Yard PTSD has been traced directly back to the New York Yankees. The Yanks were 6-0 over the Dodgers before the Boys of Summer finally broke through in 1955. It would be Brooklyn’s first and only WS win. The Brooklyn Bums became the Los Angeles Dodgers when they departed for the West Coast in 1958. The Pinstripes would slap those Boys from the fall into a long winter one more time in 1956. Moving away from Robert Moses and NYC was the best decision in Dodger franchise history and one of the best in baseball history. Professional baseball was not played west of the Mississippi. MLB convinced the NY Giants to move with the Dodgers so there would be at least two teams on the left coast. There are now 8 teams in the West. The Dodgers would win six titles since the move to Los Angeles. The 1959 WS title would be the second title for the city after the 1951 Rams. The Yankees have swept eight WS 4-0. They have only been blanked in one WS against the 1963 Dodgers led by Koufax and Drysdale.
Baseline anxiety readings are trending up with occasional spikes as we grind through the day. The Yankees batting order is a scary group of large people who hit the ball hard and far. The Dodger pitching staff is a patchwork quilt of survivors, trading deadline moves and luck. It is perilously close to midnight for this expensive Cinderella story. It is well documented that the Yankees and Doyers have met 11 times in the series. Yanks lead 8-3. Since moving to LA, their series records are 2-2. After the 1963 shellacking, the teams would not meet again until the 1977-78 World Series. The Dodgers would be in their traditional spot losing four games to two with the parade in Manhattan. 1981 was when Fernandomania erupted into a decades long Latino love fest at Chavez Ravine. El Toro won Rookie of the Year and the CY Young during that historic season. His biggest win was Game 3 of the WS. As usual, the Dodgers lost the first two games in NY with games saved by Goose Gossage. Tommy handed the ball to Valenzuela for the critical game three. Fernando delivered a 149-pitch complete game victory. He walked seven, gave up to nine hits and 2 HR’s but finished for the W. The momentum swing was contagious, and the Dodgers sprinted to their first title since 1965.
The PTSD is gurgling up as the day progresses towards the first pitch. The Yankees paid Gerrit Cole $324 million in 2019 for this game. NY has 27 titles to the Dodgers 7, but the Yankees have not won the title since 2009. This series could outduel the hype. With combined annual payrolls of over $500 million, these two should be playing for the title. The Mets almost paid their way into the big game with the largest payroll. Owner Cohen still has a massive karma deficit from his days on Wall Street. He has some paying forward to burn still. The Cubs spent a surprising $213 million for bupkas. The Giants continue to spend like a contender while retreating from our memories. The Angels are always a shock with their payroll. Arte Moreno won a title and Gene Autry never did but the Cowboy was a better owner. Payroll does matter this year with #2 vs # 3 playing the series that was foretold in the cabbage. The Yankees are formidable. The series comes down to Mookie Betts. If Mookie does what his capable of doing, we get our parade. Batting behind Ohtani helps. We think he looks ready. The last three times LA-NY played the series was 4-2. The Yanks won 1977-78 titles 4-2. The Dodgers won the 1981 title 4-2. Dodgers win 2024 title 4-2! Where is the Prilosec?
The Yard always hated the Dallas Cowboys growing up. They also seemed to smash the Rams in important playoff games. Our emotions have mellowed with the Cowboys irrelevance. Wasn’t Dallas America’s team at some point in recent NFL history? Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett, and Drew Pearson played in Super Bowls almost every year. When Jimmy J and Jerry got together and won three Super Bowls the world was their gulf shrimp. Jerry and Jimmy’s ego could no longer co-exist, and neither was the better. Together they won the last one in 1996. Johnson still beams as the smallest studio host on Sundays. He never again had NFL success as a coach. Jerry is the oldest GM in the NFL. He has not proven himself as the GM since Johnson left and he is not getting better. He has his own radio show. No other owner has his own radio show. Jerry needs to bring in a GM and not just yes people he can blame later when the team fails. We have seen that fealty before, and it fails.
“Hi, everybody, and a very good evening to you wherever you may be. It’s time for Dodger Baseball.”