All season, many readers here and Dodger fans, in general, have been beating the drum and chanting the mantra that the Dodgers’ bullpen is somehow inferior. Pedro Moura of The Athletic wrote this: Despite their substandard start, despite fans’ continued frustration, despite the front office’s decision not to add much in July, Dodgers relievers finished the season among the best in baseball. Their 3.85 ERA was tied atop the National…
Most often when I attempt to communicate the concept of time with my younger grandchildren, I talk in terms of “sleeps.” “Three more sleeps and I’ll be there, or 2 more sleeps and I go home.” We’re at that stage of the season, where we can communicate similarly about the Dodgers. 11 more wins, and we enjoy the parade!! Last year, we were flat out overmatched by the Red Sox. …
So, here the Dodgers sit on a pile of 105 wins. That is the most games they have ever won… well actually they tied the franchise record with the win over the Giants yesterday. It’s simple: they win today and the bar is raised to 106 wins. Win-wise, they are the best Dodger team ever. Some moron on another blog full of them predicted the Dodgers would win less than…
When Andrew Friedman signed Rich Hill to a 3 year / $48 Million dollar deal. he was lambasted by many Dodger fans for continuing down the path of signing Scott Kazmir, Brett Anderson, and Brandon McCarthy: “Another injury-prone pitcher.” “Blister boy!” Well, here we are at the end of that deal and Rich Hill has indeed spent some quality time on the IL, but if Friedman has it to do…
The State of the Bullpen… and Dodger Pitching In the month of September of teams that are likely candidates to play the Dodgers in the 2019 Fall Classic, here is how they compare in bullpen ERA since September 1st: Dodgers – 3.28 Astros – 3.47 Yankees – 3.81 HR per 9 Innings Dodgers – .95 Astros – 1.52 Yankees – 1.59 BABIP – Batting Average Balls in-Play Dodgers – .242…
It seems most Dodger fans, and those of other playoff-bound teams, are trying to pre-determine which players will make up the roster for the first playoff round. I must admit it does interest me but mostly because I have favorite players that I would like to see on “the list”. I do not attempt to make any rational judgment as to whom will make the cut. In the meantime I…
We may not know what we think we know and don’t know what we don’t know and I hope we know that we don’t know. Confused? I know… We know Justin Turner can walk – we don’t know if he can run. We will find out today. It seems that they are just being cautious and if this were the postseason he would be playing. We know that Dick Mountain…
1. Kenley Jansen is Fixed False. With his 8th Blown Save last night, he again demonstrated that he was lacking command and in order to get a strike, he throws some very hittable pitches. I was against the re-signing of Kenley Jansen and this is why. Big contracts to relief pitchers seldom pan out, but here we are and the Dodgers have to make do with what they have… and…
I was going to save this for the off-season, but with 2Demeter2’s fantastic blog yesterday on the Technological Advances in Player Development, I put this blog on the “fast track.” So let me start with this: I am not sure how it all worked out, but I can tell you that in the past, I have fired people, but we agreed privately (for the sake of their career) that the…
“What we do see depends mainly on what we look for. … In the same field the farmer will notice the crop, the geologists the fossils, botanists the flowers, artists the colouring, sportmen the cover for the game. Though we may all look at the same things, it does not all follow that we should see them.” ― John Lubbock, The Beauties of Nature and the Wonders of the World We Live…