That is evidently Andrew Friedman’s new bullpen strategy and I happen to think it is a stroke of genius. We all know that bullpens are fickle and it is hard to predict with a great degree of certainty whether a pitcher who was great in 2021 will even be average a year later. Injuries happen and pitchers are bad one year and great the next. Now, it is not always…
George Thomas Shuba was born on December 13, 1924, in Youngstown Ohio. His story is that of a typical average ballplayer. In parts of seven seasons, he appeared in 355 games, hit .259, and never played more than 94 games in any of those years. Nearly a third of his at-bats were as a pinch hitter. He played just long enough to collect an MLB pension, he actually counted down…
But that has never stopped us before… has it? We will say whatever we damn well please… and worry about the consequences later. So, here is what I think I know, and if you disagree you must be some kind of derelict! After all, 10 games into the season, we should have all the answers (or not). Cody Bellinger – He’s better than last year, but this will be a…
Billy Cordell Grabarkewitz was born on January 18th, 1946 in Lockhart Texas. He is the second child of Adolph Charlie and Helen Grabarkewitz. Lockhart, for those of you not familiar with the Lone Star state, is about 30 miles south of Austin. He was of Irish descent on his mother’s side. His paternal grandparents were Polish immigrants who came to central Texas in the last half of the 19th century….
You may remember him back in 2019 as the Manager of the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. Let me refresh your memory with this video: Mark is 42 years old and is from Burbank, California. He attended Cal State, Northridge. In 2017 he managed Ogden and in 2018 he managed the Dodgers Rookie Team in Arizona. Of course, I already mentioned that he was the manager of the Quakes in 2019. In…
After 10 games, the Dodgers are 8-2. Not a bad start! First place belongs only to the Dodgers now. Clayton Kershaw, while no longer an Ace, is very, very good. Best #3 in Baseball! Andrew Heaney has made a lot of Dodger Fans eat crow. Gonsolin and Anderson are a nice #5 until the Catman starts to trust his stuff. Gavin Lux has made me eat crow. Cody Bellinger has…
For several years, Dodger fans complained about the Dodgers bullpen… or lack thereof of one. Maybe a lot of their ire was directed (unfairly) at one Kenley Jansen, but I think that many Dodger Fans believe that in the past Andrew Friedman simply did not value the bullpen and therefore did not build good bullpens. I beg to differ. The Dodgers’ bullpen has never been as bad as fans have…
Wallace Wade Moon, born 4/3/1930 in Bay Arkansas, was the son of Henry Albert Moon and the former Margie Leona Vernon. He was the second of their three children. Bay is a swampy hamlet by some railroad tracks. Henry was a factory worker who later became mayor of Bay. Henry would read every sports page he could get his hands on. Wally was named after Alabama football coach, Wallace Wade….
I had very little respect for Bill Plaschke BEFORE he wrote the column: “Dodgers must make it clear Trevor Bauer will never pitch for them again” in the LA Times. Now, Plaschke just makes me violently ill! Any modicum of respect I had for him is gone! I feel the same way about Bill Plaschke as I do Vladimir Putin. Both are despotic dictators, who believe they know better… better…
Frank Oliver Howard was born on August 8, 1936 in Columbus, Ohio to John and Erma Howard. His dad was a large man, 6’4″ over 200 pounds. He worked as a machinist for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad in Columbus. His mother was a homemaker. Frank was the third of six children. The family lived in a modest frame house. “There was always lots of food on the table” Howard…