The Post-Season Bullpen Will Be a Strength

August 21, 2019

Last night’s bullpen was excellent…. except for the closer, who coughed up another hairball. All season long there has been an ongoing discussion about what many fans perceive is the Dodgers glaring weakness… the bullpen. Since Spring Training, I have consistently said that I had no problem with the Dodger Bullpen and I have repeatedly said that “The Bullpen you see now, will not be the bullpen you see in…

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Walter Who?

August 21, 2019

What are the skills that a successful baseball manager must have? I suspect that there are many possible answers to that question, perhaps as many as those answering the question. No doubt each of us posting on LADT have different preferences or expectations. Some are happy with Dave Roberts, some not so pleased, some neutral. Perhaps each of us has a manager in mind that we think is or has…

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Watch Those Knee-Jerk Reactions

August 20, 2019

It seems to me that just about every time a Dodger player has a bad play, bad game, bad inning, bad pitch, error, blunder or just a mistake, some fans have this automatic knee jerk reaction which often involves one of the following: Get rid of the bum Send him back to the minors Make him a reliever He has no business starting He can’t play that position He should…

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Underrated Prospects

August 17, 2019

We often take a look at minor league players who have never been considered as can’t miss players. Some are very late round draft picks that creep up on the minor league ranks. DC and I have mentioned Zach McKinstry quite a bit this season. Zach was a 33rd round draft Pick (2016) out of that baseball hotbed Central Michigan University. He has continually charged up the organizational ladder and…

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Come and Listen to my Story About a Man Named Jedd…

August 16, 2019

Jedd Gyorko will likely make his Dodger debut this weekend in the ATL. In case you don’t know, he plays every infield position and has logged one game in LF and two at pitcher. At 5′ 10″ and 215 pounds he is best suited for 2B or 3B. At best, he is a utilityman and I am sure the Dodgers hope he is someone who could benefit from the Robert…

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Andrew Friedman and the LAD Top 30 Prospect Lists

August 3, 2019

This is AF’s 5th full year, and hopefully he will continue for several more years.  He is human so he is prone to making mistakes, but never has he made an error without a very good reason for making a change.  Most of us may not have understood the decisions, but they were always made to help the team.  And I recognize and appreciate that it was a rhetorical statement,…

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Rant & Rave Friday

August 2, 2019

I want to clarify a few things: I have never said that Alex Verdugo would be Tony Gwynn. I do stand on my record of saying that he is “Tony Gwynn-esque.” His bat to ball skills is reminiscent of the late, great Tony Gwynn, but with more power. I also think he will win some batting titles. I do not think Keibert Ruiz is the next Roy Campanella. That was…

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Unconventional Wisdom

August 1, 2019

Over the past couple of days, I have heard how stupid it was for Andrew Friedman to sign Chris Negron and Tyler White and that they were a waste! I have heard that bringing Tony Gonsolin up to pitch in Coors was a mistake and I heard that Ryu also couldn’t pitch at Coors Field. I also heard that the league was catching up to Alex Verdugo. Additionally, I heard…

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Random Thoughts

July 27, 2019

1. Dodgerpatch indicated that I was taking the criticism of Austin Barnes too personally.  Not true.  I would never take criticism alone personally.  What I take personally is the name calling.  A week ago I stated that Barnes had option(s) remaining and that he should be considered to be optioned to OKC, and bring up Will Smith to get better acclimated to the pitchers.  When the name calling started, I…

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Rant & Rave Friday

July 26, 2019

OK, you want to be “all in?” Let’s go dream: The Mets trade Yoenis Cespedes, Noah Syndegard and Edwin Diaz to the Dodgers for Keibert Ruiz, Tony Gonsolin, Ross Stripling and Joc Pederson. Maybe there is one more piece… It’s a salary dump for the Mets and the Dodgers save some prospects, including May in the deal. I really like Tony Gonsolin, but Dustin May is a player I would…

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