Most of you know by now that it has been about a month since I re-started LA Dodger Talk after a year “retirement.” Hey, if Michael Jordan can do it so can I – now we are eternally joined at the hip. 😉 So, give me some input – how are we doing? We have had over 500 people sign up for the site, but of course, most don’t post….
According to a report by Cary Osborne of Dodger Insider, Austin Barnes is a catcher… nothing more: Other news coming out of Camelback Ranch on Friday is that the plan for the versatile Austin Barnes is for him to stay behind the plate for Spring Training. Barnes is competing for the backup catcher job. In 585 career minor league games, he has caught 336 games, played second base in 165…
Darin Ruf never took a swing as a Dodger – The Dodgers freed up a roster spot by urging Darin to sign with the Samsung Lions for a free Galaxy 7 smartphone and $1.1 million bux. One more spot to go… According to Doug Padilla “Dodgers starter Julio Urias will not be pushed to the 200-innings mark this year, team president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. Urias will proceed…
The purpose of this blog is not to provide the latest breaking Dodger news – lots of other blogs do a great job of this. This is just a safe place to talk about it. Here are today’s best Spring Training New Links: Dodgers.com ESPN.com TrueBlueLA.com – lots of Dodger news here. For those who don’t like the fact that the Dodgers signed Chase Utley, there is this: The Dodgers’…
David Hood of TrueBlueLA has a nice writeup of Alex Verdugo whom he has ranked as the Dodgers #5 prospect. I agree with most of what he says, so there is no need to re-hash what he says. Here’s a sample: There’s little doubt in my mind that Verdugo will at least hit for average at the major league level. I’ve seen few players where contact comes as easy to…
I have been telling you a few things over the Winter: Julio Urias is going to have a breakout year; Yasmani Grandal will come close to 40 HR; Willie Calhoun won’t play 2B due to horrible defense and lock of foot speed; Among Ryu, McCarthy and Kazmir, at least two will be contributors; and Cody Bellinger is ready. Former GM, Jim Bowden also has some bold predictions going into Spring…
Some players only get one shot at a big payday in Free Agency, and knowing that, they have to take the best offer. Their agent plays a part as well, after all, he gets a percentage of their contract – why would he negotiate a deal that will get him less money? Some free agents, say “it’s not about the money” when we all know that it is and if…
Ernest Hemingway published a book in in 1940 which was about a young man named Andrew Toles, who once was a top major league prospect that dropped out of baseball due to an anxiety disorder. This book was certainly a work of fiction because young Toles wound up working the early shift (4 AM) at a Kroger Grocery Store in the frozen food department. That may sound like a cool JOB…
A lot has been written about Yasiel Puig’s alleged “Knuckleheadedness” – I confess… lots of it by me. I have been the first to say that he has enormous talent, but his knuckleheaded ways may keep him from realizing his potential. If I could trade him straight up for Ryan Braun, I would probably do it (shoot, I’d probably trade Calhoun and Puig for Braun), because with that right handed-bat…
Dodger Insider writer Cary Osborne provides a wealth of information, much like Jon Weisman did before he moved on to the Big Showtime, but you do have to take it with a grain of salt. Afterall, he is employed by the Dodgers, so there’s that! However, on February 3rd Cary wrote a column that could give Dodger fans a lot of hope for the upcoming season. The focus of the…