Dodger Talk

So far, the Winter Meetings have been only slightly eventful. In a surprise move, the Dodgers signed the best closer on the market, saying, “loss of a draft pick and International Bonus Money be damned – we are getting another closer.” I would assume that signing Edwin Diaz, who is an elite closer, signals the end of Evan Phillips’ time with LA. Of course, closers are notoriously unpredictable, so that…

As baseball fans, we like to make up trades – it’s in our DNA! We can’t help it – it’s a form of BOCD (Baseball Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and is the root cause of “dope-fiend moves.” Andrew Friedman was a “recovering dope fiend”… that was until he signed Michael Conforto. That was a classic example of a dope-fiend move. He is now back in recovery, and I am hoping that…

I have certainly followed the careers of Will Smith and Dalton Rushing, beginning with their time in college at Louisville. So, I decided to dig in and do a comparison of Dalton Rushing and Will Smith. Of course, they both went to college at Louisville, so let’s look at that: Will Smith at Louisville – 503 PA 9 HR 50 K 48 BB .292 BA .392 OB% .810 OPS Dalton…

When the Dodgers traded for and signed Mookie Betts to a contract extension through 2022 before the 2020 season, I lamented that this contract would age poorly. Well, Mookie is signed for Seven (count ’em, 7) more seasons, and 2025 was the worst season of Mookie’s career! However, I am not as doom-and-gloomy as I was in 2020. Here’s why: Yes, last season was the worst of Mookie’s career. He…

I was gone most of the day… yesterday. I am GC’ing my wife’s restaurant and event center (yes, these are two separate businesses https://www.facebook.com/letseat.lolastable/), and I left the house at 7:30 AM and got back at 9:30 PM last night. And… here I thought I was retired! Today is just as busy. I met with the marketing director for my book at Noon by Zoom. But, back to Dodger baseball….

On December 10th, the Rule 5 Draft will be held. The simplest way to explain the Rule 5 draft is that it’s a way for teams to add players who are buried on other teams’ rosters, providing them with a more straightforward path to the major leagues. It originated in 1903, when baseball was “organized,” though a previous version dated back to the 1890s. At the time, every team in…

A few fans have been promoting Donovan of the Cardinals as a fit for the Dodgers. I did not see it… until now! I have concluded that he is a poor man’s Bo Bichette. He hit .287 last year, and his career average is .282, so he’s a good hitter with a career OPS of .775. He would slot nicely at 2B and in the bottom third of the lineup….

A few days ago, The LA Times talked about the Dodgers’ “burgeoning crop of outfield prospects.” They went on to list them as: “Josue De Paula, Zyhir Hope, Eduardo Quintero and James Tibbs III — who are on track to break into the big leagues by 2027, if not the end of next season.” — Jack Harris – The LA Times In typical LAT fashion, they left out the Prospect…