Good bye Vin Scully

The last few years as a Dodger fan have been tough. Going through ownership changes and blackouts on tv. I sometimes feel like the experience of being a fan is different these days. Through it all though, I really missed sharing my evening with Vin Scully. I never realized how my summer evenings almost always involved his voice.

This weekend as I watched the Dodgers on tv against the Rockies I basked in the opportunity to enjoy the moment. With the end of the season and the last few Vin Scully Dodger games about to end I'll admit I even got teary eyed. The only constant in life is change and I don't know the future of the Dodgers. I do know there will never be another Vin Scully.

I am nothing like Vin Scully and I sometimes admire people that excel in ways I struggle. Vin Scully continued successfully in his career even after two tragedies. In 1972 after 15 years of marriage his wife Joan Crawford overdosed at age 35. In 1994 his eldest son Michael died in a helicopter crash at 33. I consider myself a stable person, but nearly lost my job after a divorce. I have no idea how a person continues on after losing family. Vin seems to be a very private person while I tell anyone anything. Maybe I should be more like Scully. Speak less about myself and stick to talking about business.

Watching and listening to guys like Kirk Gibson, Sandy Koufax and even Kevin Costner explain what Vin Scully means to them was emotional. Made me realize how fortunate I have been to grow up in Los Angeles. All those times I was lucky enough to go watch the Dodgers play at Dodger stadium. The joy of taking my children to games in the hopes that we could bond over something that has meant so much to me. All I can think about though is how I wish I was at the stadium for one of these last games. Gone are the days of Nancy B Hefley playing the organ for the crowd and now there will be no Vin Scully.

But once again I remember change. I realize that even though I'm not there now, I will always have the fond memories as long as I live! I'm actually struggling to write anything because everyone already knows how great Vin Scully is. Thank you for teaching me so much about baseball and what it's like to be dedicated to something. 67 years Vin Scully has called Dodger games! Picture that? Every once in a while we are blessed with a transcendent individual that is just special. A man that can retire at 89 years old while still in his prime. He talked about how he's not as sharp any longer. Yet, he continued to tell stories while also reminding us about balls and strike counts. He even gave us the complete biography of a young player who's dad is a computer consultant. Instead of mailing it in for the last few games of his career, he continued to work hard and prepare for the broadcast. The only other broadcaster that comes to mind when thinking of Vin Scully is Chick Hearn.

We love you Vincent Edward "Vin" Scully, thank you!

Las Vegas Raiders getting closer

Today the Raiders cleared the first obstacle to moving to Las Vegas. The city approved public funding for 750 million dollars towards the construction of a stadium. This stadium would provide a home for both the Raiders and the UNLV football team. Mark Davis will contribute about 500 million more and the remainder would be funded by Las Vegas billionaire Sandy Alderson. The stadium will cost around 1.9 billion.

My feelings about this move are mixed. I was all in on the Los Angeles move. Mainly, because I am from LA county and grew up a Los Angeles Raider fan. Although I will always believe the Raiders are the Oakland Raiders, fact is Oakland does not have a plan to keep the Raiders. Some will say that the Raiders should finance their own stadium. I say that the city of Oakland needs to do more to rebuild the area around the Oakland Coliseum. As a fan that frequently goes to game there, it is embarrassing that an NFL franchise plays there. The entire area around the stadium is in shambles. Boarded up buildings and storage lots are all that is there. At the home opener last season I had to watch the Raiders play on a baseball field! The mayor of Oakland Libby continues to say she wants the Raiders in Oakland. It's really just a lot of politician talk.

Forbes magazine just announced that the Rams jumped from the bottom teams in value to now being in the top ten! That was another reason I wanted the Raiders in Los Angeles. In Las Vegas I don't know what their value would be, but I know I'd rather go to Vegas than Oakland to see a game. Driving to Vegas is 4 hours while driving to Oakland is 6. Flying is around the same but I can actually walk around Las Vegas at night while parts of Oakland can be scary.

More than anything, I just want to see my team have it's own stadium that doesn't have sewage problems or dirt on the 50 yard line. The next step for the move is for the 750 million in public funding to pass local legislature. Some believe the local residents of Las Vegas would be paying, but that is not true. The city would increase their current hotel tax. This would put the cost on visitors including fans of the Raiders visiting Las Vegas to see them play. I don't mind paying a few more dollars a night to see my team have a home. Us Raider fans have been waiting a long time for not only a competitive team, but also for a long term home.

I hope this goes through because I don't know what the alternative would be instead of Las Vegas.

2016 Dodgers make me think of 1988

Even as one of the most hard core Dodger fans I've still doubted them. I stopped going to games towards the end of the McCourt era and then my focus switched to getting my kids in college. Time Warner signed their deal with the Dodgers and all of a sudden this California kid couldn't watch my Dodgers at all. No more Vin Scully welcoming me into the Evening at Chavez Revine on tv? I was even more irritated. How could the Dodgers let this happen to their fans? Matt Kemp was traded, Don Mattingly left, Greinke goes to AZ, etc. I thought my lifelong passion as a Dodger fan might be ending.

Then, 2016 happened. With all the managerial candidates out there the Dodgers go with Dave Roberts? I liked Roberts as a player. But for all of the analytics and brain power in the front office, Dave Roberts? No Major League managerial experience and seems to be a soft spoken person as well. I was intrigued! Although I wasn't pushing for a change at manager, it seemed to be time to do so.

I was a bit shocked when the Dodgers re-signed Chase Utley. He seemed to be ready to retire by the way he played after coming to the Dodgers. None of the other free agent signings inspired me much either. With the exception of Kenta Maeda. I have long admired Japanese pitchers. They seem to have a tenacity and competitiveness that lacks in some of todays players. With success in Japan that somewhat translates to American baseball, he is also at a young enough age as well. They also signed him at a bargain price with performance incentives. Outside of Maeda I felt it was time to see what the young players had to offer.

Joc Pederson started off his career in 2015 with a bang! Hitting over 20 home runs as a rookie and seems to be a quality person. But a rough second half of the season had me wondering if he could keep his batting average up high enough to make it in the bigs. The two players that really had me intrigued were Corey Seager and Julio Urias. Seager has an older brother that has had success on the Mariners and Urias has had the most hype for a young Dodger pitcher since Clayton Kershaw. Although Seager didn't start the season off scorchingly he has turned into the MVP of the Dodgers offense. Batting nearly .320 while again hitting over 20 homers he has a sweet left handed swing. Urias has also impressed although he's had a couple of rough outings. Add Jose Deleon into the mix and the Dodgers seem to have some solid young talent.

Then came the trade deadline. With Adrian Gonzalez seeming to be declining this year, now reaching his med 30s I felt the Dodgers needed an additional offensive player. One that could hit for average over power. With so many young players focusing on power I feel that their is a lack of players hitting for average. The Dodgers already have players such as Grandal, Pederson, Puig, that hit for power but low averages. With only Gonzalez and Justin Turner hitting for both power and average, I was hoping for a player that could consistently get on base. Unfortunately after rumors of Jay Bruce coming to the Dodgers, no significant offensive players came. Instead, theDodgers traded for Rich Hill from the A's. In his three starts since coming to the Dodgers, Hill has pitched 19 innings without giving up a run. Hill has me hoping the Oakland Athletics will once again are part of Dodgers postseason success. All of a sudden if Kershaw can come back from the disabled list healthy, the Dodgers have three solid starters if they can make the playoffs.

In 1988 the Dodgers were able to sign a big bat before the season in Kirk Gibson while also getting Tim Belcher. But at no point did I think they had the makings of a World Series contender. Of course as an 11 year old boy I believed anything was possible. With one of the best Dodgers ever Pedro Guerrero injured it just didn't seem like the Dodgers had enough offense. Little did I know that even after trading Guerrero to the Cardinals for John Tudor that the Dodgers would go on an improbable run that still gives me childhood dreams to this day. Orel Hershiser had one of the best seasons ever for a pitcher while Kirk Gibson provided what is still my finest moment ever for me as a Dodger fan. Coincidentally, the Dodgers beat the Cardinals with whom they had traded Guerrero to without much help from John Tudor. They also beat the A's who to me were one of the best teams of that era. With bash brothers Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco as well as pitchers Dave Stewart and Dennis Eckersley, the A's were a scarily dominant team. Also coincidentally the A's traded pitcher Jesse Orosco and Alfredo Griffen to the Dodgers before the season started. Now, although the Dodgers have broken the record for players on the disabled list? They have the makings of a team that makes up for lack of extreme talent by chemistry and good ol Los Angeles Dodgers luck and intangibles.

As Dave Roberts continues his first season as manager of the Dodgers they're seems to be a different attitude on the Dodgers. One that they didn't have with Don Mattingly. One example is a game in which Rich Hill had a perfect game going into the 8th inning. Dave Roberts pulled Hill to start the 8th inning and Joe Blanton promptly gave up a hit to end the perfect game. As shocked as I was I felt it was the right decision. Too many times Don Mattingly and the Dodger pitching coach left Kershaw in during similar situations. Allowing him to pitch complete games even when the Dodgers had a big enough lead to not push Kershaw's innings total. With Clayton Kershaw struggling in multiple postseasons in the 7th inning I feel having him rested and ready is more important than any individual accomplishment. Dave Roberts seems to feel the same way and probably wasn't popular by making that decision. With me as an advocate for not allowing Kershaw to pitch as much early in the season, he was able to get time off on the disabled list. While I do not like the idea of Kershaw with a back injury I feel he's coming back just in time to hit his stride going into the playoffs. With around two months off he should now have the stamina to be effective in the playoffs like he always is in the regular season. While nothing is guaranteed in sports as evidenced by the loss of the 1988 Oakland Athletics to my Los Angeles Dodgers, this team and season has me fondly remembering back to that 12 year old boy (turned 12 in September of that year) who believed that anything was possible. Although there is no guarantee I will remember this season as one where although the Dodgers didn't have the best team on paper. There a team that I can support and will no longer doubt the capability of the Dodger front office.

Raiders finally beat the Saints!

Since the SuperBowl in 2003 the Oakland Raiders have been in a dark place not synonymous with their silver and black colors. Every year I think they'll turn it around and have a winning season. Each year I'm disappointed. Two times they've gone 8-8 but still no winning season. Not since I was 27 years old have I watched my Raiders excel. For many of those years Al Davis drove the team into the ground desperate to reach the SuperBowl before his death. Making trades of valuable draft picks for declining veterans and signing high profile players to large contracts instead of spreading it throughout the roster. Many times in the past this formula worked for Davis including guys like Plunkett and Alzado. But towards the end of his reign over the Raiders no lightning in a bottle was to be found.

September 11th 2016 is a new day. I have watched Drew Brees and the Saints feast on the Raiders over and over. In both the regular season and the pre-season. It's no surprise honestly. Drew Brees is as accurate a quarterback as you'll find and he enjoys picking Raider defenses apart with continued precision. He did it again yesterday, carving the Raider secondary up for over 400 yards passing and four touchdowns. If you would have told me after the game had I not watched it that Brees had 400+ yards, 4 TDs, and two receivers over 100 yards including one receiver over 150 i would swear they would have won. But they didn't even against those number Derek Carr and the Raiders found a way to win the game. Not since that 2002 season had I seen the Raiders not only win a game against Drew Brees but to go down the field and score last minute touchdown. Then, instead of going for an extra point to tie the game Jack Del Rio calls a play to go for the 2-point conversion.

As I sat there watching I was already a nervous wreck. All my Raider fan friends and family were texting and calling. Many of them on the edge of their seat just like I was. Wondering if Del Rio was out of his mind! Then it happened, Carr lobs the pass to the left side of the end zone and Michael Crabtree caught it! 35-34 Raiders with the lead with a little over 40 seconds left. But once again Drew Brees drives the Saints down the field and with little time on the clock gives his rookie kicker a chance to win the game. The kick is up and looking good and then, no good! Raiders win!

My phone is blowing up with texts and phone calls from Raider fans who can't believe what they just watched. It's only the first game of the season, yet you would think the Raiders just went to the playoffs. It might not be the playoffs but it's a hurdle. Not only was it the first win on opening day in 5 years but they also dis it against those pesky Saints. I respect Drew Brees but I'd be lying if I said I don't fear him.

Alas, it was only one win. Us Raider fans are known to get a little out of control. We're also known to be forever hopeful. Always believing that this could finally be the year we turn it around.I could be mistaken. It could be another year of disappointment. Another year where all my other friends and family shake their heads wondering, why does Danny and the rest of Raider fans continue to cheer and support for this team? For one day I can tell them it's because of days like this. All those lost games and seasons of losing can be erased with the hope that comes with one victory. And the hope that this might be the team that finally gets this team that I love back to winning. The possibility that we're on our way. Or at least that we now have a team and a quarterback that even after being scorched my Drew Brees can still win the game!