One of the many female artists (and trust there were many) on whom I had a boyhood crush, was the great country-western singer, Skeeter Davis. I loved her name, I mean how could you not love the name Skeeter? After reading some of the comments on Saturday and Sunday, I was reminded of her and her biggest hit song “The End of the World”, which goes in part(with apologies to…
It may seem like last night’s loss added some games to the number of games the Dodgers have to win, but it’s still the same. What shocks me is how some people absolutely lose their minds in a game like that. If you look at the boxscore, Kershaw doesn’t look great, but it’s not bad: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K’s. If you watched the game,…
All season, many readers here and Dodger fans, in general, have been beating the drum and chanting the mantra that the Dodgers’ bullpen is somehow inferior. Pedro Moura of The Athletic wrote this: Despite their substandard start, despite fans’ continued frustration, despite the front office’s decision not to add much in July, Dodgers relievers finished the season among the best in baseball. Their 3.85 ERA was tied atop the National…
When Andrew Friedman signed Rich Hill to a 3 year / $48 Million dollar deal. he was lambasted by many Dodger fans for continuing down the path of signing Scott Kazmir, Brett Anderson, and Brandon McCarthy: “Another injury-prone pitcher.” “Blister boy!” Well, here we are at the end of that deal and Rich Hill has indeed spent some quality time on the IL, but if Friedman has it to do…
It seems most Dodger fans, and those of other playoff-bound teams, are trying to pre-determine which players will make up the roster for the first playoff round. I must admit it does interest me but mostly because I have favorite players that I would like to see on “the list”. I do not attempt to make any rational judgment as to whom will make the cut. In the meantime I…
The Dodgers are still ranked 3rd in MLB Power Rankings and it should not be lost on anyone that the Dodgers were #1 in 2017. What does it all mean? Not much. It’s how it all comes together… So, as the dust settles, how about the big free-agent signings and trades made by Philadelphia? The team is clearly flawed and Gabe Kapler will likely lose his job, when it should…
I am spending a couple of weeks with my family in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Spending time with my grandchildren is one of the greatest joys I have ever known. It doesn’t take long though for me to realize that I speak another language than they do. In order for me to convey “adult” concepts it is extremely important that I know how to communicate effectively with them to get…
First of all, I want to again thank everyone for their kind words and prayers for our family at this time. I have bad days and worse days. I do have good moments. I thought that I could get back to writing sooner, but I just can’t seem to get the motivation to do so on a regular basis yet. With a little of your indulgence, I also want to…
Yesterday someone wrote this: I would want to see us put together rosters which are the best in baseball, at least in some of the seasons. Why should a franchise with this large and fervent fan base, and the second largest media network in the country, not have that? Well, they don’t have that because as we have repeatedly seen, over 70% of these big, fat contracts become boat anchors….
I have always had a fascination with the development of baseball players. It started when coaching youth ball, and continued on to high school baseball. But what happens after a player gets drafted and signs that contract? Are these young men receiving the best possible instruction? Are the teams creating an environment for those players to maximize their abilities? How exactly do you accomplish that? Strictly through Sabermetrics? Is it…