On Sunday the Dodgers selected left-hander Maddux Bruns in the first round of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft with the 29th overall pick. His selection came as a bit of a surprise to the average fan as he was not connected to the Dodgers in any mock draft, at least that I had seen. Certainly part of the surprise was that he was not included in mock drafts but also…
The Babe of Brooklyn
Well, we all know about Babe Ruth. He was probably the greatest player the game ever knew. And there was Babe Dahlgren, who replaced Lou Gehrig at 1st base in New York. In 1925, while Ruth was plying his trade with the Yankees, 22-year-old Floyd Caves Herman made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He would turn 23 early in the season. Babe was born in Buffalo, New York. However,…
Averages Lie!
A statistician had one foot in a bucket of ice water and one foot in a bucket of boiling water. He said, “My feet feel great, on average.” He meant that the average temperature of the water in the two buckets was comfortable. This may be true, but the average temperature doesn’t tell the entire story. If you put one foot in ice water and the other in boiling water, on…
MiLB Odds and Ends
Another rainy day and not great results in the minor league system yesterday. Well, that isn’t quite true. The nature of the day is not always decided by wins and losses. It is an individual game played in the context of a team game. Here is a bit about some individuals. Jake Vogel In Rancho Cucamonga 19-year-old Jake Vogel seems to have shaken off his early injury woes while having…
The New Rotation
With Dustin May, Trevor Bauer, and Clayton Kershaw all out of the picture, at least for the time being, the Dodger starting rotation after the All-Star Break looks like this: Striker Buehler Julio Urias Tony Gonsolin David Price JoJo Gary Yes, I said JoJo Gray. He will get another start… or maybe two at OKC, and hopefully, be built up to at least four innings by then (hey, it’s better…
Momma Said There’d be Days Like This…
Rants & Raves What happened the past three games is unexplicable! This is baseball. We have seen this movie before. We can’t explain it… but it happens. I am just along for the ride. This is baseball. This is life. Everything is not always puppys and bunnys! Morality clauses have generally been held to be valid and enforceable as applied to high-profile figures, such as Trevor Bauer (California may be softer on this…
2021 Dodger Draft Preview
As every semi-lucid baseball fan knows, next week is the 91st MLB All Star game. The results are close with the AL winning 45 games, NL winning 43 games with 2 ties. The AL has runs scored 373 runs and the NL has scored 370 runs. The AL is currently riding a 7 game winning streak. But that is not the only MLB event that is happening next week, and…
Remembering 1992
Over the last several years, we Dodger fans have been very lucky to have a winning franchise. 8 consecutive division titles, 3 trips to the World Series, and a World Championship. Cy Young award winners, MVPs. A couple of ROY winners and a lot of exciting baseball. For most seasons, the Dodgers have been very successful in Los Angeles. Oh, there have been some losing seasons, like 1958, their first…
Sight Versus Vision
These two things wrestle with one another constantly: Sight absorbs the visual elements of this world.Vision unveils a world that can exist. Sight reveals boundaries in our path.Vision sees beyond boundaries. Sight shows you what you do not have.Vision gives hope to weary eyes. Sight is present.Vision is future. Do you remember when the Dodgers were no-hit by the Cubs and I wrote: “Getting No-Hit May be the Best Thing That has Happened to This Team.” I guess…
Where Have You Gone Joe DiMaggio?
Unless they know something about the history of the game, many younger folks would simply think Joe DiMaggio was the Mr. Coffee guy. But to more than a generation of Yankee fans, he was one of the best that ever wore the pinstripes. Players like that are few and far between in today’s game. His type of player would be a dinosaur. He struck out only 369 times in his…