The 2017 version of the LA Dodgers has nearly 40 players who have shown that they deserve to be on the Opening Day Roster, but many won’t. I am not going to include Willie Calhoun, Alex Verdugo or Cody Bellinger because they will be ready soon enough, but I am talking about players who have demonstrated that they belong on the big league roster. I am not even considering Charlie…
Jokers to the right; Here I am – stuck in the middle with you. Clowns: Scott Kazmir threw a 5-inning simulated game on Thursday and said he felt better. The only problem was that his fastball was at 82-84 which is 10 to 12 MPH off of what it should be. Of course, if he is pitching in pony league, he should do well. I don’t think he’s going to…
Chase Utley is POPS, Walker is not a Texas Ranger and The Kids are Corey Seager, Austin Barnes, Joc Pederson, Willie Calhoun, Cody Bellinger and Julio Urias. Pops I think it was a stroke of genius that the Dodgers signed Chase Utley. He is legendary and the kids all look up to him. Corey Seager begged the Dodgers to bring him back. He will likely have under 200 AB’s this year…
Sabermetrics don’t value stolen bases and speedy baserunners as highly as some old time baseball fans eyes. Logan Forsythe is not a speedster, but he is an exceptional baserunner with amazing instincts. He is also a very good defensive second-baseman, but until Sunday, I had no idea how good, until he made a play I am not sure I have ever seen. On a ball hit just to the 2B…
Just so everyone is clear, I am a Willie Calhoun fan – I would love to see him overcome the odds of being a slow runner and a bad fielder and become the opposite. I do not denigrate him because of his stature – that is irrelevant! It’s his fielding and running, and when I say he has “tree-trunk legs,” it means that they are huge and stay in one…
Yesterday, Bluto called our attention to Q & A session with Jim Callis of Baseball America. Callis has always been high on Yadier Alvarez but now he says he has a “Cy Young ceiling“. He’s still high risk, but he’s really high reward. He also mentioned Caleb Ferguson and AJ Alexy who are in the pipeline as prospects who make make big jumps this year. Neither are in the Top…
The Dodgers were ranked #14 in Organizational Ratings in 2014. In 2015, Andrew Friedman was hired and they climbed to #3 and in 2016 they were #1. Now, they are rated #4 by BA. Of course, the FAZ-O-PHOBES will try and say that Colletti’s Front Office was largely responsible and that Friedman did not deserve the credit and then they say “Look, they traded away 4 pitchers and are now #4….
I watched the Brewers feed yesterday. I sometimes do that just to hear what other baseball people have to say about the team and certain players. On e of the Brewers announcers said this: “The Dodgers have 10 legitimate Major League Quality Starting Pitchers.” “This is a team with a great deal of depth. They are built for the long haul.” I actually think it’s more than 10, because at…
Only a moron would try and predict what the Opening Day roster will look like this early in the Spring. It’s way too early. There will be injuries – there always are; There will b e surprises – there always are! That is why W.A.G. Predictions are so inaccurate. In fact, you likely have to be a moron to even hazard a guess, so here goes: Starters Grandal -C Gonzalez …
According to a report by Cary Osborne of Dodger Insider, Austin Barnes is a catcher… nothing more: Other news coming out of Camelback Ranch on Friday is that the plan for the versatile Austin Barnes is for him to stay behind the plate for Spring Training. Barnes is competing for the backup catcher job. In 585 career minor league games, he has caught 336 games, played second base in 165…