How Good Are the 2021 LA Dodgers?

A friend who is a Padres fan sent me an email saying he thinks the Dodgers of 2020-2021 are one of the truly great teams in baseball history, and asked for my evaluation of that statement, comparing today's LA team to the 1998 Yankees, the team he feels were the best team he ever saw since he started paying attention to baseball in the late 1950s. Today's blog shares with you my answer to him.

 

I do believe the current Dodgers are a great team. They were first in scoring and ERA, and by one of the biggest ratios ever. They're in a league with the 1936 Yankees in that regard.

A few things to keep in mind. The first thing is that the season will tell. They (LA) were on a 116 win pace last year, which would tie for best all time. But it was a very unusual year with the Covid situation. It's always tough to compare teams from different eras. The 1998 Yankees were first in runs and first in ERA in the league that year, so they were certainly great. They were also at the height of the steroid period, so their numbers have to be regarded as suspect.

Comparing rosters, C I think Will Smith can hit like Jorge Posada. 1B Max Muncy has more power than Tino Martinez, and walks like a madman, but Martinez hit for a higher average. Definitely at least comparable. 2B Chris Taylor is a better player than Chuck Knoblauch. SS Corey Seager can hit like Derek Jeter, and for more power. Seager is fine defensively but Jeter was better with the glove and stole bases too. They're both hall of fame caliber, but if I had to pick one it would be Jeter. 3B I'd take Justin Turner over Scott Brosius. LF Definitely AJ Pollock over Chad Curtis. CF Bernie Williams was a terrific player but I'll take the monstrous power and astounding defense Cody Bellinger brings. RF Again, Paul O'Neill was an excellent player but Mookie Betts is other-worldly. Like Jackie Robinson, he can (and regularly does) turn a game around all by himself. 

When you get to the pitching rotations, both are excellent. From most to least in innings pitched, the Yanks had Andy Pettitte 16-11 4.24, David Wells 18-4 3.49, David Cone 20-7 3.55, Hideki Irabu 13-9 4.06 and Orlando Hernandez 12-4 3.13.  I'll bet money that the quintet of Clayton Kershaw, Trevor Bauer, Walker Buehler, Julio Urias and Dustin May will beat the Yankee ERAs, and comparing across the board at least four of them will beat their Yankee counterparts head to head. 

As for the relief closers, the Kenley Jansen of 2017 (1.32 ERA, and earlier years) was as good as Rivera, but not any more. Mariano definitely gets the nod at closer.So, across the board, the 2021 LA Dodgers to me overall appear to be better than the 1998 Yankees. They are one of the most talented teams ever. Now they just have to keep proving that, on the field.

I'm Done with Football

I like football as much as the next guy.  I played as a senior in high school and have attended five or six pro games, including home games for the LA Rams, Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers.  I've gone to quite a few major college games, at USC, UCLA, Fresno State, and even one at Syracuse.  I've usually attended one or two community college games a season here in Visalia to see the College of the Sequoias Giants.  I played in fantasy football leagues for about six years.  The last few years I haven't paid much attention to pro games until the playoffs, but I've been a regular for Ohio State games on television and most of the bowl games too.  But I'm taking the plunge this year.  I will be paying no attention to football.   

That's because of the increasing evidence of serious brain injuries associated with football.  The massive class action lawsuit and payout by the NFL is the tip of the iceberg.  It seems recurrent concussions and resulting dementia have been pretty common and are now coming out in the open.  Junior Seau's suicide and donation of his brain to research provided a watershed moment and an undeniable wake up call about what's been going on.

I just can't patronize a sport that is so destructive to people anymore.  It's worse than the ruined knees, for brain injury robs a person of who they essentially are, and it doesn't get worse than that.  I haven't paid any attention to boxing and am repelled by the anything-goes cage fighting and "mixed martial arts" combats too.  That sort of thing is reminiscent to me of the Roman Colosseum, a reversion to primitive bloodletting.  But football has a lot of redeeming qualities: the grace of the receivers, the strategy, the teamwork, the cat and mouse of play selection and defensive anticipation.  But it's all undone when too many young men become the equivalent of drooling octogenarians in their forties and fifties.  I can't countenance my time, attention, support and money going to advance that cause. No game is worth that, and until they find a way to truly protect the brain from that kind of abuse they're just going to have to get along without me.      

Beckett Enters Dodger Lore with No-Hitter

I'm jazzed today due to Dodger pitcher Josh Beckett's no hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies.  I got to hear most of the 6-0 Los Angeles victory on the radio.  No-hitters are rare in baseball.  The last one thrown by a Dodger pitcher was by Hideo Nomo in 1996.  It's pretty close to the pinnacle achievement a pitcher can reach in one game.  Most hurlers, even good ones, never toss a no-hitter in their entire careers.  Don Drysdale and Don Sutton are two Dodger pitchers of the past whose careers were stellar enough that both are enshrined forever in the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Together they have over 500 victories between them.  Yet neither ever kept an opposing lineup of big league hitters without a single base hit over the course of a full nine-inning game.

Beckett's achievement is particularly remarkable considering a year ago it was an even bet his career was over.  He had lost feeling in his right hand to grip the ball, and was shut down for the season after starting out with a record of 0-5.  It was determined he had a nerve impingement, and he decided on radical surgery wherein doctors removed one of his ribs in an effort to unblock the nerve signals to his hand.  Amazingly, the operation worked.  With today's game Beckett has run his record to 3-1 with an excellent earned run average of just 2.43 runs per nine innings.  These are some of the little joys that can brighten an otherwise ordinary day, punctuated many are with the depressing news items we so often are confronted with.

 

Happy Birthday, Vin Scully!

Yesterday Vin Scully celebrated his 85th birthday.  The Los Angeles Dodgers Hall of Fame broadcaster was born November 29, 1927 in New York.  Some of my earliest memories are of listening to him at home as a boy on summer evenings as he recounted the baseball exploits of Sandy Koufax, Junior Gilliam, Don Drysdale, Maury Wills, Tommy Davis, Duke Snider and the rest of the boys in blue.  Three generations of Southern Californians have cherished Scully as a dear friend for 54 years.  Before that, he called the games for the Dodgers for 8 years when they were still in Brooklyn.  His service of 62 years with the same team is a record without parallel in sports.

Vinny has been acclaimed as the greatest baseball announcer of all time.  He calls a game simply but vividly in an expressive tenor.  He is personal and personable.  "Good evening to you, wherever you may be," he often starts out, "time to pull up a chair and settle down for a fine matchup tonight." References to poetry, songs, literature, and anecdotes about the players, both Dodgers and opponents, and even the umpires, spice up the narrative.  Sixty-two years of history and memory serve to weave  the mystique and nostalgia that is so much of baseball in Scully's rich tapestry.  We hear comparisons of Albert Pujols to Henry Aaron, or how a current player's stance, technique or demeanor is remindful of Jackie Robinson, Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays.  He is not a "homer;" he calls a game even-handedly and gives due credit to the achievements of the worthy foes as well as the Dodgers. 

It's been a wonder to hear this friendly and intimate voice for over fifty years, and it's clear that each new year is a gift.  These days Vin is on contract a year at a time, depending on whether he thinks he can still keep up.  He doesn't go on road trips east of the Mississippi any more.  I feel like he's my friend, though I've never met him.  I'm sure I'm not the only one, considering the fact that he once won a fan vote as the favorite all-time Dodger--yes, as a write-in over the team's great star players!  He always did such a wonderful job he was even given special contracts by the networks to do the major golf tournaments, world series and the super bowl.  You can click on the next link to hear a local Los Angeles sportscast from his birthday last year play their list of his 5 greatest calls.

All in all it's been a marvelous life for the self-described "scrawny, red-headed, left-handed kid who couldn't hit" to be such a big part of the game he loves for better than six decades.  Even more, not only has he lived those 62 years of joy, he's brought his warmth, love of the game and love of people into the cars, living rooms, headsets and hearts of millions with him along the way.   

I Love the Olympics

I love the Olympic Games. I love seeing people of every country from all parts of the world. I love the gripping suspense. I stand in awe at the incredible dedication it takes for someone to qualify and prepare to compete in the Olympics, and I love the personal profiles of the participants. Summer games or winter, Atlanta or Athens, Nagano or Vancouver, I love them all.

I heard an analyst saying the athletes in a certain event (it might have been speed skating) burn 10,000 calories a day. They said that's the equivalent of five pounds of chocolate a day. I saw the feature on the great swimmer Michael Phelps before the last summer games showing what he ate in an average twenty-four hours. It was a good solid four hours a day just to keep himself fueled.

I love the oldster coming back trying to hang on just as much as the sixteen-year-old there for the first time. The poetry of figure skating, the rough and tumble of hockey, the violence of boxing, the nimbleness of badminton or short track and the indomitable endurance of marathoners or cross country skiers are all compelling. We are privileged to see incredibly talented and motivated young people showing us the limits of what the human species is physically capable. We also see those who have no realistic shot at a medal who nonetheless have given all they have for years to get there and participate. I salute them perhaps most of all.

And I also love rooting for my country. The clean competition is a good substitute for international conflict and the unity we feel in pulling for our people and teams is a welcome respite from some of our societal loggerheads. I appreciate the athletes from all nations, but it's been extra special this week to see luminaries like Apolo Anton Ohno, Lindsay Vonn, Bode Miller, Shaun White and the US hockey team bringing home the medals and doing so well.

For eighteen days every two years my wife and I spend a lot of time in front of the television watching the drama of the fastest, strongest, most graceful and best in the world live their dreams. I, for one, can't get enough of it. The Greeks came up with a spectacularly good idea in 776 B.C., and Baron de Coubertain did the world an immense favor in reviving the tradition in 1896 A.D. What a panoply, what a spectacle, what a hoot. How I love it!

A Worthy Championship Game

Tonight's BCS Championship Game displayed a fine exhibition of college football at its best. The Florida Gators prevailed over the Oklahoma Sooners 24-14 in a game most experts picked correctly as a close Florida win. What few certainly expected was such a low-scoring game between teams that averaged 45 (Gators) and 50 (Sooners) points a game.

There was a high level of skill at all positions. The lines, linebackers and offensive and defensive backs and ends were sharp and well-coached. Even the punters were excellent. It's easy to see that the top programs in college football have their pick from among the premium athletes. Without a "draft order" such as pro sports teams have, the top 12-15 schools can corner a very high proportion of the nation's best high school talent.

After watching parts of most of the 34 bowl games this year and seeing what other schools had to work with, the difference is clear. The players at this level are not only bigger, but the big guys have agility that the ones at lower levels don't. The receivers consistently make tough catches in traffic. The quarterbacks have arms strong enough to get the ball far downfield and to zip it through tight coverage. And the ball carriers and defensive backs have lightning in their legs.

What is predictable and rather disappointing is how the commentators award practically all the credit to the offense, and the quarterback in particular. Oklahoma typically gives up about the same number of points Florida scored on them in this game. They lost not because Tim Tebow, who played a grittily effective game, led the Gators to 24 points but because the Florida defense held the nation's highest-scoring offense led by Heisman-Trophy-winning quarterback Sam Bradford to only two touchdowns. Oklahoma this year averaged 35 points by halftime!

The Oklahoma attack looked highly efficient in the beginning but ground down. Early in the game Florida stuffed it in four tries at the goal line. Later they blocked a field goal. At a critical juncture a defensive back showed cobra reflexes in ripping a reception out of the hands of an All-American end as both hurtled though the air for a drive-killing interception.

The game was suspenseful and close because the defenses kept both explosive offenses under control most of the time. They had to earn every yard tonight, and even when big plays moved the ball down the field, more often than not the defenses dug in and refused to give up a touchdown. In a game like this I wish they'd give a little more love to the defenders--tonight's unsung heroes.

Going to the Big Game

My wife and I will be joining another couple this evening for one of the great American fall rituals: college football. Our local heroes, the Fresno State (California) Bulldogs are hosting the University of Wisconsin Badgers. Bulldog Stadium will be a sea of red as 2,500 traveling Badger boosters and 42,000 Bulldog faithful, almost all clad in crimson on both sides, cheer on their teams.

This is actually an important contest as these things go. Wisconsin is ranked tenth in the country. They need to win their third straight game to enter Big 10 Conference play with momentum. What is more, if they want (as they certainly do!) to finish the season with a trip to one of the major Bowl Championship Series games, they can ill afford to lose a game to a team like Fresno State from a "mid-major" conference. Such schools rank a notch below the vaunted BCS conference squads. The BCS bowls in early January on prime time are not only financially lucrative for the athletic program and the university, they also showcase your team for the best high school players in the country, who will then be more likely recruitment targets to keep the team strong.

The fear for Wisconsin is that Fresno State is much better than the typical non-BCS conference team. They are good enough to win, particularly in front of their maniacally noisy fans. We'll try to be four of them, for that matter. Fresno State has pulled upsets of BCS schools before, thirteen times since head coach Pat Hill arrived in 1997, in fact, including their last game vs. well-regarded Rutgers. So the Badgers likely have a tougher game ahead of them than they would like for a non-conference contest. They are "expected" to win by most of the pundits and will get little credit for doing so, but a defeat would be devastating for them. If it stays close, the longer it does the greater the pressure on the visitors with a ranking to protect.

From Fresno's perspective, this is the kind of game that could vault them into serious consideration for a BCS bowl game berth themselves. The have actually beaten Wisconsin before, but not when the Badgers were ranked as highly as this. If they were to knock off Wisconsin after defeating Rutgers on the road and follow that up with wins over another of the perennially best mid-major schools, Toledo, next week and then UCLA of the great PAC-10 conference the next week, the Bulldogs would be set up to go to the first BCS bowl of their history. The financial and recruiting impact to a school like theirs would be relatively even greater than for a major conference university like Wisconsin. This is the team that has nothing to lose and everything to gain and will play with reckless abandon.

More than this, college football has a great atmosphere that professional football, for example, cannot really duplicate. The bands, cheer squads, alumni, and current students have a sense of community beyond just the football team. There is the sense that the team and game stand for something beyond themselves, an institution of higher learning whose purposes dwarf the outcome of a game. You see this on the way into a college game, as you walk past not the sterile environment of a downtown pro stadium with its adjacent parking garages and city streets, but over lawns flanked by tradition-laden ivy-covered walls or cutting edge scientific laboratories.

I can hardly wait to smell the hot dogs and hear the bands. Speaking of which, Wisconsin has one of the great school fight songs in the nation, and they use it to celebrate when they score. I'm hoping we don't hear it played too much today.