Late last week, I listened to a podcast on the state of MLB and MiLB from Baseball America’s Kyle Glazer and JJ Cooper. Baseball America has some of the best baseball journalists anywhere, and I have not yet found any baseball journalist who is more up on the subject of the state of MLB and MiLB than JJ Cooper. I try to read everything he publishes. The National Association of…
Men In Black – Part 1
Well I am back. Hope you are all basking in the glow of the Dodgers World Series win. I know for me it will always be a great memory. So, my tale today is about the men who umpire our great game. Specifically 5 of the 10 men who are in the hall. The second half will be in the next installment. Think about that. Over 130 years of professional…
Upcoming MLB vs MLBPA Negotiations
Yes, baseball is a game played by a bunch of kids. In MLB, they are very rich kids paid by very rich owners. As much as most of us want it to remain strictly a game, we cannot. MLB is a business played at a very high stakes level. While the face of MLB (Rob Manfred) and MLBPA (Tony Clark) are problematic (and I am being kind), the high priced…
Corey Seager – Dodger Legend
def: short·stop/ˈSHôrtˌstäp/ noun BASEBALL a fielder positioned between second and third base. The position is called a “stop,” the word “short” merely describes his physical stature; stops are always short Of course, that is not the real definition of “shortstop,” but since I am on such a sarcastic roll, why stop? Corey Seager is a 6′ 4″ tall, 215-pound shortstop, and after all, everyone knows that players that tall can’t…
Dodger Extensions??
I continue to read that AF cannot sign high priced FA because they need to hold money for their prized youngsters: Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger, Julio Urias, and Walker Buehler. AF has set himself up with large contracts coming off the books as these players come into their FA years. Now there is no guarantee that any of the four want to stay with LAD, but there should be sufficient…
Let’s Get Real!
Maybe you missed it, but the 2020 Dodgers are the World Champions. Yes, by golly, they won it again after just 32 short years. It wasn’t a fluke and going into 2021, they are the odds on favorite to win it all again. “Hey You’all, watch this: I’ll blow up the team and make dope-fiend trades just because I can”, said the stupid Redneck! “I’ll do it out by my…
AC’s 2021 Pitching Preview as of 11-03-2020
While reviewing the list of LAD pitchers, the Dodgers have 66 pitchers currently in their organization. Per Fangraph’s Roster Resource the breakdown is as follows: MLB Starting Pitchers (5) MLB Relief Pitchers (9) MiLB Starting Pitchers (34) – 9 Rule 5 Eligible MiLB Relief Pitchers (18) – 13 Rule 5 Eligible With the pending MiLB contraction, those numbers are obviously going to decrease. Many of these pitchers are organizational depth,…
Ranking the Dodger Farm System Position Players
This is really hard because we have nothing to go on insofar as for player development in 2020… and it is going to get worse! Next year, MLB is allegedly going to contract 40+ teams (if they stick to the plan). If there are 30 players on a team (counting the IL), that is almost 1,200 players who will be out of jobs. It’s sad, but it’s also a stark…
Construction of A 40 Man Roster – Part One
The Hot Stove League is always fun for us armchair GMs, allowing us to look at ways of improving a reigning World Series championship team. Not just a WS championship team, but THE consensus choice of the best team in MLB for 2020. But changes must be made. Nothing can stay at the top by being stagnant. Changes can come internally or externally. AF is a master as to building…
Bill Buckner: Gamer or Goat
NOTE: I told you Rob Schelling aka/2demter2 would be back – little did I know how soon!— Mark Timmons Gamer: A player who approaches the game with a tenacious, spirited attack and continues to play even when hurt; a competitor; a player who doesn’t make excuses. The term is a compliment, most especially when it comes from another player. Goat: one blamed for causing a failure or defeat, esp. in…