For a couple of months, some Dodger fans have been saying that Keibert Ruiz will be traded with the rise of Will Smith and now Conner Wong. Dirk Calderwood said it best: “So Dodgers will trade the best most talented hitter in their farm?” He asked that question like it was totally absurd and it turns out he 100% is right. It’s at least as absurd as trading Alex Verdugo,…
The minor league season is quickly drawing to a close. It seems impossible but it is so. The good news is that five of the Dodgers affiliates will extend their season a bit by competing for the league championship. Those five affiliates are AZL Dodgers Mota, Ogden Raptors, Great Lakes Loons, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, and Tulsa drillers. End-of-Season All-Stars to date: Some leagues have not yet announced the All-Stars. Twenty-year-old…
After losing the series 2-1 last weekend to the Dark Side the Dodgers are in fine shape. The hitters have been in a funk since after the All-Star Break, but it hard to keep focused when you are 20+ games ahead of the nearest team in your division and are about to clinch a playoff spot in August. Dave Roberts has dialed-down the intensity and is resting players as much…
For those of us old enough to remember the 1959 World Series – it conjures up memories of Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Johnny Podres, Duke Snider, Gil Hodges, Jim Gilliam, and John Roseboro. We remember the WS MVP, Larry Sherry with his remarkable 2 wins and 2 saves (By the way there was nothing in the 1959 season that would have indicated that he would have done what he did). …
I have lost my love for Football almost completely. The fact that it is a violent game that produces many devastating injuries is a big part of it. It started when my son was a Freshman in high school and won a State Championship. He was not a starter but was on the Scout Team and the seniors loved to beat on them like rented mules. He was 5′ 6′…
Kenley Jansen has blown six saves and broken Dodger fans’ hearts more than that this year. We can analyze until we are paralyzed but in essence, his problem has been the overuse of his cutter, which is still good, but maybe not as good as it used to be. It’s also likely that the advanced hitting coaches are helping hitters “key in” on what he is throwing. Most Dodger fans…
I will start off by saying that Jeff Dominique (AC) and his family are in all of our thought’s and prayers. I have scanned the obituaries for Kristopher Stephen Dominique because I was going to send flowers from everyone at LA DODGER TALK, but all I can send are thoughts because I could not find it. Godspeed! At the All-Star Break, the Dodgers and Houston were rated the best defensive…
I had planned on writing a post dealing with player development today. But the tragic and heartbreaking news of the death of AC’s son has caused my mind to wander in so many different directions and has brought back a flood of memories of my introduction to baseball and how baseball was a language that I and my sons regularly spoke and still do to this day. Today I truly…
It is with a heavy heart and tears in my eyes that I have to tell you that Always Compete, whose real name is Jeff Dominique has had a personal tragedy in his life that is going to have to make him step away from the blog. I got this e-mail from him this afternoon: Mark, I am done for awhile. My son Kristopher died in his sleep last night. …
This past week there has been a renewal of negative comments about Dodger manager, Dave Roberts. Some warranted, but most not. AC provided a wonderful up close and personal synopsis yesterday when he shared his son’s feelings about DR being “one of the most genuine people he ever met. He could talk you up and fill you with positive thought all day long.” This seems to be the consensus industry-wide. …