On Sunday the Dodgers selected left-hander Maddux Bruns in the first round of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft with the 29th overall pick. His selection came as a bit of a surprise to the average fan as he was not connected to the Dodgers in any mock draft, at least that I had seen.
Certainly part of the surprise was that he was not included in mock drafts but also that his ranking was not even close to No. 29. Those rankings included,
MLB 49
BA 48
FanGraphs 52
ESPN 87
During his senior year at UMS Wright Preparatory School in Mobile, Alabama, Bruns went 7-0 with a 0.86 ERA. He allowed just 13 hits and six earned runs in 49 innings pitched while striking out 102 batters and walked 19.
In mid-March Bruns retired all 18 batters he faced in a six-inning perfect game as the Bulldogs beat Murphy 14-0 at Hank Aaron Stadium. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound lefty struck out 10 in front of a crowd of Major League scouts. He threw just 55 pitches.
“He was dominant,” UMS coach Kevin Raley said. “He had command of his fastball. They put the ball in play some. Murphy is a vastly improved team, but he was Maddux. He competed and threw well.”
Bruns was named the Class 5A Pitcher and Player of the Year by the Alabama Sports Writers Association and was this year’s Mr. Baseball and the Gatorade Alabama Player of the Year. He was the third left-handed pitcher selected in the 2021 first round and the second high school left-hander.
Two things happened during his senior season that caught the attention of scouts. First, his velocity jumped from 88 mph or so to mid-90’s topping out at 97 mph. Secondly, because of his hard work and the support of his high school coaches, his control and command improved significantly. It might have been his control, or lack of, that caused many teams to shy away from Bruns as a first-round selection.
How does Bruns account for his improved velocity?
“I think the one thing was just getting in the weight room and getting stronger,” Bruns said of his new-found power. “My velo’s been going up since last summer or two summers ago and I was up to 91 at Jupiter last year. This school year I was sitting 90-92 and I touched 94, and during (COVID-19) quarantine I really got to long-toss a lot.
“I got to take a little bit of a break and not focus so much on just lifting weights; I got to focus on my mobility a little bit more. I had a lot of extra time just to do stuff like that and I think that helped a lot.”
His high school coach was not surprised by his first-round selection although it had not been projected in mock drafts.
Bruns’ coach at UMS., Kevin Raley, had this to say about his talented lefty:
“Maddux is a true four-pitch player. His velocity is special. … He has what I call an ‘old-fashioned’ curveball, a real 12-6 pitch that’s tough for even right-handers to hit. He complements that with a slider and a changeup – he’s just a special player.”
“Some people don’t understand how hard it is to find 96 from the left-hand side,” Bruns’ high school coach Kevin Raley told Ben Thomas of AL.com. “You just can’t find that.”
“I’ve never coached a kid or coached against a kid who had the stuff he had,” Raley said. “He gave up 13 hits all season. You just don’t see that.”
“Maddux is a tremendous leader with a tremendous work ethic,” Raley said. “He’s also a very focused kid. With all that was going on around him, I was amazed at how he handled it. There were 20-25 scouts and assistant general managers around every time he pitched. It didn’t bother him at all. He just went out and pitched, and he was the same way at practice.”
We expect his high school coach to speak highly of him but young players don’t always get the superlatives. What do opposing coaches think? Saraland head coach had this to say after an outing against Bruns.
“I’ve been doing this for 18 years now as a head coach and I’ve never seen a kid like that in high school baseball,” Saraland coach Brett Boutwell said. “That kid has a bright future ahead of him.”
Bruns described himself as a Braves fan – now formerly a Braves fan – and his Dad as a bit of a Braves fanatic who really appreciated Braves right-hander and HOF pitcher Greg Maddux. Hence, the name for his son. The younger Bruns no doubt also appreciates Greg Maddux but his role model on the mound has been HOF pitcher-in-waiting, left-hander Clayton Kershaw.
Bruns is the first left-handed high school pitcher drafted in the first round by the Dodgers since Clayton Kershaw went seventh overall in 2006 and Kershaw is the pitcher Bruns says he emulates. He wanted Kershaw’s 12-6 curveball, and he got it. He likes the way he pitches. He likes his demeanor. He aspires to replicate him. If you have to select a pitcher to emulate, Clayton Kershaw is a good one as a professional baseball player and a humanitarian family man.
So what was the Dodger’s rationale for selecting Bruns?
“We thought he was the best high school left-handed pitcher in the draft,” Dodgers director of amateur scouting Billy Gasparino said in a videoconference call with reporters Sunday. “It’s power pitches, power body. Everything about power is what he’s about.
“He got basically a bad command-control rap this summer,” Gasparino said. “As he increased his velocity, I think he initially struggled to throw it in the zone. To the kid’s credit and one of the things we liked about him, he showed the ability to make adjustments and improve.”
“Maddux has a premier power pitch package that we think will play at the major league level in an impactful way,” Gasparino said in a statement. “His work ethic and ability to make adjustments are two traits we put extreme value on. We can’t wait to get Maddux in Dodger blue and start the process of him becoming a major league starting pitcher.”
Jim Callis said this of the pick on MLB.com:
“Bruns has huge upside, and he’s going to an organization that excels at getting the best out of its players. You don’t see a lot of high school lefties hitting 98 mph with their fastball, but he also has a mid-80s slider and can flash a plus curveball. Strike throwing has been a concern, but he looked better this spring.”
And this from Perfect Game:
Maddux Bruns is a 2021 LHP with a 6-2 210 lb. frame from Saraland, AL who attends Ums-Wright Prep. Strong athletic build, has filled out nicely over the last year, pretty mature physically. Compact arm action in back with a tight 3/4’s arm slot, fast arm coming through, stays balanced and above the rubber well from a high leg lift delivery, can get more drive out of his lower half, short stride out front. Raw stuff has jumped since last seen in October, fastball topped out at 97 mph and was consistently in the mid-’90s, works his fastball to both sides of the plate with heavy life down in the zone, flashes bat breaking late life. Has a tight spin on a slow curveball, will slow his arm at times on the pitch, also cuts his fastball effectively, and has definite slider potential. Showed feel for his changeup. Extremely impressive jump since last seen, flashes all the pitches and the ability to throw strikes. Good student, verbal commitment to Mississippi State. Named to play in the Perfect Game All-American Classic.
Of note, AC pointed this out to me as we exchanged a few emails during Sunday’s draft. Bruns, 19, is the second high school pitcher committed to attend Mississippi State whom the Dodgers have taken in the first round in the last four years. The first — J.T. Ginn — was selected 30th overall in 2018 and opted not to sign with the Dodgers. Also like Ginn, he will become a sophomore eligible draft pick if he doesn’t sign this year.
The slot value for the 29th pick this year is $2,424,600. Gasparino said Bruns’ initials signs were “very positive,” which increased the organization’s comfort level in selecting him. It is expected that Bruns might sign for under slot giving the Dodgers a bit of freed up cash to sign later selections.
“We’ll see what happens,” said Bruns, who will be choosing between the reigning college champions and the reigning MLB champions. “I mean, I think I’m going to be a Dodger. But if things don’t work out, we’ll go to school. Whatever happens, happens. I think it’ll work out.”
Looks very promising…..would it be trite to say here is our Clayton Kershaw replacement? Assuming it takes him 3-4 years to rise up to the Dodgers, that would put him at around 23 years old and Clayton probably not a Dodger at age 37. I could be wrong though and Clayton might last till 40.
Trite? No that would not be trite.
It may be ambitious, or wishful however.
Great comment! Added a lot.
I thought so, did it not?
We should use words properly, or encourage people to. I mean that was the lead question by the OP. I dunno, maybe you weren’t being sarcastic.
It’s hard to tell.
This was the same phrase you directed at him the other day. It came across as sarcastically dismissive. He’s throwing it back at you.
But his comment, at the time, added no value.
Wasn’t it a low-taste joke?
This one answers a question that was asked.
No, I was merely using your own words to demonstrate to you how I felt about them when you originally posted them. I chose to ignore them at the time and not give them any sort of recognition
knowing soon enough you would post a comment befitting of them.
It didn’t take long, and there were previous opportunities to do so. I knew there would be since you’re the king of those types of comments that really “Added a lot.”
And don’t think for a minute that I didn’t know you were deliberately trying to be wise guy at the time you posted them.
That all went over my head, but thanks because I think you were laudatory of my comments.
Shrug emoji if you were not being so.
I’ll try to only post when I think you’ll be approving of it?
I don’t have a problem with that word usage there. If there is a commonplace tendency to characterize left handed prospects with a big curve as “the next Clayton Kershaw” and he wants to acknowledge that tendency and partially insulate himself from it, then that word accurately conveys that meaning.
With all our SP woes this year, we may need him ASAP. I know this is probably not even remotely doable, but consider this…..
Cole Caufield went from signing a contract, playing 1-2 games in AHL, and then brought up to play season end and playoffs for the Montreal Canadiens. And, he was one of their best players in the playoffs. He is only 20. (Yes, I love my Canadiens.)
So, maybe this Kershaw wannabe can actually hang out with THE MAN HIMSELF!
PS…..I’m glad my usage of the word “trite” passed the test. I was concerned….
FYI – Clayton didn’t even spend two full seasons in the minors. He went from Low A and skipped over High A jumping directly to AA in his first full season as a pro. He started his second season at AA as a 20 year old and made just 11 starts before skipping AAA with a promotion to the majors where he made 21 starts in his second full season as a pro.
I believe you used the word trite correctly. It’s an easy and lazy comp to compare him to Clayton. Burnes is two inches shorter and isn’t as skinny as Clayton. But, he’s a prep lefty with a lot of heat and has some control problems so there are some similarities.
It is said that Clayton is the guy he’s tried to emulate and is a big fan on the future HOF’er. He’s named after another HOF’er so if the stars align, we might just have our next Clayton or a combination of the two. Wouldn’t that be something?
BTW – Maddux also made his MLB debut during his second full season in the minors.
B&P, his name is BRUNS not BURNES
My name is BandP not B&P.
& means and….
Nice analysis. All in all I was not all that impressed with the draft, and I felt myself that they passed up a better prospect in Madden. . On an unrelated note, Duke Not Snider…I was unable to answer your question on the preceding stream, so I will answer it here. I use a lot of sources for the stories. For personal backgrounds, Wikipedia is pretty useful, and sometimes you find stories on different players on some MLB history sites. Stats I pretty much stick to baseball reference .com. You get the year by year stats including the splits. Also fielding and post season stuff. I also read Campy’s book and saw the movie of the same name. Lou Gossett played the male nurse who worked with Roy if memory serves me right. Paul Winfield played Campy. The nurses name was Sam Brockington, and Ruby Dee played Campy’s wife Ruth. The Society for American Baseball Research is also a great source for back stories. Fresco Thompson, who was a player before he became an executive under Branch Rickey, told a great story about after he was traded to Brooklyn and they gave him a locker next to Babe Herman. Herman complained, what are they doing giving me a locker next to a .250 hitter???? Thompson replied, why did they give me a locker next to a .250 fielder??? Pretty funny stuff. If you can find it, Thompson wrote a great book called. ” Every Diamond Doesn’t Sparkle” About his time as the VP in charge of the minor leagues and drafting. By the way, the 1968 draft that produced so many Dodger stars and big leaguers, that was all Fresco Thompson’s baby…unfortunately he died in November 1968 and did not get to see his draftees become stars. He became GM when Bavasi left for the Padres. His replacement was Al Campanis.
Thanks Bear…. I never saw the Campanella movie, but I can imagine Winfield was good in that role.
One of the great things about becoming a LA Dodger fan in the Koufax, Drysdale, Wills era was how I quickly learned about the Brooklyn Dodgers too. I remember all these “biographies”–big type, about 80 pages–on baseball stars. I’m pretty sure I even read one about Carl Furillo.
Nice story about Fresco…I briefly met Al Campanis at Dodger Stadium a couple of years after his Nightline fiasco. I told him about a CalTech kid who was working on a stat to grade middle relievers. He called it the IRA–for Inherited Runs Average, and not coincidentally his name happened to be Ira too. I think he later interned with the Orioles……I think Campanis had accepted the “retire or else” message. Anyway, I was happy to see that he wasn’t banished.
Reading about Babe Herman is a reminder that many big leaguers hailed from California before the the Dodgers and Giants came here. The DiMaggio brothers from San Francisco, of course. Pretty sure Walter Johnson grew up in Fullerton. Jackie Robinson in Pasadena, of course…. A friend from San Diego used to tell the story about how his Dad, who owned and operated a gas station, was listening to ballgame on the radio when a woman in Salvation Army uniform pulled up to the pump. “Oh, you like baseball!” the woman says. “My son plays baseball! Maybe you’ve heard of him.”
“Maybe. What’s his name?”
“Teddy… Teddy Williams.”
My friend’s dad told people she really seemed to have no idea just how famous her Teddy had become.
I remember when you could go to a Union 76 station and pick up these small books that had the biography’s of the players. They did it for about 3 years. I still have a Duke Snider one from 1960. Then later they started giving out the Volpe prints. I have a bunch of those also, very hard to find, but the books are even rarer. You can find some on EBAY now and then.
Ohtani was so gassed during the HR derby last night and Alonso was so awesome. Longest shot though? Juan Soto’s 520 footer. Wow.
Alonso was the class of that competition for sure. And I only watched the 1st round. Soto w/ his 520, Ohtani with his 513 & 475 & over was hit time and time again. Pretty fun for a while. Watching Alonzo in that 1st round made it clear he was there to win, PERIOD. Everyone else was there to have fun & TRY to win.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen you use so many ampersands. 😉
Wow DC, you convinced me that this kid is the second coming of Clayton Kershaw. Wouldn’t that be something?! I don’t follow prep and college baseball too closely. The MLB draft is also very random, so I don’t put much thought or effort into draft predictions on where players might wind up.
Badger said yesterday, what I was thinking about this draft and that it has an odd look to it. I also noticed that all these guys were ranked lower than they were taken and it’s really weird that they took only pitchers.
hbdodger48 brought up a point about our horrible record one run and extra innings games. A simple explanation might be that when our lineup has been right, we don’t get too many close games and that most of these came when we were really banged up and we simply didn’t have the talent on the 26 man to win these games. Doc has been caught with his pants down, like date night with Trevor, due to a short bench and 14 pitchers, many with little experience at the big league level. It seems the team philosophy for this year is to try to protect pitchers from a long season after a short one often staying away from a better reliever during those losses.
Doc has a long history of making questionable moves, as did Mattingly during his stay with the Dodgers. It doesn’t seem that Donny has the same problems with the Marlins. I maintain that the lineups and many in-game decisions are scripted and Doc follows the script. I don’t think the Dodgers necessarily want a manager that goes rogue and thinks for himself and makes decisions accordingly.
There’s a USA today article that details Bauer’s legal team. It sure looks like he’s going to be dumping a good chunk of change on this and hopefully he’ll learn his lesson about Internet Safety. Personally, I don’t think much will come of the criminal and civil suit. But, I also don’t expect him to pitch again this year and the Dodgers will have to plan accordingly regardless.
The most fascinating thing for me is the link to the Padres. Is it coincidence that Tatis JR is 0-for his last three games after being pulled into this? I would not be surprised to find out that Tatis might have suggested or conspired on a setup. I find it shocking that she was a Padres employee and all these details changed this from a standard domestic violence case to something much bigger.
Yeah, that “pine tar” text she sent to the “friend” was pretty weird for sure.
Maybe she was “taking one for the team”?
I’m laughing right now because that “pine tar” text was less weird than all those other ones. 😉 That lady is crackers!
The Daily Mail is one of the best gossip rags around. They just posted a story with all the latest.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9780257/Trevor-Bauer-accuser-boasted-getting-Dodgers-pitchers-head-lost-two-games.html
I only meant “weird” in that it seemed to allude to some kind of pre-planned agenda. ALL the texts were weird & AT LEAST somewhat damning to her “case”.
Cheers 🙂
Or it may have been that she was making a joke about finding the pine tar considering TB was in the news about it. It could be a conspiracy … or sometimes it’s just the simple answer. I really don’t know.
A simpler reason for the Xtra Innings could be the bullpen games.
The 1-run games is a statistic I find meaningless, or am trying to find more meaning for. The last game, where Muncy hit a walk-off HR. Is that a 1run game? It’s not on the scoreboard, but it is in every other dynamic. Came down to the last batter, settled in final AB.
On the subject, Baseball Prospectus took a look a while ago at 1-run games and kinda came to the conclusion that there’s not much there. Not that there’s nothing (double negative!) but very little. Great read, though:
https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/18151/baseball-therapy-one-run-winners-good-or-lucky/
“We thought he was the best high school left hander in the draft”. Gasparino.
Not the best left hander still on the board though. And most, including me, thought Mozzicato was better and Solometo or Madden was the pick. What do most know? I never saw any of them play. I just sit here and read what the experts have to say. A couple of those I rely on write here.
Can someone tell me what happened with UCLA commit and #38 prospect Gage Jump?
I think Tatis new the girl personally BullPen. Yeah, I believe he may be just a bit nervous about what’s going to come out. There may be others as well.
Hey Badger, Let’s think about the Maddux pick a little more. The Dodgers have quite a few potential starting pitchers in various stages of development. Miller, Beeter, Knack and Pepiot were taken as college guys in recent drafts and I think all of them have more of a Mid Rotation projection than Top of the rotation.
It makes sense to roll the dice on a guy like Maddux who has that kind of upside especially when you’re picking as late as they do. While other pitchers may be ranked higher, it doesn’t necessarily mean their ceiling is higher. It could just mean their floor is higher.
Also, these pre-draft rankings are put together by media publications. They aren’t put together by scouts. I’m sure the Dodgers trust what their own scouts and analysts think more than what Baseball America thinks. So while Baseball America might think Mozzicato is a better pick, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the Dodgers agree.
College guys are safer picks by definition. They are older and more developed physically. What you see is what you get in most cases. Prep picks are more of a gamble. So, no risk, no reward if you don’t take on a gamble from time to time?
In what’s perceived as a weak draft anyways, you might as well take a chance and load up on power pitchers with control problems who lost a year of development time due to Covid. I think the Dodgers are playing chess, taking into account the unique external factors caused by the plandemic, while other teams are playing checkers and approaching this draft like any other. At least, I hope to think so.
Who knows what philosophy is in play, but if you have confidence and a track record in developing later players into 1-3 WAR players, you should be in a position to take high-ceiling upside players.
Kinda a rising floor principle, right?
Any high school lefty that touches 98 is a high-ceiling player. If you develop players better than other teams, it reduces risk and would create a rising floor as you mentioned. I’m trying to understand what you mean about developing later players into 1-3 WAR players. Zach McKinstry comes to mind. But, I don’t know how that applies to a guy like Burnes.
I my eyes, the difference between a high first round pick and the rest of the 1st and 2nd rounds is not talent potential as much as it is about floor. In the top third of the first round, I think you have a 66% percent change of reaching the bigs and it drops below 30% at the end of the second round. Those stats describe floor more than ceiling.
Max Scherzer and Jacob Degrom are two of the best pitchers in baseball. DeGrom wasn’t even drafted as a prep and was a 9th rounder out of college. Scherzer was a 43rd round pick out of High School and 11th overall out of college, so our own Maddux Burnes is already seen as a better pick than those two Aces.
I would think the algorithms today are far better than they were when Scherzer and deGrom were drafted. And I would also think the nerds at the projections sites would have better prediction programs than you and I do, but a step behind what the Dodgers put together.
That said, if you’re picking 29th, and you intend to pick pitching, the best 10 or 13 are going to be gone. So who’s the Secretariat mega spinner left on the page? The predicting s spurts didn’t have Brun there. We’ll just have to see.
We’ve got a few lined up for next year and beyond. This year was May and Gonsolin’s year to shine. Third base was supposed to Rios. Second base, Lux. McKinstry takes the other Taylor utility spot and we roll to November. Personally I thought Smith and Ruiz would share catching. I was wrong, but with our roster I was fine with Barnes. The staff likes him and somebody has to hit 8th. Bauer was a welcomed edition, not #1 on this team but paid like one. Who cares about that? Not my money.
Hasn’t gone as planned, has it.
It doesn’t immediately feel like this is a strong draft. But again, wtf do I know? My baseball knowledge was developed watching the Maury Wills Sandy Koufax Dodgers. I played and coached The Dodger Way To Play Baseball. Fundamentals, everybody could bunt, hit and run, understood what a two strike approach meant and everybody I played with and coached backed up bases. There was NOBODY swinging for the fences on the teams with which I associated. . If they did they sat. Now everybody, even the smaller guys, swing for the bleachers. . And here’s the thing that has blown me away – it f’n works.
Again – what do I know?
Oh. I meant players like McKinstry, Pederson, Kike, I guess hopefully Reks, Beatty, Rios…
Badger, I would be surprised if there were an algorithm to predict future performance of prep pitchers. I think that’s where Scouts come into play.
Algorithms are just a set of rules that are used to compute an outcome. I guess you can think of it as a set of variables in a complex mathematical equation.
They are particularly useful analysing large amounts of data to produce an outcome to act upon. It wouldn’t be particularly useful evaluating statistics from the small sample sizes across distinct and separate populations like the talent pools across many diverse a small prep school leagues. (14 players on each team and 6-8 teams in each league playing mostly against each other in a 20 game season). It’s hard enough to use them across a very large and homogeneous league like the MLB where you play 30 teams of 26 players across a 162 game season.
There are algorithms in everything we do. Data has been collected on young athletes for years now. I have no doubt that many of these young players have been known by the Dodgers since they were in junior high. If colleges are doing it you can bet the pros are.
The thing about AF is that he’s always looking to exploit market inefficiencies. He has gotten flack here for years for his predilection for plucking older pitchers off the slag heap. The thing is, however, the players development program has done a great job at assessing pitchers and turning them around. To the Dodgers, every player is a prospect, and I think they have a lot of confidence in their ability to develop pitchers who may have flaws, so I think you’re right with the chess analogy; their strategy is go with high risk/high reward types vs. sure bets and put their faith in the pitcher development program to turn them around.
With regards to Tatis. You can subpoena text messages and DMs from Internet apps like FB and Instagram. The Internet is forever, it doesn’t matter if you try to clean up your posts, they can be recovered. When you send anything over the Internet, or through your phone, think of it as a letter with your signature on it that can be retrieved and used against you at any time.
They will be reviewing Tatis’ test messages and DMs. His lawyers already informed him about this. I suspect he’s sweating right about now.
What do you think they might find that might exonerate TB?
I think the sticking point is the injuries to her head and her black eyes. Even if she was a calculating opportunist and wanted to ensnare TB, and even if she asked to be chocked to unconsciousness or slapped, if he hit her hard enough to cause physical injury and there is not evidence she consented to it, that’s something TB can’t get out of.
It’s complicated.
He hired some of the best attorneys around and he’s only admitted to punching her in the butt. She requested to be choked out, so it’s hard to argue malice.
Due to the fact that she didn’t go to a hospital right away, it can easily be argued that he doesn’t know how she go black eyes and other head injuries. If there’s something in other text messages (to Tatis or anyone else) that suggest this was a planned setup, it might flip the script where Bauer could be seen as the victim. I’m imagining that his lawyers will present a defense that this women is a Padres groupie and plotted to take Bauer down. It might be enough to make MLB think twice about the length of any suspension especially if he’s smart enough to stay out of the public eye and off social media until his suspension is settled.
This case is so bizarre with her being a former Padre employee and had relations with Tatis that you can throw all other legal or MLB punitive precedence out the window. Then add in the fact that Bauer has been very vocal about how the commissioner has handled baseball issues and you can see that this is going to get really interesting.
Does Manfred fear retaliation from Bauer ahead of the upcoming CBA?
Could that result in a lesser sentence?
Is Manfred going to put himself into a position where it looks like he’s retaliating against Bauer?
How will the Players Union react to perceived personal retaliation by a commissioner to a player?
Could Manfred tread lightly in this case in order to gain sympathy to put him into a perceived favorable position ahead of the upcoming CBA negotiation?
Do the other owners want to make an example of Bauer, or do they want to protect their players from being setup on the Internet? How about the player’s union?
This case is spectacularly complicated, therefore entirely unpredictable.
They need to check Fernando’s hands for signs of bruising consistent with punching someone.
LOL! Highly highly unlikely, but could you imagine if that’s what they discovered?
Maybe it was a sordid love triangle. Tatis was enraged that his lover hooked up with his arch nemesis and directed his rage at the poor hapless female.
TB still got himself involved in that mess, and we have likely seen the last of him this year – probably even in a Dodger uni, though I don’t know the details of getting out of that contract. Too bad. I liked him.
she may have done those actual injuries in the pics herself or had someone else do it for her. That also unfortunately happens all the time in extortion attempts. Weird squared for sure.
A lady friend I know said it early in this, there is no consent when you’re unconscious. I don’t know the legal standing on that, but I suspect we will hear it soon.
FREE TREVOR!
Badger, your lady friend is no expert on the matter just because she is female. Bauer’s lady friend asked to be choked unconscious during the act. Do you really think she can reasonably say that she expected him to stop and wait until she regained consciousness before proceeding? I think saying “Bring all the Pain” and “Nothing is off limits” combined with “I liked it better coming back” as opposed to “going out” qualifies as consent. But hey, I’m no expert on the matter. I came to this conclusion by analyzing the facts.
It’s easy to make generalizations reading headlines over content. Maybe your lady friend didn’t read all of the quotes obtained from her text messages that I listed, or if she has a predetermined political viewpoint (no surprise since birds of a feather and all) that prevents her from having an understanding that there are exceptions to her own definition of what consent is.
For example. If Bauer’s lady friend had a written contract that said… Start intercourse, Choke me until I’m unconscious, Do not stop intercourse until after I come back to consciousness and do whatever you want to me while I’m out.
In this scenario consent was given while she was conscious to do things to her while she was unconscious. You would be hard pressed to argue that. At the same time, she did not give consent while she was unconscious therefore each of the scenarios are mutually exclusive when you apply them to the same situation. Even so, the first scenario of the hypothetical written contract would override the general rule of “there is no consent when you’re unconscious”.
There is nuance in this case. My wife’s first reaction was “She’s an extortionist”. My wife has been a Paralegal and Legal Assistant over twenty years. She’s seen these types of things and worse, including pissed off people coming to the law office with a gun to threaten opposing counsel. It’s common enough that most Law Firms that she’s worked at has a panic button and code words for that type of emergency. Her legal experience makes her qualified to give an opinion based on facts. Simply being a women is not a qualification to define what consent is in all situations for every women.
I’m sorry I used so many words to point that out.
She did not go to the hospital until the next day. It would seem to me that if you were beaten up that bad, you would have gone right away… unless you weren’t!
I would think that security footage on one end or another could come into play.
The next day? As in the day after the day after the night before? I read it differently. The alleged assault happened in their second match that began on 15th of May. She was in the hospital hours later on the 16th. They had a SART exam done and you can bet we will hear more about that. The main purpose of that assessment is to provide a sensitive and thorough medical-legal exam of the survivor in order to collect evidence that would be helpful to the investigation and prosecution. We can ask our lawyers here how much weight that exam carries in court. For now….. we wait.
You got the facts wrong Badger and you deliberately said “Hours” because you don’t know how many hours. The timeline is that she didn’t leave until the next day and drove from Pasadena to San Diego. At some point after that she met with her AA sponsor and finally went to the Emergency room after receiving that advice from said sponsor. I feel the need to add that she probably passed 50 other Emergency rooms between Pasadena and SD, so it’s a stretch to call it an “Emergency”. I might add that it was probably some time late in the next evening because why would you have to go to an Emergency Room for a non-Emergency? Probably because it was after hours when she finally got around to it. So while you mention “Hours” later, it was probably closer to a day after the incident occurred.
“During a subsequent encounter May 15, she claims Bauer again choked her unconscious, and awoke to Bauer repeatedly punching her in the head, including ‘with a closed fist to the left side of my jaw, the left side of my head and both cheekbones.’ She claimed Bauer then choked her again until she lost consciousness. According to The Athletic, the woman, who is 27, said she sought treatment the next day at two hospitals, Alvarado Hospital Medical Center and Palomar Health in Escondido, and consulted with San Diego police, though she did not name Bauer at the time.“
Maybe the Athletic got that wrong.
My lady friend is a former couples counselor and the point was there are millions of women who agree with her. Like I said, I don’t know how courts will look at this, I just know they have their own definitions of the truth. As John Stone said in “The Night Of” – “The truth can go to hell. The truth doesn’t help you here, and if you can’t get that through your head you can forget about the rest of your life”. Amen brother Stone. Also, I think Bauer is already convicted in the court of public opinion. I have from the beginning figured this will be settled out of court. I don’t believe anyone, including the accuser, wants to see this in a courtroom. Maybe I’m wrong about that.
He might not be “sweating”, but he sure seems to be swinging and missing lately.
🙂
High school pitchers are the hardest to project: Good or Bad. It is often a crapshoot. Maddux does look like he is still a ways from his “man strength” and that could make a huge difference… either good or bad!
I think I’d back him off that 98 sh**. Hes got a few years to build up to it
What I think about Maddux Bruns:
1. I believe Gaspirano believes Bruns was the best pitcher on the board. Whether he was/is or will be is what will be written in the history books.
2. I believe Bruns “projects” to be bigger, stronger, and possibly throw harder.
3. This is a high-risk, high-reward type of pick.
4. I could see the Dodgers paying him over slot and not signing others.
The first three picks today in the draft were pitchers. That makes 12 picks so far ,all pitchers. You can follow their draft picks on the The official Dodger website.
First non-pitcher is SS Michael Sirotka, Whitey Ford’s great nephew. It is doubtful he will sign but rather go on to Northeastern University.
The 2021 MLB Draft just finished with 20 rounds .Dodgers had 19 picks ,lose one 2nd round pick because of the Bauer signing .Selections were 17Ps, 1OF and 1SS.
Angels take all pitchers.
SF takes all but four (4) pitchers.
LAD takes all but two (2) pitchers.
Would love to hear educated thoughts on what this is? A trend? A specific strategy borne of the draft class? Something else my little mind can’t imagine?
And the player of the week in the NL….drum roll……..AJ Pollock! I guess that will shut his detractors up for a few days. Dodgers claim Jimmy Sherfy off waivers from the Giants.Wahl DFA’d
COME ON Bear …… you KNOW that if he has one or two ofers …… they will be right back at it.
Yeah I do, I am one of the few who really likes Pollock and the professionalism he brings to the team, and he has been the last 3 seasons one of their most consistent players, playoff performances not withstanding.
Last player the Dodgers drafted will probably not sign, he has another commitment as an ensign in the US NAVY for 4 years. Happy 26th birthday to Cody Bellinger who also just found out he is going to be a papa. NL hoping to return to 9 inning double headers and the normal extra innings rules in 2022. I am all for that. Add the DH and I will be a happy camper
I don’t know how I feel about adding the DH….still undecided. BUT, There are two reasons why I don’t want the DH:
1. I like for our pitcher to have their pitcher batting. Unless it’s Ohtani, I feel there is a good chance we might have one sure out. I just like that thought. As for us, I don’t mind if our pitcher bats. Several of our pitchers hit pretty well anyhow.
2. I want their pitcher to bat just in case he decides to “intentionally” hit one of our guys. He might then reap what he has sown. Don Drysdale would agree.
But like I previously said….I haven’t committed to a position yet. I’m open minded and willing to throw my hat in the ring FOR THE DH if anyone wants to take a stab. (Eating popcorn)
TM
Bare, Papa means Pope, papa means potato and papá means father. Bellinger is not a potato.
Okay, U win BP,,,,Thats old school thinking TM, Umps quit letting pitchers do that years ago. Too easy to get ejected and fined anymore, and I want the DH simply because it add more offense and more action and I never like watching pitchers hit.
Since it’s the all star break I have a lot of time to look at stats and I thought I’d post some of my favorite stats.
Dodgers NATIONAL LEAGUE Stats:
Offense Stats:
#5 in batting average.
#1 in on base percentage.
#3 in slugging percentage.
#2 in on base plus slugging percentage.
It looks like the Dodgers have room to improve in making contact for a hit (Batting average) and somewhat slugging.
Pitching Stats:
#1 in batting average against.
#2 in on base percentage against.
#1 in slugging percentage against.
#1 in on base plus slugging percentage against.
Not a lot of room for improvement. Looking deeper into the stats the bullpen has room to improve on walks allowed.
I think if Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger were having typical years instead of struggling the team batting average and slugging percentage would be better. Not to mention Corey Seager being on the injured list for quite awhile too.
I’m wondering if anyone is considering this…
Since Tatis is involved, I wonder how the Lady Friend will answer the following question that you know is coming from Bauer’s attorneys…
Did you ever make a request to Fernando to “bring the pain” or something similar to the request that you made to Bauer?
There’s really no good answer here. If she did, it would implicate Fernando and warrant a similar investigation, administrative leave and suspension. If she didn’t, it would sure support the extortion theory. If it was the case and MLB treated Fernando differently than Bauer, it would cause a lot of problems with the player’s union and even amongst the owners themselves.
I wonder how long after the break it will take to start getting more clarity. I’m sure MLB is doing what they can to lesson the distraction during the break.
If she wants to protect Tatis, the easy answer is, he wasn’t into that kind of thing we just had straight sex
Yeah, but what do their text messages say?
If those text messages are out there, and they implicate Tatis as doing the same thing as Bauer, then it doesn’t matter what she says
Missing the point that if there isn’t any texts like that to Tatis it would look like she setup Bauer.
This is a no win situation for that “lady friend”. She better be able to produce a text asking for it from Tatis with Tatis declining. Somehow I think that’s unlikely.
Sounds like you’ve got this figured out Bullpen.
I’ll wait a while longer. It would appear those involved in the investigation, including MLB and the Dodgers, are doing a decent job of keeping this off the front page. Not a lot of noise about it lately. Who knows, maybe it will quietly go away. Yeah, that’s possible.
Those All-Star uniforms look even worse on the players
What was Nike thinking, what was MLB thinking, what a joke
A total embarrassment
3 words ……. APPROVED BY MANFRED
One word, MONEY.. MLB will make a lot of money on those hats and jersey sales. It is all about the money.
I haven’t seen them because I’m giving the All-star game little thought and no television time this year, but could they be worse than the “Color Black” all white and all black uni for that Dodgers Yankees series?
What is a total embarrassment is honoring Hank Aaron in a mostly white city that has more restrictive voting laws than Atlanta which is 50% black. Manfred is a total idiot!
I agree
That last sentence is the rare thing we can all agree on.
I totally agree. If they were going to move it, Denver is probably the worst possible venue and it is close to 80% white
Denver is only 54.2% white.
I think not!
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/denvercitycolorado,denvercountycolorado/PST045219
It’s white non-Hispanic 54.2% at the bottom.
I live in the state Eric, I think I know the population base a little better than you, and you have towns here that have a lot higher white population than that. The little town I live in, Canon City, is closer to 90 pct. white.
I don’t care if you live there the census says Denver is 54.2% white non-Hispanic or Latino
I believe it’s Cañon City Bear, and yeah, it’s white. But, I don’t think they count the prison population in the numbers.
No, and you are right about the little accent over the n. But I can’t do that on this computer. No, the population from the 8 prisons in the area is not counted, but it still would not dent the percentage that much. There are very few Hispanic’s here and even fewer blacks.
Fact check:
“city that has more restrictive voting laws than Atlanta”
misinformation curveball (Colorado Sun)
I thought we were all Americans. Manfred is an idiot let’s not dumb down like him
I believe I should have said that Colorado has more restrictive laws unless you want to cheat.
I would like to have just one logical explanation of why ID should not be required!
Just one, please!
cause racist
Duh
What are talking about Mark? Colorado requires ID.
Well Mark you always say no politics here until it’s you bringing up the politics. First everyone has a right to vote period. Not everyone who wants to buy and ID. A voter ID is a poll tax.
When I first saw them I said UGLY. But seeing them on the players I revise that to atrocious. Total disaster.
Their last pick has pretty much decided to be an officer in the Navy and not pursue a pro career. Wasted pick in my mind.
I was just responding to your post the way you framed it Bullpen
Trying to reply to your missing the point but the site wouldn’t let me
The White Population is 80%! Come on, you can read, Eric!
Figures don’t lie, but Liars Figure!
If you are talking about the city of Denver it is 54.2% white non-Hispanic or Latino. If you are talking about the state of Colorado it is 67.7% white non-Hispanic or Latino.
Mine says White alone – 80.9% in the county.
Your what?
The Government has it:
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/denvercountycolorado
White alone, not Hispanic or Latino: 54.9%
Denver county is 54.9% white non-Hispanic or Latino.
You are looking at the wrong stat you need to look at white non-Hispanic or Latino. Otherwise you get other races included with whites.
I’m just trying to help.
Actually, it is the other way. some people who are white and Hispanic identify as White, but non-Latino or Hispanic. Maybe their great-grandmother was another race but look at Atlanta. They are 51% Black.
They are not truly white.
Truly white in the census is white alone not Hispanic or Latino percentage.
I’m just trying to help.
You are correct about Atlanta being 51% black.
Better read the census numbers again there White alone in Denver county in 19, 80%, in the city of Denver in 19, 79%. Those are the county and city numbers. I read the same graph you did, White alone means white alone. White can also be considered those of European decent. Places like Boulder and Golden have populations that are very predominately white.
No it doesn’t Bear it includes other races.
I’m just trying to help.
He’s right Bear.
It’s right here:
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/denvercountycolorado
Click on the (i) and read the criteria.
I know that, but it also says 80 percent all white in the county, now you tell me how they can count 80 percent white, and 59 percent non hispanic white. That just does not compute. the point is 80 percent of the population of the county, and 79 percent of the population of the city is considered white. And if you live in this state it is obvious that it is predominately white. To honor Aaron, Milwaukee would have been a better option than Denver.
Anybody know what the big horn sheep population is?
Comanche?.?? …. Apache???
Lower than it should be. It is at 7,000 according to the stats.
Most of the Indian population in Colorado is Ute. Comanche and Apache left the state years ago.
I was just being facetious
I know, but I love facts..
Does it really matter?
Moving the game from anywhere to any other place was dumb and just virtual signaling from a liberal bunch of pukes.
If they were really as disgusted, they would do something with the Braves to really make a stand.
They won’t because at the end of the day, nobody in NY cares about voting in Ga. just like BLM could care less about blacks. They care about political power and money
Race
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program (PEP). Updated annually. Population and Housing Unit Estimates
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS). Updated annually. American Community Survey
About
The Race estimates of the population are produced for the United States, states, and counties by the Population Esimates Program and the race estimates of the population are produced for Puerto Rico, muncipios (county-equivalents for Puerto Rico), places, zona urbanas and comunidades (place-equivalents for Puerto Rico), and minor civil divisions by the American Community Survey.
The U.S. Census Bureau collects race data in accordance with guidelines provided by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and these data are based on self-identification. The racial categories included in the census questionnaire generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country and not an attempt to define race biologically, anthropologically, or genetically. In addition, it is recognized that the categories of the race item include racial and national origin or sociocultural groups. People may choose to report more than one race to indicate their racial mixture, such as “American Indian” and “White.” People who identify their origin as Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish may be of any race.
OMB requires that race data be collectd for a minimum of five groups: White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. OMB permits the Census Bureau to also use a sixth category – Some Other Race. Respondents may report more than one race.
The concept of race is separate from the concept of Hispanic origin. Percentages for the various race categories add to 100 percent, and should not be combined with the percent Hispanic.
Definition
White. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as “White” or report entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Arab, Moroccan, or Caucasian.
Black or African American. A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as “Black or African American,” or report entries such as African American, Kenyan, Nigerian, or Haitian.
American Indian and Alaska Native. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment. This category includes people who indicate their race as “American Indian or Alaska Native” or report entries such as Navajo, Blackfeet, Inupiat, Yup’ik, or Central American Indian groups or South American Indian groups.
Asian. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. This includes people who reported detailed Asian responses such as: “Asian Indian,” “Chinese,” “Filipino,” “Korean,” “Japanese,” “Vietnamese,” and “Other Asian” or provide other detailed Asian responses.
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. It includes people who reported their race as “Fijian,” “Guamanian or Chamorro,” “Marshallese,” “Native Hawaiian,” “Samoan,” “Tongan,” and “Other Pacific Islander” or provide other detailed Pacific Islander responses.
Two or more races. People may choose to provide two or more races either by checking two or more race response check boxes, by providing multiple responses, or by some combination of check boxes and other responses. For data product purposes, “Two or More Races” refers to combinations of two or more of the following race categories: “White,” “Black or African American,” American Indian or Alaska Native,” “Asian,” Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander,” or “Some Other Race”
Data users should be aware of methodology differences that may exist between different data sources.
Methodology for U.S. and Puerto Rico
In the context presented, what exactly does origins mean?
Latest one from Colorado which includes the 2020 count is now 89 percent all white and 69 percent white non Hispanic.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/denver-co-population
This source says 76% White. Funny that this is the most argued topic on this site today and not the use of &.
I think we can all agree that’s it’s less Black than Atlanta and considering they’re honoring a Black player and moved it because of the fallacy that ID’s make it harder to vote for Black people, it was not a smooth move.
Manfred is a Turd and Tatis 0-fer supporting my conspiracy theory.
Nice catch by Taylor in the All-Star game
yep, too bad the NL still cannot hit AL pitching.
Does anyone really care about that game?
Not really, just watching to see how Turner, Muncy and Taylor play. Care less about the rest of them. Lobenstein traded by the Nats to the Brewers.
And all that percentage means is that that percentage of whites claim no Hispanic or Latino blood. So, the percentage of whites is still over 80 percent.
Dodgers players’ comments on Trevor Bauer tell you all you need to know.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today captured some quotes from a number of players in Denver and it’s clear they’ve all moved on. Bauer seems to be far in the rearview as it concerns them.
At some point, it would be nice to hear someone say something more forceful against the right-hander, but for now, we have icy coldness.
“We’re not really sure what’s going on there,” Justin Turner told Nightengale. “We’re just going to show up every day with what we have in the clubhouse and find a way to win ballgames.
“The distraction is outside our clubhouse. We get paid to win baseball games.”
“I think we’re going to move forward with the guys we have,” Max Muncy added. “It’s tough. I don’t want to comment on his situation. We have a lot of depth. We can fill in with pieces.”
“I know right now it looks a little bleak in the starting rotation,” Walker Buehler said, “but Andrew has never been afraid to get guys to help us. I don’t want to talk about (Bauer). It is what it is. It’s out of my control.
“We’ll strap it together, and put it together, whatever we have to do win.
“Right now, I wouldn’t bet against us.”
This comes after it was discovered a number of Dodgers players unfollowed Bauer on Instagram, including Turner, Muncy, Mookie Betts, Albert Pujols, Kenley Jansen, Chris Taylor and Dustin May.
Not really sure what anyone would expect them to say and I also think that they have probably been told to say exactly what they did.
Dropping Bauer from social media was probably advised to them as well.
Bauer is toxic right now. Who knows where he is in a month, a year, etc.
Lots of facts to still come out but the damage is probably done for him being the way society is now
So middle east is white, And Spain is considered Latino or non-white? My ex wife’s relatives are from Spain,but their lineage trace back to Arabia
Like I said to her when she did that stupid DNA test who gives a shit
All I know is I’m scotch Irish and I drink a lot and that makes sense
To the extent that Bruns is a high risk/high reward pick, well, I’m fine with that. I’d rather use a late first round pick on a bit of a gamble than take a “safe” pick like Madden.
Dodgers can afford to gamble. Let other teams play it safe.
Plus, the current Dodger braintrust has a pretty good track record, having drafted pitchers like Buhler, May and Gonsolin in recent years. Not sure, but I bet that trio would rank among the best if we compared team’s pitching picks in recent years. Plus, Miller and Pepiot are in the wings.
The Angels just used every one of their picks on pitchers. I wonder if Arte Moreno looks back and thinks, “Geez, we could have had Buhler, May and Gonsolin. ” They always pick ahead of the Dodgers, right?
These musings have me suddenly thinking about “the Angel jinx.” I hate the superstition it implies, but tragedy really has dogged that franchise. Before the opioid overdose death Tyler Skaggs, there was the traffic accident that killed Nick Adenhart, a promising young pitcher…. And other tragedies before that–but now I’m getting down just thinking about it.