Dodger Thoughts

Jon Weisman's outlet for dealing psychologically with the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball and life

Category: Dodgers (Page 2 of 70)

Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers and me

I can’t remember if I wrote this here or only on Twitter, but it’s been clear from the day the Dodgers won the 2020 World Series that thankfully, my angst over the team has diminished like — well, like the water supply in California. 

It doesn’t hurt that they’ve continued to win about two-thirds of their games since then. I can’t say I wasn’t disappointed that the Dodgers won 106 games in 2021 but lost their streak of division titles at eight. I can’t say that I wouldn’t have been annoyed if last year they had lost the NL Wild Card Game or the playoff series against the Giants. But I will say that as much as I wanted them to beat Atlanta and reach the World Series, I got over that defeat instantaneously.

Honestly, my No. 1, prime interest with the Dodgers is Clayton Kershaw.

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Two posts (of many)
that meant a lot to me

If I looked back at the personal pieces I wrote for Dodger Thoughts, the ones that had more to do with life than with the Dodgers (though certainly, they intersected quite a bit), I could find many I value. But these are the two that come to mind instantly. 

“My Phil Dunphy Problem” — February 20, 2012, where I discussed my lifelong anxiety, how easily I could lose faith in myself and, in a word, my pain.

“Love, hate and tears” — December 2, 2009. The title speaks for itself, though it does intersect a great deal with the Dodgers, but speaks even more loudly to my inner pain that was enough to arouse genuine concern to me from at least one reader. . But perhaps the thing that meant the most to me was this: I wrote about the impact an episode of Friday Night Lights had upon me, and the writer of the episode, Rolin Jones, saw my post and wrote this comment.  

Dear Jon,

I can see the lights of Dodger stadium from my deck in echo park. I appreciate the summer fireworks on fridays but mostly I consider the ravine a place to see the cubs three times a year. Someone sent me your piece this morning. Hardly dispensable. More like awesome. You can’t make me like the Dodgers, but I’ll read about them now. Good to know you exist.

From the writer of last night’s “Friday Light Nights”,

Rolin Jones

 

I would say that things got worse for me before they got better, and I still have plenty I have to deal with. But I’m happy to report that I’m in a better place now. 

Anniversary Eve

Well, hi there. 

One of the key things about writing Dodger Thoughts in the glory days was the groove. The more posts I wrote, the easier it was to write them. It’s easier to start a new post when you’re coming off a completed one, because there’s momentum. If I needed a rest, I’d take it. But I’d never need a rest for very long. 

The other big component was that the more often I wrote, the more focused I could be, and focus for me is a big part of a successful piece. I didn’t feel like I had to cover everything in one shot. And it allowed me to take the time for longer posts crafted with more care. Perhaps most of all, I felt free to break from the Dodgers to write my more personal thoughts, which quickly became my favorite and most meaningful ones to write. 

Which brings me to today, the eve of the 20th anniversary of Dodger Thoughts. As any visitor to the site knows, I haven’t written much here at all since the Dodgers won the 2020 World Series, particularly this year. So there’s the desire to catch up on the team since then, but moreover, the desire to reflect upon the past 20 years in some signifcant way. 

So my plan is, rather than writing one grand, winner-take-all post, that I’ll publish in short bursts over the next two days. In a way, it fits with an approach to life that I’ve subconsciously understood but never really crystalized literally until this moment: the less ambition, the easier the success.  

We’ll see how it goes. Y’all come back now, ya hear?

Update: Dodger Thoughts 20th Anniversary night canceled

Sorry to say that due to unforeseen (travel) circumstances, I need to cancel the Dodger Thoughts 20th Anniversary night. Thanks, and apologies, to all of those who expressed interest in going.

All is well, and I’m sorry I’ll miss seeing you. 

Clayton Kershaw and the art
of choosing joy over blame

Life offers many lanes going the same direction.  

If you don’t know it by now, I value the journey more than the destination. Don’t get me wrong — the destination can be amazing, and not reaching it can be so frustrating. Failure to go the distance can sour me on my own journey if I’m not careful.

My novel is Exhibit A. Not only am I so proud of my writing, but it was such a great experience — at times, as I’ve probably said here, my best friend. And yet, it’s been a year-plus since it’s been on the market, and I can’t get it sold. I’ve had editors praise it while saying it’s not marketable. Maybe that’s just their way of being nice. Maybe they’re just lazy, since I think it is easily marketed. Either way, I have to remind my self that the process — the moments of writing that thrilled me (especially when I transcended a roadblock) — that all was the best part. 

This is a very long way for me to make a short comment about Clayton Kershaw’s seven perfect innings today. 

I have passed the point where I think a World Series title is the be-all, end-all of Major League Baseball. Obviously, the Dodgers’ title satisfied a big longing 18 months ago. Now, I would have rather seen Kershaw go for the perfect game rather then pull him out for the sake of October. For me, Kershaw perfection would generate more pure joy, like that finding that perfect plot point, thrilling beyond measure.  

That doesn’t mean that the Dodgers committed a crime by pulling him from the game. Pursuit of the playoffs and a championship is a truly worthy goal. Taking steps to protect a 34-year-old lefty with a record of injuries, so that we can see him on the mound as much as possible going forward, is also a truly worthy goal. 

Something good doesn’t mean the other thing is bad. Ice cream comes in many good flavors. I like burgers and I like baby back ribs. We don’t have to choose between one preference and another. Both are there for us as we travel the boulevards of life. We can see the horizon from both lanes. 

Either way, seven perfect innings on a cold April afternoon for a legend ain’t bad. 

Let’s not assign blame on a happy day. The last thing that makes sense on a day like today is to fight about it. 

Today was a moment to treasure. As Vin Scully would surely remind us, be glad that it happened. And let the rest go. 

The 20 worst Dodger playoff moments of my lifetime

The 20 worst Dodger playoff experiences of my lifetime, in chronological order, each embedded with a video link for your pain:

  1. Reggie Jackson’s hip
  2. Ray Burris (he outpitched Fernando Valenzuela in 1981, crushing for this 13-year-old who was in the stands)
  3. Ozzie Smith
  4. Jack Clark
  5. Javy Lopez
  6. Jeff Kent/J.D. Drew at home
  7. Matt Stairs
  8. Jimmy Rollins
  9. Hanley Ramirez’s ribs
  10. Third inning, 2013 NLDS Game 6
  11. Matt Carpenter
  12. Matt Adams
  13. Daniel Murphy (half a point for the steal, half a point for his homer)
  14. Marwin Gonzalez
  15. 2017 World Series Game 5 (this game was not without its highs, but ultimately counting the whole thing as a moment)
  16. Final three innings, 2018 World Series Game 4
  17. Juan Soto (not Anthony Rendon – I could forgive that one)
  18. Howie Kendrick
  19. Final play, Game 4 of the 2020 World Series
  20. Pending: Steven Souza Jr.’s throw. Not sure I will keep this long-term, but it can occupy this spot for now. 

Update: Yeah, Game 7 of the 2017 World Series needs to be on here. I left it off because it was so defeating from the very first inning, and yet not as crushing to me as Game 5. But it should be here. You don’t lose a World Series Game 7 without it being a bad memory. 

Dodgers-Giants finale:
The postgame tweets

 

https://twitter.com/EHernandezTV/status/1448885050678788097

Jaime Jarrín to retire after 2022 season

The magnificent Jaime Jarrín has announced he will retire from the Dodgers at the end of the 2022 season. At that time, he will have broadcast Dodger games for 64 seasons, only three fewer than Vin Scully. 

While I can’t say I have listened to full broadcasts of his games in Spanish, I can speak to the unfettered kindness he has shown to me — a relative blip on his radar screen — in recent years. 

I’d like to take this opportunity to share the chapter I wrote about Jarrín in the 2021 edition of 100 Things Dodgers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. 

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Slumps end — but struggles by these Dodgers are astonishing

This too shall pass. I promise you. But … wow.

Dating back to August 27 … 

In 16 innings of insanity, Dodgers revive the joy
of a madcap marathon

Many people complained, especially in the press box or on the East Coast, but long before it was over, I realized that the Dodgers’ 16-inning, 5-3 victory over the Padres in San Diego was bringing me as much joy as I’d experienced watching baseball all year. Allow my tweets to be my testimony … 

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Clayton Kershaw to return to the Dodgers, A.J. Ellis predicts

The last time Clayton Kershaw was approaching free agency, in 2018, I wrote a number of times (summed up here) about the likelihood that he would remain with the Dodgers. Because of his unique history in Los Angeles, there was no other team that could sign him for which he could offer more value. 

Kershaw will be a free agent again in two months, but the question hasn’t come up as much, because of the 33-year-old’s more advanced age and injury issues. Nevertheless, it’s worth noting that as long as he wants to pitch, it continues to make the most sense for him to stay with the Dodgers. While he shouldn’t command the same salary of his last contract, no contender is better equipped to pay him the dollars he will end up earning.

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Two more crazy intersections for the 2005 and 2021 Dodgers

Ever since the 2021 Los Angeles Dodgers started the season 12-2, matching the breakout of the heart-stopping, game-dropping, low-flying, win-defying, mental-lapsing, season-collapsing, legendary 2005 Los Angeles Dodgers, I’ve been comparing these two squads on a game-by-game basis. Because really, how could I not?

At Twitter, you can find a Fun #2005dodgers fact every morning after a Dodger game the previous day. 

Over the past week, I think there have been two particularly remarkable fun facts. First: 

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The Latest Chapter in Our Great Adventure with the Dodgers

On August 23, 2018, the Dodgers were 4 1/2 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West with 34 games to play.

Now, we know that in 2018 Los Angeles came back, won the division and went to the World Series. Then, we did not. Then, I dare say, more people thought the Dodgers wouldn’t come back than thought they would. 

Now, the Dodgers are five games behind the San Francisco Giants in the NL West with 47 games to play. Will the Dodgers come back? We have no idea. 

This is another chapter in our great adventure, another milepost in our epic journey of suspense. And we can rue the uncertainty and curse the inanity all we want, but baseball does not exist without it. 

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Is Albert Pujols the love child of Roy Kent and Ted Lasso?
My column …

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Bring on the DH so Dodgers bring back Corey Seager

OK, the timing and subject of this piece might seem weird considering there are bigger fish to fry today, but hear me out …

First things first: In the world that I’d prefer to live the rest of my life, I still don’t want to see the designated hitter in the National League, primarily for reasons I discussed here. But I’m going to admit that over the past year, I’ve been worn down on this, partly because so many pitchers themselves have completely given up on trying to hit, partly because there are newer, even more cockamamie rules that I’m more eager to get rid of. (Maybe later this year, I’ll write about my grand distaste for the year-old runner-on-second rule in extra innings.)

But in the wake of the exciting reports Thursday about the Dodgers’ apparent acqusition of Max Scherzer and Trea Turner — reports that others are covering at length — I have a more selfish reason to want the DH to arrive in the NL by 2022. 

It might be the only way Corey Seager returns to the Dodgers. 

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