62 posts
Just wanted to look back at some of my favorite trades in Dodger history. Some, I was very young for, others, not so much. They are in no particular order. 1. Gino Cimoli for Wally Moon. On December 4th, 1958, the Dodgers made the first trade that would impact the team…
Ah, love the guys who came to LA and played for a short time and made some impact. Brooklyn had a few of those two, so I will touch base on a couple of those guys, too. But sometimes, they also make very little impact. And then there are those guys who get traded or signed, and…
Not so long ago, the Dodgers signed Albert Pujols. At the time I thought, why? Pujols is way past his prime, and over his contract with the Angels came nowhere near being the player he was in St. Louis. Now a few weeks later, I see an invigorated Pujols being a factor in games he plays. He has 5 HR s, as many as he had with the Angels, and 1
This is a follow up to the best that have ever played in my estimation. Some I never saw. Others I saw many times. It will consist of the starting 8, a pitching staff of 12 and the bench players. Not an easy thing to do. Starters 1st Base Easiest pick for me. Gil Hodges. 370 lifetime homers as a Dodger First to win the Gold Glove when they were
We need to end this myth that Mookie cannot hit LHP. Over his career, against LHP, Betts is slashing .297/.379/.509/.888. Mookie’s career against RHP .302/.372/.526/.897. Those seem like even splits to me. Over his career, Mookie has faced RHP 76% of the time. I think it is more likely that Betts was unfamiliar with NL LH pitchers, and after a year on a new team and a new league,
As Mark is prone to do, he has laid down the gauntlet. If you don’t bow down to Doc and AF you need a STUPID tattoo? I have supported both gentleman for the most part, but while I would have difficulty blaming AF too much (because of lack of insider knowledge), certainly Doc has opened himself up to scrutiny. Let’s start with AF. The Dodgers lost 2 healthy mid-rotation starting
Sorry for the delay in getting this posted. I already had my article queued up and ready for publish before last night s come from behind walk off win. Zac Gallen is going to be a superstar in this game and he just shut the Dodgers down. But the 2020 Dodgers are relentless and have no quit. I think that is a tribute to Mookie, just as 1988 was a tribute
Puppies . . . who doesn’t love them? Part of the charm of puppies is training them and teaching them to help them along the way in their growth to dogs. “Raising a puppy is not necessarily easy, but it’s an adventure that s full of rewards as you develop a deep bond with your pup that will last throughout his life. A lot of patience and a little extra effort
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
One of the many female artists (and trust there were many) on whom I had a boyhood crush, was the great country-western singer, Skeeter Davis. I loved her name, I mean how could you not love the name Skeeter? After reading some of the comments on Saturday and Sunday, I was reminded of her and her biggest hit song “The End of the World”, which goes in part(with apologies to
We may not know what we think we know and don t know what we don t know and I hope we know that we don t know. Confused? I know We know Justin Turner can walk we don t know if he can run. We will find out today. It seems that they are just being cautious and if this were the postseason he would be playing. We know that Dick Mountain
1. Kenley Jansen is Fixed False. With his 8th Blown Save last night, he again demonstrated that he was lacking command and in order to get a strike, he throws some very hittable pitches. I was against the re-signing of Kenley Jansen and this is why. Big contracts to relief pitchers seldom pan out, but here we are and the Dodgers have to make do with what they have and
Well, it s always been serious, but with two weeks left in the season, it s Playoff Tune-up Time which is very serious. It s likely that Rich Hill and Alex Verdugo will not be ready for the NLDS or maybe the NLCS and the World Series. David Freese and Justin Turner are banged up and we have no clue how healthy they will be. This is the hand the Dodgers have to
“What we do see depends mainly on what we look for. In the same field the farmer will notice the crop, the geologists the fossils, botanists the flowers, artists the colouring, sportmen the cover for the game. Though we may all look at the same things, it does not all follow that we should see them.” ― John Lubbock, The Beauties of Nature and the Wonders of the World We Live
After losing the series 2-1 last weekend to the Dark Side the Dodgers are in fine shape. The hitters have been in a funk since after the All-Star Break, but it hard to keep focused when you are 20+ games ahead of the nearest team in your division and are about to clinch a playoff spot in August. Dave Roberts has dialed-down the intensity and is resting players as much
Jedd Gyorko will likely make his Dodger debut this weekend in the ATL. In case you don t know, he plays every infield position and has logged one game in LF and two at pitcher. At 5 10 and 215 pounds he is best suited for 2B or 3B. At best, he is a utilityman and I am sure the Dodgers hope he is someone who could benefit from the Robert
I like Austin Barnes. Let me start with that. When Andrew Friedman acquired him, I was elated. In his first full season (102 games) he hit.289 with a .408 OB% and OPS ed .895. Pretty incredible! However, he hit .205 last year and is hitting .207 this year. In parts of 5 MLB seasons, here is what his BA/OB%/OPS is: 2015: .207/.361/.637 2016: .156/.270/.458 2017: .289/.408/.895 2018: .205/.329/.619 2019: .207/.302/.646 I
Dear Dave Roberts, We think your lineups are stupid and that you rest the wrong players while playing the wrong players. We think there are only two things wrong with you: (1) Everything you say, and (2) everything you do. We know a lot more than you do about this. We have managed for years while sipping our beverages of choice and cursing your every move. That is why the
Play in the rookie level Arizona League began on Monday, June 17. The league now has 21 teams in three divisions. They play a 56-game schedule in and around the Phoenix area at the spring training facilities of their parent major league clubs. The AZL Dodgers play their home games at the Camelback Ranch complex shared by the parent Dodgers and Chicago White Sox. The Dodgers for the first time
I recognize and acknowledge that I have been at the forefront of wanting the Dodgers to acquire elite relievers I have also readily acknowledged that they do not need to make that trade at this time. Their competition in the NLWest is not stiff, but winning the NL pennant and WS could prove to be more difficult without that elite bullpen. Those names will become more clear as that July
It s hard to imagine a better team in MLB than the Dodger right about now. Yes, I know the Twins are doing well, but I can t see them keeping it up. Their underlying peripherals don t support their record, but they have been a pleasant surprise and great story. They are allegedly talking to Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel, but I think Dallas goes to the Yankees and Kimbrel goes to
Dave Roberts Many of you wonder why Dave Roberts does certain things, like oh hit Chris Taylor #3? Some fans almost become enraged when he does such things. Why on earth would he have old man David Freese bat leadoff? Kike Hernandez #5? Why, oh why? Well, simply stated, it s because you are playing checkers and he is playing chess. He s about 6 moves ahead of you. You are thinking
It has been suggested by some that Craig Kimbrel is the solution to the Dodger s bullpen woes. Just to be sure that I understand it, this is the Craig Kimbrel that Boston (who needed a closer) parted ways with and 28 other teams have passed on? No one wants him for a reason, but the Dodgers should sign him anyway with some silly knee-jerk reaction because he just happens to
Looking back today on the trade that brought Rich Hill and Josh Reddick to the Dodgers for Frankie Montas, Grant Holmes and Jherel Cotton, I thought it was a good bet at the time, but if Friedman had it to do over, he wouldn t. He wouldn t, not because it was bad deal, but he wouldn t because it did not win a Championship. Holmes may be toast and Jharel Cotton might
Interesting topic on who goes and who stays when Cingrani comes back. Cingrani has pitched in three rehab games (1 with RC, and 2 with OKC). He had three days between his first game and second and dropped it down to 2 games between games 2 and 3. He still needs to show he can go back to back. May 4 – 16 pitches/10 strikes May 7 – 20 pitches/11
It has been suggested that the Dodgers need bullpen help and I am all for it. It has also been suggested that the AJ Pollock signing was a bad deal and it has been chanted that getting rid of Puig, Kemp and Wood was dumb. Others have suggested that the solution is to sign big name free agents and pitchers next off season. Evidently, no one has been paying attention
Lots of other blogs give you a game recap. There are billions of those blogs and they do a good job. I just try and give you another perspective, win or lose. When they win, they are t this king of the world and when they lose, they are not the scum of the earth. I try and keep even keel and eliminate knee-jerk reactions. After sweeping the Reds, the Dodgers
Sunday afternoon Ross Stripling was not fair he was just very good, so since his nickname is Chicken Strip, he is fowl and this should be a reminder of how very good he was before the All-Star Break last season. I would say his pitch tipping is behind him and he could be a very solid piece in the rotation all season. His ERA dropped to 2.92 as he
I would venture that they could give anyone on this board 10 strikes against a MLB pitcher, and they would strike out every time. Hitting a baseball is one of the hardest things for a human to do. Puig could not hit LHP, although it was not always that way. Andre Ethier could not hit lefties very well. Joc has proven he cannot hit lefties. These things don t go away
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
