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…
Everyone’s Got One
“Opinions are like…” Well, you know the rest, but here’s the difference. Opinions are welcome here, A-Holes are not. At the company I run (US Water Systems), we have 10 “Core Values” ranging from “We Don’t Panic” to “We are fair… but not suckers” to our 10th Core Value which is “We do not tolerate Assholes.” Pardon our French, but there is no better way to say it. Snarky, divisive…
Rants & Raves
A comparison was drawn between Jeff Shaw and Kenley Jansen and I would say that is appropriate. Kenley certainly isn’t as good as he once was, but he’s not as bad as many of you think. It was suggested that Corey Seager should sit… and the odds of that are slim and none. He’s not 100% back, but he’s leading the league in doubles and he’s not going to get…
Dodgers Most Improved Minor Leaguer for 2019
Who is your favorite minor league player in the Dodger pipeline? I suppose we shouldn’t have favorites as every player has the same goal and is doing all he can to reach the highest level he can, hopefully, MLB. I have a lot of players I follow but I expect my number one favorite is Zach McKinstry. I also expect my perception of Zach is out of the mainstream and…
Some Quick Random Thoughts on the Passing Season
I’m very grateful to Mark T. for covering for me yesterday. I spent the last 4 days in Las Vegas at a Trial Lawyers Conference, attended by approximately 3,500 attorneys. Some people might think that being surrounded by this many attorneys is as close as you can possibly get to hell on earth but, alas, it’s my profession and I survived unscathed. As Willie Nelson sang in “Me and Paul”…