A glass containing water to the half-way point is often used to point out the difference between optimists and pessimists:
The optimist sees the glass as half full. They focus on what is there. “So much that can be done with half a glass of water.”
The pessimist sees the glass as half empty. He sees that the glass used to be full and now half of its contents are gone. Soon it will be empty. And he will be thirsty. Woe is me!
If you want to get deep into any analysis of Glass Half Full or Glass Half Empty, there are really more choices than that. How about these?
So, the pessimist may look at the Dodgers’ infield defense and say, “The Left Side of the Dodgers’ infield is not championship caliber,” while the optimist may say, “When was the last time Mookie failed at anything?” My father was the best bowler I have personally ever seen. He owned a bowling alley when I was a kid, and his best game was a 299. Mookie has bowled several perfect 300 games! As an athlete, Mookie focuses on something and masters it. By the end of this season, he will be recognized as the best SS in all of baseball. There, I said it!
Gavin Lux is showing all of the signs that his throwing problems (aka, The YIPS) are ancient history, and I see him breaking out BIG TIME at 2B. Freddie Freeman is Gold Glove Worthy at 1B, Gavin Lux is also capable of that at 2B, and Mookie will be there soon enough. Don’t worry about Max Muncy! He will be fine.
Bullpen Deliema
J. P. Feyereisen is currently on the IL but will be added (maybe as soon as today) for either Michael Grove or Kyle Hurt. Also, Blake Treinen and the Bazooka will come off the IL, and two more pitchers will have to go down or to the IL. This is the pitching roster as of RIGHT NOW:
So what three pitchers will come off when JP, Blake, and Bazooka return (which will be soon)? Also, there are two lefties in the pen )Vedia and Yarbrough) – will that be enough?
Today is Opening Day, but the Dodgers start the season 1-1. That is crazy!
Will Smith Expended
It had to happen. The Dodgers gave him a 10-year deal, which is the longest ever for a catcher, in exchange for a low AAV ($14 Million). You have heard it here for a long time, but Will Smith will likely catch for just two more years… maybe less. The Dodgers have four catchers who are in hot pursuit of his job and you would be remiss to give up on Diego Cartaya just yet. His talent, leadership, and character are off the charts. Many of you gave up on Gavin Stone, but you can never fully understand player development if you think it is linear.
Glad to see they extended Will Smith. I’m guessing he plays some third base in the future.
The Dodgers have suddenly gone from a team with mostly short term contracts to a team that will be around for awhile. It’s like the days of Cey, Garvey, Lopes and Russell. Really enjoyed those days.
But with the long term deals for Betts and Ohtani, some are already wondering how the team will age. We’ll probably hear more talk about windows. Not certain the Dodgers actually have a window. Some good talent coming up through the farm system.
Good stuff Mark. I am of the mind that the defense is not going to be as bad as most might think. The outfield is in good shape. Rojas will start against some lefties, and the Cards are starting two lefties this weekend. Lux’s OPS against LHP is under .600. The bench is decent, Barnes is who he is. Good defense, weak stick. But once in a while he will surprise you. Taylor and Kike are the Swiss Army knife brothers. They can play most anywhere. The only bench concern I would have is that there is not a thumper coming off of the bench. Taylor has 20 homer power, but in a pinch, he and Kike do not provide a lot of pop off of the bench. Of course, there will be days when any one of the three starting outfielders will be coming off of the bench. I think they will win the division comfortably. But the playoffs can be tricky. I expect Az to give them some problems now and then, same with the Pads. But we will have to wait and see just how all of the Giants new players fit in. Here is a quirk to the season, After July 25th, when they finish a 4-game set against the Giants at Dodger Stadium, they do not play SF again for the rest of the season. This is one reason I dislike the way the schedule is set up now. They only have 15 games against teams from their own division after that Giants series the rest of the season.
Agreed!!
Smith , Muncy, could have gone elsewhere but wanted to remain a Dodger!! They are not the top tier superstars like say Ohtani, Betts, etc but they provide great value and great leadership to a team. If he bounces back I am very interested to c what Buehler does.
This year’s bold prediction: Mookie Betts will have the highest WAR season of his Dodgers tenure. The bar is high — he was worth 8.3 WAR by both Baseball Reference and FanGraphs a year ago, and he’s in his age-31 season. But he’s coming off an MVP-caliber offensive campaign, and if his glove is able to handle the move to shortstop, the positional adjustment could help him rack up more value. It’s already bold that he’s playing shortstop now. But what if he makes the decision look like a no-brainer? — Fabian Ardaya
If in the next two or three years, one of Cartaya, Rushing, or Liranzo can step up and be a “workhorse catcher,” Will Smith could go to another position… or DH and also be the backup catcher. That would be cool.
DH? You putting Ohtani in the OF?
Maybe on occasion.
Liranzo can play 1b when Freeman leaves.
My hopes for the 2024 Dodger season is that we make the playoffs, not concerned with winning the Division and have the team in October with healthy,hungry motivated players ready to win a World Series Championship. Nothing less will be accepted for spending one billion plus. Also I hope AF will make the team as strong as possible at the trading deadline by using prospect capital to fill its needs.
watching mlb network. last night, jake peaby picked the friars to win the west. matt v. picked the giants. the dodger hate runs rampant! yu darvish is 37 years old. musgrove hasn’t been the same pitcher he was 2 years ago,& cease had an era of around 4 last season. logsn webb is a workhorse. snell walks 5 a gsme and pitches 5 innings a game. the rest of the rotation is an unknown. the dodgers get walker b. back in the not too distant future. glasnow is going to be special! bobby miller is a beast in waiting! stone could do possibly be rookie of the year, and clayton is in the wings. sheehan is about to start throwing soon. yamamoto will be ok. enough said! projecting 110 homers from the big 3. happy for will smith! my prediction for Gavin Lux. 21 homers ,60 rbi,288 average, and 20 sb. not too shabby for s #9 hitter!! MARK it down! (get it ? mark)
Stupid picks! Neither team will make the playoffs. Dodgers will win 100 games. And if either Muncy or Hernandez OPS 850 then we win it all. If both do, no chance for anyone else! Glass full!
They were not the only ones. Many of their pundits pick the Braves to win it all. And very few have the Dodgers winning at all. Ok, a couple of FACTS. A. D-Backs rotation, Montgomery, Rodriguez, Kelly Pfaadt, and Gallen are 2-22 against the Dodgers during the regular season in their CAREERS. Gallen has one of the wins, Pfaadt the other. Kelly has never beaten the Dodgers except in his playoff win last year. I will take my chances against that rotation. Padres, Musgrove. 0-7 career against LA, Snell, 2-2, Darvish, 4-5, Cease 0-1, Michael King and Matt Waldron have not faced LA in the regular season. San Francisco, Webb, 3-5, Cobb, 0-1, Ray. 8-6, Harrison 0-0, Hicks is 0-0, but all of his work was as a relief pitcher when he was with St. Louis. Ray is the only pitcher on the list with a winning record against LA and he is on the IL and not expected back for a while Snell will get some time at AAA. And none of them have faced a Dodger lineup this deep in talent. Colorado is a non-factor. Their best pitcher is Freeland.
The Dbacks showed us last year that it doesn’t matter how their starters do against us during the regular season. It’s how they do in the post season that counts.
Means nothing. They have to get past us and other teams to get there. I am not afraid of their pitching or their offense. Against Kelly or Gallen with this new lineup, I am more than willing to bet the outcome will be different. Last year is in the past, what happened then is not relevant to this year. And remember, our pitching last season was nowhere near as good as it is now.
Not to be argumentative, but you say what happened in the past is not relevant to this year while at the same time saying you aren’t worried about the Dbacks pitching because they haven’t done well against us in the past.
The playoffs are a totally different animal. What they do during the season is a trend. This is a different team than they faced last year. And their track record in the regular season is not good. I said what happened in the playoffs last year is irrelevant. His record says Kelly sucks vs LA> I believe that trend will continue. I also think if the Dodgers had not had to sit on their butts for five days, both years, It would have been a much closer series.
They say that stuff for the same reason Mark says Will Smith will only catch for a couple more years.
It’s not conviction, it’s controversy.
Optimist. We win it all and go back-to-back in 2025.
If not, Dave Robert can swing from deez nutz.
There’s a great article in The Athletic today with regard to how the Dodger front office played the off season. Some excellent detail on how they got Shohei, YY and Glasnow and how it all came together.
The Glasnow deal was actually helped along by Brad Paisley.
Anyway, for those who subscribe, take a look for it, authored by Rosenthal/Ardaya.
Paisley hosted some members of Dodger brass during the winter meetings in Nashville. I remember Roberts interview. I believe it was during this interview that some became alarmed when Roberts’ disclosed Shohei had visited Dodger stadium. Some cited Shohei’s private nature as a concern, as disclosing this information might deter him from signing with the Dodgers.
The Dodgers are second to none. They’ve become a powerhouse on and off the field.
No one on mlb network is picking Dodgers to win WS. NO ONE! If we needed any more motivation.
Not shocked by the bias. I’m guessing an east coast team was deemed worthy of their selection?
Totally a side conversation and unrelated to baseball but IF you have kids in middle school or lower (or grandkids) you have to read the new Jonathan Haidt book:
The Anxious Generation
Thanks for sharing this. Unlike some of us that didn’t grow up in a world of social media, our children of subject to pressures that I simply don’t understand.
It’s bonkers. Especially tough on girls.
I’m usually not an advocate of Government taking the place of parents, but recent laws in Florida and Utah bear watching.
The data is mind-boggling.
Spam
Yeah, we’ll get right on that! Stick to baseball and spare us the attempts to indoctrinate with that hack’s liberal drivel.
Love the Will Smith extension!!! Screw the haters but I agree, if team doesn’t win it all…Lin the words of the GREAT Chick Hearn…., Doc had better not play any long playing albums (shout out to vinyl!!) because his Dodger days will definitely be over.
4:10 PM ET
Cardinals (0-0)
Dodgers (1-1)
SP Miles Mikolas R
0-0 .00 ERA
SP Tyler Glasnow R
0-0 3.60 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
SS Mookie Betts R
DH S. Ohtani L
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
3B Max Muncy L
LF T. Hernandez R
CF James Outman L
RF J. Heyward L
2B Gavin Lux L
67° Wind 9 mph Out
Damn! Seeing Adrian Beltre throw out the first pitch hurt me inside.
Damn damn damn
Nice! We no hit everyone but one player
It probably had more to do with getting those 3 an at bat on opening day than anything to do with the game.
Doc is trying to get everyone a look and, the book has been made, Eric.
Lux and Outman are going to platoon… until they somehow prove otherwise.
Joc never mastered LHP. They will both get over 400 ABs this year.
Seriously?!?!
I can see it.
AF sees it.
Doc sees it.
I know JO is your favorite player and you would play him because of that. However, Doc will do what is best for the team.
James will have to get playing time the old fashioned way:
He has to EARN it!
Remember, I told your this some time ago!
Eric, Why the Vitriol? I did not call James Outman a Dirty, purse snatching, beat-up little old ladies SOB. I said that he was a 4th or 5th outfielder, I have watched him many games in the minors. I doubt you have seen any games he played in the minors. You are all about stats and that is fine, but that is your opinion. I have mine. I wish that James could hit LHP, but I do not think he ever will. That is my opinion and you are entitled to yours. It is called “agreeing to disagree.” I take no pleasure in saying James is a platoon player, contrary to the elation you feel that Miguel Vargas did not make it (yet). I personally do not have “favorite players” outside of Austin Gauthier and Alex Freeland types who are longshots.
You come here to get my opinions and I give them to you and you have to realize that just being a MLB Player is a pretty damn good accomplishment. I have said (for quite some time) what Outman and Lux were and that has come true. Progress is not linear and Vargas and Cartaya have not fulfilled their promise. I believe they will.
Is it too early to say that the Angels season is over?
It was over in January!
Rockies got hammered by the D-Backs, 16-1. They scored 14 runs in the third inning. 10 of them came off of Freeland and 6 off of the reliever, Molina. Those two gave up 16 hits in three innings. D-Backs had 18 total hits. Outside of Ohtani’s base running blunder and once again, too damn many strikeouts, it was a good home opener. And yet, Eric finds it necessary to question why Roberts pinch hit for the three lefty hitters. Obviously, it was to get the guys into the home opener which at that point was a guaranteed win, and also get them reps against the kind of pitcher they will most likely be facing most of the year. A lefty goes for the Cardinals today, so you know Heyward will be on the bench. Since the pitcher is a rookie, Outman and Lux might still be in the lineup. Saw the first three innings and then had to drive to Trinidad to pick my sis up at the RR station. Train was 2 hours late. I could have watched the game! Heading to California tomorrow morning early for my brother in laws funeral.