Hurry Up and Wait!

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1. AF is consistently “tight lipped” about acquisitions, coaching decisions, injuries etc. I must say that I am surprised we haven’t heard of any changes to the coaching staff. I expected to see some changes to the hitting coaching staff including a termination of RVS.

   The Dodgers have been far too reliant on the HR for runs, don’t play small ball well and hitting w/ RISP has been not so good. Will the staff stay the same or will there be changes?

2. Despite a lot of injuries and down years by Belli and Betts, the Dodgers were first in the NL in runs scored. RVS is not going to be fired… nor should he.

   However, I would guess that there will be changes in the player’s approach and that RVS and company will adjust accordingly.

   Insofar as being HR reliant, the Giants and Braves hit more than the Dodgers, so I would say they were more HR reliant!

   1. I think we’ve been beating this ‘bad’ approach to hitting to death. 106 regular season wins!!!!!. I guess if we fired Roberts and bunted and hit the other way into the shift we would have won 150 games

      1. You are wrong! They would have never lost!

         😉

3. Some interesting stuff to think about Mark.

   Scherzer – the more I think about it, the less likely I think we see him return. At least 10 teams will make him offers and many of them have more money to spend than we will. Right now, we only know we can depend on Buehler and Julio for next year. Bauer? Who knows. Kersh, no idea if he’ll return and if he does whether he’ll be healthy. All of the young guys you mentioned are interesting, but I wouldn’t want to have to depend on any of them as a 1-5 starter in 2022. We need to go out and sign a couple of guys like Stroman who can throw a decent amount of innings and won’t be as expensive as Max.

   I’m really looking forward to Vargas and Pages but I don’t think either will be a factor in 2022.

   I’d love to see us involved in the Suzuki bidding, but you don’t just move a Mookie Betts to second base permanently unless he wants to move. We don’t know that he does. At worst, if we sign Suzuki, he becomes our left fielder once AJ’s contract is up next year.

4. I wonder if they’ll consider moving Brusdar back to starting. He’s built like an NFL defensive tackle, so I’ll bet he could build up the durability. It seems to be easier to find bullpen guys than starters. It would make logistics of bringing Jensen and/or Knebel back simpler.

   1. Anything is possible. However, I have heard that he loses focus easily, so that may be somewhat problematic.

      Here’s a guy to watch and his interview is very telling:

      https://www.mlb.com/dodgers/news/dodgers-carson-taylor-homers-during-arizona-fall-league?t=arizona-fall-league

5. Carson Taylor is a player. It was evident with the Loons. Throwing out runners is definietely something to work on but this guy can hit and play. Some guys just look like they are totally involved in the game.

6. I wish I had a clue as to what AF was planning, but I do not. Seager offered the QO. Several other players, Story, Castellanos, Syndergaard, also offered the QO. They have a little over 1 1/2 hours to decide if Kersh and Taylor get one. I do not think Taylor will. There was a story on MLB.com that suggests the Giants are going to sign both Scherzer and Verlander. I will believe that when I see it. Hardest part of the year for me. Just waiting for something to happen and hoping it is good. USC is playing so bad they are hard to watch. Was hoping LSU would knock off Alabama , but they could not finish the job.

   1. That Giants/Scherzer/Verlander column was written by Anthony Castrovince who writes everything with a twinkle in his eye. He doesn’t believe half of what he writes and just (admittedly) puts stuff out there to provoke comments.

      Not saying it’s impossible that Farhan would sign both guys, but Castrovince’s tone was more like what if rather than it’s going to happen.

      I agree with what others have said here, that being it might be better to go after Verlander than Max. Fewer years, less money and his TJ is behind him. I’m for signing Verlander and Stroman .

      1. Two words: Uh, no

7. According to mlbtr, Seager and CT3 have been given QO’s……………………….but not Kershaw.
   Does that sound like they expect Clayton to give them a full season next year? I think not, or they would have happily paid him 18 mil.

   1. I would say that is evidence enough he needs TJ!

8. I have been predicting CT3 would get the QO but the Dodgers must know something we do not about Clayton:

   1. He needs TJ;
   2. He is retiring; or
   3. He wants to play at home.

   1. If they knew he wanted to play in Texas they definitely would have given him a QO so it’s 1 or 2. And if it was 2 they would also have done it in case he changed his mind.

   2. 4. He’s no longer worth $18.4M
      5. They’re working on a deal to bring him back already that’s worth much less than $18.4M annually

9. Well, I was wrong about Taylor, Seager was a lock. Kersh I can understand. He either want’s to be a career Dodger or he does not. What they got from him last season was not worth 18 mil. Giants got that kind of pitching on much lesser contracts. If he needs TJ and wants to continue to pitch after the rehab, he may do it elsewhere. We have no clue what his doctors might be suggesting. They would get two draft picks if Taylor and Seager both leave. Kersh might come back on an incentive laden deal. In total, 14 players were offered QO’s. Giants gave it to Belt, and Astros to Verlander. Story on either MLB or ESPN< cannot remember which says the Dodgers are very interested in Andrew Haney. In a shocker, the Bronco's beat the Cowboys, and the Jaguars beat the Bills. Pack losing without Rogers.

10. God I absolutely love cold blooded Dylan. He can drive the nail all the way home with just one tap. His words for me today have been like an expectorant to congestion. Bear, I know you don’t care for his voice but to me it can be pure gold. Yesterday was John Prine and Arlo Guthrie unable hold back that tear about Steve Goodman. Today I’m just kinda pissed off but it’s feeling better by the minute. Just sharing.

    1. I have always respected Dylan as a writer. But his voice is almost as bad as Joe Cockers was. A couple of his tunes he did pretty good vocals on. Knockin on Heavens Door and Lay Lady Lay. Could not stand Rod Stewart either. But that is just my opinion. Steve Goodman was very under rated as was John Prine. My feel good tunes come from Gordon Lightfoot, Alabama, George Strait, Merle and Waylon. Charlie Daniels is my traveling music of choice along with ZZ Top. Willie Nelson is the mellow times guy. Lately I have been listening to movie themes. Mostly the compositions of John Williams. His stuff is awesome. And some, I did not know he wrote until I got the album last week. Arlo was ok, but his dad was the real genius in the family.

11. 2B Betts ($30.4M)
    1B Seager $25M)
    CF Buxton ($9M)
    RF Bellinger ($16M)
    3B Chapman ($11M)
    SS Lux ($0,7M)
    C Smith ($0.9M)
    LF Pederson ($6M)

    Buehler
    Urias
    Gonsolen
    Not Schezer
    Not Kershaw
    Not Jansen

    Traded: Trea Turner, Muncy, Pollock

    1. You sure know how to get a giggle out of me, Bum.

       1. You’re welcome. I entertain myself as well.

    2. Attaway Fred. You managed to get Joc back here. But he’s demanding 7 mil so he can afford a new strand of pearls.

    3. If Seager moves on, then Bellinger moves to first, Betts moves back to RF, Lux to second. Trea Turner to SS.

    4. 2B Trea Turner
       CF Bellinger
       LF Juan Soto
       1B Vlad Jr.
       3B Arrenado
       DH Castellanos
       SS Correa
       RF Aaron Judge
       C Will Smith

       Bueller
       Urias
       Scherzer
       Bauer
       Keshaw / May

12. Wow, that was interesting. Why didn’t Kershaw get a QO? Because they know they can get him for less or that he’s a big risk with his medicals. It looks to me like they’re not going out of their way to bring him back.

    Why didn’t Kenley get a QO? Because closers don’t get 18M. Kenley recently said that he’s not interested in a pay cut. I think closers took a hit in the salary department since Kenley last signed a deal. He’ll soon see that he’s got no chance at $16M per year again.

    It looks like they’re trying to entice Taylor into accepting. Good move. Do you take it and go back and try again next year, or do you decline and shoot for the moon after arguably your best season?

    Seager was a no brainer and his decision to decline will likewise be a no brainer.

    I’m not really that surprised by any of this. Kenley and Kershaw are “You got a spot if you want to come back” kinda guys. But, they aren’t a priority.

    I’m not convinced Seager will be back, but I think he’ll be back.

    I don’t think Kenley will be back.

    Taylor should absolutely take that QO and give it another run. He’s not going to get that high of an AAV on the open market. I think he’ll decline and test the market for a 4-5 year deal.

    I’m not sure what Clayton will do. But, it’s clear the Dodgers aren’t going to overpay him. I didn’t get the feeling he was done after last year, but who knows what he’s thinking and what his medicals really show. Mark’s been saying TJ all along and the medical staff says, nah it’s just a flexor tendon. I’m leaning towards Mark’s diagnosis.

    The Dodgers have been very good with Clayton over the years. I think it’s time for Clayton to take the AF blue light special with a two year deal, plan on sitting out next year recovering and come back as healthy as he can for one more season. At least, that’s what I’d like to see happen.

    AF is going to have some work to do. He really needs to sign two starting pitchers and try to fill the 5th spot from within. At least, that’s what it looks like with “The man who shan’t be named” still in limbo.

    1. Hasn’t Kenley already gotten a QO before his last contract? If so, they couldn’t have given him one this year even if they had wanted to.

       1. That is correct.

    2. I believe that if Kenley was eligible for the QO, the Dodgers would have given it, especially after not giving it to Kershaw.

13. Until we know for sure, any talk of CK needing surgery is pure guess work. According to what I have read, the medical staff says he will not require surgery. So until I read or hear something different, I am going to take them at their word. Jansen coming back is iffy. Kelly might be back at a lower price. Seager is gone in my mind until I read different. Taylor will not take the QO. For the first time in his career he has a chance to see some real long term money. And someone not the Dodgers, is going to cross over the line and pay him above what we might think he is worth. Kersh will either sign an incentive laden deal with the Dodgers or go home to Texas. Joc is welcome back if he accepts the same kind of playing time he had before as a platoon player. Joc was not the only player on the Braves to score two rings in a row. The other was OF Terrance Gore who earned his 3rd World Series ring…..as many as Posey has, and he has only played in 102 career games. He got one with KC, one with the Dodgers and this one with Atlanta. Dodger trades will be minimal if any at all, and mostly involving fringe players. Gold Gloves will be awarded tonight.

    1. No Dodgers GG. Cardinals got five: 1B – Paul Goldschmidt, 2B- Tommy Edman, 3B – Nolan Arenado, LF – Tyler O’Neill, CF – Harrison Bader. They missed out on 6 when Yadi Molina was beaten by Pittsburgh’s Jacob Stallings.

       1. How in the wide wide world of sports did Duvall beat out Mookie??? He is not even in his class as a defender.

       2. So much for the importance of great defense!

          Look how far it took them. Great D is nice, but it doesn’t trump great pitching.

          1. Why do they have to be mutually exclusive? St. Louis had no pitching and used that great defense and some timely offense to make the playoffs. They were without their only Ace (Flaherty) for most of the year. The pitching in the NLCS was mediocre for both teams, but Atlanta’s defense was better than good while LAD’s was meh.

14. Hey Bear,

    This came in my email today, what are your thoughts? i’m thinking of investing.

    Driverless trucks can’t arrive soon enough, Joann writes.

    Why it matters: Ports are backed up and there aren’t enough truck drivers to get all the containers where they need to be, leading to product shortages, inflation and stressed-out holiday shoppers.

    Driverless trucks could theoretically be operating 24/7, moving freight from clogged ports to store shelves more quickly and safely, while cutting delivery costs and carbon emissions too.
    It’ll be two or three years before autonomous trucks are ready for commercial deployment on U.S. highways. But the first data-driven studies from early pilot programs suggest they’ll be substantially more efficient.

    TuSimple and UPS, for example, say their self-driving test trucks achieved 13% fuel savings while racking up 160,000 autonomous highway miles in Arizona.

    “To get 13% fuel savings is unheard of,” TuSimple CEO Cheng Lu tells Axios — worth billions of dollars for the U.S. trucking industry.
    Fuel accounts for 24% of the cost per mile for heavy-duty trucks, second to labor, at 42%, per the American Transportation Research Institute.
    TuSimple’s system drives more smoothly and efficiently than a human driver, Lu explains. “How you operate the truck has a very big impact on fuel economy. It’s a great validation of the maturity of our technology.”
    Another study by Georgia Tech found that Ryder Systems’ new autonomous transfer hub networks — combining self-driving trucks on highways with conventional trucking operations for the first and last miles — could save shippers up to 40%.

    “Today I have to wait to get another driver. There’s a lot of lost time in the transfer of goods,” says Ryder executive vice president Karen Jones, who heads up new product development. “This has the promise to keep everything moving around the clock.”
    Reduced labor costs account for much of the savings, of course. But optimizing routes to reduce miles driven with an empty trailer is another big factor, the study found.

    What they’re saying: “The reality is that America simply does not have enough truck drivers,” Don Burnette, founder and CEO of autonomous trucking startup Kodiak Robotics, tells Axios via email.

    The U.S. driver shortage stands at 80,000 today and is on track to double by 2030, according to the American Trucking Associations.
    The shortage leaped during the pandemic, when demand for shipped goods soared just as the industry saw a surge in early retirements.
    Some companies are even trying to bring in drivers from other countries.
    Einride, a Swedish company, says its technology could make truck driving a more attractive desk job.
    Where it stands: A handful of autonomous trucking firms continue to make progress toward highway deployment, including Waymo, Aurora, Embark and Kodiak.

    One company, Gatik, has begun making short driverless runs for Walmart on a fixed urban route in Bentonville, Arkansas. (Read more)
    What to watch: TuSimple signaled it is close to testing its trucks without a human safety operator on public highways before the end of this year.

    1. Glad I am not driving anymore. Fuel efficiency has always been a problem. Most big trucks get 5-7 miles per gallon. You have a truck with no driver, none of his items in the cab or sleeper and you probably cut 2000 pounds off of the gross weight of the truck. You do not need a sleeper, so the cab is smaller further reducing the truck’s weight and adding to fuel efficiency. I never had a truck to drive that averaged over 8 MPG. About the closest I came to that was a cab over Freightliner I drove for JB Hunt that got about 7.3. But it had a governor on it. 62 MPH was max speed. More mileage was gained when you were able to use cruise control. It will probably happen one of these days anyway. They have been talking about it for years. As far as the harbor goes, I used to pull containers in LA and I did it for years. The problem there is low pay, long wait times even before the pandemic. There are so many small company’s hauling containers, mostly with sub par equipment. The way they stack and load containers coming off of ships makes it very easy to misplace them or lose them for a couple of days. I have gone into a terminal to pick up a load they say is there, and then they do not know if they put it on wheels, or if it is still staged, The entire system needs overhauling and has for years. Yes, there is a shortage of drivers simply because it is not as enticing financially as it once was. Pay is low, there are very few benefits except to company drivers. Your expenses when you are over the road eat a large portion of your salary. Especially having to eat out every meal for several weeks at a time. And the restrictions on hours and the fines for even small infractions are just not very appealing to most. Plus the time it takes to train a driver to be out on his own.

       1. Jeez. They don’t cover meals when you are on the road??!?!?!

          The lack of modernization at the ports is bonkers to me.

          1. No, meals are not covered. About the only thing they would pay for was lumpers to unload the truck, and some company’s want the driver to unload. When I was driving, I would refuse to pick up loads where it was driver unload. The reason was simple, you are allowed 70 on duty hours in a 7 day period. Pretrip and post trip checks need to be logged. But if they are under 15 mins, all you need is a line with that on it. Unloading is considered time on not driving and is charged against the 70 hours. For long haul truckers, this cuts into their ability to make long runs. Hence, less money. When I was driving for National Carriers, I averaged 3300 miles a week. And you can never show that you averaged more miles than the speed limit allows in the 10 hours you were allowed to drive until it changed to 11. You had 8 hours off and you were supposed to be in the sleeper or a hotel, which they also do not cover. Then it changed to 11 and 10 hours off. Used to be you could reset your log book for the hours you had worked 7 days ago. Then when they changed to 11, you could reset to 0 hours if you were not driving for a period of 36 hours. That is the way it is now. Even so, you have drivers who try and cheat the system by using multiple log books to drive more miles, but you had better be good at math, because keeping those things looking legal is not easy. I only did that one time. I picked up a load in Hastings on the Hudson in New York. Just above NYC. It was a load of bicycle helmets going to Modesto. This was Friday, about 5 in the evening when I started the run. They had to be in Modesto at 7 AM on Tuesday, over 2900 miles away. Luckily for me the load was only 5600 pounds, so there was no real weight problem. With so many states between NY and Cali, who had 60 MPH or lower speed limits, like Ohio. There was no way I could make that run legally. Although I could drive for 10 hours that first day, I knew I needed to get to at least Ohio to have any chance at getting close to Cali. What i did that trip was power nap as much as I could, and drive 5=7 hours at a stretch. Sleep a couple and take off again. Once I made it to Nebraska on the 80 I could open the truck up and let er rip. I was driving a Freightliner classic with a 500 Detroit and 18 speeds. That truck would do triple digits, although I never drove it that fast. But it was Saturday afternoon when I hit Nebraska and there were no cops anywhere so I hammered down at about 85 in a state where the limit was 75 and flew across the state and pretty much of Wyoming without seeing a patrol car. Once I got to Nevada, I knew I had it knocked. I pulled into Modesto at 4 AM Tuesday morning, got unloaded and headed for the nearest truck stop for some much needed down time.

15. Houston Mitchell of the Times is running a poll. He is asking for a vote for an inaugural Dodgers Hall of Fame. He is allowing 12 votes for players and 3 for non-players.

    Here are my votes:
    Players:
    Roy Campanella
    Don Drysdale
    Steve Garvey
    Babe Herman
    Clayton Kershaw
    Sandy Koufax
    Mike Piazza
    Jackie Robinson
    Duke Snider
    Dazzy Vance
    Zack Wheat

    Non-players:
    Walter O’Malley
    Branch Rickey
    Vin Scully

    Responses?

    1. Reese, Snider, Robinson, Hodges, Wheat, Vance, Koufax, Drysdale, Campy, Piazza, Gilliam, Camilli……..W. Robinson, Scully, Alston. Kershaw is still active. Not until he retires.

    2. My Player votes were:
       Roy Campanella
       Don Drysdale
       Babe Herman
       Gil Hodges
       Sandy Koufax
       Johnny Podres
       Pee Wee Reese
       Jackie Robinson
       Duke Snider
       Don Sutton
       Fernando Valenzuela
       Maury Wills

       Non Players:
       Walter Alston
       Walter O’Malley
       Vin Scully

       For me, this was the LAD HOF and not necessarily the MLB HOF. I voted for Gil Hodges over Steve Garvey (personal choice). I left off Piazza because I do not consider him a Dodger. Yes he was traded, but he turned his back on LAD, especially impugning Vin Scully (the Greatest Dodger of ALL). I originally had Hershiser, but I changed it to Fernando, because IMO, Fernando transformed LAD in the 80’s. There were so many that I wanted to add. Junior Gilliam is my all-time favorite Dodger (no specific reason…he just is). I loved Eric (Game Over) Gagne, but he was outstanding for a couple of years, but he was only in two 2004 NLDS games. I selected Johnny Podres because he was the WS MVP in the Dodgers first ever WS championship in 1955. He was also a member of four other WS teams (1953, 1959, 1963, 1965), although he did not pitch in the 1965 WS. He went 4-1 in those four WS with a 2.11 ERA. He won 2 in 1955 and 1 in 1959 and 1963. His only loss was 1953. Don Sutton leads the Dodgers in Wins, Strikeouts, Shutouts, Games Started, Innings Pitched, and #5 in WAR. How can you leave him off the LAD HOF. I chose Walter Alston over Branch Rickey. Alston guided the Dodgers to 6 WS appearances winning his first 4 (1955, 1959, 1963, 1965). The Dodgers lost in 1966 and 1974.

       Rick, I am not sure how you voted for Kershaw. He was not on the ballot.

       1. Per Houston Mitchell’s column. Here’s the players ballot without comments:

          Dusty Baker
          Adrián Beltré
          Jim Brewer
          Dolph Camilli
          Roy Campanella
          Ron Cey
          Jake Daubert
          Tommy Davis
          Willie Davis
          Don Drysdale
          Carl Erskine
          Andre Ethier
          Carl Furillo
          Eric Gagné
          Steve Garvey
          Kirk Gibson
          Jim Gilliam
          Adrián González
          Burleigh Grimes
          Pedro Guerrero
          Babe Herman
          Orel Hershiser
          Gil Hodges
          Eric Karros
          Matt Kemp
          Sandy Koufax
          Clem Labine
          Davey Lopes
          Ramón Martínez
          Manny Mota
          Don Newcombe
          Hideo Nomo
          Claude Osteen
          Wes Parker
          Ron Perranoski
          Jeff Pfeffer
          Babe Phelps
          Mike Piazza
          Johnny Podres
          Pee Wee Reese
          Jackie Robinson
          John Roseboro
          Bill Russell
          Mike Scioscia
          Reggie Smith
          Duke Snider
          Don Sutton
          Fernando Valenzuela
          Dazzy Vance
          Zack Wheat
          Maury Wills

          Non-players

          Walter Alston
          Red Barber
          Leo Durocher
          Charles Ebbets
          Tommy Lasorda
          Peter O’Malley
          Walter O’Malley
          Branch Rickey
          Wilbert Robinson
          Vin Scully

          How do you vote? You email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. Send me your ballot (up to 12 players and up to three non-players). You have until Nov. 31 to vote. Results will be announced soon after that.

          1. I voted for:
             Campy, Drysdale, Orel, Gil, Sandy, Pee Wee, Jackie, Duke, Fernando, Wheat, Wills, and (just because he was always a favorite of mine) Manny Mota.
             Walter O’Malley, Branch Rickey, and Vinny.

       2. you’re right – he’s still active.

          I replace Kershaw with Don Sutton

       3. I think Rickey over Alston because Alston was a manager (a guy who did a job that others have done) but Rickey was a revolutionary thinker whose ideas built dynasties.

          Not only did Rickey break the color barrier (with Jackie), but look at the advantages that gave the Dodgers. They went to the series 6 times in 10 years after Jackie started with the Dodgers. The same thing that he did with the Cardinals when he invented the team-owned farm system. Rickey is the greatest team executive in baseball history in my opinion.

16. Very strange to look at the Dodger roster on the website and not see Kersh, Seager, Taylor, Jansen listed. Some are suggesting it is going to take at least a 10 year 300 million dollar deal to get Seager signed.

    1. If it does, he likely won’t be a Dodger.

       1. I won’t have strong opinions about it until the new CBA is signed. I doubt Seager will sign before then. After this year, I hate Mookie’s contract. In fact, I hate all these 10-12 year contracts.

          CBA Wish List.

          Keep your own players – I would like a mechanism to keep you own players whether it’s a “franchise tag” like football or a contract match like the NBA. I would also like that sign and trade option as well.

          Max years for a contract guarantee. 5-7 years max length to avoid boat anchors.

          Softer cap. Go ahead and spend and we will tax you at a higher amount and distribute it to smaller markets. But, we aren’t going to screw you out of draft picks. This will incentivise teams to spend.

          I like the idea of keeping a player up to an age instead of service time. That way you can bring up a 20 yo that can help the club without having to consider losing him before the prime years. Let them earn arbitration so they get paid at a industry accepted level until they are truly free agents. Make it so your home grown players don’t count against the cap.

          Let players make more money before free agency.
          Shorter guaranteed contracts when they reach free agency.
          Incentive for teams to keep their own players and incentives to spend money on the open market.
          Incentives for large market teams to share some monies with small market teams.

17. Being reported that we’re signing Andrew Heany. 1 year, 8.5 mil guaranteed.

    Joel Sherman was saying this morning that he thought Heany could sign quickly and named the Dodgers as one of the interested teams. Did some stat comparisons and his 2021 was similar to Ray’s 2020.

    Homers are his main problem. Maybe we’ll keep him longer this time than the last time we had him. I know he has a good sense of humor. We traded him about 15 minutes after we got him last time and he tweeted a thank you to the Dodger fans and said he really enjoyed his time with the team.

18. Andrew Heany has a 4.72 career ERA and has only made more than 23 starts one time. He has been very injury prone. He will be almost 31 at the beginning of the season so it’s not like he hasn’t been around for a while.

    In 2021, he was 8 – 9, 5.83 with the Angels and Yankees.

    And it isn’t a matter of luck – his career FIP is 4.45. He just isn’t very good.

    Yikes!

    1. Well, if he isn’t very good then maybe it’s an advantage that he’s injury prone. Glass half full.

    2. But he also has a 95-96 MPH fastball, fewer Hits allowed than IP, more K than IP and a number of low BBs, it is the high amount of HR allowed that has hurt him in his career; If he manages to keep the ball in the park then the allowed runs will drop considerably, I suppose that Freidman and company have a plan, it is not the first time nor the last that the Dodgers revive a “dead man”, not to go too far there they are: Vesia , Bickford, Knebel, Phillips, even Jansen and Treinen, the Dodgers have consistently shown that they know how to do it.

    3. Reminds me when Spicoli said “I can fix it” after crashing the star football player’s car.

19. And the whole narrative of: “the teams are going to wait for the new agreement to sign FA is solved”, “it is not even known if there will be a season in 2022”, the Dodgers put it in the trash can by signing the first free agent of the offseason

    1. The narrative is “Good free agents will wait for the new agreement before signing”. The Dodgers went into the trash can in order to sign the first free agent of the offseason. 😉

       In all seriousness, I hope this works out ala Kevin Gausman where they tell him to stop throwing a certain pitch and everything fixes itself.

20. On Andrew Heaney:

    I think some fans think Andrew Friedman makes these kinds of decisions in a vacuum, but it is far from that. The entire Dodger staff and brain trust are involved in these types of decisions. This includes Mark Prior and probably Honey.

    They see something and I think Heaney can be a factor in 2022. B &P Nailed it: Think what the Giants did with Gausman! Some players are injury-prone and are always injury-prone. Some players are injury-prone until they are not!

    I would sooner do a 1 Year/$8.5 Million deal on Heaney than a 3 year/$100 Million dollar deal on Scherzer.

    #1 – Buehler
    #2 – Urias
    #3- Heaney
    #4 – May
    #5 – Gonsolin
    #6 – White
    #7 – Jackson
    #8 – Miller
    #9 – Knack

    There will be a season in 2022. Both sides have too much at stake!

    1. All these last years the Dodgers have made this type of signatures and trades and the vast majority of the time they have turned out very well, what is curious is that the reaction of some fans is always the same, something like: what, seriously ????

21. I have it on pretty good authority that Clayton Kershaw will either play for the Dodgers or retire!

22. Are you kidding me signing Andrew Heany for $8 M?

    If he is to replace Scherzer, we are in deep trouble because 1. He misses a lot of time and 2. He isn’t very good.

    Sorry fellows, can’t jump on this one with Pom poms.

    TM

    1. So, you are willing to give Scherzer $100 to $150 million for 3 years?

       I’m not!

       You are looking at history, but past performance does not translate into what happens next year.

       Heaney is not replacing Scherzer. He is just another possibility.

       BTW, The Athletic has Seager at 10 years/$320 Million, Taylor 4 years/$64 Million and Scherzer at 3 years/$150 Million. I am not saying they are corect… just what they are predicting.

23. I think Heaney serves two roles. You can put him in the rotation of that long man lefty reborn pitcher like Drew Pomeranz. The think I hate about this signing is hearing people on this saying that he sucks all offseason.

    The Dodgers need Starting Pitching. This is a good start. There were a lot of teams interested in him. He’s got a live arm if nothing else. I’d rather take a gamble on a guy like Heaney that some soft tossing sinkerballer like Brett Anderson.

    Like I touched on early this offseason. I love the pitching coaches and don’t like hit hitting coaches as much. This will be a good test for the pitching coaches.

24. Scherzer is not getting $50M per year. He will not get $40M per year. He’ll be in that $30 – $35M per year category.

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