Addition By Subtraction

January 5, 2019

No, this is not a course in the “new math.” Five out of four people struggle with math anyway. However, sometimes you can get better by deleting some pieces. You don’t always have to add pieces to get better. These pieces that you subtract may be pieces that most people view as essential, but in reality, they may not be that at all. Now, I am certain that Andrew Friedman…

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One More on FAZ and My Final 2018 WS Autopsy

November 3, 2018

I hope you all bear with me. I would like to somewhat continue the FAZ discussion from yesterday.  And then to give one last autopsy report on the 2018 WS. As Mark indicated, FAZ took over a team that had a payroll in excess of $250MM. One would think that a team with that payroll would be loaded.  However when they arrived on the scene, the team had only 3…

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LA Dodgers vs. Boston Red Sox – 2018 World Series

October 22, 2018

WELCOME TO THE FALL CLASSIC 2018!! By the time the Dodgers and Red Sox square off in Game 1 of the 2018 World Series, it will have been 356 days since the Dodgers went down in Game 7 of the 2017 World Series.  It will be 30 year’s this month since the last Dodgers WS victory.  This year’s WS can make all of those bad memories go away (at least…

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Now To The NLDS

October 4, 2018

Now that the Dodgers are in the NLDS, I thought I would take a look back to see how they got here.  While I never gave up hope, I absolutely had my doubts.  I had concerns about how the team was structured, and in game management.  It became apparent that the primary focus for the front office was to get below and stay below the competitive balance tax threshold. If…

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Do You Remember…

July 8, 2018

… when the Dodgers could have traded for Cole Hamels for SVS and JDL?  (Neither do I, but some insist it is true.) … when every Dodger fan wanted Sonny Gray? … when Dodger fans wanted David Price? … when Dodgers fans were upset that Zack Greinke was not resigned by the Dodgers? I remember… …when FAZ signed Anderson, McCarthy and Kazmir? … when FAZ got Barnes, Hernandez, Grandal, Taylor,…

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Did The Dodgers Turn The Page??

May 10, 2018

It was actually an encouraging game for the Dodgers as a team. CT3 got on base on 4 of his plate appearances.  Plus he actually got a stolen base.  Puig had a 3 hit night.  The Dodgers actually got a sac fly.   After the third inning they stopped chasing Corbin’s slider and worked him to where he was gone after 5.  Baez is proving to be a good low leverage…

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The Dodgers Have Some Secret Weapons

February 14, 2018

Secret Weapon #1 This is a series that will focus on several weapons the Dodgers have that could make a world of difference to them in 2018.  Today, we will discuss secret weapon #1. This series will run several days – I can’t tell you how many there are because you can’t know (yet) how many secret weapons the Dodgers have. When the Dodgers traded Adrian Gonzalez, Scott Kazmir, Brandon…

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Who Says This is the Same Team as Last Year?

January 17, 2018

I frequently hear this: “This is the same Dodger Team as Last Year.” “The Dodgers are standing pat.” I guess some people think that if they say it enough, it will become true.  If that’s the case, keep repeating over-and-over that you are Brad Pitt.  Poof, it will happen! READ THIS SLOWLY:  This is not the SAME team as last year.  Is it better?  I don’t know…. MAYBE.  Maybe not,…

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Baseball’s Best Organization

January 5, 2018

By now it’s old news that the Dodgers were named the Organization of the Year in 2017 by Baseball America.  If we go back in time to when Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi took over the Dodgers three years ago, the Farm System was ranked number 14 in all of baseball by Baseball America.  In one short year, FAZ elevated that ranking to #3  and in 2016, they were ranked…

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What’s Up With 2017 Free Agents

December 28, 2017

What’s happening to this year’s crop of free agents?  This is December 27, and out of the top 50 MLB TradeRumors free agent predictions, only 19 have signed new contracts, and one decided not to opt out (Masahiro Tanaka).  Of the 30 unsigned players, none of the top 11 have signed new contracts (excluding Tanaka not opting out), and 15 of the top 20 are still unsigned.   Of the…

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