Be Careful of What You Read

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1. We just cancelled our order for a ventilator with the news the Loons would provide my baseball oxygen in 2021.

   1. 😉

   2. Glad to hear that Harold. Lancaster was not so lucky.

2. I almost feel bad for the Rockies. Choosing between Fresno and Lancaster is like choosing between a punch in the nose and a kick in the balls…

   So what happens after the first 20 rounds? If undrafted, those players will be able to sign freely? It seems like going from 40 rounds to 20 is a bit extreme.

   This is the worst Winter Meetings coverage ever. Par for the course for 2020.

   1. Yes, the players can be signed, if eligible.

   2. Are you going to take that Bobbie?

      1. Bobby that is.

         1. haha. no offense taken. I went Fresno St (but when you live on campus and party, it seems like a fun city).

            Now? no chance I move there

            1. I would not live anywhere in California any more. And I was born there. Cost of living and the conditions just not condusive to the good life.

3. It would appear there are plenty of minor league jobs for development. Will they play? I’m reading that best case scenario has 70% of America vaccinated by mid summer. How often have we seen “best case” scenarios play out over the last few years? I think 100 games is optimistic at the ML level and maybe half that in the minors.

   Sherlock is impressive. I’d never heard of her but I’m out of it so that means nothing. She’s actually been performing since she was around 11, signed a record deal at 13. Some people are just born with it. Sanskaras.

   Anybody watch The Masked Singer? I don’t, but my wife does. She recorded it and played The Sun’s Billie Eilish song When the Party’s Over for me this morning. Wow. Strange show but that was really entertaining.

   Winter meetings? Yeah. Right.

   2020. A year to remember.

   1. 2020. A year to forget (except for the Dodgers and Lakers).

      1. Agree. But we who went through it will never forget it. And it has been easier for me than it has been for younger people. I’m fortunate to be retired.

4. Fresno accepted the invitation. The city was going to sue, but i guess they thought it might be better to just take what they could. Rule 5 draft today. I did not expect too much action this winter meeting and we probably will not see much movement until after the new year.

5. Brett deGeus taken with the second pick in the Rule 5 by the Rangers. Too many former Dodger people out there to hide guys like this.

   1. Jordan Sheffield taken by the Rox with the 7th pick.

      Zach Pop, a promising reliever whom we gave up in the Machado trade was taken by the D’backs with the 6th pick. He had TJ last May so should miss at least half the season but I guess they thought it was worth it.

      That’s it for the major league part of the draft so we lose deGeus and Sheffield . Omar Estevez, someone that was expected to go, didn’t.

   2. so this means Texas has to keep deGeus on the MLB roster all year, or send him back to us?

      1. Yep!

         They just lost Jordan Sheffield to the Rockies.

         No one wanted Estevez!

         1. Easier to stash a marginal pitcher in an 8 member pen than a marginal position player on a 4 man bench I would guess

      2. Yes

   3. We knew that was going to happen.

      I guess AF and the Dodger Brass did not hold Brett in the same regard as many of us.

      Good Luck, Brett.

      Kind of reminiscent of Shawn Tolleson (lost on waivers) and Wesley Wright (lost in Rule 5 draft).

      They were never what some of us thought they could be…

      There must be something we don’t know about de Geus – I thought he was on task to make the team in 2021!

      1. Yeah we did know. And I still say we won’t miss any of them.

         1. I’ll miss him! 😉

6. MiLB phase

   Shea Spitzbarth to Pittsburgh

   Tyler Gilbert to Arizona

   Errol Robinson to Cincinnati

   Chris Roller to Cleveland

   Dodgers take Ryan January from Arizona

   1. January is a catcher/outfielder. As a catcher, he’s probably 127th on the depth chart, but maybe higher as an outfielder.

      Also took Roimer Bolivar, a Venezuelan outfielder from Tampa. Love those Venezuelans!

      1. Yes, round 2 took Bolivar, apparently was playing in DSL

         Round 3

         Drew Jackson to Mets
         Marcus Chiu to Marlins

7. What the hell are the Angels doing? Pirates nabbed RHP Jose Soriano from them, then they select RHP Jose Rivera from the Astericks. Should have just added Soriano to their 40 man?

   I’m not too concerned about de Gaus or Sheffield. I didn’t see them as being plausible for the pen this year. Hopefully we are going to pick up at least one more established reliever. My prediction, Sheffield will be back this year after getting bombed in Colorado. de Gaus probably has a better chance of sticking on a Rangers team that’s going nowhere.

8. Looks like the Reds and the Mets are restocking their farm system with the MiLB phase though a lot of Reds/Mets back and forth movement

9. Good to see the Loons staying. They come to Cedar Rapids every other season so I make the drive up to check them out.

10. Hey Badger, in answer to your question to me yesterday, I don’t know Keith Henderson or Rick Bosetti but while I never played with him, Buster Pidgeon played in Pulaski and Spartanburg as I recall.

    1. All of them were in the Phillies organization. I played softball with Buster in Eureka and Keith in Redding. Keith was also my teacher’s assistant in Palo Cedro. . Bosetti played in Redding before I got there. He took batting practice a few times out at Shasta College. In the 80s, Buster Pidgeon was probably the best softball player in Humboldt County. Best hitter anyway.

       1. Badger I can’t remember any other Phillies from Redding. I played with Bobby Wilson, a pitcher from Eureka and of course Bowa was from Sac. I too played softball, both fast pitch (my dad was a great pitcher who pitched in a league with Eddie Feigner in 48 & 49 before Eddie took The King and His Court on the road and in Sac with a guy named Don Skinner if I remember) and slow pitch. We went to nationals twice in slo-pitch before it got to be ridiculous home run derby. We actually played defense. We once played the Armed Forces All-Stars in Redding Pa. It was an all astroturf surface and the ground balls came at you like bullets. I played short as deep as I could throw it across the diamond. Great memories.

          1. I could talk softball all night. Played into my 50s. Loved that game.

             1. I loved playing too. But my knees got so bad I could not run after I hit 30. Best game for me was a 3 homer game when I was playing while I was in the Army. I also liked the game where they walked a guy to get to me and loaded the bases. First pitch, I took him deep for a granny. Really felt good! LOL.

11. Pedro Moura’s 2021 Dodger Roster Projections:

    https://theathletic.com/2248595/2020/12/09/dodgers-roster-2021-projection/

    Not many surprises, but here’s the Bullpen:

    Jansen
    Graterol
    Gonzalez
    Kelly
    Knebel
    Shane Greene
    Floro
    Kolarek
    Alexander

    Taylor at 2B and Turner at 3B. Reks to platoon with Pollock

    Bench: Barnes, Rios, Beaty, McKinstry.

    He ends with this:

    This leaves Gavin Lux off the roster, but it does not mean he won’t factor into the Dodgers’ 2021 plans. While it’s not likely he’ll be carried all season as a reserve, he could supplant Chris Taylor at second base and turn Taylor back into a utilityman. The above arrangement would also leave the Dodgers without much outfield coverage, but they have plenty on the 40-man roster. Reks and Luke Raley are left-handed hitting corner options; D.J. Peters is a right-handed hitter who has played more center.

    Zach McKinstry, the utilityman in waiting, is an infielder by trade, but the Dodgers made a point of giving him outfield playing time in 2018 and 2019. And his only major-league start in 2020 came in right field.

    1. Turner could get a 3 year contract from somebody and the Dodgers’ main interest in keeping him could be as insurance or as a glide path for easing Rios into third base and give Hoese another year or half year to be another righty bat at third.

       Bellinger, Pederson, Muncy among others were effectively given more off speed pitches last year and that will continue next year. Pederson most likely will on another team but not so with Belli and Max.

       What I might like to see maybe is for the Angels to trade Adell to the Dodgers for Ruiz and Gonsolin and then for the Angels to sign Pederson. Adell could platoon with Paddock until one or the other proves they deserve more playing time. Or, maybe the Dodgers flip Adell for Lindor and add Taylor to the deal. I’ll let Friedman figure out any other players that need to be included such as Luis Rengifo from Angels.

    2. Seems to me he sure is assuming a lot. Greene is still a free agent and so is Turner.

12. That bullpen needs another late inning option if not a legit closer. It’s our only glaring weakness. Cmon AF be a pig, not a piglet!

13. Looks like the Phils are close to bringing on Dombrowsky as their Pres of Baseball Ops. If past is predictive of the future, he’ll decimate what little is left of the farm system and spend as much money as Middleton allows him to in order to bring the MLB roster up as quickly as possible.

    That’s probably good for Realmuto who, if the Mets sign McCann, is facing a dwindling market for his services.

    1. Maybe the Angels will sign Realmuto and try to get their offense to cover their pitching or maybe they also take a flyer on Kluber and Richards and not spend on Bauer.

       1. As much a fan as I am of Bauer, I think Realmuto is the safer signing, but the Angels pitching is in such bad shape that they need to spend a good chunk of money there. It doesn’t necessarily have to be on Bauer, but it needs to be more of a sure thing than Kluber and Richards. There are other options. I guess it’s all a matter of how much Moreno will let them spend.

          1. Still amazed that Arte didn’t go hard after Ryu last year. Horrible non-move

          2. Bauer to the Angels makes sense to me. As for all that other stuff Bum said at 4:30…. huh? I need a slide rule.

14. It’s unfortunate that Lancaster lost the minor league team. Quality stadium, well maintained field, good fan base and a really good booster group. Now the city has a stadium that has no practical use. This after taxpayers paid millions to build it. I always enjoyed watching games there, always attended games with Rancho Cucumonga. But dropping the entire league from high A to low A may make it less enticing to watch. Many of the better players may simply bypass Low A and go directly High A. Fresno is a great sports town, but a drop in class is something they should have walked away from, told the MLB to take a flying leap.

    Lancaster has no idea what to do with a stadium the MLB encouraged them to build. But without having to maintain the field to MLB standards, it will save Lancaster $400,000 a year.

15. Zack Pop was traded to the Marlins by the D-Backs almost immediately after he was drafted from the Orioles. Texas gets 1st baseman Nate Lowe from the Rays.

16. Take this one with a grain of salt, Rosenthal predicted Bauer to the Dodgers about 4 minutes ago on the Talkin Baseball live stream. Dodgers promote Janet Marie Smith to Executive VP.

    1. Bauer to LA makes sense to me.

       Wait, I think I already said that.

17. From what I’ve read, it looks like the Northwest League survived the MLB axe. As a Northwest resident half the year, I’m happy to see the Tri-Cities keep a franchise. It looks like it will be Vancouver BC (Jays), Tri-Cities (Angels), Everette (M’s), Hillsboro (D-Backs), Eugene (Giants) and Spokane (Rockies). The league will move up to A+ from short A. If the Dodgers want to move to the NW, they’ll have to move the Rockies franchise.

18. The Official Press Release:

    DODGERS PROMOTE JANET MARIE SMITH TO EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

    LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers today announced the promotion of Janet Marie Smith to Executive Vice President of Planning and Development.

    “Janet has done a tremendous job leading our improvement projects over the last nine years, embracing every nuanced challenge and incorporating Dodger history at every turn. Dodger Stadium has always been the most beautiful place in the world to watch a sporting event, and now it has the modern amenities to match that beauty,” said Dodger President and CEO Stan Kasten. “From day one, our priority has been to have the best facilities in sports, and under Janet’s leadership, we’ve completely reimagined what’s possible at Dodger Stadium from a business, baseball and fan experience perspective. The Dodgers and our fans are fortunate to have her.”

    Smith originally joined the Dodgers in 2012 as a Senior Vice President, Planning and Development and immediately began work on a large scale project that involved the removal of the Field Level seats and an extensive excavation to construct new home and visiting clubhouses, batting cages, weight rooms as well as the installation new hexagonal HD DodgerVision boards. During subsequent years, her team worked to create entrance plazas, tiered seating and bar areas overlooking the bullpens, widen concourses, renovate restrooms, enhance concession stands and install children’s play areas throughout the ballpark. In 2020, the Dodgers completed their latest project which created a new “front door” to Dodger Stadium with two acres of food and entertainment offerings in the new Centerfield Plaza and renovated Pavilions, while also improving ballpark circulation through the addition of elevators, escalators and bridges. Beyond the large scale projects, Smith oversaw the design and installation of the Jackie Robinson statue in 2017, and her touches and attention to detail can be found throughout the ballpark with the large retired numbers, oversized bobbleheads, repurposing of historical artifacts and art displays that provide great photo opportunities for Dodger fans.

    Smith, the highest-ranking woman in the Dodger organization outside of ownership, also oversaw the extensive renovation and expansion of Campo Las Palmas – the club’s home in the Dominican Republic – in 2017. The campus now includes state-of-the-art baseball training facilities among its 10 buildings, which house 96 players, 19 coaches and support staff. It also features four classrooms, social areas and a community field for little league play – part of the organization’s commitment to serving the local community surrounding the complex.

    Prior to joining the Dodgers, Smith worked for the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves, overseeing the design and construction of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the preservation and improvements at Fenway Park and the transformation of the 1996 Olympic Stadium into Turner Field in Atlanta. She also oversaw the development of Philips Arena (now State Farm Arena), home of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. She later returned to the Orioles to oversee the complete renovation of Ed Smith Stadium, the club’s Spring Training facility in Sarasota, FL, and supervise renovations on Camden Yards, which set the standard for a new wave of ballparks when it opened in 1992. Smith has also consulted on countless venue projects throughout sports.

19. I don’t buy the Bauer chatter. I’m a fan but our 2021 payroll still has some fat on it and looks to be leaner in 2022.

    Seager is the guy I’d be throwing money at if that’s what we’re looking to do.

    We’re still likely to retain Turner and add a LH reliever and possibly a bench bat.

    We don’t need much more than that.

    1. Friedman is just driving Bauer’s price up.

       No way Bauer comes to LA unless he wants to leave a lot of money on the table.

       1. Makes more sense spend on Bauer then Arenado. Wont cost any players,prospects. Takes CK spot as ace with Buehler

          1. Almost anything makes more sense than trading for Arenado and his contract

20. I know Fresno sucks but we produce championship players lol.

21. Rams making the Patriots look pretty bad.

22. Dodgers nearing an agreement with Utility man, Carlos Asuaje to a minor league deal. Last played with SD in 2018 Asuaje has seen most of his playing time at 3rd and 1st base. He is a left handed hitter. Seems to be insurance signing.

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