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Adrian Gonzalez

139 posts

Three-Homer Games

Early this year, Dodger outfielder, Trayce Thompson, started the season with a bang as he had a three-homer game. Unfortunately for Trayce, that was pretty much the highlight of his year, and he was traded prior to the deadline back to the White Sox. The first three-homer game…

By Michael "Bear" Norris · August 12, 202382

The Importance of a Mexican Star

Dave Robert’s selection to start Julio Urias in Game one of the NLDS was a landmark decision that essentially told the world that he had supplanted Clayton Kershaw as the ace of the staff. This was no slight to Kershaw, who continues to thrive as a Dodger starter and will…

By Mark Timmons · October 13, 202270

MiLB Matters

https://www.milb.com/fans/2021-organization-all-stars On Monday MiLB released the 2021 Organization All-Star list for the Dodgers. The list was developed by Michael Avallone who apparently had some discussions with Will Rhymes, the Dodgers Director of Player Development. These…

By Mark Timmons · November 27, 202130

WHEN FAVORITES LEAVE

Last week, Joc Pederson left the Dodgers as a free agent to join the Chicago Cubs, and prior to that, Kike’ Hernandez signed with the Red Sox. Both were very popular with Dodger fans. Kike’, the Banana Man to many, and a versatile player, had enthralled fans with his energy, and his sometimes flair for the dramatic. His best day as a Dodger was in game 5 of the 2017

By Michael "Bear" Norris · February 8, 202122

Who s On First

I got to thinking about this the other day when I was discussing Steve Garvey and why I did not think he belonged in the hall with a friend of mine. He is a Dodger fan who lives in San Diego and Garv was one of his favorite Dodgers ever. I thought it would be interesting to go back in time and check out all of the players who have

By Michael "Bear" Norris · September 26, 202089

The Fans

I am a people watcher. I have been for years. I used to do it from onstage when I was performing. I did it in airports when I was flying somewhere, and I did it from the cab of my rig when I was on a run. I always do it when I go to a ballpark. It started when I first went to the coliseum to watch a Dodger

By Michael "Bear" Norris · August 28, 202072

Andrew Freidman Genius or Not?

On October 14th, 2014, the Dodgers announced the hiring of Andrew Friedman. Former Tampa Bay GM and Vice President of baseball operations as President of baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers. His contract was for 5 years and 35 million dollars. Friedman was born in Houston Texas and attended Tulane University on a baseball scholarship. His college career was derailed by a couple of injuries. He earned a B.A .

By Michael "Bear" Norris · August 20, 202099

Do Deep Teams Have an Advantage in a Short Season

Much has been said and written about the Dodgers depth and how that makes them a very dangerous team. I do not think that there is a question (at least not for me), that the premier builder of the 40 man roster is Andrew Friedman. During his tenure, over the last five years in a 162 game season, the Dodgers have 485 wins, more than any other team in MLB.

By Jeff Dominique · May 7, 202011

The Mookie and Price Dilemma

I know that many are afraid of a Betts/Price trade because of the financial concerns for David Price, and I can understand that. So I went back and looked at the Nick Punto trade (I know Mark’s favorite subject); a previous time when the Dodgers assumed a huge financial obligation for a perceived benefit. I pulled the below article: https://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2018/3/29/17104518/gonzalez-beckett-crawford-red-sox-dodgers-trade-retrospective One of the lines that caught my eye was when

By Jeff Dominique · January 6, 202072

What s Up Doc?

This past week there has been a renewal of negative comments about Dodger manager, Dave Roberts. Some warranted, but most not. AC provided a wonderful up close and personal synopsis yesterday when he shared his son’s feelings about DR being “one of the most genuine people he ever met. He could talk you up and fill you with positive thought all day long.” This seems to be the consensus industry-wide.

By Mark Timmons · August 12, 201947

A Checkup From the Neck Up

So many Dodger fans and Dodger Bloggers and Dodger Journalists are saying that the Dodgers are cheap and ran like the Tampa Bay Rays because they won t go out and trade bushels of top prospects for Kluber or Realmuto or that they won t sign Bryce Harper to a 14 year/$420 million dollar contract. Look, there is no dumbass vaccine and I am convinced that fans who want that are mentally

By Mark Timmons · January 29, 201969

Now To The NLDS

Now that the Dodgers are in the NLDS, I thought I would take a look back to see how they got here. While I never gave up hope, I absolutely had my doubts. I had concerns about how the team was structured, and in game management. It became apparent that the primary focus for the front office was to get below and stay below the competitive balance tax threshold. If

By Jeff Dominique · October 4, 201881

A New Paradigm

Will The Dodgers Be In On Harper And Machado? Everyone assumes that only a few teams will in on Bryce Harper and Manny Machado as free agents next winter, but I think that a lot more teams will be bidding on their services in the offseason than many people think. Machado may get traded this year, but he won t sign a long term deal and the Dodgers should not waste

By Mark Timmons · May 19, 201860

Alex Freedman Voice of the OKC Dodgers

Dodger Chatter or DC as we call him wants to do a blog on each Dodger minor league play-by-play announcer. This is the first! Enjoy! Dodger Chatter The heart and soul of baseball minor league baseball kicked off another season on Thursday, April 5. Four Dodger affiliates were scheduled for action with the Oklahoma City Dodgers playing a double header due to a cancellation of their game on

By Mark Timmons · April 10, 201821

Dodgers Trade Kemp and Buehler for Ryan Braun

April Fools Day is Upon Us although some morons wrote that a day earlier. Relax, it s not happening! Braun would save the Dodgers $4 or $5 million a year over Kemp, but with an additional year added. I don t see that as an upgrade and the fact of the matter is that a Happy Matt Kemp can be a real force on this team, and we have already seen that

By Mark Timmons · April 1, 201827

Matt Beaty Beating a Path to MLB

Spring training is well under way and the so-called meaningless games have once again become more than meaningful, especially for young players trying to make an impression on the many eyes watching them. And, making that all important favorable first impression is going well for a number of Dodger youngsters. Kyle Farmer, Will Smith, Keibert Ruiz, DJ Peters, Omar Estevez, Edwin Rios, Jake Peter, Alex Verdugo , among others, are

By Mark Timmons · March 6, 201844

How to Get Unblocked

You all know the story in 2014, at age 18, a Dodgers minor league first baseman hit .312 with 3 HR and 34 RBI. That same year, Adrian Gonzalez, the Dodgers 1B, hit .276 with 27 HR and 116 RBI. Three years later, that 18 year-old 1B who was 21 by then, hit 39 Home Runs because he seized the day. Adrian Gonzalez was injured and the Dodgers needed a

By Mark Timmons · March 2, 201832

The Dodgers Have Some Secret Weapons

Secret Weapon #1 This is a series that will focus on several weapons the Dodgers have that could make a world of difference to them in 2018. Today, we will discuss secret weapon #1. This series will run several days I can t tell you how many there are because you can t know (yet) how many secret weapons the Dodgers have. When the Dodgers traded Adrian Gonzalez, Scott Kazmir, Brandon

By Mark Timmons · February 14, 201824

It Turns Out That Borass Is The Devil

Scott Borass is all about Scott Borass. He can say he is just looking after his client s best interests, but in a free agent market, the top free agents set the market and Borass said his top three free agents were worth $200 million dollar contracts. I drive a 2013 Ford F-150 which now has 94,000 miles on it. I take good care of my vehicles and it still looks

By Mark Timmons · January 31, 201854

Do You Believe in Happy Endings?

Notice the resemblance? I think they look alike It s the color of their eyes and their smiles! But, I digress! Once upon a time . there was a young boy who played basketball and baseball in high school, but seemed to be destined to play in the NBA as he was a standout at basketball, winning two state championships in a row. He was raised by his mother and grandmother who

By Mark Timmons · January 29, 201830

Rants Raves

So, lots of times when trades are made, it s because one team see somthing in a player that they believe they can fix. The Cubs signed Jason Hayward thinking they could fix his swing they couldn t. When the Tigers got JD Martinez he was already fixing his swing and they thought they could help they did. On case worked, the other didn t! The Gerrit Cole trade is a case where

By Mark Timmons · January 16, 201829

Baseball s Best Organization

By now it s old news that the Dodgers were named the Organization of the Year in 2017 by Baseball America. If we go back in time to when Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi took over the Dodgers three years ago, the Farm System was ranked number 14 in all of baseball by Baseball America. In one short year, FAZ elevated that ranking to #3 and in 2016, they were ranked

By Mark Timmons · January 6, 201826

Why the Dodgers Don t Have to do Much

A year ago, Dodger fans were wondering whether Adrian Gonzalez had anything left. I stated that if he didn t, the Dodgers had an option at 1B who was ready to take over one Cody Bellinger. I had watched Cody and Corey Seager progress and grow through the ranks of the Dodger farm teams, and I knew he was ready. I have only been that sure with two other current

By Mark Timmons · December 31, 201724

What s Up With 2017 Free Agents

What’s happening to this year’s crop of free agents? This is December 27, and out of the top 50 MLB TradeRumors free agent predictions, only 19 have signed new contracts, and one decided not to opt out (Masahiro Tanaka). Of the 30 unsigned players, none of the top 11 have signed new contracts (excluding Tanaka not opting out), and 15 of the top 20 are still unsigned. Of the

By Jeff Dominique · December 28, 201736

A Final Parting-Shot to THE TRADE

On August 12, 2012, the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto for Ivan De Jesus, James Loney, Allen Webster, Rubby De La Rosa and Jerry Sands from the Boston Red Sox. Some Dodger fans call it the Nick Punto Trade, evidently because of his insignificance. When the trade went down, I immediately wrote the Dodgers will rue the day they made this deal. Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I wrote that for

By Mark Timmons · December 26, 201769

WHAM! BANG! BLOCKBUSTER!

There is a lot to unpackaged on the trade of Adrian Gonzalez, Scott Kazmir, Brandon McCarthy and Charlie Culberson for former Dodger darling, Matt Kemp. Whether Matt Kemp ever plays for the Dodgers again is in question. He could be flipped to an AL team in need of a DH. I think he has some value and I cannot just see him being released unless his clubhouse demeanor is worse

By Mark Timmons · December 16, 201768

What Winter Meetings?

Well this has been some Hot Stove League for the Dodgers thus far, right? The Winter Meetings went just about as most expected…the current 40 man roster is the same as before the meetings started. I don t count Koehler because he was post Winter Meetings, and the signing is still pending physical. I never thought Stanton was an option, but it was fun to fantasize. My only disappointment is that

By Jeff Dominique · December 16, 201727

Stop the Insanity!

Just because other teams make dope-fiend moves, doesn t mean the Dodger have to. Look, they have been paying the luxury tax for too long and have paid about $300 million in penalties. It started with foolish, long-term deals to Kemp and Ethier and then came THE TRADE (Beckett, Gonzalez and Crawdad). The Dodgers owe Kemp $5.5 million over the next two year, but after next season, most of the obligations

By Mark Timmons · December 14, 201730