Attention, Peter Seidler and his band of wannabes, never-weres, and just plain punks, the Dragon up the Freeway is alive and well and it just smoked your ass, you bunch of disrespectful reform-school dropouts! Clayton Kershaew’s Mother, Marianne Tombaugh, died Saturday. Up until now, we know very little about her life and death. Perhaps, Clayton will keep it that way… perhaps not. We learned very little about his father, who…
Unconventional thinking is the ability to imagine new possibilities and solve complex problems that have eluded other people. Being unconventional is an essential element in doing original work or creating original ideas. Right now, the Dodgers could use a heavy dose of unconventional thinking. Let’s jump right into where I think the problems are the greatest. Before, I start: That was Vintage Kershaw last night! The Old Man is still the Ace!…
This saying has a very deep metaphysical meaning which, over the years, many of the ancient mystics sought to understand and explain in terms that the common man could comprehend; however, the real meaning has been obfuscated until recently during the cultural revolution when I happened to stumble upon and extrapolate the genuine meaning of it to “Do Chickens Have Lips?” Happily, I am here to inform you that they…
There were a lot of “firsts” last night: The first walk-off win was the kind of thing that can galvanize a team. Mike Grove pitched his first great game, and (someone else said this), “Looked like Buehler.” Not bad for a guy who is just trade bait. Disclaimer: I don’t think that, and most baseball people don’t think that. Watch his interview after the game. Shelby Miller, who has been…
The only question is where he has punched it to. So far, he has 31 ABs with nine hits in Spring Training. He has two doubles, two home runs, and 4 RBI. He is hitting .290 with a .389 OB%, a .578 SLG, and a .937 OPS. Of course, that is a small sampling, but he did nothing but improve his Prospect Value, which was already high. He can play…
Random News From Around Dodgertown Noah Syndergaard says he feels good physically but that his delivery is still out of whack. It may take him a few starts before he finds his delivery and/or release point (if he ever does). But never fear, Gavin Stone will ride in on his white horse. BTW, he has faced 27 batters and struck out 14. The Dodgers assigned Jake Reed, Gavin Stone, and…
In 2008, my wife, son, and I were at the last game in Vero Beach at Dodgertown. It was a packed house. Clayton Kershaw was a wide-eyed rookie. Carl Erskine played the National Anthem on his Harmonica, and Tommy Lasorda addressed the crowd by saying, “I know you will have another Minor League team here soon, but if you don’t root for the Dodgers, you won’t get into heaven.” Vero…
It’s pretty obvious to me what Andrew Friedman is doing. I was going to say “trying to do” but no, he is actually doing it. He has all but PROMISED the 2B job to Miguel Vargas, and he has four older guys (Taylor, Peralta, Heyward, and Thompson) fighting for two positions in the Outfield. I believe that he believed that introducing one rookie at a time was the way to…
It’s always nice to beat SD, but yesterday’s game meant nothing. The Dodgers have to beat them when it counts, and this does not! Noah Syndergaard and Dustin May looked like the best #4 and #5 Starters in baseball, but it was only three innings each. Still, it was encouraging! Gavin Stone saw his first action and struck out 2 in his one-inning pitched. I keep telling everyone… Will Smith…
The first (5th, 16th, etc.) Game of Spring Training means nothing, but there were things that you should write down and remember for future meaning: James Outman had a good game – He will benefit greatly (as he did yesterday) from the ban of the shift. He did nothing to hurt his stock, and while these early games don’t mean a lot, he actually earned points toward promotion to the…