Almost Zero! Almost Zip! Almost Nada! In case you haven’t been paying attention to the Cactus League, the KC Royals have scored 110 Runs and given up 67 Runs. They have a 12-2 record, and if you think Spring Training means something, then march yourself right up to the nearest sports book and bet your life savings on the Royals because they are going to win the World Series. However,…
Eight games into Spring Training… and James Outman is seizing the day. Of course, there are three weeks left, but if it ended today, James Outman would be in the squad. All he has done is hit the ball, run the bases and play excellent defense. In other words, he has done EVERYTHING! James Outman was a dark horse to make the team, but so far, he is forcing his…
After a week of games, we see things happening and note who is doing what! If you are forming an opinion about certain players… keep forming! There are four more weeks. Some guys are working on certain aspects of their games and others are trying to “show out” in order to make the team. Sometimes the “plodders” win out… you just never know – have you ever heard the term…
How can that be? Does Spring Training mean everything, or does Spring Training means nothing? Well, it depends… and if you are a person who sees everything as black or white, you may never understand how those two opposing statements can embody what Spring Training is all about. It seems like every year, some player comes out of “nowhere” and hits .350 or .400 in Spring Training and yet is…
Pinkie Problems The first casualty of Spring Training occurred a few days ago when Miguel Vargas took a bad hop to his right pinky finger, which caused a hairline fracture. Since he is a RH hitter, his right hand is not his bottom hand, and he would likely play if it were the playoffs or an important game, but he will likely miss a couple of weeks. He thinks he…
The Dodgers’ hopes to win a World Series in 2023 hinge on a lot of things, including JD Martinez’s resurgence, J-Heys and David Peralta’s ability to come back, the pitching staff’s health, the ability of rookies to seize the day, and whether Freeman, Smith, Muncy & Betts can have All-Star Caliber years. However, nothing is more vital to the Dodgers’ hopes than Gavin Lux and his ability to play SS….
I should have thought of this before, but Andrew Friedman can’t go trading a number of Prospects for Bryan Reynolds without first seeing how Gavin Lux handles SS and, to a lesser degree… how Miguel Vargas handles 2B. If Lux and Vargas settle in as a solid Keystone Combination up the middle, then if James Outman has not been the second-coming, the Dodgers can afford to go out and get…
It appears that Andrew Friedman wasn’t not just posturing as I thought when he said he wasn’t worried about the CBT. After adding journeyman outfielder, David Peralta yesterday and another $6 or $7 Million onto the payroll, it’s clear Friedman is not concerned with re-setting the CBT. It’s not the last time I was wrong. I am, however, always looking for the rest of the story or for the other…
Never doubt statistics. This is especially true when looking at minor-league players. You can always predict for a certainty how a player will perform in Major League Baseball by looking at what they did in the minor leagues. We don’t need scouts, GMs, Baseball America, or MLB Pipeline, and we don’t need any stinking Keith Law.. All we need are statistics. Statistics are King – they are God-like. Statistics will…
I am fully resigned to the fact that Gavin Lux is going into Spring Training as the starting SS. I did not believe that he could play SS at the MLB level, but I will have to defer to Andrew Friedman, who knows “a thing or two I don’t!” Lux has added 15 pounds of muscle which might bring his arm up to average. The first time he makes an…