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James Paxton

21 posts

Jerk Those Knees

That’s what Dodger fans always do. Anytime the boys in blue lose a game, we see so many knee-jerk reactions that one would think knee-jerking is an Olympic Sport; right up there with jumping to conclusions! I guess that one of the silliest things I have heard is to criticize the…

By Mark Timmons · June 6, 202474

Why Platoons?

I know that many of you hate platoons, but I am down with that. You want to see the best players in there every day (or at least, your idea of the best players). The problem is this: the best hitter against many left-handed pitchers is not a left-handed hitter. Sabermetrics and…

By Mark Timmons · May 6, 202443

Is Yamamoto All He's Hyped Up to be?

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…

By Mark Timmons · March 14, 202427

The Thot Plickens

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…

By Mark Timmons · March 13, 202467

CBT Threshold or De facto Salary Cap

There has been a lot of chatter about the cool reception the current group of FA’s are receiving. DJLM got $90MM, but he is going to be spreading that over 6 years for a team favorable AAV. George Springer turned a small bidding war between the two teams that figured to spend (Mets and Jays) into a Toronto overspend of 5 years $150MM. That was about $25MM more than the

By Jeff Dominique · January 27, 202142

The Status of the 2021 Free Agent Player

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

By Jeff Dominique · January 8, 202131

2021 Hot Stove League ???

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

By Jeff Dominique · December 28, 202098

The Marketing of Players

This is the time of year when we hear that teams will be listening on potential trades for Player A. However, most of the time those proclamations are simply rhetorical. The Brewers have said they are willing to listen to offers for Josh Hader. The Rays will be listening on offers for Blake Snell. The Reds will be listening on offers for Sonny Gray. The Cubs are listening on offers

By Jeff Dominique · November 29, 202073

Starting Pitching

Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, David Price, Julio Urias, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Josiah Gray. It sure seems like the Dodgers are loaded with starting pitching. But are they? Outside of Walker Buehler, which of the above pitchers is a lock to being a top of the rotation starting pitcher. Clayton Kershaw? Sure fire HOF pitcher, and should end his career as a Dodger. There is no question in my mind

By Jeff Dominique · November 15, 202039

AC s Musings

We need to end this myth that Mookie cannot hit LHP. Over his career, against LHP, Betts is slashing .297/.379/.509/.888. Mookie’s career against RHP .302/.372/.526/.897. Those seem like even splits to me. Over his career, Mookie has faced RHP 76% of the time. I think it is more likely that Betts was unfamiliar with NL LH pitchers, and after a year on a new team and a new league,

By Jeff Dominique · November 13, 202063

AC s 2021 Pitching Preview as of 11-03-2020

While reviewing the list of LAD pitchers, the Dodgers have 66 pitchers currently in their organization. Per Fangraph’s Roster Resource the breakdown is as follows: MLB Starting Pitchers (5) MLB Relief Pitchers (9) MiLB Starting Pitchers (34) – 9 Rule 5 Eligible MiLB Relief Pitchers (18) – 13 Rule 5 Eligible With the pending MiLB contraction, those numbers are obviously going to decrease. Many of these pitchers are organizational depth,

By Jeff Dominique · November 4, 202044

Trade Deadlines

It was suggested that what the Dodgers need is a dominant closer and a dominant setup man. No mention as to who those players should be. But they better not allow a base runner as that is what is expected for Dodger relief pitchers. Below is the pitching line for the top closers (in terms of # of saves) in MLB for 2020. I dare say that if LAD fans

By Jeff Dominique · August 30, 202095

Patience or Attack

We are only four games into the season, and the sniping at Doc is already in full gear. Not just from LADT commenters, but throughout the Dodgers blogosphere. Every manager makes horrible decisions throughout the season, and sometimes they actually make some good calls. Of course, nobody likes to comment on those. Now maybe some of these decisions are not Doc’s alone. It seems to be a team philosophy to

By Jeff Dominique · July 28, 2020104

It s Time For Dodger Baseball

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

By Jeff Dominique · February 22, 202046

Who Will Be LAD #2?

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

By Jeff Dominique · December 29, 201958

I Refuse To Yield To No Team

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

By Jeff Dominique · December 12, 2019163

How Did Winter Trades Turn Out

When MT posted his Remember When post, it got me to thinking about trades. I have been obnoxiously opinionated in my zeal for at least one lock down late inning reliever and would prefer two. But I also know that there are NO GUARANTEES. The Darvish and Machado trades did not result in a WS championship, and they were good trades for the Dodgers. If the Dodgers got both Felipe

By Jeff Dominique · June 30, 201966

Random Thoughts

A few days ago, Bluto posed the following: “I mean if you are evaluating players from a far then you have to be down on prospects when they fare poorly. But what’s the difference between being down and writing off? And what does writing off mean? Does it mean moving down in the prospect list? Or removing altogether?” I am sure that my opinion of “being down” vs. writing off

By Jeff Dominique · June 23, 201990

Super Bowl LIII

Still waiting on the next big FA to drop, or next big trade to occur. Only 1 of the top 5 free agents have signed, and really very few actual trades this winter. If not for the M’s and Jerry Dipoto making five or six trades involving significant ML players, or the Reds acquiring back of the rotation pitchers, there really has not been a lot of player movement. ML

By Jeff Dominique · February 3, 201952

2018 MLB Winter Meetings

Okay, I am done arguing with people on this or any other baseball site about corporate finance, which happens to be a subject I am very well-versed in. But that is different than knowledge of the Dodgers balance sheet of which I have none. So, let’s move on. I am writing this in an El Dorado Hills Starbucks at about 1:30 PM. So this may not be current by

By Jeff Dominique · December 10, 201847

RH Bat? What About Giancarlo Stanton???

What are the Dodgers needs going into the 2019 season? We know they need a catcher. I discussed that in great length yesterday. I think they need a 2B other than CT3 or Kike’, but I know I am in the minority. I think the Dodgers need a leadoff batter. That is really not what Alex Verdugo does, but he seems the most logical…if he makes the squad, and there

By Jeff Dominique · November 19, 201885