As you read this I am on my way to Jackson Hole, Wyoming where it is likely 30 below zero and I no longer ski since I had my hip replaced. So, the only think that could bring me there is business. Since we started US Water Systems in our garage 19 years ago, we have grown by double digit numbers every year. In 2019, we grew 34% and in COVID-20, we grew just 22% but that was good. We specialize in Made in USA products (which happens to be extremely rare in the water treatment business).
Our business model has been manufacturer-direct-to-consumer since we started. We make our products and sell them directly, cutting out the middlemen. However, we have had a large number of plumbers and HVAC companies who want to buy from us, so we created another vertical and launched it on January 1, 2021. My son is running it and it is off to an amazing start: http://www.penguinwater.com.
So, that is why I am going to Jackson Hole. We are training a new Penguin Water Dealer who also has several other locations, including Rancho Cucamonga. That should work out great… another business write off! 😉
Anyway, as I write this I was thinking about how easy I could make this blog today. I could write about the Dodger’s chances of signing Justin Turner, making any other trades, which prospects could help, how good or bad the bullpen is or a variety of other things… but I don’t have time, so we will just delve into the teachings of Nietzsche:
“I’m not the biggest guy or the strongest guy either. I have to make up for lack of size with aggressiveness. I’ve always learned that the best way to play the game is to hit your opponent a little harder than he hits you. It’s self-preservation.”
Ray Nitschke, according to Hall of Fame quarterback and teammate Bart Starr, was a “classic example of Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde.” Off the field he was a thoughtful caring person. On the field, he was a ferocious middle linebacker who at times seemed to truly enjoy hitting people.
A fierce competitor, Ray was the heart of the great Packers defense of the 1960s. He was the first defensive player from the Packers’ dynasty years to be elected to the Hall of Fame.
In the mid 1960s, a national sports magazine asked a group of former NFL linebacking stars to rate the middle linebackers of the day. The panel first determined the skills it would seek in the ideal man — strength, quickness, speed, toughness and leadership. Ray Nitschke, the choice as the all-around top man, ranked very high or absolutely tops in every category. “The core of the Packers”… “an inspiration on the field” . . . “gives 100 percent all the time”. . .”has an overwhelming desire to make the play” . . . “without a peer as a leader” . . . panel members remarked as they explained their consensus opinion.
Ray was born in Elmwood Park, IIIinois, and grew up in a tough Chicago neighborhood. He was an all-state quarterback in high school and could have signed a professional baseball contract with the St. Louis Browns.
He opted for a football scholarship at Illinois, where he was shifted to a combined fullback on offense, linebacker on defense. The Packers drafted Ray No. 3 in 1958. Although he started eight games as a rookie, it wasn’t until his third season that Nitschke got the job of middle linebacker for good. Ray was the complete player.
Ray earned either first- or second-team All-NFL honors seven times in eight years from 1962 to 1969. In addition to being a hard-hitting tackler, he was excellent in pass coverage as his 25 lifetime interceptions attest.
Wait, you thought I was going to write about Fredrick Nietzsche, really? I am talking about Ray Nitschke. Who is Fred anyway? I admired the way Ray Nitschke played the game. He was the embodiment of an overachiever – he should have never been as good as he was, but he was!
Ray was 6′ 3″ and 235 Pounds and I am sure that was a push. However, he was a guy who would not be denied and played every play like it was his last. Ray Nitschke was a Junkyard Dog and I say that with the greatest respect.
The Dodgers have some Junkyard Dogs, like CT3, Mad Max, Cody, Corey, Barnsie, even Mookie! Justin Turner is one too. I am not sure that pitchers can qualify for the Junkyard Dog Club, but position players can. Are there any other Junkyard Dogs who can step up?
Who will step up in 2021 that no one expects? Let me hear you!
Discussion (70)
Disagree, not disagreeable
LAD has two prospects on the MLB Pipeline Top 100 Prospect list, Keibert Ruiz (#57) and Josiah Gray (#58). They are the only two consensus Top 100 picks thus far. I am working on a report of the four publications that have come out: Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, Keith Law, and MLB Pipeline. This should be published on Sunday here at LADT. FanGraphs is still compiling individual teams top prospects, and they will report on their overall top prospects once those compilations are complete.
Based on the prospect lists thus far, only Keith Law has any Dodger listed in the Top 50 (Josiah Gray #39). Michael Busch is on 3 of the 4 top 100. He did not make the MLB Pipeline list. Diego Cartaya and Miguel Vargas, each made one. While the LAD farm’s elite status is down a bit this year, if everything goes as planned, they could emerge as a top 10 system with the mid season reports. It is not a bad thing when you graduate a lot of prospects, but the next tier is a year or two away. It is not like they just disappeared off the list.
Forgive the off topic but Chelsea Dungee could be a superstar. First I’ve heard of her but watch out.
MLB just named Kershaw and Buehler as part of the NL top 10 starters.
The slippery noodle has been there since 1859. The current owner just died.
I saw Governor Davis at the Slippery Noodle years ago. Good times.
Agree, AC. Do not want to see May at OKC along with either Cat Man, VGon or Bazooka joining him. Want to see Urias and May starting. No Bauer please. Our youngsters can handle it for us well . Bauer not needed.
Why is there no interest in bringing back McGee? Just curious.
the home team throughout the NL playoffs, with or without Bauer. From every indication given, it appears that the Dodgers want Urias and May to be starting pitchers. If the Dodgers sign Bauer, that probably means that Dustin May goes to OKC to start or Urias goes to the bullpen with one of Cat Man, VGon, or Bazooka to OKC. Starting pitchers make the $$$, and the Dodgers are not going to chance alienating Urias (and Boras) by moving him to the pen. Thus moving May to OKC to start the season would be the reluctant choice. Would you want to block May for a year or two? How many Wins Above Replacement is Bauer over May? Or do they give May the valuable ML experience pitching against ML hitters, giving him the confidence to become a weapon come the playoffs?
Some will say that the Dodgers will need to trade Price in order to sign Bauer. I am not convinced that Bauer is a better choice than is Price. Before 2018, at the age of 27, Bauer was a middling pitcher. The first season he had a SO/W ratio of better than 2.5 was 2017. 2018 was his first sub 4.00 ERA season. In 2019, Bauer went backwards a bit with a 4.48 ERA. In 2020, he was outstanding. Who is the real Trevor Bauer? He has not had back to back quality seasons yet. The Dodgers have one player who has signed a nine figure contract under AF. AF makes darn sure he is going to get a satisfactory return on a $100MM++ contract. The next Dodger AF offers that level of a contract to will be Corey Seager. I do not think Bauer gives him that comfort.
I do not know who Jon Heyman is talking to, but it just does not seem that Trevor Bauer is the pitcher AF wants to get behind. Certainly not someone he would want to move into the first surcharge tier for luxury tax purposes. Then again, maybe he is.
Keith Law of The Athletic has 4 Dodger Prospects in his Top 100. Gray is the highest at 39. Busch, Cartya and Ruiz are there too
So it’s still snowing like a goat in Jackson Hole. We are being diverted to Salt Lake
Mets are reported to have agreed to sign Aaron Loup for one year $3MM.
Jon Heyman reports that the Mets offer for Trevor Bauer is 3-4 years and for less than $36MM AAV. How much less he did not speculate. He did add that the Dodgers are also at the same AAV but for less years. Both teams blow past CBT threshold if either comes to fruition. It is also the loss of a 2nd round draft pick. Make of that what you will.
Dodgers are the champions, it is not urgent to sign every available superstar, there is a saying that says “If it ain’t broke, you don’t have to fix it” something like that.
I don’t remember if it’s Eric who likes Soria and Doolitte, well, there’s still hope …..
”Dodgers: Could Sean Doolittle be the Latest Buy-Low Relief Option for LA?”
https://www.dodgersnation.com/dodgers-could-sean-doolittle-be-the-latest-buy-low-relief-option-for-la/2021/01/27/
Twitter can be extremely entertaining. So many people, so many varied opinions as to whom the Dodgers are and should be going after. There are still some hard core who think AF is planning on trading for a 3rd baseman should JT depart. There are also those who think the Dodgers are lying in the bushes waiting to snag Bauer with a one year 25 mil plus deal. Usual suspects on the trade list, Bryant and Arenado. They do not seem to understand why the Rockies are very hesitant to trade one of their legitimate stars to a team in their own division. They think they should jump at the chance to deplete the Dodgers farm system some and snag a good prospect or three. They have obviously been oblivious to how Andrew Friedman works. Giant’s finalize 3 year deal with LaStella.
Giants and Tommy La Stella deal finally done. 3 years and “around” $19MM guaranteed.
Cloris Leachman passed away the other day at the ripe old age of 94. She did a lot of good movies, but for me she will forever be Frau Blucher. Would you care for a nightcap????
In my opinion, Walker Buehler is a Junk Yard Dog. It’s in the attitude. So yes, pitchers can be Junk Yard Dogs.
The Dodgers did win the World Series and had the best record in baseball last year, so expecting a big improvement is not realistic. Also, the Dodgers proactively acquired the best free agent in this class when they signed Mookie Betts to a $365 million contract in August. Just because they signed Mookie in August instead of January, does not make this a less aggressive move.
I would also consider David Price and Gavin Lux as new additions this year that can provide large improvements to last year’s team.
At this point, the biggest potential loss is Justin Turner, and I still expect him to be resigned by the Dodgers. Kike and Joc were valuable role players but can be replaced by in-house options such as McKinstry, Rios, Raley, Beaty, or Reks. The bullpen looks at least as strong as last year, with Knebel replacing Baez, and several potential long shot upgrades in Morrow, Nelson, Cleavinger, Pazos, Alexander, and Romero. Not to mention possible relievers from the minors like White, Santana, Jackson, Uceta, and Carillo.
If Friedman can bring back Turner, I think the Dodgers are set up to be better than last year’s team, even without any additional signings. To me, having a healthy Price and Lux outweigh the loss of Joc and Kike.
As for Turner, I would consider taking a similar approach that the Yankees took with DLJ. I would spread the contract over 4 years, and allow JT to opt out after either year 3 or 4. Something like 4yrs at $34 million with the first two years at $12 million per year, and the last two years at $5 million per year. The AAV would be lower, and JT could get more guaranteed money.
Well the pig did not dip into the trough until February last year. Of course the seeds of that had been planted in January when the first trade was negotiated and Boston balked, causing LA to make some adjustments in the players who would go to the Bosox. Sure am glad they turned down Bazooka. I think AF probably has a good idea who his first choice is, and then a pretty good idea what the fall back option is. There are still a lot of players out there. They have been under the CBT for the last 3 seasons, so there is no reason to think they bust over it now. The longer this stretches out, the less likely Turner comes back. And the Brewers are in the game now.
It seems there is somewhat of a league mandate to stay under the CBA of 210 mil. So AF’s hands may be tied. If so then he’s done a masterful job so far especially with the bullpen to spread out the risk. Got to get Turner tho!
Could the Yankees sign Didi to improve shortstop defense and put someone in the lineup that would take advantage of the shallow right field ? What would they do with Gleyber?
The 800-pound gorilla is that I believe AF is mandated by Kasten not to go over the LuxTax… and will only go over it if they sign JT. Once over it, they may make another move or two.
Remember when the Red Sox traded away three stars to the Dodgers and their fans were aghast… and how the Dodgers won the World Series as a result of that?
Whoops… it was the other way around.
Remember how in 2020 the best relievers in baseball were the highest paid? Me neither!
Interesting article Mark. Your heading towards my neck of the woods now, so watch those winds, and yep, Jackson Hole can be very cold in January. Junkyard dogs. Perfect description of players who are not afraid to get dirty. Orel’s nickname was Bulldog, so he had a little of that when he was on the mound. in tough situations he would definitely reach back for something extra. Jr. Gilliam was another who never took an inning off. He played the game right and was the ultimate team player. Drysdale had that kind of mentality too. He never gave in to hitters. Justin smiles to much to be a junkyard dog. He plays hard and he is a leader. My fondest memory of Nitschke is him being clothes lined in the movie The Longest Yard.
Whether we know what Andrew Friedman meant when he made the “pigs” comment, I think that most Dodger fans are disappointed with the pace of the offseason. Friedman often waits out deals until the last possible moment and seemingly loses out on players of interest. I remember 2016 when the Dodgers were hunting for starting pitching and one free agent after another went off the board, with Scott Kazmir left as the last SP with any kind of track record. We know how that turned out.
On the other hand, the Dodgers didn’t trade for Mookie Betts until February 10. I am certain that the Dodgers are not finished yet. I think that the trade deadline is too late, but the season won’t start until April at the soonest.
It’s clear that the Dodgers want a RH bat and that they want to bring Turner back. It will be interesting to see who blinks first.
I am not impressed with the broken down bunch of arms that the Dodgers have signed in hopes that one or two might pitch effectively in the bullpen. Like Bulldogs said, Kahnle, Knebel and Cleavenger is really just Knebel – Kahnle probably won’t pitch and if Cleavenger pitches, that means that the team is in big trouble! He left out Jimmy Nelson and Brandon Morrow – Morrow went to the DL in June 2018 and hasn’t pitched since. Jimmy Nelson went on the DL in September 2017 (torn labrum) and pitched 10 games (3 starts) in 2019 to the tune of a 6.95 ERA.
It’s like buying lottery tickets – you can’t win if you don’t play and the more you buy, the better your chances, but no matter how many you buy, you still probably won’t win.
Otherwise, they’ve lost Kike Hernandez, Joc Pederson, Pedro Baez and Alex Wood and have added a bunch of injured guys who probably won’t pitch. Not a great off season – you can spin it how you like but some of the other teams in the Division (Padres especially) have improved and the Dodgers haven’t.
Stay warm in Jackson Hole, Mark. Found your article and video of your business and new venture interestIng.
Congrats and good luck to your son. Pretty girl in the ad also.
As a long time Packer’s fan, I am well aware of the value of Ray Nitschke to his team. I also admired Bart Starr, Paul Hornung, Jerry Kramer among others. I think the description of Nitschke’s contribution to his team would fit those of Justin Turner. Please AF, sign him, maybe not for 4 years but at least 2 with an option to 3.
Masahiro Tanaka back to Japan. Angels allegedly out on Bauer. I think Jake Odorizzi and Taijuan Walker could find homes in Anaheim. I think they are waiting for one more year of Pujols and Bundy and two years of Upton, before they go big game hunting again. The Blue Jays are undoubtedly out on Bauer. With Matz, I think they will probably look to Canadian, Big Maple, James Paxton. That leaves the Mets, who by moving Matz, now have the financial ability to sign Bauer and stay under the CBT threshold.
Bauer says he is waiting for the Dodgers to offer him $250MM. I do not like to ever say never, but this is about as close as it gets. I think it is best that Trevor signs for the only team that is willing to spend to sign Bauer, and that is the Mets.
I’ll play along. Pitchers can’t be junkyard dogs is a stipulation and you listed all position players except for Pollock, Smith and Lux. The bench is somewhat overhauled with the loss of Joc and Kike. So who does that leave?
To me, Smith IS THE junkyard dog. He’s unassuming compared to others on the team, listed at just 5′ 10” but somehow has a career OPS of 980! Are you kidding me? A career OPS of 980 for a 25 YO catcher? Talk about doing more with less. He also seems to have a knack for hitting clutch and late, and has the nards to stop the game and go talk to his pitchers when things aren’t going well. He really looks like a leader in the making.
Changing the subject, I’m starting to get really annoyed at AF for coming out with the Pigs comment and doing virtually nothing this offseason. At least, nothing towards the 40 man roster.
Cleavinger, Kahnle, Knebel are the only new players added to the 40-man. Cleavinger has 2 outs worth of Major League experience and Kahnle is expected to be out for the year. So basically, he’s added just 1 freaking player! Sorry Mark, but there’s no way to spin this. He’s basically stood pat this offseason. Even if he brings back Turner, he’s basically standing pat. And unless the minor leaguers step up and are better bench pieces than Joc and Kike, this team is worse than last year’s team.
Yes, there’s still a lot to be excited about. The core is young and could still be improving. We have more pitchers than just about any other team. We added another late inning option in Knebel. But, we hardly made the team better for all the talk of being pigs from AF and bringing in new personnel from the outside from Doc.
I don’t know if AF is the best GM in baseball, but he sure is the most patient. He doesn’t feel the need to counter the Padres and isn’t going to rush to sign players just because many are coming off the board. Does he have some magic left? I guess we’ll find out when Spring Training begins.
This offseason sucks! Don’t come out and say you’re gonna be pigs, then sit on your hands all offseason.