I have been wondering about this. The new bigger bases are supposed to improve the running game, IE, stolen bases. This has been a winter of change. The Dodger’s two best thieves of bags have left the team. Trea Turner, 27, and Cody Bellinger 14 have left via free agency. # 3 on the team last year was Freddie Freeman with 13. Mookie had 12, and Chris Taylor had 10….
I liked that headline, but I am joking… partially! I hate to keep saying this (no, I really don’t), but there was no way that Andrew Friedman and Josh Byrnes were going into the season with Gavin Lux at SS and Miguel Vargas at 3B. The conventional wisdom was that Lux was going to be the SS. Muncy was at 2B, and Vargas was at 3B. I said that I…
For the greater part of nine seasons, Justin Turner has been the one player you could count on, day-in-and-day-out! The Dodger’s Manager just penciled his name in at 3B just about every day. Justin was the heart and soul of the Dodgers during this run… and that run is over. Father Time caught up with JT. He is no longer a Top Third-Baseman, and his bat has slowed up. I…
Dave Roberts Conventional Wisdom: Fire Dave Roberts The more things change, the more they stay the same. Many Dodger Fans blame Dave Roberts for the loss in Game 4 of the NLCS because he took Tyler Anderson out after five excellent innings. Anderson had only allowed two hits and thrown 86 pitches, and the Dodgers were ahead 2-0! What if Roberts had let Tyler Anderson pitch the 6th inning? Maybe…
A lot of guys on teams are nothing but scrubs who wait for their chance to contribute to the team. Over the years, many of these guys were favorites of mime simply because when they did get in a game, they played their hardest. I will attempt to give some examples here, starting with a guy who drove Lasorda bananas. Derrell Thomas On November 14th, 1978, the Los Angeles Dodgers…
I had already started this blog post when Whistling Ranger (welcome to LADT) posted this: “I look for the Dodgers to concentrate on roster management in the offseason. There is extreme competition for the 40-man roster. Look for them to trade older players for younger, promising players that they don’t have to protect. If they don’t, they will lose some through the rule 5 draft or have to DFA them.”…
There’s not a lot to play for right about now… except pride, and hopefully, the Dodgers have learned that trying to win the division or having the best record is not the path to a World Championship. The Dodgers are resting players and peppering the IL with pitchers so as to have them rested come October, so wake me up when September ends. There’s nothing to see here, folks; move…
I’ll give you a better question… What do the Dodgers do with Joey Gallo and Chris Taylor? Joey Gallo is a great defensive outfielder, while CT3 is average to above average, but CT3 strikes out at a 40% rate, and Gallo strikes out at a 46% rate, Cody strikes out at a 30% rate while being the best Defensive Center Fielder in baseball. At this stage of the season, the…
It is August, and the annual let’s get crazy season has started. It never fails this time of year. Fans begin to lose their collective minds. Why? Well, I really have no clue. I just sit back and watch. What amazes me most is that fans who have followed the team and the game for years really have no idea how the roster is set up or how it is…
I have been away for a long while and will return to posting a piece now and then, now that I start this new phase in life called “retirement.” Some random Dodger bullets running through my mind. As disappointed as many fans are that the Dodgers didn’t land a mega superstar such as Juan Soto, I am actually relieved that the farm system remains intact and strong. Soto is definitely a…