Sports

'Ownership of the game': Former Dodgers ace Walker Buehler is ready to return

Published

2 weeks ago

May 6, 2024

'Ownership of the game': Former Dodgers ace Walker Buehler is ready to return

On an otherwise quiet backfield at the Dodgers’ Camelback Ranch complex this spring, a barrage of expletives rang out from the mound one late February day.

In his first time facing hitters all camp, Walker Buehler was already in fiery midseason form.

He’d pull a fastball inside, then admonish himself with a growl. He’d miss the other corner of the strike zone, and frustratingly blurt out a four-letter word. At one point, teammate Kiké Hernández playfully patronized the right-handed pitcher, telling him the misplaced pitches shouldn’t make him feel bad.

With a glare from the rubber, Buehler snapped back just as he started to fire his next pitch.

“He’s in his leg kick,” one Dodgers official in attendance cracked with a laugh, “and he’s still talking s—.”

Two years and a second Tommy John surgery later, the old Buehler — in mind, if not yet completely in body — was unmistakably back.

“Walker’s an elite competitor, that’s never gonna change,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “So we’re excited to get him back and watch him compete for us every turn.”

On Monday night at Dodger Stadium, that return finally will happen.

Buehler will complete a 23-month comeback against the Miami Marlins, having finally finished a six-outing rehabilitation stint in the minor leagues last week.

“The biggest thing of being a starting pitcher … is having that ownership of the game,” Buehler said about his anticipation for Monday. “For me that’s what has always given me the butterflies or whatever. An entire organization’s success on that given day relies on you. So that’s probably the thing I’ve missed the most.”

When Buehler climbs the Chavez Ravine mound, it will put him at a crossroads in his once-burgeoning career.

He’ll not only be taking on a key role in the Dodgers’ starting rotation, Buehler will be embarking on his final season before free agency this winter. And he’ll be doing it all while trying to rediscover — or redefine — who he is as a pitcher.

“I’m just happy to be back,” he said. “And ready to help us win.”

Walker Buehler throws out the first pitch left-handed before Game 2 of the NLDS against San Diego in October 2022 just months after undergoing his second Tommy John surgery to repair his right elbow.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

From the moment Buehler hurt his elbow in June 2022, Dodgers officials tried to pinpoint the exact root of the issue, holding a series of conversations with coaches, trainers and medical staff to identify if something could have been done to better protect the ace of their pitching staff.

“We’ll have a debriefing, and talk about some different things,” pitching coach Mark Prior said when Buehler was first hurt. “I think it’s healthy to do that with anybody that goes down.”

In the two years since then, that process never stopped — remaining front of mind through Buehler’s initial rehab in 2023, an unsuccessful comeback attempt at the end of last season, and an elongated ramp-up to Monday night.

At every step, Buehler and the Dodgers evaluated his pitching mechanics, contemplated changes in his delivery and tried to trace the causes of his ulnar collateral ligament tear.

The answer they arrived at, as Buehler stated matter-of-factly this spring, was less of an obvious explanation, but rather an acknowledgment of his undersized reality.

“When you’re a little bit smaller,” Buehler said, “there’s risks you gotta take.”

This is a trade-off Buehler accepted long ago.

To get the most out of his wiry 6-foot-2 frame, he learned to throw with maximum effort on every pitch.

To facilitate his rise to big league stardom — becoming a two-time All-Star and World Series champion — he pushed the limits of his body, and elbow, in a calculated bet.

“The style I throw with is kind of predicated on my ability to let every ball go hard,” Buehler said. “There’s risks that come with that.”

But not any regret.

“Had I not done that,” Buehler noted, “who knows if I get to the big leagues, or would be any good in the big leagues. There’s some cost-benefit to that.”

Now, the challenge for Buehler — who notably has added weight during his rehab process — is figuring out how to be good in the big leagues again.

The first checkpoint will be executing his delivery. His mechanics haven’t changed drastically since his injury, still marked by an over-the-head wind-up, high leg lift and straight-leg finish. “To the naked eye, it’s very similar,” Prior said. “It’s kind of his signature [move].”

Still, there are subtleties Buehler has been trying to hone, Prior said, “nuanced positions” with his back hip, front leg and general arm path that were affected not only by the two-year rehab process, but the bad habits Buehler developed in 2022, when his ailing elbow was causing problems even before his UCL blew out.

“I’ve always been a tinkerer,” Buehler said. “Health-wise I feel great. Now it’s just about getting my rhythm back.”

Dodgers starter Walker Buehler celebrates as the final out is made in the fourth inning with the bases loaded in May 2022.

Then, there’s the matter of his actual stuff, typically among the biggest questions for pitchers returning from a second Tommy John — something only a handful of starters, such as Nathan Eovaldi and James Taillon, have handled with much consistent success.

In his rehab stint last month, Buehler’s fastball averaged 94 mph, about a tick down from his 2022 average, which was already a drop from other years. The spin rates on his curveball and slider had also dropped, though it had notched up on other pitches such as his cutter.

One potential factor for the inconsistency, Buehler noted, was a lack of intensity at the minor league level.

“To be completely frank, there’s not a whole lot of [adrenaline] for me down there,” he said. “I wish there was for me to get going. I wish I didn’t sound so [crappy] to say that. But I think getting the adrenaline of pitching in the big leagues is something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time.”

The Dodgers, meanwhile, saw enough in Buehler’s weapons to be optimistic about his post-injury potential — especially after finishing his rehab stint with a five-inning, one-run start in Oklahoma City last week.

“I was really impressed because he was pitching,” Roberts said of his last rehab start. “I thought he used his entire pitch mix really well. The velocity was still there. And he was getting outs.”

Added Prior: “That one, it was like, ‘Dude, we’re not worried about the amount of pitches you throw. Just go pitch and see where it’s at.’ And hopefully, that freed him up to feel more convicted, more confident.”

In the biggest moment of his career, Buehler put complete faith in his most commanding pitch.

With the bases loaded and no outs in Game 6 of the 2020 National League Championship Series, Buehler dialed up 12 consecutive fastballs (including one cutter) to help him record three straight outs and escape a monumental jam.

The sequence was a microcosm of Buehler’s old heater-heavy game plans. While he enjoys a repertoire of curveballs, sliders and breaking pitches, a fastball capable of hitting the upper-90s has always come first and foremost.

The question now: What if he can’t attack quite the same way?

Roberts hinted at this reality when discussing Buehler’s return last week, acknowledging the 29-year-old’s need to probably adapt as he recalibrates his physical state and in-game mindset.

“I think he’s going to still be Walker,” Roberts said. “He’s going to be attacking.”

Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler lets out a yell after retiring Atlanta's Cristian Pache with bases loaded in Game 6.

But …

“I think that there’s [a version of] attacking with his entire repertoire,” the manager added. “In years past, it was heavy fastball, heavy cutter — where I think that Walker has more weapons. And I think that’s what my hope is. [Using them] instead of just trying to bully guys.”

This is the duality Buehler — who still runs hot when he pitches, as his live batting practice sessions in the spring loudly displayed — will have to strike in his return to the mound.

On the one hand, he needs his fire, his competitive edge; the one that drove him at even the healthiest points of his career, and could help compensate for whatever velocity he has lost since then.

“It’s part of his superpower,” Friedman said. “And he’s really good at it.”

At the same time, however, overly relying on that in-zone aggression, or an overconfidence in his ability to blow guys away as he once did, could spell trouble in his transition back to major league competition.

“The game has changed in three years,” Prior said, noting the length of Buehler’s absence poses a problem. “It’s kind of weird to say. I don’t mean it’s changed drastically. But hitters continue to get better, continue to gameplan … and those are things that he’s going to have to relearn. Guys he used to be able to blow fastballs by or throw different pitches, a lot of these guys have gotten tremendously better.”

Add in a small regression in velocity or deception, and Buehler might have no choice but to maintain a more precise, crafty, patient pitch-by-pitch presence.

“He’s gonna have to figure those things out, and the only way to figure it out is to put him against big league hitters,” Prior said.

“As you haven’t been competing at this level for quite some time, [you have] to sort of feel, figure out, see where you’re at,” Roberts added. “I’m sure there’s going to be some anxiousness, some nerves, that there naturally should be, until you kind of get a couple starts under your belt.”

Ideally, it will be a quick process for Buehler and the Dodgers, one that could make the right-hander a vital piece in their long-term championship contention plans — and position him for an offseason payday that once seemed in question.

“He demands a lot and has high expectations for himself,” Prior said. “That hasn’t changed.”

Yet since his 2022 injury, so much else has.

He might be a similar pitcher. He might possess the same unrelenting mindset. But, to manage a return from a second Tommy John surgery that few others have mastered, Buehler might also have to formulate a new approach on the mound, and concoct a slightly altered recipe for success.

“It’s been a long time and a long process, but I finally put some things together,” Buehler said, looking forward to Monday’s first true test. “The delivery just works better when you’re amped up a little bit, so I’m looking forward to that.”

Sports

Seize The Grey wins 149th Preakness Stakes; Mystik Dan finishes 2nd

Published

4 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Press Room

Seize The Grey wins 149th Preakness Stakes; Mystik Dan finishes 2nd

Seize The Grey won the 149th Preakness Stakes Saturday, closing at 9-1 odds, one of the longest shots on the board.

Mystik Dan, the winner of the Kentucky Derby, made a move late, but finished second in the field of eight horses running in the $2 million, 1 3/16-mile race.

It was a wire-to-wire victory for Seize The Grey, who led by several lengths at the ¾-mile mark, with Imagination trailing closely behind.

Jockey Jaime Torres, riding Seize the Grey, celebrates after winning the 149th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course May 18, 2024, in Baltimore. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Mystik Dan and Imagination both crept up, and as much as Mystik Dan tried to maneuver past the leader, nothing worked. Seize The Grey crossed the finish line first.

D. Wayne Lukas, 88, became the oldest trainer to win the Preakness, his seventh victory in the race, one shy of Bob Baffert’s record.

The original favorite, Muth, trained by the controversial Baffert, was scratched earlier this week due to a spiking fever. That led to Mystik Dan becoming the favorite in his quest to be the first Triple Crown winner since Justify in 2018.

Jockey Jaime Torres, riding Seize the Grey, celebrates after winning the 149th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course May 18, 2024, in Baltimore. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Muth opened as the 8-5 favorite, ahead of Mystik Dan at 5-2 (he later closed at 2-1). Baffert said the horse was ruled out after reaching a temperature of 103 degrees Fahrenheit roughly 12 hours after arriving at the racecourse.

It was unknown for a bit whether Mystik Dan would run after his Kentucky Derby victory, but ownership decided he was good to go.

No one in the race’s 149-year history has saddled more horses in the Preakness than Lukas with 48 since debuting in 1980. He had two this time, with Just Steel finishing fifth.

The wind vane at Pimlico Race Course ahead of the 147th Preakness Stakes May 18, 2022, in Baltimore. (Getty Images)

Baffert was at Pimlico after missing his third straight Kentucky Derby due to suspension. He is slated to be back at Churchill Downs in 2025. His National Treasure won last year’s Preakness.

The final leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, will take place at Saratoga Race Course June 8.

Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.

Sports

Demare Dezeurn beats loaded Masters Meet field for 100 win

Published

4 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Press Room

Demare Dezeurn beats loaded Masters Meet field for 100 win

Demare Dezeurn had many spectators at Moorpark High shaking their heads in amazement Saturday at the Masters Meet, where the Southern Section’s best athletes across all divisions compete for berths in next week’s state track and field finals at Buchanan High in Clovis.

The Bishop Alemany freshman beat a loaded field in the boys’ 100-meter dash, getting out of the blocks first and maintaining his lead down the straightaway to win in a wind-aided 10.36 seconds.

“I was very surprised because I’ve been battling injuries but I’ve worked a lot on my start, and when I saw I was in the lead I kept putting my foot to the pedal,” said Dezeurn, who beat Long Beach Poly freshman Benjamin Harris (10.43) and Los Alamitos junior Devin Bragg (10.47). “It’s my PR and I also got the school record, so it’s great motivation going into the state meet.”

It was more vindication for Dezeurn, who won the 100 in a wind-legal 10.47 seconds at the Mt. SAC Relays in April and won the event in 10.54 at the Division 4 finals last week after placing third at the Arcadia Invitational in 10.43.

All nine entrants in the girls’ 100 qualified for state, paced by Gardena Serra senior Mia Flowers (11.46), Royal sophomore Olivia Kirk (11.54), Canyon Country Canyon senior Mikaela Warr (11.54), Chaparral junior Keelan Wright (11.56) and Oaks Christian senior Nia Clayton (11.59).

The first race of the day pitted Division 2 winner Calabasas against Division 1 winner Poly in the girls’ 4×100 relay, and the top two teams in the state battled to the finish line with Coyotes sophomore Marley Scoggins edging Jackrabbits sophomore Brooklyn Lee on the anchor leg. Calabasas’ time of 45.71 seconds was the fastest yet for the foursome of Lahela Ray, Paige Porter, Zoe Ray and Scoggins.

“It was about even when I got the baton, but I got out quickly and didn’t want anyone to catch me,” Scoggins said. “I could hear the crowd getting louder and louder. Our goal for state is 45.5.”

Poly, which also was runner-up to Calabasas at Mt. SAC, clocked 45.95.

In the boys’ 4×100, Tre Hernandez ran a sizzling anchor leg for Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (41.27), which edged Poly (41.38) for first.

Notre Dame’s Tre Fernandez, left, and Poly’s Donte Wright Jr. sprint to the finish in the Masters Meet’s 4×100 relay. Notre Dame won in 41.27.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Ventura junior Sadie Engelhardt breezed to victory in the 1,600 meters in 4 minutes 45.05 seconds, separating herself from the pack on the last lap to win by 1.61 seconds over Braelyn Combe of Santiago. Afterward, she seemed just as happy to see teammate Tiffany Sax (4:50.87) also qualify for state.

“This race was more about staying out of trouble and making sure there was no one on my heels,” said Engelhardt, who became the first girl in state history to win both the 800 and 1,600 at the state meet last spring and set the national high school federation 1,600 record of 4:29.86 at Mt. SAC. “At the last Masters Meet, five people tripped and I didn’t want it to be me.”

Could she set another record at the state meet?

“If the conditions align … it’s usually hot and windy in Clovis,” she said, a week after claiming the Southern Section Division 2 title in the 1,600 in 4:46.86. “My coach does a good job of monitoring my workouts so I’m ready to run my best.”

Later, Engelhardt and Sax teamed with Aeolo Curtis and Melanie True to win the 4×800 relay in 9:02.57, and Cathedral (7:42.19) outdueled San Clemente (7:43.92) in the boys’ race.

Sadie Engelhardt (left) leads the pack in the 1600 meters at Saturday's Masters Meet. She won the race in 4:45.05.

In the boys’ 1,600, all 12 runners were tightly grouped until the last 200 meters, when Beckman’s Ibzan Felix and Ventura’s Anthony Fast Horse made their moves and ran stride by stride to the finish. Felix won by one hundredth of a second in 4:09.77.

Chaparral’s Wright won the girls’ 200 in 23.48 and Eastvale Roosevelt senior Jeremiah Harris won the boys’ 200 in 21.22, just ahead of Poly’s Julius Johnson (21.25) and Harris (21.27) and Los Alamitos’ Bragg (21.28).

Santiago junior Rylee Blade won the 3,200 by more than five seconds in 10:15.00 and is poised to repeat as eight-lap champion. She won the event by 20 seconds in a state-record 10:02.19 at last year’s state finals.

Notre Dame sophomore JJ Harel won the boys’ high jump at 6 feet 10 inches and Great Oak junior Nicolas Alexis was first in the long jump with a leap of 23-1. Taking the shotput with a throw of 62-0½ was Garden Grove Pacifica senior Zach Lewis.

Long Beach Wilson junior Loren Webster won the girls’ long jump with a mark of 19-3¼ and Ventura’s Valentina Fakrogha won the high jump at a height of 5-8.

Sports

2014 Boston Marathon winner receives prize money from stranger

Published

11 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Press Room

2014 Boston Marathon winner receives prize money from stranger

Ten years and one month after Buzunesh Deba finished as the rightful winner of the 2014 Boston Marathon, she was finally given the prize money she never received — but it didn’t come from the Boston Athletic Association.

Rather, it came from a stranger.

When Deba crossed the finish line on Boylston Street in 2014, she didn’t receive international praise, the ceremonial gold wreath or the purse of $100,000 ($75,000 for winning plus $25,000 for breaking the course record). Rather, those honors and winnings went to Rita Jeptoo, who crossed the finish line first that year, but whose victory was stripped by the BAA in 2016 after a failed drug test.

Deba finished just over one minute behind Jeptoo for second place that day, but her time of 2:19:59 still shattered the previous course record set by Margaret Okayo in 2002.

But while Deba’s name replaced Jeptoo’s in the history books after the failed test, the money never appeared in Deba’s bank account.

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Despite Jeptoo’s record being scrubbed and her name being tarnished, her winnings have never been reclaimed. Similar cases have unfolded with the Chicago Marathon, where Liliya Shobukhova won the race three times for a total of $265,000 before she was caught doping. Like with Jeptoo, no money has ever been recovered from Shobukhova.

That is until Doug Guyer gave her the money out of his own pocket. Guyer, a businessman from Philadelphia, personally paid Deba her $75,000 after reading an article in The Wall Street Journal in April about her never receiving her winnings.

“We cried. I called my mother to tell her and she was so happy,” Deba told The Athletic in an email.

Deba, who has competed internationally for Ethiopia, is based in the Bronx, N.Y., with her husband and two children.

She found success at the 2014 New York City Marathon, where she finished ninth, and returned to Boston in 2015, where she finished third.

But for Deba, that 2014 win remains the pinnacle of her career. And for her family, those winnings were sorely needed.

“It means so much. It allows me to train again. We don’t have a sponsor. We have to pay for everything,” she said. “And I have two children. The money will go to my training and my family. We are so grateful. We have waited so long for this and almost gave up. God bless Mr. Doug.”

Guyer, who played football at Boston College and was beaten out for the starting quarterback spot by Doug Flutie in 1981, told the Boston Globe, “It was just about righting a wrong that’s been wrong for 10 years.”

Guyer said he’ll consider sending the $25,000 course record bonus if the BAA doesn’t.

The BAA said in a statement it is in “pursuit of reclaiming prize money awards from Rita Jeptoo” and plans to pay Deba her winnings when the association receives them. The organization said it is backed by policies held by World Athletics and supported by World Marathon Majors.

“The BAA is still pursuing Ms. Jeptoo to recover the prize money for Ms. Deba, which the BAA believes would be a just and fair result for her and all runners who follow the rules,” a BAA spokesperson said.

Deba said she was skeptical of Jeptoo’s performance from the day of the 2014 race, saying she wondered why Jeptoo wasn’t tired when she crossed the finish line.

Deba looks over her shoulder on the home stretch of Boylston Street during the 2014 Boston Marathon. (Photo: Dina Rudick / Getty Images)

But when Deba was told in 2016 that she was the winner, she couldn’t believe it.

“I was in my apartment and I jumped up and down. It was my biggest win,” she said. “Not only was I the champion but I was also the course record holder.”

Despite her decade of waiting for her proper winnings, Deba said she’s never held bitterness against the BAA. Instead, she considers the organization “like family.”

While she took her story public in April, in the weeks before the 10-year anniversary of her win, she held back from sharing it so for many years because she trusted the BAA would do right by her. She also feared that if she said something she would not be invited back to the prestigious race.

“This started when my friend came to my apartment and looked at my second-place trophy and asked, ‘What’s this? Where’s your real trophy?’ I told her that they never sent one to me,” Deba said. “She was so upset for me. We wrote to them and I eventually got my medals. Then they asked me to come to a celebration for the 10 year winners. She told me that I should see what they planned to do about the money.”

In response to The Wall Street Journal story, fans from around the world came to Deba’s defense, with many even willing to crowdfund her winnings.

“I am so grateful to know that so many people are behind me,” Deba said. “It is important that people know how hard I worked to win. This is my job. I was not begging for something that wasn’t mine. A lot went into winning and I am glad to see that the community agrees with me.”

It wasn’t until after the April article was published that the BAA responded about trying to move her case forward, Deba said.

And yet, that doesn’t diminish her adoration for the race or even deter her from wanting to return to the world’s most famous marathon.

“It is still my dream to come back and not only run but win Boston,” she said.