It’s not possible to address ANYTHING about the coronavirus without getting political and I won’t even explain that. We simply are not going to go there. PERIOD! This country has never been more divided politically than right about now and we are all here for Dodger baseball, so that is all we will talk about: the one thing that unites us. That thing has been put on hold and we…
Last week we had a preview of some of the teenage position players in the Dodgers minor league system. This week a sneak preview at some of the teenage pitchers which is a more difficult task it seems. As of today, there are at least 36 young pitchers in the system who have not yet turned 20. Left-hander Robinson Ortiz and 32nd round selection in 2018, right-hander Jacob Gilliland, both…
I think it’s fair to say that the Dodger 40-man roster could probably field two major league teams that would be competitive.
For years, Dodgers blogs have been a sacred place where Dodger fans went to lament their fate, cry in their beer, pontificate how bad the team, coaches, managers, general managers, and owners were, and generally write about how they could do a better job than whoever happened to be in charge. When Andrew Friedman was hired by the Dodgers as President of Baseball Operations, he was greeted with jeers, smears,…
One of my all-time favorite movies is “The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn” starring Sidney Poitier. In it, Poitier plays Noah Dearborn, a 91‑year old carpenter who lives a simple life and existence, detached from modern life. His only interest is woodworking, at which he is very gifted. In his hands, woodworking tools are not just tools, they become instruments for creating works of art. Poitier, who is also a…
KayBear Ruiz was signed at the tender age of 16 for $140,000 on his birthday, July 20, 2014. In 2015, he hit .300 for the Dominican Dodgers at age 16. In 2016, he split time between Ogden and Arizona, hitting a combined .374 with a .412 OB%. He was still just 17. Before the 2017 season, and still just 18 years old, Ruiz was named the #20 prospect in the…
In attempting to isolate any group there is always a chance that there might be other members who belong in the group who are not selected and yet others who are simply missed. With that risk in mind, I had a bit of a slow day yesterday so decided to look at the teenage group preparing for the 2020 minor league season. Some had successful 2019 seasons while others did…
With a team so stacked with few weaknesses and limited roster spots available, can the Dodgers actually be thinking about making the 26th man a designated runner? There doesn’t seem to be much difference between Herb Washington and Terrance Gore except that Washington was a better hitter. OK, that was a cold shot. My point is that I can’t fathom the Dodgers leaving one of the young core that deserves…
Before I got sidetracked with the spring training heroics of Cody Thomas and Zach McKinstry, I had been providing a thumbnail sketch of the relief pitchers the Dodgers had signed in the 2019 First-Year Player Draft. Those profiles included Logan Boyer, Jacob Cantleberry, Jeff Belge, Nick Robertson, and Alec Gamboa as well as Ryan Pepiot whom I think will start the 2020 season in a starting role. There are still…
I have followed Zach McKinstry since he was selected by the Dodgers in the 33rd round of the 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. I especially took notice when he was advanced to the Loons in 2016 and became an important cog in their championship run by moving to the third base position, a position he had not previously played. The 6’/180…