal signs if you can’t use technology. He can sleep well.
That said, the cost of re-converting the film room back to Betamax will likely be considerable.
https://youtu.be/BvQpdb2jGgs
LOL
OF Luis Rodriguez was ranked the #2 International signing by. BA (our if 100).
Mark – can I ask – what happened to 59?
He was a really regular poster until recently.
I also hope Vegas gets back on board soon – he always has an interesting take.
Maybe they’re all resting up in preparation for the new season?
Of course, you can ask… and I’ll even tell you.
I have banned 59 twice, but am inclined to take him back… if he just tones it down a little.
Almost a dozen people e-mailed me about him. I like him and wish he would just settle down.
Vegas and some others have their own reasons. It’s hard to keep some people on the rails.
I read what Badger and Michael posted and while both would be welcome, the self-righteous “I wasn’t wrong attitude” doesn’t fly. Dodgerpatch posted this a long time ago in response to them:
Mark gets impatient with repetitive foolishness, as do I. You don’t hesitate to repeat endlessly the canard that the FO are incompetent “fried brains,” or your everlasting reminders that you don’t like Grandal in spite of the objective data that shows him to be the 6th best catcher in baseball. You and others complain and whine and criticize and use salty pejoratives to leaven your criticism, and what Mark does is just take exactly what you dish out and shove it right back in your faces. You don’t like it. You don’t agree with it. Your ego can’t and won’t brook conflicting arguments and evidence, so you label Mark as the problem.
They both have since changed their stance on the FO, but not their attitudes… evidently… and that doesn’t take in consideration the lies and slander. By the way, Dodgerpatch once called me “Gnat Brain” for some trade proposal I made. 😉
Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe Badger comments under a different name at another site (not the one you usually refer to) and he’s just about the least self-righteous commenter I know, always respectfully disagreeing if that be the case and never afraid to poke fun at himself.
Maybe the guy I think is Badger actually isn’t, but if he is, he must have a dual personality.
I have no knowledge of that. I barely have time for this site.
I can tell you that he is very knowledgeable.
I can also say that most of what we used to argue about, he no longer expounds and seems pretty rational on the FO… when in the past he was not.
Thanks for responding Mark, and have to say that I agree with your take on 59.
He is a really knowledgeable and interesting commentator, but seems to enjoy stepping over the line.
I too read Badger & Michael’s comments, They are good guys, and like me, probably see AF, and the state of the Organisation in a different light these days.
They are both very interesting writers, I agree with STB in that I always found Badger to be very fair and backs his views up with facts.
You initiated an opportunity to reconcile, and it was a nice gesture. Time will tell if it leads anywhere, but well done for trying.
This site works well because you are involved daily and interact with the Posters, which they enjoy.
Tough decisions have to be made sometimes, and this place continues to grow.
MJ would have a chuckle if we sign Mookie – I’m sure he was her favourite player.
Most of the time this blog is more better with Badger participating (see what I did there?) Maybe someone thinks likewise for me.
The Punto trade got most of the anguish started and none of us had any say in it. It doesn’t matter if we are right or wrong about the trade, we can’t change it regardless of how much energy we put into our arguments.
It seems like the Dodgers sign a top Venezuelan player every year, at least in the recent past. Is that just coincidence? I really don’t get how the international market works. It’s almost like teams have their own territories.
They will be signing another Venezuelan this summer; SS Wilman Diaz. Highly thought of, but he is still a teenager.
The Betts and Lindor chatter won’t go away, so where there is smoke…
Seager to the Reds
Lindor to the Dodgers
Reds Prospects to the Indians
Betts & Price to the Dodgers
Stripling, Kelly, Pollock & Pederson to Red Sox
Lineup:
1. Verdugo LF
2. Betts RF
3. Lindor SS
4. Bellinger CF
5. Muncy 1B
6. Turner 3B
7. Smith C
8. Lux 2B
Starters:
Buehler, Kershaw, Price, Maeda, May, Urias, Gonsolin, Wood
Print the tickets!
Patch will call me a Gnat Brain
Sounds like the Seager rumors are in the rear view mirror, but it was interesting to read the specifics of what was on the table. The Dodgers definitely think more of Lindor than Seager know matter what numbers are posted showing Seager to be his equal. I do think one weakness of the Dodgers has been their ability to turn DP’s. Lindor-Lux up the middle would improve dramatically over Seager-Muncy and probably over Seager-Lux too.
~
I do think the Betts rumors are real though. I think the Dodgers feel if they can get Betts in the clubhouse they will not be outbid for his services to return. Getting him in now though would allow them to get draft pick compensation if he does walk. Adding him at the deadline would not.
I read it this way:
Price for Kelly, Pollock.
Betts for Maeda and prospects not named May or Lux.
I don’t think the Red Sox would take both Pollock and Kelly. Their goal is to get under the luxury tax. If the Dodgers could unload most of Pollock’s money in a deal that would be a victory. From what I’m reading the Padres are pushing hard tonight to make something happen. Freidman should not let that happen.
I forgot to tell you that last Sunday when I had lunch with Jeff Domonique, he had a Houston Asterisks T-Shirt on.
Leaving SF. Heading to Indy. Back to work. Vacation is over.
I hope you and your Bride enjoyed the islands. Very beautiful!
I am so looking forward to seeing what this team can do as is. Forget Price we don’t need him.
I remember that site. Evan’s article is well timed. I needed some humor about now. Somber few days in So Cal.
I have two friends who named their boys Kobe. Both huge Dodger fans as well. We never though Jerry West, Magic and Koufax would outlive Kobe. Bad days.
If there is anything this article reminds me is the stark contrast between being a Dodger fan now versus during the eras of Fox and the Boston Car Park Prick. There wasn’t much we had as Dodger fans back then but gallows humor. And the Lakers. At least we had the Lakers. They did fill a void in LA during those years.
One reason I get annoyed, as many of us do, with the tropes about Guggenheim being cheap and caring nothing about winning is the memory of all the gut wrenching years of past ownership. No owners are perfect. No GMs are perfect, but it’s been 20+ years since I’ve felt this good about the Dodger org. Some owners are toxic, and the fish rots from the head. The Dodgers have a proper culture in their system now. And I no longer feel the need for as much gallows humor.
The flip side; when Jerry Buss died the opposite happened. The Lakers organization began to rot from the top down. There was gnashing of teeth. The wrong kid was running dad’s team. The right kid seems to have righted that ship. Ownership culture matters.
I’m grateful as a Dodger fan that humor is now just an optional frivolity. Not a necessary tonic.
Amen!!
It’s a shame Jerry West isn’t still part of the Lakers franchise. I watched him on TNT with Shaq and the rest of the crew tonight and he’s just crushed by Kobe’s loss. You can tell he feels like he lost a son.
I agree 1000%.
Jerry West is an anomaly. Not just a HOF player. He might be the best GM in sports history. What he did with what he had was incredible. I could go on for days. And me and my friends have. Since Sunday.
I won’t. He was incredible.
I was at Le Conte Jr. Hi in Hollywood in Jerry West’s rookie season and he came to our father son dinner and spoke. Very cool.
Why would the Reds rather have Seager than Lindor if we wouldn’t? I think we’d have to send a prospect to the Indians as well but heck Id do those two trades!. Call me a fellow gnat brain
Gnat,
They are over their salary threshold and Seager would cost about $20 Mill less a year!
Same reason I don’t always order the lobster at restaurants.
Because of green stuff?
Bingo! How far would those 2 trades put us over the threshold tho
I know some like her work , but I was happy to hear ESPN is dropping Jessica from the Sunday Night broadcasts. Unfortunately, A-roid will be back it sounds like.
I guess that’s called good news and bad news.
You mean A-Roid?
Back in Indy!