Kenley Jansen has blown six saves and broken Dodger fans’ hearts more than that this year. We can analyze until we are paralyzed but in essence, his problem has been the overuse of his cutter, which is still good, but maybe not as good as it used to be. It’s also likely that the advanced hitting coaches are helping hitters “key in” on what he is throwing. Most Dodger fans…
(Excuse my first-grade Photoshop skills). Lot’s of guys hit .300 in the Pacific Coast League. The combination of altitude, heat, thin air, juiced baseballs, and fairy dust make it a hitter’s league. Ty France, 3B of the Padres AAA affiliate is hitting .399 with 26 HR in just 276 AB’s. Shoot, AAAA player, Conner Joe is hitting .300. However, not many are hitting .456 while OPS’ing 1.381 in 131 AB’s…
I have been working on about ten different ideas for what to write, and none of them came to a cohesive blog post. Maybe this one will not as well. There has been a lot of speculation as to who the Dodgers may trade for and who they may be required to include in a trade. It is a huge climb from AAA to MLB, and yet we are ready…
A couple of weeks ago a LADT poster asked about Dodger minor league prospects whose status has risen or fallen since being drafted by the Dodgers. I don’t like to write about players whose prospects have declined. Although I can’t feel their pain, I can understand how difficult it must be for them. I am more interested in selecting players that have risen in the top 30 prospect lists and most…
Mark and I don’t always agree on everything Blue, although I think we are pretty consistent from a Macro view. But when it comes to the bullpen, Mark and I just do not see eye to eye. I have been a relief pitcher wonk since 1959 and Larry Sherry. Clem Labine would have been my favorite Dodger in the mid 50’s. I am not going to go through the history…
Last year when Corey Seager went down with Tommy John Surgery, it was immediately known that he would miss the rest of the season. Thus, the Manny Machado trade. It now appears that Corey will be out a month… maybe less, so there is absolutely NO WAY the Dodgers are going to trade for ANY shortstop, let alone anyone named Lindor. It ain’t happening! Comparing last season to this season…
So, this is not meant to be contentious, but rather, an exchange of ideas. Yesterday, AC said this: “I absolutely agree with Mark that AF will not overpay for anyone. Where Mark and I disagree, is that I believe that to AF it is especially true with relievers.” Ummm, Jeff, I mean… AC, I agree. 100%. I totally agree that it is especially true with relievers. However, where we may…
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…
Let me start this by saying that very little surprises me anymore. I would not be surprised if Joc Pederson hit 40 HR, nor would I be surprised if he hit .190. It would not surprise me if Kike Hernandez hit 25 HR and batted .290. I also would not be surprised if he hit .240 with 12 HR. CT3? It could be boom or bust. I don’t have my…