Spring Training at Camelback Ranch

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1. Damned if I didn’t get my own bullet… Check your BP M.T.
   We all know you are fact driven…
   I was lucky and got to go to Vero Beach’s last year as home of the blue and it was as if I had arrived at Mecca… Camelback is now the same for me and as my wife and I sit down behinf home plate on St. Patty’s March 17, I will look to sky and say ” I have arrived”…
   $144MM for a good, repeat good 1B… Surreal aint it !?!?

   1. I got my own bullet as well.
      .
      So, it’s apparently it is funny to think the Dodgers might get one year of Machado for Ryu, Stripling, and Forsythe. It is funnier yet when those doing the laughing fail to add the good pitching prospect that was included with that package. I also asked the question if it were possible to extend Machado’s contract in a way that would lower his average annual cost but with a opt out after the 2018 season. Machado can only win with such an extension in that he opt outs of those lower paid years but should he have a career ending injury, he would at least get something very decent for 5 more years.

   2. BP is 117/79.
      –
      Cholesterol is good. Heart scan for plaque – .75. Arthritis is a bitch!

      1. Careful w the heart scan. My score was just like yours the month before my heart attack

         1. Was it a CAT scan? I ‘ve also had an EKG!

            1. Yes, CT
               –
               Ekg also normal

            2. I also had a brain scan… but they did not find anything!

2. The 23rd is my birthday. I’d take it kindly if someone presented me with where I might have a good stream for the game that day. I’m using KODI and if you are familiar that can take a lot of time finding a decent stream. I guess one gets what they pay for……well I pay for nothing but get more I guess.

   1. Happy Birthday! 39!!! Cool.
      –
      Have you ever tried MLB.TV?

      1. 39??? closer to 93. I can get MLBN on a few different addons and I can likely be able to find a stream on one of them. It’s just that finding a server w/o buffering can be sometimes hard.

3. You’re right on about Matt Kemp. Not only will he be the starting LF, he will be hitting 4th or 5th most of the season and will have a monster year. Fat Matt destroyed baseballs for the first 2 months of the season last year. He was on a mission in 2011. I thinks he’s on a mission again. Can’t wait for March 29.

4. “In today’s political climate, I am forced to say that is a joke, otherwise the FBI might be taking me away”…
   Heck, Mark. Out here in Cali if you want to ask a girl on a date you have to inform her parents, the police, and the gov’t just to let them know it is an innocent request and not assault. Also, make sure you get her pronoun right or there will be hell to pay. Oh, and, love the Hosmer contract. Perhaps sanity is on its way back to the MLB.

5. Bora$ didn’t have a choice. Only small market bidders for Hosmer in the Padres and Royals. If I were the Padres I still wouldn’t have signed him. He’s going to struggle in a new league against very good NL West staffs. Kershaw/Hill/Wood/Greinke/Bumgarner aren’t going to give him anything to hit.

6. My thoughts
   I wouldn’t sign Kershaw to an extension.I first want to see if he has any back problems this season, and also, how he pitches in the playoffs.
   Matt Kemp, ( and his $42M reasons why ) most likely will be starting in LF for the Dodgers, but I won’t be feeling good about it.
   Chase Utley, is back with the Dodgers for at least another 2 years, I feel great about this.
   Tim Lincecum, no thank you
   Grandal or Barnes? either one is fine.

   1. I think Utley will be here for just one year. The two year deal is a just a creative way to get another million off the books this year. I think next year, he has a significant position for the Dodgers. To Be Announced!

      1. I would love to see Utley as Director of Player Development.

   2. I’d extend Kershaw just so we make it to the playoffs. The chances slim down greatly without him. And besides it’d be a very sad day to make it that far with him on some other team and then perhaps him likely killing the Dodgers at that point. I wouldn’t even whisper that thought.

      1. If the Dodgers faced Kershaw on some other team I’d probably be cheering for our ex pitcher. That is if they didn’t try hard to extend him.

         1. If I saw Kersh pitching against us in October, I’d love our chances (based on his October “success”)

            1. Using that formula you’d have to give all the other teams the edge against facing the Dodgers. Personally I don’t blame it all on Kershaw alone. Game 7 was a total team uneffort which likely would of had a better outcome if Kershaw had pitched.

7. More absolutely great photos:
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   https://dodgers.mlblogs.com/photoblog-full-squad-reports-4b88012d3b64

   1. Great pictures Mark.

      –

      You are right about JT – looks like he enjoyed his Wedding & Honeymoon…

      1. Warford, been getting in much golf? I know you like getting away from the UK fog and golf seems to be your reason. Your next time over it’d be cool to tip a beer with you friend.

   2. Hmmm. I don’t know about the absolutely part as they all kinda appear tired to me. Like the sleep hadn’t yet been washed from their eyes. Maybe it’s my eyes as I have the need to hop in the shower to freshen up to begin this day. But first, eggs and coffee that’s strong enough to beat the shit outta my grogginess.. I get tired just thinkin about all the travel they have instore. That’s another thing where Utley’s advice could prove valuable to this crew. Him and Hill both look fresh. Haaaaaaa! GO DODGERS!!!!!!!!

   3. Quas

      Sorry, I am with Bobby on this.

      If Kershaw does his job in game five, we don’t even have to play game seven.

8. Spring is a bit slow, so I thought I would stir the pot…trade proposal
   Maeda to Seattle for prospects, Ryu/Grandal to Baltimore for prospects, prospects from Seattle and Baltimore plus one of Alvarez, Smith to Tampa for Archer, Kemp, Arbuenna, plus $5million for the next 3 years for Greinke. Please have at it!

   1. Let us know when you are off the psychedelics.

      1. What a long, strange trip it’s been.

      2. I second that!
         –
         Matt Kemp might be MVP!

9. What’s going on in Tampa? Odorizzi for a Class A SS? (He did hit .320 last year) I’m sure the Dodgers checked in on him and the price was cheap enough so they didn’t want him. Dickerson DFA’d? 28 HR’s and made the All Star team last year? To make room for CJ Cron who the Angels were going to DFA themselves? Good move for the Twins who needed more pitching and can contend. Head scratching if you are a Rays fan. Dickerson seems a good fit in Baltimore or even Boston, $5.9 M for almost a 3 WAR last season. He leaves a large hole in the Rays OF for this year.
   –
   Chris Tillman goes to the O’s for 1 year and $3 M plus incentives. Along with Cashner they addressed gaping holes in the rotation but with Machado and Jones set to leave they have a narrow window and shaky starting pitching.
   –
   Did the Giants, DBacks and Rockies do enough to contend with the Dodgers this year? I highly doubt it and adding Hosmer and moving Myers to the OF won’t push the Padres over the hump this year either. I think fans of all those teams would like to trade places situation wise.
   –
   Seeing Buehler already pushed back from his throwing routine does not look good for him making the team out of ST. It probably fits with the teams plans to bring him along slowly this year. With the addition of Utley there is only the OF logjam and who is the starting catcher to settle and the composition of the bullpen. This may be a really stacked team at OKC and other affiliates. I just can’t see Stewart or Stripling being in the rotation barring an injury.

   1. Buehler says he is fine:
      –
      https://www.mlb.com/news/walker-buehler-throws-1st-spring-bullpen/c-266728058
      –
      They will be deliberate with him although they want him to make the big club.
      –
      Stewart will absolutely not be a starter. Why isn’t anyone listening? In 2016, he had a 6.38 ERA as a starter and followed that up in 2017 with a 5.27 ERA as a starter.
      –
      As a reliever, Stewart had a 2.18 ERA in 2017 and a 2.25 ERA in 2016 as a reliever. Here’s why: He doesn’t have a good curve and his change-up is maybe average. He has no depth on his slider, but his best pitch is a high-spin fastball which I BELIEVE, he can throw at 97-98 in a relief role. His control is great, so he is a high-leverage reliever. Otherwise, he’s a AAAA starter!
      –
      2018 is a make-or-break year for Stripling. I like the guy but I am not sure he’s anything but a RH Eric Stults, who by-the-way, is still available! 😉

      1. I dont think he is as good as Stults was…but he’s also not a bad as Stults was…Chicken Strip in my opinion struggles to achieve quality starts, yet has the wherewithall to be a horse in the pen. I like him, I won’t say he can’t prove me wrong.

10. Well we don’t need to worry about JD Martinez anymore ! He’s signed with Boston 5/110

    1. Borass was $100 million off what he promised J.D.
       –
       It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy!

11. Matt Kemp will have left field so messed up no one will be able to play it.

12. At least one other person agrees with me:
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    https://dodgersway.com/2018/02/18/dodgers-brock-stewart-next-shutdown-setup-reliever/

    1. I agree with you as well. Make that 2!

       1. Minus 1, I have intuitive reason to think Stewart will be a good starter.

13. This is the Year
    Ye-ah
    Ye-ah
    Ye-ah
    I’ve got a pounding in my chest, lately
    Feels like MLB17 again
    Losses and losers are getting old already,
    Done parked the caddy, done payed the man
    I ain’t gambling on getting Lucky
    This year ain’t betting on YU
    Counting on getting over the top
    Gonna turn the world Dodger blue
    I’m a put on a ring on every finger
    Just to show that I’m legit
    Gonna win the last game, bury Gurriel
    We won’t get out hit
    If I could, hell yeah, I would bury him a million times,
    Put a ring on every finger
    Just show the world Pantone 294 shines
    Show the whole world that we shine
    We’ll bean a heater, can’t nothing be sweeter
    Than blue in that white wedding dress,
    Ripping off jerseys or dye trying
    Gurriel, he be dyin cryin’, it ain’t rocket science
    All we gotta do is play our best
    Spend the rest of our lives with the ring
    Don’t ya’ know
    I ain’t gambling on getting Lucky
    This year ain’t betting on YU
    Counting on getting over the top
    Gonna turn the world Dodger blue
    I’m a put on a ring on every finger
    Just to show that I’m legit
    Gonna win the last game, bury Gurriel
    We won’t get out hit
    If I could, hell yeah, I would bury him a million times,
    Put a ring on every finger
    Just show the world Pantone 294 shines
    Show the whole world that we shine
    Come on let’s spend this life together
    Rings and f bombs like forever
    With the whole world as a witness
    Gonna flip that bat with every crack.
    Gonna spend this life together
    Rings and f bombs like forever
    With the whole world as a witness
    Gonna punch em out with every damn smack.
    Yea-yeah
    I’m a put on a ring on every finger
    Just to show that I’m legit
    Gonna win the last game, bury Gurriel
    We won’t get out hit
    If I could, hell yeah, I would bury him a million times,
    Put a ring on every finger
    Just show the whole world Pantone 294 shines
    I’m a put on a ring on every finger
    Just to show that I’m legit
    Gonna win the last game, bury Gurriel
    We won’t get out hit
    If I could, hell yeah, I would bury him a million times,
    Put a ring on every finger
    Just show the whole world Pantone 294 shines
    Dodger Blue-Pantone 294 shines

14. Grandal the latest to experiment with launch angle, per Pedro Moura in The Athletic. (a paysite)
    https://theathletic.com/246939/2018/02/19/dodgers-yasmani-grandal-now-a-launch-angle-true-believer-hoping-for-power-spike/
    A quote: “The coach, 25-year-old Casey Chenoweth, continued to talk. Soon, they were miming what Grandal should do with his hands. Soon after that, Grandal started swinging.
    “As I started seeing myself do it and seeing the ball explode as much as it was exploding without having to do as much as I was doing,” he said, “obviously it caught my attention.”
    –
    Could Mark finally be right – will this be the year that Grandal hits 40 HRs?

    1. It would be nice to FINALLY be right! 😉
       –
       … like I’ve never been right before! 😉
       –
       I like what Austin Barnes said about Grandal:
       –
       “If he unlocks any more power, he might be hitting them out of the stadium.”
       

    2. Grandal’s tendency to not hit when injured combined with his tendency to get bruised up, might be his biggest hurdles to overcome to get to 40 home runs. If he and Barnes platoon, Grandal might get 3 out of 5 games in the first half of the season and Barnes might get the 3 out of 5 in the second half.

15. Good Dodger bits all around:
    .
    FanGraphs prospect chat:
    .
    Question: Hey Eric. Starling Heredia: why does he not seem to receive a lot of love? He’s in as a 40 FV, but just annihilated the AZL, and will play 2018 as a 19 year old. What are your thoughts on his ceiling, and is he someone who could shoot up your midseason list?
    Eric A Longenhagen We had him on our upside 40s and 45s. He has huge power and runs well for his size (he’s huge, definitely more than his listed 200lbs) but strikes out a ton and he was much more physically mature than his peers in rookie ball last year. He’s a high variance prospect with big upside.
    .
    Question:
    Edwin Rios has hit everywhere but seems buried in the Dodgers’ system. What is his future?
    Eric A Longenhagen He’s 1B-only for me and needs to become more patient for me to feel good about him clearing that offensive bar. Can he really hold a .350+ BABIP forever?
    .
    On TheAthletic the under-rated Pedro Moura has a bit on Grandal following Turner and Taylor into modifying his swing to increase launch angle:
    https://theathletic.com/246939/2018/02/19/dodgers-yasmani-grandal-now-a-launch-angle-true-believer-hoping-for-power-spike/
    .
    Initially, Grandal stood “very against it,” he said. Slowly, he opened to the idea, aided by the internet and success stories of the likes of Josh Donaldson and J.D. Martinez. That day, what he saw and overheard intrigued him even more.
    .
    “So,” Grandal said, “I started asking questions. If you can average about 15 degrees, you’re probably gonna have a really good year,” Grandal said. “Look at Daniel Murphy. When he was with the Mets, he was about 11 degrees. He hit .280. All of the sudden, the next year, he was at 15 degrees and he was hitting .340-something.”
    .
    The great Andrew Friedman on the starting rotation and giving the young prospects a chance:
    “You look on the position player side and the young players we’ve broken in over the last three or four years, we need to start doing that with our starting pitchers, and get to a point where one or two spots are taken down by our good young pitching and letting them have a runway to develop.”
    .
    “I do think this year will provide some of that, for our guys to have an opportunity to have a softer landing. After this season we’ll have a better idea of who we can pencil in and count on as we start spring training next year.”
    .
    Roberts on Bellinger and Buehler
    The Dodgers have “no plans” to use Cody Bellinger in the outfield this spring, Dave Roberts said and mentioned that, Walker Buehler is expected to throw his first bullpen session in the next two or three days…
    .
    McCullough on Font’s role for the coming season:
    Org depth. Could compete for a spot in the bullpen, but that’s a crowded field.

    1. Cody Bellinger may very well be the best defensive 1B in all of baseball. Why would you play him anywhere else?
       –
       Big wingspan, great jumping ability, cat-quickness and soft hands, He will save a lot of errors and runs at 1B. He’s a defensive weapon!

16. …. The great Andrew Friedman on the starting rotation and giving the young prospects a chance:
    “You look on the position player side and the young players we’ve broken in over the last three or four years, we need to start doing that with our starting pitchers, and get to a point where one or two spots are taken down by our good young pitching and letting them have a runway to develop.”….
    .
    This quote would seem to give us a clue as to what FRAZ will do about Harper next year. The other clue will be what Verdugo, Puig, Pederson, Toles, Taylor, Thompson do this year.

    1. Not sure about that. I think Harper and Machado are transcendent and you make room for them.
       .
       I do think his point will be the reasoning when they cut Kemp if they can’t trade him.

17. I think the following relievers will compete for the 7 or 8 bullpen positions. Baez and Fields are good but I wonder from time to time what trade value might they have. If Garcia is healthy, I think he will do well. Same with Liberatore. Paredes always seemed to do well while I was watching. I am curious about Sierra can do. That is a good bullpen and later in the season there are starters that could be moved into the pen.
    .
    .Kenley Jansen
    Tony Cingrani
    Tom Koehler
    Pedro Baez
    Scott Alexander
    Josh Fields
    Tom Koehler
    Yimi Garcia
    Adam Liberatore
    Edward Paredes
    Yaisel Sierra

    1. I don’t think we will see Sierra this year – he’s not on the 40-man and might put them over the salary cap.
       –
       You forgot Stewart and Spripling.
       –
       Does Koehler have a split-personality? 😉

       1. I think Stewart and Stripling are more likely to start in OK.
          Split personality? You can say that again.

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