I don’t know who’s going to win the World Series, but I’m certain there will be no more games at Dodger Stadium. This means I will not have to listen to any more Dodger Stadium organ play for at least six months. If I could guarantee that I would never have to listen to it any more for the rest of my life, I would allow the Dodgers to win this World Series and even some more… that’s how strongly I feel about this.
I am a little reticent about bringing this up for a number of reasons:
(a) I am a Braves fan, and my home stadium is certainly not immune to “traditions” that the rest of the country finds obnoxious.
(b) I am opposed to anyone seeking to impose his own esthetic vision on the rest of the world. (Let’s be honest here: I am not opposed to this at all…. I just realize that in a world where esthetic vision can be imposed, I am doubtless not going to be the one empowered to do the imposing.)
(c) Sometimes, drowning out John Smoltz with three seconds of the theme from Twin Peaks can be a net positive.
(d) The alternative would probably be the Dodgers paying $12 MM per year to Matthew Kaminski to move to LA and I’d miss him.
But Ye Gods it’s hard to watch a game with live sound from Dodger Stadium.
I wasn’t going to talk about this at all, but then my favorite podcast brought it up today and I had to drop a clip, with a double warning: (1) There will be a NSFW word spoken during this very short clip; (2) This is largely a political podcast, so if you go and find it, I disavow under the Prime Thomason Directive that I told you, or even encouraged you, to watch the rest of it. Please… if you hate this podcast, or these three podcasters, yell at me privately, not on Braves Journal. A robust discussion of the organist at Dodger Stadium, on the other hand, is hereby encouraged,
Apologies for JC’ing sdp:
Didn’t see this charge coming from the Blue Jays. The Dodgers are hitting like the Braves.
This was an excellent article. I particularly like the Smoltz comment. I almost felt sorry for him trying to explain why Otani might be unprepared and tired. It was simple, Otani had been on base 9 times (!) and played very late ; he was tired. John’s explanation was an excellent example of someone who is an expert, using his expertise to overcomplicate the explanation. Of course, Otani pitched pretty well, he nor the rest of the Dodgers hit, though.
Heard Skubal asked for $400 MM and the Tigers countered with minimum wage. There’s only one team that will pony up that, so let’s look forward to the Dodgers being even more unbeatable next season
Detroit’s a playoff team with Skubal. I don’t see any team offering them enough to keep them even. They are definitely not trading him until they are out of contention next season. If they stay in contention, Skubal’s a Dodger (or Met) in 2027.
The Mets can and will. In fact, considering how their wretched starting rotation single-handedly nuked their season, I wouldn’t bet on anyone outbidding Stearns.
I turned off the TV sound for these 3 WS games b/c I was completely confused at the insanely unbalanced audio mix. Was that on Dodger Stadium or a Fox Sports sound guy? Dunno, but it was beyond weird.
BTW, the podcast is correct: MLB parks have gotten out of hand with the sound levels & the insistence to crowbar snippets of music into the tiniest of stoppages. (And loud doesn’t always bother me… I cover nightclubs & festivals, but it’s supposed to be loud there.)
Occasionally at a game, I’ll have a chuckle at something the Yankee Stadium DJ plays, for example, but for the most part, it’s just a series of blaring selections that often interrupt a perfectly fine conversation btw neighbors. I understand that there’s a certain demographic that never had much of an attention span, but (from what I’ve been told) the DJs often are under direction to “keep up the energy.”
Unfortunately, the days of Eddie Layton’s solo organ are over…
pro sports are brutal with the non-stop music and sounds, its awful.
Man, as I try to size up the offseason, I keep coming back to the same place: barring some sort of huge 8-9 player trade or something, AA is stuck at so many important spots. He doesn’t have much money to spend, so he can’t just go buy a bunch of bullpen arms. He’s pretty much committed to his rotation with Sale, Lopez, Strider, Schwellenbach, Waldrep and a load of pitching prospects he probably doesn’t want to waste. And 7 of the 9 lineup spots are locked up longterm. So like I said, short of him dealing guys he’s locked up (which he said he wouldn’t do), then you’re almost forced to just hope everybody rebounds and stays healthy.
That’s not that bad a place to be! Sure, if we had more money we could be the Dodgers or the Mets, but we’ve got a team that is clearly playoff-talented when they’re living up to the established potential. And at a middle-level price.
Frankly, AA should be spending his most productive time getting the farm system ready for the roll-off of locked up contracts. And he is obviously going to fool with the bullpen and needs to address shortstop. But we could be the Pirates, or the Athletics or Colorado. Much better to have too little room improve the club than too mich.
Yes I have the same thought. The only clear upgrade spot is SS but there are no good candidates there. I would sign Gleyber Torres because he boosts the second worst position (2B) and can DH and give you high OBP, low K quality ABs. We definitely can sign a bunch of bullpen arms depending on what you mean. We should sign a couple.
You say “stuck” I say “set”
So, is he our next manager?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Lehmann
I hear that playing for the Sugar Land Skeeters is a breeding ground for major league managers.
I don’t think Lehmann is a lock. It could well be Lombard or Flaherty but perhaps AA is going to do his due diligence and give Lehmann a chance to interview after the WS.
I’d like for us to take a run at Volpe, who certainly seems to have lost his spot in the Bronx. Ububba, any qualms?
The Yankees are, IMO, only going to move on from Volpe if they sign Kim. At that point, despite his terrible season, Volpe becomes the best available shortstop costing less than Bichette. If you go with Volpe, you are counting on two things: (a) the shoulder injury is behind him; and (b) leaving The Bronx turns him into something reasonably close to Kim, which is, I think, his upside potential. It’s not a terrible bet.
I have a feeling that Ha-Seong Kim is not so sure opting out is the right move. He is waiting for assurance from someone (indirectly of course—can’t tamper) that he will get a sizeable deal if he opts out. And not something like $40MM/2. No in that case it’s better to play one season to try to have a big season and score $100MM.
So I’m feeling some uncertainty because any non-desperate team will wonder how they can pay a guy so much when his play the last 2 seasons hasn’t deserved that much, not hardly.
But Kim believes in himself, so he’s not looking to bail for cheap. And he knows he has a good thing here and can put up a great season. AA is not someone you want to game with to squeeze a few million. He could walk away from you and you maybe get a pillow deal. And maybe it’s not as good a situation and it costs you in the long run.
So I’m starting to think maybe he takes the option and stays.
If his agent weren’t Scott Boras I might agree with you. But this isn’t how Boras thinks. And you don’t sign with Boras unless you think Boras is right.
I’ll be happier than anybody but AA to be wrong about this.
Anyone planning comments… I am going to post immediately on the conclusion of the Series. Make your comments there.