Playoffs? It’s been a long week and it’s only Thursday. Sunday Night my wife and I took my daughter and son-in-law out for their anniversary. They live 3 hours away but came to Indy because he had neck surgery scheduled the next morning. Monday Morning I got up at 4 AM to meet my daughter at the hospital and sat with her until my son-in-law got out of surgery at…
Still the Ace
Since getting off dairy products after last season, Clayton Kershaw has seen no flareup of his back issues and every game he has started he puts up at least 6 innings… or more. Simply put, Clayton is still the Dodger’s Ace, even if Hyun-jin Ryu wins the Cy Young Award. He is now 11-2 and has a 2.77 ERA to go with a 1.04 WHIP. He’s the amazing part: His…
Bits and Bites
Just a few notes on the minor league happenings that may or may not be news to LADT posters. In any event, here goes. The Pioneer-Northwest League All-Star game is scheduled for Tuesday at Memorial Stadium in Boise, Idaho. Six Raptors were on the Pioneer League squad, the most of any team in the league. Raptors manager, Austin Chubb, had this to say about his players selected as all-stars. Malisheski: “Kevin’s…
Some Random Thoughts on the Passing Season
While sitting in my office preparing for a trial, wishing I was at home in my recliner, watching the Dodgers and Padres game, I have some more random thoughts on the passing season: • I don’t know about you all, but there is something special for me to see the young prospects come through the system and do well for the Dodgers. Saturday night was special!! What a treat…
Andrew Friedman and the LAD Top 30 Prospects – Part 2
It is interesting to note how the “kids” have come up to produce this year. I think that it is a combination of player ability, and timing the development. But what happens when that development stalls, or in some cases goes entirely backwards (Yadi Alvarez and Jeren Kendall). Trading Niko Hulsizer was a good trade. Kolarek is not the high leverage reliever the Dodgers needed, but the chances of him…
Andrew Friedman and the LAD Top 30 Prospect Lists
This is AF’s 5th full year, and hopefully he will continue for several more years. He is human so he is prone to making mistakes, but never has he made an error without a very good reason for making a change. Most of us may not have understood the decisions, but they were always made to help the team. And I recognize and appreciate that it was a rhetorical statement,…
Rant & Rave Friday
I want to clarify a few things: I have never said that Alex Verdugo would be Tony Gwynn. I do stand on my record of saying that he is “Tony Gwynn-esque.” His bat to ball skills is reminiscent of the late, great Tony Gwynn, but with more power. I also think he will win some batting titles. I do not think Keibert Ruiz is the next Roy Campanella. That was…
Unconventional Wisdom
Over the past couple of days, I have heard how stupid it was for Andrew Friedman to sign Chris Negron and Tyler White and that they were a waste! I have heard that bringing Tony Gonsolin up to pitch in Coors was a mistake and I heard that Ryu also couldn’t pitch at Coors Field. I also heard that the league was catching up to Alex Verdugo. Additionally, I heard…
Here’s Johnny!
The next few hours are going to be crazier than Jack Nicholson in The Shining and none of us have any clue what will go down. Yesterday, I said that I doubted that Andrew Friedman will trade any of the Top 10 prospects, to which AC said he was OK with #10 (Mitchell White). I’d agree with that. Other than DJ Peters (#13), I would trade any other prospects after…
My Beef With the Dodgers
Some people think that I believe everything Andrew Friedman does is wonderful and that I worship at the Church of St. Andrew. Of course, that’s not true because he is Jewish and I am not. I do happen to think he is very astute and has a plan which he executes. However, I do have one major issue with him and the Dodgers Organization. That issue is I believe they…