In 2016, my son was a Senior at Cardinal-Ritter High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. Their football team was picked to finish 5th in their conference before the season started. Stephen played middle linebacker his first three years, but in his Senior year, they switched him to defensive end (because… according to the coach), “they had no one else to play the position.” They started out 1-4, and the season looked…
Once more before I die. Yes, that is my wish. I am 75 now, and I have been alive for every single Dodger Championship, and I dearly want to see another. None of us, except those who take their own lives, choose when it is time to go. As Brooklynites would say We Wuz Robbed, in 2017, out played in 18 and missed some very good chances to advance in…
I heard that a lot last year with regard to Cody Bellinger and Max Muncy; “Send him back to OKC.” Well, they never got sent back, and both have had some major success subsequent to that. We know that the minor leagues are for the purpose of developing players, but at what point are they ready for the Show, and are there times when they should go from the Show…
Yesterday’s win is a game that can really galvanize a team. It also builds character. Bobby Miller has to take yesterday as a learning moment and look back to learn from it. Can he do that? We shall see. James Outman is starting to make the necessary adjustments. OTOH Miguel Vargas has not adjusted as yet to the top of the zone pitches – It’s not the speed – it’s…
Here Goes: I have always felt that Michael Grove should be in the bullpen. I think he will flourish there Gavin Stone last night: 6 IP 5 Hits 5 ER 2 BB 6 Strikeouts 2 HR Jimmy Nelson pitched an inning in relief at OKC and allowed 1 hit and 1 K Jose Ramos hit his 14th HR for Tulsa The GL Loons are 45-20 – their best start EVER!…
Roger Craig did not invent the split finger fastball, but he was probably it’s most prolific teacher. Perfected by Bruce Sutter, Craig picked the pitch up and learned how to teach it to his pitchers. Mike Scott and Jack Morris were two of his prized pupils. The splitter is held like a forkball basically but thrown like a fastball. Craig taught the pitch wherever he coached or managed. His name…
The Dodgers Twitter feed summed it all up: What a Performance! The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya also had an excellent piece on the Bullpen, and how they all realize this bull has to stop. It’s way soon to pronounce them “fixed,” but in the past two games, the Dodgers’ beleaguered bullpen has put up ten consecutive shutout innings! The talent is there – it was a lack of execution, or maybe…
For the uninitiated, the saying, “Like a Bad Penny” refers to the idea that if you get a penny that is damaged, spindled and/or mutilated, it comes back to you. A few days ago, I said that we were seeing the “tip of the iceberg” and that there is a story behind the Dodger woes. It turns out that it’s the same old story. Players on the Dodger’s major and…
Many fans are talking about 28-year-old (soon to be 29) Luke Raley and how well he is doing with the Rays. Yes, Luke is doing very well this year, OPS’ing .9047and playing LF, RF, and 1B. He played three years in college and six years in the Dodgers Farm System. Of course, you cannot keep all of the players due to Rule 5, so in an effort to at least…
When an iceberg is floating free in the ocean, only a small part of the whole is actually visible. Perhaps ten percent of the iceberg is discernible above the water line, while the rest is hidden below the surface in the depths of the ocean. Think about that, ninety percent of the iceberg is invisible. People are like that too. Many times they only share a small part of whom…