Watch Those Knee-Jerk Reactions

August 20, 2019

It seems to me that just about every time a Dodger player has a bad play, bad game, bad inning, bad pitch, error, blunder or just a mistake, some fans have this automatic knee jerk reaction which often involves one of the following: Get rid of the bum Send him back to the minors Make him a reliever He has no business starting He can’t play that position He should…

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What If…

August 11, 2019

It has been widely published that the Dodgers are 31 years between World Series Championships. All Dodger fans want to forget that, but what if…I know it sounds like the Kratt Brothers. For those with small children or grandchildren you probably know Wild Kratts. Brooklyn was nine World Series and lost their first seven: 1916 and 1920 (as The Robins – managed by Wilbert Robinson) and did not return for…

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What Does Gavin Lux Have to do to get a Callup – Fly?

August 9, 2019

(Excuse my first-grade Photoshop skills). Lot’s of guys hit .300 in the Pacific Coast League. The combination of altitude, heat, thin air, juiced baseballs, and fairy dust make it a hitter’s league. Ty France, 3B of the Padres AAA affiliate is hitting .399 with 26 HR in just 276 AB’s. Shoot, AAAA player, Conner Joe is hitting .300. However, not many are hitting .456 while OPS’ing 1.381 in 131 AB’s…

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Who are the Buyers or Sellers?

July 25, 2019

We are going to talk about a couple of my favorite sayings today: “Relievers are fickle;” and “What you see today, ain’t what you will see tomorrow!” Who is buying and selling? It’s not entirely clear right about now, but the Giants are the hottest team in baseball. MadBum says this is the best run he has ever been on. I’m sure Farhan hates it, but he may have to…

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The Plan of Succession

July 20, 2019

When the Dodgers acquired Jimmy Rollins, I was pretty vocal that Corey Seager was ready and there was no need for Rollins to be the “bridge” to Seager. I still think Corey was ready a year earlier, but FAZ made him wait… and it turned out OK. FAZ had a plan of succession. In the Spring of 2017, I pronounced Cody Bellinger ready for the Show, but FAZ sent him…

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WE Fickle Fans

July 19, 2019

I have been working on about ten different ideas for what to write, and none of them came to a cohesive blog post. Maybe this one will not as well. There has been a lot of speculation as to who the Dodgers may trade for and who they may be required to include in a trade. It is a huge climb from AAA to MLB, and yet we are ready…

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The Will Smith Era is Upon Us

July 13, 2019

I like Austin Barnes. Let me start with that. When Andrew Friedman acquired him, I was elated. In his first full season (102 games) he hit.289 with a .408 OB% and OPS’ed .895. Pretty incredible! However, he hit .205 last year and is hitting .207 this year. In parts of 5 MLB seasons, here is what his BA/OB%/OPS is: 2015: .207/.361/.637 2016: .156/.270/.458 2017: .289/.408/.895 2018: .205/.329/.619 2019: .207/.302/.646 I…

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What’s Next?

July 7, 2019

The Dodgers will go into the All-Star Break at least 30 games over .500. We would all be happier if it were 32 games above, but that depends upon whether the Dodger bats wake up or not. It would be great to see Chicken Strip pitch about 7 shutout innings! I still see him as a great trade chip, especially if he can have a good outing today. Teams need…

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Dodger Thoughts

July 4, 2019

I stole that from Jon Weisman (I steal most of my original material) – I hope he doesn’t sue me, but it seemed appropriate for today’s Rants and Raves: How many teams have an All-Star RF, who is also a Gold Glove 1B, end the game in CF for defensive reasons? That’s what makes him take the place of Mike Trout as the games best player (other than the fact…

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Small Adjustments Yield Big Results

July 1, 2019

A month ago, most Dodger fans wanted Chris Taylor executed. Now, they are shocked at his execution. He is one of the hottest hitters in the league. What’s the difference? The LA Times, Jorge Castillo wrote this: In 15 games since Seager was put on the injured list June 13, Taylor was batting .429 with three home runs and a 1.1238 on-base-plus-slugging percentage entering Friday’s meeting with the Colorado Rockies….

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