Dissecting the First Game

Posted By on February 25, 2023

The first (5th, 16th, etc.) Game of Spring Training means nothing, but there were things that you should write down and remember for future meaning:

  • James Outman had a good game – He will benefit greatly (as he did yesterday) from the ban of the shift. He did nothing to hurt his stock, and while these early games don’t mean a lot, he actually earned points toward promotion to the Show.
  • Mark Washington is all, and it looks like he may have learned a new “curveball-type” of pitch.
  • Rubby De La Rosa (RDLR) made his presence known. We will have to keep an eye on him.
  • Andy Pages looked trimmer and quicker. Many people say he regressed in 2022… but he is ranked higher now. Who knew?
  • JDM hits the ball with authority. It just sounds different!
  • Freddie is ready!
  • It is readily apparent that Mookie Betts may bat #2. Does that mean Gavin Lux is the leadoff hitter? That’s what I have been pushing for.
  • Miguel Vargas is the real deal! He’s the first guy on the field and the last guy to leave. His footwork looked much improved.
  • Kirstin Watson is a SCF. Who knows what that stands for?
  • Don’ write off Yonny Hernandez!

While these games mean nothing, there are always “takeaways” that we can file away for future use.

Tomorrow the Dodgers have their “Opener” at Camelback Ranch. 12:05 PT/3:05 ET. Be there!

This article has 43 Comments

  1. Very noticeable pickup in the pace of play. Game today was 2:21; most games so far under 2:30.

    Read somewhere that Roberts was leaning towards having Lux bat 9th. If Betts bats 2nd, then Lux batting first would make sense.

      1. She is ok, but totally annoying and brings absolutely nothing to the broadcast. If anything, she is a distraction. Why you need all that fluff reporting in a spring training game is beyond me.

          2. Maybe to you, sorry, I just do not think she is all that hot. The blonde who used to work the post-game show was much better looking. Just not my cup O tea.

          3. Meh. I think her eyes are a little too far apart. She doesn’t really do it for me.

            I was scrolling through something and came across an ad for Fanduels or something and saw the broadcaster and had to look her up. Wow!

            https://www.google.com/search?q=kay+adams&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS946US947&sxsrf=AJOqlzUBbIICadYjznOlpFQ8OdwQyPKQOw:1677423182236&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjzgqanuLP9AhWdKEQIHay3ANAQ0pQJegQIBhAC&biw=1200&bih=624&dpr=2.5#imgrc=jfQ1w1fHFQ77_M

        2. How about starting with a comment about how well she does her job?

          First game of ST. I doubt she gets that much air time going forward.

          1. How about just accepting the fact that men are biologically hard-wired to appreciate female beauty and have been since they first walked upright – without morally chastising them in order to signal your own progressive virtue?

            Besides, I’m not sure that she does a great job. Granted, Alanna Rizzo is a really high bar, but she should be the model if a female (or male) actually wants to be taken seriously as an interviewer. I have always found the post game interview to be frivolous. That one scene in Bull Durham actually lampooned the typical cliched questions and answers.

            For me, I don’t want to watch frivolity. I don’t really want to know how the player felt. I want the interviewer to ask smart questions about his craft, i.e., “In your 4th inning at bat it seemed like you were sitting on that fastball on that 2-2 count. Were you anticipating it? … Or, “Your curveball had exceptional movement tonight. Did you have a good feel for it?”

            No one objectified Alanna Rizzo because she understood the game on a pretty exceptional level for a broadcaster who isn’t a former player or someone involved in the game since childhood. It showed, and fans respected her for it.

            If Watson wants to be taken seriously and not be considered eye candy, she needs to up her game.

            And the guy who does the interviews on NBA games – that guy with the bow tie who asks stupid questions – he’s ridiculous. Point being: male or female, if you don’t bring substance, viewers will notice the things that aren’t substantive.

          2. I thought we had put the anger and judgment aside.

            Clearly not.

            May I suggest less red meat and more meditation? Also, chamomile tea. It is quite calming

        3. What do we think about the looks of Joe Davis, Orel Hershiser, Vin Scully, Nomar Garciaparra, Fernando Valenzuela, Jerry Doggett, Ross Porter, Rick Monday etc?

          It’s one thing to mention someone’s looks and another thing to nitpick although neither are much appreciated.

          1. I care less how she looks; I only care about what I have to listen to while watching the game. I think that ALL on field reporters are useless. I want game information, not inane conversation in game. Only time I want dugout reporting is when a player gets injured, and we are waiting to see what the injury is. Austin Barnes is the only catcher on team Mexico. Good news, he will get plenty of game time, bad news, possibility of injury just increased.

          2. I mostly agree Bear. I was always curious why Alanna put up with the Dodger announcers who would basically say what they asked Alanna to say before they opened Alanna’s mike. I guess, she didn’t when she quit and went to MLB Network.

          4. Was chatting with a woman who gushed about how hot she thought Noah Syndergaard is. I somehow managed not to recoil in revulsion
            and horror.

            How DARE people acknowledge that Tom Brady is attractive!! We must only mention his skills as a football player!!

  3. I miss Alanna Rizzo thought she did that job very well. Kristin can be annoying but she’s getting better. This is premature after only one spring game but feeling pretty good about middle infield especially after they get more time working together. Very well could turn out being a brilliant decision putting Vargas at second. I predict he makes all star team within three years. They both look hungry and ready to sieze the moment and both got talent galore

    1. I thought the same thing awhile ago before the decision was made to put Vargas at 2B. Not much power from him fits better at 2B allowing the Dodgers to put more power at other positions.

  5. The Padres and third baseman Manny Machado are finalizing an 11-year, $350MM extension, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN.

  6. 3:05 PM ET

    SP Robbie Erlin L
    0-0 .00 ERA

    Confirmed Lineup
    SS Miguel Rojas R
    1B F. Freeman L
    LF Chris Taylor R
    3B Max Muncy L
    C A. Barnes R
    RF D. Peralta L
    CF T. Thompson R
    2B M. Busch L
    DH Jonny DeLuca R

    Partly-cloudy-day
    5% Rain
    52° Wind 12 mph Out

  7. Manny Machado isn’t going anywhere. The Padres star third baseman was planning to opt out of his contract after his year but will instead stick around, as he and the club are reportedly finalizing a new 11-year, $350MM contract. It will begin this year, running through 2033 campaign, which will be Machado’s age-40 season. He gets full no-trade protection and the deal does not contain any opt-outs. Since Machado had six years and $180MM remaining on his previous deal, this new agreement will add five years and $170MM in new money.

    1. Well, I sure hope he’s not worth it, but, he likely will be for a while. This of course changes nothing for the Dodgers.

      1. I still don’t understand where they’re getting this cash, and how they’ll pay Soto more than anyone else???

        1. I was wondering that myself. I don’t think they will have a ton of money left. It for sure should take them out of the Ohtani market. Next winter is going to be very interesting.

          1. Seidler has a net worth around $3.5 billion. If he can get a Championship I imagine the value of that franchise increases even more than it has since he arrived. I just read it’s increased 220 percent since he came on board.

            The Padres see a window here. As for paying Machado until he’s 40, that might be viewed as an investment just to keep him there. He’s their best player and will likely remain the face of the franchise. Seidler can afford it.

          2. One of Peter Seidler’s companies is Seidler Equity Partners. A year or so ago, I got a call from one of his partners about buying our company. They knew I was a Dodger fan and offered to fly me out to a game. I told them that they were wasting their time and that the only way I would sell is if they paid a lot more than it was worth. That was the end of the discussion… as they are smart business people. 😉

          3. I can’t quite wrap my head around the difference between the future asset value of a baseball club, and the asset value derived from revenue and cash flow. I suppose it’s like owning real estate, or rental property. The cash flow could be break even, but if the overall real estate market is rising, then that asset still accrues in value.

            I thought the Pads were a small market team.

            Merchandise? … more eyeballs watching streamed games?

  9. While the Dodgers are gearing up for the 2023 season and dusting off some rust during Spring Training, Andrew Friedman is scouting for potential future players.
    One of those being Yoshinobu Yamamoto, one of the best pitchers in Japan. Earlier this month, Andrew Friedman paid Yamamoto a trip before making it back to team camp in Glendale last week.
    Across his career, he posts an impressive 1.95 ERA with a 54-23 overall record. Between his last two seasons, he’s collected 405 strikeouts across 386.2 innings of work.

    This March, Yamamoto will join MLB All-Star pitchers Yu Darvish and Shohei Ohtani in representing Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic. Darvish played in Los Angeles for half of the 2017 season and Ohtani could be sporting the Dodger Blue next season so maybe they have a thing or two to tell Yamamoto about coming overseas to play for Friedman and co.

  10. Padres extending Machado for 11 years is another huge financial commitment by Seidler.
    This extension is a huge overpay to me, with Machado being paid $31.5 million until he turns 41. Manny has been really good with the Padres and his biggest asset is his reliability and endurance. However, he has only had one full season with an OPS greater than 900 which was 2018. But even that season was mostly built on his time in Baltimore as his OPS was 825 after being traded to the Dodgers. And Manny hit 182 with a 390 OPS in the 2018 WS. While Manny has helped Padres, most position players decline significantly as they reach their mid 30’s and beyond.
    I prefer to have 30-40 young talented MLB ready prospects that the Dodgers will have for one year of Machado’s salary. Dodgers have the prime years of Lux, Vargas, Busch, Outman, May, Miller, Stone, Phillips, Pepiot, and Vesia for $10 million total per year, while Machado will make $31.5 million for each of his aging years. The Dodger long term strategy is much more likely to succeed than the Padres who are also committed to $26 million for Boeggarts and $18 million for Darvish until they are 41, plus $340 million to Tatis.
    AJ Preller has been GM since 2014, and they have only had one season with 80 wins or more and no division titles. The Padres look like a very talented team this year and probably for the next 3-5 years, but Dodgers are built to win long term.

    2. I agree with Mark. They will start having problems in 3. 5 years from now they will have more boat anchors than the Navy base down the street.

  12. Hunter Feduccia just made himself a lo more valuable as a trade piece.

    He has no chance with the Dodgers, but that 3-run shot might attract some attention from other teams. He’s a solid backup catcher.

    1. Very impressive going the other way and he also doubled and drove in 5. Yep, I would say his stock went up a lot for a team looking for a catcher. Watched a little of the Red Sox game today. Weird to see JT in another uni sporting #2. But the pine tar stain was right where it belongs. Former Dodger, Dennis Santana claimed on waivers by the Twins.

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