A few days ago, Jeff Dominique thanked me on his blog (www.LaDodgerChronicles.com) for just passing on some information from Bear (Michael Norris) to him. It was not even a big deal. Just something you do for a friend. Michael did not have Jeff’s phone number and did not have his computer. Bear and I talked for a while and I passed on the information. Easy Peasy!
A few years ago, on this blog, a commenter wrote this:
“Mark gets impatient with repetitive foolishness, as do I. You don’t hesitate to repeat endlessly the canard that the FO are incompetent “fried brains.” You and others complain and whine and criticize and use salty pejoratives to leaven your criticism, and what Mark does is just take exactly what you dish out and shove it right back in your faces. You don’t like it. You don’t agree with it. Your ego can’t and won’t brook conflicting arguments and evidence, so you label Mark as the problem.“
Three people responded to Jeff’s comment and it was right on cue. The commenter was right, I do not suffer fools well. I also do not play well with people who are passive aggressive and love to argue for arguments sakes. I proved this once by taking a certain position and was challeged by a certain commenter who wrote an eloquent response about how I was wrong. About six weeks later, I took the opposite position and this same person came back and made the argument that I made in the first place. That was when I lost what little respect I had left for this person.
Some people can dish it out but they can’t take it. Last year, I made it a point to run all the morons away or ban them. Life is too short to have morons like that in my life. I am not going to name names, but one commenter said: “Mark and I were friends once as well. At times he can be very generous and supportive. That’s the Mark I like. It’s a shame our friendship deteriorated the way that it did. He can be a great friend when he wants to be. I hope this is the Mark we see in 2025.”
It’s amazing to hear that from a person who I had to ban and block and who sent me some of the vilest of the vile comments, you have ever read. I think Bear read them as well. Maybe I should have left them up, but I took them down and some commenters have no idea what was said.
I just had to get that out of my system. To those that think I do not like people who disagree with me, well you are either really dumb or you have no common sense. Disagreement is just fine… especially when you can put together a cogent argument or explanation. We have a great group of commenters here and frequently some disagree with me. Cool. I am not infallable. Evaluating talent is a crapshoot! Who ever thought Will Smith would be an All-Star? In evaluating talent, you will get some right and some wrong. That doesn’t stop you from trying.
I do want to thank everyone here for your commenting. We have a great group – very respectful! I should have done this sooner. I don’t know how long I will do this… but I am doing it now. I am putting the finishing touches on my book and that is taking a lot of my time. The Grandkids are a hoot and family time is most precious. I may have mentioned it, but we are taking in a homeless couple and their 2 and 7 year-olds for six months until they get back on their feet.
We want them to bank all of his paychecks for six months so they can get a fresh start. They could not make it in California. They were living with his parents, but his parents moved back to Mexico a few months ago and they were living in their car. We have a garage full of furniture that we were going to sell, but are now giving it to them. The only pay we want is to see them be successful. That is the best reward! No amount of money equals that.
“Nothing can give you greater joy than doing something for another.” – Coach John Wooden
Last year, we took in my wife’s alcoholic older sister who was homeless and helped her get back on her feet. We helped her get her own place and she is now a productive member of society and works at US Water Systems in data entry and is a great employee. We also took in an 85 year old woman who scammers had bilked for over $250,000. She had lost her house and was still sending them hundreds of dollars a week. My wife intercepted one of the phone calls and the scammer said he was coming to get the money. He said that he was going to shoot her if she didn’t have it. My wife said, “Try setting foot on my property and I’ll blow you away, you God______ Mother_______er!!” You don’t want to mess with my wife!
We changed her phone number and got her a nice apartment in assisted living and we take her food every other week. This is our latest rehabilitation project and I have great confidence it will be successful. Wish us luck!
Why am I telling you this? I don’t want your praise or acolades. We just belive in paying it forward. We aren’t religious. We don’t go to church every Sunday, but we do believe that since we are so wonderfully blessed, we need to pay it forward and believe me, there is not a better feeling than to help someone realize their potential. Not all baseball prospects pan out, but you keep developing them anyway. Not all people we help pan out… but enough do that it is a very satisfying way to live our lives. It doesn’t matter what your religious bent is, what this wise man said still rings true:
“Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’
— Jesus
Discussion (24)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Trade Value Simulator doesn’t line the deal for LAD
Good bye Gavin Lux. Another savvy move. IMO. Gomes isn’t done. Pretty cool offseason so far. I’ll take it all the way to the dance. And I don’t think too many 70 year olds on this site are pining for Pee Wee Reese baseball. The game has changed too much! Seriously?
Anyway, bat to ball skills, defense and speed are making a comeback but slug is king………so what’s the next move?
Book em
DODGERS TADE LUX TO THE REDS AND AQUIRE THEIR COMPETITIVE DRAFT PICK AROUND 37TH AND MIKE SIROTO :
AGE
21
BATS
R
DOB
06/16/2003
THROWS
R
HT
6′ 3″
DRAFTED
2024, 3rd (87) – CIN
WT
188
ETA
2027
Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 45 | Run: 60 | Arm: 55 | Field: 55 | Overall: 45
“Sirota was relatively unknown when he was selected out of the Connecticut high school ranks late in the 2021 Draft by the Dodgers, but he went on to play for Mike Glavine at Northeastern University in Boston. He had hit everywhere he’d been, from his first two seasons in college (1.060 OPS) to back-to-back turns in the Cape Cod League (.942 OPS), making the grand-nephew of Whitey Ford the best Huskies product since Carlos Peña went No. 10 overall in 1998. He failed to live up to top-of-the-first-round expectations by really scuffling for much of his junior season, though he righted the ship enough to land to the Reds in the third round and sign for right around slot value.
Lean, athletic and strong, Sirota has an intriguing collection of tools. He has plus bat speed with excellent bat-to-ball skills from the right side of the plate, though his timing was off for much of the spring, keeping him from squaring up the ball as consistently as he has in the past. There’s raw power for him to tap into — he had 18 homers in his sophomore season — and when combined with his plus speed, he has 20-20 potential at the highest level.
That speed makes Sirota a legitimate longterm center fielder. He makes good reads and routes and has a tick-above-average arm to boot, with his all-around tools and makeup giving the Reds confidence he can rediscover his consistency.”
Looks like Lux is heading over to the Reds according to Jeff Passan.
sounds like Soto in a couple of years! can’t field very well but he can hit!
Yanks are allegedly looking at Luis Arraez as well
rumors are everywhere! most have no legs. Some might. it’s not like we make our own. as far as Gavin Lux, i would love for him to be the dodgers 2nd baseman for the next 6-7 seasons, i get the feeling he won’t. you just know he goes somewhere else and becomes a stud. We saw glimpses of what he can be this past season. The big question is can he do it for a entire season? i don’t see him as a bench guy. See the yankees and mariners as being interested in Lux. hopefully he never becomes a yankee! …. See that Buehler is recruiting Bregman to join him in Boston. Oh well, nobody’s perfect. …. Nice truck Mark!! probably buying a F-150 next myself. been driving a tacoma for 14 years now. good vehicle, not much of a “truck “! …. everyone be safe!
You have to understand that the Dodgers are negiotiating from a position of strength. They don’t have to trade for anyone, or sign anyone. They don’t have to trade Lux… but if the right deal presents itself, then they would look at it. Teoscar took less to sign with the Dodgers, Blake Snell probably did, Kim absolutely did. Players want to win and no team in baseball presents them with a better opportunity than the Dodgers. Tanner Scott? Wanna’ win? How about three years/$30 Million?
Got up this morning and took my handy, dandy tape measure and stuck it in the snow: 8″ and it is still snowing like a goat.
We should have a foot by noon.
My F-150 goes through up to about 18″ with it’s knobby Toyo Mud and Snow Tires. I may have to go pick a few key employees up so that we can keep the plant rolling. My son drives a F-350 so he can pull our dump trailer and other stuff. He can go through about 2 feet of snow, thanks to higher ground clearance.
Glad to hear from you Bear. Glad you’re doing better. Sending blessings your way!
Mark, thanks for sharing those testimonies regarding your contributions to those in need. The world needs more people like you. The world can be a cruel place at times, but it is stories like these that remind us there simply more to life. Thank you!
Wow. 2017 and the Trashtros. Even with the Astros cheating their way to a ring. The boys in blue played their asses off. They darn near won the series anyhow, y’all. Those games were epic. I still feel bad for Yu. And me. Back in the day, it used to be…….
Cheaters never prosper…wrong.
Now a days it’s ………..
It’s not cheating if you don’t get caught. True. But even if you get caught the repercussions are a lowly slap on the hand. Not much of a deterrence is it? It’s funny how Shoeless Joe, Rose, Bonds, Clemens, A Rod etc. got caught cheating and got lifetime banishment. But steal a World Series…no prob. They should have forced Icabod Crane to sell the team to Frank McCourt. Oh well.
And Mark, it’s very unselfish to help people in need. Very honorable. And thanks again for LADT. It is totally
AWESOME!
Book em
I think that quote from that random poster from back in the day was me. That was back when I used lots of words like “brook” as a verb. Now I’m lucky if I use more than one syllable.
I noticed Jeff’s comment on his site. It was a nice gesture. I also noticed Badger’s comment, which wasn’t, and wasn’t necessary.
It’s odd that he claims he considers you a friend and then publicly posts that stuff, and yes, it’s passive aggressive and annoying.
But whatever. I think, deep down, he just has some generalized resentment at life.
I have a soft spot for Scott. Yes, he’s insane, but I enjoyed goofing on him, and he became a good sport about it. Maybe you should unblock him.
i’m not sure i agree with you on this one. But, i like Max. Max makes very good plays, but he also botches routine plays at times. i have no problem with Max being the 3rd baseman. guess i have always been a big fan of arenado. maybe that ship has sailed! But it doesn’t hurt to dream!
hope you’re feeling better Bear! does it really matter if we’re right or wrong when we say we might do this trade or that trade? it’s fun! i know Arenado is not the same player as 2-3 years ago, but he’s still a good baseball player. AF always makes great decisions, not always 100% great , but great. The yankees are taking a chance on Paul Goldsmith. They as does paul, believe he has something left in the tank. So it wouldn’t be a surprise if AF did the same with Nolan. Probably a 25-45% chance of it happening, but still a chance. i wouldn’t mind it! we have family and we have sports to keep our minds from exploding in this batsh-t crazy world . So let’s go all “Bradley “ and get creative with our own crazy trades! Hell, Bradley was even right once!
I post because I love the Dodgers and the game. I do not come here or any other site to prove anything. What conclusions I come to are based on what I have seen AF do since he took over. His approach to building the roster has changed a lot. We all remember when he started it was guys like Brett Anderson and McCarthy. I can’t count how many fringe players he signed. His teams were always built to win the regular season and he added at the deadline. From what I have read, he wants to avoid that this season. Two years ago, one poster said they should trade for Amed Rosario to be the SS, I disagreed. This poster then crowed a lot when they did trade for him. He was right, I was wrong. But they got Rosario as a utility guy, not the starting SS. Thanks, Mark, for being a friend
who knows, maybe a change of scenery for Nolan and he’s rejuvenated! He wouldn’t be expected to hit 30 bombs, but 20-25 and 75 rbi? I would take it!
Who saw the Hyeseong Kim deal coming? Not I.
these Nolan Arenado rumors won’t stop! Now this is pure speculation on my part. With the signing of Kim, the Lux rumors are coming strong. If Lux is traded, is it possible for the dodgers to go ahead and trade for Nolan, move Max to second? With Kim becoming the super utility guy, it would be build a triangle involving Nolan, Max , and kim rotating. Nolan needs a day, max goes to 3rd. and Kim to second. Max needs a day, Kim tto second. Now I’m not a big fan of max playing second full time, but in this scenario, it may be worth the risk! Just playing GM for a day!
“Dodgers part-owner Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Orioles principal owner David Rubenstein were among 19 people who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Saturday from President Joe Biden.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom, which was established by President John F. Kennedy in 1963, is the United States’ highest civilian honor. It is presented annually to “individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors.”
Manager Dave Roberts tells a Japanese outlet that Ohtani won’t start pitching until May as he comes back from Tommy John surgery. They want him healthy for another lengthy playoff run.
i’m never going to get over 2017! sure there has been cheating for as long as we can remember. BUT, it’s not so much about the cheating as it is about the cheaters! It pains me to see fans who post “we should trade for Corea, we should sign bregman, we should trade for springer”. NO! we shouldn’t. Bonds And Mcquire cheated and are paying for it forever. So why shouldn’t the AAAASSSSTRO cheaters? As far as i can tell, every player onnthe 40 man roster is well liked and respected, no matter their status as a player. Alex Bregman has no place on this roster! NONE! Sorry, got caught up in the moment. Let Bregman join his cheating manager in Detroit. Or his cheater coach in Boston. …. Everyone be safe if you’re in a location that has winter storms! …. Mark, you and your family are. shining examples of what people should try and be in life. Was in walmart this morning and saw a shopper ridiculing 2 young shoppers who weren’t shopping fast enough to suit him. they weren’t doing anything wrong, they just looked a little different than him. People are people. Not everyone is good, not everyone is bad. not everyone can help others. But civility doesn’t cost a thing. Sorry, this is a baseball site. Once again Mark, bless you for sharing your being blessed with others who aren’t as fortunate. Financially i am not rich. As far as my life, i’m as rich as anyone! …. One baseball note. ( i know finally). If Rojas doesn’t win a spot in spring training, will Kike still be around? With Edman able to to rest Mookie at shortstop, who’d you rather have ? Kike or Rojas. i’ll take Kike!
Will the Dodgers sign Tanner Scott? That’s my only question at this point.
Sasaki? I would think he would sign with LA. But I’m tired of the speculation. His agent said this or that. I don’t care. Make a decision and announce it.
Until then …
So far, a pretty good off-season.
Since we’re talking World Series, I’d like to raise a question that has to do with the 2017 theft by the Astros. That one still hurts because is was my father’s last World Series (he died in early ’18 at 96 years old). He was a lifelong Dodger fan and the reason I am a fan. My mother’s last World Series was in ’88, and I thought it would be a nice symmetry for them both to end their days on this side of eternity with WS wins. That was a bitter pill in ’17. But here’s the thing: I seem to be more upset than most of the Dodger players and front office about it. I don’t know that this is true, but their response was way more measured than I would have had. It’s a thing that has rattled around in my head every now and then ever since.
So my question is this: Is the reason the Dodgers didn’t go scorched earth on the Astros because – to some extent – every team cheats? Was the Astros cheating just a few steps up the ladder everyone is on, or was it really bad, but the powers-that-be decided it was better to live to fight another day?
Any thoughts would be much appreciated.
Also – this is my only real go-to Dodger blog! I can get information anywhere, I come here for insight.
If the Dodgers win another championship in the next 3 years, would that be considered a success or a failure? I guess winning 2 out of 3 would be wonderful, let alone winning 3 out of 3….
I ask because there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t read that they’re the best team and the best management and the best players and the best fans and one of the best stadiums…. Someone mentioned that if they don’t win another ring, they’ll be worse than the Braves.