I have seen many technological changes in my lifetime. As a youth, my telephone was on the kitchen wall and was part of a party line. I couldn’t have imagined back then that a day was coming when I would carry my phone with me everywhere I went, including my car, and that I would not only be able to take pictures with my phone, I would also be able…
10 Things We Learned
To lose a game without learning something is a sad state of affairs. Yes, the Dodgers lost last night game, but they learned a few things in the process: If you can’t jump out of a boat and hit water, you probably won’t win (OK, OK, we already knew that); Hyun-jin Ryu has gone from being left off the playoff roster (in some of your minds) back to Cy Young…
This %$#@&^* Just Got Serious
Well, it’s always been serious, but with two weeks left in the season, it’s “Playoff Tune-up Time” which is very serious. It’s likely that Rich Hill and Alex Verdugo will not be ready for the NLDS… or maybe the NLCS and the World Series. David Freese and Justin Turner are banged up and we have no clue how healthy they will be. This is the hand the Dodgers have to…
You Don’t Always Play to Win the Game
So, if you listen to the Herm Edwards, you would always play to win the game. Well, that might be true in a 16 game football season, but I am going to suggest that while you don’t ever play to lose, in a baseball season that is 10 times longer than a football season, there are reasons you don’t always play to win the game. “Sometimes we need to lose…
Bo Who?
Since the 2016 First-Year player Draft, Dodger fans have been questioning the first selection made by Andrew Friedman and friends. That selection was none other than shortstop Gavin Lux who is currently pushing for a spot on the Dodgers postseason roster. When we questioned the pick we, of course, did not have the inside information that Director of Amateur Scouting Billy Gasparino and his team had. Yet, it seemed to…
Let’s the Reign Begin
The LA Dodgers as a whole were a pretty subdued group, save the rookies and AJ Pollock, as they celebrated their 7th consecutive NL West Championship. AJ Pollock could only watch the last six. He was part of this one. The rest of the team was subdued because they have been here before… several times and they know that winning the NL West is just another step in their quest…
It’s ALMOST Time!
Yesterday someone wrote this: I would want to see us put together rosters which are the best in baseball, at least in some of the seasons. Why should a franchise with this large and fervent fan base, and the second largest media network in the country, not have that? Well, they don’t have that because as we have repeatedly seen, over 70% of these big, fat contracts become boat anchors….
Player Development (Part 1)
I have always had a fascination with the development of baseball players. It started when coaching youth ball, and continued on to high school baseball. But what happens after a player gets drafted and signs that contract? Are these young men receiving the best possible instruction? Are the teams creating an environment for those players to maximize their abilities? How exactly do you accomplish that? Strictly through Sabermetrics? Is it…
This Ain’t My First Rodeo
After being the best team in baseball for quite some time, the Dodgers are now playing second fiddle to the Yankees and Astros who both have one more win than the Dodgers. The surging Braves are just three games behind the Dodgers for the best record in the NL, having won nine games in a row. In their last 10 games, the Dodgers are .500 while the Braves are 9-1,…
The End is Near
“The sky is falling!” “The Dodgers are doomed!” “Kershaw and Ryu are through!” “We can’t win with Jansen as the closer.” “Bellinger has regressed to the mean!” “I just hope that these die-hard Dodger “Homeys” are not fooled by all these wins, because the negatives will be more apparent as they get into the playoffs.” “I think that Colletti did just as good of job with way less money and…