When you get to the World Series, you have a good team and no matter what, you are in position to win it. Ask the 1988 Dodgers. It seems absurd to me to blame the guy who assembled the team that got to the World Series for the loss. In 2017, they were the best team. In 2018, the Red Sox were, but does the best team always win? I…
RH Bat? What About Giancarlo Stanton???
What are the Dodgers needs going into the 2019 season? We know they need a catcher. I discussed that in great length yesterday. I think they need a 2B other than CT3 or Kike’, but I know I am in the minority. I think the Dodgers need a leadoff batter. That is really not what Alex Verdugo does, but he seems the most logical…if he makes the squad, and there…
Austin Barnes and ??? at Catcher in 2019
We all know that the one thing that the Dodgers must do is to find another catcher. The Dodgers gambled that Yasmani Grandal would not accept the QO, and won this time. They will get a supplemental pick between the 2nd and 3rd round, somewhere in the 80’s. That will be 4 picks before the third round. At the very least, they should get enough pool funds to be able…
2019 or 2020
Why do I think that there is virtually no chance that the Dodgers will sign Bryce Harper this winter? Primarily because I do believe the leaked report that the Dodgers will not go over the CBT threshold for the next four years. I believe the Dodgers are looking at next year’s salaries and next year’s FA class and saying that it makes much more sense to wait one year before…
The Sophmore Jinx
In the United Kingdom, the “sophomore slump” is more commonly referred to as “second year blues”. A sophomore jinx is the popularly held belief that after a successful rookie season, a player in his second year will be jinxed and not have the same success. Most players suffer the “sophomore jinx” simply because scouting reports on the former rookie are now available and his weaknesses are known around the league. Many players have suffered the sophmore…
This Team Doesn’t Need Much
This time two years ago, and again, this time last year, the Rabid Friedman Bashers (RFB) were predicting that Clayton Kershaw would opt out of his contract due to the Dodgers failures in the World Series. The Bashers look for anything they might spin their way to make Friedman look bad and when that fails they move on to something else. I’m not sure she meant it as a compliment,…
Tony Gonsolin: No Longer a Compelling Fringe Prospect
John Sickels has just released his 2018 top-20 Dodger Prospects list. I looked at his list with some interest, well quite a bit of interest. I take top prospect lists with a grain of salt as they are in a constant state of flux and no doubt subject to the baseball biases of those compiling the lists. Intangibles most likely are not able to be part of those attributes being ascribed…
Logjam of Lefties: The Rotation
With Hyun-jin Ryu accepting the Dodgers qualifying offer, the Dodgers are now able to field an all LH Rotation: Kershaw Hill Urias Ryu Wood Of course, they would have to leave Buehler and Maeda out of the rotation in order to do that. Not only that, but the Dodgers have some prospects who could possibly slot into the rotation as soon as 2019. Everyone has an opinion as to who…
Dodgers Acquire Justin Yurchak
Coming in before the David Freese signing, the Dodgers first off-season transaction appears to be the trade on Thursday that sent left-hander Manny Banuelos to the Chicago for infielder Justin Yurchak. This is no doubt one of many off-season transactions to follow especially at the minor league level. It also appears the Dodgers did not see a role on the team for the 27-year-old Banuelos who most likely would…
Rule 5 Draft Preview
I was going to write about who I thought the three top potential GM candidates might be…Josh Byrnes, Kim Ng, and Chaim Bloom. My money was on Chaim Bloom, Rays Senior VP Baseball Operations. For those who may want to know a little more about Chaim; https://www.mlb.com/rays/team/front-office/chaim-bloom. However, I nixed that idea because Andrew has come out and said that Farhan’s duties could be assumed by existing personnel; himself, Josh…