No Excuses: It’s Time for a Championship!

March 26, 2019

Dodger fans complained that the Dodger’s platooned too much last season, so Andrew Friedman got rid of the logjam in the outfield and announced that there would be less platooning. Of course many fans lost their minds because the Dodgers “gave away” Puig, Kemp and Wood and Kyle Farmer is a “Freaking All-Star! They conveniently forget about the two highly rated prospects the Dodgers got back… both Downs and Gray…

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Pitching – Depth vs Stars

March 24, 2019

I drove down to LA this weekend to visit a very close family friend and sharing in his surprise 75th birthday. At the hotel, I turned on the TV only to see SportsNet LA and watched Access Dodgers. I do miss LA for Dodger TV and Dodger Talk Radio. One comment I heard from Pedro Moura was that the Dodgers are not flashy and have a ton of depth but…

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In For Another Slow Start?

March 21, 2019

There has been a lot of discussion about the potential of a slow start this year.  I and others have pointed out how the “starters” cannot get through 5 innings before the proverbial melt down.  Both Hill and Strip went a solid 4 innings, and then came the 5th.  Hill is penciled for his final ST outing on Friday (Saturday?), while Strip is scheduled to start Sunday’s game against LAA…

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Spring Surprises and Disappointments

March 17, 2019

First of all, Happy St. Patrick’s Day. We are down to 10 ST games with one week to go in Arizona followed by 3 against LAA. Two games in Anaheim and one game at Dodger Stadium. Thus far the Dodgers are 12-8-2, as if that means anything. Who have been the surprises? Offensively, Kike’ Hernandez and Austin Barnes have been red hot and IMO have established themselves as starters. Kike’…

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The Ron Porterfield Factor

March 15, 2019

Ron Porterfield was named the Tampa Bay Rays Head Baseball trainer in 2006 by Andrew Friedman and served in that capacity until 2017 when Friedman lured him to Camelback Ranch with the title of Director of Pitching Health or Medical Director, depending upon which article you believe. Throwing a baseball is not a natural act. It puts lots of stress on the human arm and sometimes creates extreme damage. Andrew…

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You Don’t Play to Win the Game!

March 12, 2019

In the regular season, your are always playing to win the game. I mean this game, or at least you try and put yourself in position to win more games. That is not true in Spring Training. If you are upset Doc let Stetson Allie, the wild fire-baller, walk batter-after-batter in the 9th inning only to take him out and let Yordy “Lordy, Lordy” Cabrera give up a three-run game killing…

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The Dodgers Swiss Army Knives

March 10, 2019

The Dodgers under Andrew Friedman are known for their versatility. Both of their catchers can play 2 or 3 other positions. CT3 can play 6 positions while Cody Bellinger can play 4 positions. Max Muncy and Justin Turner can play 3 positions and David Freese can play 2 positions. However, no one can play more positions than one Enrique Hernandez. Right about now, Kike Hernandez is the “flavor-of-the-week” for some…

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Opening Day Pitcher???

March 10, 2019

STARTING ROTATION? – There is a lot of talk on who should be the opening day pitcher. It does not appear that Clayton is going to be ready anytime soon, and Buehler seems headed to the #5 slot in the rotation to begin the season. Mark had a “half serious” idea on using an “Opener” for the opening game. Nyet on the half serious part that thinks they should. But…

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Me & Julio Down By The Schoolyard

March 8, 2019

After yesterday’s game, the Dodger’s record sits at 7-5 this Spring… not that it means absolutely anything. So far a few things have caught my eye, other than the fact that Joc Pederson looks totally lost: Cody Bellinger, Austin Barnes, Kike Hernandez and Daniel Castro (who?) look locked and loaded. Ross Stripling and Rich Hill are being stretched out. There are way too many arms for the bullpen… thus the…

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Flawed Hypothetical

March 5, 2019

Last weekend Mark posed the hypothetical…”OK, the deal with the Devil is this: Dodgers win in 2019, but have a losing record and are like KC, TB or MIAMI for the next 10 years… big time suck!” I apologize, but I just could not let it go.  So please ignore if you so desire. I do not accept that as a plausible hypothetical.  There is no way the Dodgers are…

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