Two cloying realities confronted Major League Baseball as the 2020 playoffs reached the League Championship Series. –One was the lingering odor of scandal-not-really-resolved — the Houston Astros’ schemes for stealing signs in the 2017 and 2018 World Series and the involvement of players — none of whom were punished. –The other issue was the awkwardness […]

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If ever the Dodgers needed a strong performance from Julio Urias, tonight is the night. As far back as 2016, when the Mexican left-hander made his Major League debut at the age of 19, Urias was on the periphery of “key Dodgers”. But a variety of setbacks retarded his advancement to that inner circle.

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I need the Lakers to close out the NBA Finals tonight. Because I have money on them? Because I have become a fan of LeBron James? Because I can’t stand to see them lose? Nope. I need them to win so I can get a little sleep. A downside for an American living in France? […]

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Well, here we are. A city, a metropolitan center that had to be content (in terms of the Big Four professional sports leagues) with a couple of Stanley Cup championships over the previous decade. Now, L.A. finds out if its favorite two clubs can win titles in the same month. Los Angeles is overrun by […]

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Potentially making an “ass” out of “u” and “me.” In March of 2012, the Guggenheim Group announced it was buying the Los Angeles Dodgers from the unpopular Frank McCourt for more than $2 billion — making it, at the time, the most expensive change of ownership in professional sports history. Any time, anywhere. If you […]

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Generally, when I hear about an athlete getting a contract with lots of years and enormous numbers, I heave a sigh. “He can’t possibly be worth all that money.” And generally the athlete is not. Teams get excited and offer big deals based on last season, or the last few seasons, and give insufficient attention […]

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I have been off the air most of this month, and have not weighed in on how the Houston Astros stole the 2017 World Series* from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Though the headline and first paragraph can be considered a spoiler alert on where this is going. That, and the asterisk (forever) after any reference […]

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It was getting late for Howard “Howie” Joseph Kendrick. He had a solid career. Of course he did. No one lasts 14 years in Major League Baseball without being solid. Solid enough to be paid $65 million over those 14 seasons. Good enough to have played in an All-Star Game in 2011 and received an […]

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It went something like this: I regained consciousness about 6 a.m., and thought the decisive Game 5 of the National League Division Series between the Dodgers and Washington Nationals ought to be over, back in Los Angeles. And I did not expect good news, especially when I saw the game was tied at 3-3 in […]

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In the 1961 Major League Baseball season, Roger Maris of the New York Yankees hit 61 home runs to break Babe Ruth’s homer record of 60, set in 1927. However, many fans of the Bambino, and perhaps those not enthralled by the laconic Maris one-upping the charismatic Ruth, clamored for an “asterisk” to be added […]

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