In 2017, the Dodgers struck out 25.5% of the time and in 2018, it went up slightly as they struck out 25.7% of the time. They were not even close to being the worst in baseball in striking out, but they were in the bottom 30%. In 2016, the Houston Astros almost led the AL in strikeouts. Tampa Bay barely beat them. In 2017, the very next year, the Astros…
Yesterday I looked at what might the team be looking at/for in 2019 with pitching (starting and relief) and catchers. Today I am looking at the infielders and outfielders. Infielders: Much of this will be determined by how Corey Seager rehabs. Will he be able to play SS as well as he did his first two years? Many do not believe that he will be able to, but much of…
I hope you all bear with me. I would like to somewhat continue the FAZ discussion from yesterday. And then to give one last autopsy report on the 2018 WS. As Mark indicated, FAZ took over a team that had a payroll in excess of $250MM. One would think that a team with that payroll would be loaded. However when they arrived on the scene, the team had only 3…
Yesterday Mark made a good argument as to why the Dodgers might want to stand pat. Today I would like to make an argument as to why the Dodgers should consider another move or two. I understand the thought that with how the Dodgers are built right now they can compete and win the NL West. I understand why many believe the team should stay as is and let the team…
In the last thread, Tylerdurden31 stated that “If it clear we are one if the best five NL teams. We could be the best right now (even after an abysmal start). Between now and October we will experiment, test, and look for new ways to get production. Occasional failures like today must be tolerated in order to locate the growth potential in our roster. Win games? That’s last year. This…
What do the Dodgers do now? Personnel wise – NOTHING . FAZ needs rely on what they have developed. They have shortstops that can play at the ML level, although certainly not at the Corey Seager level. Other than Francisco Lindor or Carlos Correa, there is no other comparable SS. There is absolutely no reason to make a trade for a rental like Manny Machado. But let’s be realistic….
This will be somewhat unusual for me, as generally I am an extremely unapologetic pro-FAZ supporter, and I still am. But to critically examine any operation, personal biases need to be thrown out, even when it comes to the Dodgers. Sports team owners do not get into the game for short term profits. The big profits come when the team is sold. For the Dodgers, the ownership group has…
The longer this off-season goes, the hungrier I get for Spring Training. The inane asking prices that some of today’s free agents are asking for is getting out of control. I believe in the free market as much as anyone, but sometimes a little self-restraint needs to be implemented…on both sides. The pendulum always swings both ways, and for way too many years the owners had all of the control…
As I am sitting in my Friday office chair at Starbucks, waiting for my two former Giant clients and our regular Friday coffee business/baseball chat, I just cannot stop smiling. A lot of the regulars came up and congratulated me knowing how faithfully I have worn my Dodgers jerseys win or lose. Today it is Kershaw, on back to back days. It’s been raining all night in NorCal, so I…