All off-season I have hoped the Dodgers would go BOLD. Of course I was disappointed. I thought this would be the year. But unlike some here, I am not about to concede the WS to NYY (or LAA) this year or any time in the future. NYY CBT is already at $245,341,667 with holes still to fill. $2.5MM more in spending and they exceed the top penalty. The tax is…
Bill Veeck, Charlie Finley, George Steinbrenner were examples of owners that were bigger than life and wanted nothing more than to win (and put on a show). Walter O’Malley was cut from the same cloth. Peter was more of a pragmatic businessman who knew he could not spend to stay in the game, and got out. None of those early owners would let MLB tell them how to spend their…
Yes, people think that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, but sometimes, it’s crabgrass… or Astroturf. People have traveled the world looking for something that was already right under their chin at home. Conventional wisdom demands that the Dodgers add a RH Power Bat, a Frontline Starter, and a Lockdown Reliever. The conventional wisdom demands that Andrew Friedman not look at the waiver wire or…
Thomas John Watson Sr. was an American businessman, who served as the President, Chairman, and CEO of International Business Machines or IBM as we call it, from 1914 to 1956. In the early 1940’s, some on the board of directors were lobbying to remove Watson as IBM’s President because inventories were too high. It was after the depression and business was not flourishing and they wanted Tom Watson out. At that…
Yesterday’s article from 2D2 inspired the reincarnation of an article I have been toying with for a bit. I am not adverse to Doc or a big advocate. He is a good communicator and his team loves him. But he is not the best in-game manager, and the mistakes he does make (as every manager does) gets blown up because of when they happen. Game 2 of the 2017 WS…
Taking a break from the should we or should we not sign Cole or Rendon, or both discussion, I thought I would bring our attention back to Dave Roberts and look at him as a manager. A totally non-controversial subject. Hall of Fame manager, Sparky Anderson had much to say about managers during his illustrious career, including: “A baseball manager is a necessary evil” and “Just give me 25 guys on…
I do not think any Dodger fan can possibly disagree about the disappointment over the last three years. I use three, because realistically that has been the span where the Dodgers were in a position to win it all. Certainly Doc has had a problem of “thinking too much” in the playoffs. It was never more evident as it was in Game 5 of the NLDS. But the players have…
The off-season is fully here yet, but the banter about the free-agents we should sign or acquire by trade has already begun in full-force. I thought I might join in on the speculation, and throw out some names that haven’t been mentioned before, or at least not recently. Keep in mind that I have not made any in-depth statistical analysis of these players, I don’t have any of their medical…
This past regular season, the Washington Nationals had the worst bullpen in baseball. Out of 30 MLB teams, they were #30 in ERA at 5.66. MLB average was 4.43 and the Dodgers were #4 in MLB in ERA. The Nationals bullpen was also worst in baseball allowing hitters a .266 batting average. To say that their bullpen was horrible would be kind. Yet, here they are on the way to…
Before game 5 with the Nats, I admit I had periods of apprehension that Nats would win. By the time I turned on the TV, Kike had just hit his homerun. 3 runs of Strasburg in 1 plus innings. Now I was feeling pretty positive. But, as we all know, the Dodgers lost – – – I was shocked, to say the least. I was as disappointed as I could…