All Smoke and Mirrors

November 27, 2018

In case you have been hiding under a rock, we are now engaged in the Baseball Hot Stove League where fans talk about trading everybody and his brother, sister, aunt, uncle, grandpa,  grandma as the family dog. It’s fun and we all engage in it to some degree. But, there are two rules you have to go by: #1 Believe half of what you see and none of what you…

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The Dodgers Are Wealthy, But Are They Healthy?

November 23, 2018

The Dodgers are one of the Top Three wealthiest organizations in baseball.  They rake in huge attendance money, immense concession money and have one of the most lucrative TV deals in baseball (nevermind that many fans can’t see them in LA – that’s on the cable idiots). Until this year, for the past 5 years, the Dodgers’ payroll has been at the TOP of all MLB teams.  Depending upon how…

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Happy Dodger Thanksgiving

November 21, 2018

Yes, next season marks 31 years since the Dodgers last won a World Championship, but Dodger fans have alot to be thankful for anyway. There’s some work to do, but we are not perrenial losers like the Padres… and now the Giants.  I could go on… and on… but I won’t!  I have to deliver a bunch of Thanksgiving meals before our own family Thanksgiving at 6PM. HAPPY THANKSGIVING, my…

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Change is in the Air

November 20, 2018

When you get to the World Series, you have a good team and no matter what, you are in position to win it.  Ask the 1988 Dodgers.  It seems absurd to me to blame the guy who assembled the team that got to the World Series for the loss.  In 2017, they were the best team.  In 2018, the Red Sox were, but does the best team always win?  I…

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The Sophmore Jinx

November 16, 2018

In the United Kingdom, the “sophomore slump” is more commonly referred to as “second year blues”. A sophomore jinx is the popularly held belief that after a successful rookie season, a player in his second year will be jinxed and not have the same success. Most players suffer the “sophomore jinx” simply because scouting reports on the former rookie are now available and his weaknesses are known around the league. Many players have suffered the sophmore…

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This Team Doesn’t Need Much

November 15, 2018

This time two years ago, and again, this time last year, the Rabid Friedman Bashers (RFB) were predicting that Clayton Kershaw would opt out of his contract due to the Dodgers failures in the World Series. The Bashers look for anything they might spin their way to make Friedman look bad and when that fails they move on to something else.  I’m not sure she meant it as a compliment,…

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Logjam of Lefties: The Rotation

November 13, 2018

With Hyun-jin Ryu accepting the Dodgers qualifying offer, the Dodgers are now able to field an all LH Rotation: Kershaw Hill Urias Ryu Wood Of course, they would have to  leave Buehler and Maeda out of the rotation in order to do that. Not only that, but the Dodgers have some prospects who could possibly slot into the rotation as soon as 2019. Everyone has an opinion as to who…

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Hurry up and Wait!

November 9, 2018

The Dodgers Will Win The NL West a 7th Consecutive Season… and then what happens next depends upon what happens over the next few weeks. By early next week, we will find out if Yasmani Grandal takes the Qualifying Offer – my guess is he will not unless some personal circumstances dictate he stay in Southern California.  I think some other team (and there are lots of interested teams) will…

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What Comes Next?

November 8, 2018

Right about now, we have a few more days until we find out if Hyun-jin Ryu and Yasmani Grandal accept or reject the Dodgers Qualifying Offers.  I predict that Ryu will accept and Grandal will reject.  Then the fun begins… in the the measntime, the Dodgers have a few vacancies to fill throughout their organization.  They are in need of a third-base coach, hitting coach and, what else…..  Oh yeah……

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Use Your Vision… Not Your Sight!

November 6, 2018

In 2017, the Dodgers struck out 25.5% of the time and in 2018, it went up slightly as they struck out 25.7% of the time. They were not even close to being the worst in baseball in striking out, but they were in the bottom 30%.  In 2016, the Houston Astros almost led the AL in strikeouts.  Tampa Bay barely beat them. In 2017, the very next year, the Astros…

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