Season of the Witch

It is the season of the witch.  Halloween is just a week out and it seems my neighbors are all in this year.  After the COVID muted the past two years, every measure of demons and miscreants are inflated across their lawns.  Everywhere in the news there are mentions of Witch Hunts and the former president Trump.  The FBI, New York AG, the DOJ, and the Jan 6 committee among others are conducting independent Witch Hunts regarding Herr Trump and his miscreants.  The Yard is not sure if this is a seasonal or ongoing thing.  If the Republicans win the midterms, the witches turn away from the Trump family and towards Hunter Biden and his famous laptop.  The Yard is just hoping we have some extra Twix dark chocolate bars at the end of Halloween night.

 

The amazing regular season for the Dodgers ended in the calamity of a loss to the Padres in the NLDS.  The Dodgers have owned the up-and-coming Padres forever.  The only time San Diego was tough on Los Angeles was when they were awful and that was often.  Since they have tripled their payroll and relevance, the Dodgers have slapped them around like a rookie forward in the G League.  This Dodger team won 111 regular season games, the most in franchise history. The crew had a remarkable season with a winning percentage of .685.  They won over 50% of the 111 against their division rivals.  They won 80% of their games against the NL Worst and 60% against everyone else.  Walker Buehler never got started and got shut down in May until 2023. Dustin May got shut down in May 2021 and never really came back. Dodger “closer” Craig Kimbrel blew five saves in 27 chances. He had a record of 6-7 with a 3.75 ERA.  You do not want your closer to have thirteen decisions.  Kimbrel the closer was left off the playoff roster, say no more.

 

The Dodgers did not have a playoff series winning pitching staff all season. Julio Urias started slow but finished in Cy Young fashion and registered the only playoff win.  Kershaw was his usual uneven playoff self.  Gonsolin was a Cy Young candidate through mid-August with a 16-1 record. He has always struggled on the big stage and only lasted 42 pitches in game 4.  He gave up four hits and a run and Roberts knew the outcome by the end of the. 2^nd. The bleeding stopped in that game, but the Dodger bats remained holstered for the series.   After taking a 5-0 lead in Game 1, the offense never had another 2-run lead.

 

It is the end of an era with this Dodger team.  There will be some favorite sons who will be gone.  This core group has been through the Astro cheating scandal tainted loss in the WS.  The boat race by the Red Sox in 2019.  The bubble wrapped title in 2020 with the JT testing COVID positive during the game and getting yanked. But back for the celebration, the champagne and national outrage. Beyond their 2020 title, their best result was beating the great last gasp by the aging Giants.  That was a sweet victory even if it led to the defeat in the next series when all the pitching was exhausted. We can only hope the Giants continue to piss away salary on aging veterans to reclaim their fading legacy.  Joey Bart was their best prospect in years, and he is not an All-Star. Aaron Judge is just waiting to take San Francisco’s $350 million for ten years.

 

It appears that the Padres are now our Huckleberry.  With Fernando PED-tis coming back next season the Friars are going to be solid again.  Who are these upstarts, Padres?  It starts at the top of the organization.  Peter Seidler is the managing partner for San Diego.  Peter is the grandson of Walter O’Malley.  In 1997, when his father Peter Sr., sold the Dodgers to Fox for $350 million, it was a major deal.  Fox had enough with MLB ownership and sold the team to Frank McCourt for $420 million in 2004.  McCourt was a hated owner and eventually cashed out in 2012 for $2 billion.  Peter O’Malley realized he sold too early.  His investment group bought the Padres in 2012 for $800 million.  The O’Malley’s know what it takes to win a title.  There was an O’Malley at the helm for every Dodger Title before the 2020 title.  The Dodgers won six titles during O'Malley's tenure, but they lost eight as well.  There were delicious victories over the Yankees and A’s as well as disastrous losses to these same two franchises.  The Padres are making the moves for the long run mixing veterans with draft picks.  Their payroll would appear unsustainable given their market and current TV deal, but things could change.  The Dodgers have been making the right moves for decades.  It will be a battle for years.  Giants are going to struggle to keep pace, but they do have those garlic fries.

 

Tarnished Legacies: Brett Favre was a HOF QB for the Packers.  His exit was messy with Aaron Rogers waiting on the sidelines.  Rogers sat for three years while Favre worked to cement his legacy for passing yards and interceptions.  His passing yards records have been surpassed.  Interceptions is an all-time lock at 337.  The next closest is George Blanda at 277.  The closest active are Tom Brady 204 and Matty Ice 177.

 

Favre went to the Jets for a bit.  He was there long enough to make Page 6 because he was sending dick pics to a Jets cheerleader.  He denied all of it, but the texts were already out there. Now Brett is accused of soliciting the former Governor of Mississippi to divert Welfare money away from the needy.  Favre wanted the money for his alma mater so a new volleyball facility could be built for his daughter’s team.  He went back to the well to get money for an indoor practice facility to lure Deion Sanders' son to MS.  Favre denies any wrongdoing, but the texts are already out there.  He is being pilloried from one news cycle to the next.  We have seen this movie.

 

Trivia: Who is the only Hall of Fame Pitcher to never win the Cy Young award?