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“Dodgers Blue–Lots of Green”

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The rich get richer in baseball, because they have the money.

The Dodgers outbid 4-other teams, and traded for Orioles All Star shortstop Manny Machado.

They fill a gaping hole in the infield, created when Corey Seager needed elbow surgery early in the year.

Somehow, the leadership of the last place Orioles, didn’t get any ready-made major league players for Machado, in the final year of his contract. Maybe that’s why Baltimore is some 42-games below .500 in the standings at the All Star break.

They settled for 4-prospects from Class A ball, and a Triple A-journeyuman infielder.
Do you know how far away Rancho Cucamonga is from Baltimore? And I’m not talking miles, I’m talking talent.

How could Baltimore make a deal that did not include a cornerstone young major leaguer. LA still has P-Walker Beuhler, OF-Yasiel Puig, OF-Joc Pederson,, OF-Alex Verdugo, and P-Julio Ulias. The Orioles got none of them in the package.

They wound up top rated young OF-Yusniel Diaz, a .300-hitter with 20-homers, and highly regarded in Class A. A Cuban prospect who was given a 15M-signing bonus package a couple of years ago.

The Birds also got Class A-pitchers, Dean Kremer (5-3)….P-Zach Pope (1.04-7 saves)….3B-Ryan Banner (.296-20HR) ….and veteran AAA-3B-Breyvic Valera.

The deal looks like armed robbery in LA.

Of course the Dodgers will have to find a way to sign Machado to a big free agent contract extension, shelling out big money to him, much like they will have to. to keep iconic pitcher Clayton Kershaw.

The Dodgers have a history of being bold at the trading deadline. Last year they traded for Texas P-Yu Darvish in a deal that cost them top young outfielder Willie Calhoun. Dervish helped get them to the World Series, but then went down in a flames, got hurt, and left for the Cubs as a free agent.

Prior to that, LA made deals a couple of a years ago at the deadline for starter Rich Hill and outfielder Josh Roddick from the A’s for two top minor league pitchers..

LA’s deadline trades include deals for Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, all in deals with the Red Sox in years gone by..

No one has forgotten the arrival of Manny Ramirez, in a short rental, that was spectacular acquisition. You remember Mannywood in Hollywood?

Insurance policy pitchers Brandon McCarthy and Brett Anderson were also LA late additions in other years.

It’s the law of the land. Big money clubs, willing to take on salaries, made these type of deals to drive home a chance to go deep into postseason. It drives home the brutal disparity that still exists in the game, big market-vs-small market. The 197M payroll LA has compared to the 75M the Padres put out on the field.

The rich get richer, and the poor, in this case the Orioles, get poorer. So do a lot of other franchises, who cannot compete at this level, including the swing-and-miss Padres, whose mail is still being sent to ‘last place-National League West’.

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:Baseball-If I Were King”

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The All Star Game was about big plays, Home Run Derby, the Futures Game, and the leaders of the game sounding off.

Tony Clark, head of the Union, and Commissioner Rob Manfred both had lots to say yesterday about the state of the game.

I will have my say now about what they’re saying.

DESIGNATED HITTER…..Makes alot of sense to me to have the DH in both leagues. Some will argue same rules in the game for both the NL-AL. I say there’s no excitement in having National League pitchers, with a combined batting average of (.077) coming to the plate eight times a game. The DH allows you to keep great players in the game (Albert Pujols) to do one thing hit, even if they cannot do other things, fielding, very well. Why not add 15-quality veterans to NL rosters. Makes the game better?

THE SHIFT…..Alot of barking about what analytics have done to the game, never more so than the defensive shift. Five years ago, it was employed 2,400 times in a season. This last year, the shift was employed 36,000 times bymajor league managers. And hitters, against the shift, hit a combined (.234) last year. It’s taken some of the electricity out of offenses.

HOW TO CHANGE IT…Do you ban it completely, I would, but baseball is talking about allowing a 3rd infielder to stand behind 2nd base, and the 1st and 2nd baseman cannot be on the outfield grass. Maybe all three fielders have to be on the dirt, and no one in the outfield. This will be debated, unless you outlaw it completely.

PACE OF PLAY….The :20 pitch clock is coming. The new rules to speed up the game, linmiting mound visits, cutting time between half innings, has worked. The games, that were at (3:05) last season are at (2:59:30) this year, and the games seem quicker. Adopt the minor league pitch clock, that is working down there, up here and further refine the game.

PITCHING CHANGES…Cannot tamper with anything that interrupts the strategy of the game. You cannot outlaw the Bruce Bochy rule (use 3-relievers in an inning)…just like you shouldn’t outlaw pitching matchups (lefty-vs-lefty) things like that. Managers have only so many arms in the bullpen, don’t tamper with how they use them.

25 MAN ROSTER….With the injury factor growing, especially with pitchers injuries, shouldn’t baseball consider a 26-or-27 man roster for the entire season. It helps with the wear and tear factor for sure. especially with staffs likely to go to twelve pitchers for team. And the Union should be happy, two more major league roster jobs per club, that’s 60-new jobs a year.

40 MAN ROSTERS….Who cares how many are on your protected list. Expand it to 50 players on the protected list, so therefore you can call up and send out players, without the juggling act of putting guys on waivers. It halps GMs do their job, and gives managers more access to players. Look at the DL list, (Angels have 17-on theirs) and tell me it wouldn’t make the job better for front offices and players.

EXPANSION….It should come, but building stadiums have to come before expansion comes. MLB needs to be in the stadium construction business like the NFL. Pro football’s G-3 loan funds have helped alot franchises get stadiums built. MLB needs to be a partner to solve the A’s-Rays crisis in Oakland and Tampa, the expand to 32-teams..

EXPANSION CITIES…..The economy and life is different in Quebec now, and Montreal would be an ideal city. So possibly would be Portland and Charlotte. Now everyone wants to pile into Las Vegas. Mexico City seems a long shot, but it is a huge market. But the economy, the culture, and the safety issues all need to be evaluated. And of course (see last paragraph) the prospective cities have to get new stadium. Nobody wants to go back into Olympic Stadium in Quebec, and Azteca Stadium does not work in Mexico.

DRAFT PICK TRADES…..MLB is different than the NFL-NBA-NHL. You cannot trade draft picks. You can legislate laws, you are trying to legislate intelligence in baseball? Why not allow picks to be traded for veteran players? Makes the game more interesting. Helps teams that want veteran players. Allows others to stockpile young talent, that may or may not develop.

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“A Mid Summer Night’s Dream”

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The stars come out tonite in Washington. 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 at Marlins Park, the 88th meeting between the two leagues. Only once, in 1945, was the game postponed.

There have been controversies. Games rained out. Played in the rain. 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.

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.

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 tonight, 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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“Viva-La Bleu”

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it started with the world rooting for tiny Iceland.

It ended with the smallest country ever to play in the finals, Croatia, becoming the darlings.

But it was France, it’s firepower, its transition game, its explosiveness, raising the gold trophy in the middle of the pitch, with a dominant (4-2) win over the Croates.

It was a marvelous World Cup tourney, even without Team USA being part of it.

Fox TV did a spectacular job in coverage, play-by-play and in studio analysis.

The fans in the stands, wearing their colors, their hats, their painted faces. How could you not fall in love with the event.

The storylines were everywhere and worth paying attention too.

The noise in the stadium….the roaring mile of crowds watching on big screen televisions in the boulevard around the Eiffel Tower. The players running the field waving French flags. The pictures of the Champs-Elysee providing a memory for a lifetime.

The closing ceremony in the stadium was exceptional, even when the rainclouds opened up.

France, getting huge games from budding superstar Ky Mbappe and the resurgence of its big money international player Paul Pogba coupled with the consistency of Antoine Guetzemann..

Croatia, the former country cut out of the breakup of Yugoslavia, playing with passion and physicality wearing those red-and-white checkered shirts. The pride they will bring to their country, winning seven straight games till the finals. The tears in the eyes of their superstar Modric.

Belgium, with superb play from Romy Lekaku and Eden Hazard, scoring 3-goals in a row in an emotional come from behind win over Japan.

Russia’s run thru the tourney, with home field advantage bringing joy to its beleaguered homeland.

England, rebuilding with youth, with their finest run since 1966, led by Harry Kane and so many players who call the English Premeir League their home base.

There were enormous disappointments along the way.

Lionel Messi scoring just 1-goal for a disappointing Argentine side.

Cristiano Ronaldo had the 3-goal game in the sun, but it ended badly for Portugal.

Brazil heading home knowing their side is not what it used to be, the stain of a 7-1 blowout loss in the last world cup still in their mind.

Mexico came with so much promise, won their group, but you have to believe this was a disappointment for Chicharito and coach Osorio, for this was supposed to be the best team ever El Tri ever suited up. 7-World Cups later, they have never won a knockout game.

Spain was stained by the firing of their coach two days before the Cup began. And Diego Costa did not carry his team as expected.

Uruguay needed more help for Luis Suarez.

There were video replays that led to key goals, proving the VAR system works.

More than 60% of the goals came on corner kicks or set pieces.

10-games were decided in the 90th minute or later, something that never happened before.

And when it was over, France raised the Gold Cup a 2nd time in its storied history. Amid the heavy rain, the confetti and the mud, the flags, and what a dance on the field, iy end joy unmatched.

And we look forward to 2026, when the ‘Beautiful Game’ will come to the US-Canada-Mexico.

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“Names in the News”

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Here-there and everywhere.

NFL HALL OF FAME…..Retaliating against Terrell Owens decision to boycott the ceremonies in Canton is ridiculous. Why would the NFL elect not to even mention him in the Hall of Fame dinner when they hand out the yellow jackets? Why would they completely bypass him on induction day refusing to even mention his name, refusing to put together a highlife video. His on field accomplishments should be honored, regardless of whether he is in Canton or at UT-Chattanooga. Who’s the bigger embarrassment in all this?

HOME RUN DERBY SNUB…..It’s a popular event, a takeoff on the old Baseball tV show-Home Run Derby…but the stars aren’t showing up. Giancarlo Stanton, who put on a monster display two years at Petco Park isn’t going to participate. Neither is last year’s phenom Aaron Judge. Some players feel is wears you out; some fear injury; some don’t want to be embarrassed. Not what it used to be. The event is made for the fans. The players owe it to the fans.

SAN ANTONIO SHOWDOWN….The Kawhi Leonard story gets messier and messier. A quality player with a sterling reputation, demanding to be traded. Now refusing to meet with prospective teams that might want to deal for him. They want the right to see his medical records about his year long struggle with a quad injury. They want the right to to talk about a possible contract extension, so they are not just renting a player. And his reps refusing to do that, and threatening to sit out next year. Not very smart, in that if he refuses to play this final year of the Spurs contract, he still owes San Antonio another year on his contract. He’s not real smart of this action. His agents are even dumber for the tact they are using.

SAD DAY IN NHL….It appears the Ottawa Senators are about to trade the last star on their team, defenseman Erik Karlsson, who is headed to free agency after next season. Ottawa has moved a lot of players off the roster. They have questionable leadership in GM-Pierre Dorion, and shaky coaching in Guy Bouchard. Now Karlsson and star goalie Glen Anderson appear headed out of town. The franchise has never been the same since the passing of popular GM-Bryan Murray just a couple of years ago.

WILD WORLD CUP….Sunday’s game should be a dandy, France-vs-Croatia. The French, LeBleu, with a run and gun, fast break-transition offense, against Croatia with its physical grind it out style. Croatia has 3-straight come from behind overtime wins.. They physically pounded a great team from England. These two teams earned their way to the finals. Watching on TV this weekend will be Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Belgium, all talent-laden. too, who didn’t survive.

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