It’s hot. It’s not great for the Dodgers. They’ve looked a bit lost since the All-Star break. But, rejoice! Will Smith is coming! Shohei Ohtani, as a pitcher, is returning! Los Angeles Times beat writer Maddie Lee and columnists Bill Plaschke and Mirjam Swanson talk about Tarik Skubal’s Detroit return and how the Dodgers are adjusting to getting players back and ready for the postseason.
Maddie Lee covers the Dodgers for the Los Angeles Times. She joined the paper in March 2026 after six years in Chicago, where she was a Cubs beat writer for the Chicago Sun-Times and NBC Sports Chicago. Her previous stops include the Oklahoman, the Clarion-Ledger, the Salt Lake Tribune and the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer.
Bill Plaschke, an L.A. Times Sports columnist since 1996, is a member of the National Sports Media Hall of Fame and California Sports Hall of Fame. He has been named national Sports Columnist of the Year nine times by the Associated Press, and twice by the Society of Professional Journalists and National Headliner Awards. He is the author of six books, including a collection of his columns entitled “Plaschke: Good Sports, Spoilsports, Foul Balls and Oddballs.” Plaschke was also a panelist on the popular ESPN daily talk show, “Around the Horn.” He is in the national Big Brothers/Big Sisters Alumni Hall of Fame and has been named Man of the Year by the Los Angeles Big Brothers/Big Sisters as well as receiving a Pursuit of Justice Award from the California Women’s Law Center. Plaschke has appeared in a movie (“Ali”), a dramatic HBO series (“Luck”) and, in a crowning cultural moment he still does not quite understand, his name can be found in a rap song “Females Welcome” by Asher Roth.
Mirjam Swanson is a sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times. Previously, she worked for the Southern California News Group, as a sports columnist and an NBA and WNBA beat writer. A Southern California native, she earned the distinction of a top 10 APSE honor for columns in 2023. At prior stops, she covered golf, action sports, city government, education and the occasional unexpected bear visit.
Iliana Limón Romero is the Los Angeles Times assistant managing editor for Sports. The El Paso native joined The Times in March 2021. She previously was the sports editor at the Orlando Sentinel, where she contributed to the paper’s Pulitzer finalist coverage of the Pulse nightclub shooting. Limón Romero is chair of the Assn. for Women in Sports Media and co-chair of the National Assn. Hispanic Journalists Sports Task Force.
Mark E. Potts is a former senior editor for video at the Los Angeles Times. A native of Enid, Okla., Potts graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a master’s degree in broadcast journalism. He has created and edited video for DreamWorks, YouTube, Microsoft, Sony and BET.
