Dodgers, Yesterday and Today

Congratulations to fellow TBLA/DT alumni

Phil Gurnee ♦ October 20, 2017 ♦ 9 Comments

For years I’ve been able to mock the younger generation of Dodger fans on Dodger blogs by telling them how great 1981 and 1988 were.  I don’t know if over the next two weeks if they will get the joy of 81 and 88 or the despair of 74,77, and 78.

I’m expecting joy for them.

Because

This Team

For Bobby Down who should enjoy this more than any Dodger fan I currently know.  I’ve always like Bobby and that is why I picked on him more than anyone else.  He’s been with TBLA since he was a mere boy.  He’s now a man, a good man which is rare these days.  I really hope his Kershaw can pitch a gem or two in this World Series. My only regret for him is that Matt Kemp won’t be helping the Dodgers get this championship.  Poppa Down be cool too but I doubt he’s all that excited. He’s old like me, and like me, he already had 81 and 88.

For Hollywood Joe, who was so simpatico with how I felt about baseball that he basically replaced me at Dodger Thoughts. His comments usually mirrored my thoughts.  It was a pleasure when he showed up at TBLA, because I felt we really had to earn his presence. Joe is one of the few commentators who became a friend and going to Dodger games and TBLA events with him has always been a pleasure.

Craig Minami was the first commentator at Dodger Thoughts I ever met. We have gone to Laker games, Clipper games, Dodger games, and even High School championship games. When he’s not phubbing you, he’s great company.  Sometimes I’m not sure he’s real. He is probably the nicest person I’ve ever met. He never seems to have any agenda of his own. If the world was full of Craig’s, you would not recognize it because it would be safe and sane.  Knowing Craig, he is much more excited for those fans who have never had a team of their own go to a World Series than he is for himself.

David Young completes the trifecta of the three Dodger internet friends who I’ve socialized with the most.  Dave knew the joy of 81 and 88 and the despair of 74, 77, and 78. We agree on many baseball and social issues.  My biggest regret at TBLA was accidentally deleting all of his comments at TBLA before he became a moderator. It was a tragic mistake that cost me dearly because Dave was one of the few who would comment after everything I wrote,  and without his comments, most of my columns looked barren. I’ll always appreciate how he took time from Dodger Thoughts to comment at TBLA and support me.

I wish the Dodgers had done this while Jon Weisman was still working for them, but I’m guessing he was quite happy for all the Dodger employees he left behind.  If the Toaster still existed today, it would be burning up. Without a doubt, my favorite time as a Dodger fan was interacting with the denizens of the Baseball Toaster.  Before I had a phone that could connect to the internet I would head home after a game straight to Dodger Thoughts to read the game threads.  I could go on an on about Dodger Thoughts but I have other names I need to get in.

Eric Stephen deserves all the joy that covering a World Series team will give him.  I only wish he was writing a book about this season and calling it “Winning a Championship on the Margins”

Gary Alexander has been the biggest booster at this website, but Garry and I go all the way back to Dodger Thoughts.  He’s had to deal with personal things in his life that would crush mere mortals and yet has as good an outlook on life as one could have in this day and age.  I may only have one person who comments here on a daily basis but if I had been given a choice of anyone, it would have been Gary.

Christopher Bednash is a bizarre fan and I hope he can enjoy this moment. He is all about winning and the Dodgers have given him that winning moment. He may need it all to be fully satisfied and even then he’ll be thinking about next year. I didn’t like Chris at Dodger Thoughts and was actually dismayed when he came to TBLA. Being a contrary person I however stuck up for him when he was being denounced during his early run at TBLA.  He figured things out and while he is the complete opposite of a Craig, he still has plenty to say, and in an entertaining way that may leave many politically correct people aghast.

The ladies of TBLA, Maddz, Josie, and Catherine. Josie was the first to really post at TBLA on a consistent basis. She was a snob, but an enjoyable snob. Maddz came in with guns blazing trying to prove how smart she was. We butted heads as was expected. I think the butted heads turned into mutual respect.  At least it did on my side. I still have no idea what her PHD is about, I’m a simple man, but she can be good company and brought alot of zip to TBLA that it didn’t have before. Catherine is like the house mother who hates kids. TBLA never had anything like Catherine before and is lucky this gal from Alabama became a Dodger fan and settled in at TBLA.

Paul Berkowitz, the maestro who doesn’t quite understand simple things but probably has the greatest mind among all the commentators.

I didn’t realize how big a Dodger fan Molly Knight was until I started following her on twitter.  I knew her as an ESPN writer but was unfamiliar with her Dodger fandom. I wish she had written the book she wrote a few years ago, this year. I expect she would have had much more fun writing that book. I only include Molly here because she was a part of the most uncomfortable period I had as a Dodger blogger. I learned a lot from the episode and it probably kept me from writing future inappropriate articles.  One thing I learned is that Molly is quite emotional and given the current state of our country she could really use a Dodger World Series Championship to help mitigate our condition. Most of us could.

Those still at TBLA who comment on a regular basis. Lex Steppling, Foils, FBIhop, Tommy Blackjack, Craig Philips, Catherine, Kevin Lewis, and Steven Noland.

The lost folk of DT and TBLA. I really miss these people. I hope they are still Dodger fans and able to enjoy this moment. Keith Cook, Gary Scott,  Larry Tabb, Don Burns, Marty Leadman, Arnoldo Rico, Bob Timmermann, Rob McMillin, AJ Henning, Kevin O’Cain, David Guerreva,  Grimjack, and especially Kinbote and Todd Kaplan. The loss of Kinbote and Todd was a huge blow to the enjoyment of the TBLA blog.

Good luck everyone, may we have new heroes in a few weeks so that we can stop watching the Gibby video and watch the new hero.