and if you doubt that.... YOU try to win in every shithole that guy has coached at.... Yeah, that's what I thought.
:idea: He might be the best around right now. Winning in Detroit and Pittsburgh speaks for itself and his World Series win with the Florida Marlins is right behind that...
Doubt if he could win if he became the Dodgers manager. There are some "shitholes" too big to time climb out of. Since Ilich became the owner of the Tigers and Dombrowski the GM, the Tigers have been a pretty solid team with a very fertile farm system. This is not a miracle job by Leyland. It is a collective effort.
Geez He's got the Cy Young winner and maybe the best pure hitter in baseball in Cabrara. Throw in a rather weak division and we're talking Hall of Fame managing.
Dodgers are a foxhole compared to the hole the 100 loss Astros find themselves in these days. Not only that but our new owner hasn't been approved yet, supposedly he made his millions in some shady ways!
:idea: re: Dodgers It all depends on McCourt selling the team. If that happens, they'll return to the top quickly. They have both the best pitcher and the best position player in the National League. If he can't be forced to sell, then the franchise is doomed. The fans here are on strike... re: Leyland He didn't become a great manager because he won in Detroit. That's only a minor miracle. He won in Pittsburgh several times (which hasn't had a winning season since he left) and Florida which had a terrible front office.
Leyland's always been one of my favorites. And as somebody already posted, my Pirates haven't had a winner since he left.
Jo Co, I joined on the Dee Gordon fan club after your posting that you thought he was the second coming of Maury Wills. I traded Matt Latos for him in my roto league. Re Leyland/Pirates, they had a ton of talent when Leyland won there; when the talent left, he left; same as when he with the Marlins. He had a OK ballclub in Colorado but washed out of there. He is a HOF manager but he has a solid ballclub in Detroit. I like the Pirates. They need more pitching but they have a nice nucleus of young players and it looks like there owner will spend the money to keep them. The Braves, like the Red Sox, seem to be in a free fall and the Cards are hot. They might catch them but don't know if they have enough time. I have not jumped on the Brewers bandwagon. Great hitting; 2nd best starting staff in the NL and the best set up/closer combo in baseball with Rodriguez and Axford. But, God, their infield is one of the worst fiedling infields I can remember for team that has a shot of making it to the World Series. When your best infielder is a 310 lb. first basemen, that isn't good.
Bobda, Here's a tip for your roto league next year. The Dodgers had a lot of time to experiment with youngsters this season and one of their pitchers is a keeper. He's a 21 year-old righthander named Nathan Eovaldi (pr. E-valdee). He's made nine starts and looked super each time. His ERA is 3.15 and opponents are batting only .231 against him. Even Dodger dogs don't know about him, because they don't go to the games anymore... <object><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IESjMbfKYXw?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IESjMbfKYXw?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></object>
:shock: Speaking of athletic Gods... Clayton Kershaw won his 20th game for the Dodgers tonight at age 23. He pitched for one of the worst Dodger teams in LA history, but he was even better than his record, leading the National League in every category. In the eyes of Dodger fans, he's getting close to that God-like status that only Koufax, Drysdale and Fernando have reached. This was the FIFTH time that he beat the hated, World Series Champion Giants THIS season and it was the fourth time this year that he defeated Tim Lincecum. In a season to be forgotten, Kershaw is the reason the Giants won't make the playoffs. We tip our hats as he walks by...
IMO, Kershaw should be a lock for the NL Cy Young. Jim, I may need your guidance next spring when it's time to pick my fantay baseball team. This past spring, my 14 yr. old grandson, Aaron, talked me into trading Clayron Kershaw to him. At the time, the trade made sense for both of us, but obviously Aaron knew more about Kershaw than I did. Maybe you can be my west coast scout so I don't make the same mistake two years in a row.
OK. I'll give you fantasy leaguers a report on the National League West, which is what I follow. For now I'll just remind you that the cash-strapped Dodgers have already announced that they won't trade Kemp, Kershaw or Ethier, so you shouldn't trade them either... BTW- in the MLB draft a few years ago, the Dodgers had their choice in the first round and chose Kershaw...the Giants took Lincecum with the next pick... PS. Kids like your grandson grow up to be general managers...
Matt Kemp is surging: three doubles and a HR tonight. He leads the NL in RBIs and now he's close on HRs and BA too. He has a chance to win the Triple Crown that no National Leager has won since the 1930's.
Besides in the AL BB playoffs the shithole football team is 3-0 with 2 wins on the road. Everyone up here is hoping to someday be able afford to move to Eden, California or Alabama.