Major League baseball evolves its relevance throughout the 162-game campaign. The first 130 games are fun and exciting. When magic numbers start being forecasted Labor Day and the race to the finish begins, it is the best for this fan. The NBA and NHL have similar seasonal trajectories to the playoffs. In May, teams are sorting out their everyday players, starting rotations, role players and saviors. So, it was surprising to see the Padres gloating about their last Friday night drubbing of Clayton Kershaw. Their Clay crying meme was widely pilloried for its classless banality. Kershaw is a first ballot hall of famer. He has carried himself with humility and grace while playing through some of the biggest meltdowns in playoff history. This has been well documented and reported. Losing to the frigging San Diego Padres on Cinco de Mayo is not even a blip in his mind. When you poke the beast, you had better have a poke the beast backup plan. Saturday night, redheaded monster Dustin May shut down everyone but Fernando Tatis with his three hits. The rest of the order had two. May struck out six Friars in six innings. Sunday afternoon, the Padres jumped on Julio Urias in the first inning with two quick runs. It would be their last. It was almost enough. Racist hillbilly Josh Hader had two strikes on Mookie with two outs. The San Diego faithful were on their feet screaming for the final strike. Hader’s next 93 MPH fastball left Petco at 92 and the game was tied. Dodgers scored three in the 10th for the W. Karma is a bitch.
The Dodgers always have a target on their back. The Giants had their moment in the sun before it quickly set. The AZ Snakes were going to be all that after signing Zack of the spectrum. The Rockies were going to be the next big thing with Troy and Nolan. All three teams are striving for a .500 finish in third place. The Padres are the next poser in line. The Dodgers have won 20 NL West titles. No other team has won double digits, The Friars have won five in their 54 years of existence. The Padres have made it to the WS twice and have a record of 1-8 in those fall classics. The Dodgers keep doing what they have done throughout their history building and rebuilding contenders. Dodger fans have suffered without more championships, but they have been the last two teams 21 times. They have a record of 7-14 in those WS. The Dodgers have lost in the WS more than any other team. They were the original loveable losers in Brooklyn going 1-8 with only the 1955 Boys of Summer delivering on the promise. San Diego, congratulations on your big May win. See you at the ravine tonight. Fernando, I think there may be some taunts. Manny just gets sustained boos. It is still just another regular season game in May.
The Padres payroll is $20 million more than the Dodgers for 2023. Tatis got suspended for PED’s and his suspension adjusted payroll lowered their overall average. Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis are two of the highest paid and least liked major leaguers. Kershaw is the model of what it means to be a professional. There is a reason that the Dodgers did not offer Manny a contract when he was their free agent. He is a punk. Padres have an unsustainable payroll with a combustible clubhouse. They are trying to goose a WS title before the shit hits the fan. It will be fun to watch it all implode in the coming years. $200-300 million guarantees are not for the faint of heart. The Dodgers avoided those big commitments with Manny, Cody and Corey and they are doing just fine.
The Lakers and Warriors have never had much of a rivalry. The Warriors have won seven NBA titles in franchise history. The four recent titles have made Steph, Clay, and Draymond famous. Before the recent spate of titles, the Warriors had last won an NBA title in 1975. When the big three showed up the Warriors were playing at their aging Oakland venue. San Francisco would never help the hapless SF Warriors to get a respectable arena, so they moved to Oakland. They did not want to take the Oakland moniker, so they became Golden State. After they won a few titles, the metaverse was ready to woo them back with the luxurious Chase center. The fans that could not give two turds about the Warriors from 1976-2014. They were an afterthought to the 49ers and the Giants. The Giants had long played in the 49ers shadow. Winning three titles changed that dynamic and the Giants were the new darlings. When the Giants won those titles, the rivalry between LA and SF reached fevered heights. The Lakers have won 17 NBA championships in their history. The Yard is hoping for an 18th. The Warriors and Lakers have never had an important playoff series ever that the Yard can recall. Tonight, is game seven for the Lake show. They lose this home game, and it is going to be a death by 1,000 cuts in SF for the real game seven. Let’s hope AD and the King can take care of things tonight and move onto the next round. but their three titles changed their trajectory and the size of their fan base. The Warriors got a whole bunch of new fans the past nine years.
The XFL seems to be doing what their predecessors could never do, become relevant. With the inaugural season ending, they have fans and a TV deal. The Yard analytics team is not sure if that will lead to a profit at some point, but relevance has value in this sports landscape. This version of an NFL alternate is not competition to the NFL. It is a short season completed before the NHL and NBA finals. This XFL has the benefit of legalized sports betting across many states. Gambling on football is a passion for many. Predicting the outcome favorably is more important than the product. This will drive interest, viewership, and survivability. Time will tell but they are way ahead of their predecessors after their first season. Trump decided the USFL was going to go head-to-head with the NFL with a fall season. How did that turn out?
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