Looking at the 2022 Season… If there is one!

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1. Every year about this time I read whats wrong with AF. He doesn’t know how to build a winner. Why doesn’t he sign all these great free agents, or make a blockbuster trade. So then we go halfway thru the season, we are in first place, (or almost) and fills in as needed. Trea, Mookie, Max, etc. So I would expect the same this year if there is baseball

2. I posted last week that if the season is impacted, as a result of the lockout/strike/CBA negotiations, I might never come back to baseball; and it’s feeling like that is exactly what is going to happen. Greed by all parties involved = fans left standing at the alter wondering what happened?

   As it stands now a family man making a good, but not great income, cannot take his family of four to a ballgame without having to lay out $500-$1,000 to be entertained for 3 hours by some whiny big leaguers and by owners who think it’s OK to charge $40-50.00 to park a car and $18.00 for a soda and hot dog. LUDICROUS!

   Baseball is big and rich enough for everyone to get their piece of the pie. Players make great money playing a kids game, owners make great money employing players to play a kids game and fans can be entertained watching a kids game all at the same time and without a work stoppage or loss of any part of the season. If the season doesn’t start on time I will certainly be tuning out even after play resumes. Hoping for the best, but expecting the worst.

3. Showalter new Mets manager. No surprise.

4. Mark, some interesting stuff to think about but you missed a couple of things when you proof read.

   1) Your list of pitchers above, #7 Andre Miller. He was a decent hoops player who is now in his mid 40’s. Not likely he’s going to be one of the Dodger starters this year. You might want to change that to Bobby Miller.

   2) Your list of bullpen guys includes Jimmy Nelson who had TJ surgery in August. I doubt he’ll be ready to contribute in 2022.

   You say we don’t need any more pitching if Bauer is part of the rotation. I disagree. I think we still need another guy, although that guy could turn out to be Kershaw. If not, we need one more established starter. Two many ifs in the rest of the list to be confident we can come up with 5 good starters to open the season.

   For those of you who insist you’ll give up the Grand Ol’ Game if the season is delayed or never even starts next year, I respect your decision. The game simply means too much to me to give it up, no matter how long they take to get things going again. I’m not going to punish myself for their stupidity.

5. Norcaldodgerfan, I have a lot of empathy with your statement about how baseball has priced out the average family. It’s become a game for the affluent fan watching more affluent athletes and owners become more affluent. Even at fall-ball tickets were $7.00 for seniors but a hot dog and beer was $18.00. I got by with no beer and dogs.
   I was slow to return to baseball after the last strike and this one would make it very hard for me to forgive. Just what the game needs huh?

   MT the starting pitching that you listed doesn’t move the needle at all for me and is exactly why I’ve been lobbying for acquiring 2 more starting pitchers. Acquiring Freddie Freeman or other position players becomes a secondary concern. We need starting pitching. It’s Buehler and Urias at this point, and everybody else.
   Compare this to the number of starters we entered spring training with last year, before injuries decimated the staff. This group isn’t close. I have zero faith in Gonsulin. Maybe he was hurt last year but he’s never been a proven starter, to me. Price is useless and I’d dump him for about 15 cents. His arm should be fresh as he’s on 2 year’s rest. I don’t know Heaney but I struggle seeing him as a #3 starter on a Dodger staff. Kirsch is done. Bauer too, most likely. May won’t return to real form until 2023.

   So that leaves a choice for AF. Get more starting pitching and spend money there to be competitive OR, maybe it’s time to take our licks for a year not make any “dope fiend moves”. Bring along and develop Miller, Pepiot, Jackson, White and that young group in the Bigs and not in the minors. Most think these guys aren’t ready. Well, necessity may be the mother of invention this spring. Go with the youngsters, save $ to sigh Freddie Freeman if you want him long-term and play it out. We do have a lot of quality young bullpen arms. Cull the herd with KJ and Kelly and go with a youth movement. Every team eventually has to transition from its stars. Maybe that time is now.
   So either spend now on new arms and reloading the staff from outside or adjust our expectations and go with all the young prospects we’ve been waiting on. I don’t have the right answer but the more I think about it, the more I favor transitioning to the kids.

6. I am with you Mark with the start of this one. They are damaging a lot of the joy of being a fan of baseball and what a fan has to focus on is just too much to hold much interest. It makes me want to find something that offers more fun without so much bullshit. The way time is flying by it’s become too valuable to waste on being fed all the disappointment. No need when that scale tips towards what is wrong with the sport. I just haven’t formed a plan B as of yet. Maybe fishing. At least that can help feed me unless I’m bad at it.

   1. I hear the fish are forming a union and planning a strike unless the quality of the bait improves. Better pick something else.

      1. The fish can strike all they want.

         1. Even if they do strike ya still have to set the hook.

7. Talk about missing some bullpen pieces. Yes, Jimmy Nelson had TJ, he is also a free agent. Curious omissions are Caleb Ferguson and Tommy Kahnle. The bullpen is going to be historic this year, with or without Kelly and Kenley.

   I’m on the other side of the fence when it comes to Dustin May. He’s going to be handled like any normal TJ survivor. He’ll go on a rehab assignment to AAA which will give him time to build up to 4-5 innings for his debut and will be further built up over the course of the remaining season. It makes no sense to hold him back this year and then only get a partial year next year from him.

   As far as the starting pitching goes, they could go with what they have right now and hope for the best. But seeing Andrew operate over the last several seasons, makes be believe that he’s going to go get another starter even while planning for Bauer’s return. There will be two if you count Clayton, who will only return if it’s a very team friendly deal with a base between 12-15M with incentives and short term 2-3 years.

   This is how I see the rotation shaking out to start the year…

   Walker Buehler
   Julio Urias
   Bauer
   Rodon or (A’s Montas, Bassett, Manaea), (Marlins Alcántara, López, Hernández), (Reds Castillo, Gray, Mahle).
   Kershaw

   Andrew Heaney – Goes to pen
   Tony Gonsolin – Goes to pen
   Andre Jackson – AAA
   Mitch White – AAA
   Bobby Miller – AAA
   Ryan Pepiot – AAA

   That’s the kind of depth that I could see AF coming up with. Although a Mitch White or an Andre Jackson might be included in a trade going back the other way.

   I also thought it was pretty curious that AF spoke about some heavy lifting yet to do with position players. If they add a front line bat, the bench becomes Rios, Beaty, CT3 and most likely Lux and possibly Outman being a right handed bat and all.

   1. Outman bats LH

8. Current Rotation:

   1. Buehler
   2. Urias
   3.
   4. Heaney
   5.
   6. Gonsolin
   7. White
   8. Jackson

   1. 1. Buehler
      2. Urias
      3. Gray or Montas
      4. Kershaw
      5. Heaney
      Gonsolin traded or to the pen.
      Bauer traded.

9. Funny that people are complaining about the price of a ballgame. It’s just economics. If you will pay the prices, they will charge the prices. I would rather have high prices and a competitive team every year than cheaper prices and have a crappy team. You can complain about the price of a soda and hot dog, but the movie place charges about the same. Hell, a margarita at a mediocre Mexican place charges $12. I keep filling my tank for $60 when it was under $40 just a year ago. You been to the grocery store lately? Don’t get me started.

   I’m fine with going to just a few games a year. I didn’t go the last two years because of COVID and $150 tickets on the secondary market. Maybe I’ll go again, maybe I won’t. I think the prices were higher than normal last year because of the demand due to the previous season being eliminated from going to games and because of the hype surrounding last year’s team. I’m still more concerned about the price at the pump and the grocery store.

10. I’m reading Correa wants as much as or more than what Seager got in his contract. Who is left to offer such a massive contract? Seager turned down an eight year, $250 million contract extension from the Dodgers before the 2021 season began. Would the Dodgers offer more than that to sign Correa? That might be his best offer.

    I would think that those that believe Rios is a legitimate candidate to play 3rd base for the Dodgers would also think he has solid trade value. Trade him for Chapman.

11. From The Athletic: ‘He always kept me humble’: Manny Machado praises Mets’ hire of Buck Showalter.

    Now that’s funny.

    1. lol – no kidding!

12. Jansen not expected back according to a couple sources.

    1. Who are the sources, Bear?

       1. One of the Dodger blogs. You can get the link on Yardbarker.

13. I’m not sure you can change the system in terms of pay. When I first went into newspaper, no one offered me editor’s pay. Same thing in education and city government. You have to work your way through the system.

    No question, Max Scherzer is being paid for what he has done, not what he will do. Would you rather have Julio Urias in your rotation or Scherzer? I would want Urias, of course.

    Always amazed that happens. But GMs and owners seem to continue down the path, no matter how many of these deals don’t pan out.

    People forget, but there was a time that Scherzer was just average. He had the look, but the results just weren’t there. Like many pitchers he just evolved. Although the Diamondbacks traded him because they felt he was an injury risk, something about his throwing motion. He didn’t get hurt and the D’Backs looked foolish.

    What about Trea? Have no idea if he wants to stay in LA. But in terms of abilities and skill sets, performance a key, I would certainly pursue an extension. They did that with Mookie Betts. They tried to keep Cory Seager. But $325 million?

    As to taxes, the Lakers, Rams and Angels seem to have no issue acquiring elite talent, doesn’t seem to be an issue. Think Mike Trout, Clayton Kershaw. Plus I believe baseball players and other athletes pay taxes based on where they play that day.

    Plus there is more opportunity to generate outside money in LA than Dallas or Houston.

    Good stuff today, Mark.

    1. ….As to taxes, the Lakers, Rams and Angels seem to have no issue acquiring elite talent.

       If elite means expensive, Is that a good thing?

       I would love for the Lakers to trade James, Davis, and Westbrook this year.

       1. They should tear it down to the studs, get a new GM and start all over again with a roster whose average age isn’t 53.

14. Hope everyone is well. I got to California last Thursday. Train was delayed 3 hours due to high winds. And to top all of that off, my cell phone battery has swollen up like a allergy reaction so I had to order a new one.

    1. Sorry you were delayed by high winds, Bear. Was it an elevated train?? Then a battery that became swollen?? Were you in California when both happened?? Perhaps California doesn’t agree with you because you make too much sense when you speak. Anyway have a GREAT CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

       1. Winds were in Colorado and we had a downed power line in New Mexico on the tracks. I was in California when the battery went out on my phone. I was BORN in California, and am a native ANGELINO. Born down town LA. They don’t make that much more sense here than anywhere else. Hope you have an awesome Christmas Richie.

15. Will 2022 be a bridge to nowhere?

    The failure of Jackson, Miller, Grove, Peoiot, Knack, Pages, Vargas, Busch, and Beeter to be replacement level or better in 2023 would hurt if Friedman puts together a 2022 team that avoids longer term contracts. Trading some of those players for more of a sure thing and signing a couple of long term contracts would be the opposite approach.

    Friedman recently said he doesn’t want to wind up with an old team like the lakers are now. That would seem to bode well for Lux and not so well for Jansen. Since the Dodgers have Muncy for 1st base, I think there is a better chance they sign Pederson for one year instead of Freeman for six years with both Muncy and Pederson being part of the bridge to Pages and Vargas.

    The Dodgers don’t have to make any trades to have a playoff rotation of Buehler, Urias, May, plus one from Miller, Heaney, Pepiot. And then there is Bauer who will be traded to the Rays for Tyler Glasnow. And yes, the Dodgers will pay enough of bauer’s payroll to make the Rays interested. And yes, I know Tyler Glasnow won’t pitch in 2022 due to elbow surgery but is arb eligible through 2023.

    1. For Bauer to be traded, here is what has to happen:

       1. A new CBA has to be signed;
       2. The DA has to decline to charge Bauer;
       3. The Commissioner has to reinstate Bauer; and
       4. The Dodgers would have to pay a huge amount of Bauer’s salary.

       So, if 1-3 happen, why would they do such a dumb thing as #4? Why not pitch for LA?

       1. Google Molly Knight. She knows. It’s not like he can swallow some horse de-wormer and cure his character issues.

16. Molly Knight clearly knows nothing about evidence and the legal system so unless I want to get stupider, why would I do that?

17. For many reasons that have been stated many times, I think better the question is: Why would the Dodgers WANT Bauer back?
    He’s more than the typical public relations problem. He had a reputation for being a jerk before this debacle. When he comes back–and I do think it’s a when, not an if– the spotlight will be only more intense, and there is no reason to think that a defiant snarling leopard would change his spots. The media glare will be less intense outside of Chavez Ravine. It’s better for the Dodgers and Bauer that he departs.
    I certainly don’t see much sympathy for him in the fan base, the organization or the clubhouse (which is important if you believe in “team chemistry.”). Who rallied to his defense? After the accusations were made, who said, “Gosh, that’s not the Trevor we know!” His stated defense is pretty much “It was just rough sex–she wanted it!” Even if that is 100% true, it’s still she said/he said, and this is not the family-friendly image the Dodgers want to project.
    Should the MLB blackball Bauer for allegedly choking a woman the way the NFL blackballed Kaepernick for a peaceful protest? No. Bauer should get an opportunity for a fresh start… somewhere. Some suggest the Angels, but I think a small market team might make more sense. Perhaps the Athletics get some of that Raiders bad-boy mojo with Bauer. Maybe Bauer could take his talents to South Beach. At any rate, I suspect the Dodgers will be more than willing to cover most of the cost. Billionaires often cut their losses on bad investments. No big deal.
    So, speaking of moving on, how do the Dodgers patch the rotation?
    With the CBO hiatus, I suspect that all of the front office people everywhere are spending their time now cooking up trade scenarios that might come to fruition when the negotiations are settled. With or without Bauer, I think the AF and his team must be looking hard at old trading partners Oakland and Cincinnati.
    Maneae or Montas would be good fits . With JT aging and the DH likely, I still like the idea of getting Matt Chapman and his gold glove for third base too, especially if Freeman can’t be signed.

    1. There is not a player in baseball who wants to be connected in any way to Trevor Bauer right about now, lest they somehow become associated with what he has allegedly done. Allegedly. If the DA drops the charges and MLB reinstates him, that will change.

       1. I don’t think so.

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