Who is Joe Kelly?

February 4, 2019

Well, the score wasn’t what I expected it to be, but the team I expected won. The commercials were the best part, but I digress. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Bad enough I have to listen to my son-in-law about it ad nausem, Back to Joe Kelly. Who really is Joe Kelly? Is he an evil villan who broke Hanley Ramirez’ hand and cost the Dodgers a…

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The Art of the Pitch

February 1, 2019

As I mentioned yesterday, the Dodgers have been #1 in MLB in ERA and WHIP over the past two years. I see no reason why that trend won’t continue. In fact, I agree with Rick Honeycutt that the pitching can get even better in 2019. First of all, the Dodgers have a glut of starting pitchers, but two of them will likely be gone after this season, namely Rich Hill…

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The Times… They are a Changin’

January 31, 2019

Come gather ’round peopleWherever you roamAnd admit that the watersAround you have grownAnd accept it that soonYou’ll be drenched to the bone.If your time to youIs worth savin’Then you better start swimmin’Or you’ll sink like a stoneFor the times they are a-changin’. Come writers and criticsWho prophesize with your penAnd keep your eyes wideThe chance won’t come againAnd don’t speak too soonFor the wheel’s still in spinAnd there’s no tellin’…

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The Northwoods League

January 30, 2019

As baseball fans and Dodger enthusiasts, fanatics, maniacs, zealots or whatever mantra might apply to us, we spend the season following MLB and the minor leagues, especially the Dodger affiliates. We also pay some attention to high school ball and college ball, both of which wind up in June and are more of interest around the time of the First-Year Player Draft. However, there is another layer of baseball that does…

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A Checkup From the Neck Up

January 29, 2019

So… many Dodger fans and Dodger Bloggers and Dodger Journalists are saying that the Dodgers are cheap and ran like the Tampa Bay Rays because they won’t go out and trade bushels of top prospects for Kluber or Realmuto or that they won’t sign Bryce Harper to a 14 year/$420 million dollar contract. Look, there is no dumbass vaccine and I am convinced that fans who want that are mentally…

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Meet Pedro (Petie) Montero

January 28, 2019

In a previous article I included a brief sketch of Pedro Montero who was promoted to the Tulsa Drillers for the 2019 season serving as the Drillers bench coach. As mentioned, Montero is a high energy, excitable young man who has an infectious effect on the players he coaches. In fact, with any young players with whom he makes contact. It is difficult to see him without a smile on…

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Why A.J. Pollock?

January 24, 2019

If were are under the illusion that Bryce Harper was coming to the Dodgers, then you are likely to be asking that question… and it’s possible anything I say will not satisfy you. I was not a fan of getting AJ Pollock and really wanted Nick Castellanos, but Castellanos was going to cost several players – I have no clue exactly who. It’s not that Friedman won’t trade prospects –…

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The New LA Dodgers

January 22, 2019

Farhan Zaidi is the President of Baseball Operations for the San Francisco Giants right here, right now… and while it may never be fully understood what role Zaidi had in in the managing and coaching decisions by the LA Dodgers, I think by the end of the 2019 season, we will find out that Farhan was a micro manager. Great guy, but he was not good at deligation. He had…

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Breakout Candidates

January 21, 2019

Every year, certain players regress, some stay the same and others breakout.  It’s hard to predict who will do what, but there are a few clues that might be there as to which players may be “Breakout Candidates.” Justin Turner “brokeout” with the Dodgers.  So did Chris Taylor in 2017. JD Martinez brokeout as a Tiger.  Scooter Gennett brokeout as a Red.  Breakout years happen all the time… sometimes when…

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Your Straight Jacket is Ready…

January 18, 2019

When the Dodgers were sold the last time, Guggenheim and Company were not my pick to be the owners, but here we are.  There’s nothing you or I can do about that. They are the owners, and they certainly have a very peculiar set of circumstances. They are under SEC investigation, defending lawsuits, their principals are using their personal wealth as security, shareholders are upset (maybe even revolting), they are…

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