Lee Lowenfish

It came as a shock to me last week when word came on Facebook that Marty Adler had died suddenly of a stroke at the age of 76. He was not a household name in the world of baseball fandom but he sure touched the lives of people who knew him.

A retired junior high school principal from Brooklyn, Marty Adler singlehandedly created a Brooklyn Dodger Hall of Fame to preserve the legacy of the team of his youth. His passion was the primary reason why IS 320 was named in 1977 after Jackie Robinson. The building bordered where the third base stands of Ebbets Field, destroyed by a wrecker’s ball in 1960, once stood.

I met Marty when I hosted “Seventh Inning Stretch” on WBAI- Pacifica Radio during the 1980s. He knew his Brooklyn Dodger history intimately as only a real fan could. He praised Bruce Edwards as an under-appreciated catcher on the 1947 Dodgers during Robinson’s rookie season. He was tireless in promoting Gil Hodges for Cooperstown, a cause still not completed. It was Marty who years later pointed out to me that the hustling Dodger in a photo in the Brooklyn Cyclones gallery was shortstop Charley Gelbert - (I had only known of Gelbert as a St. Louis Cardinal whose career was cut short by a hunting accident.)

For almost every year from the early 1980s through the mid-1990s Marty organized ceremonies at “Welcome Back to Brooklyn” Day in Prospect Park. Adler also planned many dinners to honor returning Dodger heroes and some of their rivals.

At one of these events Bobby Thomson even apologized for causing so much pain to Brooklynites. (I’m not one of those who believes in the overhyped story that Thomson knew what pitch was coming from Ralph Branca on 10/3/1951, but that is a discussion for another time.)

Marty was responsible for two of my favorite stories. The first must have happened in 1985 when my sciatica first flared up and I limped over to Brooklyn to interview the year’s honorees. Mickey Owen, the catcher known for missing third strike in the 1941 World Series, was one of the returning heroes. He was still quite an athlete, intent on becoming the oldest ever to run marathons. There I was decades his junior hobbling around with my tape recorder while he offered exercise advice on strengthening the muscles around my back.

The second story is about Marty pointing out to one of his young sons the housing project on the hallowed ground of Ebbets Field.
“The Dodgers once played there,” he said.
“Yeah, Dad?” came the reply. “What floor?”

There was a wonderful outpouring of emotion for Marty Adler at the packed funeral in Woodbury, Long Island on Tuesday August 13th. Never have I heard such laughter amidst the tears.

I hope the memory of a kind, honest, sports-loving, and sports-participating man is bringing consolation to his wife and childhood sweetheart Linda, their two sons and the grandchildren he doted on. The family suggests that donations in his name can be given to the Sloan-Kettering hospital in Manhattan.

THIS ‘N’ THAT ON THE BASEBALL SCENE
**How hot have the LA Dodgers been? Until they lost on Sunday Aug 18 and Monday Aug 19 they had not lost back-to-back games all summer. They seem to have a secure lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

**Superscout Don Welke, a special assistant these days for the Texas Rangers, observed recently that he used to think assessing prospects was a 75:25::talent:makeup proposition.
Now he feels it is more like 55:45. Not surprising given how publicized the world of baseball is these days. The need for having a stable makeup and a solid work ethic is greater than ever.

That’s all for now. As I feared the Orioles’ playoff chances are slipping away but there is still some faint hope among the true believers that they can start the kind of winning streak they really haven’t enjoyed all year. "Love is blind," I guess.

No words of wisdom on the A-Rod/A-Roid controversy. Except let the hearings play out and remember that the evidence against him was purchased from a source who will not come to arbitration or court with clean hands.

Remember even more that nothing can kill baseball – though many owners, players and pundits continually try to do it.

And most of all, always remember: Take it easy but take it!
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The great historian of the U.S. Charles Beard once said, "History never repeats itself exactly." I was thinking of that perceptive quote when looking at the mediocre month my Orioles have endured. I never expected that they could repeat their miraculous finish of last year when they won a record number of one-run games, beat the Rangers in the first-ever wild card playoff game, and pushed the Yankees to the limit in the AL Divisional Series.

They took fire last year around August and are certainly still alive in this year's wild card hunt. They are only five games behind the surging Tampa Bay Rays in the lost column for first place in the AL East. But the Birds are spinning their wheels in July and giving no signs that they can put together a winning streak to surge them towards the top.

The slumps of Chris Davis and Manny Machado were predictable. They had spoiled us with home run and double binges, respectively, and to their credit they have continued to play strong defense as does the entire team night after night. Yet the starting pitching remains inconsistent except for the emerging Chris Tillman and hopefully a healthy Wei-Yin Chen and Miguel Gonzalez. The lack of consistent power from other members of the lineup except for Davis is both evident and frustrating.

The return of second baseman Brian Roberts after years of injuries has pleasantly surprised me. He seems to be moving well in the field and driving the ball at the plate. So maybe a lineup that is potentially deep when it is clicking will awaken in the days ahead. Not betting on it but will be rooting for it to happen.

I hope the Orioles will be wise enough not to go for a deadline deal in late July for the quick fix that won't fix anything for the long run. Some teams, however, cannot resist the pressure from the media, including a special MLB-TV program planned for the hours before the mid-afternoon July 31 trading deadline.

Don't get be wrong - I love MLB TV. Even won a mlb.com T-shirt - made in America I'm happy to add- when I asked a question of Mark McLemore at FanFest during All-Star Game about his connection with Adam Jones that I found out goes back to when both were with the Seattle Mariners. Yet long-term views in building an organization should always be foremost.

Meanwhile the Tampa Bay Rays under the guidance of world-class manager Joe Maddon continue their amazing onslaught. After being in the basement briefly in late June, they have surged into first place as of games before July 30. Near the end of July they won back-to-back series on the road against both the traditional AL East powers, Red Sox and Yankees.

The return of last year's Cy Young winner David Price from injury has led the way on a potent starting staff that includes former Rookie of the Year Jeremy Hellickson, breakout southpaw Matt Moore, the rookie Chris Archer (pilfered from the Cubs in the Matt Garza deal), and Roberto Hernandez (the former Cleveland star known as Fausto Carmona).

Waiting in the wings to return to the rotation shortly is Alex Cobb who was having an outstanding year when he was hit in the head by a line drive in June. The Rays witnessed the Blue Jays' J.A. Happ suffer a similar injury earlier in the season at their home field Tropicana Park and Happ is still not yet back.

The dangers that ballplayers face every day and the courage they show should never be underestimated. I was an eyewitness on Friday night July 26 to another near-injury when
the Yankees' Ichiro Suzuki almost beheaded Hellickson with a line drive in the first inning.

Hellickson, who won the gold glove last year, reacted quickly and snagged the ball before it hit his jaw. He composed himself quickly and wound up pitching six innings for the win.

It is not likely that Tampa Bay fans will flock to their indoor stadium in St. Petersburg to greet their surging heroes. They remain next-to-last in MLB home attendance. But Florida Gulf Coast sports fans are missing a great opportunity to see a team that lives - really lives one of the mottos of manager Joe Maddon: "Win hard for 30 minutes, lose hard for 30 minutes, and then prepare for the next game."

I don't follow the National League as closely because the Mets while improved are still lacking in so many areas. In late June I did see the Dodgers play the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. I was pleasantly surprised to see many Brooklyn Dodger caps and shirts even though the team has been in LA now longer that they were in NYC's underdog borough.

The expatriates from Brooklyn were still under .500 when I saw them. But you could see the talent ready to explode in Hanley Ramirez, now back playing shortstop, and Yasiel Puig, the Cuban defector. Shortly after leaving NYC, the Dodgers caught fire and have played baseball almost as well as the Rays since then. They lead the NL West now and have two aces in NL Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw and the AL refugee Zack Greinke.

The unpredictable world of baseball continues to unfold and I for one will sit back and enjoy it. I am not letting the continuing fallout from the Biogenesis steroid scandals spoil it for me. I for one wouldn't mind more suspensions of players by MLB except - I stress EXCEPT - I have no confidence that impatient owners will not go bidding crazily for the next free agent with questionable credibility on the PED issue.

One truth remains self-evident: Nothing can or will kill baseball.

That's all for July - see you next month and remember always: Take it easy but take it!  Read More