I was watching the HBO miniseries, The Pacific. In the next to last chapter, the Marines are engaged in the battle for Okinawa. It was a horrific fight, and the US suffered the highest casualties of any battle in the Pacific. It got me thinking about one of the people responsible for me loving the Dodgers and the game as much as I do. In June of 1958, about a…
Believe it or not, there was a time when singing cowboys roamed the silver screen. Most were pretty talented singers. The first, John Wayne, was not. His voice was dubbed for his part as Singing Sandy. Some did songs for movie tracks we have never forgotten, such as Tex Ritter’s “Do Not Forsake Me” in High Noon. That tune won an Oscar. One of them, Gene Autry, recorded one of…
Mark’s going to be busy this week, so I’m going to try to fill a couple of days with posts while he’s out. It’s not going to be easy for me as I’m starting a six months Cyber Security program tonight, so I’m going to have a little less time going forward. Hopefully, OldBear and Evan will help fill the void to give our daily readers something to read and…
Joey Gallo – Gold Glove Defender in LF, Elite Arm, Excellent Base Runner, 1.038 OPS as a Dodger. He was 2-3 yesterday with a Walk, outstanding catch, laser throw, and impressive baserunning. When a RHP is throwing, you can’t keep Gallo off the field… based upon what I have seen so far. The Dodgers Bullpen – The Dodgers are now tied for second in Bullpen ERA behind the Yankees and…
I was watching an old movie, yeah, a baseball movie. It starred James Stewart and June Allison. True story. It was about Monty Stratton. Stratton was a RH pitcher who pitched for the White Sox for parts of five seasons. He had a 36-23 record with a 3.71 ERA and 196 K’s. He won 15 games in 1937 and again in 38. His future with the Sox looked bright. He…
I’ll give you a better question… What do the Dodgers do with Joey Gallo and Chris Taylor? Joey Gallo is a great defensive outfielder, while CT3 is average to above average, but CT3 strikes out at a 40% rate, and Gallo strikes out at a 46% rate, Cody strikes out at a 30% rate while being the best Defensive Center Fielder in baseball. At this stage of the season, the…
It is August, and the annual let’s get crazy season has started. It never fails this time of year. Fans begin to lose their collective minds. Why? Well, I really have no clue. I just sit back and watch. What amazes me most is that fans who have followed the team and the game for years really have no idea how the roster is set up or how it is…
As the Dodgers attained their 80th victory of the season on August 15th, a full 114 games into the season, there is simply one word that describes their performance: “dominance.” The kind of dominance that ranks up there with some of the greatest teams in baseball history. They’ve done it with major injuries that would have decimated most teams. Kershaw has had two IL stints, and who knows when he will…
With the playoffs a full month and a half away (48 games), it’s a bit of a reach to try to predict what a potential playoff bullpen will look like. We’ll know a lot more once we’re closer to the finish line, but from the looks of things, September will be a tryout for October. Even more so with pitchers than position players. To make matters worse, or better, depending…
Mickey Owen was a very good defensive catcher. In his best season, 1941, he made four errors. Three during the regular season and one in the World Series that labeled him a GOAT for the rest of his days. Mickey Owen was born Arnold Malcolm Owen on April 4, 1916, in Nixa, Missouri. Mickey’s parents divorced when he was seven. Because of that, his mom moved to Southern California. While…