As you may remember, many months ago, I posted an article about Former Dodger Minor League Manager Mark Kertenian. You can find that Article HERE.
Here is his GoFundMe Page, which, by the way, did reach its goal of $150,000.00
Here is his latest update:
Today by John Murphy, Organizer
I wanted to share an update on Mark’s condition and a plea for him to receive your positive thoughts, prayers, and maybe a visit. There has been little to no improvement to Mark’s condition since he has arrived back from the UK. He did however transfer to a facility in Pasadena, closer to his parents, brother and extended family and was recently seen at UCLA. Mark’s mind is sharper than ever, but he finds it difficult to communicate verbally, although there are tools that allow him to communicate non-traditionally.
Many have reached out inquiring about visiting Mark…as the holidays approach, we think that it would be nice for him to visit with friends. If you want to visit, please respond to me on this platform and I will get you connected to Mark’s brother Bryan, and his cousin, Harry, both in the LA area. Leave your email in the message.
Please continue to offer thoughts and prayers for Mark…we are all wanting to see him back on a baseball diamond soon, and of course, any financial contributions you want to make here would be greatly appreciated by both Mark and the family.
Happy Holidays-
John Murphy
Thanks for sharing. Lifting up in prayers for him and his famil.y
GoFundMe and Crowdfunding maybe one of the unqualified successes of the Internet.
Mostly good.
But, sad to say, sometimes used in scams…
I can’t imagine anything better for Mark Kertenian than to have friends visit.
I don’t know him, but I do owe a visit to a friend who is ailing. I should get that chance soon, when I’m on the California side of the ocean.
As for the Dodgers…
I’m a little sad that VGon is gone. He gave us some good memories, and I wish him well. And Jorbit Vivas, we hardly knew ye. With Mookie taking over 2B, this is good news for Vivas. (I had thought he’d be a good sweetener in a package for Burnes or Cease, but it seems the market for SPs may have been delayed by Yamamoto’s decision.)
Trey Sweeney looks like a solid addition. Guys don’t get drafted in the first round unless they show real ability, and the Dodgers aren’t deep at SS. Right now, Sweeney might be 4th on the depth chart after Lux, Rojas and Taylor. He would drop to fifth if the Dodgers bring back Kike.
The news about Ohtani’s deferrals and how it mitigates the tax is interesting. Dodgers still have a lot of shopping to do. In addition to starting pitchers, the Dodgers will be looking at FA options for the outfield, including Gurriel and Pham. Bringing back Kike as a super UT makes sense. If JDM goes to the D’Backs, it might be fitting for the Dodgers to bring in Gurriel.
How about Hunter Renfro as Heyward’s platoon partner in RF?
Just a lot of possibilities.
The Dodgers currently have a projected $218M CBT payroll even after officially signing Shohei Ohtani, per Spotrac
That’s $19M below the CBT threshold of $237M, and $59M under the third threshold where they’d drop 10 draft spots in the first round. Lots of money still to spend.
Does this imply Friedman has a good work ethic like all the Asians? How does the Jewish work ethic compare?
Mark may find this as interesting as I did:
According to league and union sources, MLB has proposed limiting deferrals in prior CBA negotiations, but the MLBPA has declined those limits because deferrals allow a player flexibility that allows a contract to be worth, let’s say, $700 million instead of $460 million.
A Dodger Youtuber made an interesting point:
Maybe Shohei structured his contract expressly to make it easier for the Dodgers to sign Yamamoto too.
And what if Shohei gets involved in recruiting?
How does a Japanese player say no to Ohtani?
All this time I’ve been assuming that the Dodgers would be investing so much in Ohtani that they probably couldn’t afford Yamamoto as well. I’ve been assuming that they could make smaller FA moves (like Imanaga and Giolito), but would have to go the trade route to land an ace.
Still think they need to make a trade for either Burnes or Cease. The value of the prospect capital like Busch and Vargas will start declining if it is not used.
But suddenly a rotation like this seems possible:
Burnes/Cease, Yamamoto, Buhler, Miller, Pepiot, Imanaga.
Does three Japanese seem too many? Well, I’d love to see Ryu return as the crafty southpaw. And Kershaw in mid-season .
Bluto,
Yep!
Baseball Prospectus released its new prospect rankings. And BP really likes some of the Dodgers young talent, ranked 1-10 here:
Dalton Rushing, C
Josue De Paula, OF
Nick Frasso, RHP
Thayron Liranzo, C
Michael Busch, 2B/OF
River Ryan, RHP
Kyle Hurt, RHP
Andy Pages, OF
Diego Cartaya, C
Payton Martin, RHP
I don’t subscribe, so I don’t know else made the lists. I’m guessing the top draft picks Kendall George and Jake Geloff are in the second ten. Maybe SS Jeondry Vargas too. (Sweeney is ranked 14th now, and Vivas had been ranked 17th.)
I always find these rankings difficult to understand, but it’s nice to see the love for De Paulo, Liranzo and Peyton Martin.
Some of these guys are years away–but the Dodgers figure to have Shohei, Mookie and Freddie together at least through 2027, the last year of Freddie’s contract. (He’ll only be 37. Not hard to imagine him playing to age 40.) So there’s no rush with the young talent–but someday these guys could be in same lineup as the Big 3.
Shohei’s contract provides the flexibility in signing free agents–and perhaps it will prompt AF to extend Will Smith as well.
Cartaya and Rushing still seem to be at least a year away, and there is no guarantee that they’ll succeed in the majors. After the Big 3, Smith is probably the most vital player on the team. Locking him up for a few more years makes a lot of sense.