Don’t worry about the Dodgers
Clint Hurdle’s in town
Good morning, all! It’s hump day!!!
I do not know where they come up with these statistics, but in this techno-driven age, everything is out there. And so it is the Los Angeles Dodgers lost for a second straight night to their rivals, the San Francisco Giants, 6-2. That makes four straight losses for the two-time defending world champs.
Which leads us to the where-do-they-come-up-with-this-stuff department? USA Today baseball writer Bob Nightingale posted on X, the Dodgers have lost “four straight by four or more runs for the first time in 90 years.” July 1936 was the last time it happened. Heck, they were back in Brooklyn, playing at Ebbets Field nine decades ago.
Whether it’s four or more runs, or less than four runs, the Dodgers have lost four straight. It happens, even to the best of them. That’s baseball. The game is played everyday, even though today’s social media has done what the late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was criticized for, applied a football mentality to baseball, which does not work.
Will the Dodgers make it three straight World Series titles? Tough to say, but they are too good not to make the playoffs, barring injury. Their recent woes are also a reminder baseball is not an easy game to play.
Clint Hurdle is in town
It is always a good day, when Clint Hurdle is in town. Hurdle, a former first round draft choice of the Kansas City Royals in 1975, now works in the Colorado Rockies front office. His duties include roving throughout the minor league system, and he is in Hartford this week to visit the Rockies AA affiliate in the Eastern League. He picked a good time to arrive. The Yard Goats made it five straight wins last night with a comeback, walk-off home run by another first round pick, Benny Montgomery, to beat the Red Sox affiliate Portland, 7-6.
Hurdle is one of the few people to say he played in and managed in a World Series, having played for the Royals against the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1980 Fall Classic and being the only person to manage the Rockies to a World Series in 2007. He had a successful career as manager of both the Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates. He has a book out - published in the spring of 2025 - readily available on Amazon and in book stores. I wholeheartedly recommend it.
Hurdle also has a daily news letter filled with inspiration. His Wednesday letters are among my favorites. “Wooden Wednesday” features inspirational stories about the late UCLA basketball coach John Wooden. Here is the link.
Hurdle’s website is clinthurdle.com. He is a true ambassador of the game, traveling throughout the country to talk baseball and spread goodwill. His inspirational talks, along with his book filled with “Wit and Wisdom,” are a reminder about all that is good about baseball.
Here are a couple of other Wednesday thoughts:
The Red Sox impotent offense has reached new depths, following last night’s loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1. Boston has scored only 57 runs in 20 home games this season at hitter-friendly Fenway Park and just 18 runs in their last 10 games there. The Red Sox used to score that many runs (18) in just two games back in the day. Something has got to give for the 17-and-24 Olde Towne Team.
By the way, how effective was Zach Wheeler in last night’s win over Boston? He threw just 16 pitches in the first three innings of the game. You read that correctly! 16 pitches!
That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Thank you so much for being a subscriber and have a, with a nod to Clint, enjoyable “Wooden Wednesday!”
DAN