The Roadmap to Bryce Harper

December 18, 2018

Are the Dodgers in on Bryce Harper?  Yes, even Ray Charles can see that!  A better question is “Will the Dodgers really try to sign Bryce Harper?  The answer is the same answer I give when people as “Do you wear boxers or briefs?”  I say “Depends.” Bada Bing! But seriously… Bryce Harper has “IT” – the “IT FACTOR.”  He would be an instant fit for LA. Yes, the Doders…

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Hope Springs Eternal

December 16, 2018

Baseball is the ultimate game for statistics, and in the past few years statistics have multiplied faster than a warren of rabbits.  Launch angles, exit velocity and spin rates are only a few of the new statistics.  Some statistics such as framing and DWAR are somewhat subjective and not yet a perfect means of measurement.  So many fans use stats literally in the respect that your stats say what you…

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Pruning The Roster To Keep It Healthy

December 15, 2018

Yesterday Mark wrote, “this Dodger Team, right here, right now, is better than the 2018 version.” I will stipulate that the Dodgers may be better just for the loss of Farhan Zaidi and Turner Ward.  That may be cruel, and they may do wonderful things for their new respective clubs, but they were a disconnect for this team.  Friedman wants more of his fingerprints on the roster and approach, and…

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Yasiel Puig, Platooning, and LAD Trades

December 8, 2018

“A .209 hitter this year against left-handed pitchers, Puig was disgruntled by how he was limited to playing against right-handers, according to people familiar with his thinking who spoke under the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the subject. The frustration was said to affect his play, and Puig is now described as distrustful of management and open to playing for another team.” – Dylan Hernandez, LA…

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The Winter Meetings Are Upon Us

December 7, 2018

I was going to analyze the Dodger Bullpen today, but WOW, they have a lot of bullpen options…. so since I am not done, I will do that next week.   I will not be surprised if Friedman adds another bullpen arm or two, but it’s very likley the Dodger bullpen could be great next season without any additions. The bigger question is: “What will happen at the   Winter Meetings?”  We…

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Dodger Starting Pitching – The Best in Baseball

December 6, 2018

MLB.com named the Top 10 Rotations in baseball and the Cleveland Indians were listed as #1 with Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, Mike Clevinger and Shane Bieber.  The Dodgers were listed as #2 and the Nationals were listed as #3.  I am going to take issue with that for several reasons: The Indians are likely to trade one of those pitchers. Almost NEVER does a team just use 5 pitchers during a sesaon….

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Review of the Non-Tenders

December 3, 2018

Well we are now in December, less than one week away from the Winter Meeting, and the Dodgers have Kevin Quackenbush and Adam McCreery.  So, I guess the Dodgers are all set.  Andrew & Co. addressed the bullpen, what else can anyone else want?   I have been scouring the internet to catch word that the Dodgers pulled off a trade for JT Realmuto or Corey Kluber.  Or if Andrew…

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Last Year’s Bullpen Problems Were All Kenley Jansen’s Fault

November 30, 2018

Many people blame Andrew Friedman and/or Farhan Zaidi for the demise of the Dodgers bullpen in 2018.  They surmise that they failed to adequately equip the pen with the requisite number and quality of arms. Actually, “demise” is a pretty harsh word.  The Dodgers and the Red Sox, the two World Series teams, both finished the regular sesaon with identical 3.72 Bullpen ERA’s.  The Dodgers did have the better WHIP…

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All Smoke and Mirrors

November 27, 2018

In case you have been hiding under a rock, we are now engaged in the Baseball Hot Stove League where fans talk about trading everybody and his brother, sister, aunt, uncle, grandpa,  grandma as the family dog. It’s fun and we all engage in it to some degree. But, there are two rules you have to go by: #1 Believe half of what you see and none of what you…

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State of the Farm

November 26, 2018

I am sitting continuing to try to understand how the Board of Trustees and the AD at USC have chosen to retain perhaps the most over his head coach in all of NCAA Football, Clay Helton. Rudy mentioned that both Westwood and South Bend are cheering loudly, but my radar has all of the Pac 12 and South Bend laughing at this. Oh well, enough pity party for me. It’s…

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