-Last night’s 4-3 win over the Rays helped maintain the Dodgers’ 8-game lead over the second place Padres. Roughly 45% of regular season games have been played. The pace is picking up steam now.
-I’ll be at the game tonight with a bunch of people from my office. But I’m looking forward to a beer and a Dodger Dog almost more than the game itself.
-Tonight is soccer jersey night at the ballpark. I intend to get one and wear it even though it has a huge “Bank of America” logo on the chest.
-Thankfully I bank with B of A. If Wells Fargo were the sponsor, I would be seriously torn. I’ve been with B of A since before any of the Dodger players were born. It’s true, I looked it up. Freeman and Rojas were born a full four years after my first bill was paid by check back in 1985.
-I noticed the Angels also recently hosted a soccer jersey night. Makes sense with the World Cup going on. I’ve come to appreciate soccer since me and Chris adopted the Wolverhampton Wolves, formerly of the English Premier League, as a way to pass the time during Covid.
-The World Cup has started just in time, now that our beloved Wolves have been relegated from the Premier League to the Championship League.
-The Wolves are the Angels of English football. Great fans, lousy team, terrible management.
-Of course I want the US to do well in the World Cup but my teams are Germany and England. English fans are tortured by their recent lack of trophies on the world stage but their fans feel like they’ve got a real chance this year, not only because their team is stacked, but also because they now have a German manager.
-If you’re interested in learning more about the World Cup and need more entertainment in your life (who doesn’t?) tune into After the Whistle hosted by Brendon Hunt (plays Coach Beard on Ted Lasso) and Rebecca Lowe (EPL and World Cup Anchor). They are insightful and hilarious.
-Five thousand Scottish football fans in Boston for the World Cup attended a Red Sox game yesterday. Bagpipes marching through downtown to Fenway Park, fans singing ‘500 Miles’ during the game. Pretty special.
-I’m not sure would work at Dodger Stadium, but in Boston? Perfect.
-Sorry for the diversion, back to baseball. Now that Tarik Skubal is healed up and pitching again, the Tigers are likely to trade him rather than let him walk. Teams generally don’t let superstars walk at the end of their contract without getting any compensation in return, unless they want to end up getting compared to the Wolverhampton Wolves.
-I think he ends up in one of three cities. First and most obvious choice, LA. Current Dodgers management likes injured Cy Young winners, and have the resources to lock Skubal into a four or five year deal immediately after pulling the trigger on a trade. Our farm system is stacked with top prospects the Tigers can use to fill spots or for trading chips later. And there’s something about having a big lefty in the Dodgers rotation. Koufax. Valenzuela. Kershaw. Skubal. He fits.
-Second possibility: Seattle. They are looking like a playoff team again. Their entire starting rotation is right handed. What a boost it would be for that team to land Skubal and balance out that rotation with one of the top lefties in the game. Also he played college ball at Seattle University. Just saying.
-Finally, less likely here but…Atlanta. Yes the Braves already have Chris Sale. But Spencer Strider is hurt again. Trading Skubal for 3-4 top prospects could make sense for both teams and would make the Braves a very scary team come October. I’m not saying I would give up a ton of prospects if I were the Braves. But it could happen and the thought of having Sale and Skubal to counter a lineup with big left handed bats in a playoff series – Ohtani, Freeman, and Tucker, for example – has got to be enticing for Braves management.
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