The Los Angeles Dodgers hired Davey Lopes as the team’s first base/baserunning coach yesterday. Which is terrific, because Davey Lopes will say anything. Everything.
I loved covering the guy, because he always had a look on his face like somebody farted. Times could be good, times could be bad—who farted? To a journalist, that’s the best look around, because it suggests a man prepared and willing to speak his mind and howl like a dog.
Lopes found little success as Milwaukee’s manager, but I never really blamed him. The guy expected old-school play from new-school ballplayers, and when it didn’t come, he went off. You gave 100% for Lopes or he had no use for you.
And that’s all I have to say about that.
