I Just Dropped In to See What Condition My Condition Was In

July 10, 2017

So, the Dodgers currently own the best record in baseball at 61-29, which is a .678 winning percentage.  With 72 games left, they could go 30-42 and still likely make the playoffs with 91 wins.  If they just play .500 ball the rest of the way, they will end up with 97 wins which would be absurd (playing .500 ball and winning 97 games).  If they keep up their current…

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The Dee Gordon Trade Revisited

June 26, 2017

I’d Rather Have Austin Barnes at 2B Than Dee Gordon… as long as I have Kike Hernandez as one of the best supersubs in baseball. The Dodgers got a nice return for their former second baseman.  That is notwithstanding the obvious fact that Chris Hatcher has been a huge disappointment.  In case you forget, the trade was Gordon, Miguel Rojas and Dan Haren to the Marlins for Hatcher, Hernandez, Barnes…

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Next Man Up!

June 24, 2017

… and the next men are Trevor Oaks, Brock Stewart and Walker Buehler.  Oaks is a back-of-the-rotation starter who is likely ready now while Buehler is a top-of-the-rotation guy who might be ready in 2018, but won’t ever be a workhorse (welcome to the new MLB).  Stewart could be a a middle-to-back of the rotation guy or an elite reliever.  Time will tell. Mitch White and Yadier Alvarez are due…

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I Confess to Being a Contrarian

June 23, 2017

If you are a contrarian in the investment community, you likely have a very good track record of making money because it has been proven over and over again, that running with the herd is a recipe for failure.  A contrarian often looks like an idiot most of  the time until they clean up the mess that the herd made with their ill-advised buying. In short, a contrarian wants to…

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Optical Rectumitis

June 17, 2017

Have you noticed that a few certain fans like to bang on Friedman and Company about trading away Cotton, Montas, Holmes, De Leon, Peraza and Schebler but fail to mention anything of value FAZ has done? ME: “Wow, Alex Wood is doing great!” FAZ-BASHER: “Squirrel! That Rich Hill really sucks, even he says so.  FAZ is an idiot!” Schebler (.252) and Peraza (.258) are playing OK in a hitter’s ballpark,…

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The Dodgers Need a #2 Starter?

May 27, 2017

Says who?  Name a Number 2 better than Clayton Kershaw!  He has a 7-2 record and a 2.01 ERA and then of course our #1, Alex Wood is 6-0 with a 1.69 ERA and he has pitched like 26 straight scoreless innings.  There’s not a better duo in baseball.  Of course, the Dodgers are #1 in all of baseball in tear ERA and WHIP. … and then Baez and Hatcher…

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Is It Better To Be Lucky Than Good?

May 20, 2017

I was listening to an interview about how the Cubs were built on MLB Radio a few days ago and heard a story about how Kyle Hendricks was acquired.  First of all, I have the greatest respect for Theo Epstein and do not want to denigrate him in any way, but the story shows how sometimes it’s better to be lucky that good.  As the Cubs were being blown up, Theo…

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Next Man Up!

May 19, 2017

There are no excuses.  It’s all about just getting the job done.  When Kershaw went down last year, it was “Next Man Up!”  There’s nothing different about that with Justin Turner. Justin is a very good player, but this team is deep and Chris Taylor or Logan Forsythe can play third base.  For that matter, the much-maligned Kike Hernandez can too.  While I am thinking about it, I haven’t heard…

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Theory Verses Practice

May 16, 2017

In theory, the Ten-Day Disabled List should be a wonderful thing for pitchers, but initial results are not so good.  It appears that after being off for ten days a starter just is not quite in-sync. Ryu was obviously out of sorts (maybe he is injured) and McCarthy also looked like he needed another start before coming off the DL.  So, in reality, while it might be a tool to…

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Romo and Hatch

May 15, 2017

It used to be Starsky and Hutch but now, there is a new crime drama showing at a Ravine near you, featuring Sergio Romo, a soft-tossing arsonist who likes to start fires from the bullpen and Chris Hatcher a talented flame-thrower who is an arsonist in his own right.  The crime is that they are both still pitching… OK, throwing. The drama is… when will it end? This duo needs…

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