The world according to Jim:
• The term is “graybeard.” It’s the one that we tend to use to refer to, say, any veteran still plugging away in our games. Most dictionaries tend to agree with this particular definition, as quoted by Merriam-Webster: “An old man.” (And just imagine all of the synonyms they’ve come up with.)
“Old” on the sports pages is relative, of course. And many of those we might refer to as “graybeards” probably don’t need Just For Men. (Or else they do but they use it on the sly). …
• But here in L.A. there are two notable exceptions, two former high school teammates who have decided they don’t really care about all those gray hairs on their chinny-chin-chins. And to Clayton Kershaw and Matthew Stafford, buddies going back to their days in Dallas as Highland Park Scots and still creating memories for different franchises in the same city, good for you!
I’m not sure who has the most gray hairs, the Dodgers pitcher scheduled to face San Diego Friday night or the Rams quarterback who is expected to test his back in a Saturday morning workout before watching the preseason game against the Chargers from the sideline. From what I can tell, it’s a fairly even competition. …
• And before you think I’m making fun, consider that this columnist’s mustache turned white (redacted) years ago. Embrace the old, I say! …
• There could be a third prominent L.A. athlete with a gray beard if he’d allow it. LeBron James has let some of those gray hairs show on occasion, dating back to the 2020 COVID bubble in Orlando. Now you see them, now you don’t. But, entering his 23rd season in the NBA and due to turn 41 Dec. 30, what if he went full gray all the time, the better to embarrass those youngsters who dare to challenge him? …
• By the way, do a search for “graybeard” and you’re liable to be directed to a real estate listing, 7223 Graybeard Court in Charlotte, North Carolina. There has to be a story behind that street name, right? …
• Further perspective on the Dodger bullpen’s struggles during the 12-21 stretch that knocked them out of first place Wednesday: Of 290 innings in that span, relievers pitched 132 of them, with a 4.09 ERA and 22 out of 81 inherited runners scoring. But the most recent memory, of last Sunday’s game against Toronto and this week’s series in Anaheim, underlines it all: Blown saves by Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia and Edgardo Henriquez, and losses by relievers Vesia, Ben Casparius and Justin Wrobleski. …
• But no, Dave Roberts said the other night, the desire for his starting pitchers to go deeper and take some of the burden off of the pen doesn’t mean Shohei Ohtani will go beyond five innings in a start, at least “for this regular season,” as he put it. His reasoning: Ohtani is such a valuable offensive asset that to try to squeeze an extra pitching inning out of him each start represents “just way too much downside.”
That makes sense. …
• Of course, if current baseball trends continue, we could have a shot at a World Series between the Seattle Mariners and the Milwaukee Brewers – aka the former (if only for a year) Seattle Pilots. That was the team memorably depicted in the late Jim Bouton’s “Ball Four,” the diary that revealed way more about what actually went on around a big league team than executives, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn and some uniformed personnel were comfortable discussing.
Mainly, it humanized the players. And yes, I still have my dog-eared paperback copy. …
• With all of the transactions that have taken place in sports – trades, transfers, extensions, etc. – an awfully significant one slipped under the radar for those who treasure good writing. Sally Jenkins is unquestionably the best sports columnist around. (And if you don’t believe me, I refer you to her magnificent 2023 piece about the friendship of longtime rivals Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova).
She took a buyout from the Washington Post recently, and she will now write for The Atlantic magazine and website. It is their big, big gain. …
• This week’s quiz: The Dodgers’ Kershaw and the Rams’ Stafford were friends from childhood and baseball and football teammates at the aforementioned Highland Park High in Dallas, with Stafford catching Kershaw on the baseball diamond and Kershaw snapping the ball to Stafford during football season. There was a third student at that school who became a prominent professional athlete. Can you name him? Answer below. …
• Things I wish I’d written, from longtime college football writer Ralph D. Russo, who for years administered the Associated Press Top 25 poll and now writes for The Athletic and is back in the trenches as a Top 25 voter. He has seen pretty much every criticism you can think of from those obstinate in their objections to the weekly rankings, and as he pointed out, “Unjustified confidence in subjective opinions is one of America’s most abundant resources these days.”
Lots of people recognize that trait. Lots of people practice it. If you do both at once, can we advise you to get help? …
• It’s great enough that the Lakers are going to put a statue of Pat Riley outside the arena. The better part: It will be Feb. 22 – when Boston is in town. Given Riley’s longtime distaste for the way the Celtics and particularly the late Red Auerbach did things, that’s perfect. …
• Quiz answer: Scottie Scheffler. Kershaw and Stafford graduated in 2006. Scheffler, 29, winner of four majors and No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings for the last 117 weeks, is a member of the Highland Park Class of 2014.
jalexander@scng.com