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Monday, November 26, 2007

The Griddle: Book Review: ‘I Live for This!’ by Bill Plaschke with Tommy Lasorda

Crank up the HEPA air purification system…as Bob T. checks out the Lasorda-Plaschke book.

Plaschke depicts the 2000 Olympics as one of Lasorda’s shining moments as he rode a hastily prepared team of minor leaguers to a surprising gold medal win over Cuba. But in the book, Lasorda comes across as a prototypical “Ugly American” who tries to intimidate the opposing teams by encouraging rough play and continually baiting the umpires. In the gold medal game, Lasorda refused to let his pitching coach, Phil Regan, tell him what starter Ben Sheets’s pitch count was. Lasorda was going to leave him out there until the game was over. (I couldn’t find the pitch count, but Sheets threw a four-hit shutout and got a lot of ground ball outs, so it likely wasn’t too high.)

...And yet through it all, Lasorda remains a Dodger. He claims to value loyalty more than any other quality and he claims that’s why he’s been paid by the Dodgers for most of his adult life. Lasorda says he is loyal to the Dodgers above just about everything else. But is Lasorda loyal to the Dodgers or is he just a guy who knows how to survive? Is he “baseball’s last true believer” as the subtitle of the book implies or is he the ultimate politician? Plaschke doesn’t answer this question. He’s too busy admiring the façade that is Tommy Lasorda to find out.

BTW…Sheets pitch count was 103 in the gold medal game.

Repoz Posted: November 26, 2007 at 11:31 AM | 16 comment(s) | Bookmark
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   1. Guapo Posted: November 26, 2007 at 12:47 PM (#2625063)
BTW...Sheets pitch count was 103 in the gold medal game.

So in other words, the quoted passage is nothing more than a "PAP smear"?

*rimshot*

Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all day, unless I get called into a meeting.
   2. Quiet Flows the Don Taussig Avenger (Edmundo) Posted: November 26, 2007 at 01:06 PM (#2625065)
Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all day, unless I get called into a meeting.
We know that it won't be a meeting of the minds.

*rimshot*

Thangu vurrry much.
   3. Liver of blaspheming 'zop Posted: November 26, 2007 at 01:24 PM (#2625070)
I guess you could say that Lasorda was a father-figure to Ben Sheets.
   4. Pasta-diving Jeter (jmac66) Posted: November 26, 2007 at 01:37 PM (#2625077)
Tommy Lasorda is dumber than ten dogs
   5. John (You Can Call Me Grandma) Murphy Posted: November 26, 2007 at 01:39 PM (#2625078)
Tommy Lasorda is dumber than ten dogs


Maybe, but are any of us here smarter than Mr. Peabody?
   6. Quiet Flows the Don Taussig Avenger (Edmundo) Posted: November 26, 2007 at 01:57 PM (#2625082)
Maybe, but are any of us here smarter than Mr. Peabody?
You are going Way Back.
   7. Shooty: Applying to be Fearless Leader Posted: November 26, 2007 at 02:00 PM (#2625084)
Why can't you guys take a book written about Tommy Lasorda and penned by Bill Plaschke more seriously. Cretins and philistines, all of you!
   8. Slinger Francisco Barrios (Dr. Memory) Posted: November 26, 2007 at 02:12 PM (#2625090)
Maybe, but are any of us here smarter than Mr. Peabody?

Sure, man.
   9. Designated Sitter (GGC) Posted: November 26, 2007 at 02:15 PM (#2625091)
Sure, man.


Yeah, jmac66 is. He hobnobs with Carter Burwell.
   10. RMc's grumbling has gone far enough Posted: November 26, 2007 at 02:16 PM (#2625092)
Maybe, but are any of us here smarter than Mr. Peabody?

Sure, man.

Quiet, you!
   11. Mushmouth Posted: November 26, 2007 at 05:54 PM (#2625281)
Tommy Lasorda is dumber than ten dogs


Just 10? No way, there are 15 in my neighborhood alone smarter than he is.
   12. Designated Sitter (GGC) Posted: November 26, 2007 at 06:37 PM (#2625331)
Interesting review by Bob and an interesting thread over at The Griddle. I never knew that Lasorda was a Houkian.

From the review:

Plaschke doesn’t press Lasorda too much on his three most prominent managerial failures: the 1980 tiebreaker playoff loss to Houston, the loss to the Giants on the last day of the 1982 season that gave the Braves the division, and the decision to have Tom Niedenfuer pitch to Jack Clark in the ninth inning of Game 6 of the 1985 NLCS.

I should dig out my 1986 Baseball Abstract, but didn't conventional wisdom suggest that he walk Clark while it was pitching to him was the right thing to do gametheorywise? First base was open, but the walk reduced the Dodgers chances of winning from @ 79% to 76%. Sure, Clark was a better hitter at the time but Van Slyke was a lefty. One thing that I couldn't find was whether or not Niedenfuer was a flyball pitcher. If he was, that makes it an even better decision to face Clark.
   13. snowleopard Posted: November 26, 2007 at 09:44 PM (#2625542)
   14. Harveys Wallbangers Posted: November 26, 2007 at 09:52 PM (#2625553)
Gary:

Correct. Walking Jack to face a guy with the bases loaded AND the platoon advantage would have been the worse move. And against righties that season Andy hit .281/.360/.481 which back then was more impressive than it is now.

LaSorda did the right thing picking the lesser of two evils. 'Cause I understand folks looking at Jack Clark circa 1985 and thinking twice. The guy had a well-deserved rep for being a late game monster. Van Slyke was just a skinny kid.
   15. snowleopard Posted: November 26, 2007 at 10:05 PM (#2625570)
   16. Dag Nabbit and his imaginary friends Posted: November 27, 2007 at 12:00 AM (#2625659)
Interesting review by Bob and an interesting thread over at The Griddle. I never knew that Lasorda was a Houkian

How is he a Houkian?
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