By the time Brandon Morrow got to the big leagues in 2017, the Dodgers were ready for someone to set-up Kenley Jansen on the back of the bullpen. Brandon Morrow filled that bill and while I would love to have him back, there are two problems: (1) He was healthy last year, but he has generally never been that healthy at any time in his career; and (2) some other…
I continue to read that Dodger Ownership/Management wants to get under the luxury tax threshold THIS year. That is certainly a laudable goal, and under normal circumstances I can see why that should always be the goal. But is 2018 the year to draw the line? Sometimes you need to spend money to make money. In home building, finishes are upgraded to get buyers to sign. Buyers are visual…bling…
Lest we forget, the Dodgers were so close, so very close to winning the World Series last year and they were (for the most part) a very young team. The CF, SS and 1B were all under 24. The RF was 26 and the catcher was 27. Next year, they will be even younger after Chase Utley, Andre Ethier and Adrian Gonzalez are gone, but that’s not to say they…
Who are the most consistently GOOD starting pitchers today? I do not mean solid, but GOOD good. Jon Lester is solid, but has only received CYA votes in 3 years. His best finish was #2 to Max Scherzer in 2016; the year that was being dominated by Kershaw until he hurt his back. Madison Bumgarner is solid, but his best CYA vote was #4 (twice – 2014 & 2016). I…
Unless AC posts (which he is welcome to do of course), I will likely not have much time this week, so I thought I’d throw bout a few talking points. Ronald Acuna, who is a TOP 5 MLB Prospect for the Atlanta Braves and likely a budding superstar, was named the AFL’s MVP. His line was 83 AB’s/5 DBL/7 HR/16 RBI/.325 BA/.414 OB%/1.053 OPS. Pretty impressive! However, even a novice…
OK, that headline brands me as crazy, right? Well, that’s old news! Everyone knows that Gioncarlo Stanton is going to cost almost $30 million a year right? Maybe over the life of the contract, but next year, he might be FREE. Here’s a really important fact: The Dodgers don’t need to do anything, but if they do, it should be significant and it should reduce payroll. I think the Dodgers can…
There’s a TV show called 60 Minutes, so that name was already taken and I don’t have much time… so this is called 6 Minutes. I’ll give you six minutes today and you can have something to chew on: The FBI, ATF, DEA, CIA, NAACP and AARP needs to start a complete investigation into how on earth did Jason Heyward ever beat Yasiel Puig out for a Gold Glove in…
Over the last few years, we Dodger fans have become accustomed to botched relief in post season appearances. Which is why I have included one of my favorite images of reliever Steve Howe and catcher Steve Yeager following the final out of the 1981 WS. I have been fascinated with relievers since my first Dodger hero, Larry Sherry. From Clem Labine, Ron Perranoski, Phil Regan, and Bob Miller to Eric…
I mean that from the bottom of my heart! Even though the 2017 season ended bitterly, it was the most enjoyable seasons in the past 29 years. I said that the season would be considered a failure if the Dodgers didn’t win the World Series…. and I still feel that way. I think FAZ, Doc, the coaching staff and the players feel the same way. However, that doesn’t mean they…
One of the positives about getting to the WS and extending it to 7 games, is that there is only 5 weeks before the Winter Meetings in Orlando. We are going to have to pack in a lot of thought and suggestions about the restructuring of a 104 win team into a WS champion. We are all so much smarter than Friedman and Zaidi sitting in front of a computer…