Lots of fans think that they know better than the baseball manager, and nowhere is this more apparent than with Dodger fans who claim every loss is on Dave Roberts and every win is in spite of him. When Doc took out Tyler Glasnow, message boards all over the blogosphere went batshit crazy. Now we know the rest of the story – Dave Roberts said he pulled Tyler Glasnow early…
It’s Crunch Time
Today, Tyler Glasnow has the opportunity to pitch the game of his life and send the Dodgers to the NLCS. This is why they traded Pepiot and DeLuca for the big fellow. If he can control his pitches, it will be a long day for the Phillies. If he can’t, it will be a long day for the Dodgers. I would imagine that Tanner Scott is going to have to…
Dope Fiend Moves
To say that “Relief Pitchers are Volatile“… is an incredible understatement! In AA and NA culture, they often say: “From a hopeless dope fiend to a dopeless hope fiend.” Relief pitchers can be maddening. In 2022, Andrew Friedman said this in a SI interview: “Relievers, unlike starters, or position players, can be great one season, and a disaster the next. Which makes it all that more risky to shell out…
One-Third of the Way to the NLCS
Rant & Rave Sunday The Athletic: Hitting coach Aaron Bates spent the hitters’ meeting earlier in the day reinforcing the danger that a Red October in this building could bring. At one point, Bates cautioned the players that the crowd of 45,777 would reach a frenzy. He told them it would be up to the Dodgers’ offense to drop the decibels.“There are certain places where it’s hard to play in…
AJ Preller History
I will not draw any conclusions from what I am about to post. All I will say is that Preller has a .490 winning percentage since he took over in San Diego. Here’s a best-effort, year-by-year rollup of Padres prospects/minor-leaguers A.J. Preller has traded away since he took over on August 6, 2014 (i.e., players who were prospects or very early-career depth at the time they were dealt). I grouped…
Preller Sends Out His Resume
At the trade deadline, all of the sports media proclaimed that the Padres had “Won the Trade Deadline.” After all, they got O’Hean, Lauerano, Sears, and (OMG) Mason Miller, who throws 150 MPH as a closer. The Dodgers and every other MLB team were warned that the Padres were the best of the best. Yeah, Right! Many of the less astute Dodger fans bought into this, too, and they wondered…
The X Factor: JunkYardDogism!
Certainly, the Dodgers have the star power. They showed at the stars come out at night in the Playoffs at Dodger Stadium; however, there is one factor that is not usually measured, and that is JunkyardDogism! I love that word… partially because it makes Bluto’s head explode. 😉 What “Junkyard Dog” Means Example: NBA player Jerome Williams in the 1990s/2000s was literally nicknamed “Junkyard Dog” because of his hustle and…
From Here on, It’s a Crapshoot!
The Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series in 2024. It is tough in the modern era to win it two years in a row. In fact, it has not been done in 25 years. The Dodgers have a shot, but it is much more difficult this time around. Everyone has analytics and scouting. It’s a chess match, and it’s never been harder to win back-to-back than now. That said,…