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“A Mid Summer Night’s Dream”

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The stars come out tonite in Cleveland. It’s baseball’s iconic All Star Game.

Color, history, electricity.

The best face the best, in what is really more than just an exhibition game.

It’s flair, dynamics, passion.

It started in 1933 as a charity game in Chicago, to raise funds. It marked a beginning of a tradition that no one could derail…not World War II…..Baseball Labor strife…nor even Commissioner Bud Selig.

They play tonite in Cleveland, the annual meeting between the two leagues. Only once, in 1945, was the game postponed.

There have been controversies. Games rained out. Played in the rain. Tie games. Beanballs, ejections, and All Star game shutdown when they ran out of pitchers in the 2002-Selig era.

Even the most absurd, when baseball sponsored two All Star Games from 1959-to-1962.

Then more recently, the Selig driven rule, that the league that won the All Star Game, would have home field advantage for the World Series. Glad that’s gone now.

We remember individual accomplishments, but also the sense of honoring the past, like Tony Gwynn did, escorting Ted Williams, in a wheelchair, to the mound at Fenway Park.

Big days and big plays are what we remember, whether we were a kid, or a 70-year old fan.

Babe Ruth won the first ever game with a home run in that 1933-debut. No one really knew what baseball had stumbled upon with this so-called charity game, that became a treat every summer for fans and players alike.

Big bombs have highlited what we have seen in past July’s.

Tony Perez hit a 15th inning homer in 1967.

Stan Musial of the Cardinals won the game with a blast in 1955

Cal Ripken’s farewell season with the Orioles included an All Star home run forever remembered.

Jackie Robinson became the first colored player to be in the game in 1949, joined by his Brooklyn teammates Don Newcombe, Roy Campanella and the Indians’ Larry Doby.

But it’s the drama, and the accomplishment that forever lives on.

The best moments of all time?

Ted Williams 1946 outing when he went (4-4) coming back from war.

Or Teddy Ballgame’s 3-run home run in the 9th inning, just before baseball went off to war in 1941.

Reggie Jackson, Mr. October, put on a show at Tigers’ Stadium with a 525′ foot home into the light towers, atop the roof in Detroit.

We have video of Pete Rose’s Charley Hustle head first dive, burying Indians catcher Ray Fosse at home plate in 1970.

And you can find the grainy black and white video of King Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants, striking out 5-Hall of Famers in a row, in 1934. Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmuy Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin all went down swinging at that impossible to hit screwball in the Polo Grounds..

Baseball has made this a week of Mardi-Gras like festivals during the All Star Break. Home Run Derby, the Futures Game, the Fan Fest, and then the game itself.

Sit back, relax, remember, and then enjoy all things baseball, what was done in the past, what we have to look forward to, tonite.

A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream….that keeps recurring every July. A very special time in baseball.

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“Lakers-Clippers–Changing NBA Landscape”

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The earthquake registered 7.1-on the Richter scale…the one east of Bakersfield.

The NBA earthquake registered just as big and probably rocked the foundation of one team more than others.

The LA Clippers have officially arrived with the mega-money signing of Kawhi Leonard and the mega 7-for-1 trade to get Paul George from Oklahoma City.

The Lakers, who earlier had worked a 6-for-1 trade to acquire New Orleans’ Anthony Davis, and dealt 3-young players and more draft picks, to Washington, to get under the salary cap, didn’t get what they wanted, Leonard.

The Clippers weekend had to be the biggest in club history, exceeding the Chris Paul-Blake Griffin era. Definitely bigger than the day the NBA forced out controversial owner Donald Sterling.

The Clippers win turned into another bad Lakers loss. Yes the Purple & Gold are a playoff team with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but they are not the legendary team they had hoped to be.

The roster has been filled out with fillers like DeMarco Cousins, Danny Green,

You can now talk about the Clippers potential in the same sentence as the great run put together by Golden State.

You won’t have to use phrases, six non-playoff years in a row, when referencing the other team in the building, the Lakers, but there is fallout to be concerned about going forward.

Whereas the Clippers have two stars at the zenith of their careers in Kawhi and George, the Lakers have an aging King James, a star but oft-injured AD, lots of role players, and no future draft picks to fix anything, if anything goes wrong.

Long gone now are the Lakers glory years, stretching from West-Baylor-Chamberlain, thru Magic-Worthy-Cooper…to Kobe-Shaq-Phil.

Long gone too are the inept-disgraceful days of all things Clippers-Donald Sterling, low budget high-controversy times.

The Lakers will be good for a short period of time.

The Clippers could be great for years.

Bet on one thing for sure. A likely Clippers championship banner in that building. You can probably bet also, that whatever success the Lakers have in the next two seasons will be short circuited by the Clippers, and short-lived because of the age issues with the Lake Show.

The landscape has surely changed in the LA market. Here come the Clippers…there goes the Lakers.

That was some earthquake…near Ridgecrest….and the one that shook the basketball court at Staples Center.

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“Good Guy-Deserves Something Good”

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Everybody comes from somewhere, and to get where he’s going, he’s traveled a hard road.

You have to have experienced how hard the road is in the minor leagues, to appreciate where he has now landed.

Dallas Eakins…NHL head coach.

The Anaheim Ducks have a new head coach. The San Diego Gulls have lost their head coach.

Eakins inherits a Ducks franchise screaming for direction, for leadership, for philosophy, for camaraderie, for pride.

That’s what Eakins brought to the San Diego Gulls in just four short seasons, once the American Hockey League dropped a team into the aging Sports Arena, the building that once upon a time rocked and rolled during the hey day of the Western Hockey League.

The building that saw some good hockey in the short life span of the World Hockey Association. The old cement structure that saw the rebirth of the Gulls in places like the IHL, WCHL and ECHL.

You have to want it badly to be where Eakins has been, to appreciate where he has gotten too.

He rode buses and played in places like Moncton, New Brunswick and St. John’s Newfoundland. He wore uniforms in Cincinnati and Chicago too, eating hamburgers, drinking beer, piling up penalty minutes,enduring long bus rides, and hoping for an NHL callup.

Journeyman best describes what he was. He played for 8-different NHL teams, cups of coffee, if you will, but it never doused his spirit, only fueling his desire to learn. He wore 10-different crests on his jerseys in the minors. That’s lot of dedication, long nights, lousy pay, and great uncertainty.

He crossed paths with a legend, Hall of Fame coach Roger Neilsen, Captain Video, an NHL lifer who had great success with the Vancouver Canucks, Rangers, and Flyers, before cancer snuffed out his life.

Eakins learned from the ever eclectic Neilsen, not just strategy, but the psychology of the player, the psyche of success and failure, and the keys to a hockey lifestyle.

The learning curve brought results, a head coaching job with the Toronto Marlies, the Maple Leafs top farmclub. Success there, and a chance to go to the show, the Edmonton Oilers, famous for the Gretzky-Messier-Coffey-Kurri-Fuhr era.

Expectations always high at the Northlands Coliseum-Rexall Place.. Not much reality though.

Eakins staggered in the year and a third he had with the once proud Oilers. They gave him the youngest roster in the NHL, little on defense, virtually no goaltending and expected him to win.

He wasn’t ready, and neither were all the kids he was force feeding on the ice. Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent Hopkins Jordan Eberle, Nail Yakupov, aged 19-to-22, weren’t ready either. Dispatched by critics, fried by the media, and then fired by those who could not understand how he could go (36-63-14). They’ve gone thru 3-more coaches since then, and have just 1-playoff series appearance in 12-years, even with the generational Connor McDavid on the roster.

He landed in San Diego, thanks to the foresight of another minor league lifer, longtime GM-Bob Ferguson, who scouted, scoped him out, and coached against him in the minors. Enemy, became friend, became confidant, begetting success with the Gulls.

This isn’t just about wins and losses, though the (344-237-64) career record in the AHL is impressive, when you consider the turnstyle rosters AHL teams have with callups, injuries and trades.

It might be the toughest place to coach anywhere. Half the players want out and want to go to the NHL. The other half are pissed they are in the AHL not the NHL, and you never know one day to the next at practice, who is on your roster.

The eclectic Eakins invoked all things learned from Captain Video (Neilsen) about the approach to the game, what the room should be like, and how to push different buttons on different players. He was coaching a global roster, from the US-Canada-Europe-Russia, teeagers to college grads, Canadian juniors to a foreign legion of talent. 1st round picks to fringe people.

It wasn’t just time at the rink, but how you conducted life away from the rink, with the vision of where you wanted to be. Eakins gave his really young roster a blueprint, and challenged them to deal with it.

Last checked, 28-Gulls played up in Anaheim over the last two years, including a core who helped an NHL playoff run, and a host of high draft picks who had good seasons this past winter in San Diego. Yes he was given talent, but yes he molded that talent..

You ask John Gibson, Nick Ritchie, Shea Theodore, Brandon Montour, Kevin Boyle, Kallie Kosilla and a host of other former Gulls, about that coaches impact, and they rave, not just about Xs and Os, but the ABC’s of being a man or a father, a friend or a teammate..

Eakins isn’t the first to leave here to go to the show, but maybe the most successful.. But he leaves a bit of a legacy with a (154-94-23) record with the guys wearing Orange.

Donnie Waddell led the Gulls back to the ice as GM-and-Coach, when it was in the International Hockey League, then played in the far flung West Coast and East Coast Leagues, before the franchise folded in a sea of red-ink.

Waddell is now GM and President of the Carolina Hurricanes. Rick Dudley, a longtime standout player in the NHL-WHA, was here as a coach, and went to Tampa Bay. Mike Ramsey, the ex-Buffalo Sabre, coached here and went back to the Minnesota Wild. Lindy Ruff was here and wound up in Buffalo as head coach.

This won’t be easy. The Ducks have age and injury and salary cap challenges. They have older players who seemed to wave a white flag last year. They have tons of young players, most already schooled in the Eakins Encycolpedia way of doing things.

Anaheim surely isn’t forever down-trodden. But if they can flip Winnipeg, rebuild Montreal, fix Ottawa, overhaul the Kings, or take last place St Louis to the Blues raising the Cup, then Anaheim can rebound.

Violating the rule ‘no cheering in the pressbox’…yes I am. Dallas Eakins caused all this with with his personality, philosophy and hockey lifestyle.

A good guy, a better man, who deserved something good to happen to him, Eakins and the Ducks head coaching job.

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“Baseball’s Crisis–Cloud Cover & Sunshine State”

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The problems have existed for a long time. They don’t seem to be going away.

Baseball in South Florida is not working, despite a new stadium, winning seasons, World Series appearances, and ownership changes.

I would have never imagined decades upon decades of problems would make Miami a sinkhole of major league support.

I would have never thought a big area like Tampa Bay would continue to watch games on TV in record setting numbers, but never show up at Tropicana Field to see a pennant contender.

Baseball is proposing that the Rays open talks with a Montreal consortium to play a split schedule, to solve attendance problems, seek the construction of new open air stadiums, and to revisit a very different market, they exited in 2004, Montreal Quebec.

Baseball has already signed off on the sale of the struggling Marlins from much hated owner Jeffrey Loria, to a group led by Yankees legend Derek Jeter. He has embarked on a massive rebuilding campaign, signing international players, and building thru the draft.

The two markets are very different. It is odd the Latin American community that makes up the Miami population base, no longer cares about baseball. Those generations of families, who came from Cuba, have found other things to do with their lives. The Marlins fire sales of the World Series team, damaged the following. It has not recovered, the proof in the pudding being average attendance this year around 9440-fans per game.

In Tampa-St Petersburg, retirement communities for sure, they have not responded to even the winning teams the Rays have put on the field., in what seems a hopeless situation.. Despite winning seasons, the Rays have the second worst attendance in baseball, just over 14,000 a game.

Miami built a new stadium, but put it on the sight of the old Orange Bowl, in a ghetto like area of blight. Fans don’t want to go there, and the team keeps losing and losing.

The Rays play in the old Sundome, very hard to get to in rush-hour traffic, A struggle to cross the bridges in rush-hour, fans stay away, despite the quality of the product on the field.

The commissioner’s office seems to think this is a problem local ownership and government have to solve, but it’s baseball’s problem really, when two franchises do’t produce the revenue virtually all the other teams create.. Building stadiums, and rebuilding organizations are both than just what Miami and Tampa get done.

The Montreal idea is novel, though some think absurd. There is no stadium in Montreal aside from the aging cement block structure that is the Olympic Stadium, former home of the Expos. That franchise left with ownership-financial problems.

The Canadian dollar has bounced back. Montreal has become a prosperous community again. It has become a dynamic French-Anglophone community, no longer split apart by Quebec sepeartisits.

Stephen Bronfman, son of the former Expos owner, has surfaced with a six member group that has the rights to develop the land for a new open aired stadium. Rays owner Stuart Sternberg will meet with Bronfman to develop a game plan to play a split schedule between the Quebec city and the Suncoast.

There are other cities yearning for an opportunity for a franchise. Las Vegas, which gets things built (hockey arenas-NFL stadiums)…..fast growing Charlotte….and Portland. But in each case, there is no ready made stadium available.

Where does this go from here. It will be a slow-go probe of the Montreal-Tampa Bay idea.

All teams in baseball now make money, but Miami-Tampa Bay are at the bottom in revenue producing, for lots of different reasons.

But patience has also led to better situations, whether it was the sad-sack Padres, the forever troubled Minnesota Twins, the once proud Giants and more. Pittsburgh came back. Baltimore will come back, Kansas City hopes to come back. But those cities have drawn in the past. Miami and Tampa have never..

No easy answers. No instant solutions. And likely, still lots of empty suits in Miami and Tampa Bay.

Would have never thought we’d see that in the Sunshine state.

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“BASEBALL REPORT CARD”

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1st days of summer, time for mid-season evaluation baseball.

PADRES….A solid first half from the collection of young arms they stockpiled. By August this team could have as many as 7-starting pitchers you can trust in the rotation. Shall be interesting to see if they try to move Wil Myers, an enigma, at the trading deadline to someone in the American League. Eric Hosmer-Manny Machado strong seasons. Fernando Tatis emerging rookie star.

DODGERS…Great 1st half, despite little input from 3B-Justin Turner, not having a star at 2nd base and revolving door at catcher. Frontline starting pitchers superb, a different Clayton Kershaw, a healthy Hyun Jin-Ryu, Kenta Maeda and Walker Beuhler, but now they’ve lost Rich Hill. Bullpen the issue going forward. Losing Corey Seager hurts for the next 6-weeks. Good enough to play in Fall Classic if healthy.

ANGELS…How much can Mike Trout do by himself? GM-Billy Eppler burned alot of money (20M) and gotten virtually nothing from investments in Matt Harvey-Trevor Cahill and since released Cody Allen. Great bounceback year from Shohei Ohtani, and now Justin Upton back from disabled list. But those guys can’t pitch..

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YANKEES…50-wins already with a better team on the DL than on active roster. Now you get Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Didi Gregorious, Gary Sanchez back, though Miguel Andujar gone for extended time. Very good batting order, now we see if there’s a deal coming for more pitching.

TAMPA BAY…No-name offense that produces. Young pitching staff, though longterm loss of Tyler Glasnow hurts. Sadly, no-one coming to see Rays at Tropicana Field, so now we deal with these ‘Montreal move’ rumors.

BOSTON…Not the same team as a year ago, especially in the home run hitting department. Chris Sale finally healthy, but back of rotation thin, bullpen thinner too. Waiting for power department to flip a switch. Think about JD Martinez, Betts, Devers, Benetendi, Bogaerts and more. Still think they will hit before it’s over.

HOUSTON…Lots of bats, pitching has been beaten up with nagging injuries, but now they are getting healthy. Altuve, Springer, Correa, Bregman and the cast, look ready to regain superior standing in American League.

MINNESOTA…has to be surprise team of season. Nelson Cruz-CJ Cron short rentals making a big difference, especially with long term ailment that kept Miguel Sano out months and months. Max Keplar and others unsung heroes, and a starting staff no one can name.

TORONTO…Vlad Guerrero has arrived, but with a rotation built around Aaron Sanchez and old men Clayton Richard-Edwin Jackson, you knew it might not be a good year. Thank goodness for the Raptors and Maple Leafs.

CLEVELAND…Way for ownership to tear down first place team, and then watch three of starting five in the rotation go on the disalbled list. No wonder fans don’t show up. Tough year for Terry Francona.

A’S…Didn’t have enough pitching last year in the 90-win season, have even less this year, with Sean Manaea yet to return. Khris Davis and Stephen Piscotty strong seasons, but streaky team this year.

TEXAS…Not sure what we are seeing in Metroplex. Good everyday young players, Gallo-Odor-Guzman etc, but not enough pitching. Guess you could call this a transition year or two there.

WHITE SOX…Half way thru a rebuild, and do like Eloy Jiminez and Yoan Moncada and old man Jose Abreu, but really need more pitching to take it to next level.

SEATTLE…How did this team ever go (13-2) out of the box? Likely to deal more people away at the deadline following trade of Edwin Encarnarcion. Not having vintage Felix Hernandez, having traded James Paxton, what did you expect? Lots of money to Japanese veteran Yusei Kikuchi-not great results yet. GM-Jerry DiPoto should be on the hot seat.

DETROIT…This will be a long time fix. 4-of-5 top starting pitchers are on the disabled list. Not alot of young everyday stars have arrived yet at Comerica Park. They need Michael Fulmer back healthy..they need 1st round pick Casey Mize to arrive sooner than later

KANSAS CITY….Nice years are over, the ones with Eric Hosmer, Mike Moutstakas, Alex Gordon. Losing all star C-Sal Perez in spring destroyed hopes. Roster devoid of talent, but farm system may deliver shortly. Can GM-Drayton Moore suvvive all this?

ORIOLES….Headed for a disastrous season again, considering last year’s 115-loss campaign. Better hope new GM-Mike Elias knows how to scout. This will take forever for Baltimore fans to embrace..

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PHILLIES….The excitement over the 330M-signing of Bryce Harper wore off after the first month, when he was dragging a (.246) batting average around. Rhys Hoskins and others have hit better with him in the lineup, but the pitching after Aaron Nola has been hurt more than anything. Disappointment of a season for sure. Is Gabe Kaplar the right leader?

CUBS..Has taken them half a year to get everyone healthy, and now they are hitting. Javy Baez having star-season, to help Anthony Rizzo-Kris Bryant. Starting rotation solid, but not dominant despite Jon Lester-Cole Hamels. Bullpen torn apart by injuries. Just not a full team yet. Wonder if Joe Madden job in jeopardy?

BRAVES…Kids have arrived and flourishing around Freddie Freeman. Josh Donaldson bounce back season. Ron Acuna and young friends hitting well. Starting pitching gets a boost with Dallas Keuchel arrival. Could be a force by the end of the season.

ROCKIES….Hanging tough with troubled pitching staff beyond ace Jon Gray. Kyle Freeland disappeared after last year breakout season. Different type of batting order around Nolan Arenado, but could still be in wildcard race if arms bounce back to equal bats.

CARDINALS…a struggle of a first half with injuries to pitching staff, and not alot of support for Paul Goldschmidt. But Marcel Ozuna, Matt Carpenter, Dexter Fowler and others can heat up and make a difference in the second half. Issues with Carlos Martinez-Adam Wainwright really hurt team.

BREWERS….Last year’s ‘Cindarella’ team has seen wheels fall off a bit. Christian Yelich tremendous superstar season, but team not hitting consistently around him. Mike Moustakas solid addition, Yasmani Grandal-streaky addition. Need to find more pitching to support ace Brandon Woodruff. Waiting for entire batting order to come together.

WASHINGTON….Stunned to see a season of struggles, with a big three pitching rotation of Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasbug, Patrick Corbin, but alot of money tied up in pitching. Bullpen has been disaster-disgrace. Jury still out on manager Dave Martinez too. Organization has slipped after good job done by Mike Rizzo early.

METS…Wasting a season with Noah Syndegaard-Jacob deGrom at the top of the rotation. Tremendous rookie season from free swinging Peter Alonso, but devastating injuries to Yoenis Cespedes, Robbie Cano, Todd Frazier set this team back. Still to be decided, is Mickey Calloway right guy to be manager?

REDS…Better first half than anyone thought, and still not dominant season from Joey Votto nor Yasiel Puig. Star pitching still a shortcoming, and not having leader Scooter Gennett has hurt team. People like manager David Bell.

PIRATES….Josh Bell and the bangers have been fun to watch. Pitching depth still an issue for a team that dealt away Garrett Cole amongst others. Injury issues to young pitchers in farm system also slowed growth of team.

ARIZONA….Life after Pat Corbin-Paul Goldschmidt hasn’t been as bad as first feared. Still really thin on pitching after Zach Grienke has given you all his innings. Not alot of hitting stars in the lineup. Thank goodness for David Peralta.

GIANTS…Madison Bumgarner likely in final month of career in San Francisco, likely trade bait before free agency. Farm system withered over last couple of years. Not much talent in chain, nor on roster, as witnessed by 14-different oufielders and 5-different catchers this year, plus lack of pitching depth. Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford, Buster Posey all been banged up, and can’t do it by themsevles. Lousy way for Bruce Bochy to end of great managerial career.

MARLINS….Derek Jeter has a game plan with young players. Some here now, others on way. Some kids look good, Garrett Cooper, Harold Martinez, Brian Anderson, Just not enough major league talent on roster, and surely no one in the stands, with attendance (9,665) in a brand new stadium. Poor Don Mattingly has signed on for something that is going to take forever.

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