When Joc Pederson was in AA, I predicted that he would be “no more than a 4th or 5th outfielder.” In some ways, I was right. Joc was, is, and always will be a platoon player. That is unless he suddenly figures out how to hit lefthanders. In other ways, I was wrong in that Joc has surpassed anything that I anticipated for him. Up until today, when James Outman…
Dodgers Take it to the Max
Doc just took all the pressure off of Max Muncy by announcing the following: “The results haven’t been there consistently, I’m aware of that. But I do think that stuff under the hood has shown better for me. … I’m going to continue to give him runway. I certainly still expect quality at-bats, but right now, I’m gonna ride with Max. … It’s gonna be that way until it’s not.”…
It’s Time For a New Closer
Actually, it’s past time. I am so done with Craig Kimbrel! Three letters: DFA! It’s over, done; stick a fork in him! So, who’s the closer? Let’s run down the list: Evan Phillips – Tell me he can’t. He has the stuff, and while he has never done it, he looks cold-blooded and calm in these situations. I think he can do it, but can the Dodgers depend upon him…
Eddie Mathews: Braves Thumper
Eddie Mathews was born on October 13th, 1931, in Texarkana, Texas. His family moved to Santa Barbara, California, four years later. Eddie got his love of baseball from his father. His dad was a Western Union telegraph operator and former semi-pro ballplayer. His mother got in on the action too. She would pitch to him, and his dad would shag balls. If he hit one up the middle close to…
Twenty Things I (Think I) Know
The Dodgers can score six runs in 2/3 of an inning off of a pitcher who has a 6.49 ERA and is a total mess but can only score one run off of average to below-average pitchers in 7-1/3 innings. When the best part of Max Muncy’s game is his defense (and it is actually pretty good), the time has come to do something with Max Muncy. Maybe Andrew has…
Gut the Farm… or Not?
If I knew that I had three months to live, I would root for Andrew Friedman to trade as many prospects as possible in order to win the World Series. Of course, only the good die young, so I will live to be 126 years old! Shoot, I’d tell Andrew Friedman to trade for David Bednar, Juan Soto, Luis Castillo, David Robertson, and JD Martinez. “Gut the farm. Who cares,…
The Brothers Martinez: What Might Have Been
There once were three brothers pitching in the Dodger system at the same time. Ramon Martinez, his brothers Pedro and Jesus. Pedro and Ramon threw from the right side. Jesus was a southpaw. Two of them made it to the Dodgers. One’s stay was brief. and he was traded. The other pitched well for LA for several seasons. Jesus got a brief call-up in 1996. But did not make it…
Reviewing the Rotation
So far, so good. The Dodger’s starting rotation is as good as it gets in baseball this season. They have the best winning percentage, ERA, WHIP, and Ave Against. It’s a clean sweep in most of the major indicators of success, but there are reasons for concern. They don’t K at an extremely high rate, just 13th in the league, and their K/BB ratio is just 7th. There are also…
Moving On to Greener Pastures
Not me… the Dodgers. I do not think the Dodgers have signed a single Draftee. Just sayin’… JT may go on the IL; CT3 may go on a rehab assignment within a week; Heaney will be back this week; Treinen sounds like he is two weeks away; The Bazooka may get activated this week; Dustin May is about 2 weeks away; Buehler is set for September (make him a lockdown…
Whitey Ford: World Series Nemesis
Edward Charles Ford was born on October 21,1928 in New York City. He was the only child of Jim and Edna Ford, who lived on 66th St. in Manhattan. When Ford was 5, his family moved to 34th Ave. in Astoria, Queens. An Irish, Italian and Polish neighborhood. His dad worked for Consolidated Edison, and his mother was a bookkeeper for a local A&P store. After he began pitching professionally,…