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…
This will be a relatively short one due to some commitments and poor planning on my part. The article was prompted by William in a post on October 15. William wrote: “Does anyone remember Ron Fairly? Good hitter, not great, but purely based on listening to all the games, no analytics then, I knew that virtually every time he came up in a big spot, he hit the ball hard….
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…
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…
So many fans look at the Flavor of the Week, which is the player that has the great stats RIGHT NOW or YESTERDAY. That’s the guy they want. These are the flavors of the week right about now: Anthony Rendon – Career year Gerrit Cole – Career year Aaron Bummer – Career year They want those guys because they are thinking they will be the same guys when they are…
Frankly, I am a person who believes that conventional wisdom is usually wrong. That leads me to look at things some people don’t notice and see things that they don’t. It’s not a “science”… more of an “art” that has to be continually refined. When many investors are buying, I may be selling and when they are selling, I am looking to buy. Like anyone, I am not always right,…
Last Wednesday, I wrote an article on Rube Walker – the Father of the Five-Man Rotation – which drew some comments for which I was grateful. Presently, I am not in mourning over the Dodgers untimely exit from post-season play. It happened, it is over, and life goes on. With my ninth decade now staring me in the face each year without one more WS victory is a bit problematic,…
I am planning a series of blogs on each aspect of the Dodger team. Today we are going to talk about starting pitching. As it currently stands, Rich Hill and Hyun-jin Ryu are free agents. I would let Ryu walk unless he agreed to a 2-year deal under $38 million. Rich Hill is welcome back on an incentive-laden deal that would put him in the bullpen. Bottom Line: Neither will…
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…
Yesterday, I wrote that the Dodgers were a young team and what I was specifically referring to was that the “core” was young, especially if Ryu, Hill, Freese, and Martin are not back. The Dodgers had seven (7) rookies impact the team this year: Will Smith Alex Verdugo Gavin Lux Tony Gonsolin Dustin May Kyle Garlick Matt Beaty Next year they will also have a few. The Dodgers are built…