The world according to Jim:
• And here we go again: Teams that are not from major media markets will compete for a championship, and the narrative leading up to it involves how sickly the TV ratings will be.
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Just stop.
The worth of a sporting event is not measured by the Nielsens, or by the Q Ratings of the teams or stars involved. We seem to lapse into this argument before championship events without serious thought, on behalf of the TV networks and advertisers – and believe me, they don’t need our help or sympathy. …
• The Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays are in the World Series by merit. Each team had the best record in its league, kind of a throwback to the way it used to be. These are smart organizations who have succeeded without large payrolls, creatively and with a heavy accent on player development. …
• You want to know the difference between some small payroll teams and others? Some organizations – and particularly their fan bases – grouse about payroll size and revenue and how the deck is unfairly stacked against them. Others work to overcome the obstacles and succeed anyway; thus, the difference between the Milwaukees, Tampas and Clevelands and the Pittsburghs and Cincinnatis of baseball. …
• And it’s probably not a coincidence that Milwaukee president of baseball operations Matt Arnold spent nine years in the Tampa Bay organization. Much of his time in Tampa Bay (2006-15) overlapped with that of Andrew Friedman, the Rays’ president of baseball operations before becoming the Dodgers’ POBO in 2015. …
• Bottom line: If you don’t watch the World Series, that’s your right to avoid it. (And if you’re a Dodgers fan, it’s perfectly understandable. That sweep still hurts, doesn’t it?) But don’t buy into the national narrative that it’s a lesser attraction because the Dodgers or the Yankees aren’t there. …
• Brewers in six, by the way. And with enough Southern California guys on their roster, what do you think the odds are that one of them will be the World Series MVP? …
• The list includes Brice Turang (Corona Santiago), Jake Bauers (Huntington Beach Marina), Christian Yelich (Westlake), Garrett Mitchell (Orange Lutheran and UCLA), Trevor Megill (Marina), Joey Ortiz (Garden Grove Pacifica) and Jo Jo Romero (Oxnard). Plus two-time NL Manager of the Year Pat Murphy (who coached at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the 1980s), and owner Mark Attanasio, an L.A. businessman. And former Dodger Dustin May. …
• The Rays have two players with area roots: Pitcher Tyler Wells (Yucaipa High, Cal State San Bernardino) and Jonny DeLuca (Agoura High), a former Dodgers prospect, plus pitcher Cole Sulser from Ramona High near San Diego. (Two other former Dodgers, Gavin Lux and Ryan Pepiot, are on the Rays’ injured list.) …
• This week’s quiz: It has been 44 years since Milwaukee hosted a World Series, when the Brewers were in the American League and lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. When was the last time Milwaukee won a World Series? (Answer below.) …
• Best line on social media after Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero’s home run and, shall we say, elongated trip around the bases during the Cleveland series: By the time he was done, he’d become Senior Caminero. …
• If you’re a pitcher and you don’t like the celebration? Pitch better. …
• Quiz answer: It was Oct. 10, 1957, when the then-Milwaukee Braves defeated the Yankees in Game 7, 5-0, with Lew Burdette picking up his third victory of the Series – all three complete games – and Eddie Mathews, Hank Aaron and Frank Torre (Joe’s older brother) driving in the runs in a four-run third inning. The Braves were back the next year and lost to the Yankees, and that was it until the ’82 Brewers. …
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• OK, Lakers fans, how much do you miss LeBron James, if at all?
He said this before the Knicks-76ers opener this week: “I had visions of playing in [Madison Square] Garden and finishing my career in the Garden. One of the best places I’ve ever played … I think it’s the No. 1 arena in the world, as far as for a basketball player. But after they beat San Antonio, I was like, ‘Hey, I can’t.’ I couldn’t do it.” …
You think LeBron might have been influenced by the accusations of ring-chasing that Kevin Durant received when he left Oklahoma City to sign with the Golden State Warriors in 2016? If so, you’re probably not that far off. …
• There was already championship talk from overexcited Lakers fans following Game 1. And it sounds like people are, um, delusional in Boston as well, where the Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy wrote: “Hate to break it to you all, but only in Boston are the 2026-27 Celtics considered championship contenders.”
Right now in the Western Conference, the Lakers are fifth best behind Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Denver and Minnesota. This reconstituted roster – Luka Doncic’s team, indisputably – will have plenty of opportunities to change that, but right now it still looks like a tall hill to climb. …
• For some reason, the NBA schedule has 13 conflicts this season when both the Lakers and Clippers are at home. Since the Clippers left downtown L.A. and moved into Intuit Dome in Inglewood, the number has steadily risen, from eight in 2024-25 and 10 in 2025-26.
In 2023-24, the last year the teams shared the arena formerly known as Staples Center, there were six dates when both played at home – and the Clippers got the day game on each occasion. No wonder team personnel were so anxious then for Intuit Dome to open. …
• Footnote: For Wednesday’s openers, the Lakers announced a home crowd of 19,057 and the Clippers announced 17,927. We’ll see if that continues. …
• In case you missed this one, somehow the Knicks’ assistant coaches didn’t receive their championship rings on opening night. Worse yet, other team employees – who customarily receive rings when a team wins a title – learned they would get nothing. And worse still, the email they’d received regarding rings turned out to be an in-house phishing scam, and those who clicked on the link were signed up for a cybertraining session instead.
So I think it’s pretty safe to say Knicks and MSG boss James Dolan has again taken his place at the top of the Bad Owners Club. Readers, who are your nominees for that dishonor?
(I can guess at least one in this region whose name will come up, and he’s a short-timer.)
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