Dodger Talk

The Audacity to Doubt the Veracity of a Man of my Capacity…

July 24, 2019
73 comments

Do you have the audacity to doubt my veracity? Or even to insinuate that I would prevaricate? While I’ll thrust my phalanges into your physiognomy with such intensity, That it will horizontalize your purpendicularity. I like the sound of that. It just rolls off the tongue… That was fun! So, Revisionist Historians like to believe that the acquisition of Aroldis Chapman won the World Series for them in 2016. Well, it’s true that…

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It Feels a Bit Drafty in Here

July 22, 2019
87 comments

On June 9th AC gave us an excellent recap of the players the Dodgers drafted.   Now that the signing period has come and gone, I thought I might provide an analysis of what the Dodgers might have in the players that were signed.   Bear in mind, we probably won’t see the fruits of this draft until 2021 – 2023.    Not much, if anything, that I have written here is original.  …

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The Plan of Succession

July 20, 2019
80 comments

When the Dodgers acquired Jimmy Rollins, I was pretty vocal that Corey Seager was ready and there was no need for Rollins to be the “bridge” to Seager. I still think Corey was ready a year earlier, but FAZ made him wait… and it turned out OK. FAZ had a plan of succession. In the Spring of 2017, I pronounced Cody Bellinger ready for the Show, but FAZ sent him…

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More Bull About the Pen

July 18, 2019
86 comments

After last night’s stellar outing by the much-maligned Dodger bullpen, their Bullpen ERA dropped to 4.00, which is now the 9th best in all of baseball, just behind the often-praised bullpen of the New York Yankees. If you just consider the National League, the Dodgers are now ranked #4, just behind San Francisco, St. Louis and Atlanta. Without making ANY changes, I can see the Dodgers taking the #1 spot…

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No Dope-Fiend Moves

July 17, 2019
89 comments

Where do I start? How about trading Verdugo, Urias, Bellinger, Barnes, Taylor Pederson, Muncy, and Hernandez or not signing Kershaw, Ryu or Pollock? How about firing Dave Roberts or Andrew Friedman? You all know who you are and you would make some dope-fiend moves… in a heartbeat! Those are all real moves suggested by fans on this site. Dope-Fiend Fans championing Dope-Fiend moves. It’s a good thing the inmates are…

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Dodgers Minor Leaguers – Swimming Just Below the Surface

July 16, 2019
100 comments

Last Thursday AC completed a review of all nine Dodgers minor league teams. It was an exhaustive review in terms of its depth and probably a bit exhaustive for the author. AC looked at the players, from his perspective, who are on an uphill trajectory. He included 45 players, some on a seemingly quick ascent and others on a more slow but steady climb. The list certainly included some surprises…

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Some Random Thoughts on the Passing Season

July 15, 2019
86 comments

While sitting here in my recliner, remote in hand, watching the Dodgers-Red Sox, I have some random thoughts on the passing season (with apologies to Thomas Sowell): •           First, and foremost, it is important for all of you to know that I have not made a single mistake in the past 5 – 10 years as to Dodger in-game decisions, lineups they should have used, and as to trades…

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The Will Smith Era is Upon Us

July 13, 2019
95 comments

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…

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The Manager and Trades

July 12, 2019
80 comments

The Manager’s Role Let me start this off by saying that anyone who doesn’t believe that “All of us are smarter than any one of us” probably is not a coach, manager, scout or part of the Dodger brain-trust! Some fans think that the Dodgers front office makes out the lineups and that Andrew Friedman is this “control freak.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Dave Roberts is the…

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Ogden Raptors – Three Weeks In

July 10, 2019
49 comments

The Raptors play in a short season rookie league. It is easy to forget the Pioneer League as players are so far from MLB and many are fresh out of a recent draft and the Arizona League. They have not yet really surfaced in the parent team minor league system so one has to do a bit of scuba diving below the surface to find them. But, there they are,…

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