74 posts
Hi gang! I thought I would lighten the mood around the morgue and talk about a subject I know a little about. Beards. As I was looking through my baseball cards, I noticed the obvious. There is a lot more facial hair in the game today than when I first started watching the game. Clean faces were the thing. Back in the 1800 s, a lot of players favored wearing a
Editorial Comment This post was written prior to the Blake Snell acquisition by the Padres. The longer this offseason goes without much movement, the more likely AF is going to get involved. The number of teams that want to jettison payroll is growing and is undoubtedly going to pique the interest of teams like LAD. While it will stress out fans who continually want to see something happen to
I do not consider myself an apologist for Alex Wood, but ever since he put on his #57 jersey I have found myself in that position. It seems that most Dodgers fans want the team to have five Aces. Alex Wood is not an Ace, or anywhere near a top of the rotation pitcher. He is what he has always been a good #5. Like all #5 SP, not every
Yes, I am thrilled that we have baseball again. And I am just as sure that the Dodgers are going to win this year. I am not much of a gambler, but I dropped a few dollars on the Dodgers winning the 2020 WS. But I have a tough time getting excited about beating a team like the Giants who have very little, if any, chance of making the playoffs.
So I wrote and submitted this article to Jeff on July 22nd in the a.m. He then let me know he had a couple of other articles lined up and that it might be posted later this week. Then, the Dodgers go and sign Mookie Betts. Wow! I decided to leave the article intact with a few adjustments. ● I’m glad that I was proven wrong. I did not
Intrasquad games and the exhibition season has come to an end. The results have been generally positive. The offense seems to be working on all cylinders. They are working the count, fouling off pitches, and attacking mistakes. During these games, they have shown they CAN BE a good two strike hitting team. They are going the other way with so much consistency that it is not a mistake. Some are
We have all heard about the Dodgers and their best in MLB history run of 60 games in 2017 with a 51-9 record. They also pulled off a 42-8 record in a 50 game stretch in 2013 before going 47-13 in 60 games. Both of those runs came later in the season. But how have they done in their first 60 games? Using their 7 year top NL West run
With a raucous sellout crowd pulsating throughout the stadium last night, Joc went head to head against Vlad Jr in a remake of the classic 2019 HR Derby. This time Joc bested the young Blue Jays slugger and won the 2020 Home Run Derby at Dodger Stadium. This was on a night that followed a Josiah Gray masterpiece who went 2 innings striking out all six batters he faced in
The Los Angeles Dodgers have reported to Dodger Stadium; or at least some of them have. There are some who have apparently tested positive for the coronavirus, while others (so far only David Price) has opted to sit out the 2020 season. I am perfectly comfortable with any player or management personnel deciding that it is in their best interests to opt out for the season. I just hope that
I have been away for a bit due to some unexpected personal family matters, but I have continued to read the blog everyday. Last week when Mark proclaimed, “This could not only be the best Dodger bullpen of All-Time, but it could also be one of the best in the game… maybe ever!”, many unsurprisingly jumped on that testament. I have been a huge critic of the bullpen makeup, and
Time for Dodger Baseball. I like the sound of that as we begin Spring Training games today against the hated Giants. We all know ST games are meaningless in wins and losses, but I still want to see a win in every game. If you compete, compete to win. Before I get into ST, I want to offer my response to the apparent skepticism about the Dodger pitching. Are there
I was in the middle of a meeting with our outside CPA s discussing tax strategies last night when a colleague busted in and told me the Dodgers just traded for Mookie and Price. That is all he knew at the time. Unsure who went in the deal. He just knew that I wanted the Dodgers to get Mookie. My meeting broke up shortly thereafter and I went back to my
It is highly doubtful that the Dodgers are done this off-season in trying to improve their roster, but let’s suppose this is it. If the Dodgers make no further moves this off-season. How will the season turn out? I say they still win the N.L. West by 7-8 games. They finish the season with 96 wins. They prepare for the postseason with a trade deadline deal to put them in
It is time for a little Devil’s Advocacy. I have been an unapologetic fan of Andrew Friedman and what he has accomplished, and just as critical as to what he has NOT accomplished. I was critical when AF did not beat out the Astros offer for Gerrit Cole before the 2018 season. The Astros traded a #5 SP in Joe Musgrove, a decent but unceremonious 3B, Colin Moran, a RHRP
All off-season I have hoped the Dodgers would go BOLD. Of course I was disappointed. I thought this would be the year. But unlike some here, I am not about to concede the WS to NYY (or LAA) this year or any time in the future. NYY CBT is already at $245,341,667 with holes still to fill. $2.5MM more in spending and they exceed the top penalty. The tax is
Mark is often criticizing many of us who seem to propose what he believes to be dope fiend moves. Now granted, there are some very silly FA signings, and perhaps dope fiend is a proper description. But just because a change is recommended and one does not agree with it, does not automatically qualify the transaction as being dope fiend. Per an Andy McCullough article in the Athletic, In December
Bill Veeck, Charlie Finley, George Steinbrenner were examples of owners that were bigger than life and wanted nothing more than to win (and put on a show). Walter O’Malley was cut from the same cloth. Peter was more of a pragmatic businessman who knew he could not spend to stay in the game, and got out. None of those early owners would let MLB tell them how to spend their
BRAVES AND THE PEN: Braves have now signed 3 pitchers who will serve as late inning high leverage relievers. On Monday they signed Chris Martin to a two year $14MM contract after signing Will Smith to a three year $40MM deal. Earlier this month, they signed Darren O’Day to a one year $2.25MM contract. They also have Mark Melancon in the final year of his four year $62MM contract. Thus
I recognize and acknowledge that I have been at the forefront of wanting the Dodgers to acquire elite relievers I have also readily acknowledged that they do not need to make that trade at this time. Their competition in the NLWest is not stiff, but winning the NL pennant and WS could prove to be more difficult without that elite bullpen. Those names will become more clear as that July
Cause every little thing is gonna be alright. Rise up this morning, smiled with the rising sunThree little birds, by my doorstepSinging sweet songs, of melodies pure and sureSaying, This is my message to you Bob Marley taught me that! The Negative Nellies are simply beside themselves as the Dodgers have bolted from the pack to the best record in baseball. Andrew Friedman bashers are crawling back into their holes
Where or where would the Dodgers be without Cody Bellinger? The last time the Dodgers were north of .500 after April was 2017 and was LARGELY due to Justin Turner and his .404/.465/.562/1.026 April metrics. Although, JT only had 1 April HR, he hit 20 from May on, so there is hope for JT’s power to resume when the weather warms up. Those of us who believe that the Dodgers
Mark uses “Rants and Raves” so I will use “Bites and Bits” to avoid any copyright infringement with Mark or Bits and Bites Snack Mix. Actually I have little to rant and rave about but have some small pieces of somewhat innocuous “stuff” that I will post. Some things that just popped into my head during the past few days or that I stumbled upon. Some of it might be
Sunday afternoon Ross Stripling was not fair he was just very good, so since his nickname is Chicken Strip, he is fowl and this should be a reminder of how very good he was before the All-Star Break last season. I would say his pitch tipping is behind him and he could be a very solid piece in the rotation all season. His ERA dropped to 2.92 as he
I wrote a post on slow starts by the Dodgers, and while I did not predict there would be a slow start, history tells us to expect it. When the team got off to such a fast start (8-2), comments like “What slow start” were readily made. I indicated that I was happy with the fast first 10 games, but I also cautioned that it could not last because: a)
The strength of the Farm system is unquestionably the pitching. It is not even close. The breakdown of the MLB Pipeline Top 30 prospects is: 12 RHP 2 – LHP 4 Catchers 5 – SS/2B 4 – 3B/1B 3 – OF Baseball America pretty much resembles MLB Pipeline’s prospect list except BA includes reliever Josh Sborz, and OF Carlos Rincon, replacing Braydon Fisher, Marshall Kasowski, and Leonel Valera .
The Dodgers under Andrew Friedman are known for their versatility. Both of their catchers can play 2 or 3 other positions. CT3 can play 6 positions while Cody Bellinger can play 4 positions. Max Muncy and Justin Turner can play 3 positions and David Freese can play 2 positions. However, no one can play more positions than one Enrique Hernandez. Right about now, Kike Hernandez is the flavor-of-the-week for some
Actually, my wife owns some ice cream stores (hand-packed, 15% butterfat, if you want health food, eat carrots type) and one of the most popular flavors is called This $ @! Just Got Serious. It is a smooth salted caramel ice cream brimming with rich sea salt fudge and salted cashews. Of course, Spring Training is also getting serious! With Spring Training about half completed, Opening Day will soon be upon
I do not look at skeptics as a negative. I think we are all skeptics. I think everyone is asking what the Dodgers could do “IF”… The difference is that while the questions are the same, it is how most of us perceive and respond to those “IF” questions. MT, 59inarow, and Bobby do not see many negative outcomes of any of the questions, if any at all. MT sees
Well now that the Dodgers have signed AJ Pollock, what comes next? Maybe something. Maybe nothing. Is JT Realmuto on the horizon. Apparently, the Pads are very much in on JTR, but they are insisting on extension talks before they consummate the deal. Obviously, either Francisco Mejia or Austin Hedges will be going back in a package. The Pads have ML OF’s available as well a bucket load of high-level
I have no idea what is in the plans for the Dodgers over the next 6 weeks before pitchers and catchers report, if anything. I know it seems logical that the Dodgers would do something, but everybody is waiting to see where Machado and Harper are going to go. The Dodgers do not appear to be the leading team for any of the major FA (except for Grandal). But that
