L.A. Times - Bill Plaschke

Two Hall of Famers the Dodgers forgot

Bill Plaschke — Sat, 25 May 2013 18:12:00 -0700

Zack Wheat and Dazzy Vance, stalwarts of the Brooklyn era, deserve to be recognized at Dodger Stadium.

Zack Wheat is remembered frequently in a town in the middle of Missouri, his great-grandson often pulling out a Bull Durham cigar pin bearing the likeness of the most prolific hitter in Dodgers franchise history.

Don Mattingly shows fire, but his flame is flickering with Dodgers

Bill Plaschke — Fri, 24 May 2013 23:16:00 -0700

Stan Kasten hedges his bet, although he says he supports the Dodgers' manager who has gone from ambiable to angry.

Don Mattingly is worth saving, but who among Dodgers can do it?

Bill Plaschke — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

It's looking more and more as though the Dodgers could fire Manager Don Mattingly soon. He has protected his players, but will any of them come to his rescue? Not likely.

From the moment Don Mattingly made his Dodgers managerial debut in the spring of 2011, he has made it his mission to protect his players.

Baseball is diamond in the rough to black players at Gardena Serra

Bill Plaschke — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:16:00 -0700

'In the inner city, all you hear is that baseball is racist,' says player for Serra, which boasts predominantly black roster. The team, headed to playoffs, has unique vibe that may help boost sport.

On a sunny Tuesday afternoon on a cluttered street in Gardena, some very big and skilled athletes are hanging out on a concrete basketball court, bouncing around underneath rusted backboards and chain nets, acting out a typical inner-city scene, with one small exception.

With this Little League squad, it's a mom-and-pop-up operation

Bill Plaschke — Sat, 11 May 2013 19:06:00 -0700

Three Monrovia women will celebrate Mother's Day with a different sort of diamond than might be expected— as coaches of a machine-pitch team called the Dodgers.

The manager was rushing directly to practice from work, so she jogged onto the infield carrying a plastic bucket of baseballs while wearing a skirt.

Without a turnaround, Dodgers could turn to someone other than Don Mattingly

Bill Plaschke — Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

General Manager Ned Colletti says the team has the right personnel to break out of its slump. And he says the players love Mattingly. But one has to wonder who will pay with his job if things don't change.

The new Dodgers owners, it turns out, jazzed up every corner of Dodger Stadium but one.

Fan can't believe Matt Kemp's gesture

Bill Plaschke — Tue, 7 May 2013 23:15:00 -0700

Kemp hadn't planned to hand his cap, his jersey and his cleats to an ill Dodgers fan, but then he just had to.

He had just made the final out in a city where his name is booed, his jersey is reviled, and his team had been swept.

From the hire point, the descent can be sudden for L.A. coaches

Bill Plaschke — Sat, 4 May 2013 19:40:00 -0700

If you want to coach a major sports program in Los Angeles these days, lose your sense of pride, find your sense of humor and prepare to spend every waking hour apologizing for not being Phil Jackson.

He was once the face of college basketball, Hoosiers personified, a small-town kid who this spring brought a smile, a swagger and a national championship resume to the UCLA program.

He's just the man to lead the Lakers: Phil for president

Bill Plaschke — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:50:00 -0700

Franchise is in disarray, and perhaps only one man can fix it: Phil Jackson. But not in the way you might think.

On farewell day, they waved until their hands hurt.

Lakers, Dwight Howard need to walk away from each other

Bill Plaschke — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 23:15:00 -0700

The center has proven he can't handle being the face of a franchise like the Lakers. The team needs to rebuild and needs the financial flexibility it won't have if Howard is re-signed.

His exit from the Lakers' season was as regal as his entrance, Dwight Howard surrounded by screams and gasps as he swaggered through the Staples Center tunnel into the shadows of summer.