Asteroids Do Not Concern Me!: October 2014

Opening Day Dodger stadium 2014

I love baseball and I love the Dodgers....I live and die with the Blue......It is with a wounded heart that I lament today's season ending loss to the hated St. Louis Cardinals.

Kershaw will sit out the remainder of the play-offs

Baseball's best pitcher, Clayton Kershaw is a slam dunk to take home both the NL Cy Young and MVP awards when handed out next month. Who would have imagined in their wildest dreams that he would blow two leads and go 0-2 in the NLDS? Who could have fathomed that he would blow a 6-1 lead in game 1 and a 2-0 lead in Game 4, both in the 7th innings? Who would have thought he could possibly give up 9 earned runs in two games? And who would have dared believe he could now be tied with former journeyman Dodger pitcher Jerry Reuss with 5 post season loses? Yes, today is a dark day in Dodgerdom. Tommy Lasorda must be wondering what became of the great Dodger in the sky.
It is never too soon to start thinking about the future. Here a few suggestions on how to improve the franchise and hopefully, get back to the World Series next year for the first time since 1988:

Nice knowing you, Don

I feel like you look, Ned

Fire the Dynamic Dimwits Don Mattingly and Ned Colletti. Both these guys were inherited by the new ownership group when they came in a few years ago. They've been given enough rope and have hung themselves. Mattingly was halfway out the door with his pink slip in hand last year until the team took off on their 42-8 super streak. He followed that up with a NL West Division title this year, and that's great, but guess what? It's not enough! We need to get back into the World Series. I would rather see Harry White or Steve Boyack run this team. Those two guys already have jobs so I could settle for Tim Wallach, or even Mike Scioscia if the Angels can him. Ned Colletti has been given more money than any team in the world and all he can come up with are the likes of Brandon League, Chris Perez and Brian Wilson? PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPlease!!!! The bullpen stinks and must be fixed. I could go on and on, but I will leave that to sports talk radio and the many baseball pundits. As horrible as we all feel tonight here in Dodgerland, there remains a silver lining. Baseball! The game of our youth, played on fresh cut grass under deep blue skies. I can still remember that competitive nervousness felt so many times in the on deck circle waiting for the next at bat. Even at 58, I still imagine myself on the mound or in the outfield. I know you do, too. Baseball is timeless. Even after the most glorious win or the most bitter defeat, there is always another game and another memory waiting to be etched in our hearts and minds. I am already looking forward to next year, Dodger Dogs in hand sitting side by side with family and best friends. In the end, that is what baseball is all about, the relationships. Thank you Granny and Dad for playing catch. Thank you Phil Boyack for teaching me the game and Coaches Ainge and Dunn for instilling self confidence and making it fun. Kudos to Coach Evans for never giving up on me. A big thanks to my teammates and friends over the years: Carl G, Steve B, Donnie D, Ladd T, Jeff G, Doug H, and many, many more! God bless my fellow Dodger fans and Dodger Stadium buddies M1, Randy, M3, Clyde C, Harry W, Fred and Glenda C, and Steve D (Braves fan but that's OK). We even got Ari, Derek and Paul to a game this year! Most of all, thank you to my wife, Karalee, who puts up with me going to all the games and watching them on TV. And thank you for going with me to the stadium so often this year! Yes, baseball brings us all together, young and old, throughout our lives. Here are few memories from this season: