I love it. I have been waiting for this since the late 1970s when it was Billy Martin against Tommy Lasorda. Those were the days when Tommy John went toe to toe with Ron Guidry and when Steve Garvey and Reggie Jackson belted bombs across the diamond. Today, that fierceness is back with guys like Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts heating up the Dodgers lineup against the Yankees with the mighty Aaron Judge and young shortstop Anthony Volpe. This Yankees-Dodgers rivalry is fire. And it feels better than ever.
Writes the New York Post, "It is one of the most unique rivalries in all of sports, one that tugs at heartstrings and memory banks, and whenever there is a game and those two teams are on the field, it seems like it should be televised in black and white, feels like Mel Allen and Red Barber should share the call." And the games against the Dodgers yielded so many great moments like the only World Series perfect game in 1956.
Despite being one of the most well-known, well-established rivalries of all time, it has not been this anticipated since those days in the late 70s and early 80s. And no wonder. It has been some time since the Dodgers and Yankees were both this good at the same time. It has been some time since the Dodgers trotted into Yankee Stadium with this much confidence backed behind slugger Shohei Ohtani. And speaking of Ohtani, I don't remember a time when the Yankees sold an out of town jersey in their very own stadium team store. And a collaborative New Era cap featuring Judge and Ohtani on the front which is making Yankees fans dizzy.
As Fox Sports reports, "Judge and Ohtani are, without a doubt, the two faces of Major League Baseball, and the Yankees are taking advantage in what many perceive to be a peculiar way. First of all, the Yankees are selling Ohtani Dodgers jerseys in their own team store this weekend. But what got fans really riled up were the bodega-style hats featuring Judge's 99 and Ohtani's 17 side-by-side." One fan even called the hat a felony while another said "you have to pay Juan Soto somehow." Soto is eerily absent from the lineup with forearm inflammation. Probably the only downer for this well-anticipated and attended series.
The Saturday game was played under the lights, which is atypical for the Yankees on Saturdays. And this game has been featured among other must watch events: The London Series, The Belmont Stakes and yes, the Yankees vs. the Dodgers. Yankee Stadium is in a fan's word, "mobbed with so many Dodger fans" this weekend.
1941 was the first time the Bronx Bombers and "Dem Bums" faced one another in the World Series. Back then, they were cross-city rivals; now they a cross-country, bicoastal rivals, driving huge crowds whenever they have the chance to face one another. Altogether, the Yankees and the Dodgers have faced each other in the Fall Classic 11 times, with the Yankees dominating the Dodgers for most. Could this weekend be a preview of what's to come? With all the energy and excitement, one can only hope.
"I’ve always been very, very honest when people were saying, ‘Why aren’t they signing LeMahieu?’ I said, ‘Well, what’s the rush? The great (free agent) players are still out there. Trevor Bauer hasn’t signed. George Springer hasn’t signed. J.T. Realmuto hasn’t signed. And DJ hasn’t signed.’ Very slow-moving market. But if this slow-moving game of chicken that the Yankees and LeMahieu are playing with each other cost them the chance at Lindor, that’s a bad job,” said Kay on his radio show on Thursday via the New York Post.
He's absolutely right. Francisco Lindor was Plan B for the Yankees and now that this plan is no longer relevant thanks to cross-town rivals the New York Mets, the Yankees have to move quickly before, well you know.
“You can’t sit here until February and allow DJ LeMahieu to make a decision,” said Kay, who started his Thursday show an hour early to discuss the breaking Lindor news. “And if you’re DJ LeMahieu, you can’t sit there and let the Yankees play their game. They both have to come together: ‘What’s your best offer for me right now?’ reported the New York Post.
Source: Corey Sipkin
The Yankees and LeMahieu are about 25 million dollars apart as Joel Sherman of the Post shared back in mid-December. He went further to say, "If LeMahieu wants to go, teams like the Blue Jays, Dodgers, Giants and so many more will line up. He can play three positions well, hit like a batting champion and provide zero headaches in a clubhouse. Add that all up and why in the hell would the Yankees let go a player who has finished fourth and third in the AL MVP voting in his two years with the team? Money," Yep, drop the mike!
Bottom line, does Kay getting fired up do anything for us as fans? Yes. What about the Yankee front office? Maybe. And LeMahieu? Eh. This game of you want and we want needs to end. The Yankees need to sign LeMahieu. Them's the facts. Let's see if they can get this done by mid-week.
There are good baseball people... and then there are great ones. Tommy Lasorda was better than both. He was the ultimately legend, godfather of baseball... especially in my life, and now he is gone. He died today at the age of 93.
"He suffered a sudden cardiopulmonary arrest at his home Thursday night and was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later.
Lasorda was hospitalized on Nov. 8 with heart issues and didn't return home until Tuesday.
He managed the Dodgers from 1976 to 1996, winning two World Series titles, four National League pennants and eight division crowns. He was named NL Manager of the Year twice and won 1,599 career games."
For everyone who knew him, they loved him. And for me, while not a Dodger fan, I respected the hell out of him. He loved the game... that's what you want out of a player and manager.
Saturday marked the 70th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in major league baseball. The Dodgers paid tribute to Jackie’s legacy by unveiling a new bronze statue that will be on permanent display in the stadium’s left field pavilion.
Many baseball fans know Jackie’s story—after making his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, he quickly established himself as one of the best players in the game. He was praised for his poise, integrity, and work ethic as he integrated baseball. He’s often credited for paving the way for minorities to play professionally in other sports leagues.
The actual statue is quite impressive and shows a rookie Jackie Robinson stealing home plate—a pose that perfectly captures his hustle and competitive spirit. I’m honestly surprised it took this long for Jackie to get a statue at Dodger stadium—even Shaq got a statue at Staples Center before Jackie!—but glad that the new Dodger ownership and specifically Mark Walter recognized that this was something that needed to be done and invested the money to do it.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA Today Sports
The unveiling ceremony featured Jackie’s family—his wife Rachel is almost 95 years old and looks amazing—as well as Dodger royalty Sandy Koufax, Don Newcombe,Tommy Lasorda, and Vin Scully.
Vin, who was a young announcer when Jackie played, recalled the time Robinson had challenged him to a race on ice skates and told the audience of a darker story from Jackie’s playing days when he once received a serious death threat. Scully intimated that on the day the incident was supposed to take place, the locker room was extremely intense and quiet. The silence was finally broken by left fielder Gene Hermanski, who suggested that all the players wear number 42 so the would-be assassin wouldn’t know which one was Jackie Robinson.
“Now that seemed funny at the day,” said Scully. “In 2004, Gene Hermanski’s words in 1950 came to fruition. We’ll all wear number 42…And all across the country, in every major league ballpark, every player will be wearing 42.”
Engraved on Jackie’s statue is one of his famous quotes: “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” Jackie’s courage helped open the doors for so many people and created social change. His family continues to help others with the Jackie Robinson Foundation which provides college scholarships to young minorities.
When school ended in New York City this past June, I decided to take the kids to a Yankees game to celebrate. It turned out to be a great summer day for baseball. I decided to make it extra special by getting to the ballpark early, when the gates opened, to see if the kids could get some autographs. I had not done it in years, so I thought it would be fun. After we parked the car, walked to the ballpark, and got out to the seats, I was surprised at what I saw. The field was empty, except for some security personnel. Not a single player was out there giving autographs. I mean, what the heck?
One of my favorite parts of being part of Bleeding Yankee Blue is that we are focused on fans. The writers are fans and we write for the fans. It all comes from a love of the game and a love for the Yankees. Like any good father who loves baseball, I want to teach my kids about the beauty of the game and to share with them my love for the Yankees. I watch games with them and take them to the Stadium as often as I can. I get them T-shirts with their favorite players' names and numbers. Still, it's not the same as actually seeing players come out to say hi and sign a baseball or a program or a ticket.
I had a friend in college who loved the Yankees. One day she told me the story of the day she became a fan. When she was a little girl, she got to go to a game as part of a day camp field trip and the kids got to walk on the field. Apparently, somebody threw a ball where they shouldn't have and she got hit with it. She started to cry. A man in a Yankees uniform came over, said "Here you go, little girl" and handed her an autographed baseball. It was Billy Martin. She became a fan for life. I totally understand.
As I began to think about it, there are a lot of barriers we set up to keep kids from the ballpark and from the players. It already costs a small fortune just to take the whole family to the ballpark and get decent seats. Then you get there and batting practice is over before they open the gates. Don't even get me started on the moat. How hard would it be to have designated sections for kids to come close to the field to get autographs up until 1 hour before game time, like the way they let fans into Monument Park.
I think sometimes baseball believes they can do this without consequence. If they think they cannot lose a generation of fans, they'd better look at the baseball card industry and think again. When I was a kid, I could get a pack of cards with a stick of gum for a quarter. First, they priced the kids out of the market, then they reduced distribution of the cards, preferring to sell whole year lots. Not surprisingly, interest dropped precipitously. I asked my daughter Katheryn, "Do you know what a baseball card is?" She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head no.You reduce access, kids will lose interest, whether it's collectibles or the sport itself.
I am going to leave you with my favorite story on players signing autographs and taking care of the fans. It's the famous one that Tommy Lasorda used to tell his players each spring when he managed the Dodgers. Here is an excerpt (Source: Five Seasons (Roger Angell)):
Just before the game ended [Tom Lasorda] and some of his colleagues forehandedly stationed themselves beside a runway under the stands, where they could collect autographs from the players coming off the field. The game ended, the Giants came clattering by, and Tom extended his scorecard to the first hulking, bespiked hero to come in out of the sunshine.
“Can I have your autograph, please, mister?” he said.
“Outta my way, kid,” the Giant said, brushing past the boy.
When Tom Lasorda tells the story now, the shock of this moment is still visible on his face. “I couldn’t believe it,” he says. “Here was the first big-league player I’d ever seen up close—the first one I ever dared speak to—and what he did was shove me up against the wall. I think tears came to my eyes. I watched the guy as he went away toward the clubhouse and I noticed the number on his back—you know, like taking the license of a hit-and-run car. Later on, I looked at my program and got his name. It was Buster Maynard, who was an outfielder with the Giants then. I never forgot it.”
Seven or eight years went swiftly by (as they do in instructive, moral tales), during which time Tom Lasorda grew up to become a promising young pitcher in the Dodger organization. In the spring of 1949, he was a star with the Dodger farm team in Greenville, North Carolina, in the Sally League, and took the mound for the opening game of the season at Augusta, Georgia, facing the Augusta Yankees. Tom retired the first two batters, and then studied the third, a beefy right-handed veteran, as he stepped up to the box. The park loudspeaker made the introduction: “Now coming up to bat for the Yankees, Buster May-narrd, right field!”
Lasorda was transfixed. “I looked in,” he says, “and it was the same man!” The first pitch to Maynard nearly removed the button from the top of his cap. The second, behind his knees, inspired a beautiful sudden entrechat. The third, under the Adam’s apple, confirmed the message, and Maynard threw away his bat and charged the mound like a fighting bull entering the plaza in Seville. The squads spilled out onto the field and separated the two men, and only after a lengthy and disorderly interval was baseball resumed.
After the game, Lasorda was dressing in the visitor’s locker room when he was told that he had a caller at the door. It was Buster Maynard, who wore a peaceable but puzzled expression. “Listen, kid,” he said to Lasorda, “did I ever meet you before?” “Not exactly,” Tom said. “Did I bat against you someplace, maybe?” “Nope.” “Well, why were you tryin’ to take my head off out there?” Lasorda spread his hands wide. “You didn’t give me your autograph,” he said.
Tom Lasorda tells this story each spring to the new young players who make the Dodger club. “Always give an autograph when somebody asks you,” he says gravely. “You never can tell. In baseball anything can happen.”
--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Senior Staff Writer Follow me on Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
I happened to come across a tweet with this quote from the great Tommy Lasorda the other day. I love it.
When I have a locker room for a team, this will be in my locker room. After all, one day I hope to be a head varsity baseball coach. That quote also reminded me of something I saw following a baseball workout the other day.
“This is something I love to do and I think then you have that mindset, it lets you be free to go out there and compete. It lets you be free to do what a lot of people think you can’t do.”
If you love something and you have the determination to succeed, you will reach your highest level of achievement. What level is that? Hall of Famer? All-Star? Opening Day roster? Independent league? Beer League? What does it matter? What matters is that you follow through with something you love and you make it a goal to reach your highest level of achievement. That’s Tebow’s goal.
In football, Tebow reached his highest level while playing for Urban Meyer at the University of Florida. He won the National Championship with Florida in 2006 and 2008 and won the Heisman Trophy in 2007. Sure, he was drafted in 2010 in the first round by the Broncos and even led them to the playoffs, but he was never a great NFL QB. But he sure never gave up. He gave it his all and eventually was released for the last time in September 2015.
“When you don’t have that (fear) it lets you be able to be free to pursue life and what you’re passionate about, not what other people think you should do.” –Tim Tebow
Tebow never seemed to fear failure and always outworked everyone by all accounts. He was a success as far as I’m concerned. So who is to say that he is not going to be a successful professional ball player? How would he know what his ceiling, his highest possible level of achievement, could be if he didn’t give it a try?
“Regardless of it you fail or fall flat on your face, if that’s the worst thing that happens, that’s OK. When did that become such a bad thing?”
Some scouts say it was a waste of time while others say he has some serious raw power. How it will translate as a 29 year-old potential rookie, who knows. Maybe it ended with the workout, maybe it ends in an Independent league looking to sell tickets. Maybe it ends in the minors or an invitation to spring training. Maybe he even turns out to be a big leaguer.
But what we can say for certain is that he chased a dream and at the end of the day, he can never hang his head about that. Ever.
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
–Wayne Gretzky
I always have respected Tim Tebow and who he is. I’m not a very religious person necessarily, but I respect the deep faith he has. I respect the hard work and being a great role model. I respect that he put in a ton of work to be able to even have a shot to work out in front of dozens of scouts. Most people would never have even given the effort. He did.
Don’t underestimate determination, you just might surprise everyone.
--Dan Lucia, BYB Senior Writer Follow me on Twitter:@DManLucia
I really enjoy the BYB posts introducing the staff writers who contribute to the site each week. It’s yet another great way Casey has illustrated how Bleeding Yankee Blue is really a team in every sense of the word. From the Skipper on down to this reformed Irish hoodlum, BYB has baseball, heart and a real sense of community and family.
Recently you were introduced to staff writer Alexis Garcia, read MEET THE BYB FAMILY: INTERVIEW WITH ALEXIS GARCIA for that. One of the questions posed to the Los Angeles native and University of Texas alum (By the way a couple trips to the Series during her time there. Impressive to say the least.) was how could she convince me to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a chance.
Here's that exchange:
BYB: Mike O'Hara, a fellow BYB writer hates the Dodgers. Can you convince him to give them a shot?
Alexis Garcia: Mike, I would say hating the Dodgers is about
95% of being a Dodgers fan! Some of my best memories of going to games
was jeering that bum Kevin Brown while
stuffing Dodger dogs in my face. We have the money, we have the talent,
we have the best weather in the country, and yet we still manage to
choke in the off-season. We develop some of the best talent in the
league only to trade it away for players past their prime. It is this
frustration of constant under-performance that unites all of us Dodgers
fans! Also, we have Vin Scully.
It’s been fairly well documented that I am in no way, shape or form a Dodger fan. I have said, and will go on saying, that I’d rather hear the cheers on Yawkey Way and all over Bean Town than to see them happy at Chavez Ravine. Crazy? Not to me. It’s a long story, but I will explain so that you can understand why I “dislike” the Dodgers so much…I swear it’s not just an East Coast vs. West Coast thing.
First of all, the Dodgers hurt my feelings. That sounds childish, doesn’t it? Well, that stands to reason. I was merely a small child when the club that left Brooklyn beat my Yankees in the World Series. I sat on the floor of my folks’ bedroom and cried.
The Yankees weren’t a baseball team to me, they were superheroes. They couldn’t lose…could they? How did Reggie let me down? Who was this Penguin guy?
And could someone please get Lasorda off my TV screen ASAP! I carried that anger with me for years. It kind of subsided during time in grade school. I started to resent the Mets more…actually I resented my friends who jumped ship and started wearing Strawberry jerseys because the Yanks weren’t exactly the toast of the town any longer. I also NEVER allowed them to live it down when they wanted to come back to the Bronx in the mid 1990s.
Now, you’d think that I’d forget why I disliked LA so much over time, but as my Grandfather would say, “Only 2 creatures walking this planet that never forget. An elephant and an Irishman.” He was 100% correct. My feelings for the Dodgers were just hibernating. They would wake with vigor after I graduated college.
I’m an actor. I moved to Los Angeles, as so many in “The Biz” do, with my game face on. LA does have great weather. It is a trip to go to the market and notice that you are in the checkout line behind Jennifer Aniston, and it’s as if she is just any other person…though incredibly beautiful and pretty nice to boot.
She was very friendly when I placed the rubber divider on the conveyor belt so that her rice cakes and humus didn’t get mixed in with my Guinness, cold cuts, Guldens Mustard and Beefsteak Rye bread. Los Angeles is pretty much as you’d expect to be honest. The people are sort of different. They march to the beat of their own drum. I met a lot of great folks out there. When I got work it was a great time, but it also is a lonely town. Now that shouldn’t reflect on the Dodgers…but I allowed it to. That is not fair and I know it now.
I went to see my first Dodger game the weekend I moved out West. The Boys in Blue hosted the Pirates. I got to see that the Ravine is a great ballpark. It was before so of the recent renovations. The bullpens are still the worst in the league, but there aren’t any bad seats. You can get a great look at the game no matter where you sit.
Dodger Dogs? That is an ENTIRELY separate chapter in this story. My conclusion is LA fans KNOW that the Farmer John product is awful, but refuse to give in to that knowledge. LA does have a “little brother” complex about New York’s hot dog and Pizza Empire. FACT. Here’s a hint Dodger Concession Director. Have Pink’s supply the dogs. They ain’t Nathan’s, but it’d be a step in the right direction.
The pebble that began the avalanche of the return of my DODGER DISLIKE was the fans…there were so few 'actual' fans. I won’t say that there aren’t true blue Dodger fans. There are. They are knowledgeable, invested and all and all pretty friendly. The problem is they are outnumbered in a big way in their own ballpark. Fact. Often it’s by fans of the visiting club. The Mets, Cubs, Sox, Yanks, Phils and Giants all have transplants in the City of Angels and they show up. There is also the “To Be Seen” crowd. They don’t care who is playing; they just want to be at the party. You know the type. Every club has them, but LA REALLY has them. They show up in the 4th and leave in the 7th. They play with the beach balls.
They are on their cellphones. They have dinner reservations at Beso. They think Mike Piazza is still behind the plate. They quote “Naked Gun”…a lot! “Enrico Palazzo! He saved the queen!” Yep, that’s a good one. It’s almost as if MLB should talk to the NFL and ask, “Hey, why don’t you guys have a franchise here?” Fair? I don’t know. But it is what it is.
The last factor in my less than favorable feelings toward all things Dodgers is the “Tough Guy” factor. I saw it every time I went to the stadium and I went a good deal. There are those at the game who are just looking for a problem. It’s not about baseball, although they will be decked out in Dodger Blue. It’s about starting trouble in the stands or in the parking lot. The Dodgers have been absolutely horrendous addressing this issue.
The Bryan Stow incident just shed a bit of light on what happens more often than not at Chavez Ravine. I got to see it first hand at an inter-league match up years ago. I was at the game with some friends from back East. We saw the Yanks take it on the chin and made our way to the car. Almost instantly we hear the jeers. Hey, that’s what you get. I completely understand that. We do it in the Bronx. But these jeers got personal fast. Them they got increasingly angry. My one buddy is a bit of a hothead and I could tell he wasn’t going to stay quiet too long. We found ourselves in outside and noticed that a handful of these Dodger fans had followed us spewing their over the top jabs the whole way. Now two of my friends were US Marines at the time, and in this particular staring contest the other side blinked first. We were lucky. The situation didn’t become a problem…but it could have.
Who needs that garbage? If you want to find a fight go to a roadhouse bar and knock yourself out. It’s a baseball game. We go to have a good time and watch the American Pastime. Period. Yeah, there is some good-natured ribbing and no one wants to see his or her teams lose, but it’s not a turf war. It’s not and should never be personal. The sad fact is that in almost every trip I made to Dodger Stadium, I saw all of the above. It has made me close the book on the Los Angeles club. I don’t like them. I won’t ever like them.
I want Donnie back. I love Vin Scully and respect the actual Dodger fan that suffers through the nonsense I saw. They can’t be happy with that stuff. I don’t like “I Love LA”. I don’t consider LA a sports town. The Lakers stink now…where is everybody? And again, this is not an East Coast, West Coast thing. I’ve been to the Bay Area. I’ve seen games in the Great Northwest. I’ve loved every single trip to San Diego.
The Anaheim Angeles of Los Angeles, near the 5, close to Disney, South of Knott’s Berry, down the street from that strip mall…no, the other strip mall. They are not my favorite either... I don't care for the Rally Monkeys and Thunder Sticks... trust me. But it wasn’t nearly as bad at LA.
The truth is I’ve liked some Dodger players in my lifetime. Gibby, Butler,The Bulldog and Piazza were guys I enjoyed seeing play. No, it’s more about that first team to hurt my feelings. It’s about the Hollywood fans and the tough guys. They aren’t what baseball is about and any chance that I’d give the Dodgers a chance rolled away with the credits. Sorry, Alexis. It’s just one guy’s opinion.
Go Yankees!
** One of my Favorite Bands – Please note I do NOT want anything bad to happen to anyone in Los Angeles. I love my friends there. This song just has Los Angeles in the title I like Bad Religion a lot. **
I sat there listening in pain as the PA speakers blared Randy Newman’s famous tune. The stands, which were really only full in the 5th, 6th & 7th, are now close to empty. The beach balls are gone. Dodger Dog wrappers, the worst hot dog in the Majors, lay strewn on the stadium stairways. The game at Chavez Ravine is now over. What was the score? Cubs 4, Dodgers 2…but aside from a collection of actual die-hards, nobody there noticed.
This was my experience going to many games in Los Angeles while I was a resident of the “Southland”. “I Love LA”? You might, Randy. I don’t. I won’t go into the whole anti Los Angeles rant. It’s not a terrible town; it’s not really a town at all. It’s a collection of spread out suburbs. 818, 213, 310, 323…an area code is your membership number. I had a lot of fun in LA. I met some great people (mostly native to New York, Chicago and Boston) in my years there. It can be a good time. It’s biggest draw for me? LA is only and hour and a half-ish from San Diego on the 5 Freeway.
Look, I’m just not and LA guy…and that’s okay. I’m a New Yorker. I call the east coast home. I’ll take the bitter cold and subways over the earthquakes and gridlock. It’s just me. I don’t feel the need to bash the “WEST SIIIDE!” anymore.
However, I will never agree that LA is a great sports city. Yes, the Kings beat my beloved New York Rangers for Lord Stanley’s Cup. Hey, the Kings had a better club. You tip your cap and hope Nash shows up in the playoffs this year. But does that mean the LA fans are equal to their club? No way. It ain’t even close. The Lakers stink now…suddenly the local population has Clippers jerseys and have given their purple and gold #8 a rest in the hamper. The city cries out for an NFL team…slow down. I think the NFL will survive without a return to the City of Angeles.
You might be asking at this point, “Mikey, why the post on the plastic city behind the Saints?” I’ll tell you. I “dislike” the Dodgers that much. I read recently that my buddy and former Yankee Joba Chamberlain is getting serious looks from Lasorda’s darlings. I wished him well and cheered him on in Motown…unless he was throwing against the Yanks.
I’m his pal and a fan of what he is capable of doing on the hill. I could go into the ridiculous “Joba Rules” and the Bombers role in ruining a young talent…but why pick that scab? The bottom line is I won’t wish any ill on Justin, but I can’t root for anyone on the Dodgers either. I can’t. I won’t. I have said many times that I’d rather see the Sawk win than see any happiness in Dodgertown. I mean that. I am in NO way a Red Sox fan, but in a way they are part of the family...it’s hard to explain. I can’t stand them, but they have my respect. Their fans are delusional, but they know their club and live and die with what happens on Yawkey Way. Dodger fans? Nope.
The Dodgers hurt me first. I watched as they beat my Yankees in that World Series…I shutter to name the year. I was a little kid but my distaste for Lasorda, Cey, Garvey and Company was at an adult level. I am okay with Los Angeles getting a football team…as long as they play in what is now Dodger Stadium and the Dodgers (NO TRAINS TO DODGE IN LA BY THE WAY!) move back to Brooklyn and serve as a Single A affiliate to the Mets from their crimes against my Nana who loved them. I’m only sort of kidding about that.
I don’t want Chamberlain in Dodger Blue. Their bullpen is the worst. They sit on those plastic chairs you get at Target! The stadium isn’t awful, but it’s not great either. Go to Philly! Go to Chicago! Go to Atlanta! Hell, go to Boston (not really). But please, Joba, don’t take the “Magic Dollars” and move to Melrose Place!
At the end of the day I hope Chamberlain lands in the best spot for himself and his family. Yankee fans have strong opinions on him…I get that. I root for him because of the person he is not the record he has. This post is really just a way to poke fun at LA. If Joba signs in LA and excels under Donnie Baseball…I’ll appreciate it…I guess. I’ll be happy until October rolls around, and then hope he ended the season with a great ERA, an All Star appearance…and an early vacation. Nope, can’t have them in the Postseason…let alone the World Series. Joba, weigh your options. Citizen’s Bank is a great park. Maybe the Mets need a power arm in the pen…Arizona has a pool for the love of Pete! LA…well, the Grove is a heck of an outdoor Mall…my manager can probably get you on Kimmel…Oh! They have New York style pizza…and Pink’s Hot dogs…which isn’t much of a draw since you’ve had Nathan’s…they have a subway system now…but the ground shakes so…the weather is really nice…but you’re from Nebraska so who cares about the weather? Plus you’re a baseball player…so you work in the spring and summer…and travel all over the country…so that doesn’t work. Yeah, I’d say pass on this offer.
** Here are 2 songs. One I wrote about an Irishman living in LA and the other a song that is heard when a baseball game ends in a CITY!**
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