I finalized all my travel, hotel, and car rental requirements for my trip to Camelback Ranch on February 20-23. My son and my nephew are going with me. My son is 25, and my nephew is 38. The last time my son was at Spring Training was at Vero Beach when he was five (see pic below).
Tommy signed a ball for my son. We still have it. Tony Jackson was driving Tommy’s Cart that day. That’s where I first met Tony.
As a young man, I was very successful and was well off by the time I hit 30. In 1994, at the age of 41, I had nothing to my name and owed the IRS $200,000.00. In 2001, I was still so broke that I could not pay attention, so I started US Water Systems. It made us a good living, and later, my son told me that he thought we were rich (we weren’t even close).
This was taken in 2002. Baseball was my passion and sometimes, I could not afford it, but I went to Spring Training every Spring. By 2010, it was evident that I had to make a decision. If I wanted to be a baseball writer and blogger, maybe I could make $100,000 a year… OR I could build a $100,000,000.00 company. I chose the latter. It has proven to be a wise decision.
Camelback Ranch opened in 2009, and I was there… it would mark the last time until this year. I built that company and am now semi-retired at 71 years old. I am going back with my son and nephew this year. My son is now the CEO at US Water Systems, and my nephew is the Chief Revenue Officer. Below is a photo of myself, my son (Steve), Luke, and my daughter (Tasha) taken a couple of years ago.
So, this will be my second time at Camelback Ranch. The last time, I had a Press Pass and could go anywhere. It will be a lot different this time. However, my son and nephew are excited about going. It’s also a business trip as we have some clients that we will see while we are there. Phoenix is a big market for us. You never know what you might see at Spring Training…
That’s me in the Pressbox at Dodger Stadium. The next photo is Tommy with Carl Kemp (Matt’s Father), and what follows are just a bunch of photos all over the Ranch.
So… in a little over a month, I will be back, after a 15-year absence. I am looking forward to it and also eating at the Mellow Mushroom. JayB was so kind as to send me a bunch of gift cards to eat there. Hopefully, he will join us.
I think the Dodgers have a move or two up their sleeves before the team heads to spring training… Stay Tuned!
No surprise that Shohei Ohtani generated a ton of money for the Dodgers.
According to reports the San Diego’s infighting and lawsuit is hurting the Padres chances of landing Roki Sasaki. The Dodgers obviously make the most sense. Why would anyone want to work into the mess in San Diego? Padres fans have to be demoralized. The Dodgers went through that with Frank McCourt and the bankruptcy.
Glad to see MLB ban the two knuckleheads who tried to grab the glove and ball from Mookie Betts.
Mark: I would love to join you both at one (or more of the games) and at Mellow. Let me know where your seats are and I will get 2 (my wife Diana & I) in the same section. Jay
Jay, I have five seats, and we only need three. You are welcome to them.
Mark, do you have tickets for the Padres on 2/23? If so, we will join you for that game. We can take care of the details by email. Looking forward to seeing you. Jay
Yes, we do. We probably have to leave by 3:30 to 4:00 to catch our flight at 6:30.
First Class right here!
Awesome.
Will be in LA for the opener and the ring ceremony.
Another reason why the Dodgers keep a guy like Taylor despite all his on-field troubles. Fans can bitch and moan about a bad contract all day but character matters to this team. Freddie is helping out too. Here in Long Beach at the rehab center we are not affected by the smoke or the fire, but north of here it is a mess.
100% correct.
And look for a bounce back year from CT3.
Here’s an interesting article at Relator.com:
https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/david-letterman-hollywood-indiana-house/?cid=psc_wsj_syndicationhp_celebrity-real-estate_david-letterman-hollywood-indiana-house&dsp__10291144_31140741_401117112_219819343&dclid=CID1l_SO7ooDFYTZGAIdCpYHyw
Warren Buffett had it right all along.
I live in “Small Town Indiana.”
Mooresville in Morgan County:
We love it!
Haven’t heard much about May or Frasso. Two big arms we hope could be useful this year.
May should be ready right away and Frasso will likely be slow-walked but should pitch in 2025.
No one is counting on Frasso and May, but they both have elite arms. The odds are one or both may be healthy. If so… the pitching is stacked.
Tanner Scott? He’s LH… so what?
Felix Mantilla passed away at the age of 90. Mantilla was a 2B-SS who in 1959 while with the Braves, misplayed a ball hit by Carl Furillo in the 12th inning of the second playoff game that allowed Hodges to score from second with the winning run. That advanced the Dodgers to the 1959 World Series. RIP Felix. Also, Dominican SS prospect, Darell Morel, who was set to sign with LA, instead will sign with the Pirates.
I am envious Mark! Sounds like a wonderful time with your boys. Camelback sounds like a very cool experience.
The Dodgers are loaded no matter what moves they still make. It will be interesting to see if there is any competition to make the 26 man roster in spring training. Either way the Boys in Blue are destined to make the playoffs. As Mr. Forte says, ” Bet on it!” So I guess I don’t have to pay attention to the regular season…wrong…the regular season is all half the fans get. So just in case I’m going to enjoy every game from April till October. What a great game! And an incredible time to be a Dodger fan.
Book em
I went there once when I was living in Phoenix. They played the White Sox. Manny was still on the team. I got Rick Monday’s autograph on a ball after the game. Go to the backfields to get some player autographs.
From MLBTR:
Dominican shortstop prospect Darell Morel had been set to sign with the Dodgers once the 2025 international signing period opened on January 15, but Baseball America’s Ben Badler reports that Morel will now be signing with the Pirates for a bonus worth close to $1.8MM. This represents roughly twice the amount of money Morel would’ve received from Los Angeles.
The Dodgers better hope they get Sasaki!
They supposedly have lost an outfielder who will sign elsewhere too.
Most of, if not all of their International money is planned to sign Roki Sasaki. Bet it!!!!! AF does not like to lose.
He wants to play for a winner, be on the the West Coast which is closer to Japan, and develop his pitching skills to become a top notch starter. The signing money is immaterial what I’ve read. Why would he sign for anyone other than the Dodgers? AF hasd been after him for years. NEVER bet against our leader.
Also don’t you think Ohtoni and Yamamoto have been recruiting him. In my humble opinium, Sasaki’s decision was made a long time ago to sign with the Dodgers and he is going through an exercise with other teams to avoid an investiogation.
The overplayed drama will be over soon.
regarding chris taylor, nobody questions his integrity or his heart. His character is impeccable! his strikeout rate is , well, not good! lol. It would be hard to choose between taylor or kike if you can only pick one. personally, i would keep taylor and kike over rojas. i don’t think we see the kind of offense out of rojas we saw past season. I have been a critic and a supporter of taylor since his days at UVA! if he hits .250 that’s gravy! his defense will always be fantastic. Kike and the post season? top notch! i’m just wondering how the Kim signing affects kike. for goodness sakes don’t let him be a padre! speaking of the padres, read that just because the friars and Cease agreed to one year, doesn’t mean they won’t trade him. i hope they send him to Baltimore! Boy does that Bogarts deal look like one of the worst moves ever? They are probably 2,years away from from being completely irrelevant! Machado is getting up there in years. Darvish is what 38? Tatis? who knows when he drives off the cliff again! Hey, if the giants were to sign Alonzo and flaherty, they could be a thorn in the side of teams in the west. Arizona will be tough. Colorado? there’s always next decade! My way too early prediction. The Dodgers win 102 games. finish 8 games ahead of 2nd place Arizona. Borrowing a phrase from Dano, book em!
Alonzo signs back with the Mets. Bet it!!!
Arizona’s pitching is very good, the offense is not as scary with Walker gone to the Asstros. Naylor replaces Walker, yes, he is a 30 HR guy, but this will be his first year in the NL. Takes a while to adjust. Other than Naylor, there is no other real power threat except maybe Gurriel. Joc is gone. Marte is getting older. Az’s biggest weapons are their pitching and the team’s speed. Padres are going to sink in the standings and end up in 3rd or 4th. Tatis is a genuine talent with a 5-cent head. Merrill to me is their best players.
No power threat other than Naylor?
Carroll hit 22 homers in a lousy year for him last year, but 17 of those were in the second half when he finally got untracked. He should be good for 30 in 2025.
Marte is getting older as is everyone else who is still living, but he hit 36 homers last year at the age of 30, with a bWAR of 6.8, an OPS+ of 155 and finished 3rd in the NL MVP vote. He’s aging like a fine wine.
Eugenio Suarez hit 30 homers last season.
They’ll certainly miss Walker and Joc but by adding Burnes I think they’re definitely set up to be the 2nd best team in the division.
Carroll hit 2 against LA< Gurriel 3, Joc 3 Marte 1 and Suarez 3. Walker, who hit 26 for the year, hit 9 against the Dodgers. I would rather face Naylor than Walker. Yes, they have great pitching, and that and their speed are their biggest assets. Dodgers added some speed with Kim, and pop with Conforto. Still a better power hitting team than AZ. Pitching and defense will be huge factors in who wins.
That’s a great take.
If Kike is signed Miggy Ro becomes redundant. The bench could be….
Barnsie
CT3
Kike
Pages
Unless……………………….
Book em
Slow day. Let’s check in and see what Puig is up to these days.
https://x.com/nut_history/status/1878444764229484974
Once a jackass… always a jackass!
I can’t wait until we can say this:
Here’s what she really looks like:
They put on an amazing show.
We saw them at the Bowl.
I ‘ve been to both Camelback Ranch and previously Vero Beach. I think I was at Vero 3 times. There was nothing like that place. The accessibility to the practice fields was really great. For some reason the late Stu Nahan was my pal there one day. We struck up a conversation and he took me everywhere. (I told him he deserved an Oscar for his role in the Rocky movie and he became my friend). Might be the friendliest guy I’ve ever encountered.
The Dodgers tried to have the same open concept for fans when they moved to CBR. But as the years have passed and crowds have increased, the place has become more restricted. Security has gotten tighter, and it should be.
The back fields are a hidden gem that most fans don’t take advantage of. You’ll be separated from payers by only a chain link fence. Sometimes it’s hard to recognize the minor leaguers as they have no names on jerseys and numbers, sometimes in triple digits. I do remember being there when guys like Dee Gordon, Seager, Vanslyke, Eovaldi, Barnes, were minor leaguers.
A lot of former players as coaches would be there, Jody Reed, Ramón Martinez, Yeager, Glen Hoffman come to mind. The minor leaguers managers are fully engaged, Shoemaker, has had the role of running the whole place and doling out assignments. Travis Barbary also.
I even was able to conduct a blog interview with Sweet Lou Johnson out there once It was great. Posed for a picture with Don Newcombe too. Tommy when he was mobile would be there encouraging the young guys too but that had to be probably 10-12 years ago.
The last time I was at CBR was in 2022 I believe and it was madness. Too many fans and areas completely roped off that used to be accessible. I decided to not return for a while. With the 2024 championship, I imagine it’ll be absolute bedlam there this year.
Three things this morning, and I’m still jazzed about the Florence and the Machine clips:
First:
This is an interesting graphic:
https://x.com/Brooks_Gate/status/1878507489416602074
Second:
Mike Petriello looks at if a 6-man rotation will become more commonplace and, if so, why.
https://www.mlb.com/news/why-more-mlb-teams-are-using-6-man-rotations
Noted this as it impact the Dodgers:
For example: When Willie Mays’ 1954 Giants won the ring with a World Series sweep, they played a total of 158 games…giving them 193 days off before the next year’s April 13 opener.
The 2024 champion Dodgers, however, had to play 178 games, with a month of expanded playoffs atop a 162-game regular season, and they’ll get only 139 days off…
Put it this way: Those 1954 Giants threw 1,427 total innings. The 2024 Dodgers threw 1,582 2/3, and they’ll get 54 fewer days off to recover from them.
Finally,
This has been danced around on this board and others but Will Sammon and Andy McCullough look at the chaos caused by Sasaki’s posting and late signing date. ($$$$)
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6056989/2025/01/13/roki-sasaki-international-market-chaos/
… The wait is causing clubs to maneuver in atypical ways so close to signing day, either by delaying commitments with other prospects, completely reneging on big-money agreements or weighing trades involving international cash…
The Padres informed some players who were expected to be part of their upcoming signing class that they were free to seek other deals…The Dodgers have told players to consider signing as part of next year’s class if the team lands Sasaki and can’t acquire enough international bonus pool money via trade to honor their handshake agreements…
Sasaki has informed the Giants he won’t be signing with them.
One down.
And Yankees, and Mets, and Giants….
It was Always just LA and SD…..
And Toronto.
Sasaki will not be a Yankee or a Giant
We now know who the three finalists for Sasaki are, LA,SD and Toronto. You know by now who I think he will sign with. Predictions please!
LA is burning to the ground… making clean water and clean air difficult commodities to find.
SD is embroiled in an equity/control fight between owners that could even lead to the team being put into receivership (long shot).
That leaves Toronto, but I see Chicago slipping in due to their international flights.
https://x.com/dodgersnation/status/1879248866601828586?s=42
Closers gonna close.
Sasaki is having a second meeting with the Dodgers today per MLBTR.
Signed, sealed and delivered.
Go Rams, win for LA!
Good morning. Met with my medical team yesterday. They had a meeting about the progress I am making. It was different to see the entire team working on my case come together with the patient and discuss how they are progressing. It looks like I will most likely be released in 3 weeks. That is when I should be able to at least walk with a walker. Just as long as I can drive my truck home, I will be happy.
Godspeed!
Get better, Bear!
Sunday night baseball schedule has been announced, Dodgers have 4 games scheduled:
Chicago – April 13 Dodgers
Dodgers- May 04 Atlanta
Dodgers- May 25 Mets
Yankees -Jun 01 Dodgers
Ben Badler of BA writes this about the Dodgers:
If the Dodgers sign Roki Sasaki, they will be elated with their class. As of now, with Sasaki yet to inform clubs of a final decision, the Dodgers are in a difficult position, with multiple players they were set to sign choosing to sign elsewhere given the uncertainty of Sasaki’s situation. That group includes Dominican shortstop Darell Morel, Dominican outfielder Teilon Serrano and Venezuelan outfielder Orlando Patiño.
If the Dodgers do sign Sasaki, the rest of the players listed here might also sign elsewhere, though it depends how much Sasaki signs for and whether some players might be willing to wait until another signing period. Everything here is pending Sasaki.
For now, the top position player linked to the Dodgers is Francisco Rivero, a catcher who was born and raised in the United States but will sign as an international free agent out of Venezuela. Scouts highest on Rivero who saw him early in the process praised Rivero’s offensive upside, both for his hitting ability and power he flashed in games. He has grown into a strong 6-foot-1 frame and is now more hit than power, though he has the potential to provide both. He’s a natural leader who clicks with both English and Spanish speaking pitchers, something that will help him as a catcher, where he has improved his defense to be able to stay behind the plate with an average arm.
The Dodgers are also linked to lefthander Adrian Torres from Panama. He has a projectable 6-foot-3 frame that he’s already starting to fill out to become a power arm with a big fastball for his age and feel for a hard slider.
Tommy Brown, the last living member of the 47 Dodgers, the team that Jackie Robinson broke in with has passed away today at the age of 97. Brown broke in with the Dodgers in 1944 at the age of 16. He played his last game in 1953 as a member of the Cubs. He was 25 years old. RIP
Tommy Brown… I remember him well… I was born after he retired! 😉
Tommy Brown homered at age 17. The youngest Dodger to ever do so. It was during the WWII years when the majors were depleted of many players who were away at war.
With his death, there are only four surviving Brooklyn Dodgers alive. They are:
Fred Kipp (age 93)
Jim Gentile (90)
Sandy Koufax (89)
Bob Aspromonte (86)
I believe the Sasaki circus is being done to inflate his image in order to maximize endorsements.
“I’m taking my talent to South Beach…”