Zach Root burst onto the Dodger scene Saturday night, looking like the reincarnation of Sandy Koufax … with an altered delivery. The story of Zach Root is actually a pretty classic “late-blooming, grinder-to-dude” arc with a few sharp turns along the way. He is not a can’t-miss phenom — He’s more like a slow-burning fuse. Let me explain. He was born on Feb 6, 2004, in Fort Myers, Florida, and…
Even before Andrew Friedman was hired as President of Baseball Operations, I had called for the hiring of someone like him. When he was hired, I supported it from day one with a level of excitement that I had never felt. Immediately, I was attacked by morons who shall remain nameless. I have rarely second-guessed anything he does, for two reasons: What I am about to say is not second-guessing,…
No, this post is not about Eliot Ness and his bunch, it is about baseball records that probably will never be surpassed. Records are made to be broken. No one ever thought Ruth’s 60 homers would be topped. Yet in 1961, 13 years after the Bambino died, Roger Maris did just that. The pressure of the chase caused him to lose some of his hair. They thought no one would…
I have been sick for a couple of days. I had a bug, but some of it was A-Fib. I am going to have another cardioversion shortly (just waiting for the call). My cardiologist is a friend, so he usually gets me in quickly. It’s always good for old guys to have a cardiologist as a friend. 😉 I keep mine on speed dial. This last cardioversion has lasted nearly…
James Tibbs III seems to have improved since joining the Dodgers. He changed his leg kick from being a “timing mechanism” to being a “metronome tap.” When he came to the Dodgers, they knew his swing did not need to be overhauled, like Justin Turner’s. The Dodgers reportedly encouraged him to return closer to the swing that made him a star at Florida State rather than chasing exit-velocity tweaks. Mechanically,…
Sunday, the 2nd of October 1966. The Dodgers were playing a double header in Philadelphia. When the day started, LA was 1.5 games ahead of the Giants. If the Dodgers lost both games and the Giants beat the Pirates, they would finish in a dead heat and there would be a playoff. Don Drysdale got the start in game one against Larry Jackson. In the bottom of the 1st, John…
The grass is riz. I wonder where the flowers is? Baseball America just published a piece titled: “One Intriguing 2026 Spring Training Performance For Each MLB Team.” In it, they featured River Ryan as the Dodgers’ “Intriguing Player.” In part, they wrote: “The big question for Ryan was whether he could return to health and his pre-injury stuff. Back from Tommy John surgery, Ryan needed one spring training outing to…
The Dodgers slugged 244 homers last season, led by Ohtani’s 55. That was 20 more than the second highest, the Mets had. The Mets lost a major power source with Alonso leaving in free agency for Baltimore. LA replaced the 12 homers hit by Michael Conforto with Kyle Tucker, who hit 22 in Chicago. The Dodger starting outfield has three players capable of 30 homers or more, Pages, who hit…
The Dodgers optioned OF Ryan Ward and LHP Ronan Kopp to Triple-A Oklahoma City, and sent pitchers Carlos Duran, Carson Hobbs, Garrett McDaniels, Jackson Ferris, Wyatt Mills, Jordan Weems, and Lucas Wepf, catcher Griffin Lockwood-Powell, and OFs Josue De Paula and Kendall George to minor league camp. That should narrow it down to 50-something players in Camp. Ryan Ward had his shot and did almost nothing… The field is narrowed……
