A ship goes aground. The captain reporting to naval command has two questions to answer, and only two questions to answer.

One, did the ship go aground? Two, were you the captain at the time the ship went aground? That’s what it comes down to. Nothing else matters.

We can argue whether or not the Dodger ship is fully aground, maybe, but we’re not talking the high seas here. This is as far as you get from smooth sailing, and it’s all too familiar.

Frank McCourt’s words in his introductory press conference say all that’s needed: “This is the Los Angeles Dodgers.”

Don’t talk to me about injuries and underachieving, and if you even begin to start the word “chemistry” out of your mouth, I’m going to smack you. Been there, done that.

It doesn’t matter if the manager is a nice guy. Fine if he is, don’t care one bit if he isn’t. Jim Tracy is not a leader of men, he’s not an in-game tactician, he can’t manage his most important players, he has no answers for any problems, ever.

The new owner has his entire management team in place. All things Fox have been excised, from steamed hot dogs on down; all except for Tracy. It’s time. Right now. Not the All-Star break, right now.

Yes, Howard, but tell us how you really feel…

Trivia: When Maury Wills set the major league record with 104 stolen bases in 1962, he was caught stealing just 13 times, a startlingly low number. In distinct contrast, Lou Brock, in his record season of 118 steals in 1974, was nailed a considerably higher number of times. How many?

For extra credit, what was Rickey Henderson’s total in 1982, when he swiped 130? Answer below…

Check out Baseball-Reference.com, and the pages we’re sponsoring. One you know, 1963 Dodgers, and one you might not…

A bunch of writers looking to hookup here, chimed in recently with some great suggestions for Where Are They Now. You’ll see some of them in the coming weeks. Also proposed were pieces on players who sadly are no longer with us. Alan Wiggins, for example. I suggested that if a reporter could get that interview, there was a sure Pulitzer Prize in it for him, with a nice Weekend Escape article as a follow up…

Trivia answer: Brock was caught 33 times, Henderson 42…

Statue for Sandy: BaseballSavvy.com and sports sculptor Malcolm DeMille (www.mdemille.com) are honored to sponsor an e-petition to encourage the Dodgers to commission a statue of Sandy Koufax for placement at Dodger Stadium next season.

If you haven’t voted yet, please scroll down to the photo below, and do your thing. Oh, what the hay, vote again if you like. Vote counting isn’t an exact science. No one really knows how it works…

Remember, glove conquers all…