The Ginger Fuhrer

It was rough mid-term election for many, Yard included.  The Ginger Fuhrer was predicted in the polls and by most millennials of getting his national rebuke after his two-year Twitter presidency.  He did manage to take an incomprehensible victory lap on Wednesday before aides recalibrated his interpretation of the results.  Trump had been busting his rump loading up Air Force One and selected reporters to get out to his fans and swing the vote.  He was omnipresent like no other Happy Meal consumer in US history.  The Dems got out the vote and changed the landscape including the Yard’s World HQ in Nevada.  We thought we had gotten away from Diane Feinstein but her younger self emoji Jackie Rosen got voted into the senate for the silver state.  Forget about the Russians, California meddled in the Nevada election.  They did not use Facebook, they went old school with Benjamins and television. Rosen ran ads 3 to 1 against Dean Heller.  It was exhausting. And that is pretty big war chest for a one term congress woman unless Nancy Pelosi is on your speed dial.  The money poured in from CA to win our pivotal Nevada race.  No rules against it but it was more obvious than Putin’s geeks.

One of the few Nevada Republican winners last week was the Trump from Pahrump Dennis “The Hof” Hof.  The brothel magnate ran an aggressive campaign enlisting his crack team of Heidi Fleiss, Ron Jeremy and Miss Lilly to get out the vote.  He thumbed his nose and other appendages at both parties and was eventually elected to the Nevada Assembly.  Hof was found dead at his Love Ranch brothel three weeks before the election. Apparently, Hof went a bit crazy with the aforementioned campaign staff and other recreational activities for his birthday celebration October 12-14. Hof passed in his sleep at the conclusion of the festivities on October 16.  The Yard does not condone his business model but he definitely went out with a bang. At the polling booths, large signs were placed that notified all voters that Hof was deceased and if they voted for him someone else would be appointed to replace him.  Hof still got 63% of the vote beating a very much alive Lesia Romanov.

Baseball came to a merciless end of an improbable Dodger season.  A malaise spread across the team and the fan base before being scratched off in early August.  The trade for Manny Machado ignited the team, more sparkler than Roman candle but a spark.  Ten games out in May and still one game out with two games left in the season.  The crew of blue grinded through the Rockies, Braves and Brewers in the playoffs before being ground up by the Red Sox in the fall classic.  The team teased all season with fallow expectations mostly just good enough as needed. 

The Dodgers did not make any big splashes in the 2017 off season and went into the season with the same roster that had lost to the Astros in seven games.  They needed another starting pitcher and another reliable right handed bat before Justin Turner broke his wrist and Corey Seager was lost for the season in April. Ryu was out until August while Kershaw and Jansen wobbled like weebles. The NL west stumbled along with the Dodgers until they eventually found their footing in September. Walker Buehler emerged and exposed who he will become. David Freese became a more important trade than Machado. For this team to make the World Series for a second consecutive season was unexpected.  Unfortunately, they lost for the second consecutive season.  Getting to the WS three years in a row is not unprecedented but unlikely.  This looks more like 1978-79 when the Dodgers lost two in a row to the Yankees before finally winning in 1981. We all hope it is sooner rather than never.

The Dodgers should continue to win the National League West for the foreseeable future.  The team that Andrew Friedman has been building upon since his arrival is 2014 has a lot of runway and favorable financials.  Friedman has much to be thankful for the foundation that Ned Colletti had cobbled together during the McCourt regime.  The farm system became a priority and Colletti never let any deals that included Joc Pederson, Corey Seager or Julio Urias get made.  Those three all will play significant roles in 2019 and for many years to come.  In 2019, they will make $3.5 million between the three of them.  The rest of the NL west will be playing catch up for the next few years before the Dodgers get into the expensive decisions tied to developing talent.  The Rockies have a good young team but are going to have pay Nolan Arenado or trade him.  He is already making $20 million but the contracts Manny Machado and Bryce Harper get this off season will change that expectation.  Colorado has usually traded talent rather than sign big market money deals.  The Diamondbacks went all in with Zack Greinke.  He has churned out on average 15 victories and 200 innings a season for that $31 million a season.  He was great playing Robin with Kershaw but he is not really a super hero anymore.  The contract does not leave the Snakes much slither room and they may need to get rid of Goldschmidt to find some. The Padres well they are the Padres albeit with a great farm system. The Giants deserve their own two paragraphs.

The Giants made their first big off season move by hiring Farhan Zaidi away from the Dodgers to run their baseball operations.  Zaidi is a talented baseball executive and he will be missed by the Dodgers and especially Friedman.  Zaidi and Friedman deserve all of the credit and some of the blame for the last two disappointing finals.  The cupboard was not bare for these two when they arrived.  Ned Colletti had stocked the farm system and made the moves that brought in Andre Ethier, Ryu, Turner and Puig.  Seager, Bellinger and Taylor were waiting their chance in AAA.  Friedman found Walker Buehler throwing heat at Vanderbilt but most of the current National League championship lineup was there before the current management took over.

The current Giant situation is far direr than at any time in recent Giant history.  The payroll in 2018 was the second highest in baseball for a team that won 73 games.  They finished at least 19 games or more from the playoffs for the second consecutive year.  The Giant challenge is how to keep carrying around the decaying carcass of their historic three titles in five years run while trying to find another one.   Many of those players who were young and hungry back in 2012 are now injury prone and over paid in 2018.  The Giants have kept their core group together including manager Bochy to try to keep the flame alive.  Their recent moves remind me of the 2003-2004 Lakers who hoped to win a 4^th straight by bringing in Gary Payton and Karl Malone.  Those Lakers and these Giants chose to patch around their aging heroes rather than face the uncertainty of rebuilding.  The Giants got old gradually and then surprisingly older with Cueto, Smardj, Longoria, etc.  The Lakers would not win in 2004 or another title until 2009.  The Giants TBD.  The cavalry is not coming like Buster and company were in 2010. The Giants potential starting lineup’s salary for 2019 would be $90 million with an average age of 31.  The Dodgers starting lineup will be paid $30 million with an average age of 28.  The Yard is no expert on sabermetrics but without anyone coming up to replace pieces within their system, the SF narrative will continue southbound.  Good luck Farhan, you will be missed but you are now dead to us as has been your new franchise since before you were born.

Drew Brees broke the all-time NFL record for career passing yards a few weeks back.  It was Monday Night game and it was exciting.  He had his whole family on the field for a touching ceremony.  It was obvious Drew wanted it to end so he could get back to business.  In 2001, we were covering Purdue’s second Rose Bowl and most recent in school history. Brees was the starting quarterback for the Boilermaker’s that season.  After you wrap your head around Purdue in the Rose Bowl, the next words are Drew Brees battling.  Purdue almost won before the Washington Huskies rallied with two TD’s in the 4^th. Brees was drafted in the 2^nd round by the Chargers and was their starter in 2004.  Eli Manning was expected to be the 1^st QB taken that year and he let the Chargers know he had no intention of signing with this woebegone San Diego team if drafted.  There was some gnashing of teeth between the Manning’s and the Chargers. The Chargers ultimately flipped their pick to the NY Giants who drafted Manning.  The Chargers picked up Philip Rivers as part of the transaction.  Rivers was Brees understudy for two seasons. Brees got injured and Rivers rose to the throne.  Drew was always held accountable for being undersized in stature but never in leadership, passion or heart.  Rivers was thought to be the future and has been. Drew went to NOLA and made history.

Eli was the biggest name in all of that news in 2004.  He did win two Super Bowls as a starter. How about today? Saints are rolling towards another Super Bowl for Brees.  Rivers has the Chargers in the mix for the big game as well.  Eli and the Giants?  They are caught in the same game the SF Giants are playing without the aging heroes just the aging.

Overtime: The University of San Diego Toreros restarted football in 2004.  They brought in Jim Harbaugh to coach the inaugural season.  He coached the teams to two titles in three years.  This past weekend the Toreros gave up 738 yards rushing to the Davidson Wildcats in San Diego. One would assume it was an ugly defeat but surprisingly USD prevailed 56-52.  Davidson had four rushers with over 150 yards each.  USD QB Anthony Lawrence tossed seven TD’s and 556 yards.  Lots of fond memories of trips to USD.  They did not have a football team back then but there was a tailgate every weekend in the canyon where football is now. Go Toreros!