Do you remember when (not that long ago) when Dodger Fans were questioning whether Farhan Zaidi was the “Genius behind Andrew Friedman?” I hear Farhan is awesome at Fantasy Football and Fantasy Baseball, but suddenly his star is getting tarnished in the real thing. He caught lightning in a bottle last year… never to happen again. Freidman is like the EverReady Bunny. The Playoff Roster for position players is set…
Of Puppets and Men
I find it hilarious that some of you think Doc is a “puppet manager.” I guess it is human nature to ridicule what we don’t understand. “Puppet” implies that Dave does exactly what the front office says, which is so much beyond silly; it is ridiculous! The job of a baseball manager has changed dramatically in the past 20+ years. It used to be the manager was a “John Wayne-type”…
Getting Back to .200
Max Muncy’s year has been about as nightmarish as one that a player of his caliber can experience. We can all speculate on the cause of it, but I’ll peg it on the severe season-ending injury from last year. That elbow dislocation injury was gruesome and as ugly as any injury I can remember. With all the rule changes that will be incorporated into 2023, I am surprised that MLB didn’t…
Friedman’s Failures & the Lizard Brain
If you ain’t failing… you ain’t trying! Well, Andrew Friedman has failed a lot! It all started with Brett Anderson, Scott Kazmir, and Brandon McCarthy. Maybe they weren’t an absolute failure – maybe they were a “bridge,” but most people view it as a failure. He tried… Good on Andrew. Seth Godin (one of my favorite writers) writes about the “Lizard Brain. Some people call it the “resistance.” Seth Godin…
Lost Among the Stars
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has given us a keyhole view towards the heart of our Milky Way Galaxy, where a dazzling array of stars reside. Most of the view of our galaxy is obscured by dust. Hubble peered into the Sagittarius Star Cloud, a narrow, dust-free region, providing this spectacular glimpse of a treasure chest full of stars. Some of these gems are among the oldest inhabitants of our…
Things That Make You Go “What?”
The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes finished the year 68-64 and will miss the playoffs for the first time (not due to COVID-19) since 2014. Scott Hennessey could be in trouble as the manager. The Great Lakes Loon’s season finale was rained out and will not be made up. They finished the season 75-55. On Thursday, they start the playoffs against Lake County in Eastlake, Ohio. If they end up playing Ft….
Nothing is so Constant as Change… Except in Baseball!
I was listening to a conversation a couple of days ago where Person A was arguing that it was “crazy that baseball was making all these changes. The game is just fine – Don’t go changing everything!” Person B had a different take, “Other than the DH and lowering the mound, baseball is the last sport that has changed, and it’s way past time!” What was most interesting about this…
Nap Rucker: Dead Ball Era Lefty
If you go to the Dodgers baseball reference page, you will see photos of the top 24 Dodger players, according to WAR. Of those 24, nine played only in LA, and six played in Brooklyn and LA. The rest played exclusively in Brooklyn. Number 12 on the list with a career WAR of 47.2 is George Napoleon Rucker. Better known as Nat. For ten seasons, he was one of the…
Ron Cey: Portrait of a Penguin
What comes to mind when you think about Ron Cey? To me, it is his trot around the bases after he hit a homer and his solid play as one of the anchors of ” The Infield.” Cey was born on the 15th of February 1948 in Tacoma, Washington. He was a multi-sport athlete at Mount Tacoma High School. He was the first athlete to receive nine varsity letters. Upon…
What are the “Chance’s?”
Back in 1999, the Dodger organization used to have these various contests for fans during a celebratory home stand that they called “Think Blue Week.” They had a series of essay contests to win various prizes. The prizes included being able to take batting practice in the Stadium and raking the infield with the grounds crew during an inning of the game. You could even be the P.A. announcer for…