50 posts
Could Jason Martin be the next Max Muncy, CT3 or Justin Turner? There is no reason to believe that he could but also no reason to expect that he could not. Martin, like JT, is a California boy who was born in Corona and attended Orange Lutheran High School in Orange which is…
Earlier in the week I had a dialogue with MT and Bluto regarding the lack of confidence I have in RVS as a competent MLB Team Batting Coach. I have no doubts that his methodology can and does work for some, but each batter is different and needs a different approach. At least…
October 27, 2020 After that unforgettable strikeout of Willy Adames by Julio Urias Almost four months to the day, the Dodgers are going to be taking the field in an actual baseball game, even if it is only a ST game. The Dodgers are starting 32 year old LHP, Mike Kickham. Kickham signed a MiLB contract on January 27. Lat year Kickham last year pitched for Boston, and pitched in
Blake Snell, Yu Darvish, Carlos Carrasco, and the BIG MARKET name, Francisco Lindor. These four have a chance to be top tier in 2021, with Lindor in the elite class. And they have all changed teams this offseason. The first two names have moved the Padres into a top three NL and top four MLB team, while the second two names have moved the NYM to a significant NL East
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
The financing of a baseball season is going under the microscope this offseason and potentially into next season. There is no question that MLB lost several billion in revenues. According to Forbes’ estimates from 2019, as gathered by the University of Michigan sports economist Rodney Fort, MLB teams made a total of $9.9 billion as follows: REVENUE (IN BILLIONS) UNDER… CATEGORY NORMAL SEASON HALF-SEASON W/O FANS* Gate receipts $2.84B $0.00B
First of all, I received multiple emails wishing me good health and prayers, and for that I will be forever grateful. I do not get sick very often, but when I do, I do it right. The illness occurs once every 5-6 years, and lasts a couple of weeks. And it is almost always the same. I start out with a head cold, with a severe sore throat, and it
A little less than a year before the birth of our son Andrew, Harry Chapin put the finishing touches to a song that emanated from a poem penned by his wife. The song was Cat’s in the Cradle. As I did not grow from a happy childhood, the song did not initially appeal to me. But as my career was taking off, and Andy was about two, the song began
Just like every other fan, I have my favorites. I believe I have been more than obvious that Corey Seager has been my favorite Dodger since he was drafted. I also have jerseys for current Dodgers, Kershaw, Buehler, Bellinger, Turner, and Wood. I love the stars, but I am also partial to those who are more role players and not top of the rotation pitchers. The angst I feel with
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
I want to be clear from the start. I am now, and I always have been on the side of the players when it comes to salary. They are entitled to whatever they can get. Scott Boras and Gerrit Cole can convince NYY that Cole should be paid $324MM, and that becomes his Fair Market Value (FMV). But Scott has no right to dictate to the owners as a group
With the 100th pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, The Los Angeles Dodgers select…Jake Vogel, CF, Huntington Beach High School, Huntington Beach, California. https://www.mlb.com/video/2020-draft-jake-vogel-of?t=mlb-draft “Now batting for your Los Angeles Dodgers, CF, Jake Vogel”. At least that is what his high school coach is hoping to hear. More players from California have gone on to play MLB than any other state, and in particular Southern California has been a gold
If I haven’t shared it before, I miss baseball! During it’s absence, I have tried reading some of the other baseball blogs (heresy I know), but I just can’t find myself getting enthused about simulated games or what the players are doing to entertain themselves during the lock down orders. I miss baseball! I miss the competition. And while I’m proud that Dustin May won the best hair in baseball
There has certainly been a lot of optimistic discussions going on throughout the Baseball World about the possibility of MLB in 2020. I think most of us want to believe that there will be MLB this year, but have doubts in conjunction with those hopes. There has been a lot of speculation as to how a season would play out. How many games? How many divisions? What size roster? How
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 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
I cannot see the Dodgers signing Josh Donaldson. He reportedly has two pending four year deals (Twins and Washington). But the Braves have right of last refusal (meaning that is where he wants to play), but they are going to need to guarantee that 4th year, which they are contemplating right now. There is no reason for the Dodgers to continue to chase their tails here. JT is a quality
Earlier in the week, I read an article from Dodgers Nation on the perceived struggles the Dodgers seem to have with signing elite free agents. There is no real answer, but a lot of potential scenarios. And then there was a comment during the week, “If the Dodgers do nothing much at all, is that good, are we glad that they chose not to try to improve the team, while
●Mercifully, the winter meetings are over. Lot’s of questions unanswered, but the main one for me is: Now what? As I wrote few weeks back, keep her steady as she goes. Also, remember, it was December 21, 2018, when the Dodgers surprised us with the Kyle Farmer trade. There’s lots of time between now and the start of spring training. ● It looks like Pedro Moura, of the Athletic, was
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
Last year, the Dodgers had Nine (count em, 9) rookies on the roster in total. I did a hurried comparison and I think only San Francisco had as many rookies as the Dodgers. I could be wrong feel free to do the research and get back to me. But the point is: The Farm System is productive and still a TOP 3 system. In fact, if the Dodgers just
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
If in response to the above question, you said Not Much! I will say you may or may not be right. See, indecision may or may not be part of my problem, and no one knows what a bullpen guy will do from year-to-year, but I will say that you cannot look at the past and predict what a bullpen pitcher will do in the future. You can guess even
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
Of course, I would like for the Dodgers to sign Anthony Rendon, Gerrit Cole, and Stephen Strasburg while trading for a bonified closer and a set-up man. .. and while I am at it, I want to look like Brad Pitt and be as smart as Jeff Bezos. Oh, and I want Bezos money too. The odds of all that happening for the Dodgers is about as likely I look
Well the first domino fell on Thursday when Atlanta signed LHRP Will Smith for 3 years and $40MM. It is a little less than Craig Kimbrel $$$, but not much. The Braves are in a position to sign multiple FA and still be well south of the CBT threshold. I expect them to make a run at MadBum and Yasmani Grandal, and maybe Josh Donaldson. Some prognosticators have suggested with
Many loyal Dodger fans believe the Dodgers ownership group is cheap and not interested in winning, and only interested in counting profits. Never mind that the Dodgers have spent more on player personnel contracts over the last five years than any other team. They have also spent lavishly on player development and re-focusing on their MiLB programs. I think we can all agree that the contract costs were not all
In case you have forgotten, the 2019 LA Dodgers are a young team (overall), with a very deep and very god farm system and accomplished the following: Most Wins in LA Dodger History 106 Best Team ERA in MLB Yes, it has been 32 years since the Dodgers have won the Worl Series. Yes, 2019 was a bitter pill to swallow. Yes, it is way past time for the
