Being a Dodger

February 10, 2019

Per JT on the Suits: “We trust them,” said the third baseman and team leader. “The front office has done a great job. They build a 40-man roster, not a 25-man roster, and that’s the biggest difference between the Dodgers and other teams.” I have been saying that for 4 years running.  AF is a master at building the 40-man roster to play in a 162-game season.  The Dodgers should…

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12 Seconds

February 9, 2019

I was listening to MLB.RADIO yesterday morning and one of the commentators was talking about when he worked as an intern for the Pirates under Syd Thrift. Allegedly, Thrift commissioned a study to determine how long the human brain took to “re-set” or adjust after seeing a 97 MPH fastball followed by a 89 MPH slider. Well, not actually that exact pitch sequence, but he wanted to determine how long…

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Change Is In The Air… And It’s About Time!

February 7, 2019

I told you all about 6 months ago that the DH was coming to the NL. As usual, that was met with a lot of skepticism (maybe some mocking as well), and I have to confess that since there was nothing mentioned about it this offseason (until yesterday), I thought that maybe it was a dead deal. Well, it still may not happen THIS YEAR, but it turns out that…

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I’m Just Sayin’

February 5, 2019

There is so little movement in the Hot Stove and yet, so much to talk about, so here goes: TOP FARM SYSTEMS Someone here a few days ago opined that they wanted Logan White back as the GM. Of course, Logan was never GM for the Dodgers before – he was Director of Amateur Scouting, and while I love Logan White, I cannot remember when the Dodgers Farm system was…

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The Times… They are a Changin’

January 31, 2019

Come gather ’round peopleWherever you roamAnd admit that the watersAround you have grownAnd accept it that soonYou’ll be drenched to the bone.If your time to youIs worth savin’Then you better start swimmin’Or you’ll sink like a stoneFor the times they are a-changin’. Come writers and criticsWho prophesize with your penAnd keep your eyes wideThe chance won’t come againAnd don’t speak too soonFor the wheel’s still in spinAnd there’s no tellin’…

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So How Was Your Hot Stove League?

January 27, 2019

Well now that the Dodgers have signed AJ Pollock, what comes next?  Maybe something.  Maybe nothing.  Is JT Realmuto on the horizon.  Apparently, the Pads are very much in on JTR, but they are insisting on extension talks before they consummate the deal.  Obviously, either Francisco Mejia or Austin Hedges will be going back in a package.  The Pads have ML OF’s available as well a bucket load of high-level…

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Why A.J. Pollock?

January 24, 2019

If were are under the illusion that Bryce Harper was coming to the Dodgers, then you are likely to be asking that question… and it’s possible anything I say will not satisfy you. I was not a fan of getting AJ Pollock and really wanted Nick Castellanos, but Castellanos was going to cost several players – I have no clue exactly who. It’s not that Friedman won’t trade prospects –…

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Revenues, CBT Threshold, and Luxury Tax

January 19, 2019

Yesterday Mark commented, “The fact that the Yankees went over the Luxury Tax Threshold does not mean the Dodgers should do the same. That, and the Yankees have no outside shareholders to revolt.  Hopefully you can understand that.”  Maybe it was or maybe it wasn’t, but I assumed that is directed at me since I brought up NYY exceeding the CBT threshold.  I want to be clear.  I never said…

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Free Agency

January 13, 2019

There has been a lot of discussion on the state of free agency.  Many consider the system broke.  Very few teams can be considered as realistic in offering the likes of Bryce Harper and Manny Machado.  But the problem is that many of the non “generational” type players wait until the top players sign and then hope that those that miss out on the Harper’s and Machado’s may be in…

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Different Perspectives

January 12, 2019

Editorial Note – This was written before the massive Russell Martin deal went down, and I did not want to consider this post to be like Kemp, Puig, Wood, and Farmer and just dump it.   The written word is a strange thing.  One reader will read comments one way and another reader another way, and yet the writer had a totally different reason for the comment. The most recent…

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