There is so little movement in the Hot Stove and yet, so much to talk about, so here goes: TOP FARM SYSTEMS Someone here a few days ago opined that they wanted Logan White back as the GM. Of course, Logan was never GM for the Dodgers before – he was Director of Amateur Scouting, and while I love Logan White, I cannot remember when the Dodgers Farm system was…
Well, the score wasn’t what I expected it to be, but the team I expected won. The commercials were the best part, but I digress. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Bad enough I have to listen to my son-in-law about it ad nausem, Back to Joe Kelly. Who really is Joe Kelly? Is he an evil villan who broke Hanley Ramirez’ hand and cost the Dodgers a…
As baseball fans and Dodger enthusiasts, fanatics, maniacs, zealots or whatever mantra might apply to us, we spend the season following MLB and the minor leagues, especially the Dodger affiliates. We also pay some attention to high school ball and college ball, both of which wind up in June and are more of interest around the time of the First-Year Player Draft. However, there is another layer of baseball that does…
In a previous article I included a brief sketch of Pedro Montero who was promoted to the Tulsa Drillers for the 2019 season serving as the Drillers bench coach. As mentioned, Montero is a high energy, excitable young man who has an infectious effect on the players he coaches. In fact, with any young players with whom he makes contact. It is difficult to see him without a smile on…
Well now that the Dodgers have signed AJ Pollock, what comes next? Maybe something. Maybe nothing. Is JT Realmuto on the horizon. Apparently, the Pads are very much in on JTR, but they are insisting on extension talks before they consummate the deal. Obviously, either Francisco Mejia or Austin Hedges will be going back in a package. The Pads have ML OF’s available as well a bucket load of high-level…
Farhan Zaidi is the President of Baseball Operations for the San Francisco Giants right here, right now… and while it may never be fully understood what role Zaidi had in in the managing and coaching decisions by the LA Dodgers, I think by the end of the 2019 season, we will find out that Farhan was a micro manager. Great guy, but he was not good at deligation. He had…
There’s nothing that gets Dodger fans dander up more than the Koufax Verses Kershaw Argument. Sandy Koufax pitched for the Dodgers for 12 years, while Clayton is entering his 12th season. Let’s look at their average seasons based over their 12 and 11 year careers: Sandy Koufax:16 Wins 8 Losses; 2.76 ERA; 1.106 WHIP; 9.3 K per 9 innings; 3.2 BB per 9 innings Clayton Kershaw: 16 Wins 7 Losses;…
Before we start this discussion, let’s remember that the time between the Holidays is a real dog when it comes to the Hot Stove League, thus, these really are the Dog Days. OK, let’s look at what the Kemp-Puig-Wood-Farmer trade produced. The Dodgers sent Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood, Kyle Farmer and $7 million Dollars to the Reds for Homer Bailey and two nice prospects. Very simply, the Dodger…
Are the Dodgers in on Bryce Harper? Yes, even Ray Charles can see that! A better question is “Will the Dodgers really try to sign Bryce Harper? The answer is the same answer I give when people as “Do you wear boxers or briefs?” I say “Depends.” Bada Bing! But seriously… Bryce Harper has “IT” – the “IT FACTOR.” He would be an instant fit for LA. Yes, the Doders…
Baseball is the ultimate game for statistics, and in the past few years statistics have multiplied faster than a warren of rabbits. Launch angles, exit velocity and spin rates are only a few of the new statistics. Some statistics such as framing and DWAR are somewhat subjective and not yet a perfect means of measurement. So many fans use stats literally in the respect that your stats say what you…