08.22.05
Posted in General at 1:19 pm by Steven Gardner
The spat between Milton Bradley and Jeff Kent is sad in one sense only. Really, I don’t care if teammates fight all that often. In the 1970s when Steve Garvey and Don Sutton fought in the clubhouse, Yankee players said it made the Dodgers the team to watch the rest of the year. The Dodgers didn’t win that year, but the Yankees had won before despite the fact there were times players on the team couldn’t stand being on the same field as each other.
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04.23.05
Posted in General at 10:59 am by Steven Gardner
When the Dodgers started their roll I vowed I wouldn’t write a thing until they lost two in a row. I would have been content to not write about them all year.
If you believe you’re playing well because you’re (doing the laundry), or because you’re not (doing the laundry), or because you wear women’s underwear, then you are! — Crash Davis in Bull Durham (Family-unfriendly material replaced by different euphemism.)
Since the Dodgers have been doing so well everyone has been talking about them, except for when they’re talking about the White Sox. My hope is the Dodgers take the next two games in Colorado to begin the winning thing again. But you just can’t take personally a loss in Colorado. Playing in Denver is like asking an arena football team to go to New England and beat the Patriots. It helps that the Rockies are more like last year’s 49ers, but still.
Specifically for the Dodgers,
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04.19.05
Posted in General at 10:07 am by Steven Gardner
I’m not saying a word about the National League in the second-largest U.S. city. Nothing. Nope. Don’t you talk about them either. Not now. Shhh.
Now for the Mariners. We’ll have a better idea in about a month, but so far they’re doing about as well as I expected. I predicted they’d improve to become about a .500 team, which will keep them within reasonable distance of the wild-card spot into August. That’s great for the fans.
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03.01.05
Posted in General at 2:56 pm by Steven Gardner
Seattle is justifiably all abuzz about the acquisition of Adrian Beltre, but it never should have happened. Beltre should have been a Dodger his whole life. He made his choice and he gets to live with it, but the Dodgers blew it. And they should know it. I hope McCourt and DePodesta are around long enough to not make this kind of mistake again.
Read an outstanding piece by L.A. Times writer Bill Plaschke here. (registration required)
“Remember when the Dodger fans chanted ‘M-V-P’ for me last season? Every day during the last month? I was thinking, those chants were better than the award itself.”
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02.16.05
Posted in General at 6:37 pm by Steven Gardner
So pitchers and catchers are reporting and usually that gets me all excited, but this year all I can think is the season is going to suck because the guys won’t be using steroids anymore so who cares anyway?
I’m not serious about this, really, but Canseco’s book is having a bigger impact than I thought.
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02.07.05
Posted in General at 7:12 pm by Steven Gardner
In the past I’ve argued that although Jose Canseco can’t be considcred Hall of Fame material, to my mind he changed the game of baseball more than anyone else in the last 20 years. He combined muscle and speed, pretty much introduced the long-ball era.
He could be a jerk and he could also be charming. He was awesome when he was on (on offense), but unreliable. Now he’s got a book out where he admits how juiced he was and he names names. He says he and Mark McGwire and Jason Giambi shot roids together at the Oakland Alameda Coliseum. I suppose he’ll mention when the three of them would have been on the same bench, because I sure can’t recall.
Canseco has become tragic, because sometimes he was the loveable flake while he was playing. Now his story is just pathetic.
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01.31.05
Posted in General at 11:13 am by Steven Gardner
The Dodgers are signed Norihiro Nakamura, a 13-year vet in Japan, according to CBSSportsline.com’s MLB “Rumor Mill.”
Nakamura hit .274, and slugged .468 in 2004 for the Kintetsu Buffaloes. He led his league in RBIs in 2002, ahead of Hideki Matsui.
He is said to have an OK glove and can hit for power, but doesn’t do much speedwise.
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01.29.05
Posted in General at 5:22 pm by Steven Gardner
Ever since I saw George Will rip on the movie Field of Dreams I’ve wondered what it is that draws people to the game. I mean I always assumed it was that romanticized family aspect that hooked most people. Then again, maybe Bull Durham is closer to peoples’ hearts. You tell me. Either leave a comment here, or e-mail me at stvngrdnr@comcast.net. I’ll give you my reasons after I dismiss yours. 
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Posted in General at 5:12 pm by Steven Gardner
Before the Dodgers signed Odalis Perez and Derek Lowe and agreed to terms with Brad Penny, I wasn’t high on the off-season moves. But with the pitching moves and even though the Dodgers lost Adrian Beltre, I think overall it was a good winter for L.A. That sense is based on my hopes for young Dodger prospects at third base and catcher. There are too many variables to predict whether the Dodgers will improve this year, though I think they have the tools to be better, especially in the playoffs if Lowe and Penny are healthy.
As for the Mariners, no question this was a very good off-season and they have young talent who look very promising. No doubt the team will improve this year, but we all know that wouldn’t take much for a team that finished 18 games under .500 last year. The added offense and the defensive improvements should earn them 15-20 wins more than last year alone. Whether they improve more than that will depend entirely on the pitching staff. The staff was miserable last year, only three teams had worse starters. I think Mariner management did the right thing in trying to drastically improve the offense, because the pitchers have shown real ability in the past. For the Mariners to be above .500 this year, they’ll all have to do it. If not, look for the front office to go after pitchers this time next year.
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01.23.05
Posted in General at 1:43 pm by Steven Gardner
The addition of Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre have got people talking World Series up here in Seattle.No doubt those were great moves and should help keep fans in the seats. Seattle fans have been extremely supportive of the team since 1995 (when Ken Griffey Jr. legged it home to beat the Yankees) and figure to stay that way unless the Mariners go through a few consecutive years like the one we just witnessed. Though improved, any talk of the post-season is way premature. Unless this team’s arms improve dramatically, the Mariners can count it good if they break .500. Of course, that would be good for the fans, because for much of the year the team would be in contention. Last year they were pretty much out by the end of May, finishing the season with a 63-99 record just three years after winning 116 games.
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01.19.05
Posted in General at 1:00 pm by Steven Gardner
Will the starting lineup be better than in 2004? If you just look at the numbers, not much. CBS SportsLine.com ranks players based on offensive and defensive numbers and shows glaring problems on offense, but an improved pitching staff. Those numbers come with tremendous variables, however. Overall, I’m seeing hope for improvement.
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01.18.05
Posted in General at 1:34 am by Steven Gardner
I thought I would try to calculate the difference between the 2005 Dodgers against the 2004 team, based on the key additions and losses. There are some glaring omissions in this. I didn’t include Steve Finley because he wasn’t on the team all that long. I also didn’t include Ricky Ledee, Jose Hernandez, etc. because they didn’t play in all that many games. And this is only an offensive comparison, a three-on-three.
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01.11.05
Posted in General at 12:30 pm by Steven Gardner
As a member of the media (My real job is as a reporter so I’m not saying this blog makes me a media member, though that would qualify too. I’m just saying there’s more to me than just this blog.), allow me to welcome Randy Johnson to New York City and tell him what an idiot he was yesterday when he got strong with the camerman. I have now seen the apology. It’s appropriate enough, I guess. But I’ve also read where this kind of behavior isn’t all that uncommon with the BIG UNIT. So he’s used to these apologies.
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Posted in General at 12:17 pm by Steven Gardner
In an effort to get rid of a spammer’s comment left on a previous post, I ended up deleting the entire post. It’s not like anyone reads this site yet anyway, but what a bonehead move. It reminds me of when I first went to work at Novell and managed to delete about 90 stories written for the magazine we published. Grateful was I someone had backed up the files a few days previous. In this case, my brilliant post on the big deal being back is gone forever, unless someone knows how to retrieve it. Don’t bother, it’s really not worth it. I am high-tech slow, not completely incompetent but dangerous when experimenting.
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01.10.05
Posted in General at 11:26 pm by Steven Gardner
Maybe it’s time to step back a bit and look at what DePodesta hath wrought. Now that Odalis Perez and Derek Lowe have signed, I’m encouraged. I look at the current roster and see a team that could feasibly play in the World Series.
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01.03.05
Posted in General at 10:59 pm by Steven Gardner
For the story that asks the question, “Who are these guys?” click here.
This goes back to Seinfeld’s bit in which he says sports fans basically root for clothing. I can’t root for Shawn Green anymore, because he’s wearing the wrong clothes. I don’t know these guys I’m rooting for, but they’ve got the right uniform.
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12.29.04
Posted in General at 10:15 pm by Steven Gardner
The Dodgers have lost Adrian Beltre, Steve Finley and today Jose Lima. Meanwhile they dumped Alex Cora and haven’t picked Odalis Perez back up. DePodesta says starting pitching is priority 1, but the team didn’t get Tim Hudson, and is now after Derek Lowe, or Esteban Loaiza or Shawn Estes. Getting Jeff Kent and J.D. Drew should improve the offense, slightly.
Meanwhile the Giants got a closer, Moises Alou, Omar Vizquel and Mike Matheny. The Giants have to be considered the favorite, unless the Dodgers can pick one or two solid starters.
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12.28.04
Posted in General at 7:37 pm by Steven Gardner
The Giants got better today by signing Moises Alou. Then again, this is a guy who got beat out for a fly ball by Steve Bartman.
The BIG DEAL between YANKEES, INC., (actually, maybe I’ll start calling them the Trumpees, since the team’s hubris would be a nice fit with that name) and the Cubiczirconiumbacks (win more than 51 games this year and maybe I’ll call you by your correct name) is back on the table. Of course, Vazquez is still part of the deal, which means the part about the Dodgers being genuinely concerned about Vazquez’s desire to stay on the East Coast because of his family is something that doesn’t matter to the folks in NYC and Phoenix. Slime. Look, I know the game is a business, but it was nice that at least one organization (The Dodgers) was willing to show some class, as pointed out in the Peter Gammons story I referenced in an earlier post.
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12.24.04
Posted in General at 12:53 am by Steven Gardner
Peter Gammons has a good column on the BIG TRADE here. It makes me respect Vazquez, and the Dodgers.
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12.22.04
Posted in General at 11:48 am by Steven Gardner
I guess YANKEES, Inc. are mad at the Dodgers over backing out over the deal. Whaaaa.
This from the Detroit Free Press:
“The Dodgers reneged on the deal that was agreed to last Friday, unequivocally and with no contingencies except for a window for contract extensions and physicals,” Yankees president Randy Levine said. “For some reason, the Dodgers over the weekend started to backpedal. It sure is disappointing, and we’ll have to think long and hard before ever doing business with the Dodgers again.”
Hey New Yorkers, I got a message for you in language you can understand. I got your deal right here. Stick it. Up yours. Trade THIS. Fuhgeddaboutit. Hey Levine, YOU SUCK!
It’s not the Dodgers’ job to make YANKEES, Inc. better. I used to not hate YANKEES, Inc. Now I do. So much hubris. So much entitlement. Freakin’ morons.
Hey New York, nice job in the playoffs. I bet it sucks to see guys from Boston wearing jewelry.
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Posted in General at 12:04 am by Steven Gardner
At first I thought this was the Dodgers going after a guy who’s a lot of hat and not much cowboy. He was a prized prospect seven years ago, rejecting the Phillies in favor of the Cardinals (C’mon, do you blame him?) But looking at his career numbers, he’s a solid player and last year was fourth in on-base average and runs scored and fifth in triples and walks. He came in sixth in the MVP voting. It doesn’t make up for losing Beltre, but it ain’t bad. Ironically, this was apparently the missing piece to the deal involving the Cubiczirconiumbacks and the YANKEES, Inc. (who are close to signing Carlos Beltran and are certain to still get the BIG UNIT).
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12.21.04
Posted in General at 7:56 pm by Steven Gardner
So the D.C. city council backed off its private financing stipulation and will now let the Expos move to Washington.
Michelle Malkin and anyone else who has the sense to think these stadium deals are a rip off won’t be happy, but I gotta tell you I’m not so smart when it comes to matters of baseball and my ability to have a team close to home.
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Posted in General at 7:13 pm by Steven Gardner
The Dodgers apparently pulled out of a deal that has been rumored for days. The deal would have sent Shawn Green, Yancy Brz(some vowels and stuff) and Brad Penny to Arizona. The BIG NEWS would have been the BIG UNIT going to the BIG APPLE, where he would have raised expectations yet again, only to see them dashed. (It is my theory that Alex Rodriguez will never win a world championship because his $252 million contract was so offensive that whoever was responsible for the curse on the Red Sox let that one go and focused their efforts on A-Rod.)
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12.15.04
Posted in General at 8:13 pm by Steven Gardner
To understand the fallout from cheating, you need look no farther than where I’m writing this right now–Bainbridge Island, Washington.
In 2001 a group of 11- and 12-year-old boys from Bainbridge made it to the Little League World Series, beat a team from Iowa in their first game, then lost to teams from Florida and New York.
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Posted in General at 5:12 pm by Steven Gardner
So now it appears the Montreal Expos’ move to DC to become the Washington Nationals is in jeopardy.
Read the story here.
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12.13.04
Posted in General at 11:23 pm by Steven Gardner
So the Angels get Steve Finley and I couldn’t be happier. I’m not particularly an Angel fan, but I don’t hate them or chuckle about them the way I used to. Winning a World Series will earn you some respect, I tell you, especially when you keep the Giants from winning one.
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12.11.04
Posted in General at 3:54 pm by Steven Gardner
Not surprisingly, George Will addresses my own attitudes about the steroids issue better than I do.
“To understand the damage that the steroids scandal is doing to baseball, consider this: Probably sometime late in the 2005 season or early in the next one, Barry Bonds, who already has 703 career home runs, will begin a game with 754, one short of Henry Aaron’s record. Would you cross the street to see Bonds hit number 755?”
See the entire column here
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Posted in General at 1:08 am by Steven Gardner
During this past season I went to three games at Safeco Field in Seattle. They lost all three, which was a pretty safe bet for the M’s this year, but one game stands especially in reference to what everyone has been discussing lately. Cleveland hit eight home runs. Maybe it was a good night for the clear and the cream. On one of the other nights I saw Manny Ramirez hit a grand slam home run, and it was a beast of a homer, for the Red Sox. I was thrilled.
It’s been tough to come up with a reason to write about steroids, and furthermore I’ve had a difficult time figuring out why. Shouldn’t I be crushed? Mortified? At least a little disappointed?
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