Remind us again when Southern California was the center of the baseball universe.
Like, six months ago?
All it took way back in late ‘12 was the Dodgers and Angels committing to a combined $360 million in roster spending for ’13 personnel. The assumption was that there were performance clauses in all those contracts, as well as lower Medicare deductibles, but that’s not our area of legal expertise.
Still hankering for a Freeway Series? With a combined 24-42 mark going into Friday’s games, the Dodgers and Angels are liable to get a ticket, steep fine and a suspension of their operator’s license for attempting to drive an empty bandwagon in the FasTrak lane.
Six weeks in, BaseballProspectus.com gives the Dodgers an optimistic 33.2 percent chance of making the playoffs (based on a projected 82-80 mark in the NL West), and the Angels have a 19 percent shot (with an 80-82 AL West record).
The prospects of Don Mattingly and Mike Scioscia sitting in as managers by the time that happens isn’t accounted for. The two must feel as if they’re sitting on the San Andreas Fault, because all this early mess is their fault, of course.
A lesson to relearn: Before one plants a pre-paid championship flag on a particular beachhead, could someone please check the compounded penalties for failure to cash in on fans’ rewards points now that the local NBA interest levels have subsided?
Or will a weekly Friday Fireworks Night make everyone forget the implosion that’s about to occur?
Continue reading →

A happy 50th anniversary to Kings’ Hall of Fame play-by-play man Bob Miller and his wife Judy, who celebrate the date on Saturday — an off-day for the Kings, but one that could be a travel day from L.A. to St. Louis for a Monday Game 7 in their series. The Millers were recently presented with a unique commemorative hand-etched 6-liter bottle of wine customed designed by The Valedictorian Company and FSW/Prime Ticket statman Doug Mann.
The bottle was a gift from a group of Miller’s friends presented after the final regular-season game against San Jose in the Chick Hearn Press Room at Staples Center. The back of the bottle shows the Millers with the Stanley Cup, while the front is a black-and-white picture from their wedding day. Check out thevaledictoriancompany.com.
“I was hoping I wouldn’t have to be on the road with the Kings on this 50th anniversary and it appears that even if there is a game 7 in St. Louis, we won’t be leaving until Sunday,” Miller said Thursday. “Both Judy and I were really surprised by the nice reception after a Kings game at
Staples Center last week. Doug also arranged for each of us to receive a University of Wisconsin hockey jersey since I started doing hockey for the Badgers and two football jerseys from the University of Iowa where I went to college.
“The bottle was beautiful. When I looked at that wedding day photo, I looked so young I said, ‘I have no idea who this guy is.’”

A fan to letsgokings.com suggested this could be an alternative for FSW/Prime Ticket the next there’s a need to use a Kings’ playoff game in a multi-screen presentation.

What passed as content in this week’s column: As a followup to the blog post we had last week, we tried to get more answers as to why and how Fox Sports West/Prime Ticket decide on how to put the Kings, Ducks, Clippers, Dodgers and Angels into their programming slots this time of year. Really, it’s kinda complicated.
“My 11 daughter loves jigsaw puzzles; she got that from my mom,” FSW/Prime exec Steve Simpson says. “But (the one they have a the networks this spring) is solvable. It’s not something we can laminate and frame, thought. We gotta take it apart and figure it out all over again each week.”

What didn’t quite make it in:

Continue reading →

It’s kinda complicated.

There’s a daily routine that plays out in what we’ll call “The Situation Room” each spring at the Fox Sports West offices in downtown L.A., not far from Staples Center. And it can be very puzzling to the executives who essentially have to resolve fitting essential pieces like the Kings, Ducks, Dodgers, Angels and Clippers into the programming slots provided on FSW and Prime Ticket, with options available — sometimes — on Channels 9 and 13, KDOC and a Regional Sports Network spill channel.

Split-screen scenarios aside, it’s rare that every viewer of any team is completely satisfied. That leads to a rogue-rage of threatening Twitter responses, expletive-filled emails and promises of pulling plugs from confused viewers.

Who gets priority? Why is one team shuttled from one home to the other? What if the Lakers were still part of this equation?

“We have no ‘favorites’ – the goal is always trying to achieve a balance that’s fair and impartial,” Steve Simpson, the FSW/Prime Ticket executive vice president and general manager, tried to explain diplomatically this afternoon. Continue reading →

By the numbers, those Angels’ billboard that still hang around town outnumber anything the Dodgers have posted along the side of our city’s freeways.

The big red boards supported by team owner and billboard baron Arte Moreno aren’t so easy to figure out — what does it four World Series champions, 11 World Series appearances, 11 Silver Sluggers, 25 All-Star Selections, 4 MVPs, 2 batting titles, 6 Gold Gloves, 2 Rookies of the Year, and 2 Manager of the Year awards mean?

Any way to update those digits? How about:

11-22: Third-worst mark in baseball, matching the worst start in team history after 33 games.

16.9: Percentage of chances the team is given to make the playoffs from BaseballProspectus.com, based on an 79-83 projected finish.

8.6: Percentage of chances the team is given to make the playoffs from ESPN.com (still better than the Dodgers’ 6.0 percent).

127: Payroll, in millions, for this team, ranking fifth in all of baseball this season.

61: Payroll, in millions, for the 2002 team that won the World Series, ranking 15^th in all of baseball that season.

3: Home runs hit by Josh Hamilton, tied for fifth on the team with catcher Chris Iannetta, who has 50 fewer at bats.

1.3: Mike Trout’s WAR this season.

Minus 0.5: Hamilton’s WAR this season.

18: Pitchers used in April

13: The channel the team gets bumped to if there’s a hockey game on FSW

1: Manager who might want to make sure his contract calls for a nice padded landing.

Toronto pitcher J.A. Happ lies on the field after he was hit in the face by a line drive during the second inning of the Blue Jays’ 6-4 victory over Tampa Bay. (James Borchuck / Tampa Bay Times / MCT / May 7, 2013)

In light of J.A. Happ taking a line drive to the skull and heading to the hospital, we’ve turned to Arizona pitcher Brandon McCarthy.

As a member of the Athletics last Sept. 5, McCarthy suffered a similar fate during a game against the Angels. He decided to chime in via Twitter about all the media discussion calling for more stringent safety measures for MLB pitchers in danger of someday suffering a worse fate than just a headache.

Tweeted McCarthy, who had a no-decision Tuesday night against the Dodgers in the D’backs’ 5-3 victory:

= Anybody taking the hard line stance today that pitchers should be wearing helmets, need to get out their tool kits and make a good one
= Otherwise, you’re accomplishing less than nothing. This goes for news organizations especially.
= There is nothing acceptable out there so the discussion at this point is worthless.

Someone asked: @BMcCarthy32 But how will anyone “address the problem” unless the discussion continues? Have to start somewhere, no?

McCarthy’s retort:
= There is no discussion to be had. It’s simple. Want money? Invent something that protects pitchers heads at all levels, make a ton of it.
= lots of anger over me saying a discussion is worthless. Sounds about right #stopKONY
= WAIT! it’s so simple! how have I missed this? we need to change our social networking avatars for awareness then problem solves itself. Duh

We sense some sarcasm … Put a cold towel on your neck and relax. We’re just concerned and trying to help by over-talk it outloud.

Was there a surge of support for Manny Mota to be recognized by the Baseball Reliquary’s Shrine of the Eternals based on his rather quiet reassignment by the Dodgers’ organization as their long-time special hitting coach this season?

The Pasadena-based nonprofit dedicated to “fostering an appreciation of American art and culture through the context of baseball history” announced Mota as its top vote-getter to be entered as the 15th class into the Shrine of Eternals on July 21.

Mota, one of the great pinch hitters of all time, topped the list by being named on 37 percent of the ballots. Former San Francisco legend and bar keep Lefty O’Doul was on 35 percent, and softball showman Eddie Feigner was on 33.3 percent.

Just missing election: Bo Jackson and Don Zimmer (both with 32.6 percent) and Dizzy Dean (31 percent). Continue reading →

Highlights of the week ahead in sports, both here and afar:

THIS WEEK’S BEST BET:

NHL PLAYOFFS: WESTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS:
KINGS vs. ST. LOUIS
Game 4: Today at 7 p.m., Staples Center, FSW:
No one’s ready to kiss off these Kings. Yet. If their best Stanley Cup defense comes from a bunch of defensemen finally scoring goals — or sparked by one of their celebrity followers tongue wrestling with the team’s mascot – so be it. This summer’s playoff path has already started with a much different script from a season ago, but that’s sometimes how sequels go in Hollywood. Close calls will continue to define this opening series, and both teams now it heading into the home-and-home-and-home-and-home stretch. “We knew what we were in for,” said Blues coach Ken Hitchcock after Game 3’s 1-0 Kings win. “This at where it is at, probably accurate where it is right now. It is a hell of a battle and it won’t be any different (tonight). There is not much difference between the two teams. Both goalies are on top of their game.” Home, at least tonight, plays into the Kings’ favor: They’ve won eight in a row at Staples Center, including the last seven regular season games while compiling a 19-4-1 mark at home.  Still, they’ve only rallied from a 0-2 series deficit once in franchise history, beating Detroit in 2001.
The rest of the series:
Game 5: 6 p.m. Wednesday at St. Louis, FSW
Game 6: 7 p.m. Friday at Staples Center, Prime
(Note: Game 7 is Monday, May 13 at St. Louis if necessary)

NHL PLAYOFFS: WESTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS:
DUCKS vs. DETROIT
Game 4: 5 p.m. Today at Detroit, KDOC:
As long as the Red Wings continue to pull stupid moves on the ice to wake up the sleeping Ducks, there’s a chance this will end mid-week in Anaheim. No word if the Ducks’ Toni Lydman will be in any shape to play tonight after the hit he took from Detroit’s Justin Abdelkader in Game 2.
The rest of the series:
Game 5: 7 p.m. Wednesday at Honda Center, Prime
Game 6: TBA Friday at Detroit, KDOC
Game 7: TBA Sunday at Honda Center, FSW

BEST OF THE REST: Continue reading →

International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Al Bernstein looks out to the crowd during the induction ceremony in Canastota, N.Y., in June, 2010 (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth)

Amidst the mayhem that’s often counterproductive to the counter punches taken regularly by the sport of boxing, Al Bernstein “can always be counted upon to calmly and coolly assess the situation,” writes Jeremy Schaap in the afterward of the recently released autobiography by the longtime boxing analyst entitled “Al Bernstein: 30 Years, 30 Undeniable Truths About Boxing, Sports and TV” (Diversion Books, $15.95, 176 pages).

“A big man with a big voice, he has never needed to shout – the hallmark of a true pro.”

Funny story, though.

Bernstein, before heading out the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for Saturday’s Showtime pay-per-view telecast of Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s title defense against Robert Guerrero, found himself yelling at a dry cleaning owner on Wednesday.

All the tuxedos his wife dropped off to be neatly pressed for the telecast had disappeared. After three trips to the back to look, they finally find the order – it was listed under his wife’s first name.

“I admit, I’m usually easy going, but I was being difficult,” Bernstein said. “I was really annoyed they couldn’t find the order.”

As Bernstein left the place finally with his wardrobe in tow, a woman stopped him on the street to make it known: “They (the owners) are very nice people, and you are a jerk.”

That part didn’t make it into the book, because as far as we know, it’s not an accurate statement.

Boxing often jerks viewers around when it comes to hyping performers under the auspices of building an audience of paying customers. Which is why we tracked down Bernstein to see why in the world we should care about a 36-year-old who just got out of jail for spousal abuse getting into the ring and asking customers for as much as $69.95 to watch at home if they really needed the high-definition feed of this so-called defining moment:

Floyd Mayweather Jr., right, talks to Boxing Channel’s Al Bernstein prior to his 2011 fight against Victor Ortiz. (Photo by Gene Blevins/Hogan Photos)

QUESTION: Seriously, why is Floyd Mayweather Jr. still relevant today, with all the baggage he carries and the way he kept avoiding facing Manny Pacquiao? Continue reading →