It is raining quite hard here today, so I am housebound and about to rant a bit. I love baseball. I love the Dodgers. I am in love with minor league baseball. However, the game now frustrates me. Every little move on the field it seems is a pre-calculation (if that is a word), before something even happens. Dave Roberts is ready to come striding out briskly to take…
Use Your Vision… Not Your Sight!
In 2017, the Dodgers struck out 25.5% of the time and in 2018, it went up slightly as they struck out 25.7% of the time. They were not even close to being the worst in baseball in striking out, but they were in the bottom 30%. In 2016, the Houston Astros almost led the AL in strikeouts. Tampa Bay barely beat them. In 2017, the very next year, the Astros…
Looking to 2019 – Part 2
Yesterday I looked at what might the team be looking at/for in 2019 with pitching (starting and relief) and catchers. Today I am looking at the infielders and outfielders. Infielders: Much of this will be determined by how Corey Seager rehabs. Will he be able to play SS as well as he did his first two years? Many do not believe that he will be able to, but much of…
Looking to 2019 – Part 1
As it stands now, the Dodgers 2019 salary is projected anywhere from $175MM to $180MM. If both Grandal and Ryu accept the QO, the Dodgers will be well past the tax threshold of $206MM. The Dodgers can pick up about $20MM by trading Puig and Wood. Another $4MM to $5MM for Joc. They do not need both CT3 and Kike’. Pick one. Both are arbitration eligible and are projected to…
One More on FAZ and My Final 2018 WS Autopsy
I hope you all bear with me. I would like to somewhat continue the FAZ discussion from yesterday. And then to give one last autopsy report on the 2018 WS. As Mark indicated, FAZ took over a team that had a payroll in excess of $250MM. One would think that a team with that payroll would be loaded. However when they arrived on the scene, the team had only 3…
The Dodgers Are Alive and Well Thanks to Andrew Friedman
I was going to discus the State of the Pitching, but now I am going to wait until next week when we have a better idea what is happening with one Clayton Kershaw. That can change everything. Also, what follows is something that I think needs to be discussed. As most of you know, the Dodgers won the World Series in 1988 as heavy underdogs, and then did not again…
The State of the Dodger Position Players
Before We Start… At least we now know that Clayton Kershaw wants to stay with the Dodgers, if possible, AND the Dodgers want Clayton Kershaw to be a Dodger for life, if possible. I think this is more than an “extension” – I think it may be a lifetime services contract. There’s a lot to discuss and decide. The fact that both sides agreed to postpone the deadline shows that BOTH…
Another K
I was wrong. Imagine that. I predicted a 3-K series in which Kershaw, Kenley and Kemp would play significant roles in the Dodgers play-off push. Perhaps their roles were significant in the final outcome but not in the manner I had envisioned. Clayton demonstrated to us that he is not the Clayton of days gone by for whatever reason. One does question his health as at age-30 he should not…
Let’s Get One Thing Straight…
OK, let’s get a bunch of things straight! Not a bad finish for a team that “was just trying to get under the luxury tax.” Yep, I heard that all year. It wasn’t about winning, it was only about Tax Evasion. Evidently, FAZ wasn’t too bad for guys who don’t care about winning. But, I do and it was a bitter end to a tumultous season. The Dodgers were beaten…
And Now On To 2019
This is far and away the hardest post I have ever had to write. I chose to include a picture of Clayton Kershaw because win or lose he is a Dodger legend, and he is my co-favorite Dodger (equal to Corey Seager). One of my grandsons wears a Kershaw jersey, while the other wears a Seager jersey. If this was in fact Kershaw’s last game as a Dodger it will…