I was contemplating whether to publish the below or not. But after somebody tried to bring LA Dodger Chronicles down, I thought that I would go ahead and publish. It kind of goes hand in hand with what has transpired the last couple of days.
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I started writing for Mark and LA Dodger Talk in 2017. I needed a distraction from my son’s stroke, and Mark’s offer to write for him came at the right time. After nearly 5 years with Mark, I decided to move on and started LA Dodger Chronicles (with Mark’s help) with the beginning of the 2022 season. Yes Rodgerdodger I am the founder/moderator/whatever. This was supposed to be a hobby…fun. It costs me several thousand $$$$ a year to keep it going.
I understand why Mark has quit and come back multiple times. When it stops being fun, why continue? I am not Mark where I can bury my IT costs in my business. It comes out of my pocket, and I do not have a trust fund. I am also not like Mark whereas if I decide to quit, it will be one time.
So it has to be fun for me to continue to lay out the $$$. Yesterday and today it has not been fun. I could care less if anyone dislikes Dave Roberts or Andrew Friedman. But when someone goes on and on and on and incessantly on because he thinks Landon Knack was horrible and HR prone (countless times), and blames it on Roberts, it got tiresome for me. Prior to his 7.0 scoreless innings in Game 1, Jack Flaherty was HR prone with the Dodgers.
When the rosters came out, I do not remember anyone saying Landon Knack should not be on the roster. If he is on the roster, he should pitch. His role was to be a bulk inning pitcher. Doc/AF/BG/Mark Prior/Connor McGuiness/Danny Lehmann decided to go bulk inning for Game 2 and save the high leverage reliever bullpen game for later in the series. No reason to expose the high leverage guys more than necessary. Does any commenter believe he is more qualified to make the decision more than any of those individuals? You disagree, fine. Say why and move on.
Knack was horrible. Okay, make the point and move on. You blame Roberts? Fine, make the point and move on. You do not have to say the same thing more than 10 times (no exaggeration).
Admittedly, my patience for Eric was already at an abyss when he went on about Papi and wrote this:
I can’t stand all 3 of them. I can’t even understand whatever his real name is (I hate nicknames, they’re stupid) when he talks. Go to school or something to learn english. Why they have those 3 guys year in and year out baffles me, especially the guy that’s hard to understand.
2 Yankees and a guy that can’t speak proper english. Blows my mind. That’s the way this country is going though.
BTW, proper English is capitalizing English when referring to the language.
His given name is David Ortiz. I call him Papi because that is the name he goes by with everyone. I do not care if his command of the English language is not to Eric’s standards. Papi is one of the most genuine and nicest people I have ever met. Papi took my son under his wing knowing how difficult it was for him (Papi) when he first came up with Minnesota. He went out of his way to make my wife feel comfortable. He is a big teddy bear.
And Derek Jeter (one of the other two Eric can’t stand) went out of his way in a ST game to put his arm around my son after he hit a big double. He knew how hard my son was working to get to MLB.
Bottom line – For those who do not like my blog, don’t read it. I am not banning anyone (but that too can change), but if you think I am condescending, don’t read it. It is not like I am chasing away $$$ if you leave. This is not a business for me. You will notice that the site is ad free. No revenue…no business. Right now, I am not having fun, and I have until January to decide if I want to plop a few more thousand $$$ to continue for another year.
And BTW Rodgerdodger, it is my blog, so it is my way or the highway.
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Now for all of you who want to continue to bash Doc, feel free to do so. I promise to try and not be condescending. But do so before the game.
Jeff D. I don’t think I’ve ever posted here, but I read it regularly and really enjoy your analysis. Part of my “fun” is reading what you and other thoughtful commentators write. I can imagine how frustrating it can be to read the same people saying the same tiresome things over and over again. I hope you start having fun again soon. Thanks for everything you’ve done to make it fun for the rest of us.
Thank you Matthew.
Jeff, as I shared with you in a private email, I commend you for all that you have done in maintaining this blog and writing thought provoking and entertaining articles about baseball and our beloved Dodgers. We have experienced 11 years of tremendous if not unprecedented success. Yet, for many is still not enough.
This year, when, according to many on this blog, the Phillies, Brewers, Orioles, Mets, Yankees, Diamondbacks and of course the Padres all had better teams, we somehow finished with the best record in baseball. We did that with half the team on the IL. Not only that, apparently, we’re also plagued with the dumbest manager in baseball, the dumbest coaches and the most inept front office. According to many, the only reason we are where we are is because of dumb luck.
Other than the articles and and several of the commenters, including Badger, Phil Jones, Watford and a few others whose names escape me at the moment, reading the comments has become akin to getting a root canal without novacaine.
Jeff I feel your pain and wish you nothing but the best going forward> I respect you for putting up with this crap day after day. Other than this comment, I, for one, have chosen to live the remainder of my life without having to read or listen to the drivel on a daily basis.
Rob, as you and I have shared many times, we both have trials, tribulations, and challenges that we deal with in every day life. This is supposed to be an escape for me. Until recently it has been, and hopefully it will be again in the future. We will stay in touch.
And here I thought the dramatic and gutsy series win against the Pads would give AF and Robert’s a pass at least through another series. It didn’t even last through another loss! .A decade of being the best organization and team in all of mlb not good enough for some.Sad. Jeff sorry that you have to take the brunt of the whining
Kudos Jeff, you are da man.
Like Jeff, I started writing for LADT just before the pandemic. I had no experience, but Mark knew how much I love the history of the game and the team, and he felt his readers would enjoy those story’s. Before that, I only posted when I was not on the road driving a big rig. I used to post on the Dodger website when they had that feature. Things got so toxic on there that they discontinued the thread. Then for quite a while I posted on Scott’s site, ladodgerreport. It was there that I first encountered Mark. This was back when AF had just taken over the team and traded Kemp to the Padres. A trade I absolutely hated. Of course, I have no idea what went on behind the scenes, but my main gripe was that he was traded for Yasmani Grandal. The reason was simple, I don’t like cheaters, and Grandal had been suspended for PED use. Long story short, we got into a very heated feud. When things on Scott’s site went south, I did not write anywhere for a while except on ThinkBluePC. But Badger got Mark and me communicating and we buried the hatchet. Not long after that, I began writing. I love it. I am 76 years old, and it helps keep my mind busy and active. I wrote probably a hundred plus articles for LADT until Mark shut it down, and then changed his mind and decided to carry on alone. No problem, I was already doing stuff here by then. But there are times when it becomes exasperating to hear the same complaints day after day even when the team wins. I am not immune as sometimes I am the one complaining. And it is a lot of work. The last couple of months have not been easy. With Jeff recuperating, and me putting a lot of pressure on myself to keep the site moving and relevant. But I still love the game, and the team. I just wish we could all be happy with what we have. What is happening now is unprecedented in the history of this franchise. They have more resources to draw from than at any time in the team’s history. And still the fans are not satisfied. The thinking is if they don’t win the World Series it is a lost season. Ok, I get that. But over my 70 years as a fan, they have only won 7 times. That is once every 10 years. They have gotten there 14 times in that span. And sorry guys, it just isn’t that easy. If it was, more teams would have gotten there. Angels have been once in their entire existence, and I remember their first season when they played at old Wrigley Field in LA. Even went and saw them play the Tigers there. Only time I ever got to see Al Kaline in person. Enjoy what we have, it won’t be around forever. Just like this site.
If you look at it from an even bigger picture: Dodgers franchise is playing baseball for well over 130 years. Only 7 WS in that span. Some of the early fans never experienced only 1 of those championships. It is a rare feat for every fan (if you are not a Yankees fan, lol, but who wants to be that ?).
One thing I beg to differ: Best time IMHO for the Dodgers franchise were the years from 1950 to 1965. Before my lifetime (born in 65) but 4 WS titles in that span, every year one of the true contenders. Some of our greatest players of all time during that span.
The present run of the franchise is amazing too but the WS titles are missing.
Dodgers franchise and their leaders are saying that themself. So the expectation level of WS or bust resides not only with the fans. And so does the frustration when another year goes by with a season without a WS ring to show for.
A game like Game 2 on Monday (a very , very winnable game with some better execution on the side of the players and better managerial decisions) immediately lets those frustrations flare up again. Huge difference if you go to NY up 2-0 or tied.
And the furstrations show up on blogs, internet forums, face to face discussions among fans etc.etc.Some can cope with this frustration better than others.
Blogs like this or youtube channels are therapy stations in those cases.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I get it Ram, but I disagree. 154 game schedules, you only had to beat the 7 teams in your league, and you only had to play 4-7 postseason games. Today it is a gauntlet. Pitchers finished what they started, you did not have to face DH’s, pitchers hit for themselves, and most were not very good at it. Bullpens were made up of kids or over the hill vets. You ought to go back and double check some stuff. True contenders? The 59 team made it by the skin of their teeth. They had no true superstars. The Braves had a better roster, and the Dodgers were playing in the coliseum which was a nightmare for pitchers. The only year in that span that they won the pennant going away was 1955. The beat the Braves by 13.5 games. In 59, they tied, in 63, they beat the Cardinals by 6 games. In 65, they won the pennant by 2 games. In 66.it was 1.5. 63,65 and 66, it was their pitching that won the pennant for them. The teams in this era, they have better offenses than any of the teams after 56. The best offensive team in Brooklyn history was probably the 53 team. Back in those days, you played your opponents in the league 22 times a year.
Jeff, I think your prospect content is among the best on the internet. Thank you for all the interesting reads over the years and I can promise I’ll continue to read them as long as you publish them. I consider you an expert in the field and you have earned the right to voice your opinions and analyses and be taken seriously.
Thank you!
I don’t know how these blogs or message boards really work. I am a regular reader of the Raider board and we have paid subscribers on there to defray costs. Not everyone pays just those who want to or can. I’m sure there are people on here who would pay a yearly fee. I think I pay $15 or $30 a year at Fans in Black.
I think I understand the frustration Jeff. It would be my advice, though you didn’t ask for it, try to ignore the noise. You have a good thing going here, I don’t have a clue what the actual traffic numbers are but I’m sure it’s busy. And if costs are an issue, you could drop an ad or two here, just as long as it doesn’t get in the way of content, as it has on other sites. Maybe Mark’s son would place an ad here.
I do hope you will stick around. Do whatever you need to do to make it fun again. I know many here appreciate your talent for writing and research as much as I do. It would be a shame if we lost this place.
Illegitimi non carborundum
You are doing a great job Jeff.
Content is excellent and the way you conduct this site is blue print as well.
I understand your frustrations . In die early days of the internet a friend of mine set up an internet forum for FC Bayern München fans over in Germany.
It was fun until it was no fun . Too many malcontent users who only were there to daily stir the pot in a very aggressive and obnoxious way. Nothing helped. You could ban them only to see them come back with a new alias.
And just as in your case technical problems flared up.
Took a lot of time to clean them up and when we both started families and became fathers with time becoming a huge necessity we finally decided to shut it down after 5years. 😑
I hope you keep up the great job you do here. Very much appreciated here.
When and if you decide to shut it down it will be a sad day for many users here.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jeff,
I’m not really sure why you are in a depressed mood? You mention something about someone trying to bring the site down? What happened? You also mention something unclear about certain posters. In a public site like this, wouldn’t you expect some voices to be divisive, angry, belligerent, and even nasty? Why should it affect you like this unless there are things you are not telling us. You’re a grown up man, write intelligently, and have mostly supportive posters here. You can’t expect to please everyone or share all opinions. Is there any kind of venture that doesn’t deal with any kind of adversity?
Sports is like religion to many. They believe and worship their idols, and think of those that disagree as infidels. The truth is that no religion or sports interest has ever delivered any peace of mind to the world and is still mainly a divisive force contrary to popular belief. We can still enjoy a baseball game in spite of its ups and downs. Is there really a problem?
Something personal in his life happened around this time of year some time ago. It is a hard time for him and his family. I don’t think Jeff expects everyone to be happy all the time. When one spends so much of their personal time doing research and composing stories trying to keep their posters informed and then to have to deal with some people who are consistently belligerent or angry, it gets to be a drain on you, and it is no longer fun. Take into consideration the fact that he has been trying to recover from surgery and it is going very slowly. I have tried to help as much as I can. But I get where he is coming from.