Hey, Let Us Know If You Are OK…

Posted By on March 31, 2020

I think that this is an amazing community, however, these are trying times. I have instructed my family to notify you if anything bad happens to me. Only the good die young, so I will be OK. I checked on Brooklyn Dodger today and found out he was OK. We care about each other.

Watford Dodger was instrumental in finding out that MJ had died. Roger Dodger was a terrible loss as was Lawdog. None of us are getting out of this alive, but we want to know how you are.

Please check-in and let us know.

Even if you just say “I’m here and I’m fine.”

We all care.

Check in. Be safe… and Godspeed!

This article has 78 Comments

  1. Mark:
    I’m here and so far I’m fine. I visit here every day but just haven’t had the time to post. I live in Charlotte County(Punta Gorda) on the west coast of Florida and so Far we haven’t been hit too bad by the virus( 7 sick and one dead)
    The east coast is another story by far.

  2. I appear to be fine. I go to the office every day and spend at least 12 hours at the office and then spend another 2-4 working at home. I am pushing hard to be able to retire by June 26. My daughter is angry with me because I still go into the office. I plan on starting to work more remotely beginning tomorrow. I have a fear of loss of living more than I fear losing life, but what I fear most of all is disappointing my family.

    I have been too busy to respond as much as I want. But I read LADT and The Athletic every morning with my 1st cup of coffee and 4:30 AM.

    Everyone stay safe.

  3. I’m here, sort of. Bangkok, a city of 10-12 million is eerily quiet at times. The Thais are social people, lots of street life, vendors, food stalls. Almost everyone wearing a mask. I go out to shop for food in the local market. Business as usual but only food shops for take away and pharmacies are open. Trains which are usually packed are thinly occupied with social distancing in place when possible. People are polite as usual. We have no way of knowing the real infection and death rate because testing is not widely done. 10 dead out of 1600 infections. Quite low. If it is real, I have no idea why it would be so low as we saw millions of Chinese tourists here before Wuhan exploded. The world is still waiting for the economic fallout of this to hit home.

  4. To quote Willie Nelson:

    “It’s been rough and rocky traveling
    But I’m finally standing upright on the ground
    And after taking several readings
    I’m surprised to find my still fairly sound.”

    Like AC, I still go to the office every day, though I’ve cut my hours back to 8-10 a day. Unlike AC, however, I don’t see retirement in my near future. I still love being a lawyer. And enjoy working. The administrative side of a law practice I don’t enjoy at all.

    1. Ya missed a word there 2D2. Should be I’m surprised to find my head still fairly sound…….other wise, you are pretty close! Interesting little article on Dodger Blue I think it was. Said LA fans should not worry about Boston getting into the Mookie sweepstakes. Seems the Sox have well over 100 million committed to 5 players. Adding Betts again, at the salary he will most likely demand, would make them a 3 time loser so to speak for going over the Tax 3 years in a row, and the fine goes up a lot.

      1. On review, it doesn’t seem that my mind is as sound as it first seemed. 🙂

        1. Join the crowd. Mine neither. Saw a list the other day of players who died while they were still playing. Quite a list. Story on ESPN about how loss of playing time due to things like this, strikes, and of course war and military service can affect a players career. Mays finished with 660 homers. He lost some of the 52 season, and all of 53 to military service. He was 21 when drafted. He could have pretty easily hit 700 had he not missed those games. Ted Williams missed 3 full seasons during WWII. He was 24 when he went in and 27 when he got back, and large portions of 2 others during the Korean War. Just using his career average, he would have hit close to 150 more HR’s. Putting him well over 600. I find that mind boggling.

  5. 77 and doing well. Daily reader, seldom poster. Really enjoy remembering the early 50’s as I became a Dodger fan @ age 8 in 1951. The SC in my handle stands for South Carolina not Southern California. Being raised in Jupiter, FL I loved going to Spring Training @ Dodger Town in Vero. Served Marine Corps 1962-1968, but never sent to Nam.

    1. Hey SC! We are good up here in Charlotte. Wife gave me a scare last week with symptoms, but tested and had flu-b. Now back to full health.

  6. Still here, still OK.

    I had some kind of an infection in my lungs – not viral anyway. Not pneumonia. 3 antibiotics and some steroids later, doing much better.

    My wife has managed to stay out of the hospital – she had an infection that we’ve beaten off. She had a a procedure on her dialysis access on Friday – the hospital was oddly quiet (no elective procedures being done).

    Still working – who knew that lawyers are essential?

    Still can’t buy toilet paper, paper towels, dried beans, hand soap or hydrogen peroxide (nothing for a month). Some day, there will be millions of people who have a pallet of toilet paper in their garages and they will finally figure out they don’t need to buy more.

  7. I am alive and kickin. Looking forward to the country concert that is going to be on CBS this Sunday, and Garth and Trisha on CBS Wednesday night. Most of the pay channels are letting people watch for free. 2D2, I won the Demeter card I was bidding on, got it for 1.26. Pretty cool. Also bought the book about Roy Gleason, Lost in the Sun. It got here yesterday and I read a little of it today. A couple of weeks ago, I was pretty sick. Started out with a sore throat, I thought I was getting a cold. So I took all the normal cold medicines and was using Vick’s to help tame the congestion and cough. Turned out I had a bladder infection and a sinus infection at the same time. Got some antibiotics from the VA doc, and in about a week, I was a whole lot better. Check on my family in Cali every week to make sure they are ok. My daughter in Oregon, and my son, who lives up in Denver and make sure they are all well. Streets in our little town have been pretty empty. Theater is closed, but the bars have stayed open. Restaurants are mostly take out only. My building is for the most part, shut down, no visitors except caregivers. I can still get my Dodger fix watching games from 18 and 19 on MLB.TV. TP and other items are also in short supply here. I have enough to last more than a month though, so I am ok. Be safe y’all.

  8. Saludos desde Mexicali, BC, Mexico..
    Although for language reasons, I don’t comment too much (My english is very bad) I read this blog every day.
    Here we are, fine until now, I cannot stop working since being a patrolman, I cannot afford to not go to work.
    Good luck to all of you, your families and friends.
    Stay at home !!

  9. House cleaning.

    We are fine. Going for some groceries this morning in a bit. Most places have the first hour reserved for seniors and everything marked off on the floor for the 2-meter separation distance. Some open at 7:00 A.M. for seniors after shelves have been stocked during the night.

    We have a good supply of hand sanitizer and gloves. No masks.

  10. Just got back. We are very fortunate. Shelves well stocked. The only item we could not get was yeast. Everyone keeping their distance.

  11. Peter Gammons has a great article in The Athletic today:

    Before baseball stopped, the Dodgers looked formidable

    https://theathletic.com/1706656/2020/04/01/gammons-before-baseball-stopped-the-dodgers-looked-formidable/?source=dailyemail

    A tidbit:

    Only three National League pitchers had more quality starts than Clayton Kershaw’s 22 (Ryu also had 22). He had a 1.04 WHIP, 3.03 ERA last season, then worked this winter with Driveline and others, and changed his diet and body composition. He was hitting 93 mph in his first spring outing, but more important, seemed to have smoothed and connected his delivery from his left shoulder to his right foot so that his landings appeared perfectly in sync. “He is driven and committed,” a teammate marveled.

    Buehler is a Cy Young Award candidate in waiting. Price’s delivery, velocity, changeup and command were precise and impressive, his head cleared from the noise three blocks from Kenmore Square. Urías has the stuff of a big winner, and the $4 million re-signing of Wood appeared a bargain, with his fastball up to 94 mph and his secondary stuff rediscovered with his health.

  12. I am fine. Had a sinus infection and then the flu. Recovering, but still coughing. Jeff, leave politics off this board.

  13. Hangin, in there. Just playing guitar, reading, watching Outlander, and doing way too many NYT Sunday Crossword Puzzles.
    Have had a lingering cough for the past month but no other viral symptoms. Peace to all.

    1. Playing mine too. Working on writing some new songs, keeping in touch with my music friends. When this thing is over we are all going to get together and have on hell of a jam session.

      1. I’ve been playing a lot of Dylan, Lyle Lovett, John Prine, Jackson Browne, and Tom Waits (the early days). I bought an Ovation in ’71 and it remains my go-to friend.

        1. My one regret is that when I had some scar tissue on my vocal chords many years back, and had to quit singing for about 8 years, I sold my Ovation Legend 12 string, and my Legend 6 string. Both were acoustic electric slim lines. Easy to play, and both were white with rosewood necks. Awesome guitars. I have a Squire Tele thin line now, and a Mitchell acoustic electric 6. I sold my Ovation 6 about 3 months ago. Arthritis in my hands made it really hard to chord on that guitar. I play mostly country, at least classic country. But can do Dylan, Neil Diamond, Play Me is my favorite Diamond song. And I do some Clapton too. Wonderful Tonight gets requested a lot. Alive and well in Canon City Colorado…can look out my window on a clear day and see Pikes Peak. We have 3 markets here in town. Wal Mart, City Market and Safeway. All are out of TP.

  14. I’m good. Stores still open, seniors in the morning. I’m still walking, gonna get on my bike now that it appears to have stopped raining.

    Jeff, you are spot on. Good on ya for telling it like it is. Btw, did your post get edited?

    Yeah, the Dodgers looked good. Just like they did for 7 straight. Better than 106 wins? Yeah. Sure.

    1. Yes, my rant on Trump was edited out. I thought it would be. Just couldn’t help myself.

      1. We’re all frustrated and maybe a little frightened. I have seen many crises in my day and each time the accusations begin. Not saying they are all unjustified, but it’s human nature to second guess.

    2. Hey Badger, am I nuts? Don’t you live in the OC? You had rain this morning? We have clear blue skies in the SF Valley.

      1. No rain this morning Blue. Just feels like it’s been raining here for weeks. Coastal stuff. A lot of clouds, sprinkles. I’m going out this afternoon after it warms up. I have to get some exercise in. They closed down the pool and workout room here.

        I saw your post Jeff and I’m 100% on board with your take.

        1. I didn’t see your post Jeff and I’m 100% on board with your take.
          Since we don’t do politics here, I’m assuming you were commenting on how you thought that rookie Trump just doesn’t have what it takes to play in the majors.

  15. Just checking in from Indianapolis and my wife, mother-in-law and all are still fit as a fiddle. My wife is working from home and I am thrilled to have her here. Thank goodness for grocery pick-up and restaurant delivery.

    Mark, are you feeling okay? Your message felt a little eerie and sounded foreboding IMO. If you need any help, just give my a call. Glad to hear that the rest of you are okay and are being as safe as your situation permits. I know how important you daily endeavors are to you, but please remember that it will still be there when this passes.

    Please take care of yourselves. I consider you my Dodger family and would be sorrowed by any of you passing so take care of yourselves, stay as safe as you can and remember to stay six feet away from others.

    I am so glad that Bear and Badger have returned to the fold and love the additional wealth of knowledge they share. I can’t imagine not having the daily joy that reading the posts all of you write brings me.

    Should we be trying to reach out to younger Dodger enthusiasts to encourage them to become a part of this site? Just seems that we spend much more time discussing the 50’s and 60’s than other eras which makes me extremely happy. Maybe we can help baseball, in general, to find a way to involve anyone younger than a ” baby boomer” in the greatness of this sport that transcends the present and whose foundation is the history of the game from its inception to its future.

    I hope that this idea leads to much more discussion and future topics of the day because it has become my more relevant to me with the birth of my grandson. I want him to love the game as I do and to love it even after I’m gone.
    Just a thought.

    1. We grew up in a different era Denny When I was a kid we were told to “go outside and play”. And play we did. All summer in Missouri I was playing sandlot baseball somewhere. Over the line, or work-ups. In the fall we were playing football. When I moved to California, baseball was played all year. I played in multiple leagues when I turned 14. I was the youngest guy on the Anaheim American Legion team in ‘62. Played Legion, Colt then Legion and Connie Mack. We lived right on the border of LA and Orange County’s so I could pull it off. And don’t forget, ALL of us were falling asleep every night listening to Vin and Jerry. The point is back then was very different. Now? Kids have a lot more things to do. I don’t believe they will love baseball the way we did. Not their fault. If I would have video games back then I might have spent a few minutes a day playing.

      1. The town I grew up in had two Little League leagues (60 foot base paths), Eastern and Western and each had 6 teams for a total of 12 teams. We had one Pony League (75 foot base paths) with 6 teams so their were half as many 13 and 14 year olds still playing ball as there were 10, 11, and 12 year olds. We only had 4 Colt League teams (90 foot base paths) for 15 and 16 year olds and those teams struggled to keep 12 players on a team.

        Interest in playing decreases as kids get older and it seems only the better players keep playing. I didn’t have basketball, soccer, or football leagues outside of school teams so baseball was king.

        Most of the kids I played with or grew up with for that matter didn’t follow the MLB. Many however collected cards and it was easy to trade quantity for quality. I have 3 sons. One follows the Dodgers. One follows the Timbers. One attends a few Timbers games but otherwise does not follow sports.

        I have had two phone calls and my doorbell has rung twice since I started typing and I have no idea now of where I was going here so I am going to stop typing.

  16. My wife and I are doing fine right now. We are in St. Lucie County Fl. on a barrier island and things aren’t too bad here yet. We usually head back to NJ around the 1st of May. Ocean County NJ has many assisted living/nursing homes and more senior living communities than any other NJ county. We’re thinking that we may be staying in Fl. longer this year.

    May God bless you and keep you all safe.

  17. I try to post every day so I am here in NoCal surviving with my spouse and our cat, Bella. Have not left my house since March 11th. Store shelves empty for some items. My husband bakes bread so as long as we have flour and yeast, we will be ok. Stay stay and well everyone.

  18. Thanks to all for a great site for Dodger stuff and REAL community. Just found site about 4 mos ago, always read,never post. Been Dodger fan for almost 50 yrs now – loved the 70s went to alot games as a kid. Miss the rivalry between Reds vs Dodgers – lots of battles,great memories. Lost my favorite player as a kid last week – Jimmy Wynn. Just loved such small guy (5’10”) could generate so much power. Working from home for 3 weeks now, family is all fine. Crazy times ! but very blessed that my wife and I are working. Definitely very appreciative for all I have and don’t think will ever take for granted anymore. Take care all and keep loving each other.
    God Bless !!!

  19. We’re doing fine. Waiting for season to begin in empty stadiums initially. Apparently that is being discussed.

    My daughter is a respiratory therapist working emergency room at a large local hospital. They were already busy with flu, asthma, and other respiratory illnesses in addition to the virus.

    Early reaction in Cali, stay at home orders, are having a real impact, slowing the spread out here.

    They’re using hydroxychloroquine for some of those who have been hit hard. For many, it’s like a cold or maybe slightly worse, but for people who are overweight, have underlying health issues or are older, it can be life threatening. Then there are cases where a perfectly healthy person gets it and has real serious issues.

    Stay safe.

  20. So far so good for myself and family. Local Whole Foods had more workers than shoppers. Keeping grocery shopping down to at most once a week.

    During this time make sure you keep you immune system strong. Get a good night sleep, exercise ( but don’t overdo it) and try to eat well.

    Stay healthy my friends.

  21. My family is healthy as of now. My wife works as a nurse practitioner in a LA hospital so am concerned for her. Next month will be hard for the whole community. Be safe out there and keep your distance and keep wasting your hands!

  22. I’m fine. Wife just left to see what she can find at Trader Joe’s.
    Ramona Shelburne just tweeted (and said it wasn’t an April Fool’s joke) that Direct TV has just reached a deal to televise Dodger games. Nice news. Even though I have Spectrum I’m happy to see some others will have a chance to view the games. Now I just need to find out if the contract expires on the first day games are played again. 🙂
    Stay well all.

    1. Wherabouts in Socal are you?

      Good news about the Dodger channel being more available to more people now

      1. I’m in the northerrn SF Valley Bobby so I’ve been lucky enough to have the Dodger broadcasts ever since that contract was signed, but at least some of the other folks will now get to partake.

          1. Howdy neighbor, I’m over the hill in Northridge. Actually, I’m over the hill, period (badaboom!)
            I was just thinking how Mark has done such a great job of pulling people in from all over. You and Badger and I are from SoCal but we’re greatly outnumbered. It’s really great sharing our love of the Dodgers with folks from all over the world.

      1. Great time to announce this deal, when there are no games to watch. I have SportsNet LA so it doesn’t make a difference to me, but I know lots of people are going to be happy.

  23. All is well in Sunny SoCal… PT is moving right along… Wife and I putting up with each other… Driving to the beach today just to park and look at it… Damn, I miss the beach…
    On the way we’re stopping my cousins, older than us and dropping flowers off on their porch… Call em on the cell phone and have em come out and we’ll yak for awhile at a prescribed distance… Sounds cool to me…
    Bear… I’m spending a lot of time on my Spotify and listening to Darius Rucker and Jimmy Buffett… Question: Do you think Lil Nas X could now be considered Country with Old Town Road and Rodeo???
    Be safe out there folks…

    1. Bum I had no idea you are living in Ridgefield. When I lived in Portland I played golf at the Cedars which isn’t far. We also played high school baseball at Brush Prairie (where Richie Sexon of the Mariners played) where Donny Freeman coached.

      1. Born in CA and stayed 36 years. Oregon for the next 12years, then AZ for 12, then NH for 10.

        Moved to Ridgefield in October 2019.

        I’ve only played Camas Meadows and TriMountain so far in WA. I played sporadically between 1984 and 2015. Going back to yesterday’s talk about memory vs. State of current body, it was rough going when I started back up.

        Weather in WA much better than in NH for golf. Look forward to playing again.

  25. I’m here. I rarely post now without games, trades, or plays to talk about. School is keeping me busy. Portland, Oregon.

      1. It’s a great place to live as long as you don’t have a crazy Jack Russel who demands that you play fetch for hours each day in the rain. And don’t forget that everyone up here drives slower than snails.

  26. All is well, but busy with converting college teaching to online formats. I’m in the Chicago area but not one of the virus hotspots. My wife has to convert preschool classes to online format next week. My daughter is taking her college classes online and working tons of hours at a grocery store.

  27. I don’t know if someone posted this yet. MLBTR is doing a series on trade histories of each team’s GM. The Dodgers haven’t been profiled yet. Is it me, or are the Dodgers always last in these types of articles. I used to go nuts waiting for BA to release their top organization prospects. The Dodgers were always one of the last to be profiled.

    1. The writers east coast bias always requires them to start with the AL East and end with the NL West.

  28. My wife and I are safe and well in Santa Maria, CA. I have finished all my DIY projects and Carol can’t even think of anything more for me to fix or build. Playing golf each week (strange rules in effect right now), but staying home most of the time. Sundays are strange because we now go to church in our family room watching streaming live broadcast.

  29. The world hasn’t rid itself of me yet.

    I have been completely absorbed with work (at home), so I haven’t been around. Aside from helping my company adjust to the effects of the shutdown, I am the director of Bio-analytics. So I have been called upon to help with some informal collaborations in data analysis associated with the pandemic. I have more job security than most.

    I’ve also been helping a couple friends who own restaurants deal with all the issues associated with shutting down, laying off staff as well as helping them with the new SBA loan programs being rolled out. Hasn’t been a fun couple weeks. A lot of small business owners are looking into the abyss. I’m in a better position than most and everybody around me is healthy. So, under the circumstances, I cannot complain. The only person I know who tested positive is a friend in Seattle. He didn’t get very sick and was released from mandatory quarantine last week after testing negative in a followup test. I hope he will be the only person I know who tests positive, but that’s probably wishful thinking.

    Stay healthy everybody.

  30. I’m alive and well in Arizona. I am usually preparing to head north to Washington by now, but not this year. Poor Washington has been hit hard. So I’m staying out until things calm down. They finally closed the pool in my complex yesterday. It’s a bummer as it’s perfect and 80 degrees, but I get it. I did catch the last 2 games of spring training between Az rain storms. The last the 7 inning Dodger night game. Everything was cancelled the next day.
    I love this website and read it every day, occasionally contributing. I’m keeping busy watching past games on the MLB channel and episodes of Ken Burn’s Baseball (I just saw last night that Branch Rickey started minor league baseball with the Cardinals because they didn’t have the $ to buy established players so he decided to grow his own players – I didn’t know that). I’m also enjoying old westerns, especially Gunsmoke. I just recorded the first episode from 1955 and the last televised episode in 1975. It’s fun to see the evolution.
    Thanks to all the contributors writing about the past Dodgers. I’m learning a lot and it’s fun.
    Please stay safe and patient.

  31. Good vibes here today, very uplifting.

    Learned some things as well. Jeff lives in Bangkok. That’s cool. Must be so much fun. Loved Bangkok when I visited. So vibrant and eclectic.

    Very few of us on this board actually live in the LA area.

    DBM – you must be going stir crazy, that is an awful long time to be housebound. Especially with no Baseball.

    Read the Gammon’s article this morning (thanks for the advice about the Athletic – worth the subscription), and made me so disappointed that we are not playing. We would have taken some stopping I think.

    Things here are very quiet. We seem destined for a long period of lockdown.
    Prime Minister Johnson has C-19 of course, and by the weekend we will be losing over 1000 people a day, which at any other time in history would be horrific, but these days seems to wash over us.
    One of my Partner’s friends passed on Sunday aged 47, and healthy. Very sad.
    I think the hardest part is not having a fixed end date that we can all look forward to. Everything is very liquid at the moment.

    Finally, I’m still gutted about MJ.
    To think that she was obviously going through some really dark times, whilst posting here, and not letting on about it, makes me sad.
    I wish she would’ve shared a bit – it seemed that she didn’t have too many people around her. I hope she wasn’t too lonely.
    She really was a very good person, and is missed around here.

    A couple of my pals, both single with no kids, are really struggling with this Self Isolation as they are calling it here.
    There may well be longer term implications of this dreadful virus.
    Make sure you check on anyone who is on their own at this time . I think we have a long way to go. Be safe everyone.

    1. A few years ago when Mark shut down this site many of us talked on Scott’s site. Political comments were allowed and MJ had a few posters attack her over her views. I always had her back. We on occasion pulled for different Dodgers and had back and fourths.

      I wish I could have convinced her that I didn’t post under another name and will always wish we hadn’t clashed over that. We agreed on so many things. This world needs more commas.

    1. You don’t look so bad. I’ve seen so bad, and you’re not there yet. You’re close….but not there yet.

      Good information. Maybe.

      Observation: your son is wearing number a on his uniform, you spelled US Water Systems backward on your shirt and your wedding ring is on your right hand. How we ‘upposed to believe you don’t have everything you said bass ackwards? Maybe we should be washing in hard water and installing an Osmotic Reversis system on top of the sink.

  33. Watford…….Yes I have been homebound for a long time due to the high risk with underlying conditions that I have and my husband and I are very fearful I will catch the virus if I go out. He does the errands for us. I only leave the home for dr. appointments and labwork which I have next week. I do sit outside on my porch for fresh air. I talk to my children and grandchildren very often by phone or text and play a lot of cribbage, mahjong and euchre online. I read a lot, knit and watch movies with my husband. I really, really miss my Dodgers baseball. They help make me happy and it seems so blue without them right now. But reading and commenting (mostly reading), on this blog helps keep me sane.

    Thanks for mentioning me and hope you stay safe and healthy.

  34. I am a daily reader of this site and have since before Mark shut it down for a while. I have enjoyed the discussions both pro and con on the many Dodgers issues. My health and that of my wife are ok at this time. I pray that God will bless and keep you all in this time of trouble. Demrmybums.

  35. Watford,

    I too feel for MJ, but she was a very private person and probably wanted it this way. People have to deal with things on their own terms.

    It’s interesting to see how my own family deals with this.

    I am at work every day, but I keep my distance. I walk through the offices and warehouse a couple of times a day, giving everyone the Vulcan Salute! Morale is high and sales are great. We know we supply an essential service.

    My wife is simply not worried.

    My oldest daughter (38) is not worried. She and her husband are both off work and doing stuff at home with their 3 daughters.

    My step-daughter and husband and two daughters are with us every other day. My son-in-law works for me.

    My middle son (33) is absolutely freaked out. We picked him up from NYC 3 weeks ago and his $3500 rent payment for a 700 sq ft apartment continues. He is also working for me but at a fraction of what he makes in the film business.

    My youngest son is like “Whatever, Dude!”

    Me? I am cautious. I know this $hit can kill me… but I won’t go easily!

    I am still here and still hopeful!

    1. I got to know MJ better through her emails. She was a great lady with strong opinions. I’ll keep those private, though some may already know. She told me she wasn’t well, but never let on she was dying. One day the emails just stopped. I miss our conversations. I really liked her.

      My next door neighbor believes this whole pandemic is “made up”. It’s the government imposing Marshall Law.

Comments are closed.