We are going to do a Class Participation on this. There is a plethora of statistics by which we define players. With Pitchers, fans traditionally have used win and loses, saves, ERA, SO, BB, and WHIP, but there is also BABIP, DICE, ERA+, and CERA. There are also a vast number of others. With hitters, it has traditionally been BA, SLG, OPS, OPS+, wRC+, and WAR… to name but a…
There is no denying that Justin Turner was the Dodgers’ Main Clubhouse Leader during his tenure with the team. Of course, Mookie Betts and Clayton Kershaw were also there and are leaders, and what I am about to write is in no way meant to be demeaning to JT, who will always have a special place in Dodger lore. However, maybe Andrew Friedman and the Dodger Brass felt it was…
Well, 2023 Spring Training is almost ready to start. Pitchers and catchers report to Camelback Ranch in nine days on the 16th of February. The first full-squad workout is on February 20th. This spring will be different as there will also be the World Baseball Classic. Nine Dodgers are scheduled to play for different teams. Kershaw, Smith, Betts, and coach Dino Ebel will be with the American team. Austin Barnes…
This year will be Julio Urias’ 8th season as a Dodger, during which time he has made almost $30 Million Dollars. His next contract will be for ten years and be around $400 Million. He will make more in one season than he has in his whole career. When he hits free agency, he will be just 27 years old! That put him at the intersection of entering his prime…
I got to thinking about this the other day when I was researching another story. The unbreakable records. How many even have a chance of being broken? Well in today’s game, one most unlikely to fall is Ripken’s consecutive games played streak. Players today no longer play every day. And that includes the stars. Freeman missed three games last season, and Trea Turner missed two. Only two other players appeared…
Never doubt statistics. This is especially true when looking at minor-league players. You can always predict for a certainty how a player will perform in Major League Baseball by looking at what they did in the minor leagues. We don’t need scouts, GMs, Baseball America, or MLB Pipeline, and we don’t need any stinking Keith Law.. All we need are statistics. Statistics are King – they are God-like. Statistics will…
Time stops for no one. And as the Dodgers get ready to enter their 65th season in Los Angeles, they approach the 67 years the Dodgers were part of the Major Leagues in Brooklyn. The National League as we know it, was formed in 1890. The Dodgers won their first title that season. Their roots in Brooklyn as a professional team go back a little further. And they also have…
I am fully resigned to the fact that Gavin Lux is going into Spring Training as the starting SS. I did not believe that he could play SS at the MLB level, but I will have to defer to Andrew Friedman, who knows “a thing or two I don’t!” Lux has added 15 pounds of muscle which might bring his arm up to average. The first time he makes an…
Getting information on player movement has always been rather irritating to me. Some trades and signings come as a complete surprise, and others do not. The internet has made instant notification a lot more prevalent than back in the day. There was no Yardbarker or MLBTR, with reports from baseball insiders linking teams to different players. I think one of the reasons so many Dodger fans were totally frustrated with…
For the past several weeks, we have been discussing who is going to play where and how the rookies will fit in. Will Lux play SS or 2B? Will Vargas play 3B, 2B or LF? Will Outman start in CF? Will Busch play anywhere? There is a lot to be decided, and we are not going to solve all that today. That is why they have Spring Training. If I…