AC made a very interesting comment In his Feb 5th article when he mentioned that Joe Kelly and Andrew Friedman most likely already had discussed the sign-stealing of the 2018 Alex Cora Boston Red Sox team. I have a hard time believing that the Dodgers would go forward with the Betts acquisition if they suspected a high level of malfeasance on his part. On the other hand, it makes me…
I was in the middle of a meeting with our outside CPA’s discussing tax strategies last night when a colleague busted in and told me the Dodgers just traded for Mookie and Price. That is all he knew at the time. Unsure who went in the deal. He just knew that I wanted the Dodgers to get Mookie. My meeting broke up shortly thereafter and I went back to my…
A short Super Bowl Sunday, busy at work weekend, random thoughts post. • My last post was replaced by the tragic news of the death of Kobe Bryant, his daughter and the 7 others who lost their lives in the crash of the helicopter in Calabasas, California • This is written on Saturday morning, and I wouldn’t mind at all if this post is replaced by one, announcing the happy…
It’s not a subject that fans often pay any particular time or attention to, but starting next Monday (Feb. 3) arbitration hearings will begin for those arbitration-eligible players, who were unable to negotiate a contract with their team prior to the date to exchange salary figures. The last time the Dodgers went to arbitration was in 2007 with Joe Beimel. The last time the Dodgers went to arbitration with a…
It is time for a little Devil’s Advocacy. I have been an unapologetic fan of Andrew Friedman and what he has accomplished, and just as critical as to what he has NOT accomplished. I was critical when AF did not beat out the Astros offer for Gerrit Cole before the 2018 season. The Astros traded a #5 SP in Joe Musgrove, a decent but unceremonious 3B, Colin Moran, a RHRP…
In 1988, the Dodgers won the World Series with a rag-tag bunch of bench players, junkyard dogs, and stuntmen, including Mickey Hatcher, Rick Dempsey, Mike Davis, Danny Heep, and Dave Anderson. The bench was important to the last world championship and I believe that this year’s bench is immensely better. Hey, these guys aren’t starters, but many of them would be starters on other teams. Due to arbitration and the…
Despite the frustrating end to this past season, the Dodgers provided me with some memorable moments in 2019. Opening day with the 8 home runs was a nice start to the season. Bellinger just going insane for the first 2-3 months of the year. Ryu going 6-0 in May. Buehler’s 16K complete game against the Rockies. The rookies’ 3 successive walk-off homerun weekends. Will Smith’s first major league home…
Last year, the Dodgers had Nine (count ’em, 9) rookies on the roster in total. I did a hurried comparison and I think only San Francisco had as many rookies as the Dodgers. I could be wrong … feel free to do the research and get back to me. But the point is: The Farm System is productive and still a TOP 3 system. In fact, if the Dodgers just…
Mark is often criticizing many of us who seem to propose what he believes to be dope fiend moves. Now granted, there are some very silly FA signings, and perhaps dope fiend is a proper description. But just because a change is recommended and one does not agree with it, does not automatically qualify the transaction as being dope fiend. Per an Andy McCullough article in the Athletic, In December…
Joc Pederson hit 36 HR’s in 2019. That’s a lot. In fact, it was the most of any player not named Bellinger for the Dodgers. Joc has 123 HR in his short career. Duke Snider, of course, holds the Los Angeles All-Time Home Run Record at 389, but in a season and a half, Joc should be in the Top 10 in LA Dodger All-Time Home Runs. That’s pretty dang…