So, I am writing this as I am digesting the news that I have to have back surgery for spinal stenosis and spondylolysis on April 24th. It’s pretty much what I had expected, but now it is real. Surgery is really easy… when it is performed on someone else! The surgery is called Lumbar Decompression and is the most common back surgery done by my surgeon. I saw three other…
I have been away for a little while, and during that period, a lot of baseball news trickled in. One item I wanted to address was the Evan Drelich book on the Houston Astros 2017 scandal titled Winning Fixes Everything. First off, the title of the book. It says it all. This was/is a corrupt baseball organization that got away with cheating their way to a title. As much as…
The LA Dodgers Farm System just got some more accolades from the new 2023 Baseball America Prospect Handbook. The Baseball America Prospect Handbook has been published for 23 years and is the creme de la creme for identifying and rating prospects. How do I know? Well, I just do, and it so happens that I have every one of them ever published… except this year’s copy, which is allegedly on…
I have to say THANK YOU! I got almost a dozen e-mails (actually, this morning it stands at 13) from readers who all supported my position on Dave Roberts. Thank You! No negative responses. I wonder why that is? Maybe the haters like to remain anonymous? Still, the best one was from someone who also posted under “Joe Blanton” (not his normal moniker, but he wanted to avoid controversy, which…
Don Mattingly had a .551 Winning Percentage as the Dodger Manager, while Dave Roberts has a .632 Winning Percentage. Trying to make any comparison between the two is dumb. I did not like Mattingly, and it was for one reason – he could not run the clubhouse. The Mattingly Dodger teams were a free-for-all. It was Dodge City, not Dodgertown. That’s why I wanted to get rid of him. I…
… and that, my friends, is a good thing! Expectations were sky-high for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season, as everyone in baseball believed they were a powerhouse! Yes, they did win 111 games, but a lot (and I mean A LOT) went wrong. I won’t list every little thing, but consider these things as going VERY WRONG: Justin Turner, the heart and soul of the team, really regressed to…
James Outman had 16 Major League Plate Appearances and 13 official at bats last season. He went 6 for 13, with two doubles, a homer, and three RBI. He walked twice and he struck out seven times. This was over a four-game stretch from July 31 to August 4, one at Colorado and three at San Francisco. He struck out in 6 of his final 7 at bats. The only…
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…
I want to apologize for the late post today. I have another post just about ready, but after reading comments for the past couple of days, I just wanted to speak from the heart about the current state of our favorite team. At the same time, I wanted everyone to at least have something new to read. This season’s failure was so much of a mixed bag for me. I…
It took me a full week to get off the mat and write after the San Diego debacle. Sorry about that. I have always found that the most difficult post to write is the first one after being eliminated. Multiply that fact by about ten and that has been my mindset for a week. Usually, when the Dodger season ends prematurely, I go through that mourning period that most loyal…