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We all knew that at some point the Dodgers would lose a game or two, but going into last night s game the Dodgers were hitting against Ricky Nolasco, career journeyman who was 2-9 on the year with an ERA over 5.00. Ricky Freakin Nolasco! Nolasco pitched 6.1 strong innings and made the Dodgers look like chumps. OK, it s baseball and on any given day but Ricky Nolasco? OK, I m over
I d Rather Have Austin Barnes at 2B Than Dee Gordon as long as I have Kike Hernandez as one of the best supersubs in baseball. The Dodgers got a nice return for their former second baseman. That is notwithstanding the obvious fact that Chris Hatcher has been a huge disappointment. In case you forget, the trade was Gordon, Miguel Rojas and Dan Haren to the Marlins for Hatcher, Hernandez, Barnes
Well my original draft was entitled Back To The Future, so with this redraft, I will call it Back To The Future II. I will continue where I left off in yesterday s post. Maybe the future lies further down the organizational ladder. Even most minor league followers dismiss the Dominican Summer League (DSL), where the Mexican, Caribbean, South American ball players get their start. They begin to get acclimated to
and the next men are Trevor Oaks, Brock Stewart and Walker Buehler. Oaks is a back-of-the-rotation starter who is likely ready now while Buehler is a top-of-the-rotation guy who might be ready in 2018, but won t ever be a workhorse (welcome to the new MLB). Stewart could be a a middle-to-back of the rotation guy or an elite reliever. Time will tell. Mitch White and Yadier Alvarez are due
If you are a contrarian in the investment community, you likely have a very good track record of making money because it has been proven over and over again, that running with the herd is a recipe for failure. A contrarian often looks like an idiot most of the time until they clean up the mess that the herd made with their ill-advised buying. In short, a contrarian wants to
In a game which saw Brandon McCarthy drop his ERA to 2.87 and the Dodgers score 12 runs, Brock Stewart quietly showed why he could be a very valuable piece in the Dodger bullpen. The bullpen is his role at least this year. I think he can be a starter in the future, but his exceptional control (1.4 walks per 9 innings in 2016), and arsenal of pitches makes him
On February 13, 2017, I wrote this: I have been telling you a few things over the Winter: Julio Urias is going to have a breakout year; Yasmani Grandal will come close to 40 HR; Willie Calhoun won t play 2B due to horrible defense and lock of foot speed; Among Ryu, McCarthy and Kazmir, at least two will be contributors; and Cody Bellinger is ready. A few days later, I
On Saturday, Yasiel Puig hit two homeruns and so on Sunday Dave Roberts moved Yasiel to #5 and he promptly went 0-5. Look, I have accepted two things that I think are very important: Yasiel Puig is a great, extraordinary talent; and Yasiel Puig is a knucklehead. It s my opinion that you just let him play and not over-think where he hits. Keep him at #8 and leave him there .
Yes, Ryu only went 5 innings. Yes, he threw 105 pitches (that can be either good or bad, depending upon your perspective). Yes, he gave up 8 hits. BUT, he only allowed 2 runs and gave up no HR to one of the best hitting teams in baseball in on of the best hitter s parks in baseball. So, there is that! As bad as you think Ryu might be he
Have you noticed that a few certain fans like to bang on Friedman and Company about trading away Cotton, Montas, Holmes, De Leon, Peraza and Schebler but fail to mention anything of value FAZ has done? ME: Wow, Alex Wood is doing great! FAZ-BASHER: Squirrel! That Rich Hill really sucks, even he says so. FAZ is an idiot! Schebler (.252) and Peraza (.258) are playing OK in a hitter s ballpark,
which is precisely why they will keep rolling him out there. His mechanics and release points are all all over place, but he has figured it out before and I believe he will do it again. He has struggled mightily with his control as he was shut-down and then activated and shut-down again and re-activated due to blisters. It appears that the blisters are gone, but if he is
This is the Brandon McCarthy the Dodgers front office wanted. They knew his history but they also knew about changes he had made, both to his pitching mechanics and psyche. Brandon McCarthy is making about $12 million a year and was signed for four years. He has this year and 2018 left on his deal. $12 million a year is a bargain for a pitcher of McCarthy s standing. Brandon McCarthy
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