'For every tear, a smile'

Saluting the bravery of Sarah Langs, plus more news and three new songs for the Slaylist

I took this photo Wednesday on Melrose near La Brea. Four months after Vin Scully’s passing, the scene gives me a “smile because it happened” feel.

It’s not easy to segue from this image into the story of Sarah Langs, except I know she would appreciate the photo.

Langs is a lifelong baseball fan who has been kind of a phenomenon, a fast-rising star who is one of the leading go-to sources for cool stats from the diamond. But Langs shocked us just as the MLB playoffs were starting in October by revealing that at age 29, she has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), aka Lou Gehrig’s disease.