36 posts
On November 15, I started to write about the impatience some fans have with Gavin Lux, and it imploded into an overall generalization about many fans seeing MiLB stats and believing that those numbers will automatically translate to MLB numbers. And then when they do not, then…
There has been a lot of speculation about FA the Dodgers may want to re-sign or sign. We have no idea what the CBT will be, or what the penalties will be if a team exceeds that limit with the upcoming CBA. Currently the taxes can reach a maximum 50% for all salaries above the…
Winning 106 games ain’t what it used to be. The Dodgers have been in the playoffs for nine consecutive years, but it was a shock to learn that before this run (which is not over), the longest stretch for consecutive years for the Dodgers to be in the playoffs was two! TWO. 2…
The 2021 regular season will be over today… or tomorrow. There are two games today that will help determine the Champion of the NL West. If the Giants win, they are the champs. If the Giants lose and the Dodgers lose, the Giants are the Champs. If the Giants lose and then the…
As I wrote that, I threw up in my mouth because it is true. The Dodgers shut out the Padres who have crashed and burned while the Giants won handily 6-1 in a bullpen game. What if on April 1st I told you the following: Dustin May would miss the seaon; Tony Gonsolin would miss…
By now, you all should know that I am an optimistic person. There are many reasons for this, including the fact that I believe in the power of the human spirit to overcome incredible obstacles, and that without an optimistic attitude one might never try… let alone succeed, in…
So, let s get right to it. The guy many of you wanted to be benched, sent to OKC, or even executed drove in the only two Dodger runs yesterday. I wish this were a stock market site because I would get the consensus of opinion and then do exactly the opposite. I would make a fortune going against the conventional thinking I read on this site. Corey Seager is not
Yesterday, Badger said, Your communication skills remind me of Joe Frazier’s boxing approach. He s right. If I have a problem with something you say, you will know about it. I m no Ali. I don t float like a butterfly. I am more like Joe Frazier, whose style was to constantly be in his opponent s chest, wearing them down with stifling pressure and punches from every angle available to him. Compared to many
Instant potatoes, instant coffee, instant whip, instant karma. Everything is instant and pitchers and all baseball players should also be instant. No waiting I tell you: INSTANT! David Price should instantly be a lockdown reliever Tony Gonsolin should instantly be an awesome #5 starter Trevor Bauer should instantly be an Ace and a 2.65 ERA is deplorable Cody Bellinger should have instantly hit several 8-run HRs Andrew Friedman should instantly
To me, that applies to a whole lot more than baseball. Lot s of people could apply this in their everyday lives but I digress. Last year s season was a sprint in 60 games and the Dodgers broke out of the gate and never looked back and at the end of 60 games they had 8 more wins than this team. Of course, they had about 25% of the injuries this
Going into last night s game, Clayton Kershaw had the highest ERA I can remember at this juncture. His ERA was 3.33 before the game and 3.66 after he gave up 5 ER. However, his WHIP sits at 1.01 which is barely above his career average of 1.00. He is now 33 years-old and has started 369 games and pitched 2,403 innings with 2,603 strikeouts. He has 77 strikeouts in about
Up to the 1/3 point of this season, we have seen a slumping Mookie Betts, almost no cody Bellinger, some AJ Pollock and some Corey Seager. That s kind of like an 8-cylinder engine without 4 spark plugs. Tonight Jimmy Nelson and AJ Pollock return and Alex Vesia and Edwin Uceta go back to AAA. You bullpen doom and gloomers are not going to like this, but both of these pitcher s
I believe Urias will keep up his outstanding work and take lessons from his pounding by the Giants. Buehler to me is an enigma. He has some of the best stuff in the league, yet he has only 4 decisions. But I expect that to change. All in all, the team has underperformed according to the fans. I think with all the changes in the roster, the lack of the DH, injuries to very key players, and the underperformance of their catalyst, Mookie, the team has performed about as one would expect missing so
You can say that and you would be correct, but you would not be right. There is a whole lot more to it than it was a AAA pitcher. Failure causes doubt. Success breeds confidence. It doesn t matter whether it was a AAA pitcher or Cy Young, when a player or a team breaks out and scores runs. The fact that they broke out is the prime consideration. Confidence breeds
We are only 10 games into the season, so everything we are seeing is a small sampling, but right about now, everything we are seeing is spot on to what we believed this team could achieve. The Dodgers could have believed all their press clippings and came out of the gate slowly, but they came out snarling and ready to defend their title. They are now 8-2 and very well
With eight more days left in Spring Training, all thirteen (13) of the position players are set (barring injury). There is nothing left to decide. Here s the list: Will Smith Max Muncy Gavin Lux Corey Seager Justin Turner AJ Pollock Cody Bellinger Mookie Betts Chris Taylor Austin Barnes Edwin Rios Zach McKinstry Matt Beaty Noisy and Peters may be back in the heat of summer when a fan (I mean
Outfield is Set Cody Bellinger in CF is is allegedly healthy and should be ready for another monster season after shoulder surgery. Mookie Betts has RF nailed down for the next dozen years, so that is set. LF belongs to AJ Pollock as long as he can stay healthy. He hasn t done that much, but when he did, he was All-Star Caliber. The outfield is set. The only question is
Second base is up for grabs. About two-thirds of all teams in MLB would love to have Chris Taylor and we could sure do worse. However, is this the year Gavin Lux seizes the day and fulfills his promise? This could possibly play out and CT3 becomes the Swiss-Army Knife.
The closer we get to Spring Training the more likely Justin Turner is not going to continue his Dodger career. It appears that the Salary Cap. errr Luxury Tax is a real thing. Justin Turner had a great Dodger career, but without the DH and the presence of the salary cap, we need to prepare to move on. It sucks, but sometimes when you get lemons, you simply need to
The Dodgers are the class of MLB and favorites to win the World Series again in 2021 but San Diego has pulled closer. However, to think that the Dodgers will just blow by the Luxury Tas Threshold is both naive and delusional. There is not much room They can sign Turner for $18 Million and two years, but Hendriks? Ha! Trading for Arenado? No way! Suarez? I doubt it!
Of course, Kike was a defensive wizard while Mickey was a defensive liability, thus the large glove. Mickey was a better hitter for average, while Kike had a lot more power. Both were great teammates and the clubhouse was better with them. In Hatcher s 12 years in the Majors, he put up 2.9 WAR. In 7 seasons, Kike Hernandez put up 10.2 WAR in half the AB s as Hatcher.
NOTE: This coffee cup was given to me by a very special friend who is now fighting cancer. I pray that you beat that bastard, Bob! Thanks for the mug. I think that the mug pretty well sums me up! There is a lot of time between now and Spring Training and it could be a cold, contentious Winter on the labor side as MLB and the MLBPA continue to
Maybe you missed it, but the 2020 Dodgers are the World Champions. Yes, by golly, they won it again after just 32 short years. It wasn t a fluke and going into 2021, they are the odds on favorite to win it all again. Hey You all, watch this: I ll blow up the team and make dope-fiend trades just because I can , said the stupid Redneck! I ll do it out by my
All off-season I have hoped the Dodgers would go BOLD. Of course I was disappointed. I thought this would be the year. But unlike some here, I am not about to concede the WS to NYY (or LAA) this year or any time in the future. NYY CBT is already at $245,341,667 with holes still to fill. $2.5MM more in spending and they exceed the top penalty. The tax is
Enjoying a Veterans Day weekend in Atascadero, CA celebrating my youngest grand daughter’s first birthday. Frankly, my thoughts are filled with her and not so much Dodger baseball. Trade proposals have been flying around this blog with renewed fervor over the past few weeks. I admit those discussions have a certain excitement to them, much like anticipating that new toy you want for Christmas, all the while knowing that most
This past regular season, the Washington Nationals had the worst bullpen in baseball. Out of 30 MLB teams, they were #30 in ERA at 5.66. MLB average was 4.43 and the Dodgers were #4 in MLB in ERA. The Nationals bullpen was also worst in baseball allowing hitters a .266 batting average. To say that their bullpen was horrible would be kind. Yet, here they are on the way to
It may seem like last night s loss added some games to the number of games the Dodgers have to win, but it s still the same. What shocks me is how some people absolutely lose their minds in a game like that. If you look at the boxscore, Kershaw doesn t look great, but it s not bad: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K s. If you watched the game,
When Andrew Friedman signed Rich Hill to a 3 year / $48 Million dollar deal. he was lambasted by many Dodger fans for continuing down the path of signing Scott Kazmir, Brett Anderson, and Brandon McCarthy: Another injury-prone pitcher. Blister boy! Well, here we are at the end of that deal and Rich Hill has indeed spent some quality time on the IL, but if Friedman has it to do
The Dodgers will go into the All-Star Break at least 30 games over .500. We would all be happier if it were 32 games above, but that depends upon whether the Dodger bats wake up or not. It would be great to see Chicken Strip pitch about 7 shutout innings! I still see him as a great trade chip, especially if he can have a good outing today. Teams need
I stole that from Jon Weisman (I steal most of my original material) I hope he doesn t sue me, but it seemed appropriate for today s Rants and Raves: How many teams have an All-Star RF, who is also a Gold Glove 1B, end the game in CF for defensive reasons? That s what makes him take the place of Mike Trout as the games best player (other than the fact
