FLASH: Progress is not Linear

May 9, 2024

Miguel Vargas, Gavin Stone, Diego Cartaya, Gavin Lux, James Outman and many other prospects prove that the old adage, “Progress in not Linear” is so true. Miguel Vargas had succeeded and mastered every level where he played… except on the MLB Level. Of course, he could play the “broken finger excuse card” but there are no excuses. It is what it is and your stats tell who you are. Miguel…

Read More >>

Stoned!

April 27, 2024

Well, as much as I like Gavin Stone (and I like him a lot), I confess that I mostly saw him as a high-leverage bullpen piece… until yesterday. 7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. OK, yes, he was a bit lucky, but he went seven innings and allowed one earned run ! WOW! JUST WOW! In my defense, I have never seen Gavin Stone throw a…

Read More >>

Stay Calm! All is well

April 7, 2024

The Dodgers are 8-3, and Yoshi Yamamoto just won his first win while striking out 8. Tyler Glasnow has looked like an Ace since Spring Training, and Striker Buehler, a past Ace, went 4.2 innings for OKC yesterday, allowing just two hits, walking none, and striking out six! He threw 65 pitches, 42 of them for strikes. Walker was extremely happy with his results. His fastball was 93-95 until he…

Read More >>

Half Full or Half Empty?

March 28, 2024

A glass containing water to the half-way point is often used to point out the difference between optimists and pessimists: The optimist sees the glass as half full. They focus on what is there. “So much that can be done with half a glass of water.” The pessimist sees the glass as half empty. He sees that the glass used to be full and now half of its contents are gone. Soon it will…

Read More >>

Progress is Not Linear…

March 19, 2024

You’ve never heard that before! Ha, Ha! Nowhere do we see evidence of that more than with Gavin Stone. In 2022, he was the Dodgers Minor League Pitcher of the year and looked ready to take the next step. Then, after looking good in Spring Training in 2023, he laid an egg and put up a 9.00 ERA in 31 IP. The opposing batters simply beat him like a rented…

Read More >>

Is Yamamoto All He’s Hyped Up to be?

March 14, 2024

While it is clear that Yamamoto has some very filthy stuff, he finished Spring Training with a 8.38 ERA. In 9.2 IP, he allowed 15 Hits and 9 ER. He walked 4 and struck out 14. It also has been rumored that he is tipping pitches. I heard someone say, “It doesn’t matter if he ‘s tipping pitches – they still can’t hit him!” YES THEY CAN! Now, understand that…

Read More >>

The Thot Plickens

March 12, 2024

We learned a lot about Tyler Glasnow yesterday and why he is unquestionably now the Dodgers’ Ace. Lest we forget, he has had a singular injury problem, not plural problems. He has had just one injury that was undiagnosed for four years. It was fixed and he now looks healthy as a horse! Actually, he is horse – just check out his mane. Tyler is now the Dodgers’ Ace. End…

Read More >>

Much Needed Off Day

March 4, 2024

No, not for the Dodgers, but rather for me. I wrote this column last night after the game and I plan to write another one tomorrow, but it has been a whirlwind the past few days. Here’s a re-cap going back to last October: Hopefully, we will be moved in and I can do my back rebab here: So, I am kinda busyright about now, but the Dodgers are my…

Read More >>

What a Difference a Day Makes

March 3, 2024

So many times, we read things that are written where the writer’s only objective is to try and prove some point. As an example (and I am not going to be labor this point), I read a piece in the Washington Post called The zombie CVS, a late-capitalism horror story. It starts out by saying: There is almost nothing left to steal at the CVS in Columbia Heights, and that…

Read More >>