The End of the Beginning

Whew!  That was exhausting. The election cycle was pitiless. There is not a media outlet that provides relief from the rhetoric. We were enjoying UCLA’s upset win over Nebraska on Saturday on the Big Ten network, and they found me. Text messages, emails and phone calls pervaded each day long into the night.  It is estimated that there was almost $16 billion spent on the 2024 election.  In 1758, George Washington ran his and the country’s first presidential race in Virginia.  He spent his entire budget, the equivalent of 50 British pounds to purchase 160 gallons of alcohol. He distributed this largess to 390 voters who carried the election. With the massive spending in this election, it would be noble if the candidates could siphon off 1-2% and maybe send pizzas and Pinot Noir to all of us survivors.  Regardless, if you feel this is the apocalypse or MAGA 2.0, a little postgame nosh would be well received by all.  Here, here to GW the OG!

 

2024 had all the trappings of another Dodger postseason distress. The upstart Diamondbacks blitzed the Azul last year.  The Padres did the same disservice to them in 2022.  The truncated 2020 title seemed hollow with a 60-game season and a World Series in the bubble without a parade. Kershaw has been a great cheerleader, but he was not going to pitch in the postseason.  Freewheeling Tyler Glasnow flamed out early and had to be shut down.  Walker Buehler had been ineffective since returning from his second Tommy John surgery. Yamamoto had been brilliantly unpredictable. The Yankees gave Gerrit Cole $324 million to win important playoff games over nine years.  The Dodgers pay several pitchers well to be that person and many were useless this fall.  Occupational hazard in the pitching industry.

 

We now know what was not certain previously.  Dave Roberts knows what he is doing.  It has not always seemed that way in years past. His managerial skills were questioned perpetually and with good reason based on results. He became the unquestioned leader the team trusted.  He flipped the narrative. Each series was a chess match of burning arms to saving arms for another game. He outfoxed Mike Shildt in the NLDS. The Padres were at the precipice of history before they succumbed to it and fell into the hole. That series was the best series of the playoffs. New rivals to the south, fading rivals to the north and vanquished rivals to the east. Winter is coming to Westros.

 

Andrew Friedman joined the Dodgers in 2015. His first hire was Dave Roberts, and they started the long grind through the lofty expectations.  Friedman’s genius was already anointed by the agency of his years in Tampa Bay.  In 2005, he took over as GM of the Rays. He was just 28 years old.  By 2008, the Rays were playing for a WS Title.  Friedman was patient in the 2023 free agent market lying in wait for the Ohtani prize. Every move he made at the trading deadline was exaggerated in the playoffs.  Tommy Edman, Jack Flaherty, and Michael Kopech all were on other teams in July but helped the Dodger win the title in October.  

 

In 1988, Kirk Gibson hit the miracle 2-run homerun to upset the favored A’s and propel the Dodgers to the title.  Freddie hit his historic grand slam this year reminiscent of Gibbie. Orel Hershiser won game 2 CG shutout 6-0.  The Bulldog came out of the bullpen to save deciding game 5 in that series.  Walker Buehler would conjure his inner Orel to save deciding game 5 in 2024.  Ferris would wear the same number 55 jersey at the championship celebration last Friday.

 

For Giants, the beginning of the end was 2015.  San Francisco had won three WS titles in five years and had a young, talented everyday lineup. The pitching was aging.  Lincecum was the freak who had pitched two 130+ pitch no-hitters but lost that gear along the way. Bumgarner was now the star, but the Giants run of homegrown talent evaporated. Posey broke a leg, adopted twins and retired early.  They jumped the shark when they gave Jeff Samardzija $90 million for five years on December 5, 2015.  The Yankees beginning of the end might have been Giancarlo Stanton running like a pizza delivery person trying not to drop pizza in WS game 3. With the Yankees down 3-0, Bigfoot was waved home, and he didn’t ride it well, washing up on the beach three feet short.  The 5^th inning in Game 5 will live infamously in Dodger Yankee lore. It is still surreal that if Gerrit Cole covers first the score is 5-0 Yankees bottom of the fifth.  It was otherwise.  Aaron Boone reupped so there may be a rematch.

 

This is the end of the beginning for this Dodger edition.  With two titles in this decade and all the major pieces under contract, they are locked and loaded for more.  Ohtani will pitch next year.  Yamamoto has broken through and ready for what comes next.  Glasnow will be back with his eclectic stuff. The Dodgers have never won consecutive titles or three if five or something cool like that. It all will be laid plain in the coming years. They will have the pitching to win titles.  Dave Roberts joined Tommy Lasorda and Walter Alston in Dodger lore. The Dodgers won their record 24^th NL pennant and tied the Giants with 8 overall titles.  Odds are the Dodgers break that tie.

 

Juan Soto is now a free agent and hoping to cash in with Ohtani kind of money.  Soto had a dazzling season and playoffs.  His agent Scott Boras will press for every Benjamin for his client.  Ohtani and Soto have similar stats albeit Shohei will be MVP, Soto not.  Ohtani will pitch for the Dodgers when he can and could win a CY Young, Soto never.  Soto is a $30-40 million a year everyday player.  Ohtani is a $30-40 million a year everyday player.  He is also a $30-40 million a year starting pitcher.  He is the unicorn. Unicorns get $70 million a year.

 

UCLA plays Iowa tonight for the first time since the 1986 Rose Bowl.  The Yard was at the game.  There was a sea of Hawkeye yellow that made the pilgrimage to Pasadena in the winter.  Heavily favored Iowa had an explosive offense featuring Ronnie Harmon and Chuck Long.  Harmon fumbled on his first carry of the Rose Bowl.  He would go on to fumble four more times and drop a wide-open pass to round out the futility.  UCLA would romp 45-28 behind Eric Bell’s Rose Bowl record four rushing TD’s.  We will be rooting for UCLA tonight in the first rematch between these schools since that game.  UCLA is a 6-point dog.  Love to see them win, need them to cover.

The World Series Issue

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.”

 

Who Knew?

Know one knew. Who could really know?  Most sports prognosticators had the Dodgers on life support. ESPN talent had 22 picking Padres and 5 going with Dodgers. Fernando Tatis Jr., the manchild, was on fire. Each time he came to the plate Dodger fans clenched their cheeks and Padre fans hissed their pent-up venom. The Padres won eight of the thirteen games this year. The Padres Dodger Rivalry has evolved suddenly.  Do we need another?  Everyone wants to hate the Dodgers except their fans. The Padres posterized the Blue Crew in Game 2 a lifetime ago behind Superhero Tatis. In “must win” game 3 had Walker struggling and the defense was Keystone Cops. The Dodger nominal lead became a 6-1 deficit in 34 pitches. Tatis launched a 2-run bomb to cap the scoring.  Still, no one knew what was coming. San Diego fans were delirious. The Padre batting order was being lionized. Dave Roberts’ future was being questioned with another NLDS failure. There were no breadcrumbs to the future.  Who could know that the Tatis bomb in the second inning of Game 3 would be the last run the Padres would score?  Tatis might have known because he watched it like he was taking a selfie. For the Padres to not score another run from that moment through almost three games seems impossible to allow for. It would have been FU money on a FanDuel bet.  What would be those odds? Do these Dodgers have a shot at the title?  Magic 8 Ball says Future Uncertain. Many difficult situations will test our intestinal walls. But our chances are better than San Diego’s!

 

With the Dodger’s game one shutout of the New York Mets, the Dodgers tied the playoff records for scoreless innings at 33.  The record ended abruptly but the record was set in the 1966 World Series.  That fall classic pitted the Dodgers of Koufax and Drysdale against the Orioles of Jim Palmer and Moe Drabowsky.  LA scored in the 2^nd and 3^rd innings of game 1 and would not score again in the last 3.5 games.  It would take almost another decade before the Dodgers scored a WS run. As a young Dodger fan, The Yard learned a very early lesson in Dodger PTSD-Playoff Traumatic Stress Disorder. Since Brooklyn the Dodgers have won the National League pennant 24 times.  They have the NL record for most appearances.  Saint Louis is in 2^nd place with 17.  Where the PTSD comes in, is the Dodgers have only won the title seven times in those two dozen tries.  The Yard was witness to several of these falls.  The Yankees and Dodgers faced 11 times in the WS with the Pinstripes winning 8 times.  The World Series in 1977, 78 & 81 were some of the bests in history with the Yankees winning the first two and then the first two games in 1981.  Coming back to LA for three games seemed like another fiasco awaiting. The Dodgers roared back and swept the last four games to win their first WS since 1965. Are we anxious today? You bet and we are not.

 

The Padres with the Sons of O’Malley managing went all in with this 2024 team.  There is still a runway in the San Diego future, but the sands of time are starting to cover it.  Padre management took big swings with Machado, Snell, Soto, Hader and others. The bar was set to beat the Dodgers.  The road to the promised land goes through Los Angeles. Could be I-5 or the 405 to the 605 depending on time of day but that is the route.  The Padres had already swept the Dodgers in the NLDS and so had the Diamondbacks. The next step was so tantalizingly close. The cost was their farm system.  The Padre top prospects are now another team’s future.  When that happens, you become the San Francisco Giants. Padre nation, the Giants have three titles to show for it, what say you? That very first title for San Diego should be special. Let us know where we should send the Participation Trophies for 2024.

 

Peter Rose was one of our favorite baseball players growing up.  He was one of our first Topps baseball cards. He died in Las Vegas which is appropriate. Charlie Hustle was an old school grinder. His all-time hits record will never be broken. Pete did not play for the money, and it was not great back then.  It was for the love of the game. He played every game like it was game 7 of the WS.  He practically ended Cleveland catcher Ray Fosse’s career on a play at the plate in the 1970 All-Star game.  He famously brawled with Bud Harrelson in the 1973 NLCS after the inning was over.  Rose's body slammed him into the infield dirt while everyone else was headed to the dugout. He was also a hustler.  He liked to bet, and it was his ultimate undoing. He denied the allegations for years.  When contrition was suggested, he admitted his misdeeds.  Baseball maintained the lifetime ban.  Maybe now he can get recognition for his unparallelled hitting instead just for his mistakes.  RIP PR.