As the Dodgers attained their 80th victory of the season on August 15th, a full 114 games into the season, there is simply one word that describes their performance: “dominance.” The kind of dominance that ranks up there with some of the greatest teams in baseball history. They’ve done it with major injuries that would have decimated most teams. Kershaw has had two IL stints, and who knows when he will…
Kimbrelized Again!
There’s no way to spin this. Staked to a one-run lead on Justin Turner’s run-scoring single, Craig Kimbrel promptly coughed two runs to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory! I am sure Craig is a nice guy, but he can no longer pitch, and he goes through this more and more. Ask the 2018 Red Sox. They won the World Series without their closer… well, he was on the…
Pitching Possibilities
With the playoffs a full month and a half away (48 games), it’s a bit of a reach to try to predict what a potential playoff bullpen will look like. We’ll know a lot more once we’re closer to the finish line, but from the looks of things, September will be a tryout for October. Even more so with pitchers than position players. To make matters worse, or better, depending…
Player Profile: Mickey Owen
Mickey Owen was a very good defensive catcher. In his best season, 1941, he made four errors. Three during the regular season and one in the World Series that labeled him a GOAT for the rest of his days. Mickey Owen was born Arnold Malcolm Owen on April 4, 1916, in Nixa, Missouri. Mickey’s parents divorced when he was seven. Because of that, his mom moved to Southern California. While…
The Best Dodger Team… EVER!
EVER! The Dodgers have scored more runs than any other team in baseball. The Dodgers have allowed the fewest runs of any team in baseball. The Dodgers are the Best Defensive Team in Baseball. That’s a pretty good formula for winning. I tried to think of a better formula and couldn’t! By the way, the Dodgers are Now #3 in Bullpen ERA as they have moved up from #9. The…
It’s Never too Early (or Late) to Look at Next Year
The road to the World Series just got a little easier to navigate now that Fernando Tatis, Jr. was told to pack his bags and go home. I am not going to belabor it, but I frankly do not believe his BS explanation. That’s all I will say about the clown! The Dodgers are rolling right about now, and the guys are picking each other up, night after night. They…
Willie Mac: Big D’s Worst Nightmare
What I remember first about Willie McCovey was his size 6’4″. It says 198 in his bio, but he looked heavier and probably was towards the end of his career. The second thing I remember is how he OWNED Don Drysdale. At least it seemed that way. I remember him taking Big D deep many a time. McCovey hit 41 career homers against LA. Most of those off of Big…
Timing your peak, not the easiest thing to gauge in a Marathon season
When we look back at past MLB seasons, history has shown all too often that it always isn’t the best team that wins the World Series. Usually, it is the team that peaks at the right time that takes the title. It doesn’t happen often, but there have been seasons when a team with close to a .500 record has reached their peak in October and won it all, while juggernauts…
Player Profile: Mike Scioscia
Mike Scioscia. Many images come to mind, and moments also. Like when he took Dwight Gooden deep late in game 4 to tie the Mets. Gibby would eventually win the contest with a homer of his own in the 8th. The other would be the number of bone-jarring collisions at home plate he was involved with. To this day, I still think he was the best they had at blocking…
What just Happened?
The Dodgers just finished off a seven-game sweep of their intra-division rivals from the North and South. The Giants and Padres don’t know what hit them. Both rivals moved in opposite directions at the trade deadline, but the results were the same. All L’s for the challengers against a very complete, incomplete Dodgers juggernaut. The Giants mainly treaded water at the deadline, dog-paddling through the sea of possible improvements and/or…