International Free Agents

July 14, 2019

It has been four years since that massive International Free Agent (IFA) class, that has turned out to be something other than successful. They signed 13 players for a total of $46,374,500 led by Yadier Alvarez ($16MM), Yusniel Diaz ($15MM), Omar Estevez ($6MM), Starling Heredia ($2.6MM), Yordan Alvarez ($2MM), and Ronny Brito ($2MM). Oneil Cruz was also in that class with a $950K bonus. Not only did those 13 players…

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2019 Prospects Rising

July 11, 2019

A few weeks back there was a recommendation that we provide our opinion on the risers and fallers this year in the LAD Minor League system, and suggested that the AS break would be a good time. DC offered his input a week or so ago, and now I would like to provide my admittedly myopic (and shortsighted?) insight. I apologize for the length, but it is hard for me…

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How Did Winter Trades Turn Out

June 30, 2019

When MT posted his Remember When post, it got me to thinking about trades. I have been obnoxiously opinionated in my zeal for at least one lock down late inning reliever and would prefer two. But I also know that there are NO GUARANTEES. The Darvish and Machado trades did not result in a WS championship, and they were good trades for the Dodgers. If the Dodgers got both Felipe…

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Throw Away Game or Investment

June 28, 2019

In a 401K portfolio, maybe you have only sufficient funds to NOT LOSE, but do not have that little bit extra to think about…what if. Or maybe you can invest your max in your 401K and want to keep that safe but have a little extra that you want to invest for something that may prove to be a very good return on your investment. Some of those investments will…

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Random Thoughts

June 23, 2019

A few days ago, Bluto posed the following: “I mean if you are evaluating players from a far then you have to be down on prospects when they fare poorly. But what’s the difference between being down and writing off? And what does writing off mean? Does it mean moving down in the prospect list? Or removing altogether?” I am sure that my opinion of “being down” vs. writing off…

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The Bullpen Conundrum Response

June 22, 2019

Mark and I don’t always agree on everything Blue, although I think we are pretty consistent from a Macro view. But when it comes to the bullpen, Mark and I just do not see eye to eye. I have been a relief pitcher wonk since 1959 and Larry Sherry. Clem Labine would have been my favorite Dodger in the mid 50’s. I am not going to go through the history…

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Chris Parmalee

June 16, 2019

Let’s go back and revisit the 2006 MLB First Year Player Draft. We Dodger fans remember all too well that Clayton Kershaw was selected as the #7 overall pick that year. But that draft had some other players selected that have gone on and had good ML careers, and potentially another potential HOF pitcher to go with Kersh. 1 – Luke Hochevar 3 – Evan Longoria 5 – Brandon Morrow…

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Next Man UP

June 15, 2019

I recognize and acknowledge that I have been at the forefront of wanting the Dodgers to acquire elite relievers I have also readily acknowledged that they do not need to make that trade at this time. Their competition in the NLWest is not stiff, but winning the NL pennant and WS could prove to be more difficult without that elite bullpen. Those names will become more clear as that July…

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2019 MLB Dodger Draft Recap

June 9, 2019

The MLB draft has come and gone, and the draft talent evaluators have opined that the Dodgers had a top 5 draft. This year’s draft pool was not considered very good, but the Dodgers were able to draft for value and need. The Dodgers are getting good at finding value in the low order they pick from. They even picked up a top potential HS draft pick in SS/3B Brennan…

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Dodgers Draft Day 1

June 4, 2019

Going into the draft it was thought that the Dodgers were going to pick the best player on their board regardless of position. The Dodgers had enough Bonus Pool money that they could have taken a big HS arm and paid to get them out of their commitment. I thought that Daniel Espino would have been the Dodger selection at #25 if he was available, but the Indians took him…

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